Honor Among Thieves || Book Two

~18~

In the few seconds before his death, Jack saw Sera's face as plain as day.

It was as if she were standing right in front of him with her arms outstretched, ready to embrace him. She was enveloped by a welcoming warm glow, a glow that caught the color in her vibrant cerulean eyes, and her plump rosy lips were curled into a dimpled smile. Her smiles always made his heart skip a beat...

Then, she had vanished.

She had vanished and left him to face the Kraken alone. Knowing he was doomed, he had made one final, forceful jab at the beast's mouth; he would not have it said that Jack Sparrow had gone without a fight.

Still, in the end, it had amounted to a hill of beans. He was still dead. He was still cursed to spend an eternity in Davy Jones' Locker...

How fragile life is. He thought glumly as he lay sprawled on the Pearl's deck. Even though he was well aware of his debt with Jones, he never dreamed in a million years that he would actually die. He had cheated death many times, laughed in its face even...

His mind drifted back to Sera and all the times she had told him she loved him, only to have him give a shallow, half-hearted reply. He had never told her he loved her, he just assumed she could tell by his actions but now...

Now he wanted to tell her.

He wanted nothing more than to touch her, to feel the warmth of her body against his--he wanted to look her in her sapphire eyes and tell her that he loved her.

Sighing, he folded his hands behind his head and stared, unblinking, into the blinding sun. "If only I had another chance..."

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Back in the land of the living...

"If we continue along this route," Sera explained in between bites of pineapple as she pointed at the path she had sketched in the Pacific. "We'll reach Singapore in two, maybe three months but only if we don't have to make port along the way."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Barbossa said, holding the charts down against the heavy brisk wind. Wolfie nodded in agreement and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "The Destiny's loaded. I'd say we could make it a whole year without stockin' up if we ration properly."

Sera nodded and popped another piece of pineapple in her mouth. "We'll fair just fine. Jeremy!" She held up her empty bowl as the young man made his way onto the quarterdeck. "More pineapple, please."

"Aye, Cap'n."

Barbossa watched him walk away. "That yer cabin boy?"

"Sort of." She licked her fingers, determined to get every last bit of the sweet juice. "Our other one, Rook, had a bit of a fall. Broke both his legs."

"Lad's gettin' better everyday, though." Wolfie added. Barbossa continued to stare at Jeremy, watching him as he made his way below deck with the small porcelain bowl in his hands . "He don't exactly look the part..."

"He's a fisherman." Sera said as she rolled up her charts. "Was a fisherman, I should say."

"What's his name?"

Knitting her brows, she tucked the map under her arm. "Jeremy Stratton. I've knew him since he hardly came up to my knee." She narrowed her eyes. "What's it to you?"

"Nothin', nothin'." He shook his head. "Just curious is all."

"Here you go, Captain."

Jeremy returned with the pineapple and stole an uneasy glance at Barbossa, who had yet to look away. Sera smiled. "You're a darling, Jeremy."