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The Chalice of Doom	By : Jessica66 Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > General Views: 2364 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
15.
Pursuit- the Huntress and the Hunters

Miguel
Alfonso de Santiago dematerialized himself and vanished; the magic of smoke and
lights had distracted the pirates as well as Norrington's men. Shapeless he
traveled through time and space, chasing the gradually fading spark of William
Turner's life until he found him in the brig of the Royal Navy ship, Huntress.
There he rematerialized and stared in utter shock at the poor lad who'd been
beaten black and blue, his face scabby with dried blood.

Will
managed to lift a swollen eye, mumbling the Spaniard's name as if in feverish
delirium, not longer able to distinguish between reality and illusion. Besides,
there are situations when all hope has faded and only pain remains.

Santiago
could sense his pain and had to take a mental glimpse at the most horrible
nightmares troubling the young man's mind, refusing his maltreated body the rest
that it so urgently needed now. "Sh, relax. Don't worry. Everything will be
fine. I'll take you away from here." he whispered as he wrapped his arms
around Will's motionless form.

"Elisabeth�"
Will breathed with all his remaining strength before he fainted again.

Elisabeth-
he could only hope that the pirates had that situation under control,
nevertheless it wasn't the right moment to worry about her; Norrington would
probably not harm her. Instead he had to take immediate care of young Will
Turner or he would lose the boy. They had to get away from here just like he'd
promised, and his wounds had to be healed. Therefore Santiago concentrated on
another time-and-space-travel, no matter how much strength it would cost him,
Will had to be taken to the Jewel Star.

All
these years he'd sailed with Rowan Scarlett and her crew, he'd always avoided
revealing his powers to them. When he had to travel on magical paths
he'd done it secretly by locking his cabin door before dematerializing
himself. This time however he popped up straight upon the Jewel's deck.

There
was quite a hustle aboard. Men rushed to load the cannons and fired them with a
deafening noise at the Huntress, threatening her to stay out of range. Anybody
should have been busy enough with that but Rowan Scarlett's crew nevertheless
didn't fail to notice when someone just popped up from out of nowhere, holding
an unconscious, bleeding man in his arms. Superstitious, like sailors were, some
made the sign of the cross and others the sign against evil- yet none of it
would have helped them if Santiago had really had ill deeds in mind. But he
hadn't. He only wanted to take an overall view of the general situation before
healing Will and he also needed some help at it. So was there anyone willing to
help him?

"I
bring hot water, Spaniard." Rashid said matter-of-factly. Having been an
eyewitness of the massacre at the Maharaja's palace in Madras he simply wasn't
to be shocked that easily anymore.

Santiago
nodded approvingly though there were still many pirates flashing him suspicious
looks. McCoy shooed them away, back to their work. "Anything else ye need?"

"I
help." A huge, dark-skinned man said and took Will's motionless body from
Santiago's arms. The Spanish magician was definitely no weakling but he felt
like a heavy weight had been lifted from him, although Will looked so small and
vulnerable in the Negro's broad arms now. M'leh gently brushed some whisks of
hair out of the unconscious lad's face. "He's a good man. Never liked being
served by a slave, always thanked me for doing me duty. That's why I wanna help
him." He glanced at Santiago. "My father was a medicine man, I know
about medicine and Voodoo magic. I'm not scared. I help you."

A
little while later Will's wounds had been attended to. He hadn't gained
consciousness again but at least he wasn't feverish anymore, and the sleep he
was sleeping now was a restful one, untroubled by any nightmares. M'leh would
stay and watch over him, so Santiago could take a break. He went to the main
deck again where there was still the same hectic of back and forth scurrying men
firing cannons, nevertheless that didn't impress him. He simply cut out all the
noises from his mind and took a deep breath� when suddenly the sound of the
cannons died. McCoy had ordered to cease the fire after looking through his
telescope with a worried face. It didn't take long and Santiago knew why.

A
longboat was leaving the caves of Isla de Muerta, and in that longboat rowed by
two grey-clad men sat not only Norrington but also Elisabeth, being his leverage
once again. Of course no pirate would shoot at that boat. Damned, what has
happened after that promising start? Why did Norrington have the advantage again,
now? Santiago wondered and mentally scanned the island for Rowan, Jack and
Marris. He sensed that Rowan was wounded- but fortunately not critically- and
that she was worried about� about�

It
hit him like the famous bolt from the blue. Elisabeth! She was the clue to so
many unanswered questions, therefore he had to keep an eye on her and not on
Rowan, Jack or Will. The pirates would get by without him like they usually did,
also due to Jack's talent for talking himself out of any worrisome situation.
No, they weren't in danger- but Elisabeth was.

"McCoy,
tell Rowan- she'll be back here soon, by the way- that I'm going to be away for
probably quite a while since I have to take care of Elisabeth Turner."

"Aye."
The Irishman looked at him unimpressed. "But remember that ye're among
superstitious pirates, so do me the favor of not vanishing from under their eyes.
Ye know, I don't mind what ye're doing or what ye are as long as ye don't
scare the crew I'm responsible for at the moment. Savvy?"

Santiago
gave him a wry smile. Of course it had never been his intention to show off with
his magic, so of course he would depart as secretly as he'd always done-
somewhere below deck where nobody could see him leaving. He sighed and gathered
his strength for another magical travel.

-

Rowan
closed the cabin door and sank into a chair. She felt really miserable; her arm
still hurt like hell, she was tired and totally frustrated. Norrington had the
Statue of Nirrti and Elisabeth because of her failure, she hadn't been able to
stop him. She had acted like an absolute beginner, inattentive, surprised that
he'd fire his pistol at her. Therefore she'd deserved the pain.

She
was glad that she was alone for a moment so no one could see her when she gave
way to her tears, they ran across her cheeks, leaving hot, wet trails on her
skin. She wept silently, tears of frustration, pain, and anger at herself.

When
Marris walked in, carrying Santiago's medical box and two bottles of rum, she
quickly wiped the treacherous trails off her face but of course she couldn't
fool him.

"It's
not yer fault, Rowan." He uncorked one bottle and handed it to her. "Here,
ye better drink as much as ye can 'cause it'll get rather painful now, ye know."

"I
don't mind." She lied, nevertheless she grabbed the bottle and gulped down
a good amount of rum. At least the feeling of nausea faded. Without looking at
Marris she said. "I should have�"

"No."
He immediately cut her short. "Don't rack yer brain with if only. That
never makes any sense. Whatever happened, it has happened and ye can't change it,
savvy. Now lemme have a look at yer arm."

Rowan sighed and unbuttoned her shirt
in order to take it off when she winced with pain. Dried blood had stuck the
fabric to her skin but she ripped if off resolutely because she wanted to get it
over and done with. Her wounded arm was extremely sensitive, it almost hurt when
Marris took a close look at it though he hadn't even touched her yet. She needed
more rum. She wanted to get really drunk; so drunk that she wouldn't feel the
pain anymore, that she wouldn't have to cry anymore. Marvelously drunk and numb.
She had just finished the first bottle
when suddenly something seemed to be strangely wrong to her. Why was Marris
about to fix my arm and not� Oh, of course, Santiago's not here. McCoy
had given me a short summery of what had transpired, including what Santiago had
asked him to tell me. He's off to have an eye on Elisabeth. He's probably aboard
the Huntress now, and we're following the Huntress, so the Huntress has become
the hunted one. Funny. But what does Marris know about fixing wounds?

"D'ye really know what ye're 'bout
to do?"
"Aye, don't worry. I've assisted
Santiago many times more than ye've done." At once aware that he shouldn't
have said that he bit his lower lip and tried to distract Rowan's thoughts.
"Listen, my dear, ye know that I have to cause ye a lotta pain now when I
clean yer wound so are ye sure ye don't wanna have Jack here to hold yer
hand?"
Rowan just snorted. She hadn't asked
Jack to take over command of the Jewel for nothing. Her crew could cope very
well without her for a while but that she hadn't wanted him to be around because
she simply couldn't be strong now. She didn't want him to see her crying and she
already knew that she would cry.
"Rum." She said and pointed
at the second bottle. Though she was never scared of being wounded, she was a
real scaredy-cat when it came to medical treatments. Therefore she needed more
rum. Yet, there was still something else preoccupying her mind, something that's
got to do with Jack and medical treatments� Then she knew. Accusingly she
raised her brows and pressed her index finger at Marris' chest.
"You. Ye're a bloody cheat, me
hearty. Why didn't ye tell me in Port Royal? Why did I have te poke 'round in
Jack's shoulder when ye could've done better?"
"Ah, not better. Ye did a great
job, Rowan. Besides, there are things that are better done by a gentle woman's
hand." Marris was glad that the alcohol had already taken effects on her
otherwise she probably would have killed him now. But somehow he'd known even
then, that Captain Jack Sparrow would be the perfect match for her and therefore
she had had to take care of him. Well, and obviously she had done her best or
else they wouldn't be together now.
Rowan glanced at him with narrowed
eyes, a suspicious look on her face. Then she took another swig from the bottle
and let out a hick. "Why don't ye just start torturing me?"

Later, Marris fluffed the pillows in
her bed and piled some of them in order to make it more comfortable for her.
Rowan gave him a drunken smile. Her arm was set, the pain had faded and her
tears had dried. She felt a bit dozy now, drunk on the rum and drugged by some
painkillers that Marris must have mixed in it. She giggled at that thought
because it reminded her of how she'd drugged the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow
once, and that again reminded her of Jack himself.
"Where's me Jack?" She
slurred, impatiently tugging at Marris' sleeve. "I want Jack now. Where's
me pretty pirate? "
Marris rolled his eyes. Though he had
intended to get her drunk, she occasionally could become a real pain in the neck
when she was drunk, and today was definitely one of these occasions. Sighing he
tried to tuck her up in a blanket but she didn't want to let go of his sleeve.
"Where's Jack?" Rowan whined.
At the helm where ye sent him,
he was tempted to say but she'd been so brave when he had tended her wounded
arm- she had just gritted her teeth and endured the pain silently, with silent
tears running down her cheeks- therefore she didn't deserve any sarcastic
comments. Marris gently stroked her head.
"I'll fetch him." He
promised and hurried to leave the cabin.

Jack was at the helm of the Jewel
Star. He enjoyed steering her since she was a fast, agile and easy to maneuver
ship. All sails were set and fully braced, the canvas crackled in the wind, and
the Jewel Star was making remarkable speed. They should have caught up with the
Huntress by now, ready to attack and board her, saving Elisabeth. Yet somehow
the Huntress had almost disappeared from sight, swallowed by the rapidly falling
night. That was odd. A small two-masted vessel shouldn't be uncatchable for two
of the fastest pirate ships that had ever sailed the Caribbean. He looked across
his shoulder at astern and had to see that his Black Pearl was even further
behind as if she couldn't keep pace with the Jewel.
Nonsense! Gibbs just doesn't know
how to treat a lady like the Pearl, he tried to
talk himself into believing although he knew it wasn't true. Probably the Jewel
was indeed a little bit faster due to all that modern stuff Marris had once
shown him. And the Huntress- well there had been so much talk about magic
recently that he shouldn't be surprised about anything anymore. If only he'd
know where she was heading.
"Set course for Port Royal."
Someone told him.
Jack wondered if he should make it
unmistakably clear that firstly, he preferred to be addressed as Captain, and
secondly, that he didn't take orders from anybody. Then he became
aware of the fact that he wasn't Captain of the Jewel Star and Marris
wasn't just anybody.
"Ye're sure?"
Marris grimaced without uttering a
word, looking terribly pale and exhausted. Jack knew what was wrong with him. If
he'd hear Alf's voice ringing in his head unasked, he'd probably look the same. Must
be horrible for him to get attacked by Alf's ever so right instructions all the
time even if he himself wasn't even present. No chance to cover yer ears when
someone has decided to mess up yer brain.

"Take a rest mate." He said.
"Ye need it."
"Nah- I'm fine. Besides, Rowan
wants to see ye so I'll take yer place now.
Better not keep her waiting."
Jack kept back any questions about her
welfare because Marris didn't need to know how much he really cared about her;
he had already made a fool of himself in the caves. Now he knew that no one died
of a gunshot wound in the arm and after all, she was still better off than Will.
He had gone to have a look at the whelp before he'd taken over the helm and was
still distressed. So maybe he should take another look at the lad and then go to
Rowan�
"Jack. Rowan's waiting. Let go of
the helm now." Marris elbowed him slightly impatient, reminding him that he
still had a firm clasp on the wheel. Steering a ship meant freedom to him,
especially at night when he could let his thoughts roam. Any ship meant freedom,
endless horizons, the world at his feet. Therefore he'd never cared about a
woman for longer than a night because usually any close relationship inevitably
meant the end of freedom. Strangely, but he'd never felt cramped nor his freedom
curbed when he was with Rowan. Perhaps that was because she knew more about the
meaning of being free than anyone else he'd ever met simply because she was a
woman and a pirate captain. It must have
demanded so much more of her to get where she was now- the captain of her
very own ship- since in these times women had only little choices; either they
got married or they ended up as a whore... and of course there was also the
possibility to become a nun- very unlikely. Instead, Rowan Scarlett
had bluntly ignored all
social conventions and chosen the hardest way, the way of independence.
Lost in thoughts he walked down the
companionway and entered Rowan's cabin.
"Jacky-boy!" Rowan stretched
out her good arm to give him an enthusiastic welcome. The blanket she'd been
tucked in slid off her naked shoulders and revealed a good amount of golden
tanned skin. "Come 'ere
cutie."

Jack frowned. Though he definitely
liked it when women gave him enthusiastic welcomes, he was a bit bewildered by
her behavior. She was somehow different today. He stepped closer and sat down
next to her on the bed. "Are ye alright luv?"
"Missed ye." Clumsily she
patted his cheeks then she got hold of one of his dreadlocks; the pearls
attached to it started to jingle and she giggled, rattling with it. "'ave
ye missed me too?"
"Darling ye're drunk." Jack
tried to free himself of her grip before she could tear out his hair.
Immediately she pulled a defiant face and started moaning.
"Nah- not drunk. Mean pirate."
Then she snuggled herself up to him, rested her head on his chest and gave him a
slightly idiotic smile, blinking green eyes at him. "'ello
me fav'rite pirate. Ye've
so lovely choc� chocolata� no,
chocolate eyes, ye know?" Once again she reached out for his hair but then
she decided otherwise and grabbed his twin beard instead. "WANT A KISSSS!"
"Ouch! That hurts."
Rowan looked at him cross-eyed,
feeling rejected and affronted. "Ye don't wanna kiss me." she whined
and crawled back under the sheets, sniffing.
"Hey, 'course I wanna kiss ye but
ye don't have to tear out my hair." Jack gently touched her shoulder but
she just covered her head with her blanket, still sniffing defiantly like a
little girl who hadn't gotten what she wanted. Amused by her drunken ways Jack
lifted the blanket and started to nuzzle her hair when she suddenly flung her
good arm around his neck.
"Ge' off!" She hiced,
shaking her head in confusion. "Nah, I mean, get off yer clothes 'n com' 'ere."
Jack thought that it would be a good
idea to join her and hold her tight, hoping she'd fall asleep then. He'd never
seen her so drunk before and though it was somehow amusing, she
really needed some sleep now. He gave her a kiss and at once she started
giggling again.
"Yer beard tick�tickles."
Since that had been such a funny feeling- she was absolutely sure that she'd
never noticed it before no matter how often they'd kissed- she pressed her lips
on his again. Then something else distracted her. "Ummm, Capt'n Sparrow ye
taste like rum. Want more rum. Where's me rum?"
Oddly, and he had thought that she
would be the only one of them who tasted of rum since she had also been the only
one of them who had been drinking.
Rowan bent across
the edge of her bed and scanned the floor. "Rum? Here rummy, rummy,
rummy. Where 're ye? Ah- there you've hidden, ye mean, malic'sss bottle."
"No,
no, no." Jack swiftly took the bottle from her
hand and placed it out of range. Immediately that defiant little girl look
appeared on her face again. "Listen darling why don't we just go to bed and
sleep a little while?"
"Ye wanna sleep wit' me?"
Now she fluttered her lashes at him and grinned broadly. "Naughty boy."
Well, though he'd never minded to lay
a drunken women before he didn't want to lay a drunken and wounded woman who
simply wasn't herself tonight. Nevertheless it was hard to resist when she
cuddled herself comfortably into his arms, entwining her legs with his. She
looked dreamily at him, her fingertips danced playfully across her chest- and
only a minute later she'd fallen asleep. Jack sighed with relief, then he
shifted carefully not to wake her again and extinguished
the candle.

-

Rowan awoke when a warm golden light
fell in her cabin. She lifted an eye and blinked at the light but her head
protested painfully so she closed her eye again. Her head didn't feel much
better though. Have I been drinking? she wondered and tried to recollect
the previous day. Then she noticed that she wasn't alone in her bed, Jack was
with her. Ah, I must have been drinking with Jack� She turned around in
order to snuggle up to him but her insides were having a wild party and she
wasn't invited. Laying still on her back and breathing carefully she waited for
the nausea to disappear. At that moment she suddenly got aware of her left arm,
which hurt, so she had to open her eyes once more to take a look at it. This
time the light was less painful. Her eyes wandered down at her left side and she
saw a bandage wrapped around her arm. At once the memories came flowing back. Isla
de Muerta� Statue of
Nirrti�Norrington� a shot. I'm wounded but there's something of major
importance I absolutely have to tell Jack and Marris, concerning
Elisabeth. ELISABETH!

Rowan sat up with a start but neither
her head nor her stomach appreciated that. She remembered now that Marris had
tended her wound and therefore he'd given her some rum� her eyes fell on the
threequarters empty bottle on the floor just out of range from the bed and she
had to correct herself- ok, he got me pickled with almost two bottles of rum
in order to fix my wound. So what?
Yet that's all she could remember.
Marris had put her to bed, fluffed the pillows and tucked her up. After that
nothing but total emptiness, a dark void in her head. She didn't even know when
Jack had come to bed. It must have been late because he was still sound asleep
and that surprised her, knowing he usually woke up at the slightest sound.
Tenderly she brushed his lips with hers. He didn't stir; he just pulled a
content face and kept on sleeping.
She didn't want to disturb him,
besides she had other needs that had to be satisfied- like pouring
a bucketful of water over her aching head or calming her stomach down
with a good cup of tea.
Her crew smirked when she appeared on
deck and actually did pour a bucket of water over her head. Then, shaking drops
out of her hair, she replied their smirks.
"Hey, what's up boys? Never seen
yer captain with a hangover?"
Of course they had, many times, and
even if some of them teased her a bit these jests were good-natured since they
were happy to see her well.
"I've heard Marris had to do some
stitching?" someone said.
"Bah! Back to work ye scabby dogs."
Laughing they obeyed her order though
none of them had really neglected his duty while making jokes. Rashid proved his
knack in doing the right things at the right time by popping up on deck with a
mug of steaming, freshly brewed up first flush Darjeeling and handed it to Rowan
so that she could take care of more significant things. Sipping her tea she
climbed the stairs to the afterdeck in order to hear from McCoy what had
happened lately.
He informed her that they'd lost sight
of the Huntress at dusk but that Marris apparently knew where the ship
was heading, therefore the course had been set for Port Royal. Then he lingered
on the weird deeds Santiago had done but Rowan wasn't in the mood to hear about
weird things at the moment. She wanted to do something, like taking over the
helm for instance. Yet McCoy wouldn't let her. Frowning he looked at her
bandaged arm and tsked.
"Sailed on merchants ships once,
ye know? Never saw a captain working there. They spent their time barking orders
or punishing the sailors when they're not dining with their officers or noble
passengers."
Rowan rolled her eyes. She had heard
that story many times before, actually every time when her perfectionist mind
told her to do all the work aboard by herself and her crew thought she should
slow down.
"Ah, so what d'ye want me to do
now? Bark orders or punish ye for speaking up yer mind? Unfortunately there are
neither officers amongst pirates nor any noble passengers aboard I could dine
with." She snorted and went to the rail, looking across the sea. The
problem with a crew of good and loyal men was that they cared too much for her
and exactly that was the problem sometimes. She needed some action to
forget her hangover. It was boring just to stare at the sea.
Rowan put one leg on the rail and
stretched it. For a moment her muscles protested, reminding her that she'd been
quite lazy with her exercises lately. Too much booze and too much toying around
with a certain pirate captain- she grinned at that thought. Well I've just
done different exercises. Yet it definitely was time for a little
body work-out now. She repeated that procedure with her other leg before she
went over to some Tai-Chi practices and then she thought it really annoying that
she couldn't use her left arm properly since it still hurt. Nevertheless she
continued best as possible, performing a strange
mixture of Tai-Chi and kick-boxing combined with sword fighting.
McCoy shook his head. "Why can't
ye just take things easy and relax?"
"Because�" She raised her
sword as if she wanted to parry an invisible opponent's stroke. "�I don't
wanna get wounded again. And�" Spinning on one foot and she kicked out
with the other. "� because I wanna be damned sure that next time I meet
Norrington I'll be well-prepared, because next time I meet him I'm gonna beat
the hell outta him." Then she made a thrust forward like running her sword
through someone. "Savvy?"
"Aye Captain." Would it
make any sense
at all to remind her that she'd suffered a gunshot wound and had not been beaten
in a sword fight, therefore she didn't have to train for a fight?
McCoy wondered. Yet she had never been the one to relax and take it easy, of
course she'd continue her training. After all, she was the toughest woman he'd
ever met and though she knew that she didn't have to prove herself to her crew,
she did it regardless. That's what he wished she'd slow down a bit. Then he
watched Jack Sparrow watching her. Mayhap the infamous pirate captain could
persuade her to take things easier.

Jack
had watched her ever since he'd appeared on deck and
simply couldn't take his eyes off her. He liked the way she moved, spinning
swift and kicking hard, a female whirlwind. Suddenly she
jumped down the stairs to the main deck where he was standing and tickled his
throat with the tip of her blade.

"Hi
darling, fancy a little bit of training?"

His
smile froze since he was in a real dilemma now. On the one hand he'd sworn never
to raise his blade against women
but on the other hand he couldn't back out either. Everyone aboard seemed to
stare at him, waiting for his next move. They wanted to see whether he could
stand against Rowan or not and that's why he had to cross blades with the woman
he'd rather bed than fight. But most of all he didn't want them to think he
might be was scared of a practice bout with their captain or- even worse, that
he was a coward. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, therefore he definitely wasn't
scared and since he knew quite well how to entertain an audience he'd give them
the show they wanted to see. And then he could still take her to bed�

"D'ye think it's wise crossing
blades with a pirate, luv?" He asked smirking, running his blade along hers
with a screeching sound.
"Bah!"
She snorted and raised her sword to shove him back. "Is that all ye've got
to offer?"

"Gimme
time to warm up an' I'll show ye more."

Their
blades met a couple of times, beat and counter beat, but it was more like an
idle playing around, the ordinary game of attack, parry and riposte, still
easy-going in strength and speed. They circled right, then left, interchanging
some simple strokes in order to find out how the other one reacted and
cautiously watching each other's movements.

Soon
Rowan got bored so she increased the speed in order to prove him that he should
stop worrying about her. It didn't take long and Jack sat surprised and unarmed
on the main deck.

"Tsk-
what did ye wanna show me?" She teased him. "Better watch yer defence."

Jack
quickly jumped to his feet again, trying to ignore the cheers of her crew. They
seemed to be very pleased that Rowan had gained the upper hand over him
for a moment but Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't to be beaten by a woman. He gave up
his scruples about fighting a woman and tried to catch
her off guard but she blocked his attack immediately. Their blades met
with a rattling sound. So they were back to those gliding beats and forced
glides he liked so much- he almost seemed to be flirting with his cutlass- but
instead of pushing him back she leaned closer to him.
"All that rum ye drink slows ye
down, my dear."
"Ha- who of us tried to charm a
bottle of rum last night?" He imitated her voice. "Here rummy, rummy,
rummy�"
Rowan blushed. She vaguely remembered
dangling over the edge of bed- but that was no reason for him to remind her nor
to show off. It was time to teach him some respect.
Jack had to admit that he'd
underestimated her. In fact, she gave him quite a hard time, chasing him up and
down the afterdeck. Although she definitely wasn't strong enough to beat him,
she compensated for her lack of strength with speed and some very unique
strategies, including her amazing footwork. And since she knew damned well that
she couldn't beat him in a fair fight she didn't even bother to fight fair.
After a while of crossing blades under
the hot Caribbean sun Jack had figured her out. He could predict her next charge
when she jump forward while lunging but he evaded her and seized her blade. Now
they were quite close with Rowan off balance and at a serious disadvantage.
Actually there was no chance left for her except- his eyes widened.
"No!" He yelled. "I
admire yer footwork but don't do that!"
Rowan lowered her weapon, not defeated
but she gave up. "Don't worry, darling. I definitely won't hurt yer most
precious parts."
Jack sighed with relief. "Good.
It's only for your best, ye know. Now come here and give the winner a
little kiss."

"Winner?"
She arched a brow at him, slightly annoyed with his impertinent manner. "Ye
didn't beat me- I spared ye."

Quite
content she turned around and headed for the companionway in order to get out of
the sun since she was streaming with sweat and feeling a bit dizzy. But before
she could reach her cabin she was suddenly roughly pinned against the wall,
Jack's face close to hers, his hands strong on her shoulders.

"I
won." He stressed and moved even closer, pressing his hips possessively
against hers.

For a
moment Rowan wished she hadn't spared him. Narrowed green eyes shot him a
defiant look when his devilish tongue wet his lips in anticipation yet her
treacherous body reacted wantonly, very well aware of his masculine and intimate
proximity. She tried hard to hide
the strong feelings of lust that crawled up within her..

"Just
admit it and I won't tell anybody that ye couldn't beat me� a woman." She
whispered hoarsely in a last attempt to resist him but failed.

"But
ye couldn't beat me either." Jack grumbled stubbornly before he finally
ended that ineffective discussion by claiming her lips with wild determination,
invading her mouth with his ravaging tongue.

Rowan
groaned and replied to his kiss with the same mad ferocity though she despised
herself for being so such a spineless creature. She should have� no matter- it
was just too good, too right to worry about what she should have done
instead of kissing him.

Entwined
in their embrace they stumbled down the last few steps of the companionway
to her cabin door, crashing against it, still kissing passionately. With
one hand Rowan groped for the handle and opened the door before they surrendered
to lust just here and now, pounced upon each other without consideration about
where they were. Then, staggering eagerly towards the bed Jack and Rowan got
caught in the act by a familiar voice.

"Hope
you're having fun, kids."

Rowan
winced and whirled around to see Santiago sitting in on of the chairs next to
the table. "Bloody hell! How dare to startle me that way? Never do that
again, savvy!" Running her fingers through her hair she gave him a closer
look. "Besides, what're ye doin' here anyway? How did ye
manage to sneak into my cabin?"

Jack
elbowed her. "Hey, he's a magician, therefore he's definitely able
to�" Suddenly he fell silent and his face became worried. "Alf? Are
ye alright, mate? Ye look deadly pale, ye know."

"Ah,
thanks for noticing," the Spaniard snorted sardonically. Should I
mention that everyone would look tired after mentally fighting an evil
magician? No. Also there's no use to tell them that every single teleport is
exhausting and I've done a lot recently. Maybe too many� His thoughts were
interrupted by Jack who offered him a glass of rum- apparently his favourite
cure-all.

"Here,
this might help."

Santiago
took a sip and relaxed, flashing the pirate a thankful smile. "Good boy,"
he whispered barely audible.

"What
about Elisabeth?" Rowan asked impatiently.

Santiago
sighed wearily. "She won't be in danger before tomorrow night at new moon."

"Ah,
that's some comfort. So we've got plenty of time�"

"No
need to get sarcastic my dear girl." The Spaniard cut her short but his
voice was still low, calm and thoughtful. "Do you think I don't know what
kind of trouble is awaiting us? You're not the only one who knows of the dark
ritual that has to take place in order to wake the Goddess Nirrti and I'm also
well aware of the ritual act that has to be performed. You can be sure that that
is something I want to spare Elisabeth."

"Aye,
but it's not the perverted act that really matters but the symbolism."
Rowan ran her fingers through her hair again, thinking hard about the missing
part in that puzzle. Ratbone alias Anirvan had the Chalice of Doom, he had the
Statue of Nirrti, and in Norrington he also had an obedient servant who happened
to be in love with the sacrifice, Elisabeth. Yet Norrington would kill her
without even batting an eyelash as soon as his master gave him the order. So far
it was all known, the only question remaining was where that was going to
happen? She remembered Jack pulling a disgusted face, saying d'ye mean
Norrington and Elisabeth� on a crematorium ground�

"Is
there a crematorium ground in Jamaica?" She asked and started to rummage
frantically through her charts and maps, looking for the very detailed map of
Jamaica she'd used when she'd freed Jack from jail. Jack- for a moment
she got distracted by shooting him a surreptitious gaze- never thought I'd
ever fall in love with that scoundrel, then.

"No.
Rowan, stop flicking through your maps because they won't tell you more than you
should already know. Think about it- Jamaica is an English colony, therefore it
is christianised, and therefore you'll certainly not find any crematorium ground
on that island. People who die get a decent burial in a graveyard, in
consecrated soil. You should know that, my dear."

"Um�
now you're wrong, Alf." Jack interjected thoughtfully. He bent down
to have a closer look at the map Rowan had spread out on the table, then he
glanced at the Spaniard again. "The Spanish Main was only called the
Spanish Main after the first Spaniards showed up, slaying the natives that lived
here. Well, though all Tainos were killed their artefacts are still present.
There are carvings 'n paintings of them, ritual places, burial grounds- Well,
considering that that ritual's
supposed to take place at a very gloomy and somehow eerie place like a
crematorium ground with lost souls lingering around and all that stuff, the odd
graveyard is ruled out because of its holy soil. Not a good place for an evil
magician, right? But it seems to me that a cave the Tainos used
for their 'heathen' ceremonies would suit good ol' Ratbone quite well for his
evil deeds, agreed?"

Santiago
stared like one hypnotised at Jack's whirling, wagging hands with which the
pirate underlined his words. It was because of these eccentric gestures he
sometimes forgot that Jack Sparrow was not only a smart ass but also a very
bright lad, while he himself had just proved to be a stupid fool. All the time
he'd wondered why Norrington kept Elisabeth captive in a cave, not guessing that
the answer was so simple. He laughed tiredly.

"What?"
Jack snapped, misinterpreting Santiago's laughter as the usual slagging off.

"You're
so correct with your assumption, my dear boy�"

"Ah."
The pirate grinned broadly and bowed exaggeratedly to the elder man, faking a wai
in his typically Jack Sparrow way, but inwardly he secretly glowed with delight
because it had been a very long time since Alf had praised him last. Yet that
was no reason at all to allow Alf to pat his cheeks as if he was still a little
boy so he shrank away. Rowan couldn't keep back an amused smirk while Alf seemed
a little absent-minded, babbling about a cave.

"�
a labyrinth of caves interconnected with tunnels in the limestone hills. There
are swallows and fish eating bats, and the cave Norrington holds Elisabeth
captive in contains a petroglyph, a rock carving of a face- probably of an
ancient and long forgotten deity." He paused for a moment, biting his lips.
"I wanted to save her, take her away from there, but failed. Anirvan
noticed my presence; his spirit located mine on a magical level and we spent
endless hours in a mental fight until I gave up and fled. He's strong though he
has not regained his full strength yet."

Rowan
began to feel uneasy. She had never seen Santiago so tired and exhausted before,
never so despondent, almost disillusioned. Now that was really worrisome and not
a good sign at all. They should be up to defeating that repulsive creep instead
of knuckling down to him. She glanced to Jack who studied the map again,
muttering something to himself, and she didn't like that either.

"What's
on yer mind?"

Jack
chose to ignore her and addressed Alf instead. "Is that cave somewhere near
Port Royal by chance?"

The
Spaniard just nodded lost in his thoughts.

"Ha!"
With unnerving calmness Jack bend over the map again, running his finger across
it until he finally circled an area, a contend smile on his face. That was too
much for Rowan. She thumped on the table with her fist. "Damn it, talk to
me!"

Jack
stared at her dumbfounded, not knowing what he'd done wrong. "What d'ye
wanna hear, luv?"

"Come
on, it's really not the right time for any egocentric solo efforts. Share yer
brilliance with me, darling."

No one
else could give the word 'darling' such a sharp and dangerous undertone like she
could. It dawned on him that she probably wanted to know what he knew and what
his plan was. Well, that was exactly the problem. Oh, of course he had a plan,
he always had a plan- or at least a vague idea of a plan- but he wasn't
used to sharing it. A mutiny can teach you a lot of things, better not trust
anyone and play it close to your chest. Yet that wouldn't do with Rowan. She was
right, they had to stick together and besides, she deserved being trusted.

"Well, take a look." He
pointed at some hills located south-west of
Port Royal. "These are the Hellshire Hills and here close to that
beach are the caves Alf has described. The Tainos used them for ceremonial
purpose once and later they became popular with the rum-runners since the lower
caves have an access to the sea for small boats." Jack shrugged sighing.
"Unfortunately Commodore Norrington ended the glorious era by hunting down
most of the rum-runners and that's why ye can hardly get any decent rum in Port
Royal nowadays- at least none at a fair price. Savvy?"
"Hmm�" Rowan brushed an
unruly wisp of hair out of her face and pinned it behind her ear while still
looking at the map. "So we're gonna enter the caves like the smugglers did,
mess up the ritual and save Elisabeth? Is that yer plan?"
"Nope. We can't weigh anchor
anywhere near Hellshire Beach if we wanna bring the moment of surprise into
play. Therefore I'd say�" His fingertip glided to a bay with many
offshore islands on the other side of Hellshire Hills "�we weigh anchor
somewhere here. We go ashore, sneak through the forest towards the caves and
then we mess up the ritual and save Elisabeth. Of course, Alf has to take care
of Ratbone since he's the only magician of us- so what d'ye say? Alf?"
"Si, I'll take care of Anirvan."
Santiago replied in a tone that wasn't very encouraging. Wearily he got up of
his chair and kissed Rowan's as well as Jack's forehead. "Take a rest my
dear ones."
Rubbing his forehead Jack watched
Santiago leaving the cabin. "Gosh, Alf has always been a weird guy but
today he really scared me."
"Aye." Rowan uncorked a
bottle of wine and filled two glasses. "I really hope he's just dreadfully
tired because I've never seen him so despondent and almost discouragingly
disillusioned before."
"Ah that. I was just alluding to
the fact that he kissed me."
"I hope ye get over that shock."
She passed him a glass, trying to fake a smile but failed. "Honestly, Jack,
don't ye think that's worrisome?"
Jack drank a sip of wine and noticed
astounded that he liked the taste meanwhile. The wine she offered always tasted
of sunlit hills with ripening grapes, sweet kisses on a lazy morning, and
blissful nights spent making love. But most of all it tasted of her. He sat down
on the bed and opened his arms invitingly. "Come here, luv, stop worrying."
"I don't know if I'm really in that
mood." Rowan replied but sat down next to him anyway, resting her head on
his shoulder. The wild ecstasy of lust had faded when they entered her cabin and
now it seemed to be enough to share
at least a little proximity. "Let's just go to bed, aye?"

Take a rest.
Now how ironical does that sound when the one who said it was also the one
who had given you a lot to think
about- discouraging thoughts, by the way. Rowan couldn't sleep. Actually she
couldn't even think of sleep since her mind was much too preoccupied with
worries. She crawled closer to Jack, enjoying the warmth of his body and
listening to his steady heartbeat. It reminded her that they were still alive,
nothing was lost yet, things could still turn out right and
kissing them resignedly was not Santiago's way of saying goodbye, not a
final gesture. She tossed and turned but always ended up cuddling closer to
Jack's warm embrace, wishing she could crawl straight inside him.
"Why d'ye never worry 'bout
anything?" She whispered thoughtfully, not aware that he didn't sleep
either and might have heard that.
"But I do." Jack admitted in
the same low tone, almost inaudible. Actually I worry about a lot of things
and I also know the meaning of fear. I fear mutinies, being marooned on
godforsaken islands� I fear losing my Pearl again� but most of all I fear
losing you. He hugged her tightly yet that didn't seem to be enough, he
wanted to be closer to her, as close as possible. "Come here."
He kissed her tenderly and when they
made love it wasn't for lust but for the desperate need to feel secure in each
other's embrace, the need for physical proximity and spiritual intimacy. For a
long time they forgot all troubles that worried them, remembering the love they
shared and trying to keep in mind every kiss, every touch, every single caress.
None of both knew what would be expecting them when they reached Jamaica,
whether their adventure would turn out well or not, or if they would still be
alive tomorrow. Maybe they only had this night left.
After making love their bodies had
sated their needs and their limbs felt sleepily relaxed, but their minds
couldn't come to rest. Entwined in their embrace neither Rowan nor Jack could
sleep but they were also too tired to talk. Silent they held each other tight as
if they'd never let go- until they heard the call 'Land ahoy' from deck.
Rowan shuddered involuntary. She bent
her head to kiss Jack once more before she rose from the bed and though she had
expected to feel worn out by the lack of sleep, she wasn't. Instead she felt
partly fresh, strangely calm and reassured in every way, but most of all very
determined.
"Let's go and kick some ass! By
the way, Norrington's mine."
- 15
- 16
- 17
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The Chalice of Doom