FicWad

I walked across the gangplank and headed towards the town. A few sailors gave me a few curious looks, but luckily nobody asked me any questions. I was grateful for that because I didn't really have any answers to their questions. If they asked me what I was doing, I obviously couldn't tell them the truth. I mean, how would it sound if I said that I was going to try to find Jack Sparrow, seduce him into telling me where his maps where, steal the charts from him, and then bring them back to a pirate captain. Nope, I definitely couldn't do that.

As I walked along, I frowned to myself and wondered why I was even bothering to steal the charts. After all, I could just go and find Jack. I didn't have to steal the charts. It wasn't like stealing the charts would do me any good anyways. I paused as I stepped off the gangplank and thought about this. It might be nice not to have to worry about stealing the charts. But then again, I was wearing Barbossa's dress and necklace. I owed him the charts. And besides, for some very strange reason, I wanted to see him again.

Once I stepped into the town, I suddenly realized I had no idea where I was going. True, I obviously wanted to find the pub, but where the hell was the pub anyways? I looked around and noticed that there were numerous buildings and shops in all directions. At this rate, it would take me forever to find the pub. I didn't even know what the pub looked like!

While I stood gazing with confusion at all the different buildings, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I saw a young boy with a dirty face and a black cap on his head peering up at me. When he saw that I had gotten his attention, the boy asked quietly, "Are you lost, Miss? Or do you need help finding somewhere? You don't look like you've been to Tortuga before."

The boy was absolutely right about that. I had never been to Tortuga before and as much as I hated to admit it, I was rather lost. Smiling down at the boy, I said, "I'm Bern. You don't have to call me 'miss'. But yes, I am kind of lost. This is my first time to Tortuga. My friend sent me to look for a pub. Is there one nearby here? I haven't been able to find it yet."

The boy thought for a moment and then said with a frown, "Yes, there is a pub close by. But may I ask what a respectable woman like you would be doing there? Pubs are loud and boisterous. Much of the town's crime happens there. Can't I interest you in going somewhere else? There's a fine restaurant and hotel to your left instead."

The hotel was sounding rather nice, but I was on a mission. I was going to find Jack Sparrow tonight whether or not it was the last thing I did. Shaking my head, I told the boy, "No, I really do need to find the pub. You see," I leaned down close and whispered in the boy's ear, "I have a mission to achieve. I really must find the pub. Will you bring me there?"

The boy's eyes lit up when I mentioned that I had a mission to accomplish. He nodded quickly and said, "Right this way." I followed him through several winding alleys and streets until we eventually wound up on the opposite side of town in front of a red building with dirty windows and a wooden door. The boy smiled at me, "Here we are! I wish you luck with your mission."

I turned to thank him, but he was gone as quickly as he had appeared. For a few minutes, I stood hesitating outside the doorway of the pub. It wasn't exactly the most welcoming place. Everything was dirty and nothing looked new. I was tempting to run, but somehow, I managed to stop myself and took two steps forwards. I had to do this for Barbossa.

I gripped the greasy (now why would it be greasy?) door handle and slowly opened the door to the pub. Stepping inside, I was immediately engulfed in an atmosphere of frivolity. Loud music reverberated across the room and people were talking, dancing, and drinking all around. There were even a few couples making out on the opposite side of the room.

This obviously presented a problem for me. How in the world was I suppose to find Jack amongst all these people? There had to be at least over fifty people here. Unsure of what to do next, I started walking slowly forwards, not really watching where I was going. That was a mistake. You should always watch where you are going, especially when you're in a small building with lots of people.

As soon as I took my eyes off the area in front of me, I ran into something (or should I say someone?) hard. I immediately lost my balance and toppled over backwards. My head hit the ground with a little thudding noise and I lay there stunned for a few seconds. I guess I should be grateful that I wasn't trampled considering just how many people there were in the area.

Once the stars dancing in front of my eyes cleared, I looked up to see a man with dark brown eyes looking directly at me. He had long brown hair, a red bandanna around his head, beads in his hair, and there was a sword at his side. The man held out a hand to me and apologized, "Sorry, luv, didn't see ya there. It's rather crowded this time of night."

Still looking the man over, I accepted his hand and immediately felt warm sparks flying between us as he gripped it. Unable to think, I let him pull me to my feet and then stood there without saying anything. I didn't realize that I was just standing there stupidly and looking like an idiot until the man frowned at me and said, "You don't have anyone to sit with...do ya?"

I jerked out of my temporary paralysis and shook my head slightly. I knew I should be looking for Jack Sparrow, but this man in front of me was just a little too good looking. He had a charming smile and demeanor that captivated me immediately. So instead of going to look for Jack as I had planned, I found myself wanting to go and sit with a gorgeous stranger.

"I thought so," the man replied with a quick nod. He thought for a moment and then his eyes lit up, "Well then, as you're here all alone and since fine ladies shouldn't be here all alone, what do ya say to coming and sitting with me?" He flashed me a smile and I noticed a few golden teeth. For some reason, they looked insanely attractive. His grin widened and he added, "I have rum."

I wasn't one to be tempted by rum, but I certainly could be tempted by beautiful men. Trying to find my voice which I had somehow lost over the last five minutes, I said, "I would love that. Thanks so much for the offer." The man quickly swept me a bow and offered me his hand as he replied to me, "Anytime, luv."

I placed my hand in his and let him walk me over to where he was sitting. The man walked with an imperious manner and I could tell that he was some sort of important person or another. When we reached his table, he motioned for me to sit down across from him. It was a little table set for two and we had it all to ourselves.

The man immediately grabbed his bottle of rum and took a long swig of it before sitting it down and turning his eyes on me. Those brown eyes of his gazed curiously into mine, and I could tell he wanted to know more about me. That was fine by me. After all, I wanted to know lots more about him as well. He started with an easy question, "What brings a fine lady like you down to a pub in Tortuga? You're obviously not a hooker like them." The man jerked his head to the left where two women with skimpy dresses and over a pound of makeup stood flirting with some guys and trying to make their money.

I decided to be as honest with this man as possible. I liked him and I wanted him to like me too. I opened my mouth and explained, "I ran away from home. You see, my parents were going to have me married to a man I didn't love. He didn't love me either. It was an awful match. So I ran away from home and here I am now." I paused a second and then added, "What's your story?"

The man's eyes immediately lit up once more and he leaned forwards across the table so our faces were only a few inches apart. Usually personal space was a necessity for me, but today, I didn't mind him getting in my face at all. After looking around furtively, the man whispered, "Well, it's rather top secret, but I suppose I can let ya know. Have ya ever heard of the fountain of youth?"

At the man's words, my heart almost stopped beating; the fountain of youth! This was what Barbossa was after! Before I could answer the man, two figures appeared by our table and cast dark shadows over us. Looking up, I saw two of the Tortugan whores. Both of them were glaring at the man.

"Jack Sparrow!" the first one crooned with raised eyebrows. Her eyes flashed angrily as she looked between the man and me. Crossing her arms, she hissed, "What are you doing here?" The second girl's eyes fastened onto me. I gulped. She looked like an angry bird that wanted to pick me apart with her beak. She finally asked, "Who's she?"

The man sitting across from me held up two hands and said, "Ladies, please. This is just my friend, Miss..." The man trailed off and looked at me. We hadn't even had time to exchange names yet. I was about to tell him my name when the first girl continued on, "Ah, I see, she's just another slut that you want to get in bed with you, hm?"

With one last malevolent look, she slapped the man hard on the cheek. He grimaced and started to speak, but the second girl had already slapped him as well. With that, the two girls stalked away from our table. The man frowned after them and said in a put-out voice, "Pretty sure I didn't deserve either of those. Now where were we?"

I knew where we were. The first whore had called him Jack Sparrow! Could it possibly be that this was the man Barbossa said had the charts to the fountain of youth? Praying that it was so, I tried to keep my voice calm and composed as I asked, "So you're Jack Sparrow, hm?" I watched the wenches retreat out of the corner of my eye. I was glad to see them go.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack replied with a beaming smile. "You see, I have a ship and that makes me captain. So tell me, what's your name? I know we haven't met before." Jack fixed me with his chocolate brown eyes and I felt like I was going to melt into them. I lost my voice for a few seconds and caused an awkward silence.

Finally, I remembered how to speak and said, "I'm Bernadette Cook. You can call me Bern though. Nobody calls me Bernadette." Jack thought over my name for a few seconds as he took a big swig of rum. Finally, he nodded and said, "Bern's a fine name. I like it. It's better than Scarlett or Giselle." Jack rolled his eyes and motioned in the direction on the whores.

I smiled at him and tried to think of how we could get back to talking about the fountain of youth. Deciding just to be blunt, I replied, "Thank you." Then I paused and added, "You were telling me about a fountain of youth. I think I have heard of it before. It makes you young for eternity, right? And that means that you'll never die."

"Right you are!" Jack smiled, pointing at me in approval. "It's my quest to find the fountain of youth. Just imagine living forever to sail the seven seas and being free to do whatever as you wish." Jack's eyes grew dreamy and I wondered just how much rum he had had to drink tonight. I watched as he took another large swig of it.

Remembering to stick to my mission, I asked in a very innocent voice, "But the fountain of youth must be very hard to find, right? I mean, it's rather a miracle that nobody has found it yet." I waited, crossing my fingers under the table as I waited for Jack's answer. Jack finished the bottle of rum and then finally turned in my direction.

"Well, of course it's hard to find, luv," Jack replied. "But I have something that nobody else has. See, I have charts that will lead me directly to the fountain!" Jack grinned at me and leaned closer to me across the table as he said all this. I surprised myself by leaning in as he spoke. For some reason, I couldn't quite seem to get close enough to Jack. Strange.

Heart hammering in my chest, I asked the next question, "Really? May I see those charts? I would love to see a map of the fountain of youth!" I prayed Jack had the maps with him now. But even if he did, what was I going to do? Steal them and run? No, of course I couldn't do that. I was going to have to do this sneakily.

"The charts?" Jack echoed and frowned. He tossed his hair and then said, "They're up in my room. I don't keep them with me. You see, there's this evil captain. He's lookin' for the charts too, ya know." Jack frowned at the thought of the "evil captain". I automatically wondered who this evil captain was. It couldn't be Barbossa...could it?

I wanted to ask about Barbossa, but I had more important things to worry about right now. Turning to Jack, I stood up and said, "Well, I'd best be going then. It was a pleasure to meet you." I took a step away from my table. I hoped Jack would follow me and beg me to stay. That was how my plan was suppose to work. Unfortunately, not all plans work out how you intend them to.

Surprisingly enough, this one did work. I heard a voice behind me and felt a hand on my shoulder only a few seconds later, "Wait!" I turned to see Jack looking over my shoulder with sad eyes. He continued on, "Where are ya staying tonight? Will I see ya again sometime? It seems a shame ta leave after we just met!"

"Oh," I said, trying to keep my voice emotionless. "I don't really have anywhere to stay in particular..." I let my sentence trail off and hoped that Jack would take the hint. He immediately did. Opening his arms wide, Jack said, "Well, I have a room! A very big room in fact. It's plenty big for both of us. Come and stay with me tonight, luv."

This was exactly what I had hoped to have happen. Now I was going to be in the same room as the charts! I pretended to think about it for a moment before I frowned and replied, "That's a very kind offer, kind sir. But I don't want to intrude. I can find someplace for myself or find somewhere on the streets."

"The streets?" Jack's eyebrows flew up. "No, certainly not. You'll come with me. Believe me, darling, you won't regret it." Jack put his arm around my shoulders and started walking me across the room. My heart flip-flopped excitedly. Who knew what the rest of the night held?