An Eye for an Eye, A Kiss for a Kiss

Here is the promised 15th chapter. Hope you like^^ Let me know what you think guys:) Looks like this section of aff is abandoned; no one updating frequently anymore(including me^^)...? Even JackSparrowsWench: the most active
author among us? O_o

Hope that someone will still read and enjoy it anyway, LOL :P


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CHAPTER 15 "The Sign"

Before dawn, a horrifying boom shook both inhabitants of the hut awake. The powerful impact made their hearts gallop and experience painful ringing in their ears. Lizzie couldn't catch her breath, until Jack's comforting arms were wrapped around her trembling body.

"It's alright, luv. Just a thunder." She relaxed thanks to his calming whispers, relieved to have him beside her. She was not alone. Jack was always there for her, wherever and whenever she would need him.

"For a second I thought that it struck our hut. Struck us!"

"No, it didn't. But it was close, I guess. Now, be a good girl and go back to sleep, eh?"

He didn't have to say it twice. There was nothing she needed more at the moment. Deep slumber came quickly, accompanied by quiet sounds of the retreating storm. Jack listened to the regular breathing of the sleeping lass at his side and smiled smugly. Thanks to his brilliant idea of building the hut on a slight hill, they didn't have to sleep in a paddle tonight. And, of course he did hope that she was aware of it and as a result highly impressed.

"Now, in the morning I will make sure to bloody impress her even further." He will get some fish for a decent breakfast. Yes, in fact he could already see her bright eyes widen in admiration at the sight of his strong hand aiming at a huge, fat fishy and piercing it with his shiny sword.

Imagining his spectacular prey slowly getting roasted over the fire, Jack couldn't resist any longer and grabbed what was left of their food that Lizzie generously had left for him. He cursed the seagulls for reducing their food his stomach rather half empty than half full, he embraced his girl and shut his sleepy eyes closed.

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In the morning, Jack and Lizzie left their cozy hut enticed by the blinding sunshine. They seemed not to care that it was rather deceiving since it was still wet everywhere and not all that warm. Although quite bothered by the fact that they had nothing for breakfast, they turned ecstatic when they tasted fresh water that had filled the coconut shells overnight. Nothing could quench thirst like fresh cold water. A true luxury on their island.

Embracing Lizzie from behind, Jack kissed her throat sensuously and didn't have to wait for a response. She moaned softly. In that very moment her stomach began to rumble, sending strong vibrations to Jack's hands clasped on her abdomen. Disappointed that her moaning had nothing to do with his caresses, Jack noticed her face redden and gently released her . It was obvious that the lass was starving and not in the mood. He needed to get some food for breakfast if he didn't wish to see her get even thinner.

"I'll go and look for something edible, luv."

"Shhh..."

"What?"

"Aren't they sweet?" she whispered pointing to a couple of birds sitting together on a nearby tree, rubbing one another with their beaks.

"You're right, Lizbeth," admitted Jack pulling out his pistol. "That fat male on the left will be a sweet treat."

"Ah!" she huffed snatching the weapon from Jack's hand "Are you serious? Don't even tell me that you wanted to kill the lovebirds!"

"Just one. Unfortunately, I only have one shot."

"How could you be so cruel, Jack ?!" she winced and hid the weapon in her boot.

"Cruel is a matter of perspective, Lizzie. And that overweight beast of a bird happens to be a highly tempting perspective of a delicious breakfast for two."

"I would never eat that!"

Jack closed his eyes and sighed. "Which means that we are doomed to eat fish. Again..."

"Don't you like fish? All sailors eat fish."

"Not like they have any other choice, luv," he answered sadly. "Once you are at sea, you hardly come by anything else to eat, which makes you abhore fish wholeheartedly after not a very long period of time. Do you wish to know what Black Pearl's menu consists of some ten days after leaving port? Breakfast : rum mixed with rain water from the barrel, roasted fish leftovers from the previous day and hardtack. Lunch: barrelled rain water mixed with rum, fried fish and fish soup. "

"And the dinner? It can't possibly be just hardtack and fish and rain water after a whole day of hard work?"

"No, of course not. The dinner, dearie, is the feast. The grand finale, so to say. A nutricious, varied meal, namely, refreshing warm rain water from the barrel, spiced with the rest few drops of finest dark rum, crispy hardtack with a nutricious surprise inside and-"

"What type of surprise?" she furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion.

"Worms."

"Oh, how disgusting!"

"Highly nutriciuos, though. Then, of course, we have a roasted fish a la carte, fish from the soup and guess what more?"

"Hmmm, hard to guess." she almost giggled "How about... fish soup?

"Are you a mind-reader or something?" he chuckled.

"Well, that is not what I would call varied meals."

"Do you still blame me for drooling at that winged chunk of meat, then ?"

"I must admit that the Pearl's menu definitely changed my perspective."

He smirked at her answer. "Does that mean that I may shoot?"

"That means, that you may drool on, Jack. There will be no shooting here and that's final."

"Can we negotiate?"

"No!"

Jack's begging pout and his glassy glance at the easy target on the tree said more than hundred words.

"No, Jack! Over my dead body!"

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"Oh, how long will we be standing here like this? I'm starving..."

"Shush. Your noises are scaring off the fish."

''It's not my fault that my stomach is rumbling. I'd appreciate it greatly if you finally got that promised fish, would you?" she moaned holding her stomach.

"Surprising as it may be to you 'Lizbeth, you can't just get a fish as soon as you enter the shallows and raise the sword over your head. This is not the governor's table where you just stretch your pretty hand and pick a piece of roasted fish from a silver plate. So, do me a favour dearie and excercise your patience, no matter how loud your poor tummy sings. I need a hell of concentration to get the reward and yes, it IS bloody difficult and damn time consuming and I'm not considering getting whiny even though my arm hurts like hell. By the way, ever heard of 'No pain, no gain'?"

"I spent ages patiently observing you concentrate, Jack. And I'm starting to lose hope of witnessing you catch anything before nightfall."

"Don't you think that you may be exaggerating a lil' bit?" Jack turned around to face the charming source of distraction that stood a few yards behind him. "It's just noon!"

"What I think, is that I've waited for some awfully long time and-"

"It's coming, Lizzie. I promise." he exhaled wearily. "Just.... WAIT."

"I've heard it like hundred times now. Will you keep on repeating this forever, Jack?"

He dropped his aching arm and sighed. "Listen, my lady. If it was not for your neverending grumbling that distracts me I would have got up to three fish by now. Savvy?"

"I dare to doubt that, Jack. It's apparent that you lack skills of killing a fish with a sword, and that's it. And I bet that I could catch more fish with my bare hands than you with that rusty, useless sword of yours!"

"Alright, I'm accepting the challenge. Go on!" he yelled in a throaty voice.

She squinted. "You are insufferable, Jack. Just like that stomachache of mine! And yes, of course I'll get some food by myself. You'll see!" she hissed.

"You may use the pistol, luv."

"For what? To shoot fish?"

"To shoot that fat bird. Remember?"

She growled at the unacceptable suggestion and quickened her steps. After a couple of minutes Lizzie's graceful shape disappeared behind the nearest turn and Jack was surprised that he actually missed her grumbling. He found it absolutely adorable the way she crossed her arms over her chest, bitterly complaining like a stubborn little girl. Meanwhile, his lonely minutes were growing incredibly long.

"That's no good. I can hardly stomach ten minutes of her absence. Bloody no good..."

He had never been that obssessed with a , of course there were girls that he had fancied but he was still able to sail the seven seas for months without getting his compass spin or his mind too preoccupied with said lasses. This time it was all different and although he found the feeling pleasant, it scared him to the bone how he was losing control. How restricted he tied to Elizabeth...

Damn, he even missed the rumbling of her empty stomach. Since Lizzie had left him alone about fifteen minutes ago, all he could hear was the silent rustling of the waves. Not to mention the annoying tweets of that obese bird that was obviously flying in circles over his head to tease him.

"If you don't stop mocking me, fatty, I'll go and get your lass! Savvy?! I'm sure she would make a great dinner!"

Apparently having taken the threat seriously, the bird disappeared from Jack's view. To his great satisfaction, the next thing that came to his view was a fish swimming around him.

"Not an impressive size, but still definitely a fish. I guess...?" he twitched his nose.

Jack's sword pierced the little animal at the speed of a lightning. He didn't find the size of his bounty flattering, therefore he wasn't very proud of himself but he was going to show Lizzie that he had got a fish with his sword anyway.

"And it's not , maybe just a little..."

He saw Lizzie on his way to the remnants of the bonfire, and the shocking view nearly made him drop his sword. There she was, with a triumphant smile on her lips, her chin raised with pride, each hand holding a tail of a monstrous fish. At least in comparison to Jack's own, which made him consider hiding his humble prey behind his back. With his mouth agape, Jack stood there rooted to the ground, watching her stroll like a peacock. She shrieked suddenly, as one of the fish wiggled sharply and fell on the sand. Lizzie struggled with the giant, huffing and screeching until she defeated it and raised it by the tail.

"How did you get them?" asked Jack who finally found his voice.

"With my bare hands!"

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Preparing their breakfast wasn't an easy task since the ground was still rain-soaked and the firewood totally wet. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation Lizzie almost broke into tears. How would they roast the fish with no fire? Jack, however, acted as if there was no problem whatsoever. He disappeared briefly in their hut only to emerge with an armful of dry kindling before disappearing in their cozy shelter once again. This time he brought over a round grassy carpet that was dry enough to enable them to start a new bonfire.

"You've cut out our...bed!" she squeaked.

"No 'bed', no fire, luv." he chuckled.

"Just make it quick, Jack... I think I may soon faint from hunger..." she moaned as she lay down.

"No worries, Lizzie. Fire's on its way," he assured her, still focused on rolling the thin stick of wood between his palms.

Lizzie was staring at Jack's handsome figure from under her half closed eyelids. He was a dream of a man, and that was not only due to his looks and his were too many other things about him worth mentioning; Jack possessed all the qualities that made a real man; all the elements she ever dreamt of. He could survive and take care of her in any situation, he could foresee the events, always ready for any possibility. Just like last night he must have secured their hut before the storm had broken out. Now it looked much more solid with extra thick branches and palm leaves added. Jack had taken care of all the details, keeping their food and enough of dry wood inside their hut to be able to start a fire next morning. He had set all the coconut shells to get as much rain water as possible. And now the brilliant idea with their "bed". Jack never stopped surprising and impressing her and she felt guilty for being so mean to him.

"He didn't deserve that. He must have been as hungry as me, yet he didn't complain..." thought Lizzie, deeply ashamed of herself for acting like a cry baby.

After the breakfast which turned out to be an opulent meal, Lizzie's mood changed dramatically. She was like a different person; lively and content, laughing joyously at Jack's story about the wicked bird that had so cheekily jeered at him.

"Alright, luv." he decided to change topic "What's the trick?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him back, trying to keep a straight face.

"How the hell did you get our breakfast and our dinner. I'm all ears."

She shrugged. "There is no trick, Jack," she answered him, before taking a sip of fresh water.

"I can tell, there's something fishy about it."

Lizzie giggled. "I assure you, I got them with my bare hands and I swear I'm telling the truth. Of course, it wasn't easy because they were slipping out of my palms over and over again, but in the end I got what I wanted."

"Truth to be told, I wonder why it appears to me that there is something truly peculiar in those glowing eyes of yours and in the way you smirk, which makes me suspect that the truth you so swear to be truth may, so to say, not be the whole truth."

"Fine, let's go. I was planning to let you see it anyway."

Jack didn't protest when she took him by the arm and followed her with haste. After passing the nearest turn, they didn't need to trek long before a tiny, shallow lake came into their view. The paddle in the middle of the beach was obviously an effect of the storm that had passed through their island last night.

Jack's features softened and he chuckled looking between Lizzie and the glistening paddle. "With your hunting attitude, I must say I'm astonished that you didn't free them." he mocked her observing two fine fish swimming round in their trap.

"Actually, it was my original idea to take them back to the sea, but later on I figured that we would still need to eat something tomorrow as well."

"My regards, darlin'. Not only you abandoned the plan of freeing all the poor fishy, but hunted those two big ones saving the rest for tomorrow."

"I mean, I wanted to free the rest of them, Jack! After getting those two!" she exclaimed, defending herself.

Jack, who sensed offence in her features and her voice, couldn't resist and continued teasing her. "Is that so?"

"You envy me, don't you? Admit it!" she demanded boldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What an absurd accusation, darlin'. Captain Jack Sparrow doesn't envy. It's others that envy the Captain, savvy?"

"Of course they do. Just like me, who envies you that impressive catch so badly. You must be very proud of that sardine, by the way?"

"That was not a sardine, 'Lizbeth." he shook his head, touched by her remarks.

"Oh, my apologies. An impressive bristling, perhaps?"

"Why discuss things as miserable as fish while there's something far more impressive around, eh?" he cocked his head flashing her a golden grin.

"What? The scenery?" Actually, she wouldn't miss a chance to ask about a gallon of rum if only it was available.

"The scenery isn't bad, but nothing compares to the company. And..." he paused, getting closer to Lizzie.

"Go on?" she encouraged him, welcoming his closeness.

"And the gigantic fish caught by said company, as well." he spoke in a low voice. "Your prey was..." he cleared his throat, "...simply beyond my wildest dreams, Lizzie. And I hate to admit it, but I wished the ground would swallow me up when I stood there like a fool with that baby of a fish hooked on my rusty sword, watching you pace victoriously with that amazing catch in your hands."

"I understand, this your way of telling me that you envy me?" asked Lizzie, narrowing her eyes at him.

"That I'm proud of you, luv!' Jack furrowed his eyebrows, slightly indignant.

"And that you envy me?" she kept going adamantly, her lips almost getting twisted in a smile.

"Aye..." he sighed resignedly.

"What was that???"

"That was an 'aye'. A tiny, little one," he added, waving with his fingers.

"I can't believe that you said it!" she squeaked, and jumped up in ecstasy.

"I can't believe that it passed me mouth..." he rolled his eyes. How glad he was to be so dark tanned. Wasn't it for his bronze complexion, Lizzie would have easily noticed how flushed his cheeks were getting. Unbelievable how this lass always made him open his heart, spill his soul out and admit things which he actually wished to take along with him to his grave.

"I feel like kissing that mouth..." she said huskily, and her lips were on his before Jack even realized what she had said.

He loved the passion in Lizzie's kisses, getting more addicted to her with every kiss they shared. Jack doubted he could ever refuse her. Just like that fateful day when he longed for another kiss, completely forgetting himself in the moment, despite the fact that she had chained him to the mast. This girl was like a drug, tempting and sweet, bringing fulfillment and satisfaction, yet making him crave and beg for more.

"Was that a reward for admitting the truth?" asked Jack when their lips eventually parted.

"Rather a way to show you the extent of my desire, my love and admiration. You have no idea what effect you have on me, how much you impress me with every little thing you do." she smiled holding his gaze, "Even catching that sardine-"

"Please, Lizzie." he exhaled with disappointment "It's...humiliating."

"No, it's not. It only shows how highly skilled you are to spear such a tiny thing with a sword."

"Shall I remind you about some other things that I'm highly skilled at, luv?" he asked seductively nibbling on her earlobe while his hands roamed all over her alluring shapes, causing the goose bumps to cover her body.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth looked at the bright sphere high above their heads. "Sunset or not, I choose the romantic stroll. I loved the way it ended yesterday..." she looked him in the eye and bit her lower lip.

"That makes two of us, Lizbeth..."

They walked in the same direction they had taken last evening, carelessly paddling in water and discussing all possible topics. There were just too many things each of them wished to hear about, and luckily they've got the time.

"There's something that I'd always wanted to ask you. What mark did you leave on Beckett?"

"Who told you that I did ?"

"Will. And I've been dying to find out, ever since he did," she smiled sweetly.

Taken aback, Jack frowned suddenly stopping in his tracks. "Holy mermaid..."

In that moment, Lizzie turned around and looked ahead. The petrifying sight made her shudder. If this was not the sign she had asked for, her name was not Elizabeth Swann.


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So... What did they see?? Ans was it really the sign??? Let me know if you liked it, please !

One more chapter to go, I guess ! Till then :)

HUGS,

addictedtojack