My God… I have never had such splendid reviews!  I have been the happiest girl on the planet for the past two days, and my family can only sit and watch as I laugh and smile every time I check my e-mail.  It had been so great hearing feedback from you.  Thank you for taking time of your weeks to read my story.  It means a lot to me.

Secrets of the Caribbean

Written By: Riley Barton

[Chapter Thirty-Five]

Peaceful.  That was the only word to describe that warm, sunny day in late summer that found Scarlett Bane standing on a balcony overlooking the ocean, adorned in a fitting baby blue gown with pearls dangling from her ears and around her neck.  A book was held in one hand, the other holding a fiery red ruby that glistened in the afternoon sunlight.  Her bright green eyes flickered between the two objects and the peaceful setting spread out before her.  All of these were different parts of her past: the gem signifying the many years she spent with Jack; the book, a reminder of her mother and the deaths and betrayal's she caused; and the beautiful ocean landscape a picture of her present life, one filled only with hope, the past gone.  But like all things, the landscape had a single flaw: the dark clouds hovering on the far horizon, and just like those clouds, her life had its dark clouds that still haunted her, taunting to ruin a perfect day.

It had been a couple months since the fire, but Scarlett could still remember it like it was yesterday.  She could still feel the smoke choking her, Carver's heavy weight in her arms, those hands reaching out for her and taking her to safety, but what haunted her above the rest was the sound of Garrett's tears as he wept for a child he thought dead.  She still heard him at night, weeping uncontrollably like he had in the middle of the torn library. 

The library had been the center of everything.  It held so many secrets: lost loves, betrayals, and even death.  It had been inside that library, burnt and smoldering in the late afternoon after the majority of the fire had died, that Garret Ansgar-Bane's body had been found, charred in the midst of ruins, clutching a book written by Shakespeare in one hand and the charred remains of a tapestry in the other.  A tormented look had been on his face, the image burnt into her mind.  She closed her eyes as tears rose, knowing that he died hating her, thinking she had killed his second daughter in a fire Jack had started.  He had died restless, holding onto the past, and full of hatred for an act that hadn't been committed.   

Scarlett opened her eyes to stare at the book she held, a book written by Shakespeare and burnt around the edges.  The pages were crispy, falling out and burnt as the wind pulled at them.  She held the book tight in one hand and returned to the guest room behind her.  A fire was burning in the fireplace, the flames still trying to reach as high as they could.  It was hot in the room, and anyone walking in would have found it odd that a fire would be burning in late summer.  But Scarlett had a use for it and walked toward the fireplace with the book held in her hand.  She paused just before the hearth.  "Here's to you, mother," she whispered, and tossed the book into the flames, watching as they licked up and swallowed the book within their burning stomachs.

Her mother had lied, cheated, and caused a couple deaths in her lifetime, and Scarlett, though at peace, was not quite so quick to forgive and forget.  The burning of the book was her way of showing that her mother was leaving no mark on her only daughter and was not going to be remembered.  She was being burnt from Scarlett's mind, only to be a pile of ashes that would be soon swept away on the wind.  Julia Bane's life had been for nothing.

As the book burned, Scarlett went to the vanity and stared at her reflection.  As she studied herself, she noticed how many similarities she had to Garrett.  The way her chin looked as if in a permanent cocky thrust, the way she looked when she frowned, and the shape of her nose –things she had never noticed before.  She smiled and shook her head.  If she were in her own home she would break the mirror as if to rid herself of Garrett, too, but since she was not, she simply turned her back on the mirror and strode out of the room. 

As Scarlett reached the bottom of the main staircase in the Swann Estate, she could hear the many voices outside as they prepared for the grand event that was about to take place.  Not wanting to be around so many people she didn't know, Scarlett went to the private patio leading off of the library, where she knew no one would be. 

Trees surrounded the small patio, casting the area in shade, except for a small section on her left where a splendid view of the ocean was.  She stood there and watching as a seagull swooped low over the water before flying upward again to the sky.  It was on this patio that she would often find herself, thinking.  The lack of man-made things such as chairs was gone, and she liked it better.  The balcony off her room upstairs showed evidence of man, and that was what she wanted to get away from.

The wind played with her hair as she thought back unwillingly to the day she wanted to forget.  It seemed peace would never find her.

Fredrick Marsh had been the one to find she and Carver stumbling around inside the house.  Jack and the rest had been searching, as well, but Fredrick had found them first.  He had been taught to deal with things with a peaceful mind in the midst of turmoil, and that was exactly what he had done. If not for him, Scarlett was not sure where she and Carver would be.

Jack and the others had found them some time later, but Scarlett had not been aware at the time.  It wasn't until two hours after Fredrick had led her out that she woke up to find the house still burning.  It had burned for many hours, seemingly never going to stop.  Scarlett had just sat there and cried, unconcerned about the fact her friends were around her.  The pain had been too overwhelming, not knowing whether or not Garrett was in there.  Despite the fact he had tried to kill her and her son, she had wept for him.  He had been just like her, lost and confused in lies and deceit and harsh reality.  They had been more alike than either had thought.  Finding Garrett dead in the library hadn't been as worse as the wait, but a heavy burden had filled her heart, and she doubted it would ever leave.  It was only by way of the love others gave her that she made it through each day.  Without them, the knowledge he had died hating her would have been too overpowering.

Scarlett shook as she recalled seeing the many bodies of people she had known brought forward to be lain to rest -Patrick, Calvin, Dan, and so many other familiar faces.  Fortunately Lennie had survived due to Fredrick's care, and all he had left to tell the tale was a memory and a scar.

Scarlett's hand tightened around the gem she still held in her hand and gazed down at it.  There were still some answers left untold.

Jack brushed his way roughly through the crowd gathered outside of the front doors to the Swann Estate.  He started as a couple young children darted out from some bushes, chasing one another.  He rolled his eyes, trying to forgo the smile crossing his face, and continued up the stairs.

Finding Scarlett in this mess wasn't as easy as it appeared.  The last Elizabeth had seen her was upstairs when they had been getting ready, but since then no one had seen her.  With that in mind, he had decided to go indoors to find her. Now that he thought about it, however, inside seemed the more logical place to find her than with the crowd of people.  With everything she had been through he could image she would want to be alone.

Scarlett wasn't in her room when he arrived there, and neither was she in the kitchen, in Carver's room that connected to his, or in Elizabeth's.  That left only one room in the house he could think of.

The library was deserted when he stepped inside, but he wasn't so easily fooled. He followed the faint breeze he felt to a pair of discreet patio doors leading out onto a small patio.  Here, he found her, standing at the railing with her hair blowing free, wearing the baby blue gown Elizabeth's father had bought for her.  Jack had never seen her look so touched or surprised when Governor Swann had presented the gift to her.  Being given such a gift from a port governor when you were a pirate was a mighty thing, indeed, not to mention shocking.  Jack, on the other hand, had been given nothing but a suit, which he was very uncomfortable in and looked like a dress-up doll; it didn't fit his style in the least.  Commodore Norrington was at the event, but on Governor Swann's orders, due to his daughter's intervention and pleading, not a single hand was to be placed on neither Jack nor Scarlett's heads.  They were there by invitation and not to be harassed in any way.  Needless to say, Jack had relished in the look of disgust and anger that had appeared on Norrington's face.

As Jack stood in the doorway, watching her as if in a world of his own, he suddenly realized she was not looking at the ocean in the distance, but rather at something she held in her hand.  He quietly walked up behind her until he could see over her shoulder.  He paused upon seeing the gemstone he had never been able to bring himself to sell.

"I see you found my ruby," he said.

Scarlett jumped and spun around, staring at him wide-eyed and caught unaware.  She let out a deep breath upon recognizing him and chuckled under her breath.  "Scared the Hell out of me, Jack," she said.

"Sorry."  Jack looked down at the gem and blinked in surprise when she held it out to him.  He took it and held it between his index finger and thumb, looking at it.

Scarlett folded her arms across her chest.  "Why didn't you sell it?" she asked quietly, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow and questioning, honest look in her green eyes.  "It would have brought in quite a bundle, and yet you've kept it all these years.  Why?"

Jack frowned, the feeling of denial rising in him.  He had known, if he found her again, he would have to explain everything, but where should he begin?  He looked out to the ocean and smiled, looking at her from the corner of his eye.  "Would ye like to take a walk along the beach?"

Scarlett and Jack walked side by side along the beach with their shoes resting up on the sand.  With her feet on the rough, coarse sand Scarlett felt herself smile, remembering happy memories of days like this out on the sand with Jack, fighting with swords and splashing in the water.  Yet here they were now, many years later, and it seemed as if nothing had changed, but one thing still lingered between them.

Scarlett didn't want to press him to tell her, and so she waited, allowing him to lead her across the sand, just beyond the reach of the ocean's lapping waves.  He removed the gem from his pocket, where he had placed it for safekeeping until they reached the beach, and looked at it in the sun's glow. 

"I couldn't sell it," he started roughly, looking forward to the distance.  "It was the only thing I had left of you and I couldn't bring myself to sell it to just anyone.  Barbossa liked to say it was my heart, torn from me by you, and left without another thought.  He didn't seem to care that it was my doing that forced you to be gone."

Scarlett remained quiet for a moment, letting it sink in.  "Barbossa never was very fond of me.  Said I was bad luck, a thorn in your side that was too stubborn to be pulled out."  She hesitated.  "Was that the reason you dropped me and left?  Because Barbossa and some of the other men didn't like the idea of a woman on board and that I overruled them, as a second captain?  You couldn't stand their snide remarks?"

Jack didn't respond at first.  "Partly," he admitted, shrugging a shoulder.  "That and my own stubborn pride and dreams."  He paused.   "Ye remember that day up in the crow's nest of the Lonely Maid, when you kept leaning over and I said you would fall off?"

Scarlett smiled.  "And then you pushed me and pulled me back just in time."  She looked at him.  "I remember, but why do you ask?"

"That memory's been tormenting me for years," he admitted.  "I told you that if you ever fell, I would go after you.  Yet another promise broken on my account."

Scarlett grabbed his hand.  "That's just how you are, Jack," she said.  All the anger she had felt toward him seemed to have evaporated through the past few months.  She knew why she had been angry, but if she had even tried to arouse that past anger, it couldn't be done.  He had proved himself worthy again, and the past didn't need to be brought up.  Despite all of that, though, she still wanted some answers and she silently cursed her curiousity and stubborn pride.  Digging up the past again could only bring out the worst memories.  She took a deep breath.  "We don't have to talk about this," she said abruptly, removing her hand from his.  She folded her arms across her chest and looked out to the ocean.  "I'm only ruining the friendship we've managed to build again."

Jack stared at her for a moment, fighting with himself.  Tell her or not to tell her?  He growled in annoyance and threw his hands out to either side.  "I loved you, all right?" he exclaimed, causing Scarlett to jump and spin around, staring at him in surprise and disbelief.  He smiled and laughed sardonically.  "My ideas that a pirate couldn't love had gone up in flames and I didn't know what to do with myself, so I kept me distance.  I managed to pretend ye were nothing but a crewmember, too far below me to even be approached.  That only lasted for about six or so months, but after that last fling with you Barbossa confronted me, going on about how th' crew was getting' pissed off at me and thinking of mutiny, so again, I tried to ignore you, but you were just so damn enticing and Barbossa kept getting' on me fer everything that I gave in and came up with th' scheme to leave ye at Port Royal.  And now," here he laughed even louder, "here we are again and I'm right back where I started at.  I hate the irony."  He calmed down and just stared at her.  Neither said anything, Jack surprised at his own outburst, Scarlett stunned by it all.

Scarlett had always imagined a worst-case scenario for him leaving her, but could it really have been about such simple things?  She didn't know what to think or what to say least of all; so, without much thought, she shook her head and started down the beach.  She walked a ways away before dropping onto the sand, her fancy dress forgotten.  She sat there, staring at the ocean as if it would give her the answers she sought.  Unfortunately, it told her nothing.  Jack eventually dropped down beside her, both of them remaining silent, in their own thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, just as Scarlett started to say, "If you want-"  They both stopped and look at each other.  "You go first," they both said in unison.  They both smiled and chuckled a little.

"It would seem neither of us is doin' well in the speech department," Jack commented.  "What were ye going to say, love?"

Scarlett shrugged and ran a hand through her long hair.  "I was just going to say that if you want me to leave, I will," she said quietly.  "If I'm being a bother to you, I can take Carver and find somewhere else to live."  Deep inside she wanted him to tell her not to go, that he needed her with him, but she knew he wouldn't.  A pirate never needed anyone.

"Whatever you think is best for you and Carver," Jack finally said without any emotion.  He didn't look at her, wouldn't look at her.

Fighting her emotions, Scarlett forced a smile and got to her feet.  "We should head back," she said quietly.  "The wedding should be starting soon."

Jack climbed to his own feet.  "I don't want us to part on bad terms, Scarlett."

She smiled at him, hoping her eyes wouldn't betray her.  "We're fine, Jack.  We're friends –good friends- and we always will be no matter what is thrown at us from here on out.  Now smile.  We can't have Will's best man frowning."

Jack nodded and followed Scarlett up the beach, neither touching the other.  From a distance it would have looked like two friends walking away from the beach, but in truth, a wide gap neither friend wanted had risen between them, a wall too high to climb.

"Do you have to go?"

Scarlett smiled sadly and gave Elizabeth Swann-Turner another tight hug, neither wanting to let go.  When Scarlett finally pulled away, tears were in both women's eyes.  "I need to," she replied.  "Carver and I need to get away and start a new life."  She squeezed her friend's hand.  "I promise to keep in contact with you and Will."  She smiled.  "You let me be the first to know when a little one is on the way, all right?"

Elizabeth smiled warmly.  "I'll make sure of it.  We're going to miss you, and Carver too.  You don't know how much the two of you mean to us."

Scarlett nodded.  "I'll let you know when we're settled."  She let go of Elizabeth's hand and reached for Carver's.  He took a hold of hers and allowed her to lead him to the gangplank leading up onto the merchant vessel the Sailor's Penny, the ship that would be taking them to their destination.  At the bottom of the plank Scarlett looked back and waved good-bye to Will and Elizabeth standing there with their arms round each other, waving good-bye.  She nodded and started up, trying to hide the disappointment that Jack wasn't there.  She wanted to laugh.  Had she honestly expected him to be?

Carver looked about frantically for the sight of his favourite pirate, a man he loved with all his little heart.  He was still trying to understand the fact that his father was that pirate.  His mother had told him just before the wedding, and he had been overjoyed.  Now, he wished she hadn't, since they were leaving him again anyways.  Tears filled his eyes, as he couldn't find Jack anywhere, and neglectedly he followed Scarlett onto the ship that was taking him away.

The Sailor's Penny set sail a short five minutes later, and Scarlett and Carver waved good-bye to their friends as the ship pulled away from the wharf.  Neither of them saw the lone figure standing in an alley, watching as the ship pulled out.

A week later on midday on the eighth day of their voyage, Scarlett awoke to the sound of pounding footsteps, shouts, and whistles.  She frowned and sat up, her hammock swinging crazily.  She placed a hand on the wall to steady it, hoping the sudden rocking hadn't awoken Carver from where he slept in a hammock a few feet from her own.  She listened attentively, trying to figure out what was going on.  Only when she heard someone shout for more artillery did she spring from the hammock, grab her pistol, and run from the cabin, forgetting her shoes but making certain the door was shut and locked with a small key the captain of the vessel had supplied her with.  She tucked the key into her underclothes and dashed above deck. 

The moment she reached the main deck she was surrounded by a fury of men running about, fixing the rigging and readying their weapons.  With her heart racing, she dashed across the deck in search of the captain.  She found him at the helm, shouting out orders to his men; a determined look was on his face, but a glint of fear was in his blue eyes.

"Captain, what's happening?" she asked.

Captain Milner looked at her gravely.  "We're being chased, ma'am."  He jabbed his finger over his shoulder.  "The pirate scum is catching up fast, too."  He took a deep breath and shook his head.  "I don't like t' admit it, miss, but I don't think we're gonna lose 'em.   No ship's ever been able to out run the Black Pearl."

Scarlett's eyes widened and grabbed the telescope clutched in one of the captain's hands.  She ran to the bulwark, placed the telescope to her eyes, and searched in every direction until she spotted her. 

The Black Pearl was flying in all of her glory, her billowing sails filled with wind and her black pirate flag waving in the breeze.  She grinned and laughed crazily.  She dropped the telescope from her eye and turned to look at the captain.  "You can let go the anchor and save yourself some time, or you can keep running.  Jack'll catch up with you no matter which way you choose."

The captain stared at her as if she had gone crazy.  "Ye act as if this were a game!"  He shook his head.  "Ye've lost yer mind, if you don't mind my saying so."

Scarlett only laughed harder.  She tossed the telescope to Milner and dashed away to grab a hold of a line of rigging.  With the agility of a cat, Scarlett climbed up the lines of rigging to the crow's nest far above.  There, she stood and watched as the Black Pearl advanced. 

Try as he might, the captain of the Sailor's Penny couldn't outrun her, and by the end of the hour the Black Pearl pulled up along the starboard side of the Penny.  A man clad in ragged clothes with a black tricorn hat perched on his head waved cheerfully as if this was a friendly meeting.

Milner huffed in anger and shouted over to the cocky pirate captain, "We ain't got anythin' ye need on this here vessel, ye damned rogue!"

The pirate captain laughed and grinned at him.  "I beg t' differ.  I believe you do have something on that ship that belongs to me, and I would like to get it back, if ye don't mind."

Captain Milner was about to shout for his crewmen to fire at will when, suddenly, the woman passenger and her young son appeared on deck and strode right up to him.  He glared at her and grabbed her by the wrist.  "Get yer ass below deck this instant, woman!  Do ye want to get killed!"

"I suggest ye unhand her before I force ye to."

Milner looked up and blinked in surprise as the pirate captain aimed and cocked a pistol in his direction.  He grinned maniacally.  "Now let her go before I have to swing over there and save her myself."

"Save her?" Milner sputtered, staring wildly between the pirate and the woman.  He felt the woman pull away from him, but he quickly reached for her again.  "Never will I allow you to take a woman and her child for your services."

"Sir, I'm sorry to do this to you," Scarlett said, "but you've left me no choice, and I sincerely apologize for it."  With her free hand, she swung it back and brought it forward, hitting the captain's cheek with a loud slap.  Milner was so shocked he dropped her wrist and stumbled back a step, staring at her.  He stuttered, trying to say something, but it wouldn't come.  She smiled sympathetically.  "I really am sorry."  Carver stared at his mother in open-mouthed surprise.

"Mum, you just-"

Scarlett shook her head.  "Carver, I don't ever want to see you doing that to anyone, you hear me?" she said sternly.  He slowly nodded, looking at her quizzically.  She smiled.  "Good."  She then jumped on top of the bulwark and grabbed a line of flailing rigging blowing in the breeze.  She looped the rope around her wrist twice and grabbed tightly a hold of it.  She swung about so she was balancing on one bare foot and held her free arm down to her son.  "Come on," she prodded.  "I won't drop you."

Carver hesitated before reaching up and grabbing her hand.  He pushed off from the ground as Scarlett lifted him up into her arms and held him tight against her.  "Don't let go, okay?" she whispered into his ear. 

Carver nodded.  "I won't let go," and he clung tighter to her with his arms around her neck.

She grinned.  "Now hold tight and don't be scared."  With a flash of a smile to Captain Milner, she pushed away from the bulwark and swung across the gulf between the two ships.  She firmly planted her feet on the Black Pearl's bulwark and stepped down.  She set Carver safely on the ground before swinging the line of rope back to the Sailor's Penny. 

"Welcome back aboard, lass," Gibbs said, coming up behind her.  "We've missed yer company."  He smiled.  "Jack, though, he's been desolate."  He winked and walked away, shouting, "Hoist the anchor, mates, we're movin' out!"

Carver jumped at the loud shout, but quickly overcame his surprise when it was overcome by happiness upon seeing Jack.  He grinned and ran straight for the roguish pirate standing just above them with a smirk on his face, his tricorn hat tilted jauntily over one eye.  He winked at her before scooping up the small boy into his arms.  "And who be this young rascal?" he asked playfully.

Scarlett couldn't help smiling as she slowly made her way over to the two.  She stopped just before them on the steps landing.  She laughed at Carver's apparent delight as he grabbed for Jack's hat and planted it on his own head.  Jack feigned annoyance.  "That's my hat, boy.  Who said you could steal it?"

Carver grinned.  "I did," he replied just as the hat slipped over his eyes and to his nose.

Scarlett reached up and removed the hat from her son's head.  "I think it's a little big for you."  She placed it on her own head.  "Until you grow into it, I'll keep it for safekeeping."

Jack raised his eyebrows.  "Will you now?" he asked teasingly.  He looked at Carver.  "Your mum is askin' for it.  Mind if I hurt her a little?"

Carver placed a finger to his chin and looked at Jack comically.  "Only a little," he finally said.  "I'll have to hurt you if yah hurt her too bad, though."

Jack nodded.  "We have an accord, mate." 

Scarlett grinned and, placing a hand on the hat to keep it there, took off at a fast run down the steps and across the deck.  She heard Carver laugh in delight as he was set on his own two feet, followed shortly after by pounding footfalls racing after her.  She rushed past smiling and confused crewmen, heading for the steps leading below deck.  She couldn't help remembering a day much like this many years ago.  Even then, she had stolen Jack's hat and he had been chasing her.  Only difference was this time, she was going to give him a run for his money. 

She dashed down a long corridor until she came to a ladder.  She swung down it, not even using the rungs, and dashed into the steerage section of the ship.  This was where many of the crew's cabins were, but also where some of the cargo was placed.  Stacks of crates were everywhere, and Scarlett ducked behind one.  She threw her back against the crate and stood there, trying to hush her breathing. She waited, listening for him.  He was somewhere on her left, moving away from the door.  She pouted.  He was making this too easy. 

Jack moved farther away from the door, and, as he had expected, Scarlett ran from her hiding place for the door.  Unfortunately for her, he knew where all of those crates were stacked, and he knew he could reach the door faster than she could.  He had a clear path to the door; she didn't, and would have to move around two stacks of crates before reaching it.  As such, he managed to get to the door and block it before she even knew he was there.

Scarlett skidded to a halt, flashed a grin, and disappeared again amongst the crates.  Jack shook his head and, instead of chasing after her immediately, grabbed a crate and pulled it in front of the doorway.  That would hinder her if she made it to the door, at least. 

Jack slowly edged forward, listening for her.  He was careful to step lightly so she wouldn't be as quick to hear his footfalls.  He paused before a stack of crates and listened.  There, just beyond him, he could hear her breathing, faint as it was.  His smile widened and, as quiet as he could, he made his way to it.  He edged around the side of the stack of crates and paused.  She was right next to him on the other side.  He waited a moment, and then swung around, only to find she was already disappearing around the other side.  He cursed and dashed after her. 

Only too late did Scarlett see the crate blocking the doorway.  She slowed to a stop moments before hitting it, only to be caught around the middle and swung around to face the opposite direction.  She smiled and looked back over her shoulder as Jack whispered to her, "Remember the time on the Lonely Maid," he said, bringing up the memory he had mentioned a week ago on the beach, "when I promised that if ye fell, I would go after you; if you ever hated me, I would go on loving you anyway; and if you ever ran away, I would find you?"  Scarlett nodded.  Jack chuckled.  "Well, I think that promise has been fulfilled."

Scarlett turned as best she could to look up at him.  "Do you?  Isn't that for me to decide?"

Jack grinned wickedly before ducking down to kiss her.  His familiar lips caressed her own, and she smiled beneath them.  She couldn't help feeling as if this was right where she belonged.  When he pulled away, he stared down at her with a twinkle in his eyes.  She looked up at him, breathlessly.

"So what is your decision then?  Has my promise been fulfilled?"

Scarlett answered with a smile and another kiss, not ever wanting to let go.

This story is now adjourned.

My story has come to an end, folks!  I can only hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did, and I had so much fun writing this story.  I can only thank you a thousand times over for going on the journey with me.  Your reviews have meant so much.  For those of you hoping for a sequel, I don't mean to burst your bubbles, but there may not be one.  I've become worn out, and I really hope to start writing originals.  I hope to transform this one into an entirely different, original one, so if that ever occurs you guys will be the first to know.  I may write a prequel, telling the story of Jack and Scarlett before that fateful night in Port Royal, but it would only be for my amusement and the updates would be sporadic.  The choice is up to you guys, but don't get annoyed if a chapter isn't uploaded for a couple of weeks or so.  If enough people want me to I will try, but no promises!

Please review, it would mean so much to me as sort of a end-of-story going away thing.  I'll miss all of you!  Thanks again for everything you have done and for the time you've given me.  It's meant more than you now.  Later, mates!