CHAPTER 15

As Will was tying the last knot which held one of the big white sails, he was still pondering about the weird sky phenomenon that he had just witnessed. It had to be witchcraft… But how?? Tightening the knot, Will turned to see if Elizabeth and Jack were done exchanging clothes and compass, but right in the middle of his field of vision was Carmen's face.

"WHOAH!", Will burst out and jumped a little. He hadn't heard her coming at all. Carmen's full lips smiled:

"Easy there. I won't hurt you", she giggled as she stared at the staggeringly handsome young man. Will smiled back a little nervously:

"I didn't hear you…", he just said as he started wondering why Carmen was staring at him in this weird way.

"How did you…", Will started, but was interrupted:

"Do the thing with the skies? Oh, that's easy – I didn't", Carmen said and smiled a mysterious smile. Will squinted his eyes a bit:

"But you DID have something to do with it, right?", he asked and watched as Carmen placed her underarms on the railing and looked down at the shallow, white sea bottom.

"Yes, I did, William… and it wasn't for free, I can tell you that much", she said as she circled one of her long fingernails against the skin of one of her arms. Will felt puzzled:

"What do you mean? What was the price?", he asked concerned and looked at her.

"Think of it more as a… deposit… a debt yet to be paid", she said and sent him a smile. Will shook his head in confusion, but then something suddenly dawned on him:

"Didn't you say that you wanted a lift to Port Royal??", he asked. Carmen merely smiled:

"Yes?", she just said. Will looked back at her:

"But now you are leaving Port Royal…??", he said and started to get a bit of an uneasy feeling about this Carmen character. Or maybe it was just because he simply couldn't figure her out?

"You are very observant, William", she said sarcastically and sent him a smile at the same time. Although she could see the hesitating look in Will's eyes:

"Maybe I changed my mind… Have you ever considered that I might have wanted to go on a cruise? Feel the splashes of the sea and hear the howling of the winds and such?", she asked and smiled her most innocent smile. Will looked at her for a moment and then shrugged:

"I… guess….", he started, but was yet again interrupted:

"Good then", Carmen said and turned around, walking to the stern, away from Will. Will blinked his eyes a few times, then shook it off and started tightening the knots again.

As all of the crew was busy doing their thing, no one had noticed Mick, who was sitting by the railing all alone. He was rubbing his face, deep in thoughts – he had failed yet again… how was he ever going to get that compass??? He had had the opportunity so many times now, and still he had nothing to show for it. He felt lousy, to say the least. That Sparrow fellow sure was the best pirate he had ever seen. Now Mick had to come up with a new plan…. Sighing he got up and started walking to and fro on the deck. What if he snatched it while Jack was sleeping? No, that one he HAD tested already… what if he beat Jack in an honest sword duel? No, couldn't be done…. Besides a pirate never kept his word… Maybe if he sedated Jack somehow, so he had time to escape…??? No, he would be intercepted by the crew…. What if he teamed up with Jack and became a pirate instead of a bootlicking henchman??

"WHOAH!", Mick burst out, making all of the surrounding crew mates look at him with a confused look. Why on earth had he had that insane thought??? Mick pondered… Perhaps because it was the only possible one?? If you can't beat them, join them, right?? Finally his aching head stopped its speculations… and a smile appeared on his lips. He wanted to talk to Jack, and almost ran up the stairs to the captain's quarters. On his way he stopped for a second, looking down on all of the crew men who were just staring perplexed at him:

"A pirate's life for me!!", Mick just sang in his thick Scandinavian accent, and continued up the steps. The crew just shook their heads and wondered if the red-haired man might have got a sunburn.

As Mick opened the double doors to the cabin, the first thing he saw was Elizabeth reaching out her arm towards Jack with the little, black compass in her hand. For a second his glance was glued to the little box, but then he shook off the thought – more easily than he thought possible. Both Jack and Elizabeth froze in surprise as they looked at Mick:

"Ye still can't have it, mate", Jack said as he snatched the compass out of Elizabeth's slender hand. Mick just smiled:

"Maybe I don't want it", he said and looked at Elizabeth, who, surprisingly enough, looked just as beautiful in men's trousers and a white cotton shirt. Jack tilted his head a bit:

"And when exactly did ye change yer mind about the whole mutiny thing?", Jack asked sarcastically as he stuffed the compass down his shirt.

"Right about now actually…", Mick answered and noticed an open rum bottle on the little table in the cabin. Jack followed his glance with his kohl-rimmed eyes:

"Can't have", he said as a spoiled child who wants all of his toys for himself. Mick sighed as he took a step closer:

"Look, I have decided to join you… become an honest pirate…. I mean, a pirate…. And I would like to toast on it… that is if you and your crew want me. Captain", Mick said and smiled. Jack blinked confused – this he definitely hadn't expected. Raising a finger in the air with his usual spastic movement, Jack looked Mick closely up and down:

"Oh really…?", he said, still not convinced. This could just be another trick. Elizabeth was looking at the two of them, rather perplexed:

"Jack!", she said and nodded towards what she considered a vile drink on the table.

"Toast with him", she said and walked up to Mick:

"I don't know what is going on between you and Jack… but if you betray him like you obviously did last, I will be the first to fire a bullet", she said and looked at Mick seriously. Jack's eyebrows shot up. He had never been backed up by Elizabeth like this before.

"Yes, she will!", Jack burst out, but looked down a bit when Elizabeth spun around and sent him a piercing stare. Mick nodded and reached out his hand towards Jack:

"I accept the… threat. Do we have an accord?", he asked and looked at the captain. Jack narrowed his dark eyes a bit, then swiftly grabbed the rum bottle – but didn't drink from it. Instead he placed it in Mick's hand and pulled out another rum bottle from a drawer under the table, holding it out towards Mick after popping the cork:

"Don't make me look naïve, mate", he said and then smiled, clinking his bottle against Mick's:

"We have an accord!", Jack said and both Mick and Jack put their lips to the bottles and drank. Mick suppressed a cough and smiled at Jack:

"Thanks, Captain", he said and then looked at Elizabeth who was just standing there, watching them with a smile. She looked wonderful….

"What are ye waiting for, ye damn scallywag?! Ye think it's a bed of roses here?! GET TO WORK!!!", Jack suddenly roared, making Mick jump a little, but immediately he responded:

"Aye, Captain!!", and scurried out onto the deck. Elizabeth sent Jack a smile:

"That wasn't so hard, was it?? Now let's go", she said and they walked out on the deck.

Just as Will looked up from the knots, he saw Mick running down the stairs with a big smile on his pale face. The red haired man immediately ran up to Will, who backed away just a little to imply that they absolutely weren't best friends.

"Hello, mate!", Mick burst out, making Will frown. Then Mick stared at Will's knots on the line which was holding one of the sails - then looked at Will again:

"Those could be tighter, ye know", he smiled and grabbed a hold of the first knot, tightening it even more than Will had thought possible. What was up with this guy??

"Look, you might be stronger than me, but...", Will started, but was interrupted by Mick:

"No doubt that ye could beat me in a sword duel though!", Mick grinned. Will was just staring perplexed at the Viking guy, who seemed to be affected with some sort of bipolar disorder, just as Jack and Elizabeth came out of the captain's quarters. Will's face shone in a big smile as he saw Elizabeth - as did Mick's - but no one noticed.

"Elizabeth!", Will said as he hugged her tight, not feeling the jealous stare from Mick behind him. Elizabeth looked up at Will smiling her irresistible, innocent smile:

"Will, I have missed you so much!", she said and hugged him even tighter. From behind a corner a glance was fixed on them... Carmen was squatting down, leaning her back against the wall of the back of the captain's quarters. Massaging her temples she closed her eyes - she was really trying to focus. How was she going to accomplish this?? She had some thinking to do, that was for sure. The witchcraft hadn't been for free, just as she had told the lovely Will... Now she just had to deliver.

"Carmen??", someone suddenly yelled, and Carmen's eyes immediately shot open and she stood back up. It was Jack, of course. Gracefully Carmen turned the corner and walked up to the little group standing by the railing. She could easily feel how Jack's glance desperately tried to penetrate her clothing - maybe this could be an important asset in her yet-to-be-completed plan??

Will leaned over and whispered in Jack's ear:

"The Viking seems to have gone crazy and...", he started, but Jack suddenly burst out:

"EVERYBODY!!!! I would like to welcome our... friend... Well, our new crew member, Mr Krist...! Ye can call him Viking though! He is now a part of this crew and will be treated thereafter. Welcome to life at sea, whelp!", Jack yelled and clapped Mick on the shoulder. Everybody's eyebrows rose in confusion:

"But he is a mutineer, Jack!!", Mr Gibbs whispered under his breath while Will stared at Jack, utterly perplexed.

"He might HAVE been, indeed... BUT if history is to repeat itself, Miss Swann WILL borrow yer pistol, Mr Gibbs", Jack smirked just as Elizabeth smacked him in the side with an elbow.

"Jack, you know you cannot trust this man!", Will said, but Jack merely shrugged as he turned around to return to his chambers, leaving Mick behind with only ONE ally - Miss Swann. Silence fell on deck. Deafening silence. Everybody's eyes were on Mick, besides Carmen's... she seemed to be studying something far away in the horizon… which was just water, by the way. Mick swallowed.

"Me and the Captain have an accord! I swear I will NOT betray anyone anymore! Ye have to trust me!", Mick yelled across the deck.

"Trust is not something you get, it is something you earn", Will said under his breath and started working on the knots again. Mick just nodded and stole yet another glance of the beautiful Elizabeth... how he wished he could be in Will's shoes...

Carmen was leaning against the railing, looking out on the sea. She had so many theories about how to accomplish what was expected of her, that her head felt clouded. But one thing was for sure... She wanted him. More than anything. And she WAS going to get what she wanted… as always.