PRELUDE TO EL LOBO DEL MAR

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

"Dat not any way for him to greet Bonita, after all dis time."

She stood before the large altar, between Jack and the chest. Held aloft in one hand was a torch, while her other hand stayed near a leather pouch that hung from her belt. No weapons could be seen, but Jack was well aware of the lethal surprises that could be concealed in the folds of the dark woman's calico dress.
"You'll forgive me for not being happy to see you," said Jack. "Unless you've come all this way to lend a hand, then I'll be the first to welcome you to our little expedition."
He motioned for Honour to come to his side, which she did without hesitation. Bonita's eyes narrowed at this. She knew someone was with Jack. But she hadn't counted on it being his wife. Something had gone wrong with her curse. Something she would surely remedy in due time..
"Bonita tell Jack her know how to find de temple of de Ancients! But would him listen? Would him ever listen?"
"Fine, fine," he said testily. "Jump right to the I told you so's. But tell me- how long have you been here?"
"Longer dan him t'ink."
Jack shook his head. "No, that's not an answer. I believe the real answer is that you followed us in."
"What make him so sure?" she asked defiantly.
"We had to cut a trail. Thick underbrush, damned difficult to get through."
"Bonita cut her own trail--"
"And did I mention the whole island is a maze? The whole bloody thing, one massive maze. My lovely bride here made that discovery. And we have the only known map. One way in, and lots of very dead ends. Like any good maze. Ergo, you followed us."
"Thanks much for letting us do all the work," added Honour. "Heaven forbid you break a nail."
Bonita glared at them in angry silence.
"Just as I thought. Thanks again for dropping in like this, Bonita, but we're terribly busy," said Jack. "It was delightful catching up. I trust you can find your way out."

"Bonita not going anywhere," she said with cold sternness. "Not wit'out what Bonita come here for."
Jack could feel Honour's grip tighten on his shirt.  She didn't like where this was going any more than he did. 
"Let me guess," he said, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.  "The contents of the chest?  When did you get into the business of highway robbery?"
"What is in de chest be much, much more dan de shiny swag him took from so many ships.  It is wort' all de patience Bonita could find wit'in herself, waiting for Jack Wolfe to finally gat'er all de pieces and bring dem to dis sacred place.  Dere were a reason him and Bonita were brought toget'er so many years ago when him first start looking for de chest.  It were Fate's hand."
"'Fate's hand'?" he echoed incredulously. "Oh, that's rich! You've known about the keys and the chest for years, yet you said nothing about their origin. You contributed nothing to my efforts to locate the journal. But now you show up at just the right time to try and  steal the treasure I've worked so hard to find, and you call it fate?  My wife and I have risked life and limb to discover and retrieve what is contained in that vessel.  If you think I'm going to hand over it's contents to you, you've really gone round the bend.  No, I won't let you stroll in here and lay claim to my prize."
"Jack Wolfe's precious prize be damned!" Bonita retorted in a commanding voice Jack had never heard her use before. "Bonita claim her birt'right!"

Jack and Honour stared at her in disbelief.
"All right," he said after a few moments. "This I have to hear."
"Bonita tell de trut'!" she continued. "Her Tia Elena, she tell stories of dese people him call de Ancients.  How untol' years ago dey abandon dey empire to go amongst de people of ot'er lands to spread dey knowledge so it would not be lost.  Tia Elena teach Bonita everyt'ing she know of dem.  She say one day dey secrets would be revealed, and Bonita would stand witness to it.  De bones tell her dis, and de bones no lie!"

Jack began to slowly clap in mocking applause. "A lovely story, Bonita. Really, it's quite the imaginative yarn. A pity you didn't bother to mention any of this beforehand. It would have been awfully helpful, not to mention a damn sight more believable!"
"It were not wort' mentioning before because Bonita not see de connection until you, Jack Wolfe, found de one t'ing dat link dem all toget'er."
She pointed at the book in his hand.
"The journal!" Honour gasped.  "Jack, you showed it to her?"
"Not intentionally. She ransacked my room to find it," he said. "I've had quite enough of this, Bonita. No more of your lies, no more fairy stories. Either leave on your own, or I'll tie you up and toss you in a corner somewhere, but you'll not interfere with us any longer!"
Bonita met his gaze.  Slowly, a wicked smile spread across her face.
"What are you grinning at?" he said angrily. "You think I'm joking? That I won't do it?"
"Bonita not smiling at Jack Wolfe."  She nodded in the direction of the doorway behind him.  "Bonita smiling at him."

Honour tugged at Jack's sleeve. "Jack, turn around. You had better see this."
"I'm beginning to hate when you say things like that. Am I going to like what I see?"
"Not really."
"Didn't think so. It's become that kind of day..."
He turned to find a mountain of a man just outside the main doorway.
"Oh, bollocks," muttered Jack.
The ebony giant ducked down in order to enter the grand chamber.  Once inside, he drew himself up to full height as he strode towards them.  He was easily six and one half feet tall, clad in breeches, boots, and a waistcoat.  Tucked into his belt were two extremely long, no doubt extremely sharp bone-handled knives.  He stood looking down impassively on the trio with his hands on his hips, his massive hands much too close to the knife handles for Jack's comfort. Jack knew he could not hope to draw a weapon fast enough before the colossus would be upon him.

Bonita's chuckle broke the silence. 
"Him are Bonita's cousin, Isaiah," she said smugly. "Now dat everyone are acquainted, please, Jack. Open de chest."

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

"We already tried," said Honour. "Jack put the keys in place, and nothing happened. So either the keys are fakes, the information is wrong, or the mechanism is just too old to work anymore. Regardless, the chest isn't opening today. You and your cousin should go back to wherever you came from, and we'll go on our way as well."
Bonita shook her head. "No. Even if de chest not open on de first try, it will open. Jack Wolfe been too long trying to get at what it holds to give up so easy. Him have not tried everyt'ing yet."
"What makes you so sure?" replied Honour.
"Because him a resourceful man! Jack will find a way. Him always find a way to get what him wants. Or do Bonita know de Golden Child's husband better dan her do?"

Honour's fist and jaw clenched simultaneously, but Jack spoke before she could do anything rash.
"Honour, don't. It's all right. Don't let her goad you. It's not worth you getting hurt."
"Like I couldn't take her? I'm lots younger than she is."
Jack nodded towards Isaiah. "It's not her I'm worried about."
Honour looked over at the towering man and found him glaring back at her.
"Fine," she sighed.
"Now, as Bonita were saying before de unruly child speak out of place, where else did Jack plan to try? If de chest not open here, den it must need somet'ing else."
"We were working on that when you and your pet oak tree showed up," said Jack. "There are two smaller chambers we haven't explored yet. I don't suppose you would care to pitch in and help?"
"Bonita and Isaiah will stay here to keep watch over de chest," said Bonita, keeping up her haughty air. "Jack and de girl child will keep looking for what dey seek."

Jack reluctantly accepted her orders. Bonita had many shortcomings, but her intelligence wasn't one of them. She knew to keep Jack and Honour separated, to prevent them from scheming together against her.
"Honour, don't hesitate to call out if you find anything, anything at all that might help us," he said, trying to muster as much of a reassuring tone as he could.
"I can't believe you're going to let her get away with this," muttered Honour.
"At the moment, I'm short on alternatives that would work and keep you safe. Just keep your eyes open. I'll get you out this. I promise."
Honour looked at him for several seconds, then a confident smile began to appear on her face. "I know you'll get us out of this."
The couple parted ways, each going to the last chamber on their respective side of the grand chamber. Bonita and Isaiah watched intently as Jack and Honour disappeared through the doorways.

Jack held his torch up high enough to illuminate the entire room he had entered. The carvings on the walls were similar to the other chambers, but the motif seemed to be more of a celestial nature. The sun, moon, and stars made up a sort of stone tapestry that encompassed the space. There was no altar present, but four wide waist-high pedestals stood arranged near the centre of the room. Set into the top of each pedestal were two dozen large, clear gemstones of varying colours and shapes. He knew he was staring at a king's fortune in precious stones. Or Bonita's fortune, as things were turning out. But he had to see if the stones were permanently set in their stone consoles or not. The only other observer there was the sleeping stone face over the doorway. Slowly, carefully, he reached down to lift a large ruby from its resting place...

"JACK!"
He jumped, startled so badly that he nearly dropped his torch.
"Honour, is everything all right?"
"I think I found it," she replied. "You really need to come see this yourself."
"The last two times you said that, I wish I hadn't seen what you'd found."
"Just hush and get in here, would you?"
He paused at the doorway of the gem chamber, then cursed under his breath as he continued on to see what Honour had found.

Bonita and Isaiah were still guarding the chest as Jack walked quickly past them.
"What is it?" asked Bonita. "What did her find?"
"You're the bloody fortune teller, you tell me! But if you're in a betting mood, have Goliath there bring the chest."
"Isaiah," rumbled the giant.
"Whatever. Same book, right? That's got to count. Now, come on."

Jack continued on, followed by Bonita. Isaiah put down his torch and lifted the gilded chest like it was a small sack of flour. When they got to the chamber, Honour was standing in the middle of the room with her torch held high over an ornate stone altar. In it's top surface was a large rectangular socket. It looked to be the perfect size to receive the chest.
"Dans instead of sur, just as I thought!" beamed Honour.
Jack hurried to the altar and looked down into the opening. Its sides were smooth and even, and on the bottom were a number of short upward-facing projections smaller in circumference than a man's little finger. He recognised their pattern as the mirror image of the one made by small holes on the bottom of the chest.
"As brilliant as you are beautiful, my love," he grinned.
"I'm just sorry the circumstances took such a sour turn."
"We solved it together, that's the important thing. You're a far finer treasure any day."
"Enough lover's talk," interrupted Bonita. "Isaiah, put de chest in it rightful place."
"Hold on," said Jack. "It has to go in a certain way, or he'll ruin the mechanism and any chance of getting the chest open."
Bonita frowned, but nodded her agreement.

"All right, mate," said Jack to Isaiah. "Hold the chest up higher... Nice sarcasm. A bit lower, please... there. I can see the pattern clearly. Now, take it round to Honour's side of the altar and slowly lower it in."
Honour stepped out of the way as Isaiah brought the chest over the altar and began to lower it inside.
"There," coached Jack. "Slowly, slowly, that's it... perfect!"
The chest was seated fully into the altar, with only its lid protruding above the altar's surface. And audible click echoed in the chamber, followed by muffled whirring. The four people looked at one another as the strange sounds seemed to slow and die away.
"That's it?" asked Honour.
Suddenly, the lid's central disk, where Jack had originally tried to place the keys, disengaged and sprang up a full two inches above the rest of the lid. They watched in stunned surprised as the engraved receptacles for the keys rotated away from one another.

"Oh, no," smiled Jack. "We're just getting started!"

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

He fumbled for the pouch containing the two keys. Honour looked on as he produced the moon key, his hand trembling as he moved it toward its receptacle. Gently, she steadied his hand with hers. Jack gave her a smile of gratitude in return.
"Together?" he asked.
"Together."
They carefully put the key in place and pressed until it clicked snugly into the mechanism. Jack exhaled, then began to reach for the pouch again.

"Why is de key not working?" demanded Bonita.
"Because it's a dual-key lock, or haven't you been paying attention? Do try to keep up." Jack said tersely. He nodded to the stone face above the doorway. "If you need a refresher, ask him. We're trying to concentrate."
"Oh, my God!" Honour gasped. She had looked up at the face as well, and was aghast to find its eyes were open and watching them.
"You were right, Honour," said Jack. "The twin of the room you found, it had walls of faces as well. And I saw their eyes, too."
"Why didn't you say so before we came down here?"
"Would you have entered the temple if I had told you the truth?"
"Of course not!"
"Well, then." He pulled the sun key from the pouch. "Since we have their attention, shall we continue?"
Honour glared at him and plucked the key from his hand. "Anything else you haven't been honest with me about?"
"Not in the past thirty seconds, no."
She rolled her eyes and pointed at the chest. "Let's put this in the lock before I feed it to you."

Together they grasped the sun key, as they had with the moon. Honour looked at Jack's face, and saw there a mix of manic excitement and the glee of a child receiving a gift pony. She found herself hoping that all his years of searching were about to finally pay off. If only they could find a way to keep Bonita from stealing it away from him. Jack's excitement was infectious, and her heart began to race as they placed the key on its receptacle.
"Are you ready," he asked.
"Just one question."
"What's that?"
"Well... when we fix the key in place, what happens next?"
"I assume it unlocks the chest."
"I mean, what will it do? How do we know it's unlocked?"
Jack shrugged. "I have no idea."
"The journal doesn't say?"
"No. No one has gotten this far. We're the first." His eyes gleamed as he spoke. "No one has seen what we are about to see for countless ages. Isn't that exciting?"
Honour nodded in agreement. "It is. And I hope it's everything you've imagined."
"Here we go, then. On three. One, two... three."

The sun key snapped into place, and a muffled click came from somewhere inside the chest.

And nothing happened.

"Damn it," said Honour under her breath.
Jack leaned close to examine the lock mechanism. "Maybe, just maybe..." he muttered. Finally, he used his index finger and gave it a sharp tap.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed triumphantly.
The keys and their receptacles rotated back into the lock. The entire cylindrical mechanism then began to turn slowly and retract into the chest. Whirring and clicking could be heard emanating from within as ancient clockwork performed its hidden dance.

Jack shook his head in admiration. "There's not a clock maker alive who wouldn't give his firstborn to see this."
The top of the cylinder became flush with the rest of the chest's lid. It's rotation sped up slightly as it completed another half turn before coming to a complete halt. The sounds of clockwork could still be heard within the chest. Suddenly, there was a rapid succession of eight louder clicks, and the lid slowly rose from the chest by roughly half an inch.

The ancient seal had been broken.

The chest, for the first time in generations, was finally unlocked.

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Honour, Jack, and Bonita stepped toward the chest in breathless silence. Honour had expected Bonita to throw herself on the chest in a fit of greed, but the dark woman kept a respectful distance.
Jack reached forward and grasped the lid. The look of manic eagerness Honour had seen in his eyes had been replaced with one of cautious hope. He took a deep breath and lifted the lid away from the chest.
All three leaned in to see what treasures the gilded box contained.

Honour's expression turned to one of bewilderment.

Bonita's went from astonishment to angry confusion.

And Jack simply began to laugh.

"Oh, that's beautiful. Just beautiful!" He looked up at the stone face that continued to observe them. "You cheeky, cheeky bastards. How completely brilliant of you!"
"I don't understand," said Honour. "What are they?"
Jack reached into the chest and picked up one of the items. It was a wooden plank, approximately one foot in length, five inches wide, and nearly an inch thick. It was covered in some sort of fine cloth with what appeared to be some sort of writing and strange drawings on both sides.
"Look around you, Honour. Would you say that in order to build something as incredible as this temple, and to have created such an ingenious way of watching over it with the stone faces, wouldn't that take a lot of knowledge?"
"Of course it would. Why?"
"In order to preserve that knowledge, you write it down for future generations."

He gently pulled at the edge of the cloth covered plank, and it began to open up. In fact, it wasn't a plank at all. It was a stack of very thin wooden slats, covered in fabric and written upon, and bound into a single fan-folded piece. Every section was filled with the same cryptic writing, from top to bottom and side to side, on front and on back.
"Books!" he said gleefully. "That's the treasure of the Ancients. Their knowledge, written down and preserved. Not gold or silver. Books, locked away in a portable archive. There's probably twenty volumes here. Surely not everything, but a nice chunk of it."
"The chest seemed heavier than holding just books," said Honour.
"You heard the lock mechanisms. All that clockwork has to weigh something."
"I suppose so. And only you would be this excited over finding a cache of books. How can you be sure it's the lost knowledge of the Ancients anyway? They could just as well be cookbooks or the king's favourite dirty jokes for we know."
"Who would go to all the trouble to lock up cookbooks?"
"You'd be surprised. The manor's cook kept hers in a locked cupboard and the sharpest knives close by. "
"Well, this is the only place the chest can be opened, and I don't see a cookstove about. Safe to rule out a library of recipes." He paused for a moment, his smile broadening. "What's the matter, Bonita? You don't look happy. Not happy at all. Are you not liking this little lesson in the old adage about all that glitters?"

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

"Dis not make any sense," she fumed. "Jack Wolfe only concern himself wit' gold and silver. Dey are de only t'ings that make him truly happy. Why him so happy over books?"
"I'll admit, you're right," he shrugged. "I was expecting - hoping - for lots of shiny valuables. But it would seem the Ancients were far more pragmatic than their descendents."
He offered Bonita the book in his hand. "Here you go. Your birthright. Read us a story, eh? I'm all ears."
Bonita glared at him and did not take the book.
"Ah, that's because you can't read this writing, isn't it? What you learned was all oral tradition. Stories handed down the generations by word of mouth, changing and diverging all along the way until they don't even resemble the original writings." He tapped the book for emphasis. "This may be your birthright, but your ancestors unintentionally cut you off from that inheritance long ago. Still, they would look lovely on your bookshelf back in Castara. If you had a bookshelf. Maybe these tell you how to build a bookshelf?"
"Bonita have no need for dese useless t'ings. Bonita have all de knowledge she need, right here!" she said as she tapped her forehead. "Him can add de books to him library."
"Why?" asked Honour. "Wasn't the point of all this so you could steal the contents of the chest away from him?"
"Dere is no gold to steal, and dat all him care about. So let him have a chest full of books him cannot even read. All dose years of him life chasing after not'ing. Justice have been served."
"What can I say?" replied Jack. "You won. After years of searching, all I got was a pile of old smelly books writen in a dead language. I still may take a few with me for starting campfires. Saves foraging for tinder."

"It were a pleasure seeing you again, Jack Wolfe," said Bonita through an oily smile. After shooting Honour a disdainful look, she turned to her cousin. "Isaiah, we go now. Bonita have all she came for."
"Bonita, wait," said Honour. "You and I have some unfinished business."
The dark woman turned to face Honour, a look of cold defiance in her eyes.
Honour stepped closer as she began to speak. "I know we've never been on good terms. You hated me from the start, and I can't get within fifty feet of you without my skin crawling. But there were things you said about me to Jack, and I want to set the record straight."
Bonita sighed impatiently. "Go on."
"You told him I had an agenda. And agenda to steal his money and leave him at the first opportunity. You were wrong."
"Actually, that is what happened, darling," interrupted Jack.
She shot him a look over her shoulder. "You're not helping."
"Sorry. I'll just stand here and not help."
"Anyway," Honour continued, "You were right about me having an agenda, though. It was to help my husband on his search to discover the secrets of this chest. I'm glad you were here to see that achieved. And despite what you think of me, I would never stoop to the levels that you think I would, or the depths that you have. You will never frighten me, and I won't be provoked by the likes of you."
She turned to walk back to Jack's side when Bonita said condescendingly, "De golden haired child, her such a pretty little liar."
Honour stopped, took a deep breath, and said, "So I was wrong."

With that, she whirled and landed a hard right hook to Bonita's jaw. The force of the punch spun Bonita to the ground, where she lay unconscious.
Honour looked down at her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction.
Jack reached for his sword to defend Honour from Isaiah. But to his surprise, Isaiah put away his weapons and stooped to pick up his cousin.
"When de women fight," rumbled the giant man, "De men folk stay out of it. Women, dey fight too dirty."
"Wise choice. I'll remember that," said Jack.
Isaiah nodded, and carried Bonita from the chamber toward the long stairway that lead back to the sunlight.

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Honour walked back around the altar to where Jack stood, rubbing the reddened knuckles of her right hand.
"So much for Bonita's gift of second sight," she said with a wry smile.
"That was a pretty mean punch you threw. I was only slightly less surprised than Bonita by it."
"She's lucky my bodice dagger is still lodged in the mainmast."
"I'll never underestimate your resourcefulness," chuckled Jack. "She certainly deserved it."
"I've wanted to do that since the day I met that awful woman."
He took her right hand and gently kissed it. "It took me back to an earlier time. The night we met."
Honour giggled at the memory. "That loudmouthed drunk with the shoe problem?"
"You're still the feisty streetfighter who managed to captivate me so."
"Jack Wolfe, you are a sentimental fool."

Her eyes met his, and they found themselves being drawn into a kiss. But Honour remembered that they weren't exactly alone, and turned her face away.
"Jack, can we... I just want out of this place. I can't stand that thing staring at us a moment longer."
He kissed her head, pausing briefly to take in the scent of her hair. "You're right, love. We'll pack up and get out of here straight away."
"Pack up?" she asked. "Pack up what?"
"The books," he replied. He retrieved two oiled canvas bags from the haversack he used to carry the journal and light provisions. He tossed one of them to her. "Here. I think half of them will fit easily."
"We're taking the books? I thought you said they were worthless."
"No, Bonita said they were worthless. I pretended to go along with her."
"So what you said about using them for kindling..."
"I lied."
"Of course you lied," she said. "Your lips were moving. Have you ever, even for a moment, considered telling the truth? Just for the sake of variety?"
"Honour, if I started telling the truth now, what would be left for my deathbed confession? Think it through. Bedsides, Bonita would have taken then out of spite. Probably to destroy them or dump them in the jungle."
"What will you do with them, then?"
"Oh, I don't know. Read them, perhaps?"
"Do you know how?"
"Of course not. There's the challenge. Now, help me pack."

They carefully loaded the sacks with the ancient books. Honour noticed that they varied somewhat in thickness but not in height or width. Jack seemed more preoccupied with getting them packed away as quickly as possible. She guessed it was a holdover from his days spent in less savoury pursuits. Finally, the last book was secured and the sacks tied shut.
"That's the last of it," said Jack with satisfaction. "Ready to see the sunlight again?"
"Lead the way out, mon capitan. Just one thing, though."
"What's that?"
"The next time you want to take me to an island, make it Martinique or Saint Thomas. Some place with shopping and decent tea."
"I promise."

He looked up at the stone face, which continued to watch them impassively.
"It doesn't seem angry about our taking the books."
"It's made of stone," said Honour. "Can it change expression if it wanted to?"
"I'd rather not find out. Still..." He cleared his voice and spoke to the watcher. "I don't know if you can understand me, or even hear me. But I promise to treat these books with care and respect. We will leave now and let you go back to sleep if that is all right with you."
The stone face continued to look at him. Then it seemed to shift its gaze back to the empty chest still nestled in the altar, and its eyes slowly closed.
"Does that mean 'bon voyage and don't forget to write'?" asked Honour.
"I'm taking it as such. Come on, let's get out of here."
They walked toward the door of the chamber, but stopped in their tracks when they heard the sound of stone scraping on stone behind them.

They turned warily to see what was moving in the chamber. To their astonishment, they found the chest was rising slowly out of the altar.
"Did we cause that?" asked Honour.
"I have a feeling our stoic friend is behind this. But why?"
The chest continued to rise until it was completely free of the stone altar. Jack and Honour watched and waited in silent anticipation for what might happen next.

But nothing did.

"Is that it?" asked Honour.
"Looks that way. Do you need a box for Muir's toys?"
"It would make a nice planter..."

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Clockwork noises emanated anew from somewhere within the chest. As the couple looked on, a set of panels on the lower third of the chest's side pushed outward, then rotated before retracting into the chest itself. Jack and Honour's eyes went wide at that the Ancient's latest display of mechanical wizardry revealed.
"Gold," they whispered in unison.
Cautiously they approached the chest. They could see what appeared to be the bases of three small statues. Jack lifted one of them free from its hiding place. The figure was of a fierce looking man with an ornate headdress, seated in a throne. Its eyes were two of the most radiant rubies either of them had ever seen. Honour picked up another. The face of this one was impassive, like the stone faces they had encountered throughout the temple. Its eyes were flawless emeralds. The third's face was strange, almost a mask of fear or dread. Its eyes were sparkling diamonds, clear and brilliant. All three of the statues had a set of rods protruding from the bottom, each one in a different pattern.
"This is incredible," said Jack in hushed awe. "Whatever these are for, it has to be contained in the books."
"Do you think these are part of something else? Another of the Ancients' puzzles?"
"It stands to reason, what with these strange rods sticking out of the underside of all three statues."
"More keys?"
"That's my guess as well. But to what?"
"Thank goodness they aren't as hideous as the last two keys," said Honour. "Can we please go now? This was a good surprise, but I'm scared that if we overstay our welcome the next one won't be as pleasant."
Jack placed the statues into the haversack and gave it a pat. "Right you are. I have no desire for us to become permanent fixtures here." He took the torch from the wall and pointed toward the doorway. "Let's go find that sunlight."
"And fresh air! I'll take jungle flowers over a musty ancient temple any day."

As they left the chamber, Jack glanced up at the stone face and was relieved to find its eyes still closed.

They made their way back through the main cathedral-like chamber to the stairway leading out. Jack paused to look back.
"You want to come back here, don't you," asked Honour.
"Maybe one day. There might be more secrets here, more parts to the mystery of these strange folk still hidden away. Who knows what the books will reveal? Maybe even the location of that grand city."
"Something tells me you'll find out. But do me a favour, please?"
"And what's that?"
"Don't become obsessed and lose your mind like LaFourche."
"You mean LaFork, don't you? Don't confuse me like that."
Honour rolled her eyes. "Does everything have to be a joke with you?"
He cocked his head and smiled at her. "No. Not everything."
She started to say something, but no words were to be found. The look in his eyes caught her completely off guard. She remembered that look. It made her heart skip a beat, and the sensation of butterflies fluttering inside.

They proceeded up the stairway toward the sunlight in silence, both of them lost in thought. Jack was caught up in the mystery of the Ancients, and Honour was caught up in the mystery of this man she was married to. And if she would stay to any answers.

As they neared the top of the stairs, a deep rumbling could be heard from deep within the temple. The sound of stone scraping on stone could be heard, but this time it was something massive.
"Oh, no, no, no! Bollocks!" exclaimed Jack. He laid down his sacks and ran back down the stairway as fast as his legs would carry him. Honour called after him, but he ignored her pleas to come back.
The torchlight finally reached the source of the noise: a huge stone door was closing, sealing the inner temple off from the outside world. He stopped and watched as the door closed with a resounding boom.

Honour watched as Jack walked dejectedly up the stairway. When he finally reached her, she put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder.
"It's all right," she said softly.
"Is it really? That door over a foot thick. I'll never be able to raise it."
"I don't think you have to. Whatever the answer to the next part of the puzzle is, it is not here."
He looked at her quizzically.
"Why would they let you have the books and the keys, then wall you off from where they would be used? Don't you see? The answer is somewhere else. Not here, not on this island. The Ancients are telling you to keep looking."

Jack thought about her words, and his face brightened. "That makes sense. That actually does make perfect sense! When did you learn to think like them?"
"I didn't have to. I'm a woman. Discerning that there is a deeper meaning to some things comes naturally."
"I'm grateful to have you here, Honour. Intuition and all."
"And my right hook?"
"Especially your right hook!"

They walked out into the sunlight, breathing in the warm jungle air as they crossed the temple's expansive courtyard. Jack kept thinking about Honour's logic, and was confident she was right. The sealing of the temple wasn't the end of this adventure. It was only the beginning.

He looked at her and noticed the almost gleeful expression she wore.
"What has you so happy?" he asked.
"Oh, you know."
"Finally getting to belt Bonita in that smug face of hers?"
"And knowing that she is out of our lives. I feel like singing!"
"I'm sure the birds would gladly join in. What on earth is that you're playing with?"
She showed him what she had been turning over in her hand since they had left the temple. "One of Bonita's poppets. It fell out of her pouch when she landed on the floor. I though Puddin' would like a new toy."
"He'll love it! And I'm sure Briggs will appreciate finding it in his bed."
They laughed together, and Honour locked up her arm in his as they walked into the jungle.

And in that moment, golden statues and grand adventures were the furthest things from his mind. Only a treasure named Honour Bright.

[Welsh Wench]

Meanwhile in Castara Bay on the island of Tobago---

"Bonita? Bonita!"
"Her not here!"
The dusky woman looked up from wiping down the bar.
"Who you be?"
"Cade Jennings. Who YOU be?"
"Bonita's cousin Drusilla. State your business."
"Heard Mad Jack sold out the smuggling operations so I figure he wouldn't be here. Did he sell out the tavern as well?"
A voice behind him said, "Cade Jennings! As I live and breathe!"
Cade turned around slowly, his fingers dancing on the hilt of his rapier. His face split into a grin.
"James Blake! You are just the man I want to see!"

Drusilla brought the friends two tankards of ale and a couple bowls of stew along with some brownbread.
As they ate, they engaged in companionable conversation.
"I heard Mad Jack dumped the smuggling operation. You take much of a loss?"
Blake shrugged.
"A bit. But I recouped it on the next ship we took. I gave the Crown her due. Spaniards! They do love their gold. What about you?"
"Walked away without a cent. Guess Jack felt I didn't deserve anything since I left him high and dry."
"I heard you bought a ship. That one docked on the far end. The Gryphon?"
"How'd you hear?"
"A Mrs. Jack Wolfe told me. You do remember her, don't you?"
Cade raised an eyebrow. "Do I detect a note of malice in your voice, James?"
James shrugged. "Honour was a friend of mine before she ever knew you or Jack. I met her in a tavern in Glen Livet a few years ago."
"Are you claiming proprietary rights, Blake?"
He shook his head.
"Honour and I were long over by the time she married Jack."
"Did you love her?"
"Did you?"
"Of course I did. I still do. I came back to Bridgetown to find her gone. Jack was gone too. Tavern talk was that she left suddenly. Tavern talk also has it you left the same time. And all before Mad Jack got back from St Maartin."
James took a deep drink of ale.
"So what?"
"So did she leave with you?"
"Cade, if she sailed with me, wouldn't she be with me? Think I would let her go?"
"Do you know where she went?"
"Heard from someone who knows someone she gave up the pirate's life and settled where her family is. Somewhere in Wales, I guess."
"Any clue as to why she left Jack without a word?"
"Cade, you ask too many questions. If she left, it was for a very good reason, I would think. She truly loved Jack."

Cade gave a derisive laugh.
"Really! Did she tell you he pulled a gun on her and she ended up in my room at the inn?"
"Why would I be privy to that?"
"Because you sure know where she went."
"As I said, Cade--tavern talk."
"I heard in various ports--seems I always pulled in after Jack--that he has been looking for a small blonde wench. He won't admit it, but Briggs told someone she lightened his purse by a few chests."
"If he is looking for her in the Caribbean, then maybe he is looking for her in the wrong place. Maybe."
"Ever hear of Jonas Corwin?"
"Captain of the Golden Phoenix? Yeah. Ruthless. Crippled hands now. Broke them in a tavern fight."
Cade shook his head.
"No. Seems a small blonde wench rolled him. Took his purse and left him with naught but his boots, his sword and a blanket."
"So?"
"He's been looking for her ever since too. Seems she has a heart-shaped freckle on her lower back. Sound like someone we know? Someone we both had? In the Biblical sense?"
James stood up and threw a few coins on the table.
"You, Cade Jennings, are no gentleman."

Just then the earth shook beneath their feet. Cade and James both dove under the table as the room shook and plaster fell where they had been sitting. It went on for the better part of a minute and when they crawled out, there sat Drusilla, shaking the plaster out of her hair.
"De Earth Goddess, she not be happy! Bonita tol' me dis happen."
James stood up brushing the dust from his breeches.
"Where is Bonita anyways?"
"Her got a notion to look for somet'ing dat belong to her. After Captain Jack left, she throw bones alot. Dey tell her where to go. I stay till she come back."

James and Cade looked out to see only minor damage.
"Earthquake, no less, Cade. Guess I'll be getting back to my ship. We loaded up supplies two days ago and I stopped by the see if Jack had been around and share a pint with him."
"He ever mention me?"
"Nothing you'd want to hear."
"He mention her?"
"Not a word. But he's a changed man."
"How so?"
"Hardened glint in his eye. Whatever softness and civility she brought into his life is gone. Take some incredibly sage advice, Cade. You see El Lobo in port, you had best keep going."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drusilla made her way up to the upstairs room.
"Bonita tell me 'bout earth moving. Dat not part of my job!"
She opened the door to Bonita's room.
"What a mess!"
Boxes were strewn across the floor from the closet door being bumped open. One box in particular was crushed a bit when another box had landed on it. A piece of red fabric caught Drusilla's eye.
She opened the box and drew out two dolls. They were almost facing but tied together with a leather lanyard and a red ribbon.
Drusilla shook her head.
"Poppets! Oh, Bonita! You still believe in the power of curse!"
She unfastened the lanyard and ribbon, separating the dolls.
"Satin ribbon is pretty and do no good on poppets! Look much better on me!"
Drusilla tied the ribbon to her hair, stopping to admire herself in the mirror.
"Dere! Dat much better! Ribbon not go to waste!"
She threw the poppets back in the box and then tossed it in the closet, shutting the door.
In the box, in the dark, they tumbled and tumbled.
Until they were facing and touching.

Finally, at long last, no ties could ever bind the poppets again save one.
Love.

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Back on the island of the Ancients...

Jack and Honour spent the next hour carefully retracing their path back through the enormous jungle maze, neither one of them having yet come to terms with the gravity of their discovery or the surreal circumstances in which it happened.  Getting to safe location well away from the temple before nightfall was the most important thing on their minds.  The books and idols had been waiting for hundreds of years, if not longer.  A couple more hours wouldn't matter.

As they laughed and talked, Honour reflected on how Jack's demeanour toward her had changed since the attempted mutiny.  Gone were the rude, almost hostile outbursts and dismissive behaviour.  He had become solicitous, protective, and genuinely warm.  There was a tenderness in his eyes when he looked at her that made her insides flutter, just as it had when they were first married.  The old feelings stirred strongly within her, but with them came a terrible uncertainty.  So much had happened between them, how could they possibly regain even a portion of they had lost?  She pushed the thoughts aside for the time being, knowing that a firm decision would have to be made sooner than later.  But not now.

Honour could see that much of Jack's reckless swagger was gone.  His actions now were deliberate in comparison, but still driven by his indomitable, forceful will.  She began to wonder if her leaving had anything to do with the change, and she found herself growing intensely curious about what happened to him after she and their unborn daughter left Barbados.  Finally, she found the courage to try and find out.

"How do you think she did it?  Found the temple, I mean," Honour asked tentatively.
Jack gave a chuckle.  "How does Bonita do anything?  Damned sneaky, she is.  I can't believe she managed to follow us.  You'd think we would have seen her ship, or at least a sign that someone was here with us.  Perhaps the maze has more than one entrance to the path to the temple.  As you've witnessed," he patted the haversack carrying the three golden idols, "the Ancients didn't believe in doing anything halfway."
"You didn't seem overly surprised that she found us."
"There's very little Bonita can do any more that would surprise me, darling."
"I suppose, as long as you've known her, you've seen nearly everything she can do."  Try as she might to hide it, a note of jealousy rang in her voice like a ship's watch bell.  "When was the last time you saw her before all this?"
Jack gave her a bemused look before answering.  "Nearly three months ago.  I was leaving on my latest, and ultimately successful, voyage to search for you."

Her face flushed at his words, but she pressed on.  "You went back Castara, then?"
"There was nothing left for me in Barbados.  You were gone.  Someone snapped up the plantation by the time I returned from Martinique, would you believe it?"  He sighed heavily.  "It was just as well.  That scheming cockerel Jennings abandoned the Castara operation when he went his own way, and I had to go back to negotiate the dissolution of the company.  It cost me a fair bit of coin, but less than I feared.  The only one who didn't put up a fuss was that tight-fisted James Blake.  He seemed almost... sympathetic. It's the closest I've ever seen him come to pity.  Who knows with him, though?  The man carries secrets as easily as the rest of us carry our skin.  But I digress."  He helped her step over a small fallen tree before continuing.  "After that, I spent my time searching for the pieces of this grand puzzle we just solved a part of.  And searching for you.  How fitting that you should hold the one thing I need most."

Honour smiled and thought to herself just how intertwined their lives had been almost from the very start.  She knew full well he wasn't talking about just the Sun key any more.  The feeling was still there within her, too, but she kept a tight rein.  Nagging doubts still plagued her, and she had to be certain.  Certain of him, and of herself most of all.
"A few days ago, I would have never believed I would be saying this to you.  I'm glad you found me, Jack."
"You didn't make it easy," he laughed.  "I practically tore the New World apart looking for you."
"I went home," she said quietly.  "To Wales."
He gave her a suprised look. "That explains the where.  But what I don't understand, at least not completely, is... why?"
She looked up at him, and in his eyes she could see the pain he still carried.  Her own eyes began to well with tears.
"Jack, so much happened so fast," she said, trying to keep her voice from wavering.  "I didn't want to leave, but everything... wait!  Jack, do you hear that?  A hissing sound?  It's getting louder!"

The pair had been so intent on their conversation that they hadn't noticed the heavy black storm clouds that had been gathering ever since they reentered the jungle.
"I know that sound," he replied.  "Rain, and a lot of it.  Bloody hell!  We're in for a downpour!"

[Welsh Wench]

 
Honour giggled, "For a minute, you sounded just like a captain I knew! Name of Bacardi, used to come into the tavern and order a rum runner. Had the cutest parrot on his shoulder. I think his name was Aquamarine...no! Blue! His name was Blue. And he loved to look down bosoms and cleavages for any flasks that may be uncorked. Sometimes we tavern wenches would put opened flasks down there just to make Blue happy!"
Jack frowned. "Uh huh....I'm sure he was delirious!"
Honour smiled in remembrance. "Oh...he was! And the feathers tickled. What's wrong, Jack? Jealous of a parrot?"
"Don't be daft! Of course not! Now if we don't get moving, we are going to be caught in a....DAMN!"
The skies opened up to a monsoon. Thunder roared and the heavens lit up with lightning.
Jack yelled over the thunderstorm, "I see a cave over by that big outcrop of rock. Run for it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't think I've ever been so wet in my life!"
Honour stood in the cave and shook the rivulets of water off her hands. Jack took off his hat and the rain ran out of it. Honour's feathers drooped.
He threw the supplies in the corner. "Good thing I wrapped the flints in oilcloth and a blanket or two. Take your clothes off."
"I BEG YOUR PARDON!"
"Honour, this is not a proposition. If you stay in those wet clothes, you'll catch pneumonia."
He looked at her slightly crestfallen look.
"What? Are you disappointed?"
She recovered quickly. "Of course I'm not!  Relieved. That is what I am. Relieved. I don't expect anything from you, Jack Wolfe. No, not me. Not at all."
He tried to hide the mirthful look on his face.
"Alright then, love. Strip!"
"Turn your back and hand me the blanket."
He turned and flipped it over his shoulder.
When he turned back around, he caught Honour wrapping it around her body.
"Now you, " she said a bit too breathlessly.
"I thought you'd never ask, love."
She snapped, "It's for health reasons. It is so you don't get ill either."
Jack reached his hand into the sack and yelled, "OW!"
"What, forgot to sheath your dagger again? You were always doing that."
He looked at his hand in the light of the torch.
"No..but I think we are in trouble. A snake found its way into the sack."
He looked as something slithered off.

Honour took his hand in hers and looked closely. "You've been bit, Jack."
He watched as his hand started to redden.
"Honour, that was a coral snake. Very poisonous. I think this may be a problem."
His face reflected concern.
"Jack, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying we are in the jungle and no help around. Do you know the way back?"
"Why? What are you saying?"
His voice reflected a touch of fear. "In case this ends badly."

A wave of fear rushed over her.
"Jack, what are you trying to tell me?"
He looked at her and for once Honour saw the worry in his eyes. But the worry wasn't for himself. It was for her.
And then and there Honour realized something.
She loved Jack Wolfe with all her being.
And it was possible she could lose him.

"No, Jack! I won't let this happen. You aren't leaving me here by myself to find my way back to El Lobo."
She looked out into the deluge and said, "I have to find it. I saw some."
"Some....what?"
"Some herbs that will help."
His hand was flaming red.
"You can't go out in that storm, Honour."
She hastily shed the blanket and put her clothes back on, wet that they were.
"It's your only hope. I learned about it a long time ago. From my..my grandmother."

Within fifteen minutes, Honour came back. Jack was lying on the floor of the cave, his face turning pale and his skin clammy, his body wracked with chills.
He said slowly, "You came back."
She was trying to keep the despair out of her voice.
"Of course. But Jack, we haven't any time to waste."
He took her hand. Honour could feel that his skin was clammy and he was sweating profusely. The rapid pulse gave her cause for alarm.
"Jack, I need you to remain calm. We need to slow your pulse to keep the venom from reaching your vital organs.
She took a deep breath. It was the Mercedes sea battle all over again. Jack was depending on her to save his life.

Quickly, Honour put a few leaves on a large rock and took out her bodice dagger. She scored them and crushed them so the plant was pulpy.
She laid them on his hand. The sap from the leaves oozed into his bite.
She held his hand. "We change the leaves every ten minutes. And from then it is a waiting game."
He reached up and stroked her cheek.
"Honour, I always thought I would die at sea. Going down with my ship. Not from something as idiotic as a snakebite."
"Hush, Jack. You are going to be fine," she said with a bravado she did not feel. She wrapped him in the only dry blanket and put her arms around him to keep him warm.
He whispered, "I know it's fatal, my love."
He reached up and touched her cheek. "I love you, Honour."

A chill swept over her and she felt a sense of déjà vu.
Those were the very words Rhys Morgan uttered to her in his last breath.

[Welsh Wench]

Honour continued to cut the leaves and plaster them over Jack's hand. What was only ten minute increments seemed like hours. She wrapped blankets around him to keep him from going into shock.
She kept watching his breathing as he dozed off and on, touching his skin to denote any kind of change.
Finally it happened. His breathing became less shallow and his skin regained its colour.
She breathed a sigh of relief and sent up a prayer of thanks.
"Honour?"
She could fill the tears of relief fill her eyes. Quickly she wiped them away so Jack wouldnt see them.
"Yes, Jack?"
Jack looked over at her and asked, "I'm not dead, am I?"
She shook her head and said, "Why would you ask that?"
"You are here with me and I am alive. Feels like heaven on earth."

She took his hand in hers and said, "Let me see how it is looks."
She looked down at his hand and took the leaves off. There was no redness.
No swelling.
No fever.

She could hardly keep the joy out of her voice as she tried casually to say, "I am here to inform you, Captain Wolfe, that it looks like your time on earth has been extended!"
"So I am cured?"
She laughed and said, "If you were a fish, I would throw you back!"

Jack started to sit up but he fell back weakly.
"Guess I am not as cured as I thought."
Honour shook her head. "That is not it. You are just exhausted. Your body drew on its own strength to get you through."
She rummaged through the haversack.
"For God's sake, Honour! Be careful!"
She retorted, "I know to jiggle the bag first, thank you very much! Now...here's an apple and some pears. And cheese and bread. You need to clear out the toxins in your body."

After a light meal, Jack laid back on the bed rolls that Honour had rolled out.
"So...tired."
She pushed the hair back from his face and he caught her hand.
Quietly he said, "Thank you, Honour."
She smiled softly and asked, "For what?"
"For saving my life."
"Well, I couldn't very well let the fa---"
"The what?"
"The fates have their way with you."
Honour yawned. "The rain has let up but it is still steady. Are you warm enough?"
"I'd feel better if I could hold you in my arms."
She laughed and said, "I think that could be arranged."
She moved her bedroll next to his and he put his arms around her as she spooned up next to him.
From the dark, she said, "You do know this is for medicinal purposes only."
"Oh, of course!"
"Because staying warm is of utmost importance."
"I realize that."
"So I am just doing what I should."
"I can't ask for anything more, can I?"
"No, you can't."

After a minute, his voice whispered in the darkness, "But I can sure try!"

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Men began emerging from below decks once the fury of the storm had passed.  Briggs, ever vigilant, had kept his station on the quarterdeck to ensure the ship's safety even as the heavens raged above him.  He also had kept close watch on the beach where Jack and Honour had landed, in case they came back early.  Now he shifted his attention from the island's shore to the crew going about putting anything dislodged by the storm back in its proper place.  Two anxious looking men approached the quarterdeck and respectfully stopped halfway up the steps.

"Mister Briggs!" the first one called.  "We want ta volunteer wot as ta go searchin' for th' Cap'n an' the missus.  We figure they might be in trouble after that 'ellacious storm an' all.  Me an' Marley, that is."
"That'd be me," Marley said meekly.
"'E knows it's you, ye daft..."
"Belay yerself, Bidwell," Briggs interrupted.  "Nobody's goin' anywhere.  I'd wager my boots they found shelter and are safe as houses.  Besides, Jack has the only map.  I'll not send you nor anyone else to stumble about aimless in a haunted jungle."

"H-haunted?" gulped Marley.
"Nobody said nuffin' 'bout a 'aunted jungle," Bidwell said quietly, the sudden fear in his voice all too evident.

The truth was Briggs didn't trust anyone aboard save Duckie and the cat after the previous night's mutiny, and he wanted to keep an eye on everyone.  He continued to weave his yarn. 
"Aye, haunted!  Jack held back that bit of information so as to keep the crew from worryin' needless-like."  He leaned close and pointed at the men in warning.  "Now, I've already said too much about it to ye lot.  Ye'll not breathe a word of this to a soul, or I'll have ye both over a barrel, understand?"
"Not a word ta no one, aye," said Bidwell.  "C'mon, Marley.  We got work ta do."
He turned and started down the steps, but his shipmate was rooted to the spot.
"... haunted?" was all Marley could manage.

Bidwell grabbed Marley by the collar and practically dragged the fear struck man behind him.

Briggs let out a sigh and shook his head.  "Well, Jack, ye always said a good crewman is soft in the head and strong of back.  Those two are prime specimens, they are!"

He walked back to the rail and peered out at the beach.  "Don't make a liar out of me, Jack.  Ye'd best be safe.  Honour, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moonlight poured in through the cave's entrance, bathing the couple in its pale radiance.  Jack awoke from his sleep, and for a moment he was certain he must still be dreaming.  For there in his arms lay the woman he loved with all his heart and soul.  He regarded how angelic she looked as she slept, and he brought his face close to her hair.  Slowly he breathed in, drinking in her delicate scent.  It wasn't the jasmine she usually wore on her neck just behind her ears.  It was simply... Honour.  Without thinking, he reached up and caressed her golden moonlit tresses.

Honour stirred at his touch and snuggled back against him in her sleep.  He smiled, remembering all the times he held her this very way after they made love.  He closed his eyes at the treasured memory and gently kissed her head.

"Jack?  Are you all right?" she asked in almost a whisper.
"I'm fine, darling," her answered, his voice low and soft.  "I just woke up is all.  Nothing's wrong.  In fact, everything feels right."
She yawned and stretched a little, just as she always did upon waking.  Jack chuckled softly as he felt the sleepy little tremor go through her when she arched her back.  She rolled over to face him, a curious smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

"What's so funny?" she asked.
He smiled and shook his head slowly.  "Not a thing.  I was just thinking back to a time when I didn't have to get bitten by a snake to hold you."
Honour could feel the heat rise in her cheeks.  Lying in his arms reminded her of how good things with Jack could be.  How complete she felt making love with him.  The nagging doubts would not go away, however. 
"I remember those times, too.  But Jack, that was a long time ago..."
"Not really, when you think about it.  I've missed you terribly, Honour.  Please, don't make me gather up a sack full of snakes to take back with us.  Briggs has a hard enough time with the cat."

She burst into giggles at the thought of the curmudgeonly quartermaster running a gauntlet of poisonous serpents just to get to his cabin, only to find a stubborn cat curled up on his bed.    Jack never failed to find a way to make her laugh.  In honesty, she missed his off the wall sense of humour, and so many other things.

"No," she laughed.  "No snakes.  This is the second time I've saved your life, and I must say it's getting a little boring."
"Boring!  And just as you were getting good at it.  You're a hard woman to please Honour Bright."
"Not really," she said, the mirth fading somewhat from her voice.  "But I refuse to let you die in front of me, Jack Wolfe."  She poked him in the shoulder where he had been shot during the battle with Mendoza.  "It would please me most if you managed to stay alive, in spite of yourself."
"I shall do my very best, my lady!"  he laughed.

Honour looked down at nothing in particular, absentmindedly playing with the front of his shirt.  "You had quite a fever from the poison.  Are you really feeling better?"
"Thanks to you, I feel wonderful.  Why do you ask?"
"It's just that... when you were feverish, you said... things.  I doubt you even remember them."
Jack gently took her hand and pressed his lips against her skin.  "I meant it, Honour.  I do love you.  I never stopped.  I never will."

She could feel her heart swell in her chest, so full that it felt close to bursting.  All her doubts fled like wraiths from the morning sunlight.  She looked at how the moonbeams glimmered in his eyes, knowing full well that the light there shone for her and her alone.  Her hand squeezed his, and she swallowed hard.

"There is one other thing that would please me, Jack," she said quietly.
"Name it, my love.  Anything at all."
Honour took a deep breath, looked deep in her husband's eyes, and spoke her wish.

"Make love to me."

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Jack wasn't sure he heard her right.
"Honour? Are you sure?"
"Very sure."
She loosened the drawstring of her chemise, drawing it off her shoulders.
His breath quickened with every inch exposed to his eyes.

He reached over to touch her cheek, his finger tracing down to her chin, sweeping her air away from her neck.
He continued to trace a fine line down her neck and across the swelling of what lay beneath the fine cotton of her chemise. Her eyes closed as she dew in her breath. He could feel the rapid beat of her heart. Jack reached up and wound her hair in his left hand, drawing her face close to his. She entwined her hands around his neck, and her lips parted.

"Honour, I always imagined our reunion would be in a soft bed with a bottle of merlot and moonlight and--"
She put her finger to his lips. "Jack, you talk too much. Just don't say anything at all."

Honour shrugged to let the chemise slip farther. Jack's eyes grew wide as he beheld her pale, delicate skin. He helped her free of the gauzy garment that had concealed the curves of her body that he so longed for. They joined in a deep, searching kiss as his hands traced those curves, caressing, cupping, stroking. A soft moan escaped her lips as his kisses began to trace down her neck to her shoulders as he laid her back on the bedroll. Within moments, the chemise was free of her and on the floor beside them.

She drew him near, her hands eagerly pulling his shirt free. She longed for the sensation of his flesh against hers. Her fingers played over his back, the tips of her fingernails softly digging in here and there. That as all the encouragement Jack needed, if any more was necessary. Honour's message was crystal clear.
She wanted him.
Then and there.

Their smouldering desire had sparked into an overwhelming need, a fire that nothing else would quench until only smoke and ashes remained. He slid his hand slowly, teasingly down her body. His practiced touch had not lost its spell on her. Jack knew just how she wanted to be touched, and which touches drove her wild.

Her caresses were not lost on him, either. She had already loosened his breeches, knowing full well how to drive his desires onward. They both knew where they were headed and would be satisfied with nothing less. No words were needed. It was as if the time spent apart had never existed, so in tune were they to each others needs.

"Honour..?" Jack paused and whispered.
She could barely catch her breath to reply, "No, no talking, Jack..."
"But, I need to know--"
She took him by the chin and looked into his eyes.
"There's only one thing you need to know, Jack Wolfe. That I will never forgive you if you don't shut up and finish what you started."

And that was all Jack needed to hear.

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Honour lay in Jack's arms with her head resting on his chest.  She could hear his heart beating, it's pace still quickened from the passion they had just shared.  A contented smile played upon her lips as she made lazy circles on his stomach with her fingertip.  She could feel Jack gently run his fingers through her hair, then caress her shoulder.  The peaceful murmur of the jungle enveloped the lovers, adding to their bliss.

"Do you hear that?" he asked softly.
She lifted her head and looked up at him.  "No.  It's not an animal, is it?"
"No.  It's just so peaceful.  Do you realize this is the first time we've made love and not been within a stone's throw of another person?"
She smiled and snuggled up against him.  "Now that you mention it, I do enjoy not hearing footsteps above us."
"Or having to be quiet?

Honour looked up at him again and gave a shocked look, then playfully slapped his belly.  "You are a devil, Jack!  You'll make me blush."
He moved his face close to hers.  "Isn't that part of it, my love?  To make you glow?"
Their lips met in a tenderly passionate kiss.  She sighed and put her head back on his chest.
"Your kisses alone can do that, my husband."
"Don't think you'll get away that easy, darling.  Not while I draw a breath!"
"Good!" she giggled.

Jack stroked her silken hair again.
"Um, any regrets?" he asked.  Honour couldn't help but hear the mixture of hope and dread in his voice.
"About...?"
"About this.  Us."
"Why would I regret something that I freely wanted?" she answered gently.  "Something we both wanted?"  Another giggle escaped her lips.  "And something you obviously still want!  You won't let a girl rest, will you?"
"Shades of our wedding night, eh?"
"And the next day, and the next, and the next," she laughed.
Jack had always found Honour's laughter infectious, and this time was no different.  "We made a bit of history together, didn't we?  But I can't help but wonder what the next day will bring this time?"
"I'm pretty sure you're thinking about something else," she teased.

He gently caressed her neck, and she breathed in deeply at his touch.  Then, without warning, he quickly moved his hand down her body and began tickling her ribs.  Honour yelped and attempted to mount a counter attack.  Before long, the lovers where back in each other's arms, laughing like youngsters.  Jack looked into Honour's eyes and marvelled at the joyous playfulness he found there.  Once again they kissed, only to have the both of them dissolve into a giggling fit.

"Honour, please stay with me," he blurted.
Honour's laugh faded, and a strange mixture of emotions competed to control her expression.  She wanted so much to tell Jack everything; about their infant daughter, the plantation, and what was in her heart.  But the words would not come.  She had woven such a complex tapestry of secrets, half-truths, and lies that there was no simple way to unravel it all.  It would take time for her to find the right words.  When she did, those words would change Jack Wolfe's world forever.

"Jack, please, not now."
"Why not?  Honour, if not now, when?"
"I promise, soon.  When we're back aboard the ship."
He began to protest, and she put her finger against his lips.
"Please, Jack.  Let's just enjoy what we have right here, right now.  We'll talk about everything when we're off this island.  I swear."

Her words were of little comfort to him.  He knew that Honour's definition of 'everything' ran the gamut from full disclosure to a thumbnail sketch depending on the circumstances.
"You know I'm going to hold you to that," he said sternly.
"Jack?"
"Yes, Honour?"
"You're talking too much again."
Jack tilted his head and smiled slyly.  "I suppose you're going to have to find a way to shut me up, then."

Honour snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him into a slow, smouldering, sensual kiss.  Every nerve in his body felt as if they were on the verge of bursting into flame at any moment.  She slowly broke away and looked into his eyes, knowing full well she had his absolute and undivided attention as she moved her body over his.
"Feeling less talkative?" she asked with a devilish smirk.
Jack returned her wicked look and nodded his head enthusiastically.  Once more they kissed, and their lover's dance began anew.

[Welsh Wench]

Honour's eyes fluttered open.  It took her a few moments to get her bearings.  They were still in the cave, and she was curled up in her husband's arms.  She looked up to find Jack smiling at her.
"Good morning," he softly said.  The look on his face reminded her of those idyllic mornings at Castara.
"Good morning," she said dreamily.  "Have you been awake long?"
"About half an hour.  I was watching you dream.  You had the sweetest smile on your face.  What was it about?"
Indeed she had been dreaming, of little Zara.  She touched one of his loose brown curls, so like their daughter's.
"Wales, and family," she replied, and yawned.  "I guess we should pack up and leave our private little Eden?"
"You'll forgive me if I leave the serpent behind!" Jack laughed.  "You know, it's funny you should mention Eden.  I think I understand how Adam must have felt, having the most beautiful woman in the world all to himself."
"Eve was the only woman in the world, silly!"
"That's why I'm luckier than he ever was.  You're the only woman in my world, Honour."

She beamed at him, then in a teasing voice asked, "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive!  I can't imagine there being a woman capable of bewitching me the way you have."
"I can," she chuckled under her breath.
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing!"  She took him by the chin.  "I'll keep you to that, you know."
Jack smiled tenderly.  "You have my word, darling."
"Ha!  The word of a pirate?" she teased.  "You'll have to do better than that."
"Would the word of your husband suit you better?"
"Yes," she answered softly.  "Yes, that would suit me just fine."

Jack began to draw her close for a kiss, but Honour patted him sharply on the chest.
"Save some for later!  Even Adam took a day off every now and again.  Besides, we should get you back and have Duckie check your hand."
"But you healed me!" he protested.
She retrieved her chemise and got up.  "I'd like a second opinion, just to be on the safe side."
"You're gorgeous, too," Jack quipped.
Honour stuck her tongue out at him.  She went about getting dressed while Jack did the same.

"I'm so hungry!" he said.
"I don't doubt it," she said with a little laugh.  "I'm starved, too.  Should I go find some fruit?"
"This is where the apple comes in, isn't it?  I knew it was too good to be true!"
"Oh, fine then.  Out of respect to your tender sensibilities, I'll bring back oranges or something."
"My sensibilities and I thank you," he said with a sweeping mock bow.  "I'll get the meat and cheese whilst you're away."
"Be sure to shake that sack first!  I swear, I only save your life once a voyage.  Any more than that and I shall think you're doing it for attention," she admonished.
"Listen to you!" laughed Jack.  "You'll make a fine mother!"
"And who said anything about children?"
He gave her a lusty smile.  "Come over here, and we'll discuss the matter..."
Honour gave a girlish squeal and ran from the cave.  Her laughter came drifting back to him like chimes on the wind.