The Captain's cabin was dark when they entered. Alexander closed the door firmly behind them, before moving to his table in the middle of the room. He struck a piece of flint and lit a small tinder box, transferring the flame to the candelabra. The warm glow revealed papers scattered about and navigation tools glinted in the light. The Captain's face, however, was cast in shadows as he leaned wearily against his table and glanced between Scarlett and William.

“Where do we even begin?” he said.

“I can explain everything,” Scarlett said, sitting herself in a chair across from him. William stood hesitantly to the side, gazing uncomfortably around his new surroundings.

“First, we need to determine if we are still in any danger,” Alexander said.

“Well, I couldn't say. You would know just as well as me.”

“Why were you being sold into slavery? And for God's sake, how did you even end up in that situation in the first place?”

“That's what I can explain. William and I are on a journey and stopped in port in Swansea. We needed to look for a merchant ship and a man on the docks suggested I look in the pub house. So I went there and the barman recommended a man to me and took me to his table. Before I knew it, I was standing before Blackbeard and then it was too late. He captured me and my brother and threw us in the brig on his ship until we arrived here. I don't even know where we are.”

“And now that he’s put a fine price on your heads, he has reason to be on our trail.”

“Not only that but I think Blackbeard has his own feud with me because of my connection to you. You know him just as well, Alexander.”

“You're very right,” he said, sighing deeply and sitting down.

“This is bloody fantastic,” William mumbled off to the side, running a hand across his face.

“Alex, we're very grateful to you for rescuing us,” Scarlett said. “I don't know what I would have done if my brother was shipped away for war or if I was--”

“There's no need to thank me. I'm just glad I was there at the right time.”

Scarlett smiled at him but he didn't return the warmth. Concern still shadowed his features as he kept to the business at hand.

“However,” he added, “we aren't in the clear yet. We need to stay in the shadows for a while until we can distance ourselves from Blackbeard's domain.”

“Domain? What do you mean?”

“Love, you were in the bustling underworld of the slave market--a dream for pirates like him.”

“And why were you there?” William spoke up, approaching closer.

Alexander looked at him for a brief moment and then inhaled sharply. “I go there for different reasons--to save people. Ironically, it happened to be you this time, which leads me to my next question--why are you traveling in such dangerous waters by yourselves?”

Scarlett hadn't imagined this conversation taking place between her and the Captain. Even though she had played out their reunion many times in her mind, it hadn't looked like this. She wasn't prepared to address the reason they were on a journey but now she had no choice.

“Well,” she began, glancing nervously at her brother, “we are looking for our sister.”

“Your sister? You mean Grace?”

“Yes.”

There was silence among the three that lasted for what felt longer than a mere few seconds. Scarlett listened to the waves splashing against the ship's hull as she watched the Captain. His expression was neutral and she hated not being able to read it.

“Okay,” he finally said with a nod. “Of course. Right--we can take you to the next town and let you go on your way.” He forced a smile.

“Alex,” Scarlett said but she froze. She could read his mannerisms clearly now and she didn't know what she could say.

He shook his head dismissively, indicating that the conversation had ended and his decision was final. There was a distance between them now and as he averted his gaze and rustled with the papers before him, tears began to well in Scarlett's eyes. Suddenly, she realized he intended to keep things strictly as business and nothing more. She hadn't felt so lonely in his presence, not since before he had confessed his love for her and she started to wonder if he still felt anything at all.

“Is that it?” she said.

“Is that what?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don't. I mean simply to set you back on your course.” He busied himself further, laying his maps out flat and scrutinizing them. He picked up a tool and measured the distances between random coordinates.

Scarlett gaped at him before turning to her brother, who glanced between the two. The tension in the air was palpable and as told by the pleading look in her eyes, William knew he needed to find something else to occupy himself.

“Pardon me,” he said. “I think I better find something to eat.”

“Aye, there's food under deck,” the Captain said, not looking up from his papers. “The cook will prepare you something. You both better go eat.”

William moved slowly towards the door but knowing Scarlett wouldn't follow, he shot her a warning gaze. Then he left the room and closed the door behind him.

The room fell silent again. The Captain kept his head down and scribbled something with the ink by his side. Scarlett watched on, waiting for him to break his facade but the moments dragged on and it only grew harder for her to hold back.

“Alex.”

He sighed, dropping his head lower as he heard the sound of his name in her delicate voice.

“Talk to me,” she said. “You've grown cold.”

“Cold,” he said, mockingly. “I've grown cold. Love, you don't know what cold is.”

Taken aback by his brash comment, she didn't know how to respond. This wasn't the pirate she had fallen in love with--or at least the one she had said goodbye to several months back and whose warm embrace she yearned for every passing night. A tinge of anger began to rise into her voice. “Well, I think I do now,” she said. “Some welcome.”

He slammed the tool down on the table more forcefully than intended. “I refuse to have any part in this journey of yours,” he said, standing and pointing at her accusingly. “I've fought my demons for many years and now that I've finally moved on, I'm not about to go running back to them.”

“Alex, I'm not asking you to join me. That's not why I'm here.”

“Yes, but you're here because I rescued you from someone who may very well be after us right now.”

Scarlett felt a wave of guilt wash over her at the thought of Blackbeard chasing after them again. The sense of adventure she once dreamed of with the Captain now weighed heavily in her reality. “You're probably right. But you don't have to be involved in this if you don't want to. Do as you said--take William and I to the next port to set us back on course again. Then, we'll be on our way. That's all I ask. Besides, this is my journey. I have to do this for my family, you don't.”

“Scarlett, these are not waters for a woman to be traveling ship by ship and so far away from home.”

“I appreciate your concern, Alexander, but I will be fine. I have my brother with me. We'll be careful.”

“And look at the mess you've already gotten into,” the Captain said, an exasperated laugh escaping his lips. “You don't understand, do you? I don't want that wretched man's hands on you again.”

Scarlett recalled the image in her mind of Blackbeard and Bastian touching her and looking her over as a mere money-making prize. She felt sickened by the thought. “And I just as much but this is our only option, seeing how it makes you feel.”

“‘How it makes me feel?’” he repeated with a scoff, plopping back down in his chair and shaking his head. He eyed the bottle of rum sitting on the table and pulled it closer, pouring some into a glass and swallowing it all in one swift gulp. Scarlett wondered how much he had already had that night. “Is that what I have become?” he continued. “Does the great and feared Captain Jones of the high seas now cower to such simple, little things?”

“And what is that?”

“Feelings, as you so put it--of past love.”

“I didn't say that.”

“But it's true, isn't it? Well, giving everything you had to someone just for them to throw it all away--that will scar anyone. In the end, it's all a matter of how you disguise it.”

“It's perfectly normal to feel that way. You can't forget your human, too.”

“Not when you captain a ship, love.”

“Sometimes, I think you let piracy get to your head,” Scarlett said, standing up and walking over to him. She propped herself against the table and reached for his hand. Without hesitancy, he grasped for hers in response. His hands were calloused in contrast with her soft skin but warm nevertheless. He lifted her hand and brushed her fingers gently across his tender lips, awakening a longing inside her she thought she would never experience again.

“I can't speak of the past,” she added, “but I can speak about the present.”

He kissed her hand quietly, allowing her affections to soften his facade. “I've missed you,” he said. “More than words can express.”

“And I you, Alexander. I never thought I would see you again.”

“Oh, Scarlett,” he breathed. “I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again.”

He stood to meet her, gazing down at her as their faces drew close. She peered into his desperate blue eyes and brushed her fingertips along the dark stubble of his beard. Her touch was all the convincing he needed as he pressed his lips to hers, clashing abruptly but only from being out of practice. Their heartbeats quickened as their kiss grew hot, their lips moving together in unison and only parting as he trailed down her neck. He breathed her in, entangling his fingers in her long hair before moving to the strings of her dress. But then, remembering her brother’s cautionary gaze, Scarlett pushed gently against his chest. The Captain pulled back, running a hand through his black hair to regain composure.

Scarlett stepped away, letting the moment pass and ignoring the hint of disappointment on his face. “So what are we to do?”

He sighed heavily again. “Well, if there's one thing I know about you, it's that I can't stop you. And you're right. You have every right to look for your sister. Your family deserves it and it's not my place to prevent you from doing this. But it is my place to protect you from others that might.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying,” he began, taking in a hesitant breath and stretching to his full height, “I will take you on your journey--not just simply to the next port but I will take you to her--all the way--or at least until I know you are safely in her town.”

“Oh, Alex, I appreciate the offer, but--”

“I won't take ‘no’ for an answer. I want to do this. I owe it to you. Besides, you're a wanted woman now and I can't be letting you have all the fun by yourself, now, can I?”

Scarlett took in a deep breath and nodded. “It's an accord, then,” she said, letting a smile slip onto her face.

He smirked in response and once again, that playful expression Scarlett had come to know made its reappearance. That was the pirate she had fallen in love with, the pirate who she felt an exhilarating adventure beside. Yet, lest she forget, he was also the pirate who had captured her for his own selfish ambitions. As her brother's words echoed in her mind, the smile on her face began to fade away.