Title: Bias
Author: WickedRum
Disclaimer: I have no right to use these characters, Disney does. This is mainly for my own enjoyment. Lyrics: Capstan Bars.
Summary: oneshot at the next, the Fifth Brethren Court meeting.
Set: post AWE.
Genre: romance/angst, a sort of beginning.
Rating: PG.
Pairing: Sparrabeth
We're homeward bound I heard them say.
Captain Elizabeth Turner, pirate lord, the reigning king was taking the stairs up to the palace in Shipwreck City to finally reach the Brethren Court's meeting room. The song that has been sang to call the court together was still annoyingly echoing in her head, Goodbye, fare ye well! Good-bye, fare ye well!, she hurried her steps to make it stop. It has been a long way from Singapore, hearing it over and over in her mind. Our orders came from home today! She remembered it from before, when she first became a pirate lord on the board of the Empress, it was a magical call, so strong that the song hardly let her think till she reached the conference table. Hoorah, my lads, we're homeward bound!
Bothersome and pointless as it may have seen to her, the Brethren Court being called together hasn't come as a surprise. She had been hearing pirates speaking about the curse everywhere, amongst her own crew as well, although she had warned them against it. These people who sailed the seas for decades tended to believe in legends and she had to admit some had turned to be true, but so far she hasn't seen evidence for this one. The pirates believed there was a curse on the lords, the hearsay starting after they have suffered several defeats in a row. Luck, they were not having much lately over the last few years that have passed after their staggering victory over the navvy. To her knowledge, at least three of the pirate lords had to be replaced. Ammand, the Corsair died in some disease outbreak along with half of his crew of the Mysterious Ruler, Capitaine Chavelle sank with his ship after a series of inexplicable leaks they have initially managed to sort, while Mistress Ching was hanged. The rest of them didn't fare so well either, and that despite piracy generally gaining much terrain all over the world. Barbossa had his own little run in with the East India Company and was beaten off, Jocard has ran out of money, Sumbhajee was mutinied against and of course Jack has lost his ship too, while Villanueva had to replace his El Asasino driving it into a sandbar in a storm.
She arrived to the throne room to find that the keeper of the code was amongst those departed as well, having once been himself the pirate lord of Madagascar, it had to be the curse and not the drink, or so they say. As for herself, she wouldn't have said it was bad luck. It was pure foolishness, or more so, her lack of experience. She weighed anchor for the careening, but ordered too many men onto the sides of the Empress to work and the ship simply capsized. She sank it good, with most of the provisions, including the fresh water of all her other four ships. But she wasn't going to blame it on the Nazar, the evil eye, or on La Guigne as the French called it raving next to her.
Sitting at one end of the large table, she idly listened to the insane conversations. The official meeting couldn't have started yet, as neither Sumbhajee or Jack was present. The other pirate lords were laughing about how those two would make it there without a ship, especially with that song in their heads. Elizabeth looked towards the door impatiently, it wasn't a sure thing all these people would keep off each other's throats, particularly that an hour has already passed and the codex wasn't going to be enforced, at least surely not with the certainty Captain Teague used once. As the noise got louder and louder in the room, the nervousness in her grew. What if something happened to Jack? Her imagination started to run away with herself, she'd thought of the many ways death can come for a pirate. Or worse, what if he was hurt, with nobody to help him? She tried to get a grip, but if you were Jack, running into danger as if it was a flower garden, well, she couldn't help but get a little uneasy when he didn't show up in time.
Just when she got to the stage she was so nervous she intended to slip out the balcony to see if any newly arrived ships were docking, Sumbhajee sauntered in with an entourage of at least ten men. With the usual power struggle even about the position by the table when somebody new arrived she could've still had the possibility to look for a ship that could've carried Jack here. But as she started to maneuver herself around the table she heard some discontented shouts that made her stay.
"There's less and less respect for this Court!" Jocard rebelled.
"Anybody can become a pirate lord now!" Villanueva huffed.
"There's not always a choice," Sumbhajee gave his opinion on his high voice.
Barbossa laughed and strolled amongst the crew of the pirate lord of the Indian ocean and fished a rather panicky looking Gibbs from the middle, who was clutching Jack's beads.
Barbossa brought him over to the table to take his place as a pirate lord, "nice to see an ol' friend," he patted him on the back jovially, "ye will 'ave to accept! And prosper to Joshamee Gibbs, pirate lord of the Caribbean Sea!" He said very slowly, intonating with a doubtful smile.
Elizabeth almost as if fell down in her chair, then slumped. If Mr. Gibbs was a pirate lord, then...she didn't even want to speak to him, she didn't want to look at Jack's old friend, oh no, she didn't want to know anything about how it happened. Why can't she just disappear. Portions of sentences got to her brain, pieces of some words she didn't even try to put together. Somebody came up with an explanation for the curse, others didn't think so, but they all agreed if they wore the same amulet sanctified in a shared ceremony taking place at the Brethren Court they'd be safe. Only problem was the amulets were in a secret location somewhere along the Barbary Coast in a castle in the Carpathians and protected by vampires. Next on the order of the day was who to send for them, on which of course they couldn't agree either as nobody wanted to go, apart from one of the young and new pirate lords, who the rest didn't think worthy of.
She suddenly became aware of being tugged, it was her first mate. She was meant to stand and make a decision about who should go maybe, with her being a pirate king and all? She wasn't sure, she hasn't been listening. She rose and looked around in confusion, "maybe we should consult the Pirata Kodex." Seemed like a wise thing to say, no matter the question.
"Ye could, but I can tell ye what it says," Jack carried the book in from the side, just like his father did before. He fumbled with the keys after dropping the large object on the table, "as the keeper of the code I'm meant to know every word." He looked tired, ungroomed and drunk, but otherwise he was very much alive, his dark eyes flashing at her with some of his characteristic passion for life and everything.
Elizabeth put a hand to her mouth. She felt like crying. Why didn't she think of this before? If Teague died, somebody else was needed for the job and if Jack took it, he had to to resign as a pirate lord. However, she almost dropped into her seat back again, when Jack spoke.
"The codex stipulates that it is the king's duty to go on such a mission if the need arises." Seeing her shock though, he added, "and it is the duty of the keeper of the code to assist her on this journey to keep her right about what she should do."
Elizabeth opened her eyes wide for a moment, "curios, isn't it?" before deciding to smile instead. That was hardly in the code, but she wasn't going to make him show them the page and the rest of them were happy they didn't have to go along too.
As Elizabeth and Jack gazed into each other's eyes from the two sides of the table her feeling that Jack had a big hand in what had happened over the last few years with everybody, intensified. Had to have something to do with his Fountain Of Youth if he volunteered to go to such a doomed land with her. But she didn't care. She hardly noticed everybody disappearing, she hardly noticed the room emptying, not even Jack's eyes closing in on her, not really, she was bound to them already, but she did notice him holding out his hands to her when reaching her and she instinctively put hers into his, never taking her eyes off him.
"Ready, luv?" He pulled her towards him and into a hearty embrace.
She nodded into his shoulder. To World's End they have been already, with him, there was nothing she had to fear.
The End.