A/N: Here I present to you my longest fanfic ever! I wrote it for Moony because she drew me a picture of Jack, and then another one of Peter Pan/Wendy. I felt like I owed her so here it is, Weakness! This is actually my first ever pirates fan fiction. Jack maybe a little OOC in this, but yeah, give it a try and see how you like it.
Jack sat on the cold hard ground, panting heavily. Torture was no easy task, especially if you're a pirate. Especially if you're a pirate with a weakness. His brown dreadlocks dangled in front of his face, and he was too weak to even blow them out of his eyes. His lips were cracked and bleeding, and his eyes were almost swollen shut. Bruises and cuts adorned his face like some horrible tattoo. His hands were tied behind his back, useless and limp from fighting Lord Beckett and his men.
He had been a fool to bring Elizabeth along with him on his journey. Jack had a gut feeling from the moment he stepped foot on the ship that something was going to go wrong. Horribly wrong. But since when did he ever listen to his gut? He listened to his head, telling him when something was amiss at the time, but never his gut. He was too proud to.
After a couple days of sailing their ship was quickly taken over by "Her Majesty", one of Becketts ships. Jack of course, fought until the last second with Elizabeth by his side. The rest of the crew were either captured or killed. They were a splendid pair, those two, always knowing when and where to move, so that they were like one body, not two separate people. At first, they were winning, and Jack had that cocky smile that always crept on his face when he was not losing.
But he had to go and sprain his bloody ankle. If it were not for Jack, they could still be sailing the seven seas to their hearts content. So here they were, in a filthy jail cell somewhere in the caribbean. Well, here Jack Sparrow was, he wasn't sure where they put his beloved Elizabeth. If they harmed one golden hair on her beautiful head... Well lets just say they wouldn't live to see another day.
He heard a squeaky sound and shouting and scuffling. A guard had pushed in another captive. It was too dark to see anything at first, so Jack relied on his keen ears to know who the person in the cell next to him was.
"Let me go! Filthy, stupid, bloody-" A girls voice, and Jack knew it instantly. Elizabeth Swann. She was kicking at the shins of a person carrying her in roughly. A guard slapped her, and the captain was filled with rage. How dare they touch her! Before he could yell, the guard turned on his heel and walked off.
"Elizabeth!" Jack cried in relief. He walked on his knees to the edge of his cell. Tiny squares of flimsy metal were the only thing separating them.
"Jack!" Elizabeth said in joy, grabbing the bars in front of her so hard, they turned her knuckles white. "Jack, are you alright?" She asked, searching his face.
"Oh, I'm fine, I've had worse." Jack would not let her see that he was boiling mad and hurt. The cuts were like fire on his face, and the colorful bruises throbbed with every beat his heart made. He looked at Elizabeth.
Her beautiful blonde hair was now tangled and dirty, with parts of it soaking wet. Apart from the red handprint on her face, she was almost as bad as he was. Jack knew Elizabeth would not stop fighting for even a moment, so they had to beat her, like an animal. Her dress was almost torn to shreds. and the bottom of it was so muddy, you couldn't tell what the previous color was. Jack knew. It was an indigo color, the color you get when night has seeped into day like ink, and the sun brightens up that part just a bit. Elizabeth had dirt in her fingernails, and some were caked with dried blood. They were long enough to rake someone across the face and draw blood, but short enough so you could still hold a sword.
"Did they hurt you? Did they try to pry information from you about other pirates?" Asked Jack, looking into her gold eyes. Where they would be full of light and fire, they were now cracked and broken. The amber flames were barely a flicker now.
She nodded. "I didn't tell them anything, I swear. Then they wanted info on the pirate lords and when I didn't tell them, they tortured me. It was awful Jack."
"Good girl. Any information could be used against us. I don't believe I'm about to say this, but the pirate age is coming to an end. We need to band together and don't tell anyone anything." Two months ago Jack would have gladly traded anyone's lives just to save his own. But now that things have changed, he would have to trust those he would rather kill. He looked at Elizabeth and smiled sadly. She didn't deserve this, any of it.
The door to Elizabeth's cell shuddered. The handle made a sound like rust nails coming back to life. Jack went back to the corner, where the shadows swallowed him whole. Lizzie looked frightfully scared, and Jack wished he could trade places with her, he wanted to keep her safe from harm at all costs, even if he had to give up his own life.
The wooden door opened and in came two guards and Lord Beckett himself. Jack felt immediate hatred towards the man, not that he already did before, but this time it was different. He took her away from him, and for that, Beckett was never to be forgiven, even if he begged for it, Jack would never give it to him. The Pirate lord was merciful, but to English snobs like Beckett.
"I'll give you one more chance, Jack Sparrow." Said Beckett, his voice cold.
"Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow." Snarled Jack from the shadows, his voice rebounding off the walls and echoing. "Besides," A slight sliver of recklessness was starting to show. "I won't crack. Nothing you do to me can make me tell you anything." He finished, putting his hands behind his head, smiling. Even though he was furious inside, he kept a cool exterior. He wouldn't show his captors he was angry, because anger gave away secrets.
Beckett chuckled, pacing the floor in the cell Elizabeth was in. "Every pirate has a weakness, Jack. You of all people would know. We found your weakness. Of course, all of this unnecessary torture could be stopped if you would just tell me about Barbossa. Where is he hiding, what is he planning to do. You get the general idea, don't you, Sparrow?" He said, his voice almost monotone. His snow white powder wig was sitting perfectly on his perfect little english head, with not a hair out of place. His elegant suit was blue, almost the color of Elizabeth's dress. Jack envied him. While he was in his dirty pirate outfit, Cutler was clean.
"I want some rum." Said Jack, not daring to say anything else. His composure was still the same as it always was when he was captured. Cutler Beckett on the other hand, was slipping into madness.
"Very well, Sparrow. You're stupid not to have cooperated with us. Now you're both going to pay."
"What do you mean-" But Jack never got to finish his sentence. An ear piercing scream emerged from Elizabeth.
They had whipped her, and they kept doing it. Cutler was just distracting him so they could gag her and tie Elizabeth up. She had fear in her light brown eyes, and was fighting against her restraint. She screamed as the whip hit her again, and tears ran down her red face. The pirate lord ran from his post in the shadows and clenched the rusty metal bars in front of him. He shook them with such force that the whole place rumbled with tremors.
"STOP IT! Can't you see you're hurting her? STOP IT!" Jack tried to plead with the guards, but there was no getting through to them. Elizabeth kept screaming, and Cutler kept laughing.
Jack had to restrain himself from punching Beckett in the face for hurting her. Instead, he decided to clench and unclench his fists again and again, on the brink of madness. He knew he should somehow stop them. But how? The only way was to give away information.
The two men whipped her continuously. The screaming had stopped, only because she was unconscious from the pain. Some blood ran onto the floor, painting the stones red and the cracks crimson. Every time the whipped cracked on Elizabeth's body she just laid there, unresponsive. Another ten times and she would be dead. Jack had to stop it, he just had to. He couldn't see her die, when it was his fault to begin with. Another whip crack that sounded like a gunshot was placed on her back. That was it.
"Alright." Jack whispered, admitting defeat. "You win."
"What was that?" Asked Cutler Beckett. Jack knew he had heard him, because it was so silent you could even a pebble dropping could be heard from the hall down.
"YOU WIN!" Yelled Jack in exasperation and anger. "I'll tell you anything, just stop hurting her... Please." He added quickly. Pirates never showed manners unless they absolutely needed to.
"I'm glad we've come to an agreement, Jack. I was beginning to think you'd let her die." Beckett walked over and pushed her head with his boot. "Pity, she was such a beautiful one. Shame you let her turn out like this. But pirates never learn unless we find their weakness. So tell me, where is Barbossa hiding?"
"Somewhere in England." Jack harshly whispered, his eyes spewing pure hatred at the man in front of him. The man who hurt Elizabeth.
"What is he planning to do there?" Cutler Beckett asked.
"Get a crew and pillage and plunder til he dies." Jack unwillingly said. But after the men had raised the long strips of leather as a warning, Jack surrendered.
Cutler Beckett's stare was like ice shards in the north, piercing even the warmest and toughest clothing.
"It's nothing personal, just good business." Cutler Beckett said. Standing up again, he started to walk away. Jack spit on his boot as a show of disrespect. Beckett cringed at the sight and of the thought of something so impure getting on his perfect little tailor made boot. Jack hated him even more for it. As his captor walked to the door he whipped around. "Unlock the cell between them. They'll be dead by morning anyways. Besides, we English show hospitality towards people, even if they are pirates." He sneered in Jack's direction.
"Yes, sir." The guards mumbled. After Beckett left, they set to work, unlocking the cell that kept Jack from Elizabeth, and Elizabeth from Jack. As soon as they left, Jack scrambled to Lizzie as fast as his sprained ankle could carry him.
Even though she was not awake, she trembled and whimpered in her sleep. Ichor had painted cherry red swirls on her back, and the cuts were deep, as deep as the sea Jack knew so well. Sweat had beaded on her forehead, and fell down her face, like little tiny raindrops. Jack pushed her blonde hair out her of eyes, longing for them to open. He frowned at the thought of the whip cracking down upon her. Course, Jack knew what it felt like, he'd been whipped time and time again. But it was because of him that she was punished. For that, Jack would never forgive himself, not in a million years.
The anger Jack felt at Beckett and his men were indescribable. It was like a volcano, that was ready to burst, and it had, spewing red hot lava to the nearest corners of the earth. He'd stop at nothing to get revenge for what they did to Elizabeth, who was innocent in the eyes of Jack. But not innocent in the eyes of the world.
Elizabeth's breathing was shallow, and for once Jack was worried. Worried because she might die. She couldn't die, not when he knew what he was feeling was real. Jack would have never stopped another pirates whipping -minus his father- before. So why did he stop Elizabeth's?
Jack didn't feel the hot tears run down his face until a minute after they had started. It was a strange feeling, since he hadn't remembered the last time he'd cried. His father told him that pirates can't cry. So he didn't. He hid his emotions in a reckless mask of endangerment. But why did he cry now?
He knew why. It was a feeling people get when they meet someone they can't live without. For Jack, that person was Elizabeth Swann, the light in the dark. In a world full of chaos and destruction, she was the innocence and the purity. Elizabeth was a beautiful angel, and Jack was the ugly devil.
"J-Jack?" A quiet voice broke the silence. Jack looked at Lizzie, not daring to believe she had spoken. Her breaths were so shallow he thought she'd died when he was pondering himself.
"Lizzie." Jack breathed, smiling at her. Her brown eyes had tears in them, from the pain and the torture, but they were still full of life. If Jack could get her out of here in time, she'd get the blazing amber fire back in them, the fire that he loved with all his heart. He stroked her cheek softly, trying not to cause her more pain than she already was in. Her once smooth satin skin was now jeweled with scars and bruises.
"Did you tell them? About Barbossa, I mean." She whispered softly, almost so Jack couldn't hear.
"I had to, Lizzie. They would've killed you if I didn't." Confessed Jack. There was no lying to Elizabeth, she'd find out sooner or later, and later meant a lecture, which Captain Jack Sparrow loathed.
Elizabeth Swann scowled at him. "Jack Sparrow! After what you told me about banding together and not betraying other pirates, you turn around and do the same thing." She tried to hit him, but she barely managed to lift a finger.
Jack stopped stroking her hair. "So you would've died, rather than Barbossa being captured? Besides, do you really think I'd give Beckett truthful information? I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, love, I know how to get us out of these things." This brought a smile out of Elizabeth. This caused Jack to smile too. Then the Pirate king winced in pain, which caused Jack to look at her back.
He couldn't even tell how many times they had whipped her. About twenty lash marks stood out, overlapping each other in a mess of red. The middle of her back was like a horrible artwork of blood. Jack knew she needed medical attention as soon as possible, but there was nothing here. Not even a drop of rum to make the pain go away. The only thing was strips of clothing to use as bandages. They were thin and maybe some were moldy and moth eaten, but they would still do. Jack picked one off the ground and waved it in the air, making a cloud of dust explode into the air, and settle elsewhere.
"Don't bother Jack. It'll just cause infection if you put those filthy rags on me." Said Elizabeth, swatting them weakly away. Again, she whimpered in pain, and Jack couldn't just sit there and do nothing. If she wouldn't put the makeshift bandages on, he'd get her out and to a cabin in the lush rainforests, and make her get better, even if she protested. In that cabin they had rum, food, shelter, weapons, and most importantly, bandages. He could almost taste freedom. That was it, freedom. That was the thing Elizabeth and Jack needed to live and soar as high as a sparrow, gliding on the wind.
Jack Sparrow stood up suddenly, and walked as fast as he could to the creaky, rotten door. He kicked the lock five times, and bent it out of shape so it was impossible to get in or out, unless you used guns or cannons. He did the same thing to his former cell door as well. He could not risk getting caught.
As he dawdled about the jail cell, he kicked random stones in the wall. Elizabeth looked at him like he was mad. But like with all the things Jack did, there was a method to his madness. After about twenty minutes of shuffling and the hard clunk of leather meeting cement, a little chink of pale sunlight shone through the wall. It wasn't much, but Jack saw it, and so did Elizabeth. It was their escape. Through the aperture in the barrier, they could hear the ocean beckoning them to her. She wanted them to ride the tide out of here. Silently, Jack promised that they would, someday, when they were all better, both of them.
"Lizzie, look! Outside! have you never seen something so familiar so beautiful?" He asked, smiling with hope as he looked at Elizabeth. She smiled so wide, her face looked like it was about to split. Jack loved when she smiled, it fit her so well, unlike the frown she gave him a half an hour ago.
"Oh I can name one thing." She said, sighing.
"And what would that be?" Asked Jack, still knocking out grey bricks in the wall, making the sunlight even brighter. It was now the size of a hole that a small child could fit through on his hands and knees. Jack prayed to god that no one would come sneaking out the back.
"You, Captain Jack Sparrow. Believe it or not, you are more beautiful than the outside world." Said Elizabeth. She was crazy. He, Jack Sparrow, with his dark brown dreadlocks that hung all around his face, and his chocolate brown eyes that were kind of squinty at times. Besides, she loves Will, not me. Jack had to remind himself that the way he felt about her was not the way she felt about him.
"The blood loss is making you say things, love." Said Jack, turning back to the hole in the wall. It was almost big enough for them to crawl through. "You love William Turner, remember?" That was a hard reality for Jack, saying that to Elizabeth, but it was true, and the sooner he said that, the sooner he'd believe it himself.
"I don't love him, Jack. He and I both know it. I love you, I know that now. I only married him because at the time, I was a young, stupid and reckless teenager who didn't know what love was. The last time he and I met, we both agreed that we would no longer be bonded that way, but I would still be keeper of his heart and we'd be friends." Explained Elizabeth, half crawling, half wiggling her way to the now completed hole. Jack had to admit, Elizabeth was very tough. She didn't need help, or if she did, she didn't say anything. Because Elizabeth Swann was proud, and would not accept anything from anyone. She still gasped in pain, because no human could not ignore this kind of pain, and Jack felt sorry and guilty at the same time.
Jack crouched at the hole. Grey cement fell and he frowned. He hated getting stuff in his bandana. As he crawled out the hole, yellow sunlight blinded him. He shut his eyes and kept going out of the dank and dirty cell.
"We made it 'Lizabeth!" Said Jack, practically jumping up and down in joy. When he looked at her though, her face was as pale as cream, and it was streaked with dirt and grime. She looked like she was on the verge of fainting, so Jack hooked her arm over his neck, and together they limped to the lush green rainforests, away from the deadly jail cell.
As soon as the leaves rustled, the emerald foliage swallowed the two figures up, and they were free to talk and do as they wished. Jack could smell the spice of the rum from here, and he longed to just run up to the dark wood cabin. But he couldn't, because of his sprained ankle and because of Elizabeth's condition.
Surrounded by the noises of the animals and the rustle of leaves laid the cabin, warm and inviting. It wasn't the most grandest thing in the caribbean, but compared to the place where they were just in, it was like the best hotel in tortuga. The windows were as grey as smoke and dirtier than dusty bottles of rum. Jack never cleaned it, because it was his hideout, and if the english soldiers could see inside it, it was a clear giveaway of who was in it, and what they were doing. The door had dirt on it, and Jack opened it, the rusty door creaking open slowly from years of neglect.
It was a simple, one room cabin. A fireplace sat on the wall that was 90 degrees opposite where the door was. A bed that was more of a cot sat sung against the corner of a wall. Threadbare blankets and feather pillows covered it. An overturned table lay on the grungy floor with matching chairs surrounding it, basking in the late afternoon sun. Jack scanned the walls for the spice cabinet. There it was. It was so old and so worn, it was almost as black as the shadows that covered it. It hung on one hinge, threatening to fall any second.
Jack helped Elizabeth onto the cot, lifted the table and chairs up with his remaining strength, and flung open the cabinet open. He coughed because of all the cobwebs being disturbed from their many years of sleep. Dusty bottles with amber liquid took up about one and half shelves. Dried herbs and spices that he'd borrowed without permission but with every intention of returning it from the East India Trading Company crumbled from the air pressing down upon it. He frowned, it took him months to snatch those from the prying eyes of the British. Below the rum and the spices, he found clean white cotton bandages. Yes, they were a couple of years old, but they were preserved and well kept, so they would suffice. He grabbed five bandages and two bottles of rum. One to clean and later, when they were all better, one to drink and toast their escape from the idiot Cutler Beckett.
"Alright, Lizzie, this might hurt." Said Jack uncorking on the of the bottles. Elizabeth gave him a look that said After all I've been through, you think this would be even the tiniest bit painful?" Jack poured some rum on her back, cleaning the many wounds on her spine. Elizabeth flinched, her back arching forward, as if that would make Jack stop. Apparently it was painful, and Jack wanted to stop because he hated to see her in pain, but he hated even more being the one that caused it. He needed to make sure that the cuts from the whip would not get infected. After one bottle was used to clean, he stopped. "Don't worry, I'm done. The rum is gone, 'Lizabeth." And with that, Captain Jack Sparrow gently put the bandages on her back. With fingers nimble enough to undo and redo complicated knots again and again, but coarse enough to stab someone who deserved it, he painstakingly tied the snow white cloths on Elizabeth's backside.
The look on his companions face was pure bliss. Elizabeth's eyes were closed, and she had a pleasant smile on her face. Jack smiled as well, happy that she was not in pain anymore. He was relieved to say the least, and about more than one thing.
Jack, of course was relieved that he had saved her life, and she had lived, just like he promised himself that she would. But he was also relieved that Elizabeth loved him, just like he loved her. Captain Sparrow still felt sorry for young William Turner, but at that point in time, he didn't care at the moment. He was with the girl he loved, and she loved him back for once.
"Hey, Jack?" Elizabeth's voice broke through the wall of silence.
"Yes, Lizzie?" Asked Jack.
"D'you know what they were talking about when they said they found your weakness?"
Jack felt his face flush red, and he hoped she didn't open her eyes until the redness was gone. He felt embarrassed and a bit guilty. But with all that Elizabeth had gone through today, she deserved nothing less than the truth.
"I-I do. My weakness is you, 'Lizabeth. If I didn't take you along with me for the trip, they'd never have found it. It was because of me that you got whipped."
"Jack Sparrow. Don't you ever, ever, blame yourself for what happened today. I would still have snuck on board, you should know that by now. Besides, they would have whipped me anyways." She scolded him, but it was softly and she was tired, being pulled down by the tendrils of sleep and rum. "D'you wanna know what my weakness is?"
Jack already knew what it was. "I already know. It's me."
That did not prepare him for what was to come next. Elizabeth suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Jack was surprised at first, but then kissed her back. She tasted of blood, sweat, and tears. It was an odd mixture, but considering what had just happened, Jack didn't care. He loved every second of kissing her. He picked her up, twirled her around in a circle, and they both laid down on the bed, freeing their lips from each other. They were too tired to do anything more. Elizabeth laid on top of Jack, her breathing slowing as she fell more towards sleep.
"I love you, Elizabeth Swann." Jack whispered in her ear.
"I love you too, Captain Jack Sparrow." She murmured back. "Always have, always will."
And with that, they both fell asleep, Jack's arms wrapped protectively around Lizzie's form. He would not let anything hurt her as long as they were together. They were each others weaknesses, but together, they formed something stronger than strength. They formed love, which was impossible to break.
A/N: And so concludes Weakness. Hopefully I'll have some more literature for all you guys to consume this week since I'm now on summer vacation, Savvy? I really hope you guys like this. If you would, please review this and say what I can do to make Jack a little more... Jack, because I know something is missing in his character, I just don't know what...
Bye!
Wickedlovely01