Justice
Time frame: After AWE...
Summary: Elizabeth was given the title of pirate lord by Sao Feng upon his death, yes….. and then she was elected pirate king…. But months after the battle at World's End, when the ancient gods of Atlantis begin their routine investigation to see if they will confirm and anoint her as a pirate lord, crown her as the Pirate King, certain previous crimes come to light….
Characters: Elizabeth Turner, Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, Captain Teague and others
Disclaimer: Disney owns every scrap of POTC… I'm just borrowing to play with! :D
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Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitors
Elizabeth went to move towards the pirate captain who stood leaning casually against the mainmast as if he hadn't a care in the world that she was about to leave his ship.
Abruptly the man raised a hand in objection.
"Once was more than enough," he said, half ducking his head away, and her conscience bit hard at her.
He was referring to the one and only time she had ever kissed him, at the same time chaining him to his own mast and leaving him to die in the jaws of the Kraken.
She gave a weak smile.
"Thank you, Jack." She said softly, and he only gave what to her seemed like a very strained smile as he nodded. She noticed he did not say thank you in return. She turned away with a half frown, making to leave the ship.
They had come to rescue him from Davy Jones locker, had they not? Shouldn't that have erased what she had done to him? It was his vote at the Court of the Brethren that had made her the pirate king, was it not? Was it possible he was still thinking of what she had done to him?
'Of course, it was, idiot! You betrayed him in the worst possible way. He made you the pirate king because you were the only one of the lot of them willing to risk fighting to save their way of life, not out of any measure of personal liking. And in the end, it was his ship and William who had blown the Endeavor out of the water and with it the nuisance of Cutler Beckett out of their lives. He made you the pirate king to save them all, nothing personal about it. He barely spoke to you afterwards, except when he had to, nor did you even attempt to speak to him. Not even an attempt at an apology.' Her conscience hissed at her as she climbed down into the long boat.
She swallowed dryly and looked up at the vast number of men lining the railing to watch her go and noticed he was not one of them. She bit down hard on her lower lip and turned around and sat down.
Better not to look back, she told herself. Better to look only forward. What was done was done. They had won the battle, and William was not truly dead…. She would see him in 10 years' time. It might seem like an eternity, but it would pass. It would pass…...
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21 months later…
February 1st
Elizabeth stood at the sink in the modest ground floor kitchen of the tall, stone lighthouse. She had chosen the abandoned lighthouse on this outcropping of land on the western end of the island of Jamaica with great purpose. It served well as a home for her and her now just over a year-old son, Henry. And she did keep the light lit every night.
Just down the hill was the expanse of beach where she had spent her one night with her husband… and where she looked forward to seeing him again, in 8 years' time.
She found she enjoyed doing household tasks for herself, although at times the isolation was hard to take. When it became too hard, she drove the small wagon into town, only 45 minutes away if the roads were dry.
She was frugal with the money her father had left her in his will. It had paid for the lighthouse and the wage of the one elderly man, Robert, who lived in the small apartment above the stable that housed her one horse, a goat, and a handful of chickens. He also tended the large kitchen garden for her… the flower beds outside the lighthouse she tended herself.
She never received visitors, as the people of the town still considered her abrupt departure, in disguise, to go search for her then missing fiancé to be more than just scandalous. And with her father's death, she was no longer 'the Governor's daughter', as there was a new Governor and it was his children who now lived under those titles. It was a peaceful life, and that was what she wanted for little Henry, and so she made the best of it, and each morning made it a point to think of what kind of life she wanted to create for the boy, rather than of those things she could not have.
Routine… routine seemed to be good for the child she had discovered, and Henry was a calm and delightful child, the joy of her life, the apple of her eye, the everyday reminder of William, and the hope of his return.
She finished the dishes and untied her apron and glanced out the window, then looked again, surprised to see 4 men making their way dutifully up the hill from the beach. She stared, taking in their hats, and coats and manner of dress, which looked rather to hint at the occupation of piracy, but not the normal dirty, tar stained sort.
She swallowed hard and quickly hung the apron on its hook beside the back door and went into the ground floor parlor. Were they bringing a message of some sort from William? He had sent a man on their anniversary to deliver an enormous bouquet of roses, along with a very long letter, and she had made the man wait, serving him dinner just to keep him there while she had written out a reply.
Immediately she went to the desk and got out paper and ink and quill, as she mentally went through the quantities of left overs she could offer the gentlemen while she penned her reply. But just now, their second anniversary was still a good almost 3 months away. Why would they be coming now? She couldn't help but hope that perhaps, somehow, William was free of serving as the Captain of the Dutchman. If so she would go to him immediately, unless the men had come to tell her he was currently on his way.
Upon hearing their footsteps growing close on the gravel path, she pulled open the door and smiled happily at the 4 men. The one walking in front of the others touched the brim of his hat politely, but his expression remained somber, if not actually grim.
"Mrs. Turner? Elizabeth Swan Turner?" he asked, and she nodded, smiling still, but not quite as broadly.
"Yes, I am Elizabeth Swan Turner… come in gentlemen, please." She said, stepping aside, noticing the swords and pistols each of the men wore. They did indeed seem to be pirates, but certainly far cleaner and tidier than any she had ever seen. None of them bothered to remove their hats, she noticed, but then that would probably be expecting too much in the way of manners, she supposed.
"Has William sent me something?" she asked and the one shook his head.
"No Madam…. The Brethren Court has been called to assemble. We've come to bring you to it." He said, and she blinked hard.
"The Brethren Court? I didn't hear the song… as the Pirate King, wouldn't I have heard the song?" she asked, feeling suddenly wary. The one man nodded at another of the group, who pulled out a parchment roll and unfurled it, then glanced at her, his look not at all friendly.
"The Brethren Court is hereby called to assemble to hear charges and sit council to the judgement of the charges of high treason and other crimes said to have been committed by a, Elizabeth nee Swan Turner, and b, Hector Barbossa, in separate cases, to be heard by the Keeper of the Code and an appointed panel. Said hearing is to be conducted at Shipwreck Cove.
Elizabeth gave a small gasp of surprise and alarm, her eyes going wide.
"Treason? Treason against who? I haven't stepped foot on the sea in any manner whatsoever since my return from the Maelstrom battle with the pirate fleet nearly two years ago! Who charges me with high treason? Don't all pirates' commit treason just by being pirates?" she demanded, and the first man sighed, considering her coolly, then nodded again at the one with the scroll. Carefully the man rolled up the top of the parchment to allow more of the wording to be revealed.
"The charges are as follows: Concerning Mrs. Elizabeth Swan Turner, then acting and sailing and having adopted the lifestyle of piracy herself, that she did with deliberation, forethought and planning, cause the death of the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow. 1 count of purposeful first degree murder and high treason against a Pirate Lord, confirmed and anointed agent of Atlantis, such action being illegal and listed specifically as treasonous according to the Pirate's Codex." He read out and her eyes widened as she felt herself go pale.
"Murder? But we got him back! We went to the Locker and got Jack back! We got him back! And what is this confirmed and anointed? I was never confirmed and anointed!" she objected strongly, and the first man shook his head.
"No Madam, indeed you were not. Your selection and appointment as a pirate lord were not done in Atlantis as is customary. It was shortly after the battle of the Maelstrom that Atlantis began their own review of your actions to see if you were deemed suitable, as Sao Feng had passed the appointment on to you. Sometimes a pirate lord will hand on the role to another, and then a review is done to determine if they will agree to the appointment or not. It is as a result of that investigation that actions were discovered that caused the charges to be filed with the Brethren Court." The man told her, then his look hardened ever more.
"Your titles of pirate lord, and, or, pirate king, and all privileges associated with them would have been automatically suspended at the start of the review, pending the outcome of their investigation. It is due to things discovered in that review that the suspension has been continued, now pending the outcome of the hearing. Surely you must have realized that kings are not merely elected in any time and age. It is the ancient gods of Olympus, who now reside in Atlantis, who oversee the selection and appointment of the pirate lords, and after a period of time, may decide to confirm and anoint them if they are found worthy. As for crowning a king or a queen, not even a monarch on land is considered to be a viable ruler without the coronation process. You live in a monarchy. This shouldn't be anything new to you." He said dryly.
Another of the men seemed a bit amused.
"Neptune is not the only god who resides in Atlantis these days, Ma'am…. Well, not since the first gentlemen managed to sail all the way around the world and make them all a bit nervous about having people come waltzing their way right into Olympus itself. They been down there under the sea since, what, 1522, I think it was. Neptune's still there too a' course." He said in an almost conversational tone.
Elizabeth swallowed hard, her mind nearly numb with shock.
"But… But I can't just leave here! I have a one-year old son! A house to manage! Atlantis? This is ridiculous! I don't even go to sea! Has my husband been informed of this matter? William will not tolerate this at all! He is the captain of the Flying Dutchman, I'll have you know!" she protested and the men all nodded.
"Yes, Madam, the Captain of the Flying Dutchman has been notified as well. We were instructed to bring your son with you." The first man said, and Elizabeth swallowed hard.
"But I can't leave! This is insane! Jack Sparrow is alive and well! And if he's not, it was certainly none of my doing!" she said loudly as the shock evaporated into outrage.
A third man of the group gave her a very dark look.
"CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow has been called as a witness to give testimony and will be present, we can assure you." He half growled, and Elizabeth couldn't help but take a step backwards.
She scowled, her sense of indignation rising as she parked her hands on her hips.
"I am not leaving my home. I will gladly give up all claim to my titles. This is ridiculous, you can't very well charge me with the murder of a man who is going to BE at the hearing! Am I to have a lawyer? Am I allowed to offer a defense? What is your proof going to be that I murdered a man who is called to give testimony and who is sitting right there? That's – that's just preposterous!" she raged at them.
The fourth of the men, finally removed his hat and she noticed that he looked almost apologetic.
"Madam, Mrs. Turner… we've been sent to bring you to Shipwreck Cove… either willingly or unwillingly. Now do you really want your wee laddie upstairs to see his mother in shackles? It wasn't our doing that all this has come about Ma'am…. We were just the ones sent to bring you." He said and looked down at his tricorn hat, folding and unfolding it a few times, then glanced at the others around him and seemed to give her almost a pleading look.
"We ain't saying you're guilty or not missy… that's not for us to decide. You cooperate, and we'll treat you just fine. But, we do have to bring you back with us. Don't make any mistake on that part of it." He said in an almost regretful tone.
Elizabeth swallowed hard, the man's deference and tone reaching through her anger. This was really happening…. She had been charged with murdering Captain Jack Sparrow.
Instantly in her mind she tasted the man's lips, felt her tongue invading his mouth, felt his surprise, and then his relaxing into her kiss. She remembered the feel of his coat beneath her hands, his hair as she had caressed him, the set of his shoulders relaxing as she ran her hand down his arm… and the clink of the iron lock on the cuff she had caught around his wrist. The large, thick, tight fitting iron cuff attached to the mainmast.
She felt suddenly breathless as she remembered the horrified silence in the longboat as they had all sat staring at the giant tentacles of the kraken that rose up high on either side of the Black Pearl, watching them curl and come down, snapping line and tearing rigging, the masts bending as the leviathan curled itself around the ship.
Oh god… had he suffered long? Had it eaten him before it drug the ship under the water, or had he drowned in the ocean before it ate him? Did it hurt? She had told him she wasn't sorry after she had him well chained there, only to be wracked with guilt afterwards… guilt brought on by the knowledge that she had left him to die, and that die he had. How long had it taken him to actually die that day?
She turned abruptly away, seeing only his smile, hearing his cheerful voice raised in song as they ran around a bonfire on an empty beach… seeing his face as he looked down on her after rescuing her after a fall from a fortress wall.
Yes, at times he was untrustworthy, but he had never intended to let harm come to them without some plan to remedy the situation already in his mind. But she…. She had chained him to the mast of the ship to be kraken bait without so much as an Inkling of a remedy. She… she had intended for him to die. A man who thought of her as a friend, she well knew…. She had betrayed him and left him to die… deliberately left him to die a very unpleasant and painful death, and alone.
Yes, she had known he may possibly reawaken after death…. There were many legends that said a Pirate Lord could 'come back', even from death itself.…. Sao Feng hadn't, and so she had never given it a second thought!
And no - she had not thought Jack Sparrow would either… not with Jones having said he would be sent to the Locker when the Kraken got him. And he had been in the Locker when they got there. She couldn't help but wince as she recalled how glad she had been that he had not bobbed up in the water after the ship had sunk. The Kraken would have only come after them immediately again if the legends were true and he had popped right back up, alive. She had not wanted him to come back from death. She had only wanted all of them to get away from the monster and let it have him! She had wanted him to stay there, chained to the mast, and be devoured by the beast… She had intended for him to die.
She swallowed dryly. No one was accusing her of something she hadn't done. Now it dawned on her suddenly that she should have been expecting this really. Why had she really thought that causing the death of a pirate lord, when you were a pirate yourself, would be just completely all right? Any person in the normal world would have fled, assumed a different name, hidden themselves away, knowing fully well that the long arms of the law would be looking for them if they arranged for the death of another. Why had it never occurred to her that something along the same lines might be hanging over her?
She knew there was the pirate's code that served to rule over such men. She had seen the huge book for herself. She might not have seen the entry for herself, but she would expect there to be something forbidding the murder of one of the nine pirate lords. Kill one in battle, perhaps… but she had not killed Captain Jack Sparrow in the middle of a battle with another ship or any other person. She had tricked him… lured him… taken advantage of his feelings for her and his trust in her...
She turned back to the first man, eyes glued to the floor.
"May I… may I pack some things for Henry? I would rather no shackles be involved." She managed softly, and the men exchanged relieved looks.
"Aye Madam, we'll help you, of course." The first said and at her nod, she turned and headed up the narrow staircase, hearing the heavy clomp of their boots right behind her.
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