Title: The Hymn of the Pearl
Pairing: J/E
Rating: PG
Summary: She is more priestess then runaway, and he cannot help but to celebrate midsummer with her.
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Disney
Notes: I fully admit that this story started out odd and went straight to… more odd. It's got a very heavy supernatural element in it. Also, the inspiration for it came from The Hymn of the Pearl which is an excerpt from one of the Gnostic gospels (Thomas, I think.)
Jack Sparrow emerged from his drunken stupor just before dawn. He always did, somehow, as though that fleeting moment where the sun emerged from her nightly journey beckoned him like the lady sea. He groped his way through the still dark stairwells and decks of the Pearl , poking his head out into the cool, early morning air. The deck seemed deserted, the watch having gone below. Jack walked over to the wheel as he always did, in a manner which bespoke years of sea life and still longer in the company of rum.
From his place at the wheel, he could see the whole of the deck, and it was from there that he first noticed her. She stood at the bow, motionless. She had let her hair down; honey brown strands beginning to glow in the faint morning light. She lacked the hat and vest that had been a constant part of her outfit, standing only in the loose shirt and breeches she had stolen. As he inched silently toward her, he noticed that she held a single candle, its faint flame flickering. She moved a hand to shield it from the breeze. She was murmuring something, in a sing song voice that was both young as a child and old as the sea at once.
Without turning around, she smiled softly "Hello, Jack." She continued to look out to sea, the new sun beginning to illuminate her face. She continued to whisper.
"What are you doing love?"
"Do you know what day it is, Jack?" She paused a moment. "It is midsummer."
"Aye, the longest day of the year. That still doesn't explain the candle and the…" Jack waved about, gesturing from her hair to the candle to her outfit. "Ensemble."
"I've always celebrated midsummer, Jack." Elizabeth still whispered, seeming almost an ancient priestess as she was bathed in the strengthening light.
"And to whom are we dedicating this day?" He asked, teasing gently.
"Isis. She isn't generally associated with midsummer, but she is with the flood, the rebirth of her land. Midsummer is as close as we can get. It is something of a marriage ceremony."
"Marriage? I told you I could do that, love."
Elizabeth laughed softly. "Not that kind of marriage, Jack. Almost an alliance."
"She's the goddess of the dead, love. Do we need that kind of an alliance?"
"Can't hurt."
"Couldn't have picked a sea goddess? Calypso, maybe?"
"We'll need more help from those in the afterlife. You've already angered Davey Jones. Calypso, Poseidon, Neptune, none of them can help us." Elizabeth smiled as the flame of the candle danced on the breeze, joining with the rays of the new day sun. "Besides, the pearl is important only in Egypt."
"Pardon, love?"
"The Hymn of the Pearl. I only vaguely remember it. It was in a book in the study that my father would study for hours. A man was sent down into Egypt to rescue a pearl. I don't know what it meant, but it was beautiful."
"And so you're praying to an Egyptian goddess to rescue the Pearl?"
"Aye." Elizabeth whispered softly. She turned to face him, the morning light streaming across her, illuminating her hair. She smiled, a smile that lay deep within her eyes as well as on her lips. She held the candle up, between the two of them.
"Will you finish the ritual for me?" she asked, beguilingly. Jack stood motionless, caught in the moment.
"Yes."
"Blow." She whispered, moving the candle closer to his face. He blew it out gently, his eyes never leaving her face. She gently lowered it, moving closer to him. They stood for a moment, bathed in light. The breeze became a whisper, gentle enough to stir their hair, Elizabeth's hair gently caressed Jack's cheek, and the air was filled with the light tinkling of his adornments, almost like a fairy tale music box. "She is pleased." Elizabeth whispered, smiling at him.
He leaned toward her, but she slowly moved away, walking silently back toward the hatch to go below. As she reached it, she turned slightly, glancing over her shoulder at him. Her eyes roved her him, as she smiled quickly, then disappeared below. Jack stood for a moment, wondering what had happened. He attempted to shake the image of her from his head, but it would not leave him. He turned toward the sea. She seemed to be playful, laughing at him. He smiled to himself, then turned to the wheel, becoming, once again, more pirate then lover.