Cliffie: Very, very short POTC ficlet. Hints of Barbossa/Elizabeth, as it's my crack pairing. I honestly support W/E. Also, this contains major spoilers for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest! You have been warned…
Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters. This is for entertainment purposes only.
When he came down the stairs, she was shocked.
She should have been filled with dread: she knew that. She had been his prisoner, his captive. And, while he hadn't treated her badly—she had even felt sorry for him, at times, being cursed as he was—he had tried to sacrifice her. A girl couldn't forgive a guy who did something like that very easily.
But she wasn't unhappy at the sight of him. She wasn't happy, either, but the dominant emotion was simply surprise. She had seen him die, seen the apple roll out of his hand. And she had felt relief when she knew he was gone; perhaps even a bit of glee.
But now he was back, and all she could feel was shock.
Nothing else.
It wasn't like she had missed him. But, now that he was standing before her again, she couldn't be angry. She couldn't be indignant, or filled with dread. Now, all she could feel was numbness seeping over her bones. And, perhaps, at the back of her mind, she thought that he would be their savior—Jack's savior. Perhaps he could even help redeem her. Why else would Tia Dalma bring him back from the dead? He had to save them—had to. She clung to that thought, held onto it with all her might. Because, if she believed even for one second that the terrible, terrible thing she had done never could be redeemed…
They had both done horrible things in their lives. But he was back, he was redeemed, and now he was doing his penance by helping them. By saving them.
By saving her.
As the others rose with cries, she remained sitting. With tear-stains on her cheeks, she stared up at the gray-haired man as he came down the stairs.
His eyes flickered to her, and he grinned. She couldn't smile back, but she didn't turn away either.
When he raised his hand to his mouth and bit into the green apple he held, juice dribbling down his chin, she found herself smiling, chuckling ever-so softly. It was just a hint of a smile; a ghost of a smile, if you would. But it was a smile nonetheless.
He had finally gotten his apple.
And then she rose to greet him, to ask him silently if he would save her. And he replied, somehow knowing what she longed for, that he would do his best.
Cliffie: So there's my fulfillment of crack for this month. Hope I didn't scar anyone for life :P The parallels between Barbossa and Elizabeth and Elizabeth and Jack are really interesting, you know. See, Barbossa tried to sacrifice Elizabeth. Elizabeth killed Jack. Now Barbossa is back to help Elizabeth and Co. bring Jack back, redeeming both himself and Elizabeth in the process.
…my mind works in strange ways. ..
Thanks for reading, and please review!