Chapter 1: Dear William
"Will, Will, Will! Turner, Turner, Turner! 'Ats all I ever 'ear!" Jack Sparrow stormed away from Elisabeth Swann. "Why is it, 'at the two of you can ne'er stay outta trouble? Furthermore, why is it that the both of you always come runnin' to ol' Jack for 'elp? Haven't either of you taken into consideration that I do not spend my days, lyin' around, waiting for one of the two of you to beckon me to help save the other. What about what I want?" he paused briefly to look at her, "I do swear, Elisabeth, some days..." he left his sentence unfinished. Probably for the better. He was uncomfortably close to her face, but his lack of respect of personal space was something that she had grown accustom to over the years, and actually expected from Jack.
Even so, she pursed her lips and glared at him.
"Fine. 'captain Sparrow'," she mocked, "What is it that you want?"
"Well, dearie, it doesn't seem to matter now, does it?" Jack spun on his heel and sauntered off, away from Elisabeth. He walked up the harbor to where the Black Pearl had been tied, and began inspecting the lines and general condition of his beloved ship. She stayed close at his heels, silently begging for his help. "What, pray tell you, has the poor whelp gotten himself into this time?" he finally questioned, turning to Elisabeth again, and making sure that any and all expression dropped from his face.
"Jack, he's been captured. The East India Trading Company has put a price on his head, that even pirates are in envy of. The Dutchman is no longer the feared force in the ocean." Elisabeth began. "I got word of Will's capture from his father, who is now at the helm until Will returns. I even went to see Tia Dalma, Jack. She conjured a spell up to protect him temporarily, but it wont last forever. I'm desperate for help. I couldn't live with myself, knowing that I didn't do everything I could to help save Will."
Jack rolled his eyes and turned away again, making his way to the gang plank. "Lizzie, luv, not to sound as though I don't care, I really don't, but there is no profit in there for me. I see how the two of you once again get what you want, but all I see for meself, is a huge mess with a bunch of those slimy gits from the East India Trading Company. Not something I'm prepared to encounter on behalf of saving dear William, yet again." He flipped open his compass, and gave it a confused look, and quickly closed it. "'Sides, I 'have me own proposition 'at I am about to embark on. So the 'Save Will' brigade will 'ave to be you, all by yer onesies."
Again, she glared at him for several moments and he smirked at her loss for words. He loved making her speechless. It happened on rare occasion, but when it did, he basked in the glory of his uncanny wit, and how it made her loose her words. "You're a good man Jack Sparrow. I have always believed in that. And yet here we are again, at the same bloody point where you are being entirely selfish! Will would do it for you. Bloody 'ell, Jack, we traveled to Davey Jones locker to save you. And I for one would do it again."she lowered her eyes, and coyly looked at him. Jack looked away quickly as her saw her eyes deepen. He knew she was his ultimate weakness. He had in fact, let himself be tricked into death by the power of her kiss. An error well worth its moment, but still close to his mind and heart. Something he would not soon forget. And who was to say she wouldn't do it again? "I myself will make sure that you are handsomely rewarded, captain" She continued.
"How so luv?" The thought of a reward perked his interest. "Pursued me." as soon as the words left his lips, he flashed back to the time before when they stood on the deck of the Pearl, as she 'persuaded' him to give back the letters of marque. He shuttered that thought away.
"Well, there are many ways of rewarding someone, Jack," she inched her body closer to his. They were now on the deck of the Pearl, just next to the main mast. Jack crept backward, feeling like he was having de ja vu. Everything that had happened previous between them came rushing back into his mind. Then the thoughts stopped all at once, and the one lingering memory was the kiss. The salty sweet taste of her on his lips and tongue, the feel of her body pressing into his, and the increasing heartbeats between them. He would gladly go to the locker again for one more chance to have her up against him. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself backed up against the main mast, again, with her inches from his face.
"Darling," Jack started to protest, but Elisabeth put her finger tips over his lips, gently brushing against them. Her other hand reveled a small, folded parchment paper and waved it in front of his eyes. Backing his head up, trying to adjust his eyes he looked confused at the little piece of scrap.
"If I were you Jack, I would be very curious right now," she placed her lips close to his, mimicking their prior flirtatious behavior. "This, Mr. Sparrow, is something you will find of great interest. It was given to me by Bootstrap when he came to inform me of Will's trouble. He mentioned that it is a treasure far greater than that of the Isla de Muerta, but only a seasoned captain could reach its location. His reasoning for surrendering it to my possession was that it needed to be in safe and trustworthy hands until the opportune time. You are indeed a seasoned captain, and by my reasoning, trustworthy on occasion. So what do you say, captain Sparrow? Your help in rescuing Will, in return for a most grand treasure? Please? I really need your help."
Her pleas of help were irresistible. She was his Pandora. Everything that she brought to him only seemed to cause him grief, but all in the same, he wanted nothing more than for her to be on the Pearl with him. She loved Will, he knew that, and had accepted the fact that she was not his, nor would she ever be his. This was one treasure that he dare not try to steal.
"Aye. But only if ye agree to join me to this treasure trove, after we rescue the whelp. 'Twill give ye the chance to feel the freedom that the Pearl gives one more time." He snatched the map from her fingers, and pushed past her. "I'll be needin' any and all 'elp I can get, and since it 'twas yer map, it'd only be fair to split the plunder with ye."
She rolled her eyes and turned to him. "Jack, Thank you." She threw her arms around him to his pleasant surprise. Her scent filled his nostrils, intoxicating him with her once again. "Of course I will accompany you on your journey. It would only be fair, of course." She stood back and looked at him. He smiled back at her, and she felt the same butterflies that she did the day they met in Port Royal the first time. She didn't know how he could always do that to her, but he did it well.
"Pack up, luv. At dawn, we sail." He pushed his thoughts of her away, reminding himself, yet again, that they were off to save the man she loved, and that she could never be his.
Elisabeth ran back to her house to gather a few simple belongings, and other various supplies that she would need on the voyage. She stopped when she walked past the mirror, and looked at herself in it for a few moments. She closed her eyes, to imagine Will standing next to her, with his arm around her, leaning in for a sensual and intimate kiss. Something she had done, every day since he had become captain of the Dutchman. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide in shock. This time it wasn't Will that she saw in her imagination. It was Jack, holding her, kissing her, and smiling his coy smirk. He was getting to her again. Already, she could feel herself being pulled in two different directions.
"Come on, Elisabeth. You know what you must do, and why you are doing it. You love William Turner. Not Jack Sparrow. William... Turner." She recited quietly to herself. Her thoughts wandered back to Jack, the smell of his musky rum soaked breath as she held her face inches from his, the feel of his lips as she brushed her fingers against them. She could see what it was that he was wanting from her, and she would be lying if she said that she did not want the same thing at that moment. The kiss that she had placed on him those many years ago lingered on her mind, as she felt her lips begin to tingle with a familiar sensation. She felt her heartbeat increase with the memory, and try as she might, she could not forget the passion that the two of them had shared in that moment. A release of some sort, but all the while creating a new curiosity. She turned her face away from the mirror, and sighed. "Let's just focus on getting Will to safety. Then, I will deal with these other issues." She told herself out loud.
"What other issues, luv?" Jack stood at the door, hand in his tunic just above his cutlass. He smirked at her, giving reason for her to roll her eyes at him again. "Are ye ready to sail on the Pearl again, lass?"
"Yes," she responded, I have my necessaries packed. Are you here to help me carry them a board?"
"Aye, if that in fact be what you need, I will accommodate that." He picked up her bag, as she gathered her loose items. She reached for her journal, as she knew that this would be a voyage worthy of taking note of. Jack stopped her. "There be nothin' in that journal that would be of interest to a pirate, such as meself, eh?" he joked. Elisabeth slapped his hand away and picked it up, holding it close to her.
"No." She blatantly said, "Lets go."
On their way back to the ship, the two made small talk, chatting about Jack's most recent adventure back to Singapore, where they had recovered a desirable amount of treasure, including a new trinket that Jack wore around his neck. It was a diamond with the most intriguing fire Elisabeth had ever seen. He explained to her that it had once belonged to one of the Ming Dynasty's most prominent Empress's, and was said to have powers of protection, as Asian myth went. It was, nonetheless, beautiful.
