AN: Spoiler Alert: Different teasers may include unseen material from established stories.
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My thanks to Jennifer Lynn Weston for the nice reviews.
Most of the new stuff sat in drafts for a rainy day edit. And, oh, yeah, we're getting the rain in Jax. But seriously, I'll put a few more out there after this then probably pop over to Stargate for awhile.
1700's lawsuit? Close enough. Petitioning the Crown for favor took powerful money. And if His Highness, in theory, got involved, it would be quick and merciless - as it was in DMC by Lord Beckett.
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Summary: Elizabeth finds unexpected things in her cellar, Bootstrap is running off with Beckett's sister & Forthright's Captain Groves talks too much.
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TREASURE UNLIKE OTHERS
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1) Misplaced Hearts. Wherein a spooked Elizabeth doesn't understand what is of interest in her cellar with the heart gone. But someone else does.
Elizabeth noticed the chest. She could not comprehend what she saw. It sat where she'd left it earlier, but once more wound in the protective sailcloth as though the thieves had never disturbed it.
She stared at the re-wrapped bundle in awed disbelief. Then, before she could stop herself, she had rolled around an empty barrel, yanked the ornate chest off the shelf and frantically tore it free of the aged sailcloth. The big double-armed key dropped out of the crinkled folds as she started to toss it aside.
Hands shaking in nervous anticipation, she freed the lock and snapped the chest open. Success! And yet the dark-stained white kerchief that Jack had given her to wrap up the organ remained mockingly crumpled in the corner as before - empty of its precious living contents.
But the chest was no longer empty, she realized. Raising the lantern a little higher, she threw light across a bulky, folded parchment. Perplexed, she pulled it out to see a trailing looped black string peeking from inside. She caught and pulled the string, and with an outcry, Elizabeth nearly dropped it, shocked at the sight of an unforgettable ebony, silver-edged pentagonal-shaped box attached at the other end.
Dear God, it was Jack's compass.
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2) Price of Resurrection: Remnants of Loyalty. Wherein Captain Turner's escape with Cutler's most valued bargaining tool - his sister, is too soon jeopardized.
Yes, she looked like a galleon whose apparent bright English colors should have reassured him.
With a nervous glimpse over his shoulder, William saw the battered boat wobbly rising against the Mistress's bulwark. One look back and the survivor abruptly leapt out to scurry up the rigging. The covered bundle left in the bow shook and trembled, but didn't spill out into the sea.
"It's the Endeavor." The quivery voice at his left nearly made him jump. She leaned too far over the rail, the wind tearing at her worn vest, the protective tricorn clutched in her right hand. William winced at the loose black mane flying around a softly molded face. Not a beauty like her nefarious mother, Angelina was an attractive young woman and as headstrong as any Beckett and certainly no pawn. At the moment, her disgust with Cutler's behavior outweighed her anger at Bentley for deserting her.
"Put the bloody hat back on," William grated, shifting behind her to block the crew's view, "til we get to your uncle's plantation. " She airily ignored the gestured, but slapped the hat back on her head, shoving dark curls under the brim. "And what makes you think it's your brother's ship?"
She half-turned from the rail, green-gold eyes wide and sad. "Because Henrietta, sweet, loyal soul that she may be, William, can keep my brother's mongrels at bay for so long. And as clever as dear Bentley may thought he'd been, Cutler is bound to find out soon enough how we've all conspired against him."
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3) A Pirate's Life No More. Wherein aboard the HMS Forthright, Captain Groves finds himself unwillingly intrigued by Lady Isabelle's outlandish claims.
"Mr. Harker, have you ever heard of the Trident coins?"
The helmsman coughed. "Not in many a year, cap'n. Good treasure yarn to be sure," he related quietly. "Eight marked with the three-forked trident and all ta be the sea god's due when he asks for payment. But who can rightly say?"
Andrew turned his gaze from the Dauntless to look out at calm seas and an empty horizon. "Can they say where these coins might be found, Mr. Harker?"
"No, sir," the man replied uncomfortably. "As they not be lost. Passed down, they are, secret-like. Always kept aboard. It's said by some Davy Jones can't take down what ship as carry 'em."
"Which makes them veritably unsinkable."
"As you say, sir," Harked agreed in a hushed tone.
"And quite valuable."
"Aye, to be sure."
"Secretly passed down, you say?"
"Any man would give up a fortune to know where they be, sir."
"If they truly exist."
"Aye, that as well, sir."
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DISCLAIMER NOTE: Elements of Seas of Justice are woven into A Pirate's Life No More, Misplaced Hearts, and Which Way Lies True for the purposes of foundation, entertainment, development and/or continuity only. They don't presume to replace PotC's content.