A/N The first sentence of the story randomly appeared in my mind as I turned on the bathwater the other day. I raced to my laptop and wrote it down, becoming so absorbed that a barely noticed that the bath was still running. That is until my mother almost had a fit when seeing that the bath was centimetres from overflowing.
Anyway…now you know that this is a strange story apparently inspired by (while having nothing to do with) bathwater.
Please enjoy and don't forget to review…
PS: the Dreams are indicated by italics and this symbol - // - at the beginning and end.
x-x-x
Will glanced at Elizabeth, noting the gauntness of her cheeks and the dark half-circles under her eyes. Despite the anger he felt towards her and the animosity between them, he could help but feel concerned when she looked so tired and ill.
She must love Jack so, he thought sadly. Now and then he wondered whether she would have cared as much had it been him that had offered to stay aboard ship to tempt the Kraken.
Elizabeth became aware of his gaze and looked across the desk at him. He flushed and looked back to the map he was supposed to be studying. They were charting a course to Singapore. Barbossa had not yet revealed why he intended to go there, but no one else knew where they intended to go. So they had to trust in the man that only a few years ago had done his best to kill them.
Think of the devil, Barbossa stalked in to the cabin acting as if he owned the place, which come to think of it, he probably did. He sneered at the two pairs of eyes glaring at him and dismissed them from their task.
Will stood and stretched his stiff muscles, Elizabeth however gathered her hat and stalked out, completely ignoring Will's gaze in a manner which did not escape Barbossa.
"Marriage trouble, I see." He laughed and his dead looking blue eyes sparkled evilly.
Will cast him a withering glare and strode out on to the open deck. It was still raining and the sky was hidden by threatening clouds as far as the eye could see. About 10 yards away Elizabeth was vanishing below deck likely in search of her hammock. It was late and the sky had darkened quickly.
Gibbs was at the helm with water dripping down his tired face. Because there was such a small crew, everyone had long hours and at the moment Gibbs seemed to be bearing the brunt of it.
Tossing up between another mostly sleepless night below deck and a night under the clouded sky in the rain, Will chose the rain .
"I've come to relieve you, mate." He said to Gibbs with a small smile. Gibbs gave a exhausted nod of thanks and disappeared from the rain quickly, without even questioning Will's motive.
It was going to be a very long night, decided Will. He pulled his leather coat closer around him and wiped some of the rain from his face. A useless exercise since the droplets were replaced so quickly with the force of the downpour.
Minutes dragged by slowly until all of a sudden he realised that someone else was having trouble sleeping. Tia Dalma stood a little away with her back to him. Rain soaked her dress and dripped from her long dreadlocks but she appeared not to notice. Instead her attention was fixed on the rough waves and ominous clouds on the horizon.
"What troubles you, William Turner?" She asked quietly, without turning around.
Will jumped, he hadn't though that she'd noticed him watching her. But then she was always like that, working in mysterious ways.
"Is it an unfaithful woman?" She continued without waiting for a reply. She turned to him, her expression unfathomable in the half-light.
He shied away from her penetrating stare, preferring to focus on the smooth wet wood of the wheel beneath his fingertips.
"She loves you more than you might think." Tia Dalma said softly. She began making her way towards Will, who was still steadfastly ignoring her.
She came right up to him, standing so close that he could hear her breathing over the sound of the rain falling around them. Reaching for him, she tilted his face to her so that she would be able to look into his eyes. Will didn't bother to resist, but instead looked back at her letting the sorrow and anger of the last few weeks fill his eyes.
Their gazes held for a long moment before she took her hand away from his face and intertwined their hands together instead.
"If you stay true, Will Turner, love will find you. Go now and rest easy," She touched his forehead. "I will watch the sea in your stead." Will nodded feeling drowsiness wash over him in a gentle warm wave.
"Thank you." He murmured sleepily holding her close for a moment before stumbling tiredly in the direction of his hammock.
He thought he might have heard her laugh lightly, but it must have just been the wind.
x-x-x
Down below the ship tossed nauseatingly. Or so it seemed to Elizabeth who was curled up in her hammock. The rain beat down against the wet timber of the ship creating a lulling sound that was making her sleepier by the second.
Despite her drowsiness her head throbbed angrily, no doubt due to studying maps for hours. Her tired eyes fluttered shut and she barely registered Gibbs stumbling down the stairs. In seconds loud snores resounded around the room, only adding to the sound made by the rest of the sleeping pirates.
It was only a few more seconds before she too began to snore…
//"Play for me?" said the gypsy girl to the boy with the fiddle. He only raised his dark eyebrows expectantly and smiled when she reluctantly dug out a small coin from the recesses of her gaudy gypsy dress.
Then he obediently began to play a rousing song in the middle of the street. The girl tossed her long dark hair around and started to dance, dragging others from the watching crowd to join in. Soon enough most of the street was dancing and the rum was flowing freely.
In a tavern nearby a young man cocked his head to one side and listened to the faint sounds of music and dancing.
"D'you hear that?" He asked his companion. "That, my dear Hector is the sound of dancing. And what is an essential factor in dancing?"
Hector narrowed his young blue eyes, searching for the trick in the question.
"Er…music?" He answered tentatively.
The young man waved a dismissive hand,
"Other than that." He said leaning closer to Hector and cocking his head to the side once more.
"I don't know, how 'bout ye tell me, Jack." Replied Hector irately.
"There's no need to be impatient my friend, because I will tell you." Laughed Jack.
"Then tell me!" cried Hector impatiently.
"The key ingredient in dancing is women." Announced Jack triumphantly. "And as I've said before; you need to get yourself a girl, so it seems that this is a great opportunity to find yourself a good time."
He stilled expectantly, waiting for Hector to catch up on his logic and agree whole-heartedly.
"I suppose…"said Hector doubtfully.
Jack sighed impatiently and forcefully dragged his friend towards the celebrations.
As they arrived Jack was immediately whirled away by a horde of flirting women, leaving Hector to stand alone feeling out of place amidst the celebrations.
He admired a laughing girl in gypsy-dress dance and was rather surprised when she caught his gaze and hauled him into the mass of dancing bodies.
"Why are we dancing?" He asked her.
She grinned, baring white teeth and told him that they were dancing because they could.
The dreamscene changes…
Hector turned to Jack with a frown of disappointment etched across his youthful features.
"She's not coming, is she." He said tiredly.
Jack said nothing but continued to watch the docks that were almost empty in the early morning.
Hector sighed and turned away, but even as he did a slight figure appeared, running towards them.
Jack grinned and shouted at the men aboard ship to ready themselves to leave.
"Look, mate" He called to Hector, who was walking away. "She's come."
Hector turned and saw her and as he did a great smile spread across his face.
"Cerys," he whispered to her when she flung her browned arms around his neck. "you came."
"Did you think I wouldn't?" asked the gypsy girl, laughing lightly.
"Never." He lied, looking over her shoulder at his Captain. But Jack just stood there with a small smile on his face.
The dreamscene changes….
Cerys stood in the middle of the cabin, turned away from Jack who was lounging in his chair a few steps away.
"Don't do this, Jack." She said with a trembling voice. "Don't lie to me again, I can't bear it."
Jack noted her slender back bowed with despair and frowned.
"What makes you think I'm lying to you, love?" He asked, standing up and walking over to where she stood.
Cerys froze, all the words stilled in her throat at the feeling of his warm body pressed up against her back.
"So you were telling the truth when you said…when you said that…" She began after a slight pause.
"When I told you I wanted you?" He inquired lightly; well aware of the effect he was having on her.
"Yes…" She whispered.
"Every word, love." He replied and with that he placed his rough hands on her slight waist and spun her around so that they were face to face.
Cerys ducked her head, feeling breathless at the look in his dark eyes and the spicy scent of him.
He tilted her head back up and caught her lips with a kiss.
Unnoticed by the pair inside the cabin, the first mate stood just outside with his hand still poised to knock. Hector tore his disbelieving eyes away from the scene he could see through the door that was slightly ajar and felt a shiver of cold run down his back.
How dare he? Hector wondered, how dared Jack, his best friend, his captain betray him so thoughtlessly. And more importantly how dare Cerys, his lover, and his gypsy…
He loved her… or rather, had loved her.
Raging thoughts of rebellion and mutiny swirled inside his cold mind…//
All of a sudden Elizabeth woke, cold sweat running down her face and the image of the young Barbossa's blue eyes burning with pain and sorrow and the desire for revenge burnt into her mind.
She shivered convulsively, her memory of the dream fading rapidly. Her head throbbed more that ever and she felt unusually hot, even though it was still raining outside. Her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and she panicked, not finding herself in her childhood bedroom but rather in a smelly noisy hold surrounded by unfamiliar men.
Shivers racked her slight frame and she fought back the urge to cry with panic and pain. She pressed ice-cold hands to her burning forehead and attempted to stand, swaying alarmingly.
The floor tossed beneath her and she retched, partly out of fear, partly out of nausea. Her breathing became quick and uneven as she searched for a familiar face. Then she spotted him, Will, her childhood sweetheart, lying in a swaying hammock. She stumbled towards him, sobbing and shivering. He didn't wake, so she sank to the floor, pressing her hot forehead to rough timber and praying for the nightmare to end.
x-x-x