Chapter 1: Judge Not Least Ye be Judged
Summary:
Author: OrionRedStar
Title: Indomitable Interrogatories
Genre: Drama
Pairing: M/F
Rating: M Mature, Adult Sexual Material (do not read if you find this sort of material offensive)
Characters: Jack Sparrow /Elizabeth Swann
Timeline: After AWE
Summary: Jack and Elizabeth reconvene two months after the destruction of Beckett. Each are on the run. Sparrow's pursuits seem more legitimate these days, but events occur that might bring him back to piracy.
Notes:
This story started out from an idea and so far as bore fruit to date. Hope you enjoy reading it, other chapters in the works.
Chapter I - Judge Not Least Ye be Judged
"Hear ye, hear ye….all rise as the his honor Judge Gregory H. Baskerville now presides over this courtroom!" and a few moments later the man stated just as sternly after the judge was seated, "…and now you may all take your seats!"
The court attendant's voice was so blaring, the vaulted high ceiling seemed filled just enough with his residual echo to stamp the impression of a terse formality to engulf all within. It was peppered with enough starch to remind all this was not a congregation of worship this morning, but a collection of peers, jurors and accusers to make their case to those within the courtroom. Elizabeth sat still as an instant hush fell over the room; a man stood up along with the rest of the individuals now filing into court this morning. The atmosphere was unbearable in spite of the warm breezes shooting in through the tall and opened windows of the old Romanesque church, turned courtroom for the day. Although it was mid morning, there was promise in the weather for turning it into another baking hot oven.
Elizabeth Swann sat there, her hands set demurely upon her lap and wearing a decent dress for the occasion, and of course the much detested corset. She was in her finest frippery of dress today for making a visual impression. Evidently that was just as important as the testimony she would present. As she nervously wrung a handkerchief through her one hand, tugging it through as it was clasped by the other, Elizabeth bit her lower lip. The humidity was beginning to seep inside the building, making the church hall even more uncomfortable. A slight film of perspiration lined her upper lip. Elizabeth could not help but allow her imagination to wander, entertaining the promised and grueling heat of the day to suit those who wanted to fry her. At the moment she felt as if she resided within the devils' own anvil. The ominous atmosphere reared high and presently bore down hard upon them all with a vicious strike of pressure. It was a constant hammering of heat upon their mere mortal souls.
Elizabeth was brought to the present as she heard herself being called to the stand for testimony. She quickly reached for the glass of tepid water, took a sip and could not help wishing it could have been far cooler than it was. So, Miss Elizabeth Swann was on trial. Was it any wonder? Captured by the British Royal Navy and a wanted pirate, no….a well known pirate after the battle with Lord Cutler Beckett and the Royal British Navy. It was heard-told Captain Elizabeth Swann had been dubbed not only a menace on the high seas, but she was also a woman who fraternized with other known pirates. The Navy had offered evidence that she was alleged to be their Pirate King, or so it was the rumor that shot around those who resided back in Port Royal.
There were a bevy of tales following in upon her heels when Elizabeth was captured and held within the ship's brig. Many of the soldiers had run down into the hull of the ship to take glimpses of her, as Elizabeth sat in the bleak darkness of the brig. Peered at like a circus oddity and hearing subtle laughter and sneers following. When she finally was taken onto land, it was no better. That first night of her arrival in Port Royal, the news ran rampant that her trial was to begin almost immediately, since the evidence had been piled up and only waiting for her physical capture to begin. So, this was the very start of her ordeal. From where she presently sat, Elizabeth could only assume her chances were bleak; it did not bode well as to her immediate future. No doubt Elizabeth would have a short trial and a quick race to the hangman's noose.
Elizabeth endured a week's residence within a dark and dreary gaol before her trial had been hastened. The food was substandard, no candles or lanterns were permitted for nighttime illumination, nor was there a visitor to pay her good tidings. Elizabeth was a known menace to society, treated as a pariah. The only problem was, her present company of pirates were not around. The wily Captain Jack Sparrow had remained in Singapore, and for the past six months not a single pirate had seen hide or hair of the man. Elizabeth survived on her own, trusting in the faith of the present crew she had inherited from Sao Feng. There was not much loyalty among pirates as a rule of thumb, and there was not much to speak of when many who crewed the Empress lost their lives in the last battle. Elizabeth remained with her ship until the last of her crew could reach the longboats and slip to safety within the dark seas, escaping the doomed Empress whilst Elizabeth ensured their exit was certain. All save herself and two others who felt allegiance, were snared by the Royal Navy.
-FLASHBACK-
Elizabeth was in Barbados, arriving into Bridgeport when she sought to garner supplies. There were rumors of a major storm heading towards the outer Atlantic and many pirates warned her to stay closer inland and berth her ship rather than do a death dance with the tempest. As she scurried through the cluttered streets, Elizabeth's mind had drifted. She wanted to do a bit of shopping but had a yen for a good meal. It had been a while since the ship had been supplied, and once the squall would pass, she was set to journey far. But she needed to chart their course and that was a daunting task. With charts of parchment tucked under the arm of her robe, Elizabeth sought a place to rest, have a decent snack and work on her charts to save time.
The last time Elizabeth had seen Jack Sparrow. It had been a brief but memorable liaison. It was a short chat they had in his cabin before she left him to meet Will Turner ashore. He was sullen and brusque, hardly looking up from his desk and seemed disinterested in her long explanations or fond goodbye. It was apparent when she departed his ship and Jack's refusal to kiss her. That had hurt. Elizabeth felt guilt and culpability as well as gratitude that day. What else was there to say?
It was only when Elizabeth ventured to Shipwreck Cove with Teague had she learned where Jack had gone. Evidently, according to his father, Jack Sparrow had plans. He made his father aware of his next venture that was pirate-like, but a good deal removed from pillaging ships at sea. Jack had made a business deal with a former Oriental crony. They decided to try their hand at making money via the ivory trade. Sparrow was to be the go-between his Singapore friends and those who resided within the Americas. Sparrow already took one successful trip, from Singapore to New Orleans. He was now on his second trip back to the Orient. The scheme was lucrative and the mechanics of this venture seemed easy enough at this stage. The negotiations in America having been established with a new company, the coin was good, and the business far removed and not involved with the East India Trading Company. However, Sparrow would be acting as an opposing agent to them and interfering in their monopoly. Jack's actions as an interloper in the ivory trade siphoned money from the East India Trading Company. That part of the deal suited Sparrow fine, but they would consider him as stiff competition and a rival...neither of which survived long.
Elizabeth was already seated and sipping some jasmine tea when Sparrow had sashayed into the establishment, big as life. All heads turned when he entered the inn with Gibbs and a few other pirates Elizabeth did not recognize. Her heart skipped a beat for she had no idea Jack had also been sailing in these waters. It had been so long and yet only a few months time. But Elizabeth could not stop the pounding of her own heart and the elation of seeing Jack there.
Jack was aware of her presence in Bridgeport. Sparrow's Black Pearl ship had not berthed in the port, deciding to anchor just off shore. Jack came in on a longboat with Gibbs and a few others and was surprised seeing her ship docked there. So at the moment, Jack was aware of Elizabeth being in town. The way his eyes scanned and darted about the room, Jack seemed distracted from the company he was keeping. Elizabeth assumed he was looking for her. Sparrow had to see her docked ship. She even wondered if he situated his own vessel next to the Empress. The intensity of his visual probing about the patrons within this busy inn, she only guessed he was looking for her since Sparrow was hardly listening to Gibbs speaking to him. Jack would nod his head arbitrarily, but focus his attention elsewhere as he resumed scoping out another section of the pub with relentless curiosity. His hand to chest, Jack did a half turn of the waist to look behind him, perhaps having thought to already strut past Elizabeth and unaware of passing her. True to form, Jack was following his own trail within the establishment.
As Sparrow meandered past the tables and the seated patrons there, he keenly swept the length of the inn back and forth looking for something in particular. Elizabeth had to chuckle silently to herself for as she watched his long limbs take one poignant and determined step after the next, she admired his uncanny presence. Nearly all heads turned and it was not only the bar maids, but the men as well. Jack was pleasing to the eye both in his looks and those brazen mannerisms. That quirky jerking of his head from one side to the next seeking his prey. The next thing he did was pull back his long dreadlocks from his eyes for they flung into his face as his head swept from side to side in search. Elizabeth knew he had to be seeking her out, but she offered him no assistance. It was more fun this way to observe Sparrow's urgency rise, then deny it later that she had spotted him getting flustered.
From what she could tell at this distance, Jack had not changed at all in these past few months. Besides the same cocky swagger, his rugged facial features were still handsome as ever. Elizabeth almost wished he was not so attractive or had such gifted angles of his leonine façade. That tan was as rich copper color near to the hue of a ha'penny, and his chiseled features carved out with an angular, masculine appeal. Elizabeth imagined that only a few more lines were added from the harsh sun, a delicate webbing of tiny streaks about his eyes, cleverly disguised by the signature kohl he wore. But suddenly those obsidian eyes met hers and they remained affixed and alert the moment they recognized a familiar form. Sparrow did a double take as he spotted Elizabeth. A fleeting smile quickened upon his lips as he nodded to her in recognition. Jack cut off his conversation with his present company, maintaining his intimate eye contact with Elizabeth. When Gibbs looked in her direction, it was understood why Sparrow was so distracted having found his prize. Excusing himself with a quick quip over his shoulder to Gibbs and a few other crewmen, Jack had already vaulted off in her direction to make his way over to Elizabeth's table.
As soon as Sparrow twisted a lope in her direction, their eyes never lost sight of regarding each other. Sparrow's side smile instantly began to carve a crescent into his countenance, broadening as he drew near. Stopping dead in his tracks from nearly toppling over a bar maid, Jack did a hard right to avert an accident. Once successfully past the near miss, he then resumed his bold track right towards Elizabeth. Jack looked away only a moment, as if to determine if anyone else was with her or stationed nearby as a watch. Not seeing anyone obviously Oriental from her crew, he assumed Elizabeth was seated by herself. Jack quickly glimpsed over what was in front of her; abandoned plates from a finished meal and presently mulling over a few splayed charts. Those black eyes were swiftly gliding to her right hand to observe it clasping a quill. No doubt she was making notations of a future trip. That was when his obsidian orbs dropped upon approach and honed in on the desired target, Elizabeth's lovely visage. His beam wide and eyes sly as a fox, Sparrow announced himself.
"Ah, Miss Swann…fancy meetin' you 'ere, eh?" Sparrow mused with a Machiavellian grin, now standing at her table and peering down his nose at her austere countenance.
"It is good to see you, Jack. I had not anticipated you sailing in these waters. You should have known I was in town, no? Did you not notice my vessel when you docked into port?"
"Oh, was that the Empress, then? Funny, I'd not noticed it a 'tall…many ships indeed have flocked inland due to this tempest on the march for the islands. But nevertheless, this 'tis a pleasant surprise. Fancy seein' you 'ere…"
"Funny indeed. If you had seen my ship, of course you would have stopped by to visit me in my cabin first, would you not?" Elizabeth quickly quizzed Sparrow.
"Mmmm….mebbe…..depends on me mood. But no, I had not noticed yer ship s' much as you'd might imagine. We're docked outside port a ways n' took a longboat in. Not sure we're sittin' out the storm 'ere or no…timin' is everything."
Elizabeth's coy grin started out as a small, sprouting smile for she was certain Jack had indeed seen her very distinguishable vessel. But in any case, Elizabeth watched Sparrow's shoulders draw fuller and broader as he stood tall. This diversion was more amusing than she thought it would be. Jack was going to be glib this time as well, but no different than any others. This was his way of proving he did not care about her. Elizabeth had discerned that behavior from Sparrow many moons ago. It was this technique used to carve out his independence to all who had a thought to snare him. Elizabeth was already a married woman with no such designs, yet it was amusing to watch the cocky rooster pretend he was a coveted commodity to her.
"Oh, so I assume when you came into this inn you were seeking out another individual and not me; how disappointing that truly is." She mused with a feigned pout, "…and I thought you might have missed me a little."
Jack was getting twitchy now, shifting his weight from one boot to the next and starting to feel the influence of Elizabeth's peering amber eyes. All the while smiling coyly up at him with a disturbing coquettish humor. Her roving orbs were doing a dalliance about his frame and painfully stoic features. Jack was trying too hard and he knew Elizabeth knew it too.
'Blast! That bloody woman's got periscopes fer eyes, then. Right…sally up mate n' be bold.'
"The thought had occurred t' me that y' might be 'ere, then….of sorts. Many ships are seekin' shelter from this squall if they can…right nasty bit of business, that. Some bloke who jus' came from out there told me 'bout it."
Elizabeth felt he was playing their game with a bit more difficulty; at least Jack was having a rough time maintaining his usual breezy flair for their verbal dalliance. Jack Sparrow knew Elizabeth had to be there at the nearest inn or eatery from port. Many a sailor was eager to capitalize on filling up on good grub when ashore, to obtain a decent meal as one of their priorities. Elizabeth's on-ship cook so happened to be a superior one, but perishable items quickly spoiled at sea. Being on land offered cuisine which was not so readily available when one sailed the oceans.
And Elizabeth had been at sea nigh on two months after the pirate's war with Beckett. After his ultimate demise it seemed that most pirates scattered to the four winds. She went to Shipwreck Cove for some time, but Teague felt it was safer for Elizabeth to be mobile―at least until the heated search for her was arrested or died down. Elizabeth felt it a wise choice to follow Teague Sparrow's suggestion. Jack's father turned out to be a very well suited and prudent counsel for Elizabeth in most matters having to do with her new formed station; at least gave her ideas of what the Pirate King should do. In spite of the well known history of the Cove being an impregnable stronghold from attack by sea, Teague could not guarantee Elizabeth safety from an on shore attack. Anyone on the outside could try to sneak past shore safeguards and infiltrate the Cove. Pawning themselves off as pirate, they could manage an approach to harm Elizabeth while she was stationed there.
Being on the move all the time seemed more appealing to Elizabeth now at this junction of her new life. She felt free at sea; did more and saw more when she was sailing upon her newly acquired ship. Having spent some weeks in the easterly isles of Antigua and Barbados, the Royal Navy had not anticipated her to sail that far. Rather they deduced her course of action would be to sail closer to Jamaica and the Bahamas. Teague also ensured this false information be fed to those who would leak this to the Navy. Jack had heard that rumor about where the Pirate King was circulating, but ventured not to disclose that information to Elizabeth at this time. So he was indeed surprised to see her ship when their longboat had rowed into Bridgeport.
"Oh, so then you did expect to see me here?" Elizabeth quickly quipped to corner him.
"Well, jus' b'cause yer ship 'tis lurkin' about, luv…and if I had indeed seen it―does not necessarily secure the notion that you'd be here as well. I mean y' could've been mutinied upon or dragged off into some other infernal form of intrigue. An' that of course could've kept y' away from said ship, eh? Mebbe yer haunts out west had brought y' misfortune with the Royal Navy―or out 'ere on the eastern Atlantic. Y' might've been deterred n' chased from yer westerly haunts, mebbe detoured an' persuaded to sail the Virgin isles, perhaps? Fact 'tis…any of us on the run could fall prey t' those misfortunes, savvy?"
"Nice to know you think so fondly of me as always being in some variety of disaster, as you suggest. I am quite capable to hold my own, thank you very much. But tell me this, if I had been in that sort of peril, would you not show me the courtesy of an assist? As your Pirate King, would you not show any loyalty or favor of loaning out your protective services? I would be hard pressed to believe you would refrain from offering any sort of aid to rally behind your Pirate King. Since we who sail the seas could all fall at any time. Are pirates not brought together in some type of brotherhood? Would they not take action to assist any fellow pirates if they would befall such a threat? I personally would loan my cannon out to assist you in any battle." Elizabeth persisted.
Sparrow chucked now, a genuine and deep laugh which resonated. His kohl dark eyes slanting to accommodate an otherwise affable beam. Shaking his head with amusement, those long raven dreadlocks and trinkets swayed as he now made a maneuver of making himself comfortable sitting down. Pulling out a chair across from Elizabeth at her table, Jack took the liberty of snatching up one of her charts to read. As he got comfortable in his seat, Jack lifted it to his line of sight as he flopped down and wistfully replied,
"Mmmm…mebbe. I'd not heard-tell of such serendipitous misfortunes, though. Why...had there been some sort of sordid intrigue whilst I was otherwise engaged?"
Elizabeth watched tongue in cheek as Jack's black eager eyes scanned her charts as if to glean some inside information about where she might be headed next. Elizabeth did not really know why she wanted to goad Sparrow, but sticking it to him certainly paid off when he was being insolent or intolerable. Arms crossed over her chest, the longer, silky arms of her robe carried a reflective sheen. The afternoon light filtering in from the nearby window seemed to illuminate Elizabeth in a warm umber hue. The colorful golden threads of her garment were shimmering and eye catching. The silk threads brightening the somewhat otherwise drab interior of where they sat. The sleeves covered the entire corner of the wood table, starkly lit against the brown leather upholstery of the chairs as well, there was a glow about her. Lips pursed, Sparrow took extra time to dart his orbs over the tip of parchment to spy her visage, listening as she gave a precautionary repine to engage that question.
"No, this time there had not been any such intrigues, as you put it."
"No? Well, I sup'ose if there had been a call t' rally round you…it would definitely had been a due course fer me to consider. Naturally I have not acted as pirate fer some time, then. So t' leave the comfort of me own legitimate business ventures t' seek you out as pirate…well, that 'twould need a bit of thought first, eh?"
"Oh, is that so?" Elizabeth replied with a haughty taunt leaning towards him as she sneered in a low hiss, "It is not enough to know that I might 'possibly' have your support under such circumstances. If you do happen to recall Captain Sparrow, it was by your vote which got me into this role and lifestyle. Had it not been for you, I would have―"
"Aye, a fine Pirate King y' were for the time bein' as far as I could tell. But fer one who claims the title of pirate luv, I can still see y' servin' up tea in yer ruddy English garden n' mussin' 'bout wiv tea cozies n' darnin' Turner's leggings―at least that 'tis what I'd assumed you'd return to once we parted ways."
"I beg your pardon, but I had not gone back to Port Royal…"
"Oh, hadn't you?" Jack's lofty and arrogant influence seemed to penetrate Elizabeth's nerves for feeling the brunt of his jests, "…not enjoyin' the fruits of marital bliss, then are we?" Sparrow cattily mused with a sly grimace; his eyes peering over the top of the chart while holding it high between them as handy barrier.
"No, I had not. I went to Shipwreck Cove. After a short time it was advised I leave and sail around for a bit, and had done so until I wound up here for supplies. And as you know well enough the fate of Will…he remains at sea all the time. So your visions of 'tea cozies and darning' are far removed from the equation of reality, sir."
"Not even a seaside rendezvous, then? Not t' rekindle a bit of the ol' flames for the sake of…mmmmmm…l'amour?"
Elizabeth glowered at Jack's coy grin as she watched his glistening rings while tapping his fingers upon the parchment of her chart. She hated when Jack could so easily twist her innards and get riled by his asinine comments. Elizabeth took a deep breath in an attempt of curbing her temper from a flair as her back went rigid against the chair.
"Not that it is any of your business, but no…we had not met for any 'seaside rendezvous' as you had put it."
"An' now yer headed towards…Ah ha! Singapore 'tis it? What a coincidence, so am I." Sparrow cheerily stated with a cunning beam now putting down her charts.
Elizabeth shot Sparrow an imperious glower, snatching the charts out of his hand and began to fold each one carefully. What made him such an infuriating man, this inability to distinguish topics from anyone else's perspective other than his own warped view? And everything was a mocking jest to him, no matter how dire a situation it was. Jack Sparrow always had the uncanny ability to spin each circumstance to a humorous slant. Elizabeth wondered if he did that just to make light of it, or was there mockery involved? That slight edge of course, allowed Jack the luxury to also escape any involvement of politics, which he despised. Jack's resistance in supplying assistance seemed disloyal to her as Pirate King. Elizabeth figured that she was in a loop of discord and only beating her head against the wall. Trying to figure out Sparrow in one simple sitting this afternoon was daunting. It was best to just avoid his goading for it only incensed her. Elizabeth figured to try piecing the puzzle of Sparrow together some other time and just get through this visit and have done with it―and him.
"So, b'sides supplies an' yer….ummm…..cup of tea there," Sparrow added with an overly done and animated peek at her cup, "….what sort of business brings you t' sail for Singapore, then? I'd have thought that area 'tis far out of yer Caribbean jurisdiction, eh? A bit too east of yer own watery territory I should imagine." Jack breezily stated with a flip of his wrist as well in gesture.
Leaning forward with his hands clasped and steepled, chin atop and a smirk beaming at her, Sparrow watched Elizabeth toil with folding her charts. She kept looking down and would not direct her gaze upward to him anytime too soon. In the final moment of his intense leer, at last she replied with a remote tenor,
"Well it may be out of my jurisdiction, but not for the majority of my crew. If you recall they are all from the Orient. They expressed to me they would like to travel home for change of pace. I do not blame them; the urge of wanting to once again see and be around their friends and family….of which I have none such to speak of…now."
Elizabeth had announced her retort in a rather gloomy tone and it was too late to restate the subject in a different light using a more up-tempo. Jack's kohl smudged eyes narrowed considerably as he studied Elizabeth visage and pursed his lips taut with thought.
"An' so yer headed t' Singapore as well, says I. Seems like fate intervenes on our behalf again, dear Lizzie…"
Elizabeth's head shot up as she stared open mouthed at Sparrow in shock for his gratuitous remark, not sure what he meant by that precise comment and inserting within his slogan the distinct 'our' as well.
"Hardly a re-threading of providence, it is only a slight coincidence having nothing of the occult in that whatsoever. You are doing…only God knows what in the Orient, and shall I bring my crew home to their families. I see nothing of fate in our joint efforts in a similar course towards the Far East."
"Don't you?" Sparrow repined, those dark eyes twinkling with mischief.
Sparrow lifted his boots in a crossed fashion and casual glide up and onto the empty chair next to Elizabeth. All the while those black diamond eyes silently probed Elizabeth as if to request permission to rest them there. He held them up and poised just a few inches from the seat until she responded. Nodding to him, Elizabeth almost lost her cap with her hair and quickly nabbed it. It was too thick and heavy to remain stationary if she shifted about too much. Elizabeth prevented a cluster of golden locks from spilling out upon her tea and the table. Sparrow keenly watched as Elizabeth toiled with the loosely bound tresses hidden under the Oriental cap.
"Well?" Sparrow inserted his one word query again with a flair of expectancy.
"Well what?"
Elizabeth repined in annoyance, now shoving her folded charts into a leather rolled pouch to preserve them. Heaving an exceptionally loud sigh to mark his feigned irritability, Sparrow's flair for the dramatic had not been tempered as he then added with a tainted tenor of the same by stating,
"You've not answered me question, then…..shall we sail t'gether on this undertaking? You've no need a 'tall fer those muddled charts of yers if y' follow me ship there. I know those seas t' the Orient like the back of me hand. As I said, simply follow me in the Empress, then. What say you to that idea Captain Swann, do we 'ave an accord?" Sparrow's voice purred like a warm, predatory cat of prey.
"I had already given you my answer!" She yelled with no restraint.
Elizabeth steamily railed against the attack that had been initiated against her. The prosecutor was relentless and had badgered her to the point beyond being provoked. Elizabeth nearly leaped out of her seat as she viciously gave better than she had gotten, and was striking the wood with the base of her hand, exerted to the point where she was beginning to perspire.
"Miss Swann, or Mrs. Turner….we here in the Court do care about your dalliances with pirates, and have heard it rumored that not only are you a pirate, you have acquired the distinct role of calling yourself…Pirate King it is?"
Elizabeth stiffened her jaw into a defiant squared-off lift. Although she felt the stress of the inquisition upon her, she did her best to brazen it out. It had nearly been an hour of intense interrogations. The late morning was quickly spilling into the mid-afternoon heat. Fans in the courtroom were flipping back and forth amid the female attendants, all wanting to gawk at the infamous woman called Elizabeth Swann, Pirate King. The jury did not look too amused with the way the trial had been sluggishly moving along so far since this was the long and grueling case.
Elizabeth was worried that she did not have enough time to filter through those few capable men to offer her a proper defense. She hired a man her purse could afford…some unknown solicitor. However, Elizabeth had recollected hearing her father's use of this lawyer before. The man's last name came to her lips one evening inside the gaol when asked who her defense attorney was in this case. When they finally met, he appeared too old, his wig over powdered, and his hygiene questionable. He always appeared disheveled, the looks of someone who slept in their clothes. Elizabeth imagined flies circling about his shoulders as he sat there in the courtroom jotting down notes! But it was better than no attorney at all. Meanwhile the prosecutor resumed to hammer away at Elizabeth relentlessly.
"So, Miss Swann….Turner, whatever you are calling yourself these days besides Pirate King. Do beg the Court's pardon, but we do not entertain calling you 'King' for it is blasphemous against our reigning sovereign―or have you forgotten that little nuance?"
"Please keep your comments to yourself councilor and get on with your questioning of the witness using proper court procedure." The judge hinted at his warning, tiring of the tedious trial as well.
"Right…quite. Miss Swann, tell us in detail your…shall we call it liaison with the well known Pirate Lord named Jack Sparrow."
"Captain….that is Captain Jack Sparrow." Elizabeth bluntly snapped her scorching reply at the lawyer in front of her.
The jury and crowd buzzed anew with murmurs and gossip over Elizabeth's defensive maneuver. The prosecuting attorney smiled slyly at her and sauntered closer to the stand, leaning one arm upon the mahogany ledge. He snarled cunningly at Elizabeth as if he the cat had snared his cornered mouse within his claws.
"Yes, but of course…Captain Jack Sparrow. What know you of him, Miss Swann?"
"I know him. Is it is now a crime to know of a man?"
"That all depends on just how well you know him, and if that man so happens to be a known criminal to the Crown!"
"I do not know what you mean."
"Don't you? Let us not be coy Miss Swann. We know well of your association with Captain Sparrow as well as his renegade cohorts Hector Barbossa, Teague Sparrow…and assorted other miscretins who run from the King's justice."
"I had already answered that question, what would you have me tell you?" Elizabeth barked back, now losing that infamous temper of hers.
"The question so happened to be; was Captain Sparrow you lover?"
Elizabeth glanced around the courtroom and could see the disdain reflected within the women's eyes and considerable lust hidden within the men's.
"We were close associates, so at times when it behooved our mutual interests, we did in fact have meetings to discuss business."
"Answer the question, if you please."
The judge interjected his demand for observance, his voice heard from where he was perched upon his chair. The magistrate was a touch higher off her left shoulder, but Elizabeth did not glance his way. Instead she stared straight off ahead of her at the far wall of the church wishing she could be any place other than where she was. Elizabeth felt forsaken and so alone. What was the point of fighting? There was not a single soul to help in her defense and it seemed futile to try. Her cluttered mind was interrupted by a louder repeat of the attorney barking at her to respond to the query as to whether or not she and Jack were lovers. Were they? Is that what she and Jack Sparrow had been over the past few months? Elizabeth was not convinced herself if her answer would reflect an accurately truthful repine or not.
"We could be considered very closely associated."
"So closely associated that Sparrow drew you into the scandalous life of piracy, was it not?"
"Some could manage to use their imaginations to perceive it as such. But it was not Captain Jack Sparrow who lured me into a life of rebellion, as some would describe it. No, it was the injustice of those who called themselves the lawmakers! I rebelled against them, if you need to pinpoint a person or reason to support such a label upon my actions."
The din of the crowd grew louder until the sharp, cracking sound of the gavel resounded once more to gain attention of the noisy attendees.
"Order in the Court!"
"So then, 'ere we are…t'gether at last, eh?"
"I beg to see the significance in your address. Why is my being here made into such flourish? Had we not been traveling together for these two weeks hence?"
Elizabeth sat diagonally from Sparrow in his cabin having been invited to dinner there this evening. The usual pleasantries had been anointed by a bottle of fine wine. They managed to forge a camaraderie of sorts while traveling these past two weeks together. Jack and Elizabeth were gaining headway on their south easterly route to Singapore. The seas were rough when one sailed the Cape of Good Hope. It was the surrounding waters off the lowest portion of the African continent. This time of the year a sailor might expect sudden weather alterations that could be disastrous, but Sparrow was clever and knew the route and treacherous seas well.
At the moment Sparrow's announcement seemed to strike Elizabeth as being peculiar, only because he had to bring it out into the open...as if it needed a nod of approval or adverse argument. To put it another way, Sparrow's remarks were strangely off-putting to Elizabeth because it did remind her of their actions. They had relaxed considerably when being alone together as if it was old times. Jack and Elizabeth were falling into the pattern of recent past; a familiarity, a comfort zone they formed so long ago which seemed to resurface and become established once again. These two now thrived in this cordial atmosphere. However, it was awkward for her to hear it being stated so boldly out loud and drawing attention to their harmony outright. For Elizabeth to acknowledge such an genial sense of their being a unit, it could also force her to concede to other feelings that were best left buried. Elizabeth cleared her throat, shifted nervously within her chair, and then replied with divergent conduct,
"Yes, you did keep to your word as to getting us safely sailed through these troublesome waters. It proved to be a tremendous boon for me and my crew…I greatly appreciate and admire your skills, Captain Sparrow."
Jack stared at Elizabeth strangely, his facial features nearly wincing at the purposeful dodge she produced to go completely off course. But then his eyes smiled as she noticed his inward chuckling, the slight quiver of his shoulders and chest as Jack seemed amused by her retort. Smacking his lips and taking another sip of wine, Sparrow reached over and poured her glass full with the remainder of the bottle. His dark eyes flitted up to encompass Elizabeth's façade for only a few moments of this visual pan. After a complete turn, those probing orbs then flitted back down to the glass to ensure he had not spilled any of the wine.
"Mmmmm…..that 'twas cleverly done luv, but not a 'tall accurate as to what I'd meant, eh?"
Elizabeth diverted her eyes from the wine bottle, being shifted to where it rested upon the table next to Sparrow and finally meeting his intense gaze upon her. Jack's sage grin seemed to sprout as he focused hard to regard Elizabeth and what she could be hiding. She was now fidgeting under his deep examination of her and expressly nervous.
"Well, then you shall need to speak plainly for I know not the workings of your innermost mind, Jack. Perhaps I am too daunted by what I might discover there?" Elizabeth mused using her own sense of humor to lighten up the mood a bit and improve the increasing tension between them.
Sparrow's brows lifted high upon his forehead as he measured her comeback, but his expression remained cagey and in control. Lips pursed as he sat there and studied her for a few moments longer while Elizabeth was nearly sweating bullets. This was all coming to some sort of a crescendo; years of skirting the issue, ignoring their innermost feelings, and vaulting over the barriers of amassed guilt and denial. She knew damn well what Jack meant and was doing her utmost to thwart any impropriety. This could not happen; Elizabeth told herself for a long time she could not allow this comfort or familiarity to take place. With a surge of self survival coursing through her veins, Elizabeth instantly catapulted from her chair and announced,
"Well, it is getting late and perhaps I should head on back onto my own ship for the night? I do not want to overextend my welcome then, should I not receive any further invitations."
"Ah, that 'tis one thing of which you shall never suffer, madam." Sparrow crooned with an uplifted brow.
"Well then, thank you very much for the lovely dinner, Jack. I shall see you on the morrow, then―look topside starboard rail for me."
"Lizzie…Elizabeth… don't go."
Elizabeth felt the pit of her stomach clench when Jack said her name in that certain tone. It was like a jolt of lightning which ignited her senses, starting from the detonation of tingles within her belly and shooting outwards.
"Jack…..no, I really must go."
"Don't…stay." his request was adamant and almost a plea as his deep voice enticed her.
"Sit you down Miss Swann, or you shall be dragged from the Court straight out to the gallows!"
The judge was having enough of Elizabeth's snappish remarks and her apparent disrespect for the Court and it's members. But she too only felt this trial was a mere formality; her being only a few short steps away from a hanging in any case. Elizabeth was certain her days if not hours were numbered. The tendency and turn of ambiance in this trial was taking a dive. She saw doom before her eyes and all too soon Elizabeth felt she would join her father, mother, and even James Norrington. It seemed futile to answer arbitrary questions that were littered with loopholes. They were designed to ultimately snare Elizabeth and persuade the jury for a verdict of 'guilty' to have her sentenced. She felt her life was over and done with.
"I beseech you, Elizabeth…stay. Do not get off this stand on a capricious whim or it will mean your demise for certain!"
Elizabeth's solicitor stood at her side as the Court calmed down from the latest disruption. Elizabeth leaned towards her lawyer and shook her head as if all was lost; a small, diminutive grin formed over her rosy lips as she dispensed what she felt,
"Let us face the facts as they so stand, dear man. I am done for here…to be food for the worms! To my eyes this jury does not appear impartial. We doltishly volley back and forth with this absurd hearing. They want me dead and only a hangman's noose shall furnish them with satisfaction!"
"Please let me do my job, you thwart me on every turn! Do you wish to die?"
Elizabeth gazed past the man's shoulder to peer at the jury. Their stoic façades and critical glowers seemed to spell out her desolate future.
"No, it is not by choice, but by design that I shall lose this trial. I see it there….in every expression which sneers at me with utter abhorrence. They know not the rulings or nature of my character nor do you have fair evidence to shore up my argument. I am here…alone, and greatly unattended in my own trial, sir."
Suddenly a young boy was allowed to approach Elizabeth's attorney. The lad handed him a slip of folded parchment and whispered into his ear. Elizabeth watched with insincere interest, not sure she even wanted to know what this communication was about. Chances were it had nothing to do with her. Perchance his wife needed him to stop at the market on the way home to purchase some fruit? What did it matter. When the boy ran off, Elizabeth's attorney asked to approach the bench, the prosecutor following suit. A few words transpired between the three men, the noise of chatter rose inside the heated church once more. The ladies' fans were waving wildly as to the rise in temperature and what was currently happening within the courtroom. Soon, the gavel struck loudly as the judge announced,
"Due to the intolerable heat of this day and it's compromise of our comfort within the courtroom, by request of the Defense we shall permit an early adjournment due to Defense's unprecedented need for additional preparations in this case. I have administered a cessation of this trial for today, henceforth to commence early tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."
The gavel struck again causing Elizabeth to actually flinch, her eyes batting with startle at crackling whack upon the wooden base. The din of noise rose like an eruption as everyone within the room began to talk. Elizabeth looked to her attorney who was waving her to go with the soldiers now at her side. Not knowing what had transpired, Elizabeth was grabbed by those very soldiers to be escorted back to imprisonment at the gaol. Elizabeth drew her arms sharply up and back to be released, but they were too strong. She was only exerting herself in this awful temperature.
"What is happening?" she shouted out loudly to her attorney,
He darted over to Elizabeth's side and got as near to her as he could while she was being harshly tugged to the back door of the church exit. Just as she was forced through the door, he shouted back to her,
"Be of good cheer! I was hoping for an opportunity such as this. A witness…a witness for the Defense has sprouted from the well of the world, Miss Swann! Take heart! I shall meet with you later to discuss the matter, but now I go to meet with him."
"What!? Who is it that comes forth?"
Elizabeth called out to him again for answers, but it was of no use. Her attorney had sprinted to the front of the church and was swallowed by the surging and heaving crowd. Elizabeth was dragged out roughly by her escort as she vehemently protested by yanking back hard against their tight grip of her arms. She chastised them for their forceful handling of her.
"Might I remind you gentlemen, that although you may call me pirate, I am most assuredly still a lady!"
"I know what y' are an' who you are, Lizzie…an' I know what it 'tis yer tryin' to do―but it won't wash, darlin'."
Flustered and overcome by Sparrow's sudden sensual attack upon all her senses at once, Elizabeth was lost. She felt her only recourse was to escape, to flee while the going was good and her honor intact. If she did stay, Elizabeth knew only ruin and remorse would follow a brief but shallow sojourn. True, it may be a transient victory of the heart, but at what price? There was no way to live with herself if she betrayed Will or her own sense of purpose and integrity. This was not right, an impossible gamble to take. Jack Sparrow was a true pirate who only acted his part in this gambit because he had a female on board his ship. His blood was up and tempted by the convenience of having access to female flesh―that was all this was; an undertaking of carnal bliss. Elizabeth told herself this was all true within the splitting of a second as she turned and made her way to the door of Sparrow's cabin.
In a flash Jack sprinted across the cabin and was upon Elizabeth. With an extended arm Jack had pushed the cabin door shut. Even though it was opened a few inches, it had made a deafening bang as it was abruptly closed. Jack held onto Elizabeth's shoulders as he breathed hard while nuzzling near her ear. His breath was ragged and choppy as if he had run for miles. Sparrow's fingers were biting into her upper arms as he gripped Elizabeth to remain still, and then softly murmured,
"Please…don't go."
His voice was a mere whispered rasp.
"Jack, you ask of me what is impossible…I cannot!" Elizabeth had awkwardly stammered out her reply in almost a sob.
Still having a rigid hold of her shoulders, Sparrow twisted Elizabeth around until her back was flush against the wooden door. His dark ebony eyes searched her countenance with a rapid darting movement until they finally landed upon her lips. Before she knew it, Elizabeth felt Sparrow's temperate mouth upon hers; moist with a slight hint of wine lingering upon his lips. He was kissing her so ardently that Elizabeth felt her head swimming within a whirlpool. Her mind raced with excuses of why this was taking place―because of the wine they drank, the sultry mood of dimly lit candles, the close confinement, erasing all notion of what she feared to be true. This was not a mere interlude in Sparrow's cabin, but held a far more momentous implication.
Parting for air, both of them were left panting and wanting. Jack examined her visage once more with his eyes squinted, as if he was probing her innermost thoughts. Sparrow wanted to meld with her heart and permit his eyes to convey his story. A sentimental monologue of what he felt and desired of her seemed plausible, but would it happen? Elizabeth placed a hand to his bronze chest and felt Sparrow's heart pounding, beating rapidly like a taut drum within his rib-cage.
"Why?" she asked breathless and feeling her knees buckle from underneath.
"Y' know why…" He growled back with a voice which was deep and gruff.
Jack's sexual allure was confirmatory and unyielding, his reply in of itself the answer to her own uncertainty. Yes, deep down inside Elizabeth always knew. She spotted it that day when they parted aboard his ship. Eyes cast down and forlorn, Elizabeth sensed the pain in Sparrow's very soul which she had mindlessly snatched from him so precipitously that day. When they parted ways Elizabeth did not want to leave Jack and yet she had to do the right thing. She was married to William Turner, a spontaneous act she regretted for the haste in which her decision was made. But now it was too late…was it not? Would Elizabeth's life always be a torment of indecision, denial and recrimination? Or was it all really just taking a laudable leap of faith? To be a pirate in deed as well as word and just take what she truly wanted and give nothing back? Words she often heard uttered by Jack and Gibbs, almost repeatedly. Could Elizabeth be of that ilk and take that extra step to earn her pirate rank? But right now Elizabeth wanted Jack.
Exhausted of patience and waiting for her to speak, Jack entertained her lips once more with an devoted kiss. Parting only to nibble at her neck while Elizabeth leaned her head back against the door and gasped. Why did Jack feel so good? This passionate moment was a heady tonic to her very spirit, a swirling sensation not derived by any other man's kiss…not even Will's. Could she turn time around and open that door to wanton desire? Could she depart into fantasy and remain slave to her innermost hunger? Abandoning reason and morality was not her forte, and yet at this moment Elizabeth was prepared to toss all to the wind.
Jack shrugged down the left sleeve of her garment, an aperture for access to lave the opalescent arc of her shoulder. His warm velvet tongue glided up to her jaw, reclaiming her lips and pressing forward to dart into her mouth. Elizabeth repeated the same fluttering movements as she too experimentally plundered Jack's mouth. Sparrow moaned loudly when Elizabeth did that, threading his fingers into her thick flaxen hair. Sparrow turned her head ever so slight to allow himself a better angle; partaking more of her sweet kiss.
Parted again for taking much needed air into her lungs, Elizabeth's head fell back once more onto the door of his cabin. Sparrow still did not release her body as he leaned forward; his own larger frame slack against hers; breathless. Elizabeth gasped for the shock of feeling his engorgement pressed into her abdomen. It was an incendiary sensation, the sensual pounding of his arousal against her, a heat which ignited a spark of sexual excitement to flood her groin with desire.
"Jack…" his name was whispered, desperate, wanting.
Sparrow did not waste any further time with idle chatter. He scooped Elizabeth up into his arms and turned about to shuffle back into his cabin. Careening with her in his arms for balance, Jack stopped short at the desk to rest there. It was half way to the bed and kept their contact for kisses steady without separation. Arms flung about his neck, Elizabeth welcomed Jack's probing tongue as their kiss deepened. Eyes closed, she felt her garment glide down and off her other arm until it gathered at her folded elbow, her bosom fully exposed. Elizabeth blushed as Jack leaned back to admire her breasts free, uncovered, and then offered a genuine, appreciative smile.
"I've always wanted y' like this…I find this position mos' agreeable. Fact 'tis…still do."
Elizabeth braised his cheek with a swipe of her palm, then held it stilled upon the side of his face. Sparrow nodded to her as she seized his passionate gaze with a lengthy stare.
"What 'tis it then, are y' scared?"
"No, not scared….."
"What, then?" Sparrow had asked, his voice still laden thick with desire for her as they conversed.
"I only worry about the future, Jack….what it may hold for us."
"Not t' worry. We cannot hold count t' what 'could' be, only live life fer now, eh?"
"Perhaps."
Jack dove in to cover her lips with his, now a palm over one breast, forever caressing it in a gentle glide. Elizabeth felt her breath hitch at the sensation of his warm hand seeking the curves of her body in such erotic strokes. Elizabeth felt near to a faint as the rapture inundated her brain with such a swirling buzz she nearly swooned. Sparrow himself was fired with blazing lust when suddenly he felt Elizabeth's hand slide to the front of his britches. It grazed up and down his swollen shaft until Sparrow thought he would die. A moan peeled from his lips. It was empowering for Elizabeth to hear his sexual sounds, as well as feeling that steely part of Jack making him decidedly male. The throbbing matched the pulsating beats of his heart, a wild pounding thump against her palm. Elizabeth pressed inwards, aroused by what she felt. When Sparrow bucked his hips forward, pressing himself that much more into her control, Elizabeth gasped as well with pleasure. This was too amazing, too difficult to believe what they were each presently experiencing was real.
Moments had elapsed with their kisses and fondling to the point of abandonment. Elizabeth was short of breath and felt a desire never felt before―she had to have Jack. No longer to deny what had been a ravenous craving for so long, there was no reason for keeping them apart. This was a quest which had to be filled whether or not she burned in the cauldrons of hell. To Elizabeth, this felt like the right love match to suit her taste. Jack Sparrow was always the one man Elizabeth knew she was meant to be with. That fact was clear to Elizabeth all the more, sharing affections with both men in her life. But this very passionate expression of those feelings for Jack made it right within her psyche; a required part of her existence felt natural loving Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth could no longer deny it.
Suddenly there was a loud banging at the cabin door. It was so loud and abrupt, but neither Jack or Elizabeth had heard it at first, so engrossed with each other, the pounding of lust and blood churning around like a fountain within their own ears had prevented them from grasping what had occurred .
"Cap'in! Please…a ship's been spotted…an enemy ship, that 'tis!" Gibbs' voice shouted loudly through the door.
This had to be serious for Gibbs would never interrupt Jack when he was entertaining a lady within his cabin, and most particularly Elizabeth. Finally adhering to the inevitable, Jack parted from Elizabeth's lips and glanced down at her hand stilled upon his thick shaft. While Jack groaned loudly, he then closed his eyes and swore.
"I don't bloody well b'lieve it!" and then he harped back to his first mate, "…Aye! Gimme a moment, then!"
Jack continued to snarl out his frustration in anguish, cursing under his breath and grimacing as if in pain when he tried moving. Still breathing in shallow breaths as well, Elizabeth opened her eyes and while pulling back from Sparrow and then stated in a husky breath,
"I shall need to borrow a blade…all my gear was left on board the Empress."
Elizabeth spoke swiftly, addressing the need for purpose, speed, and exact preparation to suit up for battling the approaching threat. Jack released her as she slid off the desk from a tangle of legs and arms. Elizabeth pulled a mass of her blonde hair from her face while Sparrow was presently leaning upon the desk with a visage full of angst. Clearly he was combating his own body for physical control. With a quick release of his member, Jack pointed to the wall where his library was located, and then returned it to his sore 'goods.'
There on the wall hung a few stray swords on display. Elizabeth seemed to be more adaptable to the hasty disruption of their sexual entanglement. She quickly jogged over to the wall, reached up to grab a sword, and shook it a few times for ballast within her hand to the whistle of the blade. Satisfied that the weapon felt a proper fit for her grip, Elizabeth then jogged back over to Sparrow's side. She leaned down to swiftly check her boot for the knife she always kept stashed within. Safely snug where it was supposed to be, Elizabeth then glanced over to Jack peering through a curtain of blonde hair. Her gaze rose up from her boot to Sparrow's grimacing façade.
"Are you…alright?" she asked with some hint of sympathy for his awkward 'condition.'
Sparrow shook his head as if exasperated, that the timing of this surprise event could not possibly be any worse. Grumbling to himself still as he gripped his swollen frustration, Jack attempted to stand up straight, then finally answered her.
"Mmmm….not s' good at the moment, then."
Glancing over at Jack holding himself at the apex of his manhood, Elizabeth giggled a bit and demurely said,
"Look, stay here to gather yourself up a bit…" she giggled for the irony of her remark, for that was exactly what Jack was literally doing, and he too appreciating the pun with an acute glower had sneered as Elizabeth added, "….and I shall go forth and stake out the matter; see what is amiss. I shall find out what is happening as to who is sailing our way―this enemy ship as Gibbs has estimated it to be."
Sparrow casually waved Elizabeth off, wincing as he struggled to straighten himself up to stand. However he kept one hand on the desk as a bracket of support just in case he toppled over.
"Right….carry on. I shall b' there in a few ticks of the clock, then…" Jack managed to mutter out in strangled lexis.
Elizabeth rushed towards Sparrow and fell into his one arm and kissed him. While Jack held her there, Elizabeth smiled up at him looking so vibrant and alive. Jack could not help but notice how this impromptu battle had livened Elizabeth up to the point she suddenly dashed off for the door. With sword in hand she darted outside into the fray without a glance backwards. Jack, a pathetic and grumbling pirate, had looked down at himself first, shook his head remorsefully at his forsaken member, and then drifted his gaze up to the ceiling of his cabin and groaned.
"Buggerin' Bloody Hell….."
Slowly but surely, Jack managed to get himself sorted out and then followed through the cabin door as well, prepared for the battle which probably would ensue quickly. Jack knew his presence was needed as well as his expertise in battle. Not only that, with Elizabeth on board the Pearl, although Sparrow had faith in her swordsmanship capabilities, he wanted to be nearby just in case something went afoul.
.