title: Siren
pairings: J/E, J/A
rating: T
disclaimer: Don't own them.
A/N: Post-AWE AU; set after Inch, Covet, Claim, Consider, Reconsider, Shell, and Pursuit.
Feedback is appreciated. :)
Siren
The moon is full when the Cygnus docks at Kingston. Disguised as a young man, she hurries down the gangplank, donning her first mate's hat. She barks orders, heedless of the harbormaster's curious gaze. He frowns at her when she introduces herself as Francis Lawrence, a merchant in the service of His Majesty the King. She smiles at him, comely and devious as Lilith. Nothing is going to stop her now. His pockets heavy with coins, she disappears in the shadows.
The city devours her, and she is invisible, swift as the wind. It was Barbossa who told her that Jack might be in Kingston. She found him in Tortuga, basking in his moment of glory. He was proud as a peacock when he showed her the Queen Anne's Revenge.
She is overcome with disappointment, for Jack is nowhere to be found. Suddenly she hears voices coming from a dark alley at the back of the King's Inn. Elizabeth moves with stealth, hides behind a stack of crates. She can see two figures, a man and a woman.
"How could you leave me there?" the woman hisses, her long locks flowing over her shoulders. Elizabeth glimpses the flash of the blade at the man's throat. "Villanueva tried to make me his whore!"
"Listen, love, I've warned you, haven't I? You've the face of an angel, the old goat was smitten at first sight. Had he known better, he wouldn't have harbored tender feelings for you."
"He wanted to rape me!"
Her fingers curling around the hilt of her sword, Elizabeth is poised for attack. Her heart flutters as she takes a step forward, tense and determined to rescue Jack. She freezes when the woman's dagger clatters to the ground, and Jack pushes her against the wall. Elizabeth can see them in the moonlight. His hair is tied back in a thick braid, he is dressed in black, and the kohl is smudged around his eyes. Elizabeth is surprised to notice that he has cut his beard braids.
"That's unfortunate, Angelica. His punishment will be severe, I swear, but now I've got to go back inside. Gibbs is no good at negotiating."
Angelica glares at him, gripping the lapels of his coat. She is lovely as a gypsy fortune teller, and Elizabeth is suddenly envious of the mysterious beauty of her features.
"You killed my father," Angelica spits, her eyes dark with fury.
"Blackbeard didn't love you. What kind of father would wish to sacrifice his own flesh and blood?"
"And Teague is a splendid papa, isn't he?"
"Enough," Jack growls. "I need to go."
He heads toward the door of the Inn, his movements quick and angry. Her bosom heaving, Angelica stares at his retreating form.
"Wait!" she calls and hurries after him. She takes hold of his arm, and when he turns to her, she kisses him.
Elizabeth wills herself to stop looking at them, but to no avail. A sharp pain in her breast makes her breathless. Her knuckles turning white, she steps back and trips over a stray crate. She grabs at the stack in front of her, and the crates fall with a loud crash.
"Who's there?" he asks, drawing his sword.
Disheartened yet defiant, Elizabeth steps into the moonlight. "Hello, Jack."