A/N: Wow, I wasn't sure anyone would care to read this but I'm very happy that some of you did! Thanx for the reviews, and here is Part 2, with more Sparrabeth :-)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 2 - Romantic Tales
Elizabeth sat listening intently as Will continued to tell the tale of how he had allowed a woman onto the Flying Dutchman and consequently fallen in love with her. Far from jealousy bubbling within her, she felt only joy to know that her dearest and oldest friend had found such happiness despite the life he had been condemned to.
"Many of the men she had sailed with were not happy about having a woman aboard, and even less so a white witch" he was explaining now, with such a light in his eyes as he spoke of Isis, "It seemed they genuinely believed she was the cause of the shipwreck, but it was the most ridiculous of suggestions. Her own brother perished in the disaster, alongside so many crew members... In any case I would not and could not turn her away"
"And she became a part of your crew instead of going ashore with the other survivors" said Elizabeth with a smile, "She must love you a great deal"
"I believe so" he smiled just the same, "and being as she is, the mystic powers she possesses, she shall remain forever young as I do. Oh, Elizabeth, I didn't.." he began to feel guilt when he realised what he might've implied, that he and Isis were so much better suited than the two of them could be now.
"Please don't apologise, Will" his old love urged him, her smile never wavering a moment, "I do understand. We neither of us could have been truly happy together as things stood, and I'm overjoyed that you have someone to share your life with, in whatever form it takes" she promised, "Truly, I mean that"
"I know" he agreed with a nod, "I know it because I feel the same for you, Elizabeth" he told her kindly, "Somehow I knew that you and Jack would find a way" he said honestly, "Though you have yet to tell me how exactly you became... more than friends" he said thoughtfully then, finding it all the more amusing when Elizabeth began to blush.
"It all happened so gradually really" she sighed, "the realisation that we treated each other differently to any other person we knew... and then came the day when pretending we were anything but in love became impossible..."
...Nine years ago...
Elizabeth stood leant against the railings on the Black Pearl contemplating the compass in her hands. It was not a normal compass, but Jack's special possession that was supposed to direct a person to what they most wanted in the world. Half the time it just seemed to spin wildly, being of no use at all, and making Jack quite cross. Elizabeth suspected it was being erratic in such a way at the moment, which was how the compass had come to be hers.
It was only a couple of days ago when the Captain had flung the item into her hands, declaring it an 'infernal contraption' that he had no use for anymore. Elizabeth decided he meant for her to keep the compass and had decided to see if she might use it herself. She was as uncertain as anyone about what her heart desired right now. A part of her thought perhaps the compass would point her in the direction of the Flying Dutchman where her husband resided. On the other hand she craved real food that they had been lacking onboard for some time. A third idea that came to Elizabeth was that perhaps her heart really desired treasure, as any good pirate would, but none of these seemed to be true.
It was with some consternation that the Pirate King came to realise that whenever she held the compass up, opening the lid to observe its direction, it spun at all angles for a moment before settling in one very definite direction.
It brought a frown to her face the first couple of times it happened. She told herself it was a mistake, shook the thing and tried again. Now after two whole days, Elizabeth was still finding that no matter which way she faced or where she was on the ship, the needle on the compass always sought out one direction in which one man always stood; Captain Jack Sparrow.
It was true enough that they had become good friends, and he was the most determined flirt she had ever known in her life. They laughed and joked together, watched each others back in a fight, and clearly cared a great deal for each other, but as yet there had been nothing said about a change in relationship between them.
One kiss had occurred, the day she requested to board the Black Pearl as a crew member once again. Jack had seemed surprised but nonetheless enjoyed the experience, in fact, Elizabeth was fairly certain he had almost felt guilty when he realised what they had done. Since then not so much as a hug had occurred between them, and that was fine, except the compass said differently.
With a look of determination, Elizabeth shook the navigation device in her hands one more time and flipped it open, glancing down to see the needle track a while then land very definitely in the direction of the helm where Jack stood now, discussing something with Gibbs.
Given that the only other explanation was she had a sudden urge to be close to the ships first mate (a lovely man in his way but by no means desirable to a woman such as Elizabeth) she must conclude that she was, for lack of a better term, in love with Jack.
It wasn't such an awful realisation for Elizabeth, since she had been toying with the idea on some level for a while now, though never completely seriously. She was married to Will, for all that was worth the way things stood, and she had always thought she was of a higher class than a person like Jack Sparrow, but he had proven a few times he was far more decent than a lot of other pirates. Besides, was she not a pirate herself these days? Did Elizabeth not find some pride in the title, in fact?
It was then she began to wonder, had Jack given her his compass claiming it broken because it would only point in her direction whilst in his hands? That was quite a fat-headed thing to think and she knew it, but he did favour her with certain special attentions not shown to the rest of the crew. Some might say that was just because she was the only woman on board ship, and a former fine young lady too, but Elizabeth couldn't really believe that was all there was to it. In any case, the more she considered it, she more she realised he did spend a great amount of time with her over and above even other women at any port where they chose to dock...
"Only one way to know for sure" she decided in a moments boldness, snapping the compass shut and striding determinedly towards the helm.
Unfortunately, the two men up by the wheel hadn't a clue she was there, approaching as she was from behind them. In a moment that could only be described as inopportune, Elizabeth took the final step at the exact moment Jack spun around to come down, arm outstretched in some flamboyant gesture or other. He hit Elizabeth full force across the middle, sending her sprawling backwards down the small flight of stairs and landing in a rather inelegant heap on the deck.
The blow she suffered was fairly minor though the shock of it had knocked the breath clean out of poor Elizabeth. Her head barely knocked the desk when she landed and consequently she was certain to be fine in but a moment, if only the world would stop spinning and she could breathe again.
"Lizzie!" the call went up in Jack's own voice as he and Gibbs rushed to her aid.
Honestly, she couldn't make out a thing they were saying, gabbling over the top of each other as they were, both making such a fuss. She fought to tell them she was fine but still her chest strained with a need for air she could not find. Still, this caused her minor concern next to the panic that seemed to be present in Jack's eyes. Gibbs face showed its usual worry over the precious woman on board as he asked if she was alright, but poor Jack, he looked so entirely frightened, it made Elizabeth worry all the more.
Her hand went to her head and came away clean, no blood spilt there and she saw no other evidence of any such injury she'd endured. As she forced herself to breathe, she found she really didn't feel so bad at all, hardly feeling a thing after her tumble. She was about to say as much when she suddenly found herself lifted from the ground, straight into the arms of her Captain.
"Mr Gibbs, set a course for the nearest land!" he barked, as serious as Elizabeth had ever known him to be, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung on tight for fear of being dropped, "Miss Swann will need a doctor!" he said definitely as he carried her away.
"Really, Jack..." she tried to protest that she was fine, but apparently he would not hear of it.
"Hush, luv. You're going to be alright" he told her worriedly as he took her carefully down the steps to the cabin beneath.
Above them, the men ran back and forth on deck, changing course and heading for land, as instructed. Elizabeth was a little too overwhelmed by the turn of events to say much as she was laid down on a bed with a gentleness she barely knew Jack possessed. He cared for her, she had known it for a long time now, though he would like to deny it she was certain, as she had much argued with herself regarding her feelings for him. Of course, true colours were showing now as Jack moved away from her, returning a moment later with a bottle of rum in his hands.
"Should be brandy for shock but it'll have to do" he said as he hunted around for a glass to pour a measure into, but Elizabeth's hand on his arm stopped him sharply.
"Jack, please" she urged him, a smile about her lips that she could not help, "I really am fine" she insisted, glad to have her breath back enough to tell him before he worked himself up into a state of complete panic, "It's very sweet of you to make such a fuss over me but I am completely well" she assured him one more time before he had the chance to argue the point.
Now that he stopped and paid attention, it ought to be clear to the Captain that his young lady friend spoke the truth. Had she broken bones or injuries of any severity she'd hardly be sitting herself upright on his bed and smiling in such a way. Besides, she had taken many a tumble in all manner of fights and scrapes they'd found themselves in since he'd known her, probably take more than a fall down a few steps to cause her much harm.
"Right then" he said with a nod, contemplating first her delicate hand on his arm and then the bottle he held in his hand.
Within a moment he had the rum uncorked and had gulped down a healthy amount before making himself meet her eyes.
"Don't say this much" he told her then, too seriously for her liking, "and if you tell the crew I did today, I shall have thee pitched off the Pearl in a dinghy faster than you can say Jack's a swine, savvy?" he told her firmly pointed a finger at her, "but... 'm sorry, Elizabeth" he muttered the most important part, though she could not fail to hear him in a room where only the two of them were and with him so close still.
"Why ever should you be sorry, Jack?" she asked him honestly, "Unless you are now feeling guilty for some elaborate plot that has resulted in my being in your cabin, on your bed" she said with a pointed look that only made him seem more guilty somehow.
"Ah, force of habit?" he offered as an excuse for bringing her here when she had her own room close by that he might've taken her too, "And no, apology wasn't for that, more for the fact I... well, I don't make a habit of hitting ladies" he said, seeming quite unlike himself as he put the rum bottle back on the table and shifted awkwardly.
"Jack, it wasn't as if you meant to strike me" said Elizabeth with a chuckle she could barely hold in, "And believe me if you had I would have given just as good as I got" she said cockily, glad when his usual smirky smile returned to his lips, "It was an accident, that is all, and I quite forgive you for it"
Elizabeth wasn't sure she understood the look that crossed over Jack's face then. Somehow, in spite of her forgiveness freely given, he still looked oddly guilty about something. It might've worried her at another time, some months ago, before she had come to care so much, trust so much in this man. As it was, it only confused the former Miss Swann to no end as the Captain turned away from her, turned back about to speak and then changed his mind and looked away again.
With a frown she could not help, Elizabeth shifted to the edge of the bed and stood herself up, so that the next time Jack spun around he could not help but come face to face with her. The realisation seemed to startle him.
"You got up" he said pointlessly, "Well, must be feeling better then" he smiled though less than genuinely as far as Elizabeth could tell, "Seems though that you were never feelin' worse so better would be all relative, and all the better for it, eh?" he rattled out in his usual way of riddles, as he began backing up towards the door.
"Jack" said Elizabeth, fixing him with a look, "What is going on?" she asked.
"Going on with what, luv? Not an idea what you could be drivelling on about, Lizzie" he told her with a random gesture of his hand, "Do tell a fella if its important, eh?"
For some reason he seemed to have a want to get away from her. Since nothing real and actual scared Jack Sparrow that much, Elizabeth fast came to the conclusion that it was something far from the physical that had him so rattled. Her mind went back to the moments before she had been knocked flying from the steps and brought here by her Captain. She was about to begin a very serious conversation with Jack, about the compass, and about so much more than that. If he had realised such a thing, if he was thinking the very same way she was, perhaps that was what was making him so jumpy. After all, she fancied such a man had never truly been in love before. Women he had been with by the dozen, she was sure, but he never spoke of love.
"Jack, why did you give me your compass?" she asked him straight, holding the very item she spoke of in her outstretched hand, "With it being such a prized possession I fail to make sense of why you would give it away so easily"
"'S broken, darlin'" he shrugged, "Simple as that"
"So you said, yes" she replied with a single nod, "but I have seen no evidence of this" she continued, approaching him.
Picking up one of his hands, Elizabeth placed the compass in Jack's palm and stepped back just one step. The look upon her face was half way caught between a challenge or a dare of some kind, and perhaps a shade of hope that the Captain could not fathom at all. She wanted him to open the compass in front of her, and that he did not much fancy to do. Elizabeth, of course, was not one to give a man a choice when it came to what she wanted.
"Oh" she said, a hand to her ample chest as she tripped back another step towards the bed, "Oh, I do feel strange, I..." she breathed erratically as she wavered far more than the ship would do in such calm waters.
Immediately, Jack was at her side, one arm catching her easily around the waist and keeping her on her feet. She smiled to herself as she let her head loll back a moment, selling the act for all it was worth. So worried for her welfare was Jack, he hadn't a notion she had purposefully flipped open the box in his hand, and when her head came back up, face close to his, he was still unaware of what was happening until her eyes shifted to the hand that held the compass.
"Bugger" Jack swore as he looked the same way she was, knowing already that the needle would point in no direction but Elizabeth's own, though given the closeness of the two of them it was actually showing that the two of them together was perhaps more what he truly desired.
"Well, Captain Sparrow" she smiled, in no hurry to escape his grasp apparently as her arms went around his neck and his eyes returned to hers, "It appears we have a heading" she said in such a way as to tempt.
It wasn't as if Jack took much encouragement at the best of times and within moments his lips were against hers, taking her breath away in the best way possible. Elizabeth felt her knees go for real this time and was glad of the bed behind her to take her weight as they both fell over together, still attached at the lips.
It was a few moments later when Elizabeth suddenly found her eyes open, arms empty, and lips without company. Jack was still beside her but had backed off considerably, with the oddest expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked as he leaned back away from her, seemingly expecting something to happen that did not.
"I was actually waiting for you to slap me" he admitted, "Happens a lot" he shrugged, making her laugh as she reached for a handful of his shirt and dragged him in closer again.
"Why should I want to hurt you in such a way?" she asked, her voice too soft to her own ears as she continued, "I... I think I love you, Jack" she admitted, feeling strange about saying it and yet it was a huge relief to have the truth out in the open at last.
"That is excellent news, Lizzie" he said then, cocky as ever with gold teeth flashing as he grinned at her, "'Cause I'm pretty sure I might just be in love with you too" he admitted, in a round about way, right before their lips met a second time.
Now nobody was for backing off or backing out, not this time.
...Present...
"I think it came as quite a shock to both of us, but more so to Jack, that he could care for anyone more than he cared about himself" said Elizabeth with a smile that she saw reflected on Will's own lips.
"You always saw more good in him that anyone else ever could" he told her, "And yet, in all his chivalry, it came to you, Elizabeth, to tell me what Jack could not dare to?" he said, one eyebrow raised, fun and mischief twinkling in his eyes.
Elizabeth saw that he was only teasing and laughed along with him then.
"You really shouldn't be so mean" she admonished him, "For all that he seems you know, Jack is a good man at heart"
"I know" her best friend agreed easily, such love in his eyes for her still, albeit it very different to the romantic adoration with which he had once gazed at her, "I could not be happy in the thought of you spending your life with him were that not true" he told her, causing a warmth in Elizabeth's heart that she hadn't quite been expecting.
Will's approval of her choice in life partner should not matter so very much, after all, he was her previous lover and husband, and the chances of his understanding her moving on from him to Jack had been unlikely at best. Today she had learnt the truth, that he understood her feelings completely, and shared them since meeting his beloved Isis. It was more than she ever could have hoped for to have Will, a man she had always and would always love as a best friend, approve of the choices she had made and still care for her after all they had been through.
"So, will you tell me more of your adventures aboard the Pearl?" he asked, when she seemed quiet too long.
Elizabeth smiled, as she began to do just that, strangely glad to put off the other piece of news she had to give him. Despite her gladness at his understanding of her and Jack's relationship, she couldn't be certain he would take her other announcement so well. Delaying the inevitable seemed pointless, but it was all she could do right now.
To Be Continued...
