Jack Sparrow 2
Elizabeth stared in amazement at the huge Grim Reaper Library where the millions upon millions of Cinematic Records were kept in book form. The library had several floors and the shelves extended up to the ceiling on each. She supposed they must be organized in some manner but as of yet she was clueless as to how that was done. She idly pondered if they would need another extra floor just for the countless souls the Dutchman would be bringing in, souls that had piled up for hundreds of years.
The Dutchman… She had mixed feelings about seeing Will again. She had loved him at one time but that had faded when he had lost his trust in her and had run off on his own quest to rescue his father, forgetting her. But it was obvious that Will still loved her, otherwise he wouldn't have given her his heart in the chest.
If she saw him, she would have to inform him that she was engaged to James again. She didn't exactly look forward to it.
The tour ended and Elizabeth's attention was drawn by an odd man with long silver hair. His bangs hid his eyes and he was wearing a long black robe whose sleeves were way too long for his arms. And when he did push the sleeves up to grasp a book off the shelf, she saw he had long curling black fingernails, fingernails that reminded her of the deceased Sao Feng.
"He he he he." The man said as he moved to William's side, waving the book about. "I see you finally have some new recruits, huh William? This should prove interesting."
"What are you babbling about, Undertaker?" William demanded to know as he turned to face the retired grim reaper. "I have recruits to train and apparently a ship to investigate. Does the Dutchman really dock here?"
"Of course she does, William!" Undertaker replied with a laugh. "She's been lost out at sea for hundreds of years but she'll be coming in soon with her new captain! I remember seeing her all of those years ago. How glorious she looked, a glorious ship of death!"
"Why didn't you ever mention this before?" William asked with a frown on his face. "As supervisor I need to know these things and now I look incompetent in front of the new recruits, especially that one."
Elizabeth's eyes followed William's gaze to where James was talking in hushed tones to Andrew and Theo. From what she could hear, they were discussing how best to build the new pier.
"He rose through the ranks quickly from what I understand." Undertaker laughed gleefully and poked William in the chest with a sharp fingernail, the nail denting in the fabric of his suit. "If you're not careful, he'll have your job soon!"
"I'm already aware of that." The grim faced reaper replied sourly, his fingers tightening their grip on his death scythe. "Luckily, I have years of experience and a spotless track record. Is that what were you laughing about or was it something else?"
A wide grin spread across Undertaker's face, the scar on his cheek and right under his eye stretching. "He's not the one you should be worried about William, if I were you, but I'm not you so…"
Undertaker shrugged and cackled some more, infuriating the other reaper.
"Why can't you just speak plainly? Why must it always be riddles with you?" William huffed, clearly annoyed and then used his hedge trimmer to adjust his glasses.
He turned then and Elizabeth felt his gaze fall on her.
"So it's her then." William stated coolly. "It wouldn't surprise me, not with her ancestry of trouble-makers…"
Undertaker threw a long sleeved arm about William's shoulder and leaned close to the other man's ear, his breath hot. "I'd be careful what you say about her, William, she has the ear of higher-ups. You should know these things. I see it as clear as day, even without my special glasses."
"You're insane!" William shoved the older man off of himself and started to smooth out his suit and readjust his tie. "She hasn't met any of the other higher-ups or council members. I'm her direct superior, so I have no idea what you're blabbing about. As usual, you make no sense whatsoever."
"There are some who have real power." Undertaker simply stated and then he turned back to the library shelf. "Just remember that, William. You haven't seen real power yet but she has. Things are in motion now; I can feel it in my bones."
William stared at Undertaker for a few long moments and then strode away. To Elizabeth's dismay, he was heading in her direction. Maybe he expected her to know what the elderly man had been babbling on about but she was as clueless as he was. She had met a lot of people with power, people ranging from Cutler Beckett to Davy Jones.
And there was always Calypso, the Sea Goddess.
"Sutcliffe!" William called as he came closer.
Elizabeth watched as her mother pulled away from talking to his coworkers and came over to join them. "What do you want, Will dear?"
"I want you to research this ship, the Flying Dutchman." William informed him. "We must have records of it somewhere. See what you can find."
"But Will," Grell protested unhappily as his face fell. "That will take forever! I have no idea even where to look for records on that ship!"
"Your daughter can help you." William replied as he shifted his gaze from one to the other. "And it will help her get familiar with the records and how they're organized."
Grell grew happy at that and he threw his arms about Elizabeth, almost squeezing the air out of her. She gasped, realizing the thin redhead was a lot stronger than he looked. "We can finally spend some time together, dear! Isn't that wonderful? I'll have you all to myself!"
William sighed. "Just make sure you do the actual research, Grell."
"Of course, Will dear!" Grell promised with a toothy shark grin, his chin resting on Elizabeth's shoulder as he stood behind her.
"And what can you tell me of the new captain of the Flying Dutchman?" William asked. "He's apparently another new member of my staff so it would be appropriate to know a few things about him…"
Elizabeth realized William was talking to her. She managed to loosen Grell's grip slightly so she could breathe a bit easier. "His name is William Turner, Will for short. I met him on the crossing from England, the lone survivor of a merchant ship that had been destroyed by pirates. He became the blacksmith in Port Royal and when I was kidnapped by pirates, he saved me. He taught me how to swordfight and I was going to marry him, but fate intervened. To make a long story short, the curse got him and Jones stabbed him in the chest. To save his life, Jack helped Will stab the heart of Davy Jones and so Will became the new Captain of the Flying Dutchman."
"The curse?" William asked as he took notes on a pad of paper he pulled out of his pocket, pleased with the information on his new employee.
"Yes, when I kiss people they tend to die in some horrid accident…" Elizabeth admitted.
"It's not a curse, dear; it's your Shinigami powers!" Grell breathed in her ear. "Now that you have a proper death scythe, the powers should work through it."
"Or else demon powers…" William said with a frown. "Do not forget that demons are our enemies."
"Sebas-chan isn't!" Grell hotly exclaimed as his green eyes flashed angrily at the words.
"Yes, well, there are many other demons out there." William pointed out smoothly, ignoring the anger in the redhead's voice. "Your demon is on a permanent leash and the other one that he serves is apparently content continuing his trend of solving crimes for the crown. But other demons are not so nice at all. They'd happily steal the souls we are meant to reap. We must be vigilant and always on time."
000
Earl Ciel Phantomhive arrived at St James Palace and was quickly let in, the Royal Guards expecting him. A red coated Royal Guard showed him and Sebastian to the room where the meeting with the King would take place. It was an elaborate room that suited His Majesty well, with tall stately windows lined with the finest red drapes, a shiny marble floor and expensive paintings on the walls. The room had an extremely tall ceiling and a balcony lined one inward facing wall. A long table with a fine food was set up, as it was near noon and it was apparent that soon the King was going to eat lunch. A wide variety of foods was set out, everything from roasted meats to bowls of fruit and plates of bakery. The King's favorite was jelly in the shape of pheasants and that was on the table as well.
A double set of doors behind the table opened then and smartly dressed Royal Guards marched into the room, their muskets on their shoulders. Their jackets were a brilliant blood red and lined with black and gold braids, the higher ranking officers only having gold braid. They wore white knee pants, white stockings and black shoes with golden buckles. Black tricornes with golden trim at the top and a red flower-like emblem on the right side sat on their heads. They stared straight ahead and dutifully marched to their positions in the room.
King George came in then, his men at his sides. The King was a very portly man, with double chins and a wide belly that threatened to break his fine clothing, as he was very overweight from all of the fine foods he ate every day. He was dressed in a fine yellow outfit, the bright color reminiscent of spring tulips and daffodils, but the color did nothing to hide his wide girth. Still, the fabric was embroidered with fanciful designs in gold and silver threads. The finest white lace was about his neck and at the long cuffs of his sleeves. A white wig with curls was perched on his head and he slowly made his way to the chair that waited for him in the exact center of the table.
Other men accompanied the King, including Prime Minister Henry Pelham and Lord John Carteret. Both were thinner than the King, especially Lord John, and wore fine clothing to match their high stations. The Prime Minister moved to the King's right side and Lord John to his left. Finally the King seated himself, his rolls of fat jiggling.
The King focused his small beady black eyes on the young Earl that stood before him and a pleased expression appeared on his plump face. "I see you have come, Earl Phantomhive. That is good, as we have things to discuss."
Ciel bowed politely to the King and then seated himself on the regal chair that was reserved for the guest of honor, removing his top hat to show respect. The chair itself was a work of art, gold in color and boasting fanciful carvings on it. Sebastian took up his station right behind Ciel's chair, as he usually did in these situations. "Of course, Your Majesty. The Phantomhives have always served the crown loyally. What is it I may do for you today?"
"I understand a certain individual is staying at your home…" King George stated as he raised a plump finger into the air. "I have no idea why she is your guest, but she is of some importance. You will bring her here, before me."
Ciel was shocked by the King's words, but he hid it well. He had no idea how the King could have learned of Sebastian and Grell's daughter so quickly, as she was the only one that the King could possibly mean. Nor could he allow anything to happen to her, as she was family, but he was to follow the Crown as well. "I have several guests in my home at the moment. Whom do you mean?"
"Miss Elizabeth Swann, of course." King George replied as he leaned forward, his beady black eyes almost hidden by the fat on his face. "She is the King of the Pirates, is she not? You are required to do as I bid or need I remind you?"
The young Earl's lips tightened into a straight line and his single exposed blue eye took on a hard glint. "No, I don't need a reminder. I'll bring her, of course. Is tomorrow soon enough?"
"Tomorrow will be fine." The King said as he settled back in his chair and picked up a golden fork. "But make sure she doesn't escape. Pirates are tricky, clever folk."
"They're disgusting!" Lord John complained in a loud voice. "They should all go to the gallows!"
"Nether less, I want to see her. I am the King, not you Lord John."
The young demon tried to gather why the King wanted Elizabeth, but couldn't sense anything of importance from the man. He did hear the man's giant stomach rumble in its hunger and that only reminded him how he could never eat food ever again. Well, he could but it wouldn't fill the empty pit that was his hunger; only a soul could do that now. He stood and bowed to the King, bidding his farewells. He left the room then, Sebastian hot on his heels. Once outside, he turned to talk to his ever loyal butler. "This is not what I expected. I couldn't read him. Did you sense anything, Sebastian?"
"He wants something, but I could not tell what." Sebastian replied as he opened the door to Ciel's carriage and helped the young boy up. "This will not go over well with Grell, especially since she could be hung for piracy. Being a Shinigami now will afford her some protection, of course, but you know how emotional he can be."
"Yes, I'm aware of that fact." Ciel replied somewhat dryly. How could he not be aware that the redhead was emotional?
000
Elizabeth spent the remainder of the work day looking through dusty old boxes of records for anything on the Flying Dutchman. It was as boring as could be and she almost wished she had the drat needlework to do that her father had insisted she learn, but that was equally bad. She just didn't have the patience for such dull things and apparently neither did her mother.
The redhead dropped a heavy box of old papers onto the nearest table, a huge cloud of dust billowing up into the air. He coughed, waving his hands in a lame attempt to blow the dust away from his face. "Ah, what torture William puts me through!"
"Is there any point to this?" Elizabeth asked him as she pulled a fan out of her clothing and waved it before her, blowing some of the dust away. She knew it would just resettle somewhere else and later be disturbed again as someone looked through the old boxes of ancient files. "We already know the history of the Dutchman. I've been on the Dutchman!"
"Knowing William as I do, he wants to know the entire history of the ship…" Grell sighed unhappily as he paused to study one of his red painted fingernails. Satisfied that it wasn't cracked or chipped, he pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "It's almost quitting time. Let's leave this horrid musty dirt and go find your Navy fellows. All of this grime is not good for our skin."
Elizabeth shoved one heavier box aside on the shelf to expose the one behind it. As far as she could tell, the records in this part of the room were many centuries old and it was a miracle it all just didn't crumble away to dust, especially with the way Grell was tossing the boxes around. But apparently the records Shinigami kept were made of sturdier stuff than the paper mortals relied on and it stayed strong over the long years. The newly exposed box had a drawing on the outside and it caught her eye. It was of a face with an open mouth, three circles inside the mouth. It seemed familiar for some reason and she stared at it, trying to recall where she had seen it before.
"Did you hear me?" Grell asked as he came up behind her, his red coat hanging off of his forearms as it usually did. "What in the world is that? It looks ghastly!"
"But I've seen it before…" Elizabeth stated as she tried to reach for the box at the back of the deep shelf, only to discover her arm was too short. "Except it wasn't a drawing like this is…it was a carving, made out of wood."
"Why would anyone carve such an ugly face out of wood?" Grell gently pushed her out of the way and reached for the box, managing to just grasp it by the upper edge, his fingers curling around the box. He pulled then, hoping the box wouldn't come apart with age but to his relief it stayed together.
"It's ugly because the face was meant to terrify you." Elizabeth replied as she finally recalled where she saw it. "It was covered in slime and dirt, just like the rest of the Dutchman. The ship was in awful condition, all manner of seaweed and sea life like barnacles sticking to the ship. The whole ship had a weird greenish hue to it and it smelled dreadful, too, like spoilt fish. The three circles inside the mouth are the ship's rare triple cannons."
Grell turned to look at her, the heavy box in his arms. Dirt was smeared across his face and dust clung to his clothing. "So these are the files we're looking for?"
"I think so." She reached into the box and pulled out the first file. It was labeled "Davy Jones". She didn't even bother reading it but slid it back in with the rest of it. "Yes, this is it all right."
"Finally! Let's go dump it off by dear William and let him read it!" Grell happily led the way out of the maze-like file room and headed towards William's office. Soon they were there and he barged in without knocking as he was wont to do. The dark haired grim reaper was seated behind his desk with a pile of papers and he looked up as the redhead entered. He strode up to his boss's desk and allowed the heavy box of files to drop onto the desk's surface, a cloud of dust billowing up into the air the moment of impact. The entire desk shook and William's neat stack of papers shifted and his pen holder tippled over. "Here you are, Will dear, the files on the Flying Dutchman!"
Elizabeth stood to the side a bit, watching.
William ran a hand over his face, removing the thin film of dust that had gathered there and then proceeded to clean his precious eyeglasses with the pristine hanky from his pocket. Somehow he managed not to cough. "You could have cleaned the dust off first, Grell."
"But … it's … quitting time!" The redhead protested between bouts of coughing. "And it's utterly horrid in that room, all musty, moldy and full of dirt! Can you imagine the damage that does to my pores?"
William sighed at the dramatics, watching as the redhead shook his red jacket, clouds of dust flying into the air. "Fine, the two of you can go. Tomorrow you'll start your training."
Elizabeth hoped it was more exciting than what she had done today, as it had been utterly boring. She glanced down at her hands and was surprised to see them black with dirt, the blackness rubbed into her skin. The once-white sleeves of her pirate shirt were covered in old cobwebs and the cuffs were stained black from moving the grime covered boxes. She followed Grell out of William's office, the two walking down the long corridor.
Ronald came around the corner in a wild rush, pushing his lawnmower. He almost ran into them but skidded to a halt just in time. His ringed green eyes widened at the sight of their clothing. "Were have you two been?"
"In the records room, where else?" Grell whined unhappily as he raised a dirt covered hand and stared at it in horror. He frowned unhappily at what he saw, his sharp teeth showing. "That William is a real brute! He doesn't care for a woman's beautiful skin at all! Look at this dirt! It's all over us! Now we'll have to soak in the bath for hours!"
The blonde reaper nodded his head in an understanding way. "I hate going in there, too. The place is a maze…and poor Alan can't go in there at all due to the dust."
"Why can't he send the secretaries to get it for him?" Grell asked. "Isn't that what they're for? I'm supposed to be out reaping souls!"
"I just collected the last one for today." Ronald shifted his gaze to her then and a smile broke out across his face. "Hey, you want to go to a party with me? We're not all sticks in the mud like William. I doubt if he ever attended a party in his life."
Elizabeth studied the chipper blonde for a moment, pondering exactly what he meant by the word party. She recalled the boring social events she attended in Port Royal with the orchestra playing music that would put one to sleep and the formal dancing. "No, thank you. I'm not dressed for a social occasion."
Her words seemed to surprise the blonde and she was sure she heard her mother make a snorting sound that might have been a stifled laugh. Apparently Ronald wasn't used to getting turned down.
"But it'll be fun!" Ronald insisted as he started to follow her and Grell down the hallway. "You can meet the rest of the Shinigami that work here in the building. Not all of us are lucky enough to be reapers you know. And I really don't know of any, umm, special dress codes…"
She looked at Ronald over her shoulder, surprised he was still persisting. She decided that he was just trying to be friendly and not really attempting to make any romantic overtures. "Perhaps some other time, Ronald, I'm afraid I have things to do."
"Like what?" He asked. "What could be more fun than going to a party?"
The hallway ended and Grell pushed the heavy door open, the fresh outside air blowing in and whipping his dusty hair off of his shoulders. He stepped outside and Elizabeth followed him, Ronald hot on her heels. The sea breeze filled her nose, clearing out the ancient musty air from the records room and she breathed it in deeply. Her feet followed the path and soon the still nameless sea came into sight. It didn't surprise her than James, Andrew and Theo had the new pier completed, but she heard the other two exclaim their surprise. The three Navy men were waiting there, talking to each other and she saw James' green eyes light up as he saw her. Even from this distance it was obvious to her how his posture changed upon spotting her. Did she really mean so much to him?
"I have to practice if you must know." She replied as she grimaced at the dirt rubbed into her skin. It was annoying her and she wanted to get it off.
"Practice what?" Ronald asked sounding confused. "You didn't even start your training yet, so how can you practice?"
Elizabeth paused, a slight smirk on her face as she turned to face Ronald. "Do you really want to know?"
"Of course I do." The blonde grim reaper replied, but he must have noticed her expression as he looked somewhat uncertain.
Her hand stretched across her body and gripped the hilt of her sword, pulling it free in one swift motion. Her arm whipped out with incredible speed and the next second the cutlass's tip was at the blonde's neck. "You're dead."
Ronald stared cross-eyed at the sword pointing at him, the sharp tip just a mere hairbreadth from his precious skin. "So… you're really a pirate? I mean, you really know how to use that sword?"
"Of course I know how to use it! I would be a very poor pirate if I couldn't." Elizabeth rolled her green eyes, but pulled the sword away and noted that Ronald had seemed surprised but not scared.
"Your mother was never much for parties, either." Ronald finally said with a sigh of defeat. "He was always chasing that demon and cutting stuff up with that chainsaw."
Elizabeth wondered if he realized how odd it sounded to use the words "mother" and "he" when referring to the same person. She supposed the blonde was used to it, but it was still a bit hard for her to accept that her mother was technically a male. She was sure it was even harder for James to accept. "Yes, I suppose I do take after my mother in that regard."
Grell squealed happily and promptly gave her another tight bear hug.
"But maybe someday you'll change your mind and come to one of the parties." Ronald said as he checked his watch. "Well, I don't want to miss the fun so I'm going to go. I'll see you tomorrow."
Elizabeth watched the blonde hurry off to the party he didn't want to miss. Did he do that every evening? If he did, didn't it get boring, the repetition of the same thing over and over? Surely there were more important things to do or was he really that shallow? She had become King and had risked it all for freedom, something very much worth fighting for. But maybe he had never come across an important cause before, something important enough to risk all for? Truthfully, she didn't remember much about Ronald or the others from her childhood, but she was slowly getting to know them. It would take time but now that she was a death god she had all the time in the world.
James appeared at her side then along with Andrew and Theo. She could see their eyes taking in the dust and dirt that covered her and Grell. It was clear to her they had been in the water as their clothes were semi-dry, the material still clinging in places. A dip in the sea sounded refreshing at this point.
"I see you were busy." James stated dryly as he reached out and pulled a long bit of cobweb out of her hair, the thin gray material clinging to his hand.
"Yes, and it was utterly boring! I might as well have been sitting in the parlor and doing needlework." She exclaimed as she pulled her mother's arms off of her and dashed towards the sea. Reaching the edge, she leaped off and a moment later landed with a smooth splash in the deep, cool water. The coldness was a shock, as she was used to the tropical Caribbean, but after a few moments it didn't feel so cold anymore. She dove down to the bottom and grabbed a handful of sand, rubbing at her filthy hands with it. She knew it could remove dirt easily and she already felt cleaner just being in the water. A moment later she came up for air, shoving the wet hair out of her eyes. She saw her mother looking worried but apparently unwilling to jump into the water.
Elizabeth easily pulled herself up onto the pier and rose to her feet, noting that the black dirt was gone from her hands now. The sea had washed the cobwebs away as well and even her shirt was white again, the dirt at the cuffs gone.
"You're clean!" Grell exclaimed in surprise as he looked at her, a dirty hand waving about in the air for emphasis. "How can you get clean just by jumping in the sea? It's not a proper bubble bath, with scented soaps and oils and other girlish things?"
She shrugged. "You don't have those things on a ship. Fresh water is a luxury so you learn to make do."
"Ah, my poor baby has been traumatized by shipboard life!" The redhead exclaimed as he threw a hand up by his forehead, as if he were about to faint.
Elizabeth thought it looked very familiar, as if she had seen it before and then realized why. She had done the same thing earlier during the hunt for Davy Jones Heart, exclaiming 'Oh, the heat!' and then falling over in a fake faint. Apparently a flair for dramatics was another thing she got from Grell, although he certainly used it a lot more than she did.
"We shall get you a proper bath, with bubbles, when we get home!" Grell promised her as he waved a hand to open the portal.
000
Elizabeth emerged from her bubble bath that her mother had insisted on and she had to admit that it indeed had felt good to have a proper bath; something that she hadn't had in a long time. As a pirate, one didn't usually have such luxuries when one was running from the law. But now that she was living at Phantomhive she could enjoy the luxuries of a wealthy life again. Still, it felt odd in some way as she had been roughing it for what had seemed like a long time.
She pulled on one of her dresses and swept up her hair, using a curling iron to make ringlets about her face. Once again she would transform into the governor's daughter instead of the pirate, something she knew that would please James. It amazed her how easy it was to play both roles. She could effortlessly switch back and forth between the two, just like the sea could be calm or angry. Maybe that was why James loved her so?
She stepped into the dining room to the unexpected sounds of raised voices.
"What do you mean the King wants to see her?" Grell demanded of the young Earl as he waved a hand about, clearly upset. "She's a pirate! He could have her arrested and hung!"
"I don't like it anymore than you do." Ciel replied calmly as he looked up at the upset Shinigami. "And I have no idea how the King even knew she was here or what he wants. I had presumed it was just another assignment, some case to solve…"
"But I just got her back! I can't lose her again!" Grell cried as he leaned heavily on the already set dinner table, causing the vases of fresh flowers to tremble and threaten to tipple over. The death god was once again clean, the dirt and cobwebs gone. His long red hair shone in the candlelight and sweet perfume wafted off of him. He wore a fresh set of clothes except for his ever present red coat that he had long ago borrowed from Madame Red (who long ago ceased trying to get it back).
Sebastian approached Grell from behind and wrapped his arms about him. The demon pressed his face close to the other's ear and spoke gently. "Grell, calm yourself. Our daughter is a Shinigami now. I doubt if a human king can harm her."
"But even Shinigami can die…" The redhead whispered. "Alan's illness proves that. His attacks get worst and worst…"
A jolt of hot fear wafted through her or perhaps it was shock. She hadn't realized that Shinigami could die or get ill, but she had noticed that Alan had looked sick, his face unusually pale and drained of color. She had thought it was from staying indoors a lot, but now she knew it wasn't so. Her immortality wasn't so perfect after all. But she couldn't let that bother her. She had been through a lot worst.
She squared her shoulders and held her head proudly. "The King wants to see me, King George?"
"Yes, he does, although I'm uncertain as to why." Ciel replied from where he sat at the head of the long dining table. He wore his usual outfit of white shirt, a dark blue waistcoat, a bright blue tie tied in a bow about his neck and shorts with long socks and buckle shoes. His soft dark blue almost black hair hung over one eye while the other blue eye was exposed. Ciel was a demon so it would turn red when he used his powers but otherwise it remained its normal blue shade. "I tried to find out but he was unwilling to tell me."
Elizabeth strode further into the room, all of the eyes on her. Her extended family was here, including her Aunt who called herself Madame Red. They seemed to be amazed at the sudden change in her appearance, as they had always seen her in her male pirate outfit but she was very much the lady now in one of the beautiful gowns her father, Weatherby, had bought her. Her posture was perfect and she held a fan in her hand instead of a sword. She knew she was beautiful and her time as a pirate hadn't changed that. She realized she needed to start thinking of Sebastian as her father, as he was the real deal, but Weatherby had raised her for all of those years and she was used to thinking of him as her father – but she would make an effort to try to change that. "What exactly did he say?"
"He said he wanted to see the Pirate King and knew that you were the King." Ciel informed her.
She tilted her head slightly, thinking. "I'll go see him then."
"Elizabeth, no!" James exclaimed as he rushed forward and took her arm. "That's a very bad idea! He could hang you!"
A somewhat crooked smile broke out over her face. "I suspect he wants something. And I have since learned that currency is now the currency of the realm. It's what Lord Beckett told me. I was able to make a deal with him and I suspect I can make one with the King as well."
"I do not like gambling like that with your life. It's too risky." James informed her as he tilted her chin to stare into her now green eyes. "St James Palace is no doubt well guarded by the best. If things go wrong, how will you get away? It all may just be a clever ruse to catch you."
"But I learned from the best…" Elizabeth reminded him.
"This is all Sparrow's fault! If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be in this mess." James said sourly as he thought of the pirate. "You'd be living the fine life in Port Royal and you wouldn't be a pirate."
"No, I'd be dead at the bottom of the sea." Elizabeth reminded him as she thought of the day that had started all of her adventures, the day she had fallen off the top of Fort Charles due to the corset. "I fell off Fort Charles, remember? Jack saved me, he didn't have to, but he did."
James sighed. It always came back to Sparrow's act of chivalry. "If it matters any, I was going to leap off to save you, but my officers stopped me. They feared I'd hit the rocks…"
She allowed James to help seat her at the table, but her mind was on the upcoming meeting with the King. She just couldn't fathom what the King of England could possibly want with her. She knew her father, Weatherby, had been friends with the man more or less or on good terms with him anyway, but she just didn't see the reason for the invitation. He could have just sent his men to arrest her but he wasn't doing that. And that could only mean the King wanted something from her, but what? She didn't have anything but the Empress and he could easily take that from her at any moment.
Sebastian started to serve dinner then but the mood at the table was anything but relaxed. Still, she felt confident that things would go well, especially if she planned ahead of time.
TBC...
Check out my other BB/Pirates story "Darker Heart".