Title: Freedom from the Curse

Author: SailorNeo

Summary: It's been six months since Will and Elizabeth were forced to separate. When Elizabeth finds out that there's a way to free Will that doesn't involve his death, she and the crew of The Black Pearl—including both captains—make their way to the Fountain of Youth. What happens when they find out that Calypso is the least of their worries? Post AWE, so spoilers ahead.

Author's Note: If you want to check out progress on this, check out my profile. Also, I revamped my website, www . sailorneo . bravehost . com (ignore the spaces.) The site doesn't have much for any fic yet, but I'll put up pictures of Angelina the rest of the pirates later.

Chapter Two: Crabs

A week and a half later and Elizabeth was finding that having Ana Maria and Angelina around was actually comforting. None of the other women of Shipwreck Cove—few as they were—would come near her. Jack was being an all around pain. He searched high and low for his charts, but made time to see Elizabeth whenever she looked "moody" as he said.

She still hadn't had the chance to tell him of her pregnancy.

Jack wasn't too happy with Angelina being at Shipwreck Cove though. She seemed to have a few nicknames, most of which Jack had made up. His personal favorite was an acrostic of Angelina's name. "Annoying Nosy Git-like Eager Loud Insane Never-ending Annoyance" he called it. He wasn't too happy with the E though.

Elizabeth had taken to sulking in her rooms when no one was about to tell her otherwise. There she could see most of what went on down by the eastern docks. Angelina was around the eastern docks early in the morning when she thought no one was about. Well, that's what Elizabeth assumed seeing as Angelina was very sneaky about what she was doing—which was hunting crabs.

Elizabeth was a little wary of that seeing as Calypso had turned into a lot of crabs when Will had told her that Davy Jones had been the one to betray her.

Which brought Elizabeth back to Will. She thought of him mostly in those early mornings because she had no time otherwise. Now that she wasn't scurrying around like what she had thought the King should be like—how was she supposed to know that she didn't really have to do anything?—she could think on him more.

She frowned down at Angelina as the strange young woman began talking to a crab. "That girl is very, very, very strange. I've got to speak to her."

"Talkin' to yourself, are you luv?" Jack asked from behind her.

Elizabeth huffed. "How many times must I inform you that you must not enter my rooms unannounced?"

"Too many to count," Jack said. "And why're you so worried over the Annoying—"

"Jack, she's talking to crabs."

Jack flinched. "Crabs are not nice things, luv. They taste bad too…Or at least the rocky-thingagummies in the Locker did…"

Elizabeth went pale and rushed from the room.

"And what's with all of this, y'know," Jack said, waving his hand in her general direction. "Far's I know, you ain't never been sick afore."

Elizabeth came out of the privy a moment later and scowled at him. "I'm pregnant you idiot."

Jack's mouth opened, then closed. "Well that changes things." He frowned as Elizabeth sat down in her chair once more. "Are you sure?"

"Jack, I'm six months pregnant, I think I know."

"Whose is it?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth glared at him. "Will's thank you very much."

"Tain't possible," Jack said. "Will's a eunuch." Elizabeth just looked at Jack and he gulped. "I'll be going now," he said, backing towards the door. "But please do something about those crabs."

"Out!" Elizabeth said, pointing to the door. As soon as Jack had left, she said, "I am going to need to speak to Angelina. And soon."

"Yes your Kingliness?" Angelina asked as she entered the room.

"Why are you so obsessed with crabs?" Elizabeth asked bluntly.

"Oh," Angelina said. "Found out about that, did you?" She scuffed her foot on the ground and sighed. "All right, I'll come clean. I spent six months with Calypso when she was Tia Dalma. And well, I hatched this little plan…To save your husband. I've been trying to get her to go along with it for ages now, and well, she finally has said yes."

Elizabeth slowly stood up and came over to Angelina. "Will can be saved?" she asked in a low voice, not daring to hope.

"Yes. It's part of the reason why I needed Sao Feng's charts. We need to find the Fountain of Youth," Angelina said.

"Which both Jack and Barbossa are looking for," Elizabeth said.

"Right," Angelina said. "So I figure they come, you come, Ana Maria comes, I come, and then we free your husband from his eternal torment,"

Elizabeth began pacing. "Calypso is willing to let my husband give up his years of servitude?" she asked after a moment.

"Only if someone will stab the heart," Angelina said. Elizabeth whirled around to retort to that, but Angelina interrupted. "If he drinks from the Fountain at the instant that his heart is stabbed, then he won't die. So, he'll be freed."

"But who will become Captain of the Flying Dutchman?" Elizabeth asked.

"There's someone," Angelina said mysteriously. "Come now, I can't be revealin' all of my secrets, now can I?"

Elizabeth slowly sat back down. "All right, we'll do it. We'll need a ship and a crew to get us to Tortuga. Find the Empress if she's near."

"As you wish, your Kingliness," Angelina said, executing a low bow and this time not falling over.

And barely two days later Elizabeth found herself on a ship once more. Barbossa, upon finding out about her pregnancy had told her she'd best be staying off of ships for a spell. She'd missed the open seas, and had stood at the railing for a couple of hours, just enjoying the sight of the ocean.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. The good Cap'n Sparrow landed in Port...And attempted to kidnap a Swan…What rhymes with port?"

"Court, short," Elizabeth said. "And what are you doing?"

"It's going to be called the Ballad of Elizabeth and William Turner," Angelina said, coming to stand by Elizabeth at the rail. "That's about all I've got so far."

The two women were silent a moment. "You know that you are very strange, right?" Elizabeth asked.

Angelina nodded just as Jack shouted, "Where is all of the rum?!"

"He is a sad, sad man," Angelina said.

"Elizabeth!" Jack said, coming over, wobbling slightly. "Where is all the rum?"

Angelina and Elizabeth winced slightly at the smell of Jack.

"In your belly, Jack," Ana Maria said from behind him. "You drank it all."

"I did not!" Jack said indignantly. The ship lurched a bit and he nearly fell over. "Oh. Guess I did."

Captain Hector Barbossa was having a time of trying to find where Jack Sparrow was. It'd been not but three months after Davy Jones had been killed and young William Turner took his place that they'd left him outside of Tortuga with Gibbs, and now it was three months after that and they still couldn't find him!

"Ahoy there!" a voice called from below his ship. Barbossa frowned and went to the rail.

"Why if it isn't Mrs. Turner," he called down. "What ye be doin here?"

"May we come aboard?" Elizabeth called up.

"Aye lass," Barbossa said, wondering who the 'we' was.

"Oi! I want my ship back!" came a loud, angry voice.

"Ah, Jack," Barbossa said as the man in question stormed up the gangplank. "Ye see, it's my ship."

"Technically, it's my ship," Elizabeth said. "Whenever the King of the Pirates is aboard a ship, they are the Captain. And as King of the Pirates, all pirate ships are theirs. So I'm the Captain."

"No you're not," Jack said. "I'm the Captain!"

"I'm the Captain," Barbossa said.

"No, I'm the Captain by the Code," Elizabeth said.

"But it's my ship!" Jack protested.

"Not anymore," Barbossa said in reply.

"Stop it!" Angelina yelled from the gangplank. "All of you!" She stormed onto the ship. "All hands on deck!" she bellowed, causing lots of scrambling and muffled cursing to be heard from below.

"Now, don't ye be given orders on my boat," Barbossa said firmly.

"It's my boat!" Jack said.

Angelina pulled her pistol out of its holster. "All of you—shut up!" she shouted at them.

"Is that, is that Angel?" Pintel asked, peering at Angelina.

She holstered her gun and grinned at him. "Aye. Now, we have a proposition for you all."

"It involves the Fountain of Youth," Ana Maria said from behind Angelina. "And freein the Captain of the Dutchman."

"That ain't possible," Pintel said.

"Actually it is," Elizabeth said. "The plan is to find the Fountain of Youth and then free Will by having his successor stab his heart at the instant he drinks from the Fountain."

"And what if the Fountain be on land?" Barbossa asked.

Elizabeth stopped. She'd forgotten that little detail.

"Well, then we bring the water to him, it's not that hard a thing to do," Angelina said. "Or he can just wear buckets on his feet like Davy Jones did."

"Right then, do we go and find the Fountain of Youth or not?" Elizabeth asked.

"Jack stole the charts," Barbossa said.

"And someone stole them from me," Jack complained.

"That would have been me," Angelina said, handing them over to Elizabeth. "So, are we going?"

Barbossa and Jack looked at each other and then Elizabeth. "To the Fountain!" Barbossa said.