Pirates of the Caribbean: After World's End
A/N: Yay, you've all made me so happy! Maybe I'll actually have a good day… Thank you to missrisa77, 4-is-lovely, Florencia7, and DCoD for reviewing! Well, here's the next chapter, this one's coming up fast, but I can't promise that the other ones will be just as fast! Please R&R, the more reviews I get, the faster the chapters come up.
Chapter 2: The Chest is Lost
Morning shone brightly over Shipwreck Cove. Elizabeth woke up groggily, her eyelids heavy from a night of strange dreams. In one of them, Will had turned into Davy Jones, and explained that he had been meant to do this. She had argued with him, but then he had pulled out his sword and stabbed her, and then smiled. Jones' voice came out of his mouth, saying, "Do you fear death?" Elizabeth had snapped awake, breathing deeply.
Now, she stood up and got dressed as she always did; in the Singapore style, as though she was the Pirate King, Sao Feng had made her Pirate Lord of Singapore when he died. The curled shoes were a style that she had dropped quite soon, though, opting for a pair of simple boots. She buckled on a sword belt, sliding her sword into it. The sword was a present from Jack on her 22nd birthday, and as she stared at it for a moment, she felt a chill.
It was normal for Jack to be crude, but to sincerely apologize afterwards? He must have been drunk, Elizabeth decided, rolling her eyes. She shook her head, clearing the thoughts of the earlier day from her mind. She had business to attend to, AKA, sitting around and listening to her advisors argue.
Pushing open the door of her cabin, Elizabeth walked out onto her ship's deck. The Swan, as Elizabeth had dubbed it, had been recently built for her, and was one of the faster ships in the Caribbean. The Pearl and the Dutchman could still outrun it, but other than that, it had proved its worth in combat.
There were still battles going on between the Pirate Brethren and the East India Trading Company. Even though Lord Cutler Beckett had died, a replacement for him had been found quickly, but no one knew who it was. Elizabeth's ships had been constantly running into East India agents, and many a good vessel had been sunk.
Luckily, the Pearl and the Swan worked well together, their captains often communicating through the means of Jack the monkey. A smile came to Elizabeth's face, remembering the most recent battle, where Mr. Gibbs had been running around the deck, trying to find the perfect spot to catch Jack when he came flying over with the note from Jack Sparrow. The battle had been successful, and one of the flagships of the East India's fleet had been sunk.
Elizabeth walked down the gangplank, and as she purposefully strode towards the meeting room structure, someone knocked her down. A grimy hand was offered to help her up, and Elizabeth stared into the face of Captain Jack Sparrow. Her face grimly set, glaring up at Jack. She slapped his hand away, standing up.
"You alright, Lizzy?" he drawled. His breath stank with the scent of room, and his eyes seemed glazed over. A half-empty bottle of rum was held in his right hand.
"I'm fine, Jack," she snapped. "I have to be going, a meeting's been called." She tried to walk away, but Jack stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"Actually," he said. "The meeting's been cancelled. They said there was some problem with something or someone." He tried to explain no further, seeing the disbelieving look on Elizabeth's face. "The point is, the meeting's been cancelled. And I have something to tell you, a matter of great importance, to do with your husband. Come with me."
Elizabeth's face brightened. "Will?" she said, smiling. "You have news of him? Tell me, c'mon Jack!"
"Alright then," he said. "It's settled. Come on!" He set off, his path teetering, and Elizabeth walked behind him, rolling her eyes. It seemed that he could never make something simple by just telling her himself. Jack walked onto the Pearl (no surprise), and climbed up the rope ladder into the crow's nest.
Elizabeth followed, and Jack offered a hand to help her up. This time, she accepted it, and Jack pulled her up. She sat on the edge of the crow's nest as she had the day before, and Jack stood next to her. The two of them stared silently at the sea for a moment, reminiscing about the last time they had been far away from Shipwreck Cove.
Elizabeth turned to Jack. "So, what's the news?" she asked.
"Oh, on William?" he asked. Elizabeth cast him a quick look, and he smirked. "Well, it's not exactly news, but an unpleasant turn of events."
"Jack…"
"Well, remember that you gave me the chest to hide?" he asked. One week ago, Elizabeth had charged Jack with the task of hiding the chest that held Will's heart, and Jack had said that he had taken care of it. "I gave it to Pintel and Raghetti to hide, and well, they lost it."
Elizabeth's mouth dropped wide open. She sprung up. "Jack!" she yelled. "What were you thinking, giving it to them? One of them keeps losing his eye, and neither of them can even read!"
Jack's face dropped. "Luv, I can barely write me own name," he said slowly.
Elizabeth knew she had just done something horrible. Jack always felt slightly angry at her haughtiness, and she knew this. She couldn't allow her friendship with him to end, now that Will wasn't here. "Jack, I'm sorry," she said, turning away from him. "I really am. I just…grew up differently from most pirates. Tutors from England, everything I ever wanted…"
"Lizzy, I don't need your life's story," he said.
Elizabeth smiled. "You've been a major part of it for the last few years." Realizing what she had said, her face turned a bright crimson.
Jack smirked. "I have, have I?" he asked coyly.
Elizabeth glared at Jack. "You know what I mean," she snapped. "But back to the point, where is the chest?"
"I already told you, luv," Jack drawled. "I don't know. Pintel and Righetti should be back any moment. You can take out your terrible rage on them."
"You're making fun of me, Jack?" Elizabeth asked. "I do have more power as King of Pirates, thanks to you."
Jack constantly argued with himself for the decision he had made to vote for Elizabeth as Pirate King. "Yes, thanks to me," he snapped. "And I still have received no gratitude."
Elizabeth frowned. "Do you deserve it?" she asked. "After what being Pirate King has put me through, maybe you should be apologizing."
"I deeply apologize, m'lady," Jack sarcastically drawled. "You're still the same stupid, haughty, stuck-up little girl that was captured by Barbossa in Port Royale."
Elizabeth's face turned pale. "Take that back," she said, her voice dangerously quiet.
Jack realized that he had once again gone too far. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "But you deserved it."
Elizabeth still looked as pale as death. "I better go," she said, climbing down the ladder. As soon as she was off the gangplank, one of her guards came running to her.
"Captain Swann," he puffed. "You missed the council!"
"The council?" Elizabeth asked, confused. "I thought that was cancelled…"
"Cancelled?" he asked. "No, it never was. Who told you that?"
Elizabeth's mouth formed a straight line. "Jack Sparrow," she spat.
"Captain! Captain Jack Sparrow!" Jack's voice came floating across the water.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth and whirled around, stomping off to find Jack.
Will Turner felt an odd feeling as if something of his had been lost. He walked up to the wheel where his father steered the ship. "Father," he said. "I need to find Elizabeth."
His father nodded. "Any idea where she would be?"
"Probably in Shipwreck Cove," Will answered. "Set a course eastwards."
"Aye, captain," his father answered. The Flying Dutchman slightly turned and then submerged itself in the water.
