Chapter 2:

Inheritance

It was another full day before Elizabeth was fully ready to exit her chambers. It had taken several hours just to convince her rebelling legs to get out of bed. But once out, she began preparing herself for her inevitable return to the Outside World.

For she feared it immensely; stepping out those doors meant acknowledging what had happened. It meant admitting that she had been destroyed from the outside in. It meant confessing that her world wasn't safe anymore.

But worst of all, it meant conceding that Jack was gone.

And as long as she stalled, as long as she delayed, perhaps he was merely out on errands, or simply waiting to surprise her.

But she knew Jack, perhaps better than anyone else in the world, and it was far too out of his character to keep her waiting.

So she would accept what she could not change, and she would move on.

After a few detours.

-KW-
The crew had gathered outside the doors of the Captain's Cabin the moment Miss Swann was brought aboard. From the first day Jack had welcomed her into the crew, they treated her as one of their own. The men all loved her dearly, as though she were some bizarre combination of a mother and a sister and a daughter all at once; she took care of them, she worked with them, she laughed with them, and she was cared for by them. Seeing her shattered and battered enraged them, and they hungered for blood—not solely for her sake, but also for Jack's, knowing that the dead pirate would have been furious at the evils committed upon his lass. They all owed him that much, at least.

But the hours turned into days, and the days turned into weeks, and when the weeks turned into months, they began to lose hope, and the vigil held at the doors shrank a little bit, day by day. If they lost Miss Elizabeth, there'd simply be no point. They'd all retire, go home to Tortuga, or simply go on to the next grand adventure with their old captain and his girl.

Then Gibbs had exited the cabin doors excitedly, proclaiming that a miracle had occurred; she was awake!

The vigil returned to full strength, becoming more of an assembly. They stood in ranks, waiting for her to fully come back to them.

And now, as the doors creaked open, they wondered if she really had.

-KW-
She was a dark figure. It was the first thing they noted about her.

Dark navy blue pants tucked into dark boots, a blue vest closer to black than the pants covered a grey shirt, worn somewhat loosely. Covering her unusually tall frame was an almost black frock coat. A belt carried a pistol, a compass they all recognized, and a medallion that the Monkey Jack had most unwillingly given up. A second belt going from right shoulder to left hip held a sabre. Palm-covering leather gloves and rings on both ring fingers adorned her hands. A hat completed the ensemble.

It took them all a moment to realize that she looked and dressed very much like Jack had.

Save for the eyes; her eyes were no longer the jubilant, shining blue they once were. They were now steely, cold orbs that could have pierced the Buckingham Palace walls.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then, as one, the pirate crew snapped to attention in recognition of their new leader.

Elizabeth nodded, and cast a look to Gibbs. He received its intended message, and called, "Dismissed. Prepare to make sail!" Moving to her side as she moved across the deck, he asked in a more subdued voice, "Where to?"

As she came to a halt in front of the wheel, she ordered in a calm, even voice, "Her."

-KW-
Following the now-familiar river path, the crew of the Black Pearl followed the lead longboat up the river, moving through the foggy banks and muddy waters, coming to stop at an equally familiar dwelling.

Exiting the lead longboat, Elizabeth ordered, "One man from each boat remain behind to mind the boat. The rest of you, inside." As Gibbs sent a questioning look her way, she explained, "Jack excluded all but a few of his crew. I will not make the same mistake."

He nodded, seeing it was merely another loyalty reinforcement. Though he wouldn't be the one to tell her that she already had the crew's devotion.

Elizabeth entered first, followed closely by Gibbs. The two were the first to survey the witch.

Tia Dalma raised her eyes from her work, and stared at the intruders. "Miss Elizabeth," her heavy Caribbean accent intoned, "do come in."

Ever the polite courtier, she nodded, "Thank you, Tia Dalma."

The bayou witch gave a nod to Gibbs, indicating he could sit as well, though she ignored the rest of the men who filed in. She did, however, wait until all were in before asking, "Where be witty Jack?"

She could instantly tell from the flash of agony that zipped across Elizabeth's face and the collective sag in posture of the men that this would not be good.

"He's dead," a crewman said.

Wordlessly, she sat across from the withdrawn former wife-to-be. Then, "So what can I help you with?"

The girl raised her eyes to meet Tia's, and the mystic barely suppressed the impulse to flinch back from the penetrating gaze. It had been a very long time, she thought, since she had been genuinely afraid of someone. And she wasn't afraid of Miss Elizabeth; she was terrified.

"I want the powers of captaincy of the Black Pearl."

-KW-
Across from her, Tia Dalma did not react, apart from going very, very still. "What do you speak of?" the swamp witch said carefully.

"I speak of the abilities that Jack had in his arsenal before his death," Elizabeth said curtly, not in the mood for the witch's coy little word games. "His accelerated healing, his uncanny luck, his unparalleled skill, and his fine-tuned control over the sea."

At the last, Gibbs spoke. "Control of the sea? What is—how could Jack control the sea? If he did, surely the hurricanes..."

"Did you ever notice, Master Gibbs," Dalma spoke, "that the waves were never too high, never too strong, and you never, ever lost a man?"

"Well, we had a fine crew..."

"A crew that needed weathering and experience, yet could not be lost. So," Tia peered over her ring-adorned hands, "witty Jack kept the seas down the slightest bit to keep you all alive."

"And he never exerted a greater control..."

"Because Jack felt it was cheating the chance of the sea too greatly to use it to his advantage," Elizabeth finished. It was more a judge of character than actual knowledge, but it was accurate nonetheless.

"This burden, Miss Elizabeth," Tia turned to her. "Truly willing, are you, to take it on? A difficult burden it is, not to be undertaken lightly." As Elizabeth's eyes seemed to change colours to a stormy grey, Tia realized that even those carefully chosen words were mildly offensive.

She did not, thankfully, take great offence. If she did, Tia wasn't sure if her magical abilities could actually save her.

"I am prepared for whatever may be required of me in this role, Tia Dalma," she said gravely. It was clear that this girl would not be scared away from the role.

She sighed. Her body felt every one of her many, many years in that one moment. "Alright." She decided that she could help this girl out, at least a little; she still carried a torch for Jack, even if barely a tinder. "But if you're going to sail a course that I suspect you are, I suggest first going to Okinawa."

"Okinawa?"

"Yes," Tia nodded. "There is a teacher whom you would benefit studying under. I shall give you the name. But it is a name for your ears alone," she eyed the men in the room. "Something between us girls, yes?"

Nodding in understanding, the men filed out to the boats, Gibbs following with a departing "We'll be in the boats whenever you're ready."

Once Gibbs closed the door, Elizabeth turned. "Now, who is this teacher...and where might I find him?"

Tia Dalma, for the first time that night, grinned.

-KW-
It was bare moments after settling into the longboats that Elizabeth came back to the crew. She wordlessly got into the boat. The rest of the crew had already departed for the ship as soon as she left the house, so most of the crew beat her boat to the ship.

When her boat arrived, she was the last to come aboard. The moment she set foot on the deck, she heard Gibbs' familiar voice say, "Captain on deck!" And immediately the crew came to attention.

She understood that this was merely a display of loyalty in return for tonight, and could not expect it much past tonight, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She gave a barely perceptible nod to Gibbs, and climbed the steps to the wheel.

Reaching out, she gently caressed the soft wood, for the first time truly understanding Jack's compassion for the ship. It was as if she could feel every timber, every wave lap at her sides, every wind gust waiting for use. And she understood.

She surveyed her crew, who looked back at her proudly, and said, "On deck, you mangy dogs! Weigh anchor and hoist sail!" Turning to Gibbs, "Set course for the Atlantic while I chart a path."

"Yes, ma'am," Gibbs moved to the wheel.

As she entered the Captain's Cabin—her cabin, now—she drew out a sheet of parchment, and a quill. Keeping her hand eerily straight, she wrote very slowly and deliberately, especially so with the last name. When she was done, she examined her handiwork.

Kill List Five:

Sao-Feng

AnaMaria

Hector Barbossa

James Norrington

Will Turner

Looking up as she pinned the list to the wall, let a tear slip from her eye. As she returned to her desk and moved to the navigation maps, "I'll get them for you, love" was the momentary, tearful, aching slip that was to be one of the last for Captain Elizabeth Swann of the Black Pearl.

Author's Notes: I received in one or more reviews--I'm not going to bother to go back and check--something regarding the OOC-ness of most characters. If I may explain how dearest William could have such a dramatic shift in character...one review said it best:"It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?". But more so...any of us who have ever experienced the touch of love know that we'd do almost anything to hold onto it...and the loss of it can drive even the most rational among us to commit acts of out-and-out insanity.