I was home sick today, so I thought I'd help you guys out! I love you guys soso much and your reviews make me super happy!
Love
-Han
"Lord Beckett, the prisoner you ordered, sir," a soldier said, hauling Will into the room.
"Those won't be necessary," he said, indicating the shackles. They were removed and the soldier exited. Will looked accusingly at Anna, but turned his head again as Beckett began to speak. "The East India Trading Company has need of your services. We wish for you to act as our agent in a business transaction with out mutual friend Captain Sparrow." The name and title were said with absolute contempt. Anna didn't think 'friend' would be the appropriate word to describe his relationship with the Captain.
"More acquaintance than friend," Will answered. Anna shot him a glare; he knew how much Jack meant to her. He was the first and really only person to appreciate her as she was. To show her freedom and not leave her behind. He was her best friend, and Will knew it. "How do you know him?" Beckett casually walked to the hearth and picked up an iron tool. He pulled it from the flames and inspected it. Anna shrank back from the bright orange 'P'.
"We've had dealings in the past. And we've each left our mark on the other," he said, his voice sounding slightly reminiscent.
"You-" Anna started furiously. He'd given him the brand, the one she knew personally must've hurt horribly. He branded him a pirate. Her hate for him grew exponentially and she prayed that when they found Jack, he would find a way to get her out of this.
"What mark did he leave on you?" Will cut across her. She moved her glare to him for a moment before looking back at Beckett. He did not answer; only put the brand back into the fireplace.
"By your efforts Jack Sparrow was set free. I would like you to go to him and recover a certain property in his possession," he said, getting to the back to business. He turned back towards Anna. "And of course, by our agreement, you will accompany him."
"Recover? At the point of a sword?" Will asked, stepping forward slightly. Anna moved to stand beside him, looking curiously at the man before her.
"Bargain!" he exclaimed, as if the idea of anything less was atrocious. He picked something up from a table and held them for the pair of them to see. "Letters of Marque."
Will looked at Anna in confusion. "It amounts to a full pardon, a permanent one," she explained, looking at the folded parchment in something like amazement.
"You will offer these to Sparrow. Jack will be free, a privateer in the employ of England," Beckett said, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"You are mad if you think Jack will consider employment the same as freedom," Anna said plainly. He wasn't even the good kind of mad.
"Freedom," Beckett mocked. "Jack Sparrow is a dying breed." He moved to stare at the map again, his hands folded behind his back. "The world is shrinking, the blank edges of the map filled in. Jack must find his place in the new world or perish. Not unlike yourself, Mr. Turner. You and your fiancée face the hangman's noose," he reminded him.
"So you get both Jack and the Black Pearl?" Will questioned, his head cocking to the side. Beckett turned with a snort.
"The Black Pearl?"
"The property that you want and he possesses?" Will asked, as if it were obvious.
"A ship? Hardly!" Anna was shocked to see something close to humor in his eyes; she'd thought that was impossible. "The item in question is considerably smaller and far more valuable," he said, his calculating look back in place. "Something Sparrow keeps on his person at all times: a compass." Both Anna and Will widened their eyes with recognition. How could they forget? Anna sharply recalled the storm that had rocked the Interceptor, and the death grip in which he held the compass. "Ah, you know it. Bring back that compass or there's no deal," he said with finality.
Xx
Will and Anna rushed with Governor Swann to the jail, so that Will could say goodbye. Anna's booted feet pounded the cobblestone comfortably, she'd missed them. She fingered the sword anxiously, waiting for them to reappear. She'd opted to give Will and Elizabeth time alone, since their wedding day had been ruined.
She was going to see Jack again. The thought was continuously running through her head. She tried not to get her hopes up. It was highly possible that he didn't remember her, or didn't want to see her. In fact, it was possible that they would never find him.
But she'd missed him. It'd been a whole year, and she'd still think of him whenever she sat on the docks in London. Which wasn't as often as she would've liked. She'd fallen back into the role of princess, but still sat on the docks, in plain cotton dresses, swishing her feet just above the water. She still fingered the sparrow charm around her neck and wished she could have gone with him. But she knew she'd made the right choice. The only choice, really.
Her life had become plain and boring and mundane. She was constantly surrounded by people that would normally never give her a second glance. But now she was royalty, and royalty was popular. She had suitors left and right and hated all of them. She had spent the last week with Will, but she could never have what they used to.
His words to her were still largely formal, and his posture still indicated hurt. For the most part, he understood where she was coming from, but that didn't dull the pain. She hated knowing she'd hurt him, but she couldn't change it. She'd kept it from him for a reason, and he only confirmed it by acting differently around her. She just wanted him to be the same. To be like her brother again.
When he finally reappeared, he looked miserable but determined. She had to rush to keep up with his fast strides to the docks. His usually boyish face was hardened and it made him look much older. His warm eyes were cold and distant. He didn't seem to notice that Anna was trying to follow him. She ducked around a cart and started running to catch him. When she finally caught onto his sleeve, she was out of breath completely.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone cutting.
"I am…going…with…you," she said in-between large gulps of air. His look was disdainful and he attempted to shake her off. He stopped when he realized what was on her left hand, the one clutching her chest.
"Wha-" he started to ask with surprise and concern.
"It was the only way to guarantee your freedoms. Even with the compass, he would not have pardoned you unless I agreed to marry him," she said, her breathing now normal. "Going with you was one of my conditions, so I am going."
"You're mad," he informed her with a slight smile.
"All the best people are," she reminded, stepping around him and meeting Mr. Mercer at the docks. The man induced shivers down her spine. Scars lined his face and his eyes were cruel. She thought he was more frightening than Barbossa.
He led them to the ship they would take passage on to Tortuga. She hurried across the gangplank, eager to get away from him. The Captain wasn't overly pleased at the idea of a woman onboard, but upon realizing who she was, accepted her graciously.
She sulked below decks for the rest of the night, since she was not allowed to help out on the ship. When she thought the sun would be rising soon, she stood and walked up into the open air. She felt the rush of the sea hit her all at once and realized that a year without it had not dulled the exhilaration she felt. She had missed the sea, the painfully boring voyage back to the Caribbean had not been enough for her.
She leaned against the railing and felt her hair swirl around her. She fingered the necklace, and hummed to herself. Her eyes were on the horizon, facing away from the coming sunrise. She was looking at the star. Her star.
The North Star still shown in the sky; twinkling in the purple-toned light. She felt a smile come to her face and realized she hadn't been smiling all that much, and if she had, it was forced. It shocked her to know that she felt truly happy here, on the sea. She felt as if something inside her needed this and the ache had finally been soothed.
