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Here I am again. I'm really getting into this one. This means I will update regularly. But if I do stop updating don't forget to give me a poke to wake me up! Anyway reviewers, I worship you all and QG30 whether they find each other again will soon be revealed I am afraid I cannot divulge any more information at this point. Thanks for the review and please keep reviewing!
The Heart Never Lies
Chapter 3: Decision Backfired
Some people fight
Some people fall
Nothing anyone could say, not her father, not James, not Lady Mark, not Michael could stop her. She had ridden home, in a less than graceful fashion, and walked straight into her father's study. He had looked up from his papers and smiled.
"Elizabeth!" he beamed. "I trust your ride was good." Elizabeth marched up to his desk.
"I'm leaving." She said. Weatherby looked confused for a moment.
"You're leaving?" Elizabeth nodded.
"Yep, I'm leaving Port Royal! I'm getting out. "She planted her hands on the table and leaned forward. "I'm moving on!" her father sat there, in a state of complete shock, it was a few moments before he regained his voice.
"But Elizabeth…where will you go?" Elizabeth thought for a moment. She hadn't actually given it that much thought, all she had known was that she had to leave. And then it hit her.
"England!" her father frowned.
"But what…" he was cut off by Elizabeth.
"It's perfect, I'll go and stay with Judie. You know, I can get a ship and be there within the month!" she was pacing up and down, her hands flying in the air. "It's perfect!" she repeated. Her father struggled to take in everything that was happening.
"Elizabeth, I think you need to slow down." He said hesitantly. Elizabeth paused and looked up and him.
"But father, don't you see. The reason I haven't been able to move on is because I haven't let myself move on! Everything here reminds me of Will and I need to get somewhere that doesn't" her face was animated and excited and it was this that prompted the governor to make his decision.
"Very well, you'll go to England." Elizabeth beamed at her father and leant across the desk to pull him into a hug.
XXXXXX
"FUCK!" the single word pierced the Caribbean air. From his point at the wheel Will sighed. "SHIT! FUCK! CRAP!" Jack's cursing could be heard all over the ship. A moment later the pirate captain came into view. He was clutching his hand. Will transferred the wheel to a crewmember before making his way over to Jack.
"What have you done?" he asked as he reached Jack. Jack held out his hand to show Will a large cut stretching across his hand.
"She's a mad woman!" he hissed. "She attacked me with a fucking knife!" just then there was a shout from the galley.
"JACK SPARROW!" Jack's face was drained of colour and he swallowed hard.
"Fuck!" he hissed. He dived behind Will. Ana came into view, a knife balanced in her hand. Blood dripped off the end and the look in her eyes was murderous. Jack snuck away from Will and hid behind a nearby barrel when she was looking the other way. Ana turned and saw Will standing in the middle of the deck. With a frown she marched towards him. Grabbing the front of his shirt she pulled him forward, the knife dangerously close to his face.
"Where is he?!" she growled. Will stuttered for a moment.
"That way!" he said finally pointing. Ana let him go and gave a tight smile.
"Jack Sparrow, you have three seconds to come out, or I'll do more than cut your hand, I'll chop off your fucking bollacks!" Jack emerged from the barrels a moment later, looking wary and sheepish at the same time. He spread his hands wide and inched towards Ana slowly, she watched him, the knife raised ever so slightly.
"Look, Ana, I'm sure there is a rational way that we can discuss this like civilised people and there will be no need for that knife." Ana raised an eyebrow.
"Civilised? You are anything but civilised Jack Sparrow!" she said. Jack opened his mouth to protest but Ana raised the knife again and his mouth snapped shut. Will had started to make his way towards the couple. He had no idea what he was going to do to break it up. Jack saw him coming and a small smile graced his features. Ana glanced his way briefly before looking back at Jack again. She levelled the knife at his groin.
"I swear to God Jack, if you ever try and touch me like that again I will make you what you so like." Jack frowned and they watched as he mouthed the words she had said. "A bloody eunuch!" Ana said exasperatedly. Jack's expression cleared before he quickly covered his groin. Ana gave him one last glare before retreating back down below deck.
Will waited until she had gone fully before he burst out laughing. Jack was examining his wound and looked up long enough to glare at Will.
"And pray do tell, what is so funny whelp?!" he asked., Will looked at him before laughing again.
"You tried to…get with…Ana!" he spluttered, Jack scowled.
"So what if I did." He exclaimed. When Will didn't stop laughing he swore and stomped down below deck, leaving Will in hysterics.
XXXXXXWhen Elizabeth awoke the morning after her decision it took a moment for her to work out why she was so happy. Then she remembered her plan. Her plan to leave and go to England. Getting out of bed she went to her desk and picked up the letter that she had drafted for Judie the night before.
Dear Judie,
Due to circumstances I have decided to come back to England for a while. It would make me very happy if I was able to come and stay with you for a while whilst I get my bearings. I haven't heard from you in such a long time and it would be lovely for us to get together and catch up. It would mean a lot to me if you could reply with all haste.
Yours faithfully
Elizabeth Swann.
Elizabeth smiled, one thing her father had insisted was that she waited for a response before she went gallivanting around to England. It was with great reluctance that Elizabeth had agreed, knowing full well that this meant that she would have to wait for a couple of months until she could leave. Nevertheless she was determined that this would not spoil her plan. She would simply use this time to get ready.
"You cannot simply allow her to leave!" James paced up and down in front of the governor's desk. Weatherby sat watching him, his fingers laced together.
"You are welcome to go and try to persuade her to change her mind." He said. "But when have you ever known Elizabeth to back down from a decision. You know as well as I that she cannot be persuaded to change her mind." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea of how many times I tried to talk her out of marrying Will Turner, none of them worked, she would not budge."
"Elizabeth, I would strongly advise that you consider what you are doing!" she looks round at his words and frowns.
"I know exactly what I'm doing." She says. "I'm marrying the man that I love!" William Turner had just left, after having asking Elizabeth to marry him. Much to the governor's surprise she has accepted without a second thought, pulling him into a kiss without a thought for her father. He sighs exasperatedly.
"But Elizabeth, it's all been so rushed, don't you think that we should postpone it and have a really good think about this before you d anything rash." Her eyes turn to him again and he swallows. "Keep your options open." Elizabeth raises her eyebrows.
"What is you don't like?" she asks. "That he's a blacksmith or that I did something without discussing it with you first?" She walks up to him. "I've grown up father, you can't keep me sheltered forever, Will is someone who will look after me as well as you do." She pulls him into a hug.
"Just be happy for me."
James shook his head.
"This isn't right. She shouldn't be going off in her state, she's still fragile." The governor raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure that she would reject the idea that she is fragile. Like she said to me when she got engaged, she's grown up and we can't shadow her and keep her wrapped in cotton wool forever." James stopped his pacing for a moment.
"But I didn't come back for her to just go." He said. Weatherby leaned forward.
"Was that why you came back?" he asked, his voice interested. James hesitated before nodding.
"It is." The governor smiled.
"Then there is a way to resolve this little problem." He said. James took a seat and watched him curious eyes. "You go with her." James smiled at his words.
"It's good." He said. Weatherby smiled.
"Well, you could at least accompany her to England, the journey would give you chance to bind without anyone getting in the way. And when you reached England she might ask you to stay with her." James grinned.
"Who'll tell her?" he asked. The governor thought for a moment.
"Let me break it to her." He said.
It was not until a week after James and Weatherby had had their conversation that he was able to talk to Elizabeth. She was rarely with him, she spent most of her time out with Lady Mark whom she had become very close to since her ball a few weeks before. Finally on one of the rare rainy days he was able to talk to her.
Elizabeth was say by the window, her eyes floating over the page of a book, every so often she would glance up and look out of the window. She did not like the rain that much but knew that she would have to get used to it if she was going to be spending time in England for it was constantly raining out there. She heard the door to the parlour open and looked up to see her father come into the room. He smiled at her and sat down in the chair opposite her.
"Elizabeth," he started. "I have been thinking a lot about your trip to England." Elizabeth's heart began to beat quicker, what if he had decided to stop her from going.
"I'm going!" she said defensively. Her father smiled again.
"I know you are." He said. "It's just that I think James should go with you." when she didn't answer he carried on hurriedly. "It's not because I'm being silly, I just think that you should have someone there who knows you well just for the journey and who can look after you at sea." He watched her. Elizabeth had to admit that he was right, it made sense to have someone who was an experienced seaman with her, and James was the perfect candidate. She smiled at her father.
"It sounds like a great idea." Her father beamed and stood up.
"That's great, I'll just go and tell him."
James was polishing his sword when the governor found him.
"She said yes." He said, James looked up and a large grin split his face.
"She did?! That's great!" he said. Putting the sword down he reached out to shake the governor's hand. "Thank you sir."
XXXXXX
"So, Elizabeth, I hear James will be accompanying you to England." Lady Mark watched Elizabeth over the top of her teacup and raised her eyebrows. Elizabeth smiled and shook her head,
"Yes he is, but let me assure you, Lucy, nothing is going on between me and James Norrington." Lucy laughed and set her cup down.
"But do you want anything to happen?" she asked. Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. James had been so nice to her since he had come back. He had been there for her to cry on and had dried her tears after. He had been the one to assure her that every thing would be ok. There had been no show of resentment over the fact that she had chosen Will over him.
"I don't know." She admitted. "I mean, he's a nice enough man and I could see myself settling down with him and starting a family. Not to mention that he would be the perfect person to succeed my father as governor. But…" she trailed off. Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"But what Elizabeth?" she asked. Elizabeth looked up.
"But,
I'm not sure that I want to settle down yet, I mean, I was sure
when Will asked me. But now I want to see some more of the world.
Meet new people and then decide what I want to do with my love life."
Lucy grinned.
"And a very good choice too!" she said.
Elizabeth smiled and took a sip of her tea.
The door opened at that moment and one of Lucy's servants came in.
"Lord Farr her for Miss Swann." He said. He then stepped aside. Elizabeth was confused; she didn't know anyone called Farr. Who could it be?
He question was answered when Michael walked past the servant into the room. He was wearing his riding gear and his normally neat hair had a slightly windswept look. He smiled at both Lucy and Elizabeth and came over to where they were sitting.
"Forgive my intrusion." He said to Lady Mark, inclining his head. Lucy smiled.
"There's nothing to forgive Lord Farr." She purred. Michael then turned his attention to Elizabeth.
"I called in on your house, but your father informed me that you were here so I just dropped by." Taking her hand he placed a kiss on the back of it. Elizabeth blushed a deep red.
"Thank you Lord Farr." She said. Michael smiled.
"Please call me Michael." He said softly, Elizabeth smiled remembering what she had said to him.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me for another ride this afternoon?" he asked. Elizabeth nodded.
"I'd
be delighted to." She said. Ignoring the grin that was now
stretching across Lucy's face. Michael smiled again and placed
another kiss on her hand.
"It's settled, I will pick you up
later." He swept with the room, pausing only to bow to Lucy. As
soon as the servant had closed the door Elizabeth turned to her
friend.
"Not a word!" she warned. Lucy smiled.
"Oh come on Elizabeth, like I'm not going to say something!" she said. Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly.
XXXXXX
"Ship Ahoy!" Will looked up at the crow's nest. Cotton's parrot flew down squawking repeatedly. Going to the side Will leant over the side and peered out at the ocean. Sure enough on the horizon was a ship. Squinting Will tried to make out the colours.
"Shit!" he cursed and ran across the deck, taking the stairs down the galley. He raced along to Jack's cabin. He pounded on the door, on receiving no reply he threw the door open.
And was confronted with Jack and Ana, kissing wildly and fumbling with each other's clothing, Will's eyes went very wide and his jaw dropped. Neither seemed to notice that there was someone else in the room, it was as Jack started to push Ana's shirt down her arms that Will felt he should intervene.
"Wow! That is more than I want to see!" he cried. Ana broke from Jack who turned to look at Will.
"What the bloody hell are you doing in here whelp?!" Jack demanded as Ana fumbled with the buttons on her shirt. Will crossed his arms.
"There's a ship been spotted, and she's flying the colours of the British navy!"
"Shit!" Jack swore, echoing Will's earlier words. He pushed past Will and hurried up to the deck, leaving Ana and Will alone.
"'If you ever touch me like that again I'll cut off your balls.' Weren't those your words?" Will smirked. Ana glared at him and before he could say anything she had shoved him against the wall of the cabin, pinning him there with her body. Her hand grabbed his groin and he winced.
"Watch it Will." she purred in his ear. "I'm not as nice when I'm angry." Letting him go she stalked out of the cabin, leaving Will in a lot of pain.
When he limped up to the deck a few moments later he found Jack by the wheel. He was biting his lip and looking around anxiously.
"What's wrong Jack?" Will asked as he reached him. Jack looked at him.
"She's seen us, and decided to pursue us." He said. Will hurried over to the side and looked behind them, as Jack had said, the navy ship had changed its course, and was headed straight for The Black Pearl. Will frowned.
"Can we outrun them?" he asked. Jack sighed.
"I
think so, the wind is with even if and us it wasn't we're still
the fastest ship in the Caribbean." he patted the wood fondly. "And
me Pearl's
never let me
down yet." Spinning the wheel again he glanced behind him.
"Could
it be Norrington?" Jack looked at Will a frown.
"Don't think so. It's not The Dauntless." Will nodded and sighed with relief. It wouldn't do if they were caught for him to face Norrington." Jack looked behind again.
"Go and get the sails unfurled to their full. I want as much speed as possible." He commanded. Will nodded and putting the ache in his groin to the back of his mind he ran back down to the deck, pulling some of the other crewmembers to help him out.
Scrambling up the rigging as fast as he could Will made his way to the sails. With the help of Marty and Ragetti, he managed to unfurl the main sail; it immediately caught in the wind. Will smiled and started to make his way back down. It was as he hit the deck and looked over the side that he was sure that they were pulling away from the navy ship. A cheer rose from the crew and from his position by the wheel Jack grinned.
As the ship got further and further away until it was merely a speck on the horizon. Will took his place next to Jack at the wheel.
"Well done Turner!" Jack boomed, thumping him on the back. Will grinned and patted Jack on the shoulder.
"You too Sparrow." Jack waited until all the other crewmembers were pout of earshot before he leant forward.
"And I would be grateful if you would keep quiet about what you saw in me cabin. Savvy?" Will thought of Ana and the pain she had inflicted and nodded.
"Sure thing."
XXXXXX
Elizabeth felt slightly more confident on the horse this time around. Now she didn't have to concentrate as much on making the horse go the right way she was able to take in the beauty of the countryside. She rarely ventured outside of the town, except when she had been kidnapped. And that had been the sea. She had not seen any of the surrounding countryside. And it was beautiful. Large hills rolled away from the town, which was nestled, in a small dip in the valley. It was early spring and the flowers were coming into bloom. Pinks, purples, blues and reds all complemented the green on the grass and the leaves on the trees.
Elizabeth's horse, a small mellow tempered bay, trotted along just behind Michael's large black stallion. He was leading her down a path that wound up to a large hill. Every so often he would look back at her, just to check she was there.
Finally they stopped, in the shade of a large tree at the top of the hill, from a small saddlebag Michael produced a blanket, he laid it out on the ground and turned to help Elizabeth from her horse, to find that she had got down herself and was standing looking very pleased with herself. Michael smiled and sat down. Elizabeth stood for a moment stroking her pony's nose.
"So I hear you're to leave for England soon." Michael said after a while to break the silence that had descended. Elizabeth looked up and nodded.
"Yes, I'm going to go and stay with a relative in the south." Michael smiled.
"Well that's good, you can come and visit me!" Elizabeth left the horse and came to sit by him on the blanket.
"I'd like that." She said.
They sat and watched the sun move slowly across the sky, after a while Michael turned to Elizabeth.
"I've been told by many people that you don't want to talk about it, but I just wanted to know what he was like, you see I got here after he left." Elizabeth did not have to ask who he meant by 'he'. She swallowed hard and for a moment she didn't speak, and then she realised the she didn't mind telling him. She was about to tell a stranger about it. Maybe that was why, because he wouldn't have known Will and so therefore would not be able to pass judgement.
"We were engaged to be married. I met him when he was 18 and he'd come to Port Royal as a stowaway on a ship. He was the apprentice blacksmith. When I was kidnapped by pirates he came after me. He risked his life to save me. When we returned he freed a man who had helped us, Captain Jack Sparrow. You may have heard of him?" she looked at Michael who bit his lip. When she saw that the name Jack Sparrow drew up a blank she giggled. "Anyway before he had rescued Jack he told me that he loved me. He would have hung if I had not stood in the way. Jack escaped and…well, he asked me to marry him a few weeks later and I accepted." Elizabeth paused and looked at Michael who was watching her intently.
"It's sounds like something out of a story." He said. Elizabeth nodded.
"It did seem rather fantastical at the time." She sighed again and looked at the setting sun. "I thought that I was living my own fairytale, that I would settle down and live happily ever after. But apparently not." She took a deep breath. "About 4 or 5 months ago, Will told me he didn't love me anymore and that he was leaving. I had no idea why, it was all so sudden." She frowned. "The thing was, it wasn't even a gradual decline. It was just out of the blue." Michael looked thoughtful.
"Maybe he didn't mean it." Elizabeth shook her head.
"We'll never know if he did or didn't. The night of the ball when I met you, James and my father told me that he'd died. The ship he'd been travelling on had been destroyed the pirates." She cleared her throat and blinked back the tears that that threatened. Michael put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her sympathetically.
"We all have to lose people we love." He said softly. Elizabeth nodded.
"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier when we do lose them." She said. "I just wish I knew why he had done it."
XXXXXX
James watched Elizabeth and Michael ride back up to the governor's mansion from the window of Weatherby's study. He frowned as Michael leant across and spoke to Elizabeth, in response she laughed and looked away. Turning away from the window James paced back and forth. Michael was annoying; he had a habit of popping up right at the most inappropriate times. And Elizabeth liked him, this also was annoying, but James was not unduly worried. In a moth or so he and Elizabeth would be setting off for England and then he would have the whole journey to prove to her how he still felt about her. And if everything went right then by the time they reached England he would be ready to make her his wife.
XXXXXX
The Black Pearl reached port in early evening, the crew were eager to be off the ship and on dry land. Will was all for staying on the ship, but Ana and Jack dragged him off to a small bar on the edge of town, now they were sat at a table watching the other patrons. Ana and Jack were no longer a couple, as Will had predicted it had lasted less than three days, before Ana had come storming out of Jack's cabin late one night screaming blue murder. Since then she had been civil towards him. Now she was sat in the chair next to Will's, slightly closer than he would have liked but he didn't say anything.
"I hope they enjoy their time here." Jack commented as he watched a couple of members of the crew stumble past. Will raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?" he asked. Jack looked at him, the mischievous glint he knew so well flashing in his eyes.
"This is the last stop we make before we reach our destination." He said. Both Ana and Will sat up a little straighter. No one knew where they were headed, Jack had been keeping it a secret since they had left Tortuga over a month before hand.
"Where are we headed Jack?" Ana asked. Jack raised an eyebrow.
"It's a secret." He said. Ana rolled her eyes.
"Come on Jack! You're going to have to tell us." But Jack shook his head and refused to say another word.
It was much later as Ana and Will were helping a very drunk and giggling Jack back to the ship that Ana spoke.
"You don't think he's taking us anywhere dangerous do you?" she sounded worried. Will looked from her to Jack who was giggling and picking with one of his dreadlocks.
"I don't think so." He assured her. "He learnt his lesson with the Aztec gold." Ana nodded and they began to walk again. But Will couldn't help but wonder where Jack was taking them, and why it was such a big secret.
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I know it's a bit slow going, but I will pick up the pace a bit in the next few chapters, I am merely setting it up for later. I hope you enjoy this and please keep reading and reviewing! If I get lots and lots and lots of writing done tonight and tomorrow we may have a new chapter up by the end of tomorrow night. Fingers crossed!
Pirate-x-Girls
