A/N: I realize that it's been two months since I last updated, and I apologize. I'm just starting college and working two jobs, so I've been pretty busy. Plus the fact that I had lost my notes, which are not LOST NO MORE!!!! WOO HOO!! Anywho, I won't keep you all waiting. On with the show!
Chapter 10: Foreshadow of a Dark Future
Will took a deep breath as his deep eyes scanned the scene before him. Jack desperately fought off Tavington as another pirate took his place. Lifting his sword back up from his scabbard, he dove back into the frenzy as three more of the grungy folk moved to attack the back of his pirate friend. Deftly knocking over two, the other passed through as he gripped Jack by the back of his shirt and tossed him haphazardly through the air. Sparrow landed with a grunt and a thud on the hard stone floor as he struggled to get his bearings before gunfire filled the cavern, echoing off of the hard walls and calling all attention to the one that fired it.
Tavington stood with Elizabeth in his arms as his breath fanned her cheek. His sword was clutched tight into the palm of his hand as the blade pressed into the young woman's throat.
"Now, let us try this one last time." His voice was slow and precise. He passed her off to a man next to him, the sword transferred as well. "Wouldn't it be a shame if she were to die by a sword you crafted? It would be like your own hand slicing her throat open as her life's blood spilled everywhere. One more given to a pirate, nothing compared to the many we have slaughtered in the past and probably will in the future."
"You have my attention." Will growled as he tossed his blade to the ground, Jack doing the same as he fixed angry brown eyes on the short man dressed like a king.
Tavington merely smiled over at the young blacksmith as he made his way over, standing beside him with his arms folded over his chest. "Your life for hers, Turner Junior. 'Tis a fair trade, don't you think?" His hand extended out as Will looked from his hand to Elizabeth and back again, over and over until he knew that there was only one option.
He barely heard his wife's sob as he struck a bargain with the pirate and was roughly dragged over to the edge of a small pool of water.
"Oh, don't be so wary, Turner. You'll never know what happened, I promise. There won't be any pain." He laughed as Will watched him lift the knife up and press it against his own wrist. Tavington cut one and then the other with a small grimace at the pain, letting the blood flow freely.
"This way, I am the only one to benefit from your little sacrifice. Though I can't say I blame you, it is for a good cause." He laughed as he let his blood drain into the pool before turning to Will.
"Your turn, lad. Just close your eyes and it'll be over soon."
Will gulped as he turned, fixing his eyes to Elizabeth's swollen red ones, seeing the tears on her cheeks as he pictured in his mind what she must have looked like the day her father had given the news of his death nearly a year ago.
"I'm so sorry, love." He whispered before turning to Jack and spying the shining of possible tears in the pirate's deep eyes, for once seeing him as a brother rather than a troublemaker that seemed to pop up at the most inopportune moment. His mind was pulled back as a rough hand gripped his hair and he was forced into the pool, the contents of the small vial poured into the black depths as the water washed about his knees. He dimply felt a knife pressed against his jugular as a loud crash filled the room, followed by the tinkling of coins as they skittered across the hard stone floors.
Each man jumped and turned, seeing a pale and stained Bootstrap Bill leaning heavily on the toppled side of the large stone chest, its entire contents scattered in various directions.
With an enraged shout Tavington shoved Will into the water and ran back over to the edge as he lifted as many of the gold pieces as he could, tossing them back into the overturned container.
"You idiot!" He snarled as he fought to find each piece, his ire rising as they kept spilling out. "Out of my way you fool, I will not be denied this!" Planting a foot in Bill's gut he kicked backwards, sending the man flying from the rise.
The gold hoarded by Barbossa and his men had been hauled away, so it wasn't at all hard to find all of the pieces to refill the chest. Will met Jack's eyes over the men holding their wrists and nodded, sending the two crashing into one another as Will's hands reached his sword on the belt of the falling guard. Tossing an extra to Jack, Will met the attacking pirate with gusto as he ran the blade through his chest, seeing him fall to the floor as he desperately tried to unbind his hands in front of him.
He barely heard Tavington's shout as another crew member fell and he turned angry black eyes to the man kneeling beside the heavy chest.
"You tricked me…you….you fool." He snarled as he stood and stumbled down the mound of dirt and stone, his face becoming pale as he focused on the three before him.
Jack flashed a grin to the confused Turner Junior as he moved slowly to look at the large gruff pirate till holding Elizabeth. "He's mortal, mate. Seems like with the blood on his hands as he put the gold back into the chest it's turned him back. S'pose your plans didn't exactly pan out, did they Jamison?" He questioned as he held his sword up to the man, waiting for him to release the young woman from his grasp and set down the gilded sword.
Will watched as Tavington fell to his knees, fixing dieing eyes on the young man before him.
"Kill her…."
The two words were barely recognized in Will's mind before his head snapped up to where Jack was waiting patiently for the man to drop his weapon. The pirate stepped back, removing the sword from Elizabeth's throat as Will let out a breath of relief. Her startled gasp and Jack's shout, his eyes focused dully on the red blade protruding unnaturally from his wife's chest as the man behind him flashed him with a yellow toothed smile, yanking the blade out before stepping back into the shadows and disappearing down a twisting corridor of stone.
Will was at her side as she fell, tears obstructing his vision as he cradled her to his lap, his hands pressing against the wound to attempt to staunch the flow of blood.
"Jack, get back to the Pearl, we'll need bandages and fresh water." He barked the order, seeing the pirate Captain fix him with sad eyes before standing his ground, staying where he was. "Please, Jack…."
He shook his head lightly, the beads that once held a bright sound were now a dull ringing roar in Will's mind as he focused his attention on his Wife, her blood pulsing against his palm as he tried in vain to keep the liquid in her body.
"Please, after all we've seen and done, you can't leave me now…" He pleaded, cradling her face as his hands left red streaks on her white cheeks; his tears dripping down as he leaned forward creating small rivers of red across her temple.
She tried to speak as blood creased in the edges of her mouth, the metallic taste overwhelming as she desperately tried to assure the crying man above her that all would be well. But no words came as she sobbed with him, the tight ball of pain in hr chest lessening as spots began to cloud her vision. He gripped her hand and her squeezes became less frequent, much like the shuddering breaths that hindered her speech. Her grip fell away completely, her chest still as she looked up at him with lifeless unfocused eyes.
He dropped the still hand and backed away, feeling his back bump into Jack's legs as he felt a knot of unbearable pain begin like a wildfire in his stomach and move into his chest. His vision was an endless river of blurred images as he tried desperately to speak past the lump in his throat constricting even his breathing.
"No…" he growled and stood on shaking legs, barely feeling Jack's hands steady him as he yanked the sword from the Pirate's hands.
"Will….wait, lad." Jack called in a sympathetic voice as he followed behind the determined, yet staggering, gait of the young man as he strode angrily over to Tavington's side. The man lay against the cool stone, his chest heaving as his wrists began to shed less blood. Hauling the man up by the throat, Will's aim was true as he drove his sword slowly into the man's chest. Seconds ticked by as the blade moved a scant few inches at a time.
"Now you know the pain…the anguish….you had no right to take this away from me….to take my wife, no right." He sobbed as he slid the rapier in to the hilt, feeling him sag against him before stepping aside and letting Tavington' limp body fall to the ground at his feet.
"Will…come on, let's get back to the Pearl. I think…think we could both use a drink." Jack set a friendly hand to the blacksmith's shoulder as Will spun around and gripped the pirate by the throat, sending him crashing against the wall.
"If it wasn't for you we never would have come! Why, Jack? Why did we have to come back?" he shouted, seeing the Pirate's eyes begin to roll back as he released his friend as Jack sagged the ground, gulping air into his starving lungs. He looked up at the tortured young man, with something he assumed was akin to compassion. These feelings were new for him, overwhelming in their intensity.
"Will….it wasn't Sparrow's fault, son, it was mine." A rasping voice called over to the two as they turned to see Bootstrap sitting on the edge of the pool with his legs disappearing into the murky depths. "Oh how I loved you and yer mum, William. There wasn't a day that I didn't have you both on my mind. Always wondered what mind of man you would turn out to be without me there to teach you what was right and wrong; what a man could do and what a man can't do." He kept his eyes in his lap, his hands resting on a pistol rather than on the boy he was speaking to.
"I'm so sorry William, but…but I'm afraid I must leave you again. For the last time it seems." He spoke, locking back the hammer as he looked over at his son with pale and gaunt eyes, tears dripping down his face as he tossed him a light smile.
"Father….wait, you can't do this, I'm not worth both of your lives." Will pleaded, raising his hands into the air and taking light steps toward the man at the edge of the small pool of water.
"It's the one thing I can give you, Will. What I've always wanted you to have…a life of your own. Take care, son." He spoke as the gun went off, his lifeless body falling into the water with a splash as a deep crimson spread through the pool quickly. Will fell to his knees, his shoulders sagged and his head in his hands as he cried, his life tumbling apart as Jack moved over to the edge of the pool.
"Will…don't waste what he's given us, boy. Come on, grab 'Lizabeth , let's see if there is something to this old legend." Sparrow's voice was wavering, and as the blacksmith looked up he saw the sorrow written in the decent man's eyes. Making his way over to his wife's still form, he reached out and placed his fingers lightly over her eyes to close them as he effortlessly tucked her into his arms and moved her to the edge of the pool.
Holding her against him, he allowed Jack to lift his cupped hands and pour the liquid into her mouth. He tilted her head back to it would drain down as they both watched with bated breath as nothing happened.
A sob escaped the wounded young man's lips as he pressed them to his wife' cool brow. A deep gasp and a shuddering breath made both of the still men jump as Elizabeth's body shook, the blood staining the front of her dress disappearing before their eyes as the wound closed. Her eyes remained shut as she struggled to regain a breathing pattern, soon finding one as Jack shouted for joy.
"I deem this a cause worth celebratin'!" He laughed, seeing the relieved yet haunted look masking Will's features.
"I'll celebrate when we're away from here and safely back home." He spoke quietly, lifting his wife into his arms as he felt warmth begin to seep back into her pale skin, the color returning quickly as he cast eyes to his father's floating form.
"Don't worry lad, I'll send some men to get him. Couldn't leave him behind when he's meant so much, don' your worry about a thing." Jack promised as they each silently trudged their way back to the Pearl, each vowing to leave the island for good this time.
One usually doesn't tempt fate a third time.
A/N: WHEW! What a climax! Now, this is the unedited version, so I'll be going through later to fix the mistakes. I have a wireless keyboard, and the batteries are dieing, so it's pointless to do it now, I just wanted to get this up so you all would have a bit of something to read. Especially after two months, which I again apologize for. Chapter 11 will be an epilogue, so that will be coming soon, then we'll be finished! COMPLETELY FINISHED! Awesome, eh?
Jean