My Siren
Elizabeth led the pirates out of the brig, hovering cautiously in the shadows. The easy part was over, but now they would have to go above deck in order to reach the towropes. She cursed under her breath.
"Wot is it?" Jack asked in her ear. Elizabeth flicked a glare at him over her shoulder.
"Kindly step back, sir." Jack stepped back with an inaudible sigh. "The only way to reach the towropes is going via the main deck. But in all likelihood, we'll be seen by the sentries," she hissed back. Jack shrugged.
"We'll 'ave to risk it," he said, pushing past her to reach the hatch. Silently the pirates slipped out of the hatch, moving stealthily over the wooden boards. Elizabeth paused, the last out of the hatch, and gazed up at the sky. The stars were veiled, the first signs of a fog creeping in.
"Elizabeth!" Jack's whispered call had her snapping out of her reverie, and she hurried forward to join him behind the main mast.
"The towropes are tied to the railing, we can get to them by climbing along those planks there," she said pointing to a narrow ledge created by the hull of the ship. It would be tricky but possible. Jack nodded, and Barbossa and the others broke cover to sneak stealthily past the sentries, still standing at the prow, and throw themselves over the railing, and slowly edge their way to freedom. A moment later Jack and Elizabeth joined them.
Their progress was slow, as they scrabbled for handholds, struggling to keep their balance on the narrow plank of wood. Elizabeth plastered herself to the wall, the night wind plucking at her skirts, threatening to pull her into the ocean below. She shut her eyes, staving off the vertigo, and concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other.
At last they reached the balcony where the towropes flapped in the wind, and the pirates began climbing back to the Pearl. Soon only Elizabeth, Jack and Barbossa remained. Elizabeth could feel his eyes on her, on her wedding ring and she glared back at him.
"You tried to kill me," she stated evenly.
"Aye, I did," Barbossa agreed. "An' it seems it was a good thing ye didn'" and with that he swung his leg over the towrope and began to climb back to his ship. Elizabeth shook her head, her curls flying and she turned to Jack.
"You need to know Jack, that if you're caught after this, I can't help you again. I will not put my marriage at risk again," she said warningly.
"Ye really love the bugger, huh? Sure ye don' want to come with us? Ye are the Pirate King after all. Ye belong on the sea," Jack tried to persuade her but Elizabeth shook her head.
"Not anymore. I belong here, with my family," she said softly, not tempted for a second.
"I give up then. Ye deserve each other, ye do. I hope yer 'appy, 'Lizabeth," Jack replied, throwing his hands up in defeat. As he turned away to the rope, Elizabeth impulsively pulled him back and kissed his cheek.
"Goodbye, Jack Sparrow. Godspeed," she whispered, standing back.
"That's 'Captain' Jack Sparrow to ye, me Lady Beckett. Give me compliments to little Isabella Pearl," he answered jovially, eyes lingering on her one last time. Then he turned away and began to climb back to his beloved Pearl. Hopefully the fog would soon cover them and their escape. She waited for one last moment, drinking in the sight of the Pearl one last time, before the towrope snapped as someone cut it on the pirates' end and she was gone.
Elizabeth felt a tear fall, but she quickly dashed it away, as she began the slow journey back to the safety of her husband's arms.
She pulled her back over the railing, cursing her long cloak and skirts, and froze. She thanked her lucky stars that the mast threw her into shadow, as Harrington stood speaking with one of the sentries. She pressed herself back against it, listening hard for a sign of Harrington's departure. She looked up at the moon, and bit her lip. The silver orb was beginning to wane, and she needed to return to her cabin soon. A shiver passed down her spine as she envisioned what would happen if Beckett discovered her missing. But luckily Harrington began to move away, as the fog strengthened.
Cautiously she slipped towards the cabin doors, negotiating her way by memory and touch. The shadow of the mast hid her, the fog shrouded her, and she made the doors with a sigh of relief. Easing the door open, she tiptoed down the corridor in the darkness, the lanterns extinguished, the moon's rays enmeshed in the mist. She finally reached the door to her cabin with a relieved breath, and eased the door open.
Her husband still lay in the same position she had left him in, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. She undid her cloak and slipped it onto its hook, before she padded further into the room. She pulled her waistcoat and shirt off, putting the pistol onto the table, before wriggling of her skirt and chemise. Naked she tiptoed back to her side of the bed, and slid beneath the covers. Beckett's arm sleepily twined itself around her waist, pulling her closer, as he slept on. Elizabeth smiled mistily at him, before tucking her head into his shoulder and falling into slumber.
The next morning Elizabeth awoke, cradled in Beckett's arms, to sound of alarmed shouts and cries. She sat up, feeling Beckett do the same beside her.
"What the devil….?" She heard him curse, before he swung his legs out of bed, slipped into his boots and breeches, and shrugged his shirt and coat on. Elizabeth clutched the sheets to her naked body, mind already guessing what the alarm was about.
They had discovered the disappearance of the Pearl and her crew.
The doors to the Charting room burst open, revealing Lieutenant Groves and Harrington in various stages of panic. But whereas Harrington flitted around like an oversized, headless chicken in breeches, Groves was quietly alarmed, looking to his leader for orders.
"My Lord, the Pearl has gone. The crew have escaped and the towropes have been cut!" Harrington told his employer, almost flapping in his panic. Beckett inwardly rolled his eyes. What wouldn't he give to have Mercer back at his side? He wouldn't have been so panicked. But it seemed his little scheme worked, anyway.
Beckett, Harrington and Groves rushed out of the cabin, leaving Elizabeth alone. She smirked, sardonically thinking to herself, rush all you like boys. They were long gone. Knowing she probably wouldn't see her husband for the rest of the day, she rose and dressed. Worry rose for a moment, nebulous and choking, but she quashed it determinedly. The past was closed; she had found her true place. Her and Jack were quits. Case closed.
"Mama!" at the shout, Elizabeth turned a happy smile on her face. Isabella and James, accompanied by their nurse, ran to her, hugging her laughingly.
"My little ones! Are you well this morning?" she asked, gently disengaging them from their stranglehold on her neck. James nodded, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. Isabella's eyes were shining with excitement.
"Did the nice man get away?" she asked tremulously, her lower lip quivering. Elizabeth waved away the nurse, and noticed Isabella's podgy fist was still clutching something close.
"Yes darling he got away," she said, smoothing Isabella's curls. She deposited James on her unmade bed, where he proceeded to stare out of the window contentedly. Isabella had brought her doll, and Elizabeth sat with her as she played with it. Hoping James couldn't hear; she quietly asked Isabella, "Bella? Jack gave you something yesterday, didn't he? A present?"
Isabella nodded, her fist clenching even more.
"Can I see it?" Elizabeth asked gently. Isabella looked unsure. "I won't tell anyone, or take it away from you, sweet,"
Finally Isabella opened her palm, to reveal Jack's little chain of beads and his Piece Of Eight, the coin from the Silk Route. Elizabeth gasped, Jack usually wore it on his bandana, and it seemed a part of him. Now he had given it to Isabella. She traced the coin's edge, thinking back to her first memory of Jack, and their subsequent adventures.
"Mamma?" Isabella's gentle query brought her back to the present, and she focussed on her daughter's blue eyes, so like her father's.
"Isabella, you must not show this to anyone, ever. Not me, not James, not even your father. Do you understand? You must keep this hidden," she waited, breath bated, until Isabella closed her fist and nodded, confusion in her eyes. Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief.
Later, Elizabeth sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair, awaiting her husband's return. She hadn't seen him all day, but had heard the shouts, the barked orders above as she had played with her children. She could only hope Jack was far away by now; and that no one had seen her. The door to the Charting room opened and closed, and Elizabeth stilled, watching in the mirror as Beckett appeared in the doorway.
"What's happened?" she asked, pretending to be curious. Beckett paced forward, to rest his hands on her shoulders.
"The Pearl has gone, along with its crew. We do not have enough provisions to mount a pursuit, so we are continuing on to Bombay. We'll place all ships on high alert, and mount a search. We will find them, eventually," he told her, fingers gently tracing her collarbone. Elizabeth shuddered, her lids falling. Beckett bent his head to whisper in her ear, lips caressing the whorl as he spoke. "Incidentally, if you ever pull a stunt like that again….."
Elizabeth tensed at first, panic streaking through her, wondering how he knew. But then his tone registered. It was conversational, as though he was merely talking about the weather, were it not for the undercurrents of desire running beneath it. She shivered and relaxed back into his hold, her lids falling.
"You'll do what?" she asked, knowingly provoking him. For an answer he pressed his scalding hot lips to her neck, sweeping her up into his arms. In silence, he laid her on the bed and proceeded to kiss and caress every inch of her body until she was writhing beneath him.
Looming above her, he smirked, watching her passion blank eyes search his.
"You were very lucky that there was only one guard on last night. Else, who knows what might have happened?" he remarked, gently taking her lower lip between his and biting it seductively. Elizabeth, barely able to think through the morass of need he was encompassing her in, raised a suspicious eyebrow. Why had there been only one guard on duty? With such high-risk prisoners, surely it would have been safer to have two or three marines standing guard….
A suspicion blossomed in her mind, as she narrowed her eyes.
"Did you…?" she began to ask, until she felt him press inside her, and gasped, arching.
"What?" Beckett asked innocently, before taking her mouth passionately. Elizabeth groaned, and gave up, gave into the passion he evoked. Knowingly gave herself to him, for all time.
Later when they lay, sated and replete, Elizabeth kissed the hand covering hers on the pillow and whispered.
"Thank you, my love."
At that silvery whisper, Beckett clutched her closer, nuzzling into the silky waterfall of her hair.