Here's the wedding! The whole story has been building up to this, so I'm nervous that I'll mess up on this chapter. If you folks read it and think of something that would improve it, please tell me, (nicely) and I'll edit it if it's an idea I like. Thanks again for all the great reviews so far! Thirty-nine reviews and only one is bad! Make sure to review this chapter too! By the way, have any of you have been bugged by "Flame Rising"? Because that was who the only bad review came from. I mean, can't he/she criticize without swearing? Sheesh! I only want ten chapters in this story, nice and even, so since this chapter is long, it's in two parts.
1: The Wedding
Elizabeth stood in front of the mirror, considering her reflection. Anamaria was doing up Elizabeth's hair. It had been a battle to convince Anamaria to wear a dress, but she looked absolutely lovely in the light pink material. She had absolutely refused to put her hair up, but she had conceded to the dress in honor of her friendship with Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked beautiful, though she would not say so. Her dress was white, for though she was no virgin; she had behaved morally, giving her body only in marriage. She wore a lovely Arabian veil, which covered her face but had eye-holes. She looked perfect. Joy shone in her eyes and in her smile. She was happier than she had ever been, and it made her incredibly charming.
Elizabeth was dizzy with delight. She was also starting to feel a little nervous, which she had not expected. She was completely comfortable with Jack. She was completely in love with him. So the fact that she now felt anxious was surprising. She was mostly nervous about the wedding night, which was especially strange, considering the desperation which she had felt in waiting for it. She was scared that she would not please Jack. Before he had fallen truly in love with her, Jack had had an unknown, but no doubt large, number of women. She had only had Will, and her lack of pleasure in their union had prevented her from really trying to please him. Now she was terrified that she would not know how to please a man who had been pleasured by beautiful women all over the world. She felt Jack's passion every time they kissed, but she was scared that once he saw her completely and experienced her completely, he would grow bored.
Anamaria met her eyes in the mirror and smiled reassuringly. "Nervous?" Elizabeth nodded. "Don't be. Liz, that man loves you more than he loves himself, and that's saying something. What're you nervous about?" Elizabeth hesitated. "What if…what if I don't please him? Tonight I mean." Anamaria threw back her head and laughed. "Elizabeth Turner, do you not see the looks you get in every port we go to? Do you not see the men who try to follow you, but get glared away by Jack and the crew? Do you not see Jack watching you, eyeing your body, wherever you go? He loves you enough to be faithful and stay with you even if he didn't want you, but the thing is, he does. So stop your silly worrying." Elizabeth couldn't help grinning at the abrupt ending of Anamaria's speech. "Thanks Ana. I guess we should go out now." She had heard Gibbs knocking on the door, letting them know everything was ready.
Barbossa was performing the ceremony, having returned from Tortuga two day before. It was rather strange that a man who Jack had killed was performing his wedding, but after Barbossa mutinied and Jack killed him, they considered themselves even and became friends.
Elizabeth watched Anamaria walk out the door ahead of her, and then hesitantly took hold of Gibbs arm. He was wearing clean, but not dressy, clothes. He appeared to have actually had a bath, which surprised Elizabeth, even though Jack had ordered the whole crew to do so. That had caused a good deal of grumbling, but those who would not bathe by themselves were tied up and dunked into the ocean, then pulled back on board. Jack had sheepishly asked if she expected him to dress up, and she assured him that as long as he was clean for once, she liked him best in his everyday pirate clothing. He promised to have a bath and wash his clothes, and she told him that was all she expected. In truth, she thought Jack would not be half as handsome in a suit.
Gibbs escorted Elizabeth out of the cabin onto the crowded deck. The men had laid out a fine Spanish carpet from down in the hold, forming an aisle. Anamaria stood on the slightly raised part of the deck at the end of the carpet. Opposite her was Jack's best man, a fellow pirate who had been Jack's friend for years and had joined the crew a few months before. He was an escaped black slave, quite handsome with his curling black hair, and Elizabeth had an idea that he and Anamaria might be interested in each other. She hoped Anamaria would find the same love she had found with Jack.
Jack. Elizabeth focused her complete attention on the man she loved. He was so handsome, in his roguish way. His brown eyes watched her intensely as she came toward him. Passion and love were reflected in them. Barbossa said something to Jack quietly, and Jack nodded, but did not turn away, just watched his bride. It seemed like such a long walk, that aisle, but soon she was taking Jack's arm and turning to face Barbossa. Barbossa grinned. His monkey was wearing a miniature tuxedo, and for once sat on its master's shoulder without screeching loudly, but was completely silent, as was the rest of the crew. They were entranced by this. The man who had become the known as the world's greatest pirate was marrying a young woman who had once been a fine lady, but was now as much a pirate as her groom. Today however, she looked the lady, and the crowd was shocked by the transformation. Very few of them had ever seen her in a dress, and most of them were suddenly very jealous of Jack.
Barbossa spoke in his typically loud voice. "We are gathered here today to wed this man and his wench in holy, if perhaps illegal, matrimony. May God bless their union, because any pirate who goes to the trouble of getting married certainly deserves a blessing, since most just…" He was cut off by Jack's glare. "Ahem. Elizabeth Turner, please say your vows." Jack and Elizabeth had decided to write their own vows, which Barbossa was glad for, seeing as he could not remember any of the typical vows. Elizabeth spoke, her voice strong despite the tears of joy filling her eyes.
"Captain Jack Sparrow, I have hated you, liked you, killed you, saved you, and now all I can do is love you. That I do, with all my heart. I promise to be faithful to you, to submit my body to you, to bear your children, and to help you fight your battles and whether your storms. I promise to love you, even when you are insufferable, until death once more separates me from you. I promise, even then, that if I am able, I will be reunited with you again, and if not, I will love your memory as much as I loved you in life. I will stay by you no matter what happens, and I will be faithful to you even when you are old. I give my destiny to you. I love you."
Barbossa almost looked as if he were tearing up as he turned to Jack. "Captain Jack Sparrow, please say your vows." Jack hardly heard him; he was so deeply buried in Elizabeth's eyes. After a moment, Barbossa poked him, and he cleared his throat and spoke. "Elizabeth Turner, I have wanted you since the moment I pulled you from the seabed in Port Royal, but I started loving you when you were spunky enough to call me despicable even though I was holding a gun to your head. I let you go to that Turner whelp because I loved you. I could have killed him, but I wanted to wait for you to love me too. I never meant for him to die for me, but I am glad he put you in my care. I promise to remain faithful to you always, to love you even if you come after me with a gun at certain times of the month, to give you as many children as you want, and to ravish you so regularly that you may have more children than you want. I love you more than life, more than all the treasure the world holds, more than the sea, more than the Pearl. I will love you forever, even if we are parted for a time by death. I will love and want you even if I live long enough to see you grow old. I will love you no matter what life and death may bring."
Elizabeth could feel tears running down her face beneath the beautiful veil she wore. Despite that Jack had said a few humorous things, she had never expected him to say something so lovely. She hadn't expected his promises to sound so much like her own. Barbossa spoke, his voice a bit gravelly. "Elizabeth Turner, will you take Captain Jack Sparrow to be your heartily wedded husband?" Elizabeth grinned at Jack, laughing silently at Barbossa's replacement of "lawfully". "I will." "Captain Jack Sparrow, will you take Elizabeth Turner to be your heartily wedded wife?" "I will" "Please exchange your gifts." Jack and Elizabeth had decided to present gifts as well as rings. Jack handed Elizabeth something in a shade of white-grey cloth, folded up. Elizabeth gave Jack a small box. Jack opened it, revealing an ornately designed pistol, the handle carved with intricate, flowing letters in Jack's initials. CJS. She was pleased at the awed look on his face as she unfolded the cloth. Why, it was Jack's signature flag. No, it was different. Her heart swelled as she looked at it. It was the same picture, the sparrow flying over the sea, the horizon behind him, but now there was a swan swimming on the water just below the sparrow. "Thank you." They both said it at the same time, and then grinned. Barbossa spoke again. "Exchange your rings." This part went quickly, though Elizabeth shuddered when Jack's fingers touched her own. Barbossa again. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." Jack lifted her veil gently and kissed her. His kiss made her wish that the next hours before night fell would pass quickly. It was passionate, but short. He pulled back and took her hand, then turned to the crew. Smiling, Barbossa spoke once more. "I now present Captain and Mrs. Jack Sparrow! Now, break out the rum!"
2: The Wedding Night
Elizabeth drummed her fingers absently on the table, staring at Jack, who was watching the crew's drunken antics with amusement. He turned towards her, no doubt feeling her eyes on him. She looked away, feeling almost embarrassed to be caught staring, shocked to feel herself blush. She wished he would take her to his cabin, no, their cabin, now. She also wished she could put it off forever. She was desperate to be his in every way, but scared to death as well. His voice was uncharacteristically soft as he spoke to her. "Lizzie, look at me." She did, hesitantly. He grinned at her. "Luv, you don't have to be scared. Let's go to the cabin and just talk, like we always have, until you're comfortable. Lizzie, being married doesn't change anything; it just makes intimacy right and good. It doesn't make me want you less." He stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it slowly.
When Jack closed and locked the door behind them, she looked around frantically, like a caged animal. Jack smirked. "Remember the day I told you about Melody? That was in here, and you just about seduced me then, Darlin'. Why are you so scared now? Nothing's different, except now we don't have to feel guilty." She leaned back against the door, looking up at him, feeling her confidence return. She put her hands on his chest, looking into those gorgeous eyes, wanting him, but still a little scared. "What if I'm not as…good…as some of the others you've had, Jack? What if after one time, you don't want me anymore?" He laughed, and then bent to press his lips to hers.
She kissed him back, remembering the raw passion of their first kiss and all that had followed. Now there was no Kraken, no Will, no pregnancy, no guilt. She was his, and he was hers. She opened her mouth to him, pressing herself against him as he started undoing the buttons on the back of her dress. Suddenly, she remembered those buttons and had to laugh. Jack pulled back, looking at her in amusement, but with passion burning in his eyes. "So now you think my kisses are funny?!" His mock outrage made her laugh harder. "No, but I forgot to tell you that my father left me my mother's diary." "What's that got to do with this?" "Well, I read it, and on the day after her wedding, mother recounted that it took about two hours for my father to undo those buttons, all in all. After the first ten minutes, they ended up consummating their marriage with the dress still on, but he did bother to unbutton it later." Jack looked half horrified, but he was also laughing. "Well, we'll see if I can do better than that eh? Hold out, don't you feel strange knowing you may have been conceived in that dress your wearing?" She laughed again, joyous at this renewed happiness and lack of fear. "Yes, it is rather absurd, and I was conceived right around that time. Fortunately for you, I've adjusted it so that after unbuttoning five buttons on each sleeve and five more on the sides of the bodice, it will just about fall right off." She grinned at the desire in his eyes. He kissed her again.
She felt one more moment of fear, when, after several long minutes, he stepped back and looked at her. He saw all of her now, including her stretch marks from bearing Willy and the scar where she'd taken a bullet in the shoulder. He could see the ugly carving of a small dragon on her other shoulder, where Sao Feng had marked her, branded her. Feng had almost raped her that night, but the crew had saved her. Now, she stood before Jack, imperfect, scarred, and terrified that he would not find her appealing.
Her fear disappeared totally in what followed. She had never felt anything like what she and Jack shared in those next hours. Love changed everything. What had been unpleasant and even repulsive with Will was absolute heaven with Jack. She had been guilty with Will, giving herself to him even though she loved Jack. Now, guilt was gone. She was Jack's wife, and there was no reason to feel guilt. It was hours before she lay completely still in Jack's arms. He kissed her softly in the dark, hugging her to him. "Oh Lizzie, how I love you." His voice was sleepy, content. She snuggled against him, happier than she had ever been. "I love you too Jack." She heard him sigh, a blissful sigh, then his breathing evened out and she knew he was asleep. And as she drifted off to sleep herself, she repeated the words again. "I love you Jack."
Good? Bad? Do tell, but PLEASE be nice about it if it's bad! I may continue this, but it will be a separate story.