A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and please leave one when you're done reading!
Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.
Elizabeth rushed below deck and returned with a coat on, watching the familiar scene before her. Sailors ran all over deck, panicking and shouting, and beyond the bow, closer than she had imagined, was where the water fell over that precipice, and the world ended. She could see total blackness beyond that point. There weren't even stars in that distant sky. She shivered and glanced down at the water. It was moving by with amazing speed, pushing the ship forward, toward the waterfall...
She found Jack by the helm as usual and said, "The last time... Barbossa. He told us not to do anything..."
"Aye. Doesn't look like they're doing anything useful."
Jack let go of the helm and let the water do its job, reluctantly admitting that what he did would be useless at this point, that he could not postpone the descent any longer.
The Queen started tipping forward.
Most of the things had been secured on the ship, but still objects slid toward the bow. People lost their balance, fell backwards, grabbed onto ropes to avoid being thrown off the ship.
The ship inched along, farther and farther out over the steep drop, water surging around the sides. It was miniscule in comparison to what was behind, and what lay below, almost too far to see, a chip of wood balanced delicately on the edge of an enormous cliff, between the end of one world and the beginning of another, with the water pushing it...
The roaring of the waterfall pounded in Elizabeth's ears. Her hands were wrapped tightly around two spokes of the helm like Jack, and they were hanging onto it from below--the stern end of the ship was pointing to the sky, the bow pointing lower and lower. People were screaming, most of them holding onto something at the bow, where they had been flung.
Elizabeth tightened her grip desperately.
"Almost," she whispered to herself, but her hands were slick with seawater and sweat, slipping... One hand lost its unsecure grasp and she hung there by the fading strength of one arm. She braced herself and stretched as far as she could, but the wind was so strong and her fingers wouldn't touch the wood. She twisted and turned, trying to get that spoke--she gave a little scream as her the spoke slipped from her other hand as well.
The ship went over the edge.
Elizabeth could remember the dreadful feeling of falling, knowing she was probably taking her last breath, chaos all around her, the panic as she saw Jack letting go, the pounding water showering on her head, her ears filled with the shouts of the crew, wood splinters flying through the air... but she felt a pair of strong limbs tighten around her, and she knew she was protected from everything, safe in Jack's arms as they fell together.
The ship had survived.
Miraculously, everything important was soaked but intact, Jack noticed. He strode into his cabin to find the windows broken and most of the items wet and wrecked. But the cabin was still there. Strong ship indeed. Now we have to go find the bloody Dutchman.
He descended the stairs to the hold and threw his arms up in the air in disgust. They were at the end of the world, ready to find the stupid whelp, and the rum was gone.
He went back on deck and checked the wooden planks, the helm, the mast. All decent.
Elizabeth appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Ah, Lizzie," said Jack. "Do you think your presence might have something to do with every time the rum is gone?"
Elizabeth smiled a little.
"I would never do such a thing," she said teasingly.
"Really, darling."
Elizabeth ran to Jack recklessly, ignoring her mind's warnings. She held onto his arm and looked up at him.
"We're safe," she whispered.
"I would never let anything else happen, dear." He kissed her cheek triumphantly and she leaned back against his chest. His arms instinctively closed around her slender figure, hands clasped at her waist. She sighed with satisfaction.
"We made it through," she continued, her lips curved in a smile, revealing her pearly white teeth. Jack couldn't take his eyes off her. "You saved me. We survived. We're here. I knew you could keep me safe." She left a kiss on his lips before she disappeared to her cabin again.
Elizbeth rushed into her cabin and shut the door quickly before arranging the furniture properly and sinking into a chair.
What had she been doing? Especially when she was already at World's End... But she hadn't been able to resist, and she really did appreciate that Jack had saved her, and of course she had trusted that he would make certain they would make it through...
Now we can find Will.
Why didn't she feel excited about it? She had sought Jack for the very reason of finding him... And that was the reason for the trip, and she...
Oh I can't possibly be in love with--with--not while I'm here with the Heart...
The Heart.
The Chest had been thrown in a corner of the cabin. She stroked the carvings, hooked her fingers in the two rings on the sides of it, and lifted it. She staggered forward and dropped the Chest on her dresser.
What is it made of?
A red mark stayed on her fingers where she had hooked the rings, and her hands felt sore. She let out a depressed sigh looking at the Chest, hearing the beating, knowing what was inside and not wanting to see it. But instinctively her hand went to her pocket, where she had kept the key...
It wasn't there.
Perhaps she had dropped it somewhere? She searched the floor, outside, and could find nothing.
She sat down on her bed and buried her head in her hands, trying to think.
Jack walked across deck to his cabin, his lips burning from the kiss she had left him. She was falling for him, he knew already, but why did it have to be here at World's End?
Maybe she'll forget the whelp.
He laughed to himself. Likely.
He stopped outside the door to his cabin, having stepped on something hard. He bent down and picked it up, and his eyes widened at what he had found. A key. Dark and heavy. He recognized it.
I'll give it to her later.
He slipped the key into his pocket.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and tried to remember every detail of the past few hours. It had to have dropped during the fall, she concluded. What if it had fallen...
No.
She couldn't have let that happen...
How could I do such a thing?
She stumbled out the cabin, up the stairs again, and to Jack's cabin.
"Jack?"
"Aye?"
"I--I... lost it."
He pretended to look confused, his heart beating wildly. So she knew she had lost it. But she had no idea where it was...
"Lost it?"
"The key," she sobbed, falling forward into his arms. "I can't believe I lost it! It must have dropped out of my pocket after we fell or something... into--into the water... How could I do that?! I should have kept it... in a safer place--"
He let her lay her head on his shoulder.
"It's g-gone...! What is Will going to say?!"
"Let's not worry about it at the moment, Lizzie luv," said Jack quietly, stroking her hair and kissing away the tears on her cheeks.
"But--but--"
With one easy motion he lifted her in his arms and settled her on his bed and drew a blanket over her.
"Have a good rest," he whispered.
Elizabeth swallowed, sniffed, and turned on her side, closing her eyes helplessly.
"I'll never be able to open the Chest again..."
He made a hushing noise and waited until her sniffles had subsided and he was sure she was asleep. He sat down in his chair, opened his compass, already knowing where it pointed.
Jack took the key out of his pocket and sat there for a long time, turning it over and over in his hands.