A/N: I'm back with the next chapter! Thank you for all of the reviews, favourites and follows for this story, it really means a lot! I'm so glad you enjoyed Jack and Elizabeth's meeting, I was really nervous last chapter about getting it right haha :)
Reminder that I do not own POTC or its characters, otherwise the release date for POTC5 would be a lot sooner than three years time (July 2017? That's aaaggees away!)
Spoilers: Poor Elizabeth. It seems Jack's about to drag her back into his own problems. Oh well, heh heh, for we all know what that means ;)
"Barbossa," Elizabeth stiffened slightly upon noticing the older pirate captain in the doorframe and immediately grew conscious of the embarrassed look that must have been on her face as she turned around, thinking it ridiculous that she could feel any kind of shame over merely slapping Jack around the face.
Barbossa's eyes widened upon noticing her before darting to the left of her, fixing on Jack, who Elizabeth noticed was peering around her shoulder with a partly curious, partly hurt expression on his face, hand still stuck to his cheek. Noticing that she had turned her head towards him, Jack's eyes left Barbossa's and met hers, regarding her with a hurt look that was accompanied by the unspoken question of whether the slap was really necessary.
Realising that she didn't want to be caught staring at Jack for too long, Elizabeth turned back to Barbossa, whose eyebrows had shot up in amusement at the scene in front of him. "Well, I must say I weren't expectin' ye to ever come back here, Mrs Turner, least of all be caught alone with him."
"Unpredictability is a valuable asset to have, I'm sure you'll agree," replied Elizabeth plainly, unsure as to how much of her and Jack's conversation Barbossa had overheard.
Barbossa chuckled as he shifted his gaze to Jack and took a few steps into the room, "I hope I haven't... interrupted anythin' between ye."
Elizabeth was about to respond when Jack spoke up, having finally removed his hand from his cheek, which was still red from her handprint. She grimaced, not having meant to hit him that hard. "I thought you were out collecting mermaid tears, Barbossa."
"I sent the crew off to get it for me, as I have an important matter to deal with that cannot wait," the older pirate looked at the door, open ajar, "There's somebody here that'd like to speak to ye, Jack. I believe he's an old friend of yers," Barbossa's mouth curled into a sinister smirk that sent chills down Elizabeth's spine.
Glancing over at Jack, she noticed him stiffen and his expression sober slightly, his eyes fixed on the door, which opened to reveal a tall man, with dark hair and a well-weathered, dark face. He walked into Teague's chamber with the air of a captain, head held high, his jewellery and clothes suggesting that the pirate lifestyle had proven successful for him. Elizabeth guessed that he looked about forty years of age, the seafaring life having not been particularly kind to his coarse and harsh features.
She'd never seen the man before, but from the ominous smile that appeared on the captain's face as his eyes locked with Jack's implied that there was history between them, reminding her of the meeting between Sao Feng and Jack those few months ago when they were summoning the pirate brethren. However, Jack's expression remained completely blank, his eyes narrowed as though he was trying to figure out the identity of the captain and where they had met before.
"Jack Sparrow. I was hoping we would meet again someday," the stranger said calmly, his Spanish accent piercing the heavy air like a knife through butter, his voice having a strangely soothing effect on Elizabeth. He certainly didn't sound sinister, even if his expression was slightly unnerving.
"I take it that we've met before? An' since ye don't look familiar I'm guessing I didn't threaten you last time we met?" Elizabeth noticed that Jack was still lingering behind her, treating her as some kind of human shield that would protect him from the Spaniard, even though he had yet to draw a sword or any kind of weapon.
"Ye don't remember who he is?" Barbossa hissed, looking to Jack with a frown.
Elizabeth heard Jack sigh behind her, her eyes locked with the Spaniard's, slightly fearful of breaking his intense gaze in case it provoked a reaction from him. Whatever discord had occurred between them had nothing to do with her, and she wanted it to stay that way. Jack finally emerged and stepped out in front of her so that he was stood between Barbossa and the stranger.
He firstly turned to his former first mate, "I cannot remember every insignificant soul that I've ever laid eyes upon, even if my face is etched into the memory of everyone that ever has the pleasure of bein' in me company." When he caught Barbossa rolling his eyes, he continued, "And I have even less inclination to even try to remember this," he waved his hand over at the Spaniard stood behind him, "person given that he failed to refer to me as Captain." He turned to the stranger with a smile, "Remember that next time, mate."
The Spaniard suddenly drew his sword and pointed it at Jack, "You tried to shoot me. You missed." Elizabeth saw understanding rapidly appearing on Jack's face. "Edgardo. Former member of Captain Teague's crew."
After a moment of silence in the room, Jack's lips curled into a smile, a smile that bitterly reminded Elizabeth of one word he had spoken to her, one word that had embedded itself painfully in her mind ever since.
"Pirate."
It was a smile reserved for his enemies and, from her experience, was usually accompanied by a certain level of admiration. Jack said nothing for a long while, his eyes meeting Edgardo's with fierceness and there appeared to be a silent exchange between them, neither saying a word but both in mutual understanding of something imperceptible to her and, to some extent, Barbossa too, given his slightly puzzled expression directed towards them both.
Jack turned his head to look at Barbossa, the remnants of bitterness and betrayal on his features, "An' you were in on this? This was your plan since the beginning, since ye turned up in Tortuga completely out of the blue," that same smile returned to Jack's face, "You were never planning on going to the fountain."
Uncertainty appeared to flash across Barbossa's face but was quickly replaced by smugness. He drew his own sword, levelling it at Jack's chest. "I was persuaded to enter into a mutual trade, as it were," he regarded Edgardo with a gracious, if slightly forced, smile before turning his attention back to Jack, "With a much better incentive than our own agreement."
"Which you have thus reneged on," Jack interrupted darkly with a twitch of his nose.
"I maintain that I am a man of my word, an' I promised joint captaincy till the completion of the quest," Barbossa smirked, "My quest, to deliver ye up to Edgardo in exchange fer yer charts, which are rightfully mine and can be pried from yer live or dead hands, I ain't fussed which."
Elizabeth figured that she should probably use this opportunity to sneak out of the room unnoticed, leaving Jack, Barbossa and Edgardo to it, trusting that Jack could find his own way out of his predicament, however she found that she didn't really want to leave. As dangerous as the situation was becoming, Elizabeth didn't feel afraid, rather she felt more alive now than she had done in the last two months, reminded of the thrill, adventure and unpredictability of the lifestyle she had enjoyed for those brief months before everything had collapsed around her.
Any thoughts of trying to escape were banished when Edgardo suddenly moved his sword to her suspiciously, "What is such a thing of beauty doing here, where it is clear she does not belong?"
Elizabeth was vaguely aware that both Jack and Barbossa were now looking at her, but kept her steady gaze on Edgardo. "The thing of beauty has a name."
Edgardo chuckled and lowered his sword, "You would do best to leave now, as it would do no good for me to rob the world of such esteemed beauty."
"Such esteemed beauty and deadliness," Elizabeth's eyes darted to Jack as he stepped forward, ignoring the blade being lightly pressed into his back by Barbossa. "Honestly, mate, for once I actually agree with you. Let her go," he flapped his hands at her, shooing her to leave, before reaching for a bottle of rum on Teague's desk. "Also, she has a habit of burning the rum, which is never a good thing."
Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing. He wanted her to leave without even saying a coherent word to her? Was that really all he thought of her? You killed him, a voice kept telling her in her head, but she refused to listen, too angry at being slighted in such a way by none other than Jack Sparrow. "How dare you?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes at Jack.
He turned and looked her up and down with assumed innocence, "What?" he said in a haughty tone.
Elizabeth whipped her head back to face Edgardo, eying him with similar anger and disgust, "I'm not going anywhere." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jack's eyes widen to the point of no return.
"Is that your final answer?" Edgardo asked, raising the sword to Elizabeth's neck.
Elizabeth raised her head in defiance, "I would prefer you to stab me in my gut now, rather than in my back as I leave the room."
Edgardo stared at her a moment longer, his face indecipherable, before turning his attention back to Jack, who was now holding a lit candle in his other hand. Elizabeth was completely baffled as to what he used to light it, since the room was already illuminated by daylight streaming in through the open window. "She is stubborn, I'll give you that," said Edgardo shrewdly, not removing the sword from her neck.
"An' now that is sorted," Elizabeth and the others' attention was drawn back to Barbossa, who was still pointing his sword at Jack, "Jack, I believe ye have something of mine an' I'd much like to take it back."
"Of course," Jack solemnly bowed his head to his former first mate and suddenly turned to Elizabeth, handing her the lit candle. She reluctantly took it, unsure exactly what he was doing with it in the first place. He then reached into his coat and pulled out the rolled up map, Elizabeth's eyes widening when she realised that it had been cut out of the main charts.
Jack's eyes darted between the rolled up map and bottle of rum in each hand, before trying to awkwardly unfurl the map using only one hand. All of a sudden, the rum bottle tipped and the contents poured out, drenching the map in alcohol. "Bugger," Jack muttered as he put the now empty bottle down and unrolled the map, sparing Barbossa a hesitant smile, "Apologies, mate."
Elizabeth's eyes strayed back to the candle and a multitude of thoughts rushed through her head, culminating in one singular notion.
"Also, she has a habit of burning the rum, which is never a good thing."
He actually wants you to burn the rum.
Taking advantage of Edgardo releasing the sword slightly from her neck, his attention focused on Jack, Elizabeth rushed forward, thrusting her arm forward until the tip of the tiny candlelight met the map and glided up its rough edges, increasing in intensity and bursting into flame. Anticipating Elizabeth's movement, Jack was quick enough to throw the map out of the window before the flames licked his skin and manage to successfully duck out of the way of Barbossa's furious swing.
Knowing that this was their only chance to escape without facing certain death, Elizabeth grabbed the nearest object to her, which happened to be a tall candlestick, and deflected Edgardo's sword as it came hurtling towards her. Before he had time to recover, Elizabeth shoved the candlestick into the Spaniard's stomach, sending him reeling and giving her the opportunity to make her escape, Jack following closely behind as she pulled the door open and left Teague's chamber.
"Where do we go?" Elizabeth asked as Jack followed her out of the door.
Jack's eyes fixed on hers and she instantly knew that this was the point at which his expertly constructed plan had ended. "Just run," he advised, and the two immediately began to sprint down the hallway, seeking the stairs that took them out of the building.
They continued this for a short while, descending the flight of stairs to the lower floor, when Jack suddenly disappeared from her sight. She couldn't prevent her heart leaping in her chest as she came to a stop and glanced desperately around the corridor, trying to determine where he'd disappeared to and deciding if she should wait for him to reappear or continue running.
It was at that moment that Jack emerged from one of the small chambers joined to the hallway, sword and pistol in his belt. Elizabeth released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, "Please tell me you've thought of a plan."
He sauntered over to her, in no particular rush despite the looming threat of Edgardo or Barbossa making chase. "This is what you get when you ignore my advice, luv," he replied with a degree of coldness. Elizabeth sent him a disdainful look before continuing down the corridor in silence, pointedly avoiding meeting Jack's gaze, which she noticed kept wandering back to her.
After a moment, he spoke up, drawing her attention back to him. "Why aren't you in Port Royal?"
"I'm here to find Will." The words came out automatically, without thinking, and as soon as they'd left her mouth Elizabeth wished she could take them back. "Not that it's any of your business," she added with equal coldness that had been afforded to her by Jack.
Elizabeth heard him mumble something about involving herself where she wasn't wanted but she chose to ignore him, still refusing to directly look at him, to acknowledge her past mistakes, her regrets, to openly admit the guilt that was building inside her. Was it really so difficult to return to how they were? They'd managed to come to an uneasy, unspoken truce before the war against the Armada, though it was clear he was still harbouring ill feelings towards her. And one question rose above all of the others. Would he forgive her? And if not, could he if given the time?
She finally came to a stop in front of the door that led out of the main fortress that housed the pirate brethren to the small town resting by the shore of the island. She tried the handle. "It's locked."
...
Barbossa's first and most immediate thought, upon regaining his steadiness after being knocked off balance by a plank of wood (which, may he add, Jack appeared to have conjured from nowhere) was to rush over to the window, out of which his beloved map and gateway to immortality had been carelessly thrown. He reached the window, leaning out, and scowled when he found the map teetering on the edge of a rock, still aflame.
That had put a slight pall on his plans, to say the least.
Behind him, he heard several words come out of the Spaniard's mouth that he presumed were considered profane by others of his tongue, and then he heard a thud which he guessed to be some unfortunate piece of furniture being thrown across the room.
"I did warn ye that Jack Sparrow is a law onto himself, Edgardo," said Barbossa bitterly, sparing one last, furtive glance at the charring map before turning to face Edgardo.
"This was not supposed to happen," Edgardo slammed his fist onto Teague's desk, knocking over several trinkets and ornaments that cluttered his workspace.
"Well now that it has, what are we goin' to do about it?" Barbossa said through gritted teeth, his patience with the overbearing Spaniard wearing increasingly thin.
A determined expression settled over Edgardo's harsh face. "I'll order that my crew hunt him down - the island is small so he shouldn't be hard to find. I no longer care whether he is brought to me dead or alive, just so long as he doesn't escape."
"Ye wouldn't want him dead before ye managed to kill him yerself now, would ye?" Barbossa asked cautiously, drawing the man's gaze, "Not to mention that if he were dead some important intelligence would die with him."
Edgardo looked at Barbossa curiously. "The map... what is so special about it?"
"Not so much the map that is special but the places it can lead a man to," Barbossa's lips curled into a smirk. "Includin' one particular place that piqued me interest before a certain pirate stole the map from me. The Fountain of Youth."
"Aqua de Vida?" the Spaniard said, giving Barbossa a dubious, sceptical look. "You believe in such a fable?"
Barbossa's smirk grew wider. "Not fable, truth, which is why I propose an amendment to our original agreement."
...
"Ah!" Jack happily reached under his dreadlocks and pulled out a small key, leading Elizabeth to cast him a stunned look. "I knew it would have a use someday." He placed the key in the lock and turned it, the clicking sound prompting Elizabeth to push the door open, the fresh sea breeze a welcome relief from the stifled air inside the building.
She took a few assured steps before turning back to Jack, who was stood by the door attempting fruitlessly to shove the old, rusting lock shut, furiously battling with the wooden door to get it to close properly. A small smile crept onto Elizabeth's face, before she realised what she was doing and pursed her lips. "Who was that man with Barbossa?" she suddenly asked.
She then heard a clicking sound as the lock fitted into place, Jack turning and meeting her eyes for one solid moment, his dark orbs just as mystifying and enigmatic as they always had been. "A man, nothing more, which is why it shouldn't take much to best him. No immortal or undead beings this time." A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips.
"But what's his connection to you? He said he'd met you before."
"Is this an interrogation now?" Jack asked, briskly walking past her, making his way down the slope of the hill and onto the beach.
Elizabeth glanced over at the small town, which was located beyond the expansive white coastline, from appearances a very quaint and quiet settlement, which struck her as peculiar given that it lay just a stone's throw away from one of the busiest pirate ports in the world, matched only by the likes of Tortuga for the amount of traffic that passed through its docks. Although, she did know all too well that appearances were often deceiving.
Her eyes roamed over the landscape until they fixed on Jack's figure, striding across the sand, having already descended the hill. She hurried after him, knowing that she should have used the distance between them to make her own escape but equally aware that she was gradually being consumed by a desire to be embroiled in one of his mad schemes again, if only for a short while.
"I just wanted to know who we were up against, that's all," she said in a raised voice, still a considerable distance behind the captain.
Jack stopped walking and spun on his heel, giving Elizabeth an opportunity to catch up. "We?" he outstretched his arms, exasperated, "When have we ever been unanimous in anything?"
"I'm only trying to help," Elizabeth offered, pointedly avoiding his question.
"Last time ye helped I ended up at the bottom of the ocean, to all intents and purposes, dead." The last word cut into Elizabeth like a knife, already bloodied from her own actions, twisting into her flesh, her burden exposed, torn between her desperation for forgiveness and her deep-rooted assertion that her actions had been justified at the time.
"Will we ever be able to move past this, Jack?" she asked quietly, all pretensions of resistance gone.
He regarded her for a long moment, his eyes boring into her own, infiltrating into the deepest recesses of her mind, reigniting all of her old memories, those she had kept locked away, hidden, forgotten. He stepped closer, cupping her cheek, leaning in towards her, their lips only inches apart. She felt her resolve crumbling, her barriers collapsing as all of her thoughts converged onto him, his lips, roughened by storms but at the same time soft and welcoming, his eyes, dangerous and overpowering. Her lips parted, her desire for him overwhelming, but at that moment he removed his hand from her face and turned away, walking off as though their brief connection had been nothing.
Endless silence permeated the air as she continued to follow him across the sand dunes, silent, waiting for him to offer her something that would explain his actions, as she herself sought to explain her own. The sash from his red bandana flapped in the sea breeze, wild and free, in contrast to the confinement Elizabeth felt, restricted by an invisible bond, a constant barrier that would always be between them.
After a moment he came to a stop and turned back to face her, though all of the warmness and desire in his features had been blown away by the wind. "Alright. I'll answer one of your questions if you firstly answer one of mine. Why are you really here, 'Lizbeth?"
She hesitated for a brief second, memories of her real purpose washing over her like a cold wave. "I think you'll find that question has already been answered, rendering your question pointless and wasted," she replied hotly, removing the remainder of her hair from her ponytail and letting it hang loosely on her shoulders.
Jack matched her gaze with an equally frustrated glare, "Well, the answer to said question was not detailed enough for my liking so I request that it be elaborated upon."
Unable to think up a worthy retort, Elizabeth reluctantly relented, "I've come to claim back my ship, which I will then use to seek out the Flying Dutchman."
Jack turned his head away from her, presumably to try and hide the amusement that must have been evident as much on his face as it was in his voice, "An' what then, you'll follow him to the land of the dead, a place where no mortal soul has yet survived the trip? Should be your place of choice for the belated honeymoon, luv."
Elizabeth knew that he was mocking her. "You said I only had to answer one of your questions." She saw him tilt his head back, looking up at the sky in irritation. "So, who is Edgardo to you, Captain Sparrow?"
"An old friend that was never quite considered by me to be a friend in the first place," said Jack in one long breath as they crossed the boundary into the town.
"And now he wants revenge, much like your other old friends." Elizabeth noted astutely, briefly reminded of Chevalle's ludicrous story of the pirate captain breaking into the Palace of Versailles.
"It's not my fault if they can't handle my formidable and overwhelming personality," replied Jack with a roguish grin, the first time she'd seen a genuine smile on his face since seeing him again. In a matter of moments, though, that smile had vanished, the captain putting his hand out in a gesture to stop Elizabeth from trying to speak.
Her head whipped to the side, glancing around the near-deserted street, looking for Barbossa and Edgardo, whose voices she presumed Jack had overheard. To her dismay, a sudden raucous sound of shouting could be heard from the end of the street before several large, brutish pirates came storming towards the two of them.
Both her and Jack began by slowly backing away, before they found themselves being chased down the street, shocked to find more pirates rushing at them from the opposite direction. In no time at all, they found themselves completely surrounded by pirates pointing their blades at them.
Elizabeth immediately found herself wishing that she and Jack hadn't spent so much time arguing with each other, knowing that the chances of escaping this situation were somewhat improbable.
Yet improbable was what Captain Jack Sparrow did best.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one will be on it's way soon!
Response to review: River - Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter and the meeting between Jack and Elizabeth, haha I'm so happy that you thought it was funny and strange enough to echo their interaction in the movies, that means a lot! There's definitely more bickering to come from them as they try and get over that pesky chaining-to-masts trust issue, and William will be back soon enough as well :)
Please don't forget to let me know what you think! Every single review is greatly appreciated :D Till next time!