Hey guys, sorry about the lack of music recently, I've just finished exams and I'm trying to churn out chapters asap for you guys. Enjoy!
21.
Elizabeth barely answered the questions that her father and James threw at her over the dinner table. The truth was she was starving, and gave herself over to her urges, getting as much food down her neck in as short a time as possible.
"When you arrived at this island, then... was it true? Did these pirates really suffer under a curse? Did they attempt to lift it?" Weatherby's tone was hesitant. Very hesitant. He was looking at Elizabeth as though she had been in the sun too long.
"I'm telling you -" she muttered, in the middle of a chicken leg, "I know what I saw, father. They were walking skeletons. Captain Sparrow can affirm it for you."
"Don't call him that, Elizabeth. It only encourages them." James cut in. As she had predicted, she heard a cushioning in his voice that concealed his normal sharpness.
She couldn't tell whether it was a softness directly from the heart, or simply blanketing a hard, cold interior. She didn't know him well enough to be certain.
And either way, she found that she didn't care.
Perhaps she would care, in time. But for now he may as well be a blank face in a uniform.
"Besides," her fiancee continued, "I am perfectly willing to believe that you saw something out of the ordinary - but perhaps it was the fear of being captured, or a dose of sedative they had slipped to you, that was the primary cause? Perhaps your imagination ran away with you."
"You underestimate me." she shot back, affronted that he would accuse her of being so weak, "Any overwhelming fear that may have loosened my grip on reality was caused by the sight of these supernatural beings. Ordinary pirates I can deal with quite efficiently, thank you. I steered them away from Port Royal through sheer negotiation, if you remember."
He looked taken aback, and stuttered apologetically, "Of course I did not mean to suggest -"
"Never mind."
"Elizabeth, what do you say we should do once we reach this destination?" her father changed the subject, focusing upon Elizabeth's enhanced abilities and knowledge deliberately, "Do you know the area well? Can you think of any weaknesses that the thieves may have that could provide us with an advantage? We are in sore need of one."
"They can't die." she stated cooly, "I stabbed Captain Barbossa through the heart myself, and he simply pulled out the knife and laughed at me. The only chance we have of defeating them and freeing Will is to lift their curse before attacking."
The two men exchanged glances. It was incredibly evident that neither of them believed her, though her father was trying to be gentle about it.
"Elizabeth, dear." the Governor tried, once again, to appease her, "Pirates like Sparrow can be very convincing when they want to be. You realise this is a load of old tosh that he has fed you in order to get what he wants."
"Father! I am telling you the absolute truth, I saw it all with my own eyes!" she had stopped eating now, a clear sign that she meant business.
"Let's not discuss it any further. When we arrive we shall see if your theories have any truth in them."
"When we arrive you had better have a decent plan of action to ensure that all of your men aren't killed on the spot!" she cried, then paused and shook her head, apparently trying to calm herself down, "May I be excused. I must go and rest."
"Of course, my dear, of course. You may use my quarters."
Elizabeth glanced at the table. The two men had barely touched their own meals, which meant they would be eating for a while yet.
She swiftly and discreetly took hold of the linen napkin in her lap, and hid it behind her as she rose to leave, then marched out of the cabin, shutting the door after her.
She headed straight below deck, ducking out of the way of the naval officers and slipping down the hatch with the utmost discretion.
She considered attempting to seek out a set of keys, but knew that James would probably have the only copies, and was likely keeping a close eye on them.