AUTHORS NOTE:
Hey all. Thank you again for the reviewers, and I ask that those of you who are reading and not reviewing…please do! Any way this chapter is going to involve someone us Jack/ Lizzie fans dislike very muchly….and from now on he shall unfortunately appear in most chapters. So I'm sorry, I know it's not nice, but it has to be done! Ok. Thanks for waiting too. I apologise for the length between posts!
DISCLAIMER: oh god if I only owned Jack Sparrow….it would be heaven on earth! Unfortunately for me, though, some old horrible men own him….it boggles the mind! How can they truly appreciate the glory of him? Oh well. I'm left with my never dying, always faithful love of POTC and Jack Sparrow.
Chapter 24: Heaven for some, Hell for others.
Lizzie looked out over the side of the ship at the glistening, sparkling blue sea. The sun was rising, setting the sea and the sky on golden fire. The ocean sparkled with the pinks, reds, oranges and gold of the beautiful sun. Lizzie hummed a lullaby under her breath as she gently rocked from side to side. The bundle in her arms looked up at her with his father's liquid dark eyes, under drooping eyelids. Yawning Johnny reached up with his small little arms towards his mother. Lizzie saw the movement and her face lit up with a smile that only mothers seem to conjure up. Her smile matched the bright glory of the sun.
Jack saw Lizzie bathing in the glory of the rising sun. She was a silautte against it's brightness, yet still it seemed like she was glowing with her own aura, the sun's light framing her like a halo. Jack smiled as he saw her, and crept up behind her. It seemed that she heard him coming up because she didn't jump when he slid his arms around her waist and held her tight. Instead she leaned back into him, still humming to their now asleep son. He held her in his arms, looking out at the golden glistening sea and felt at peace for once in his life. Smiling he kissed the side of Lizzie's cheek and the moment seemed perfect.
Ilovejack, ilovejack, ilovejack
Somewhere, not very far from the Black Pearl, someone else looked out at the rising sun. But instead of being filled with a sense of contentment, happiness, and peace he was filled with jealousy, hatred and something else. He didn't bother exploring what ever else it was that he felt. No longer did he care about what he felt, he just let them consume him and drive him in his new life. There was no time for self-exploration. And there was no room left in his heart for anything else than the eating hatred, which was quickly leaving him an empty shell.
He turned away from the rising sun as he spat into the ocean, an expression of his contempt for the whole situation. Instead he turned back to the small, shaking man who was nervously twisting his hands in the hem of his torn shirt. When Will turned around to focus his anger and hate back onto the man, the poor thing started shaking more violently and dropped his eyes to the floor board. There was no honour here, the man knew, and the only rule was to let your anger control you. Which meant that 'don't shoot the messenger' didn't apply. He feared for his life as he got a glimpse of the hatred that burned in Master Wills eyes. He wasn't the only one who feared this terrifying man in front of him. Anyone who crossed this man feared him. The stories were vivid enough.
Will watched the man cower and enjoyed the feeling of power that came from it. An evil smile graced his face and the man glanced up just at that moment to witness it. It turned him into more of a trembling mess. Will loved it. But he soon remembered why this man was here, and the news that he had bought with him and anger and hate filled him again. He crossed to the small man and grabbed him suddenly and unexpectedly by the throat and threw him against the mast
The man struggled to regain himself as Will stalked over to him.
"So they have a child do they?" He said in a voice that seemed to be the very vocalising of evil. The man decided not to get up again, but lay back down onto the deck, pressed against the mast as if it would incorporate him and he could escape the death that was fast approaching.
"Well?"
"Sorry sir, I thought it was a rhetorical question" he managed to shudder out.
"Well it wasn't!" Will paced in front of the man, enjoying the fear that came in waves of the small man.
"Yes, sir. They had a child. A week ago." He shuddered out again and then cowered, expecting a blow, but it never came. He pecked out from under his arm to see Will looking at him intently.
"What was it?" he asked. Anger seemed to be leaving his eyes, slowly being replaced with great pain and hurt. That didn't seem to bode any better than all consuming anger.
"A boy, sir. Called John. After the father" the small man offered.
"After the father" Will didn't say it to anyone in particular, it was a sad statement, said to himself as if confirming something. He just stood there for a while, looking out at the sea, hatred had left him, and instead he seemed to be slumped with a new kind of pain.
"Yes sir."
"Was it a difficult birth?"
"Very sir. Over eight hours. The babe nearly killed Miss Elizabeth."
"Just like Jack…killing Elizabeth, he can't seem to help himself." Will's voice seemed to take on a note of sad sarcasm, but otherwise was devoid of emotion. Then it seemed something caught his attention. He seemed to liven up; eyes became bright again, stood up straighter. The small man went back to cowering. "Miss? Miss Elizabeth?"
"Aye sir…is that not who you sent me to watch?" the small man was very scared now. He had screwed up and that would mean a more painful death.
"Why miss?" Will came closer to the man now. Crouching down he looked closely at the man. The man almost fainted.
"Cos, she is a miss, sir. She aint married to Jack. Not ever. Not that the crew know anyway, if they did, it was in secret. And there aint no ring on her finger." The man offered up in a small voice. Will looked at him, but not really, his eyes took on a far away look. He was thinking. It was like the whole world had taken in a breath, waiting for the explosion. But none came. Instead Will simply stood up and stalked away. The man really did faint then.
The crew parted for Will as he stalked to his cabin. He had his own, though not as big as the captains, a whole lot bigger than the rest of the crew who had to shared the one room, sleeping in cabins. Will had worked hard to achieve his station, and he had been rewarded with it. He slammed his cabin door behind him. He still had to make the crew fear him, and that they did.
Inside though he collapsed onto his bed. He stared at the far wall. Hope was coming to him. He hadn't hoped for almost a year. It was a foreign emotion to him but it was comforting.
Lizzie wasn't married to Jack. That was all that mattered. It meant that Will still had a chance. And he wasn't going to pass on it. He was going to pursue her, and take back what was his.
He forgot that she had just had a child with Jack. That fact was conviently kicked out of his head, and all that he concentrated on was the fact that Lizzie wasn't married. That was all that mattered. It was definitely a blind hope that filled him. A hope that was going to be crushed beyond all repair. It would lead to the destruction of Will, his soul turning into a dark twisted thing. But that would come. At this moment he hoped like he never had before, and he was going to pursue it.
He was going to take Lizzie back, because he knew that she still loved him, of course she did. This whole year was a joke, some way to make Will love her more. She didn't love Jack. That was impossible.