Disclaimer: I don't own any Pirates. (Sorry this is short but I wanted to get this posted!)
xxx – Twenty-Five – xxx
James helped Elizabeth from the longboat. They had skirted the bay which was heavily guarded, and quietly stole across the sand and into town. Elizabeth felt like an intruder in her own town, but Port Royal just felt…different. Perhaps it was no longer home for her.
She followed James, asking him questions as they darted down the dimly lit road but James wasn't talking. His smile seemed forced and the usually polite James Norrington was treating her more like a prisoner, not the caring friend she'd known for so many years. Within minutes they'd entered the familiar building.
James knocked twice and the door flew open, obviously expecting their late-night arrival.
"Ah, Miss Swann. So kind of you to visit an old friend."
Elizabeth frowned at the sight of Cutler Beckett before her, dressed as if to attend a formal function when it was probably close to midnight. His powdered wig was in place and his smile curved upward in a sly grin. James nudged her into the room and followed close behind.
"Lord Beckett," Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Why have I been summoned in such a secretive manner?"
Beckett invited her to sit and offered tea, which she declined. "I believe you are aware of your father's disappearance - that he has not been heard from for a number of days?"
"Then I assume he here," Elizabeth stood. James touched her shoulder and indicated that she should return to her seat. What was James' role in all of this?
"Ah, we may soon be able to divulge more about your father's location, but not quite…yet." Beckett poured himself some tea and deliberately added one sugar cube. "I have guests, however, that requested your presence, and I do believe your arrival in Port Royal will help me to secure what I want."
Elizabeth scanned the room. Candlelight flooded the sitting area, but she could see no one else. "Guests?"
"A number of inquiries have been made, Miss Swann, regarding your recent…shall we say…unfortunate whereabouts." Beckett ignored her question and continued. "I know that you have been spending an unusually lengthy amount of time aboard the Black Pearl. A fact that has recently become quite valuable to me. You see, certain parties, Mister Norrington included, wanted you off that ship, and in turn, your presence here will be just the bait I need. I believe that once he finds you missing from the Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow will find his way here. To you. And he will walk right into our trap."
Elizabeth tried to contain her surprise. "Certainly not, Lord Beckett. Jack Sparrow will be glad to be rid of me."
"I think you can dispense with the lies now, Elizabeth." A voice rose from a darkened corner of the room and her heart raced.
Will!! He is alive!
Elizabeth rose as Will joined the others, standing between James and Beckett. She ran to him, but his outstretched arms pushed her a safe distance away. He was not smiling; instead his jaw was clenched in anger.
"Will! I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Now that I believe. Once your lover disposed of me, of course. Thankfully a passing ship found me and I have your first fiancee to thank for rescuing me. It seems we have more in common than we once thought. Don't we, James?" Will forced a smile.
James Norrington reclined in his seat with a satisfied grin. "Indeed we do, Mister Turner. Or should I call you fiancee number two?" He laughed and sipped his tea before continuing. "You see, Elizabeth, we've both come to realize the depth of your feelings for Captain Sparrow." When Elizabeth tried to protest, James held up a hand to silence her. "Deny all you wish, dear Elizabeth. I observed the two of you enough times to know that you are desperately in love with that pirate. Even Lord Beckett admitted that he sensed your feelings for Captain Sparrow when you visited him last. And I'm willing to wager that Jack feels the same way about you. I think we'll be hearing from Captain Sparrow before too long."
Elizabeth backed away from the trio, but there was nowhere to run. Resigned, she sat in the chair and dropped her gaze to the table. "What is in this for you, James? Some sort of revenge?" She turned and looked at Will. The man she'd almost married. "Will?"
Will took a seat across from her. His anger has faded a little and he looked at her with a touch of regret. "I believe my last words to you were about getting you back and making Jack pay? Paying with his life will suit me just fine."
"Well then, we all win," Beckett set his cup down. He looked at Elizabeth. "Oh, I suppose you might grieve for a time, but isn't a governor's daughter better off without a filthy pirate in her life?" Becket chuckled. "Mister Turner, Mister Norrington…should we make a little wager as to how long it takes Captain Sparrow to realize that Miss Swann has disappeared, and how long it will take for him to make his way here?"
"I'm sure he'll have no clue where I am. As far as he knows, Will is dead. He will have no reason to suspect you, Lord Beckett," Elizabeth shot an angry glance at James. "Or you."
"Don't be so quick to rule out Captain Sparrow's resourcefulness. He has his ways of finding the truth. And we made sure to leave a little calling card to help him along."
Cutler Beckett proceeded to tell Elizabeth about James and his placement of a certain item in Elizabeth's cabin before they left the ship.
"Do you really think Jack could be tricked by something so obvious? A button from your coat?" she questioned Beckett.
"I'm counting on his worried state to cloud his judgement, Miss Swann. Granted, how Captain Sparrow behaves when it concerns love is something quite untested in the past, I assure you. Perhaps this will be a test of his real love for you."
"He doesn't love me," Elizabeth crossed her arms.
"Miss Swann, I've had the misfortune of knowing Jack Sparrow much longer than you have, and from my observation and those of our friends Mister Norrington and Mister Turner, I think I can say with confidence that Captain Sparrow won't let you go quite as easily as you think."
Will's face was becoming more grim as the conversation continued. "I think we've discussed Jack Sparrow quite enough for tonight."
"Correct you are, Mister Turner." Beckett reached for a bell on his desk and rang it loudly. "Take Miss Swann to her father," he instructed the man who was summoned.
xxxxxxx
When they reached the cell, Elizabeth clung to the bars which held her father prisoner.
"Elizabeth!" Weatherby Swann stood and met her, his fingers grasping through the bars to reach hers.
"Father, why are you here? What reason do they have for holding you?"
"It seems that aiding and abetting traitors and pirates is not looked upon with favor," he answered, but quickly changed the subject. "Dearest Elizabeth, you can't stay here! It's too dangerous. I believe they've set some kind of trap for you."
"Not for me. For Jack."
"Jack Sparrow? What does he have to do with all of this?" Her father asked.
"Yes, why don't you tell your father everything, Elizabeth?" James approached, startling Elizabeth.
"James! Please! Can I not have one moment alone with my father?"
"Of course. But I think you need a bit of help," James let his gaze travel across her face, watching the flickering light from a nearby flame add much needed sparkle to her eyes. "You haven't been honest with yourself, or your father for quite some time. Nor with Jack," he continued, noting that her gaze dropped quickly. "Let's tell your father what Jack has to do with all of this."
"Would someone please explain?"
Elizabeth turned toward her father. "I've been on the Black Pearl, father. In fact I'd written letters to you from the ship, explaining everything…"
"Oh, get on with it, Elizabeth!" James looked into the cell. "It's time you knew that Mister Turner is no longer your daughter's intended. The engagement ended because Elizabeth is in love with a pirate."
"A pirate? Elizabeth, tell me this is not true!"
"James, why do you hate me so? Why must you be so vengeful?" Elizabeth faced him, tears rimming her eyes."
"I don't hate you, Elizabeth. But I do hate Jack Sparrow," James answered. He turned to the man in the cell. "The pirate in question is Captain Sparrow…" He wondered why he felt absolutely no guilt for betraying Elizabeth's trust.
"James! I would like to speak with my father alone!"
"Very well. I'll be back in ten minutes, Elizabeth," James turned and ascended the stone steps.
Weatherby Swann couldn't have looked more astonished. And disappointed. "Not Jack Sparrow. Please tell me James is lying. Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth swallowed but her mouth was dry. She tried to get the words out, but all she could do was sigh loudly. She wanted to hear her father tell her everything would be alright, just as he'd always tried to protect her when she was a child. She had never lied to her father before and there was no reason to keep denying her feelings.
"Elizabeth? What happened between you and Will? Where is he? And have you really been aboard a pirate ship this entire time?"
"Yes." It was all she could manage. She could feel herself starting to shake.
"Were you being held against your will?" He looked worried, and she only wanted to erase the concern from his face. She knew that eventually he would know the truth and it was time that he learned it from her.
"No, father. I was not held against my will. Will and I were both on board the ship, and then…Will left…and I remained on board. Voluntarily."
"But why? Why did you not return to Port Royal?"
"I did something terribly wrong. I sent Jack Sparrow to his death. And I had to make up for it."
Swann dropped his hand from the bar and looked at his daughter. "Please explain."
Elizabeth proceeded to tell him about shackling Jack to the mast, and of Jack's escape, and Will's search for his father. "Somehow during that time, Will and I grew apart.."
A cold realization settled into his bones. "James told the truth about you and your feelings for Jack Sparrow."
"Yes, father." Elizabeth looked him in the eyes. "I love Jack."
xxxxxxx
Mid-morning had come and gone and she still hadn't appeared on deck. He scanned the surface of the water before signaling to Pintel. "Go check on Miss Swann," Jack ordered when Pintel joined him on the port side. "She's uncharacteristically absent," he explained when Pintel hesitated.
He tried not to worry. He tried not to think about her, so he scanned the water and looked toward Port Royal in the distance, wondering if she'd managed to make her way to shore.
Pintel returned quickly. "She ain't answerin' the door, Cap'n."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Then go inside and retrieve her, Mister Pintel."
"I…what if she's sleepin'?"
"Oh for the love of rum, man. I'll do it."
Jack paused before knocking on her cabin door. No answer. He knocked harder, and when no noise came from the other side of the door, he touched the latch. The door swung open and a quick glance of the room told him it was empty. He walked over to the desk and let his fingers linger on the letter…"Dearest Father…". Jack looked around the room, then decided he'd better have the ship searched. He turned to leave and his foot hit something, sending it against the cabin wall with a dull clink. Reaching down to retrieve it, he held the gold button in his hand.
"Well played, Beckett".
xxxxxxx