A/N: Apologies again for the length in between updates. I do my best to make time, but sometimes there just isn't any. Anyway, thank you to those who continue to read. Knowing there are folks out there enjoying the story really helps me keep it going.
A Sad Story
Four days had passed. They'd seen no more of the guardians. Elizabeth wondered if, perhaps, there weren't that many of them, causing them to feel outnumbered by Elizabeth's crew. Going toe to toe with four men instead of fifteen would be a much more manageable fight, she pondered. Or, perhaps, they'd been left alone because their little crew had walked for almost the entirety of the four days only stopping to rest for a few hours at a time.
They were only a day or two away from Cusco. Jack had suggested cutting north to head up the mountain, following the creek and avoiding the town all together. Elizabeth was inclined to agree. It was better not to make their presence known to anyone else.
The journey grew increasingly more difficult as the air became thinner and decidedly colder, and the brush and brambles had grown so thick, it left their bodies scraped and cut, throbbing as the dry air caused their skin to tighten. Before, where there was some semblance of a foot path, now only held numerous formations of rocks for them to climb over. The mountain was brutal and unforgiving. The tribesmen picked an excellent location for a hidden temple. Surely no sane person would attempt such a journey, Elizabeth thought to herself. Thankfully the creek provided them with fresh water, but the food was growing scarce.
Limbs heavy and weak, her body feeling as though it could collapse at a moments notice, Elizabeth looked ahead at the ever winding path taking them higher up the mountain and stopped dead in her tracks. Leaning with one hand on the trunk of a tree, she called out to no one in particular.
"I can't." She breathed out heavily as she began to drop to her knees. Jack was far ahead and hadn't heard her protestations, but Barton who was trailing behind them all, hurried to his fallen Captain. "I can't." She kept whispering to herself.
He knelt next to her, a hand on her back as she continued to heave, and called out to Jack. "Captain!"
Jack and Jacob both turned at the sound of alarm in Barton's voice and rushed back to where Barton and Elizabeth were stopped.
"What happened?" Jack asked Barton, kneeling in front of Elizabeth and lifting her chin to look at him. Her eyes were glazed, cheeks were flushed, and she seemed to look passed him.
"Can't rightly say. She stopped walking and collapsed." Barton responded honestly.
Jack turned his attention back toward Elizabeth. "Lizzie, darling, are you all right?"
"I can't" She whispered again, barely audible.
"You're going to have to speak up, love."
"We have to stop." She said only marginally louder and looked up at him with blank eyes.
"Very well. We'll stop for a few hours."
Jack moved to stand, but Elizabeth grabbed his wrist, stopping him roughly. "For the night" She amended.
"Lizzie," He said her name like he was talking to a foolish child. "We need to keep moving. There's no shelter here. We'll be sitting ducks."
"I do believe we are already. Shelter didn't stop any of the previous attacks. Furthermore, I don't care. I'm not moving another inch until I get a decent night's rest." Not that she considered sleeping on the ground as a decent night's rest, but it was better than nothing.
Jack sighed, knowing this was an argument he would not win. He stood and whispered a few orders to Barton and Jacob, and knelt in front of Elizabeth once again. "The lads are going to go ahead and look for shelter. We will stay here and rest until they return. When they do, the four of us will head to whatever they've found and then we can rest for the night. Savvy?"
"Aye" she agreed reluctantly, eyes fluttering shut from exhaustion.
Jack picked Elizabeth up, hooking his arm beneath her knees, and carried her to the bank of the creek, propping her up against a tree. He sat beside her, encouraging her to lean her head against his shoulder.
"Tell me about your mother." She whispered in her delirium.
"I don't think now is the best time for such stories." Jack responded with some reservation.
"Why not? We have the time." She insisted. Reminding him of another time when he'd said the same to her.
He looked down at her expecting to see a wicked smirk staring up at him, but Elizabeth curled against his arm, eyes closed, looking, for all intents and purposes, rather innocent "Very well" He sighed, unable to resist.
Jack spoke of his mother, Vittoria, a Spanish noble, too brave for her own good. "She craved adventure and let no one stand in the way of what she wanted. She was kind and generous, and spent most of her days near the sea, tending to the sick and unfortunate and bringing food to the hungry. Most of the town thought her mad, and, much to her father's regret, a great source of worry."
Elizabeth listened intently with the impression that she and Vittoria Teague would have been nothing short of kindred spirits.
"She had been engaged to a wealthy admiral, a staunch man, unyielding in his devotion to the crown and to the faith. Her father had told her it would be a fine match, she would have everything she could ever want, and it would finally put to bed the rumors of her madness. As you know, that's rarely ever the case, is it? After their marriage, she was confined to their home, prohibited from leaving, no matter the circumstances. As it happened, her isolation only gave further fire to the rumors of her insanity. But she made do. Instead of leaving, she sent the servants to town to bring her back various treats and baubles to brighten up an otherwise dismal home. The admiral thought her a sinner for all the meager pleasures she sought, and forced her to scribe bible verses from sun up to sun down. He had a young valet sit and watch her to ensure she did as she was bid. He was to beat her if she so much as blinked in dispute. One day she'd had about all she could handle and decided that was not the life she wished to lead. To hell with everyone else. So, one night, in the cover of darkness, clad in men's clothing and a cloak, she stole away to the docks, looking to barter passage onto the first ship she could find. Docked in the harbor that night happened to sit The Red Devil."
Elizabeth sat up. "Teague's ship?" She asked excitedly, eager to hear of the fairy tale romance.
"It wasn't always." He replied. "A long, very long time ago The Red Devil was one of the most feared ships on the seven seas, Captain Edward Teach its captain. Edward Teague was his plucky first mate, wide eyed and ready for adventure on the high seas."
"Teague was Blackbeard's first mate? How is it I have not heard this?" Elizabeth asked in awe.
"It's not something Teague enjoys speaking of, if he speaks at all." Elizabeth gave a soft chuckle being all too familiar with Teague's silent company. "Are you sure you want me to continue? It really isn't a pleasant tale."
"Please. I want to know." Elizabeth returned her head to his shoulder, awaiting the rest of the story.
"She found her way to the gangplank in what she thought was a reasonable disguise, but the crew of the Devil saw right through it. They grabbed at her, pulling at her clothing, practically salivating over her, ready to take her right then and there. Teague overheard the commotion and quickly came to her rescue. He pulled every man off of her one by one and threatened to gut every single one of them for disrespecting her. She had fallen for him in that instant, at least that's what she told me. It all sounded a bit too chivalrous to be Teague, if you ask me."
"You don't believe your father is capable of such noble exploits?" Elizabeth asked him
"I believe him capable of a lot of things, but I don't believe he saved her because he loved her." Jack added, implying that Teague was only after one thing.
"Honestly, Jack. There's no need to turn something beautiful into something debauched."
"It's what I do best."
"Bollocks. I have endless amounts of proof that you are, in fact, a good man, and I'll wager you didn't just get that from your mum."
Jack narrowed his eyes at her, despite the fact that he so enjoyed when she dropped her posh English speech in favor of a more roughened tone. He continued with his story, hoping to stray from further discussion of his honor. "Anyhow, after a rather heated argument with Blackbeard, Teague was able to persuade him to let Vittoria aboard. From that moment on she was under his protection."
"Hold on a moment" Elizabeth interrupted once more. "If the Devil was the most feared ship in the seven seas, what was it doing docked in a busy Spanish port and not hidden in some secret cove?"
"Elizabeth, do you wish to hear the story or are you going to interrupt me at every turn?"
"I wish to hear the story, but with proper details." She grumbled.
"Before Edward Teach was known as the fearsome pirate Blackbeard, he was a merchant sailor, respectable, cunning, but also ruthless. He was the first privateer, if you will, paid to commit the very crimes we all hang for these days. So, for The Devil, it was not necessary to hide. Satisfied?" He asked looking down at Elizabeth.
"Quite. You may continue."
"As I was saying, Teague took her under his wing and was genuinely surprised to find her a very capable sailor. To this day he'll tell you, that no one could tie a better not than she. Again, of course, should he decide to speak at all. Eventually they fell in love, as such things tend to happen, and they sailed the seas, free as birds. She was as fierce a pirate as there ever was, and Teague...well...was Teague, only happier, softer."
"See, I told you. He did love her."
"I believe I did say as much, I just don't think it was love at first sight."
"You don't know that. You weren't there. Although, I do have a hard time envisioning a softness to Teague."
"Really? I'd say he's as soft as he's ever been. Especially since you took up residence at the cove." Jack said with a soft chuckle.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, unsure if she should be insulted by his comment.
"You remind him of her." He responded plainly, taking a reverent pause as he remembered his mother, and saying without saying that Elizabeth had reminded Jack of his mother as well. Elizabeth could sense his sadness and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. With a smirk, Jack gathered her into his arms.
"What happened next?" She asked after a moment.
"It wasn't long before she found herself with child. The Devil was set to embark on a dangerous journey 'round the horn and Teague decided it was best if Vittoria did not join them. She put up all manner of protests and tantrums, but Teague and Blackbeard both agreed that a ship was no place to give birth to a baby. So, they left her with a childhood friend of Teague's in Cuba. Nine months later, a handsome black haired boy was born, ready to take on the world."
"So you weren't born on a ship in the middle of a storm?"
"Sadly, no. That part of the legend has been grossly exaggerated."
"Don't worry, it doesn't ruin my image of you." She assured him. "Did Teague return to her?"
"Eventually, but not for many years. I didn't meet Teague until I was five and by then he'd become Captain of The Red Devil. Probably the most pleasant memory I have of him from my childhood. He was thrilled to return and discover that she'd bore him a son. He brought us back to the ship and we were happy… for a time."
After a brief moment of silence Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak "How did she…when did she…?" Elizabeth wasn't sure if she should ask this sort of question, but she wished to know everything she could about Jack.
"We were sailing in the caribbean when a ship approached us in the night. A Spanish naval vessel, heavily armed, canons trained on us. Apparently they'd been following the Devil for quite some time, but only managed to catch up after we had a brief stay in Madagascar."
"It was her husband, wasn't it? The one she'd escaped from?"
"Right you are, Lizzie darling. He'd been chasing her the moment he found she'd disappeared, intent on snuffing out her wild ways for good. Teague had ordered a cease-fire hoping they could come to some kind of mutual understanding, a non violent resolution. I had been asleep in my cabin below deck, and the last thing Teague wanted was to bring a fight onto his ship. So, we were boarded by the Admiral and his crew. Teague moved to approach the man, but soon found himself at the end of a pistol and grabbed by two brutes. My mother was dragged from her cabin and thrown onto the deck. I had heard the scuffle on deck and quietly made my way up the stairs. I normally wasn't allowed on deck at night, but I was too curious for my own good."
"Imagine that." Elizabeth scoffed.
"I watched from the top of the stairs as the Admiral slunk toward her. He grabbed her by the face, called her a pirate's whore and shoved her hard toward the deck. That was the first time I'd ever heard that word. 'Pirate'. It filled me with confusion and loathing. I badly wanted to run the admiral through, but I knew I needed to stay out of sight. Teague fought against his captors and screamed bloody murder for them to stop hurting her, but he was knocked out with the butt of a pistol and collapsed to the deck. I guess I had made a sound because the next thing I knew the admiral was pointing his pistol directly at me. My mother screamed for him to leave me be, but he kept repeating that it was her punishment, and that I was an abomination under the eyes of god. The last memory I have of her, is her reaching out for me, laying at my feet, blood pooling in every which way. Somehow she'd managed to throw herself in front of me as the Admiral fired. Sometime after that, Teague had regained consciousness, and ordered the crew to attack. Driving his sword into the Admiral himself, they came away victorious, but nothing was ever quite the same after that. Teague had become a real cutthroat pirate that day. He left me at the Cove and I didn't see him for nearly a decade."
"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry." She looked up at him, eyes misty from the tears that threatened to spill.
"It was a long time ago, love. Teague and I have since reconciled some of our differences after blaming each other for what happened. Now, we have an understanding." He combed her hair with his palm, assuring her that these particular wounds had healed, however coarsely.
The sat in silence for a while, each of them contemplating the moments in their lives that got them to this point, and soon fell asleep. An hour or so later, Elizabeth woke to the sound of branches breaking in the distance. Startled, she quickly turned to Jack. "I think someone's out there." She said in a hushed whisper as she shoved him lightly.
Jack was slow to recognize what she had meant until he heard the noise again. The two of them jumped to their feet with swords drawn. "Stay behind me" He commanded, attempting to step in front of her.
"I hardly think that's necessary." She responded coming to his side.
Jack rolled his eyes and waited for whatever was in the bushes to show itself. Elizabeth began to inch closer as she heard muffled voices and more branches breaking.
Jack gestured for her to come back, but she ignored him and pressed on further. "Elizabeth!" He whispered loudly.
"Calm yourself, Jack." She said pulling back some of the brush to reveal Barton and Jacob stumbling toward them. "Nothing to be afraid of here." She chuckled.
Jack relaxed his arm, and stepped forward. "Well, did you find anything?"
"About three kilometers ahead of us, we found another cave. It's a bit of a daunting trek, the path is anything but clear, however there is a hot spring nearby, so it is worth the reward." Barton answered in kind.
"Can you manage?" He asked turning toward Elizabeth.
"Yes. Let's go." The idea of sinking her aching body into a hot spring rejuvenated her spirit, and she practically sprinted ahead of them at the thought.
—-
Barton wasn't lying, the path to the cave was arduous, painful, and downright unpleasant. When they finally reached their safe haven for the night, Elizabeth collapsed to the ground, tears of joy running down her face.
"Alright then, love. Let's maintain our composure, shall we?" Jack said, lifting her up from the ground. He gave an amused smirk toward Jacob and Barton, as he led Elizabeth by the hand toward the cave. Jack's arm was abruptly pulled back, as Elizabeth stood unmoving. "What now?" He asked a little impatiently. Over the past few hours Elizabeth had exhibited more the temperament of an 8 year old than that of a bloody pirate king.
"I wish to go to the hot spring." She said, folding her arms and giving a small pout, further instilling her childish image in Jack's mind.
"Right now?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes." She stated firmly.
With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Jack turned to Barton. "Would you mind leading us to the hot spring in question. Jacob, get a fire started. Barton will be returned to you shortly."
"If it's all the same to you, Captain, I think we would all enjoy a dip in the spring, don't you?" Jacob responded in kind.
"Splendid, no time to waste then. Let's go." Elizabeth clapped her hands together in a Jack Sparrow fashion and started following the two gentlemen.
Jack pulled Elizabeth back, keeping a reasonable distance between them and their crew mates. "Lizzie, dear, do you plan on entering the spring in your clothes?" He asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Of course not." She replied, confused by his question.
"Don't you think it a bit improper to be stripping down to your skivvies in front of…" He tilted his head toward the other two men.
"Jack Sparrow worried about propriety. Now I've seen everything." She mocked him. "I see no problem with it. I have nothing they haven't seen before. Besides, I'm certain they'll be more concerned with what they have been endowed with in comparison to what my dashing captain has been endowed with." She spoke with a mischievous grin and prodded forward, leaving Jack standing dumbfounded in her tracks.
The hot spring was located behind a dense wall of trees and brush, if it weren't for the potent sulphuric odor, one would never know it was there. They entered through the opening Jacob had cut from the previous scouting trip.
Elizabeth was in awe of how peaceful it felt. Safely guarded by an impenetrable thicket, surrounded by stars, the way the heat of the water fogged just above the surface, it was like a secret Eden. Apart from the smell, that is.
Jacob and Barton wasted no time divesting themselves of their clothing, and jumped into the water. Elizabeth followed suit, but not before Jack stood, shielding her from the eyes of the other two.
"Allow the lady some privacy, wont you?" Jack commanded.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she stepped out of her breeches. "Honestly, Jack, jealousy doesn't suit you at all. They are more than welcome to look, " She said, side stepping him and lowering herself into the water "but that's it." She added with a menacing tone, letting the other men know she would gut them if they did anything more than look.
Jack stood, mouth agape as she slipped by him. In a huff, he crossed his arms, and leaned back against the tree, keeping an eye on Barton and Jacob.
Elizabeth had never felt so heavenly in all her life. Her cold bones welcomed the heated water with open arms, causing her to groan in satisfaction. Barton and Jacob shared a chuckle as she wriggled beneath the water, eliciting sounds of pleasure. Jack unceremoniously cleared his throat at them, snapping Elizabeth out of her trance.
"Are you going to join us, Jack? Or are you going to stand there glaring at us for the remainder of the evening?" She asked, lolling her head back looking for him amongst the tree line.
"I'm fine where I am, thank you. Someone ought to stand guard."
Elizabeth turned to face him, "Loosen up, Jack. No one is going to find us here."
As she spoke the words, the unmistakable sound of muskets locking echoed throughout the surrounding tree line, and a dread filled stone sunk to the bottom of Elizabeth's stomach.