Pirate Princess

I stormed down into the brig not surprised to find it empty except of course for Will. He was standing in his cell; he looked surprised at me but then became cautious as he saw my tense and angry form.

"How could you?" I exploded as I clenched my fists at my sides. All the anger that had been building up inside me since everything had happened was about to come loose.

"I had to, I had no choice."

"You could have told me! I would have tried to help you in a way where you didn't backstab everyone!" I started pacing quickly, my hair whapping my in the face every time I turned.

"I would have never expected that form you! Jack certainly but never you. But I guess it makes sense." I murmured the last part to myself as Will peered at me.

"What did you say?" I looked up at him narrowing my eyes.

"I should have seen this, but I guess I was too ignorant to. I guess I had just been hoping that what I saw in you was a mistake. But I was wrong."

"Irena what are you speaking of?"

"You've changed." I stated the obvious looking him over.

"I'm still Will Turner." I shook my head.

"No you're not! The Will Turner I knew was a kind and caring man! He was compassionate to others and he put others before himself. But that man is gone and a new man stands before me. One who lies and cheats the ones that call him a friend. Where is the Will I knew? The one I cared so deeply for? Where's the Will Turner that risks all for the name of love?

Who's willing to get involved in piracy just to save those he cares for? The one that no matter what he goes through he still is a humble and generous person? Where's the Will I went on my first adventure with?" He walked up to the bars so he was pressed against them gazing intently at me.

"I'm still here Irena. I haven't gone anywhere."

"Yes you have and you've changed. You're no longer a blacksmith…you're a...pirate." He flinched at the word but stayed standing there as I moved closer. I gripped the bars as I leaned in so only the bars were separating us. I gazed sadly at him.

"I know you want to save your father Will, but did you have to betray all of us to do it?" I whispered as we stared at one another. We were so close yet miles apart because of his actions. I turned away and made my way to the stairs.

"Irena!" He called desperately after me as I slowly turned looking emotionlessly at him.

"Don't say anything. There's nothing left to be said. I hope this all works out for you Will, for when you lose all of your friends at least you will know it was for a good reason." I turned and left without another word.

I walked back to my room and collapsed on my hammock as I let myself drift away into oblivion.

--

In the wee hours of the night a certain blacksmith escaped from the brig and hurried to the end of the ship where no one would see him. He grabbed a stray navy man's body and tied it up to a barrel like he had done before.

It was his way of sending a trail to Beckett to follow the pirates to Shipwreck Cove. He knew he was only making his betrayal worse but this was something he had to do. He'd promised his father that he'd free him and he wasn't going back on it.

"You escaped the brig even quicker then I expected." A slightly impressed voice said as he looked up to see Jack leaning against the railing. Will quickly aimed his dagger at Jack, but Jack ignored it and continued on.

"William do you notice anything? Rather do you notice something that is not there to be noticed?" Will looked around the deck to find it deserted.

"You haven't raised the alarm." Jack nodded.

"Odd isn't it? Not as odd as this. Come up with this all by your lonesome did you?" He said critically looking the body over with distaste. Will lowered his dagger and said with a trace of a smile.

"I said to myself, think like Jack." Jack applied offended.

"And this is what you've arrived at? Lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove so as to gain his trust, accomplish your own ends? It's like you don't know me at all mate. How do our mutual friends Lizzie and the ol' princess feel about this?" Will sighed as Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, you've not seen fit to tell them."

"I'm losing her Jack. Every step I make towards my father is another step away from her." He murmured sadly looking out to sea.

"I suppose your talking about Elizabeth." Jack guessed watching Will's reaction carefully. He had come to care for the murderess and he didn't know why. Will shook his head glancing at Jack.

"No I've already lost her." Jack looked at him baffled, who was the whelp talking about then?

"Then who the hell are you…oh…Irena." He guessed his signature smile coming over his face as Will ever so slightly nodded. The captain knew of the princess's love for the blacksmith and was interested into hearing about the blacksmith's feelings for the princess.

"She confuses me…the way I feel about her confuses me. I don't know what to do about it." Will admitted softly as Jack gave him some helpful advice.

"Mate, if you chose to lock your heart away you'll lose her for certain. If I might lend a machete to your intellectual thicket, avoid the choice all together, change the facts. Let someone else dispatch Jones."

"Who?" Will looked at Jack before realization came into his dark eyes. "You?"

"Death has a curious way of reshuffling one's priorities. I slip aboard the Dutchman, find the heart, stab the beating thing, your father goes free from his debt. You're free to be with your charming but adventurous princess."

"And you're willing to cut out your own heart and bind yourself to the Dutchman? Forever?" Will asked uncertain eyeing the pirate.

"No mate. I'm free forever. Free to sail the seas beyond the edges of the map, from death itself."

"But you have to do the job though, Jack. You have to ferry the souls to the other side or end up like Jones." He made a tentacle beard with his fingers as Jack gulped rubbing his chin.

"I don't have the face tentacles. But immortal counts for something, eh? Oh." He shoved the compass into Will's hands as Will looked down at it perplexed.

"What's this for?"

"Think like me, it'll come to you." He leaned in and breathed in Will's face as Will coughed and fell backward flipping into the water. Jack smirked and through the body tied to the barrels into the sea.

"My regards to Davy Jones!" He called out before walking pleased back to his wheel.

Will coughed up water as he clung to the makeshift raft; he tried to ignore the dead body as he glared up at the Pearl.

"I hate him!" he growled as the currents took him away from the pirate ship and the occupants aboard the vessel.

--

I opened my eyes groggily around noon and yawned sitting up in my hammock. I stretched and slowly left my warm nest of comfort as I made my way to the deck. I placed my tangle hair in a ponytail as I ran into Gibbs carrying a plate of breakfast. He handed it to me as I smiled gratefully.

"Why thank you, Gibbs." I said ready to dig into the grub as he shook his head.

"Not for you Irena. For Will." I glared looking up at him.

"Then why don't you or one of the crew give it to him?"

"Because you're the only one that can look at him without wanting to run a sword through him, if just barely."

"Barley." I growled marching down to the brig. Great I have to see Will after our dramatic confrontation yesterday. Alright I was the dramatic one, he just listened. I stomped down the stairs and muttered.

"Will here's your breakfast……Will?" I asked looking into the empty cell.

The blacksmith was gone.

The plate fell from my hands clattering onto the wooden floor. I jumped and turned running up the stairs. I ran smack into Jack as I made my way onto the deck.

"Woah love, what's the problem? Cat got your tongue?" I pointed down the stairs leading to the brig.

"Jack, Will's gone!"

"Oh, so you've figured that out then."

"Of course I did, he wasn't in his cell. Where is he?" I demanded placing my hands on my hips glaring daggers at the pirate. Jack sighed and placed an arm around my shoulder leading me to the back of the ship. We sat down on some stray crates as Jack mournfully explained.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, love, truly am. But last night dear William escaped from his confines and jumped ship."

"Jumped ship?" He nodded as I looked out to sea.

"So you're telling me he's floating around on the ocean somewhere?" I asked near hysterical, my anger towards Will vanishing as concern took over. Jack shrugged easily seemingly undisturbed about Will's location.

"Maybe or maybe he's safely on a ship with Beckett, who knows? Except for William and the people he could be and most likely is with."

"Beckett, what would he have to do with it? Wait, are you saying he betrayed us…again?" I cried out my anger coming back full force as Jack nodded.

"Pretty much."

"How could he do this to us…again?"

"Once a betrayer always a betrayer, trust me on this, I'm a betrayer." I nodded, it was true, Jack betrayed anyone if it would help him.

"I just can't believe it. It was hard enough the first time but now, he's practically leading Beckett to our door." I said softly slumping forward.

"Could be, probably is."

"You seem alright with that." I noted looking him over as he shrugged.

"I'm not. I want the pirates to win just as much as you do. And besides I'm angry at the whelp, because of him Lizzie's gone." I faintly smiled.

"Something tells me you care for Elizabeth more then you let on." He shrugged but I swear I saw his cheeks turning a slight pink tone.

"She's Lizzie that's all." I smiled unconvinced as he glared down at me.

"Now don't go thinking something that's not true love, Lizzie is just Lizzie to me. Even if she is the first woman to ever really entice me and she challenges me in every way possible. Besides I have to give her some respect she did after all kill me and I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"You know she feels awful about that, it's been eating away at her ever since it happened. She thinks you hate her for it." I admitted softly as he looked mildly surprised.

"That's odd; I'd forgiven her long ago. Guess I should tell her that." I smacked his shoulder.

"You think?" I remarked sarcastically as Jack chuckled rolling his dark brown eyes. We sat in silence for awhile before Jack nudged me smiling teasingly.

"If we on the subject of love lives what about you and the whelp?" I sighed looking down.

"We're nothing at the moment. I don't even know if we're friends."

"Interesting." He murmured to himself as I raised an eyebrow gazing at the pirate.

"What'd you say?" He shook his head smirking deviously.

"Nothing love. Let's talk of something else, love is boring me."

"Agreed." I leaned back on the crate and stared ahead at the sea.

"You know, I've been thinking of the tragic life of Jones." Jack looked surprised at me as I continued.

"He really has had it rough. He is forced to do a duty which takes him away from all that he knows and the one day he can step on land the woman he loves and who he gave up everything for is not there. Forcing him to become the monster that he is. It just seems so…heartbreaking." I murmured softly as Jack shrugged taking a sip from a bottle of rum.

"Speaking of hearts all one has to do is stab his and become immortal. Sounds like a bargain to me, sailing the seas forever never to die." I looked at Jack questioningly quirking an eyebrow.

"It's foolish to hope to live forever. Becoming immortal is like chasing the horizon. You can chase it all you like but you'll never reach it. We're all going to die Jack be it today or 50 years from now. But we are going to die." He looked down at me seriously.

"Most of us are going to die. Some who are lucky enough to find immortality will stay alive…forever."

"Why do you want to be immortal?" I asked, it was clear he did. He looked dreamy when he talked of immortality.

"Well I guess it has to do with what my mum use to tell me when I was a wee lad. She used to say this all the time. When you die you cease to exist. Love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow and I can't cease to exist. The moment I leave this earth some alluring and forbidden treasure will sprout up and I won't be able to find it. I need to stay alive and see what the world has to offer me. I need to fill in all the blank edges of the map and go beyond. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow and I don't want to die."

I looked at him a long time and as I opened my mouth to speak I was cut off by someone yelling.

"Land ho!" We quickly stood up and headed to the front with everyone else as Shipwreck Island loomed ahead of us. A surge of excitement traveled throughout my body. I would be attending the most important meeting in pirate history.

I followed as Jack and Gibbs as Gibbs bellowed out.

"Look alive and keep a weather eye, not for naught it's Called Shipwreck Island, where lie Shipwreck Cove and the town of Shipwreck!"

"You know for all that pirates are clever clogs we are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." Jack remarked as I nodded, you can say that again.

"Aye." Gibbs agreed as Jack turned to us and stated.

"I once sailed with a geezer lost both of his arms and part of his eye."

"What did you call him?" I curiously asked as he sheepishly responded.

"Larry." He walked up to the helm with Gibbs and me staring at his retreating form. We shared a look but then he walked away yelling at everyone to stay steady as we slowly made our way through the Devil's Throat.

I stayed rooted in my spot as we finally emerged unscratched and unharmed from the passage. I gasped as I hurried to the railing; we were in a crater in the center of a volcano so it was unusually hot.

I stared gapingly along with everyone else as we gazed at the town of Shipwreck. It was entirely made of shipwrecks with towering towers made of every sip imagined.

"There's not been a gathering like this in our lifetime." Barbossa exclaimed as Jack muttered from next to him.

"And I owe them all money." Barbossa rolled his eyes at Jack as I continued staring ahead; my body was surging with energy. Here I was a simple princess now at the most important pirate meeting of all time. I was going against all society and rules by helping pirates.

I was ready.

(Please R and R! I do not own Pirates!)