A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :)
...& I'm sorry for the late update! My school has gone absolutely crazy this year. I'll try to keep the updates once a week, but if from time to time it would take me more than one week to update, please don't think that I abandoned the story:)
...& as for the story itself... we have 10-15 more chapters till the end! :)
Warning: character's death
Disclaimer: Disney owns PotC.
Chapter 55
"A reception committeer," Will rolled his eyes when Ameerah had thanked him and politely excused herself from his and his father's company.
"Doesn't sound too bad," observed Bill Turner good-humoredly.
Will looked at him, and sighed. "I wish I could get off this ship," he said in a low voice, resting his elbows on the railing.
His father patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "You'll get over this, it will go away, and one day-"
"I'll meet somebody else who will make me happy. I know," said Will with a wry smile, a hint of impatience in his voice.
"Ah, well," Bill sighed, giving his son a sympathetic smile.
"No sign of other ships behind us?" James broke into the conversation, straining his eyes and looking out at the sea.
Will turned around, grateful for the change of topic. "No. They don't seem to follow," he said somberly.
"Well said, Mr. Turner," said James, glancing at his grim face, but choosing not to comment on it. "They don't seem to indeed."
Will shifted his eyes to James, trying to shake off his thoughts that had flooded him all of a sudden, chaotic memories of sunny days in Port Royal, surreptitious glances, hopeful smiles, hopeless dreams... They all seemed so distant – and they were all fading away somehow, even though a shadow of bitterness and glumness still lingered over his every thought that had something to do with Elizabeth.
"Do you think they know where we're going?" asked Will, wrinkling his forehead.
James snorted under his breath. "I have no doubt they do," said James, his eyes fixed on the ocean.
"Maybe the heart is so well-guarded on land that they don't need to follow us to make sure we wouldn't get it," said Will speculatively.
"Maybe," agreed James after a pause. "But I wouldn't be that optimistic," he added, glancing at the sea one more time before walking away and heading for the helm.
"Why can't it always be like this?"
Jack kissed Elizabeth on the shoulder, her back pressed against his chest, their eyes taking in the sea outside of the small cabin window. "It can," he said, burying his face in her hair, inhaling deeply.
Elizabeth smiled, stroking Jack's shin with her foot. "No, I mean... why can't we stay like that forever."
"In here?" he asked in a muffled voice.
"In an embrace," corrected Elizabeth smilingly.
"We can. We can walk around holding hands, we can man the helm..." he hesitated, "woman the helm..." Elizabeth giggled, "marriage the helm together... There's nothing that can't be arranged, Lizzie-luv."
"Jack..." Elizabeth turned around in his arms. "Tell me about that deal with Davy Jones," she said in a low voice, looking him deeply in the eyes.
Jack groaned, and then pulled her roughly against him, capturing his lips in a fervent kiss. She returned the kiss, gently cupping the side of his face with her hand.
"Tell me," she breathed, breaking the kiss. As much as she knew her commanding tone to be quite effective more often than not, she also knew that if his mind was set on not telling her something, it was better to take a different approach. "Jack, tell me."
He rested his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes. His hand slid into Elizabeth's hair, picking single strands and twirling them around his fingers.
"We'll get to Port Royal, find the heart-"
"Jack."
"And then-"
"Jack, I don't want to hear what will happen," Elizabeth draped her leg over his, her hand gliding down his arm. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a pout. "I want to know what happened. What deal have you made?"
He twitched his nose and sighed in exasperation, but then his eyes brightened, and he gave her a small, impish smile. "Persuade me," he said in a husky voice, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"And what else do you think I'm doing?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
Jack widened his eyes at her. "Surely it wasn't yer only motivation?" he asked with a pout, returning her smile when she smiled.
For a while they just looked at each other in silence, until Elizabeth lost hope that Jack was going to tell her anything at all. She propped herself on an elbow, and narrowed her eyes at him, trying to come up with a threat good enough to make him talk. Jack watched her with amusement flickering in his eyes; amusement, and that exhilarating kind of admiration that always made her feel as if she was the most wonderful person in the world.
At last something came to her mind, and she reached for one of his dreadlocks, fluttering it in front of his face. "If you won't tell me, I will eat it," she said in a serious voice, bringing a joyful smile on his face.
"Be my guest, luv. You may even eat more than one," he said, smirking.
Elizabeth fell onto the pillows with a sigh, pulling the cover over her, and casting her eyes on the ceiling. "I guess you will never really trust me," she said quietly.
Jack's smile quickly turned into a frown. "I do trust you, 'Lizbeth," he said firmly, leaning over her, propping his head on an elbow, and taking one of her hands in his, sliding his fingers in between hers.
Elizabeth slowly shifted her gaze to their entwined hands. "If you do trust me, you should tell me," she said seriously.
Jack looked at her for a moment in silence, a part of him still relishing with wonder the simple fact of having her so near – having her as his wife so near, the thought making him smile no matter how grim were the circumstances they were in. As long as he could just reach out and feel her heartbeat under his fingertips all was well in the world.
"Jones wants his heart back in three days," he said in a low voice, causing Elizabeth's head to quickly turn toward him. "Calypso wants the heart as well. Our... time friend wants the heart to be stabbed. Beckett wants the heart to be stabbed. That's all," Jack smiled, but then narrowed his eyes in a grimace. "Unless I forgot somebody..."
"Jack!" Elizabeth sat up, looking at him incredulously. "This is unsolvable!" she said with a huff of exasperation, looking away.
"Lizzie-luv," Jack pushed himself to an upright position, smirking at the careless way in which she kept the cover wrapped around herself, and which was at the moment, due to that fact, not covering much. "I'm Captain Jack Spa-"
"And I'm Captain Jack Sparrow's wife, and I'm telling you that this is unsolvable!" she snapped in a loud voice. Jack winced. "Why did you make the deal with Jones again?" she asked quietly, a sudden suspicion quickly forming itself in her mind.
Jack turned away from her, and sat on the other edge of the bed, reaching for his clothes. "Well, I think I'll go to take the helm now-"
"Jack," Elizabeth swiftly crawled toward him, placing her hands on his shoulders from behind and stopping his movements. "That... vision that I had, that... hallucination that I thought was real," she swallowed, staring at the back of his head in dismay. "It was real, wasn't it? It really happened. You were... you are... you..." she shook her head remembering the moment when she had seen the silver dust falling over him.
"Lizzie," Jack turned around, pulling her onto his lap. "That was my choice."
Elizabeth closed her eyes, putting a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. "You were right when you said that you keep saving my life, while I keep taking yours," she whispered shakily. "I did it again."
"You didn't do anything," Jack cradled her face in his hands, and she opened her eyes, hot tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "And I'm not dead either. Yet," he added, risking a smile, and brushing the tears off her face with his thumbs. But it only made Elizabeth cry even more. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed warm kisses to his cheek and his lips.
"You shouldn't have come for me," she said quietly in a quivering voice.
"I'd come for you to the inside of a volcano, to the middle of the sea, and to the hell itself, Lizzie," he said propping her chin with his hand. "There's nothing you could do or say to stop me from coming for you," he added with a smile and kissed her. "Remember that."
She smiled brokenly, leaning into him. "I love you," she whispered, running her hands over his face, his neck, his shoulders.
"It's hardly surprising considering what I've just said," answered Jack with a twitch of his nose, and a flash of amusement in his eyes. Elizabeth hit him playfully on the shoulder, smiling through her drying tears. "Not to mention all the things I'd done before I said that," added Jack with a roguish smile.
Elizabeth laughed, pressing her lips to his neck. "Jack!" she drew back, trying to catch the cover that he had snatched away from her, throwing it onto a chair.
"What is it, luv?" he asked, gently pushing her onto her back, and hovering over her.
She smiled, cupping the side of his face with her hand. "I thought you were going to take the helm?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I actually changed me mind," he said nuzzling her hand, and leaning down, his dreadlocks brushing against Elizabeth's skin and making her giggle. "I think I will take something else first," he added, grinning. Elizabeth laughed and opened her mouth to retort, but her answer got lost in the heat that suddenly took her breath away...
"Captain Fiero."
Ameerah's hand dropped to her side before she had the time to knock on the Captain's Quarters door. She turned around with a smile. "Your Highness," she gave James a small nod, her eyes studying his face with intensity that seemed to counter her smile, or at least was making it seem less genuine.
James smiled, not showing any signs of being surprised by her knowledgeable remark. "Perhaps you would like to join us for a meal in the galley?"
"Oh, that's very thoughtful, thank you," she said, still smiling, but not moving an inch away from the door.
James waited for a moment for her to do or say something yet, but she just looked at him. "Is there anything I could help you with?" he asked, a part of him wondering why exactly was he acting as some kind of a guard to Jack... and Elizabeth of course, but that was more understandable... even though it perhaps should not be, considering- He scolded himself inwardly for his useless musings. Elizabeth certainly had an uncanny ability to get into one's head... but getting her out of one's head was much more difficult.
"Are you yet another reception committeer, Admiral?" she asked with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes, although there was a hint of a vague warning in her voice.
But James looked at her with such calmness, that it caused a glimpse of confusion flash across her face.
"I hope that you had fair weather on your way from Shipwreck Cove, captain," said James levelly.
"I did," answered Ameerah with a smile. "Had I come a while earlier, I would've witnessed the voting," she added, finally taking a step away from the door.
James smiled. "You were in Shipwreck Cove, then."
Ameerah's eyes slightly narrowed. "I spoke with Captain Teague," she said, slightly annoyed by her inner, abstract urge to explain herself.
"It is a curious thing, then," said James, clasping his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on her, "that you have heard about the elections, but have not heard about Captain Sparrow getting married," he said, glancing at the door.
Ameerah's mouth twitched, and it took her a moment to think of a sharp reply, but before she opened her mouth to speak, James gave her a small, slightly sardonic smile, and turned around, heading for the galley.
She sighed irritatedly and watched him go, slowly tucking her hair behind her ear.
Very cautiously and careful not to wake her, Jack quietly disentangled himself from Elizabeth's embrace and the bedsheets. He brushed her hair off her face and softly kissed her on the lips. Elizabeth smiled in her sleep, snuggling into a pillow.
Perhaps it was slightly unfair to exhaust her so much that she had fallen asleep in the middle of the day, although it was not his primary intention...
He smirked, and trailed a few kisses down her arm before sliding off the bed and grabbing his shirt from the floor.
He needed to have a conversation with their unexpected guest, and it was rather fortuitous if Elizabeth would miss it. She would only be unnecessarily annoyed by the idea, even if his only motivation was to find out what was the reason for that visit, as well as... asking Ameerah not to aggraviate Elizabeth on every possible occasion.
Jack snorted to himself under his breath, pulling on his boot. Of course he would not ask that of her, because it would only encourage her to aggraviate Elizabeth even more.
He walked around the bed in search of his other boot which Elizabeth had thrown somewhere in the corner. He bent down to pick it up, and sat in a chair to put it on, his eyes shifting to Elizabeth who stirred in her sleep.
For a moment he just looked at her. She slept so peacefully, and he wanted to believe that it was because she felt safe here, safe on the Black Pearl, safe with him... and not because she was simply tired. He looked away, absently scanning the surroundings. It was another thing how safe she really was... He had told the Governor that no life could guarantee perfect safety, and that was true... But now it suddenly dawned at him that for once he actually wished that it would have been possible to make sure that she was perfectly safe...
He stood up, and went over to the bed, carefully tucking the cover around Elizabeth's shoulders before walking out of the cabin and quietly closing the door behind him.
His thoughts seemed to be scattered everywhere... but in his mind. They were swirling around him, he could almost see them, but could not catch them... They lingered just out of reach, just an inch too far for him to understand them... Calypso's words echoed in his head but he could not grasp their meaning... Neither could he grasp the meaning of her tone, so strangely remorseful...
"Love' s not pain."
Subconsciously, he extended his hand with the silver gun and fired, silver dust falling over the body of the dying man whose eyes fluttered shut, the surprise in them fading away along with his life.
"What do we do with him, Sir?"
"And what do you do with the cargo that no longer has any value, Mr. Mercer?"
The voices drifted to him as if out of nowhere, and he blinked trying to focus on what was happening.
"Love's freedom." She had said those words with that all knowing, chilling smile, and for a brief moment he had just wanted to turn around and run... Her words made no sense and it irritated him that she was saying them. It was her fault in the first place. It was her who had bargained her own freedom sending her into the past, wasn't it? ...Into the past and...into his arms?...
He closed his eyes vaguely remembering holding her, holding Elizabeth when she had fainted...
"He might have been useful..."
"Mr. Mercer. Are you questioning my orders?"
The rest of the conversation escaped him. He turned around, glancing through the veil of sparkling silver falling over Barbossa's body, and catching a glimpse of a man in a white wig.
...And he absently thought it strange, that a person destined to live for such a long time should have such a sharp, unpleasant voice.
"You should've invited me for the wedding."
Jack widened his eyes in surprise at finding Ameerah standing right in front of the Captain's Quarters door when he opened it.
"Didn't have the time to send any invitations," he said, giving her a small smile, and stepping into the corridor.
"Smart girl. Didn't give ye the time to change yer mind," Ameerah narrowed her eyes at him in a smile.
Jack snorted under his breath. "Actually it was the other way around," he smiled, and Ameerah found herself annoyed by the strange expression that appeared on his face; she could almost see memories flashing through his mind and it brought back some of her own memories. She returned his smile with difficulty.
"Are you surprised or simply not happy with the fact that I'm here?" she asked in a more serious tone, turning around to face him, and blocking his way down the stairs.
Jack widened his eyes at her. "Not at all," he said, gently moving her aside, and walking past her. "As I've mentioned before... we're in a hurry-"
"In a predicament, you mean," cut in Ameerah following him down to the rum cellar.
He opened his mouth to start a sentence with an endearment, but quickly remembered not to. "Constantly," he grinned. "But the remedy is quite attainable, time being the only real source of trouble at the moment," he said, pulling out a collection of keys, and scrutinizing them in the half-darkness, his forehead wrinkled.
Ameerah laughed. "You seem to be forgetting all those neatly lined up ships that are not far behind."
"That's a more general predicament," said Jack, putting one of the keys into the lock and pushing the door open.
"And one that a married man is not that concerned with, aye?" Ameerah walked into the cellar after him, taking a lamp from the corridor's wall and placing it on one of the cellar's shelves.
Jack stood with his back turned to her, his eyes scanning the rows of rum bottles. "It's in the past, Amee," he said in a low voice, pulling out two bottles of rum, turning around, and handing her one of the bottles.
She snorted, slowly taking the bottle from his hand, looking at him intently. "I'm not being mean. Neither am I trying to remind you that you once said you couldn't marry me 'cause that would ruin your name," she said glancing at him while uncorking the bottle. Then she squinted and grimaced. "Did I just say it?"
"You did," agreed Jack with a humorless smile, gesturing for her to seat down.
"Either my sense of humor lost its quality, or you don't find my sense of humor to your liking anymore," she said taking a seat on one of the barrels.
Jack sat down opposite from her and did not smile. "May I inquire..." he knitted his eyebrows, shifting his eyes from the rum to her, "as to the reason for your most amiable, of course, visit?"
Ameerah took a swig from her bottle, the drink not burning her throat half as much as his words did. "One would think I've done something wrong," she said putting the half-empty bottle away and crossing her arms over her chest.
Jack looked away for a moment, rubbing his temple. "You came to discuss the events that occurred more than five years ago, then?" he asked in a low, serious voice, looking back at her.
She smiled and tilted her head backwards, resting it against the wall. "The events that occurred. Oh Jack," she laughed and shook her head, but after a few moments her facial expression turned solemn, and she returned her eyes to him. "It was more then that," she said quietly, swiftly getting up, and sitting back down on the barrel right next to Jack, who at the same moment with equal swiftness rose to his feet.
Ameerah bit the inside of her cheek. "Don't tell me you're going to be an exemplary husband from now on," she said, forcing an amused smile, and standing up as well.
"Why not?" asked Jack, attempting to sound lighthearted. "Seems to be only right to behave commendably when one is in command, aye?" he grinned, and quickly took a swig from his bottle, trying to come up with some kind of solution. Apparently, Captain Fiero's mind was firmly set on something, and whether she had some external reasons, or was simply aggravated by the news of his marriage, it was going to cause trouble. And the last thing that he needed at the moment was having Elizabeth to be upset with him for no reason. And upset Elizabeth was a very unpredictable phenomenon. And having so many people, entities, and other creations after them it was better to be in control of everything. And unpredictable Elizabeth was not something to be easily controlled. Not that a happy Elizabeth was easy to control, but still. He smiled to himself and sighed inwardly, wondering when keeping her safe became his most important priority. In a sense it must have been already on the day when they had first met... Both times, actually, he thought with a smirk. When she had come to him in the past it was also her safety that troubled him, the inner necessity to make sure that nothing, absolutely nothing bad could have happened to her-
"Jack!"
He cringed and widened his eyes at Ameerah.
"Are you listening to me?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
Jack raised his finger and said in a serious voice: "I forgot my hat," and with that turned around and headed out of the cellar, leaving Ameerah with a confused look on her face. It was not exactly the reply she had expected to receive upon telling him that her feelings have not changed...
"Where have you been?"
Calypso spun around, her lips slowly stretching into a broad smile. "Have you missed me?" she asked, slowly walking toward the organ, her steps soundless, her sparkling eyes barely visible in the almost perfect darkness.
Davy Jones was sitting at his instrument with his back turned to her, a weak orange flame of a single candle illuminating the golden locket lying next to it. "Why should I miss you?" he asked sternly. "You come and go... don't expect you to return when you disappear anymore," he said in a sharp voice, not quite succeeding in sounding more bitter than sad.
Calypso stopped right behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders, slowly sliding them down his arms. He stiffened, but did not push her hands away. She smiled.
"Every journey has an end," she said leaning down, her lips hovering close to his ear. "Every end is a reversed beginning..." she pressed her cheek to his, and his eyes widened at the sensation, a strange feeling overwhelming him, as incomprehensible as the fact that his skin – where it was touching hers - felt human again. "Because every beginning starts at the end..." she encircled his chest with her arms and closed her eyes. "Ye have to trust me. I risked everything 'cause I trust ye... but ye need to believe in me."
Davy Jones sighed, letting his eyelids fall over his eyes. "Believe in you," he echoed almost absently, for the first time allowing his memories flicker freely across his mind.
"Aye. Ye said it was all done 'cause of love, so..." she brushed her lips over his cheek. "So it shall be undone with love... if love... is really what it should be..."
"And if it is not?" he asked in a hollow voice, opening his eyes, and her eyes fluttered open as well. They looked for a moment at the dying candle, the flame disappearing into the dark air, a faint shadow of smoke lingering in the darkness for a moment yet. Calypso pressed her lips to Davy Jones' ear, and whispered in a gentle voice:
"If it's not... then we're all lost."
