Chapter 24
The governor looked inside the crates finding what he had hope for. The book, as he had heard from other sources, was nothing special: It was small enough that it would be possible to be hidden in a pocket, and it was of a dark brown color. At the first page, there were several names with dates and with a number next to them; what seemed to imply the page where they could be found. Despite everything, the caligraphy of some was barely recognizable and he could only read easily two names: Ponce de León and Galileo.
"Ah, I'm glad whoever had the information was telling the truth about this book."
"Aren't you afraid that Villanueva has told them?" he heard from behind "At least to Sparrow?"
"Maybe he has, but why should I fear that?" he asked, shrugging "After all, we can always tell them that it was a mission of the king… Not that it's a big lie, don't you think, commodore Douglas?"
"Maybe not, but I think that you're underestimating Sparrow too much. One thing is to trust in Norrington… He was in the Navy for years and something like that can't be erased in a couple of months. But Sparrow?"
The governor smiled vaguely "You forget that thanks to him we've captured this book and a fearsome pirate… No, I'm not afraid of Jack Sparrow for the moment. I think he'll stay with us for a long time, even if he doesn't quite like it completely." He turned a bit to look at Douglas "Besides, we've done everything in our power to continue to like him and he has provided a good service."
"In what, I wonder?" Douglas mocked a bit.
"That I can't tell you, my friend… But I'll discover thanks to Sparrow a terrifying enemy who has betrayed my trust." The governor patted the other in the back "Don't you worry, I have everything under control."
"I hope so."
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(ELIZABETH'S POV)
Elizabeth was glad that Captain Teague had given her back the rental place he had given her before, telling her that her company would at least bring something. She had thanked him for it and she was glad that she had saved the clothes she had left there in a chest. She also put there the money that Tai Huang had given her, which she had managed to save from Vane's greedy hands.
Along with her went Jìng Yì and she practically brought in what any of her last servants would have done when she had been a young lady in Port Royal and, to some extent, Elizabeth was grateful because she had missed some of that treatment.
They had been in the place for several weeks since Will had left them; seven months had already passed and her pregnancy was so noticeable that there was no way to hide it on the island. Not that some pirates there thought it was a problem for her, because she had shown that she was capable of giving orders around there, of being fair about any problem…
What's more, as that time passed, Elizabeth had noticed that people seemed to look at her with quite a bit of admiration and it felt good that they trusted her so much.
In that time, she had also tried to find a way to get some information on what Vane was planning. It was obvious that he wanted both Will's heart and the Philosopher's Stone, and all that was also related to what James and Jack had in Port Royal.
She had also found a small sloop to give to Ana María and a few men had left with her a few days ago. She hoped the woman was alright, but since they'd had an encounter with Vane not long ago, she was somewhat afraid of what the other might possibly find herself in.
With a big sigh, she sat down on the large chair in the living room. She was pretty tired and she was glad she just had to deal with supplies for the island and a few minor problems with some pirates, even if she was waiting for her pregnancy to end.
"You weigh a lot, you know?" she spoke, putting a hand on her belly.
She knew it was supposedly a gift, but after having made that deal with Calypso to stay loyal to Will for ten years and what Will had said about it being a present, she couldn't trust the goddess one bit and was trying to think in what had been said and if something could be interpreted differently.
In theory, her pregnancy and probably her baby would keep her busy and she would hardly have time to think of anyone other than Will… At least, she was pretty sure of it. And, furthermore, in Shipwreck Cove there were only four types of people: Older men who had been pirates and couldn't sail, a few wives of some pirates, some prostitutes, and pirates who came and went as fast as they could… None of those seemed interesting to her in a romantic sense.
"Ye're thinkin' too loud, yer majesty."
She would have almost jumped from her seat, but relaxed quickly when her brain processed who had spoken.
"Captain Teague." she greeted him "To what do I owe the honor?"
"The ship I sent to gather information is back already and… To be honest with ye, it doesn't exactly make much more sense." he told her.
"What have they learned? From Vane?" Elizabeth turned to stare at him.
"Apparently, Vane hasn't only been searchin' for this objects, but also a magic dagger… One where he could put all the power of the philosopher stone."
This one frowned, but shook her head "Alright… A philosopher's stone, Will's heart, and a magic dagger. We know that the stone is related to life and death, and we know about the Dutchman's curse… But what use can a magic dagger with the stone's powers give him? What does he intend to use it for?"
Teague shook his head "I've no idea, lass… But I'm afraid this also is related with why Jackie would give up so much of his freedom and with that young lad who obviously wasn't exactly his mate to begin with."
"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning. Although, she wasn't sure to what part she was referring or if it was all.
"Yer majesty… I'm an old man, but I'm not stupid. I know who that 'mate' of his is, I met his father long ago and he's just like him… At least definitively on the outside." he laughed and almost cackled when seeing the dumbfounded expression that Elizabeth had, but decided to go on anyway "As for the other… I've known Jackie since he was just a baby and he yearned for his freedom, to control his life… Gettin' back to where he started and also givin' up his piece is not exactly what he would do, no matter the reasons."
"So you think that something else is happening?" Elizabeth finally asked, taking a deep breath.
"I know that there's somethin' or someone behind, but I don't know wha' or who it is." he answered.
Elizabeth gulped, a bit afraid of him "Then, if you knew James… Why didn't you say something?" It wasn't what she had wanted to ask, but in any case…
"It wasn't exactly my duty and the boy already seemed tormented enough for me to torture him by tellin' everyone his name." he replied, shrugging "And, despite wha' my son may think of me, I don't kill everyone randomly… At least, at my age."
He laughed at his own comment.
"And…" she smiled doubtfully and wetted her lips "What more do you know?"
"Wha' more should I know, yer majesty?" he replied but shook his head, as if he knew what she feared "If ye mean wha' I'm thinkin', then aye, I heard about tha'. Like I said, I know my son well enough to know tha' he would never tell me the whole truth and, although I wondered at first why it would be, I'm almost sure I know why."
"... Oh?" Elizabeth was able to mention, gulping "And… Why is that?" she asked, even if she didn't knew if they were even thinking on the same.
"Because Jackie respects ye and admires ye quite a bit… And because, I can see somethin' growin'. I can't say it's love, because I don't think he'll ever love somethin' other than the sea or the Pearl, but let's say 'like'… And he hasn't directed that feelin' in many people in his life, lass." he answered with a serious look and Elizabeth bit her lip "I know ye're a kind person, despite all yer pirate traits, and I prefer my boy with a few friends on hand. And if Jackie has made this decision, then ye're one of his friends. But I'm warning ye now… If ye hurt my boy again, physically or otherwise, I won't be so nice, understood?"
Elizabeth nodded frantically "... Understood." she uttered.
"Good, now that we've dealt with tha'... Does somethin' come to mind about this business that Vane is tryin' to make?"
Elizabeth took a deep breath, trying to recover her senses and tried to think.
No matter what was happening in Port Royal, the real danger was Charles Vane and why he was doing all this. A magic dagger, a stone of life and death, and Will's heart… All related. If she thought about it really well, Vane's idea was to kill Will, that was pretty obvious, but she doubted that he wanted to become the captain of the Flying Dutchman…
'Wait a moment…' she though, an idea shaping in her mind.
"I think that I'm starting to know what he pretends to do…" she started, calling Teague's attention "Obviously, he wants to kill Will with the magic dagger that will have the power of the philosopher stone… If that stone is related to life and death, maybe its properties will allow Vane to kill Will without turning out into the captain of the Flying Dutchman."
Teague nodded slowly "Aye… I can see tha' bein' possible. But, why doing all this? He obviously doesn't gain immortality if he does tha' and in tha' way he won't gain the ship either."
Elizabeth tried to think but shook her head "I don't know, really…"
She winced, knowing she wasn't being entirely honest. If she really thought about it, she was beginning to suspect that all of this was somehow related to Calypso and she was trying to remember what she had promised the goddess… She remembered that Calypso had asked her not to mention anything to anyone, but she couldn't tell if Calypso had been referring to the conversation that had occurred or to the deal made with her. However… It was more possible that it was about the deal and she didn't need to mention it literally, anyway. Besides, what or who exactly told her that Calypso hadn't cheated as well? She frowned.
"Captain Teague." she heard herself saying and this one looked at her "Can people give their heart, metaphorically speaking, to someone else if they already love another person?"
Teague raised his eyebrows, as if he was asking himself what all that had to do with the rest, but sighed. "Of course they can, lass. Ye're givin' yer heart to yer baby, for example… And if ye had good friendships, ye would also be already givin' it. Love can have many forms and shapes, yer majesty, and lovin' just one person seems completely impossible… But I can't see wha' this is all about."
Elizabeth didn't answer immediately and seriously thought about it… Calypso had obviously done that deliberately, knowing she would never win.
'She wants to keep Will as her captain and she also mentioned she was going to punish the rest of the pirate lords…'
"I think…" she answered finally "That this has to do with Calypso, somehow. She had a talk with me in a dream and mentioned that she wanted to get revenge on the pirate lords… However, this is obviously more than simply vengeance. Somehow, something more is afoot."
"Always gods everywhere…" Teague huffed "So Calypso must have told Jack to give up his freedom, threatening his life most likely."
Elizabeth nodded "... And she probably told James to follow Jack if he wanted to get his life back… Or maybe she told him to help Jack in exchange for letting him come back to life." She shrugged, apologizing to the other who was raising an eyebrow "Technically he was dead."
Teague shook his head and let out a tired sigh "But how is all tha' related with Vane killin' the captain of the Flying Dutchman without gainin' a thin' for himself?"
Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head, without knowing the answer, but something interrupted them from behind.
"It's related because that damn Vane made a little deal with old Poseidon." a person interrupted them.
Elizabeth turned her head, already prepared to scream at the person, but she was left speechless and her eyes widened "Jack!" She got up.
"Hello, Lizzie" this one smiled, albeit with remorse "I see that pregnancy fits ye like a glove."
"Jack…" she warned, narrowing her eyes "I'm this 'close' at hitting you."
"Come on, Lizzie… Don't overdo it… It won't be good for the baby."
Teague laughed at that, getting up and patting his son on the back "Son, it'll be better to treat her majesty good." Jack made a little bow and raised his hands "Now… What's all tha' ye have said about Poseidon? And who is the little lass?"
Jack gulped a bit and grimaced "None of ye is goin' to like this part."
Elizabeth paled a bit, but asked anyway "What have you done, Jack?"
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&&& A.N.: Happy birthday to me! XD hahahah I was going to publish a few days before, but I imagined that it would be a better plan doing it on my birthday and put two chapters :) We're getting closer to the end; obviously there'll be things that will be left unsolved to some extent since there will be a sequel (hopefully) so... As always, please, please, some comments since it's my day? *-* And thank you everyone for still reading! ^^ &&&