One More Taste of Freedom
15 en route
Disclaimer: See the previous chapter.
Author's Note: Wowee, I'm back again. I am seriously lovin' the JE thing. It makes me all giggly to write / read. I didn't even MEAN to write it, and then it just happened - with the poking and prodding of some friends who shall remain nameless. Plus I've always been a JE shipper, I just didn't think I could write them, but its gettin' good feedback. So what do you guys think? Go for it? - shrugs - I'm enjoying writing the interaction and obvious chemistry even if it isn't full blown coupledom. To those who are part of the BtVS fandom, I also sometimes see them as kinda a Spike / Dawn. So I don't know. My only worry with noncanon pairings ( even though this one seems to be hella popular and ENTIRELY likely ) is that I am always worried about makin' people OOC. So as long as I'm not making that mistake then I'm fine, I guess. And I don't think she would just say 'Will, screw you. Bye.' So what's to be done without turnin' it into a threesome ( and I don't see Jack or Will being anything but straight, personally, but if that's your thing .. ) or killing the whelp? Which I'm sure I'll get bitched at for. Blah, okay, I'm done ranting.
morph: God, I know! I was gettin' all sniffly writing it. But it just said 'writeee mee' for some reason. Maybe cos in my head I was thinking how I'd be murdering me some pirates if they did that to Jack. Can't even put into words how awesome he is - the dopey grin on my face in the last five of the movie is only partially cos he's gorgeous & Johnny rocks to insane levels - truth be told, I'm just damn -proud- of the guy. Gettin' his boat back, screwin' the system, ect, ect. So yah, poor Jack. He shall be avenged! Eventually. x.X;
ON WITH THE SHOW!
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Hovering over the wounded pirate, Elizabeth appeared almost motherly, her position was one that was defensive. Having tried unsuccessfully to move him over to the bed, where she could access the damage done, her plan of action had become to at least shield him from a repeat performance. From his spot against the wall, Will strained so that he could see what was going on, questioning the wellbeing of his friend now and then. Though mostly he sat in silence, not wanting to provoke another attack on anyone. Elizabeth was quietly seething, first Will, now Jack - these bastards were going to pay. Pintel's statement had not been unheard, and all three held captive knew exactly what sort of business they were going to be getting down to.
With a nod from their elected leader the crew assembled in the room removed Elizabeth from the floor, much to her dismay, and then attempted to do the same to Jack and Will.
"On yer feet, lad." Ragetti laughed, taking hold of Will's arm and pulling him from the bed.
With the rest he had gotten, and the passing of time, Will was now able to stand on his own. Which was something at least, Elizabeth thought, watching him to make sure he wouldn't stumble. He was still of course not in top condition, but he was extremely less likely to pass out at any moment. Jack on the other hand was a completely different story. But, with the 'help' of a few men, he was already on his feet. The advantage here being that, unlike Will, he'd only been beaten once, and he was using the wall as means of support.
Jack's shirt was torn in a few places, adding to his already tattered appearance, but there was no blood to be seen. Elizabeth guessed that, like Will, he'd have a few cracked ribs, and eventually, one hell of a black eye.
His broken appearance made her want to cry even more, but tears would come for all three of them later. It is one thing to see a man battered and bruised, but it is another thing entirely when that man is someone like Jack Sparrow. Someone who was completely in love with life and had a charm and light that followed him - it was almost ironic to see him in such a condition. Painfully ironic, she realized, as the gravity of their situation settled in.
Her gaze darted back and forth between both of her companions, and she stayed firmly planted in between them, so that she was at equal distance at all times, should either of them need her. But, their kidnappers were making it painfully clear that they were all three expected to go somewhere now, and neither Jack nor Will was in the position to be making any sort of escape. So, if they were to 'get down to business' now, they'd most definitely end up dead.
"Can't you see they're both hurt?" Elizabeth glared at Ragetti, trying her best to stall.
Everyone needed to recover, and think up a suitable means of escape, and then all would not be lost. As it was now.
"Well," Pintel started, answering for his friend, "they don't have to be in healthy condition before they die. S'not just gonna be a prick of the finger, like last time, poppet."
Why did it always have to be blood sacrifice?
'Because, Elizabeth' the voice in her head answered, 'that is the way of your world. Nothing goes right. You even managed to screw up a perfectly good fairy tale because you were simply bored. Now look at you, weeping over a pirate. What would your father say?'
She outwardly shook her head, disagreeing with the unwanted thoughts, before the feel of someone pushing her caused her to snap back to reality. She, Jack, and Will, were all being led out of the room at gun point. She had heard mumblings that they were being taken back to the ship, and the journey back to Isla de Muerta was about to begin. Casting one last disapproving glance at anyone who cared to notice, she pleaded again.
"Can you at least supply me with means of patching them up on board?"
Though she was practically begging, there was also a hint of command in her voice, as if there would be consequences for not giving her what she wanted. Though, she didn't quite know what those consequences would be. Hopefully she was good at bluffing. For whatever reason Bo'sun, who was leading her out the door, stopped, and stared at her for a moment. As if thinking about her request he nodded shortly and gave a grunt of approval, before shoving her into the hall.
As they passed the keeper of the inn again more coins were passed his way, as a thank you for holding prisoners. Elizabeth noticed the smile on the man's face and balled her tiny hands into fists, not only terrified, but livid.
No one on the streets of Tortuga stopped to help, or even take notice of them, and of course that was to be expected. Half the people there had probably committed kidnapping at one point or another, and murder to, so what was it to them? It was this knowledge that kept her from crying out for aid, though she did quietly scan the masses for any sign of any of the Pearl's crew. She half expected Jack to do the same, but instead he walked where he was directed, head down. Will was at her side, also not speaking, though by the way he was moving she gathered that, while he may not die, he certainly wasn't up for a fight. And it was a fight they needed, eventually.
The three were led onto a ship that was significantly smaller than the Pearl. Because of the darkness, and her lack of caring, Elizabeth didn't notice the name of the vessel. The moon was largely hidden by clouds, but the small amount of light that it cast revealed a man sleeping in a chair on deck. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Pintel said nothing, only nodded to Bo'sun, who kicked the chair, throwing the man from it.
"Sleepin' on the job Twigg?" Behind his friend, Ragetti 'tsked' in disapproval.
"All of ye took too bloody long." The man rose to his feet, answering in his own defense. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, Twigg focused on the three newcomers. "Well look what we `ave `ere." The grinned and then addressed Pintel, "So its time ta go, then?"
"Aye." He gave the short answer, and then began barking orders. Though he was certainly not the Captain. Actually, no one had been named Captain - all of Barbossa's crew was optimistic about their experimentation with the dark arts. If it worked, they would have their leader. So, those who had been of highest rank aboard the old Black Pearl more or less took control. But no one took the title, they held onto a sick bit of loyalty.
As the men on deck jumped into action for the departure from Tortuga, Jack, Elizabeth and Will were led below decks to the brig. All were thrown into a single cell, by Bo'sun, who as usual, was the muscle of the ship. The man turned to leave but Elizabeth grabbed his arm from between the cell bars, before he could raise his hand to slap her, she reminded him of their bargain.
"Bandages? Or something to wrap them?" He jerked his arm free, but still looked as if he may hit her for good measure. Will quickly took a position in front of her to prevent that from happening, and stared Bo'sun down. Though, with their height difference alone, he wasn't very intimidating. Deciding that any more violence against his captives was pointless, the pirate nodded and left.
Minutes later he reentered the room, rolls of gauze and bandages in hand. From the supplies he'd returned with, all present gathered that the ship used to be a Navy one. Though the country of origin was still uncertain. Opening the door to the cell, Bo'sun's large form shielded the exit from any attempt at escape, and he threw the gauze onto the ground. Waiting for the door to once again be closed, and the man to leave, Elizabeth gathered what she needed from the ground, and knelt next to Will.
"No." he protested, pointing in Jack's direction. "I've survived this long, go and tend to Jack."
Before she could protest, and weary voice from the opposite corner did.
"Now, now William, don't you think your soon to be missus should fix you before me?"
Not wanting to get into a petty argument about who would be bandaged first, Elizabeth remained where she was. Slowly undoing Will's shirt, she pulled it away to reveal all manner of bruises. Running her hand lovingly over his chest in an attempt to be soothing she began to unroll some gauze. The girl really had no clue what she was doing, but she'd seen someone with cracked ribs be wrapped in such a manner before. Perhaps, she thought, it was to keep the bones in place. Will sat up so that she could wrap him properly, wincing at the movement, and contact. Once he was bandaged to her satisfaction she helped him put his shirt back on. Leaning against the wall he noticed the fear that was still present in her eyes and spoke soothingly.
"We'll be fine, dear." A hand was placed on her face for reassurance. She'd become accustomed to the roughness of his hands, even grown to love it. But there was another who had hands that were equally weathered. A strategically placed cough from Jack's direction reminded her of her other patient. Kissing Will, on the lips, gently, for a brief second, she gathered what she needed and left him to sleep.
As young Mr. Turner drifted into much needed sleep, Elizabeth settled down next to Jack.
"Take off your shirt." She said quietly, hoping that he was capable of removing his own shirt. There was something about the prospect of undressing Jack with Will in the very same room that made her uncomfortable.
"Ms. Swann," he gasped," I'm not that kind of man.." Smiling seductively, or what have been seductively, if it weren't for his state, his shoulders rose and fell with a shrug. "Oh hell, I've changed me mind." Making a move to be free of his shirt, he grunted in pain and stopped.
Before he had a chance to request help, Elizabeth understood, and, removed Jack's shirt. Being careful not to hurt him as she did. Now it was his turn to be wrapped. As she doctored the offending area the pirate would protest once in awhile, muttering 'easy.. easy.. OW!' and things of that nature. The only means of seeing was a small lantern hanging just outside the cell, but even in the poor light, she was sure Jack was just being a big baby.
Once she could hear the heavy breathing of Will's slumber, Elizabeth decided to apologize for her previous outburst. Perhaps it had taken watching him be assaulted for her to realize how much she appreciated Jack. Well, no, she appreciated him before, but, the horror she'd felt as he was beaten, had caused her to think.
"Jack, I'm sorry."
"For what, pet?"
"For taking my frustrations out on you. It was wrong..."
Giving a wave of his hand, Jack smiled. "Think nothing of it." His tone was reassuring, but the memory of the look on his face still bothered her. It wasn't just anger, but the unnamable emotion haunted her. He'd done nothing but watch out for her, and do what he thought would make her happy, and she'd repaid him by acting like a spoiled rich girl.
"Alright." Her voice sounded more sure than she was.
Turning to leave and find her own resting space, she stopped when a hand caught her arm.
"Don't I get a goodnight kiss, too? Its only right, seein' as how you were so very rude to me..." Lip protruding, in an attempt to look pouty, Jack was planning to take full advantage of her guilt.
She gave him the same look she'd given a year ago, when he'd declared that things never would have worked between them. Leaning forward, her face hovering of his, just as he'd done in the alley, she answered.
"Of course."
Her lips moved closer to his, but at the last minute she quickly changed course and planted a small kiss on his cheek. Jack huffed, she was an evil wicked tease.
Finding a suitable piece of wall to lean against Elizabeth closed her eyes, smiling to herself, teasing was no more than he deserved.
"Goodnight, Jack." she said sweetly.
"Speak for yourself.." He sounded annoyed.
But what Elizabeth could not see was the content smile on Jack's face, and the leather bound hand that lingered on his cheek.