Disclaimer: Any names dropped here and found in the movie aren't mine, and anyone who claims otherwise owes me a lot of money.
Notes:
This fic is currently being re-drafted, and the
new chapters cannot be posted here until I've revised all of them.
For the latest redone chapter, visit my profile, where you'll find a
link. Feedback is still highly appreciated.
Also, please note that some author comments are embedded in the text since the brackets were taken out by TPB.
Forty-Six & 2, Chapter Two - Egregiously Effette
notoriously self-indulgent
"We can't do it, Captain! Keepin' another woman aboard the ship is like invitin' the wrath of Neptune 'imself upon us!"
"Aye!" the rest of the crew cried.
The Black Pearl had already set sail and was well on her way to Tortuga.
"Crimp's right, Jack. Now I'm just as fond of the wench as you be, but ye hafte think on the crew's behalf."
"Joshamee," Jack began, clamping a hand onto Gibbs' shoulder, "I assure you that the lady's presence will neither bring anathema nor retrogression upon the Black Pearl and her crew."
"The lady has a name, and she is quite capable of speaking for herself," Elizabeth insisted, though no one seemed to notice. She huffed back over to a barrel and sat, waiting for her fate to be decided.
"That's what he said about Anamaria!" Marty shouted.
"That's right, and look what happened to poor Moises!" Kursar followed.
"Two hurricanes in one week, Jack; it's a miracle any of us survived."
"Aye, Moises was a good man, one whose loss I would not disparage, but Anamaria was not the cause of it," he said grimly. "Now, I'm not an austere Captain, men, you all know that well, but should you continue questioning my authority, we will have to start enforcing the code more strictly."
"Aye, the code! I say we should enforce it!"
Jack's eyes narrowed. ahem note: Jack will narrow his eyes a lot; it's that squinting thing he does all the time.
Gibbs nodded. "I'm sorry, Jack, but as quartermaster, it is my duty to see that the crew's needs are heard and met."
Several beats passed before the Captain gave a curt nod.
"Men, it seems that we have a disagreement, and so, we will put the issue to a vote. Those men who wish for Miss Elizabeth to remain on the ship, indicate such now." Once Jack dropped his hand, Gibbs went on. "Those opposed?" After several confirmations, including his own, Gibbs turned back to Jack. "My apologies, Captain; seems that the crew has the vote."
"You forgot one."
Gibbs looked around, then walked over to the helm. "Mr. Cotton, how do you vote?"
"Rawk, daft like Jack, rawk!" the parrot crooned.
"Thank you, Cotton. I knew you'd see things my way," Jack pronounced elaborately.
Cotton nodded and winked.
"Still, majority rules, Cap'n."
"Aye, you want her off the ship?" They all agreed. "Off she goes, then." He walked over to Elizabeth and lifted her, tossing her over his shoulder. He then proceeded to the bulwark of the ship.
"Jack! Put me down! Jack!" She pounded on his back and continued to yell at him.
"Now, hold up a minute, Sir, we want her off, but it can wait 'til the next port," Gibbs insisted, ambling up behind the other man in panick.
Jack threw over his free shoulder, "The next port is Tortuga. She won't last a day there."
"But Captainâ€""
Before there could be further protest, Jack dumped Elizabeth into a row boat that hung on the starboard side of the ship.
She blinked, slightly dazed from the impact and surprised not to be surrounded by the cool waters of the Caribbean.
"There." He brushed his hands together, then docked them on his hips. "She's no longer on the ship."
Gibbs opened his mouth for a second, then easily gave up on a response and settled for a hearty laugh. The rest of the crew followed, and a few minutes later, they all returned to their miscellaneous duties.
"You insufferable, no good, pompous…" her face was red with fury as she realized he had nearly made her lose control by swearing, "…pirate," she finished lamely. "First, you threaten to slit my throat, and now…now you practically toss me overboard?"
He stuck an index finger out to match the one she had raised. "I just gained you passage, Miss Swann; as you're well aware, the crew isn't quite taken with you, and you aren't far from actually being overboard, so don't tempt me, Missy."
Without giving her chance for a response, Jack turned away, heading for the helm.
"Why did I ever agree to this?" she asked herself before sinking down into the boat.
· § ·
"Good morning, Commodore. I must say, this is a rather unexpected visit. I would have had an early lunch prepared, had I known that you'd be visiting with us today."
"Governor Swann," Commodore Norrington greeted. "I am afraid this is not a social call." He paused. "I…came to speak with Elizabeth."
"Oh. Well, she's gone to work at one of the missions for a few days. She said she needs time to clear her head and that she doesn't wish to be bothered."
James narf, why'd the cut out the only scene with the man's name? was taken aback. "Oh, I thought she would have informed me."
"Had recent events not upset her so, I'm sure she would have done just that. As you know, she was…quite troubled." Weatherby paused. "Is there something that I might help you with, Commodore?"
"Oh…oh, well actually, I only wished to inform your daughter of Prisoner Sparrow's escape."
"Escape?"
"Yes, last night. He incapacitated the warden."
"Oh dear. I do hope the soldier faired well."
Norrington gave a tight smile, "Yes. Well, I'm sure he will be fine." He waited for a couple of beats. "Governor Swann, I'm curious. Where are the men I positioned here last night?"
"Men? Oh-oh of course. Elizabeth took them along with her. For protection."
"Of course." He looked around. "Well, I had best return to the fort. I'm sure there are many things that need to be taken care of."
The Governor nodded. "I assume you won't be pursuing Sparrow, then?"
"Due to the recent raids, I don't see that Port Royal could afford it."
"Right you are, Commodore. It's a wise decision."
"Yes. Good day, Governor." He nodded before slowly exiting the household.
Weatherby grabbed at his chest, sighing in relief as he sank into one of the uncomfortable chairs nearby.
"Are you alright, Governor?" a maid asked as she rushed to his side.
"My daughter is going to be the death of me." He gave a slight smile. "Would you make sure that Leticia's rosaries are replaced, Diana? I must be off to speak with Father Avalon."
"Right away, Sir." She curtsied before leaving.
Left alone, pulled a miniatureof his daughter at a younger age from his inner jacket pocket. "My little pirate, what have you gotten us into this time?"
· § ·
Elizabeth straightened and stretched the little that she could while on her knees when she spotted the docks drawing close. She had already brushed her hair and done the best possible with everything else, considering she had no privacy. Cotton had brought her meals to her, and she had quickly grown to like the old man, considering he hadn't wanted her tossed off the ship (at least, she was pretty sure that he hadn't).
"Just what is it that you're doing there, Miss Swann?"
She jumped slightly before turning to face Jack, affixing a glare on her visage. "What does it look like, Mr. Sparrow? I'm preparing to go into Tortuga since we're about to dock."
Jack chuckled. "You won't be paying a visit to that naughty little spot."
"What? But you said we were going into Tortuga."
"Right, but what I meant was, we're docking at Tortuga, but I'll be the only one getting off the ship before sundown. The crew is free to go as they please after that, but you'll be staying right here." His index fingers accented the point by indicating her boat.
"You can't do this, Jack."
"How's that, Love?"
"You owe me! You're the reason that Will left! You're the reason he's in peril!"
"Are we back at this again? Just how is it that you think I'm controlling your lover, making him run off and the like?"
"Y-youâ€"" she raced through the possible reasons in her mind. "You're Jack Sparrow, that's how!" she spat, exceptionally infuriated by her sudden lack of basis. Two days ago, there had been an infinite number of plausible charges against the pirate.
Jack blinked. "Never thought of it that way. Very well, being that you find me exacerbating, efficacious, execrable, and essentially exuding evil from every fibre of my being, your convictions won't be much altered by this," he spouted, just before yanking on the davits suspending her boat, raising her up so that she was incapable of reaching the ship. He re-secured the ropes, then removed his hat. "If the lady will excuse me." He gave her a grand bow before turning away.
Elizabeth pulled herself back up so that she was on her knees again. "You come back here, Jack Sparrow!" she yelled, throwing a shoe at him.
He barely dodged it and looked at Cotton. "Make sure she doesn't hurt herself, will you?" He ducked, the other shoe managing to catch his shoulder. "Or anyone else, for that matter." He moved on after receiving a nod fromt he older man.
"Coward," he heard her continue as he jumped onto the dock. "You forgot errantly evasive and egregiously effete!"
He smiled to himself, "So I did," he admitted softly.
· § ·
"Perhaps things will be more lively t'night, my friend," Murtogg stated as he and Mullroy marched out to their sector.
"Unlikely," the other replied unenthusiastically.
"I don't suppose you're still sore from earlier?"
"Don't suppose so. After all, you saved me a boat."
"Hadn't thought of it that way. All the same, I'm sure either boat would have escorted those nuns to their ship safely."
"What ship?"
The two started and turned to find the Commodore staring at them intently.
Murtogg gulped. "What's that, Sir?"
"You said someone was escorted to a ship. What ship would that be?"
"Can't say that I know, Sir. The nuns failed to give us its name."
"Nuns?"
"Uh, yes," Mullroy confirmed. "Two nuns from the mission came just a bit before dawn looking for an escort to take them to their ship, but the boat hadn't come in. We told them that no ships were to dock."
"So they took another boat?"
"Yes, Sir. I offered up my own," Murtogg said proudly.
"Where was the ship headed?"
"Havana, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"And you say their escort hadn't arrived?"
"Yessir…err, no, Sir. Is something wrong, Sir?" Murtogg asked, squirming.
"A prisoner escaped last night. He may have taken the escort."
"Well that's not very proper, it being a nun's escort and all. Anyone we might recognize, Sir?"
"Yes. You remember Jack Sparrow, don't you?"
The two were stunned.
"J-Jack Sparrow?"
"The Jack Sparrow?"
"Yes. Did either of you see him or anyone suspicious?"
They looked at each other, then back at the Commodore.
"N-no." "Nothing to my recollection." They answered simultaneously.
"Well, I don't suspect you would have." He cleared his throat. "Keep a keen eye, though."
"Certainly, Sir. Where might we find you…should we see him?"
"I…have to check with the missions. Perhaps they have further information on the escort."
"Right, Sir."
· § ·
Elizabeth brought her knees to her chest and rested her head. Jack had been gone for at least two hours now, and no one had spoken to her since his departureâ€"not that she had expected or longed for them to do so. Cotton had returned her shoes and lowered her after a while, his parrot cawing, "Avast!" to keep her in place. She had contemplated ignoring its advice and making for an escape, but she wasn't sure how to go about finding Will in a place such as Tortuga and finally dismissed the idea. Instead, she settled for gazing over the deck, watching as the men scurried around to take care of this and that. After a while, they began to disappear, and she realized that it was growing late, the sun sinking slowly from the horizon in an orange blur. The only stragglers were Cotton, his bird, and Marty, who was hurriedly passing a mop over the aged wood.
She watched the little man for a few moments, remembering when he had spoken for the crew and refused to help her rescue Will. At the thought of saving Will, her vision blurred, and she went numb. What if they were too late to rescue Will? Or what if they did find him and he didn't want to return to Port Royal with her? Those thoughts overtook her mind as she remained frozen.
Her state of trance left her unprepared for the shorter, furious pirate who suddenly occupied her vision, causing her to lurch backwards.
"If you find it so worthy of your attention, why don't yeh try helpin'?"
She blinked a few times, and, seemingly left with no other choice, she hesitantly nodded. She stood up on one of the thwarts but then realized that she couldn't reach the deck in her current position. She was about to ask Marty to adjust the davits when Cotton approached. He reached towards her, and she smiled, leaning forward so that she could grab onto his shoulders. He then lifted her out of the boat and fixed her onto the ship.
Marty, who had previously moved to allow Cotton access to Elizabeth, had already retrieved a second mop and held it out to her. "Day's a' fadin'. We don't want to be spendin' the rest of our night workin' at this."
She nodded and accepted the mop, being sure to thank Cotton before taking a pail of water from Marty and making her way to the foredeck.
· § ·
Captain Jack Sparrow swiftly undulated his way back to the Black Pearl. After a few hours of visiting various taverns and asking numerous questions, a man had finally approached him with the information that he needed. He stealthily lifted himself onto the ship. Looking around, he saw that all had been taken care of and was now still. He greeted Cotton, who was busy feeding his parrot, with a nod. Once finished, the old man jerked his thumb to the starboard deck, indicating that Elizabeth was in tact.
"Good job, Man. Better be resting up for tomorrow. We've a busy day ahead of us."
Cotton winked and made his way to the men's quarters, stroking his companion as he went.
Jack slowly glided across the deck to find Elizabeth standing in the tiny boat, her back to him. Her eyes were closed, and her neck arched her head up to the dark sky. The moon was bathing her in a brilliant silver light that only accented the frail woman hidden beneath the worn and faded dress. 'Only Elizabeth. Right.' Jack swore under his breath. Now she really did resemble a swan. He dragged a hand over his face. This was going to be the longest voyage of his life.
Elizabeth opened her eyes to gaze up at the night sky. This was the first time in a long while that it had shown her any hope. Hope… She had given up on that idea quite some time ago. She had once believed that Will would return to her one day, explaining that he had to go to help someone, or that he had been kidnapped and all he wanted now was her forgiveness and hand in marriage. That day had never come, though. Instead of Will coming for her, it had been Jack, a man she had taught herself to hate over those few-but-long years.
She still hadn't quite figured out why he was helping her now, considering she had all but sent him to the gallows the previous night. Will and Jack had developed an odd, yet indisputable bond. Maybe he just wanted to find his old friend simply for peace of mind.
Maybe not…
"Not sure how safe that is, Love."
Startled, Elizabeth jerked and fell backwards into Jack, who was only slightly caught off guard. He tried to steady her and himself, but instead stumbled, his knees buckling. The two unceremoniously crashed into the deckâ€"Jack landing unmarred on his rear end with Elizabeth sprawled across his lap in a very unladylike fashion.
He grinned down at her. "See what I mean?"
She huffed, un-amused, and struggled to get up.
"Lacking in acerbic comments for the moment, I assume?"
She gave him a small push as she rightened herself. "If you're only going to be rude, then just leave me alone. I was enjoying the silence."
"Seems it didn't do much improving upon your spirits, though." He drew one of his knees up and propped an arm on it.
She sighed, further vocalizing her annoyance. "Did you find Will?"
He looked around himself. "I think the answer to that is rather clear."
"Fine. Do you know where we will find him?"
"Not quite."
She turned away, walking over to her boat.
"I do, however, know where our quest will lead us next."
She awaited further elaboration, but when none came, "Well?"
Smiling, he stood and went to her side. "A ship."
"'A ship'…a ship!" she crescendoed. "You spent hours on that bloody island, and all you found was that the next place we should look is a ship?"
"No. I spent the most of the evening deadening my senses until I was informed that Will Turner, blacksmith by trade, pirate by birth, has not been seen in these parts for at least a year and a half, since he joined up with a buccaneer crew of his own."
Her world slammed to a halt. "He..he what? Where?"
"Not sure, but popular consensus among those I spoke with exacts that they were originally headed for Spain, though news of late holds tale of them in the Bahamas."
"'Them'?"
"Aye, the Miseria Cantada and her crew. An interesting lot. I know the Captain well. We should meet up with them before we reach port."
She relaxed. They really were going to find Will. "Thank you, Jack."
"Don't be giving your gratitude so freely just yet. You have to bear in mind that it's been more than a year since Will first plowed the waves with them," he reminded her softly.
"I know." She paused. "Jack, why are you doing this? Going to all this trouble, I mean."
"Apparently, I owe it to you, correct?"
She blushed. He was still letting her blame Will's absence wholly on him. She ignored the question and cleared her throat. "Would you help me up?" she asked, putting a foot on the bulwark.
"Afraid I find myself disobliged."
She jerked her head to the side so that she could look at him. "Pardon?"
"You see, Miss Swann," he began, taking on an air of formality again, "I've not had a good run with Lady Fortune lately, and my lot would likely cast you as a somnambulist. Therefore, you'll be sleeping in my bed."
She blinked, her face reddening with fury rather than embarrassment this time. "I will do nothing of the sort! I knew you had prurient intentions."
She began to stomp away, but he firmly clasped her elbow, stopping her.
"Easy, Darling. It was only a slight malapropism on my part. I was not suggesting what you have in your head." He made a positively flagrant motion with his hand, and the corner of his mouth turned up wolfishly. "Although, if you'd prefer it that way…"
She fixed him with an icy glare.
He considered her. "Your loss, then." He sighed and released her, putting his hands together. "Miss Swann, as I'm sure you are aware, it is not safe to sleep out here in the open on that boat. You aren't sleeping in the men's quarters, so your choices are as follows. You may either sleep in the Captain's quarters or the brig."
"I thought I wasn't allowed on the ship."
"The men won't return until dawn, so what the crew doesn't know…"
"Fine. I'll take the brig," she decided, getting her bag from the boat.
His face fell, and he made several gestures of frustration before calming himself. "Follow me." He turned and headed down to the holding cells, Elizabeth staying close to his heels. "Have your pick."
She smiled and brushed by him, opting for the foremost cell to her left. She went to the tiny cot and tested it by sitting and bouncing a bit. You're right; they didn't have cots in the movie…but they do now. She opened her bag and began sifting through the supplies she had brought with her; it distracted her from looking over at the Captain, who was likely mocking her. It wasn't until she heard the decisive click of a lock that she jolted up to find him grinning, a key ring in hand. "You're locking me in?"
"That would be how it appears. Can't have you sleepwalking about the ship, now can I?" He went over to a pile of junk in the corner and began rummaging through it.
She gripped the bars. "You're a miserable person."
"Aye, but at current, you happen to be the cause of that misery."
"How could Will have ever thought you a good man?"
Jack froze momentarily. "So I take it that I've left your good graces yet again?"
"You were never in them to begin with," she said evenly.
"One day, Love, that mouth of yours is going to be your undoing." Finding the things for which he had been searching, he returned to the front of her tiny cell and passed through the bars a pail and a canteen. "A day's supply of water in there. Do enjoy," he invited before starting for the staircase. "Take heart, Miss Swann, because starting tomorrow, you'll find your terms of stay here changing drastically. In the mean time, rest up. Dawn isn't far away." After that, he ascended the stairs, humming as he went, and leaving her to gape at the now empty space in the room.
"Bloody brilliant, Elizabeth," she muttered to herself, taking a disheartening look at her surroundings. Jack was going to pay for this. Dearly.
Orginal Content: 2003.08.08
