The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when the cock wandering
the streets outside gave a triumphant call. Will shifted slightly, before
finally opening his eyes. Elizabeth lay next to him, her light hair falling
over her sleeping face, content as her arm lay across his middle. He
smiled, carefully removing her arm so he could slide out of bed. Finding
his pants, he pulled them on before pulling open the door to the bedroom.
With a look over his shoulder at her, he quietly closed it behind him,
creeping downstairs. He entered the kitchen, rubbing his hands.
"Cooking can't be that hard." He told himself quietly, looking around. Elizabeth had had servants to do it for her for most of her life, and she had seemed to pick up the skill pretty easily. Pulling an old, battered skillet from the cupboard, he set it on the counter in front of him. "Eggs. Eggs are easy." He pulled the hair back from his face as he walked across the kitchen to the cupboard. "Just crack them open, drop them in the pan..." He jumped as something fell from the cupboard as he opened it, falling across his bare feet. It was a child's wooden play cutlass. He crouched down, picking it up. It was odd how he hadn't noticed it before when he and James Norrington had been fixing up the house. He still found that hard to believe. After the incident with the undead pirates, blacksmith and commodore had come to a new respect for each other, and eventually a strange friendship had formed. Will had been very taken back when James had offered to help him out with the house after he had bought it. He set the cutlass upright in the cupboard again, out of the way. It might be of some use someday, when Elizabeth and he had children of their own. Standing up, he pulled three eggs from the basket, sliding the cupboard door shut. He wasn't so sure about this cooking thing. Starting the fire, he could do that. Actually cooking something over it was going to be the hard part. As he turned to walk back to the counter, he received his second shock of the morning.
The child couldn't have been more than eight, and the mere presence about her made the hair on Will's neck stand up straight. Her long tresses hung limply around her pale face, obscuring part of it. Her chin was down, peering up at him with strange light blue eyes. There was nothing happy or childlike about her. Everything was so off...so wrong. He took a deep breath, swallowed, and forced a smile across his face. "Hello." He shakily set the eggs down on the counter as he stepped towards her. She didn't move, except for the eyes which followed his every movement. "I didn't see you there. How did you get in here?" Still she didn't respond. He crouched down a few feet from her, against the counter. "Do you have a name?" Her eyes locked on his, and they were full of anger, hate, and pain. He found that he was having trouble breathing deeply, shivers running down his spine as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. Everything within him told him to get away from her, but his rational self laughed. It was a child, and nothing more. "Are you lost?" He reached a hand towards her, hoping to show that he meant her no harm. That movement did get a response.
The girl suddenly hissed at him, stepping back from his hand as if it was something dirty. "Oh, damn!" Will's back hit the counter as her hair moved away from her face as she moved. Now he could plainly see the jagged ends of the wound underneath her chin, the blood spilling down her neck and collarbone, soaking into the folds of her nightgown. That was the last thing he remembered seeing. His sudden leap backwards into the counter had knocked the pan from its precarious position over his head. The pan tumbled off the counter, and hit him in the temple with a hollow thud. He collapsed to the ground, blackness taking over his vision. But not before he saw her drag a finger across her throat and whisper to him. "A short drop and a sudden stop, pirate." His eyes shut, and he fell into an unconscious state.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh God! Will! Will, wake up!" A voice broke through the blackness where he'd been for who knew how long. With a lot of effort, he opened his eyes. At first, he could see nothing but blurry shapes above his head, moving in and out. Slowly, they started to come back into focus. "Will?" He lifted one hand a few inches off the floor, before it dropped back to the ground.
"What...? Oww." He groaned. His back was against something cold, and he realized he was lying on the kitchen floor. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. Elizabeth leaned over him, her hands on his shoulders and a look of relief on her face.
"You're alright. Thank God." She laid her head against his chest. He raised a hand, carefully touching his fingers to the side of his head as another person appeared in his field of vision.
"Gave the missus quite a scare, mate." If he hadn't been so damn dizzy, he would have jumped up and hugged his old friend. Instead, he settled for a laugh.
"Jack Sparrow. Haven't seen you since you decided to fall from the cliff." He said, grinning. Jack stood over him, arms crossed. He hadn't changed a bit from the pirate Will remembered. The beaded dreadlocks still hung down around his face, and when he smirked at Will's comment, he could see the flash of metal.
"What the hell have ye been doin', whelp? I go through all the trouble to sneak here to congratulate you on yer marriage, and come in to find you knocked out on the floor. If I were you, Elizabeth, I wouldn't leave him alone. Lad's too accident prone." Elizabeth sat up again, looking down at him with one eyebrow raised and her lips pursed.
"I think you're right, Jack." She said. Will slowly sat up, which brought immediate regret. The kitchen spun around him, and he almost fell backwards again, if Jack and Elizabeth hadn't of each caught and arm and dragged him upright again. "Just lean against the counter, Will. Don't move too fast." She instructed him, getting to her feet. Jack crouched beside him as she disappeared.
"What happened?" He asked, looking over Will with that calculating look of his. Will glanced at him for a moment, before looking back to the doorway. What was he supposed to tell them about what had happened? He started to recall what had happened before he'd been knocked out. The little girl, the blood, the message she'd left him with. His brow furrowed. There was no way he could tell them any of that without proof, unless he wanted to be deemed crazy. Instead he forced a sheepish smile across his face.
"I wanted to make Elizabeth breakfast, so I came down here to make it. I set the pan on the edge of the counter, and accidentally dropped the...uh..." He glanced around. "...spoon...so I bent down to pick it up, knocked into the counter, and it got me good on the head." He laughed, although it sounded slightly strained to his own ears. Jack raised an eyebrow, and there was a look frighteningly similar to the one Elizabeth had had just moments ago.
"You have to be one of the most accident prone people I have ever..." Jack stood up and moved aside as Elizabeth came back. She pressed the washcloth to the side of his head. Will shuddered slightly at the sudden chill from the cold cloth, but gave Elizabeth a smile and put his own hand on it. He closed his eyes, starting to feel the throbbing start to dissipate.
"Nice house you have..." Jack muttered, walking off into the family room. "Although, it feels kind of off." Will opened his eyes, surprised.
"Off? What do you mean, off?" Elizabeth asked, sitting on the floor beside Will. Jack returned to the kitchen.
"Ye know. Doesn't quite have that warm, homey feel that most houses have." He said, making a few hand motions to accompany his argument.
"And you would know this how? From the many that you and your crew have robbed?" Elizabeth quipped back. Jack flashed a grin, leaning up against the doorframe between the rooms. Will suddenly realized how much he'd missed Jack's presence.
"We have an extra room, Jack. How about staying a couple of days?" Will asked, slowly getting to his feet. Elizabeth rose with him, holding onto his arm. "Catch up on stories and such?" Jack rested a finger against his chin, looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Ye know. I just might do that." He said finally.
"Cooking can't be that hard." He told himself quietly, looking around. Elizabeth had had servants to do it for her for most of her life, and she had seemed to pick up the skill pretty easily. Pulling an old, battered skillet from the cupboard, he set it on the counter in front of him. "Eggs. Eggs are easy." He pulled the hair back from his face as he walked across the kitchen to the cupboard. "Just crack them open, drop them in the pan..." He jumped as something fell from the cupboard as he opened it, falling across his bare feet. It was a child's wooden play cutlass. He crouched down, picking it up. It was odd how he hadn't noticed it before when he and James Norrington had been fixing up the house. He still found that hard to believe. After the incident with the undead pirates, blacksmith and commodore had come to a new respect for each other, and eventually a strange friendship had formed. Will had been very taken back when James had offered to help him out with the house after he had bought it. He set the cutlass upright in the cupboard again, out of the way. It might be of some use someday, when Elizabeth and he had children of their own. Standing up, he pulled three eggs from the basket, sliding the cupboard door shut. He wasn't so sure about this cooking thing. Starting the fire, he could do that. Actually cooking something over it was going to be the hard part. As he turned to walk back to the counter, he received his second shock of the morning.
The child couldn't have been more than eight, and the mere presence about her made the hair on Will's neck stand up straight. Her long tresses hung limply around her pale face, obscuring part of it. Her chin was down, peering up at him with strange light blue eyes. There was nothing happy or childlike about her. Everything was so off...so wrong. He took a deep breath, swallowed, and forced a smile across his face. "Hello." He shakily set the eggs down on the counter as he stepped towards her. She didn't move, except for the eyes which followed his every movement. "I didn't see you there. How did you get in here?" Still she didn't respond. He crouched down a few feet from her, against the counter. "Do you have a name?" Her eyes locked on his, and they were full of anger, hate, and pain. He found that he was having trouble breathing deeply, shivers running down his spine as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. Everything within him told him to get away from her, but his rational self laughed. It was a child, and nothing more. "Are you lost?" He reached a hand towards her, hoping to show that he meant her no harm. That movement did get a response.
The girl suddenly hissed at him, stepping back from his hand as if it was something dirty. "Oh, damn!" Will's back hit the counter as her hair moved away from her face as she moved. Now he could plainly see the jagged ends of the wound underneath her chin, the blood spilling down her neck and collarbone, soaking into the folds of her nightgown. That was the last thing he remembered seeing. His sudden leap backwards into the counter had knocked the pan from its precarious position over his head. The pan tumbled off the counter, and hit him in the temple with a hollow thud. He collapsed to the ground, blackness taking over his vision. But not before he saw her drag a finger across her throat and whisper to him. "A short drop and a sudden stop, pirate." His eyes shut, and he fell into an unconscious state.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh God! Will! Will, wake up!" A voice broke through the blackness where he'd been for who knew how long. With a lot of effort, he opened his eyes. At first, he could see nothing but blurry shapes above his head, moving in and out. Slowly, they started to come back into focus. "Will?" He lifted one hand a few inches off the floor, before it dropped back to the ground.
"What...? Oww." He groaned. His back was against something cold, and he realized he was lying on the kitchen floor. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. Elizabeth leaned over him, her hands on his shoulders and a look of relief on her face.
"You're alright. Thank God." She laid her head against his chest. He raised a hand, carefully touching his fingers to the side of his head as another person appeared in his field of vision.
"Gave the missus quite a scare, mate." If he hadn't been so damn dizzy, he would have jumped up and hugged his old friend. Instead, he settled for a laugh.
"Jack Sparrow. Haven't seen you since you decided to fall from the cliff." He said, grinning. Jack stood over him, arms crossed. He hadn't changed a bit from the pirate Will remembered. The beaded dreadlocks still hung down around his face, and when he smirked at Will's comment, he could see the flash of metal.
"What the hell have ye been doin', whelp? I go through all the trouble to sneak here to congratulate you on yer marriage, and come in to find you knocked out on the floor. If I were you, Elizabeth, I wouldn't leave him alone. Lad's too accident prone." Elizabeth sat up again, looking down at him with one eyebrow raised and her lips pursed.
"I think you're right, Jack." She said. Will slowly sat up, which brought immediate regret. The kitchen spun around him, and he almost fell backwards again, if Jack and Elizabeth hadn't of each caught and arm and dragged him upright again. "Just lean against the counter, Will. Don't move too fast." She instructed him, getting to her feet. Jack crouched beside him as she disappeared.
"What happened?" He asked, looking over Will with that calculating look of his. Will glanced at him for a moment, before looking back to the doorway. What was he supposed to tell them about what had happened? He started to recall what had happened before he'd been knocked out. The little girl, the blood, the message she'd left him with. His brow furrowed. There was no way he could tell them any of that without proof, unless he wanted to be deemed crazy. Instead he forced a sheepish smile across his face.
"I wanted to make Elizabeth breakfast, so I came down here to make it. I set the pan on the edge of the counter, and accidentally dropped the...uh..." He glanced around. "...spoon...so I bent down to pick it up, knocked into the counter, and it got me good on the head." He laughed, although it sounded slightly strained to his own ears. Jack raised an eyebrow, and there was a look frighteningly similar to the one Elizabeth had had just moments ago.
"You have to be one of the most accident prone people I have ever..." Jack stood up and moved aside as Elizabeth came back. She pressed the washcloth to the side of his head. Will shuddered slightly at the sudden chill from the cold cloth, but gave Elizabeth a smile and put his own hand on it. He closed his eyes, starting to feel the throbbing start to dissipate.
"Nice house you have..." Jack muttered, walking off into the family room. "Although, it feels kind of off." Will opened his eyes, surprised.
"Off? What do you mean, off?" Elizabeth asked, sitting on the floor beside Will. Jack returned to the kitchen.
"Ye know. Doesn't quite have that warm, homey feel that most houses have." He said, making a few hand motions to accompany his argument.
"And you would know this how? From the many that you and your crew have robbed?" Elizabeth quipped back. Jack flashed a grin, leaning up against the doorframe between the rooms. Will suddenly realized how much he'd missed Jack's presence.
"We have an extra room, Jack. How about staying a couple of days?" Will asked, slowly getting to his feet. Elizabeth rose with him, holding onto his arm. "Catch up on stories and such?" Jack rested a finger against his chin, looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Ye know. I just might do that." He said finally.