"I'll
be back later!" Will called to Elizabeth from the front
hall as he pulled on his coat. Jack leaned against the wall, one hand idly rubbing
his arm. Both he and Will were still slightly jumpy about what they had seen in
the mirror, and neither one wanted to let Elizabeth in on it. Will
felt a little bit better leaving Jack behind in the house with Elizabeth, just in case.
He put a hand on the doorknob, looking back at Jack. "I'm going to talk
with the notary." He whispered. "The man is the biggest gossip in
town. If anyone would know the details of what happened here, he would."
He pulled the door open. "I'm getting to the bottom of this."
Jack nodded. "Ye go do that and I'll watch the little lass for ye, make
sure the spooks don't decide to cause trouble." He muttered. Will gave him
a grateful look before he pulled the door shut. He walked down the pathway,
stopping for a moment to look back at the house. A few weeks ago, he'd stood in
the same place, grinning widely and finalizing the deal on the house he and
Elizabeth would call home. Now it only sent shivers down his spine, despite the
warm weather and the coat he was wearing. Running a hand through his hair, he
went to leave when he glanced back up at the house again, to the attic window.
There was the source of his shudder. A little boy peered out at him, but the
longer Will stared, the more he faded until he was gone. The blacksmith
swallowed, turning his back to the house and walking away quickly.
"House is bloody haunted." He muttered. "There isn't supposed to
be any such things as ghosts." He paused. "There isn't supposed to be
any such things as undead pirates either." He said finally. The sketch was
still clutched tightly in his hand, and he glanced down at it. His eyes roamed
over the people staring blankly up at him from the page. What are you trying
to tell me?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack watched the door shut and pushed away from the wall, wandering into the
sitting room. Elizabeth was outside
doing the wash, which Jack wanted no part in. Not that he wanted to stand
around in a haunted house either. He walked over to the piano sitting in the
corner of the room. With one finger, he pressed down on a key, getting an off
pitch note. Idly he kept pressing keys in a chaotic symphony of sound.
"Jack, is that you?" The voice drifted inside through the open door.
Jack pulled his hand back from the piano, not answering. He knew Elizabeth was most likely
out there rolling her eyes at him, but he was bored. Jack turned to go across
the hall, wondering if there was something better for him to do over there.
The sight before him made him jump back into the piano, smashing down a good
number of the keys at once and making a horrendous noise. The little boy cocked
his head, staring blankly at him. Jack slipped off the keys and sat heavily on
the bench, staring at the child. The boy was pale, and his stomach was covered
in dark red blood. His expression darkened as he looked Jack over.
"Shoo..." Jack muttered, staring back at the kid. "Ye heard me.
Move along!" He made a shooing motion with his hand. "I hear there's
a lovely mansion up on the hill for ye to go haunt." The child made no
movement, still staring at him in that way that made his blood run cold.
"Pirate..." He hissed. "You're nothing but a dirty pirate."
Jack glowered at him.
"Now wait just a damn..." His spine tingled and he turned to jerk his
hand from the keys just as the cover came crashing down over them. Four of his
fingers were lucky. The pink, however, was not. Jack slapped a hand over his
mouth as the cover came down on it and there was a loud snapping sound. The boy
laughed. "Ye find this funny?" Jack growled. Ghost or not, he was
still very angry and in a good amount of pain. That made him very cranky.
The boy nodded. "And this is just the beginning..." All Jack did was
blink, and the boy was gone. Carefully the pirate pushed the cover up when Elizabeth came rushing
into the room.
"What was...Jack?" She ran to him, taking his injured hand.
"This is why you shouldn't play around with the piano."
Jack gave her a deadpan look, not exactly taking a liking to being talked to
like a child. "I wasn't. I was sittin' here, mindin' me own business
and..." He couldn't tell her about the ghost. "...the piano doesn't
like pirates." He said finally. She raised an eyebrow, and he stared at
her with the expression of a petulant little boy on his face.
She sighed. "Fine. I'll have to make you a splint, because we obviously
can't take you to the doctor considering how well known you are..."
Jack grinned. "Of course not. I'm Jack Sparrow, luv. I'm known
everywhere." She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the wrist.
"Come Captain Sparrow, let's get you doctored up."
~~~~~~~~~~
"William! So there's the new husband!" Notary Andrews cried, getting
up from his desk and ambling over to the boy. He grabbed Will's hand and patted
him on the back. "So how is the married life?"
Will grinned, his cheeks slightly tinged with red. "It's bliss." He
said. "I have a beautiful loving wife, and I couldn't ask for anymore than
a blessing like that." Andrews chuckled, letting go of his hand and
heading back to his desk.
"So what brings you here, lad?" He asked, sitting down in his chair.
Will came over to stand beside the desk, laying the sketch down in front of
Andrews. Andrews slipped his glasses on, scrutinizing the picture.
"Who are they?" Will asked.
"The Donner family. Lived in that house before you did. Sad really."
Will perked up slightly.
"Sad? Why?" Andrews motioned for him to grab a chair. He waited until
Will was seated to start his story.
"Andrew Donner was the commodore here before Haskell and Norrington."
He said, pointing towards the man. "In fact, he and Norrington are a lot
alike. Both men devoted to their jobs, intelligent, honest. Andrew Donner,
however, was absolutely obsessed with catching pirates. It was his goal to rid
the Caribbean seas of the rogues, he said. His wife
Mary supported him all the way. He even had his children, Christina and Henry,
thinking that way." Andrews was so into his story that he missed Will's
nervous fidgeting. "Then one night, Port Royal is attacked by
pirates. Actually..." He tapped a finger on his chin. "...I believe
that was the night you were brought to Port Royal, William."
He waved a hand. "Back to the story. The pirates attacked. They burned,
looted, pillaged, plundered, almost razed Port Royal to the bloody
ground."
"Like the last time?" Will asked. Andrews shook his head.
"Much, much worse. After it was over, Captain Norrington heads over to the
house to get the commodore. He's dead. So is his wife and children. The pirates
got 'em." He shook his head. "The town was crushed. Andrew Donner was
a good man. Did you know one time he ran up against the infamous Jack Sparrow
and Bootstrap Bill Tur..." He stopped, realizing who he was talking to.
Will hated it when people suddenly started acting funny around him when they
remembered he had a pirate heritage. He pushed himself up from his seat, taking
back the sketch and stuffing it in his pocket.
"Thank you, Notary Andrews." He said, forcing a smile on his face.
The man quickly nodded, acting like he was suddenly engrossed in his work. Will
frowned, heading over to the door. He opened it, and then paused, looking back
over his shoulder. Notary Andrews quickly glanced back down at his work,
scribbling away. Will bit his lip and pulled the door shut behind him. There
would be time to deal with the close mindedness of people later. For now, he
had to get home and talk to Jack.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jack
looked down at his swollen pinky and made a face as he tried to wiggle it. He
was rewarded with pain shooting up his hand. "Bloody hell..." He murmured,
stopping all attempts to move it.
"Stop it, Jack. You'll only make it worse." Elizabeth told him as she
came over and sat at the table, placing some white linen bandages on top of the
table. Jack looked over at them.
"It's broken, not bleedin'..." He said.
"I know. I'm making a splint." She said, laying his hand out the way
she wanted it and picking up one of the strips of cloth. She slid it under his
pinky and ring finger carefully and began wrapping it around the two. "You
are the most accident prone pirate I have ever seen..." She said, shaking
her head.
"I'm not accident prone." Jack protested. "This wasn't
an..." He stopped. "...accident prone thing. It was fate
happening."
"You were fated to break your pinky finger?"
He knew he'd sound more insane if he told her the real way his finger had been
broken, so he nodded. "Aye." He held Elizabeth's dubious stare
until she got up from the table. He lifted his hand up, looking at the homemade
splint. "This'll do just fine..." He said. "Hey luv, while yer
up, how about a drink?" Jack grinned one of his most charming grins at
her.
"Why don't you get it yourself, you miserable pirate. You've taken
everything else." Jack's smile faded, and he blinked. Elizabeth's tone had never
been that harsh before. He got up from the table and walked towards her.
"Ye ok?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "I was only jokin' about
the drink, I can get it me..." Jack pulled his hand back just in time to
avoid having his fingers lopped off by the knife Elizabeth held. He
stumbled backwards in shock. "What the hell do ye think yer doin'?"
He yelled.
"Dirty pirate, you won't take me!" Elizabeth shouted and
lunged for him, knife in hand. Jack dove away from her, falling into the
cupboard door. Elizabeth turned towards
him. "I'll die before you let me!"
Jack held up his hands. "Wait a bloody moment..." He trailed off as
he locked eyes with her. "Yer not Elizabeth at the moment, are ye?"
His only response was another attack with the knife.
~~~~~~~~~
Will had let his mind drift off into thought as he walked back across town. He
now saw why he'd gotten the house so cheap. It was haunted. He'd bought Elizabeth a haunted house.
Will made a fist inside his coat pocket. Bloody brilliant move, Will. Bloody
brilliant. He was too busy kicking himself to notice the person standing in
front of him until he bumped into them.
"I'm so sorry...Commodore?" Will said. James Norrington smiled back
in reply.
"It's fine." Many people had found it hard to believe that after the
incident with Jack Sparrow, and Elizabeth choosing Will,
that the two men could possibly be friends. But they were, and good ones at
that. He fell into step beside the blacksmith. "I thought the shop was
closed today." He commented.
Will shook his head. "It is. I just had to go talk to the notary." He
replied.
"The notary? Is there a problem with something?"
Will laughed and shook his head. "No, no. I just need to ask him about the
previous owners of the house." James made an expression of understanding.
"Did you find out what you needed to?" He inquired.
"I did. A little more than I wanted to, but I did. Apparently our house
used to belong to the commodore before you came to Port Royal. Died in the
attack the night I was brought here."
"I do remember something about that. Horrible murders, if I remember
correctly, because the invading pirates murdered his wife and children as
well."
"That's how the story goes." Will made a face. He walked up the path
to the house. He paused slightly. He wanted to invite James in for lunch, but
if he saw Jack there, Will wasn't quite sure what would happen. He decided to
risk it, have Jack hide somewhere else for a while. "James, would you like
to stay for lunch? Elizabeth is always happy
to set out a plate for one more."
"I would like that." Norrington said, following Will up the pathway.
"Thank you."
"Not a problem." He opened the door, stepping in. "Elizabeth, we
have..." His eyes went wide as he saw Jack come barreling straight at him.
"WILL!!!!" Will had never actually seen Jack truly afraid, and he was
wondering what would have him running. But he didn't have long to wonder as
Jack was unable to stop his momentum and slammed into Will and Norrington. The
impact alone sent them flying through the doors into the sitting room. Jack
crashed into the couch, Will fell backwards over the coffee table, and James
hit the floor.
"Jack, what's going on?" Will said as he struggled to get up from the
floor.
Jack pointed towards the doorway. "HER! She's tryin' to kill me!"
Will spun around to see Elizabeth standing there,
her hands behind her back.
"Um, Jack...have you lost it completely?" Will asked, looking towards
his friend in concern. James pointed at Jack.
"What is he doing here?"
"I'm a house guest. What are you doing here?" Jack responded. Will
shook his head at the bickering between pirate and commodore and looked over at
Elizabeth.
"What happened?" He asked as he went over to her. She smiled at him.
"Jack and I were just having some fun..." She said, looking up at him
with blue eyes. Wait, Elizabeth has brown
eyes....damn it! Will jumped back just in time to avoid the swipe of the
knife, knocking James back into the chair again and falling on top of him this
time. Jack sprinted off the couch.
"See? I told ye!" He shouted. Will got up off James and helped him to
his feet. Elizabeth, or whoever she
was at the moment, glared at Jack.
"Shut up!" She snapped. Her eyes went to Will. "You pirates are
all the same." Will's throat suddenly went dry.
"Mary..." He said. She turned towards him.
"Don't you dare say my name." She pointed the knife at him.
Will approached her. "That's your name, right? Mary Donner..." He
dodged a swipe, the knife catching the fabric of his shirt and tearing it.
"Please, let go of my wife." He pleaded with her. James edged up
beside him.
"What is going on?"
"My wife is possessed by one of four people currently haunting this house
who hate pirates." Will said.
"Oh..." He turned back to Mary. "Please, listen to the
boy."
She pointed at him with the knife. "Why do you care for their kind?"
She hissed. With her attention on James, Will started inching towards her.
"William is a friend of mine." James said, trying to keep her
attention. "He's not actually a pirate...he's a blacksmith, and a very
good one at that. He makes many swords." If time hadn't been of the
essence, Will would've stopped to marvel at the site of the commodore actually
rambling on. Jack moved as well, sliding behind Will in case she attacked.
Will reached for her quickly. She swung the blade at him when he grabbed her
arms, but Jack used a nearby candlestick to block the swing. Will pulled her
forward, his lips meeting hers. For a moment, she struggled. Then her body
slowly relaxed, and she melted into his kiss. Elizabeth was back. Will
pulled back from her, scrutinizing her to see if this was some kind of trick.
She smiled up at him.
"What was that for?" She asked, playing with the buttons on his
shirt.
"You don't remember?"
"Remember what?" She blinked, looking around the room. "When did
James get here? I'm sorry, Commodore." She glanced back to Will. "Did
something happen?"
Will glanced from the confused James to the nervous Jack, then back to her.
"You might say that..."
