Will had led Elizabeth into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. James had gone to the stove, boiling water for tea. Jack had preferred to retreat back to his room to stay away from James. Will sat down beside Elizabeth, placing one hand on hers. She stared at him, looking suspicious.
"William, what's going on?" She asked him. He glanced down at the table, not quite sure how to explain this to him without sounding insane.
"Elizabeth, our house is haunted." He said finally, looking up to meet her gaze. She frowned, as if she believed he was joking with her. At one point she probably would have brushed it off completely, but facing undead pirates had her thinking a little differently now. She stayed quiet, wondering what to say to him.
"Surely you must be joking." She said finally, smiling at him. The smile disappeared as he pulled the sketch out of his pocket and slid it across the table to her. She looked down on the family, then back at Will. "What is this?"
He tapped a finger on it. "The night I was brought to Port Royal, there was an attack by pirates." Elizabeth nodded, remembering hearing about that. Will pointed to the man. "This is Commodore Andrew Donner. He and his family lived here before us. The night of the attack…" He took a deep breath. "…they were brutally murdered by pirates." Elizabeth's eyes widened.
"I remembered that! I'd seen Commodore Donner on a few occasions when I went with my father down to the fort, but I didn't know that he lived here…" She trailed off. "Are you trying to tell me that the house is haunted by the commodore and his family?" Will nodded.
"I've seen the daughter and the wife so far." He told her. Elizabeth looked thoughtful.
"I think Jack might've seen someone when his fingers got slammed in the piano." She said. James set a cup of tea in front of her. She picked it up and took a sip. "Thank you, James."
"That's why you and I were…why I had a rash moment. Mary Donner had taken over your body and I needed a way to bring you back." Elizabeth's eyes widened as she gazed over the rim of the cup at him.
"William, if what you're saying is true, this is serious." She said quietly. He nodded.
"I know. That's why you need to go spend the night at your father's mansion tonight while I sort this out."
She glared at him. "I'm staying here and helping you." She insisted. He shook his head.
"No, I can't do what I need to do when you're in danger." He held her hand between his. "Please, Elizabeth, for your own safety." He asked her. She looked hesitant, before casting her eyes down to the table.
"I will." She told him. "Just promise me you'll stay safe."
He nodded. "I promise."
James stood in the doorway, waiting for Elizabeth to come downstairs. "Are you sure about this?" He asked Will quietly. Will nodded, glancing towards the stairs then back at the commodore.
"As long as she stays here, she's in danger." He said quietly. "This way, Jack and I can get to the root of the problem and hopefully fix it." He caught the look on James' face as he mentioned Jack. Pirate and commodore did not like each other, and James was not happy about Jack just sauntering in to Port Royal under his watch. Will made a mental note to get Jack out of the town as fast as possible after this was all over. He did understand that Norrington had a job to do, and the law to keep, and he wasn't helping by harboring Jack.
Elizabeth came downstairs slowly, her arms crossed across her chest and a downcast expression on her face. She hated leaving Will behind in this house after the incidents he had told her about. She still couldn't quite believe that the house itself was haunted. But he had sworn on his life that it was, and she believed him, if not the story itself. As she approached him, she looked up. Her arms wrapped around his middle and she laid her head against his chest.
"Be safe, William." She told him quietly. He kissed her forehead and hugged her as well.
"I will. As soon as we figure this out, I'll send for you." He told her. She'd already protested many a time that she could help out, but he didn't want her put in danger. Elizabeth drew back from him. Her eyes lingered on his for a moment before she turned and walked out the door. He stood in the doorway, watching, until the carriage had turned the corner of the street and had gone out of sight. He shut the door and turned to face Jack, who had quietly come downstairs.
"We need to talk." He told the pirate captain. "Notary Andrews said that you and my father met Commodore Donner before."
"We did. Didn't recognize him from the sketch though." Jack said, leaning against the wall and inspecting his fingernails. "Ran across him when we were looting a house on the outskirts of town. He seemed to take offense to that and started shootin'. William took one in the leg, but we escaped. But not before taking out a few of his men." Will found it hard to picture his father killing someone, but then reminded himself that he was a pirate, even if he was a good man as well. "Nothing noteworthy." Jack muttered. "Although he swore that he would wipe us and our kind out of the Caribbean."
"I don't think that's something worth skipping the supposed afterlife for." Will told him, looking deep in thought. "I think that the attack is just aimed at pirate blood in general because of the attack that night. You, of course, Donner would recognize. Maybe he thinks I'm my father." He mused. "Either way, they don't want us here, and we don't want them here. Looks like one group is going to have to leave." He glanced up at Jack, determined. "It's going to be those who no longer have need for a house."
Jack smirked at him. "That's the way, Will." He pushed himself away from the wall. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I haven't eaten yet today." He said as he walked towards the kitchen. Will shook his head and walked into the sitting room. Everything was quiet and still. No objects moving on their own, no bloody ghosts appearing to make comments about pirates. Nothing. He walked over and sat down in the chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. There wasn't exactly a set way to go about this. He only knew from what he'd read in books that he'd found here and there over the years. A priest could supposedly do an exorcism on the house, but Will didn't want to go there yet. He wondered if a price came attached to it. Maybe if he and Jack could find someway to appease them, to strike a deal with them, then they'd go away.
"Hardly, boy." The venom filled voice spat from behind him. Will shot out of the chair, whirling around. Commodore Donner stared at him in utter hatred. "You think that you can come into this house and desecrate it with your presence, and that we would leave?" He snarled, stalking towards the blacksmith. Will backed up, not quite sure why he was running from a ghost. It couldn't hurt him…could it? The ghost continued to close in on him. He was pale, blood running from the hole in his forehead. Disgust fought with fear inside Will.
"I'm not a pirate." He said strongly as he bumped into a footstool and fell backwards over it onto the ground. He scrambled to his feet again.
"Not a pirate?" He laughed. "I can read you like an open book, boy. You are a pirate, by blood and by actions."
Will shook his head. "I did what I did only to save my wife. Wouldn't you do the same for yours when you were alive?" He said slowly, backing up. The door to the hallway was very close.
"Mark my words, if you stay in this place, things will get worse."
"Worse than your wife possessing mine? Having her almost stab my best friend? Your daughter and son scaring the hell out of us?" Will snapped back bitterly. "Find eternal rest and leave us alone!" He was angry now, reaching for the door. But he got no answer. He turned to find that Donner's ghost had disappeared, leaving him alone in the room. He took a deep breath, leaning against the door to calm his shaky nerves. It would make sense if he just asked for his money back and looked for another house for Elizabeth and him. But he'd never be able to find another house like this for her. The rest that he had looked at had been shabby and nearly unlivable in. He couldn't do that to her.
Will yanked open the door, walking across the hallway and into the kitchen. Jack glanced up at him from the kitchen counter, where apparently he hadn't hesitated to make himself at home. Will hadn't even known they'd had that much food around. He walked over, leaning against the counter and picking up an apple. He held it in his hands, rolling it over and over.
"Look like ye've seen a ghost." Jack commented dryly.
"Commodore Donner paid me a visit." Will said, taking a bite out of the apple. "We're in for a fight, Jack. He doesn't want to give it up, and neither am I." He chewed in silence, letting his thoughts take over. Jack didn't say a word either, picking through the food he'd found.
"There has to be someway to put them at rest, besides getting ourselves killed." Will said, dropping the apple on the counter.
"Well, there has to be somethin' keepin' them here bound to this house. Maybe we have to find it and destroy it or somethin'." The pirate captain said around a mouthful of bread.
"That could be anywhere. This is a big house." Will said.
Jack pointed at him. "Exactly. So tomorrow we go to the top and search all the way down till we find somethin'."
Will nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
There were no more ghostly appearances that evening and into the night. Will even found that he was able to fall asleep for a while before his dry throat woke him up. He got out of bed, padding out the door and downstairs to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, he poured himself some water from the pitcher on the table and sat down at the kitchen table. The empty bed when he'd woken up had been somewhat disconcerting. He missed Elizabeth dearly, and hoped that they found a solution to the haunting soon.
Somewhere behind him, there was a creak. Will turned, glancing around. "Jack?" He called. There was no answer. He got to his feet, slowly padding along the floor. "Is someone there?" He knew that it was a stupid question. If someone was there, they obviously didn't want it to be known that they were. He walked into the sitting room. There was nothing there.
"Right. Back to bed." He muttered, backing towards the door. His foot hit something dark and warm, making him look down. All he saw was a dark stain covering the floor. Kneeling down, he dragged a finger in it and held it up to the shaft of moonlight. He sucked in a breath as he saw that the color was dark red. The color of blood. Will stood up quickly, slipping in the puddle. He grabbed hold of the candelabra on the wall to steady himself. Will shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"It's not real. It can't be real." He repeated to himself, and opened his eyes. He really wished he hadn't. Somehow he was no longer even in the house, but standing on a platform over looking a crowd. His hands were tied behind his back, and a noose hung limply around his neck. Whispers raced through the crowd, fingers pointed at him. One word was heard over and over again. Pirate. He's a pirate.
"Ready to meet your maker, William?" Will's head snapped to the side, eyes widening as he saw a very alive Commodore Andrew Donner staring back at him, hand resting on the lever.
"No." Will looked back out at the crowd. "I've done nothing wrong. You can't do this to me!" He shouted, and the whispers grew louder, almost deafening.
"But I can. Pirates deserve to die. Don't worry; you won't be the only one. Soon Jack Sparrow will join you." With a smirk, he pulled the lever and the floor beneath Will dropped.
Jack shifted in bed, unable to sleep for some unknown reason. He sat up, pushing the sheets away. Maybe the Turners had some alcohol with which he could indulge himself and fall asleep faster. Sliding out of bed, Jack padded across the floor and out the door. He headed for the stairs when he heard a strange sound. It sounded like a person struggling for breath, very similar to the sounds he had made when they had attempted to hang him. He paused, listening for the source of the noise. It seemed to be coming from behind him, down the hallway near Will and Elizabeth's room. He turned, walking quietly down the hall to the door. The sounds had grown louder and Jack shoved open the door.
Will was lying in bed, gasping for breath. The sheets had been kicked off onto the floor as he struggled with some unseen force. Jack rushed over to the bed, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "William, wake up!" He bellowed. The younger man was still gasping for breath, hands gripping the sheets tightly. It was almost as if some invisible force had wrapped its hands around his throat. "Bloody hell, William, wake up!" His only response was a gasp for breath.
Jack got up off the bed and sprinted downstairs. He grabbed the bucket and ran outside, looking for somewhere to draw water from. A few minutes later, he returned with the full bucket and sprinted upstairs. His heartbeat quickened when he didn't hear anything. When he sprinted in the door, Will was lying still on the bed, head turned away from Jack. He showed no signs of life, his chest not even moving to show that he was breathing. The pirate cursed and threw the bucket of water onto him. There was still no movement. Jack dropped the bucket and lunged for Will again. He shook him furiously. "It was a dream! Wake up!" He raised one hand, bringing it down in a stinging blow across Will's cheek. He waited.
A few moments after the slap, Will coughed, gasping for breath and finally being able to draw in breath. Jack rubbed his back. "Breathe in." He told him, waiting till the blacksmith was breathing normally again before asking him questions. "What happened?"
Will pushed the wet hair from his face, sitting up. "I thought I was awake. I went downstairs to get a glass of water, and I heard a noise in the sitting room. When I went to investigate, there was blood on the floor. Then I blinked and I was standing on the platform, waiting to be hung with Andrew Donner standing beside me. He pulled the lever…" Will reached up and touched his neck, wincing. His throat hurt from trying to breathe. In the pale moonlight, Jack could see the dark bruises starting to form.
He looked towards the window, resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm sick of this." He growled. "We're takin' the fight to these ghosts. I don't know how, but this has to stop." He glanced back towards Will. "We're getting' this house back."