The rest of the night had been less than pleasant. Afraid to be attacked again, both Will and Jack had forgone sleep and stayed up, talking, listening to the sounds outside, or pacing in their respective rooms. It was because of that lack of sleep that both of them could barely hold up their heads.
Jack looked up again as Will started to fall forward onto the table. He reached across quickly and stopped the young man; two fingers pressed into the middle of his forehead and gave him a shove back. Will jerked awake, blinking. "I wasn't sleeping…" He protested before stifling a yawn. Jack gave him a look before looking back down at the table. A knock at the door both made them start. Will got to his feet to go to the door, but before he could get to the door of the kitchen, they both heard the outdoor door open and shut. Will looked at Jack for a moment before slowly pushing open the door and glancing out into the hallway. He turned back towards Jack. "There was no one the…" He let out a surprised yelp and jumped back as a hand tapped him gently on the shoulder. He spun as he crashed into the table. His heat pounded against his chest, but he laughed when he saw who it was. "Elizabeth."
She gave him an amused look, setting down the basket to give him a hug. "Of course. Were you expecting someone else?" As she drew back, she caught sight of the marks on his neck. Her eyes widened. "Will, what happened?"
"Will had a little bit of a nighttime run in with the commodore last night. The dead one anyway. Tried to hang him." Jack explained. Will looked back to Elizabeth.
"And Jack woke me up."
She hugged him again, breathing a sigh of relief. "Will…maybe you should give up the house. It's not worth you getting injured or killed over." Elizabeth reached up and brushed a tendril of hair back from his face, tucking it behind his ear. "I'd rather live in some rundown house than lose you. You're my life." She put her head back down against his chest. He held her tightly. Jack grumbled something about not getting thanks and bit into an apple. The crunching sound made Elizabeth come to again. "Right! I brought you some breakfast." She said, picking up the basket and taking it over to the table. She opened it and pulled out a few packages. "There's bacon, and eggs, and I made some bread." She explained to them.
"That sounds great." Will told her. In all honesty, he was hungry and the food might help him stay awake. He disappeared into the kitchen, coming out with three plates. He laid one at the head of the table and motioned for Elizabeth to sit. Jack sat on her left and Will sat on her right. As soon as Will had passed the plate to Jack, the packages were torn open with gusto and everyone started helping themselves. There was barely a peep out of Jack and Will as they ate. Elizabeth watched the two of them.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to stay? I'm sure that there must be something I can do." Elizabeth said. Will shook his head.
"It's safer for you if you weren't here." He told her. She looked hurt at what he had said, but didn't protest. He was happy that she hadn't, as he felt bad enough already. Elizabeth got up from the table, pulling on her shawl again.
"I best leave you to your job then." She gave Will a sad smile and started out of the kitchen for the front door. Will got up and followed her into the hallway. He grabbed her arm gently and spun her around to meet him, his lips meeting hers. She returned the kiss, arms wrapping around his neck. After their moment was over, she pulled away and took a deep breath. "Be careful." She told him as she opened the door. He nodded. "And you too, Jack." Will turned, wondering when Jack had come out of the kitchen.
"Aye, I will. No ghosty is goin' to get the best of Captain Jack Sparrow." He said with a smirk. Elizabeth returned his smile, looked to Will one last time, and disappeared out the door. Will turned to Jack.
"Ready to get started? I'll take care of the dishes later." Jack looked up the stairs.
"Aye, let's go to it." He said and started up the stairs. The blacksmith followed behind him, looking over his shoulder. "What are we lookin' for?" Jack asked, stopping.
"I'm not quite sure. I guess anything unusual to start with." Will pushed past Jack and took the lead up to the second floor. He walked down the hallway, waiting for an idea or something of the like to hit him. "Come on. Show me something." He said quietly, looking around.
Jack pointed to the last room on the right, the only one he hadn't been in yet. "What's in there?"
"The old study. But I didn't see anything out of the ordinary when I looked through it the other day."
"Maybe you just weren't looking for the right thing." Jack said as he walked past Will again and pushing the door open. He disappeared inside, leaving the door open enough for Will to follow. After a moment's hesitation, Will followed him inside. The study still hadn't been cleaned yet, cobwebs and dust clinging to most of the surfaces. The walls were lined with bookshelves and there didn't seem to be any extra space for a single book more. A beautiful desk sat facing out the window. The dark green curtains hung heavily from the window, covered in dust. Paintings of a few select people hung on the wall, staring out at the occupants of the room with dark, cold, unfriendly eyes. Will suppressed a shudder and averted his eyes.
Jack didn't seem to feel their gazes as he moved towards the desk. He pulled the chair out and sat down. His next move was to open drawers and start pulling things out with all the finesse of a pirate. Papers went flying, landing on the dusty rug as he dug deeper, looking for something that might be of help. Unsure of what to do, Will started searching the bookshelves for anything that might've been a clue. He sorted through the books. Most of them were classics. There were a few that Will thought looked interesting and made a mental note to read after the house was no longer haunted. Jack pulled open another drawer and started searching through the papers.
A while later both of them had admitted defeat. Jack looked around at the papers spread all over the floor, then up at Will. "Well, it was fun anyway. Never liked the man." He leaned against the desk. Will leaned against the bookshelf, closing his eyes.
"I have no idea what I'm doing." He said. "It would almost seem more practical to sell the house and buy another." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. All the work to find a house for his beautiful wife, and he had to give it up. Jack shot him a dark look.
"I've had my fingers slammed in the piano and been assaulted by a ghost in your wife's body, not to mention that little trick with the mirror. You were strangled and who knows what else." Jack stared straight at him. "If I were you, I'd want payback." He said evenly.
"Against ghosts?"
"You've been up against cursed pirates, and ghosts cause you problems?" Jack got up. "We'll get our bloody revenge."
"You're just mad because a ghost has gotten you twice and you haven't had the chance for rebuttal." Will responded, joking with his old friend as he got to his feet. They headed out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen, where both men paused.
"Jack, you wouldn't know how to cook, would you?" Will asked weakly. Jack gave him a look.
"That's why the Pearl has her own cook. You're the civilian. Aren't you supposed to know these things?" Will only shook his head.
"I guess it's whatever's edible for us." Jack muttered and pulled open the pantry. In a few moments, everything edible without preparation was sitting on the counter. It wasn't much. Of course the best looking of the food was the fresh fruit that Elizabeth had brought with breakfast. There was a loaf of bread as well, and some cheese and meat. Jack sat on the counter, shining an apple on his shirt sleeve as Will cut a piece of bread from the loaf. Will suddenly stopped, looking up at Jack.
"What if the ghosts can't rest because there's something still here?" He asked. "Like the weapon used to kill them?"
Jack looked thoughtful. "After the pirate killed the commodore and his wife, he'd pillage the place, look for valuables that he could sell, or trade, or even use. The commodore was bound to have a better pistol than the pirate's own, so he'd leave his old one behind and take the commodore's own…" He shrugged, looking down at the apple. "Just a theory." He said before taking a bite.
"It certainly makes sense. Well, as much sense as ghosts can make." Will said, before taking a bite of the piece of bread in his hand. Jack nodded, chewing on the apple in silence. He made a face. The apple had to be one of the worst he'd ever tasted. It wasn't crunchy and juicy, but sour and mushy, just like the time the apples on the Pearl had been infested by…maggots. Jack spit out the apple into his hand, and his nose wrinkled up in disgust as he looked down on the small, white wiggling creatures. He jumped off the counter, dumping the handful into a dirty bowl before turning back to Will. "Any rum in the house? Or any water at least?" He asked. Will gave him a strange look, swallowing the bread.
"What's wrong?" Jack was about to explain until he saw the piece of bread Will was holding.
"Same thing that's wrong with your bread." Will looked down and yelled out, dropping the bread on the counter. He looked vaguely sick as he watched the same little invaders squirm in the bread, some only half from where he had cut the slice.
"I swallowed a piece." He groaned.
"They won't kill you. At least I don't think so. There have been times on the Pearl when supplies run low and the only thing we had left was the maggot infested food. But we usually picked the buggers out." Jack responded, watching them wiggle.
"That's disgusting." Will said. "They weren't there before. I swear it."
"I know they weren't." Jack muttered. "It's this damnable ho…WILL!" The next thing Will knew, Jack was slamming into him and they both hit the ground. The knife he had used to cut bread earlier slammed into the wall he had been standing in front of only a moment ago. Jack lay on the floor beside Will, who was staring up at the wobbling blade before looking over at the counter. Anything that had been left out, pots, pans, dishes, silverware, was floating in the air now. Both men climbed to their feet, staring. "We need to get out of here." Jack said.
"Aye." Was all the response Will could muster. Then all hell broke loose. Jack ducked as a pot came flying at him, slamming into the wall with a horrific clang. Will dove for the pantry, grabbing the child's play cutlass out. A cup flew in his direction and he swung out to knock it away. Both the glass and the flimsy toy broke, leaving him holding a small piece of wood and blocking his face as glass shards peppered him. Jack grabbed the pot off the floor and brought it up, letting the plate shatter against it. Slowly, fighting against the floating dinnerware, he made his way over to Will, who could only duck things. He grabbed the younger man by the arm, pulling him towards the doorway. Objects came faster and the two could only bat away so much before they started making contact. There were curses and grunts of pain as dishes made contact to knees and stomachs before Will lunged out the door into the living room. Jack followed behind him, slamming the door shut behind him. There were the muffled sounds of the flying arsenal bouncing off the door. Jack looked over at Will.
"I don't think I want to say here tonight." Jack muttered, just as a vase slammed into the wall by his head. All around them, various objects were beginning to float again, and this time he was dismayed to see that even the furniture in the living room was floating. Will didn't say anything as he took off for the hallway and the front door. Jack had always been able to talk himself out of a dangerous situation, but this time he didn't think there would be any reasoning. He followed after Will, wincing as furniture began scooting towards them. The arm chair slammed into him, and he fell into the seat. He rolled out just before the chair slammed into the wall. Will hopped over the footstool that flew at him, reaching the doorway. He twisted the knob and flew out into the hallway, Jack behind him.
There was no strange activity in the hallway. The silence was even more unnerving than the floating objects trying to kill them. Will opened the front and nearly fell out onto the doorstep. Jack slammed the door shut, leaning against it and taking a deep breath. "Well, that was fun." He muttered in a sarcastic tone. Will looked up at him, still trying to catch his breath.
"We can't go back in there. If need be, we can sleep in the shop tonight." Will said.
"But not back in there."