Chapter Nine
Elizabeth lowered the knife.
"Your- your whole crew is here in Port Royal? With the Black Pearl? Is that not risky?"
"Well," the pirate said as he propped his feet up on the table, "I suppose it is a bit dangerous as long as that self-righteous, pirate-hating Commodore Norrington is still running around, but, I had little choice in the matter. When your dear commodore kindly invaded my home city, he took a few of me crew home with 'im."
"So you are here on a rescue mission?"
"Something to that effect, love. Now, I recently received the news that you and young Will had been married. I trust that my invitation was simply misplaced?"
At this, Elizabeth's eyes began to tear.
"Oh, Jack, Will is dead. He went with the commodore to Tortuga, and he was killed in action. Then my father was murdered, and his killer is threatening my life and I have to marry the commodore so he can protect me, and… And my whole world is collapsing around me."
Jack's jaw dropped a bit.
"Now, wait a moment, love, are you telling me that young Will was in Tortuga? That he led the commodore to Tortuga?"
Elizabeth nodded. "The commodore asked him to, and Will just didn't see anyway out of it."
"Does this whole port revolve around Commodore Norrington?" he sighed. "And that's where Will was killed? Did they ever find a body?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "They never found the body."
"Darling, I am afraid that you have been given false information."
All Elizabeth could do was stare at him.
Jack stood up, his gold chains clinking together loudly.
"When is the happy day?"
"You mean my marriage to the commodore? Friday. Two days from now."
"Two days, eh? Weddings!" He clapped his hands together and flashed a grin at her. "I love weddings! I promise I'll be back in time for this one." He turned as though to leave, but seemed to change his mind halfway and continued turning until he faced her once more. "I would appreciate it if you did not mention this little reunion to Commodore Norrington. Our last encounter was not what one might call pleasant.
Elizabeth nodded, a perplexed look on her face. "Are you going somewhere? Do you mean to break your crew out before you go?"
Jack held up his hands and shook his head. "I can say no more, love, only that I will return in time for the happy occasion."
With that said, he twirled around and left, where he promptly knocked over some poor old woman's fish cart.
Elizabeth smiled. Even in the world of pain she now found herself in, she knew that she would find a way out of it, as long as her friends stood by her.
Will had eaten. He had drunk water and he had carefully washed his wounds. And he had slept. Not well, but still slept. Now, he told himself, he could stop worrying about basic needs and move on to some more challenging needs. He knew that the water was probably not clean, which could possible cause him to get sick. He knew that he could not survive for long eating mulberry bushes. And though he was no surgeon, even he could tell that his wounds were very serious and that he had lost quite a bit of blood, and that was not a good thing either.
He may be able to survive for a while, but he knew that his good fortune could not hold out much longer. He could only hope that whatever the commodore told Elizabeth, she would not believe it.
Will carefully pulled back the makeshift bandage that covered his leg to check his wound. That was definitely the most serious injury on his body, despite the fact that he was covered in curs and bruises. He had to chuckle at what he imagined his appearance to be.
He began to feel nauseous. He was growing accustomed to the bouts of nausea that occasionally overcame him. He suspected that it was from the loss of blood. Only this time, dizziness accompanied the nausea and he felt so faint he had to lie down. He knew that he had very little time. He had to be rescued, and soon. He had no hope of survival unless he got some help.
He blacked out.
Captain Jack Sparrow stood at the corner of a busy street in the middle of Prot Royal near a small pub that he had been told many of the commodore's men frequented. He was watching a scrawny young man pay for his beer and leave. A passerby told him that the young man had just returned with the commodore. As he came out of the pub, Jack abandoned his post and caught up with the young man and put an arm around his shoulder.
"Son, I think you and I have something to talk about."