Author's note: Sorry about the delay, I had a busy weekend but it's ok
cause I'm posting two chapters this week! (not now mind you) This has some
of my favourite bits this chapter and I would like to know your fav bits so
please feel free to read and review
Elizabeth didn't know how long she was out for, but suspected it wasn't very long because she awoke to find Will staring down at her clearly puzzled.
"Are you alright miss?" he said softly as he helped her sit back in her seat, which was awkward enough, seeing as he was in the back. "I didn't know what to do when you fainted but there wasn't much I could do seeing as there is no way out of this cage."
"Cage?" Elizabeth said groggily, and then realizing that she was talking to a man who lived a few generations before cars were established, she chuckled slightly.
"If you'll excuse me miss, I don't think this is a laughing matter at all, we are both trapped here, we don't know where we are or to what purpose we have been imprisoned." Will looked at her with a puzzled glance and Elizabeth almost felt herself faint once more. "You don't look well miss, is they're anything obstructing your breathing?"
Elizabeth couldn't help chuckling a bit more, before noticing the concern on Will's face and turning her expression serious.
"No I am fine. Just a little confused," Elizabeth said contemplating her surroundings. "We're not trapped, this is a car and it belongs to me." Elizabeth concluded at a loss for any other words.
Will on the other hand suddenly had much to say, his gaze shifting suddenly from puzzled to fierce. Leaning back he drew his sword and before Elizabeth could react, she had one of the finest swords in the Caribbean pressed against her throat.
"Do not think, lady that because of your sex I will spare you!" Will said with a fierce determination. "Now answer my questions carefully and you may escape from this alive."
Elizabeth was frightened and hurt by her favourite movie character (having a blade of steel pressed against your throat does that to a relationship) but realized the stress he must have been under so nodded her head compliantly.
"Who are you?" He demanded fiercely.
"My name is Elizabeth." and suddenly she felt the blade cut slightly into her throat. Elizabeth gasped and prepared to kiss her butt goodbye when her still present head and Will's booming voice drew her back.
"You lie! You use that name only because you know that it is my weakness!" Elizabeth couldn't help but think of the romance behind that accusation but quickly snapped back to reality as Will applied more pressure to the blade.
"No I swear to you, on my mother's grave my name is Elizabeth! Elizabeth Cartwright!" she braced against the side of the car awaiting the furry of the torn pirate blacksmith.
"What do you want with me?" he demanded.
"I don't want anything with you!" Elizabeth's voice was shaking and she was almost at the brink of tears. She also hoped that Will didn't realize that she wasn't entirely truthful in her statement.
"How did I get here?" he said his voice calming slightly.
"After you were knocked out at the theatre I carried you back to my car because I didn't know who you were. I swear I mean you no harm and I can explain everything if you just give me a chance!" Elizabeth hoped the pleading in her voice was enough to convince Will of her sincerity.
"I'll ask the questions here!" Elizabeth could tell that, despite his fierce outer appearance, Will, inside, believed her answers.
"Yes sir," she replied in the calmest voice she could muster.
"Where am I?" he said the edge in his voice finally ebbing.
"The question sir is not where, but where and when." Elizabeth hoped that by fighting cursed pirates and witnessing his friend turned briefly into an undead, Will had a slightly open mind.
"What? You're insane." He obviously was having a little trouble with it.
"My name is Elizabeth Cartwright, as I said before. I am an agent for the American government. We were investigating a case when things went wrong and instead of stealing the gold from your time, we stole you." Elizabeth looked into his eyes hoping to portray how sorry she was, and how sincere she was trying to be.
"I do not believe you," Will said not letting his guard down.
"I know that it's hard to believe but please, you have to trust me. How else do you explain what has happened to you, I mean one minute your standing by a heap of treasure and the next your in a dark room confronting an ugly ogre and then you're knocked out, only to be revived in a stranger's car. You can chose to believe this, and stop threatening me with your sword or," Elizabeth said squaring her shoulders. "We can just sit her in the car all night, cause without my help you're not going anywhere."
"Alright" Will said relaxing and putting his sword away. "How do I get home?"
"See that's just it, I don't exactly know yet." Elizabeth winced as she saw Will reaching for his sword again and hurried to continue. "But I will, eventually, if you just let me go back to my apartment and figure this out. I could drop you off at."
"Oh no you don't," Will said leaning forward and grabbing her arm. "You are not leaving my sight until you can bring me back home."
"I will do whatever you say and rest assured I will not rest until I can get you back home." Inwardly Elizabeth cheered, she wasn't really ready to turn him over to headquarters just yet so she decided to take both of them back to her apartment (suddenly realizing that, considering Will was already with somebody, it was no longer entirely inappropriate). She invited him to get into the front seat, after showing him how to use the door and lock, and together the two of them drove off into the night.
On the way back to her apartment Elizabeth filled in most of the details about Augustine, the machine, Pirates of the Caribbean, and her role in the CIA. Will had been sceptical at most of it, ok at some of it (On a certain level he understood Augustine's fascination with treasure) and down right contradicting of a bit of it ("I'm an actor!?"). Overall it took a lot of calm talking from Elizabeth and a look at a giant billboard movie advertisement on the freeway, to convince him that he wasn't dreaming and that he had, somehow, been transported into another time and place.
As he watched the Billboard pass, Will looked at the strange girl who had helped him and was continuing to help him. He had seen all the evidence he needed and was now convinced that either he was having the most incredible dream of his life, or she was telling the truth. He hadn't discovered why yet, but something had led him to trust her.
"So you think that I am the only one who was taken out of the screen?" he asked tentatively, wanting to know if anyone else had been effected, namely Elizabeth, Swann not Cartwright, he reminded himself.
Elizabeth looked down on him and smiled. "Yeah, you were the only on the screen at the time so you're the only one we need to worry about." Will was comforted by this and by Elizabeth Cartwright's kind smile and funny dialogue. He realized how much he had scared her before and was quick to apologize.
"Look I'm sorry if I didn't believe you before, you'd think I'd have a more open mind, dealing with curses and undead and such," he stared back out the window avoiding her kind eyes staring back at his undeserving ones.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you were plenty frightened and worried about Elizabeth and stuff, I probably would have done the same thing in your position."
At the mention of her name Will thought about Elizabeth again, how she had left him for Norrington, how he had told her to. He suddenly realized how lonely his life back home would be now with her removed from it. However he did enjoy the company of this Elizabeth, and would strive his best to please her if, in the least only to heal the pain he felt from losing his Elizabeth.
"Penny for your thoughts," he heard Elizabeth Cartwright say, pulling him out of his reverie.
"Pardon?" Will said, unfamiliar with the expression. He saw Elizabeth chuckle a little bit and then smile at him again.
"A penny for your thoughts, it's something you say to someone who is caught in a dream."
"A dream," Will pondered. "A dream is defiantly something that I feel I'm caught in."
"Well sorry to awake you dreamer, but we've reached my apartment and it's still raining cats and dogs outside. So here's to a rude awakening," Elizabeth said as she turned off the engine and unlocked the doors.
Will smiled as she got of the car and came around and opened his. He cringed slightly at his abuse of the gentleman's code, but as of yet he was still having trouble with the whole, seatbelt, and car door mechanism. As he stepped out into the rain and became drenched, he looked at Elizabeth and smiled for the first time since he had entered this strange new world.
"Lead me on, fair maiden," he said trying to regain what little gentlemanly nature he had left, by running ahead and opening the foyer door.
"Cut that out!" Elizabeth revelled in every minute of being near Will, from his beautiful face to his noble mannerisms. She chided him knowing full well he would never abandon his chivalry. She smiled slightly as she passed him and crossed the foyer to unlock the inner door. She turned around to see him gazing up at the long staircase, which served as a route to most of the floors in the complex.
"This is amazing." Will said with awe as he walked through the foyer. "To think that such massive buildings exist and house so many people in such a small space!"
"Small is defiantly the operative word there," Elizabeth said as she moved to stand beside Will and looked up through the staircase to the twentieth floor. "But I guess it would seem pretty amazing to someone whose isn't used to using steel and such when building houses." She looked at his awed glance and her heart skipped a little beat.
"This is definitely something I want to take back with me, I mean the use of steel and metal to make houses could make a very wealthy living for a blacksmith."
"Or a pirate with blacksmith tendencies," Elizabeth joked, hoping he would find it funny.
"Yes," Will said casting his eyes downward. "I'm sure it would be." Elizabeth's plan didn't work; Will had a poor sense of humour, and a history he was at this point ashamed with. This was something Elizabeth would have to try and remedy.
"Come on then," Elizabeth said while heading for the first flight of stairs. "We don't have all night."
Elizabeth flung open the door with all the feigned enthusiasm she could muster after climbing three flights of stairs, realizing that the elevator, despite any shock value it would have had on Will, would have been a better idea.
"Here it is, I know it isn't much but the government doesn't pay very well." Elizabeth stepped inside so that Will could see her small, one room apartment. Seeing the puzzled look on his face she suddenly became very self-conscious about the sights, sounds and most embarrassingly, the smells of her apartment. However, what Will said was twice as bad as she could have imagined.
"Is there only the one bed?" Will said tentatively.
Elizabeth did a slight double take at her now incredibly small and stupid apartment, and then panicked slightly as she realized that no gentleman would agree to sleep in the same room as a lady. She finally reigned triumphant as she realized she could probably sleep in the bathtub, thanking Australia for its influence in detaching it from the toilet and sink. As quickly as she had realized this she had wiped the look of shock of her face and replaced it with a large cheesy grin.
"Oh no, no, no!" Elizabeth said hoping Will would believe her. "This is only my guest bed! I sleep in the other room," she said pointing to the bathroom door. "Yeah I actually just changed the bedding on my bed so I'll have to grab it from the linen closet but umm, yeah come in come in."
"Oh ok, I was just making sure. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable in your own home." Elizabeth could almost see the uncomfort evident in his own voice, and mentally kicked herself for thinking that she could pull off inviting an incredibly hot, pirate, gentleman over for a sleepover.
"Um it's no problem at all, just come in and make yourself comfortable." Elizabeth said as Will entered and stood in the middle of her bed/living room. "Ah are you hungry?" She asked frantically trying to make conversation. "You must be. I'll see what I have in the cupboard, you just stay here, or maybe you could go sit on the be.Couch! You could go sit on the couch, yeah." And with that Elizabeth, her face as red as a fresh steamed lobster, ran around the corner to the kitchen, working furiously to hide the excitement and fear she felt at having her gentleman a guest in her home.
Will felt the tension change as soon as he entered the flat, Elizabeth suddenly becoming tense and jumpy. He tried his best to make her comfortable; he sat politely on her couch and watched her make dinner, (the most marvel thing, the whole meal came from a single blue box!) he smiled and complimented her on it while they ate, and when she said goodnight and retired to her bedroom with her bedding and computer, he wished her pleasant dreams. But still, he could sense she was uneasy, but not wanting to upset her further he lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
His dream was odd, and frightening. He was standing in the midst of many tall, steel buildings the tops of which he could not see and people were calling to him. Captain Jack Sparrow was in one, and his Elizabeth was in another. There was a strange group of people in one, and furthest from him Elizabeth Cartwright was calling. All of a sudden His Elizabeth's building caught fire! He ran toward it immediately but was shocked when the New Elizabeth's building caught fire as well! He didn't know which way to go and the longer he stood there the worse the fire became, until all around him there was fire and a sickly tapping sound.
Will woke suddenly from his dream to the strange tapping sound. He looked at the digital clock that Elizabeth had showed him and realized that he'd only been asleep for four and a half hours. He looked through the curtains and saw the sky starting to brighten as the sun approached. Slowly he got up and searched out the tapping sound, following it to Elizabeth's door. Alarmed that it might be the fire from his dream, he knocked frantically.
"Elizabeth are you all right!?" he called into the door, but there was no answer. "Elizabeth I said are you all right?!" again there was no answer at the door. Will started to panic when he heard no answer and beat his fist against the door.
"Elizabeth!" and as he heard no answer a third time, he threw all rules aside and burst into her bedroom.
"Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth didn't know how long she was out for, but suspected it wasn't very long because she awoke to find Will staring down at her clearly puzzled.
"Are you alright miss?" he said softly as he helped her sit back in her seat, which was awkward enough, seeing as he was in the back. "I didn't know what to do when you fainted but there wasn't much I could do seeing as there is no way out of this cage."
"Cage?" Elizabeth said groggily, and then realizing that she was talking to a man who lived a few generations before cars were established, she chuckled slightly.
"If you'll excuse me miss, I don't think this is a laughing matter at all, we are both trapped here, we don't know where we are or to what purpose we have been imprisoned." Will looked at her with a puzzled glance and Elizabeth almost felt herself faint once more. "You don't look well miss, is they're anything obstructing your breathing?"
Elizabeth couldn't help chuckling a bit more, before noticing the concern on Will's face and turning her expression serious.
"No I am fine. Just a little confused," Elizabeth said contemplating her surroundings. "We're not trapped, this is a car and it belongs to me." Elizabeth concluded at a loss for any other words.
Will on the other hand suddenly had much to say, his gaze shifting suddenly from puzzled to fierce. Leaning back he drew his sword and before Elizabeth could react, she had one of the finest swords in the Caribbean pressed against her throat.
"Do not think, lady that because of your sex I will spare you!" Will said with a fierce determination. "Now answer my questions carefully and you may escape from this alive."
Elizabeth was frightened and hurt by her favourite movie character (having a blade of steel pressed against your throat does that to a relationship) but realized the stress he must have been under so nodded her head compliantly.
"Who are you?" He demanded fiercely.
"My name is Elizabeth." and suddenly she felt the blade cut slightly into her throat. Elizabeth gasped and prepared to kiss her butt goodbye when her still present head and Will's booming voice drew her back.
"You lie! You use that name only because you know that it is my weakness!" Elizabeth couldn't help but think of the romance behind that accusation but quickly snapped back to reality as Will applied more pressure to the blade.
"No I swear to you, on my mother's grave my name is Elizabeth! Elizabeth Cartwright!" she braced against the side of the car awaiting the furry of the torn pirate blacksmith.
"What do you want with me?" he demanded.
"I don't want anything with you!" Elizabeth's voice was shaking and she was almost at the brink of tears. She also hoped that Will didn't realize that she wasn't entirely truthful in her statement.
"How did I get here?" he said his voice calming slightly.
"After you were knocked out at the theatre I carried you back to my car because I didn't know who you were. I swear I mean you no harm and I can explain everything if you just give me a chance!" Elizabeth hoped the pleading in her voice was enough to convince Will of her sincerity.
"I'll ask the questions here!" Elizabeth could tell that, despite his fierce outer appearance, Will, inside, believed her answers.
"Yes sir," she replied in the calmest voice she could muster.
"Where am I?" he said the edge in his voice finally ebbing.
"The question sir is not where, but where and when." Elizabeth hoped that by fighting cursed pirates and witnessing his friend turned briefly into an undead, Will had a slightly open mind.
"What? You're insane." He obviously was having a little trouble with it.
"My name is Elizabeth Cartwright, as I said before. I am an agent for the American government. We were investigating a case when things went wrong and instead of stealing the gold from your time, we stole you." Elizabeth looked into his eyes hoping to portray how sorry she was, and how sincere she was trying to be.
"I do not believe you," Will said not letting his guard down.
"I know that it's hard to believe but please, you have to trust me. How else do you explain what has happened to you, I mean one minute your standing by a heap of treasure and the next your in a dark room confronting an ugly ogre and then you're knocked out, only to be revived in a stranger's car. You can chose to believe this, and stop threatening me with your sword or," Elizabeth said squaring her shoulders. "We can just sit her in the car all night, cause without my help you're not going anywhere."
"Alright" Will said relaxing and putting his sword away. "How do I get home?"
"See that's just it, I don't exactly know yet." Elizabeth winced as she saw Will reaching for his sword again and hurried to continue. "But I will, eventually, if you just let me go back to my apartment and figure this out. I could drop you off at."
"Oh no you don't," Will said leaning forward and grabbing her arm. "You are not leaving my sight until you can bring me back home."
"I will do whatever you say and rest assured I will not rest until I can get you back home." Inwardly Elizabeth cheered, she wasn't really ready to turn him over to headquarters just yet so she decided to take both of them back to her apartment (suddenly realizing that, considering Will was already with somebody, it was no longer entirely inappropriate). She invited him to get into the front seat, after showing him how to use the door and lock, and together the two of them drove off into the night.
On the way back to her apartment Elizabeth filled in most of the details about Augustine, the machine, Pirates of the Caribbean, and her role in the CIA. Will had been sceptical at most of it, ok at some of it (On a certain level he understood Augustine's fascination with treasure) and down right contradicting of a bit of it ("I'm an actor!?"). Overall it took a lot of calm talking from Elizabeth and a look at a giant billboard movie advertisement on the freeway, to convince him that he wasn't dreaming and that he had, somehow, been transported into another time and place.
As he watched the Billboard pass, Will looked at the strange girl who had helped him and was continuing to help him. He had seen all the evidence he needed and was now convinced that either he was having the most incredible dream of his life, or she was telling the truth. He hadn't discovered why yet, but something had led him to trust her.
"So you think that I am the only one who was taken out of the screen?" he asked tentatively, wanting to know if anyone else had been effected, namely Elizabeth, Swann not Cartwright, he reminded himself.
Elizabeth looked down on him and smiled. "Yeah, you were the only on the screen at the time so you're the only one we need to worry about." Will was comforted by this and by Elizabeth Cartwright's kind smile and funny dialogue. He realized how much he had scared her before and was quick to apologize.
"Look I'm sorry if I didn't believe you before, you'd think I'd have a more open mind, dealing with curses and undead and such," he stared back out the window avoiding her kind eyes staring back at his undeserving ones.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you were plenty frightened and worried about Elizabeth and stuff, I probably would have done the same thing in your position."
At the mention of her name Will thought about Elizabeth again, how she had left him for Norrington, how he had told her to. He suddenly realized how lonely his life back home would be now with her removed from it. However he did enjoy the company of this Elizabeth, and would strive his best to please her if, in the least only to heal the pain he felt from losing his Elizabeth.
"Penny for your thoughts," he heard Elizabeth Cartwright say, pulling him out of his reverie.
"Pardon?" Will said, unfamiliar with the expression. He saw Elizabeth chuckle a little bit and then smile at him again.
"A penny for your thoughts, it's something you say to someone who is caught in a dream."
"A dream," Will pondered. "A dream is defiantly something that I feel I'm caught in."
"Well sorry to awake you dreamer, but we've reached my apartment and it's still raining cats and dogs outside. So here's to a rude awakening," Elizabeth said as she turned off the engine and unlocked the doors.
Will smiled as she got of the car and came around and opened his. He cringed slightly at his abuse of the gentleman's code, but as of yet he was still having trouble with the whole, seatbelt, and car door mechanism. As he stepped out into the rain and became drenched, he looked at Elizabeth and smiled for the first time since he had entered this strange new world.
"Lead me on, fair maiden," he said trying to regain what little gentlemanly nature he had left, by running ahead and opening the foyer door.
"Cut that out!" Elizabeth revelled in every minute of being near Will, from his beautiful face to his noble mannerisms. She chided him knowing full well he would never abandon his chivalry. She smiled slightly as she passed him and crossed the foyer to unlock the inner door. She turned around to see him gazing up at the long staircase, which served as a route to most of the floors in the complex.
"This is amazing." Will said with awe as he walked through the foyer. "To think that such massive buildings exist and house so many people in such a small space!"
"Small is defiantly the operative word there," Elizabeth said as she moved to stand beside Will and looked up through the staircase to the twentieth floor. "But I guess it would seem pretty amazing to someone whose isn't used to using steel and such when building houses." She looked at his awed glance and her heart skipped a little beat.
"This is definitely something I want to take back with me, I mean the use of steel and metal to make houses could make a very wealthy living for a blacksmith."
"Or a pirate with blacksmith tendencies," Elizabeth joked, hoping he would find it funny.
"Yes," Will said casting his eyes downward. "I'm sure it would be." Elizabeth's plan didn't work; Will had a poor sense of humour, and a history he was at this point ashamed with. This was something Elizabeth would have to try and remedy.
"Come on then," Elizabeth said while heading for the first flight of stairs. "We don't have all night."
Elizabeth flung open the door with all the feigned enthusiasm she could muster after climbing three flights of stairs, realizing that the elevator, despite any shock value it would have had on Will, would have been a better idea.
"Here it is, I know it isn't much but the government doesn't pay very well." Elizabeth stepped inside so that Will could see her small, one room apartment. Seeing the puzzled look on his face she suddenly became very self-conscious about the sights, sounds and most embarrassingly, the smells of her apartment. However, what Will said was twice as bad as she could have imagined.
"Is there only the one bed?" Will said tentatively.
Elizabeth did a slight double take at her now incredibly small and stupid apartment, and then panicked slightly as she realized that no gentleman would agree to sleep in the same room as a lady. She finally reigned triumphant as she realized she could probably sleep in the bathtub, thanking Australia for its influence in detaching it from the toilet and sink. As quickly as she had realized this she had wiped the look of shock of her face and replaced it with a large cheesy grin.
"Oh no, no, no!" Elizabeth said hoping Will would believe her. "This is only my guest bed! I sleep in the other room," she said pointing to the bathroom door. "Yeah I actually just changed the bedding on my bed so I'll have to grab it from the linen closet but umm, yeah come in come in."
"Oh ok, I was just making sure. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable in your own home." Elizabeth could almost see the uncomfort evident in his own voice, and mentally kicked herself for thinking that she could pull off inviting an incredibly hot, pirate, gentleman over for a sleepover.
"Um it's no problem at all, just come in and make yourself comfortable." Elizabeth said as Will entered and stood in the middle of her bed/living room. "Ah are you hungry?" She asked frantically trying to make conversation. "You must be. I'll see what I have in the cupboard, you just stay here, or maybe you could go sit on the be.Couch! You could go sit on the couch, yeah." And with that Elizabeth, her face as red as a fresh steamed lobster, ran around the corner to the kitchen, working furiously to hide the excitement and fear she felt at having her gentleman a guest in her home.
Will felt the tension change as soon as he entered the flat, Elizabeth suddenly becoming tense and jumpy. He tried his best to make her comfortable; he sat politely on her couch and watched her make dinner, (the most marvel thing, the whole meal came from a single blue box!) he smiled and complimented her on it while they ate, and when she said goodnight and retired to her bedroom with her bedding and computer, he wished her pleasant dreams. But still, he could sense she was uneasy, but not wanting to upset her further he lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
His dream was odd, and frightening. He was standing in the midst of many tall, steel buildings the tops of which he could not see and people were calling to him. Captain Jack Sparrow was in one, and his Elizabeth was in another. There was a strange group of people in one, and furthest from him Elizabeth Cartwright was calling. All of a sudden His Elizabeth's building caught fire! He ran toward it immediately but was shocked when the New Elizabeth's building caught fire as well! He didn't know which way to go and the longer he stood there the worse the fire became, until all around him there was fire and a sickly tapping sound.
Will woke suddenly from his dream to the strange tapping sound. He looked at the digital clock that Elizabeth had showed him and realized that he'd only been asleep for four and a half hours. He looked through the curtains and saw the sky starting to brighten as the sun approached. Slowly he got up and searched out the tapping sound, following it to Elizabeth's door. Alarmed that it might be the fire from his dream, he knocked frantically.
"Elizabeth are you all right!?" he called into the door, but there was no answer. "Elizabeth I said are you all right?!" again there was no answer at the door. Will started to panic when he heard no answer and beat his fist against the door.
"Elizabeth!" and as he heard no answer a third time, he threw all rules aside and burst into her bedroom.
"Elizabeth!"