Jack raised the spyglass, peering through it. A smirk appeared on his lips as he sighted the merchant ship not too far away from them now. The easily quicker Pearl would have no problem catching up to it. He glanced over at Gibbs as he lowered the spyglass. "We've got her now." He said with a laugh. "Prepare the men. I want sharp shooters in the rigging, a few manning the guns, and the rest ready to board." Gibbs nodded, turning to shout the orders. The deck was alive with activity, pirates rushing to man their positions. "We're going to come up on the port quarter." Jack said. "They won't stand a chance."
"Aye." Gibbs intoned, sharing in Jack's enthusiasm. "Should we be raising our colors now, Captain?" Jack nodded. After another shouted order, the Jolly Roger was raised up the mast, waving proudly as the Pearl chased down it's intended victim.
Only one person didn't seem to know their place on deck. Jack hopped lithely down the stairs and grabbed up an abandoned flintlock musket into Will's hands. "Know how to use that?" He asked. Will stared at the gun in his hand before looking up to Jack, his expression giving away nothing.
"Yes." He said quietly.
"Good. Get up in the rigging with the other four. Pick off officers first if they try anything. They won't be organized without them." He said firmly. "But not unless they try something. I don't want the dead on my hands if I can help it." With that he went back to the quarterdeck, picking up the spyglass to check on progress. Will looked down at the gun in his hand again, swallowing. He had no idea what to do, even after Jack had explained it to him.
"You. Boy." He glanced up as another man approached him. "You're up in the riggin's with us." He said, pushing him towards the ropes that hung down onto the deck. "So let's get moving." Will did as he was told, climbing up and finding a position where he could balance well and aim. His hands were slick with sweat and his breathing was shallow. He didn't remember being this nervous, even when the cursed pirates were using the Pearl to chase down the Interceptor.
The Pearl was coming up beside the ship. Across the way he could see men scrambling to try to make the ship faster so they could pull away, but it was useless. The pirates had them. A cannon ball hit the water just ahead of the merchant ship, sending the men into more of a frenzy. Just as Jack thought they would, they assumed that if they kept going, the next ball would go right through the bow. So they made to change directions, which slowed them down enough for the Pearl to come upon her and capture her. Boarding grapples were thrown across from the pirate ship, finding anything they could to grab onto. Jack's crew swung and climbed across, the air filled with the cries of men thirsty for riches and blood.
Jack had never been one to sit out of the action and joined his crew in the fight on the decks of the merchant ship. The sailors refused to let what they were transporting go without a fight and things got deadly quickly. Pirates and sailors clashed on the deck, the rays of the setting sun bouncing off upraised cutlasses and the decks slowly turning red.
The man just above Will fired off a shot, dropping a man who had been about to kill one of the pirates. Will watched, feeling almost sick, as the man crumpled to the deck. For a moment, it seemed like everything went silent and all he heard was the rushing in his ears. He could still see men falling under blade and pistol, but he couldn't hear anything. The bile rose in his throat and he grabbed onto a nearby line to steady himself. He felt cold and clammy and his head spun. Everything was happening to fast, he wasn't ready for this, not yet...
Then everything stopped and focused on one man. Jack was fighting with a man he could only assume to be the captain, who seemed to have as much skill with the blade as Jack. Jack was holding his own well, but it was the man taking aim at the pirate captain's back with a pistol that he feared. Will brought the musket up, taking aim at the sailor. His finger rested on the trigger and seemed to freeze there. Everything was still so quiet except for the rushing, which grew louder. The sailor began to pull back the trigger of the pistol, just as Will pulled on the trigger of the musket.
The sounds around him came rushing back, blades clanging, men shouting and screaming. The sailor slid bonelessly to the deck, just as Jack gained the upper hand on the captain and forced him back, slamming the hilt of his cutlass into the man's temple. The pirate turned to see the body lying on the deck just behind him and looked up, finding his newest crew member still hadn't lowered the musket and shaking.
"This ship is ours!" He shouted, raising his cutlass in the air. Around him men started cheering, the remaining sailors realizing they were outnumbered and dropping their weapons on the deck, raising their hands in the air. "Tie them up, but if I see any man mistreating a prisoner, he'll be kissing the wooden lady!" Not really favoring the prospect of being tied to the mast and flogged, the men handled the surrendering sailors with care as they tied them up kept them out of the way for the others who went down to the hold to retrieve the spoils.
Will climbed down off the riggings and dropped the gun on the ground. A moment later he was hanging over the side of the ship, giving back to the sea what had been served for dinner the night before. It was the first time in his life he had really killed someone. The cursed crew of Barbossa couldn't die, so they hadn't counted. And even if they hadn't been cursed, there would've been no loss there. But this was a man who was simply defending his ship and captain and he'd killed him.
Jack followed his crew down to the hold to see just what precious valuables the ship had been carrying. Opened boxes revealed jewelry; pearls, ivory, and precious gemstones. Jack picked up a handful and slowly poured it back into the crate, listening to the sound and smiling. "Put the top back on and take these to the Pearl." He commanded, turning and heading back towards the stairs.
The younger pirate had found his way over to the deck of the other ship, looking around at the damage that had been done. A few of the imprisoned sailors glanced up as they heard him approach and then quickly looked away, as if making eye contact with him would be their deaths. But he didn't notice them as his gaze landed on a boy among them, no more than eleven or twelve by the looks of it. The same age he had been when he'd signed onto the India to come to the Caribbean looking for his father.
He heard the report of the cannon again and saw the spray of water as the ball hit near the stern of the merchant ship. Men were running back and forth, adjusting the sheets so that the sails caught more of the wind and hopefully would help them outrun the pirate ship at their heels. But all was in vain as the ship closed in, dark sails billowing in the wind and enshrouded in a strange fog.
Suddenly they all stopped and looked towards the ship, fear taking them over. The Jolly Roger had been replaced with a red flag. No Quarter Given. Will could feel his breath catch in his throat, terrified. He didn't want to die like this. The captain was shouting more orders, screaming for them to try everything that they could to get away. But it was useless. There was another report from a cannon just fired and the ship shuddered, slowly beginning to lean to the side. They'd been hit. He could hear the rejoicing cries from the pirate ship and knew that he would die on this ship. That he would never find his father.
Another cannon ball hit the ship and there was an explosion somewhere. The gunpowder stored in the hold had ignited. Will ran to the rail, thinking that he could jump over the side and find something to cling to, maybe he could live.
On the Pearl, Bootstrap Bill Turner watched in horror as the dark haired boy ran to the railing. He easily knew who the child was. It was his own son. Not only did he fear for the boy's life, but of Barbossa finding out and realizing that the medallion and the end to the curse was within his grasp. Bill was already sentenced to die, but coming up on the merchant ship had only prolonged his life for a few simple moments. He tugged at the ropes tied tightly around his wrists, wanting to get free and rescue the boy. But his hope faded as an explosion ripped through the merchant ship, eliciting howls of pleasure from the men around him.
"Will..." Bill hung his head, cursing the man who had betrayed his best friend, encouraging mutiny against him and leaving him on a god forsaken island to die, and now ended the life of his young son. It wasn't long before the toe of the boot of that very same man lifted his chin to look up.
"Now, where were we?" Barbossa asked with a smirk, motioning for Bill to be hauled to his feet and dragged over to the cannon. "That's right, I remember now. Sending ye to Davy Jones' locker."
As Bill was sent to his death on the Pearl, the small board floating on top of the water went unnoticed. Will lay unmoving, his face pale in the early morning fog, unaware that just a few feet away from him, his father had unwittingly given up his life so that Will would live.
The boy's frightened gaze bored into Will, making the feelings of guilt worse than before. He couldn't pull his gaze away from the child though. He knew too much of what the child felt. He opened his mouth to say something and nothing would come at first. Then he slowly regained the ability to talk.
"You're going to be alright." He told the boy. "As long as you stay quiet and still, they won't hurt you." The boy's eyes widened as he realized the pirate was talking to him. There was still fright in his eyes, but it had lessened some. Will turned away from him to see Jack walking towards him.
"Nice shot." The pirate commented dryly, but said nothing more as Will paled again. Jack scrutinized Will for a moment before speaking again. "This is the life you've signed onto, Will. This was your choice, so you better get used to it. There's no going back now."
Will didn't respond, just looking down at the deck instead, trying not to see the body laying a few feet from where they were standing. Jack, however, did notice and spun him in the direction of the ship.
"Come on. Let's go back."
------------
"Elizabeth, are you sure about this?" James asked as the young woman stepped down from the carriage. She turned and held her arms out for her daughter. James carefully handed the baby to her and then got down from the carriage himself.
"I'm sure." Elizabeth said quietly, giving him a sad smile. "I can't stay there under my father's watchful eye anymore and I can't..." Her voice caught in her throat and she wasn't able to finish her sentence, but he knew what she meant. The house where she had lived with Will, where a once happy family had lived, only to be destroyed by false accusations.
"If this is what you want." He responded as the door to the tavern opened and Michael came out to greet Elizabeth. She hugged him carefully, mindful of Emma in her arms.
"Thank you." She told Michael softly. He had offered her a room to stay in his inn after he had heard her talking to Norrington about the need to escape the mansion but having no where to go. The tavern keeper nodded respectfully to James as he pulled back from the hug.
"Commodore." He said. James returned the sentiment.
"Michael." Elizabeth gently handed the baby to Michael.
"I'll be right in." She told him and turned back to James. Michael took Emma back inside, leaving the two alone. Elizabeth bit her lip for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She said quietly. "For being there for me when I needed someone to talk to." James hugged her back, not giving a damn if it was proper or not. Sometimes rules and etiquette needed to be broken to comfort another human soul.
After a moment, he pulled back from her. "Take care of yourself." He told her. She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.
He waited until she had gotten into the tavern before climbing back into the carriage and pulling the door shut. The carriage moved forward with a sudden jerk and he laid back against the seat, closing his eyes and willing the miserable past few weeks to leave.
"Aye." Gibbs intoned, sharing in Jack's enthusiasm. "Should we be raising our colors now, Captain?" Jack nodded. After another shouted order, the Jolly Roger was raised up the mast, waving proudly as the Pearl chased down it's intended victim.
Only one person didn't seem to know their place on deck. Jack hopped lithely down the stairs and grabbed up an abandoned flintlock musket into Will's hands. "Know how to use that?" He asked. Will stared at the gun in his hand before looking up to Jack, his expression giving away nothing.
"Yes." He said quietly.
"Good. Get up in the rigging with the other four. Pick off officers first if they try anything. They won't be organized without them." He said firmly. "But not unless they try something. I don't want the dead on my hands if I can help it." With that he went back to the quarterdeck, picking up the spyglass to check on progress. Will looked down at the gun in his hand again, swallowing. He had no idea what to do, even after Jack had explained it to him.
"You. Boy." He glanced up as another man approached him. "You're up in the riggin's with us." He said, pushing him towards the ropes that hung down onto the deck. "So let's get moving." Will did as he was told, climbing up and finding a position where he could balance well and aim. His hands were slick with sweat and his breathing was shallow. He didn't remember being this nervous, even when the cursed pirates were using the Pearl to chase down the Interceptor.
The Pearl was coming up beside the ship. Across the way he could see men scrambling to try to make the ship faster so they could pull away, but it was useless. The pirates had them. A cannon ball hit the water just ahead of the merchant ship, sending the men into more of a frenzy. Just as Jack thought they would, they assumed that if they kept going, the next ball would go right through the bow. So they made to change directions, which slowed them down enough for the Pearl to come upon her and capture her. Boarding grapples were thrown across from the pirate ship, finding anything they could to grab onto. Jack's crew swung and climbed across, the air filled with the cries of men thirsty for riches and blood.
Jack had never been one to sit out of the action and joined his crew in the fight on the decks of the merchant ship. The sailors refused to let what they were transporting go without a fight and things got deadly quickly. Pirates and sailors clashed on the deck, the rays of the setting sun bouncing off upraised cutlasses and the decks slowly turning red.
The man just above Will fired off a shot, dropping a man who had been about to kill one of the pirates. Will watched, feeling almost sick, as the man crumpled to the deck. For a moment, it seemed like everything went silent and all he heard was the rushing in his ears. He could still see men falling under blade and pistol, but he couldn't hear anything. The bile rose in his throat and he grabbed onto a nearby line to steady himself. He felt cold and clammy and his head spun. Everything was happening to fast, he wasn't ready for this, not yet...
Then everything stopped and focused on one man. Jack was fighting with a man he could only assume to be the captain, who seemed to have as much skill with the blade as Jack. Jack was holding his own well, but it was the man taking aim at the pirate captain's back with a pistol that he feared. Will brought the musket up, taking aim at the sailor. His finger rested on the trigger and seemed to freeze there. Everything was still so quiet except for the rushing, which grew louder. The sailor began to pull back the trigger of the pistol, just as Will pulled on the trigger of the musket.
The sounds around him came rushing back, blades clanging, men shouting and screaming. The sailor slid bonelessly to the deck, just as Jack gained the upper hand on the captain and forced him back, slamming the hilt of his cutlass into the man's temple. The pirate turned to see the body lying on the deck just behind him and looked up, finding his newest crew member still hadn't lowered the musket and shaking.
"This ship is ours!" He shouted, raising his cutlass in the air. Around him men started cheering, the remaining sailors realizing they were outnumbered and dropping their weapons on the deck, raising their hands in the air. "Tie them up, but if I see any man mistreating a prisoner, he'll be kissing the wooden lady!" Not really favoring the prospect of being tied to the mast and flogged, the men handled the surrendering sailors with care as they tied them up kept them out of the way for the others who went down to the hold to retrieve the spoils.
Will climbed down off the riggings and dropped the gun on the ground. A moment later he was hanging over the side of the ship, giving back to the sea what had been served for dinner the night before. It was the first time in his life he had really killed someone. The cursed crew of Barbossa couldn't die, so they hadn't counted. And even if they hadn't been cursed, there would've been no loss there. But this was a man who was simply defending his ship and captain and he'd killed him.
Jack followed his crew down to the hold to see just what precious valuables the ship had been carrying. Opened boxes revealed jewelry; pearls, ivory, and precious gemstones. Jack picked up a handful and slowly poured it back into the crate, listening to the sound and smiling. "Put the top back on and take these to the Pearl." He commanded, turning and heading back towards the stairs.
The younger pirate had found his way over to the deck of the other ship, looking around at the damage that had been done. A few of the imprisoned sailors glanced up as they heard him approach and then quickly looked away, as if making eye contact with him would be their deaths. But he didn't notice them as his gaze landed on a boy among them, no more than eleven or twelve by the looks of it. The same age he had been when he'd signed onto the India to come to the Caribbean looking for his father.
He heard the report of the cannon again and saw the spray of water as the ball hit near the stern of the merchant ship. Men were running back and forth, adjusting the sheets so that the sails caught more of the wind and hopefully would help them outrun the pirate ship at their heels. But all was in vain as the ship closed in, dark sails billowing in the wind and enshrouded in a strange fog.
Suddenly they all stopped and looked towards the ship, fear taking them over. The Jolly Roger had been replaced with a red flag. No Quarter Given. Will could feel his breath catch in his throat, terrified. He didn't want to die like this. The captain was shouting more orders, screaming for them to try everything that they could to get away. But it was useless. There was another report from a cannon just fired and the ship shuddered, slowly beginning to lean to the side. They'd been hit. He could hear the rejoicing cries from the pirate ship and knew that he would die on this ship. That he would never find his father.
Another cannon ball hit the ship and there was an explosion somewhere. The gunpowder stored in the hold had ignited. Will ran to the rail, thinking that he could jump over the side and find something to cling to, maybe he could live.
On the Pearl, Bootstrap Bill Turner watched in horror as the dark haired boy ran to the railing. He easily knew who the child was. It was his own son. Not only did he fear for the boy's life, but of Barbossa finding out and realizing that the medallion and the end to the curse was within his grasp. Bill was already sentenced to die, but coming up on the merchant ship had only prolonged his life for a few simple moments. He tugged at the ropes tied tightly around his wrists, wanting to get free and rescue the boy. But his hope faded as an explosion ripped through the merchant ship, eliciting howls of pleasure from the men around him.
"Will..." Bill hung his head, cursing the man who had betrayed his best friend, encouraging mutiny against him and leaving him on a god forsaken island to die, and now ended the life of his young son. It wasn't long before the toe of the boot of that very same man lifted his chin to look up.
"Now, where were we?" Barbossa asked with a smirk, motioning for Bill to be hauled to his feet and dragged over to the cannon. "That's right, I remember now. Sending ye to Davy Jones' locker."
As Bill was sent to his death on the Pearl, the small board floating on top of the water went unnoticed. Will lay unmoving, his face pale in the early morning fog, unaware that just a few feet away from him, his father had unwittingly given up his life so that Will would live.
The boy's frightened gaze bored into Will, making the feelings of guilt worse than before. He couldn't pull his gaze away from the child though. He knew too much of what the child felt. He opened his mouth to say something and nothing would come at first. Then he slowly regained the ability to talk.
"You're going to be alright." He told the boy. "As long as you stay quiet and still, they won't hurt you." The boy's eyes widened as he realized the pirate was talking to him. There was still fright in his eyes, but it had lessened some. Will turned away from him to see Jack walking towards him.
"Nice shot." The pirate commented dryly, but said nothing more as Will paled again. Jack scrutinized Will for a moment before speaking again. "This is the life you've signed onto, Will. This was your choice, so you better get used to it. There's no going back now."
Will didn't respond, just looking down at the deck instead, trying not to see the body laying a few feet from where they were standing. Jack, however, did notice and spun him in the direction of the ship.
"Come on. Let's go back."
------------
"Elizabeth, are you sure about this?" James asked as the young woman stepped down from the carriage. She turned and held her arms out for her daughter. James carefully handed the baby to her and then got down from the carriage himself.
"I'm sure." Elizabeth said quietly, giving him a sad smile. "I can't stay there under my father's watchful eye anymore and I can't..." Her voice caught in her throat and she wasn't able to finish her sentence, but he knew what she meant. The house where she had lived with Will, where a once happy family had lived, only to be destroyed by false accusations.
"If this is what you want." He responded as the door to the tavern opened and Michael came out to greet Elizabeth. She hugged him carefully, mindful of Emma in her arms.
"Thank you." She told Michael softly. He had offered her a room to stay in his inn after he had heard her talking to Norrington about the need to escape the mansion but having no where to go. The tavern keeper nodded respectfully to James as he pulled back from the hug.
"Commodore." He said. James returned the sentiment.
"Michael." Elizabeth gently handed the baby to Michael.
"I'll be right in." She told him and turned back to James. Michael took Emma back inside, leaving the two alone. Elizabeth bit her lip for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She said quietly. "For being there for me when I needed someone to talk to." James hugged her back, not giving a damn if it was proper or not. Sometimes rules and etiquette needed to be broken to comfort another human soul.
After a moment, he pulled back from her. "Take care of yourself." He told her. She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.
He waited until she had gotten into the tavern before climbing back into the carriage and pulling the door shut. The carriage moved forward with a sudden jerk and he laid back against the seat, closing his eyes and willing the miserable past few weeks to leave.