Disclaimer: I own not Jack, nor Will, nor any other characters herein save Mari and Sangre.
A/N: Apologies for not updating in so long. I emailed myself the wrong files when I went home for holiday. Stupid comp.
Sangre sat in his longboat, eyes fixed on the shore. The vessel moved through the water smoothly, and without his aid. Three dark figures floated port, starboard, and stern, humming softly. For once, their music caused Sangre no pain. The Sirens were convinced they'd have their prey, now that it was so close. But, it had been close before, closer than this, and they had lost it.
Don't think about that! Sangre ordered himself. They had no idea he was coming, this time, and the element of surprise was everything. He grinned sickly as they passed right beneath the Black Pearl's figurehead. At last, the hunt would be over. At last his debt to the Sirens would be paid.
At last, he would be free.
Elizabeth stood at the stern of the Pearl, gazing at the shore. Suddenly, she shuddered as if cold. She felt as if someone had just slid an icy hand down her spine, yet she was alone. She put a hand over her slowly growing stomach, rubbing absentmindedly.
"Did you feel that, little one?" she asked. Suddenly, something within her fluttered. Elizabeth gasped. The baby moved again, kicking hard. Elizabeth pressed both hands to her stomach, in wonder and fear. The baby had moved for the first time, and it seemed…frightened? Could children be frightened in the womb, or was it her imagination? The child kicked again, seemingly in frustration.
"All right, all right," Elizabeth soothed, patting her abused womb. "I can tell, you think something's wrong, too." Kick. "Don't worry, papa will be fine." Kick, kick. Another shudder rushed down Elizabeth's spine. No denying it, this time. Something was most definitely wrong.
The young woman looked up just in time to see a shadow pass right by the Pearl. No, it was more than a shadow. It was four shadows, and darker than any shadow had a right to be. Elizabeth gasped, her stomach tightening as she ran to find Annamaria and Norrington.
Jack, Will, and Mari entered the dining hall with butterflies waging war in their bellies. Jack and Mari, of course, hid their nerves well, and Will's stiffness was put up to the fact that he was a Navy man. They were led to their chairs; Jack next to Milo, and Mari next to him. Will was seated on the other side of the table, between Milo and his sister, Juliette de Bordeaux.
"Bonjour," she murmured at Will, simpering a bit. He smiled uncertainly, vowing to murder Jack painfully if they lived through this. The woman was at least ten years his senior, and bearing only the last rays of attraction. Her face was painted pale, with one of those horrid beauty marks on her upper lip. Hair that was obviously a wig piled impossibly high on her head, and her nails as she reached for her water were like claws.
"Bonjour, mademoiselle," he said amiably, before sending Jack a furious look. It was all the pirate could do to keep from laughing aloud. Juliette has certainly changed, he thought. One can hope that I've changed as much.
Mari, catching the expressions sent between poor William and her father, hid her smirk in a glass of wine while eyeing Mademoiselle de Bordeaux. Jack had an affair with her Must have been a looker in her youth…
Juliette smiled amenably at Mari, before awarding Jack with a flirtatious grin. He smiled back in kind, and Juliette frowned in thought.
"You seem familiar to me, Monsieur. Have we met? At an evening soiree, perhaps?"
The three companions all felt the same jolt of panic, but none showed it. Jack merely awarded her with another winning grin.
"If I had ever met someone so enchanting as yourself, Mademoiselle, I'm certain I would remember."
Juliette examined him for a few moments more, before turning her full attention back to Will. Mari attempted not to smirk as she leaned uncomfortably close to the blacksmith. Clearly, he would have no trouble whatsoever distracting the woman. Milo however…
Mari gave him a glance, highly disturbed by the looks he'd been sending her. Jack was keeping his attention with a stream of gesture-accentuated banter, but the noble's eyes kept straying to Mari. Or, more specifically, her bust.
The young pirate captain turned back to her food. The sooner they were able to get out of here –And I out of this corset- the better.
Sangre clambered ashore, excitement pumping the dead heart in his chest. The Sirens' hum became higher pitched, more excited. They were close; so close. Sangre smiled as he breathed the air, scenting their presence. Not only were they close, they were trapped. And the fourth, the one carrying Turner's blood, was on her way.
Sangre laughed to himself.
"They're making it easy for us, ladies. They're all coming together in one sweet little package."
The hum became louder, and oh-so soothing. The sea-witches were contented, for once. Sangre sneaked along the edges of the manor property, deciding it best to wait until the last had joined them. Then it would be an easy matter to scoop them up, and take what he had come for.
"Elizabeth!" Norrington stalked quickly behind the woman as she and Annamaria loaded a dinghy. "You can't go haring off in the middle of the night in your condition; it's dangerous!"
"It'd be dangerous no matter what condition I was in, Commodore," Elizabeth replied tightly. "But I'd still be going, without a chance of you stopping me." The young woman turned to face him. "Therefore you have two choices; you may come with us, or you may wait here."
Annamaria eyed the Commodore briefly before returning to her task. She didn't fully trust Norrington, as he had nearly hanged her captain, more than once, and would probably hang her, given the chance. But, for now, he seemed to be working with them, even if only out of sheer necessity. She was willing to give as long as he was.
"You may as well come with us, man," she said without looking at him. "'Tis woman's intuition that's driving us, and that's not to be argued with. Elizabeth knows there be danger, and I feel the same." With that, the two women clambered into the vessel. A moment later, James followed.
"Let's be off then," he said blandly.