Disclaimer: No, unfortunately, I do not own Pirates, nor do I own anything to do with Pirates except for my own imaginary characters.
Light Among Shadows
Chapter One: Back Again
Jack Sparrow hummed lowly into the cool night air. The wind blew through his dark hair, causing the unruly strands to fly about his face. His kohl-lined eyes narrowed in thought as he stared out into the setting sun, his mind wandering to times past. A nagging thought had found its way into his mind days before, causing him to dredge up the painful memories of two years past when he had finally found himself facing Barbossa and his mutinous crew of cursed pirates. Memories that he would rather not think about. Ever again.
Something had begun talking to him, a voice that seemed to come from everywhere around him, and yet from nowhere in particular. Now, he understood that many people thought him to be a little eccentric, crazy even, because of how he acted most of the time, but even he had to admit that hearing voices placed him right into the insane category. He wouldn't admit this to anyone of course, least of all his crew. The voice he heard, a soft, musical voice, talked to him in cryptic lines, never revealing to him what it wanted. It left him with a feeling of foreboding, a feeling that something unforeseen was going to happen. Something really unexpected.
The voice constantly left him with the feeling that he had to return to the cursed treasure.
"Jack?" a soft voice called. "Jack are you alright?"
Jack shook his head slowly, at first thinking that whoever had called his name was once again the voice that continually nagged at his thoughts. He looked down to see Elizabeth staring up at him from her position on the deck below him. "Aye, lass, I be fine."
"Are you sure? You seem a little dazed. Perhaps you should rest for awhile."
Jack gave his signature grin, his gold teeth flashing in the waning sunlight. "No, lass. I'm alright, jus' watchin' the sun set."
Elizabeth stared up at him, her head cocked to one side slightly. She sighed and walked quickly up the stairs to the helm. She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder, staring up into his eyes. "Jack, are you positive?" she whispered.
Jack looked down at her, his dark eyes staring into hers. He could see concern evident in her eyes. Concern and perhaps a little bit of worry. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," she began, her eyes glancing down at the rest of the crew on the Black Pearl, her husband being one of them. "Well, because, you seem a little out of it lately. I know that you haven't been sleeping well lately. . ."
Jack smirked. "And how would you know that?"
Elizabeth glanced back up at him. "Because I have heard you at night. You call out in your sleep. You seem to be talking to someone, or perhaps fighting someone. You aren't dreaming about, um, well, the curse, are you?"
Jack's head tilted away from her a little, his dark eyes narrowing. "Why would you say that?"
Elizabeth wrung her hands together, biting her lower lip. "I have had dreams about it Jack, and I am sure that Will has as well. It would be only natural to dream about terrifying things that have happened to you."
Jack's eyebrows rose. "No, lass, I haven't," he paused, glancing down to watch as his crew went about their nightly chores. "Hmmm, but I believe I need to talk to both of ya. In private. Do me a favor, love, and ask the whelp to meet me in me cabin. We'll discuss it there."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, and then made her way back down the stairs, stopping to speak to her husband.
* * * * * *
Jack stepped into his cabin, brushing his hair away from his tanned face. Will and Elizabeth sat talking quietly with each other, leaning in close to the other. They drew apart quickly when he entered, staring up at him as he walked to the other side of his desk. He sat down quickly, placing his feet up on the desk top. He looked over at them, his eyes going back and forth between the two of them. He waited for a moment for one of them to tell him what they had been speaking about, expecting it to be something about him. When neither of them spoke up, he said, "Well. Shall we begin?"
"Jack, what is this about?" Will asked, gazing over into Jack's hooded eyes.
"The Isla de Muerta," Jack stated bluntly.
Will and Elizabeth drew back quickly at his words. That had been the last thing that they had expected him to say. They had never heard him mention the island with the cursed treasure, never once in the two years they had known him. Although they were pretty sure that he had returned there to retrieve the uncursed treasure that he had been forced to leave there, he had never mentioned going any where near the dreaded island or its golden treasure.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"The Isla de Muerta," Jack said again, sighing. "Yer right, lass, I 'ave been dreamin', but not about the curse. I've been hearin' things, voices. Hell, I even hear 'em when I'm awake. Can't really be sure what they want, but I can be sure that they want me ta go back to Isla de Muerta."
"But why?" Will asked.
Jack shrugged slightly, setting his hat down on the dark wood of his desk. "Don't know. All I know is I have ta go back."
"Are you sure?" Elizabeth replied. "You know what is there. The only thing that can come from there are bad things, you know that. The last time any of us were there was when you defeated Barbossa."
"Perhaps lass. That was the last time either of you had been there."
"So you have been back?" Will asked. Jack merely gave his secretive smile, his gold teeth flashing in the semi-darkness.
"Anyway, I've told Gibbs ta change course. He doesn't know where we're headed of course; otherwise I'd never hear the end of it. Something about curses or superstitions that would be the death of us all," he said, flipping his hand nonchalantly in the air. "We'll be there in about a week."
"Jack are you sure this is wise? I mean what if . . . what if something goes wrong?"
"Ah, lass, I'm so glad you care," Jack replied, smirking. "But you don't need ta worry, nothin'll 'appen."
* * * * * *
The Black Pearl was docked peacefully in the cove of the Isla de Muerta, rocking slowly back and forth in the restless water. The bright moon shone in the dark sky, shining down on the black ship. A small row boat cruised slowly through the shadowy water, bearing its three inhabitants towards the black cave.
Elizabeth shivered as the cool air of the cave hit her skin through the thin shirt that she wore. Will wrapped his arm around her waist tightly, holding her to him to keep her warm. Jack grinned over at them, his eyes glancing up at the stalactites that hung down from the cave ceiling. Water dripped down the rocky formations, causing small ripples to form in the small rivers that the boat floated on. With a sudden jolt, the boat grounded itself on the rocky outcropping that formed their beach.
Will jumped out of the ship, followed shortly after by Elizabeth, both pulling the boat with thick ropes while Jack pushed it, standing in knee deep water. Moments later, the boat tethered to the makeshift dock, the three companions made their way through the stone cavern, letting their eyes flow over the bits of treasure that had been left behind. Elizabeth looked around her, thinking that perhaps Jack hadn't been back to claim what was rightfully his. To her, the gold and other treasure seemed untouched.
Automatically, Jack's eyes found their way to the chest of cursed Aztec gold, his gaze trailing over the ornate designs of the stone chest. He had always promised himself, starting from two years ago, that he would never touch the cursed gold again, no matter how much he wanted immortality, no matter how much it tempted him.
"Jack, what are we looking for?" Will asked, his voice echoing in the empty cavern.
"No bloody idea," Jack replied, his gaze trailing around the room. "Just fan out, take different paths. If you find something, give a nice hearty shout."
Will and Elizabeth nodded, each going their separate ways to search the treasure filled cavern.
* * * * * *
Elizabeth found her way through the piles of heaped gold that surrounded her. Her eyes took in the heaps of treasure, her fingers brushing against the small bobbles of jewels and pearls. A small rustle in front of her drew her attention to the crowded space before her. She stopped in her tracks, dread filling the pit of her stomach. She opened her mouth to call out to Will, but stopped when she caught sight of a small pale hand peeking out from behind a small wooden chest.
Heaving a huge sigh, Elizabeth picked up a long golden staff the lay on its side next to her, and walked slowly around to the other side of the chest. The staff fell from her fingers as she saw what lay on the cavern's floor in front of her.
"Oh dear God in Heaven!" she cried, her voice echoing in the cave.
On the floor next to the chest, lay a thin, girl, her long black hair bunched under her head. The girl was naked, revealing to the world her pale body. Elizabeth fell to her knees, quickly wrapping her fingers around the girl's wrist, looking for any sign of a pulse. She was relieved to find her pulse, no matter how faint it was.
"Will! Jack! I think I found what we were looking for!" she cried, hoping that the two men would find her quickly.
* * * * * *
AN: Chapter Two: Findings
What will Jack and Co. do with the girl now that they have her? Will they keep her until she wakes up? Or will they just leave her in the cave on Isla de Muerta? Stay tuned to find out! (Doesn't that just sound like a bad TV cliché?)
NazgulGirl: Wow. I'm sorry. Please don't go get them, I like my homework. Well, most of the time and as much as anyone could like homework. Anyway, I hope that I updated fast enough. Hope you like it!