Disclaimer: No, unfortunately I do not own POtC. Nor do I own any of the characters that you recognize. They all belong to Disney.
AN: You know, I just realized something. I have absolutely no idea where Jack's jacket went. In the second chapter, when they find Anneliese, Elizabeth puts Jack's jacket around her to hide her nakedness. And then, in the following chapters, the jacket's gone. Boy, talk about inconsistency. But, oh well, crap happens and I didn't hear anyone say anything about it, so maybe I'm the only one that caught it. Eh, enjoy the chapter anyway!
Light Among Shadows
Chapter 4: Gold
"Who the bloody hell are you, girl? And why do you have the marking of cursed gold on you?"
Anneliese glared up at him. "Let go of me, Captain Sparrow."
Jack ignored her, merely staring down into her dark grey eyes. "Answer, girl."
"I don't know why you're so bent on this stupid scar anyway. I've had it since I was a baby. I don't know anything about it; neither do my parents or any of the multitudes of doctors that I've seen since I was born."
"It may be important, Miss Abrams," Will replied softly, staring down at them both.
"I don't know why," Anneliese said, her gaze never leaving Jack's.
"Well, neither do we, Anneliese, but we still need to know," Elizabeth replied.
"I don't know anything about it. Just stop asking me."
Jack squeezed her arm tighter, drawing her attention back to him. "Answer the question."
"Let me go, Sparrow, or I swear to God I will knock you flat on your ass again."
Jack made no move to let her go, saying nothing as he looked down at her. Anneliese tucked the sheet under her arms slightly, making sure that he couldn't see anything she didn't want him to see. Jack shook her again, bringing her even closer to him.
"Answer the question," he repeated.
Anneliese swung her left arm up, her fist clenched. Jack caught her hand in his free hand, stopping her fist from connecting with his chin again.
"Don't try that again, lass," Jack growled out. "Now answer the question."
"I already told you I don't know!" she said, exasperated. "All I know is that I've had it since I was a baby! Now leave me alone about it!"
A soft, warm hand wrapped around her shoulder, attempting to calm her down. "Please, calm down Miss Abrams," Elizabeth said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Elizabeth pried Jack's fingers off of Anneliese's arm, pushing him back slightly. Jack stepped away from the bed, his eyes still locked on Anneliese's. She rubbed her arm slightly, glaring up into the angry eyes of Jack.
"We are sorry to have angered you Miss Abrams," Elizabeth said softly, wrapping an arm around Anneliese's shoulders.
"You didn't," she replied hotly. "The bonehead over there did."
Jack bristled at her accusation. "If you had answered the question. . ." he started.
"Hush, Jack," Elizabeth said, her voice growing louder. "I believe we have irritated her enough. Will could you please take Jack out to the deck."
"Of course," Will stated hesitantly, unsure as to if he wished to go near the angry pirate.
"It's me own bloody cabin!"
"I know that Jack, but, please. I would like to speak to Miss Abrams alone," Elizabeth said calmly.
Jack glared down at them, his dark eyes boring into them. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he turned his attention to Will, a sarcastic smile crossing his face. "If you will be so kind, whelp," he replied, gesturing to the cabin door.
Will gave a small smile, nodding slightly at him. He moved to the side slowly, allowing Jack to pass him. With one last look at his wife, Will exited the room, closing the wooden door behind him.
Elizabeth watched her husband leave the room, and then turned her attention back to Anneliese, her eyes wide. "Well, now that we have that taken care of," she said slowly.
"What?" Anneliese asked, her eyebrows raised.
Elizabeth smiled slightly. "Jack cannot bother us anymore by getting angry. We will be able to talk in a civilized manner."
"If you think that I will tell you anymore than I did before, you can forget it," Anneliese replied hotly. "I already told you people that I don't know anything about the stupid scar."
"I understand. You must understand, though, Miss Abrams, that we have been through so much in the last two years. Things that you could never understand have occurred in our lives that have no explanation. Things that have to do with that scar on your shoulder."
Anneliese's eyebrows rose. "How could my scar have anything to do with what happened to you two years ago?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know, but it is the same symbol of the cursed Aztec gold that we dealt with two years ago."
"Cursed gold? How can gold be cursed?"
Elizabeth laughed slightly. "It is a very long story, Miss Abrams, one that I cannot get into right now."
"Huh, whatever," Anneliese replied, shrugging her shoulders and looking down at her hands. "Can I get something to wear? I mean, I went to bed dressed, and now I wake up buck naked? Talk about a movie cliché."
Elizabeth looked around the room, her eyes scanning for any signs of extra clothing. "I'm sure Jack wouldn't mind if you borrowed something of his. At least until I can loan you something of mine."
"Sure, whatever," Anneliese muttered. "While you're looking for something, would you mind disclosing this great adventure with the cursed gold you had?"
Elizabeth straightened quickly. "It. . . It's difficult to talk about," she said, picking out a long white shirt and grey breeches. "But, I suppose I can try," she said, handing the pair of clothing to Anneliese.
Anneliese stood up slowly, allowing the sheet to fall to her feet. Elizabeth sat down on a chair slowly, turning away from Anneliese to allow her some privacy while getting dressed. She took a deep breath and began her tale.
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"Huh," Anneliese replied, braiding small braids into her hair. "So you're saying that these pieces of cursed gold made these terrible pirates invincible, right?"
Elizabeth turned around, taking in the young girl standing before her. The white shirt swallowed her tiny form, the neck slit falling down between her small breasts. The baggy grey breeches hovered over her hips and hung down to her mid-calves. Anneliese's black hair hung in tangles around her shoulders, braids trailing down in the thick locks. Elizabeth could see colors highlighting her dark hair, strands of green, purple, and red. The candlelight flickered in her dark grey eyes, casting ominous shadows in her eyes. Elizabeth shivered slightly at the odd look in Anneliese's eyes, a look that she couldn't decipher.
"Yes," she said, "they did."
"Huh," Anneliese answered, running her fingers through her messy hair. "Cool."
Elizabeth's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Cool?"
Anneliese laughed. "Too hard to explain. But, still, it sounded pretty nifty. Wouldn't want to be cursed myself though, that would be too annoying," she paused slightly. "Although I would be able to beat the crap out of all those idiot people I go to school with and never get injured . . . huh, cool."
Elizabeth smiled slightly. This girl was going to be very interesting to sail with. Interesting, indeed.
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"She's gonna drive me crazy whelp," Jack muttered, leaning his back against the railing of his ship. "I'm gonna wind up killin' 'er."
Will sighed. Jack had been going off on this tangent for the last thirty minutes, ever since they had left his cabin, leaving Elizabeth and Anneliese alone. "You let her get to you Jack. She's just a girl."
"Just a girl to you, whelp," Jack growled. "She's the bloody devil to me."
Will laughed. "She's just a girl, Jack," he repeated. "She's just a normal. . ." Will paused, staring at the odd look that had just crossed Jack's face. "Jack? What is it?"
Jack jerked his chin up slightly, gesturing at something behind Will. Will turned around quickly, searching for what Jack was trying to show him. His eyes quickly found the two women who had just appeared on deck.
The fading sunlight glinted in Elizabeth's hair, causing the rays to create a small halo around her, reminding Will of an angel. The light had a different effect on Anneliese, however. The light made her hair go darker, sending something of an evil aura around her. He shivered slightly as he stared at her, taking in her sarcastic smile hovering over her face.
"'Ello Elizabeth, darling!" Jack called, his arms opening wide.
"What, no 'hello' for me?" Anneliese asked.
Will saw Jack bristle at her words. "Hello Miss Abrams," Will said quickly, interrupting whatever Jack had been about to say. "I see that you found something to wear."
Anneliese spread her arms out wide, revealing the over-sized clothes that she wore. "Hope you don't mind," she said to Jack. He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "I don't know, I think it's kinda cool. Kinda like playin' dress-up as a kid again."
"Whatever," Jack replied, narrowing his eyes at her.
Anneliese dropped her hands, glaring at him, her eyes locking on his.
Elizabeth cleared her throat, "Where are we off to next, Jack?" she asked.
Jack looked away from her, turning his attention to Elizabeth. A grin crossed his face, the twinkle returning to his eyes. "Tortuga!"
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"Where could she have gone?" the woman asked, tears staining her face.
"I don't know. I'm sure she's fine, you don't have to worry," the man answered, hugging the woman to his chest.
"No! You don't understand!" she cried. "She was talking about things, Mike, strange things that I should have paid attention to!"
Mike pushed her away slightly, staring down into her watery eyes. "What was she saying? What was she talking about, Lara?"
"Dreams she had been having. Visions and things that she had seen during the day. I got scared, Mike. I got scared that perhaps it's happening. I told her it was nothing. I should have told her everything!"
Mike wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. "No, you did the right thing. It wasn't time for her to know."
"She's seventeen Mike! She needed to know!"
He shook his head. "No, not yet. I know Annie didn't run away, she wouldn't do that. She knows better."
Lara looked up into his eyes. "You don't think she went back, do you? You don't think they could have. . ."
"I don't know, Lara, I don't know."
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Next: Chapter 5: Tortuga. What happens next? What fun things will happen to our group in Tortuga? You'll have to read next time to find out!
DaydreamBeliever14: Thank you very much!
Charmed Angel: I'm glad you continued to read! Jack always gets nailed by somebody. I thought I'd just add it in for kicks. I'm glad you liked it!
Dawnie-7: I'm glad you liked it! I thought the banter between them was pretty good myself. And you'll find out more about the scar in later chapters!
Liath: HA! That's too funny! Punching out your brother, huh? I just wish I could have done that to my last step-brother. He was such an idiot. Anyway, I hope you keep reading!
NazgulGirl: Thanks! I like my cliffies. I plan on doing even more later!
Mystery GYRL: Um . . . thanks. But, those things aren't going to happen until I take over the world! And then they wouldn't dare attack me, cuz I would rule them! Bwahahahahaha!