Author's Note: A lot of POTC fic writers seem to have been smitten by the idea of what became of Bootstrap Bill. This fic started out that way but developed into something else. I don't really know how it will turn out, but I'm enjoying writing it!
Disclaimer: I don't own it. Disney does. No disrespect is intended. I am making no money from this and write it only for my own amusement.
Please read and review. (Special thanks to those who have! Responses at the end of the chapter.)
A Pirates Life and Death part 2 by Ecri
Weeks had passed, and Will still played the part of a slave, though the orders and menial work were the least of it. Such things were not beyond him. He was a blacksmith by trade and was used to manual labor. Even his time with Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl had been rife with backbreaking tasks, and good hard work was something he had come to expect out of life.
He had almost lost track of the days since his capture, and had been working incessantly for Commodore Killian, who, for some reason, had chosen to make Will not only the ship's slave, but also his own personal slave. He was a demanding master, and Will continually found ways to displease him, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not.
What rankled most was that Elizabeth was being kept locked in a cage in the hold until they could reach Tongo. Will had been ordered to bring food and water twice a day to those destined for the slaver's block.
He usually lingered over that duty, trading what few words he could with Elizabeth, but just seeing her in that cage, and knowing what fate awaited her was like a sword through his heart. She was brave, of course, and never shed a tear in front of him, but he could see she had shed them.
He had tried to find a way to escape, but had not found the key to her cage, and of course, she had told him she would not leave without everyone else. She would not be persuaded otherwise, even when the others added their voices to his in protest.
"Don't be so noble that you accept a fate like this because of us!" One of the townspeople said to her. "Trust me, if my man were 'ere tellin' me 'e could get me out, I wouldn't give you a second thought!"
Still, she would not be moved. Not that he had found any way to save her anyway. The slaves were well guarded, and Will himself found his every move under close scrutiny. Killian's interest in him seemed more than just in a master for a slave, and he had on one occasion asked Will pointed questions about Bootstrap Bill. He seemed disappointed that Will had never met his father, yet seemed at the same time to be enjoying it was though he was privy to some information Will could not have. Will assumed this to be the case, since he knew little about his father save what he had learned from Captain Jack Sparrow and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl
He would lie awake at might formulating and discarding plan after plan for his and Elizabeth's escape, growing more and more aware with each passing night that he would not have the luxury of her presence much longer. The more he thought about it the more convinced he was that escaping seemed beyond him, but bargaining was not.
He heard Jack Sparrow's voice in his head telling him not to do anything stupid, but he shrugged it off and vowed to speak to Killian.
**
Elizabeth sat in the cramped cell with the ten other women who would be sold, and wondered if her father was still alive. When she thought of what had been done to her home, to the people who lived there, merely because Pirates felt they had the right to take whatever they wanted, it made her both angry and sad.
Thankfully, these pirates had left the women alone. The commodore claimed they were to be sold in good condition, so not one of the men had laid a hand on them.
She was glad Will hadn't been killed, and wouldn't have been able to bear it if he were one of the people whose fate she did not know. When he came to the cage every morning and evening to offer water to the captives, and each day at midday to bring what passed for food in the one meal given to them, she drank in the sight of him. She told herself she had better remember every inch of him for she would likely never see him after she was sold in Tongo.
He was brave, of course, and never shedding a tear in front of her, but she knew he was desperate to find a way to save her. She could tell, however, that he'd been beaten. Brusies showed, purple and ugly under his shirt and at his wrists. His clothes were torn and dirty, and she could see a bruise on one cheek, though he refused to discuss it with her.
She had tried to keep track of days on the ocean, but even if she had done so, it didn't tell her where they were.
"Still thinking there must be a way out, girl?" One of the other women, Maggie by name, asked her. Maggie was a kindly woman, but was bitter and believed the only way to improve the turn her life had taken was to be good at whatever tasks she was asked to perform. With luck, she could buy her freedom in some way.
She nodded. "There has to be. We can save ourselves"
"And how do we do that while we're locked in 'ere?"
"I haven't worked that out, yet."
Maggie laughed. "Tell me when you do." Her tone indicated she was sure Elizabeth wouldn't succeed.
**
Captain Jack Sparrow smiled up at the clear blue sky as he steered his ship towards the island just visible in the distance. "Freedom," he murmured, as the lyrics to that song of Elizabeth's raced through his mind. "really bad eggs" he half-sang, half-spoke.
Anamaria came up behind him, laughing. "You sure we can sell this stuff here?"
"We can and we will."
"I've never been there. Is it rough?"
He cocked his head to one side, considering the question. He waved a hand vaguely in the air to no purpose that Anamaria could discern. "Rougher than Tortuga, but I know some people."
She nodded though he couldn't see her and watched him as he smiled at something only he found funny, and laughed at things only he could see or remember. She wondered, not for the first time, just how mad he truly was. As if hearing her unspoken question, he turned to her then, grinning widely, and giving her a wink. She merely shook her head and went back to her post.
**
Will served the Commodore his dinner, and stood by as he was expected to do in case Killian needed something else. It hadn't been a good day. When he'd brought water to Elizabeth and the other women, they'd all been crying. One of the older ladies had died at sometime during the day. The crew had heard the crying and had come to see what had happened. Then they'd tossed the body overboard making sure the prisoners heard it.
Will wanted to comfort Elizabeth, but she stepped back from him. "We don't know why she died." She explained through her tears. "If it was something contagious" she broke off and he understood. She didn't want him to die.
"It was likely the lack of decent food and water and the heat of the voyage, Elizabeth."
She nodded. "Yes, but we don't know."
He stepped toward her again, reaching a hand through the bars, but she drew back. "Please, Will! I must know that you are safe!"
Will stopped when he heard those words, remembering when he had used the same ones when he'd told her to run and hide at Port Royal.
Will felt his heart breaking, and knew he had to speak to Killian soon. He had heard Killian say they'd reach Tongo in two more weeks. He waited until the Commodore had finished his meal, and moved to clear the dishes. "Commodore," he spoke softly, eyes down, and voice low. "Might I have a word, sir?" He hated showing such deference to the cold-blooded killer, but he had to feign respect for him if he was going to get what he wanted.
Killian sat back in his chair, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. The young man had barely uttered a word to him in weeks, except to plead for the release of one of the women in the hold. "If this is about that woman, boy"
Will rushed to interrupt before the Killian could order him not to speak of it, knowing he risked some sort of violent reaction if the commodore was not in the mood to hear him. "In a way it is, sir, but I wanted to offer a tradea parlay."
"Parlay?" Killian frowned. So the boy knew the code. "What did you want?"
"I want Elizabeth Swann and the others to be dropped off somewhere where they will find safe passage back to Port Royal or to London if that is where they wish to go." Will dared look up then, letting Killian see how serious he was.
Killian's laughter filled the room. "That's all? Why not two of my ships while you're at it?" He was about to dismiss the boy with a hand across the face, when something in his eyes made him stop. Curiosity got the better of him. "Just what is it you have, boy, that you think is worth as much as 10 slaves?"
"I am a blacksmith and a master at the forge. I can make the best swords this side of London. Your men will be better armed than the Royal Navy, for up until you plundered my home, I supplied many of the blades for Port Royal's men of the fleet."
"My men have swords."
"Not like mine. They will be perfectly balanced, sharp and strong, as rich as you would have them."
"And where do you propose I put a forge? In the galley?"
Will paused. He hadn't truly thought of that. Then an idea hit him. "Where do you make berth? I can set up there and, given a few weeks, I can"
"Stop, boy!" Killian stood and walked over to the impudent upstart. "What makes you think that a few swords are worth as much as 10 slaves?"
"I do not offer just a few swords. I will make as many as you require, even enough to be sold at any port." Will's eyes were bright with hope. He hadn't thought Killian would let him say as much as he had.
"For how long?"
"As long as you say. For all my life, so long as Elizabeth is safe."
Killian stared at Will for a moment, then a smile graced his face. It grew into a grin and soon laughed and kept laughing. The sound sent a chill down Will's spine.
**
Will had tried at every turn to find a way to escape and take his fellow prisoners with him, often earning himself beatings or deprivation of food or water by way of punishment. The last time, they'd given him 20 lashes but had forced Elizabeth to watch. Hearing her anguished cries and pleas that they stop hurting him had worked remarkably well in restraining any more attempts he might make. Moreso when Killian had hinted that if he misbehaved again, she would bear his punishment.
Not willing to take that sort of a risk, he had stopped. In truth, lethargy had accomplished what threats and beatings had not. Will had become more submissive and subservient than he ever would have thought possible.
He never guessed his behavior, though certainly a reaction on his part to the heart-stopping idea that Elizabeth might be beaten for his crimes, had more to do with the food and water Killian had begun to give to him.
Killian watched the boy as he ate the food and drank the water he had offered. The boy was half-starved, and that had overruled any caution he might otherwise have had. This had been precisely the reason he'd kept the boy on such miniscule rations to begin with. It had worn him down. He never suspected his food and drink were tainted.
It was fate, Killian thought, that had brought Bootstrap's son to him now. It was meant to be, of that he was sure. And this time, there wouldn't be any last minute reprieve by any meddling interfering busybodies! He grinned as Will finished the meager meal he'd been given; no more than a few spoonfuls of stew, a half a piece of bread and a half a cup of tepid water. The rations would remain small, but the dosage of that with which he had laced them would only increase.
**
This morning, Will had been bound and tied to the ship railing as Elizabeth and the others whom the Commodore intended to be sold into slavery were marched past him. He tried to break free. He struggled with his ropes, and cried out to her, pleading with the Commodore again to free her, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, and the pirates only laughed at his anguish, finally gagging him and striking him when he refused to be silent. He had kept his eyes on Elizabeth until the small boat they'd used to transport her to shore had hit land. It was too far away for him to see her clearly, or even to distinguish her from the others who shared her doom, but he watched anyway until the crew returned counting their money. Then, the Marauder and her sister ships set sail putting unfathomable distance between Will and his true love.
Since that moment, he had done what he'd been told, moving through his days barely seeing the world at all, let alone caring what he did. That she had been taken from him, and he could do nothing to save her was almost impossible to accept. The thought that he might never see her again made him physically ill. Whatever they did to him now, he would not care. Elizabeth was his life, and he had failed her.
**
Jack, Gibbs, and Anamaria strolled happily back to the dock where they'd left the Black Pearl. They'd made enough money this trip to buy all the supplies they needed, and provide an impressive profit for each member of the crew.
He gave orders to Gibbs and Anamaria and the pair nodded, happy over the profit they'd made. Finally Jack explained his own destination. "And I shall make my way to the Painted Parrot and see how much rum they be willing to part with!" He sashayed towards the pub leaving Gibbs and Anamaria staring after him.
"Do we trust him?"
"He's your captain, girl!"
"I mean do we trust him to find his way back to the ship after he's had a few drinks?"
Gibbs nodded. "Well, we can come after him ourselves in a couple of hours."
Jack meanwhile had made it almost to the pub, stepping around people, and singing to himself when he realized that a large throng of unruly people stood between him and his watering hole. "Pardon mecoming through" He started out polite, but eventually resorted to shoving. Finally breaking through the group, he found himself staring at a line of women, dressed in rags, all bound at the wrists and gagged.
Jack's eyes widened in surprise as he swayed a bit, and raised his hand to clap it on the shoulder of the man standing beside him. "What's all this?"
"Traders. Them's for sale!" The small, weasely man smiled.
Jack pulled away from him, making the movement more circular than most would have, and stared at the man. "Slavers?"
The man nodded eagerly.
Jack's body finished the circular swaying and he stared at the line of women. One of them was staring at him. He brightened at that thought, but then he realized why. It was Elizabeth Swann.
Jack sighed. "Bloody hell."
**
A stifling darkness fell on Tongo as a thick fog covered the docks. Captain Jack Sparrow and his men rowed towards the anchored ship, Avenger.
Sparrow waited for the opportune moment to act. Jack had tried to buy Elizabeth, but he didn't have enough gold on him and the traders wouldn't agree to let him go back to his ship. Sighing again, he had nodded to Elizabeth in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, and moved off to learn more about the man who had made the purchase. The man was planning to take Elizabeth to the orient to resell her making a hefty profit.
He had learned who it was, and now, he was about to do more pirating than he'd intended when he'd first reached Tongo.
Moving stealthily, he and his men climbed aboard the Avenger and searched for Elizabeth.
Jack crept into the hold, and sure enough, found a cage holding one lonedecidedly female figure. "I told you darlin', that it wouldn't work between you and me, so you really have to stop following me about."
Elizabeth whirled at the unexpected sound of a familiar voice. "Jack!"
He held an unsteady hand to his lips. "Shhh!" He moved around the cage to study the lock, his hands moving around it but not really touching it. "We want to keep this quiet for a bit." He looked around the room, and spotted a ring of keys hanging on the wall. Pulling it towards him, he inserted the key in the lock but it wouldn't turn.
He looked about the hold taking note of some struts that seemed about to give, and some spots on the floor that seemed too damp for anyone's good. A closer inspection proved to Jack that the Avenger was likely in port for more than buying slaves. They were in need of repairs.
A loud crash followed by yelling and the sound of metal meeting metal made him hurry. "That's done it. No more secrecy!" He tried another key. Again, nothing happened.
After several more, he tossed the keys aside. "None of those." As the sounds of fighting above them grew more frantic so did Jack's search for a way to open the cage. He stood back his hands again hovering by the lock. Taking a step backwards, he whirled around as the back of his legs came into contact witha bench.
A pleased smile crossed his face as he lifted it up and shoved it through the bars. Putting all his strength into it, he shoved hard. For a moment nothing happened, but then a loud crack reverberated through the hold. Splinters flew off the bench as it shattered leaving the cage intact.
Elizabeth sighed, and began to make suggestions. "What about"
Jack whirled on her, holding up a hand for silence. "I'm not through. That one wasn't mine, anyway." As that thought passed through his head, he wondered where Will was. He smiled to himself as he considered the chances that Will had commandeered the Dauntless and set off to find Elizabeth again.
He stood wavering, unsure what to do, when behind him he felt a movement. In one swift move that seemed beyond his abilities, he drew his sword and slashed out at the man who stood behind him severing a lock of hair from the man's head. Blades crossed, he and the man circled each other.
Jack seemed to be retreating, but while Elizabeth watched, she realized he had a plan. The man pressed his seeming advantage, while Jack spoke in an incessant stream.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that having a woman on board is bad luck? I ask because everyone's always tellin' me that, and I wondered what you'd done to get them not to." He stepped to his left. "Not that I ever listen, mind you, but listening ain't what it's cracked up to be, if you know what I mean"
The man followed Jack's footsteps, and prepared to lunge at him, when he suddenly found himself falling through the floorboards and hitting keel. Jack had maneuvered the man towards the damp floorboards knowing they were too rotted to hold his weight. In moments, his struggles began in earnest as the ship began to take on water.
Jack shook his head in rueful disapproval. "Nah, see that's not the way. When you creep up on someone in your hold, you kill 'im! Don't dance with him, mate!"
Jack finally found the key, which had been kept on the wall on a peg opposite the first ring he'd tried. Opening the door, he held out a hand to help Elizabeth. "Come on, then. Friend's waiting."
She stopped then staring at him. "Is it Will? Did you bring Will with you?"
Jack stopped then, weaving unsteadily on his feet. "No, I didn't, love, though I gather he's not where he should be." He held a finger across her lips to keep her from continuing. "Later. We'll have time to catch up and chat over a cup on the Pearl" He lowered his voice to a near whisper as he turned away and walked towards the stairs leading above deck. "though my cup will have rum in it."
He led her out of the hold, and towards the rail. He called to Gibbs as swung down to the docks from a rope while holding fast to Elizabeth. "Gibbs! Retreat! Back to the Pearl!" Gibbs resounded the call. The crew of the Black Pearl rowed towards their ship, and in moments, were safely aboard and heading to sea.
**
Sparrow dug through a chest in his cabin and produced a dress for Elizabeth.
"Do all pirates keep women's clothing aboard ship?"
Jack's head moved in a bobbing motion that might have been a nod. "Most do, though most have been known to keep a woman or two aboard."
"I thought a woman aboard ship was unlucky."
He smiled, though it was a bit of a leer as well. "Yeah, but not 'avin' one can be lonely."
He left the room to her, giving her a moment to dress while he sent to the galley for food. By the time she was ready, he held the tray in his hands. He set it before her, and she didn't stand on ceremony.
He watched her eat, a grin spreading across his face at the sight. "That's twice I'vebeen involvedin your rescue. What happened?"
Elizabeth put down the bread she'd been eating, and began to explain.
Jack listened patiently to her story frowning all the while. "So this, Killian has Will?"
"Yes. He kept Will as a personal slave, and the other men are being made to work the boat with the promise that one day they'll be offered the chance to be pirates if they do what they're told."
"But Killian didn't make that offer to Will?"
She shook her head. "No, and I wondered why Will had been singled out."
Jack was silent a moment, and when he spoke, it was barely a whisper. "That's interesting. I wonder that myself." Mired in thought, it was several minutes before he spoke again. "Do you know where Killian was headed?"
Elizabeth nodded. "It's" her face fell. She'd overheard one of the men who'd taken her to be sold say the name of their next port. "It's"
"Sounds like? How many syllables?" Jack smirked.
"It's not funny!"
"No, it's not. All right, then. I'll pull out the charts, and we can go through the nearby ports." Jack moved to his desk and rummaged through it finally bringing out a roll of maps. "Here we are!"
"You keep charts and maps?"
"Now, how do you think I get around, on my good looks and a stiff breeze?" He bowed low over the table as he spread the maps over it, neatly avoiding Elizabeth's food.
"Well, noI meanlet's just find Will."
"Oh, look, something we agree on."
They poured over the map together. They had been at it for an hour, when Elizabeth's gaze finally fell on a corner of a map at the bottom of the pile. "There!" She shouted with joy."
"Where?" Jack asked, rifling through the maps and tossing each to the floor until the one she'd pointed to was the only one visible. "Not there? You didn't mean there."
"I did! That's what Killian said."
"Simple enough name, yet you couldn't remember it?"
"What's the point?"
Jack's eyes widened. "What's the point? We aren't going there! There's nothing you could say that would make me take you there!"
"Killian is taking Will there!"
"So you told me!" Jack bent and retrieved his maps from the floor and began to roll them neatly. The rolling went wrong at some point, and, left with a tube smaller at one end, he gave up and chucked it over his shoulder at the wall.
"You told Will that you were a good friend of his father!"
Jack guessed where she was going with that, and shook a finger at her. "Don't! I'm warning you!"
"He said that you claimed to be one of the few men to know him as William Turner."
"I ain't gonna listen." He began to hum a song to himself, but gave up when he realized it was the one she'd taught him.
"Well, now William Turner needs you! Don't turn your back on him."
Jack hung his head, and threw his arms in the air. "Why'd you say that? I asked you not to say that." He sighed heavily. Then swore heavily. Looking at her, he noticed she was still staring at him, hope and fear in her eyes. "All right. All right. No need to worry. Captain Jack will get you by tonight. He'll take you to your special island."
He turned towards the door, and, without bothering to open it, yelled. "Gibbs! Anamaria!" The two entered. "Set course forScratch."
Gibbs eyes widened. "You can't be serious."
"Do I look like I might be 'avin' a laugh?" Jack demanded.
Gibbs nodded. Anamaria asked tentatively, "Speed, sir?"
Jack sighed. "As fast as she'll go."
"Aye, sir!" The two retreated to carry out the orders.
Elizabeth stood in the middle of the room, a smug, happy look on her face.
Jack stared at her. "I don't know why you're so happy. You don't even know where we're going."
"I do. We're going to some tiny little island called Scratch to save Will."
"Yeah, we are. Now ask yourself, 'Who's gonna save us?'"
To Be Continued
Padfoot4ever: Thanks! You were first to review this story and I am absolutely thrilled to find a familiar name here! I will keep it up! Thanks again! BTW, I was thrilled to find your review for Keeping to the Road. Elven grief fascinates me. Thanks again!
Melanie2: I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm absolutely ecstatic that you think it flowed elegantly! I've never been told that before! Keep reading, and I will try not to disappoint.
Sunny 18: Thanks so much! Your words of encouragement mean a great deal to me! Don't worry! Everyone's favorite pirate is coming to the rescue. Difficult character to write since it was all in the brilliant delivery of Johhny Depp! (IMHO, one of the most underrated actors to come out of the 80s!)
Jackfan2: Of course, Jack's gonna swing inHe's got to! It's not a POTC fanfic without Jack! I hope this chapter meets with your approval. There's a bit of comedy, or at least my attempt at comedy, in it, but Jack is sooooo funny I had to put that in. Captain Jack Sparrow has to be one of the more difficult characters I've tried to write, but I had to give it a shot. Please please let me know if you think I hit anywhere near the mark. Thanks for your review!