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Chapter Two: Perfect
He sat at the bar, sipping his vodka without a sound. He glanced around and brushed his jet black hair out of his face. His shocking blue eyes scanned the dirty pub, obscurely searching for two specific people.
"But… How could this have happened?" a woman's voice said behind him.
"We'll find out," a deeper male voice growled.
Perfect.
"I still can't believe it," the woman mused in what seemed like a sorrowful voice. "Who would do that… to Will?" Her voice broke on the name.
After taking a deep breath, he twisted around on his grimy stool and turned in their direction.
"I know."
Captain Jack Sparrow and Miss Elizabeth Swann whirled around simultaneously to face him. He had a puzzled expression on his face, while she had a thankful one.
"You do?" she asked him incredulously, her wide eyes searching his face for an answer. "How?"
"I have… Connections," he replied, raising one of his eyebrows. He looked her up and down, and came to the conclusion that she was gorgeous. The way her soft, brown curls caressed her porcelain cheeks, the way she had a prettily formed body and how her gown, which looked like a wedding one, hugged her small curves perfectly.
Yes, she was perfect.
"You do, eh?" the Captain asked him. He then slowly twirled his braided beard around his finger and surveyed him.
"Yes," he said, nodding slowly. "Zachary Holstroff, at your service, sir." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and gave the Captain a swift handshake.
"Well, then," he drawled, "let me take you to 'er." Zachary almost wondered aloud who "she" was, but he immediately understood.
The Black Pearl.
Perfect.
-----
"Welcome aboard, Zach," Captain Sparrow said, stretching his arms unenthusiastically at the majestic ship that they were on.
He frowned. "Actually, I prefer Zachary," he informed him in a small voice.
"Well, Zachary," he taunted, glaring at him, "welcome aboard." He then stomped in another direction towards the large, wooden wheel of the Black Pearl. It was quite obvious that the Captain was in a bad mood, so he figured that he shouldn't bother him.
"Erm… Zachary?" Miss Swann said from behind him.
He turned to face her. "Yes, Miss Swann?"
"No, please, call me Elizabeth," she insisted.
"Elizabeth," he echoed, giving her a small smile. "What would you like?"
"Well…" she looked down at her feet and shifted her weight. She was apparently searching for the right words to say. She looked up at him and her smooth cheeks flushed. "You know… who… did it, right?"
There was a pause. He looked to the darkening sky for a moment, and then turned his thoughtful gaze back to her. "I have an idea of who it was."
She raised her chin in attentive interest. "Who?"
"Well, that," he said, turning around in the direction of the below-deck cabins, "I can't tell you. Yet." He looked back over his shoulder and gave her a small smirk, his bright blue eyes twinkling. He then walked below deck, his mind racing and his hands in his pockets.
-----
Elizabeth perched on the railing of the Black Pearl, the strong breeze whipping her hair into her face. Tears stung the back of her eyes from the salty air and the memories, tossed together. Thoughts about Will, Zachary, and Jack pulsed through her mind as she gazed into the slightly rippling, green-blue sea that stretched out ahead of them. She had already mournfully called off the wedding, and Jack had agreed to take her on another "journey." Another journey of the notorious Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann, but this time…
Without the noble blacksmith, Will Turner.
She could barely tolerate his name, even in her mind. She knew that Zachary knew something important. Something crucial, that he wouldn't tell anyone.
But what?
A shiver had run up her spine when he had called her by her name. Her stomach had done a somersault when he had given her that one smirk over his shoulder.
Why, though? She couldn't say.
All she wanted was her wedding day to be… Perfect. But now, everything had changed from perfect to completely warped.