Sequel to, 'Pirates of the Caribbean; Love is Not a Victory.' If you haven't read that, go read it or you'll be lost!
Disclaimer- "sobs" Must I say it? Okay- I do NOT own 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' However, I do own Ari, Elli and any other characters that you do not recognize.
On with the show!
Chapter One-Worlds Apart
You could be my unintended choice to live my life extended, you could be the one I'll always love
You could be the one who listens to my deepest inquisitions, you could be the one I'll always love
I'll be there as soon as I can,
But I'm busy mending broken pieces of the life I had before you.
Unintended; By Muse
Will stood on the deck of the Black Pearl, watching the waves lazily crash against the sides of the proud ship. Evening was in the air and the last rays of the dying sun glinted off the water, giving it a golden glow. Will sighed deeply as he looked at the beauty surrounding him, he knew this was a good idea, being out here on the ocean again. It was good to get away from Port Royal, especially since he and Elizabeth divorced and there was nothing for him there anyways.
Actually, it was Jack who had proposed this idea. He had visited Will not but four months ago and found that the young man was desperately sad. He had tried talking about it to Will, about why they divorced, but Will had told Jack nothing. So, Jack suggested that he get away from where all these memories lingered. Will thought about it for a long time, not really up for any more adventures at the time, but then he remembered how free he felt when he was sailing with Jack, and how he seemed to not have any problems when he was on the ocean. So he agreed to go with Jack and now here he was.
And even though the ocean brought a sense of peace to Will, he still couldn't help feeling desperately empty and alone. Sitting here out on the deck was not helping him either because no one was there next to him to talk with him, even if it was about the simplest things and he was alone with his thoughts. Will also found himself missing me. He had no idea where I was now and he was starting to doubt that I was never coming back like I had promised him. Will had really hoped he would see me again, seeing as I was the only one who could cheer him up when he was this depressed. I always offered him a smile, or told him something funny that made him laugh even when he felt like he couldn't.
It seemed as if Will was under a curse, for the people he loved and cared about always seemed to die or leave him. Will didn't even know if I was still alive, but he hoped so. Will sighed again, deciding to try and get some sleep tonight, when he was interrupted by a pale girl with golden colored hair and glassy green eyes crashing into the deck. Will jumped back, startled when he realized that it was me.
"Ari?" He cried, coming to kneel beside me as I rubbed my head.
"Hello Will." I said, wincing a little as I got to my feet. He stood up as well, smiling down at me still.
"What are you doing back here, I began to think you were never coming." Will said, feeling happier than he had been in a long time.
"You were actually waiting for me to return?" I asked, looking up at him surprised.
"Of course...you're such a good...friend to me..." He replied, having a hard time saying the word 'friend.' I smiled up at him, honestly never expecting him to even remember my name because how could I compare to Elizabeth, who he most likely married.
"It really is good to be back here."I whispered, looking around at the wide ocean that surrounded us. Will nodded, but he wasn't looking at the ocean, he was looking at me. I hadn't changed at all, my hair, my eyes...all of me was the same, which Will was glad for. He would still care about me no matter how I looked, but he was glad that I looked just how he remembered me, except my eyes had never looked this sad before.
"What?" I asked smiling and turning to Will.
"Nothing." He replied, also smiling. I went to hug him and then remembered that Elizabeth would be popping up at any minute to ruin this perfect moment, but to my surprise, she never came up on deck. We stood in silence for a while, not saying much when I decided that I had to ask Will where Elizabeth was and although it was mean, a large part of me wished she wasn't here.
"Will, where's Elizabeth?" I asked softly, not looking him in the eyes. I really didn't want to hear about how happy he's been with her and how much he loves her, but I had to know if he was married to her or not, I had to know where she was. To my surprise, he didn't say anything like that. He just looked at me and then looked out at sea.
"Elizabeth and I separated about a year ago. She wasn't the one for me after all. I wasn't very happy with her and she wasn't very happy with me either because I learned how much I loved the sea after you left." He said softly, his brown eyes shining. I just stared at him, not knowing what to say. I felt horrible because a small part of me had hoped that she was dead or that they never got married. And now my wish had come true and I felt horrible about it.
"I'm so sorry Will." I whispered and laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at me, pushing some of the loose strands of my hair out of my face. To my surprise, he didn't say anything, he just smiled at me, touching my face lightly with his hand.
"I'm not." He whispered after awhile. I just stared up at him, wondering how on Earth I could respond to that. What did this all mean? Will seemed to sense my unease because he took his hand away and looked out at sea. "Um...did Elli come with you?" He asked softly, once again turning back to me.
"OH MY GOD!" I heard Elli cry. I turned and looked towards where her shouts were coming from and saw her rush up on deck.
"What, what is it?" I asked. She just shook her head and pointed behind her.
"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Will murmured to himself and smiled.
"The bloody portal dropped me in his roomཀ His room-of all placesཀ" Elli finally shrieked.
"It wasn't my fault this time and what are you doing here anyways?" Jack asked her, walking up on deck as well.
"I came here because Ari wanted to and it's good to see you too." Elli snapped sarcastically.
"It was your idea to come back here?" Will asked, turning to me.
"Geez-we just got here and already you're arguing!" I exclaimed, ignoring Will. I didn't want to answer that question, I didn't even know how I felt about him anymore. Part of me still loved him and the other part wanted to just stay away from him because of all the things that happened last time. "So Jack...where are we headed?" I asked, ending his and Elli's fight.
"Tortuga." Jack replied and smiled. Elli rolled her eyes.
"Why on Earth do you keep going back to that hell hole?" She demanded. Jack glowered at her.
"It's the only port nearest to us right now and we need supplies-savvy? Besides, I can't help it that you decided to pop up out of nowhere." He countered.
"Still, you could find another port." Elli answered.
"I told you, it's the closest port!"
"When are we going to be there?" I asked, once again interrupting them.
"In a week." He replied shortly before arguing with Elli again. I rolled my eyes and walked up to the bow of the ship. It was my favorite part on the ship, because you could see everything from it, the ocean, the horizon, the setting sun...everything was so beautiful and calming out on the ocean and I could now understand why so many people became sailors or pirates. They just want to be free, something we all want.
I heard someone walk up behind me and turned around. It was Will, but I had figured as much. It was odd, because now I wanted to avoid him instead of coming closer to him like I had wanted the first time I was here.
"So...how long are you going to stay this time?" He asked softly. I shrugged my shoulders, not purposely being vague- I honestly didn't know. I felt him looking at me, even though I was looking out at the ocean and I knew he wanted a better answer than just a shrug.
"Longer than last time." I replied at last. He smiled and laid a hand on my shoulder.
"That's good, it's what I hoped for." He said. I was puzzled by this. Why was he acting like this- saying such nice things and touching me and wanting to be with me? Not that any of these things were bad, but it made me wonder. "You came at a good time because we were rid of two of our crew members which leaves two cabins open." Will said, breaking the silence.
"How convenient." I murmured, hoping that didn't sound sarcastic. Knowing me, it probably did-sarcasm haunts my every word, even when I'm trying to be sincere.
"Ari...are you upset with me?" Will asked softly.
'You sure you want me to answer that?' I thought in reply. But then as I thought about why I was mad at Will, I realized that the reasons I had didn't make sense anymore. I couldn't be mad at him because he loved Elizabeth-she wasn't here. And I couldn't be mad at him for choosing her over me in the first place because I know from experience that you can't make your heart feel something it doesn't want to. I had no more reasons to be mad at him, so I would just have to get over all the anger and hurt I felt-something I had failed to do last time. Well, if I ever wanted anything to happen between Will and I, I couldn't make that same mistake.
"No, I'm not upset with you." I replied at last.
"Are you sure?" Will asked. I nodded and turned around after hearing a door slam. Elli was no longer on deck, she must've gone to her cabin. Suddenly, that's what I felt like doing too, I just wanted to sleep.
"Hey Will, could you show me which cabin is mine, I'm really tired and just want to sleep." I asked. He nodded looked over his shoulder.
"Your cabin is the one right next to Elli's." He replied and pointed.
"Oh, where's yours?" I asked.
"Um...the one on the other side of yours." He muttered.
"Alright. Thanks Will, I'm going to bed now." I said and walked to my new cabin. I opened the door and looked around. There was a small bed pressed against the far wall with a night stand next to it. There was also a small wooden writing desk. I smiled to myself and walked over to the desk, the door slamming on it's own behind me. I sat down at the desk and laid a hand on it fondly. It seemed to be brand new or in really good condition and I wondered why pirates would have a writing desk. But I shrugged it off. It was mine now and I loved it, just as I loved being back here. I really did and now that Elizabeth was gone, I would love it even more.
xXx
Some one was softly knocking at my door. I ignored it and flopped back over in bed, turning my back to the door. Who ever was knocking had better stop unless they had a death wish. I am not a morning person and if Elli was the one knocking, she should know better by now. It was blissfully quiet for a few more seconds until the knocking started up again.
"What?" I shouted, my voice muffled by the pillow.
"Ari, it's Will-I just thought I'd let you know that breakfast is ready." He said apologetically. Damn. Wrong person to snap at.
I sprang out of bed and pulled the covers up, trying to make the bed look semi neat. I then looked around the room for a mirror, but didn't find one. Damn that too. I grabbed a comb from out of the night stand drawer and ran it through my long hair(which was down to my waist), hissing as it caught in the tangles. I tied my hair back with a ribbon and attempted to smooth my clothes out. I probably looked like I had been through hell, but I didn't care.
I opened the door and saw Will still standing in the door way
"You're not really a morning person- are you?" He asked.
"No." I muttered darkly, shielding my eyes from the evil light of the sun. He laughed softly and walked with me to the kitchen.
We were right outside the kitchen when I heard Elli and Jack arguing again.
"Geez-they're at it already, aren't they?" I murmured.
"Yes, they were at it all last night as well." Will replied.
"Really? I didn't hear them, but then again-I sleep like the dead." I admitted. Will smiled and we walked into the kitchen. As soon as we did, Elli and Jack stopped fighting.
"Good morning." Elli called cheerfully as if she had Jack hadn't been arguing at all.
"Morning." I replied, looking at her oddly. "What were you two arguing about?" I asked, sitting down at the table. Elli sat down next to me.
"Nothing." She replied.
"Sure." I muttered and rolled my eyes. She elbowed me and bade me to eat something, but as I looked at all the food on the table, I realized I wasn't very hungry. I wasn't sick or anything, but I felt like my heart was beating far too fast and loud. Also my mind couldn't seem to focus on the things I wanted it to. Maybe I was sick. I looked up and saw that Will was smiling gently at me. I returned the smile weakly and stood up
"I'm going to go out on deck." I said quickly, trying not to sprint up the stairs. Elli and Jack exchanged a quick glance before going back to their breakfast.
I calmly walked over to where the crew were working on the riggings. I tapped Mr. Gibbs on the shoulder and he turned around.
"There you are lass, I tho' ye were goin' to sleep the day away. Will finally got worried about ye and went to make sure ye were still breathin'." Mr. Gibbs said and grinned. I smiled and pat him on the shoulder.
"Nah-I'm still alive, lucky you. I see you're not nervous about having a woman on board anymore." I teased.
"Well, if Jack trusts ye, I see no reason not to." Mr. Gibbs replied. "But Elli now, he don' with her, like oil and vinegar they are. They were arguing all last night."
"Trying to wake the dead they were." One crew member muttered.
"Didn't get a wink o' sleep." Another one grumbled. I laughed.
"I'll talk to them about it, I promise." I assured the crew and went about to helping them tighten the ropes and work the sails. I heard a door open and turned around to see Elli, Will and Jack come up on deck to help us work.
"It's about time you came to help!" I called.
"Yea, well you were the last one up, so don't start!." Elli shouted back. Will laughed and walked over to me, helping me tighten the riggings.
"It's a nice day." He murmured as he worked.
"It is." I agreed and looked at the sparkling blue ocean that surrounded us. "I forgot how much I missed sailing." Will just nodded, feeling himself smile as well- he had never seen me this peaceful before. The last time I was here, I always looked tense, tired or sad, I never looked happy or peaceful like I did now. Will could faintly see dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep and he could also see a little sadness gleaming in my hazel green eyes, but other than those small details- I looked the most peaceful and at ease he had ever seen me.
"What?" I asked, turning back to Will-noticing that he was staring at me again.
"Nothing." He replied. "I'm just really glad that you decided to come back again." I smiled a little and went back to work.
"So am I." I murmured.
Elli, who had overheard us talking, smiled to herself as she thought of a plan.
xXx
If possible, the next day was weirder than yesterday-but then again, knowing all of us, that's not unbelievable.
I woke up to Elli and Jack's arguing-which put me in a bitchy mood for the good part of the morning. Speaking of which, Elli made me sit next to Will at breakfast while she sat next to Jack. I wondered why she had done this and I even went as far as to think that she actually was starting to like him, but then I saw the dark look she had shot him and I knew that wasn't it.
Will however did not seem as puzzled by the seating arrangement as I was. I started to feel as if I had missed something. Once again, knowing Jack and Elli-that was possible.
I was the first to finish breakfast again, finding it too hard to be in the same room as Will, especially sitting this close to him. Damn Elli-was she trying to give me a heart failure? She had been trying to do so for many years and this time she might actually succeed. I excused myself and went up on deck, pouring myself into my work so I could forget that uncomfortable breakfast. As I worked I found my thoughts drifting back to Will. It seemed nothing could distract me, not even my work.
I hissed and tightened the ropes that secured the mast. Why did I have to go and act like some delicate little girl every time I thought of Will-every time he touched me or looked at me or even smiled? He wasn't supposed to make me feel like this-nervous, confused, so happy that I could dance...it wasn't fair! I smacked my hand against my forehead, hard.
"Ow...that was stupid." I muttered, now rubbing my head gently.
"Yes it was-be careful or you'll give yourself amnesia again." Will said, standing behind me. I looked over my shoulder, smiled at him and then turned around again.
"That wouldn't be so bad." I muttered.
"What?" He asked, coming to work beside me.
"Nothing..." I replied lightheartedly. I knew it sounded fake, but I think Will now knew better than to question me about things-especially this early in the morning.
"I see..." He murmured. Yea, he didn't believe me.
"So, did Elli and Jack keep you up again last night?" I asked, trying to make a simple conversation. I hate uneasy silences, especially between Will and I.
He smiled softly. "No, they didn't argue much last night." He replied.
"It's a miracle." I murmured. Will laughed at that.
"You know, I think they really like each other and that they're just treating each other badly to cover it up." He noted.
"I think it's just pure hate, I've never seen Elli so frustrated before." I argued.
"Exactly." He replied. "Some people use that to hide their real feelings-like Elli and Jack for example...and then there are other people know they love someone, but they won't tell the other person because they're afraid or uncertain." He looked straight at me as he said this, his soft brown eyes staring into my own. I just stared back at him, the beating of my heart was loud and annoying in my ears. At last I turned away and tried not to look nervous.
"Really? How perceptive-I'd hate to be in either situation." I murmured quickly and scurried off to help the crew with the riggings.
Will smiled sadly to himself as he watched me walk off. He wondered if he had said something wrong. All he was trying to do was attempting to explain how he felt towards me-and maybe that's what was wrong. Maybe I no longer loved him like I used to. Will sighed and ran a hand through his thick brown hair as if trying to brush those thoughts away. He really hoped that wasn't the case.
xXx
This time it was Jack that had been listening to Will and I as we talked. And now Jack understood why Will had been so down for the past few weeks before Elli and I came. It wasn't because he and Elizabeth had divorced, why would he be upset about divorcing someone he no longer cared about? No, Will had been upset because he had missed me-turns out he had fallen in love with me after all, he was just having a hard time telling me so.
Jack smiled to himself, thinking of another ingenuous plan of his. But that smile soon vanished as soon as Jack remembered what Will and I had been talking about-which was him and
Elli. How could we even assume that they liked each other? He and Elli were as different as night and day. (As if their constant arguing didn't prove that they hated each other.) Will was just slow-he did have a bad habit of doing stupid things-as Jack remembered.
"Stupid whelp." Jack muttered. "What the hell makes him think that Elli and I care about each other?"
And now, a very disgruntled Jack walked back up to the helm, muttering dark words about Elli under his breath.
xXx
It seemed that for the rest of the day, Elli and Jack were trying to get me and Will to spend as much time together as possible. For example, we were assigned the same tasks and sat next to each other at every meal AND Elli wouldn't let me leave the table early this time. If she wasn't plotting something earlier, she was now. I even asked her why she was trying to get me and Will to spend so much time together and she just said that she thought we should. I knew it was something more than that I would find out what it was.
But Elli wasn't the only one plotting something, oh no. You see, Jack was plotting some things of his own and Elli knew this. So she approached him about it that night.
"I know you've been plotting something too, haven't you?" She asked, closing his cabin door behind her. Jack lazily looked up from his book.
"Why yes, I have. And so have you." He replied simply, going back to his reading.
"Now, what I don't understand is why are you helping Ari and Will out, I thought you didn't care about anyone other than yourself." Elli snapped. Jack glared at her and slammed his book shut.
"I'm just going to let that go. Now, I do care about other people than myself, but you wouldn't know that because you haven't taken the time to get to know me." Jack began, but Elli cut him off.
"Right, and you've taken the time to get to know me?" She muttered. Jack shot her a dark look.
"I tried a long time ago, but you kept pushing me away. Anyways, the reason I'm helping Will out is because he seems to really care about Ari, I haven't seen him this happy in along time. Besides, his father helped me get out of a few rough spots in the past, so I guess I do owe him by helping young William." Jack replied.
"Well, I'm sure that's very noble of you. Good night." Elli said in a flat tone and left the cabin. Jack sighed and picked up his book again
xXx
I woke up early in the morning-a miracle, I know, but I hadn't been able to sleep last night. What Will had said about the people who know they love someone, but won't tell that person because they were afraid or uncertain...that sounded just like me and it made me afraid and it made me wonder...did Will know I loved him?
I shook my head, trying to brush those thoughts away and stalked to the bow of the ship. I looked out at sea and in the distance, I saw Tortuga. I smiled to myself, thinking it ironic that I would ever be happy to see that hellish town. But, after being on this damned ship for a week, with Jack and Elli, who seemed to be hiding something from me and Will, who I couldn't be around without my heart beating quickly and my lungs giving out on me-I realized I would welcome any town, any place were I would avoid them.
But as it turns out. My dear friend and her partner in crime had other plans for me.
A/N: Woot! First chapter down! What do y'all think? You know you're going to have to review to tell me! "Sly smile"