Pearl of the Sea

Chapter Eight: Special Visiters

Edward Teach was not having a good day. Firstly, he spent hours getting his crew to dock the ship in a prime location, only to find they weren't too far from 'The Pearl of the Sea', the infamous Black Pearl, herself. Secondly, he had to go through the trouble of capturing the bird-man and his hellcat of a first mate. Finally, he let them go and had to deal with people calling him soft behind his back. He heard them whispering the ugly rumor around the deck and so, of course, he shot one of his own crew.

He had let them go because they weren't a threat. He wasn't going soft, he wasn't loosing his mind, and he most certainly wasn't ignoring the gypsy's prediction. But it was absolutely ludicrous to think that a drunkard and a woman could bring his downfall.

At least that is what he told himself.

As he sat in his cabin, a candle sliding up and down his desk with the rocking of the ship, he debated his choice of letting the two pirates go. Maybe he should have let Rat kill them, he would be worry free at that moment, but of course, he wasn't thinking clearly at the time and had decided to be merciful.

Look where that got him.

Never again would Blackbeard, scourge of the seven seas, be merciful. Never again would he do something as stupid as that. He would be perfect, flawless, and evil to the core for the rest of his rotten days.

A knock echoed throughout the room and his dark eyes, darker than usually due to the nature of his thoughts, glanced up at the door.

"Message for the Cap'n!" A meek voice called from the other side.

"Enter." Edward crossed his arms and waited patiently as the door creaked open and a very lanky man hesitantly stepped toward him.

"The Black Pearl has left the dock sir." He said, a small scrap of paper in his hand. "Master Rat would like to know if we should take any action." He laid the small paper on the desk and Edward slid it across and read it over.

'Pearl gone, what now?' Was hastily scribbled and the captain's brows knitted in thought.

"Tail them." He said simply, his gruff voice cutting through the evening air like a knife.

"Tail them sir?" The man replied, taking the note back from his captain. Blackbeard stood up, his arms falling to his sides and he began to pace.

"Stay just out of their view, and yet always know where they are going. Don't let them know we are following." He stopped and his dark eyes meet the gangly man's blue ones. "And most importantly, at first sign of dawn send a letter to the Revenge."

The man's eyes grew wide and he just stood there staring at his captain.

"Are you getting this down man or do I have to write it for you?" The captain bellowed and the man nodded, took a quill from the desk and scribbled a few lines on the backside of the scrap of parchment.

"Aye sir," His voice was shaky and so was his hand.

"You're excused when you're finished." Edward said before sitting down and the man quickly scurried out of the room.

"Well, well, Captain Sparrow, what are we up too I wonder," Blackbeard mused aloud before slipping right back into his thinking state of mind.

Breakfast in the Swann mansion was never a big affair and the reason for that was simply this: only on rare occasions were more than two people eating. Elizabeth loved her father to death, but he was not the most chipper person in the morning and to face facts, neither was she. Both would elegantly enter the room, dressed in their proper attire, sit at the opposite ends of the table and nibble on whatever the cooks had prepared. There was never much chatting or discussion, (they saved that for lunch) and the room was always eerily silent.

So what would make this morning any different? Well, first of all, Elizabeth hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. She had been up all night fighting off nightmares and then running around her father's garden in her bathrobe.

So, as she made her way down the stairs, she let out a huge yawn. So large in fact that her eyes were squeezed shut and she nearly overstepped the next stair. Her heels slipped on the hardwood floor and she managed to only let out a small squeal and catch herself on the banister. This would have been far less embarrassing if this wasn't one of those rare occasions when the Commodore dropped in for breakfast and was standing in their entryway.

But, unfortunately for Elizabeth, it was and James Norrington was beside himself trying to run up the stairs to save her.

"Miss Swann!" He said rather loudly as he approached her and his hand clasped her arm. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you James," She said, her hand smoothing out her dress. "I'm fine, really-"

"What's happened?" The Governor had just run into the room, his powdered wig bouncing as he ran. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes father," Elizabeth said, yanking her arm from the commodore's grasp. "As I was just telling James, I'm fine. Just a small accident involving a slippery heel is all. No harm done."

"In that case, why don't you two come into the dining room and we'll discuss whatever it is James is here to discuss over breakfast?" Governor Swann said, his lips curling into a smile and his eyes brightening.

As the two made their way down the stairs, Elizabeth thanked the Commodore for his concern of her well being. In reality she was just being polite, but that wasn't how her father saw it. He chirped in from the corner of the room happily, "I think you have saved her life more times than she can count Commodore. I don't think she really realizes how much she owes you."

Oh yes, it would be a long morning for Elizabeth. Her father was already chiding her for choosing the blacksmith. It wasn't that he disapproved of her choice, he left it entirely up to her and he supported her decision, but he had been rooting for the commodore. He still liked to remind her now and then of his title and what that could bring her just incase she could be persuaded into leaving Will and marrying Norrington, but the odds of that happening where slim, very slim in fact. So, his constant nagging was just that, nagging. It was getting no where with Elizabeth and it did nothing but agitate her.

Breakfast itself was dull and boring. As Elizabeth ate her egg, her father spoke of politics and as she nibbled toast Norrington brought up economics. Then, just as she was almost finished, James said something of interest.

"Pirates are becoming more and more of a problem ever since the incident three weeks ago." James said, his fork poking a piece of pork. "Did you happen to hear of the trials in Spanish Town?"

"Ghastly isn't it? I hear there are women involved." The Governor said, and Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. "Two of them, both pleading their bellies."

"Disgusting," Norrington said, setting his fork down. "The Captain's already been hung, he's hanging in Deadman's Cay. Most of the crew has been taken out too. All except one of the women," He paused and his eyes narrowed. "Did you hear of their plans for her?"

"Of course I did," Governor Swann said with a nod. "I approved them. I hated to do so, but after they had the other die of fever and another pirate vessel come in, I felt obliged to offer up our jail."

Norrington shook his head. "Vile creatures. I'd see to it that Elizabeth doesn't meet this Bonn woman. She might put ideas into her head." Norrington said seriously and Elizabeth let out a sigh before excusing herself from the table.

Women pirates? Well, that was something new. She knew only one, that AnaMaria woman on Jack's ship, but she had figured that the rest of the crew of the Pearl was so misplaced that a woman was a rarity found only under a captain such as Sparrow. But maybe she had been wrong.

All Elizabeth did know for sure was that whether or not Norrington saw to it, she would meet this woman one way or another.

"Are you daft?"

"I thought we established this darling."

"First off, I'm never gonna forgive you for humiliating me-"

"Me? I'm innocent love, I didn't do a thing."

"HA! You selfish pig!"

"No need for name callin'."

Sunlight greeted the deck of the Black Pearl and the waves of the Caribbean sea she cut through so quickly. Her captain had been on deck for the past hour arguing non-stop with his first mate. It had been a week and three days since they had left Venezuela and AnaMaria was getting a case of cabin fever. Seeing as no one else was up worth talking to before the sun rose, she had been venting all her pent up anger on Jack.

She had to admit he was a rather good target.

"Name callin'? You call that name callin' you filthy-" Jack wheeled around and slapped his dirty hand over her mouth.

"Please, please, pretty please, be quiet. You're screeching voice is giving me a God-awful head ache and I'm having enough issues as it is." His other hand flew through the air flamboyantly, and the hand covering her mouth flew off when she sunk her teeth into it, his mannerisms never failing to make AnaMaria smile.

"Jack, you don't have issues, you are an issue." She said bitterly and he slapped a hand across his heart.

"Yeh wound me," He raised his hands in the air and just kept right on prattling. "But, my real issue is that we've been trailed since the day we left port and we are bound to reach our next little stop sooner than I planned."

"Trailed?" She said, before turning and scanning the horizon. "Yer bloody daft, there isn't a ship out there. The lookout would have spotted it."

"Love," He said, his hand resting on her shoulder. She promptly swatted it off. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, when I say we're being trailed, we're being trailed, savvy?"

AnaMaria turned and glared at him, her mind wandering to all the possibilities. "Yeh don't think-"

"Aye, it's him. No doubt in me mind." Jack said with a nod, before continuing nonchalantly toward the helm.

"And yer not alarmed in any way?" She said, her back suddenly aching. "Yer not preparing for battle or warning the crew?"

"He's been there since we left, if he was going to make a move he would have made it." Jack said shortly and he gave her a small smile. "Yeh know, yer cute when yer worried."

"Do you want to die an early death?"

"I'm just sayin' love, no need to get all defensive."

A/N: Been awhile aye? Writers block is murder. Even though this isn't nearly as long or as polished as I wanted, I thought I would give you something to read. Also, for those of you who are hip with your pirate history, I am well aware I am skipping a few years and smashing them together and that isn't entirely acturate. But then again, this is fiction isn't it? Until next time.