Chapter 4- A loss, A Gain
Elizabeth and Will ran as fast as they could from the governor's mansion. Things didn't go as smoothly as they would have hoped. Upon hearing from Elizabeth of her mother's arrival he went ballistic. He ordered the first person to see her to take her into custody on the spot so she could be hanged.
"Will, move faster, we have to get out of Port Royal as soon as possible!" A frantic Elizabeth yelled.
Will sped up and within seconds the couple was at their home and, breathlessly, explaining what they had to do.
Meredith and Jack heard the door slam open and quickly walked into the foyer to see what the commotion was about, and upon seeing the young couple they immediately began to worry.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong sweetheart?" Meredith asked as soon as she saw her disheveled daughter.
"We have, we have to leave. Father wasn't as receptive as we might have hoped he would be. He's ordered your arrest and is ready to hang you on the spot." Elizabeth managed to cry out.
"Alright, Will, Liz Imma take Meredith to the Pearl, she'll be safest there, and then I'll come back and get ye, in the meantime start packing!"
Nodding in agreement Jack and Meredith sped off and Will and Elizabeth started packing their most treasured possessions as well as some articles of clothing.
About a half hour later Jack showed up and ushered them out of the house.
"Jack, is everything set? Is the boat ready to go?" Will questioned.
"Aye, it's all ready."
Reaching the docks Jack ushered the young couple into the waiting row boat, threw their bags into the boat, took the oars and hurriedly rowed to the Pearl.
The boat rowed up to the Pearl and a rope ladder was thrown down.
"Up you go Liz."
Nodding, Elizabeth scurried up the rope ladder. Handing Will his bag Jack instructed Will to do the same. Finally, Jack climbed up the ladder, took the wheel, and steered the ship away from Port Royal.
Elizabeth stood at the edge of the Pearl, looking at Port Royal as it grew smaller and smaller.
"Good-bye father," Elizabeth, tears in her eyes, whispered as she turned around and headed below deck to hers and Will's cabin.
Upon entering the cabin Elizabeth saw Will scurrying around, trying to sort things out.
"Will." Elizabeth asked, "what are you doing?"
"Oh, Elizabeth there you are. Jack asked for my help above deck, and I didn't know where you were and I didn't want to leave you with all the work and…"
Elizabeth silenced him with a long, passionate kiss.
"Go help Jack, Will. I'll take care of everything down here."
Nodding okay, Will stole one more kiss from his wife before running above deck to help Jack.
Looking around the cabin, Elizabeth noticed that Will had put away all of their clothes, leaving her to only their personal items. However, at the moment Elizabeth wasn't in the mood to unpack, it had been a long day and all she wanted to do was curl up in the bed and fall asleep. So, kicking off her shoes, Elizabeth crawled under the covers and succumbed to the world of sleep.
For several days things were going smoothly for Elizabeth, Will, and Meredith. Will did his share of the work with the crew while Elizabeth rested as she was getting quite big, and Meredith bonded with her daughter.
On the fifth day at sea, however, everything changed.
Elizabeth walked over to Will, who was talking with Jack. Sliding into his arms, she leaned back into him.
"How are you feeling this morning darling?" Will asked affectionately.
"Terrific." Elizabeth answered simply.
Suddenly Jack stiffened.
"Jack, are you alright?" Will asked.
"I'm alright boy. But I've got some bad news for ye. We be coming across another pirate ship."
Within minutes Jack had the entire crew prepared and Will had Elizabeth and Meredith below deck, so as not to be harmed. And within another few minutes the other ship had caught up to them and a battle ensued.
Elizabeth sat below deck, unhappily. How dare Will lock her in a room when they could use her help above deck, fighting. She knew what to do, only a year ago she had been fighting with the very same crew, only a year ago she was a captive on the very ship she was on now.
Meredith, noticing something had changed in her daughter since they had been locked in the room.
"Something wrong sweetheart?"
"Will has no right keeping us down here. He knows I know how to fight, it was only a year ago I was fighting with them against Barbarossa's crew."
Meredith looked confused, "What are you talking about Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth looked equally confused, "Didn't Jack tell you how we met him?"
"Yes, he said you saved him from being hung in Port Royal and in turn he saved you from a pirate ship. He never really elaborated on the entire situation."
"Well, I guess you deserve to know what happened a year ago." Elizabeth started, "You see, it all started on the crossing from England. We were in the middle of the ocean and we saw a burning ship. The crew from our ship went to see if they could find any survivors, but only I found a survivor. He was left in my care for the rest of the voyage. His name was William, William Turner."
Meredith looked at her daughter, "So, that's how you met Will?"
Nodding, Elizabeth continued her story, "We became best friends and soon after arriving in Port Royal I fell in love with him, but I knew that I shouldn't be in love with him. After all I was the governor's daughter and he was simply a blacksmith's apprentice. Nevertheless, I loved him, and it was only until about a year ago that I learned that he loved me as well all those years.
"Anyhow, about a year ago, during Commodore Norrington's promotion ceremony the commodore asked me to step aside with him. So, out of politeness I went with him. He walked me over to one of the walls of the fort and proposed to me. I didn't know what to say, I mean any woman would have loved to marry the commodore, but I knew I would never be able to love him, at least not the same way I loved Will.
"Well, that morning the maids had tied my corset too tightly, and as he asked me to marry him, I wasn't able to breathe and I fell off the wall of the fort into the waters below, barley missing the rocks. As I hit the water, the pirate medallion I had taken off of Will when I found him must have sent out some sort of signal or something.
"While I was sinking Jack was being held by two officers of Port Royal, but he saw me fall and he dove into the water to save me. And that's how it all started."
Elizabeth continued to explain the story of Barbarossa and the dead crew, the "ghost story" she had lived through about a year ago. Finishing, Elizabeth looked her mother in the eye.
Meredith looked shocked, she had heard stories of Barbarossa and the curse while she was searching for her daughter, but she had never once believed the stories, and she had never once even guessed her daughter was the beautiful young woman in the story.
"That was you in those stories that I had heard?" Choked Meredith.
Elizabeth nodded as her mother grabbed her in another hug.
In the past few days Meredith had been filled in on the past few years of her daughter's life, but never had she imagined that her little girl was held captive on a ship with a crew who couldn't die, marooned on an island, almost forced to marry a man she didn't love.
Suddenly the ship lurched and Elizabeth heard the lock on the door click. Quickly, Elizabeth walked over to the door and found it open. Waving her mother to follow her Elizabeth walked above deck, just in time to see the other pirate ship sail away with several captives, but she saw one captive, Will.
"Will!" Elizabeth as she ran towards the other ship, only to be held back by Jack, her mother, and Gibbs. "No, let go, they have Will! WILL!"
The other ship sailed away, and the three people let Elizabeth go as she began sobbing. Jack went to inspect the damage done to the ship. He knew they would be delayed a good amount of time getting the ship repaired, Gibbs went with him.
Meredith took her daughter in her arms as Elizabeth sobbed for the love of her life, for Will.
All of a sudden, however, instead of sobs coming from Elizabeth, Elizabeth started screaming in pain.
Jack, Ana Maria, and Gibbs ran over.
"Elizabeth," Meredith asked, "Elizabeth, what's wrong sweetheart?"
"My baby," Elizabeth cried, "something is happening to my baby!"
The four of them sat there, surrounding Elizabeth for a moment, the shock wearing in until Ana Maria saw something wet on the floor.
"Don't worry Elizabeth, nothing is wrong with your baby, you're just in labor. Jack, take her to your cabin, we're going to have to deliver this baby!"