Part 9
Notes:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed/added me to your favorites/ added me to your C2 archive.
This part and the next one are both short, but I didn't want to combine them. It really needs the pause while you click to the next page. : ) I wish I could have commercial breaks. That'd be even better.
A handful of the men were singing 'A Pirate's Life for Me' while swabbing the deck the next morning. "Something you taught them?" Mad Mary asked Elizabeth as he swung his mop around.
"I taught Jack. He must have taught the crew." She'd tried to teach the Heart's crew the song on several occasions, but they'd laughed at her, and only Kim ever learned it. "We were marooned on an island once, Jack and I."
"I'm sure those was some interesting times." He raised he eyebrows at her.
"Too bold! Mary, it's not your place."
"He doesn't treat you like the rest of the crew. Turner either. The three of you got some history, or so the crew says."
"Is that so? Do share."
"Ain't my place to say," he replied with a toothy grin. "Just that you was going to marry Turner, and Sparrow stole you away."
"That's not quite it. It was complicated." She looked across the ship, where Jack and Will were arguing about something, but a split second later they were laughing and patting each other on the back.
Mary looked at Elizabeth, her eyebrows furrowed, biting her bottom lip as she stared. "Mebbe it still is."
"Just swab the deck you gossiping fool."
"This Ely the Butcher could not be further out to sea, could he?" Elizabeth complained upon entering Jack's cabin that evening.
"Apparently," he replied, staring at the large map spread out on his table, the compass sitting on top of it. Not being held by anyone, it's needle rocked gently on it's axis, spinning slowly and pointing nowhere. "Is there a reason you're here, Captain Ely?"
"Not really. Except. . ." She picked up the compass, sitting it flat in her palm on the table in Jack's view. It wavered in the direction of the starboard side of the ship, but slowly circled until it pointed to Jack and stayed there.
"Well," he said, grinning broadly. "I guess the best man won."
"I'm not a prize; this isn't a game. And neither of you won. I've made a decision, and it's only going to make our lives more difficult--"
"I like difficult."
"--but I can't--I can't keep denying myself what I want, what I deserve." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I want to be happy, Jack. And I never will be until I've had you."
"I knew you'd come 'round to my way of thinking things." He stood to pull her close to him.
She stood, her mouth centimeters from his. "I have."
Elizabeth shoved Jack against the wall, attacking his mouth and throat while trying to pull off her coat and undo his belt all at the same time. "Ow. Ease up a bit, luv. We can take this slow you know."
"No, Captain, we can't. Now shut up." She pulled him over to the bed by the waist of his pants andshoved him down onto the mattress, straddling his waist before he could get up again. She pulled off her shirt without disturbing her hat, and started kissing him again.
Will, coming from the starboard side of the ship, walked by the closed door of Jack's cabin, hearing the familiar thumping of Jack's bed against the wall. This was very odd indeed, because the cabin boy was at the other side of the ship, and the only woman aboard was…Elizabeth.
Will Turner had never been sea sick a day in his life, but at that moment he had an overwhelming urge to throw up.