Ends of the World

Chapter Four

Tragedies Are More Than Old Greek Plays

Elizabeth had not been on board the Black Pearl more than ten minutes when she saw Barbossa at the helm, like a proud man returned home from an epic war. She smiled and ran up to him, staying a few feet away. "Jack didn't say you would be here!" She said excitedly, he looked at her, with seemingly lifeless eyes but then he smiled a little to himself.

"Jack didn't know I would be here, Mrs. Sparrow."

She frowned and tilted her head, looking all about the ship. "Well . . where is Davy? He is to take me to Tortuga, until Jack comes back for me, that is. I need to speak with him so he knows to bring us on our way."

"Davy Jones is not on board this ship, he's off to tend to the dozens of soldiers your husband and Master Turner will be killing on the ship we brought. Make himself a bigger crew, I'll be your captain tonight." The ship, she realized, was already moving from port. She sat down on the wooden deck, thinking nothing of it all, really. "We must send Jack a letter soon, thanking him for all he's given me."

She looked at him curiously, her arms wrapping tightly around her knees, which she had drawn up close. "What do you mean, all he has given you? What are you on about? When did you and Jack speak?"

He just smiled and walked to stand with his back to her, facing the crystalline waters, hands clasped politely over his lower back. "My beautiful ship, a beautiful young bride and a child to be on top of it, surely that is enough reward for leaving him to be alive, faking bearings to keep him off from the two of you as long as I did."

"What?" She stood and stormed over to him. "You cannot be serious! My husband will be going to Tortuga shortly to retrieve me, I cannot let you go off with his ship and I certainly will not stay on it with you! I demand you leave at this instant."

He was silent, watched behind her and after a few moments she nervously turned her head to see Jack and Will swimming for the ship they had brought. She turned to Barbossa, eyes stinging with tears, her arms slipping about herself. "What have you done? Why is it you take so much joy in him boarding that ship?"

He smiled coldly at her. "He'll never catch up on it." He replied simply, going to the downstairs to get something to eat and drink. She collapsed to her knees on deck and cried softly for a while until she fell asleep. A crewman lifting her stirred her from her sleep, and she stayed awake until she was laid in a bed. She fell asleep shortly into that and was disheartened when Jack did not come to her, he must not suspect anything. She wished he had given her that ring.

Jack and Will searched every bit of the ship for Barbossa but found no trace of him, and then suddenly the Flying Dutchman emerged from the waters nearby, deck to deck with the ship the two men and few surviving crew stood on. Jack walked to the side of the deck to be face to face with Davy Jones, upset beyond belief. "Why aren't you on me ship?"

Davy regarded him with surprise, his hideous features contorting in nonchalant carelessness. "I had other things to attend to, what with the sailor deaths in these waters. I went back for it and it was gone. Where is Elizabeth?"

"On it," Jack growled. "And Barbossa is missing from here so I imagine he went off with me ship and me wife and I am not happy about all this." He began to pace the deck, hands wringing nervously. "I don't want to lose the Pearl again but I have more important things at hand. Elizabeth cannot be put under too much stress."

Davy tilted his monstrous head and took a deep breath of the sea air. "They are not far off, the Captain and the girl. Something about her is different, Jack. Why are you so concerned for her now?"

"She's with child." He said softly, pacing more quickly, his eyes seeming to search each wooden plank for a bold and daring idea as to how to rescue his young wife.

Davy nearly stumbled back at this, Bootstrap looking to Will with worry, but soon calming when his son did not show too much sign of distress. Will watched Davy and Davy soon looked at him and shook his head, looked to Jack. "I could send the Kraken. Have it bring her back."

"I don't want her shaken up and manhandled and whatnot, if she loses the child she'd never trust me again and the name of the game to save me marriage right now, is trust." He sighed. "I've screwed up a bit but if I can prove I can be worthy, I can fix it, savvy? I need a good, clean way of getting me girl and me ship back."

Will pondered quietly to himself and looked at his friend after a few silent moments. "Well if I may be so bold as to inject my personal opinion, we should catch them and clap him in irons. He's much to valuable to kill, and not worth trusting."

Davy grinned ferally and pulled Will and Jack on board, along with Gibbs, Cotton, the short pirate, and a few other souls. "Well not even the Black Pearl can match the Dutchman for sea, especially under water! Come, we shall get Elizabeth back soon, very soon. I suspect by afternoon."

Elizabeth woke again and jumped up from her drowsy state, looking around her in absolute confusion. She was on land, and she didn't remember ever getting off of the Black Pearl. She made an attempt to stand but a strong hand clasped her shoulder and urged her to stay down. "Don't be wandering off now, Elizabeth." Barbossa rasped. "We're going to be having comp'ny in half a moment."

Elizabeth looked at him with wide eyes and tried to pull away. "Please, you have your ship, let me be on my way, I'm of no further use to you." But he held her strong and pulled her from her half risen stance to sit rather harshly.

"Your husband has somethin' of mine and he won't get what's his back without a fair trade." He snarled. A younger pirate, a little older than her perhaps walked up to them and studied them closely, then looked directly at Barbossa.

"Word around has been that you want a word, but yer gonna have to be on yer way, Barbossa. I see no profit in this scam for me." He caught Elizabeth's gaze and she nearly cried out in surprise, recognized those eyes too well. The eyes of her husband. Jack Sparrow's eyes, but this, most certainly was NOT Jack Sparrow.

Barbossa smiled when he saw her expression and looked to him, nodded to the girl. "How about the key to finding your father, young James?"

The water was still. Not a sound from gull nor wave. The Flying Dutchman was five or so feet from the deck of the slowed Black Pearl. Without any form of warning, cry or shot or whatnot, Jack Sparrow took a rope and swung onto his ship's deck. It was eerily silent and he didn't like it. Will Turner and Davy Jones himself followed, and the three of them charged room after room to the very keel but found no trace of Elizabeth or Barbossa or anyone else. Jack walked to the helm of his ship and looked at the piece of paper pinned there by a dagger, ripped it off.

"James Worraps James Sparrow. Son of . . Caroline Beaufemme and J-jack Sparrow. Antilles." He looked to the island they were just offshore from and then to Will. He swallowed thickly. "Davy, I need you to watch me ship, make sure no man not approved by me gets on. Will, we have to go find me wife. . . and me son."

Will raised his eyes from the dirt to where Barbossa sat with a young pirate drinking, Elizabeth sat next to them, looking fearfully around. He tilted his sword slightly to signal to Jack that he had spotted them and to his surprise, Sparrow walked right up to Barbossa and held his sword to his once first mate's throat. "You let her go you mangy cur, or I'll gilly you right here."

"Jack," Elizabeth whispered, voice shaken with tears. The younger pirate drew his sword and held it to her waist, his cold, identical eyes never straying from Jack as he did so and waited.

"I'll gut her the moment your stroke falls."

Elizabeth looked at Jack with tears in her eyes, shaking visibly, unable to stay still against the blade, causing it to cut into her skin just very slightly. She cried harder at this and the pirate moved his sword away a little, looked to Barbossa, then Jack. Jack, enraged, reluctantly lowered his blade. Will approached but acted as though he did not know them, crept around the corner Elizabeth sat at, reached to gently take her hand, ready to yank her away the moment the younger pirate was too preoccupied.

"Y'ave something of mine Jack and I think it's well past time to give it back to me, you spoke to your Elizabeth, you got what you wanted. You got more, so give me back me ring and no harm will come to pass to her." He flashed Jack a look of confidence and the other pirate cursed softly.

He pulled the ring off and set it on the table, but no attempt was made at letting Elizabeth go. He raised a brow and looked between the two men, made an impatient gesture. "Well?"

"Well what?" Barbossa asked, sneering slightly. "That all you came here for? Your child bride?"

"Course not, the lad too. Let's throw a deck party!" He said with a convincing yet false smile. "It's only about time I learnt I had another child. Very interesting indeed and I would take custody were he too young to fend for himself, like the other one is so if you don't mind. . ."

The younger pirate drew his blade and stood as Jack made his way to his wife, held it to his father's throat. "You will not take another step until you hear what I have to say. All my life my mother tried to reach you but you were always 'busy'. Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Royal, you never made one inch to learn of my existence, be a true father to me. Teach me to be a pirate instead of me learning from a complete stranger!" He shook his head, this boy reminded him of Will, too much. "Now you have moved on, my mother is dead and you are having another child with a woman my age, I ought to spare it the life it wouldn't want to miss and cut it from her womb this moment!"

Will took this opportunity to yank Elizabeth over to him, and hurry out the door, but James made no move for her, she was not who he was looking for. Jack swallowed thickly and stepped back from James' blade. "Had I known somehow, I would have come back for you, honestly. But I didn't and now it's too late. You're all grown up and learnt." He made to leave.

"Then I want to be part of your crew, one of your boys. You owe me a few years of pirating, and I will not rest until I have had it." He put his sword away. "From the looks of it, you needed a crew anyway."

"Mine is somewhat diminished, true." He studied him, he seemed strong and he was definitely brave. "You're welcome to join us James." He looked to Barbossa. "As for you," he drew his sword and moved to the apple near Barbossa. "Y'ever threaten me wife in any way shoe or form again. . ." He sliced the apple down the middle and met Barbossa's gaze. "Savvy?" He sheathed his sword again and made his way out, James following.

Elizabeth had taken three or four steps out with Will when an obnoxious, drunken pirate slammed suddenly into her from seemingly out of nowhere. She gasped sharply and fell to her knees, clutching her body tightly, pain starting to go through her in jolts from her pelvis to her chest. She breathed more shallowly, unable to move her lower body enough to take big gulps of breaths. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she moaned and whined in pain as she slowly sunk to lay on the ground.

Will, in a blaze of anger cut the pirate's legs at the back of the knee and quickly dropped to her side. He ran his hands through her hair, over her middrift, trying desperately to soothe his ex-fiancée. But it was to no avail, she began to cry softly just as he heard Jack and James exiting. Jack came up and shoved Will out of his way, turned Elizabeth onto her back, saw how she held herself and the tears pouring down her face. He picked her up into his arms and looked to his grown son. "Where is the nearest medical outpost?"

James led them, rather than directed, and Elizabeth was taken hurriedly in. Fifteen or so minutes later a nurse came out for Jack, did not speak the language to give him any answers. Will and James waited outside for them. The middle aged pirate made his way quickly to his wife's side and took her hand, brushed kisses over her knuckles. "Elizabeth?"

She looked to him, hair clinging to her sweaty neck and face, which was slightly reddened. She sniffled softly, though it made a loud noise and slid her fingers to entwine with his. "I . .lost the baby." She said softly, the first time she had referred to it as being a baby. Jack's expression sank and she began to cry again, he held her until his own grief stopped him from consoling her himself.

He darted past James and Will to be outside, facing the ocean. Will was the first to follow him out, angered by his sudden ignorance. "What is going on Jack? Is Elizabeth all right? The baby?"

Jack took a deep, long breath and then turned to face Will, the sight of him shocked his young friend. His eyes were red and tears had dampened his under-eye-makeup and made it run slightly. He turned back from Will, hoping that the first sign of pain he had shown him ever would be more than enough of an answer to his questions. Will went in to see Elizabeth and Jack fell to his knees in the sand, did not look up when James sat next to him. He calmed himself considerably before he spoke.

"It's taken me years to get here. I wasted my youth being a buccaneer, a fearless beast of the sea and I never took what all young men should. A bride, children. I'm growing older now, James and I want those things. And I keep coming so close to losing the love that made me win her over in the first place. Then we lose the child we never expected, the child that maybe would have helped me finally grow up." He composed himself, looked to his son. "Here's the first father-son lesson, don't be like me."

Elizabeth looked to Will with a tear soaked face as he entered, sobbed softly and opened her arms to him. He went to her and held her tight, ran his fingers protectively through her hair. "I just spoke to Jack, or at least I think I did. He was like a ghost, Elizabeth, there was no life in his eyes and. . . he was crying."

"I don't believe you. Do you mean to say Jack Sparrow may be human?" She whispered, wiping her face with the backs of her hands.

"Come off it, I've only ever meant well." He said softly, sitting with her. "I'm so worried for you, you've changed so much, Elizabeth Swann. I wonder if taking you away would clear your head and make you the way you were." He stroked hair gingerly from her face.

"It would," she said honestly, then looked to him. "But it would make me into the person I don't like being again. And I've fought so hard and so long to get to where I am, Will." She bit her lip, looked at her lap. "The baby will be buried here, with the other lost ones. I know this has been difficult for you, but thank you. For being here for me."

He took a deep breath and nodded, speaking barely past a lump in his throat. "I will always love and look out for you, Elizabeth." He said softly. "But my place is in Port Royal, in the gallows. So I'll be heading back there tomorrow at sunrise."

Elizabeth looked at him with wide eyes. "You cannot, you'll be killed, I will not see you dead."

He stood up and kissed her hand. "I love you, Elizabeth Sparrow."And with that he left the room before she could protest further. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I love you, William Turner."

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