Beauty and the Pirate

Disclaimer:I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl". Nor do I own any dialogue that matches up to the dialogue from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" nor any storyline plots from said movie. I solely own the characters of Isabelle and Marcel Cheney and Gaspard and all additional creative story lines. Hope you enjoy the story and feel free to send a review!

Chapter 2

A Golden Riddle

"What was that all about?" Will questioned Jack as the two and Elizabeth sat down in far back corner of the pub.

"Nothing really," Jack sighed, "Just saying 'hello' to an old friend."

"Then what was that gold box he gave you?" Elizabeth pressed curiously.

"The key to the treasure of Corazon," Jack smiled sweetly before asking a waitress nearby to bring the three some drinks.

"What do you mean? Is there a map inside that box?" Elizabeth continued questioning.

Jack rolled his eyes. "No, Mrs. Turner, this 'ere box is actually a compass that will point to where the treasure is, see for yourself," he answered as he placed the box before her.

"So it works much like the one you have for the Isle de Muerta?" Will questioned his nearly concluded thought to Jack.

"Aye," the captain replied as he distractedly took hold of the mug the waitress held out to him.

"Well, if it is a compass," Elizabeth said through gritted teeth as she struggle with the gold box, "then how come I can't open it?"

"Here, let me," Will offered as he took up the box. To his disappointment he too couldn't open the small gold box.

"This is just sad," Jack shook his head and extended his hand out for Will to hand over the gold compass.

Will was about to hand the compass over to Jack when he suddenly noticed an inscription on the lid.

"Did you read this yet, Jack?" Will looked to his friend.

"Read what?" Jack said as he took the compass out of Will's hands.

"There's a riddle written on the lid," Will replied as he pointed to it, "Read what it says."

"It says, my dear William," Jack began, "'For ye who solely seeks silver and gold must learn, there is more to life than all the treasure ye may yearn, and so before this treasure ye yet can earn, ye must love another and earn their love in return," then added in irritation, "That makes no sense."

"What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?" Elizabeth said taking the compass out of the pirate's hands, "it's telling you right here Jack that you can't get the treasure of Corazon until you love someone and that someone loves you back, which explains why the box won't open."

"That does make sense there," Will pointed out in agreement.

"So let me get this straight," Jack started again as Will and Elizabeth easily saw the wheels of his mind turning behind his brightened eyes, "All I 'ave to do is find me a girl who loves me and love her back and then I can get the treasure?"

"Yes, but it's not as simple as it sounds, Jack, love is a very complicated thing-"

"Then let's get started!" Jack cheered, ignoring Will, as he stood up and looked about the room.

Not daring to waste another moment, Jack took off across the room to the first woman in his line of sight other than Elizabeth.

"Lucille!" Jack greeted enthusiastically to the blonde as he appeared before her.

"Why hello, Jack!" Lucille cried as she swiftly grasped Sparrow in an embrace.

Once pulling himself out of her embrace, Jack took her hands in his and walked her outside.

…..

"What do you think he's up to?" Will asked Elizabeth.

"Trying to find a rushed solution to get the treasure would be my guess," Elizabeth replied shaking her head at how desperate Jack was to gain the treasure of Corazon.

…..

Minutes later, Jack came stumbling back to the table where Will and Elizabeth sat.

"So how did it go?" Elizabeth tried asking innocently.

"Not as well as I had hoped, love, but perhaps within a few more tries we'll be on our way to get the treasure," Jack smiled in hopefulness.

…..

Nearly two hours later as Jack continued to go about Tortuga in search of the solution to his treasure-seeking problems, Will and Elizabeth met Gibbs at the docks and made their way onto the Black Pearl. It wasn't for another hour later that Jack finally gave up and returned to his ship, ready to make weigh.

…..

"No luck then, Jack?" Will couldn't help to ask as he approached the pirate captain at the helm as they began to depart the bay of Tortuga.

"What do you think, mate?" Jack snapped back.

Will tried to suppress his laughter, but finding it difficult simply nodded and walked away.

"Just give me time to think, Will," Jack whispered to himself, "and I'll come up with a way for us to get that treasure one way or another."