Disclaimer : I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, but any new characters are mine.

Chapter Twelve

The Tale of a She-Devil

Will did not actually check to see if Elizabeth was awake. He slipped back into bed, under the wool covers with Elizabeth; the bed was still warm. William was too tired, too upset, and too stressed to care what Jack or the crew thought that they were doing. He just didn't care anymore. Will carefully reposistioned himself, so that Elizabeth's arm was around his waist underneath him, and her other arm drapped upon his stomach, moving carefully so that he didn't wake her. She looked so peaceful, so happy, for what he was sure was the first time in all together to long. Elizabeth's friends, and her maids, and her friends that were maids, had told him that she hadn't smiled in forever. Not since the night before her dream, and she had only smiled because she was with her love, Will, who had always been able to cheer her up, no matter what the problem was. Will laughed softly at the thought, a memory coming back to him, from when they were younger.

" Will ?"

" Yes Miss. Swann?"

" Do you think I am pretty ?"

" No. "

" Why am I not ?"

" Cos your hair is everywhere, you've got sute all over your face, and you're only in your shift"

They were only 13 or 14 then, and he had been teaching her to fight, against her father's knowledge. She had told him that she was going out with her friend, and then sleeping over at their manor, when she had secretly snuck into the Smithy. No matter what she was covered in, no matter what her hair was like, whether it be a rats nest, or in perfect ringlets, and no matter if she was in full dress with corset and panniers, or in only her undershift, Will had thought she was pretty no matter what.

" Oh...well what if I bathed, brushed my hair and put my dress back on , then would I be pretty in your eyes ?"

Will hadn't known it then, but Elizabeth had been asking if he loved her, because she loved him, and more than just her friend too.

" No."

" Oh..."

Elizabeth seemed hurt by his answer,

" Because you aren't pretty -- you're beautiful, no matter what."

Will smiled and Elizabeth blushed.

That night Elizabeth had been planning on actually going and staying with her friend, so that if her father came to pick her up in the morning, there would be no question. She had been planning on actually telling the truth, should her friend tell her father that she was late getting there, she would just tell her father,

" I'm sorry papa, I went to see Will, and we lost track of time. It won't happen again, I assure you."

But that's not how it turned out. Not at all. By the time that either Will or Elizabeth had noticed that she should be going, it was too late. It was well passed night fall, so she had stayed with Will in the Smithy that night, after J. Brown, Will's master, had gone home to his family. Will had given her his cot to sleep in, while he took the floor in the next room by the forge to keep warm. The next morning, Elizabeth went home early, but she was still covered in sute, and she smelt like the Smithy. Of course when her father learned that she had spent the night in Will's bed, no matter how innoccent it was, for after all, he was nowhere near her, her father had her locked up in her room for two weeks straight, but that didn't stop young Will from coming to see her. For the first days, he tried the honorable way, he truly did. He showed up in his best clothing, and knocked upon the big wooden doors, just to be turned down, Elizabeth wasn't to see him. So after that, he did what he shouldn't of. He slipped around the side of the house that had her room, and he climbed up the wall up to her balcany. And for those two weeks, he was the only thing that kept her from loosing all sanity, for he came every day. He had been the only thing that had kept her cheery.

But then they grew up, and grew apart as he grew into the fine young man that he is, and she the proper young Lady that she is.

Will sighed, thinking of the times passed, when he felt Elizabeth stir in her sleep.

She moaned softly in the limbo between sleeping and wakefullness. She opened her eyes, and saw only Will's soft neck and hair, felt only him in her arms. She blushed and closed her eyes again , trying to hide her smile in his chest and clothing. She took a deep breath, drinking in his scent, and sighed in content, blithe that last night, and everything that had be said, had not been a dream.

" I love you Will"

Elizabeth murmured into his chest, just happy to finally be able to say it to him again, and wanting to hear his answer.

" I love you too Lizbet."

She grinned to herself and moved up, she kissed his cheek , and sat up, taking her right arm from under him. She stretched out her arms and her upper body.

It pained Will to watch her stretch, not that it caused him phsyical pain, but that he hurt him to watch the woman he loved so, have so many problems with her left arm.

Eventually she gave up trying to stretch her arm fully, and she turned to Will, a dull ache in her left should.

" Could you do me a favour, Mr. Turner?"

" Aye, what do you ask of me, luv ?"

" Take my left hand, and pull on my arm, but please not with all your strength -- I still remember when you tied my corset, I couldn't even speak."

She smiled at him cutely, she held out her hand for him to take.

Will gently wrapped his fingers around her's, he puts his right hand on her left shoulder and pulled gently to stretch her arm.

" Thank you William."

Elizabeth smiled and kissed his nose, getting up, she really needed something to wear. She didn't want to walk around in her night shift all day. She opened the closet off to the side of the bet, and tapped her foot, there was nothing in the closet...she sighed and spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm,

" I suppose I could walk around the ship, naked , all day."

" Not a good idea around pirates luv, hold on, I have an idea."

Will got up, leaving her alone, and Elizabeth watched him leave, curiously.

1.

Will walked back up on deck, back to Jack

" Took yeh long enough boy"

" One, I'm not a boy, and two, I'm not here to hear your mad ideas of what I've been doing these last 20 minutes."

" Than why are yeh 'ere ?"

" I need to know if you have any dresses aboard."

Jack raised his eyebrow at him , looking him over,

" I don't think yeh 'ave the figure lad..."

" NOT for me Jack ! For Elizabeth !"

" Wha' , yeh rip 'er shift up ?"

Will sighed getting angrier and angrier, his foot tapped on the deck, and Jack could tell he was in no mood for his teasing

" Sorry mate, no there are no dresses aboard anymore -- unless she would like to wear what Barbossa had her wearing..."

" I doubt it , and that reminds me, why DID Barbossa have that dress aboard?"

Will was slightly afraid of the answer,

" Ah it belonged the Captain before him"

Will's eye brows shot up, because Jack here, was the captain before Barbossa.

" Erm...were you not captain before him ?"

" Not really, no. The ship was mine, I owned her, but the Captain was a Lass, a firey lass at that. Her name was Ethel Kidd, "Dirty" Ethel Kidd."

" Ah, I've heard of her, but only in passing. What became of Miss. Kidd ?"

" She drowned herself, when they put yer father off the ship"

" Oh ?"

" Aye, she killed herself, or so Barbossa told me. Bill and her couldn't be separated."

Will's eyes narrowed

" Not like tha' lad. Ethel was Bill's best friend, and she his. She was 21 when she drowned herself, yer age lad."

" So they were both lost...I see...So the dress was Ethel's than ?"

" Aye, Bill had bought it for her when they were in port once, it was the time they sent the coin of to you, or so I was told. You see my crew ? See some of them that were Barbossa's ?"

Will looked around, only now noticing the few, Pintel, Ragetti, and Mr. Twigg, needless to say , he wasn't exactly happy to see them.

" Jack ! They'll committ mutiny -- AGAIN !"

" No they won't, Dear William. They are the few that stayed true to Ethel, even after her untimely death, and that of Bill. I was her next in command, after your father of course, so even now , they stay true to her, to me. Now, if Elizabeth wold like to be wearing that gown --"

" Aye, I'll just go get it."

Will walked in to the Captain's Cabin, well, Jack's part of it anyway. There was another section that had been blocked off by a new wall, it had a locked door in it. Will tried to ignore it, it was just another room after all, but he couldn't find the plum gown anywhere. He spent at least 20 minutes ripping aparts Jack's room, and he had been told that it was in the Captain's cabin. He was just about to go and raise Hell to Jack , about lying and how it was not even in that little room, filled with rum bottles, when the door and wall finally got the better of his curiousity.

Calmly, Will Turner walked to the door, and examined the lock, it would have a tiny golden key, now, he just needed to find it ! He ran his hands through his hair thinking of where the key could possibly hidden by Jack..he slapped himself in the head, at just how obvious it was, in his rum cache.

Will practically ran to the closet, he threw open the doors, there was nothing inside, but he knew Jack better than to be fooled. He searched the wall with his fingers. Something caught his attention, below his feet, an inconsistancy in the wood's height. A ledge. He grinned to himself and crouched door, his fingers searching and finding the low handle of the door, he moved off of it and pulled it open, he looked down, it was dark. Taking the chance, from sheer curiousity, he dropped himself into the darkness. There was a ceiling, about 2 feet above his head. All around him were rum bottles, all full. There was a candle on a table to his side, as well as some flint. He lit the candle and picked it up, using its light, he searched. Something off to the side infront of him, flashed golden. The key. He slipped it into his pocket and moved back to the table, the entry way was nearly right above his head now. He blew out the candle and put it back where it was. He stood beneath the openeding, and reached up, grabbing onto the sides, he pulled himself up and out. He closed it again, and left the closet.

Will walked back to the door, and put the key in the lock, he prayed it would work. The lock went click, and he opened the door, stepping into the sealed off room...his jaw dropped.

1.

Elizabeth had now began to pace, wondering if Will was ever going to come back.

" Oh come on, how long does it take to ask Jack for clothing ? Honestly !"

She wasn't mad, not mad at Will, no. But she worried that something had happened...he fell overboard, and eatten by sharks--yes her mind jumped to conclusions when she was alone, and bored.

" Perhaps I should just go look for him...who knows, perhaps he got lost ?"

1.

Will stared in awe at the room. It was filled with GOLD. It covered the dressers and tables, the sun, streeming in through the windows, whose curtains remained unclosed, sparkled off of the treasure, giving the room a golden glow. The curtains were crimson crushed velvet, there was a dressing curtain, in one corner of the room, it was Chinese, by the look of it, probably aquired during one of the trips to the east. It was mahogany, and covered in dust. Ontop of it lay a dress of the same colour and material as the curtains, but it was embroidered with rubies and diamonds. True rubies and diamonds ! Will couldn't believe it. Infront of the dressing curtain, was a pair of red woman's high heeled shoes, made of heeled leather and bone, with red silk sewed over it. They had red silk flowers attached, with a small silver buckle on each side, they too, were covered in dust.

To the side of Will, there was a mahogany table. Upon it rested many many maps , and open rum bottles, all covered in dust, he walked over and looked down at the maps. Upon one, written in handwritting, not unlike his own, was scrowled the word , " Escape" This sent a shiver down Will's spine, he knew that writting, it was his father's...But everything here hadn't been touched in 9, nearly 10 years. He looked at the bed, it was lazily pulled up, but the sheets were silk, and the cover on top was red, embroided with dragons in silver and gold thread, if you looked closely , you could just see the impression of the woman that slept there last...preserved. Beside the bed was chair, where Bootstrap had slept everynight...Again, Will shivered, he knew why they kept this room closed off. But something was sticking from beneath the pillow, a paper. He had to know what it was, so he pulled it out, ruining the impression of the woman to last sleep here...he read the note, it was in a woman's handwritting,

I , Captain Ethel Kidd of the Black Pearl,

write this last note, for whoever may find it. I write this now, late at night, for I know tomorrow they are going to throw Bootstrap, my friend, and my heart, into the sea. He does not know it, he sleeps now, in his place beside me, in the chair that has sat there for years, since I was just 19. He does not know, because only I over heard them, and I can't bear to tell him. And when they throw him overboard, I will follow. I will wait for him forever, I will free him. For I am immortal too, as no one dost know. Tomorrow, when the world is to end for us, I will follow him to the depths, and wait with him, till our time has come, and our curse is broken somehow. We shall not die, we will return to this ship, that I swear.

Captain "Dirty" Ethel Marie Kidd, Lady of London.

Will nearly dropped the note...looking around he found the dress and ran out of the room.