"Bloody...Wizards?"
-Elizabeth Turner
A story of when Pirates meet Wizards
A/N: R & R please!
Chapter Twelve: A Lovely Night (Will Turner)
"Where is he going?" Will asked Jack a few hours later. They had started with the sun in the far east, but now it was sinking into the west. Bootstrap was standing at the wheel, adjusting it either to the right or to the left every so often.
Jack gazed at Bootstrap, then looked at Will, "I'm not really sure. I trust him with the Pearl, though is it possible to trust one of your best mates, who's a pirate, who's been living at the bottom of the ocean for the last ten years?"
Will looked at him, "Er…"
Jack smiled, "Never mind, lad," he said, looking out into the ocean. They were sitting on two crates facing each other.
That was very unlike Jack. He never just said, "Never mind", he usually went on with word puns, rhymes and so forth to confuse him. Usually it worked.
"What's under your skin?" Will asked suspiciously. There was something Jack was not telling him.
Jack glanced at him, then did a double take and stared at him wide-eyed, "Why the doubtful tone and look?" he asked, his eyes narrowing and a grin forming on his lips.
Will also grinned, "You're just not acting yourself…that's all."
He looked back out over the ocean, "Anna-Marie," he simply said.
Will raised his eyebrow and followed Jack's gaze, "The dark one?" he asked.
Jack grinned, "Yeah."
"Where is she? Wasn't she on the crew?"
He nodded, "Aye, but they're taking a bit of a lie-down in Tortuga."
"Is that where we're going?" Will asked.
Jack nodded slightly.
"We'll be there by sunset," said Bootstrap.
"Oh?" asked Will, "Then we should already be there," he said.
Bootstrap turned around and grinned at his son, "Witty. It's not quite sunset."
When he turned back around, Will looked at his hands which were folded between his knees. His forearms rested on his thighs. He wasn't sure what to think of his father. He had been gone from his life for over thirteen years…ten of which weren't his choice. But the other three he'd been lying to his wife and son. A merchant sailor? Then again, his father had taken the time and the energy to find William…did that account for the years he'd lied to him?
"Drop the sails and the anchor!" yelled Bootstrap.
Jack and Will shot up off of the crates and they each dropped the anchor and sails. Just ahead of them was Tortuga, lit up by the gas lamps in the streets and the shop lamps as dusk turned into night.
"Do you need help finding her?" Will asked Jack.
Jack grinned in a way that Will had never seen him do before, "No, lad, I know exactly where she's at."
When he didn't say anything else, Will was silent. After a few moments, they dropped the boats and rowed to shore. Jack swaggered off toward the "Drunken Monkey Inn" while Bootstrap signaled for Will to follow him to one of the local Taverns. Will's father ordered a bottle of whiskey while William himself paid for a glass of rum.
They didn't say much to each other for a long stretch of time. Will didn't say anything because he didn't feel much like speaking to his father at the moment. Bootstrap only felt awkward and wasn't sure of what to say to his son.
"Why?" Will asked.
His father looked confused for a moment, "Why what?" he asked back, taking a sip of his whiskey.
"Why did you lie to my mum and me about what you were doing for a living?" he asked, feeling anger bubble up inside of him. He tried desperately to control it.
"I didn't lie to your mum, Will, she knew what I was. You were so young…I couldn't tell you."
Will stared at him open mouthed, "She knew about you?" he asked.
His father didn't look up from his drink, "Yes, she did. And she didn't like it much, but it helped support the two of you."
"Why couldn't you find a respectable job? One that didn't require pillaging and plundering," he asked.
"Jack and I grew up together. So, naturally, when he took the path toward piracy, so did I."
"Just because he was your best friend you decided to become a scoundrel," Will said, making it a fact.
Bill finally looked at him and grinned, "You must know what it's like. You know how it is to become sucked into Jack Sparrow's clutches."
"No, actually, he was sucked into mine. Barbosa took Elizabeth and I knew that Jack had something to do with the Pearl, so I asked him where it made birth. He saw the opportunity to get his ship back, so he agreed to help me."
"Still, you're a bit of a scoundrel your self, are you not?"
"I'm a blacksmith trying to protect the woman I love," he said in a low voice, "If Barbosa gets away with the medallion, most of humanity is at a loss. They can't die unless the medallion is returned. They are the scoundrels no matter what the high and mighty authorities like Elizabeth's father and that stuck up Norrington think. They are naive to the fact that there are immortal pirates out there."
Bootstrap only looked at him and after a moment, Will looked away and muttered, "I'm going back to the ship," stood up, and walked out of the tavern.
He felt so odd whenever he was around his father. There was always a sinister feeling that he could never shake off.
It was the time of night that drunks and prostitutes began to meander around the streets and Will wanted to get back to the ship before he ran into them, but he had no such luck. A petite woman with a rather large bosom bumped into him (Will couldn't help to think that it was on purpose), and grabbed his arm, not letting him go.
"Do you need love tonight, handsome?" she asked with a sultry voice. She was actually quite beautiful, but Will wasn't in the least inclined to pay her tonight.
"No, I don't. I have a wife to go home to," he answered, trying to wrench his arm out of her grasp without hurting her. She was very close to him.
"You look like you need it," she continued as if he hadn't said anything. Her breath smelled of rum and she seemed as though she wasn't really steady on her feet.
"I don't need anything from you, but take this for your troubles and leave me alone," he said, handing her some silver. She still didn't let go of him.
"I'm sure your wife wouldn't miss you for a few minutes…it wouldn't take very long…" she said, putting the money down the front of her dress.
"I said 'no'," he said, trying to walk away from her.
She only followed him, pushing herself against him, "We could have a bit o fun…I may be small, but I'm good…"
"Will?" came a shocked voice.
Will looked away from the prostitute toward the voice. There was Elizabeth, her hair hanging past her shoulders and she was, once again, dressed in a soldier's uniform.
"Elizabeth," he said, finally getting his arm out of the woman's grasp and quickly walking up to her, "What are you doing here?" he asked, going to hug her, but she back away, a disgusted expression on her face.
"What were you doing with her?" she asked as Norrington walked up behind her.
"She was trying to sell herself to me…I told her 'no' and that I had you…" he tried to explain. It didn't seem as though he were getting anywhere.
She didn't say anything as he stopped walking. She really thought he was going to sleep with that prostitute.
"Elizabeth, I wasn't going to do anything with her…she just sort of…you know, threw herself at me…I didn't want to hurt her…"
A tear fell out of her eye and down her cheek, "I hope you're telling the truth," she whispered.
"Yes, yes I am," he said, taking a step closer to her.
She thought about taking a step back, but didn't. On the contrary she threw herself into his arms, "Oh Will, I was so worried about you. I…I didn't believe that you were telling the truth when you said your father was alive," she said in a muffled voice.
"He…he is. He's back at the tavern…but I was just heading back to the ship. If you want to meet him…"
"No," she said, drawing back from him and brushing his hair out of his eyes, "I just want to be with you, Will. I know you wanted me to stay home but I couldn't just sit there wondering if you were telling the truth or if you had found someone else…"
"I wouldn't do that to you," he interrupted, hurt that she didn't trust him.
She smiled, "I know," she said, "Let's go back to the ship then. I want to help you…"
"No, Commodore Norrington is going to take you back to your father's house, Elizabeth," Will interrupted again, "I don't want you kidna…"
Her eyes were suddenly blazing with fire, "I want to help you, Will!" she exclaimed, "If I'm kidnapped again…I know you or Jack will find a way to get me."
Will grabbed her hand as they walked toward the boat, "I don't want to risk losing you again," he whispered.
"Never mind me," said Norrington who was walking behind them.
They ignored him, "You can't get anywhere if you avoid risks, Will," she said.
"Yes, but that particular risk isn't worth it…"
She sighed, "I'm going with you weather or not you like it. I'll stow away if I have to."
He grinned, "You are stubborn," he commented, looking down at her.
She grinned as she looked up at him, "Very."
The three of them piled into Norrington's row boat and he first dropped Will and Elizabeth off at the Pearl, then he went back to his own ship, prepping it to sail for the next day.
"There's an extra cabin down the hall from me next to Jack's, I'm sure he wouldn't mind," said Will once they'd gotten below deck.
"Am I the only woman aboard this ship?" she asked.
"At the moment," he said, grinning, "But Jack's lover, Anna-Marie will be here by morning along with the rest of the crew."
"Alright. Well, I'm going to bed, then," she said, heading down the hall.
Will couldn't help but think of how beautiful she was; how perfect she was. She'd forgiven him for setting off so suddenly and she believed his reason. And her body…just the right shape. Not too skinny or a little pudgy…not too short or too tall and her hair was perfect no matter how she put it.
He quietly went into his own quarters, closed the door, kicked his boots off and striped his shirt off. He reclined against the headboard of his bed and folded his hands on his stomach, closing his eyes. The faint rock of the ship made him the tiniest bit queasy, but it wasn't something he couldn't shut out. He began to think about Elizabeth and their wedding. He could've waited only a few more hours, gotten married and then gone gallivanting after pirates…but no. Barbosa had to be caught immediately.
Will had drifted off into a semi-sort of sleep and was dreaming about the adventure he'd had about this time last year when he jerked awake. At first he wasn't sure what had awoken him so suddenly, but then he realized his wasn't the only body in his bed.
"Elizabeth?" he quietly asked, blindly reaching out to her. He touched her shoulder and she turned toward him.
"Will, I'm sorry…I…" she started in a whisper.
He held a finger to her lips, "Don't say anything," he whispered back to her, "I love you, and I'm sorry I didn't take you along; I was only trying to do what was best in your respect," he quietly told her.
She didn't say anything and he could hear her breathing softly. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep again. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind then did she speak, "It's a lovely night, Will, isn't it?" she said, bringing herself closer to him.
He hesitated before sliding an arm beneath her and holding her tightly to him, "Yes, it is," he answered breathlessly as he traced her finger along his chest.
He kissed her forehead before he could stop himself and her finger stopped for a moment, then she traced his lips.
"I love you too, Will. I…I want to be with you," she whispered with a certain amount of longing in her voice.
He knew what she meant, but he couldn't help but act like he didn't, "You are with me, love," he told her, running his fingers through her hair.
She kissed him lightly at first, then moved for another, but he stopped her, "Are you sure you want to…?"
She interrupted him with a passionate kiss and he gave in, letting his hands wander, but staying conscience enough to hear her if she decided against this unforgivable act.
Yes, Elizabeth was right; it was a lovely night.
