A/N: Sorry this took so long! I've been tearing my hear out over it for weeks, but I think I finally like it. Hope you do to! :) Thanks everyone for your comments, they make my day!


Chapter 7: Well and Truly Mad

Jack watched the exchange from the beach through a spyglass, his insides tied up in knots. When finally the men began to row back he wordlessly handed the glass off to Anjelica, stalking towards the dock. It was a rickety old structure, some of the boards rotted. Jack sidestepped them with his usual exaggerated grace, and awaited the launch at the end.

In the moonlight he could see Elizabeth's proud expression, the Pirate King perched like a fine figure head upon the prow of the boat. She smiled, triumphantly holding the small vial aloft, before tucking it safely into the wrappings that bound her womanly assets.

Relief washed over Jack, and something almost unbearably warm and sweet. It felt like… Oh no. Best not to name it, he reckoned. It either was or it wasn't and to give the beast a name now was only asking for trouble. He would wait for her to reach the dock, and help her disembark with a firm hand, and then perhaps he would pull her into an embrace…and never let go.

Jack liked this idea, and ruminated on it a bit as the launch neared closer, what he assumed to be a rather stupid grin upon his lips.

Then everything went to hell.

There was a terrible cry, an unearthly ear-splitting scream.

A mermaid's scream.

Jack whirled towards the sound, dread clenching his chest like a fist. What had the blockheads upon the shore done when things were going so bloody well?

He turned back just in time to see Elizabeth's launch capsize in the sea, dumped over by a school of angry mermaids. There were screams, frothing water, and the few men who managed to surface were dragged back down by shrieking mermaids.

No no no no no no no…

Frantically he searched the waves, his body taut as a bowline, ready to plunge in after Elizabeth at first sign of her. Please he begged whatever deity may have been interested. Please don't take her. Not now.

He thought he saw a flash of golden hair crest a wave, and coiled to spring after it.

Suddenly Elizabeth surfaced not a yard away from the dock, gasping for air.

"Thank fuck," spat Jack with relief, dropping to all fours at the edge of the dock. "Come on, darlin'," he urged, holding out his hand with urgency. Sputtering, she paddled to him. Just as he managed to clasp one of her hands in a firm grip Jack watched with horror as a fair-haired mermaid surfaced from the deep behind Elizabeth, eyes glowing an eerie blue, her hands-like-claws latching on to the Pirate King.

Jack grabbed Elizabeth's other hand just as the mermaid began to pull, the force of her weight yanking him to his belly on the dock. The mermaid held Elizabeth just below the surface, a cruel smile curling her lips as her eyes met Jack's. Amused by his panic, she pulled harder. Elizabeth struggled for the surface, but to no avail. Though the beastie looked like a svelte young lady on top, Jack knew there was at least seven feet of tail behind her, with all the strength of a creature of the sea.

It would be just to a mermaid's taste, to drown someone not but an inch from the surface while a fellow sailor watched, helpless.

He could feel Lizzy's grip loosening in his hands as her air ran out. Oh no you don't he thought angrily. Not now. Not like this. With all his strength he heaved, his shoulders straining, the tendons in his arms so taut it felt as though they might snap.

Elizabeth's face broke the surface, and she was able to take a gasping breath of air before a wave crashed over her. The mermaid adjusted her hold, one arm about Elizabeth's waist, the other clawed hand about her throat. She pressed her cheek to Elizabeth's, speaking sweetly even as her talons dug into her skin.

"You said you meant us no harm, Pirate King."

"We didn't, I swear. It was the wicked captain I told you about. I don't know—"

"He has captured one of our youngest sisters. I know her voice."

Through chattering teeth Elizabeth ground out, "I will see that she is freed. I promise you."

The mermaid hissed. "Why should I trust you now? I usually only feast on men with unfaithful hearts, but sometimes wicked woman-flesh can be a delicacy."

"I'm all you've got," Elizabeth sputtered, another wave crashing over her.

Jack tried to pull Elizabeth further out of the water, still afraid she might drown right here at the water line. With an annoyed look the mermaid tightened her hold, tugging Elizabeth with a swish of her powerful tail. She and Jack's gaze met, and though it sent an uneasy frisson of fear down his spine Jack did not look away.

"Is this your dear Pirate Lord you spoke of?" asked the mermaid theatrically, her lips pressed to Elizabeth's ear.

"Perhaps."

Elizabeth's shoulders and elbow joints ached, pulled so taut between Jack and the mermaid that she feared she might snap like a fishing line.

A little snicker hissed from between the mermaid's teeth. "He must cherish you very much. Only a man who is deeply in love can meet my gaze without losing his sanity."

Jack said nothing, his jaw set, his dark eyes grave. He was all out of tricks, and if Elizabeth slipped from his grasp he knew she would be lost to the depths forever. "Please," he spoke, his voice hoarse. "Let her go."

"How sweet," hissed the mermaid. "I wonder what you would give to save her? Your life, perhaps?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Ah yes. The Kraken. So it's true, then?"

They bobbed in this unbearable stasis for what felt like an eternity, while the mermaid considered life or death for them both. She began to dig her claw into Elizabeth's chest, and dread rose in Jack's heart until he realized she carved a symbol into the Pirate King's flesh.

Relief washed over Jack, so much that he almost lost his hold on Lizzy.

"See that you free my sister, Pirate King. I warn you, tis a deadly choice for a sailor to break a promise to a mermaid."

"I will," coughed Elizabeth, having swallowed a splash of salty sea water.

Next the mermaid pointed a claw at Jack. "Have a care with her heart, Jack Sparrow. Or someday I will pick your flesh from my teeth."

Jack nodded, unsure of how she knew his name or how he would manage that damn near Herculean task, but he was rendered speechless for perhaps the second time in his entire life.

The mermaid released Elizabeth, disappearing into the depths once more.

Jack didn't know how he had the strength to haul Elizabeth up on the dock, but he hardly remembered even doing it, cradling her sopping wet form in his arms. His hand pressed her head to the bend of his neck, as though shielding her from the world. Elizabeth let him, exhausted, her lungs burning. She'd not found a hiding place so fine as this for as long as she could remember. Jack positively engulfed her, his warmth combating the chill left by the embrace of the sea.

An uncommon exhaustion washed over Jack. Usually such adventures left him feeling invigorated, high on life and the triumph of besting fate once again. This time the adrenaline rush left him feeling sick all over, this precious bundle cradled in his arms. That was close. Too close. He found with some astonishment that the thing he wanted most at that moment, more than aqua de vida, or perhaps even the Pearl, was to go somewhere with this woman and be still for a little while.

"Did anyone else make it out of the water?" she asked, her voice muffled against his neck.

"Fear not, love."

Heavily she sighed, and curled closer to Jack. What a King she made, she chided herself, leading her men straight into the mouth of doom. She'd been so close to seeing them through.

As though he knew her thoughts, Jack went on, "It wasn't your fault, Lizzy. But sometimes when you lead men…you lose them. That is a burden ye learn to live with, or it will eat you alive."

No matter what, it would eat you alive. That was a thing she would have to find out for herself.

He felt her nod against his chest, and for a long time neither said anything more, mourning the lost and marveling that they were still alive. Holding her tightly, Jack thought back on what the mermaid had said, and wondered if Elizabeth would ask him about it. Jack had no idea what he would reply. Complete denial would seem fairly ridiculous at this point, and yet to admit anything incriminating of his heart's stirrings so blithely did not come easily for him.

"What is this?" Elizabeth finally asked, her voice hoarse. She drew back her collar to expose the symbol drawn by the mermaid, examining it down her nose.

"Mark of the mermaid, love. Means ye've made a deal with one. Come into contact with the fishy-maids again without having fulfilled said deal…well. Worse choices have been made, but not many."

Jack drew back his own collar to reveal a similar scribing, the scar long-faded with time. Feeling as though she were in a dream, Elizabeth lifted curious fingers to it. Jack's breath hitched for her touch, something indescribable burning in his eyes.

"Lizzy…" His voice came raw, sounding alien even to him.

He had no words for what he felt inside for this woman. A paltry three word phrase seemed awfully trite, too often used, too bloody limited. This thing inside him, like a living shining creature made of joy and light, shifted and pulsed as she looked upon him with those spiced-rum eyes. It was nigh unbearably sweet. He brushed a tendril of her wet hair away from her face, winning a sigh that stirred something deep inside Jack. Something terrifying and wonderful, something he dared not name.

As though they possessed a will of their own Jack's fingers found their way into Elizabeth's hair, winning a shudder that had little to do with the night's chill. He kissed her. Not a thing in the world could have kept him from it this time, and in the back of his mind he thought why just once can't we share a kiss without terrible sea-beasties bearing down upon us? But this time there were no shackles, no tricks, no lies. There was only Elizabeth's hands behind his neck, pulling him closer to her, and her mouth desperately seeking to taste his. Jack's tongue swept inside Elizabeth's mouth, branding her, claiming her. For once she let him without fight, surrendering to his flag, rendered utterly pliable in his arms.

Suddenly there was a great explosion that shook the bay, the great whale oil lantern expending a fireball that illuminated the entire harbor for a single flashing moment. Jack shielded Elizabeth with his body, embers and fiery debris raining down all around. Shrieking cries from the mermaids echoed off the rocks, and quickly the creatures began to retreat to the open sea.

As quickly as it had all begun, the sea calmed once more.

The pair exchanged a look of surprise, limbs tangled in each other like wind-whipped rigging.

From the shore a sea-roughened voice bellowed, "Is she alive, Sparrow? For her sake I hope she harvested a bloody tear!"

Jack unleashed a few unkind words under his breath before shoving to his feet, giving Lizzy a hand up. She was still unsteady on her legs, and Jack held her firmly with an arm about her waist as they made their way back down the dock. Anjelica scowled at the approaching sight, and Jack shot her a challenging dark look, his patience drained with the strength it had taken to wrest Lizzy from the mermaid's deadly grasp.

Elizabeth dared meet Blackbeard's gaze for a few electrifying seconds, before producing the vial from inside her wrappings. She looked down the beach, viewing a young mermaid captured in what looked like a coffin made of glass. A few pirates stood guard over her.

Anger rose in Elizabeth's breast like the swell of the tide, and she would have launched herself at Teach had Jack not held her back. "What was the bloody point of sending us out there, if this was your plan all along?" she demanded, waving towards the captive mermaid.

"Just hedging my bets, Pirate King," answered Blackbeard, seeming only amused by her fury.

"You might have had four of these, had your greed not gotten the better of you. Good men died because of your impatience."

Blackbeard raised eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. "Indeed. What's three less tears, and a handful of drowned pirates, when I have a mermaid in my grasp now? I shall have as many as I wish."

Elizabeth clenched her jaw, biting down on a reply that would probably earn her a bullet between the eyes. She decided it would be best not to mention the promise she'd made to the mermaid. Instead she handed over the vial, knowing Blackbeard would have it one way or the other. As his fingers brushed hers a chill ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the wet and the cold.

Blackbeard was the first type of pirate she'd mentioned, but had not been pressed to describe in the boat. A man who enjoyed killing for the sake of killing, relished the sight of blood on his blade and bodies on the ground for the power it granted his reputation.

In short, Captain Blackbeard was well and truly mad.


A/N: Yeah yeah I know, Jack's the one who blew up the light house and dove down into the bay…ah well. This whole scene in the movie felt weird to me, like the writers sat down and made a list of possible high places Jack could jump from, and wrote the script around it haphazardly. Lighthouse, check. Cliff, check… Flintlock roulette scene that makes no sense, check… But we'll get to that. :)