A/N: Thank you for all the reviews:):):)

Disclaimer: POTC belong to Disney.

Chapter 37

"I do not think I understand", said Beckett coldly, glancing at Jack, having a strange premonition that Jack had something to do with his brilliant plan going awry once again.

"I don't understand either", replied Poseidon grimly. "How can anybody think that I would give up the control over the seas for five hundred years?", he stared at Beckett, waiting for the answer.

"I have been told-"

Poseidon silenced him by waving his hand at him impatiently. "I am in a bad mood today", he said exasperatedly.

The secretary sighed. Beckett had an ominous impression that something not good was about to happen.

Poseidon slowly rose to his feet, and approached Beckett, who suddenly remembered the part of the story mentioning the punishment for cheating... And even if the story was not true, and even if the Black Pearl was not what he expected her to be, there was still a great chance that death was all what was real in that legend...

"He told me this", said Beckett quickly, noticing Poseidon's grip tightening around the trident. He certainly would not like being stabbed with it.

"Who?", asked Poseidon, narrowing his cobalt eyes.

"He", repeated Beckett, pointing his hand at Jack.

Even Jack was surprised by this false accusation.

"That's not true!", exclaimed Elizabeth, without actually considering the claim, merely sensing the fact that the danger shifted now from Beckett to Jack, somehow.

Poseidon glanced at Jack disinterestedly, but then he seemed to be struck by a sudden idea. Leaving Beckett, he walked towards the small group consisting of Jack, Elizabeth, and the Governor.

"You were here before", said the god of the sea, staring at Jack for a moment.

Elizabeth glanced at Jack in exasperation. He did not tell her. He did not tell her something again. She tried to read from his facial expression, whether he expected to be recognized, or whether it was rather an unfortunate turn of events. But all she could see was Jack's smirk spread across his face, and this could mean nearly everything, from a sense of disaster, to a sense of victory.

"I believe so", answered Jack uncomfortably.

I hope he had this all planned out, thought Elizabeth with increasing anxiety. And she knew he hadn't.

"You brought that ship to me before", said Poseidon, wrinkling his forehead.

Elizabeth's eyes flew wide open. The Governor listened intently to every word, but his comprehension was still not improving.

"Everybody can make a mistake", stated Jack matter-of-factly. "Once. And I did not make it twice. He insisted on bringing the ship", he added pointing at Beckett, "even though I had told him that this is not the black pearl", lied Jack glancing at Beckett.

"He did not tell me this", retorted Beckett, pondering how it was possible that the Black Pearl was not the Black Pearl... Or did he misunderstand something?...

"You said he had told you", to Beckett's surprise pointed out Poseidon.

Jack smiled, quite content with being agreed with.

Beckett looked around the room frustratedly, trying to remember his own words.

"I did not mean he had said-", he started, but stopped in mid-sentence, losing his own line of reasoning. "I meant that he had told me about the legend", he lied quickly in an attempt to direct Poseidon's attention to Jack again.

"I had not tell him that", announced Jack indignantly. "I had only told him that the Black Pearl is not the black pearl, and he had said that he had known it, and he had insisted on trying to deceive you", recited with amazing fluency Jack.

Elizabeth glanced at Poseidon, and with some relief acknowledged that he was at least as confused as she.

Beckett glared at Jack angrily. "This is a lie!", he exclaimed, not sure which part of Jack's speech was a lie, but knowing that at least part of it must have been not true.

Elizabeth desperately tried to make sense of the situation. Firstly, she did not understand why the Black Pearl was not the Black Pearl... While she was pondering about it, the answer suddenly dawned on her. The ring. My engagement ring. She instinctively covered the ring with her other hand, oblivious to the fact that Poseidon had already noticed it some time ago.

But right now he was too busy listening to the argument between Jack and Beckett to pay attention to anything else.

"Enough!", he suddenly shouted, hitting the floor with his trident. The room shook slightly, and everyone shuddered, and fell quiet. Poseidon sighed. "I don't care who had said what", he said firmly. "I'm tired."

"To the sharks?", offered matter-of-factly the seaweed-haired secretary.

Jack chuckled. "If I may-", he started, raising his hand.

"If I may-", cut in Beckett sharply.

Poseidon glared at them both, clearly enraged. He turned to the secretary: "To the piranhas".

The secretary nodded.

"May I?", broke in Elizabeth, taking everybody by surprise. She had no idea what she could do or say, but she wanted to give Jack more time for thinking of a plan. He is probably certainly thinking of a plan right now.

Poseidon turned around to face her. "You may what?", he asked, rather rudely.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. She had no answer to this question, really.

"Perhaps-", Jack attempted to help her at that point, but the trident suddenly appearing right in front of his face distracted him slightly.

"The black pearl", said Elizabeth, suddenly getting a certain idea.

Jack looked at her anxiously. He regretted that he had not told her. She did not know the story. She did not know that she was not supposed to give up the pearl if it was not the sea that she loved most. And he had a sneaky suspicion that she did not love the sea most...

"Unless this part of the story is not true either, and you do not really want it", pouted Elizabeth.

"I think you have your traitor", broke in Jack, waving his hand at Beckett. "Maybe we", he grabbed Elizabeth's hand, "could just sail away, and don't be taking up your valuable time for any longer, aye?"

Poseidon raised his eyebrows, and glanced at Jack.

"I think I will let you say what you want to say", said Poseidon looking at Elizabeth again. He outstretched his hand, indicating the door on the other side of the room. He gestured something to his secretary, and then walked towards the door. Elizabeth, however hesitantly, intended to follow, but Jack caught her by the sleeve, stopping her. She shot him a questioning look.

Poseidon turned around, and looked at them searchingly.

"She's not going anywhere", said Jack casually.

For some reason, (and despite being slightly irritated by Jack's interference, which probably meant that he did not believe in her scheming abilities), Elizabeth considered that sentence to be one of the most wonderful sentences she has heard him saying.

The Governor looked at Jack intently. Poseidon looked at Jack as well; angrily.

"I don't like my words to be disobeyed", said Poseidon, his eyes darkening.

"We can all talk here, together", offered Jack reasonably.

Elizabeth looked at him worried. He had this rare, solemn expression on his face. She would rather have him grinning and smirking, than speaking in that tone of voice. She remembered that tone of voice only too well... Abandon ship...

"I'm tired", said the god of the sea ominously, "And I don't like my words to be disobeyed", he repeated with strange annoyance in his voice.

It could not possibly have taken more than two seconds. Only two seconds. Elizabeth saw him raising his trident, even before Jack noticed it. Jack's eyes merely widened, when the trident came down. But it missed him.

It missed him, because somebody flew right in front of him, shielding him from a stab.

The Governor screamed. Jack dropped to his knees, catching Elizabeth as she was falling to the floor. Poseidon stepped back abruptly, astonished at what had just happened.

"Lizzie", muttered Jack in utter dismay trying to hold her, cupping her paling face in his hands. "Lizzie... Don't."

She fell into unconsciousness.

The red blood on the shimmering with turquoise blue, idyllic, transparent floor seemed incomprehensible.