Something More Than Before
Chapter 11 – These Memories Of Mine
Elizabeth sat anxiously in her cabin. It would have been a bad thing if Will had found her waiting in Jack's cabin, so she had returned to her own. Since Will had his own room on the ship, he would not be sharing a room, or a bed, with Elizabeth. This meant that Elizabeth would greatly miss lying in the warmth left by Jack's body when he got up in the morning, and also snuggling into a handsome man every night before falling asleep. But, as she sat there and thought, that's not all she would miss.
Of course, there would be times when Will would be busy, and that was the time when Jack and Elizabeth would get together. Even if only for an hour or two, it was enough.
For the time being, all she could do was sit in her chair and watch as the light of the candle flickered and danced in front of her.
-----
Will sped up as he walked ever closer to the docks, where there were multiple ships, most of which were illegal pirate ships. He squinted as he searched for the formidable ship that he knew would be standing with black sails and looking dangerous. And, sure enough, there it was. He hurried towards it.
He clambered up the ramp to board, and spotted candlelight inside Elizabeth's cabin. He smiled and made for it.
Without knocking, he entered the room to find Elizabeth sitting in her chair, silently gazing at the warm candle. She didn't jump when he opened the door, or even when he approached from seemingly nowhere, she just looked up and smiled warmly.
She stood up and hugged him, a little less enthusiastically than Will had expected. If he was being honest, he was expecting her to start crying when she saw him after all these weeks of being separated.
Instead, she just nuzzled into his chest, saying nothing.
"Are you OK?" Will asked worriedly.
He felt her nod against him. "You're awfully quiet, that's all."
She looked up into his eyes, tears slowly flooding her own.
"I've just missed you a lot, that's all," Elizabeth lied, "and I can't think of anything to say."
Elizabeth felt incredibly uncomfortable lying to her fiancée but she was going to have to get used to that. To be perfectly frank, she was surprised at how well Jack's attention replaced Will's boring company. Jack gave her the chills when he surveyed her, and Will had lost his spark mere weeks after she had been safely delivered back to Port Royal after her encounter with Barbossa and his crew.
-----
Jack sat laughing in the pub with certain favoured members of his crew, enjoying many bottles of rum, and other assorted alcohols.
"So..." Gibbs said drunkenly, "...what's going on between you and Miss Elizabeth?"
Thankfully, Jack wasn't that drunk, so he didn't reply saying what he would have had he been intoxicated.
"Nothing my ship's crew should know about," he smiled, tapping his nose, indicating they were nosy.
"Oooooh," could be heard from everyone seated around the table. Then Pintel piped up, "So have you and her done the deed yet?"
"Pintel, I do believe that that would be divulging a little too much," Jack smiled.
"You haven't divulged anything yet," Ragetti pointed out.
"That's the idea, gentlemen," Jack said sneakily.
"But if there was nothing to tell us," Marty said, an expression of concentration on his face, "then you would have told us that."
"But since you didn't point that out..." Gibbs added.
"...then that means you and her have done that nasty deed!" Pintel finished, pleased to figure something out on his own for a change.
"Lads, I can tell you now...," Jack said, smiling, "it wasn't that nasty of a deed, to be honest."
There was a roaring cheer from the pirates as they starting burying Jack beneath an avalanche of questions.
"One at a time!" Jack shouted cheerfully.
"What if Master Turner finds out?" Gibbs asked anxiously.
"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Jack answered immediately, before happily shouting, "Next!"
"Are you still gonna continue now Will's on board?" Marty asked.
"Of course," Jack smiled, waiting for the next question.
"Do you love her?" Ragetti asked interestedly.
That question took Jack a little over a second longer to consider. It was with an insignificant pause that he said, "No."
"No," Jack repeated, a little more confidently this time. No, he didn't love her; it was a silly bout of lust that had overcome him for a while, and anyway, he wasn't the type for love. He was a pirate; he couldn't allow himself to fall in love with anyone. He had proven that once already, to another woman, who he still cherished as a good friend. Despite denying he loved her, she still kept him in her heart.
-----FLASHBACK-----
"I love you, Jack Sparrow," the woman wept in front of him, waiting for him to tell her the same thing. "I always have, and no matter what happens...I always will."
"I'm sorry, love," Jack said, tearing up the woman's heart there and then, "but I'm not the type of man who falls in love. I was born loving no-one, and that is how I will die. It is inevitable."
"Just you wait, Jack Sparrow," the woman told him, "One day a woman shall walk into your life, and steal your heart...the way you stole mine."
"I never meant to steal yours," Jack pointed out.
"It is often accidental..." she said, nodding, "but it is always the same."
"How?" Jack asked, narrowing his kohl framed eyes.
"It starts off as an infatuation," she explained, tears making their way freely down her cheeks, "a curable infatuation, if you find someone else to move onto quickly enough. But if you don't, then it's too late. You'll fall in love, and more often than not, that person either does not love you, or he chooses someone else over you."
"How does it end?" Jack asked quietly, already knowing the answer before it escaped her lips.
"Heartbreak," she said sorrowfully.
-----END FLASHBACK-----
Jack remembered this woman, and remembered the night she had told him all this, a few years ago now. He knew that she still loved him, and that there was nothing that anyone could do to save her; although someone was trying desperately hard to.
You'll find out towards the end of the story who this woman is, and who loves her who wants her to love him back. And no, Jack doesn't love Elizabeth. He was just surprised by the question. Feel free to guess the identity of the woman who loved/loves Jack, but I'm not telling anyone if they're right.
Review please!
QueenSerenity818 out.