Started With A Kiss
Chapter 24 – The Governor's Murderess
Elizabeth hadn't slept at all that night. She hadn't left Jack's cabin at all. She'd just sat and cried all night. She stood up and walked over to the window. She looked out of it and saw the first signs of daylight streaming through it. She turned back around and saw the bloody mess that had remained on Jack's chest and shirt. She couldn't leave him like that.
Without uttering a single word, she gathered together a bowl of water, a cloth and a clean shirt for Jack. She carefully lifted him up and propped him gently up against the wall behind the bed.
She lifted the shirt over his head, and discarded it on the floor without a second thought. She winced as she looked at the wound. The pain must have been unbearable. But she bit her lip as she started to clean him with the cloth, and eventually the water in the bowl was going red.
She dried Jack off with another cloth, and put the fresh shirt over his head. Why didn't he change his clothes more often?
She moved the bowl with the two cloths aside and lay Jack down on the bed again.
"Perfect," she whispered as she smiled.
She jumped violently as she heard a knock on the door. She turned and walked to the door. She opened it and saw Tia Dalma.
"Hi," Tia Dalma said.
"Hi," Elizabeth smiled back.
"Can I come in?" Tia Dalma asked.
Elizabeth nodded and moved aside, letting her walk past. She shut the door behind her.
"You cleaned him?" Tia Dalma asked interestedly.
"I just couldn't leave him like that," Elizabeth nodded.
"I understand," Tia Dalma smiled as she stood next to his bed. "He looks so peaceful."
"He does," Elizabeth agreed.
Tia Dalma spun around to face her. "He didn't deserve to die. Not in that way..."
Elizabeth shook her head. An idea formed in her mind.
"Tia Dalma..." she started slowly, "...you brought back Barbossa, didn't you, so –"
Already knowing where she was headed with her request, Tia Dalma turned her back on Elizabeth before saying coldly, "It cannot be done."
"Why not?" Elizabeth demanded quietly.
"It just can't," Tia Dalma said pathetically.
"Then why Barbossa, a man you don't even love," Elizabeth went on, "and not Jack, the man you do love?"
"I brought back Barbossa because he loved me," Tia Dalma told Elizabeth.
"And it doesn't work the other way around?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, okay?" Tia Dalma snapped.
"Well, just try it and –" Elizabeth suggested before being cut off by an angry Tia Dalma.
"No, I don't want to mess anything up," she said bitterly before turning to face Elizabeth again. "I only came here to tell you...we're preparing for battle."
This took Elizabeth by surprise. "Battle? With who?"
"The East India Trading Company," Tia Dalma said, "Beckett has decided to wage war on the pirates."
"I hate him," Elizabeth spat out immediately.
"Yes, we all do," Tia Dalma pointed out, "so we need to win this thing."
Elizabeth nodded. "But what if we don't?"
Tia Dalma paused. "There is no 'if'. We have no option; we have to win this."
"Or...?" Elizabeth pressed.
"We die," Tia Dalma said simply. "That's the way it is."
-----
"Beckett, what about my daughter?" Governor Swann persisted. He'd just heard that the East India Trading Company was going to war with the pirates, especially those on board Jack Sparrow's ship.
"Your daughter has chosen her loyalties," Beckett said coldly, not looking at the Governor as he sat behind his desk, looking at various papers and such.
"I'm not fighting against her," the Governor said flatly.
"Fine," Beckett shrugged, "you can stay here."
"I will," the Governor agreed. "What if your ship is taken out in the battle?"
"It won't be," Beckett replied straight away.
"You might think that," the Governor smirked, "but the pirates have vast numbers on their side. You have only one fleet."
"I have a fleet that is at least one hundred ships strong," Beckett informed the Governor. "And what do the pirates have?"
"The pirates have each other's allegiance, and then whoever chooses to follow them," the Governor retorted, "They may stab each other in the back, but when it comes to the enemy, they stand together."
"How do you know all this?" Beckett asked.
"Norrington told me just before he left his post. He seems to know an awful lot about their kind," the Governor answered.
"That's because he's one of them," Beckett sneered.
"He never used to be," the Governor argued.
"Never mind," Beckett said, waving his hand, "it's all in the past. We have to focus on what's ahead."
"What's your real reason for this war?" the Governor asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I want Sparrow dead," Beckett replied with no hesitation.
Mr. Mercer appeared from the shadows.
"Ah, Mr. Mercer," Beckett smiled at his top spy. "I understand that you've been spying on Jones and his crew. Any information?"
"We have been beaten to our purpose," Mercer said gravely. Beckett frowned.
"What do you mean?" Beckett asked slowly.
"Sparrow's dead," Mercer said darkly.
Beckett's eyes widened. "What? How?"
"Turner murdered him while on Isla Cruces, so I hear," Mercer explained. "I heard a crew member telling Jones on the Dutchman."
The Governor smiled. "Then you have no reason to proceed with the war, then?"
"Of course," Beckett said. "Sparrow's gone, which means that the rest will be considerably easier to wipe out."
"You're barbaric," the Governor spat at Beckett.
"Oh, please," Beckett said dismissively. "Turner, a murderer? I never would have guessed it."
"William Turner? The ex-blacksmith?" the Governor asked incredulously.
Mercer nodded.
"What happened to him after that?" Beckett asked. "Just out of curiosity."
"He was murdered," Mercer said.
"By who?" Beckett asked. "Who else was on this...island?"
"A few other people, including a woman, two other men, and Elizabeth," Mercer said. The Governor looked at him questioningly. "In fact, it was Miss Elizabeth who murdered William Turner."
"My daughter is not a murderer," the Governor protested through gritted teeth.
"I tell no lies," Mercer said honestly.
"Elizabeth Swann, the Governor's murderess," Beckett leered. "What a perfect title."
The Governor refused to believe this. His daughter could not have killed anyone.
Oh, simple naive Governor, eh? His daughter's a pirate now!
So, we're getting closer to the big battle scene, so stay tuned!
Review please!
QueenSerenity818 out.