(OT: Arg! That is my anger for this section.. Only because of one little detail. Right after the phrase, "Sparrow?" there is supposed to be a seperator of some sort. A few dots, dashes, something to seperate the locations and point of views, but for some reason this document will not save them. I apologize. So after "Sparrow?" you are transported to Shipwreck Cove with Elizabeth. I actually quite like this chapter other than that little detail.
NEXT UP: How Parlay came to be in that scene, Elizabeth and Will share an important moment before the maelstrom, and then... The marriage of one William Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Of course, then you have the elongated beach scene (excited for that one!) and the ten years later one. And then, sadly, the end. Enjoy! And watch for the rating near the end.. Haha. Elizabeth and Will on the beach. Enough said.)
William's still figure lurched over the hollow barrel, the ropes strapped at his waist and rubbing harshly against his muscular torso. He drowsily lifted his head, and his surroundings gradually focused along with the fact that a mahogany brown East India Trading Company longboat was stroking toward him. After swiping the stinging seawater from his eyes, Will squinted, attempting to decide who resided in the vehicle. With his permanent scowl and dreary eyes, Mercer rested the farthest away from the bow, and William rapidly unfastened the ropes, propping himself up uneasily on his elbows. The barrel tumbled over a flushing white wave, and Will ducked his head and gripped the ropes again. Glancing at the red striped marks on his hands, he thought, well, at least Sparrow knew where he sent him. If William was monitoring his decisions by the signals in his heart, he would know not to trust the EITC, but alas, he was forced to believe that even the worst man in the world could hold to a reasonable bargain... Especially if they had an advantage.
"You'll be coming with us," the foremost man said, flanking the stranded man.
"With pleasure," Will answered with a grimace, vigilantly clambering into the longboat and glancing to Mercer's displeased expression. Leaving the barrel to its fate, the men grasped the oars and began to paddle toward the Endeavor's gangway. "I need to talk to Lord Beckett," Will declared, wiping back his loose chocolate brown strands and wringing out his shirttails.
"Or else you would not be here," Mercer said, glaring at Will's unkempt situation.
Will lowered his eyes, knowing there was nothing further to reveal, and they were soon scaling the galleon's built-in ladder. As soon as his black boots grazed against the deck, Mercer clasped his arm, and Will realized that all along, shackles were clanging at his waist. "I assure you, imprisoning me is not necessary. I don't intend on leaping back into the sea."
Although taking the comment into account, Mercer still did not release William's arm and guided him into the captain's candlelit quarters. He slung open the door and interrupted Beckett's scheming ponderings at the window. "Sir," Mercer uttered gruffly, "a visitor for you." He paused when the lord continued to stare into the black abyss mindlessly. He then said with precise annunciation, "William Turner."
"Mr. Turner?" Lord Beckett spun around, his short figure even menacing within the shadows. "Did you run out of bodies so soon?"
Will yanked out of the crinkled man's grip and stalked toward Lord Beckett. "I would not be here if it was not by Jack Sparrow's doing," the man said as he clenched his fists. Ignoring the chill that fanned against him, Will organized every thought that had popped into his mind while he tossed about the swirling waves.
Somberly seating himself at a small table and grasping the handle of a beautifully designed teapot, Beckett said, "And what news do you bear from the Black Pearl?"
Will was absolutely blunt, knowing he could not waste time taunting Beckett or playing games. "I have valuable information that could help you," Will said, squaring his eyes and setting his jaw in a stern expression, only allowing his eyes to flicker in response to Beckett's nod. "Are you familiar with the goddess, Calypso?" He had to arrange each comment perfectly into place.
Beckett's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Not just a legend, I hear," he replied with an arrogant grin.
"No," Will said, sliding into a moist seat across from the lord and accepting Beckett's offer of the beverage. He then remarked, "You may desire to have Davy Jones in our presence for this conversation." It wasn't just a request; it was a demand, but Will kept his tone steady, not wanting to appear desperate for his side to win. He placidly grasped the little teacup and set it gently on the saucer, waiting for the drink to cool.
Beckett apparently agreed, for he beckoned Mercer to his side, commanded him to call upon Davy Jones, and then returned to staring into Turner's face. "Do inform me of this 'valuable' information."
"I imagine you have gained knowledge about Shipwreck Cove," Will said, measuring his wager and hoping that he contained enough information to tempt Beckett. He watched the white-wigged man carefully as he smiled with such conceit. Oh, it was quite intolerable to remain in his presence. Perhaps the brig would have been better.
"Indeed, Jack was very deliberate in outlining some of the details concerning Shipwreck Cove's impenetrable status," Beckett replied with a leveling blaze, eyeing Turner's quiet observations as he continued, "But he failed in directing us to the destination... That is, until you started your little corpse trail." Another coy smile, perhaps even a little admiration for William's willing betrayal of his so-called friend.
"The Brethren Court, consisting of the pirate lords from around the world, are convening in Shipwreck Cove," Will said, slowly inhaling his courage and malicious intent. He couldn't hold back, even if the words caught in his throat. What if Elizabeth was already injured or dead by Beckett's means? Will couldn't allow those thoughts to seep through... She was fine. She would be fine. "And their sole purpose is to release the goddess from her human form."
Beckett remained silent, tilting back in his chair and contemplating this new information. Will observed him as his eyes slowly opened and closed and watched his ruffled cuffs flap as he tapped his fingers on the table. "And if they release Calypso, as they call her..."
Will interjected, thinking that Beckett was, without a doubt, not certain of what the goddess' powers consisted of. "She will gain the rule of the seas, and they are hoping that if they release her, she will kindly spare the pirates."
The short man nodded solemnly and then a cunning half-smile emerged as he used a small pronged tool to grasp a white sugar cube. "Would you-?"
"Yes, thank you," Mr. Turner said with a certain intensity in his stomach. Beckett plopped the cube into his lovely teacup without hesitancy, and they both lightly turned in their seats when the heavy, uneven footsteps pounded against the ship's deck. Will felt it bubbling beneath Cutler Beckett's exterior. He was finally seeing his value... Not as a dull, love-struck boy, but a betraying, cunning man. What a shift that was, William thought with partial disgust.
Davy Jones charged into the chamber, thrusting aside a calm soldier as he growled in his intimidating Scottish accent, "I cannot be summoned like some mongrel PUP."
With his back to the squid-face, Will sighed and sipped upon the warm brown tea, savoring the flavor in his mouth as Beckett said, "Apparently you can." He felt Lord Beckett's eyes lift to his face. "I believe you know each other."
William was now haughty and prepared for any conference with the slimy git, as Jack Sparrow oh-so-fondly called him. He swiveled his head and delivered a nod of recognition to the former captain, complacently turning back to his beverage.
"Ah-ha-ha!" Jones' laughed, leaning over Will's body and eagerly replying, "Come to join my crew again, Master Turner?"
It was more of a stable statement than a question, but Will countered, "Not yours." He glanced to Beckett. "His." As William lifted his teacup to his pale lips, he paused and swiveled back to Davy Jones, recalling Jack's last snide remark to him. Oh yes, that would satisfy his own pride very well.
"Jack Sparrow sends his regards."
By the blank, exasperated expression on the tortured man's face, Will forced himself not to smile. Just he suspected, Davy was in oblivion of the bigger picture, meaning, perhaps, it could bebe employed in his efforts to save his father, himself, and Elizabeth.
"Sparrow?"
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As the cornucopia of sailors scurried onto their vessels and into the sailor's barracks, Captain Swann plunked on Shipwreck Cove's main dock, slinging her legs with her graceful feet barely grazing against the water's edge. She thought of the ridiculous arguments and the pirates' raucous behavior that had disturbed every bit of the peace... Repeatedly. She never understood quarrels such as that. Physical actions came into play only when it was required, not when some blubbering fool, or rather, blubbering pirate, said the wrong thing. She shook her head, fingering the armor plates draped across her chest subconsciously and mindlessly staring into the glinting water, polluted from the massive wreckages but glimmering from the fantastic structures.
"How's it feel to have a title?"
Elizabeth nearly leapt out of her skin, spinning quickly with her hand on the hilt of her sabre in a defense mechanism. But then, she recognized the rum-soaked voice and his quirky movements as he swaggered above her. The rich voice had voted in her favor and had forced her to develop into a woman instead of a selfish little governor's daughter. "It's good to be the king," she leveled with a joyous smile, pondering what responsibilities she may be endowed with now.
Captain Jack Sparrow observed the contours of Elizabeth's face twitch and smile, and he relished in her automatic response. To fight. He couldn't have expected any less. The captain watched the woman raise her dangling feet, scramble to spin around, and then rise almost face-to-face with him. As he gazed at her elaborate Chinese silks, he realized how much living this woman had accomplished in a matter of months. Elizabeth had by hook or by crook survived the Dutchman's death sentence, that of which he had scarcely thwarted (with a little help), and as she was staring at him, Jack witnessed the pain elevate beneath her lovely brown eyes. She still wasn't quite right, but she was certainly more healed than when he had first seen her. "You do have a way of landing on your feet, no matter the circumstances," he remarked as he cocked a half-smile, recalling every time she had tricked the scalawag.
"Indirect pirate blood, I suppose," Elizabeth said quietly, allowing the silence to settle between them. Glancing to the glitz of the city, the woman shifted from one elfish slipper to another and then began to tread down the stretch of the docks, hoping Jack would pursue her.
That he did. After robotically straightening his tricorn leather hat, he followed the light pitter-patter of her footsteps with his trademark saunter.
"Why did you vote me as king, Jack?" Elizabeth could not hold it back any longer. She wasn't entirely mystified by the spontaneous election, but... Something besides the fact that they both wanted to fight bounced in her mind. When he had spoken her royal name, she had grinned and was finally satisfied that Jack knew her value, but then again...Jack was a hard man to figure. Elizabeth continued, recalling Sparrow's first words to her. "As far as pirate lord goes, I thought they were "'just giving the bloody title away.'"
"You were on my side," Jack brusquely said, thinking of what might have happened if Calypso were unleashed upon the seas for her final rule. What a bloody terror that would be, especially with Barbossa at the faux reign. "And there was no hidden agenda with dear William off on his own mission," he added, explaining the supreme truth without any interwoven lies. Now that Elizabeth was captain, king, and all the other titles she might have gained while he was chatting with crabs, there was no possible sense in deceiving her... That is... As long as she didn't ask what he was lying about. What good manipulation could come from that? Another salacious kiss? No, thank you, Miss Swann.
"After all," he said without worrying for her emotions over the sensitive subject, "that is what it's about, isn't it? Finding ways to get exactly what we want?"
Elizabeth nodded solemnly as she paused mid-step, swiveling toward the pirate and immediately grasping his bony elbow, gazing directly into his soulful brown eyes. She gulped every quiver that had fluttered when they had pranced and crooned on that island, every hinting desire that yearned to be slaked, and every tremor that made her want to slap him for his own sins. What attraction she had felt for Jack had descended and dissolved months ago... If they ever really existed, but there was an undeniable similarity in disposition that she could not escape from... Perhaps she was now prepared to accept it and take it with a confident stride as he did.
"We're alike in many ways, Jack." There was a quavering beat between them. She had never seen Jack's expression alter so drastically. Turn so... Grave and serious. "Too much for our own good," Elizabeth said with a peculiar smile, the woman's fingers crunching his arm before sliding away.
"Cuttlefish," he uttered, noting the way her countenance had grown so pale... So lifeless that moment. Guilt was a tender emotion if it really struck your core, but Jack had always avoided those horrid emotions because usually, his actions were justified in his bizarre mind.
"Cuttlefish," she repeated softly. Elizabeth's skin creased in a smile, her wonky teeth gleaming against the moonlight and her hands patting the sides of her Chinese skirt. Some spark had ignited, some spark of recognition of one another. Something that she could never tell Will... Or at least fully clarify to him. And then, Captain Sparrow's brief words slapped her across the cheek.
"Where's Will?"
"Not among us."
Suddenly, those little black dots connected, and stars crashed into the ocean with the plunging of her heart. He wasn't at Shipwreck Cove. He wasn't aiding in planning their attack methods, and he wasn't here to apologize to. "Jack," she said cautiously, the name lolling on her tongue and no longer absorbed in the poisonous sting. "He won't come here, will he?" What had he done? "Will is the traitor."
Jack sighed, attempting to arrange his words in the most soothing way possible without affecting the two lovers' relationship too significantly. How ever did he get mixed up in that mess? Oh yes, when dear William fetched him from the brig with the exhaling of his perfect name and the love of a dolly-belle in his eyes. But if Will were to act on Jack behalf without actually knowing how the pirate was exploiting him... He could not risk blithely giving away every tid-bit of information to Captain Swann, who had a fervent tendency to dive into the deep end if she thought it was necessary. The pirate strode ahead, feeling the intimidating Elizabeth circle him before perching on the left side. "William," he began slowly, picking his words carefully, "is aboard the Endeavor and I can honest-to-God assure you that he will know his way around Lord Cutler Beckett."
That last name emerged severely, which only made Elizabeth less certain of Jack's simple story. That is, after all, what all his schemes and details and plans were. They were legendary elaborated stories. But then again, together the two of them were such opposites from the people that betrayed one another and fought passionately on Isla Cruces. The woman nodded as they reached the end of the grating docks and swiveled on their heels, and then she murmured, "I'm going to fix things with Will, you know." She had no idea what compelled her to tell Jack. Matters of the heart never appealed to the rogue, unless they concerned himself somehow.
Will wants the same, Jack almost remarked, but he held back, allowing Elizabeth to sullenly gaze back into the guttural and vibrant city lights. She left Jack just a few steps behind, and he gazed at her ebony embroidered black back. He had desired her company at one point, that much was true. Actually, he wanted as close to this woman as possible and as far away from her at the same time. But who was he to admit that he actually considered tying himself down to Miss Swann? It was drivel within minutes. It was irrational within hours. And it was insane within days. The blooming affection for Elizabeth had faded after their insatiable kiss, and he never thought he would see her again... Nor did he want to be tempted once more.
"Do you forgive me?" she abruptly asked, stilting the conversation and surprising Jack. Their thoughts had intersected... Again. Elizabeth did not shift. Instead of turning to face him, she just allowed the pirate to merely stare at her back. Could she bear to see his face flicker with revelation that she was still torturing herself over that horrid moment in time? Could she even look at him without breaking into extreme apologies? No, she thought it would be completely unwise to turn.
The pirate captain watched her shoulders tremble, and he loathed that. He loathed when women wept because he had no reliable comforting skills... So reasonably, he changed the topic."So you'll be directing the Empress into battle, then?"
"What?" Elizabeth spun around to face him, her face fixed in a convoluted expression.
"Your ship?" he clarified, rocking on his heels before gesturing to the junk vessel. He wanted this little ploy to work. It was much more better than facing her tete-a-tete.
"Oh," she released a heavy sigh. Elizabeth realized if he changed the subject once, he would change it again without woe. "I think," she started her voice quivering and then clearing, "the Black Pearl needs me. That is, if she'll still have me."
The glint in her brown eyes and the way the shimmering moon cast shadows across her face made her seem so coy and elegant. Who was he to turn the Pirate King down?
"Very well, then, Your Majesty." He grinned broadly, swept his hat off into his right hand, and bowed to the King. "Welcome aboard, love."
The friendly pair stared at one another in suspended disbelief, unable to fathom what had occurred in that single doting nickname. It vibrated through both of them when they realized he had refused to employ any sort of endearment for the pirate lady. But now, apparently that had changed, and Elizabeth took it as his offering of amnesty. She shrugged and then he replaced his tricorne hat, both recalling their encounter when she was outfitted in boys' trousers and smudged with dirt. Suddenly, Jack was trodding ahead of Elizabeth, leaving her to curiously realize that Jack's mystic compass no longer swayed at his belt.