Chapter 2 – And Then They Made Me Their King

"Stephanie?" I was still standing in my doorway when Elizabeth Turner appeared. Her eyes were full of concern as they swept over me. "Will said you weren't feeling well."

"Will?"

"My son. Your nephew. Will."

"Son?" I stepped backward into the room and sank down on the edge of the bed. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember was getting caught on the beach in a lightning storm with Norrington."

Elizabeth's eyebrow rose and then she shook her head. "It must have been a dream."

"It wasn't –"

"It had to be. James has been dead for nearly ten years, you know that."

"What?!" I needed coffee. I needed doughnuts. There was no way I could have this conversation otherwise. "That's impossible. We were just arguing… How? Who did it?"

She leaned forward and brushed a cool, smooth hand against my forehead. When she didn't feel a fever, it was her turn to look confused. "You know this."

"Pretend I don't. Pretend I just got here." Which I did. The question was, where was here? And why were things so different?

"James was killed on the Dutchman, helping us to escape. One of Davy Jones' men killed him." Even if it was ten years ago, the memory disturbed her. A lot.

But the revelation confused me. "Davy Jones? The Flying Dutchman? That's impossible. He's a myth."

Elizabeth stiffened and she was suddenly angry. "It is not a myth and you know very well that it is not. I have no idea why you're doing this –"

"Me? You're the one…" I stopped and looked around again. "Elizabeth, you know I'm from the future."

"Of course I do," she said, warily.

"Well, I've never been to this particular past. Last I checked, you were a newly-wed and you were letting me stay in the Governor's mansion. This isn't it." I wrapped my arms around myself. "I don't know where I am. Or when. And everything's different. The last thing I remember is going to the hanging with Norrington."

"That was the day before he went off to pursue Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth said. "And the beginning of the end for him." She stared hard at me. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Nope." Something occurred to me and I bolted off the bed and lifted the hand mirror from the dressing table. If I'd been here for ten years, I would look older. Except, I didn't. I looked exactly the same. Well, almost. There was a small burn on my cheek and it was fresh. "Any idea how I got this burn?"

Elizabeth touched it lightly. "That wasn't there last night. And your hair is singed on that side of your face."

We stared at each other. And then we said it simultaneously. "Ring."

"He's back."

"And you've just gotten here." Elizabeth reached for the doorknob. "Stay right where you are. I'm going to fetch some sherry. I have some tales to tell you about the Commodore, Will and our friend, Captain Jack Sparrow."

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"And they really made you their king?"

Elizabeth nodded proudly. "King of the Pirates. It's paid for this house and kept young Will and I quite well for the past nine years, eleven months and twenty-five days."

"But who's counting?"

"Five days until I get to see my husband. I'm counting the seconds, Stephanie." She smiled wistfully. "I want him to see his son. And I was hoping we might find a way to free him so that I could see him for more than one day every ten years."

"What about Sparrow? Shouldn't he be lurking around for the event?" I asked.

"He's had his hands full chasing after the Pearl, trying to reclaim her from Barbossa. Not to mention avoiding the East India Company. And I believe, searching for some fountain of youth." Her eyes sparkled slightly. "He'll be here. I've no doubt."

I rolled my eyes. "He's looking for the Fountain of Youth? Good luck. He's more likely to get bitten on the ass by an alligator."

"Ah, but you're forgetting one thing." Elizabeth smiled wickedly. "He's Captain Jack Sparrow. Now drink up me hearty. We've only a few drops left of this sherry."

"Yo ho."

"Yo, ho'!" A voice boomed loudly behind me and the glass slipped out of my fingers, shattering on the wood floor. "Sorry I'm late," Diesel apologized, slipping an arm around my shoulders. "Am I interrupting a slumber party?"

My left eye started twitching. "It's about time you got here. Elizabeth was filling me in, since I seem to have switched realities. Care to explain?"

He heaved a sigh. "We had to fix a few historical holes you caused and then we needed to move you before you completely jacked up global history."

"And yet you can't get me home."

"We're working on it, sweet cheeks."

"For ten years!?"

"It's been less than a day back home. Time isn't a straight line. Jeez, didn't you ever read A Wrinkle in Time when you were a kid?"

The twitching in my eye grew worse. I slapped a hand over it.

"Anyway, this is a pivotal time and you need to be here. I can't explain why but you have to trust me." He held up a bag. "I brought doughnuts. Chocolate ones."

"You think a doughnut –"

"A dozen."

"You think a dozen doughnuts is going to make me forget that I'm not from 1689 –"

"1699."

"Whatever. This isn't the Burg. I don't belong here. There's no TV, personal hygiene is atrocious and the fashion is a disaster. I. Want. To. Go. Home. Now."

"Sure." Diesel through the bag of doughnuts at me and opened the bedroom door. He walked through it and I knew without getting up, he was gone.

"I hate when he does that," I groused.

Elizabeth shrugged and bit into a doughnut.

I reached into the bag. If I was going to be stuck here, I wasn't going to let the King of the Pirates have all the doughnuts.