Chapter Nine

Fic: The War Within

Rating: M
Characters: Elizabeth/Jack Elizabeth/Will
Chapter Title: The creative mind plays with the object it loves.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney does, no money being made off this.
Summary: Captain Elizabeth Swann, Pirate Lord and King. Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord, lecherous pirate, son of the Keeper of the Code. What will happen on the eve of battle. JE. Reviews welcome.

The fleet of the East India Trading Company loomed in the mist. There were an overwhelming number of them! Elizabeth stood stunned at the sheer numbers. Vaguely she registered Jack saying, "Parlay?"

Parlay? Oh Jack.

'- Actually,' she thought after a moment, 'that wasn't a bad idea.'

"Thank you Jack," she said under her breath. She shouted orders to the crew, waited for the parlay to be accepted and then she asked for a longboat.

Jack joined her on the Pearl as she waited. They stood on deck watching as the longboat was readied. Elizabeth stood, ignoring Jack as best she could. She thought she would have felt uncomfortable, but at this point in time, she just wanted to get to battle… No, she told herself. She wanted to get to Will. She kept telling herself it was Will she wanted to get to.

She had not spoken to Jack since he left her in that room. Her emotions had been incredulous at first, then disgusted at herself, which she was quick to turn to be disgust of him, then anger – at him - and fury, then disgusted – all at the same time.

Now – she was devoid of emotion. At least that is what she told herself.

As they both overlooked the ocean and the armada of the East India Trading Company, she could feel him standing next to her, so close that she could feel the heat from his body. She swallowed, and tried to remain nonchalant.

Jack broke the silence. "Actually if you want to quote verbatim, I did not say 'I vote… Captain Swann.' I actually said, 'Elizabeth Swann', without the 'I vote' portion of it."

"What?" she turned and looked at Jack in confusion.

"Oh good you remembered your part! Now I don't need to recall that portion of the conversation to you. You did well to remember that. Very good Miss Swann."

She looked at him in complete amazement. He looked like he was quite proud of her. She gave him a withering look.

He blustered at her gaze. "What?" He looked at her in confusion.

"What." She said flatly.

Jack looked thoroughly confused. "No, no, I said what. What are you trying to say?"

She faced the ocean, and tried to calm herself. She found him to be a very vexing man. Her words came out bitingly. "I said 'what' because you said that you were trying to recall exactly what was said at the Pirate Council."

"Oh yes," Jack looked ecstatic to be back on track. "Your glorious part in the voting." Jack bounced on the balls of his feet. "What." He paused. "Such a noble word – what. Glorious even." He looked at Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye as he raised his voice to call out to his First Mate. "It should record well in history aye Mr Gibbs?"

"Oh aye Jack, undoubtedly so." Gibbs nodded vehemently in agreement.

At Elizabeth's sharp look, Jack hastily added, "Well you could have said something like - whereby, where with, whence, by what virtue, by whose help, but no…" It was Jack's turn to be withering. "You choose a single monosyllabic word. What. So accomplished of you Miss Swann. You and the whelp perhaps share that same intellectual thicket. I hesitate to ask if you might recall what I said next?" Jack took in her blank look. He sighed. He tried to cue her in. After all it worked so well the last time. "Well after you said 'What', I said 'Curious isn't it?'"

She still looked at him blankly.

Jack sighed once more. He tried again. "Curious. It's much like.." he paused. "Curiosity."

Realisation dawned in her eyes. Her mind took her back to the Pearl before Isla Cruces; their little discussion on curiosity. 'Curiosity. You will have a change to do the right thing, the honourable thing… be a good man.' He voted her King because it was the right thing to do.

"Ah I see you cottoned on. Good lad…" she quickly frowned and he amended, "…er lass. Errmm… " Jack carried on, "Before we sail on nigh to our deaths and save the world, let me tell you something Miss Swann. The world does not need saving, perhaps it doesn't even want saving. However - we want to save it.

We want to save the life that we have had for… well, for…" he looked at Gibbs for a length of time approximate to when pirating might have started. Gibbs shrugged. Jack gave him a dark look before turning his attention back to Elizabeth. "Well for a very long time. We are pirates," he intoned. "And because we are pirates, we want to have the right, the chance to sail the seven seas, to go wherever we want to go. As I believe I have informed you so indubitably before Elizabeth… Lizzie… wherever we want to go, we'll go."

Elizabeth crossed her arms and smirked at Jack. "You want freedom."

Jack looked at her. He opened his mouth to answer, but…

"Aye," said Gibbs, breaking into the conversation.

Jack frowned at this interruption.

"Freedom." Gibbs was firm in his declaration. Some of the other pirates close by echoed this sentiment.

"Yes, yes," reiterated Jack, happy that everyone seemed to understand him. "Freedom from all the righteousness,…" he waved one hand casually, "…officiousness - namely Beckett - of this world."

Elizabeth turned to face Gibbs. "Mr Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded his head towards his Captain. "What Jack said."

She turned back to Jack. She cocked her head to one side and pursed her lips, considering the man before her. "What do you want out of it Jack?"

"Me? I want nothing than to be able to make my merry way across the seas, nigh on forever. Have a ship to sail and call me own and not have a care in the world. Who knows? I might be the one and only pirate left. Captain Jack Sparrow, lone pirate! Has a certain ring to it doesn't it?"

"Forget it Jack," she said flatly.

Jack ignored her. "Get rid of Beckett, stab Davy Jones' heart, Calypso gets her revenge, you get young William, live happily ever after and have lots of snivelling little mongrels, and I - I get to live forever. Sounds pretty good to me."

"Um… begging your Captain, but there's a slight flaw in those plans Jack." Gibbs did not want to irritate his Captain, but it seemed there was a small inconsideration that Jack had not taken into account.

"What flaw? I see no flaw?" Jack looked side to side as if he could spot the flaw.

Elizabeth stared witheringly at Jack. She could see the flaw. It was as large as this ocean for a start. She wasn't about to inform him though.

"Will isn't here Jack," stated Elizabeth. "He's with Beckett." She turned back to look across the wide, expansive ocean, currently full of ships. Her voice turned soft as she thought of how alone she would be, once her fiancé carried out his plans. "He is determined to stab the heart. It is unlikely that if he does succeed with his plans that he will stay mortal and become my husband. Only if someone else were to stab the heart would Will be free to stay with me, stay mortal, yet still hold true to his promise to his father. And no other man would be foolish enough to take on that in his place."

"Aye," said Jack.

After a moment as he looked out at the Endeavour, Jack spoke again causing Elizabeth to think that perhaps Jack did see the flaw after all, "But isn't it funny how fools often exchange one foolish life for another."

He turned his head to look at her. It reminded Elizabeth of something she had said to him. She said it once more, albeit a little differently this time.

"Good thing one understands before they consider one a fool."

She looked back at Jack. They both grinned.

She looked back the Endeavour, thinking of Beckett and was suddenly a great deal more light-hearted than she had been moments before. "He will want to negotiate."

"And we will want to exchange."

Elizabeth smiled a knowing smile. "To parlay is to speculate, to hedge, to gamble. Isn't it what pirates do best?"

"But of course."

"Let's even the odds."

She smiled fully; her heart in her eyes.

As always, reviews welcomed and encouraged…. TJ