True Love: Forever Reunited

Chapter 20: Lost Faith

The band of weary pirates reached the small island three days after Will awoke from his slight coma. In stark contrast to their dark mood, the sun had decided shine, almost obscuring the island from view at all.

"Land, ho!!" shouted Jack from the Pearl. For security reasons, the two ships had anchored several miles from the island.

They had opted to sleep on the ships, because they were not sure if it would be in their best interests to stay on the island. But they would resupply, rethink their plans, and then get far away; this was the only island that Elizabeth knew of in the near vicinity that wasn't controlled by the East India Company, and seeing as they had nearly run out of food, and in Jack's case, rum, they had no choice but to stop here. It wouldn't be safe for them to stay near one piece of land for too long, or the Company might come upon them, and harm the innocent people on the island.

"We've got the anchor down, Captains Turner," said Norrington with a small smile, trying to find some humor in the situation.

"Thank you James," answered Elizabeth. "We're to join Jack and Barbossa on the Pearl so that we can decide what to do next." Her stomach retched, and she clutched her stomach. The morning sickness, it seemed, had not subsided. Will put a gentle arm around her shoulders, silently supporting her.

Estrella, who had taken it upon herself to make sure Elizabeth's pregnancy went smoothly, ran over to her. "Elizabeth?" she questioned, "Are you quite all right?"

"I'll be fine, Estrella, it's just that morning sickness. But perhaps some of that medicine you gave me yesterday might help," responded Elizabeth, closing her eyes, and willing the nausea to cease and desist. She was beyond thrilled that she was with child, but this part of the pregnancy, she had decided when she was first pregnant with Willy, she could do without.

"I'll bring it right over to the Pearl as soon as I mix it," answered Estrella, glad to do anything to help.

Elizabeth hugged her gratefully, and then walked with Will and Willy over to the Pearl, where everyone had already gathered. The atmosphere on the Pearl was tense, and silent as the grave. The Riley family sat in one corner, keeping to themselves, Groves and Norrington sat with Mr. Gibbs, talking quietly, Captain Teague sat talking with Barbossa, Murtogg, Mullroy, Pintel, and Ragetti sat with the rest of Jack's and Barbossa's crews, saying nothing. Jack sat with Ana in the corner farthest away from Barbossa, looking livid, which was not an expression Elizabeth could have ever remembered seeing on his face. Glee, amusement, shock perhaps, but never this much anger.

Will let go of her hand, and walked over to his friend, curious as to what was wrong. Elizabeth and Willy followed, wanting to know as well. Will treaded carefully, not really quite knowing how to deal with a furious Jack. Whenever they had gotten into any other bad situations, Jack had always been the voice of humor and ease, and now, it was different.

"Hello, Jack," said Will, trying to smile.

"Hello, Will," he said, in a monotone sort of voice. "Feeling better are you?"

"Quite a bit better actually. My head still hurts a bit, but that will go away soon enough," answered Will, "Tell me Jack, is there anything bothering you?"

As soon as he said this, Ana shook her head fervently, as though trying to make him stop, but the damage was done. Jack gazed at the Turners, standing up from his position sitting on the solid black deck, so weathered from its time at sea.

"Is there anything bothering me?" asked Jack, "Why no, of course not! Why would there be anything bothering me?" he continued, trying to sound nonchalant. "The East India Company only burned down my most favorite island in the entire world! Think of all that rum gone to waste! That island was a symbol of the freedom that pirates possess, and Clinton burned it to the ground!"

"Well at least yer ship isn't burned to bits!" challenged Barbossa from the other side of the Pearl. "Well technically, this still is my ship…"

"Shut it, Barbossa," muttered Jack.

"All isn't lost," commented Norrington, who, after returning from the dead, had a renewed sense of hope surrounding many things. "We can still get back at the Company, we can still win!"

"Really, Norry?" answered Jack bitterly. "With you and what army? The Brethren Court is gone, and all we have are these two ships. It's over."

"Jack," protested Will in irritation. "You don't mean that. Look at all the other obstacles we've overcome in the past! If we can do that, why not this?"

Jack laughed, and for a moment, Will though all was right. "Always the idealistic one, even after all of this. Even after being Captain of the Flying Dutchman for a decade. That's good of you William, but we haven't a chance." With that, Jack stood, slammed his hand on the side of the Pearl, and stalked off below deck.

Ana, Elizabeth, and Will instantly followed him, telling the others to watch the ships, and putting Willy in the care of the Riley's. They would not let Jack Sparrow stew in this, or he would never snap out of it.

"Jack Sparrow!" yelled Ana Maria, looking rather intimidating and fearsome. "Don't you dare run away from us like that!"

They found Jack sitting in his rather large captain's quarters, looking a little ashamed of himself. Will and Elizabeth had never seen Jack lose control like that, and to be honest, it frightened them.

"Jack," said Elizabeth, running her hand through her hair nervously, "Why are you talking like a madman? Why do you think we cannot prevail? We did it before, and we can do it again."

Jack sighed. "Elizabeth, last time we had the Brethren to back us up, last time we ended up with the power of the Flying Dutchman, last time, it was different."

"We can't just give up now," countered Will, moving right into Jack's vicinity. "I didn't give up 10 years of my life to finally come home and see the East India Company take over the Caribbean and destroy the lives of all those I love. I won't stand for it." The former blacksmith's eyes were ablaze as Jack stood up to face him.

For the first time, Ana and Elizabeth didn't interfere; the two friends had some sort of unsaid argument here, and unless things went wrong, the two women wouldn't make a move to stop them.

"What exactly are you trying to say, Turner?" asked Jack, spitefully, staring down his old friend.

"I think you're acting like a coward," answered Will bluntly, "This is hard, and you want to give up. I never thought I would see the clever, infamous Jack Sparrow give up his freedom so easily."

"Yeah?" responded Jack, looking furious again. "Is that what you bloody well think? That I'm being a coward?" He gave Will a little shove.

"Yeah, that is what I think, Sparrow!" said Will, his voice rising slowly, as he returned Jack's shove.

Ana Maria and Elizabeth stood frozen, wanting to stop the two, but not quite knowing how to go about it. Both men looked almost as if they had forgotten the two women were there, and it seemed that they needed to settle this problem themselves.

"Well, you can go off and live in your little fantasy world, William," said Jack, his expression looking like a mixture of anger and sadness, "But we've lost. It's done."

"Jack," protested Will, his voice softer now, "We've accomplished so much before; hell, we've defeated skeletal pirates, krakens, the East India Company! Jack, we've defeated death! We've worked too hard to be happy, and now that we've achieved it, I refuse to let it go. I won't."

Intensity filled the room, as the two men stared at each other, both with frowns on their faces. The Pearl rocked slightly under their feet.

"You've pulled some sketchy schemes in the past Jack, but I'm disappointed," continued Will. "If you want to bugger out, then fine. We'll do it without you."

"Do not talk to me about being a coward Will," Jack shot back. "I gave up my chance at immortality for you!"

"I know," answered Will, looking the pirate captain straight in the eyes. "I thought you'd stopped trying to weasel you way out of conflicts after that; but obviously I was wrong." With that, Will turned around, and without another word, left.

Elizabeth took one glance backward and followed him out. This left Jack and Ana Maria alone in an awkward silence. Ana sat down next to Jack, not really knowing what to say. He took his hat off and slammed it down on the table, not looking at her.

"Why did you do that Jack?" she questioned, "It's not like you to give up hope like that, or lose your temper so easily."

"I know," admitted Jack, his eyes searching the cabin as though looking for an answer among the charts, compasses, and rum bottles. "I guess Clinton burning Tortuga almost completely to the ground just shocked me. No one, not even that wretched Beckett, ever dared do that. It was just…horrible."

"It was," nodded Ana, "Things are bad, but Will is right; we can't give up. We may lose, but it's better to have gone in fighting than to not have tried at all. I think the two of you need to talk."

"You're right," grumbled Jack, embarrassed at the thought. "I'm not very good at apologizing and the like."

Ana grinned. "Hark, what was that I heard? Did Captain Jack Sparrow just admit that someone else was right?"

"Well, don't get used to it," he mumbled, sending her a half smile. "You're one of the rare people I would ever admit I was wrong to. Well, I guess I'd better go do this, before I change my mind."

Ana smirked, but rewarded him with a kiss, and he took a very large swig of rum before starting off to go and talk to Will.

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Will, in the meantime, had stalked all the way back to the Empress in a huff, Elizabeth walking right next to him.

"How can he do this?!" exclaimed Will, leaning on the railing of the Empress, "How can he give up?"

"I don't know," answered Elizabeth, more than a little angry herself, "I didn't think he would do this to us. But maybe it will pass; maybe he's just discouraged about Tortuga."

"Perhaps you're right," said Will smiling over at her, and taking her hand, "You always manage to see what I can't. But if it is a stage," he said, his face darkening again, "I hope it passes soon. I hate being angry with Jack, but I am."

It was quiet between them for several minutes, as they stared out at the beautiful Caribbean Sea, a sea that they would never be free to sail on again if Clinton captured them. Their lives were in danger, there was no denying it. Will and Elizabeth jumped when they heard the deck of the Empress creak; someone was there. It was Jack.

"Hello," he said, shifting around awkwardly, and shooting them a weak smile.

Will and Elizabeth didn't answer, and just kept staring at Jack, as though suddenly struck speechless.

"So," Jack continued, darting around the subject, "How, is everything?"

Still no answer came for the Turners.

"Oh, you're going to make this difficult aren't you?" whined Jack, "All right, all right. I'm sorry, really I am, mates. The whole blasted incident with Tortuga just shocked me." He spoke fast, as though it pained him to admit that he had been wrong. He looked up at the Turners with big brown eyes, obviously hoping they would forgive him.

They continued to simply look at him, with no answer. Looking defeated, he turned to go, when Will spoke up.

"Jack, don't go," he said, and Jack whipped around, looking relieved at Will's small smile. "I forgive you, because you came and apologized, and I can see why you might be a little pessimistic. And I'm sorry for calling you a coward. What about you, Elizabeth?"

"Of course we forgive you Jack," she responded, reaching out to pat the pirate captain on the shoulder. "I imagine the reason we were so upset at your reaction is because we know we need your wits and experience in order to get out of this mess. Our lives depend on it, Jack. All of our lives," she said gravely.

"I understand that now," answered Jack, "I understood that before, it's just all very overwhelming, and sometimes it seems impossible to beat that blasted Company; Clinton has got more than one reason for revenge. He despises pirates, and we are responsible for the death of his wretched uncle."

Will nodded in response, his face taught with worry. "It's true. We will have to come up with something clever to defeat them."

"We can do it," said Elizabeth, no traces of doubt in her voice. "The three of us have been through so much, and we have all of our friends and out crews to help us. Not to mention James, Groves, Barbossa, and Captain Teague, all of whom have a great deal of experience in this arena. We'll survive because we have something to fight for." She put a hand on her stomach, thinking of the child that resided inside.

The trio continued to talk as they walked back toward land, deciding to go and pay a visit to the Turner's home, the home where Elizabeth had raised Willy and waited that decade for Will. What they found however, was not what they expected. Will felt Elizabeth squeeze his hand so tightly that he momentarily lost the feeling in it. The charming house they had left behind was no more. All the windows were smashed in, shattered glass lying everywhere. The door had been kicked in completely, and without saying a word to each other, they walked in.

Strangely, nothing inside the house seemed out of place. Everything was as Will, Elizabeth, and Willy had left it, just before they left to go and visit Andrew and Amelia, before they had gotten swept up in the desperate battle for their lives and their freedom.

"What the bloody hell happened?" questioned Jack, his eyes wide as he sifted through the broken glass that lay all over the floor. "Who would have broken into your house and not nicked a single thing?

"I don't know," answered Elizabeth, gazing around, her expression that of a lost child. "It doesn't make any sense. None of the surrounding houses appear to have been broken into. It had to have been someone with a grudge against us. There isn't any other explanation."

"Wait," said Will, a pronounced frown taking over his handsome features, creasing the lines in his forehead, "Look at this." He held up a cream colored envelope, and pulled out a short letter.

It was signed Lord Alexander Clinton.

AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it was just irresistible. I hope everyone liked this chapter, and thank you to all who have read and reviewed, it is much appreciated!