Ella could not scream, as there was a large had covering her mouth and a man's voice whispering in her ear.
"Relax love, I'm not going to hurt you, now steady…" He said as he quickly replaced his hand with a handkerchief to gag her and hastily bound her wrists. "Sorry to do this love, but I can't risk you giving me away, I will explain all later." The gag had some sort of sleeping potion in it and within moments she was limp. Will and Elizabeth emerged from the shadows and Liz nearly let out a shriek when she saw her friend thrown over the Captain's shoulder.
"What did you do?" She asked, her hands on her hips as the inevitable chaos at the ball could be heard.
"What I had to…now, help me get her to the docks without being caught."
The crew was waiting as the four boarded. Gibbs's eyes widened.
"God's nightgown! Ya found 'er?" He asked, as Jack nearly fell over with the unconscious girl.
"Yeah…I found her…now get going…" He said as the anchors were pulled and the boat began to move. Elizabeth stood up, realizing they were leaving Port Royal and said,
"Wait! Oh…I can't just leave like this again…" Will took her arm.
"It's too late now Elizabeth…we have to come…" Jack looked up from where he was ungagging the sleeping girl.
"Go to the second bedroom in my chambers, you'll find clothes and such in there…"
"Where did you get clothes…?" Will began to ask, but Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Pirate." She corrected and he nodded, disappearing into the chambers with her.
Once Jack, Gibbs and Sea Sponge had taken the girl into Jack's chambers, nearly half an hour passed before her eyes began to flutter.
"She's comin' to Cap'n!" Gibbs cried as Jack left his place at the table in the room with Grant.
"Jim?" She said softly and for the first time, Jack noticed there were just a few small freckles spread across her nose. He'd seen women with freckles before, in fact, a few of the redheads in Tortuga were covered in them, but they didn't look attractive. Not that he thought this girl was particularly spectacular but she did have a certain charm and if she were going to help him fix his compass…he might as well like the girl a little. He had, after all, kissed her.
"No Jim here love…" He replied to her as her eyes widened.
"You! Y-you're a…a…"
"Pirate?" He offered as she sat up in the bed looking at the three men gathered around her.
"Where Cutler…what…happened?" She asked and he shrugged.
"I saved you love…really you should be grateful to me for hoisting your bonny arse out of there…"
"Y-you kidnapped me…" She said, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Kidnapping is such a harsh word…removed without permission is more of a better description."
"What do you want with me?" She asked fearfully, drawing her knees up to her chest.
"You see lass, my compass is broken…and I need it…well, turns out the only way I can fix it is to get help from said lass, being you…" He said with half a slur. It wasn't until he half grinned that recognition crept into her eyes.
"You're that pirate from my brother's wedding…the one who kissed me!" She said almost accusingly in her soft spoken voice. He held up his hand.
"If I do so recall, pet, you were right there kissing me back…" Her eyes filled with horror at the memory that he was indeed right.
"So how am I of any use to you?" She asked, trying not to look at the other two pirates, the elder one looking dangerously close to the Captain himself.
"It's magic love…ya see, the wheel stopped working when I met the girl I am supposed to be with, again, being you…and won't work again until she confesses her love for me and I reveal mine for her…bizarre stuff really but worth a try…" He said, so casually she thought she might die.
"You want me to confess my love for you after one kiss? I don't even know your first name." She said, trembling and he sat beside the bed crossing his legs.
"I don't remember yours either sweet, but that did stop the arrow from pointing at you did it now?"
She sat in frightened silence for a few moments as Jack waved Gibbs and his father out of the room.
"It's Ella…" She said almost too softly for him to hear.
"What?" He asked, loudly, studying the amount of rum he had left. She sighed, tears forming in her eyes.
"It's Eleanore…my name is Eleanore." She said and he stopped.
"Oh." He said, inspecting his boot. "Jack." Thinking of her brother and her fiancé, she bit her lip.
"Are you planning to keep me here forever Captain Jack?" He shook his head.
"No…just until my compass is repaired and then I will send you safely back to your corrupt fiancé Beckett…" He held his bottle out to her. "Rum?" She looked up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, ignoring his offer.
"Corrupt? Forgive me sir, but aren't you the pirate?" He took a sip and said in a sing song voice.
"So it would seem lass…so it would seem…" He offered the bottle to her again and said, "Are you quite sure you don't want any? It's a bit strange going down but after the first sip, it's Heaven…" He chuckled, rocking in the chair which he had tilted on the rear legs.
"Sir…if you don't mind my saying so, you're quite intoxicated and if you're not careful you're going to…oh!" Sure enough, the chair toppled backward and the Captain rolled out of it, quickly springing to his feet.
"Hate it when that happens…" He brushed himself off and looked the girl right in the eyes. "Now, I don't like this situation any more than you do, but the fact is…I need you, savvy? Tell you what, I'll split the treasure we find with it with you twenty eighty…" Her eyebrow raised but she shook her head.
"I don't want treasure, I want to go home to my brother and…"
"Your fiancé?" Jack asked as her face lost all color.
"Well…yes…him too…" She said, though with much less determination. Jack almost laughed.
"The fact of the matter is the faster we figure this out, the faster you go home to the darling Admiral and Lord…Beckett…" Ella noticed that everytime Jack said the word, "Beckett," he spat it out as if the very word itself were laced with acid.
"You hate him, Captain…don't you?" Jack held up his bottle of rum, which he had saved in his tumble.
"With every inch of my soul…" She looked thoughtful and a bit uneasy as his grip tightened on the bottle, but as he always did, he straightened up a moment later, brightening. "Tell you what, lass, I'll send Lizzie in with some clothes for you…I'll even let you have the bed…"
Her face turned into a mask of confusion.
"Lizzie?" She asked and he grinned.
"You know…tall? Kind of nice looking? Governor's daughter?" He said and her eyes widened.
"You kidnapped Elizabeth too?" She exclaimed and he laughed.
"No! Of course not…this time…" Her mouth dropped open as he left the room, humming some song to himself. When the door closed, she began to cry again.
"Jimmy…" She sobbed, knowing her big brother wasn't going to be there to save her this time.
"Ella?" A soft female voice called out to her.
"Liz?" She sniffed as her friend came into the bedroom with fresh nightclothes and undergarments as well as a dress for the next day.
"The dress is somewhat short, so it should fit you…oh Ella…" Lizzie's arms wrapped around the girl, who was completely lost as to why she was being punished for doing nothing.
"Are they going to kill me Liz?" She asked, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.
"No…they're not as bad as you think…pirates are very misunderstood as the public is fed an idea of what they are by men even worse." Elizabeth motioned for her to stand up.
"Come on, I'll help you with that wretched corset."
"How is she?" Will asked as Elizabeth crawled into bed that night. Liz kissed him on the cheek and thought a moment.
"In a word, terrified. Damn Jack and his selfishness…" She said, lying down. Will looked at the ceiling thoughtfully with his hands under his head.
"Can you honestly see Eleanore Norrington confessing her love for Jack Sparrow…?" He asked and Liz allowed herself to chuckle.
"It is quite the mismatch isn't it? She's so innocent and he's so…well, not."
"What do you think of us?" Will asked, turning toward her and kissing her shoulder. She smiled.
"I think we balance each other out perfectly." She giggled and turned out the light as he began to pull off her nightgown.
Ella gained a little hope the next day, when she walked on deck after waking up, wearing the pink dress Liz had brought her the night before. Her chocolate rust colored hair was down, which was rare for her and hung nearly to her waist in loose curls.
"Mornin' lass…an early riser I see." Ella swiveled to see the shorter heavyset man named Gibbs come onto the deck. She nodded shyly and bit her lip at the filthy condition of the boat deck.
"Mr. Gibbs…it looks like there was a war on deck last night…" He chuckled heartily and nodded.
"Aye, our crew aren't the cleanest men on the sea but they are the best."
"Morning Gibbs, my son the Captain wouldn't happen to be awake yet, would he?" Sea Sponge Sparrow asked, winking at Ella.
"Nay…ne'er before noon, ye know that…" Gibbs replied and the two men laughed. "The crew are below decks having their morning meal…biscuits and rum." Ella cringed.
"Ugh…" She said making both men laugh.
"Morning mates…" Ella's hair stood on end as the Captain's voice surprised them all. To her horror his arm draped over her shoulder.
"Sleep well love?" He asked and she shrugged out of his hold.
"Fine, thank you…" She said, drawing her shawl around herself and ducking back into the chambers. Gibbs and his father stared at him with their arms crossed.
"What…did I say something?" Jack asked with a shrug.
"Oh…you only snatched the lass straight from her betrothed's arms and knocked her out to bring her on your ship, leaving her to wake up to strange men gaping at 'er. No son, you didn't say anything…" Grant said, slapping Jack on the shoulder. "She sure is pretty isn't she?" Jack shrugged.
"Could be worse."
The crew began to file on deck to begin the day's work as Jack, Grant and Gibbs kept watch. Gibbs was at the wheel. Will and Elizabeth soon followed, joining Jack.
"Where's Ella?" Elizabeth asked and he looked dumbfounded.
"Who?" She glared at him and he put his arms up. "I'm only kidding, don't go burning the rum or something crazy like that…"
"I don't care what you have to do…find my fiancée." Lord Beckett said to the General as Admiral Norrington sat with his head in his hands in Beckett's office. "And if you find Sparrow, I want him brought back to me alive…I want to watch him die if he did this…and I have the sneaking suspicion he did…go!" He said, pointing the man out of his office. The General nodded.
"Yes my Lord." He said leaving. Norrington looked up.
"Ella would never run away like that…she was kidnapped…and if Sparrow took her, I am going to kill him myself."
"Keep your cool Admiral…our men will find her…and when they do, I am going to marry her immediately and we are going back to England until Governor Swann's retirement, whereupon I shall return to Port Royal to take his place. Once Sparrow and his lot are cleared, I will send for her and she shall return with any children we may have at that time. Yes Admiral, we are going to get her back…for in the end, Sparrow knows I always win…"