The Leviathan
Well this story is getting wrapped up now.
It was a brutal fight. It raged on for hours…or was it just minutes?? Lily wasn't really sure. As soon as she had caused the Pearl to stop, the Naval ship caught them and soon a battle had broken out. James Norrington seemed quite the determined man. Lily stood away from the battle which took place on her deck, Barbossa next to her. Her eyes weren't gazing at the fighting persons, or even at the disturbance in the water behind her. Her bright green and grown eyes gazed solely at her cabin door where slept the two most important people in her life. Barbossa did not speak next to her but rather alternated looking at the fight and the disturbance. A giant whirlpool stood before the ship but did not draw it in. He could see flickers of what appeared to be a giant snake swimming around, waiting…just waiting.
People were dying, that was what Lily was aware of. Naval officers, some of her crew…her family and close friends remained alive however. She was waiting. She knew it was selfish, letting those people die just so it would be easier on her, but she pushed her guilt aside. Her white dress had received several red splatters but each faded, leaving her looking pure and untouched.
"That will do." Lily muttered. Weapons fell from peoples' grasps and all eyes turned to the goddess. Her eyes tore away from the cabin door and rested on the man next to her. "Do you bare witness?"
"Aye." Barbossa said.
"Do all of you…" Lily said, turning her eyes to the people aboard her ship. "Bare witness?" Some repeated Barbossa, others could only nod. "Pirates…you have sailed with me, helped me, protected me when need be. You deserve to be left alone. Norrington…you hunted me down…you planned to either use or kill me. You deserve nothing but harsh punishment." She turned sharply to the disturbance behind her. "Hush!"
Those with powers aboard the ship had heard the Leviathan complain about time wasting. It was hungry now and did not enjoy being kept waiting for it rarely fed. The disturbance grew and out of the middle flew the snake-like dragon.
"A few more minutes." Lily said. The dragon hissed. "Be thankful I am feeding you at all you impatient brute!" Lily turned back to those gazing at her, some with fear, some with love, all with some form of confusion. "Norrington…you shall be stranded. No one will hear you, no one will see you. For only these pirates know of the place I will strand you and I doubt they shall return for you." Norrington looked fearful, he looked ready to argue, but something was forcing him to comply with the goddess' wishes and he bowed. Lily turned her attention away from him for the last time. "My family…my friends. You all have bits of me, you will always have me around even if not in a physical presence. Do not mourn me, do not be sad. I love all of you and I will always see you." She looked at Jack and Madison. "Parents…I thank you so much for giving me life. I know it's a short one but I couldn't have asked for anything better. Brother and cousins…thank you for being my friends, you have no idea what it meant to me. Tara and Roselyn, you made these last months amazing. I'm glad to have known both of you." The girls blushed at being named. "Gibson, my secret keeper. You helped me in ways I doubt even you knew. I am grateful to you, as I am to all of you."
"Time." Barbossa said, looking up at the sun.
"Yes, yes, I know." Lily said. She sighed, the breath seeming to turn in the air and blow her hair slightly. "I will keep watch over all of you. I love you all." While the whole speech seemed to be in a powerful voice, the last line was completely Lily's. With a deep breath, she turned her back on the ones she loved and did not look back. "I am ready." With a roar that sounded cheerful to all aboard the ship, the Leviathan whipped its tail around before dropping its head at the exact moment the glow around Lily increased, making it hard for anyone to see what was happening. The glowing disappeared and the Leviathan tilted its head up and roared once more. Everyone whipped around as they heard the Kraken make some noise as well. The Leviathan turned in the air and dove back into the disturbance. A giant wave rose up from behind them and forced the ship into the whirlpool.
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Jaden groaned and opened his eyes. With some effort, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around. Various family members and Gibson (who was all that remained of the crew now) were waking up around him. He looked down at Tara was right next to him. Jaden gazed somewhat sleepily at the spot where he had last seen his sister. With a jolt, he remembered what had happened and stood up quickly. The island they had labelled as the End of the Earth was slowly fading behind them. The ship seemed to be steering itself towards the nearest dock.
"Jaden?" Madison's voice broke into his head and the young man turned to look at his mother.
"She's gone." Jaden said, finding his voice. "She…actually is gone." Madison blinked and tears ran down her face as she nodded. "Oh mum…don't…don't cry." Jaden walked over to her and hugged her.
"I…I can't help it." Madison said. She laughed slightly. "I'm a mother, we always cry when we lose our children." She leaned back out of her son's embrace, smiling.
"We didn't lose her mum." Jaden said, a few tears coursing down his face as well. "She's just down there." He looked out at the water spanning in front of them.
Within the next ten minutes everyone was awake. Norrington was gone, probably on the island until he died now or just vanished into the forest as others had done. No one really talked, there were a few words exchanged but then there was silence as everyone contemplated what had happened. The girls all had silent tears but no one seemed to be truly sad.
With a creak, the door to the captain's cabin opened and Eve walked out, looking like a five year old. Behind her, Jarrett came out as well, rubbing his eyes.
"What happened?" He asked. Everyone adverted their eyes. Tara and Roselyn sniffed. Jarrett looked confused.
"Mommy did it." Eve said, quietly. Everyone heard her though. "She's gone now."
"I think we need to talk." Jaden said, looking at his brother-in-law. "Eve…why don't you sit with the other girls for a while and play a game."
"Ok." Eve said. Tara, Roselyn, Isabelle, Madison and Elizabeth all sat with Eve but instead of playing a game, they sat in a comfortable silence, each thinking of the goddess that had been their friend, their cousin, the daughter, their niece and their mother.
Eve grew somewhat upset, not because her mother was gone, but because of her father. Once Jaden had told him what had happened, Jarrett seemed forever in a gloomy mood. He didn't smile, he rarely talked to anyone…the only way Eve knew that there was still some of him there was that he was the one who tucked her into bed every night. He was the one to kiss her head and tell her to sleep well.
But he never smiled. And because of that, Eve, who remained five years old, felt as if she was at fault…just as her mother had predicted.
"Grandpa, grandpa!" Eve called out as Jack climbed the stairs to the back of the ship where she was sitting, drawing, and Jarrett was steering. "Look at the picture I drew Grandpa!" She thrust the picture at Jack and he took it from her. It was Lily, in all her goddess glory. Jack wasn't quite sure how she knew what her mother looked like as a goddess but that didn't matter. He smiled down at her and handed the paper back.
"That is a lovely drawing, darling." Jack said. "Why don't you go show it to Grandma? I'm sure she'd love to see it."
"Ok." Eve said. She bounded the stairs. Jarrett took the rope and secured the wheel before stepping over to Jack, not even having to look at the older man to know that he wanted to talk.
"Lily wanted you happy." Jack said. Jarrett made a noise and stood by the rail, looking down at the water. Jack sighed and stepped in next to him, his hands behind his back. "She didn't want any of us upset, or sad. It's been a couple of weeks now…"
"Jack, just don't." Jarrett said.
"Look, I'm gonna talk and you're gonna listen." Jack said. Jarrett started walking away. "Lily loved you. You're part of this family and everyone in this family has to listen to me." Jarrett stopped and turned around. "My daughter did what she did for you and Eve. She didn't necessarily die but we're not gonna be seeing her anymore. She didn't want you to be like this, you know why?"
"Why?" Jarrett asked.
"Because of her." Jack said, pointing at Eve. Jarrett looked at his daughter. "You stop smiling. You barely speak to anyone. Not even your own daughter sees anything from you. She's five, mate. She's gonna think this is her fault. She'll believe that you don't love her."
"She knows I…" Jarrett said.
"Trust me on this." Jack said. "Children at five are like that. I've had to deal with Maddie at that age, my own kids at that age, and Will's kids at that age. Of course that was the age that Maddie developed her hatred for me but that's no longer an issue." Jarrett just stared at the old pirate, not really sure what he was talking about. "The point is…Eve's sense of trust is weak at this time. She might know, deep down, that you do love her but if you don't show it…kids are very visual people. They believe things they can see and feel."
"I never meant for that." Jarrett said.
"I know." Jack said. He looked at the water and put his hands on the rail. "You know you remind me of myself. Not quite sure how…maybe it's the fact that we share similar feelings towards others." He looked at Jarrett as the younger man copied his pose. "She's just down there, you know. She is the water. Son…in the twelve or thirteen years that I have been with my daughter, I have not seen her express as much love towards someone with a single look as I've seen her express towards you. I'm asking you one little thing now."
"What?" Jarrett asked.
"Express that love to your daughter. Let her know that you love her." Jack said. "Cherish time you have with her. Both you and I missed the fussy times of our children's lives but I'm sure neither of us would argue if we had to go through it." Jack and Jarrett locked eyes for a moment then, for the first time in two weeks, Jarrett smiled.
"Thank you, Jack." He said. He walked down to where Eve was with Madison. Jack smirked as he watched them play and Madison smiled as she stepped away from them.
Thank you, daddy…
Jack looked down at the water and nodded.
All was right, all was well. Madison came up to Jack but said nothing, just thread her arm through his as he turned to face the ship, and leaned her head on his shoulder. They watched Eve, the biggest smile on her face, get chased by her father around the deck. The grandparents watched, and as they watched, they remembered their daughter.
And as they remembered…they smiled.
The End
Crappy last chapter but the only real thing I had planned was Jack's speech to Jarrett…lol. This really is the end. No more sequels, no epilogue, this is it. Say good-bye to Jack and Madison because there will be no more stories about them. Wow, that actually is a sad thought…I use the same people through three stories…and now, no more.
