When Isabelle entered the cabin Elizabeth was just hanging her coat on a peg that jutted from a support in the middle of the room.
"I cabin mate for you, Miss Elizabeth." Mr. Gibbs said by way of introduction before disappearing up the dark corridor.
"You." Elizabeth gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help." Elizabeth stared at her new comrade for a moment and then sat on the corner of the hard bunk. "You don't trust me."
"No I don't." Elizabeth answered as she watched Isabelle slip her own coat from her shoulders and sit opposite her. "You knew an awful lot about the East India Trading Company and these documents." Elizabeth patted her fingers against the left side of her chest. Isabelle guessed the documents were tucked into her vest.
"That's true. But you are free and alive. I should think that's enough information to share for now." A sudden vision swept passed Isabelle's eyes and she closed her eyes against it.
"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked, concerned when she saw the pained look strike the woman across from her.
"I will be. It's been a trying day." Isabelle lay back slowly against her hard bed and tried to fight against the power of the
Isabelle sat up in the darkness and gasped for breath. She was thankful her companion was a heavy sleeper for she was sure that she had made enough noise to wake everyone aboard the ship. She'd shared the dream of one of the crewmen, a man who had been held captive and punished for a crime he hadn't committed. The Spaniards were fond of torturing those with different beliefs; especially English Protestants. This man, a devout sailor had refused to be pressed into a Catholic crew and had spouted supposed heresy against the Spanish captain. The man, a treacherous character with dark skin and shining curled black hair had had the man's tongue removed for spouting such lies and left the man marooned to die. It was a horrible vision and Isabelle clicked her own tongue against the back of her teeth to be sure her own tongue was still in her mouth.
Another vision gripped her, this one steeped deeply in the ship. She saw the ship rise from the depths of the blindingly blue Indian Ocean and saw Jack running a hand lovingly over the worm eaten wood. She heard words on a soft breeze but she fought against it and rose quickly.
"Are you alright?" Elizabeth had rolled over and watched as the other woman teetered against the rocking ship towards to door.
"Fine, I just need some air." Isabelle raced from the room as her companion rolled back over and was lulled quickly back to sleep by the bobbing motions of the ship.
Isabelle raced up the steps to the main deck and towards the rail where she inhaled deeply of the silver moonlight and salt air. She grasped at the ratlines running above her head to the top of the mizzenmast and clung to them as if they were the only thing that could hold her to the ship. The power of the Black Pearl, whatever had raised it, was stronger than she was. She closed her eyes as her senses stopped reeling and she was brought back to herself. A few deep and steadying breaths calmed her and she stood, rooted to the spot, watching the moon sink lower and lower into the Caribbean. One man was at the helm and a few others sat near the bow of the ship, ready to go aloft should the need arise. But it was a calm night, and little work was needed to keep the ship sailing smoothly on the third watch. Isabelle continued to stare at the moonlit waters and watched as the moonlight reflected off the gently heaving whitecaps. Occasionally, mist would drift across her face as the ship plunged into a furrow between two of the waves. She stepped sideways and grasped a belaying pin to steady herself as the ship's bow dove steeply into one of these furrows.
She was no longer in the calm evening waters of the Caribbean, but lost on dark and turbulent seas in another tropic locale.
"Sir, we will lose them in those shoals." Isabelle turned her head to see the waves break against the shallow shoals, a yellow line of land standing bright behind it against the eerie sky. Greenish lightening cracked across a purple sky, but still the ship plowed on, hot in pursuit of its quarry.
"Steady on, have the men stow and secure all loose articles on deck below. See the carpenter's mate and fetch a report on our circumstances." Wind howled into her face and gained in ferocity. The sails overhead snapped loud as thunder and the ship plunged deeper into the gray waves.
"Sir, we should put in at Tripoli to wait out the storm! It's too dangerous!" A man now shouted into the wind.
"No! Not when we're this close!" Isabelle squinted through a sheet of rain that now pelted across the deck of the ship and could only faintly make out the shape of a ship moving across the flashes of light. Faster and faster her ship gained speed and faster and faster the wind blew and the lightening cracked. The ship tossed and rolled in the violent seas, and she held fast to the rail before her. The rain stung her face and hands, but she did not close her eyes. She would not lose the prey before her. But suddenly her ship was grasped by a huge wave and slapped hard to port, taking men and a few heavy cannon with it. The anchor's securing chain broke loose and the heavy claw went racing to the bottom of sea. She heard men crying in agony and she raced to help but to no avail. The ship came to an abrupt halt in raging sea and spun around on the pivot point created by the anchor. Men were screaming and praying and crying out as the ship bobbed and dipped into the raging seas around her and were carried off. She too was nearly swept away as she knelt beside a broken lieutenant, his hat and wig long since washed away and the white of his waistcoat and breeches dyed a deep shade of maroon from the blood seeping from a belly wound sustained when he was pinned to the mast by a loose cannon. She was saved only by thinking quickly and grasping the rat lines that extended overhead into the hurricane that raged above her and broke her ship to pieces.
Norrington awoke with a start. His stomach growled horribly and he wished he'd filled it with more than rum this night.
He wished he had more rum to quiet it and his nightmares. He had been dreaming of the hurricane that had destroyed his ship. Jack Sparrow and his wily crew of miscreants had skirted the storm, but Norrington had been convinced that Sparrow was daring, and foolish enough, to sail straight into the storm. He'd been a fool. He'd gotten men killed. He rose from the coil of rope he'd been sleeping against and stretched his tired body. Perhaps it was too early to be back at sea. Perhaps it was exactly what his rum soaked body needed to dry out. A little sun and salt were good for a man. He stopped mid stretch when he heard someone's heavy breaths coming from ahead of him. He skirted the mast and saw a female figure standing beside the rail, silhouetted against the moonlight. He assumed it was Elizabeth.
He took a few silent strides towards her and listened carefully, sure now that she was sobbing. Her shoulders shook, but she would not remove her grasp from the rail or the ropes around her. He then realized that this woman was not Elizabeth. This girl was taller than Elizabeth was and he came to stand beside her wondering first what she was doing on the ship, and second who she was. Her hair was longer than Elizabeth's, and a lighter shade of blonde. He knew it had to be because it was nearly silver in the bright moonlight. He stood to her left and tried to get a glimpse of her face. Her lips moved wordlessly and a look of utter and complete terror was frozen to her face.
But it was the woman's eyes that terrified James Norrington. They were dark and light at the same time, a horrible milky color that reflected the silver disc of the moon and the deep darkness of the blackest of storms.
"Hold fast….Hold Fast…" The woman's words were soft to his ears, but he knew them well. Things he and his men had said so many months before, screaming and shouting to others and themselves; a mantra taken up by the few who had survived the Tripoli Hurricane.
"Miss?" Norrington reached out a tentative hand, but as he did the woman took a step away from the rat lines and seemed to try to shout the word 'no'. The syllable died on her lips as she arched up on tip toe and reeled backwards.
Mr. Norrington caught her up before she hit the deck and stood holding her for a moment, shocked at what he had witnessed. He lowered her to the deck supporting her against another coil of rope and went to fetch a cup of water from the barrel at mid-ships. He touched her shoulder gently and shook her. Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked several times. Her eyes seemed darker now, not the eerie shade he had seen reflected before, but a more normal shade. He now wished there was a lamp closer for he wanted to know if they were brown or green.
"Miss, are you alright?"
It took Isabelle several seconds to orient herself and clear her head. She'd been trapped in the vision of the hurricane and she wondered whose nightmare vision that had been. Then someone spoke out in the darkness above her and she tried to sit up.
"I wouldn't be so fast, madam. You had quite the scare…"
"Oh…I…." Her voice was coarse and she coughed slightly.
"Here, drink some water." She felt his hand behind her and she slowly rose to a seated position from which she could drink.
"Thank you."
"Who are you? What are you doing aboard this ship?" Isabelle wiped at the corner of her mouth with her fingertips before answering.
"My name is Isabelle….I'm….I'm not sure why I'm here….just that this is where I'm supposed to be."
"Well, Isabelle. How are you feeling?"
"Much better….but tired." Isabelle felt a wave of pity from her dark rescuer. He had a nice voice; smooth and dark and familiar. "I should be getting back to bed." She pushed herself up from the coil of rope she'd been lying against and tried to make her way back to the hatch she'd ascended through. Her foot was tangled in the rope though and she found herself suddenly pressed close to the man that towered above her in the dark.
"Careful now…." He whispered as one arm went around her narrow waist and the other grasped her elbow. She was briefly engulfed in a warm scene overlooking the Caribbean blue waters. But she was quick to shield herself from the intrusive thoughts. "Can you make it?"
"I will sir. Thank you." Isabelle carefully took a step forward and away from the supporting arms of her rescuer.
"Goodnight, Miss Isabelle." She saw the man bow in the darkness as she stepped down the ladder and went gratefully to her bed.
Isabelle rose the next morning and went up onto the deck of the ship. She raised one hand to her brow to shield her eyes from the sun and stared as the deck teemed with sailors scrubbing at the wood with holy stones. The deck rolled violently beneath her and she had to grasp the ratlines leading up into the masts to keep from being thrown over. Several thoughts drifted through her mind like fall leaves and soon she felt every eye on deck upon her.
"Beckett!" Isabelle snapped her attention away from the curious on lookers to see where Jack, Elizabeth and Mr. Gibbs were standing in a close group.
"Yes, they are signed Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company."
"Bleh." Jack made a disgusted noise as he looked at a series of documents he held in his hands. One side of Isabelle's mouth curled up at Jack's childish and disgusted reaction to the name of her brother.
"Will was working for Beckett and never said a word!" Gibbs interjected. Elizabeth looked as if she wanted to correct him but was stopped by another disgusted sound coming from Jack. "Beckett wants your compass and there's only one reason for that…."
"Of course! He wants the chest." Jack answered as if it were obvious. Elizabeth stared at Jack.
"He did mention a chest. Is it the same…?"
"If the company controls the chest, they controls the sea!" Mr. Gibbs snapped.
"A truly discomforting notion, love…"
"And bad. Bad for every mother's son what calls himself a pirate. I think there's a bit more speed to be coaxed from these sails. Brace the foreyard!" Mr. Gibbs raced down the deck and barely took the time to touch his thumb to his brow as he passed Isabelle by.
"Might I inquire how as to how you came by these?" Jack said as he waved the leather bound documents near Elizabeth.
"Persuasion."
"Friendly?"
"Decidedly not." Elizabeth turned her eyes to where Isabelle stood watching the scene unfold. "And not without some help." Jack turned to see Isabelle standing a few feet away and he flinched.
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough."
"And your night passed well?"
"Decidedly not." Isabelle answered, deciding to parrot Elizabeth's veiled line just to see Jack squint at her, annoyed with her impertinence. She smiled indulgently at him before he turned back to Elizabeth.
"Will strikes a deal for these and upholds it with honor. Yet you're the one standing here with the prize. Full pardon, commission as a privateer on behalf of England and the East India Trading Company. As if I could be bought for such a low price." Jack walked away as he tucked the documents into his coat pocket. Isabelle looked around. She'd felt the wave of desire and hope slam against her at the mention of the pardon and commission and she wondered what pirate would want to trade a life of freedom to a life of rules and regulations of living under Company rule.
"As I said…Persuade me." Isabelle approached Jack as Elizabeth stalked away from him.
"You are an infuriating man when it suits you."
"Agh!" Jack said turning back to face Isabelle. "My ship. I'll do what I wants, savvy?" He stalked away from her.
"Captain Sparrow, you wanted to further our discussion."
"I suppose we should, but not here…." He stopped beside Mr. Gibbs who was coiling rope and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Mr. Gibbs, fetch Miss Swann and bring her to my cabin."
"Aye sir!" The man shuffled back in the direction they had come from as Isabelle followed behind Jack and went into the dim cabin.
"Rum? Wine?"
"No thank you." She stood and tried to maintain her steady balance as the ship bobbed happily in the ocean. Elizabeth came in, followed by Mr. Gibbs and he shut the door on the cabin.
"Mr. Gibbs, I think it best you not be here for this discussion, if you'll excuse the ladies and I…."
"But Cap'n…."
"Mr. Gibbs!" Jack snapped and the barrel-chested man quickly nodded his head and left the cabin.
"Now, where were we…." Jack said, putting his booted feet on the desk and leaning back in his chair. "Ah yes…introductions…."
"We know each other…" Elizabeth said.
"Yes, I should hope you two had spoken last night before turning in."
"Once before that as well." Isabelle said. "I helped Miss Swann escape. She was my second jail break."
"Second?" Elizabeth seemed shocked.
"Her?" Jack seemed affronted.
"Yes to both of your questions." Isabelle looked between the two of them. But Jack was quickly redirecting the conversation.
"Last night you said you were more valuable to me here because with you not being in his Lordship's clutches, you were not able to track me in my being here. So how's that figure?"
"What?"
"I think I should start at the beginning and catch both of you up to speed." Isabelle quickly told them of how Cutler had sent her out to track Elizabeth after her jail break.
"But why send you?" Elizabeth asked. "What can you do that one of his lackey's can't?"
"I have a gift, Miss Swann. A horrible and terrible gift." Isabelle leveled her eyes to the younger woman. "I have what the gypsies referred to as 'the sight' and with it; I can do and see things I wish I could not." Jack stiffened almost imperceptibly. "Eleven years ago, Cutler branded Jack a Pirate. Jack had been out to sea, trying to avoid my father, the previous Lord Beckett, who wanted to employee his ship…this ship…as a slaver." Elizabeth looked to Jack who now squirmed awkwardly, as if his sword were digging uncomfortably into his leg. Isabelle ignored them both and powered on. "I went to the jail where they were holding Jack and bandaged his arm. In the process, some of his blood ended up on my hands. Later, in a planned jail break, I freed Jack. He held me hostage and led me to the docks."
"Jack…"Elizabeth scolded.
"Pirate!" Jack countered.
"Regardless….Cutler caught up with us then. He rushed Jack and Jack defended himself and probably saved me as the current Lord Beckett has never really held any sort of familial love in his heart for me. Jack disappeared into the night, but I was left on the docks with Cutler, who was bleeding from a ghastly wound inflicted by Jack."
"Oh Jack…"
"But because I have their blood on my hands, I am bound to them. I have a very special connection to the two of them and regardless of how far from either of them I might ever be, I will always be able to find either of them."
"So in your being here…."Jack kicked his feet from the table and rose quickly to his feet.
"I can not supply Lord Beckett or his aides with either of your locations." Isabelle supplied. Jack grinned his crooked, gold filled grin and held his arms out.
"Welcome to the Pearl, Miss Beckett, and I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Isabelle's eyes dropped to his bare arm where a scrap of lace was wrapped around his wrist.
"And you pretended you'd forgotten me." She stepped forward and grasped Jack's wrist. In her mind she saw Jack watching a younger version of herself bandaging his wounds and helping him escape. "If I'd been such an insignificant character in your life, you would have discarded this."
"Yes…well…."
"So we're settled then?" Isabelle felt something a kin to jealousy wash from Elizabeth and she stepped away from Jack. "She remains with us until we find Will."
"Until we find the chest and then she can probably help us find a way to find Will." Jack said.
"Yes. I've already seen Mr. Turner once." Isabelle answered.
"You've seen Will? Then he's alright?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.
"Yes. He's as well as can be expected." Isabelle smiled and felt the relief pool around her.
"Well, since all that's well and accounted for…." Shouting interrupted Jack as something clattered loudly outside and reverberated throughout the ship. "Excuse me…..can't leave them alone for a moment…." Jack grumbled and was followed by Elizabeth to go back into the sunlight on deck, leaving Isabelle alone in the quiet and empty cabin.
A/N: Have a very happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter...