Elizabeth sat on a barrel filled with apples in the cargo hold. She wiped a stray tear from her eye and scrubbed her runny nose with her sleeve. Opening the lid of the barrel beside hers, she took an apple and bit into it. It tasted much liked she was feeling. Sour. Bitter. She chucked it across the room. It hit the wall with impressive force. Lifting her shirt up, she stared at her stomach, it wasn't much, but she could see a little roundness forming. She placed a hand on her belly, speaking to her developing baby, "It's just you and me, all alone in this world."
When she heard
boots walking down the stairs from the other side of the hold, she
pulled her shirt back down and leaned her head back against the wall.
Barbossa emerged from the darkness. His monkey leaped off of his
shoulder and scampered over to a table with bananas on it. He peeled
it himself and bit into the soft fruit. The pirate in the feathered
hat gave a rotten grin, "Mrs. Turner." She smiled back,
correcting him, "Elizabeth."
"Aye.
Elizabeth."
"What are you doing down here?"
"I
could ask ye the same question." He walked over and pet his
monkey.
"I was just...checking the ship's inventory."
"Didn't
ye do that yesterday, after ye finished telling Jack ye were
alive?"
"Well...I'm doing it again. Better safe than
sorry."
"Hmm. Trying to keep the apples all to
yerself?"
She laughed, "No. Have one." She tossed
him a green apple.
"Tell me...Elizabeth, what are ye really
doing down here?" He bit into his apple.
"Thinking."
"About
what, might I ask?"
"I guess I should tell you...I'm
pregnant."
He spit out his bite of fruit. He coughed,
"What?"
"I'm expecting a baby in five to six
months."
Biting into his apple again, he uttered, with his
mouth full, "I told him."
"Told who, what?"
Apple
juice dribbled down his beard, "Jack! I told him that he needed
to be more careful or he was going to have a little pirate to take
care of sooner or later."
Elizabeth choked on her own saliva,
"Oh my god, Barbossa! It's not Jack's baby! Bloody bugger no! We
haven't even...you know."
"So, it's Mr. Turner's?"
"Of
course!"
"Thank the gods above!" He wiped some
sweat from his brow, then took another bite of his favorite
fruit.
"Do you think I'm a whore? Does everyone on this
vessel think I'm a whore?" She jumped off the barrel and barred
her teeth.
"Uh...no...why?"
"Gibbs thought that
Jack and I were...together. You thought I was carrying his BABY! I'm
married!"
"I understand, but you know how Jack is."
"He
is...Captain Jack Sparrow."
They both laughed.
Barbossa finished his apple and dropped the core on the floor. He held out his arm to the monkey, named Jack, who crawled up and sat on his shoulder. The pirate turned to Elizabeth, saying, "Follow me." She walked behind him to the deck above. They began strutting to the crew's quarters. When they arrived, Barbossa shouted at the men, "Everybody on deck! In a line! Pronto!" The crew followed him onto the deck.
Once they were lined up,
Barbossa motioned for Elizabeth to come beside him. They stood in
front of the crew. Then, he spoke to them, "Gents, I have an
announcement to make." Elizabeth realized what he was going to
tell them. She felt relieved. He continued, "We have an
expecting mother on board-" Ragetti was stupid enough to raise
his hand and ask, "Who?"
Barbossa rolled his eyes, "I
think it would be the ONLY woman on this ship!"
"Elizabeth?"
"Aye,
ye idiotic, one-eyed dog!"
"Oh."
"The point
is, we best make sure that she is safe so that no harm may come to
the child inside her. Are ye with me?"
Everyone agreed,
shouting, "Aye!"
A weight lifted off Elizabeth's
shoulders.
A pirate like Jack Sparrow knows two things. One, a pirate's ship is not just a ship, it's a pirate's freedom. And, two, a pirate's first and only love is the sea. Jack had been certain of these statements all his life but, now, for the first time, he questioned them. Particularly one. Was his only love the sea? It was his first, to be sure. There was nothing he treasured more than the sea. He knew that, if he were to die, he hoped that he would die fighting on it's majestic waves.
He sat at his desk, chugging the rum in his flask. The pain was not washing away. When the container was empty, he threw it across the cabin. Propping his feet on top of the table, he tipped his chair back. The room was silent as a grave. It had been like this for the past week, ever since Elizabeth had told him she was expecting Will's child. They had not spoken since. The only sound that could be heard was the beating of William Turner's heart in the Dead Man's Chest. Jack watched as if it would do something beside sit on the desk. The beating was at a slow, steady pace. It mocked him.
"Jack
Sparrow! You disappoint me!" He heard a voice speak to him. A
familiar one. He got out of his seat, searching the room/ He asked
the ghost, "Where are you?"
"Behind you."
He
whirled. Calypso stood in front of him. He greeted her with a smile,
"Tia Dalma. You're looking better than ever."
"Dere's
no time for flattery, Jack. I am very angry wit' you."
"What
did I do?" Jack questioned like a small child.
She yelled,
"Elizabet' Turner is pregnant!"
"I swear, I had
nothing to do with it!"
"I know dat!"
"Then
Will got his prize." He clapped.
"Prize? You speak of da
child as if it is a trinket."
"I do not!"
"You
and William 'ave no 'eart."
"Actually, it is He who has
no heart. I've got two." He lifted the chest off the desk.
"It
is Elizabet's, not yours. It is her job to keep it safe."
He
laid it down, "Why are you angry with me?"
"I am
angry about the way you handled yerself when you 'eard da news. You
love 'er, don't you?"
Jack acted horrified, "No! You
know very well that my first-"
"Yer first and only love
it da sea. Yes, Sparrow, I've 'eard it a million times. Only dis
time, I know you are lying."
"Forgive, me you royal
godessness...ness, but you are mistaken. I have no desire for Miss
Swann-"
"Mrs. Turner." She granted him an evil
glare.
"Whoever she bloody is!"
"Jack, I know
you..."
"I know you do." He threw her a flirtatious
grin.
She returned it with a smile, "If you do not love 'er,
at least admit you care very much for 'er."
"I will do
no such thing." He folded his arms in refusal.
"Don't
test me, Sparrow."
"What do you care anyways? What do I
care? She's married to Will. It's over."
"So you
admit dat you feel for 'er, you just won't say."
He
paused, thinking, "Are you trying to trick me?"
"Seems
you don't need to be tricked, Jack. You're giving me all da answers I
need wit' out speaking at all."
"Calypso...Tia
Dalma...why can't you women have one bloody name?" He was
getting frustrated.
She frowned at him, wetting her lips.
"I
am not in the best of moods. The rum is gone once again, the entire
East India Trading Company is after me, my fate is in the hands of my
worst enemy, Mrs. Turner is getting too emotional for my liking, and
I can't find my bloody hat! So, if you please, go and disturb the
happiness of some other unfortunate sailor."
The look she
gave him then made him tremble. She was furious, he could tell. The
glaze over her eyes was proof enough. Finally, she spoke, "Never,
ever speak to me like dat, Captain Sparrow. I could care less about
your problems. Dey mean nut' ting to me. You know how you feel about
Elizabet'. I know how you feel about Elizabet'. Da only difference
between you and me is dat I also know how SHE feels about
YOU."
Jack froze. Cocking his head, he
asked, "What do you mean? She has feeling for...me?"
"I
can and will not say anyting about dat. Why would I?"
"Because...I'm
Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"
"I don't tink so."
"Even
if I had feeling for Lizzie-"
"Lizzie? Is dat what you
call 'er? It's cute." She teased him.
"Even if I had
feeling for ELIZABETH, what do you care? You don't support her and
Will's marr-i-age?"
"I support der love for each udder.
I just sympathize for der situation. I know what it's like for her.
She needs to be loved while William is away. You want to help her wit
dat."
Jack didn't know what to say.
She was making so much sense. She really did know how he felt about
Elizabeth. How he longed for her presence wherever he went. How he
wanted to sail the Seven Seas with her forever. How he desired to
kiss her flawless lips just one more time. And since someone knew all
of this beside him, it made him feel surprisingly...relieved.
"It's
okay to love someone, Jack."
"I love the sea."
"I
do too. But you 'ave a real person. One you can 'old in your
arms."
Jack couldn't do this. There was no way he was going
to talk love and feeling with Calypso. Or anybody. Especially if they
were about Elizabeth. He shook his head, saying, "This is
ridiculous! Why are we talking about this? I don't have any feeling
for Lizzie...Elizabeth!"
"C'mon, Jack. Don't start dis
again..."
"I will! Get out of here." He strode over
and opened the door for her.
"Jack..."
"I am not
going to do this! I'll just take Elizabeth back to Curdy, where she
can watch the whelp's heart until he returns."
"'ow are
you going to do dat if your ship can't make it back?"
"And
why wouldn't the Pearl be able to?" He pursed his lips.
"Der's
a terrible, terrible, storm coming."
Jack looked out the
window. The sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in sight. He laughed,
"No there's not! It's as clear as ever out there!"
"Are
you sure about dat?"
"Yes, I'm sure about dat...that!"
he corrected himself.
"Look again."
He did. The sky
was completely overcast. Angry clouds covered the heavens. He turned
back to the goddess, "You wouldn't."
"Oh, yes I
would." She made an evil laugh, raising her arms to the ceiling.
Jack heard lightning.
Right before his eyes, she turned into a seagull and flew out the door. Fear-filled eyes wide, Jack grabbed his coat and rushed onto the deck, running towards the crew's quarters, screaming, "On deck! All hands! Scurry!"
