Chapter 1: Final Say
Her fingers danced lightly around the worn chip in the table, circling it with concentration, as if it was the only existing damage in the world. She hardly recognized her hands anymore, they were worn, haggard looking, brazen with misadventure and loss. Elizabeth was falling apart at the seams; her heart was a tired mess and her mind a whirlwind of guilt and regret. Teague knew this as he watched her from the opposing end of the table, awaiting her answer in the matters at hand.
On either side of her stood endless lines of Norwegian men, most of them twice the length than her delicate height, stomachs as large as any, with their uniform dress code consisting of bound fur coats, sheathing weapons and strange looking helmets. The fate of their honing fleet rested on Elizabeth Turner, Captain Elizabeth Turner. Their Pirate King had the final say.
"Wot' say ye Liz…?" Teague urged with a soft hand, winking at her in anticipation of her answer. Something about the way he looked at her was ghostly familiar, and she knew why.
"Vi tigger deg Konge, trenger vi din hjelp I denne materien!" The raspy shouting of the man who appeared to be the leader of the crowd caught her by surprise. He had not spoken yet during the formalities, and for good reason. Elizabeth had no idea what he had said.
"I'm sorry…excuse me?"
"Sorry King, my Captain wishes to beg you, for we need your help in this matter." A weaker version of the Captain stood beside him, translating in a way she could understand, and for this she was grateful. "De vil sikkertt delegge vare skip skal vi krysser vannet ulen skikkelig kanonforsying!"
"He says that they will surely destroy our ships if we do not have proper cannon supplies."
The words buzzing in and out of her head were jumbled, she understood their problem, she understood the risks involved, and she understood because she had been there before herself. An instant rush of grays and blacks faded inside of her eyes, taking her away to another time.
Smoke filled the sun drenched air from the stern of the ship as Elizabeth watched the Black Pearl gaining on their every move. Her plan hadn't worked; the shoals were not the answer.
"It was a good plan…up till now." Anna Maria had given her the benefit of the doubt, but it had done nothing. Somewhere in the near distance a voice could be heard, urgent, desperate and calling.
"Gibbs!" It was the man she had forever loved, the man who had wanted nothing to do with pirates. "We have to make a stand! We must fight! Load the guns!" He was trying, as best as any of them could, and this brought considerable appreciation to her smile.
"With what?"
"Anything…everything, anything we have left!" His hair was such a torrent mess, blown about amongst the sea breeze and spray, salt covering every bit of his skin. But she was proud. William Turner had made her proud despite his hatred for such activity.
Black clouded her mind shortly thereafter, leaving only shallow commands and planning by Gibbs. Elizabeth felt herself come back to reality, back to her present decision.
"Nails and thrust glass…" She whispered to herself, staring down at the blank wood beneath her hands. The men around her eyed her intensively, curiously. Teague was intrigued by her remark, trying to imagine what she was remembering.
"Wot' was that my King?" The translating pirate interrupted, as she raised her eyes to focus on their crew. Elizabeth had made her decision, quickly and out of remorse for them. She answered them sullenly, as if transfixed in her memory.
"Take as many cannons as can fit in the bilge of your ships, you are welcome to cannon aid, firearms and all other needed supplies for your journey home." The men cheered and thanked her immediately, so happy to have found a means of safely finishing their venture. The Captain of their team walked briskly around the table to meet her, holding out his hand to shake upon their agreement, and nodding kindly. "Takk deg Konge. Du er en sann hesker."
She eyed him unknowingly with a smile, proud of her final choice in helping a fellow rebel, awaiting the translation. The smaller man came forth, grinning wildly. "My Captain says thank you to our King. You have done a great deed today."
"Yes well it's the least I can do for you. I am still new to this ruling."
"He understands."
"Meget bedre enn den siste Kongen." The man spoke once more, gently kissing the knuckles of his feminine Lord and turning away with haste to gather supplies. Elizabeth watched him leave, unsure of his final statement and so returned her eyes to the genteel English speaking first mate once more.
"Excuse me…but what did he…"
"Oh, King Turner. My Captain says that you are a much better ruler than our last Pirate King." He smirked to her, then onto Teague who stood wearily beside Elizabeth now, and took his leave thereafter. Teague rested a hand on her shoulder as she turned to him, staring into his rich eyes for approval.
"Well done Lizzie. We ave' been trying to come to amends wit that lot since the turn o' the century."
Elizabeth smiled, not understanding how she had done it or what had come over her in the last months at the Cove, but seeing that this is the world she belonged in. She hoped, as she thought back to Will, that he was proud of her. That wherever he was, he was proud to call her his wife.
"No. That's the answer, No."
"Nah Jack, how many times ave' we been round like this, and in this month alone! Ye ad' better listen t' me!"
"Sorry mate, this is still me ship, and it's me final say!"
The two angry men, fighting like scathing wenches wandered down the length of the ship's deck towards the Captain's cabin. Barbossa threw the rough wooden chart around in the air behind him, trying to convince him of his plan. Jack as usual, refused to agree.
"Yer a fool o' a man Sparra! I been tellin' ye this is the only way t' get t' the damned fountain!"
Jack turned on his heel at the doorway, lifting both of his index fingers to Barbossa's face with a wicked grin. "Ah, that's where yer wrong Hector ole' boy!" Receiving a grunt from his competing Captain in arms, he pulled open the thick door and walked inside, knowing the man would still be on his heels.
"I suppose your t' be conjuring up a better plan then, eh?" Barbossa stood at the edge of the charting table where Jack sat, leaning over with his knuckles pressed into the piles of maps.
Eyebrows raised and gold teeth glittering in the nearby lantern "Have I ever let you down before?" He threw his feet upwards to rest on the table, the muck crusted to the toes of his boots nearly driving Barbossa insane. "Git yer rancid heels off me table Sparra!" "My table sir…and since I'm the one with t' real plan ere', I'll rest me feet wherever I choose."
"I guess yer to be tellin' me that plan then, since we're in this together nah."
"Should I?"
"Aye!" Barbossa growled, his eyes wide with black flames. Jack was convinced enough. "Alright, listen up mate. We need a third eye."
"A third eye?"
"Aye an eye." Jack grinned at his own wit, still constantly amazed by himself at times. He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back in the chair.
"Well now Jack, between the two o' us there be four eyes to our liking. So I say we seem fit enough."
"No no, a third eye mate…another interpretation if you will."
"Interpretation of wot'? We've been interpreting this damned thing fer half the year now!"
"True enough, but neither of us can read that 'what's to do' blitherin' inscription."
Barbossa turned the rounded map over in his hands, studying the inscription they both had discovered along the center, dabbled into the wood. It was small, nearly unnoticeable by the human eye. Or the right human eye at least.
"How do we even know this as' anythin' t' do with the fountain? I say we continue on to La Florida's coast and…"
Jack interrupted immediately, knowing he was right in the matter. "Florida isn't right, not just yet!" He jumped from the chair, snatching the chart away from his counterpart and returning it to the illustrated side. Lying it flat along the table he stroked the tip of his finger along the center, nearing the Florida coast, where settled nearby was a painting of the fountain, Agua de Vida. Nestled just to its southeast was another of the strange inscriptions, something similar to Japanese lettering. Jack couldn't be sure, but he knew exactly who could be. "Right ere mate, see it. I'm tellin' ye it means something."
"How in the hell can ye be so sure?"
"Ye gotta learn to trust me Hector. I'm right quite often, aven't I proved that to ye yet?!"
"Let me guess then Sparra…The Cove?" Jack's lip twisted at the thought of it. "As much as it pains me…"
Okay just some notes for this first part. I tend to make a TON of small references in my work, of which I always credit. So for the prologue, I was inspired by Taylor Swift's album, and the titles of three of her songs, Teardrops on My Guitar, Tied Together with a Smile, and I'd Lie, for the openers for each character. I just like how they tied the basis of the romance side to this story together. If your a fan of Taylor's you know the lyrics, and can hopefully understand the tie in.
As for the title of my story, Some Hearts, this is a Carrie Underwood song that I love and it has always reminded me of Jack and Elizabeth's relationship. I won't necessarily say love yet, but it's pretty obvious to Sparrabeth fans. And the song's lyrics will form the outline and plot for my love story here. So if you like the song, I hope you enjoy it. And if you have never heard the song, I recommend it! It will make the story more exciting I suppose :)
Also, please excuse my Norweigan translations, they are more than likely innacurate, and anyone who wishes to correct me on the please feel free. Can't always trust online translators!
More up soon, and thank you to any readers I gain on this.