A/N: Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Thanks very much to the reviewers: g, SunAndMoon16, and ninjalover13. I will brave on!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Neither do I own the lovely characters presented herein. Except maybe any OFCs.

Warnings: None.

Chapter Two

Vow.

Lord Beckett was almost too pleased with himself. In just one, swift, decisive strike, he had captured three Pirate "Lords", felled some thirty pirate ships, and had sent the rest of the pests running—err, sailing for their lives. He snorted softly as he stirred a sugar cube into his tea. He resisted the urge to smirk—victory was not quite in his grasp yet. Six of the Pirate Lords still remained, although with his three hostages, Beckett figured the others would be quick to perish. Then it was just a matter of eliminating the rest of those pathetic pirates. One less obstacle on his ocean, he figured.

Barbossa, thought Beckett, was completely untrustworthy in every dimension of the word. Anything the man said was likely to be lies, or twisted in his favor. Even Sparrow was weary of Barbossa. And that was more than enough for Beckett to know that he wasn't to be trusted. So he'd be the last one to consult as to the pirates' locations.

Sparrow, Beckett thought, was—well, God damn it, he was Sparrow. He'd be hanged as soon as possible. No—wait. That was too easy. Ten lashes from the cat o' nine tails. No, that wasn't nearly enough. Thirty lashes. No, too barbaric. Sparrow had to survive through the lashing in order to be hanged. Beckett frowned. He'd have to think of something to do with that filthy pirate.

And then there was Swann. Or, rather, Turner, thought Beckett humorously. She seemed to be the easiest one to persuade of the three, but how? How would he get her to tell him of the Pirate Lords? For a moment, he sat there contemplating, and then it came to him. He'd spare Sparrow, and use the smelly scallywag as leverage against Ms. Turner. Yes. It was perfect—from the way Ms. Turner had so badly wanted to see Sparrow, it was obvious that there had to at least be some kind of affair between them. And besides—Jack's lack of self-control considered? They probably had already...

Just as Beckett began taking another ship from his teacup, there was a rapid knock at his office door. Sighing, he put the cup back down onto its saucer, and was about to motion Mr. Mercer to get the door, when he then remembered that there was no Mercer to get the door. Beckett pursed his lips. "Come in," he said loudly, and the doors opened.

A worried officer rushed in. "Lord Beckett," he breathed, "the prisoner is begging to see you. He—she's starving herself, sir. She refuses to eat or drink without your audience."

Becket paused, and then smirked. "Just begging for attention, isn't she? How petty," he muttered to himself as he picked up his teacup again. "Unfortunately, our little prisoner is just going to have to be hungry for a bit longer, then. Inform Ms. Turner that I have considered her request, but I am disinclined to acquiesce to her terms. She'll eat eventually, once she realizes just how pathetic her qualms are."

The officer nodded quickly. "Yes, sir." There was a pause as he seemed to think. And then the soldier continued. "And...what of Sparrow, sir? Where shall we put him for the time being?"

"I would like him to be transferred to the HMS Obstinance," said Beckett curtly. "He is to be guarded and patrolled heavily, particularly once we dock at Port Royal. Keep him under tight security. Under no circumstances must he be taken lightly." Beckett hesitated a slight before adding, "And make sure he stays out of sight from Ms. Turner."

The officer nodded again, taking that to note. He then was about to turn and leave, when he suddenly remembered the third Pirate Lord. "And... Barbossa?"

Beckett's lip curled. "Move him back to the brig by Ms. Turner. I'm sure she would appreciate the company."

Another pause. "...Yes, sir," said the soldier. He quickly half-saluted, half-bowed, and made his exit, shutting the door behind him swiftly.

Beckett gazed at the closed door for a spell, before looking back to the papers on his desk. It was almost done, he thought to himself lightly as he straightened out the stack of papers and put them aside. Just a brief stop at Port Royal, and then they would embark again to capture (or terminate with extreme prejudice) the rest of the Pirate Lords.

Originally, Lord Beckett had not planned to attend this journey, himself. But then again, he trusted no one but himself with this sort of dire mission. Besides, he was so close to ridding the sea of piracy once-and-for-all. And who else could persuade Ms. Turner to tell the whereabouts and identities of the Pirate Lords? No one was nearly as good with persuasion as Cutler Beckett.

Tell them what they want to hear, he thought to himself, and they'll do anything for you, if only to hear more. Offer what they want most... and they will bow down to your every word. All men have a price they will always accept... even for that which they hope to never sell.

"Well, Ms. Turner, I must be sayin' that this be a most unfortunate turn o' events," Barbossa half-growled, half-chuckled.

Elizabeth was too starved to respond to or even contemplate the old captain's words. She curled up into a ball with her hands on her knees and stared out at the wall. The smell of the platter of food wafted into her nostrils and sent her glands salivating. She wanted to eat so badly. But no. She had to wait. She was going to see Lord Beckett, no matter how pathetic he thought her qualms were. She would ensure her freedom—and Jack's. Maybe even Barbossa's and the crew's.

"Have you seen Jack anywhere?" She said quickly, trying to overcome and distract her monstrous hunger.

"Nay. I not be seein' the lecherous bastard anywhere," Barbossa responded. "And they took me Jack."

"Well, I could surmise that," Elizabeth huffed, jarred as to why Barbossa said "me Jack". "I think that's a bit redundant. And obvious."

"Nay. I be meanin' me monkey, Jack," Barbossa shot back in his usual drawl.

Elizabeth sighed. "And God knows you can't survive without your damn immortal monkey," she muttered under her breath. Adding more loudly, she said, "Do you know where they might be keeping him?"

"...That be a 'no.' Beckett was bein' rather quiet on the subject o' Jack," Barbossa answered almost delightfully. "But considerin' how much he hates 'im, it not be too far-fetched to assume that Jack be long dead."

Elizabeth's heart thudded, skipping a beat. "No!" she exclaimed, and then shied, adding more quietly, "That can't be true. Beckett...Beckett needs him. Jack's one of the Pirate Lords. He has valuable information pertaining to the Brethren Court. It'd... it'd be a waste to kill him." Her words were hesitant, but she put as much strength as she could in them. She had already lost Will. She was not going to lose Jack. "Yes, I suppose that the Lord Beckett does indeed hold a grudge against Jack. But Beckett isn't so rash to act upon anger alone."

Barbossa chuckled. "Cutler Beckett be a most ruthless man, Mr. Turner. Anything that be gettin' in his way be gettin' destroyed. I doubt Jack be lastin' long in Beckett's care."

She bit her lip and gazed at the floor. "That can't be true. I'm going to see Beckett, myself. And... change his mind." Ever since she had become the Pirate King, she was so used to being in some level of control, whether it be through her authority or through her charm. But a man like Beckett was mastered by neither, and so she would have to think of another way to get him to do her bidding.

Barbossa laughed sardonically. "Best o' luck be to ye. An' don't say I didn't warn ya." With that, the captain settled against the wall of his own cell and became silent.

Elizabeth flushed with irritation. Everyone spoke of Beckett like he was some kind of fearsome force to be reckoned with. Yet when she looked upon him, all she could see was a very short British man with a huge ego and a powdered white wig. He was no different from the rest of those aristocrats—greedy, controlling, and ambitious.

Well, perhaps he was a bit more evil than the rest of them. But all he really wanted was money and power. He wasn't eliminating piracy for the sake of justice. God damn it, it was a transparent cover for his greed, and he knew it. He didn't care about freedom and justice, or any of those other insipid concepts. As far as Beckett was concerned, the "romantic era of piracy" must come to a close, as it got in the way of commerce, and commerce meant riches and progression. For him, at least.

Perhaps Elizabeth might have thought the same way as the aristocrats, were it not for those... pirates. In a way, the pirates had both ruined and liberated her. They had shown her a life outside of propriety and petticoats. True, it had been Will who had initially brought her to the pirates' world. But it was Jack and the crew and the Pearl that had kept her a prisoner of freedom.

But yet, despite all that, Elizabeth found herself addicted to the feeling of freedom. Once she had sampled the delectability of it, she had never wanted to let it go. No more were the days of suffocating corsets and proper manners and ceremony and humbleness. Every part of her wanted to feel the salty spray of the open ocean, the chilling breeze that pushed her sails, the rock of the ship as the waves swayed it.

But Beckett had taken all these things away from her.

Elizabeth vowed she would get everything back. Her freedom, the Black Pearl, the crew, Jack. Everything.

And Beckett would die. Just as she had promised.

A/N: Short chapter. I know. I just wanted to get an update out there, and I want the next chapter to be as saturated as possible. As before, please review! And please tell me if there are any problems, especially with the characters being in-character. Thank you for your time. Expect the next chapter... soon-ish?