A/N: Ah, that last chapter sure was enjoyable to write. XD Glad you guys enjoyed it. And I assure you that Beckett's not suddenly a nice guy yet! This is my first time attempting this kind of character development; it might be rocky, but I'll try... But, nevertheless, thanks to all my beloved reviewers! I love you forever: ninjalover13, Rhinoceros, wellwithmysoul, Miss Cuttlefish, Mistress Beckett, Countcresent, and SunandMoon16. All of you are making this so enjoyable for me to write, and I hope my updates aren't too slow for you all. My update intervals seem to be two to four days at average, which I don't think is too slow. Though this update was a bit delayed due to this week being very hectic. Sorry about that!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Neither do I own the lovely characters presented herein, save any creations of my own.
Warnings: None. Well, maybe more innuendo.
Chapter Twelve
Alone.
Elizabeth awoke to find her head sufficiently cooled and her body comfortably warmed. She was in oddly good spirits as she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.
That is, until she realized it wasn't a blanket. She stared at the frock coat enveloping her and then at the damp wig on her head and nearly shrieked. Throwing off Beckett's clothing articles, she quickly snapped, "Beckett!" Blinking, she realized that he was asleep on the sand.
Elizabeth settled back down and put the frock coat back over her. She wondered how last night had went... her memory was strangely foggy—?
Had Beckett drugged her?
...No. Wait. Now she remembered. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. She'd gotten herself drunk, but did she have any way of knowing what he had done to her during her mindless state?
No. No, she didn't. Immediate panic flooded through her. What if he had, per se, taken advantage of her during that time? That was a fully plausible theory, and it terrified her. She sat there quietly, debating on possibilities. Could he have just wheedled information out of her? Or might he have done something worse? Maybe even compromise her vir...—? Another flood of panic washed through her.
"Beckett," she repeated frantically.
He was actually wake, but he did not want to humor her. So he remained lying there passively, still trying to appear asleep.
She prodded over to him and hissed, "Beckett." But he didn't answer. Frustrated, she shook him and repeated loudly, "Lord Cutler Beckett!"
His eyelids fluttered open and, not even so much as glancing at her, he said smoothly, "And what do you want, Ms. Swann?"
"What happened last night?" she snapped instantaneously.
He looked at her boredly and got to his feet, dusting himself off, ridding the creases of his outfit of sand. "I believe," he responded curtly, "that you were drunk out of your wits, Ms. Swann."
"Yes, I do believe I know that," she responded angrily. "What exactly did you do to me during that time?"
"What did I do to you?" Beckett repeated with an odd look on his face, but still, not much of a change from his average, disinterested expression.
"Don't act as though you didn't!" Elizabeth shouted. "Here I am, a drunk, helpless girl... what's not to take advantage of?"
Beckett's mouth hung open a slight bit, wordlessly. Then he blinked several times and said, "I beg your pardon?" Crossing his arms over his chest, he said in a low tone, "If there was anything I did to you, Ms. Swann, it was making sure that you didn't do anything foolish in your drunken state of mind."
She narrowed her eyes and pouted a bit. "I find myself doubting you. And I daresay I don't wonder why."
Beckett stared at her silently for a few seconds, and then snatched up his frock coat, dusting it off profusely. Donning it, he fitted it properly onto himself and grabbed the water canteen.
"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked furiously.
"Going to Port Faith," he answered in a clipped tone. "You will accompany." It was a command, not a request.
She gave him a haughty stare, tilting her head upwards. "Your wording indicates that you have some level of power over me," she said triumphantly. "Yet I see no reason to obey you."
Beckett's brows rose. "Damn," he hissed under his breath, a barely uttered word of contempt. In a more audible tone, he said, "Then what other course of action are you to take, Ms. Swann?" If he could not rule over her by bargain, then he would take her by logic—something that even she should comprehend. "There is nothing else on this particular sect of island save palm trees, bare shores, chalky sand, and the occasional remotely appetizing coconut. I believe that little exists for your purposes here. If you wish to succeed in your goals, then Port Faith is the place where you must head." He paused, letting his slew of words sink in. Then, he said, "Do you still wish to object?"
Elizabeth stared at him pointedly. Then, between her teeth, she said, "Fine. But I won't be going there, not while I look like a washed-up wretch."
He snorted softly. "If you so desire a bath, care to tell me where one would be located around here, Ms. Swann?" he inquired sarcastically.
She glared at him with an injured look.
"I didn't think so," Beckett said. "Now, enough pathetic subterfuges from you. We'd best be on our way."
Amadi headed down into the brig, walking straight past Derrick Parker's cage and up to Jack Sparrow's.
Jack looked up from his seat on the brig, and his eyes widened a tad, then narrowed as he struggled to recognize the character before him. "You," he said. "You... you're... you're... Jocard's angry man, right?"
"First mate. Now captain," Amadi spat. In a lower voice, he added, "Gentleman Jocard might have had good feelings towards you, but do not expect the same hospitality from me, Sparrow."
"Captain Sparrow," Jack corrected.
Amadi's lip curled. He gestured with his head towards a shadowy figure standing by the doorway, who then proceeded down the steps, each movement accompanied by a heavy thump of the boots. The corner of Jack's mouth twitched when he saw none other than Captain Teague step into his view.
"You got yourself into some trouble, Jackie," said Teague plainly.
Jack muttered something under his breath, then got up and crept closer to the bars, hesitantly. "Wot are you doing here?" he asked.
"Saving you," Teague responded bluntly. He waved his hand, signaling Amadi to open up the cell door, which he did. Jack stepped out, but then his arms flew into the air and he staggered back as Amadi's pistol was pointed at him. Jack gave him a perturbed, incredulous stare.
"Like I said before," Amadi said venomously, "I do not trust you, Captain Sparrow."
Jack gestured to Amadi as he looked to Teague. "Get this bugger away from me, will ya?" he implored casually.
Teague looked grim as he turned and walked away without another word. Jack's face slightly curled with almost-disgust, but more of distaste with his current circumstances. "So if not the brig," he said to Amadi, "then where?"
Amadi smirked. "We will not waste rations on a man who does nothing," he said. "Every hand must work on this ship. Now off you go." He shoved Jack up the stairs, and then prodded over to Derrick.
"I heard what you just said," said Derrick without even being addressed, "but I'd rather be hung than work alongside pirates."
"Hmph," Amadi huffed. "Hanging is a method of capital punishment employed by the rich and lavish. A pirate such as myself much prefers the beheading—or cutting out tongues."
Derrick's nose crinkled. "How foul," he said, not in the mood to deal with a filthy pirate.
"And what makes you think you have a right to judge what goes on upon my ship?" Amadi snarled.
"Perhaps the fact that your ship, and its master, fails to intimidate me in the least," Derrick shot back, well aware that he was baiting the captain.
"You think you are better than us?" the pirate scowled. "I have you in a prison cell at the mercy of my whim. You had better act kinder to me or I might cut out your tongue just for sheer amusement."
"You're a barbaric idiot who doesn't employ the intelligence of humans and would rather act upon his sheer emotional instinct," said Derrick heatedly. "In other words, you're a complete and utter fool."
Amadi flared at this. He kicked the brig cell with his boot, hard. The noise reverberated and Derrick nearly flinched. "Why do you think you have any worth?" he hissed. "You are useless."
"The fact that you have kept me alive up until now suggests otherwise," Derrick answered matter-of-factly. Hah. Beckett might think him stupid, but he didn't think so.
Amadi narrowed his eyes. "I thought you might have had bargaining worth," he admitted acidly. "But bargaining for some small price is not worth—"
"—hearing the truth which even you acknowledge deep inside about your own foolishness?" Derrick completed haughtily.
The pirate's lip curled and his eyes bulged just a slight. This prisoner needed to be taken care of. He was obnoxious, annoying, and pretentious, even. "Keep your mouth shut," Amadi spat. "We will get rid of you later." He turned and headed up the stairs.
Derrick settled down against the brig wall and slid to the floor again. Sighing, he shut his eyes and decided to get some sleep or something.
Jack looked about as he paced around the deck in a jolly good mood. Yes, Teague had made him apprehensive, but that minor hitch amounted to nothing in comparison to the most important of all things: he was free, free, free! Just the way he ought to be.
"So wot happened after you people took the Pearl?" Jack inquired to the pirates on deck, who were busy working away after the fight against the EITC armada.
They all gave him a look, then went back to working. Finally, the one tying knots answered, "We throwed the Beckett man overboard and the wench, too."
Jack's eyebrows rose, and then his eyes widened. Drunkenly prancing over to the sailor, he repeated, "The wench?" Then he shouted, "You mean Lizzie!"
"...The wench did not say her name," the sailor responded, slightly annoyed.
"But you threw Lizzie overboard! With Beckett!" Jack exclaimed, waving his arms as if to emphasize an especially bad point.
The sailor, slightly taken aback, said, "There is problem?"
"Yes! There is problem! There is MUCH problem!" Jack shouted in response. "Where did you drop her off? Where'd ya drop off Lizzie?"
The sailor flinched at this outburst. "We dropped off the wench at island."
"Yes, I know that! What island!" Jack yelled interrogatively.
"Uh—!" The sailor staggered back, stammering. "Mebbe it's near the Port Faith?" he suggested hesitantly.
Jack blinked. "Port Faith?" He repeated, and then, grinning, he said, "You're a diamond, mate. Good!" All smiles now, he stalked off to the captain's helm to bother more people.
Elizabeth was surprised by how similar Port Faith appeared in comparison to Port Royal. Of course, a lack of soldiers made it seem significantly more chaotic, but it certainly was nothing like the rum-permeated place of Tortuga.
"Well. I must say that this place goes far beyond my expectations," she admitted as she walked alongside Beckett's strides. "But may I ask why you failed to find assistance here?"
He did not answer her inquiry. Instead, he said, "Once we reach The Merry Lemon, I will wait for you outside. Head into the back room; the entrance is designated by a curtain shroud."
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth said incredulously, turning to Beckett.
He sighed and, not looking at her, continued to walk. "Just as I am saying, Ms. Swann. We require assistance, though it will not be given to me. However, that isn't to say that assistance will not be given to anyone. All you must do is ask the sir in the back room for a safe voyage to Port Royal."
"And why, I wonder, would he deny you that?" She asked in a low, suspicious voice.
Beckett chose not to answer. "Enough stalling," he drawled. "Here we are." They stopped in front of the bar entrance. "All you must do, Ms. Swann, is what I told you to. It should be relatively simple. Captain Valor is a most respectable man and should honor any agreement you make with him."
"Unlike you," she muttered scathingly as she walked into the bar. She skirted the ordinary barfight and headed to the back, where, indeed, there was a shroud leading into a small room. Elizabeth hesitantly poked her head through, then withdrew it, coughing. There was an awful lot of smoke in there.
Braving herself, Elizabeth headed in there once more, letting the thick gray smog engulf her. She made her way towards the only table within and took a seat. A man was sitting across from her, his face clouded by smoke, the pipe between his two fingers. For a moment, the two of them sat there silently. Then she spoke.
"Um... Captain Valor?" she ventured hesitantly.
Valor tipped his cap just a bit, letting his amber eyes glint. He leaned forward and tapped the pipe against the table, letting the used-up tobacco ash tumble out. "Yes?"
"I was wondering something," said Elizabeth, biting her lip. "Could... do you... I've been looking for a way to get to Port Royal."
His brows rose.
"I have tried many ways, unfortunately none are available. I heard about you and that you have a ship... that can take me to Port Royal posthaste. I could... pay you for your services, I suppose..." Elizabeth continued nervously.
Valor paused. Was it merely a coincidence that this woman had come to him just a day after Beckett had? Yes... it had to be; she was not mentioning another person... quite yet. Perhaps he should make her elaborate. "You alone?" He inquired.
Elizabeth paused. Now, ideally, she could answer with a no and leave with Beckett, which was obviously what he wanted. But she could say yes. And that yes would leave Beckett deserted here, out of her life, forever.
She considered the possibilities. If she said no and mentioned Beckett, the two of them would go together, and she would be taken to Port Royal once more and forced to do his bidding. That was terrible. She didn't want to do that at all, especially now that she was quite sure that Jack was free, or something of the other. And then she could say yes, she's alone. She would be free from Beckett forever. She could meet with Jack again. Or she could live happily, without Beckett.
Elizabeth took the choice that would make her happy. "Yes, I'm alone," she said, nodding her head.
Valor nodded curtly. That was odd. So perhaps she really did have nothing to do with Beckett. "Very well," he said.
Instant relief filled her. "Thank you!" she said breathlessly. "But how shall I ever pay you back?"
He paused, then shrugged. "You seem to be in quite the farce, miss. I'd hate to turn down help from one who needs it. You needn't pay me anything."
Elizabeth flushed. "Thank you so much," she murmured, unused to this sort of charity. There was no honor among pirates, she thought to herself. Mustering her words, again, she added, "My name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth... Hall."
Valor smiled wryly. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hall. I'm Captain Samuel Valor, as you seem to know."
She nodded. "Yes, I have heard about you."
"That comes as no surprise to me," he admitted. "Now, shall we be on our way? My ship is at dock right now, and we were planning to leave tonight anyway. We can drop you off at Port Royal on our way out."
Elizabeth nodded profusely. "Yes, that sounds wonderful." Then she hesitated, and said, "Um, may I request something extra?"
"Yes?" He raised a brow.
"Could we leave through a back entrance? On my way in, there was an odd man watching me walk into the bar. I'm very nervous and I do not wish to walk out that way again, for I fear..." she shuddered, trying to play the good actress. She knew Beckett would be waiting outside, and if he saw her leaving, he would obviously ask. No, she would have to avoid him.
Valor's brows rose. "That is quite an issue. Yes, thankfully, there is a back entrance. Come with me, we may exit that way." He got to his feet and walked over to a door in the corner of the room that she had not noticed previously. He opened it, causing a draft of cold air to flush through the room, churning up the smoke. The two of them walked out into a back alleyway, shadowed by tall buildings.
Elizabeth's eyes widened when she saw the woman standing there. "Tia Dalma?" She gaped.
A/N: Again, sorry about the long wait. This week's been really hectic for me. So yeah, woo! Elizabeth is gonna ditch Beckett! Wonder what happens next.