Chapter 2- Getting to Singapore
Will was woken by a knock at the door.
"We are leaving early, William," said the voice of Tia Dalma outside the bedroom door. Hearing a soft moan from beside him, he looked down at Elizabeth, who was lying in front of him. She rolled onto her back but was still asleep. She was heaven. A few strands of rebellious golden hair lying across the relaxed features of her face. His gaze wandered down her swan-like throat to the steady rose and fall of her chest, the swell of her breasts just visible above the thin white shift she was wearing. Scolding himself, he looked away. It was difficult not to think in such a way when there is a breath takingly beautiful woman lying beside you, especially dressed like that. Pulling back the blankets, he carefully climbed over her and got out of bed. She still didn't wake, merely moaned softly and moved to his side of the bed. Will walked over to the dresser and washed his face with the bowl of water that had been placed there. He turned back to face the bed as he dried is face, knowing he should wake Elizabeth. He walked over to the bed and sat down, staring at his fiancée. She had rolled onto her stomach, her face pressed Will's pillow. He ran his hands through her hair and gently called out her name. She sighed and rolled over, slowly opening her eyes and stretching like a cat.
"We are leaving early," he said and Elizabeth nodded. Elizabeth sat up and rubbed her eyes. There was a knock at the door and Tia Dalma walked in, carrying clothes in her arms.
"Barbossa wants to see you, William," she said as she handed him a red shirt. He slipped the shirt on and left the room, but not before he glanced at Elizabeth and shared a small smile.
Barbossa was in the front room of the shack, where Will had first met Tia Dalma. "How exactly are we going to get to Singapore in long boats?" Will asked when he saw the Captain.
"We are going to Tortuga to "find" a ship," Barbossa explained. Will raised an eyebrow at Barbossa but said nothing. "Tortuga is only two days row from here with Tia Dalma's help," Barbossa added as Pintel and Ragetti appeared from Tia Dalma's kitchen each carrying a crate of food. "Put one in each long boat," Barbossa barked at them and they scurried out the door of the hut.
Tia Dalma and Elizabeth entered the room; Elizabeth had put on a simple and functional brown dress over her shift, which still showed off her curves just as well as the elegant embroidered dresses she used to wear at Port Royal. She ran her hand nervously through her long hair when she saw Will.
"Let's not waste any more time," Barbossa said and they were soon leaving the hut and climbing into two long boats. Barbossa climbed into the first boat, followed by Tia Dalma, Marty, Cotton and Gibbs. Pintel and Ragetti climbed into the next one, followed by Will who then turned to Elizabeth and helped her into the boat. Will picked up an oar but was shocked when the boat starting moving all on their own. Elizabeth gasped from behind him and Will turned to look at her. She was staring at the water.
"Tia Dalma can control the currents?" Elizabeth whispered in awe and puzzlement.
Will shrugged and replied, "I guess so."
Looking over at the boat beside them Tia Dalma didn't appear to be doing anything except looking out at the horizon. So with nothing else to do Will got as comfortable as he could and watched the sunrise over the ocean's horizon. It wasn't long till he felt Elizabeth take his hand and he grasped hers firmly and looked over at her. She was watching him with a peaceful expression and Will smiled at her, which she returned before leaning over and resting her head on his chest.
With the exception of Pintel and Ragetti's occasional bickering, the two day journey was quiet. They didn't even come across another ship, they may as well have been all alone in the world, yet Will still felt a feeling that trouble was near, so stayed alert. At night they slept in shifts, but Will let Elizabeth sleep through hers, keeping watch over their rowboats. Barbossa had been right, by the time the sun had gone down on the second day Tia Dalma had led them to Tortuga.
The crew started cheering when they reached Tortuga but Elizabeth was filled with dread. She was prepared to do what ever it takes to get Jack back but she loathed Tortuga. They got some laughs from drunkards at the dock when their rowboats reached the old wooden bays. Elizabeth climbed out after Will, taking the hand her offered. She couldn't help but smile at those small but important gestures that he always did, probably without thinking, no matter what the circumstances. But her childish daydream was cast aside when Barbossa told them. "Head for the Little Mermaid Inn."
They left the dock, Barbossa and Tia Dalma leading the way. Elizabeth was looking around at the drunks, prostitutes and other random chaos in disgust. She gasped when she felt a sharp pinch on her backside and turned to see an obviously drunk sailor standing behind her. "Come on, sweetheart. Two shillings in the back alley!" he slurred at her.
Elizabeth shoved him roughly away from her while Will yelled, "Hey!" and made a grab for him.
Gibbs grabbed Will and said, "Don't make trouble." Will nodded but put his arm around Elizabeth, and Elizabeth gratefully took his hand with a smile. She stayed very close to him after that.
As they continued their route to the Inn, Tia Dalma turned around and said to Elizabeth, "It's a lot different here when you're not disguised as a boy. Stay watchful, Ms. Swann. You're beauty is rare in these parts."
Tia Dalma's warning made Elizabeth feel that Tia Dalma knew something she didn't. But despite her current uneasiness, Elizabeth felt immediately protected by Will tightening his arm around her. She then was determined to ignore all the whistles and rude remarks that were thrown her way by the drunks in the street.
They arrived at the crowded Little Mermaid Inn, Barbossa turned to them and said, "I'm going to see a man about a ship, you stay here."
And with that he had disappeared into the crowd.
"Drinking time!" Gibbs said, rubbing his hands together happily. Tia Dalma led the way to a free table in the corner. The unusual group squeezed their way through the crowded and seated themselves around the corner table. Gibbs returned with drinks but nether Will or Elizabeth touched theirs.
"Tia Dalma," Will said. "Who is this man Barbossa is talking to about a ship?"
Tia Dalma smiled and replied, "Merely an old friend who will be surprised to see Barbossa alive and well and picking up on an owed favour."
They were interrupted by Pintel. "I tell you, it's Kracken!"
"No, its Krocken!" Ragetti argued back.
"For heaven's sake, what's started you two this time?" Gibbs asked irritated that his drinking time has been disturbed by their bickering.
"We were discussing why we think it is that the Krocken never attacked us during the two days that we were in the boats," Ragetti answered.
Tia Dalma said coldly and with dread, "I fear that the one who controls the beast is now being controlled himself."
Elizabeth stood and turned to Will, "I need some air."
Will replied, "Would you like me to come with you?"
Elizabeth smiled but said, "No I'll be fine. I'll only be a minute."
Will returned the smile and nodded. Elizabeth turned and made her way through the crowd and out the front doors, grateful to breathe some slightly less polluted air. She had been suffocating inside. Not just because of the fumes of body odour, alcohol and tobacco, but because of her own guilt. As soon as she had arrived she had been filled with memories of Jack. The memory of what she had done to him was making her heart heavy and she blinked back tears, hoping that Jack was not suffering where ever he was.
She was drawn from her thoughts by a whistle and she looked back up and saw the she was surrounded by a group of drunkards. "Wow, this one's pretty."
"Yes, looks a bit posh, despite the clothing."
"Wander what she's doing in a place like that."
Elizabeth, weaponless, was calculating with rising fear how on earth she was going to get out of this. "Oi!" barked a gravely voice from the door and she turned and saw Barbossa standing with a man in the door. "The wench is with me!"
Elizabeth glared at Barbossa but walked over to him when the group of drunks dispersed.
"Do we have a ship?" she asked looking from the Asian sailor to Barbossa, who nodded and replied,
"Aye, we have a ship. Tell the others to meet me at the docks. We sail in the morning." Elizabeth nodded and walked inside, wanting more than ever to be close to Will again. He was the only man that could make her feel completely independent but totally safe at the same time. This was exactly what she needed.
As she approached the table, she saw a raven haired wench waltz up to the table and sit on Will lap. Fury rose within her as she continued her approach. She couldn't see Will's face but heard him say impolitely, "Get off!"
"Come on, duckey." The prostitute replied. "I'm much more fun that the flat chested whore you walked in with!"
By this stage Elizabeth had reached the table. She grabbed the woman by her messy hair and pulled her roughly off her fiancée's lap. The woman shrieked in pain and Elizabeth let go of her, causing the woman to fall to the ground. She cursed Elizabeth loudly and stalked off, looking for another customer.
Elizabeth turned to Will, who looked like he was still trying to process what had just happened and said, "Barbossa's has got us passage on a ship, he says we leave in the morning."
The others said they would meet Barbossa at the ship in the morning, and then dispersed presumably looking for company for the night. Elizabeth then turned to Will and said, "Can we go straight to the ship? I'm tired of this place."
Will agreed and the two of them headed for the docks, hand in hand. They saw Barbossa standing with the Asian sailor beside a small but productive fishing ship. "This is Hun Feng, and his ship. He will get us to Singapore."
Hun Feng's first mate then showed Will and Elizabeth well the crew quarters were while Barbossa and the Captain discussed the voyage.
The quarters looked like any others, hammocks hanging for the crew to sleep in. Elizabeth and Will found a small area around the corner where supplies were stored for them to sleep. As soon as the makeshift bed was made, Elizabeth got under the blankets and lied down on Will's chest, sleeping finding her instantly.
A/N: Okay, there's the next chapter. How was it? Please let me know, I adore reviews. And any suggestions and requests for things you wanna see in my version of events please let me know!
This was a really hard chapter to write because we have no knowledge of how they got to Singapore, so I had to come up with something, so I used Tortuga, because, well, it's Tortuga! We all love it and it's like a character all on its own! The next chapter should be coming much quicker, with more Will and Elizabeth than this one, I promise!