THREE: Best With Chopsticks

And, with that, our dear trio were headed for Singapore.

In short, the captain of the Imperial Abacus (which is the un-aforementioned name of the junk), Bo Waran, recognized her from the maelstrom battle and agreed to take her to Singapore, as they were headed there anyway, they simply had a couple of stops to make on the way. Elizabeth wasn't surprised to hear that Tai had headed back to his old stomping grounds; after the meeting of the Brethren Court, there was no need to hang about in the Caribbean, when there was loot to be stolen in Asia...!

Elizabeth, being a woman, and one of slight importance too, merited her own cabin; it was small and makeshift, but she and William were grateful for it anyway. Jack Sparrow was treated with much suspicion, but upon Elizabeth's insistence, was treated with at least a grudging respect.

"And who... is this?" Bo asked, gesturing towards Beckett. He had not spoken for the entire ordeal, not even to comment on the smell. He was being a good boy.

"He is an accomplice of mine," Elizabeth waved an arm, "Feel free to keep him in the brig. He can cause trouble, sometimes." And that, really, was how Cutler Beckett ended up sitting (somewhat huffily) in the brig of the Imperial Abacus, thinking up a great many ways to kill Elizabeth silently and painfully. He was not very happy for the journey; but nobody seemed to mind.

Which was even more annoying.

"May I ask, ex-King Swann... what you are wanting with Captain Huang?" Bo had ordered food to be brought out, and he and Elizabeth had both settled down for a meal. William was in the care of a female member of the crew, named Fen Wu... on board the more high-up junks of Tai's fleet, female attendants were often welcomed on board, as the Chinese did not follow the same traditions and beliefs as those in the west.

"I am going to ask him a favour," Elizabeth nodded slightly, "Do you think he will allow me my own ship and crew within his fleet?" Bo gave her a yellow-toothed smile.

"I am sure he will... he owes you greatly," he said in an agreeing tone. Elizabeth was very grateful for Bo's help; though she was quite certain that he was only doing so for Tai's approval, it was help nonetheless. And it was kind for him to let them come all the way to Singapore with him and his men... and women.

Fen Wu was a mild-mannered and polite girl, who held baby William with a reverence, as if he were made of gold and eggshells. She also always remembered to bow in the presence of... well, anyone, though she usually managed to catch herself on time when she was holding William. Elizabeth, at first, had been worried about leaving William in the care of anyone but herself... but she was glad for Fen's help, eventually.

"'Ello," Jack said to her, with his cockiest grin.

"Good evening, sir," she said in her light, feathery voice, bowing ever so slightly. Jack didn't get the feeling that she was going to supply any pleasurable company for him, somehow.

Beckett, meanwhile, was not having fun down in the brig.

"I don't want you causing any trouble, Beckett," Elizabeth wagged a finger, "You know that. Don't worry, we're on the last leg of the journey now... alright?" Beckett looked at her for a moment, and then turned his nose up, sniffily. He was fairly indignant about this; Elizabeth rolled her eyes and placed the plate of slightly-cold food for him on top of a crate with a light clatter. Beckett ignored her, and the food.

"A pirate ship," he muttered to himself, "I'm on a pirate ship."

Elizabeth decided to leave him there. Over time, she hoped, he would mellow. She wasn't sure whether to reveal who he truly was to Tai Huang or not; after working besides Tai for quite a while, she trusted him, and knew that they were fairly definite allies, if not friends. But then again, Cutler Beckett... he was a whole different matter. Tai would probably see fit to execute him.

Frowning, Cutler Beckett sat down once more, after Elizabeth had clomped away and out of the brig. He was alone again—alone with his thoughts. Piracy. He hated it more then anything else in the world... well, nearly. Perhaps it was more the pirates he hated then the actual concept of piracy, but nevertheless...

He supposed that, in a way, it had been incorporated into his upbringing, and drilled into his head; pirates were bad. Hang the blighters. Hang them all! It was a rather violent message to send out to young children, but the one that was sent anyway. That, paired with the fact that switching sides would undo all of the work he had done for the past, what, fourteen years of his life.

Hmm. Piracy was out of the question, was it not? But was there any way for him to go back to his old life? Lord Leonard was a nutcase, that much was obvious. But he had managed to mess everything up pretty badly for him—did he have a single chance of ever getting back to where he used to be?

Yes, no, maybe, Beckett frowned, Jack's compass. It was pointing to what I want most, even though I don't know what I want most. What I want is to be remembered through history... and whatever the compass was pointing to would lead me to that. So... I have to follow this compass. Logic, really. But how do I steal the compass from Jack? And then, how do I follow it? Questions, questions...

There must be a way, somewhere...

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"Oy, Lizzie," Jack's head popped out from behind the stairs that led up to the top deck at the stern of the ship. He beckoned ardently, and Elizabeth walked up to him, putting her hands on her hips in a commanding manner. Fen was looking after William again, and as much as she loved her baby, it was good to be free of holding him once in a while.

"Yes, Jack?" She asked, sighing.

"You never answered my question. Do you feel like an adventure?" Jack raised an eyebrow, curling a strand of his beaded beard around an index finger.

"I..." Elizabeth sighed, and glanced around, "What's your big plan, Jack?" She asked, folding her arms.

"Something very interesting, and probably worth a lot," Jack grinned, thinking about how much people would pay for immortality. So much money, so little time!

"That's not very specific," Elizabeth said, but she knew that Jack liked to be holding all the cards, should things go awry, as they often did. He would keep a hold of this little plan, probably until he was certain that she would help him.

An adventure. She was surprised that she was actually tempted by it; but she was. Still—William. Her darling son. He mattered to her, more then anything else in the world... and an adventure could risk him. She thought about it, and she could see that Jack was watching her expressions carefully.

"It'll be fun," he said, as if hoping that this would tempt her, "It'll be very fun. Just like old times. But without, you know, dear Willy."

"I'll think about it, alright?" Elizabeth smiled warily at Jack, "But I have William to look after now. I can't risk going into too many battles—but if you need a ship and a crew," she sighed, "I suppose that, if Tai Huang is kind to me, I will possess both... and I might help with your little 'adventure'. But don't make any dangerous 'plans' for me, alright?" She frowned at him, well aware that Jack tended to fit people into his own agenda however he wanted.

"I'd never do such a thing, Lizzie!" Jack opened his arms out, holding his fingerless-glove and ring-clad hands out to the sky. Elizabeth simply shook her head at him, and then turned to heel to leave, thinking one more about baby William, who was, of course in the care of Fen Wu at the moment. She wondered if Bo would mind too much if she asked to take Fen Wu with her, assuming Tai let her have her own vessel. She could find another helping maid, yes, but William was getting used to Fen now, and besides, she liked Fen...

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It was midday, a few weeks later, when they arrived in Singapore. Tai Huang did not use Sao's old bathhouse for a base any more; redcoats had discovered it, after all. In fact, he moved to a different city all together, but Singapore was a good vantage point (so to speak), so he had kept to the same country.

The sun beating down on them, Elizabeth, Jack, Beckett, Bo and the entire crew walked the streets of Singapore, away from the docks and further into the shoreline town of Guoquiang. Fen Wu was with them too, dutifully carrying the baby William.

After a long journey, which consisted of many splits and slipping through dark alleyways, they arrived at Tai's newest base. Disguised as an opium bar—a place where men could come to smoke the drug—it was not as large as Tai's old place, but just as well guarded. The disguise was hard to see through; it seemed a place to come and smoke, nothing more, and nothing less; men were sitting and lying inside, peacefully puffing on ornate pipes, as women wandered around with drinks and other, less savoury things. There appeared nothing else.

However, the place was built on top of one of the many miles of underground tunnels—the reason for choosing this location above others—and there was an entire back to the building that was hidden from the public eye; and that was the place Tai had come to call the base of his lordship. Not many knew this... and those that did kept it a grave secret.

They had soon left the smoky streets, full of urchins and stalls, and were in the underground tunnels, the walls dripping with moisture and moss. Beckett wrinkled his nose, but did not pass comment. He hadn't been hugely talkative, recently.

Eventually, they reached a thick, wooden door, with heavy metal braces across it and an eye-slot; much like the one Sao Feng had used. At Bo's heavy knocks, the eye-slot slid open with a clang, and there was a quick conversation in their home language. Eventually, the door swung open. They were in. Elizabeth turned, and saw Beckett giving her a very annoyed look indeed.

He seemed to be saying, are you sure this is a good idea? Elizabeth wasn't sure; but not for the reasons Beckett would have wondered. Beckett now knew the location of Tai's hideout... and as much as she knew there wasn't a chance of him returning to his old life, she couldn't help but feel as if she were betraying her former second-in-command. She would have to keep a close eye on Beckett...

They walked into the hideout.

NB: Ah, remember the good ole days of one chapter a day? Thanks for all of the reviews--I love you all very much!

Extract from next chapter: Lester knew that he could threaten her for information, but he didn't feel that the need would arise with someone as weak as Thera Mercy...