Thank you Libby
Another cannon ball whizzes past my head as I push the Pearl to her limits.
"Faster, faster, faster," I mutter to myself.
Another cannon sounds. I feel it hit the stern and flinch when I hear all the wood splintering.
"She's on us!" Pintel - or Ragetti, I can't tell which – yells.
"Would you like to take the helm and see if you can do any better?" I screech back in anger. Now is not the time!
"She's fallen behind!" Elizabeth yells, and Jack comes to me with his jar.
I sigh but keep pushing the Pearl; I can't fall back into firing zone. Jack leaves me to my job as Will comes to talk to him. I sail the Pearl through the seas when suddenly we all lurch forward and she stops. I pale; I remember this. Rushing to the side, I notice the sea bubbling beneath my ship. The kraken.
"Where is it? Where is the – no!" Jack mutters to himself as he scrambles through his now smashed dirt.
My eyes widen. Norrington. No wonder he gave himself up - he knew he had the heart and now, now we're all going to die.
"No, it's not a reef! Get away from the rail!" Will shouts, pulling Elizabeth away from the rail.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asks naively.
"The kraken," I whisper, but everyone hears.
Will begins to yell orders, seeing that I won't. I turn to Jack, only to find him still scrabbling in the dirt. I bend down and grab his hands, feeling the black spot beneath my palm. He looks at me, and I see fear in his eyes.
"Go," I whisper.
"What about you?" he whispers back.
"It's not after me. I will be fine, as will the crew. The ship might not be, but I will."
He nods, standing. We make our way to one of the longboats. I push him in and lower the boat, just as the tentacles begin to make their way up the sides. The boat hits the sea as Elizabeth yells. I hear cannons going off, and the kraken's tentacles vanish from the ship as Jack rows hard and fast. I grab my sword and await the next battle with the beast. The tentacles fly over the ship in what I can only assume is anger. They take out anything in their path, going after everything that moves. People are yelling from the cargo hold, and now I understand why will had organized it the way he had: so the kraken would go after the gunpowder and, regrettably, the rum, which is in a net. Once its tentacles are around it, one of us will shoot. Will approaches me with the gun.
"Will you shoot?" he asks.
I nod and take the gun from him.
"Give it here! You might hit Will," Elizabeth snaps, reaching for the gun.
"I'm a pirate. I don't miss!" I hiss.
She moves away to the starboard side, looking out. I follow her, knowing what she'll see: Jack rowing away.
"Oh, you coward," she whispers.
"He is no coward! I told him to go. He is doing it to distract the beast. When he's far enough away, he will drop his hand into the sea and have the kraken come for him, and then quickly row or swim to the island. It gives us time to escape!" I snap.
Moving away, I begin to take aim. As Will yells for me to shoot, a tentacle grips my leg and pulls on it, hard. I land heavily on my arms and stomach, and it begins to pulls me back. Drawing a sword from a dead crew member, I start swiping it crazily at the tentacles that hold me captive. I'm pulled toward the hole in the back of the ship from where the cannon balls hit it, and where the kraken attacked. I feel the pressure of the hold decrease and look down. An axe is dug in firmly between me and the tentacle, and, looking up, I see Pintel and Ragetti stand holding one each. I stand and nod my thanks, before rushing back out, trying to find the gun. Looking up and hoping to see Will free, I watch as the gun sails over my head, and that Will is still trapped. Elizabeth runs after it. I decide to go help Will; if she wants to hit him, she can. Will becomes free as I step under the net and the tentacles wrap around it. He lands heavily on the floor, and I lift him up, only to be driven back down from the force of the explosion. The kraken shrieks in pain and retracts back into the ocean. I stand and help Will, looking to the helm where the shot was fired. I see… Jack stood there, with Elizabeth wrapped around his legs. I twitch in anger as Jack helps her up.
"Captain order's?" Gibbs yells to us.
"Abandon ship into the longboat!" Jack says.
"Why?" I ask.
"I couldn't leave you," he whispers, but is looking toward Elizabeth. But then again, the helm is behind her, and that is his favourite place. Am I missing something?
"But, captain, the Pearl!" Gibbs says.
"She…she's just a ship," I say.
The surviving crew look at me in pity. They know that no matter what bad things happened on this ship, I still love her. It's the same with Jack, who nods regrettably.
"She's right. We have to head for land," Elizabeth adds.
Gibbs starts to assemble the longboat and people pile in. I begin climbing down the ladder, before I realise what I had left. Launching myself back up the ladder and through the door into the cabin, I quickly begin pushing the desk across the room. It doesn't take me long to find the panel of wood I need. I push down on it and the one next to it, and both pop out. There it was, wrapped in brown paper...
"Jaz, hurry!" Will calls.
Grabbing the brown package and pushing it into my coat, I push the panels back in and run out of the cabin. Jack is saying his goodbye to the ship, so I leave him. He needs the time alone. I climb down the ladder. My foot loses its grip on the next rung down, and I fall slightly, but thankfully Will is there to support me and he puts my foot back onto the rung.
"Thanks," I say softly.
"It's fine." He laughs.
I look back up and toward the deck to check if Jack is coming, and gasp in shock and pain at what I see: Jack and Elizabeth together, kissing. Judging by the gasp beside me on the ladder, Will has also just seen them. I feel something in my heart, and it hurts. I am watching my husband kiss another woman, and it hurts more than anything I've felt before
"Come on Will, Jaz!" Gibbs hisses.
We drop into the boat together, and I move to sit at the front, feeling tears prickle in my eyes. It killed me to watch Jack with her. I was fine with him flirting with a whore, but to kiss Elizabeth? That was something I am not okay with. But why would he kiss her? Is he in love with her? I feel a tear slip down my cheek, but I angrily wipe it away. Looking back to Will, I see him with a blank face. He's hurt but is choosing not to show his feelings, and I must do the same. A sudden thought occurs to me: has Jack been cheating on me? Elizabeth drops into the boat and I turn my head to watch Jack come down.
"Where's Jack?" Will asks.
"He elected to stay behind and give us a chance," she replies.
I turn sharply. He wouldn't do that - he's too selfish! He came back after I told him to run.
"Jack wouldn't do that," I say, frowning.
The crew face me.
"Perhaps you don't know Jack as well as you hoped. Go," Elizabeth snarls.
The longboat begins to move toward to ocean.
"No, we can't! We can't go without Jack, I won't allow it!" I say, my voice breaking slightly. I don't care if he's cheating, I still love him.
"Go!" Elizabeth repeats.
I stand and try to run through the crew. Gibbs rises and grabs me.
"No, let me go! I have to go back, I have to talk to Jack, I have to be with him! We do it together!" I scream.
Gibbs pulls me into him, but I fight back against him, pulling away. Will stands and takes me into his stronger arms and pulls me into him. I struggle.
"Jaz.. Jaz, stop!" he says.
"No, I can't leave him - I won't leave him!" I cry.
The boat hits the ocean and a large wave knocks it. The sickness from before overcomes me, and I wriggle out of Will's arms enough to lean over the side and throw up, disgusted in myself for feeling like this. The crew look at me in horror and, anytime I try glaring at them, the sickness happens. Will holds back my hair and runs his hands through it, as well as rubbing my back, attempting to comfort me while I moan my annoyance. I throw up the last of the contents of my stomach and move to face the crew and the Pearl. I see tentacles slowly making their way up the side, and then the kraken pulls my ship down, and Jack with it.
"No!" I choke out.
"NO!" I scream.
"JACK!" I yell, hoping he can hear, but I know he won't. He's dead.
I collapse into Will and begin to sob. He pulls me into his chest and I see from the corner of my eye Elizabeth, with tears sliding down her cheeks, and that makes me cry harder. Was I not good enough for him? I don't care. I love him, and now he's gone. I cry into Will and he offers as much comfort he can. I must have cried for more than half an hour because, when I have finally cried enough, I look up, still in Will's arms, and see people stood holding candles, each of them looking at us with pity. I don't want to see them. Will tightens his arms around me, and I let out a shuddering sigh of pain. He seems to understand because his arms tighten slightly.
Our boat hits a dock and the crew all stand, except me, Will, and Elizabeth. They tie up the boat, and Will stands with me. He directs me to the edge of the boat, and Gibbs holds his hand out. I take it, not thinking, and he pulls me up and draws me into him before letting go. Will takes me back, and I can feel Elizabeth's glare. My anger is fuelled. How dare she? She's hurt Will by kissing my husband, and then thinks she can glare at me? Just wait till I tell Jack… Jack. Then I remember he's dead, he was eaten by the kraken. I let a tear slip into Will's sodden shirt.
They open the door, and I pull away from Will. We walk in and I realize it's Tia Dalma's hut. Something hits my chest. Looking down and opening my coat, I see the brown package. Tia would know what to do with it. Something hits the floor and the patter of feet come straight for me. I look up to see Tia.
"Oh my child, the horror you have suffered," she whispers.
I feel myself break inside, and I let the tears flow. She pulls me into her arms and run her hands through my hair like a mother would do to a child, and I let my tears flow freely, not holding anything back. It hurts: to know he was dead, to know our last kiss was our night of passion after I came back, to know the last kiss before his death was with Elizabeth. I let myself cry for a few minutes before I gain control of my emotions. Tia slowly pulls away and leads me to a chair. I sit on her command and pull my feet to my chest. Will takes the other chair, and Elizabeth takes another on the other side of the room. I put my head on my knees, hoping to sooth the sickness that has come back. Tia comes back with a tray full of mugs and begins to hand them around. The crew all take one, and she offers one to Elizabeth, who declines.
"Against the cold and sorrow," she explains.
Elizabeth takes one, but she doesn't drink from it. Tia walks past and doesn't offer a mug to me. From the look on Will's face, it's rum.
"What, no mug for me?" I ask with a little anger in my voice.
She looks at me sharply, but then understanding seems to cross her face.
"You don't know, do you?" she asks.
"Know what? What's wrong now? Why won't anything go right for me?" I ask.
"You have been experiencing mood swings and unexplained sicknesses. What are they symptoms of?" she tells me.
I pale in realization of what she means.
"No, I can't be! I would have known - I…I…" I stutter.
"Yes, Jasmine Pearl. You are pregnant," she announces.
The crew, including Elizabeth and Will, gasp, and my jaw drops in shock. But Tia has moved on. I snap my jaw shut and try not to think about it. Being a mother with no father - a widow – it's wrong.
"It's a shame. I know you're thinking that, with the Pearl, you could have captured the devil and set free your father's soul," she talks to Will.
"Doesn't matter now. The Pearl's gone, along with one of its captains," Will says.
"Aye, and already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all right to the end, but I guess that honest streak finally won out. To Jack Sparrow!" Gibbs cheers.
"He didn't have us fooled. Something happened. He wouldn't leave me!" I whisper to myself. No one hears, thank God.
"Never another like captain Jack," Ragetti calls.
"He was a gentleman of fortune, he was," Pintel adds.
"He was a good man," Elizabeth says.
I feel a rush of anger as I see the kiss in my mind. I tense, and my body quivers as I fight back the urge to jump at her. I watch as my crew all take a drink. Tia comes back with one for me. I take a sip and spit it back out immediately. She just smirks.
"What the hell's in that?" I snarl.
"Herbs, roots, and water," she says.
"Jack wouldn't give me that," I complain in a pained voice.
I make a disgusted face at her while Will begins to talk.
"If there was anything could be done to bring him back… Jaz…" Will trails off. I smile at him.
"Would you do it, hmmm? What would you - what would any of you be willing to do, hmm? Would you sail to the ends of the earth and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and 'is precious Pearl?" she asks us.
"Aye, he did the same for me," I say, standing.
"Aye," Gibbs copies.
"Yes," Elizabeth says softly. Will looks pained, and I feel for him.
"Aye," he repeats, looking at me.
"Alright, but if you're going to brave de weird and haunted shores at world's end, then you will need a captain who knows those waters," she says.
Thumps ring as boots make their way down the stairs of her shack, and I begin to recognize the boots, and then…
"So, tell me, what's become of my ship?" Barbossa yells out, biting into an apple and allowing the juices to spill down his chin as the monkey sits beside him.