In the Hollow of the Heart

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I’m not sure if this is the last chapter or if I have enough of a story left for an epilogue, m’dears, but I hope that you enjoy this instalment regardless.  Time will tell – I have a feeling, though, that there are a few loose ends to tie up.

Just so you know…as I started this long before “On Stranger Tides” was shooting, I had established my own mythology around the Fountain of Youth that in no way resembles the story told on the big screen.  I might yet have a tale to tell using the material provided by that fourth production, but the muses have not spoken to me thus far. 

Thank you to Lynne, battibeff and Scarlett for effusively and loyally reviewing, and to anyone who took time to give me a rating.  Your kindness inspires me, as I’ve told you many times before.  Publishing a story is like sending a little piece of oneself out into the ether, kind of a scary proposition – I appreciate that you went out of your way, ladies, to let me know what you liked.  Your feedback was manna from above. 



And once more, kudos and more go out to my beta, RF.  She has been a good editor and an even better friend, and I can’t possible express my gratitude to her eloquently enough. 

Hope you like…

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Chapter 12 – On Familiar Waters

The morning after their first night together…

 *****

Elizabeth had already been awake for hours, staring through the blurry windows of the Pearl as pale sunlight spilled over the lip of the crater and down the slopes to surround the ships in Shipwreck Harbour.  The day had come upon them far too soon and it wouldn’t be long before the various and sundry pirate crews were up and preparing their vessels for battle.

She lay as quiet and still as she could so as not to disturb Hector’s slumber, but the narrow bunk was cramped and she desperately wanted to work out the aches that had come from remaining in the same position for such a long time.  Neither of them had moved at all during what little rest she had managed; she had clung to him through the night, her head tucked up beneath his chin and her arm and leg draped over top of him, flesh against flesh.  The steady beat of his heart against her cheek and the soft caress of his breath on her hair had eventually lulled her to fitful sleep, but her anxiety about the approaching conflict refused to give her any real respite regardless of Barbossa’s reassuring presence.  She’d managed to doze for only a few minutes at a time as the hours had slipped silently by and brought the dawn ever closer.

All of what Elizabeth now faced...where she now found herself, figuratively and literally...could be credited to a single transgression.  Had she not stolen the Aztec coin from an unconscious Will Turner during that crossing from England, her life would have taken an entirely different path.  Although the Pearl might still have attacked Port Royal in attempt to retrieve the gold, she’d not have been sought out by Hector’s men...would not have been spirited aboard the pirate ship...would not have been abducted by the fearsome Captain Barbossa in the mistaken belief that her blood would free his crew from their terrible curse.

Hector and his men would have instead taken Will with them when they found him in possession of the gold piece and his blood would have worked to restore the crew of the damned to longer life and good health.  There would have been no rescue mission launched to save Will – he wasn’t the child of a colonial governor, after all - no encounters with the Kraken, no dispute with Davy Jones and Cutler Beckett.

And for certain, no night of splendid debauchery with Hector Barbossa.

Eventually she would have married James Norrington, as her father – if not the entire settlement – had wished, and spent her days hosting tea parties, tatting lace edges for decorative cushions and bearing the Commodore’s children.

As perfectly dreadful as the very idea now sounded, there would have been two fewer deaths and much less heartbreak weighing heavily on her soul had she taken that route.  Both her father and James would be alive and well, although it was true that Jack would likely have been executed for crimes against the Company the same day the gallows were repaired in Port Royal.  Or perhaps not...he always seemed to find a way to escape even the direst of circumstances.

A single childish impulse...just one aberrant decision on her part...and now the pirates might be completely annihilated by the Royal Navy and the Company.  While most of civilization would most definitely not lament their demise, Elizabeth knew that the world would be poorer for the loss.  As rough a collection of men – and women, she thought with a small smile – as was represented in their ranks, her respect and fondness for such spiritedness and independence grew daily.  They had a freedom that few others could claim, even if they lived off the avails of honest merchants and traders.  For a woman who’d been born to uphold the ideals and meet the expectations of high society without question, the appeal of such liberty was undeniable.                                                                                  

But what was done, was done.  She could no more reverse time than she could predict her future, and so there was nothing for it but to live with the consequences of her deeds.  All that was left to do was to carry forth and accept whatever fate had been determined so long ago by her theft of a small disc of bewitched gold.

Hector sighed contentedly in his sleep and slowly began to stir.  Elizabeth took advantage of his slight movements to stretch her arms and legs a bit before snuggling up against him once more.  Whatever the two of them had found together would not last past this morning, she knew. His bed had been a temporary sanctuary at best, albeit one of unexpected erotic delight.  The few fleeting moments they had left before the world came crashing down around them again were not to be wasted.

“Hector?” she whispered, brushing her fingers along the ginger hairs on his forearm.  “Are you awake?”

“Mmm, some parts of me rather more than others,” he answered groggily. He inhaled deeply and then yawned, hugging her more closely to his side as he did his own stretching. 

A quick glance down to where the sheets were bunched around his hips confirmed his statement and she smiled wickedly.  “I’d have thought that you would have had more than enough of that last night.”

“Ain’t every mornin’ I find such fine company in me bed.  Given me advanced age, ye must consider such a firm salute to be the greatest of compliments and reward it accordingly.”

“Must I?” she said with mock seriousness, gliding her fingertips over his chest and down the slight rise of his belly.  “And what might you consider suitable recompense for such an enthusiastic response?”

“There be any number of options,” he replied shrewdly, quickly rolling over and trapping her beneath him.  His cock was hot on her thigh, and the feel of it stirring against her skin set off a slow burn between her legs that she desperately wanted him to stoke further.

“I would favour the one that would bring us both the most immediate fulfillment,” Elizabeth suggested bluntly, slinging her leg around his hip so as to draw him closer to the growing heat of her core.  There was no time for play so far as she was concerned; it seemed that he needed only to look at her to unlock her most immoral desires.  Any decent woman would have been mortified at the ease with which she submitted – fortunately, it appeared that one night in Barbossa’s company had freed her from the shackles of decency forever.

“Might I assume, then,” Hector murmured, nuzzling at her neck and planting soft kisses beneath her ear that made her hum with pleasure, “that ye’ve no regrets?”

“My only regret is that I didn’t attempt a seduction earlier in our journey,” she gasped, arching her back as the path of warm, wet kisses led him to her breast.  She cried out as he latched on and suckled, the pressure from his mouth and the flick of his tongue making her squirm helplessly against him.

He was dragging his hand in a sensual trail up the soft skin inside of her leg, spreading her open to receive him, when a frantic pounding sounded at the door.

“No!” Elizabeth moaned in disappointment, clutching his arms tightly to keep him from abandoning her. She wanted what he offered too badly to let him go without protest. “Give it a minute and perhaps they’ll think you’re not here!”

Hector groaned his displeasure, his eyes rolling in exasperation at both the intrusion and her reaction.  “Let me go, girl.  I must answer the summons.”

“Just ignore it; whoever it is will go away,” she practically begged.  Elizabeth knew that if she allowed him to leave now, their time together truly was at an end and she would have no choice but to return to her ship.  Just a few minutes more, that’s all she asked...she wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of Hector’s bed just yet. 

He easily shrugged off her grip and tossed the covers to the side, resting on his back for a moment to gather his wits.  “If someone dares disturb me in me quarters, then there be a damned good reason fer it.  I cannot let it pass.”

Elizabeth huffed unhappily as she watched him climb out of bed and pull a sheet along with him, wrapping it around his waist on his way to answer whoever was knocking.  She fell back on the pillows and punched the quilt on either side of her body with aggrieved frustration. 

All she could hear of the conversation at the door was the low rumble of male voices, but it didn’t take much imagination to glean why someone would intrude on the captain’s rest at such an early hour.  Sick dread pooled in her stomach – it was really happening.  War was upon them, and no amount of pretending or pleasant distraction could make it otherwise.

When Hector eventually returned, he was tucking his privates back into his breeches and had her discarded clothes slung over his shoulder.  Her stomach sank when she saw her fears confirmed in the weary resignation on his face.  “It’s begun, hasn’t it?”

“T’was an emissary from Teague at the door,” he replied grimly, sitting on the edge of the bed and tossing her garments across her lap.  “A company ship has been spotted by the sentries, concealed in the mists just south of the isle.”    

Elizabeth closed her eyes and swallowed hard.  “Everything changes as of today, doesn’t it?”

“Aye, one way or t’other,” Hector agreed.  The uneasy silence stretched out between them for a while before he spoke again.  “Ain’t too late, ‘Lizabeth.  Ye needn’t be part of this,” he said, softly stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers.  “Stay here on Shipwreck Island an’ let the fight rage on without ye.  I’d not see ye die needlessly.”

She rubbed at her temple and laughed bitterly.  “What, and miss the war that I declared?  You know I can’t do that. This is my doing.  I brought this down on us and I will see it through to the end, whatever that brings...”

He reached out and enfolded her hand with his. “I’d expect nothin’ less from the King of the Brethren Court,” he said with a sad smile. 

It felt very much like their time was quickly running out and the intimacy they had forged would disappear forever. “Hector,” she said impulsively, “I want you to know...if we do not carry the day and the pirates are defeated...well, I want to thank you for last night.  Not just for sharing your bed with me, but for your kindness.  I would not have...” she trailed off, blushing faintly.

“Would not have thought me capable of such?  Is that what ye were about to say?” he finished for her, his eyes twinkling with amusement. 

“Yes,” Elizabeth admitted, grinning sheepishly.  “You have never presented yourself as a man overly given to sentiment or compassion.”

He chuckled wryly. “And a very good thin’ that be, for I’d not hold command fer long should me fellow pirates discover that particular trait.  I’ve the reputation of a black-hearted scoundrel to uphold, and I be trustin’ that ye’ll exercise all due discretion and keep me deep, dark secret to yerself.”

“Of course,” she assured him with conspiratorial smile.

“Now,” Hector went on, slowly withdrawing his hand and standing once more, “if we seek to exercise that same discretion when it comes to how ye spent yer evenin’, I’d encourage ye to return to yer own ship with all due haste.  Teague’s messenger might even now be on his way to The Empress to wake ye. Better it would go fer ye if ye were there to be found, don’t ye think?”

“So gallant,” she teased, throwing aside the blankets that covered her and climbing from the bed to stand naked before him.  Hunger flared in his eyes, but she saw him check it almost immediately.  The time for passion had passed, cooled by the dark shadow of doom that was looming over them all.

Moving closer, she framed his face with her hands and as she stared into his pale blue eyes, she rose on her toes to give him one last, lingering kiss.  “If it turns out that this was our last night on this side of the veil...”  She blinked hard at the tears that sprang up as her fears finally got the better of her and left her choking on her words. 

He took her hands and settled them over his heart. “Ah, lass.  If that be so, then t’was a far sweeter end to me life than I deserved.”

Elizabeth stepped back and impatiently wiped the traitorous teardrops from her cheeks.  “To battle, then,” she sniffled, stooping to retrieve her clothes from where they’d fallen.  If she delayed any longer, she was sure her resolve would fail.

“Aye.  To battle…Cap’n.” He gave her one last ineffable look and then turned, disappearing back through the alcove’s curtains to see to his own arrangements.

*~*~*~*~*~*

As she hauled herself up the rope ladder to the deck of the Pearl, Elizabeth paused long enough to look back over her shoulder at Barbados.  Although they were anchored not far off shore, the island already seemed small, dark and distant.  It had never really been home, she now realized.  A refuge, certainly, and not so bad as such places went.  But there was very little she was going to miss about the life she’d assembled there for herself and her son. There would be no one who would miss them – with one very important exception.

As faithful and kind-hearted a maidservant as Sarah had been to her, Elizabeth wanted to repay her with the gift of a prosperous future, and so there had been a quick stop at the law office so Elizabeth – along with Hector, posing as her recently returned husband – could sign the Cats Castle Rooming House and all its contents over to Sarah.  The young woman could run the business herself and use the property as a hefty dowry in the event that she found a suitable young man, or sell the house and everything in it, taking the gold and following whatever path appealed to her the most.  The deed would be delivered the next day to the small suite above the livery where Sarah was staying with her father for the holidays.

It would be a complete and utter surprise, sprung long after the Black Pearl and its crew were well away.  Perhaps she should have had the lawyers wrap the deed in a box with a pretty bow so as to mark it as a Christmas gift, she mused.  Regardless, it was a truly gratifying way to make an exit, if Elizabeth did say so herself.  The only part she was sorry to miss was the look on Sarah’s face when the papers were placed in her hands. 

“Sure, an’ I be appreciatin’ the very fine view afforded me from here,” Hector called impatiently, breaking into her rapt contemplations, “but if we’re to catch the tide, it might work best if we were aboard rather than clingin’ to the hull of me ship.”

Elizabeth laughed, glancing down to where he gripped the rungs beneath her and leered shamelessly at her trouser-clad ass.  “Sorry, I was just lost in thought,” she confessed, then brazenly wiggled her bottom at him.

Hector chuckled lecherously and then quickly clambered up after her.  Elizabeth’s heart jumped and she gave a delighted gasp of surprise as she tried to beat him up the ladder, but his legs were longer and his arms were stronger, and it wasn’t long before he overtook her.  He grasped the rope on either side of the rung she held and pressed himself against her, crushing her against the sea-worn side of the Pearl.

“Temptress!  If I were of a mind to do so, I could rip me a hole in them skin-tight breeches ye be wearin’ and make short work of ye, here and now!”  He growled and nipped at her neck, making her giggle and squirm.

“Given the length of your...bowsprit...I don’t believe you can truthfully say that there would be anything ‘short’ about it,” she said, laughing again as his beard tickled the sensitive skin beneath her jaw.

Just then, William poked his head over the top of the gunwale.  His eyes were wide with excitement and his grin spread almost ear to ear.  “Mama!  Hurry up!  There’s cannons and pirates and ...and..there’s a monkey!”  He disappeared again, no doubt racing off in gleeful pursuit of the little simian.

“Up ye go, then,” Hector whispered hotly into her ear.  “But I’ll be takin’ ye to task tonight fer yer wanton conduct.”

“I shall hold you to that promise,” she answered with a grin, wriggling out from under him and climbing up the last few rungs. 

Even though she knew full well that the Black Pearl had made the voyage to the Fountain of Youth, the sight that greeted Elizabeth when she finally hurdled over the rail and set her feet upon the deck stunned her into mouth-gaping silence. 

The crew could have been drawn straight from the corps of young volunteer recruits that Commodore Norrington trained each spring, so fresh-faced and vigorous did each man appear.  The oldest amongst them looked as though he’d seen perhaps thirty years pass by, if that.  Strapping lads, the rest of them, and not one showed any sign of the malnutrition or disease so common amongst those who served before the mast. The difference was far more startling than she’d anticipated, although perhaps given the extraordinary change in Hector’s physical appearance, she should have been expecting it.

“A good day, Missus Elizabeth,” said the man she had pegged as being the eldest.  He had long, dark brown hair held back in a kerchief and a broad, toothy smile gleaming out of a full beard.  He also possessed a rather incongruous posh British accent.  “We hadn’t expected to have you join us, but we are very glad to welcome you aboard.  Perhaps having you here will ease the captain’s worries over your safety.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and shook her head.  “I’m sorry...I feel very foolish, but I can’t place you.  Are you certain that we’ve met before, Mister...?”

When a brightly coloured macaw fluttered down from the rigging and settled on the man’s shoulder with a belligerent squawk, the mystery solved itself.  “Mister Cotton!” she exclaimed in utter surprise, reaching out to grasp his arm.  “I’d not have ever guessed...but...you can speak!”

“As I'm sure the captain informed you, he found the Fountain of Youth just recently.  Depending on how much water one consumed, any number of physical wounds could be undone.  It had been close to two score years since I’d lost my tongue, and so I took just enough water to heal that injury.  I must tell you, it’s caused no end of confusion for poor Monty, here, to hear me voicing my own thoughts once more.”  Cotton scratched the sparse feathers beneath the bird’s chin until the creature’s eyes closed in bliss and it cooed happily. He looked over her shoulder and smiled.  "Ah!  Captain!  I see you finally partook of the waters yourself!

“Not everyone drank the same amount, then?” she asked Hector as he came to stand beside her, his arms slipping possessively around her waist.  Elizabeth bit back a smile, understanding that the gesture was a message to the men...and knowing that it was completely unnecessary.  As much as the crew respected Hector for the living they all enjoyed, they feared his wrath even more...and it would truly be a fool who would risk the captain’s thunderous vengeance by trying to make untoward advances on her.

Hector and Cotton looked at one another knowingly, and the latter politely excused himself so he could return to the helm.  “The rules of the Fountain were very clear as to that...a dram to erase ten years,” Hector explained, guiding her towards the quarter deck.  “Some aboard were young enough that they didn’t need to take more than a single dose.  There were a few as required a half measure more, and then those like me an’ Cotton who took two.”

“Cap’n!  Are we to be bringin’ the cargo from the dinghy aboard?”  A young man who Elizabeth guessed was all of about sixteen, slender as a reed and his face all but concealed beneath a thick mop of blonde hair, shifted back and forth nervously.  She squinted at him for a few seconds before recognizing him as a much younger Ragetti. 

“Have you gotten your eye back, then?” she asked, ducking down in an attempt to see beneath his bangs. 

With a flick of his locks, Regetti shyly met her gaze with the faded blue of both of his eyes.  “Aye, miss!  Wore the patch fer a week before I figured out I wuz lookin’ at the inside of it!”  He gifted her with a crooked grin, pleased that she’d both recognized him and bothered to ask. 

“Master Ragetti, we shall indeed be bringin’ the luggage and provisions aboard with the dinghy,” Hector interjected.  “But I’d have the cabin boy help ye with that particular task.  I’ve not seen him since we embarked, and here I’d thought he’d be most anxious to welcome me back...tell me, where be Jack?”

Elizabeth whirled around.  “Jack?  You can’t mean…Jack Sparrow?”

Hector grinned fiendishly.  “Aye, the very same.”  He put his hands on his hips and hollered, “Master Sparra!  Ye’ll get yer weevil-infested, spindly-arsed hide afore me this minute or so help me, ye’ll be bailing bilge below decks fer the next six months and won’t resemble anythin’ so much as a drowned albino rat before I allow ye out into the sunshine once more!”

There was the distinct whir of rope running through a pulley, and the three of them turned to see a young boy with a head of bushy, dark hair swooping down gracefully from the riggings to land with a thud on the quarter deck above them.  “You needn’t shout,” he sniffed loftily, leaning on the railing and trying to appear nonchalant.  “I’m not deaf, Hector.”

“Now, Jaaaaaack...ye know very well that be ‘Cap’n’ to ye,” Hector replied, crossing his arms but speaking with infinite patience, as if to an actual child.  “If ye persist in showin’ off in front of company, I’ll be left with little choice but to send ye to the brig with no dinner. Fer a week.”

Elizabeth’s eyes went wide in astonishment.  It was definitely a day for surprises, but none rivalled the remarkable transformation of Jack Sparrow from a man to a child of no more than twelve.

And there was no question it was Jack.  While it was true that he had no facial hair to speak of and he lacked the usual braids, kohl and other adornments, the grace with which he moved and his sleepy expression was unmistakable. 

Unable to stop herself, she slowly climbed the stairs so that she could get a bit closer.  Jack was clad in the same loose-fitting shirt he always wore, but now the long, bulky sleeves were gathered up around his elbows and the shirt hung down past his knees.  The tattered cuffs of the short breeches he wore were just visible below the hem of the shirt, and his feet were bare and dirty.  Despite his ragged appearance, though, she was taken aback once she got a clearer look at his face.  Cherubic and dainty, he had been a truly beautiful child.  Or was, as the case may be.

“Good heavens!” she said, approaching Jack with her hand extended as though testing whether what she was seeing was real.  “He can’t be much older than William!”

“Lizzie?  That you?  S’been a long time, luv,” crooned Jack, giving her a lustful smile that might have been charming on a grown man but was incredibly disconcerting on a little boy’s face.  “Might I say, yer as pretty as a picture, even after all these years.”  He sashayed in her general direction, holding out his arms.  “How’s about a kiss fer old times’ sake, eh?”

The adult diction threw her off, even as she saw the familiar cunning in Jack’s deep black eyes.  “I think not.”  She backed away in disbelief, shaking her head and looking at Hector.  “What on earth happened?”

“Jack thought he was mighty clever, cutting out that fancy map to the Fountain and leavin’ me with naught but a hole,” answered Hector haughtily, climbing the steps until he was at her side again.  “And while he did find Ponce de Leon’s wellspring long before we did, what he failed to realize was that them rules I told ye about, regardin’ the necessary dose, were printed on the piece of map he left behind.  Drank hisself nearly two drams o’ water before he realized what the magic was doin’ to him.  Must say, I be glad he finally stopped sippin’ when he did...I ne’er was much good with pulin’ newborns.”

“So glad that I can offer you an endless source of amusement, Hec...Captain,” Jack spat bitterly.  “Ye’d best watch how deeply you sleep, I swear...”

Hector moved fast, grabbing Jack by his collar before the boy could escape and easily hoisting him up until Jack’s small feet dangled above the planks.  “Could have left ye behind to starve to death or be press-ganged by the next crew as landed there,” Hector reminded him tersely, giving Jack a rough shake.  “Count yer lucky stars that ye’ve a hammock and a place upon me ship, and pray that I don’t reconsider me hospitality and sell ye to the next slaver as comes along, or simply slit yer throat when I grow weary of yer sass!”

Jack’s mouth pursed angrily but he wisely held back.  “Aye, sir,” he snarled, twisting and jerking until Hector released him and let him drop unceremoniously to the deck.  Picking himself up, Jack crossed his arms over his chest and stuck out his bottom lip in a fine pout, and Elizabeth hid a smile behind her hand when she thought of how often William had reacted the same way to a scolding.

“Yer to assist Master Ragetti in securin’ the dinghy and sortin’ the contents,” Hector said, pointing to where the lanky blonde waited below.  “The food and dry goods are to be stored in the hold, and Miss Swann’s trunk and the other bags are to be taken to me quarters.”

Jack had been walking away sullenly as Hector spoke, but the last instruction stopped him in his tracks and he swivelled around to stare uncomprehendingly from Elizabeth to Hector and back again.  “You must have misspoke...I believe that you meant to say, “Missus Turner.”  Didn’t you?  Elizabeth, whatever’s become of Will?”

Hector pointed threateningly at Jack.  “She ain’t married, hasn’t been since Turner’s death, and so she’ll be takin’ back her maiden name.  Will Turner’s fate be his own and she be bound to him no longer.”

“Even if that is so...why would her belongings go...” Jack gazed at Elizabeth in puzzlement until understanding dawned.  “Lizzie!  With Hector?  No!” he shouted, his peculiarly young face a study in undisguised repulsion.  “Is he holding you prisoner, then?  A hostage, perhaps?  A prisoner!  Yes, that must be it!”

“Nay!” roared Hector in rage, his nostrils flaring and eyes bulging.  “She be here as me lover!  As the mother of me child!”

“Saints preserve us!” answered Jack with a shocked gasp, slumping against the banister as though too overcome with his perceived horror of the situation to stay on his feet.  “This day just goes from bad to worse!  Barbossa’s gone and bred an heir!  Where is the little bastard?”

Hector lunged forward and might have tried to throttle Jack then and there, but Elizabeth threw herself in between them and laid a retraining hand on Hector’s chest.  “It’s true, Jack.  I’m here because I love him – have loved him longer than I was willing to admit.  And yes, he fathered my son William the night before the battle with Beckett.”

“And Will?  Where was your husband in all of this?” Jack needled, his nose wrinkling as he regarded her snidely.  “Seems a cruel irony to name your son for the very man you betrayed.”

It was Elizabeth’s turn to let loose her temper.  “Will was lost to me long before I married him!  You shouldn’t wonder at what happened to Will and I – you were ultimately, after all, the engineer of his doom, manipulating him to achieve your own ends regardless of the cost!  It was your dispute with Jones that ultimately meant that Will – your supposed friend – ended up with his heart cut out and captaining the Dutchman for eternity! Had you settled your debt honourably, who knows where our life might have led?  But I will not apologize for finding happiness where I did, and with the one man who has done more to earn my devotion and affection than any other I’ve ever known!”

Her outburst startled Jack and he shrank back, wounded by her words.  She was trembling with rage, disoriented and shaken by the surreal experience of arguing so viciously with one who at least appeared to be a child. 

“She owes ye no explanation!” bellowed Hector, drawing his sword.  “Ye have yer orders, boy, and I expect ye to carry them out without further delay or so help me, I’ll tear out yer guts and feed ’em to the fish!”

The threat was unnecessary – it was clear that the accusation Elizabeth had hurled at Jack had done more damage than a physical wound ever could.  Jack staggered down the stairs, the weight of her words heavy on his slumping child’s shoulders as he meekly followed Ragetti to fulfill his assigned duties. 

“Fergive me,” muttered Hector, taking her hand and drawing her snugly to him.  “I should ne’er have taken him in.  Boy or man, he be capable of rendin’ me life asunder at every turn.  We’ll ditch him in Tortuga – where he goes from there, I care not.”

“As much as I would like to see him gone, I think we might be better served keeping him close,” she answered, wrapping her arm around Hector’s waist and taking a deep, calming breath as she leaned into his embrace.  “He is determined to take back the Pearl; in Tortuga, he might just find others willing to assist him in exchange for the location of the Fountain.  He’s his own best proof of the potency of the waters there.”

“He’ll have a tough time of it, convincin’ anyone that he really be the infamous Cap’n Jack Sparra,” Hector said with a derisive snort.  “But it ain’t impossible that he might succeed.  Aye, an’ yer right...better to keep him as part of the crew, at least fer now.  Perhaps our voyages might yet take us past that there island he’s been marooned on twice now, and we can see if the third time be the charm.”

“I can only live in hope,” she answered with a subtle smile.  Elizabeth leaned her head against Hector’s shoulder and looked out over the bustle of activity all around her.  “Perhaps we’d best track down our son before Jack has a chance to try and persuade him to lead a mutiny.”

“Well, leastways William will have hisself a playmate,” Hector said offhandedly, suppressing a grin when she glanced up to see if he was serious.

“Jack’s definitely not the best of influences,” she replied in the same teasing spirit, “but perhaps he can learn a thing or two from William about getting along nicely with others.”

“Not too nice, I’d hope...our lad be a Barbossa, after all.”

They stood quietly for a time, each lost their own thoughts.  “Hector, you asked me once about regrets,” Elizabeth finally said, turning to face him.  “I want you to know that although I am sorry about the fate to which Will has been consigned, I will never regret falling in love with you.  I know there will be more trying times ahead for us, but I swear that I will always be steadfast.  I belong with you...William and I both belong with you.  I am proud to call myself yours.  I should never have walked away from you after the battle.”

“That as be worth havin’ be worth fightin’ fer,” he stated philosophically, cupping her jaw in his hand and gazing lovingly at her.  “Granted, I hadn’t counted on the fight lastin’ nigh on ten years, but I’d not do it any different e’en given a chance.  T’was our destiny, lass, to sail the world together, even if we were forced to wait fer it.”

“Come,” she said, backing up toward the stairway and giving him a sultry look.  “Let Cotton take the helm; he knows his way to Tortuga well enough without you giving the headings.  I want you to make good on that promise you made on the ladder, and I’m not interested in waiting until tonight for my...reprimand.”

The heated glimmer in his eyes told her that she’d not have to do much convincing.  “Always it falls upon me to mete out what discipline is necessary on board this vessel,” Hector sighed heavily, glancing heavenward as if greatly put upon.  “Such is the burden of leadership.”

“You bear the mantle of responsibility well, my beloved,” Elizabeth laughed, her spirits lighter already.  “But come, let me see what I may do to ease your burden.”

He advanced on her, his expression dark and dangerous. “Lead on, then.  Show me what benefits the man as dares to bring his lady love aboard a ship.”

“Oh, I shall...”  Elizabeth danced just out of his grasp and darted down the stairs, laughing as he pursued her with a predatory growl.  He was close to catching her as she pushed roughly past both Jack and Ragetti, and she and her love disappeared into the captain's quarters.

 *~*~*~*~*