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Bet You Anything	By : Fish Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > General Views: 3901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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. .BET YOU
ANYTHING. .

[CHAPTER THREE]

Barbossa awoke to the sound of low voices, as he became
fully conscious he listened to what they were saying. It was Elizabeth and
Ragetti � the latter informing her that they were nearing Tortuga. With a
calculating smirk, Barbossa stretched lazily under the bed sheets before
hauling himself into a sitting position. Sighing, he rubbed the sleep from his
eyes.

"Captain?" Elizabeth's face appeared around the side of the silk
screen.

"G'mornin', Cap'n Turner," he greeted her, voice thick with sleep.

"Water?" she offered, bringing a large jug into view.

"Please." He gestured for her to join him. She disappeared for a
moment to retrieve two goblets from one of the antique cabinets before seating
herself on the edge of the bed. He took the proffered goblet and she poured
them both some water before setting the jug on the nightstand.

"We should make port in about an hour," she informed him in between
sips.

"So I heard," he replied. "How was yer evenin'?" he asked
after draining his goblet and setting it down on the nightstand with the jug.

"Quiet... until you started snoring." He barked a laugh at her reply.
"Very loudly, I might add." They sat in an almost companionable
silence for a couple of moments before she spoke once more. "That Divine
Comedy... you'll have to tell me about it sometime. I can't read the language,
and the illustrations are-"

"Shockingly grotesque?"

"Yes."

"Do ye not know what Divina Commedia is?"

"Not as such, no," Elizabeth confessed with a slight blush. So
much for being the educated one, she thought glumly.

He nodded slowly, considering whether or not it was a conversation he wanted to
start before their task began. "Tell ye what, I'll teach ye all about
Dante and Divina Commedia once we're away from Tortuga."

"I'd like that," she said, smiling at him.

"Aye, bet ye would." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and
stood. Elizabeth considered closing her eyes, but then noticed that the Captain
still wore his breeches. "Ye'd best start preparin' yerself, Captain
Turner, we've a tough day ahead of us," he informed her before
disappearing around the other side of the screen to dress himself.

"We still have half the bet to decide on," she reminded him before
straightening up the bed and plumping up the pillows.

"Aye," he replied, sounding far too chipper in her opinion,
"that we do, Turner... that we do!"

*�� *�� *

Pintel and Ragetti excitedly burst through the door of the
Captains' quarters to inform the two Captains that they had made port in
Tortuga. Instead of blathering on as they had every intention of doing, they
stopped dead in their tracks.

"Apples!" Barbossa hollered.

"Bananas!" Elizabeth cried back at him.

They both stood either side of the dining table, the chairs of which had been
knocked over, and pointed at a scrap of paper which had been written on and
crossed out so much that they had ended up writing on the table.

"Golden cannon balls!" he roared at her.

"Scented oils!" she practically screamed � Barbossa shot her a
quizzical look. "I MISS BATHS!" she explained, still screaming.

"A GLASS EYE!" Ragetti joined in enthusiastically, effectively
shutting the Captains up. Pintel slapped his tall and lanky shipmate on the
arm. "Ow... sorry."

"What're you Captains shoutin' about now?" Pintel questioned
carefully.

"Our lists!" Elizabeth cried, seating herself and pouting.

"Lists?" The two pirates stared blankly at their Captains.

Barbossa sighed and leaned against the table, refusing to look at Elizabeth.
"Aye, the lists... for the bet."

"We could help you, if you want us to?" Ragetti chirped hopefully.

"Ye can't write," Barbossa pointed out.

"We can dictate though!" Pintel piped up.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We don't need-"

Elizabeth cut the Captain off. "What do you have in mind?"

"Anyfin' s'not easy ta come by," Ragetti said, "like..." he
trailed off.

"Actually, that's given me some ideas," Elizabeth said, a smile on
her face, "I don't think we need any more help from you two."

"Alright. We'll get the crew together... see ye both off," Pintel
said before the pair excused themselves from the cabin.

Barbossa turned to face her once more and studied her calculating expression.
"Somethin's tellin' me ye've got more than an idea of what to look fer
now."

"Maybe," she replied, giving him a wink.

*�� *�� *

The two Captains of the Black Pearl emerged from their
quarters to a raucous cheer from the crew, who had indeed been gathered to give
the pair some encouragement. They both clutched their identical lists,
determined expressions on their faces. Once at the top of the gangplank,
Elizabeth turned to face the older man.

"May the best pirate win."

"Why thank ye, Captain Turner," he said with false gratuity, flashing
her his rotten smile. "See ye when ye get back," he muttered.

"Captains, are ya ready?" Pintel cried, loud enough for the rest of
the crew to hear. Both nodded to him and put their first foot on the edge of
the gangplank. "Go!"

And so they were off, arms flailing as they both fought to stay on the
gangplank. Fortunately, neither lost their balance, and both managed to get on
to the docks without issue. Elizabeth glanced at her list. Eight items,
she considered, how difficult can it be? Deciding to first find
'Tortuga's Finest rum' she moved swiftly to a crowd of locals to inquire.

Barbossa considered just how silly the bet was. Never before had he done
anything like it. At the end of the day, he had to complete his shopping list
before Elizabeth or else he would lose the Black Pearl... and his prize. Still,
it was shopping. Not that he was a stranger to the concept, and he knew
Tortuga far better than Elizabeth � overall, he was feeling rather confident
that he would win the great bet. He glanced at the list; deciding to leave the
apples as the last item, he made his way to the first brothel he saw � one of
them would have what he was after, he was certain of it.

Two hours later saw Barbossa walking out of the ninth brothel he had dropped
into, several of the girls stopping at the doorway to regard him with caution.
He had entered the dilapidated property, asked if any of them owned a very
specific corset, requested an audience with the only girl there who had one and
then proceeded to pay her triple her rate to take the corset and nothing else.
No sex. Nothing but the corset. Inwardly, he was kicking himself.

He looked to his list then and used one of his sharp fingernails to slash
through the first item he had found. Then, he studied the rest of the list:

Tortuga's Finest rum.

Bushel of apples.

Bananas.

Ostrich feather.

Cigars.

Incense.

Opium.

Tucking the corset into one of his large pockets, the feared Captain went in
search of the opium.

*�� *�� *

Elizabeth spied Barbossa looking around at the other side of
the square � he appeared to have just one item. She snorted
triumphantly; she had the rum, the cigars and the incense. While she was not
entirely certain about the opium and was at a complete loss as to where she
could find 'An emerald green corset with black lace trim', she was still
confident that she was going to win.

*�� *�� *

Barbossa mooched around the stalls in the square, finding
the shifty little man he knew dealt most of the drugs in Tortuga. He grabbed
him and dragged him to one side, inquiring in hushed tones about what he
needed. The small man nodded and scurried off, returning a short while later
with a package wrapped in colourful cloths. The Captain checked the contents of
the package before paying the man three gold pieces and leaving; smiling to
himself, he slashed incense, cigars and opium off his list. Next, the rum.

*�� *�� *

Elizabeth had managed to get the apples and bananas, though
was having a tough time juggling everything including the rum, cigars and
incense. Whilst looking around some of the stalls, she found a tattered corset
that met the description on her list. Paying the haggard old woman at the stall
one gold piece, she left to puzzle over where she could get some opium. After a
good twenty minutes of searching, she put everything down and had a sit down.
Just then, she noticed the one unstable individual she had hoped not to run
into swaggering towards her. Managing to pick everything back up again, she
hauled herself as quickly as possible away from the one Jack Sparrow.

"'Ello, luv," he greeted, slinging an arm around her shoulder after
having caught up to her without much difficulty.

She harrumphed and continued walking. "You've got a cheek, coming over
here as though it were old times. Leave me alone, Sparrow," she responded
in acid tones, refusing to look at him.

"Now, that's no way to be talking to an old... friend," he
remarked.

"You ceased to be a friend some time ago."

He stepped in front of her, halting any further movements. "And what if I
want to make it back up?"

"Just how do you think you could possibly do that?"

"Well, I could start by helping you with your," he gestured towards
the strange assortment of items she held on to, "shopping." Without
waiting for a response, he took hold of the apples, bananas and the rum.
"Ooh, Tortuga's Finest!" he remarked, nodding appreciatively. It was
then that she had an idea.

"Jack," she began sweetly, "I don't suppose you'd know where I
could get hold of something."

"Changed your tune," he commented dryly. "Depends entirely on
what that something might be."

"Opium," she replied bluntly.

"Opium? What would you be doing with op-"

"Just tell me if you know or not," she snapped, all too aware that
she did not have the time to be dealing with Jack Sparrow's questions.

He rolled his eyes at her impatience. "Once a Governor's daughter, always
a Governor's daughter. Follow me." They walked back through the square and
rounded a corner into a dirty side-street flanked by run-down houses. Jack
looked around shiftily before stepping into the third house on the left.
"Wait there," he called as he moved further into the property. With a
sigh, she set her things down and sat on the dusty ground, head in her hands.

*�� *�� *

With a sizeable bottle of Tortuga's Finest rum sitting
safely in his remaining pocket, Barbossa paid for the fruit on the list at one
of the stalls near the docks. Feeling somewhat like a packhorse, he moved over
to the side of the docks where the crowd thinned and pit everything down. He
had all but one item on his list, the ostrich feather. Where the Hell am I
going to find a bloody ostrich feather? he wondered to himself, flicking
the adornment on his hat out of his face, only to have it flop back and
obstruct his vision. It was as he battled with his hat, refusing to remove it,
that the Captain realised just what was staring him in the face � atop his hat
was a feather, and if his memory served it was indeed an ostrich feather.

So it was with a triumphant grin slapped across his weathered face that Captain
Hector Barbossa picked up his shopping and made his way towards the Black Pearl
and victory.

*�� *�� *

The Pirate King had searched high and low for the remaining
item on her list... she wagered that there were no ostrich feathers in the
whole of Tortuga. What a silly item to have, she remarked to herself as
she glanced around. Jack had managed to waste enough of her time getting hold
of the opium, and had left her in the square while he dealt with some 'business'
he had. Not that she was going to wait for him.

As she gave each shady stall in the marketplace a look on the way back to the
docks, she found herself remembering just how the one Captain Jack Sparrow had
so ruthlessly taken advantage of her and completely abused her trust in him. He
had tried before of course, and she had managed to deter him each time; after
their return from World's End, however, things had become much more difficult
with him. After she had said her goodbyes to her husband and resigned herself
to the fact she was married to a man she would see once every decade Jack had
convinced her to go out on the town with him and, drunk as she had been, she
still considered what he did as rape. He had personally offended her and, as
Barbossa would have said, 'impugned her honour' to such a degree that the
thought of it still left her feeling violated and vulnerable.

Shuddering at the memory, she shook herself of the dark thoughts that
threatened to surface and decided to head back to the Pearl. If she had no luck
in locating a single ostrich feather, she doubted Barbossa would be faring any
better.

"There you are!" Jack caught up to her when she had crossed
the docks halfway. "I was going to ask you where the Pearl was but I see
that would be redundant," he said, voice fading somewhat as he regarded
the ship he considered to be 'his'. She loomed, darkly majestic, before them.

"Jack, you should go now," Elizabeth informed him before making her
way to the gangplank.

"Actually, love, I think I'll 'ave a gander at what's been 'appenin' the
past year; she's my ship, after all." He followed her towards the
gangplank. How she wanted him to leave, but with the Pearl docked so close by
she knew he would not. With an irritated sigh, she led the way up the
gangplank, half-thankful that Jack held half of her shopping; she was certain
that if she attempted the short trip to the deck alone, she would have ended up
in the water with her purchases. Having heard nothing on deck she began
beaming, momentarily forgetting Jack's presence as she became certain of her
triumph, but was rendered utterly speechless and blank-faced the moment she
clapped eyes on a rather smug looking Hector Barbossa leaning against the mast,
surrounded by his purchases. Without a word, he removed his hat and gave her a
sweeping bow, gesturing to the feather before placing it back on his head as he
straightened.

For the sake of being theatrical he inhaled sharply, as if sampling the air.
"Ah, victory is sweet!" Elizabeth snapped back to reality at that
point and noticed that the entire crew had come to congregate on deck,
effectively surrounding Barbossa, Jack and herself. She gathered from
Barbossa's glaring gaze over her shoulder that he had spotted Jack and was none
too pleased to see him.

"Do I want to know what this," Jack waved the bananas and rum by way
of gesturing between Barbossa and Elizabeth, "is about?"

Before she could answer, Barbossa stepped forward. "Sparrow," he
acknowledged the younger pirate's presence, "what brings ye to my
ship?"

"Our ship," she corrected out of habit.

"My ship," Jack corrected them both for good measure.

"Ye lost 'er years back Jack, move on," the older Captain said with
less hostility. Jack, however, was not listening.

"Where's my namesake got to these days?" he questioned, kohl-lined
eyes scanning the deck for signs of Barbossa's beloved pet. Elizabeth closed
her eyes for a moment, wishing she was not standing between the two men,
knowing that the monkey was a sore point for Barbossa.

"Took 'is own life," the Captain replied coldly. She knew a furious
rage twisted and thrashed beneath his composed features; she saw in the way his
back straightened and his hands clenched into fists that he fought to keep
himself calm. She remained silent still, contemplating whether or not he was
truly serious about his winnings. He's a man of his word, the rational
side of her reasoned, and you did get yourself into this. She knew all
too well that there was only one way out of her predicament, unless she took
Jack the monkey's example and threw herself overboard; that the ship was docked
in port caused her to disregard the second option.

By the time Elizabeth returned to reality, she noticed that Jack was mooching
about at the helm and that the one Hector Barbossa stood no more than three
feet away from her, openly regarding her with amusement. Smarmy git, she
thought, inwardly cursing herself for being stubborn enough to rise to the bait
and accept his terms and the entire bet in the first place. Elizabeth Turner
was not one to admit defeat so easily, and if there was one thing that living
in the lap of luxury as the Governor's daughter� had taught her it was that, when all else fails, stamping one's
feet and throwing a tantrum will successfully garner whatever one desires.

"It's not fair!" she announced adamantly, much to the amusement of
Captain and crew; displeased, she repeated herself, with a hint of a whine in
her voice, and threw her shopping to the deck before crossing her arms over her
chest and beginning to sulk.

"If ye'll be so kind as to recall the both of us wrote the lists, I just
so happened to notice that which had been danglin' in front of me face,"
the Captain countered smoothly, amusement dancing in his blue eyes. His eyes
wandered over to Jack and darkened somewhat before settling once more on
Elizabeth. "Don't s'pose ye want to tell me why ye've gone cold with
regard to the ex-Captain Jack Sparrow?" She snorted indignantly at
his emphasis on the fitting prefix of her demons title.

"We had a run-in a few months after Will..." she trailed off, only to
continue as thought nothing were wrong, "and he took what h wanted before
deciding to insult me... and then he left." She looked pleadingly to
Barbossa. "I know it's none of your concern and you probably couldn't care
any less, but would you kindly have him removed from the Pearl?"

He opened his mouth to respond but seemed to think better of it and closed it,
seemingly considering her request. "I do that and you'll... acquiesce to
me request with no fuss, understand?" He raised a brow at her and she
nodded her silent resignation. Barbossa momentarily disappeared into the throng
of pirates on deck before returning with a heavy set pirate whose inked skin
boasted tales of many a harlot. The Captain muttered in his hear and the pirate
nodded.

Moment later Jack Sparrow was dragged, kicking and screaming, from the helm and
across the deck of the Black Pearl. "Wait!" he cried; the pirate
holding him stopped but did not release him.

"What is it ye want now?" Barbossa questioned exasperatedly.

"A word with... Mrs Turner." Barbossa looked to Elizabeth who
nodded her permission. Jack was released at Barbossa's signal, but neither
Captain nor deckhand to their eyes off the jaunty pirate as he sidled over to Elizabeth.
"So," he began in a hushed tone, "shacked up with ol' Babs, eh?
Had one pirate, and now you want more, eh?"

"You had me, Jack. I never wanted you," she responded
flatly.

"I bet," he continued, a cruel smirk twisting his mouth. "Is he
any good, hmm? Does he make you scream? To be certain it's a damn shame
if he does, I never could... I only made you cry, eh Lizzie?" He tsk-tsked
at her. "What would poor ol' Will say, eh?" He offered his sick smile
once more, flashing gold in the dying sunlight of the day, knowing he had
struck a chord.

Much as she had fought to keep her cool throughout his taunting, she had felt
herself snap at his mention of Will. "You have no right! Leave him out of
this!" she screamed, launching herself at him only to be deflected by his
suddenly raised arms and land hard on the rough wooden deck.

"That'll be enough from ye!" Barbossa yelled, eyes blazing with
ice-fire fixed on Jack. Once again the tattooed pirate heaved Jack across the
deck and promptly threw him overboard. "Captain Turner-"

"Don't talk to me," she cut him off sharply before picking herself up
off the floor and making her way over to the side of the ship. She watched as
Jack cursed and splashed his way to the pier and hauled himself on to it,
turning his head to look at her knowing she was watching, She pulled her pistol
from the waistband of her breeches and, with steady hands, aimed it at him.
Still coughing and spluttering, Sparrow picked himself up and staggered with
considerable speed towards the nearest tavern, hollering for Mr Gibbs all the
way.

Elizabeth turned back to the crew, shaken but by no means broken, and returned
her pistol to its usual place, giving a nod of thanks to the pirate that had
detained Jack. She excused herself and stood alone at the helm, staring out at
the sea, wishing a thousand times over again that she could turn back time and
be with Will as she should be, that everything between them could have gone
smoothly... in that moment, she hated herself and every pirate on the seas.
Refusing to let the tears fall, she looked back to the deck for Barbossa, just
catching a glimpse of the feather of his hat as he disappeared below deck.

"Ostrich feather," the Pirate King muttered bitterly to herself,
chocolate eyes darkening with something that fell just short of hatred.
"Now I can't even hate him properly," she stated and barked a hollow
laugh before sitting by the ship's wheel, closing her eyes and trying to
imagine she was anywhere but on board the Black Pearl in Tortuga.
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