Sea Change

Sea Change Chapter Nine

Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… Finally caught up to
it, lol… Readers/Reviewers: Thanks for
keeping up! I appreciate it!

“Is it
always so bright at nine in the morning?” Elizabeth
muttered, wincing as Will flung the shutters wide in
their bedroom.

“Unless it’s
raining,” he smiled, turning towards his wife.
“How’re you feeling this morning?
Still…” He made a face and moved
his hand side to side.

“I feel
better,” she sighed. “I think it was
those eggs.” She paused, blinking.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Oh… or not!”
She launched herself from the bed, tangling in the sheets and tumbling
to the floor. “Oooooh…”

Will did
not bother going around the bed.
Hastily, he crawled across it, ending up on the floor by his new
wife. She was covering her mouth with
both hands, looking distinctly embarrassed and ill.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “It’ll be fine, Elizabeth,”
he soothed, reaching for the chamber pot, unused as of yet.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

“Go away!”
she cried, hunching over and becoming violently ill.

Will
recoiled slightly, swallowing hard, but he reached out and laid a hand on her back,
hoping it was as comforting a gesture as he intended. “Shall I call the
physician, Elizabeth? Or
Rosa?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She’s got some palliatives that work well…”

Elizabeth
was sobbing quietly. She hated being embarrassed,
hated being sick and most of all, she hated being seen doing either.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Please go,” she croaked.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Just… go.”

Will stood,
frowning. “Elizabeth,
there is no shame in being ill like this…”

“Will!”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She would not look up at him.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She remained huddled over her knees, hiding
the chamber pot from his view with her body. style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

He nodded,
knowing she could not see him, and backed away.
He opened the door but paused before he stepped into the hall.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’ll be in the kitchen then…style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ll make you some tea.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> That always helped me when I was sick as a
lad…” He received no response and, after
a few seconds, he let himself into the hall, shutting the door quietly behind
him. Elizabeth
had not recovered fully from her miscarriage.
She had been sick for weeks, not able to really hold down anything.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There had been some hope, he thought glumly,
trudging down the steps into the narrow kitchen, some days before when she had
been able to eat a light breakfast and dinner.
Then the illness returned. She
blamed it on bad eggs but he had eaten the same thing and was fine…style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He frowned, stopping at the bottom of the
steps. “Can’t be Voo
Doo,” he said aloud.
“That’d just be weird.”

“Will!”style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

The
blacksmith winced, the governor’s voice grating on his nerves.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “In here,” he called, reaching for another
tankard to set out for his guest. “Coffee,
sir?” he asked genially as his father in law let himself in through the back
door.

The older
man looked distinctly harassed. “I’ve
just gotten loose from Norrington… Do you have
anything a mite…stronger?”

The
hopefulness in Governor Swann’s voice was almost comical.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Will smiled faintly as he poured some strong
ale into the man’s tankard, pouring a small amount into his own soon
after. Chicory and coffee would not do
this morning, he decided. Elizabeth’s
light steps made the floorboards creak overhead and he hoped her father would
not inquire for her health too soon. He
would want her bled, Will thought, staring into the dark depths of his
drink. _I’ll kill the man who takes a
blade to Elizabeth… _

“class=SpellE>Norrington has it in his mind to make add fortifications to
the port itself… he wants more men armed on the watchtowers and…” He trailed
off, raising one eloquent brow. “I’m
afraid he rather fancies more stringent punishment for pirates captured in our
waters…”

class=GramE>“More stringent than hanging?” Will asked, his face a bland
mask. “What does he want to do?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Boil them in oil?”

“Actually…
that did come up. Right
after tarring and feathering.”

Will
laughed, but the sounded faded as he realized the governor was not
kidding. “Why are you telling me this,
Governor? Are you asking my opinion on
the matter?” He took a long draught of
his ale, watching the older man over the rim of the tankard.

“I’m
warning you,” Swann replied, his voice serious, lower than his usual
timbre. “I do not approve of piracy and
I have not forgiven that Jack Sparrow for endangering the life of my only
child.”

“Captain
Jack Sparrow,” Will murmured, pushing his now empty
tankard aside. “Why are you warning me?”

“Despite my
wishes, Elizabeth remains oddly
attached to the pirate and he seems to have you in his thrall as well.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There will be no mercy shown to him, no
matter that he is connected to my family…”
He drained his tankard in a long, gulping swallow.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That girl traveling with him… class=GramE>Mavis? Marie?”

class=GramE>“Myrtle.” Will’s own
brows arched at this. “What about her?”

“She’ll be
subject to the same punishment unless she can plead her belly…style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Do you think she could?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She’s very ugly…”

“She’s not
ugly,” Will snapped defensively.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “She’s quite nice looking when she’s not
covered in dirt and grime and wearing men’s clothing…”

“Either
case, she’ll be killed as well, should she show up in these waters as a pirate…”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He looked sadly into the depths of his empty
cup and sighed.

“Are you saying
I need to warn them, then?” Will leaned
back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest in incredulity.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “How do you suggest I do that?”

“I do not,”
Swann replied softly. “I suggest you
prepare for the worst. A pirate ship has
been spotted in our waters, heading in fast… Norrington
estimates they’ll be in port by dinner.”