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A Good Man	By : Ladykohl Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > Het - Male/Female > Jack/Elizabeth Views: 5248 -:- 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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Title: A Good Man

Author: Kohl Lined Eyes

Rating: NC-17

Chapter Rating: PG

Warnings: M/F, angst, dark themes

Disclaimer: It�s all mine and I�m writing this for money... except I�m lying.

Summary: Post AWE, Captain Jack�s back... but is he the same?

Author�s Note: Well, I�m back! I�ve been working on this story for kind of a long time - even before I started writing �When the Rum Runs Out�. I�ve got a few chapters written and plotted already but I�m not sure how long this story is going to be. Just depends on the muses, I suppose...
What you�re in for in this story is going to be pretty angsty and pretty dark. You are going to meet an extremely dark Jack Sparrow (not evil or anything, just dark) - though I like to think that he is still very much in character. I hope you all will agree :-)...
As for a sequel to �When the Rum Runs Out�? I am in the process of putting together a plot and story line... hopefully the first chapter of that will be out sometime within the next few months (if I decide to put it out, that is). Thanks to everyone who has read that story and I hope you all enjoy this next stream of words and ideas from my mind...
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A Good Man

Chapter One: Alone
�To benefit one and injure another at the same time is a losing game, for revenge is a stronger feeling than gratitude.�
Latin Proverb

He hated her.
God, how he hated Elizabeth. He had always enjoyed women immensely (wenches, the lot of them, though they were) and had never really had cause to hate one. Most women were pleasant enough if he was pleasant with them... Warm and soft and beautiful in all the ways that he wasn�t. They were wonderful creatures that he�d be forever fascinated with... but Elizabeth? Elizabeth was another breed all together.
And yes... he hated her.
He hated her for making him love her. He hated her for making him think that perhaps, just perhaps, it may have been possible for her to feel something toward him as well. That kiss, oh God, that kiss. For one glorious moment he�d believed that he�d finally won something worth leaving the seas for... but then he realized. A trick. All a trick. She�d just been baiting him. Every smile, every glance, every word ever spoken to him through her lips had been leading up to her betrayal before the mast even though she had not known it.
He almost had to admire for it... and damn it all, it made him want her more. Made him love her more.
And now she was here... beautiful and wretched as ever. Back on the Pearl needing his help... Funny how he was her worst enemy at times, and then he was her very best mate in the world - depending on what suited her needs. She was cunning and manipulative - amazing qualities in a women... terrifying, but amazing. He was almost glad of her company save for the fact that he had harbored a very deep hatred for her since last they had met.
And her reason for calling on his help was doing nothing for her case.
"I received this letter two weeks ago," Elizabeth had said as she handed him the weathered piece of parchment in the dimly lit tavern that she had found him in. She had been searching for him since the letter had come in to her possession. Jack read quickly.
To The Swann Who Caught herself a Little Worm,
You believe you know love, child? You think you know heart break? You know nothing of either thing until you are so miserable you can not live or breathe. Until the pain is so terrible you cut out your own heart. Will Turner will never return to you... and he will never know the secret you possess.
It had said no more than that, not even a name from whomever had penned it. It was all very cryptic.
"Calypso." Jack had said, meeting Elizabeth's eyes - the candlelight reflecting in them as though a fire were burning there to keep her warm. She nodded.
"Yes." She said. "But why?" Jack sighed.
"Can you not guess, love?" He asked almost gently. She said nothing. "Misery loves company, does it not? Why would she want you and Will to succeed where she and Davy Jones had failed? Deity's do have their pride. She wasn't even invited to the wedding."
"How can you joke at a time like this?" She asked incredulously. "Jack, please, you have to help me find him..."
"Do I?" He asked, becoming suddenly very weary of being back in her company. He briefly entertained the notion that it could possibly be some kind of joke. He�d thought that he had parted ways with the boy and the murderer with an understanding... which was to say he had thought he parted ways with them with a very specific understanding that they were never to come in to contact with him again - be it purposely or accidentially. Not only was there the ugly business of hating the both of them - but he had started to become aware of a very disagreeable pattern when in their company. A pattern in which he found himself dead, undead, about to die... or otherwise unpleasantly preoccupied. Having seen all that he had seen, he knew that coincidences were more often than not not coincidences. There was such a thing as bad luck, curses did exist and there were things that just didn�t mix. So it all came down to a very simple equation in which Jack had made up his mind to avoid at all costs:

Them + him = Counter beneficial

Counter beneficial was putting it very lightly.

So, no. No, Jack didn�t think he would help. In point of fact, he thought he might just sail to the other side of the globe to escape the subject all together. That was probably safest. On their own they were trouble - together they spelled death...
and they spelled it J-A-C-K... Which, while being extremely inconvenient and not as fun as one might think (and he had some experience with this), it was also just bad spelling. Which, ironically, was just fine by Jack unless it happened to mean his death. Which it invariably did when they were around.
He had opened his mouth to say as much... but her hand coming to rest on top of his had erased all that from his mind.
"Please, Jack..." She had begged. And that was the end of it. He hated her but he couldn't turn her down...
Now Jack stood over the old wooden table in his cabin as he stared down at some nautical charts. They would be hitting Aruba within a week, he was sure of it. Almost sure, actually... but almost sure was decidedly more better than not sure at all. He had no clue where Will was and he knew it would be difficult if not impossible to get on the right track. He�d given up pursuit for the time being as supplies were low and crew moral was lower. At any rate, Jack could not risk port at such obvious places as Tortuga or Nassau. Not for a while... as he had stirred up a fair amount of trouble recently. Aruba was low key, and he�d be able to get supplies and extra crew there. The dutch settlers and the Arawak would be too busy cautiously ignoring one another to take much notice of Jack.
The captain sat down with a sigh, and reached over the table for a flask of something that wasn�t rum - as that had run out at least a week before - but was better than nothing. He tipped his head back and emptied the contents in to his mouth, and threw the flask away from him without caring to see where it landed. One question circulated madly through his mind: Did he really intend to find Will... or not?
The cabin door screeching open brought Jack out of his thoughts, and he looked up. Elizabeth closed the door behind her and stood rigidly in front of it.
�Where are we going?� She demanded. It took everything Jack was to keep from snarling at her. So the little witch thought she had the right to be demanding here? Jack stood up, and then leaned back against his table.
�You know,� He started crisply. �In most polite societies, doors are in place for people to knock on them before rudely entering through them uninvited.� He finished as he crossed his arms rigidly over his chest.
Elizabeth stared him in the eyes - hers glittering fiercely in the fire and candlelight. Reaching behind her she knocked on the hard wood three times.
�Better?� She asked pointedly.
A beat.
�Markedly.� He responded.
�We�ve been on this wretched ship for nearly--�
�I�ll warn you once to watch what you say about my ship.� He interrupted her calmly - though the venom in his voice was unmistakable.
Elizabeth faltered a bit, surprised perhaps, before nodding and continuing.
�We�ve been sailing along for quite a while now, Captain... and I�m beginning to wonder as to why we have not hit land, and why I feel as though we�re no closer to helping Will now than when we set sail.�
Jack laughed only a bit.
�Well, that would be because we�re not.� Jack responded truthfully. �In fact, I�ve given up. We�re headed toward Aruba - much less dangerous situations to be had there.�
�What?� Elizabeth nearly screamed as her eyes widened. It was very gratifying. �Aruba?�
�Yes. I�ve decided that there�s not nearly enough in this little adventure for me, so Will will have to resort to his own devices to escape whatever torments he�s enduring as we speak.�
�You must be joking.�
�I could be joking, I suppose... if you could manage to offer me something that would make the continuance of this rescue voyage worthy of my very valuable time.� He looked Elizabeth over with a tilt of his head and waggled his eyebrows a bit.
�How dare you insinuate such a thing?� She asked incredulously as her anger flared.
�Easy... forget about rescuing the whelp. Go on account and join me crew.�
Elizabeth nearly laughed.
�I couldn�t...�
�Ah, but this isn�t a matter of cants and cans... it�s more a matter of wills and wont's. You are in perfectly able condition to stay here, so you can... but you wont. You say you can�t, but you can if you will. You only couldn�t if you wouldn�t, which is really up to you, idin it?�
Elizabeth seemed to struggle to make sense of that. Like many others before her, she must have known that beneath the layers and layers of convoluted speech, there was usually an underlying, discernible point within Jack�s words. He was a smart man and had a way with the English language like no one else in the world. She just had to decode it... and perhaps once she felt she had a firm enough grasp on what the hell he was talking about, she nodded.
�You�re right. I can stay here, but I wont stay here.� She paused. �Think of something else.�
�There is nothing else. Your soul for Will�s. Not exactly a fair trade as I�m more than confident his is worth at least two of yours, but I am nothing if not benevolent.�
�I...� She appeared hesitant to say the word �can�t� as she more than likely didn�t want to navigate her way out of yet another Sparrowean word labyrinths. �Im beginning to think you're in love with me..."

For a moment, the cabin was silent as neither of them spoke. A crease in Elizabeth�s forehead appeared and then deepened with each moment that the pirate before her did not answer her question... She had meant it as a joke, no doubt - something to prove her point that there was no good reason for him to want her there. That his request was ridiculous... but as he looked in to her eyes with a dark and penetrative stare and offering no sign that he thought her question was funny at all, Elizabeth must have begun to wonder if there was more to his offer than she initially believed...
And, of course, he knew what he was doing.

�I don�t love you,� He said finally as he got within an awfully close proximity to her face. �And I�m not asking you to love me, love. I�m only asking that you love yourself enough not to love the man - which isn�t me - what loves you.�
Elizabeth stared in to his eyes for a few moments with her mouth hung open slightly in stunned incredulity.
�I don�t what came over me to make me believe I could have a rational conversation with you.� She said with an annoyed shake of her head.
�If I had a shilling for every time a person has said that to me... I could retire.�
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and it was obviously all she could do to keep from stomping her foot as she turned to leave.
�You�ll get bored.� Were the words that stopped her. She placed her hands on her hips and spun around angrily.
�Bored?� She squeaked. �Maybe that�s what I want. Perhaps I want a dull and predictable life where adventure is as unheard of as missing afternoon tea, and ghost stories are just stories. Maybe I want to have children and keep a proper house... and...�
�Days lost in formal superfluousness. Nights lost in obligatory surrender. To be a good man�s bored and dutiful wife... and to hear the pitter patter of little blacksmith feet.� Jack interrupted, wiggling his fingers like little legs, as he walked slowly closer to Elizabeth with a predatory stare. �Is that what you want, Lizzie?� Elizabeth took in a shaking breath and nodded.
�Y... yes. That�s what I want.�
Jack closed the remaining gap between them - all but pinning her body between himself and the wooden wall as he regarded her with a glint in his eyes and a small knowing smile.
�Love...� He said as he shook his head. �No one wants that.�
Elizabeth swallowed and Jack could see her pulse quicken in her wrist as he took her hand. Was he convincing her? Did she want that? Did she really want to leave all of this behind? Did she really want to leave him behind?
Yes, he answered his own questions. Ultimately, he was sure she did. Putting aside this childish fascination she had with him; the undeniable attraction they felt toward each other... She had been bred to want a quiet and peaceful life - one far removed from the sea and it�s many unseemly inhabitants. She was done with all of it. She just wanted Jack to help her save Will.
�I do.� She said finally. �I love W--�
Jack placed a finger against Elizabeth�s lips to quiet her - the smile suddenly having gone from his features and replaced by a mask of cool dispassion...
�I've no doubt it's true, love...� He started in a low tone. �But a man doesn't always need to hear the truth...� Simple and to the point... and decidedly uncharacteristic of the Jack Sparrow he had let her know. He had shown flashes of this different Jack, of course, but never up close... and never for longer than a moment. "And in any case, you can't have any of that with Will any more than you can have it with me. The sea's claimed him... you can have your normal life once every ten years."
Elizabeth looked down - these words seeming to strike a chord deep within her.
�I think it�s time for me to be heading back to my quarters....� She said with clenched teeth as she tried to push passed Jack.
A moment later she was being pressed against the wall by her shoulders by two very strong hands - a pair of dark, kohl lined eyes glaring at her dangerously.
�Perhaps that would be acceptable in your mythical proper household...� He nearly growled out. �But on the sea, on the Pearl, a person does not walk away from a captain unless that person is told to walk away... savvy?�
Elizabeth swallowed, and then nodded slowly.
"What is this secret that you possess, love?" He asked as he looked her over. "Are you ready to tell me?"
"I've told you a hundred times already, Jack... I don't know what she meant by that."
"Could it mean, perhaps, that you are in love with me?" He asked, knowing the answer - but speaking the words anyway. Elizabeth's face hardened.
"Who could ever love someone like you?" She nearly spat. Jack expected as much. A smile spread across his face and then he backed away from her. He raised a hand in the air for no particular reason at all, but Elizabeth knew the seemingly drunken gesture well.
�My mother." He said and it seemed he was his usual self again. He sat down and placed his booted feet heavily upon the wooden table in the middle of the room. �So, let�s get down to the murdering me business, shall we?�
�The mur-- what?� Elizabeth asked as her eyes widened in anger. �I thought we were well past that.�
�Well you thought wrong, didn�t you?�
�And what about the saving you business?�
�Oh yes, that.� He made a small what-about-that gesture with his hands. �You see, a deed can only undo it�s counterpart if it�s counterpart was a deed that can, indeed, be undone. I think you�ll find that bringing someone back from the dead is not necessarily a satisfactory form of retribution for killing them.�
�What else could there be? Bringing you back undid what I�ve done. It�s reversed.� She said, trying to speak to Jack in his own language.
�You�ve reversed nothing.� He said pointedly. �To reverse what you have done would be to make it so that you never shackled me to my ship to begin with... What you have done is, in fact, merely a follow up to what you have already done.�
�So I�m to pay for what I did to you regardless of my efforts - however successful they were - to save you?�
�Well, yes. Haven�t you been listening?�
�Have you ever tried listening to yourself speak?�
�In fact, I carry on lovely dialogues with myself. It�s the only way I�d ever find intelligent conversation.�
�You are incorrigible.�
�I feel that uttering the word �pirate� at this juncture would prove astonishingly redundant... so let�s just hope that one day you will accept what I am and move on to other more interesting subjects.�
�Jack--�
�Captain.�
Elizabeth clenched her jaw tightly.
�Captain...� She started angrily, and then took a deep breath. Her features changed from angry to pleading, and she took a step toward Jack. �Please... Will risked his life to help you, wont you do the same for him?�
Jack�s mouth spread in to a mocking grin.
�Well, you see, Miss Swann... I gave me life, however involuntarily, saving you lot from the sea beastie, and now Will has just as involuntarily volunteered his life to keep Calypso preoccupied and therefore unoccupied by thoughts of revenge on me. Seems to me that he and I are square on that account. Since I died saving him - and he might very well die saving me... as circumstances lay he owes me nothing, nor I him.� He regarded Elizabeth for a moment with a tilted head. �You, on the other hand, have yet to die for anyone. In fact, if memory serves... you�d be at least twice dead by now if it weren�t for dear ol� Jack - so you�ll be needing a fair bit of leverage to tilt the scales in your favor.� His eyes raked up and down her form, and she crossed her arms over her chest, and he could have sworn he saw her shiver.
�My body is not leverage, Captain Sparrow.�
�That�s more a matter of opinion.� His face stretched in to a wicked smile. �Which brings us back to my original point ot cants and cans, wills and wont's, couldn�ts...� He looked over her form once again. �And shouldn�ts.�
Elizabeth swallowed as her gaze fell to the floor. After a moment, Jack shrugged.
�Besides,� He continued. �Why do you assume it�s your body I�m after?�
Elizabeth looked up at him.
�It�s not?�
Jack tilted his head as though Elizabeth�s question had confused him - as though the answer should have been plain as day.
�Well... yes.� He said. �It is. I just wonder why you assumed that before at least giving me the benefit of the doubt.�
Elizabeth looked as though she would have clawed Jack�s eyes out on the spot if she had had the ability... or if she hadn�t needed Jack�s help to recover the man she loved.
�Captain Sparrow.� She began with clenched teeth. �I am quite disinclined to continue on in this manner of conversation with you. It is only in observance of your authority over this ship that I have not marched out of here already.�
�Or perhaps you are afraid of me.�
�Afraid?� She asked indignantly.
�Worry not, love. A fair amount of fear toward your superiors is healthy.�
�Superiors?� And this time the word was a shrill squeak of outrage. Jack was enjoying himself quite a bit more than he knew he should have been. Something had been out of sorts with him lately. Not just in regards to Elizabeth, though she did seem to make it a good deal worse. He feared the man Elizabeth and her companions had �rescued� from the ocean was not the same man that had gone in in the first place.
At that thought, Jack was not enjoying himself quite as much anymore - as was evident by the lack of mocking smile on his face.
�You have quite a talent for repeating words back at someone who has already said them, albeit in a decidedly more irritating manner.� He said in a way that, somehow, was devoid of all humor.
�If you�ll please, Captain...� Elizabeth started with a wary sigh, obviously trying her hardest not to lash out. �I would like to return to--�
�Normally, I wouldn�t please... but since you are no longer amusing me, I suppose I have no use for you at the present moment.� He said with a wave of his hand as his eyes settled back upon the charts he had been looking at before Elizabeth had burst through his cabin door unannounced and uninvited.
At that, Elizabeth stood rooted to the floor as she stared at the man before her in disbelief. In her sheltered and privileged life, she had probably come across very few people who would dare ever speak to her that way. As though she were some sort of... servant.
�Get used to it.� Jack said without even having the good grace to look up at her. �And get out.�
A few moments later the sound of Elizabeth opening and shutting the door to his cabin a bit louder than was necessary filled the cabin - and she was gone. He was alone.
She always left him alone, didn�t she?
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A Good Man