The Chosen 13

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Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related characters belong to Walt Disney, Gore, Jerry, Ted and Terry.

Rating: T for now. 

Characters: Most of the entire cast

Pairings: Will/Elizabeth, Jack/Anamaria,

 

The Chosen

 

Chapter 13: Sparks

 

-

Elizabeth Turner had many dreams since she and William had returned from that messy battle at World’s End. She had several nightmares of Davy Jones and his crew. Most involved Jones running Will through with a barnacle cover blade while she was hanging over the mouth of The Kraken. She had nightmares of Sao Feng pressing the tips of his metal claw against her throat, demanding to know more about Jack Sparrow. She had a few reoccurring nightmares where James had died, but in those dreams Tia Dalma did not bring him back.

They were not all nightmares. There were a few of her, about to be married to Jack, but she threw down her bouquet and jumped over the side of the ship where Will was waiting for her in a longboat. There were a few dreams where she was a pirate captain of her own ship; some of her crew included her friends from Port Royal. There was that one odd and disturbing dream where she had married Cutler Beckett, and the less she thought of that dream the better.

Mostly she dreamed of Will and being with him forever. She had dreams where they rode horses on the beach. She dreamed of Will as a naval officer, leaving for duty on James’s ship. She had dreamed they were both merfolk once and dreamed of their first kiss. She had a few reoccurring dreams where she and Will were invited to James’s wedding, but she had no idea who the bride was and always woke up just as James was lifting the veil to kiss his new wife.

Her most recent dreams were also the most frightening. She had seen the ghostly image of her father’s spirit flicker in and out near his sleeping form, begging her for her help. She had seen people, covered with cuts and bruises, crawling through the destruction that was once Port Royal, crying out for someone to aid them. The most disturbing image was of her husband, seated on a black throne with a glass filled with blood red wine in his hand and a smirk on his face while surrounded by dead bodies.

“Hello my beloved wife,” Will greeted her in a low tone. “It is nice that you are finally able to join us.”

“Join you?” Elizabeth gasped. “I could never join you, not when you are like this.”

“You will be by my side,” Will stood up. “You are my wife, you will do as I say, respect me, honor me, love me.”

“I love my husband.” She reached for a sword that was not there. “I do not love the thing that has taken over him.”

“Taken over?” His grip increased, the strength of his hand was enough to crush the stem, sending the rest of the glass and wine to fall to the stone floor where it shattered. “Nothing has taken over. This is the real me.” He stretched out his arms to approach her. “And since you are married to me, you are bound to everything.”

Elizabeth flinched when she felt hands grasp her arms. She didn’t even turn to look into the eyes of who held her to know they were Minions. “I married William Turner, my childhood friend. He is one of the bravest, kindest, and best skilled men in the world. You are not him.”

“Don’t worry my dear,” Will grinned, showing a mouth filled with sharp teeth. His horns were longer than before and even curled to the back of his head. “You will.” He reached for her with his talons.

-

Elizabeth sat up. She was not in some fortress/castle/mansion or wherever it was. She was in her bed in the cabin she shared with Julia.

“Was it the same?” Julia stood by her bed with a damp cloth in her hand. “I am sorry I did not wake you.” She wiped Elizabeth’s forehead. “Father told me it was always bad to try and wake people up when they are dreaming.”

“You do not have to apologize,” Elizabeth said. She was thankful she was not alone. It made her feel safer to share a room with a friend. “Have you been sleeping well?”

“Yes, considering what I know.”

“Only four of us know about your dreams,” Elizabeth said. James and Mr. Carlisle had both told her and Julia had acknowledged. “I’m so sorry you knew all these things and couldn’t tell anyone.”

“I wanted to,” Julia set the cloth down. “I couldn’t, not with the possibility people might think I am a witch.”

“I understand.”

“Do you need anything to drink?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I just need to sleep a little more, and hopefully with no nightmares.”

-

Three pairs of breeches and that would be enough. James had set the other two pairs of white breeches in front of him. With everyone knowing what he had become he was free to not hide his new features as much as before. He still kept his hair tied back and wore his wig and hat. He was not afraid to grin more often. Everyone knew about his fangs. James no longer tied his tail against his thigh, although it was still uncomfortable. He had one pair of breeches he wore when he was first transformed and was able to slide his tail through the hole.

“Admiral?” Lieutenant Pryce knocked on the door to his cabin.

“In a minute,” James brought the tip of his knife against the back of the breeches, right where his tail should be and pressed hard and twisted it around. He made a similar hole in the second pair before he stood up. “Lieutenant?”

The young man was holding his hat when James had opened the door. “According to the coordinates we will arrive at Great Inagua within a day.”

“Good,” James nodded. Hopefully Sparrow will be there or be on his way, or at leas Gibbs would have made him remember. “Lieutenant, are you holding your hat in that way?”

“My hat?” Pryce blinked before he held up the hat in question. “I am holding it out of respect for you.”

“Is it because of my rank?” James just stared at him. “You have never held your hat like that before.”

“Not because you are an admiral,” Pryce stared at the floor. “It is because of what you are.”

James closed his eyes. “I do not know how many times I have to say this, but I am not an angel. I have been chosen by an angel and have the aspects of one, but I am not a pure angel.”

“It is just the aspects alone,” Pryce said. “My father is a vicar and he and mum were not exactly pleased with my decision to join the Navy, but they mention they are always praying for us. My father taught me everything there was to know about angels. He even told me some stories that were from the Catholics, about saints and other stories.”

“Lieutenant,” James placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am certain your parents are proud of you and they would be even prouder if they knew their son was fighting for Heaven.”

“I know,” Pryce felt the points of his ears.

“Do not see or treat me different now, than you did before we came in contact with the pillar of light.”

“I will, Admiral.” Pryce placed his hat on his head before he left.

James felt his tail swaying back and forth. How many others saw him in a similar fashion? He would address his men about that detail.

-

“You still insist on following me, Miss Peterson?” Theodore Groves asked as he was about to head to the gun deck.

“That depends,” Abigail placed a finger under her bottom lip. “Will you answer any question that I ask?”

“If I answer them will you leave me alone?” He was ready to do anything to get her out of his hair.

“That depends on if you will answer my questions truthfully.”

“I have every full intention,” he tried not to frown. He was doing everything to keep from showing a facial reaction to raising or even lowering his voice.

“But how would I know if it was the exact truth or just an answer to satisfy me?” Her lips were pulled in that smile that was smug and yet innocent at the same time.

“You will have to take my word as a Captain in her majesty’s Royal Navy.” Groves kept his composure. “However if that is not enough and you still insist on following me, I have something for you.”

“You have something for me?” She had paused in her steps and that smile of hers had faded.

“Yes I do,” Theodore climbed the top step and grabbed the parchment and quill from the officer waiting for him. “I want you to take this.”

“What am I to do with this?” She stared at parchment before she accepted it.

“I need you to take some notes for me,” Theodore stepped back to give her room. “I need to take inventory of some of the supplies here. I need you to write them down. I will also ask you to write down more important notes through out this mission, however if you wish to retreat below and be with your family I will also understand.”

“Do you have any inkwells?” She asked, dashing any hopes Theodore had in getting rid of her.

“I do have the one with me,” he sighed before he approached a stack of powder kegs. “We should start with the powder.”

“I believe that was a truthful answer,” Abigail said. “I know we are nearing an island, one of the Bahamas to be exact, but which one?”

“We will be arriving at Great Inagua in less than a day.” He inspected the stacks of kegs and counted them. “We have fifteen kegs of gunpowder.”

“Fifteen kegs of gunpowder,” Abigail repeated as she wrote it down.

“Now for the cannon balls.” Hopefully he would either answer enough questions or she would end up getting tired from the task, either way he would end up being rid of her.

-

 James approached the room shared by Julia and Elizabeth with a feeling of hope at six bells. The previous day had turned into hours, which sped by with drills, meals, conversations with civilians, and sleep. James was ready to have breakfast with Elizabeth, Roland Carlisle, and Julia Carlisle and wait the announcement of land being sighted.

“Elizabeth?” James knocked on the door. “Miss Carlisle? Breakfast will be ready within the next half hour.”

“They are not in here,” Roland, answered him.

“They are not?” James asked as he turned the knob. The door was unlocked. Roland Carlisle was standing by one of the small tables, staring at a stack of paper.

“No they are not,” the older man did not remove his eyes from the paper. “Julia has been drawing for awhile.”

“She is a talented artist,” James nodded. “Her skill and desire to create should not be forced to rest because of all that has gone on.”

“I knew you were a man who appreciated fine art,” Roland had a wry smile.

“Thank you,” James smiled briefly. “You wouldn’t happen to know where your daughter and Elizabeth had run off to.”

“Julia does not know much about ships, although you wouldn’t guess by looking at this image.” He coughed. “Elizabeth had decided to give Julia a small tour of the ship.”

“A small tour won’t be a problem,” he blinked. “What do you mean by this image?”

Roland’s eyes widened and he slipped his glasses back on. “She hadn’t shown you what she had drawn?”

“No she hadn’t,” James approached the table as the older man stepped aside. The picture on top was a drawing of a ship, an actual detailed image of the HMS Atlantis. He studied the picture; impressed that Julia was able to copy it perfectly. “Remarkable.” He set the picture down and picked up another. It was a drawing of a forest, a third was a picture of a couple of horses, and fourth was of a couple of ship fish jumping the waves. The fifth image caused him to freeze. It was a portrait of him. He was wearing both wig and hat and had a stern solemn expression.

“I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.’

“No, it doesn’t,” He kept staring at the drawing and felt his own eyes staring back at himself. “I really should smile more often, should I?”

“Well it is not my place to tell you which facial expressions you should have.”

“I should try to find them and inform them of breakfast,” James felt the corners of his mouth turn up as he set the drawing down.

-

“Main mast lower,” Elizabeth pointed to the sections of the sails. “Main top mast, main topgallant mast and a ship like the Naiad has a royal mast section.”

Julia Carlisle stared up at the main mast as she took in the words. “Staring at these sails I can see a beauty in them. They were lovely when I was drawing the Atlantis, but seeing them unfurl in the morning and billow out. There are no words to describe it.”

“I’m not certain if you really want to know the sections of the mizzen mast,” Elizabeth said. “It is pretty much the same as the others, lower, top, and topgallant.”

“You are not boring me at all,” Julia, breathed deeply, “I am fascinated by everything and it has inspired me.” She clasped her hands together. “I wish father would let me ride some ships and visit other places. There is much more to draw.”

“It is not all that exciting,” Elizabeth sighed.

“I know you were there. You have worked on a pirate ship, fought against and with other pirates, and seen things that others have dreamed off.” She dropped her voice, “And fueled nightmares.”

“Not everyone wishes for what I have gone through.” Elizabeth wished she could travel back in time and slap her younger self for being obsessed with pirates, then again if her younger self wasn’t as obsessed would she be married to Will or would she be married to James?

“I know I should be careful for what I wish for,” Julia nodded. “I have wished for excitement and I remember hiding under my bed when Port Royal was attacked a few years ago and now this is happening.”

“Some would want a simple life.” God knows Elizabeth was glad when things had settled and she and Will had moved into their own house. Life had seemed to go back to normal for a while.

“But you are still different. You know about sailing and how to use a sword.” Julia stared at her own hands. “I just know how to draw, paint and bake cakes and biscuits.”

“I wish I could at least bake,” Elizabeth grabbed her friend’s wrist. “I know how to serve tea and coffee, and prepare some soups and that is all. If it weren’t for Estrella we would starve.” She felt a sharp pain in her stomach. The last she saw of her faithful servant was when Estrella was fighting Will and provide Elizabeth with a way to escape. “Estrella.”

“She is still alive?”

“Alive and unconscious, just like father.”

“We will rescue them and your husband,” Julia stared into her eyes. “Admiral Norrington will succeed.”

“We have to have faith in James.”

“You have told me he is a skilled fighter and sailor, and a good man.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I can see why you chose to draw him.”

“All fine naval officers should have their portraits done.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “I wonder what he would say if he finds your drawing.”

“Finds it?” Julia stammered. Her whole face turned crimson, even her neck and ears had flushed.

“I knew it. You fancy him.”

“I,” she placed a hand behind her head. “What do you mean?” She laughed.

“There is no shame. James is a very fine man.”

“Who said there is shame?” Julia lowered her arm. “What single woman doesn’t fancy Admiral James Norrington? I am certain some married women fancy him as well, but it is not my place to gossip, and I don’t mean you.”

“I know,” Elizabeth tried no to smile. After everything was returned back to normal she would find ways for James and Julia to spend more time together.

-