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,

Setting: After At World’s End

The Chosen

Chapter 17: Start of the Battle

Sunsets were always beautiful to watch, especially at sea. James Norrington had never taken the time to enjoy such a beautiful image, especially when he was on duty. A few things have been thrown into perspective. The first was the fact he may not live to see another one after his fight against Turner, despite the fact he was confident in his fighting skills and the fact Tia Dalma had told him he was also destined for something else, besides being the Chosen. The other factor for his new appreciation were the civilians who wanted to see the sunset, most of them were women, but nearly every evening they would gather around on deck and watch as the sun sank lower and lower.

“It is one of mother nature’s and God’s greatest works of art,” James said as the sun had reached the port where it had darkened to orange and bled, staining the sky and the clouds in shades of gold, orange, and pink. He did not even dare to blink until he felt a hand on his arm. “Julia?”

“No,” the woman behind him was Elizabeth. “It is me. Were you expecting Julia?” James wasn’t too sure, but her voice did sound a bit hopeful.

“She has very light footsteps,” James said and realized he may have insulted his friend. “She has mastered the skill of stealth, do not get me wrong. Your footsteps are also light and if I were still human I would have not been able to hear them.”

“I did not change the way that I walk,” Elizabeth shrugged. “I think you may have been gathering wool.”

“My mind has been on the upcoming battle,” James stared into her brown eyes. “I may not live after this.”

“You are scaring me. Do not talk like that.”

“It is a slim chance, but there is the chance.” He turned towards the brow. “We do not know how many Minions Mr. Turner has, how many of them who may be skilled fighters.”

“Or how many may be civilians with no fighting ability at all,” Elizabeth said softly. “Like my father. I hope is dreams are peaceful.”

“Do not hold it back,” he wiped the tears that had gathered around the corners of her eyes. “Now is the time to cry. When we arrive in Port Royal I need you to be strong.”

“I am strong, I am not strong enough.” The amount of tears increased. “I am not as experience as you are with a sword.”

“You are an excellent swordsman. I mean swordswoman. I have seen your skill in what you had taught Julia so far.”

“Do you think she can fight?”

“She has said she is willing to do what it would take to save those she cares about.” James remembered the last conversation with Julia and realized he had more reasons to fight and survive. He had to fight for his crew, his neighbors and his friends. He had to think about what will happen after they win. He would check on the Turners to make certain William was faring well and he would like to visit Julia and invite her and her father to a few meals. “The only positive thing that has come from this is that I have gained a few new friends.”

“Friends?” Elizabeth blinked. “Yes, Julia is a wonderful friend.”

“She certainly is,” James had wondered why Elizabeth had sounded disappointed for a second. “Perhaps when this is over we can all meet for this salon you had planned.” His words had brought her to smile.

The Minion’s hands were like ice, almost cold enough to burn. William Turner had stared at her pale hands as she brushed her fingers against his bare shoulders and chest, wondering why they hadn’t cracked. He did not shudder from the tips of her sharp fingernails tapping against his flesh. He was used to that feeling, what he wasn’t used to was the temperature of her skin. When she pressed her bare breasts against his back he shuddered.

“Am I not pleasing you, master?” She asked.

“You are cold,” Will grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her around so he could stare into her dark eyes. She was very pretty; her skin was like fine cream in color. Her dark hair fell into perfect waves. She had a lovely body, long legs, round breasts and a slim middle.

“Should I sit in the front of the fire until I am warm enough for you?”

“No,” he couldn’t stop thinking about Elizabeth. His minion’s breasts were lager than Elizabeth’s, but they were not his wife’s, not perfect. He wanted to sate his desire, but not with any pretty and willing woman. He wanted his wife. He wanted to stare into Elizabeth’s warm brown eyes, have his fingers run through her honey colored hair, to be the first person he sees when he wakes up and the last person he sees when he goes to bed.

“Why not master?”

Yes, why not? The cold voice hissed through his mind. You are eager; your flesh’s willing and so is hers.

“Not Elizabeth,” was Will’s response.

“Master?” The Minion blinked.

You refuse this luscious figure? You no longer have those restrictions. You can have anyone you want.

“I want my wife.”

“She isn’t here,” The minion reached for her dressing gown and corset, knowing full well she was not going to share a bed with Will in that night.

“She will return to me.”

She has run off with Norrington, your enemy.

“I do not care,” Will slipped on his trousers. “I will kill him and take her back.”

“Master,” several fists drummed at the door. “Half the Royal navy has returned.”

“So he has come back,” Will smirked. “Knows what I am and I can do. He thinks he can kill me with his military.” What Admiral Norrington did not know is that most of Port Royal was crawling with his Minions; many of them knew how to use a sword and pistols. There were even some naval officers and marines who hadn’t escaped who were under his sway. “Prepare our ships. We need to send out our welcome.”

Elizabeth did not wait for the first cannon to fire, nor did she wait for the first sign of an enemy ship to be sighted. As soon as the announcement of Port Royal coming into view was made she ran down below deck, and she had nearly ran into Mr. Carlisle and a couple of midshipman.

“Sorry Mrs. Turner,” Roland Carlisle held up his hands.

“It is my fault,” Elizabeth said between pants. “But now is not the time for propriety and manners.”

“What is wrong?” One of the midshipmen asked. He was one of the oldest members of his rank, skin had already started to become spotty and voice changing pitches, nearly squeaking at times.

“We are nearing Port Royal. We need to be armed and ready.”

“Is this an order from a lieutenant?” the younger boy asked.

“It is a command from Admiral Norrington himself,” Elizabeth answered. “He has asked me to address the civilians.”

“We’ll both inform them,” Roland turned to the midshipmen. “You go meet with your commanding officers.”

The tent flaps made from curtains and sheets were pulled apart as Elizabeth ran down the hallway. Mr. Carlisle had run down the opposite. Elizabeth did not stand in the open gaps. She did not hear gasps from the couples and friends who shared sections. “It is time. Grab you weapon of choice and be prepared,” was the repeated greeting she had given to everyone. Once she had had finished she climbed the stares back up.

The sound of a not too distant cannon brought her to pause. The first shot had been fired. James had a great sense of timing.

“You shouldn’t be up here, Mrs. Turner.” Lieutenant Pryce greeted her when she reached the deck. “Naval officers only.”

“Admiral Norrington would want me up here.” Elizabeth didn’t even look at him as she made her way to the helm. She had tried to ignore the sounds of various cannons being fired.

“Elizabeth,” James briefly turned to her. “Did you get the word out?”

“Everyone has been informed and are preparing themselves,” she stared out at what lied before them. She could clearly see the island of Jamaica and when she squinted she could see the docks, but between the land and their ships were other ships, heading straight for them. “Those do not look like pirate ships.”

“They are not,” James handed her his spyglass. “You can see for yourself. Some of them are merchant and fishing vessels. The others are ships of the Royal Navy.”

Elizabeth did not want to admit she could not tell a regular ship from a pirate ship unless there was the telling Jolly Roger. She could pick out a naval vessel out of a hundred ships.

“Not everyone was able to escape.”

“I know,” James said softly. “We left too early.”

“Do not say it,” Elizabeth was not in the mood to hear anybody lay the blame game down upon themselves. “You have helped several people, hundreds in fact. Think about how many possible pirate attacks you have prevented, by all the men you had captured and sent to the gallows.”

“I wasn’t able to save them all.”

“You can’t save everyone.” She brought the spyglass back to her eye. Several members of their fleet were battling against the enemy. A few other ships joined in to help make short work of the battle, while others continued to the beaches and ports. “Many are continuing on.”

“We do not want to kill them or bring them any harm. They want to make certain that you and I will get to your husband. I am destined to do battle with him.”

“And he needs to hear how much I love him.” She said.

James felt his body tingle with fear and excitement as the Naiad and several other ships sailed past the on sea battle. James half wished he could aid them. His fingers curled around the hilt of his sword while he shouted the commands to keep firing and have the gangplanks ready to board the enemy vessel. There will be another day, another time, when he will be hunting down pirates and there was always the possibility of war between Spain and or France. They had to keep going. They had to find William Turner and vanquish the evil from his body.

“Do we wish to strike the beaches or the docks,” Lieutenant Pryce asked.

“The docks,” James had commanded. To his right he could see the Atlantis, and to his left he saw The Black Pearl.

“They are already waiting for us,” Elizabeth pointed to the crowds at the piers. Most were ordinary citizens but several were wearing military uniforms.

“We should have known they would be waiting for us,” James said. Two other ships had docked before them and the Favorites on both had poured out from the gangplanks and onto the docks. Several pistols were fired as the battle took place “Try and aim for their pistols or the arm they are holding their pistols. We do not want to cause too many injuries. They do not wish to fight against us.”

“Will won’t be here,” Elizabeth said. “He is either at our house or at my father’s mansion.”

“More likely the mansion.” James said.

“The anchor has been dropped,” Lieutenant Pryce shouted.

“It won’t be long now,” James felt his body stiffen. “Are you ready, Elizabeth?”

“More than ready,” Elizabeth said. She had grabbed onto the hilt of her sword.

The planks had been lowered, military men, and civilians alike poured out onto the docks, several rushed straight into the thick of the battle of swords and pistols, scratches and kisses. Others ran a head. Shots were heard far ahead into the portside shops.

“To the Governor’s mansion,” James commanded as he led his Favorites.

“Let me be leading the charge,” a gruff and familiar voice was heard before the figure of Barbossa ran up ahead. There was no mistaking the large feathered hat, or the unkempt scraggily beard. “If what Jack said is to be true then ye need to not be touched by their claws, Admiral.”

“And I had thought the world could possibly not go even more mad,” James muttered. Hector Barbossa was one of the last figures he had thought to do something this noble and be willing to take an intended attack for him. James had expected the man to be this logical, but not this noble.

“And you are not the man to be taking that position,” Commodore Taylor glared at the pirate as he led his men along side James’s. “Admiral it would best if you remained in the middle.”

“Myself and Mrs. Turner,” James agreed.

“Agreed,” the commodore nodded before he leaned in towards James. “I have never engaged in the forces of the unknown before.”

“I understand if this unfamiliar territory for you and if you are afraid.”

“I am not, my father has told me about such stories.”

“Was your father in the navy?”

The commodore shook his head. “He was a fighter in a different way.”

They continued down the various streets and paths. Commodore Taylor knew his way around and did not need to hear any directions from James, Elizabeth or Captain Groves. Several small groups of Minions had come at them at full force, but were quickly disposed of with only a few Favorites being injured or loosing consciousness.

James had wanted to stay behind and heal them, but knew they had to move on.

“Not Mr. Humphrey’s shop,” Abigail had said sadly as they passed by Port Royal’s confectionary. Every glass window had been shattered leaving a few fragments to hang like the pointed teach of a predatory animal and the door was torn off, there were several burning holes in the roof. “He was such a kind man. This was my favorite store when I was a child. Whenever my brothers sister and I were well behaved mother would take us here to and she bought us some sweets.”

“He made his marzipan everyday,” Elizabeth said softly. “I remembered the first day I visited the shop. It wasn’t long after we had first arrived in Port Royal. I had always told him the details of the latest book I had read while he had cut a few pieces of the almond flavored sweetmeats and unlike most adults he listened carefully. “I hope he and his family are all right.”

“I visited him they day before we had to leave,” Julia Carlisle spoke up. “He made these treats. He would take a hazelnut and cover it in creamy chocolate, dip it in liquid chocolate and cover it in shredded coconut He would pay one of the local youths to gather the coconuts for him every morning so they would always be fresh.”

“He is a good man,” James remembered the few times he had visited the shop. He had a particular fondness for the roasted almonds coated in a cinnamon glaze, as well as the candied hazelnuts and walnuts.

“We all love sweet and naughty things,” Jack Sparrow walked in front of the young women, waving his hands. “But if you want the shop to be not broken then why don’t we fix it?” He turned to James. “We can just wave our fingers and it will repair itself, savvy.”

“I am certain Admiral Norrington would want to use his new abilities,” Commodore Taylor said. “But we do have more pressing matters at hand.”

“I thought we all can make it better,” Jack stated. “Big group likes us.”

“As much as I hate to admit it he is right,” James sighed. “Everyone try to picture this place whole and concentrate.” He closed his eyes and focused on the sweet shop. He did not open his eyes until he heard the tinkling music of pieces of glass sliding across the ground. He opened his eyes and watched as sections of glass settled into the windowpanes, the cracks slowly sealed over. The door reached itself to its hinges and the holes in the roof had been healed.

“We all have the ability?” the commodore asked.

“A weakened form of what I can do,” James nodded. “In a large group we are powerful. We need to continue but focus your powers.”

They stepped with a bit more pride as the walked quickly, running for a few jaunts; every broken building they had passed was completely repaired. Every sick and weak body they had passed by on the street rolled over and sat up, staring at them in shock and admiration.

James had looked over at Elizabeth as they marched; she did not appear frightened nor was she sad. She had appeared as determined as he felt, none of his assembly of Favorites had shown any fear on their faces. He tried not to change his expression, even when he felt soft fingers interlace with his own. He saw the glint of dark red hair out of the corner of his eye and squeezed Julia’s hand back.

James gritted his teeth when he smelled the smoke. As they neared the mansion the columns grew thicker and darker. He knew he would see fires when they had arrived at the mansion. He was only half expecting the crowd of people waiting for him.

“Where is he?” James had heard Elizabeth suck in her breath at the sound of William’s voice. “Where is your admiral?” William Turner had climbed on top of one of the gate walls and stood high above his minions.

“I am here Mr. Turner.” James had cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“So you choose to hide behind others,” Turner jibed, his snake like black tail lashed from side to side.

“We can the same about you mate,” Jack called out. .

“So Captain Jack Sparrow is back,” William placed his hands on his hips. “Did Elizabeth run of to you as well?”

“No I didn’t,” Elizabeth shouted. “You are not well. We are here to help you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I feel better than ever.”

“You are not yourself, lad.” Jack called out. “We not ourselves either, been touched by angels as it were. Come to cure you of your tail and horns.”

“No one is going to cure me,” William pulled the sword from its sheath. “Attack, kill if you wish, but leave Elizabeth unharmed.”

“Try not to kill them,” James commanded. “Weaken them to the point you can kiss them.” He took in a deep breath. “Now!”