PotC - Worth the Trouble
Title: Worth the Trouble
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Disney's. I don't own it. No infringement is intended and no profit is made.
Summary: Elizabeth wonders why she listens to Jack's follies. Written for outinthestorm and the prompt "spooky".
Author's note: Vague enough it could probably be set at any point after the movies or even in my old J/E 'verse. Thanks to geekmama for beta reading!
Worth the Trouble
by Hereswith
“Jack!” she called out, but only the echo of her own voice answered her, made hollow and more plaintive on rebounding. The cave was damp and deep, its roof too high for the torchlight to reach, and at this distance from the entrance, outside the circle of brightness where she stood, there was nothing but shadow.
She could hear a soft dripping noise in the silence that surrounded her, and her skin crawled, unease making her tense and angry. At the sudden rush of wind over her head, she jumped, her hand going to the hilt of her sword, but she glimpsed the bat before the darkness swallowed it again and breathed out.
“Why?” she muttered, teeth clenched. “Why do I listen to his follies?”
“Curiosity.”
It came from behind her and instinct had her reacting before reason caught up. She twisted, sword drawn, and he froze to the spot with the blade’s tip mere inches from his throat, looking reproachful and sounding so, too. “Now where's your sense of adventure, love?”
She kept the sword steady and pointed at him a moment longer than she needed to, then sheathed it. “Did you find it?”
“Aye,” he said. “Right and right’s where we went wrong. Should’ve been right and left.”
They retraced their steps, taking a left turn through a large chamber to a tunnel that sloped steeply down. She had to pick her way carefully to avoid stumbling on the stones as she walked and doubted her sanity, cursing him for being correct. Because she was curious.
But it wasn’t long before they emerged into another cavern, half-filled with water that seemed to glow a clear, brilliant blue. Blinking in surprise, Elizabeth realised there must be an opening to the sea somewhere below the surface, allowing the sunlight to spill through, and she had to grant it was pretty. Moreover, to swim in that iridescent liquid would undoubtedly be as remarkable as he had claimed.
Jack placed his torch in a crevice in the wall and did the same with hers, when she gave it to him. “Worth the trouble, eh?”
It would have been easy to admit to the wonder she felt, but he expected that, so instead she said, “Not yet.”
He eyed her, brows lifted, and she met his gaze squarely. With a chuckle, he sat on a flat rock to remove his boots, complaining, “You’re devilish hard to satisfy, you know.”
She settled to watch him, her lips twitching with restrained laughter. “You did promise me an extraordinary sight.”
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Disney's. I don't own it. No infringement is intended and no profit is made.
Summary: Elizabeth wonders why she listens to Jack's follies. Written for outinthestorm and the prompt "spooky".
Author's note: Vague enough it could probably be set at any point after the movies or even in my old J/E 'verse. Thanks to geekmama for beta reading!
Worth the Trouble
by Hereswith
“Jack!” she called out, but only the echo of her own voice answered her, made hollow and more plaintive on rebounding. The cave was damp and deep, its roof too high for the torchlight to reach, and at this distance from the entrance, outside the circle of brightness where she stood, there was nothing but shadow.
She could hear a soft dripping noise in the silence that surrounded her, and her skin crawled, unease making her tense and angry. At the sudden rush of wind over her head, she jumped, her hand going to the hilt of her sword, but she glimpsed the bat before the darkness swallowed it again and breathed out.
“Why?” she muttered, teeth clenched. “Why do I listen to his follies?”
“Curiosity.”
It came from behind her and instinct had her reacting before reason caught up. She twisted, sword drawn, and he froze to the spot with the blade’s tip mere inches from his throat, looking reproachful and sounding so, too. “Now where's your sense of adventure, love?”
She kept the sword steady and pointed at him a moment longer than she needed to, then sheathed it. “Did you find it?”
“Aye,” he said. “Right and right’s where we went wrong. Should’ve been right and left.”
They retraced their steps, taking a left turn through a large chamber to a tunnel that sloped steeply down. She had to pick her way carefully to avoid stumbling on the stones as she walked and doubted her sanity, cursing him for being correct. Because she was curious.
But it wasn’t long before they emerged into another cavern, half-filled with water that seemed to glow a clear, brilliant blue. Blinking in surprise, Elizabeth realised there must be an opening to the sea somewhere below the surface, allowing the sunlight to spill through, and she had to grant it was pretty. Moreover, to swim in that iridescent liquid would undoubtedly be as remarkable as he had claimed.
Jack placed his torch in a crevice in the wall and did the same with hers, when she gave it to him. “Worth the trouble, eh?”
It would have been easy to admit to the wonder she felt, but he expected that, so instead she said, “Not yet.”
He eyed her, brows lifted, and she met his gaze squarely. With a chuckle, he sat on a flat rock to remove his boots, complaining, “You’re devilish hard to satisfy, you know.”
She settled to watch him, her lips twitching with restrained laughter. “You did promise me an extraordinary sight.”