Horizons
Title: Horizons
Author: nelliedances/Miss Ruby Tuesday
Rating: Mild R for later chapters
Pairings: Jack/Elizabeth, mentions of Will/Elizabeth
Warnings: Very vague DMC/AWE. Set after the third movie
Disclaimer: Sure I own it; I also have a great bridge for sale in Brooklyn, if anyone’s interested.
Summary: Elizabeth, trapped and unhappy with life on land and with Will, embarks on an affair with Jack.
Status: Complete with epilogue.
There had been precious few orders that day, it was hotter than hell, and Master Brown passed out long before they were finished. Will felt that, in light of this, he should be free to leave earlier than he usually was allowed. He'd be able to surprise Elizabeth today; perhaps he'd be able to make her smile. He hurried through town, past her home as he had promised yesterday, and up the path to the bluff. When he reached the top, however, he was dismayed that she wasn't where he expected. He began to chastise himself for not stopping by her home on his way until he remembered what she had mentioned in days past: she wandered the beach. With renewed enthusiasm, he started back down the path to the little cove he remembered she had always favoured.
It took longer than he expected to reach the sand. The trail was steep and covered with loose rocks and sand. His boots had slipped more than once coming down the path; he couldn't imagine how Elizabeth did this every day. As he edged down the last few meters, he thought back to how excited she had been, as a teenager, to have found such a secluded beach. She had dragged him there, one night after Master Brown had fallen asleep, to see it. The path had been hidden by overgrowth, just like it was now, and was virtually invisible from any vantage point. She had called it their secret spot and he smiled at the memories of the nights they had lain on the sand, watching the stars in the sky.
“Hurry, Will!” Elizabeth's insistent voice called from behind the brush. “I have the most wonderful place to show you!”
Will hurried behind her, his gangly limbs catching on the local flora. He knew she'd wait for him, but not for long. She's already the better part of an hour for him to finish. She had admonished him for taking so long, insisting that Master Brown would never notice a bit of dirt here or there. She was right, but Will had too much pride in “his” shop to leave it a mess.
He caught up to her, finally, and she snatched his hand, pulling him forward.
“Hurry now! If we don't, we'll miss the sunset and that's the best part!” He barely heard her, though. All he could concentrate on was the feeling of her soft hand in his. It was at that moment that Will decided he would someday wed Elizabeth Swann.
He smiled with the memory as he reached the last few scrubby bushes before the beach when he caught scent of her spicy sweet perfume. The sweetness was fainter than the day before, when he had stood with her on the bluff, and the burnt sugar smell of rhum seemed to overpower the other, lighter notes.
Will peered through the bush, trying to see where Elizabeth was. He could see a person standing in the distance, but the figure, while familiar, didn't bear her shape. He crouched down and squinted, trying to find out who else knew about the secret cove when, suddenly, the shape took several steps back. It was enough for Will to focus.
Indeed, the shape should have been familiar. The tricorne hat was placed jauntily over long black hair and a sash at his waist fluttered in the sea breeze. It was none other than Jack Sparrow himself. Will chuckled ironically to himself; if anyone knew about hidden coves, it should be a pirate. He was almost ready to step onto the beach and greet Jack when he saw something that froze him in his place.
Elizabeth.
She rounded the corner barefoot, soaking wet, stripped down to her shift, and positively beaming. Will hadn't seen her this happy since setting foot on dry land. It stung more than a little that he had not been able to make her smile like that. She advanced fast towards Jack, who took several more steps back. It was then Will noticed he had something-- a necklace-- clutched in one of his hands.
“What's a matter, luv? Don't want your prize enough to work for it?” he said as he raised the arm in question out of her reach. “Really, Lizabeth, did you expect me to come and just drop it in your pretty little hands?”
She laughed joyfully. “I did, Jack. I expected you to be a bit more of a gentleman than this.”
He flashed her smile full of gold teeth. “Pirate.” His fingers, however, loosened their grasp on the necklace just enough for it to swing almost within her reach.
“Give it here!” She was upon him in a flash, an arm on his shoulder, as though she meant to use it to climb to her prize. Will watched the scene unfold from the bushes, awestruck, and unable to tear his eyes away. Jack's arm slunk around her waist, pulling her to him even as he leaned back to keep the necklace from her grasp. Her fingers brushed the very edge of the chain.
“Please, Jack...” Her voice had dropped an octave and taken on a tone that Will had never heart from her before. It rang in his ears like the calls of the women he had met in the Faythful Bryde while looking for Jack the second time in Tortuga. It was the voice of desire.
In a moment, the necklace was forgotten and Jack dropped his head to claim her mouth. She surged against him and Will was distantly reminded of a wave crashing up the shore. The force of her kiss pushed him back, knocking off his hat, and causing him to stumble and pull her more tightly to him. Will no longer heard the words spoken between them, only the rumble of Jack's voice against her lips and her lilting laugh in return. Will's spell was broken as the pair sank into the sand. He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes as he stumbled back up the bath. A cruel wind followed him as he fled, bringing snippets of phrases to him that he could not escape.
“...my Lizzie...”
“...love you, Jack... all my heart...”
“...marriage, luv...”
Tears finally blinded Will as he reached the path back to town.