Fathoms Below: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 10: Drink up me hearties Yo-Ho.

The drums rang out loudly but I could scarcely hear them over the pounding of my heart. It was time.

I stood beside Elizabeth and my uncle at Fort Charles, my bonnet hanging low on my head, shielding my face from the unforgiving sun. I was filled nerves at what was about to happen, remembering back to the conversation with Norrington when we returned to the dauntless.

My stomach still knotted at the memory that I couldn't stop replaying in my mind.
—-
(Flashback)
Jack was immediately escorted to the brig and Norrington all but dragged me into his naval office.

"How dare you disobey my order! You were told to stay in the cabin with Elizabeth, to stay out of harms way and you directly disobeyed my command." He was seething as he slammed his hand down on the desk. I stood meekly before him, staring at the floor, out of all options. "I go to your cabin to check on your well-being and find that you have deceived me, sneaking away to assist the pirate! How do you think that made me feel Lillian? No fiancé of mine will do this!" He snapped, raising his hand and striking me across the face, hard.
I wobbled for a moment, thrown off by the force of his strike but regained my balance quickly and tried hard to not react to the, quite frankly, deserved slap.
He paused for a moment, his eyes widening as if he was surprised by his own actions. His mouth opened as if to utter an apology but he said nothing and closed it again not a moment later as he looked as me with remorseful eyes. After a moment of silence, he huffed out a sigh and walked away to stand behind his desk.
"Sparrow will face the gallows when we return. Now leave," he muttered with a flat tone as he took his seat, clearly battling with disgust both for himself and me.
I reminded myself that it had to be this way as I turned to walk out of his office.
Will was safe and back with Elizabeth, Barbossa was dead, none of the crew had been harmed and Jack was safe for now.
I grabbed the handle and turned back gently, feeling overwhelming guilt at my actions.
"James... I'm sorry. You would have made a wonderful husband. "
Nothing more had to be said and I didn't wait around for a reply. I quickly composed myself and retreated hastily to the cabin I shared with Elizabeth, preparing for our return to Port Royal, my face still bitterly stinging.

—
My throat ran dry as Jack was escorted before the noose, his hands bound. He looked downtrodden, almost as if he had accepted his fate. That's what hurt the most.

As the man with a scroll read the charges set against Jack, I saw Jack mutter to himself, even smiling at one point, and I sighed in disbelief. He briefly raised his head, looking around the crowd and I hoped, briefly, that he was looking for me.

"This is wrong," Elizabeth muttered. I agreed, but made no verbal confirmation as I looked around the crowd, desperate for some sort of sign.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law, as are we all," My uncle stated.
I looked around again, finding Will walking towards us hastily.
"Elizabeth," He greeted as he finally approached, "I should've told you every day from the moment I met you, I love you."

I didn't listen to rest of his declaration having spotted an incredibly welcome sight on my left. A parrot.

I nodded to Elizabeth, directing her and within a moment she was falling backwards into Weatherby's arms, feigning another breathless attack. Norrington turner his attention on Elizabeth and I took that as my sign to run, following just a few steps behind Will.

The drumming beats increased in frequency as we ran, mimicking the thump of my heart. Just as I had managed to slip behind and under the gallows, the drumming stopped. I heard the call to drop Jack and a moment later, just as planned, a sword appeared through the wood, allowing Jack to rest his feet, ceasing his fall.

A few moments later I saw the rope drop, Jack then fell, landing on his feet, the rope having been severed. I quickly brandished my blade from the fold in my dress and sliced open his restraints without hesitation. Jack opened his mouth to say something, his eyes wondering as he spotted me.
"Stay with Will, don't come looking for me!" I shouted to Jack running off in the opposite direction before he could even reply.
——

"Heave!"
"Pull him in!" The men shouted as they spotted Jack swimming towards them in the water. Just a few moments later, Jack landed on the deck, a little dazed from the force of his lift.

"I thought you were supposed to be keeping to the code," Jack accused, focusing on Mr Gibbs who approached him first. Mr Gibbs extended his hand to Jack who gladly excepted, getting pulled up instantly.
"We figured they were more..."

"Guidelines," I finished, smiling.

Jack's head whipped around so quickly it didn't seem human, his face shocked and his mouth hanging open upon seeing me. His face then broke out into a wide smile, the widest I'd ever seen on his face.
Jack immediately walked up to me, throwing his arms around me, twirling me gently as he lifted me, my hands clutching his shoulders. He let me down and we stopped for a moment, feeling a little awkward at our embrace. I decided to break it quickly.
"So Captain, I may have found a loophole," I said cryptically. His face scrunched up with a frown, making me smile.

"You see, having a woman aboard may seem unlucky to some, but I've got it on good authority that if the captain is proven to be a  lucky man, and the woman was asked to join by said captain, then the bad luck curse will be broken," I paused letting it sink in for a moment, "savvy?" I winked.

His smile seemed to widen even more as he squeezed my waist. "Savvy."

I saw cotton walk up to us timidly, he suddenly pulled Jack's hat from behind him, handing it to Jack before turning to me, also producing mine and smiling at me. I whispered 'thanks' with a large smile to cotton who nodded his head as if to say 'your welcome' and then stepped back.

The hat was a much welcomed sight. Jack had bought me the hat when we first docked in Tortuga, it was the one thing I had from him and I had deeply missed it.

"Captain Sparrow," Annamaria spoke, placing Jack's jacket around his shoulders. I looked up to Jack who now wore his hat, and I had to let out a breath, feeling like I was seeing him again fully. "The black pearl is yours," she finished, moving away from the wheel.

Jack's eyes flickered up to me, reaching for my hat and placing it on my head. He then grabbed my hand, pulling me to the helm with him, my body pressed between him and his ship's wheel as he reached out and stroked the wood he had missed so dearly with one hand, holding my waist tightly with the other.

Jack turned his head, seeing the crew still watching us. I felt him take a deep breathe before he barked orders at the crew, causing them to flee quickly to their posts. He chuckled and I leant my head back onto his shoulder.

"Now... bring me that horizon," he said dreamily. The smile wouldn't leave my face I was sure, perfectly content in that moment.

He began to sing softly, his face now tucked into my neck, whispering in my ear, "And really bad eggs...drink up, me hearties, yo ho."