A Pirate and His Wolf (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Chapter 13

Jack was quite pleased that the crew of the Black Pearl had elected not to shoot him or Zachary. However, he could not hide his disappointment as they took him up to see Barbossa, who was still in a rage after losing both the medallion and Elizabeth.

Jack's former first mate's eyes widened as the one-eyed mongrel and his bald friend led himself and Zachary towards him."How the blazes did you get off that island?" he asked, his voice filled with amusement, anger, and wonder.

Zachary turned to Jack and folded his arms as if to say "Go on then, idiot."

Jack gave him a quick wink, before turning to Barbossa with a toothy grin, "When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing" he paused as Barbossa waited to see the error in his ways. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack said as a matter of fact-ly.

Barbossa paused before grinning in return, giving Jack the impression that he had just won an amazing prize. "Ah, well, I won't be making that mistake again." He turned to the other pirates and said, "Gents, you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow?" He made sure to say the last few words with exuberance, as the pirates muttered in agreement. "Kill him."

Jack quickly raised his hands as the pirates all pointed their weapons at him. When Zachary let out a low threatening growl at Barbossa and his crew that Jack could only hear as he felt himself slowly shifting into his wolf but stopped when Jack quickly stepped in front of him. "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Jack asked, resting his arm on the oar which he was still holding.

Barbossa paused before looking at the other pirates who still had their weapons raised. "Hold your fire," he said, causing the pirates to reluctantly lower their weapons, Pintel with a slight growl. "You know whose blood we need?" Barbossa asked, looking at Jack suspiciously.

He grinned, "I know whose blood you need."

Elizabeth sat in the cabin of the Interceptor, her mind reeling from the news as Anamaria steered the ship far from the Isla de Muerta. She sat in silence, attempting to wrap a scrap of cloth around her profusely bleeding hand. As she failed for the fiftieth time, she lost her patience and threw the cloth down in defeat as Will sat across from her, "What sort of man trades a man's life for a ship?" she asked him sourly.

Will paused, unsure of whether she was mad at him, Jack, or Barbossa. "A pirate," he replied glumly before picking up the cloth, "here. Let me."

Elizabeth held out her hand and allowed Will to tie the bandage around, "Thank you."

"You said you gave Barbossa my name as yours. Why?" he asked, the question had plagued him since he'd seen her in the company of the pirates in the caves.

Elizabeth watched his face carefully, noting he refused to meet her eyes. "I don't know," she said, before pulling her hand back as Will tied the bandage tightly, wincing.

"I'm sorry. Blacksmith's hands- I know they're rough." Will said quickly, trying to apologize.

"No... I mean yes, they are but... Don't stop" she said quickly, hoping to salvage the situation. The pair looked up at one another and began to lean together when Will muttered her name. Will looked down and noticed the medallion hanging around her neck. Elizabeth noticed this as well, and quickly backed away, ripping it from around her neck. "It's yours," she said, handing it to him.

Will paused before taking it from her hand, looking at it properly. "I thought I'd lost it the day they rescued me. It was a gift from my father. He sent it to me." He looked up at her and noticed her guilty look, "Why'd you take it?"

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, "Because I was afraid that you were a pirate. That would have been awful," she said attempting to justify her actions.