Chapter 7:  Mutiny, Song, and Heart

 

Jack sat at his desk in his room; or at least, what should have been his room.  Jack looked at where the map had been the previous night.  He wished Barbossa did not keep it with him at all times.  Jack wanted that map, and he wanted his compass back, which Barbossa had also taken from him.

Jack looked up as he heard a knock on the door.  After a moment of indecision, he said, “Come in.”

The door slowly swung in.  A dark silhouette stood in the doorway.  He squinted to see who it was.  “Robin?”

Robin stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.  “Good evening, Captain.”  Jack grinned.

“Don’t let Barbossa hear you calling me that, love.”  Robin smiled and stood in silence.  “What brings you here?”

“You mean to this room or this ship?”  Jack looked at her curiously.  “I still want that map, Jack,” she announced, walking to the desk and sitting on it, picking up a bottle of rum and taking a drink.  “I noticed that Barbossa seems to have taken possession of your compass.”

“I must commend your attention to detail,” Jack said, watching Robin carefully.  He was not sure how he stood in her eyes.  The last time they had seen each other was with her on the other side of a gun before he was first marooned.  “Captain Barbossa saw fit to relieve me of it.”

“Barbossa may not be Captain for long,” Robin said nonchalantly.

“Oh?” Jack said, sitting up a little straighter.  “May I inquire as to why that is?”

“I never really liked serving under Barbossa,” Robin replied, taking another drink of rum.

“I have to wonder why you took part in the mutiny, then.”  The harsh flash in Robin’s eyes made him regret making this last comment.

“Would it have been better to end up like William?” Robin asked.  “Crushed at the bottom of the ocean and sent to Davy Jones’ Locker?  No, thank you.”

Jack felt a little more comfortable.  Her part in the mutiny had not been because of any personal grudge against him.  She had only turned on him to save her own skin—he may have done the same had the situation been reversed.  “So back to Barbossa possibly being removed from his current post,” Jack prompted.

“My support could give almost anyone the captaincy, as you well know,” Robin said, her voice dark.  “I would expect something in return, of course.”

“How does first mate sound to you?” Jack asked.

Robin scoffed. “Not good enough.”  She looked at her fingernails.  “As I said, I still want that map, Jack.”

Jack smiled.  “And you’ll get it.  If I’m captain, of course.”

“If you’re captain…” Robin repeated quietly.

* * *

Elizabeth smiled to herself.  For once, it seemed that nothing was wrong.  They were heading to the Fountain of Youth, which would allow her to live with her husband and son forever.  And James, who she believed dead, was alive.  Elizabeth frowned.  She had never managed to find out how.  Perhaps she should ask him again tomorrow…and she should ask whom he and Robin had been working for.

The thought of Robin soured her mood.  Elizabeth did not like that woman.  Robin had somehow made James work with her for some reason, and Elizabeth simply did not like her.

And speaking of Robin…

A shadow was moving towards the helm, where Captain Barbossa was currently steering the ship.  Elizabeth slipped into the darkness beneath the stairs, watching through the railing.  “Good evening, Barbossa,” Robin voice greeted.  Elizabeth strained her ears to hear her.  “Did you leave Jack alone?” she inquired.

“Why?” Barbossa asked sharply.

Robin shrugged.  “Just curious.  It seems that you have grown to trust him.”  Barbossa laughed.  “How silly of my to suggest that,” Robin said.  “And what of Elizabeth?”  Elizabeth stopped breathing.

“What about Mrs. Turner?” Barbossa asked after a brief pause.

“I was just wondering—do you trust her?”

Barbossa took a moment to answer.  “I trust her more than I trust you.”

Robin laughed brightly at this before asking another question.  “Who is she closer to:  you or Jack?”

Elizabeth had no idea what Robin was getting at, although it appeared she was trying to gain a specific piece of information from Barbossa.

“Jack,” Barbossa answered quietly.

“And you left Jack alone?  Do you know where Lizzie is, Barbossa?”

“What are you getting at, Robin?” Barbossa asked.

Robin shrugged.  “It just seems to me that you are asking for a mutiny.”  She walked to the railing at the back of the ship, and Elizabeth heard her voice drift over to her.  “The king and his men stole the queen from her bed.”

“Are you saying that you know of a mutiny?” Barbossa asked, sounding rather annoyed.

“Perhaps I do…and bound her in her Bones…the seas be ours…”

“Will you stop singing that?” Barbossa said in irritation.  He suddenly laughed.  “You don’t actually think that Mrs. Turner is—the Pirate Lords freed Calypso, Robin,” Barbossa said, sounding amused.

A sudden cold wind sent a shiver down Elizabeth’s spine.  “You freed Calypso?” Robin said, her voice no longer soft and playful as it had been as she teased Barbossa about a possible mutiny.  Her voice had become harsh and threatening.  “You fool,” she breathed so quietly Elizabeth was not even sure she had heard it.  Robin turned back to Barbossa and approached him.  “You didn’t really think that was all the song meant.  You of all people should know the tales…”  Her voice became soft again.  “…and by the powers…where we will, we’ll roam…”

Jack the Monkey suddenly swung onto Robin’s shoulder.  “Hello, Jack,” Robin said fondly, stroking the monkey’s head.  A beam of moonlight appeared from behind a cloud and shone down onto the ship.  Elizabeth jumped out of the light just as she saw the monkey transform into a skeletal version.  She shuddered.

“You don’t mean Libertas?” Barbossa breathed, sounding shocked.

“Sorry?” Robin said, the moonlight hiding behind the clouds once again.

“Libertas…is that who you are speaking of?  You think that Mrs. Turner…”

“I never said I thought Mrs. Turner was anything,” Robin interrupted, taking a few steps down the stairs, making Elizabeth retreat further into the dark shadows.  “Good night, Barbossa.”

Elizabeth held her breath as Robin came down the steps she was hiding under.  Elizabeth felt more at ease as Robin began heading below deck.  Then suddenly Robin turned around, staring right into Elizabeth’s eyes.  Elizabeth felt her heart stop, and she reached for her pistol, half-expecting an attack.  But Robin merely smiled and closed the door behind her.

* * *

“The captain of the Flying Dutchman, sir.”

Lord Beckett looked up from his desk.  “Leave us.”  The officer nodded respectfully and left the room.  Beckett stood and walked toward the pirate near the door.  “Mr. Turner, it has been too long since our last encounter.”  William Turner said nothing, glaring hatefully at the man he believed to be dead.  Beckett could not help but be slightly amused by this, but he managed to retain his emotionless mask.  He poured two small glasses of wine, holding one out to Turner, who took it but did not drink.  “I suppose you are surprised to find me alive,” Beckett commented, taking a sip of his wine.

“That’s an understatement.”  Turner looked at the wine, smelled it suspiciously, then took a sip of it.  “And do what do I owe this pleasure?”

Lord Beckett grinned.  “Oh, I just thought that we might have a discussion,” he said nonchalantly.

Turner smiled an annoyingly knowing smile.  “I suppose that you often search for supernatural ships in the middle of nowhere to have ‘discussions’ with ‘old friends.’”  When Lord Beckett said nothing, Turner continued.  “So why are you here?”

“Do you know where your wife is?” Beckett asked after a moment.

Turner looked out the window to avoid looking directly at Beckett.  “What do you mean?”

“Elizabeth Turner, formally Miss Swann.”  Lord Beckett took another sip of wine.  “Do you know where she is?”

“If I knew, would I tell you?” Turner said with a smile.  Beckett returned it, setting down his glass.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”  Lord Beckett sat down behind his desk.  “It may interest you do know that she is no longer in the relative safety of Port Royal.”  Beckett saw Turner shift his weight uneasily.  “She was most recently seen leaving Tortuga in the company of a few mutual friends of ours.”  Turner still said nothing.  “Jack Sparrow was one of them.”

“How do you know this?”  Turner was attempting to cover his discomfort.

“Agents of the East India Company saw them,” Beckett said plainly, as though speaking to a child.  “More than that,” he continued pouring himself more wine.  “A few of my agents went with them.”

The glass slipped from Turner’s hand, and a gun was put to Beckett’s forehead.  Beckett merely looked past the barrel of the gun as though it was not there.  “If anything happens to her…” Turner growled, his face livid.

Lord Beckett smiled calmly and stood, Turner’s gun following him.  “The reason I asked you here was to help you.  I suggest you get your wife off of the Black Pearl before the ship is seized by the East India Trading Company and all those aboard arrested.”

Turner looked at Beckett suspiciously, lowering the weapon.  “And why would you want to help me?”

Beckett grinned as he opened a drawer in his desk.  “I thought it would be a good idea to do something for you, considering all you will be doing for me in the near future.”  Lord Beckett withdrew a bag from the drawer and held it up.  “Your wife is rather careless, isn’t she, leaving this lying around unprotected?”

Lord Beckett smiled as he watched Turner’s eyes widen as he watched the content of the bag move and heard the beating of the heart inside—his heart.