Captain Elizabeth Turner (
try_corsets) wrote2007-10-07 03:12 pm
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Together, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman decimate the Endeavor, and with it Lord Cutler Beckett.
When the smoke clears and the armada of Company ships retreats, the pirates rejoice. Two equal terrors of the sea, Jones and Beckett, are no more, and the threat to that which all pirates love most -- freedom -- has been destroyed.
Elizabeth is not immune to the happy outcome, but nor is she entirely prepared for the emotional onslaught that follows. When her part in the celebrating is done, she slips below deck, heading for the spot where she and Tonks had slept for some of their long journey.
When the smoke clears and the armada of Company ships retreats, the pirates rejoice. Two equal terrors of the sea, Jones and Beckett, are no more, and the threat to that which all pirates love most -- freedom -- has been destroyed.
Elizabeth is not immune to the happy outcome, but nor is she entirely prepared for the emotional onslaught that follows. When her part in the celebrating is done, she slips below deck, heading for the spot where she and Tonks had slept for some of their long journey.
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But the footsteps make her turn her head, and she smiles faintly at the sight of Elizabeth.
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It's a fleeting feeling, soon buried under the heavy weight of what's happened to Will.
"The pitching around probably didn't make you feel very well," Elizabeth guesses, at a loss for what else to say.
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Her face is impassive, compassionate. Because she cannot imagine.
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"It seems silly to say, but I'm not sure," she admits, picking up a coil of rope they had used to practice knots. In a whisper: "It all happened so fast."
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If it were her, in Elizabeth's place, if it were Bernard-- how would she feel? Relief that he wasn't truly dead, furious that his heart was wrenched away from him, grateful that she'd been given moments with him, angry that those moments amounted to a handful stretched over a lifetime?
Probably all of the above, she thinks ruefully.
"Anyway, it's done, isn't it? For better or worse." A sharp little laugh escapes her, and Nymphadora smiles faintly. "Rather like marriage."
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Fighting the numbness that threatens to swallow her whole, Elizabeth tries to smile and meets with moderate success.
"I couldn't have imagined anything like this." Wryly, "We practically married ourselves."
It's easier to focus on that.
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Elizabeth's still fidgeting, and Nymphadora catches her hand, tugging her friend down beside her.
"So. What now?"
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"We have one day." A quick look, to see if Tonks understands the full implications of this. "After that..."
Glancing around at the dark wood of the ship, Elizabeth frowns.
"We will find your way home."
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But now, at least, she's thinking beyond Will's departure for another world. Straightening, Elizabeth turns to regard her friend.
"The first time I found Milliways, I was in Port Royal. And the second." A firm nod. "That's where we'll sail."
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'Dora gives her a reassuring smile, as much for her own benefit as for Elizabeth's.
A sigh.
"Anyway. Don't worry about me. It'll be all right."
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"There's an island near Shipwreck Cove. That's where we'll go," she shares, voice flat. "Will you wait on the Empress? Jack and Barbossa are sure to leave."
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"Yeah. That'll be fine."
Adopting a slightly mischievous and falsely innocent air, she leans closer to speak conspiratorially. "So, you're feeling all right about the whole... wedding night... thing?"
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"I hadn't-" she chokes. "I thought only of seeing him again."
She blinks. A whole new set of concerns pushes its way to the forefront of her mind; it's both a blessing and a curse.
"I don't..."
A bewildered look: Oh, this is embarrassing.
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She takes a deep breath, simultaneously glad she asked, and wondering why she can't keep her big mouth shut.
"Okay. Right. Tell me what you know." At Elizabeth's horrified look, she hurries on: "You can be vague!"
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"I understand the mechanics," she says stiffly, then frowns down at her hands. "That doesn't concern me.
"But what should I do if he's not interested?"
Lilly hadn't thought it would be a problem, but then it had been. Even though things are vastly different now, Elizabeth feels compelled to ask anyway.
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"He's very... proper."
Or at least he used to be. When they weren't married. With a soft groan, she realizes she had better get used to their changed status before she runs out of time to truly appreciate it. And that, unsurprisingly, is a sobering thought.
"I'm sure it won't be a problem now," she adds hastily.
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Indeed, there's a gleam in her eye that has nothing to do with sorrow.
"If I can manage on my own," Elizabeth says mildly, arching an eyebrow and gesturing to her elaborate clothing.
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'Dora manages to keep a straight face for two whole seconds, and then dissolves into giggles.
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It's going to be comforting having the witch by her side. After.
She grimaces and stands, suddenly eager to return topside.
Quietly: "Will you need long?"
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She's several paces away before she realizes she can't leave it there.
"Thank you," she offers, solemn and sincere. "Somehow, I'll see you return home."
But she won't worry about it until tomorrow.
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She gives her friend a small smile and a wave as 'Dora is helped into the boat that will take her to wait on the Empress, but for the rest of the short journey to the island, she has eyes for no one but her husband, staring back at her from his Dutchman.