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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐀𝐒 loading goods onto the ship as jack and bella walked down the dock.
"captain sparrow?" came a voice from behind them.
jack glanced behind him. "come to join me crew, lad? welcome aboard," he greeted.
"i'm here to find the man i love," the young boy said.
jack and bella exchanged a look of confusion and concern.
"i'm deeply flattered, son, but my only two loves are the sea and this radiant woman beside me," jack responded. bella smiled at him and threw a scowl to the boy behind them.
nearby, a mud-soaked norrington vomited into the bay.
"meaning william turner, captain sparrow," the boy answered firmly.
jack's eyes lit up in recognition. he spun around. "elizabeth."
bella turned to gibbs. "hide the rum," she muttered.
"you know, these clothes do not flatter you at all," jack said. "it should be a dress or nothing."
bella slapped jack's arm harshly.
"jack. i know will came to find you, where is he?" elizabeth looked sincere.
jack sighed. "dear, i am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor will has been press-ganged into davy jones's crew." he grimaced in preparation to be be berated by elizabeth.
instead, elizabeth seemed confused. "davy jones?" she repeated.
norrington, still throwing up, turned around. "oh, please. the captain of the flying dutchman?"
"you look bloody awful, what are you doing here?" jack glared at the mud-soaked man.
"you hired me," norrington retorted, glancing at jack's hand still holding bella's. "i can't help it if your standards are lax."
bella held in a laugh.
"you smell funny!!" jack declared as a comeback.
"jack!" elizabeth interrupted.
"hmm," he turned back to her.
"all i want is to find will," insisted elizabeth.
"i know. . ." jack began, but bella silenced him.
"are you certain?" she asked elizabeth. "is that what you really . . . want most?"
jack looked down at bella in surprise and understanding.
"of course," she nodded.
bella guided elizabeth over to the side of the dock.
"because i would think, you'd want to find a way to save will most," she continued.
"and you'd have a way of doing that?" elizabeth's tone turned hopeful.
"well, there is a chest," jack began.
"oh, dear," norrington groaned in the background.
"a chest of unknown size and origin," described bella.
"what contains the still beating heart of davy jones!!" pintel exclaimed, walking past. ragetti imitated a still-beating heart with his hand.
". . . and whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command jones to do whatever it is he or she wants," jack told elizabeth.
"including saving brave will from his grim and undeserved fate," bella said sympathetically.
"you don't actually believe them, do you?" norrington questioned.
jack and bella gazed back at elizabeth unmovingly.
it appeared she was convinced. "how would we find it?"
bella reached over and grabbed jack's compass. "with this," she said, handing it to him.
"my compass..." jack flipped it open then closed it again. "is unique."
"unique here having the meaning of broken," norrington rolled his eyes.
"true enough," jack shrugged as norrington walked away and threw up some more. "this compass does not point north."
"where does it point?" elizabeth wondered, intrigued.
"it points to the thing you want most in this world," jack said, eyes gleaming.
"jack . . ." elizabeth shook her head, then glanced between him and bella. "are you telling the truth?"
"every word," jack confirmed. "and what you want most in this world..." he placed the compass in her hands. "is to find the chest of davy jones, is it not?"
"to save will!!" corrected elizabeth.
jack nodded. "by finding the chest of davy jones."
he opened the compass and briskly stepped away. the needle spun before stopping. jack peered up cautiously to see.
"mr. gibbs!" he shouted, relieved.
"captain?"
"we have our heading," jack grinned.
"finally," bella sighed in relief.
"aye! cast off those lines, weigh anchor, and plow that canvas!" gibbs yelled to the crew.
with a sweep of his arm, jack invited elizabeth aboard. "miss swann."
"welcome to the crew, former commodore!" pintel snickered, shoving a goat into norrington's hands.
"nice work, love," jack said to bella, planting a kiss on her head. he began to walk on board, but she held him back.
"when's she going to realize we're finding the chest to save your own skin?" bella whispered.
"that is an outrageous accusation," jack answered.
bella stared at him doubtfully.
off her look, he sighed. "fingers crossed, never," he murmured.
she gave him a smile. "good," she muttered. elizabeth could honestly be a menace sometimes, especially when will was part of the equation.
he chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss.
together, jack and bella boarded the pearl.
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