You gasped.
A murmur went through the crowd of pirates.
Elizabeth, who was standing behind you surrounded by almost a dozen unwashed buccaneers, wanted to rush forward in horror, but was held back.
Across from you, Jack took on a disappointed, sad, and downright annoyed expression.
"Like that", he mumbled and looked down in frustration.
You didn't understand.
What stupid thing had Will done? Well, other than standing on the railing and holding a gun under his chin.
And then it dawned on you, and you remembered what Jack had told you when you had been imprisoned on the Black Pearl: They needed will's blood. And Will had figured that out.
On the contrary, Barbossa didn't seem to have put two and two together yet.
"Who are you?", he asked him with a confused look on his face.
Jack rushed forward and placed himself between Will and Barbossa.
"No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice though. Eunuch", he began to explain in dubious manner and with flailing hand gestures, trying to appear convincing.
But it was obvious that Barbossa didn't believe a single word coming out of Jack's mouth.
"Ah, I see, another cousin of yours, just like your lovely company", he said with a mocking smile, alluding to what Jack had said on the Isla de Muerta about your relationship, and pointed at you.
Jack's eyes followed his finger until he looked you straight in the eye. You gave him a questioning look and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, what's your plan Jack, what are you up to again? But Jack quickly turned his head back to Barbossa.
"Well, big family. No fun at gatherings though", he said with a simultaneously hopeful and desperate, forced smile.
But Will had enough.
"My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins", his voice boomed over the ship, which had become completely silent.
While Barbossa smirked, Jack bowed his head defeated and stepped aside to join the group of pirates opposite of you. A good player knew when he had lost a game.
"He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill, come back to haunt us!", one pirate screamed.
"On my word, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones's locker!", Will said with force, still standing on the ships' rail and holding onto the ridding.
Barbossa stepped forward.
"Name your terms, Mr. Turner."
"Elizabeth and (y/n) go free!"
"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?", Barbossa commented mockingly.
Across from you, Jack gestured wildly to get Will's attention. He repeatedly pointed at himself with both hands to make Will consider him in his terms as well.
You rolled your eyes.
Jack was truly delusional if he thought that Will would even do so much as think of helping him after everything that had happened.
You were also surprised that Will ensured your freedom just as vehemently as Elizabeth's. You had only known each other for such a short time after all.
But maybe Will was just like you. Maybe he too had the feeling that you got along with each other pretty well. Maybe he had grown fond of you too.
Which you couldn't say about Jack: Will deliberately ignored his attempts to be included in his terms and pointed to the crew instead.
"And the crew. The crew are not to be harmed."
Barbossa stepped forward.
"Agreed."
Much to Jack's dismay.
And yours' as well.
Only now did you understand the magnitude of this agreement: To protect Elizabeth and you and the entire crew, Will had sacrificed himself. For all of you. And that sacrifice would most likely kill him.
One skeleton more in Barbossa's closet wouldn't make the difference.
"Will, no! Please, there must be another way!", you whined and rushed towards him.
There were already two pirates with him, who tied his hands behind his back, after he had jumped from the railing onto the deck.
Behind you, Elizabeth was struggling as well, more than unhappy with Will's decision. But the pirates had her firmly under control. No chance of escaping their clutches.
"Will!", you whined again before you had almost reached him.
"Will, you can't-"
You were greeted with the palm of a hand that came crashing into your cheek. A burning, stabbing pain spread across your face, like a fire burning its way through your skin. Shocked, you staggered back a few steps and held your cheek.
One of the pirates must have slapped you!
And they had been anything but gentle. The blow had also hit your ear, which suddenly felt deaf. You could only hear faint sounds that transformed into an unrecognizable mix of noises and eventually into single dull ringing.
One of the sounds you recognized before it got lost in the chaos of your head was someone screaming your name. But you couldn't figure out from where the scream came, neither who had screamed.
When you looked up again still holding your flaming cheek, Will was staring at you with shocked eyes, his mouth sealed shut by a piece of cotton. One pirate was holding him back while another one just looked at you maliciously, his hand raised.
Your cheek still burnt like hell, and you suspected that the person responsible for it, was standing right in front of you. Slowly your hearing returned to you, but still a slight noise remained while you stared at the pirate in horror.
Had something like this happened to Elizabeth as well when she had been on the Black Pearl?
"Ye speak when spoken to, woman! Did nobody teach ye how to behave?", you vaguely heard the pirate say.
You didn't respond.
Why should you? Wouldn't he throw another punch at you the moment you opened your mouth?
But that only seemed to make him angrier. He looked at you demandingly. Then the his patience broke, and he went for another punch.
You shrieked and raised your hands above your head protectively before he could flog the shit out of you.
But the slap didn't come.
Instead, as you peeked through your fingers, you could see Jack, hands tied, blocking the pirate's punch.
"Weren't you listening to Mr. Turner? Both women are going free and, just as the crew, they shall go unharmed, savvy?", Jack said in a deep, somewhat threatening voice and released the pirates arm out of his grip.
"Now, get your hands off of her!"
You blushed slightly due to his protectiveness. Yes, he was a trickster and a buccaneer, a thief and certainly a heartbreaker. But the way he stood up for you, the way he made sure you were okay, just like he had done it when the Interceptor had attacked the Black Pearl, when he had protected you with his own body, made you forget all of it.
The memory of Jack and you in the cell only made you blush even more. What was this man doing to you? What was it about this man that made you throw all your principles and morals overboard? This feeling you had, it wasn't love, no, but a tingling feeling in your stomach, an excitement you had never felt before. There was this physical attraction towards him that you just couldn't deny.
You were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Even if it meant that you would burn yourself eventually.
The pirate grunted and gave you a malicious look that said, We're not done with each other yet, before making an abrupt turn and disappearing into the crowd of pirates behind him. He was followed by his comrade, leading Will, who looked at you helplessly, away.
You breathed out a sigh of relief and worry at the same time. You were delighted that the awful pirate was gone, but you couldn't help yourself but question Will's future.
If there even was a future for him.
"Thank you, Jack. That was... that was really kind of you", you said with a warm smile, putting your worries aside, and turned to Jack.
"Just doing my duty, love", he replied casually and winked.
"Your duty? What, is your duty to protect me?"
"Yes. Well... kind of. I'm your captain after all. And a good captain takes care of his crew", Jack answered your question with a charming smirk and came closer to you.
That alone was enough to make your heart beat out of your chest. First, he saved you and now he was flirting with you. Or wasn't he? You felt how you got nervous. But it was a good kind of nervous.
"Last time I checked, I saw your vessel sinking to the depths of the ocean. So technically, your duty to protect me is gone. No ship- no captain", you tried to sound quick-witted and smiled challengingly.
You could hear again and the pain on your cheek was disappearing slowly.
Jack got closer to you and leaned down until he could look straight into your eyes.
You blushed even more if that was even possible. Hopefully, he thinks my blushing was caused by the slap, you thought. But that assumption was completely delusional. You were as red as a tomato and stared into his eyes, perplexed. His beautiful eyes that were as deep as the sea itself.
"Well, and last time I checked, you signed up to sail under my commands. There may be no ship, but darling that does not mean the signature you gave is worthless. You are still under my command and therefore, I'm still your captain."
His voice got lower and lower with every word and now, his face was only inches away from yours. You could feel his breath on your skin, smell his unique scent, rum, and the salty sea air.
"So, your command it is, captain?", you whispered against his skin and his goatee beard was tickling you.
His height forced you to look up at him and even though his perfect lips distracted you, you made every effort to look him in the eyes as you spoke.
"Exactly, love", he whispered as his eyes travelled to your lips.
Then you felt his hands, still tied, move to your hip and pull you towards him, slowly and without taking his eyes off your lips.
That's it, you thought, now he's going to kiss me. It just had to be, you couldn't explain your feelings any other way: you wanted to kiss Jack Sparrow, not out of love but out of desire.
Your eyes lost on his lips, you leaned into the kiss, closed them and you waited longingly for the moment when your lips would finally touch, when you would finally taste the rum on his lips, while a Caribbean breeze carrying particles of the salty sea lingered in the air and the sun shone down on you.
A magical moment.
A moment you had never experienced before, with no man, with no one. Now, for the first time.
But as quickly as the moment had come, it disappeared again, wandered away, wafting into distance like mist over the sea on a warm, humid morning.
"Jack!", the ear-splitting voice of captain Barbossa boomed over the deck.
Startled, you pulled apart. You had completely forgotten where you were: on a pirate ship with the nastiest creatures, pirates and cutthroats known to mankind.
All heads turned to you.
"Look there. That's the very same island we made you governor of on our last trip", Barbossa yelled with an amused look on his face as he pointed to a small island, more cay than island really, in the distance.
You remembered. The mutiny. The place where they had already abandoned Jack once, marooned him, to be specific.
Jack knew what lay in front him as well: he twisted his face into a dissatisfied, desperate grimace.
And then, all of a sudden, everything happened very, very quickly. With tremendous force, arms grabbed you and Jack, and pulled you apart. Desperately you reached out to him, but it was too late: as Jack disappeared into the crowd, you saw the chance of ever kissing him slipping from your hand.
They took you to the other side of the ship where Elizabeth was already about to walk the plank, and you immediately knew they would make you do the same.
"Barbossa, you lying bastard. You swore they'd go free!", shouted an angry Will, who was raging while several men had to hold him back.
With worry and concern he looked at the frightened Elizabeth.
"Don't dare impugn me honour, boy! I agreed they'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where", Barbossa said with a malicious grin.
He's a vicious man, you thought. A man with no soul and a black heart, no conscience and not an ounce of humanity. He sent Elizabeth down the plank with no regrets, even amused. As she hit the surface of the water with a loud "splash", there was no pity, no sympathy, no compassion.
Just a vicious man who would now do the same cruelty to you.