Chapter 8
Will
and Elizabeth slept for a good part of the afternoon
and did not
wake until long into the evening hours. They could hear
the
pirates hollering to each other on the main deck, every so
often
breaking into song. Will's nose woke him first, when he felt
an
almost unbearable tickle. Quickly, he reached under his pillow
and
pulled out one of the handkerchiefs Elizabeth had stashed
there for
him.
"KetCHUUSH! HutCHSHHH!" he sneezed
forcefully into the
fabric, sniffling a bit afterwards.
Elizabeth
opened one eye and slowly lifted her head,
yawning. "Bless
you." She mumbled, rubbing her hands over her face.
"Thank
you." Will whispered, coughing into his fist. He felt
worse
than he had at their wedding, but he tried to hide it by
sitting
as straight as possible. "Did you rest well? I'm sorry
I
woke…eh…ATCHHUHH!" he sneezed once again, his body
lurching forward.
Elizabeth frowned, resting the palm of her hand
against his
forehead, checking for a fever.
"Hmmm,"
she thought out loud. "You feel a bit warm." She
kissed
his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"It seems
like a dream, doesn't it?" Will asked, as
Elizabeth moved her
kisses down his neck.
"What does?" she asked,
burying her nose against his bare
chest.
"The fact
that our wedding was merely eight hours ago, and that
we're once
again on the Black Pearl."
Elizabeth ran her fingers
through his hair, pure love in her
eyes. "I know. But if it
is a dream, I for one would never want to
wake from it." The
two of them jumped when they heard a loud squawk
and a THUD from
above.
"I'm going to get that bloody parrot if it's the
last thing I do!"
Jack's voice shouted over the sloshing of
the waves against the
sides of the ship. "Stupid pigeon!"
They heard another THUMP, and
glanced at each other with
amusement. Will snorted, shaking his
head.
"Perhaps
we'd better get dressed and see if he needs help." He
cringed
at his pounding headache as he slid out of bed and trooped
over to
the armoire. He rummaged through the drawers, searching for
clothes.
"You would not mind wearing a man's clothing, would you
love?"
he asked, pulling out a pair of breeches and a cotton
shirt.
Elizabeth laughed. "Not at all, Mr. Turner.
They're more comfortable
than this wretched wedding dress and
corset anyway. Let me be a
real pirate." She winked. He
beamed, tossing her an outfit.
"I am reminded once again
of why I love you so much." He coughed
again, glancing
upward. "I guess Jack's given up on Mr. Cotton's
parrot.
Unless he's caught him and it'll be tonight's dinner. I
don't hear
him at the mom..eh…AHTCHUUH! Blast! Excuse me."
Will
groaned
"God bless again. How are you feeling? I
don't want you to go up on
deck if you are ill. You need to
rest."
Will shook his head. "I'll be all right.
Don't worry about me." He
rubbed his nose with the hanky, and
then began to put on his
garments. It was still awkward, the
process of helping one another
with dressing.
"I do
worry about you, sweetheart," Elizabeth admitted as
Will
buttoned his shirt for her. "You tend to catch sniffles
when you're
stressed. And we've been through a lot in the past
couple of weeks."
Will smiled. "Let us enjoy
ourselves and not worry for once, eh?
This is our honeymoon after
all, and I want it to be worth
remembering, aye?" He touched
her cheek, pulling a loose strand of
her hair behind her
ear.
Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "Aye!" she
shouted, making him laugh.
Eventually they made their way through
the trapdoor, greeted by the
cool evening breeze. It was nearly
dark, and the first glittering
stars appeared in the sky. Jack and
the crew sat on boxes when they
found them, drinking from either
mugs or flasks of rum and chatting.
Jack turned and noticed them
just as he took a swig from his bottle.
"We were wonderin' when you'd join us," he slurred.
"Sleep well?" asked Anamaria kindly.
Will nodded. "I believe so. What are you all up to?"
Mr. Gibbs hopped
down from his perch, offering it to Elizabeth. "Go
on,"
Will encouraged, kissing her temple. She squeezed his hand
before
sitting down, accepting Gibb's whisky flask. She took a gulp,
wincing
as the drink burned her throat a little.
"What's it look like, mmm?" Jack answered, offering Will a swig.
"No,
thank you." Will refused, shaking his head wearily. For
some
reason, he never found that he could stomach alcohol. In
fact, the
last time he had a glass of wine, he became very ill,
and nearly
passed away from a high fever. He shuddered at the
memory. But he
did not dare tell this to the pirates.
"What…" Jack blinked.
"No," Will repeated, "Thank you."
Elizabeth smiled, reaching out her arms for him to
sit with her.
Jack cocked his head to one side as Will walked over
and Elizabeth
stood. Will sat, and she perched on his lap, leaning
against his
chest.
"You two make me sick," the
captain grunted, rolling his eyes in
disgust.
Anamaria
glared at him. "What did you expect from a couple who's
just
married?" She put her hat on Elizabeth's head, and folded
her
arms, grinning proudly. "There. Now you're a real
pirate."
Will's breath hitched again suddenly, and
everyone looked at him,
concerned. "Huh…eh…"
Elizabeth closed her eyes, waiting for it.
"HuhITCHHHUH! Eh…ETCHHUH!" Will blushed furiously when he finished.
"Bless you." Elizabeth sighed.
"Gettin' sick are ya?" Jack asked.
"No," Will insisted, sniffling wetly.
His nose was tickling madly
still, and he wiggled it
desperately.
"Don't feel self-conscious, love. Sneeze if
you must," Elizabeth
insisted, craning her neck to give him a
sympathetic smile.
"B-but I d-don't eh…want
to…huh-ETCHHUH! ETCHUUH! ITSHHHUH!
CHSHHHUH! HuhESHHH!"
Will's body lurched forward again with each
explosion, and
Elizabeth had to steady herself to keep from falling
off his
lap.
"Finished, Mate?" Jack asked, smirking a bit.
The other members of
the crew were gaping at Will, open-mouthed.
He nodded, his head
pounding.
"Bless you!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Thanks," Will replied, wishing
he hadn't left his handkerchief down
in the cabin. Suddenly, he
saw a linen cloth right before his face.
"Here." Anamaria insisted.
"I couldn't possibly," Will
mumbled, wanting to sink through a hole
in the wood. He was really
starting to feel sick and the last thing
he wanted was to spend
his honeymoon lying in bed all day and night.
Or, if that was the
case, he'd rather not be sneezing and coughing
the entire time. He
wanted Elizabeth to be happy, and he would do
everything and
anything to make that happen.
"I have more," she
promised, shoving it into his hand. Will finally
relented, blowing
his nose hard. Several of the pirates cringed at
the noise,
backing away from the newcomer.
"Who's steering?" he croaked, glancing at Jack.
"Duncan's taken over,"
Jack replied. "I've been bloody steering for
three days
straight."
Will nodded, his eyes closing. "HETCHUUH!
KetCHUUH!" He caught the
sneezes in the hanky and
coughed.
"Oh Will…you really don't sound well at all."
Elizabeth touched his
cheek, frowning as she felt the heat
radiating from it.
"Get back down and get some sleep,
Mate. You're no use to us
sneezin' your bloody head off. We'll
take care of your lass." Jack
insisted, waving his hand in
Will's direction.
Will sniffled, resting his forehead against
Elizabeth's neck. At
this point, he felt too miserable to care
what the others
thought. "My poor Love." She felt her
heart constrict. "I'll help
him to bed."
"Come
back then," Jack told her with a nod. "We have to teach
em
all the song, remember?"
Elizabeth nodded, helping
Will to his feet, and let him lean on her.
She brought him back
down through the trapdoor, allowing him to take
his time walking
down the steps.
"Ib so sorry," Will whispered, once
he was lying in bed under the
warm covers. Elizabeth kissed his
forehead, caressing his forehead
with her
fingertips.
"Eh—HETCHUUH! ETCHHUH! HUTCHUSHHH! KetCHSHHH! Excuse eh…ah…ATCHUUUH!"
Elizabeth clucked
her tongue. "God bless, My Darling. Here." She set
a
pile of handkerchiefs right beside him on the pillow, so he
could
have easier access to them, and took his hand.
"Go od," he encouraged, placing her hand against his lips.
"I should sit with you," she protested, shaking her head.
"Bud I wad you to hab a good tibe. This was your wish, wasid id?"
Elizabeth smiled. "My wish was to spend this
trip with you," she
replied lovingly, kissing his lips,
ignoring his cold for the
moment. She wanted to crawl into bed
beside him, just to hold and
keep him warm.
"Please,
Elizabeth. Go up with Jack and the others. I'll
be…
eh..TSHHHUH!"
"Bless. Is that really what
you want?" she asked, narrowing her
eyes.
He nodded. "I want you to have a good time."
She sighed. "Oh
all right, if you insist." She kissed him again,
before
making her way back up to the deck.
"Yo, ho, yo ho, a
pirate's life for me," she sung, joining the
captain and
crew, who were singing in loud, drunken voices.
"We're
devils and black sheep and really bad eggs…drink up
me earties
yo ho! There she is!" Jack called, motioning for her to
come
over. Elizabeth tried her best to look cheerful as she joined
them
again, and soon Jack grasped her around the waist, dipping
her
back.
"You owe me a dance," he slurred.
Elizabeth blinked. "What?"
Jack
released her. "A weddin' dance, naturally. Savvy? Too bad I
had
to miss the blessed event."
The other pirates
began laughing and clapping as Elizabeth stepped
back a pace. "But
there isn't any music," she pointed out.
"Mr.
Cotton! Fetch the fiddle, Man!" Jack ordered, but
Elizabeth
shook her head.
"No, wait!" She
straightened up, snatching the bottle of rum out of
his hand. Jack
stared at her, stunned. "I have to have a bit more to
drink
first before I do such a thing." Everyone grinned as Jack
cocked
his head to one side again, watching as she chugged down
nearly
half of the bottle, gasping and wiping her lips with the
corner of
her sleeve once she finished. She thrust the bottle at Mr.
Gibbs
who stood behind her, and then grabbed Jack's hand. "All
right,
Captain Sparrow," she announced. "I am ready."
Jack
snapped his fingers, and Mr. Cotton began to play a lively tune
on
the fiddle. The rest of the crew joined in by either clapping
or
slapping the boxes to the beat, whistling as Jack and
Elizabeth
pranced around the deck. When they finished, Jack dipped
her and
then did the same dramatic bow he performed at the
wedding.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You'll never change,
Captain Sparrow,"
she sniggered, glancing up at the overcast
sky above her. A few
seagulls cried as they swooped past, and she
stumbled a bit as the
ship went over a swell. "Whoops!"
she giggled as she fell back
against one of the crew members whom
she didn't know by name, and
covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh
now you've gone and done it,"
she told Jack, prodding his
chest with her index finger.
"Eh?" Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Done what?"
Elizabeth snatched the whisky
flask from Gibb's hand and took a
swig. "Never mind."
She sat down, feeling a little dizzy from the
alcohol. Jack
blinked, not quite getting it. He was drunk so often
that it was
more or less a way of life for him, so he was used to
it.
"Don't drink much, do you?" Anamaria asked, rolling her eyes.
"We'll
change that one, aye," Jack replied, offering Elizabeth
another
mug.
Down below in the spare cabin, Will lay on his side,
facing the
wall, feeling a tear roll down his cheek. Here he was,
on his
honeymoon, and he could not even be with his wife. Don't
be a
fool,' a voice spoke inside of him. You're the one who told
her to
go.'
I didn't think she'd actually leave,' he
thought to himself,
chewing on his lower lip, fighting the urge to
break down in tears.
He was not one to cry like this he knew, but
with the effects of not
only his being ill and the stress from the
long day, it seemed to be
the easiest thing to do at the moment.
At last, he turned his face
into his pillow, sobbing softly.