Moments in the Life of Jack and Lizzie Sparrow

A.N.- Another snippet added… only two years or so since the
last time I updated. Hope you all enjoy!

 

“Lizzie you don’t understand-”

“No, you don’t understand, Jack!  You are my Captain and-
lest you forget- my husband.  I’m not leaving your side.” 

He glared fiercely at her for a moment, emotions burning
bright in his sepia gaze that could not be named, before pulling her harshly
against his chest and kissing her with the passion that had always fueled their
relationship.  Uncaring of the crew watching or the enemy closing in or the
weapons they still had in their hands, they melted into each other. 

Jack broke the kiss as abruptly as he began it and took her
by the shoulders, “If you get yerself killed today Lizzie I will bring you back
myself and you will not enjoy what I do to you.” 

He shook her lightly for emphasis before releasing her only
to have her grab hold of his jacket and press another hard kiss to his lips.

“Same goes for you, Captain,” she promised, finally
releasing him.

They stood side by side, and loaded with weapons as they
were, with the matching fierce expressions on their faces and their
trinket-filled hair swirling around them, they looked every inch the savage
pirate royalty they were said to be.

Thrust. Parry. Dodge. Parry. No more time for worrying or
even thinking.  The only focus was survival.  The long hours training with Will
so many years ago were forgotten in favor of pure instinct.  The sound of steel
clanging against steel filled the air, underscored with the guttural screams of
those that fell.  If Lizzie had heard any of it she might have worried who the
screams were from.  Was it someone she knew?  Someone she loved?  Gibbs,
Cotton, Ragetti... Jack?  As it was she could hear nothing but her own pounding
heart, feel nothing but the jarring vibration when her cutlass met another.

She couldn’t say what it was that had caught her attention
about the man other than perhaps that he was the only one in the melee not
fighting.  She stared at him for a long moment before a sharp pain in her arm
snapped her attention back to the man she’d been fighting.

‘Stupid Elizabeth! Never take your eyes off your opponent!’

She threw herself back into the battle with that thought but
couldn’t help keeping one eye on the man who was simply staring out into the
mass of fighters.  He was searching for someone.  But who? And why?  Her
attention was drawn away by a flurry of thrusts from her opponent, the
fierceness of it forcing her to back up and focus all her attentions on
defending herself.

By the time her eyes found the strange man again he’d found
what he’d been searching for.  A pistol was drawn from his belt and Lizzie
suddenly felt a chill that had nothing to do with the wind coming off the
surf.  She followed his eye line knowing who would be there before she saw him.

She’d be too late, she knew that. Somewhere in Elizabeth’s mind she knew she wasn’t going to make it in time.  There was no question of
not trying though. She ducked around her opponent and took off at a dead run
towards the man aiming at her husband. 

‘You’re not going to make it, Lizzie. Not before he fires.
Think girl! What else could you use? How can you distract him?’

Without slowing even a bit Elizabeth’s gaze darted all
around her, looking for something- anything that could help her.  There was
chaos all around her but nothing that she could use.  So she used the only
ranged weapon in her possession. She screamed.

During a battle like the one the crew of the Pearl was currently fighting, there’s a lot of noise: swords clanging together, boots
tromping all over the deck, men screaming as they die.  It’s loud and chaotic
and it’s near impossible to get someone’s attention because everyone is
fighting for their own lives. A woman’s voice though, was an oddity in a sea
battle.  It was the only element of surprise Elizabeth had.  Those fighting for
their lives all around her on the deck might not hear but the only attention
she needed was from the only man not fighting for his life.  If she could just
distract him enough to notice her, he’d see that she was rushing him.  He’d
have to draw his sword to defend himself or shoot at her.  Either way he’d be
unable to fire at her captain.

Her target’s eyes widened when he glanced in her direction,
jolted by her desperate scream, only to see Elizabeth running flat out at him
with her cutlass already arcing towards him.  His pistol fired a split second
before her blade sliced through him but Lizzie’s distraction had worked, his
aim was off, nowhere near Jack.

Elizabeth stood over the body, trembling with relief, deaf
to the fight raging all around her.  Her cutlass clattered to the ground, numb
fingers losing their hold on the grip.  Feeling strangely like she was moving
in slow motion her eyes moved up from the dead man at her feet, searching for
her husband in the fray. 

Their eyes met instantly, as if they were magnetic
opposites, and everything else faded away, all she could see was him.  He was
fine, a few scratches and bruises but nothing that would even scar.  He was
fine. 

Jack was looking her over in the same way she’d done him and
Lizzie felt herself smile as she waited for his eyes to meet hers again.  Then
his face shifted, first to confusion, then shock, rage, horror and finally into
a fear that made Elizabeth quake with sudden chills.

Confused about what had made Jack’s expression change so
rapidly, she tried to shrug off the cold and shook out her arms, hoping the
increased blood flow would warm her.  Her right hand felt odd, weak.  She
glanced down at it. It was covered in blood which was nothing surprising in
itself but when she moved to wipe her hand against her breeches it merely
swayed slightly. Then she realized. The cold, her sword falling from numb
fingers, fading vision, Jack’s expression, all that blood, the shot that had
gone wild…

The world began to spin.  Elizabeth locked eyes with Jack as
she started to fall, conveying as much as she could with her expression before
everything melted away.

TBC… soon hopefully! Most chapters of this story don’t
connect directly to each other but the next chapter will deal with what happens
directly after this.