Title: Freedom from the Curse
Author: SailorNeo
Summary: It's been six months since Will and Elizabeth were forced to separate. When Elizabeth finds out that there's a way to free Will that doesn't involve his death, she and the crew of The Black Pearl—including both captains—make their way to the Fountain of Youth. What happens when they find out that Calypso is the least of their worries? Post AWE, so spoilers ahead.
Chapter One: At Shipwreck Cove
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me! We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot! Drink up me 'earties, yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot! Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!" the young woman sang raucously, a half-empty bottle hanging perilously in her fingers.
"You shouldn't be drinkin' that," another woman said. She was a bit older than the drunkenly singing one, with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin.
"But we're goin' to Wreckcove Ship!" The young woman frowned, her brown eyes confused. "Naw wait…That ain't right…Wreckship Cove!...Naw…Closer…Coveship Wreck!"
"Shipwreck Cove," the other woman said.
"That's da one!" the young woman said, the bottle slipping from her fingers. She looked mournfully at the liquid spilling across the deck of the ship. "That was the last of the rum!"
"Good, you don't want to be seein' the King of all of the Pirates drunk, now do you?"
"I dunno…" The two women turned to face the where the cove was hidden away. "Prolly not a good idea," she said on a yawn. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me! We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack! Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho! Maraud and embezzle and even hijack! Drink up me hearties, yo ho!" she sang as she stumbled to her bed for the night—which happened to be a patch of the deck.
"Angelina, you are one interestin' character," Ana Maria said as she looked up at the moon.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth in frustration. "No, we will not attack an East India Company vessel unprovoked. They have done nothing yet to cause the unwarranted attacks they have been receiving," she said firmly to the pirates assembled before her.
"But they ain't done nuttin yet," one pirate called out.
"What the King says becomes law until the King himself—or in this case herself—rescinds it or until the King dies," Captain Teague said from his seat a little ways away from the council table. "If you wish to contest it, you know what the Code says…" he let the threat hang in the air for a second before returning to quietly strumming his guitar.
The pirates grumbled and slowly left the council room, leaving Elizabeth to collapses wearily into the "throne" that someone had dug up.
It was an ugly thing, but blast it, it was comfortable. Part of Elizabeth was still the little girl that had seen the thrones of the Monarchs of England, all gilded and regal looking. Her own throne, however, well, hers had skulls on it. Yes, there were skulls on Elizabeth Turner nee Swan's throne.
Her throne. She let out an undignified giggle at that. Who would have ever thought that she would one day become King of the Pirates. She hadn't even known there was a King until the day the East India Company had attempted to attack Shipwreck Cove.
She frowned as she thought of that day. That was the day that Will had become Captain of the Flying Dutchman. She had thought he would plague her thoughts and he would occupy all of her time, but she found that being King of all of the Pirates was actually a very taxing job. Elizabeth felt like she was betraying Will whenever she was distracted by another quarrel or a fight.
Well, not that there were many fights she got into anymore seeing as she was about six months pregnant. Yes, Captain-King Elizabeth Turner was going to have Captain William Turner's baby. The child would have an interesting legacy to say the least.
What surprised her the most was, very few knew that she was pregnant. Last she had seen Barbossa—sans Jack and Mr. Gibbs—she had been four months pregnant and he had figured it out quickly enough. The crew of the Pearl that had been with Elizabeth pretty much from the start held a celebration on the boat. But other than them, no one else knew.
"Hullo your Kingliness!" a loud female voice said, interrupting her reverie.
She looked up and was surprised to see a young woman who looked remarkably familiar performing an elaborate bow to her. The girl stumbled and fell though.
"Angelina, are you drunk?" Captain Teague asked from his seat. He placed his guitar to the side and stood up as Angelina—well Elizabeth assumed the woman was Angelina—scrambled to her feet.
"Only a lil bit," Angelina said. "How've you been since I last saw you?" She frowned. "Ana!" she called.
"What?!" a very annoyed voice asked from outside. "What do you—Elizabeth?!"
Ana Maria stood framed in the doorway, staring in shock at Elizabeth. "Ana Maria?" Elizabeth asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Makin' sure that one," Ana Maria jerked her head in Angelina's direction, "don't make no fool of herself."
"Too late for that," Captain Teague said as Angelina tripped over a chair and lay sprawled on the floor.
"Maybe I lil more than lil drunk," she said, squinting her eyes shut and trying to measure the distance from 'little' to 'more than a little' with her fingers. "I found more rum!"
Ana Maria spied a tankard of water—which was a large surprise to her seeing as pirates had formerly been in the room—and grabbed it, dumping the contents over Angelina's head.
"That was mine," Elizabeth said drolly as Angelina sputtered and lunged at Ana Maria. "Don't fight, please," Elizabeth said, putting a hand to her head.
Angelina looked at Elizabeth and blinked. "Are you—are you pregnant?" she asked.
"Angel!" Captain Teague said, "That's not somethin' you be askin' a lady!"
"Firstly, Captain Teague I am not a lady any longer. One would imagine that since I am now the King of the Pirates that I would no longer be referred to as a lady—"
"You are a lady," Ana Maria said. "You was born a lady, and a lady you shall be."
"Dat's why I'm not a lady," Angelina said. "Me daddy was a pirate and me mum was…well don't rightly recall what she was, but me brother turned into a blacksmith/pirate/captain thing…person…something."
"To continue," Elizabeth said. "Secondly, I am pregnant."
"Really?" Angelina asked. "That ain't in the Code, is it, poppa?" She turned to Captain Teague with a questioning glance.
"Poppa?" Elizabeth asked, her eyebrows raised.
"My childhood was a confusin' one, that it was," Angelina said. "See, durin' the crossin from England—cuz me mum wanted me to 'ave a better life—our ship kind of exploded and well, a very cursed Captain Barbossa took me in. Then he dumped me here after a year or so, making me ten or eleven if I do recall—"
"And you found living with undead pirates so captivating," Captain Teague said, interrupting her.
She smiled at him, "Well, come on. I got to shoot them. Ragetti and Pintel taught me how to fight. They were the only two I ever actually liked other than Barbossa though. The others were mean to me. So anyways, I got dumped here and until I was fifteen I was raised by Cap'n Teague. Then I wandered, met Ana Maria, and now I'm back."
"She's a strange one," Captain Teague said. "Now, what's your purpose here?"
"Do I have to 'ave a purpose?" Angelina asked. Captain Teague frowned at her. "Okay, okay. I found Jack. And his maps." She held out a circular disk and Elizabeth frowned.
"Those are technically my maps," she said. "Will…Will was supposed to steal them from Sao Feng, and Sao Feng gave me everything that went along with his Captaincy. Hence, they are mine."
"Right, but can poppa keep them? Jack won't look there. And he wants to go find the Fountain of Youth."
"So does Barbossa," Elizabeth said. "He was looking for Jack before."
"Well, then the more reason to give them to poppa," Angelina said. Elizabeth sighed and nodded. Angelina gave the charts to Captain Teague, who left to hide them away. "So…You're pregnant then."
"Yes," Elizabeth said.
"Well, Mrs. Turner, would you mind terribly if we helped you?" Ana Maria asked.
Elizabeth surveyed the two women. She knew Ana Maria well enough she supposed. Angelina was the one she wasn't so sure about. But she seemed well enough, and even though she'd spent time with Barbossa in his 'undead days' Captain Teague had raised her also—and Elizabeth was growing fond of Jack's father.
"All right," she said finally.