Author's Notes: This is my take on what should have happened near the end of 'Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest'. Serious SPOILERS for the movie. Written June 2006.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, and I am not making any money from these stories.
Warning: Non consensual disciplinary spanking of an adult by a romantic partner.
Love and Honor
Elizabeth watched with horror as the Kraken devoured both Captain Jack Sparrow and The Black Pearl. The little rowboat she was in was moving as fast as the men could row it, and it didn't take them long to reach land. By the time her feet touched land, there was no sign that the Pearl had been afloat minutes ago.
The four men left from Jack's crew, Joshamee, Ragetti, Pintel, and Marty, had a small conference with Will as soon as they were all out of the rowboat.
Will was the first to speak. He said, "We need to go up river to see Tia Dalma again."
Joshamee said, "The voodoo woman? Why her?"
Will thought about this for a second. He still needed the compass, or there was no going back to his old life, and he couldn't very well send Elizabeth back to her death either. He also had an oath to keep to his father, and he thought Ms. Dalma could help him with both of these things. She had originally given Jack the compass, so maybe she could make him a new one, or at least tell him where to find one. And she might have more information on Davy Jones' heart. But he wasn't sure that was a good reason for the rest of Jack's crew to follow him. He said, "I think we owe it to Jack to at least see if anything can be done for his soul."
Joshamee nodded solemnly and said, "Aye."
Will looked around at the men, and they all gave a nod. Will said, "We'll need passage."
Will looked around to get his bearings and saw some rooftops in the distance. He said, "We'll go to that town and see what we can find in the way of transportation."
Joshamee nodded and headed in that direction followed by the rest of Jack's crew. Will looked over at Elizabeth, who was still starring out at the ocean in a kind of daze. He kept flashing the image of her kissing Jack in his head. He was confused, jealous, and angry about it, but he wasn't sure how to talk to her about it. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to. He went over to her and put a hand on her lower back. He said gently, "Elizabeth?"
She looked over at him and said, "Yes?"
"Are you all right?" He wondered if she was in love with Jack, and had been kissing him goodbye.
She looked back out at sea one more time, and then turned back to her fiancé with a more focused look and said, "Yes. What's our plan?"
Will motioned towards the men, and started both of them walking behind them as he explained what they were going to do. Elizabeth was still wearing boy's clothes, and as they were walking to town, she put her hair up, so that no one would mistake her for a girl. In town, Joshamee found a ship that would be sailing up river the following morning. He went to find Will and the rest of the group, who were sitting in the local bar having some ale. He said, "Ship called the Shining Star is sailing in the morning. We'll be to Tia Dalma's three days hence. They're taking on crew right now if we want to sign up."
Everyone nodded except Will. He looked over at Elizabeth and said, "What about you?"
"What about me? I'll go as a cabin boy again."
Will shook his head. "I don't like it. You could get hurt, and what if the crew finds out you're a woman. They could
" his voice got lower and he leaned towards her so only she could hear, "
.defile you."
Elizabeth said, "I spent a month as a cabin boy aboard a ship. I think I can do it for another three days without much trouble."
Will thought about it for a few minutes and said, "You'll sign up as my younger brother, so no one will think it odd for me to protect you. You were soon to be a Turner anyway. You're first name can be Eli."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, even though she doubted she would need protection, and soon they were all signed up.
Will turned to Joshamee and said, "We'll need a room for the night, do you have any coin?"
"Aye."
"Then let's find the local Inn. We'll pool our resources, and order two rooms. Elizabeth and I will share a room, and you four can share the other."
Joshamee nodded in agreement, and soon they were all having an early supper at the Inn. Will noticed that Elizabeth barely touched her dinner, and when he was done eating he excused the both of them, and told the crew they would meet them on the ship in the morning.
Elizabeth got up and followed Will up the stairs. Will opened the door for her, and once they were in, he closed it behind them. He locked it shut, and looked around the room. It was sparse with a bed, a chamber pot, a small desk with a pitcher of water and basin for washing, and a small cushioned settee.
Elizabeth walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Will said, "I'll sleep on the settee."
Elizabeth nodded once, and Will saw a tear slide down her face. He went over and kneeled down on the floor in front of her. He took one of her hands in his and said, "What is it Elizabeth?"
She looked at him and more tears came. She said, "Oh Will, I've done something awful, and I don't know if I can live with myself now."
Will thought for sure she was talking about kissing Jack. He said, "I
. I saw you kiss Jack."
Elizabeth put a hand to her mouth in horror and shame. Will didn't know if he really wanted an answer, but he had to ask. "Have things changed between us? Do
. Do you have feelings towards Jack now?"
Elizabeth couldn't believe that Will would even consider that thought. She got down on her knees next to him on the floor and grabbed both of his hands in hers. She said, "No Will. There is no other love for me then you. It has always been, and will always be you."
Will felt relief flood through him. He could tell she was sincere. "Then why were you kissing him?"
Elizabeth let go of his hands and sat down on her heals. She looked away and said, "It was a trick."
Elizabeth broke down into tears of shame. Will hated to see her cry. He stood up, and pulled her up with him. He went over to the settee and pulled her down to sit on his lap. He held her close and waited for her to calm down enough to talk.
Elizabeth felt safe in his arms, and was able to stop crying soon. When she was reduced to sniffles Will said, "How was it a trick?"
Elizabeth kept her head on his chest so she didn't have to look in his eyes and said, "Jack had made advances towards me on more then one occasion while we were searching for you, so I knew he would be easily distracted by a kiss."
Will tensed hearing that. If Jack were around, he would be having words with him about making advances on his fiancé. But as it was, he figured Jack had suffered enough. Elizabeth went on, "I also knew the Kraken was after Jack and not the rest of us. So I
I kissed him to distract him while I
. I shackled him to the boat."
Will was too shocked to know what to say at first. But shock gave way to anger in moments, and he pushed Elizabeth away from his chest so that he could look into her eyes. He said, "You were lying when you said he volunteered to stay behind to give the rest of us a chance? In reality you had sentenced him to certain death with no chance to escape?"
Elizabeth made eye contact with Will for a second, but as soon as she saw his expression of disappointment and anger she had to look away. She said, "He would have done the same to you or me if the tables had been turned."
Will was furious at those words. It didn't matter to him if they were true or not, what mattered to him was that Elizabeth was using them as an excuse for what she had done. Elizabeth had always had a mind of her own, but unlike most of the women Will had met, Elizabeth always seemed very genuine, caring, and kind. But this act had been dishonorable, and now she was trying to excuse her actions with false reasoning.
Before Elizabeth had time to react or even realize what Will was doing, she found herself face down across his lap. She said, "Will?"
For once Will was glad that Elizabeth was in boy's clothes, since there was only one thin layer of material between her bottom and his hand as apposed to many layers if she were wearing a dress. He brought his hand down hard on the center of her bottom, which elicited a yell from her. He gave her ten more swats in quick succession while moving his hand around to make sure and cover all of her bottom.
Elizabeth yelled out, "Ahh! Will, you're hurting me!"
Will paused long enough to say, "Aye." and continued the spanking.
Elizabeth struggled to get up, and her hat fell to the floor, but Will held her in place. After a short while she realized her struggles were futile and yelled out, "I'll not marry a man who beats me!"
Will stopped in mid swing. He thought about it for a second and said quietly, "I'll not marry a woman who dishonors herself with lies and treachery."
Elizabeth felt her stomach twisting at those words, because she knew that was exactly what she had done. She said, "Will
. I
. I was afraid for our survival."
Will nodded and said, "So was I, but I'd rather die knowing that I had stayed true to my beliefs, then live knowing I had compromised them."
Elizabeth broke down into more tears at those words. She had always known Will was a man with high moral standards. That was a big part of what she loved about him. She was ashamed to have fallen short in both his eyes and her own. Will heard her tears, and clenched his jaw with determination.
He said, "I can understand panicking in the heat of the moment and making an error in judgement out of fear. But then to try and tell me you were justified in your actions because you treated Jack no better then he would treat you? You're not a pirate Elizabeth, you're a woman of high breeding, and your behavior should be better then that of a pirates." and started spanking her again.
Elizabeth's crying was now interspersed with gasps of pain, but she didn't try to get up again. She almost put her hand behind her to try and cover her bottom, but instead grabbed Will's booted ankle. She couldn't help some involuntary wiggling to get her butt out of the way of the pain, but for the most part she stayed still, because now she believed she deserved it. After what seemed like a very long time to her, but really was only a few seconds, the pain was too much for her and she yelled out, "Will! I'm sorry! Truly I am! Please stop!"
Will had been waiting to hear some repentance from her, and as soon as he did, he stopped and rubbed her back with the hand that had been holding her down. Elizabeth lay still crying and trying to talk at the same time. Most of it was garbled but Will understood the words; sorry, wrong of me, hate me, and sorry again.
Will turned her over so she was sitting in his lap again, and held her to his chest. Elizabeth wiped at her face with her hands and the sleeves of her shirt. Elizabeth was still trying to talk, and Will said gently, "Shhh. Just take a moment to breathe before you try to talk. I can't understand half of what you're saying."
Elizabeth was able to get out, "I'm so sorry!" through her tears.
"I know you are."
She shook her head no and said, "You hate me now!"
He pushed her away from his chest slightly so that he could look into her eyes. She didn't make eye contact, so he put his fingers on her chin and made her look at him. He said, "I could never hate you Elizabeth. I love you with all my heart."
"You can't still love me after what I've done."
Hi kissed her forehead, and then her mouth and said, "But I do."
"But how can you? I kissed another man. I lied to you and the rest of the crew. And I made sure Jack couldn't escape his death."
"I forgive you. You've seen the error of your ways, and paid for your sins."
They sat looking at each other for a few seconds both trying to understand the other. Will didn't understand why Elizabeth was still so upset now that the spanking was over, and Elizabeth didn't understand how Will could be so calm.
Elizabeth accused, "You hit me." as a few fresh tears rolled down her face.
"Have you never been spanked before?"
"Of course not! My father would have never done something so
.. so common."
Will nodded and mumbled to himself, "I suppose I should have guessed that knowing you. In fact it makes quite a lot of sense."
Then he looked back at her and said, "I assure you that spanking is not just for commoners. I have witnessed it first hand in houses of high breeding while delivering goods for my old master. Your father was just too soft hearted to do it, as I might have been a year ago."
"You won't do it again?" Elizabeth had meant to say this as an order or at least as a statement, but it came out sounding like more of a question.
Will looked at her and wiped some of the tears off her face with his thumbs. He said, "I hope not."
That wasn't what Elizabeth had wanted him to say, and she gave him a small pout. He smiled a little and said, "I don't see this same set of circumstances happening again, and under normal conditions I think you're a very sensible woman, so I doubt the need will arise again."
He got serious and his heart started pounding as he said, "But I won't promise you that I'll never do it again Elizabeth. I don't make promises I can't keep. Does this mean our engagement is off?"
She thought about it for a few seconds. "You said you wouldn't marry a woman who dishonored herself with lies and treachery."
Will nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I need to revise my previous statement. I won't marry a woman who dishonors herself with lies and treachery, and then refuses to take responsibility for her behavior."
The room was quiet for a few seconds, and then Elizabeth said quietly, "I'll still marry you. I want no other man."
He hugged her close as he felt the relief go through him. He whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too. Although I must say I don't like you very well right now."
He nodded and said, "I understand."
A few seconds later he helped her to stand, and then stood up himself. He said, "Let's get you in bed. Some sleep will help us both."
On the way to the bed she rubbed at her bottom and said, "It still hurts, and you're a brute."
Will felt a stab of guilt, but refused to apologize since he still thought he was right to have done it. Instead he said, "You'll feel better tomorrow."
Will pulled the covers back for her, and she gingerly sat on the edge of the bed and started to take her boots off. Will kneeled down and helped her get them off. Then she lay down and Will pulled the covers up over her. He kissed her cheek and said, "Sleep well my love."
Elizabeth watched him as he turned and walked over to pick up her hat from the floor. He put it next to her boots. Then he went to the settee, and tried to find a good position to sleep in, which was difficult since it was too small for him to actually lay down on. She watched him toss and turn for about three minutes and then said, "Will?"
"Yes?"
"Come sleep over here."
"It wouldn't be proper. We're not married yet."
"We're both fully dressed, and if you're still uncomfortable with it, then lay on top of the covers."
Will thought about it for a few seconds, and then walked over to the bed. He lay down and got comfortable, and before drifting off to sleep he said, "Elizabeth?"
"Yes?"
"I think asking me to sleep here with you, shows how kind, sensible, and honorable you truly are."
"How so?"
"It's kind because you saw I was uncomfortable. It was sensible because there is only one bed, and it's big enough for the both of us, but many women would be opposed to me sleeping next to them simply because we aren't married. And it's honorable because you made it clear we're just sleeping and nothing more. I
. I suppose I wanted you to understand that this is the kind of behavior I see from you most of the time. And I don't want you to think that one mistake changes my opinion of you."
Elizabeth turned and looked at him. "Thank you Will."
He put a hand to her cheek for a second and gave her a smile before turning over and going to sleep.
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