We landed in the water and quickly swam to the pearl, none of us speaking as we climbed the ladder that Mr Gibbs had thrown out. Elizabeth climbed up first and instantly rushed off to a quiet corner of the ship. I set off to follow her, but I realised she needed time, she needed to let herself feel it first.
"Lily, Jack, thank goodness!" Mr Gibbs called out as we climbed back onto deck. I smiled back at him, somewhat weakly, following the recent occurrences before looking around at the crew, hoping to see the familiar faces I'd grown to care for.
I caught Hector's gaze and he smirked at me, a warmth filling his eyes as he nodded. I smiled back widely, thankful he had come out unscathed. No words were spoken between us but I knew we could both feel it.
"The armada's still out there. The endeavours coming up hard to starboard and I think it's time we embraced the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions," Mr Gibbs waffled slightly.
"Never actually been one for tradition," Jack mumbled. I glanced up at him upon hearing his words but he wasn't looking at me, instead he was facing the opposite way, looking out at the seas where the rest of the armada lay waiting.
"Close haul her! Luff the sails and lay her in irons!" Jack called out, instantly going into Captain mode.
"Belay that! Or we'll be sitting ducks!" Hector called out.
"Belay that, Belay that!" Jack shouted in response. I rolled my eyes at them, disbelieving that they would argue like this mid-war.
"But captain-" Mr Gibbs tried to protest.
"Belay!"
"The armada-"
"Belay! Belay! No! Shut up!" Jack said in a firm tone, raising his arms in a way that showed he wasn't going to be questioned. He then grabbed my waist and pulled me along with him, up to the top deck where Mr Cotton stood minding the helm.
I smiled at him, bowing my head and he mirrored my gesture.
Jack stood tensely against the deck railing, looking out at the fleet. It was clear he wasn't going to disclose the information of what happened just yet. We could only hope that the Dutchman would resurface and come to our aid, Will or not.
We waited in anticipation, Jack's hand clutching at my dress firmly, showing his tension. We hadn't spoken a word to each other since being onboard the Dutchman, and I didn't want to be the first one to speak. Elizabeth was now stood a few years away, frozen to the spot with a pain in her eyes I understood only too well. I wanted to go to her but it seemed fruitless, we needed to survive this first.
The endeavour was advancing on us quickly and my nerves were beginning to falter. Suddenly, a loud noise rang out across the seas as water began lapping only a moment before the Dutchman resurfaced.
After the water had cleared and the Dutchman crept closer to us, a very familiar face greeted us at the helm, a bandana now tied around his head.
"Ready on the guns!" Will's voice called out and I finally let out the sob I'd been holding in. I looked at Elizabeth who looked elated and I was so, so happy for her in that moment. Looking at Jack, he too looked ecstatic, like the spring had been put back into his step.
"Full canvas!" He beamed, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Aye, full canvas!" Hector relayed, shooting a smirk at me.
The crew instantly began running the ropes, dropping the full sails so that we could gather the speed we needed.
Hector moved towards the helm, pushing Mr Cotton away as he turned the ship hard to port, working in tandem with the Dutchman as we mirrored each other, forcing the Endeavor between us.
"Ready the cannons, hard Port load! Hold for the captain's signal!" I shouted down to the men who rallied to load the cannons below deck.
YOU ARE READING
Fathoms Below: Captain Jack Sparrow
Fanfiction"Jack was like a Chinese finger trap most of the time, you had to carry on playing, delve a little further and accept your fate before you were able to pry yourself away." Jack/ OC reader pairing, following the course of the movies with mini-inserts...
