Fan Fiction ❯ Pirates of the Caribbean: Rise of the Pirate King ❯ Fate ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: This is my first foray into the Pirates fanfic realm, but after the ending to At World's End, this story was begging to be written. There will be spoilers for all three movies.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, kthxbai.

 

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Chapter 1

 

Fate

 

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Elizabeth tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable position in her large bed. Finally ending up on her back, she looked up at the dark ceiling above her. Sighing, Elizabeth wished not for the first time in the last ten years that Will could be there to share the bed with her. The size of the bed was mocking her loneliness. And that, Elizabeth decided, was why she could not get comfortable.

 

An unbidden image of Will suddenly appeared in Elizabeth's mind's eye and she reached vainly for her husband above her but could never quite reach him as he seemed to move further and further away. As the mirage dissipated, Elizabeth noticed the conspicuous lack of a wedding band on her finger, despite being married for almost ten years now. It was true her marriage to Will had been a bit… sudden, not to mention that a pirate captain returned from the dead had performed it in the midst of a battle in a maelstrom… Indeed, there hadn't really been a chance to get rings.

 

While Elizabeth might not have had a wedding ring on her hand, most people knew she was married and gave her little trouble about it. Since she had taken over the office as governor of Port Royal in her late father's stead, the public had quickly learned of her marital status, discouraging possible suitors from approaching her, though very few truly knew her husband's true location. It was rumored that he was a pirate and would not make port out of fear of being arrested despite his wife's position. Well, Elizabeth mused, that was partly correct anyway; he was a pirate. He just happened to be the captain of the world's most legendary ship and could not make landfall except for once every ten years.

 

Elizabeth rolled onto her side. The first ten years of Will's time at sea would be up in a little over a month. She smiled to herself. While it wouldn't be the first time they would have seen each other since Will had become captain of the Dutchman - Elizabeth would board the ship at times for visits with her husband until Will was forced to return to the underworld to perform his duties of ferrying those that died at sea to the afterlife - it would be the first time for him back on land and in Port Royal since their whole adventure had begun all those years before. He could share their big bed for the first time and for one night it would be just the right size.

 

It would also be the first time Will would be able to tuck his son into his own bed. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the thought of their son. William fiercely admired his father and whenever he went aboard the Dutchman with his mother would spend hours with Will asking questions and learning the ins and outs of a ship. He was also a favorite of the crew of the Dutchman, especially his grandfather, who spoiled the boy to no end when he was around.

 

Elizabeth only wished William could spend more time with his father. She told him the basic story of what had happened, leaving out some of the more gruesome details that were not suitable for a nine year old. However, Elizabeth had the sinking feeling that William suspected there was more to the story. One day she would tell him the entire story, but even ten years later it was hard for her to think about at times. Her nightmares were still haunted by Davy Jones stabbing Will in the chest and holding her husband in her arms as he died. She would wake up in a cold sweat only to remember Will was at sea on the Dutchman.

 

There were nights she had dreamt about that day at sea with Will and had awoken to find him asleep next to her. After such dreams, she would watch her husband sleep, eyes always drawn to the scar on his chest from the removal of his heart. That was a part of the story Elizabeth had been unable to share with her son, but someday he would have to be the one to take care of the heart in her stead so the truth would have to come out eventually. While Will understood that it was a dark story to tell a young boy, he also understood that it was hard for her to talk about and didn't push the matter.

 

While it was hard for her to think about, she knew it was even worse for Will. While she knew he was glad to still be alive so he could be with her, even if for such a short amount of time, in truth he was neither dead nor alive. He was immortal, bound to the seas for eternity. His heart was literally in Elizabeth's care in Port Royal and the long scar on his chest was a testament to the half-life he was cursed to live.

 

Elizabeth turned over onto her other side. It wasn't fair that their fates had to be so tangled. She remembered Tia Dalma - or Calypso as she was known out of her human containment - telling Will he had a touch of fate about him when they first met, but none of them had ever imagined his fate would be to follow in the sea bound footsteps of Davy Jones. After all, only a year and some time before he had been a blacksmith. It was almost surreal.

 

The sound of her door cracking open pulled Elizabeth from her reverie and she tensed. It couldn't be any of the servants; they should have all retired for the night. She closed her eyes and feigned sleep.

 

“Mother?” a small voice asked and Elizabeth's eyes shot open. She sat up in bed and saw her son's head peeking around her bedroom door.

 

“William,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “What is it?”

 

The nine year old boy slowly made his way into his mother's chambers and clambered into bed with her. Elizabeth pulled her son close and held him. She kissed the top of his head. “Did you have a nightmare?” she asked gently.

 

William shook his head. “No.”

 

“Couldn't sleep?”

 

This time he nodded in the affirmative. “I miss Father.”

 

Elizabeth smiled sadly over her son's head into the darkness. “Me too.”

 

“When can we see him again?” the younger Turner asked, turning to look at his mother.

 

“A little over a month,” she replied automatically. “Ten years will be up in a month and then he can come on land.”

 

“Tell me about it again,” William said with a yawn, “about why Father can't come on land.”

 

“It all started a long time ago, before you were born,” Elizabeth began with the air of someone repeating the same story for nth time, allowing her son to settle into her arms as they both laid back into the large bed. “My father was the governor of Port Royal, your father was a blacksmith, and I loved him.”

 

“You were childhood friends, right?” William piped up, stifling another yawn.

 

Elizabeth smiled. “That's right. But my father wanted me to marry another man; Commodore James Norrington.”

 

William snorted tiredly and Elizabeth poked her son fondly. “Don't be rude. He was a good man and proved it in the end.”

 

“But he wasn't like Father.”

 

“No, he was nothing like Will.” Elizabeth smiled at the thought of her husband. “Your father is a different kind of man than anyone I've ever met.”

 

“Jack Sparrow,” William prompted, wriggling in his mother's arms.

 

“Captain Jack Sparrow,” she corrected automatically. “And yes, it all started when he appeared in Port Royal. I nearly drowned and he saved my life. Commodore Norrington ordered him to be arrested for being a pirate but he ran away.”

 

“And into Father's smithy.”

 

“Yes, into the smithy where he was an apprentice.”

 

William yawned again. “Tell me about Davy Jones.”

 

Elizabeth ruffled her son's hair. “So demanding.” Her son laughed tiredly. “Alright. Davy Jones was once a pirate captain who fell in love with the goddess of the sea Calypso. And she loved him in return. Because she held him in her trust, Calypso charged him with ferrying the souls of those that died at sea to the afterlife but he could only return to land once every ten years if his love was true.”

 

“Like Father,” William whispered, half-asleep.

 

Elizabeth nodded. “Except that after ten years, Davy Jones' love was not true. He betrayed Calypso by asking the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court to seal her away in a human form. And they did. And from then on he was cursed to sail the seas for eternity, alone and able only to inflict suffering on others.”

 

She waited a moment for an interjection from her son but when none was forthcoming she looked down to see he had fallen asleep. She smiled fondly at her sleeping son was struck not for the first time by how much he was like his father. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth's thoughts wandered back to Will before she too fell asleep.

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

Elizabeth stood at the helm of the Black Pearl watching the water for any sign of the Flying Dutchman. Had their last ditch effort to save Will from dying from Jones' stab wound worked or had she lost him forever? No, she couldn't bear the thought that she might have lost Will forever after everything they had been through together.

 

And just as hope seemed to fade, the Dutchman made its grand return to the surface. Elizabeth gasped. Will stood, in full pirate regalia, at the wheel of the ship. Visible beneath his half-opened tunic was a long jagged scar from the removal of his heart. It had worked after all.

 

But something in the back of her mind was trying to come to the surface. Something wasn't right about it.

 

“This isn't the way you wish it to be, is it?” a female voice whispered in her ear.

 

“No,” Elizabeth replied immediately, sudden realization hitting her. He wouldn't be able to come to shore but once every ten years as he was bound to the Flying Dutchman and the service of Calypso.

 

“But he would have died otherwise,” the voice said, this time into her other ear.

 

“There has to be another way,” Elizabeth whispered, eyes locked on her husband. “I don't think I can bear being away from him for ten years at a time.”

 

“You love him.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Your love is pure and true.”

 

Elizabeth nodded.

 

“As is his.”

 

She swallowed.

 

“But he is bound to the duties that I charged Davy Jones with,” the voice said more strongly. Elizabeth blinked and in front of her stood Tia Dalma - no Calypso.

 

“Isn't there something I can do?” Elizabeth asked desperately. “It shouldn't have happened like this.”

 

“That man has been touched by Fate herself,” Calypso replied off-handedly.

 

“And is this the fate he was destined for?” Elizabeth asked in return.

 

“Only Fate knows that,” Calypso replied. “All I know is that he has been touched by her.”

 

“But it's your curse that keeps him at sea,” Elizabeth countered. “There has to be something you can do.”

 

The goddess shook her head. “I charged the captain of the Dutchman with those duties because I trusted Davy Jones. I always assumed he would be the one to fulfill those duties for eternity but the Dutchman must always have a captain. There is nothing I can change about that.”

 

“Then why bring me back to this memory?” Elizabeth asked, watching the goddess intently. “You must have some purpose.”

 

“In that you are right, your Majesty.”

 

“What?”

 

Tia Dalma's face contorted to a smirk. “Don't tell me you've forgotten already about the Brethren Court.”

 

“What? Of course not,” Elizabeth stuttered in surprise when realization hit her. “Pirate King.”

 

“That's right,” Calypso crooned.

 

“What about it?” Elizabeth asked, crossing her arms under her breasts. “That was a long time ago.”

 

“You are the Pirate King of the Fourth Council,” Calypso retorted. “Another council cannot be called since the talismans of the Pirate Lords were burned to free me.”

 

“So that means…”

 

“That's right, Captain Swan - or should I say Turner? You are the final Pirate King in the great age of piracy.”

 

Elizabeth blinked. “But what does that have to do with Will?”

 

“Do you really think `Pirate King' is just a title?” the goddess asked, apparently amused.

 

“Well, actually I did,” Elizabeth replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

 

“Then you were sorely mistaken.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The Pirate King awakens certain powers inside him- or herself, as the case may be. This is the biggest reason the pirate lords always voted for themselves; they wanted the powers for themselves and did not wish to see such power in the hands of another of the lords. Pirates are a competitive bunch, after all,” Calypso replied in Tia Dalma's accent. “They have the power to back up their right to rule over the seas.”

 

“What kind of powers?” Elizabeth asked carefully.

 

“That I cannot answer,” the goddess replied. “The powers are unique to each Pirate King.”

 

“Why didn't I see these powers back when I was first voted Pirate King, then?”

 

“Didn't you?” Calypso quipped.

 

Elizabeth blinked. “Not that I know of.”

 

“Did you seem to escape every near death incident you were in?” Calypso asked.

 

Elizabeth blinked. It had been a miracle she had survived that encounter when even Will had died. “Well yes.”

 

“Did the other pirates listen to your words more than they would have originally?”

 

Elizabeth thought back to the speech she gave to the crew of the Black Pearl and blinked. The last time she had tried that she had ended up in a row boat on her own. “Yes.”

 

“And did you feel more empowered?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you say you didn't experience anything,” the goddess said wryly.

 

“As nice as all that is,” Elizabeth cut in, “why are you telling me this now. And what does it have to do with Will?”

 

“With so much time for the power to stabilize in your body, you will awaken new powers as your natural right as the Pirate King,” Calypso replied. “Most Pirate Kings never lasted this long so never had the chance to see what kind of powers might have developed. Since you are the first female King, it should be interesting to see what kind of powers you end up with.”

 

“And my husband?”

 

Calypso's face turned serious. “Understand, Mrs. Turner, I only tell you this because Will's love for you and your love for him remained pure and true through his ten years at sea. Perhaps I wish my love could have ended more like yours.”

 

Elizabeth watched the goddess intently, her guard up. Since she was back in her pirate lord regalia from the time of the memory she had been thrown into, she had a sword at her belt and would not hesitate to use it.

 

“While there is nothing I can do about Will being at sea for the rest of eternity, the combination of you being the holder of his heart and the Pirate King might be enough.”

 

“Enough for what?”

 

“An ancient rite to unbind a soul from the sea.”

 

Elizabeth's eyes widened. “You mean…”

 

“There is a possibility that you can bring Will back to shore, yes,” the goddess replied wearily.

 

“But what about the Dutchman?”

 

Calypso shook her head. “That is all I can tell you. The rest is up to you. Just know your time limit is his imminent return to shore in the next five weeks.”

 

Elizabeth started. “But that's so little time.”

 

“Then I suggest you get looking.”

 

“Where?”

 

Calypso grinned impishly. “I suggest you find Jack Sparrow.”

 

“Why?” Elizabeth asked in surprise.

 

The goddess shook her head. “I've said more than I should have. The rest lies with you.” She studied the woman in front of her once more. “Your husband is not the only one who's been touched by a destiny, it seems.”

 

“But…”

 

“Good luck, Captain Turner.”

 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

 

Elizabeth's eyes flew open and immediately closed them once more at the sunlight that was streaming through the open window. Upon opening them again, she found William was still entwined in her arms. Carefully untangling herself from her son, Elizabeth slipped out of bed and walked over to the full length mirror hanging on the bedroom wall. She studied herself.

 

Powers?

 

She didn't look any different to herself, though she supposed it would be hard for her to judge. Could it all just have been a strange dream born of the stories she had been telling William before bed? As appealing as the idea sounded, she couldn't shake the idea that she truly had been visited by the goddess in her dream. It seemed out of Calypso's character to do such a thing, but maybe she was just a hopeless romantic… Elizabeth shook her head. No, the goddess had an ulterior motive to the visit, but if there truly was a way to bring will back from the sea, then she would find it. But there wasn't much time.

 

What had the goddess said? “Find Jack Sparrow.” Elizabeth groaned to herself. It could take years to find the man; that wasn't time she had. The governor of Port Royal grabbed her dressing gown from the back of a chair next to the bed and walked over to the window. She looked out over the horizon as she did every morning since Will had sailed off on the Flying Dutchman.

 

She blinked. Was she imagining it or was there a speck on the horizon? No, there was something there, but ships coming into Port Royal was a normal occurrence. Since Beckett had been killed in the battle those ten years before, Port Royal had once again prospered and ships made regular stops in the colony. But something about the speck was drawing her eye. She watched its steady progress for a few moments in the morning sunlight coming through the window before her bedroom door flew open. One of the handmaids was standing in the doorway out of breath.

 

“Governor Turner,” she said between gasps, “you're not going to believe it.”

 

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked, making her way to the winded maid.

 

“A ship, coming into port.”

 

“What about it?” the governor asked, confused. “That's not unusual.”

 

“But it's this specific ship,” the maid clarified, her breath returning.

 

Elizabeth blinked. “What do you mean?”

 

“It's the Black Pearl, Ma'am.”

 

Elizabeth's eyes widened. She went back to the window and looked out at the ship that was now within eyesight. She knew those sails anywhere. “It is the Pearl,” she breathed.

 

“What should we do, Ma'am?” the maid asked.

 

“Let it dock and have the captain meet me in the dining room,” Elizabeth replied immediately.

 

“But it's a pirate ship…”

 

Elizabeth grinned at her maid. “I know.”

 

“As you wish,” the maid said, bowing out of the room.

 

Elizabeth went to her closet and looked for a proper outfit to meet some old friends. Perhaps she had been touched by Fate after all.