Two Peas in a Pod
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean.
When most people thought of Tortuga, they thought of the den of debauchery, where rowdy pirates fired their pistols into the air at all hours of the night. However, a not-very-commonly-known fact was that while the main port of Tortuga certainly fulfilled all the piratical requirements for a good night on the town, elsewhere on the island lived people who were not thieves, scallywags, or ladies of the night. Down the coast a bit was a small fishing village, populated by retired sailors, and the wives of sailors, waiting for their husbands to send home small bits of income, which they supplemented with taking in laundry, or fishing.
Here was where Elizabeth had settled down, to wait for Will, and of course, be in a convenient location to conduct her business, just in case the Pirate King of the Brethren Court was needed for some important piratical matter. She certainly had no intention of sitting around knitting for ten years. And that small village was where Jack was now headed.
After all, he certainly couldn't sail all the way to the Fountain of Youth in this pathetic little dinghy. While Gibbs stayed in Tortuga to gather a crew, Jack was going to pay a little visit to the Pirate King. He needed a ship.
It had been about four months since the Black Pearl had dropped her off on the beach several miles south of the village for her honeymoon with Will. Jack was feeling all right about how things had turned out. He had initially been all ready to stab the heart and become the captain of the Flying Dutchman, but when he had seen Elizabeth sobbing over Will's fast-becoming-lifeless body, he had known what he had to do. He couldn't take the selfish route. "It's not about living forever. It's about living with yourself forever." Whatever there might be between himself and Elizabeth, there was no doubt that she loved Will deeply, and if saving the whelp would save Lizzie heartbreak, then that was what he had to do.
Jack supposed it was better this way (for him) -- he really hadn't been thrilled about the prospect of being tied to the Dutchman forever. Sure, it would have kept him alive, sailing the seas forever, but he valued his freedom too much, to go where he wanted, when he wanted. He enjoyed stopping off at various ports, to pick up rum, and pleasurable company.
He had once explained to Elizabeth what the Black Pearl meant to him -- "It's not just a keel and a sail and hull, that's what a ship needs, but what a ship is...what the Black Pearl really is...is freedom." And while he may now have lost the Pearl -- again -- he still had his freedom.
And as for the Pearl, well, that was just a temporary situation. He would get her back again. After all, he was Captain Jack Sparrow.
He wondered a bit how Elizabeth would react to seeing him. Their goodbye had been pleasant. But there was a certain understanding between them.
"It never would have worked out between us."
"You keep telling yourself that, darlin'." They both knew it wasn't true. They were two peas in a pod. They understood each other better than anyone else. He knew she was a pirate and she knew he was a good man. Who else understood that as well as the two of them?
But now, she had a certain obligation to wait for Will. She wouldn't give up on the whelp, both because of her love for him, and because it was the right thing to do. Because of the circumstances her life had taken, she couldn't run off to be with Jack. She wouldn't.
However, he wouldn't abandon her. He might not ever admit it aloud, but he cared too much to leave her completely alone. He would check up on her periodically, make sure she was all right. Will would have wanted that.
And besides she was the Pirate King. And it was good to have friends in high places. Especially at times like now, when he needed a ship. If anyone could pull some strings for him, she could.
He took out the chart again. He would have loved to see the look on Hector's face when he realized the key section of the chart was missing. Jack grinned a wicked grin, and rolled up the chart again, and set his course. Maybe if Elizabeth helped him to get the Pearl back, he would cut her in on the Fountain of Youth. Maybe she could join his crew. She made an awfully good pirate. Could a Pirate King serve as a second mate?
He took a swig of rum and checked his compass. It was pointing directly to the village. The marina was just coming into sight. As he neared the pier, the compass' needle swung around to point directly at a particular house -- a very nice little house -- fit for a king, really. He grinned again. "Drink up me hearties, yo ho."
Author's Note: Please review!