Elizabeth Turner bent over the cradle that held her sleeping son. Dare she kiss him? His eyes, wrinkled closed, his eyebrows, his firm chin—all these things reminded him of the men for whom he had been named. Bootstrap Bill, the pirate. William Turner, his son, an ordinary citizen of Port Royal turned pirate.
No, not this time. Elizabeth shook her head silently and wrapped her robe tighter about herself. She would not risk it.
As she busied herself about her tasks for the day—cleaning their already-pristine cottage, mending the fishing nets that helped them gain their livelihood—she could not help but think of the past.
She had kissed many men in her lifetime. Her father, for one. Elizabeth closed her eyes but could not keep the stray tear from slipping down her cheek. Willoughby Swann, the famed governor of Port Royal. Although her little adventure with the pirates may have tarnished his reputation slightly. She had kissed him—as a girl, as a young woman—and he had died, at the hand of Cutler Beckett.
Elizabeth dressed quickly into her simple gown, wrapped an apron around her waist, and walked out to the garden. The sun was just rising on the horizon. She yanked the weeds from the ground. How many more men were there?
Sao Feng was another man she had kissed—if one could call that a kiss. He had basically forced it from her, while he thought that she was a goddess in human form. He had died just minutes after his lips met hers. But it had resulted in her being captain. She shrugged. What went around came around, and he had gotten his dues.
Commodore James Norrington. Oh, yes, she had kissed him. And he had died, all because he could not make up his mind as to which side he would serve. Stuck to the ship, doomed to become part of it. She had begun to think that he could change—but even change came too late.
Only two more men remained, the two men that had impacted her life the most—Jack Sparrow and William Turner.
Jack Sparrow, the pirate who had gotten her into piracy in the first place. Although he had saved her life. She had to give him credit for that much. She yanked another weed from the ground. His constant scheming and wheedling made her doubt which side he was on—if he ever had one at all. He had always thought of himself first, worked for himself, plotted for himself. She probably would have died a thousand times over if she had trusted her life to him.
She still felt somewhat guilty about that kiss. What had possessed her? Yes, the Kraken was after him. Yes, Davy Jones wanted him. But why did she have to turn into such a bloody pirate and chain him to the mast? Though the pirate Jack Sparrow would likely be proud of her, the governor's daughter in her shuddered at her heartlessness. Following the code? She received top grades in that class.
But the last and the greatest was William Turner, her son's father. And he, too, had died. But he had gone on to live a great life, even after he was dead. Still, he had died.
She shuddered and stood. No, she would not kiss her son, not today, not ever. She would not risk his life.
Author's Note: This is what happens when I read PotC trivia online. No, I do not plan on continuing this, but if someone else would like to, just let me know!
I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or anything to do with it, although I wish I did. Some of it, at least, is absolutely brilliant.