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30 Years of Waiting
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She was waiting for him, as he had known she would be.
It had been 10 years since she had last seen Will, and her heart was beating fast in her chest as it had never done before. She had missed him so much during the past years and the longing only increased as the day for their reunion was arrived.
She was waiting for him in the exact same beach as he had left her 10 years ago when the Flying Dutchman finally appeared on the horizon.
Elizabeth felt her whole body shake as if it had been struck by a lightning, and adrenaline pumped in her veins, her heart hurting, so fast it was beating inside her chest.
When the ship was at the maximum distance it could be from the shore, she saw him, holding himself on a rope attached to the sail. She held her breath.
As soon as he came close enough to the shore, she ran at his direction and jumped in his arms, kissing him lovingly before saying a single word.
It was 10 years of longing in one kiss. That kiss had to convey all the feelings they had for each other and were unable to express for years. It was a kiss to be remembered.
''You had your hair cut'' he commented, separating their lips only enough for them to breath, their noses and foreheads still touching one another.
Elizabeth smiled and nodded
''Do you like it?''
Will kissed her forehead and then her lips again, feeling the taste he had missed so much
''You look beautiful, just like on the first time I saw you''
She looked at his face, tracing it with her fingers. He hadn't aged a single bit, he looked exactly the same.
''I look older'' she mentioned, closing her eyes and resting her face on his chest, trying to hide it from him, to hide the expression marks and the wrinkles that started to appear on the once fair porcelain skin.
''You look beautiful'' he repeated, lifting her chin with his fingers and kissing her nose ''Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…''
Then his lips met hers again, her arms wrapping around his neck as he kissed her with passion and she returned it with the same intensity
She would leave her insecurities for another time
Now she was with Will, her Will
And nothing else mattered
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The second time they saw each other since the curse, she was 44 years old.
She waited for him at the beach, as usual, and ran to his arms as soon as he stepped on land
''I missed you'' she whispered in between kisses
''I missed you too''
They spent the entire day and night talking to each other and loving each other, just like things should be
In a different life, this would've been their everyday life, and although both kept thinking about what could have been, none said it aloud. Of what use would that be?
When it was time for Will to leave, Elizabeth felt her heart ache again
''Don't go'' she begged, although she knew what his answer would be. It wasn't his choice, anyway.
''I can't'' he replied, touching their foreheads and closing his eyes ''I wish- I wish I could spend every day with you like this, just the two of us, forever''
She nodded, her heart pounding inside her chest
''I wish that too''
He took his hand and placed it where her heart was
''I'll come back, wait for me'' he asked
She smiled faintly
Would they meet again?
''I'll be right here''
Will kissed her one last time, deeply, and then turned around, heading to the Flying Dutchman
And, like she had grown used to doing, she watched his back as he walked away, until the sails of the ship disappeared in the horizon.
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The last time she saw Will she was 54. And although her anxiety to see him again was exactly the same as it had been before, her heart wasn't strong enough to beat as fast as it had in the past. She walked down to the beach with difficulties, her body not as strong as it used to be. In a world where most people lived not much longer than 40 years, Elizabeth was considered lucky to have lived that much. But she knew that would be the last time she would see Will. She could already feel her heart failing, her legs weaken and her health deteriorate, mostly because of the many years of drinking - especially when missing him became unbearable.
If she was honest, she almost didn't show up. She didn't want to face him like that, so old. Her looks deteriorated quickly, mostly after she started to smoke and when rum and regrets became her only friends on long nights.
She walked with slow steps to the beach that became their favorite spot in the world, placing a small towel on one rock and sitting on it. She would spend long days there, watching the horizon and hoping, praying, that by some miracle he would show up and take her with him.
But, of course, that never happened.
She had tried to move on, finding someone who could actually be there with her every day. Suitors rained on her door ever since she moved to the small village close to that beach, so she could watch the ocean every day and wait for him, but she would always end up saying her heart belonged to someone far in the ocean. Even when she tried to give a couple men a chance, she could only think of the one man who had her heart, and it wouldn't work with anyone else.
When the sun started to set in the horizon, the Flying Dutchman appeared for her one last time. She waited patiently for Will to come to the shore and meet her, touching her hair and clothes repeatedly in hopes it would make her looks a little better. She always wanted to look her best for him.
He came running in her direction and hugged her tight.
''I'm glad you're here'' he said, and she felt his voice wavering. Was he crying? ''God, I'm glad you're here''
''Where else would I be?'' she asked, but then she realized what he'd meant ''I'm right here, Will'' she hugged him back, inhaling his smell of the sea.
''Let me take a good look at you'' he asked, trying to put some distance between them, but she hugged him even tighter
''No''
Will was surprised for a second, but then he understood what worried her
''Hey'' he started ''You're beautiful, you know that?''
She felt her eyes start to water and she swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears from falling
''Will I-'' she started, but she found she didn't have the strength to utter any other word without starting to cry, so she stopped midsentence. Gathering enough strength to finish what she wanted to say, she inhaled deeply and continued ''I have something for you''
Will raised an eyebrow and watched as she walked close to one of the rocks at the shore and came back holding a chest
He took a step back
''I'm returning this to you'' she said, trying her best not to let her voice falter ''I can no longer be its guardian''
Will felt his heart stop for a moment, as if something inside it died
He knew what she meant by that
''It's yours, I can't take it'' he tried to say
''You must''
Will took another step back, his face showing deep sadness as he heard those words, for he knew what they meant
''Elizabeth…''
Without waiting for him to say another word, she took a few steps on his direction and pressed the chest against his body
''Please take it'' Elizabeth said ''guard it well or'' she swallowed hard ''find someone else to take care of it''
He felt his heart ache
''It's always been you'' he said, putting the chest aside and coming closer to her, caressing her cheeks ''It's always belonged to you and only you, and it always will''
''I- I can't, Will, I… I…!'' she started to mumble, but then it became too unbearable to speak and she pressed her head against his chest, her tears finally running down her face.
''It's okay'' he hugged her again, tightly, and kissed her hair
He also knew that was the last time they were seeing each other
Will wished with all his might that he would not be separated from this woman. He loved her. God, he loved her! Hadn't they suffered enough?
But life wasn't about what he wished, and he knew that
''I love you, Elizabeth'' he said, finally putting some distance between them and wiping a single tear from her watery eyes. He took in each detail of her face, the face he would never forget, no matter what happened.
''I love you too, Will'' she managed to say in between quiet sobs
She might have aged and turned into an old lady, but inside she was still the same woman he had fallen in love with, and he would never, ever, stop loving her
Until the end of time
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A few months after their encounter, Elizabeth fell ill. She knew she didn't have much time left.
She cried in bed for a few days, with no one there to hold her hand or to feel sad as she was slowly dying.
The morning she died, she had gone out to buy fish. She walked down the road that led to the fish market with slow steps.
''I'm telling you, lad, there's a big storm coming, we shouldn't set sail today!''
''I must, there's a big reward waiting for me in the capital for this pirate's head and I have to get there before someone steals it to keep my money!''
Elizabeth looked up at the sky, the gray clouds above her head and the strong wind blowing on her face
She gave the boy selling fish a couple coins and walked down the harbor until she was right in front of the two men who were still debating whether to go or not to the capital that day
''Good morning, sirs'' she greeted ''I heard you are going to the capital? Perhaps you would accept a few coins in exchange for taking me with you?''
The men exchanged glances
''I'm sorry, woman, we are not a tourism ship, find yourself another embarkation''
She nodded, quietly
''You see, my daughter is pregnant back at the capital and the child is due today. I'm sick, as you can see, and I would love to be able to meet my grandchild before I depart from this world'' she said
The men looked down and then looked at each other again. Despite everything, they were decent men.
''Fair enough, it's a one-day-long trip so it shouldn't be a problem'' the man who wanted to go finally said
''You mean we're really going?!'' the second man exclaimed
''Thank you'' said Elizabeth, but neither men paid any attention, they were engaged in another argument about whether it was prudent to set sail that day or not.
Elizabeth knew for a fact that was a terrible day to set sail, a big storm was coming and it would most likely hit the ship.
She was counting on that.
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It was the middle of the night and she was sleeping soundly when the storm finally caught them. She woke up to the sound of men shouting orders to one another. Calmly, she walked up to the deck and watched the violent waves hit the ship mercilessly.
It was only a matter of time.
Suddenly, a big wave came and the ship turned upside down. She closed her eyes and got ready
Then there was silence
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When she opened her eyes again, she was on a small boat, along with the other sailors, who had their heads lowered down and looked at their hands in fright. Their bodies seemed different then what she remembered, almost like ghosts.
''What happened?'' she asked them
But there was no response
Suddenly, the water started to waver beneath them and an enormous ship emerged from it, right next to them
The Flying Dutchman
The ship started to guide the small boat, along with a few others that sailed next to it, to the other side of this world to the next one
''Elizabeth!'' she heard someone shout
She looked up to see Will on the deck, looking down at her and then running on her direction until he jumped and landed on the boat
He hugged her
''What…? You…!'' he put some distance between them and looked at her face in shock
''Yes, Will'' she smiled at him, sadly
''At the sea?'' he inquired
''It was the only way I would be able to see you again'' she explained
Will's eyes became watery and he hugged her tighter
''Elizabeth, no…''
''Hey, why are you crying'' she said ''it's not over yet''
He looked at her in surprise
''What…?''
''I suppose you have an offer for me''
Will's eyes widened
Then he smiled
''Miss Swann, I'm here to ferry your soul to the other world. But there's another option'' he started, smiling at her and wrapping an arm around her waist ''Postpone your judgment and serve for one hundred years aboard the Flying Dutchman with me''
She smiled at him
''I swear an oath to serve the Dutchman for one hundred years by your side, William Turner. And when my days with you are ending, I'll give away my freedom again to serve for another hundred years, then another and another, forever''
When she uttered those words, her body started to change, her skin growing younger, her eyes brighter and her hair more voluminous. Suddenly, she was her old self again, the 24-years-old Elizabeth Swann.
But she didn't pay attention to any of that
After 30 years of waiting, she was with Will again
And this time they would stay together
Forever
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Thank you very much for reading this, I hope you enjoy it (:
Big hugs!
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Blackfan Diamond