AN: I thought it was bullshit that they got married and lived happily ever after, ignoring the blatant trust issues that the movie showed. That, and I am a true JE fan. Plus, the potential for future angst and groveling with JE is endless.
So, with that in mind, I am a believer that when Will died, their marriage was annulled, like it usually is in life. Ignoring the part after the credits, let's start at the island, and go from there.
This will be a story made up of a lot of parts, so here's part 1.
It had been awkward at the beginning. How do you talk to someone who had been your husband for perhaps an hour before he died? Someone who you had married after learning of all the betrayals that had been committed by him and yourself? And what of the honeymoon you were robbed of? Too many obstacles, too many things gone wrong, too few actions not thought out before they were committed.
She still had a honeymoon. But is it really a honeymoon when it was a goodbye? After everything had been said, confessed, and pleaded, there was only one thing left to do. Say goodbye.
She was thankful, really, that he had been willing to talk honestly, to decide their future together without the loss of tempers or patience. It was never comfortable to tell anyone you didn't trust them, to hear it said back to you. They both knew the reasons why, of course, but it still hurt to hear. She lied, he lied, and they were no longer on the same side. He sided with the sea and his father, she sided with her fellow pirates, of whom he was only counted as one reluctantly.
It came down to being realistic. She doubted she could, and honestly did not want to, wait on land for ten years, for a single day with someone she was no longer truly tied to. Never allowed to spend time with him, but neither could she move on if her heart wanted. It was neither fair nor just to ask it of someone who was truly in love, and their love was severely in question to begin with. To take her away from the sea, from those who she knew, the only ties she had left with her father gone, was cruel. No matter the state of their love, friendship would not allow him to make such a demand on her. She took the heart anyway, with a promise to hide it away now that it would become common knowledge the lore behind it.
It was only right that she shared her first time with him, he who had fought so hard for her, whether the methods had been honorable or not, he who loved her enough to let her go. They had shared their last kiss, and he had told her to keep a weathered eye on the horizon; he would be escorting her ship to her before embarking on his charge as Captain. She watched him go, the green flash lighting up the horizon for only a second before he was gone. When her ship arrived, he would not be there to see her off; they had said all the goodbyes they could stand.
Her turmoil was understandable. Waiting for her ship, she had nothing to do but think. Think of the last few days, all that had happened. How her penance to Jack had fallen horribly short, her last words to
him. Yet another lie, another person she had given reason to distrust. At least his actions to her had been consistent, his disgust of her and his desire to be rid of her he had made quite clear. Even his last words to her, 'keep telling yerself that, love', had carried a clear message. It was obvious he knew of her attraction to him, her guilt for killing him, yet by telling her that one kiss had been enough, she knew he would never forgive her. With no more reason to associate with her, he was finally rid of her, and she had felt his relief. Rescuing him from the Locker had done nothing in his eyes to even partially absolve her of her guilt. The only thing she had left in the world was her ship, crewed by men she didn't know, men who had been very hesitant to acknowledge her as Captain. But it was all she had. It was what she had to work with, and perhaps Singapore would be far enough away to satisfy Jack. She had no illusions, and had doubts that if they ever met on the open sea he wouldn't try to return the favor or not. Yes, Singapore sounded good.
Bugger, was all she could think. The trip to Singapore would be very long, what with a huge land mass in-between here and there. Supplies had to be acquired, and after the short but intensive fight with Beckett, it would be wise to let her men let off steam before committing to months at sea. Tortuga it was. She could only hope he wasn't there.
Pulling into port, she told her first mate to obtain supplies, and once the ship was ready for sailing, the men could take the night off. They wouldn't be sailing until midday on the morrow, so they were free to get into whatever trouble they wished, as long as they were back on time. Tien, a man who looked no particular age, grinned and began shouting orders in a language she reminded herself that she would have to learn. A new language for a new life, she sighed.
Rum. She needed rum. While she could take it or leave it, sailors needed rum. She walked into the first tavern she found and arranged for a healthy amount of rum to be delivered to the Empress. She had just finished paying for said rum when a hand clapped on her shoulder, which immediately tensed.
"Mrs. Turner?" Recognizing the voice, she took a second to look up at the ceiling and swear to a few deities. Where Gibbs was, He was. Bugger. She was saying that a lot to herself lately.
"Hello, Mr. Gibbs. And it's still Swann. Will died, remember?"
Gibbs looked at her nervously, not sure how to react to that. Should he be consoling, or simply treat it as a foregone conclusion?
"Aye. What brings ye te Tortuga, Captain?"
She smiled at him, her eyes now nervously scanning the tavern for signs of Jack. If Jack was here, she needed to be elsewhere. Thank God she had a ship she could sleep on, a place to hide, although she ignored that sarcastic little voice.
"Just watering up before we head to Singapore. The Caribbean isn't as friendly as it used to be, and with me now being their Pirate Lord, I should be there."
Gibbs watched as her eyes widened and froze. He turned around to follow their direction, seeing Jack sitting in a corner with a couple of wenches. When he turned back to face her, he assumed to see jealousy on her sweet face, and so was not prepared to see fear. Her excuses for leaving were barely polite, and he watched her rush from the tavern as though death was nipping at her heels. His gaze wandered back to the Captain, who had his dark eyes trained on the door, and he suddenly wondered if he hadn't been more right than he thought.
Crossing the tavern took some time, what with avoiding the occasional fight or the swinging arm of a wench on its' way to some pirate's face, but he managed to sit down at Jack's table, which was now less two wenches.
"Mr. Gibbs, was that Mrs. Turner ye were conversing with just now?"
"Aye, Captain. Although, it's Captain Swann, says she."
"Ah. I assume she will be leaving shortly now tha' Tortuga 'as become a little more… dangerous, aye?"
"I cannot say fer sure, Captain, she said she was only here fer water before headin' te Singapore, where she will be staying."
Jack stood and left without another word, and Gibbs debated nervously for a moment before deciding not to follow. He knew she could defend herself, and that at least some of her crew should be on her ship. She should be fine.
She had kept herself busy charting their course, which didn't allow for any stray thoughts. Such as thoughts accusing herself of hiding on her own ship, a decidedly cowardly action. No, she was merely respecting his wishes never to see her again, and if he hadn't seen her in the tavern, then he would never know. They would be leaving the next day, and Jack obviously had someone to keep him busy, so she wouldn't have to find out how he would react if they were ever in the same room. It was honestly a thought that tended to make a shiver run down her back, and not in the good way.
A holler to the Captain of the ship brought her out of her cabin and onto the deck. One look at the dock and it was time to swear again. She would know that silhouette anywhere.
"Permission te come aboard, Captain Turner?"
She wanted nothing more than to say no, to turn around and go back into her cabin without saying anything, but her mouth had already moved and said yes. She watched him cross the plank and stop a few feet away, telling her with his distance and his scanning eyes that he was looking for weapons. The sword at her side had him backing up a step, just to be safe.
"It's Captain Swann, Jack. I'm sure Mr. Gibbs has told you by now. What do you want?"
He sauntered a couple feet closer, close enough that she could see his eyes that she had loved so much. Eyes that had looked at her differently ever since the Locker. Eyes she no longer knew.
"Just wanted te see if it was true. Yer not on the island, waiting for your captain blacksmith like a faithful murderess, so are ye adding crimes te yer soul now?"
His grin was enough to make her cringe inside, but she kept her face like stone, knowing it was the only defense she had against him and his sharp words.
"If you'll remember, Captain Sparrow, Mr. Turner died the day he became Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Death is known to null a marriage. We went our separate ways. Why the curiosity of the state of my soul, Jack?"
"Ah, but as Captain, he certainly could have performed another said marr-i-age if ye had wanted it bad enough? Unless one of ye didn't want te renew yer vows, and said person had not always acted in what they believed te be in the best interest of th' other person, resulting in a condition in which other person was no longer held in th' spirit of certain vows, in which case I would be guessing ye were th' one te refuse. Couldn't manage ten years away from the sea, love? Perhaps ye doubted ye could stay faithful fer that long 'thout having him by yer side? Or was it merely tha' ye no longer trusted the' other, being th' pirate that ye are, and him puttin' his da' 'fore ye tha' one time?"
She was careful not to reply to his taunts, and was surprised to succeed. A week ago she would have been angry and yelling, her emotions out for him to see and exploit. Now, there was nothing. His words seemed to wash over her like the tide.
"Since you seem to be so interested in circumstance, we both decided not to renew our vows. But as I do not see how you would be interested in my personal life, unless you have any official business, I do have things to attend to before we sail on the morrow."
Not to be deterred, he sidled another step closer, his nose twitching as though smelling blood. Indeed, his eyes seemed to take sadistic joy in her situation.
"Ah, so yer all alone in the world, now, and hoping te hide away in Singapore, where no one knows of ye. New opportunities te prove yerself a true pirate, savvy?"
"Actually, Captain, as I have no more family to tie me here, and I do not wish to share the seas with those who do not want to be inconvenienced by my presence, it only makes sense to go to the area that I am a Lord over, does it not? And yes, Jack, to the best of my knowledge, you are the only one who wishes me to be elsewhere. If that will be all…?"
He had to admit he was puzzled by the change in her. Days ago he had been able to push her temper as easily as lifting a rum bottle, but now she was strangely… empty. There was no emotion to her, and it made it vexingly difficult to … vex her if he could get no reaction. Which was strangely vexing to him.
"Actually, love, I was wondering if ye might be amenable te a bit of pirating with the Pearl. I am now in possession of Barbossa's map, and immortality does seem like a noble cause for one with a brand new soul that has yet te be corrupted, namely yers truly, aye?"
Barely able to hide her irritation at his continuing persistence, she regarded him imperiously.
"You don't mean that, Jack. You will find immortality just fine by 'yer onesies'."
"Ah, but safety in numbers, a chance te bury the pistol, and whatnot. Besides, it's a long ways te Singapore, and your new crew will no doubt be hoping for their new Captain te bring them things in the way of shiny, being pirates and all. I just so happen te be in possession of such a map that shows the exact location of things all shiny, among other things not being quite so shiny."
He could see that she was listening to him for all of a moment before her face closed again. This new Mrs. Turner – Miss Swann – would take a little more work to get to than he had planned.
And just like that, the walls of her face fell down and he could see everything. He memorized the dozens of emotions that washed over her, saving them for later rumination. She closed the distance between them, until he could clearly see her in the dim light of the deck's lamps.
"I don't understand, Jack. You have made it very clear that you don't want me anywhere you are. And as much as I might regret my actions that started all this, I can understand why you feel that way, why you hate me. Because you do hate me, Jack, don't pretend that you have treated me any other way. I became a pirate when I killed you, and as a pirate you are holding that grudge. All the wishing in the world won't change what I did to you, and bringing you back hasn't seemed to bring me any further back into your graces. So I'm trying to honor your wishes by leaving the Caribbean. Besides, as a pirate, you are not inclined to share your treasure, so what would possibly be in it for my crew if we were to sail with you? You've come and said goodbye, been more polite and gentlemanly than you think I deserve, more than I think I do, but we both know you can't wait to get far away from me. I leave you to it."
She turned to retreat to her cabin, her nerves stretched thin, wanting only to get behind her door before her tears broke, thankful beyond measure that he couldn't see her swimming eyes in the dim light. His light footsteps warned her that he was nearing, and when he darted in front of her she shied back several steps, alarmed that he was between herself and her quarters.
"Love, I am trying te be a sort of good pirate here, and venturing into waters unknown makes more sense with another ship. Who knows what manner of beasties and whatnot I may encounter, not te mention the riches of the people. True, I am setting me noble sights on the Fountain of Youth, but being as the land surrounding the aforementioned treasure of water is rumored te be rife with gold, surely that will appease any requirements of yer new and, might I say, severely shorter than meself pirate companions? Being loaded down te the keel with gold shiny would do much in the patience area on the long trip te your new hidey hole, aye?"
"And you know for sure that there is gold to be had where you are going? Whether or not you find the fountain of youth, there is treasure to be had?"
"But of course. Would yer dear Captain Jack Sparrow lie te ye about treasure and the existence of such?"
"Yes, you would."
"True. But only so far as te the exact location of the treasure in question, not its existence. Treasure always exists, it's the finding of said treasure that is the adventure, the draw."
When she did not reply, Jack frowned comically at her, throwing his arms up in the air and sauntering to the plank that led to the dock.
"Make up yer mind, dove. This is a one-time, moment of insanity kind of offer. I will most definitely wake up in the morning with a rum-induced headache, hopefully in th' bed of some saunty wench, and deeply and unanimously regret ever letting such a horrid thought enter me mind, much less voicing it so that ye could agree te it."
He stalked back into her personal space, his dark eyes glittering with an emotion she couldn't identify, but whatever it was, it made her heart feel pained.
"Besides, we both know yer hopin' te make peace with me. Ye killed me by way of trickery and deception, and stole a kiss in a most piratey fashion 'n top of it all. We both know I haven't forgiven ye fer sending me te the Locker, and yer considering accompanying me in the hopes that it will soften meself towards ye. The only way ye'll ever know if ye can sway me te forgiveness is te come wit' me, dove."
He swayed his way to the plank and departed, yelling back at her over his shoulder.
"We sail with the noon tide, me deceitful murderess."