Author's Notes: This is my first Pirates work in a very long time – AWE gave me some inspiration to give it another try. Feel free to be harsh/critical in your reviews (harsh / mean) and I hope that you enjoy this!
Disclaimer: All Pirates of the Caribbean characters, settings, plots and quotes belong to the Mouse, not to me, but all original characters and plots are my own.
Warnings: AWE SPOILERS for many different things
The Prince
"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some." – Charles Dickens
Tia Dalma said that being born feet-first was an omen of good fortune upon the sea. "'E don' wan' to leave the water 'o his mama's womb," she said mystically as physicians had milled about. "Leave 'im be." In my agony I believed her, and William was born under the watchful eye and favor of the sea goddess Calypso, much like his father. She cared for me, too, when the nursemaids carried the newborn off to clean him, chanting over me in a foreign tongue that I did not recognize and placing a chain of seashells around my flushed neck. "To win the favors 'o the spirits 'o fertility, so tha' ya might bear more." I did not bother to tell her that I would not need the fertility spirits' favor for over nine years.
Word of William's birth quickly spread across the seas and on a cool evening five days whence his entrance to the world the pirate lords gathered, this time not at Shipwreck Cove but at the mansion bequeathed to the daughter of the late Governor Swann of Port Royal. They brought gifts from all corners of the world for the Pirate Prince, son of the Pirate King and her consort, the Dutchman's captain. William slept through their visit, but I did not, wide awake as ever though tired as I had never before been. I dismissed the maids for the evening, swearing them to secrecy about the meeting in my home, and they agreed out of sheer nervousness for the houseguests I would be receiving.
Barbossa sat beside me in the lounge where we gathered, seven pirate lords, their king, and Tia Dalma to oversee us. They asked questions of me, and I of them, most of them regarding either the missing member of our party, one Captain Jack Sparrow, or in question as to whether they had heard word of the Flying Dutchman's progress under her new captain. None had answers.
The discussion quickly turned to William, only days old. "He will be raised to know the sea?" Mistress Ching asked me, placing a motherly hand on my knee.
"Don' be askin' such mindless questions!" Barbossa answered for me, shooting Ching a cold stare and she withdrew her hand. "With Will and Elizabeth as his parents the boy will learn to sail before 'e can walk!" Will's name stings my ears. "An' besides, if 'e never learns the sea how do ya expect 'im to follow in the pirate tradition, eh?"
"Barbossa, that's enough," I say calmly, turning cautiously to him. "William will learn to sail, there is no doubt, but following his father and me as a pirate will be his decision as it was Will's."
"Dear William had no such choice." Every pair of eyes in the room turns to the doorway in which stands a figure shrouded in shadow, but the silhouette is unmistakable.
"Jack Sparrow," Tia Dalma whispered, gliding across the room to meet him.
"How kind 'o you to join us, Jack," Barbossa stated sarcastically, "considerin' tha' ya don' have a ship."
"That will soon be taken care of," Jack responded casually, pointing at Barbossa as was his fashion when addressing people, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms.
Barbossa clearly had not expected a typical witty response from Jack, but he'd certainly gotten one. He regained his composure. "Now, mind tellin' us what ya mean by insultin' the captain 'o the Dutchman herself?"
"Oh, Hector, s' not an insult," he replied, walking into the room with his expected swagger. He looked at me then, his eyes locked with mine. "Dear William had no such choice because had he not chosen piracy he would never have saved his dear pirate lass from the clutches of the Pearl's haunted pirate crew and then none of us 'd be pirates at all, savvy?" The assembled lords looked around at one another, not quite knowing what had just come out of Jack's mouth, and I found myself counting the number of time's he'd said the word 'pirate' in one statement on my fingers. "Now, where's this young pirate prince I was summoned to?"
"He's asleep, Jack," I answered, rising. I took a tentative step towards Jack and smiled at him, "But it's wonderful to see you."
A short time later, the lords departed, leaving William his many gifts, well-wishes and invitations upon their ships. I shut the heavy door as the last of them left, bolting it shut and sighing deeply to myself. It was never easy acting as Pirate King knowing that I was not doing so with Will by my side as I'd intended. I silently admitted it to myself that no matter what William chose, there was no doubt that he would fall in love with piracy as his father and I did.
I turned around from the door and gasped in surprise. "'Ello, luv."
"Jack," I murmured, holding my hand to my chest in shock, "don't sneak up on me like that." He stepped towards me and I finally examined him as I had not earlier. Nothing much had changed; there was a little more sand in his hair, his clothes were a little more worn and he'd lost some of the ever-present roguish twinkle in his eye. "Where have you been, Jack?"
"La Florida," he crooned in a terrible Hispanic accent, stretching his arms out wide with his typical showmanship. "Though they're not nearly as cordial as I might have expected. Crocodiles, Elizabeth! One of 'em tried to bite me arm off!" He extended his left arm, showing a large rip in his shirtsleeve and a distinct pinkish scar on his arm. "But they couldn't get the best of ol' Jack, 'cause they forgot one thing." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he leaned towards me, whispering, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" Before I could respond, he quickly receded. "I know ya said that Little Willy's in bed, but ya wouldn't mind offerin' a looksie for Uncle Jack, would ya, your Majesty?" I shrugged and led Jack upstairs into the nursery.
A small sliver of moonlight slipped through the long drapes over the windows and onto the cradle in which William slept, his round cherub face illuminated. Taking Jack's hand, I walked over to the side of his cradle, careful not to cross the light's path. "Captain Jack Sparrow, meet William James Weatherby Turner," my voice was barely a whisper, but I knew that Jack could hear clearly.
"James?" I nodded.
"He was a friend and a good man, Jack, much like yourself. Selfish, yes, but with a good heart." I looked on as Jack examined William as he slept, his gaze heavy and intent but clearly sad.
Jack sighed, "The boy's got his father's eyes." I smiled softly, touching Jack's shoulder gently as he continued to watch William. It was bittersweet for us both, knowing that neither we nor William would see Will for quite some time. He would miss Jack's grand misadventures and my life with William, and who knew what that could include? It would fall to me to teach William not only to behave and live well, but how to sail and wield a sword, things I had imagined Will teaching our children for many years, even before he had professed his love for me.
I breathed deeply, willing away my tears, as Jack turned to me, his face mostly in shadow. "Elizabeth, s' my fault that William's got no father. I…"
"No, Jack!" I murmured but with great force, grabbing his arm. "It's because of you that he has! You saved Will, Jack. William owes you his life," I paused, "very much as I do." Jack turned to me, the charms in his hair rattling.
"Y' don't owe me anything, Elizabeth, and neither does Little Willy," he corrected me, motioning to William, still sound asleep. "Though I did bring young master Turner a little gift from me travels." I watched absentmindedly as Jack rummaged around in various pockets and into his vest until he extracted a small box, which he handed to me. I ran my fingers over the roughly carved wood, the pattern on its lid a small relief of a sparrow over the sea. "Thought the lad 'd need a little music t' remind him of Uncle Jack."
Gently I lifted the lid of the box and tiny levers immediately started moving, making soft squeaking noises. I heard William stir, small sleepy whines coming from him, and I moved to close the box, but Jack put his hand over mine, cautioning me to wait. The creaking of the levers quickly gave way to a weak but melodic and recognizable tune. "Yo ho, all together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die…" Jack and I sang softly, and as I glanced over at William I saw that he had once again drifted off to sleep as the music continued to play.
"That's a pirate prince if I ever did see one," Jack murmured, taking the small open box from me and placing it on the table beside William's cradle. He turned back to me, resting a cool hand on my arm. "I need to be goin'. It wouldn't at all do t' have a wanted pirate stayin' here for the night, now would it? Not proper of you."
I chuckled, my face creasing in a gentle smile. "Thank you for visiting us, Jack," I replied, moving closer to him. "You know that you're always welcome here, no matter how wanted you are." He grinned back.
"I'll be using that invitation soon enough," Jack admitted, before taking my hand and elegantly kissing my knuckles. "Give Little Willy a hug from Uncle Jack and make sure he knows that song next I see him," he ordered, pointing a finger at the music box. I nodded as he adjusted his hat over his head and hurried off down the stairs and out of my sight.
Turning back to William's cradle, I watched him in peaceful slumber before carefully making my way to the window, crossing the beam of light illuminating the room. I crossed my arms on the window sill, looking out over the cityscape of Port Royal and the sea beyond, shimmering and crystalline in the moonlight. I caught sight of a darkened figure moving down the front steps of the mansion and out into the night towards the docks. Smiling to myself, I sang along with the repeating music, "Yo ho, all together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die…"