Come What May
How would the story change if William Turner had been married and his wife, Helen Turner, accompanied him and pirate Jack Sparrow on the quest for Elizabeth Swann? Helen and Will are stuck in an awkward and seemingly loveless marriage due to Will's infatuation with the Governor's daughter who has an eye on the Commodore. Will Helen find true happiness with the man she loves even though he loves another?
Goes from CotBP onward through DMC and AWE.
AN: I know a lot of people are fed up with authors inventing an OC and then just plopping them into the story without any rhyme or reason for the plot. I hope that my character will be different from the stereotypical Mary-Sue and I can assure you while CotBP follows the plot pretty straight forward, Helen juts off on her own adventure during DMC and AWE. So please bear with me and give this story a chance, thank you kindly.
I hope everyone enjoys this.
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"You're so lucky." Rachel Miller muttered aloud as Helen Richards arched her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She was hunched over in a large field on the outskirts of the port of Port Royal with the ocean near enough, its waves washing over the white sandy shores of Port Royal. At the moment a group of young women were in the field picking flowers to decorate their homes.
"Lucky how?" she asked as she distractedly picked up a daisy and placed it behind her ear as she tucked a strand of hair behind the ear.
"Lucky in the fact that you're marrying William Turner!" Rachel murmured dreamily as the group of women nodded, matching expressions on their faces.
"Terribly lucky." Sarah Anderson agreed as she giggled and blushed, thinking of the handsome blacksmith.
"He's a real catch, that's for sure." Erica Saunders spoke, placing in her two scents.
"He's so handsome!"
"And kind!"
"He's a real gentleman."
"Things she already knows, so shut your traps." Lucy Richards, the younger sister of Helen, spoke firmly as she fixed each girl with a glare. Helen sent her a thankful smile as she turned back to her work and plucked at a dainty lily. She shook her head and let the comments of her friends wash over her. It was nothing to worry over even though all the things they had enthusiastically claimed had been true.
William Turner was kind, a gentleman to a tee, and of course, very handsome. A light flush came over her face as she thought of his dark eyes, but she then shook her head and the image disappeared into the back of her mind. Most likely to plague her that night in her dreams.
Truly the only reason that she and the blacksmith were to be married was because of the meddling of her parents and the guardian of Will, Gabriel Brown. Mr. Brown the owner of the smithy that Will worked at was a longtime acquaintance of Helen's father, Robert Richards. Her father was one of the few citizens in the city that put up with Mr. Brown's often drunken tirades.
So after years of knowing each other they had both come to the decision that Will and Helen had finally come of marrying age and could see no better marriage than the two of them married to each other. So Will and Helen had been thrown together and now were destined to be man and wife.
There was only a slight problem. While the bride had no quarrels with marrying the blacksmith, the groom had eyes for only one woman in all of Port Royal. Elizabeth Swann, Governor Swann's daughter. She was beautiful, with her blonde hair and brown eyes, easily the most enchanting woman in Port Royal. She certainly had bewitched James Norrington, a man rumored to be promoted to the prestigious status as Commodore Norrington. He spent much of his free time at the Governor's mansion seated at the top of the highest hill overlooking the port and ocean.
And some would say that Miss Swann had taken a bit of a fancy to the blundering fool himself. They had often been seen strolling together through the market place during daylight. And Mr. Norrington had spent many an evening at the Governor's mansion for dinner with the Swann Family. But as much time as Miss Swann had spent with Mr. Norrington, she had spent an equal amount of time with Will.
Often dropping in during the day to the smithy, she had spent hours watching him work on his various projects, such as swords and horseshoes. The two had known each other for years and were close friends. But how close? Helen wondered as she picked at flowers. Finally finding her wicket basket overflowing with the blossoms she stood and bid goodbye to her friends and warned Lucy to be home in time for dinner.
Helen walked along the coastline, basket in one arm and shoes in the other as she walked through the water, letting the cool water wash over her bare toes. She batted her bangs out of her eyes and placed her tumbling hair into a bun as Port Royal came into view.
Placing her sandy feet into her shoes, she smoothed down the wrinkles of her skirt and blouse and began to walk through the city of Port Royal, walking past the docks and into the market place. She waved to friends, and bowed her head in respect to elders as she smoothly made her way through the waves of people.
She looked up as the wooden sign of Brown's Smithy came into view. Standing beneath the sign next to the statue of a blacksmith Helen hesitated and wondered if she should peek in and say hello to her fiancé. She stepped forward and looked through the dust coated windows to faintly see the slender silhouette of Will, hunched over and pounding a sword into shape.
Helen ducked out of view and looked down at her basket. Breathing in she made her decision, pulling her hair free she gathered a bundle of flowers and quickly arranged them into something presentable. With her newly found green ribbon she wrapped it around the stems and looked at the homely assortment. She sighed, feeling foolish, and looked at the wooden door.
Heaving in a breath she knocked upon the door and then opened it, poking her head in. Will stood straight and looked at her for a moment and then nodded her in. "Miss Richards." he greeted, as polite as ever.
"Good afternoon Mr. Turner, how does your day fare?" Helen asked, mildly eyeing the shop as she was not surprised to find Mr. Brown hunched over in a corner, out cold, bottom of rum clutched in his grubby paws.
"Fine and yours?" Will asked as he went about his work. Comfortable enough with Helen as she smiled at him and shrugged. "The same as always. I was just out picking flowers with some of the girls, you know…for tonight." she held up the basket of flowers for proof as Will eyed the basket for a moment and went back to work.
"Ah, tonight. When should I arrive again?" Will asked looking up as Helen turned to him.
"Around seven should be good; party should be in full swing by then." Helen spoke, knowing how Will hated being the center of attention. She knew more than anything else that he would like to sneak in to their rehearsal dinner and stay hidden in the shadows throughout the night. Will nodded as his eyes moved downward to her hand that held the arrangement of flowers.
"Oh! These are for you." Helen quickly said as she handed the flowers to Will and he gaze an amused smile. "Thank you." he said as he set them down and wiped his sweaty forehead with a rag.
"Did you need something?" he asked as he gestured to the shop, wondering if her father needed a tool mended or something of the sort. Helen realizing she had overstayed her visit vigorously shook her head and gathered up her few belongings and made her way to the door.
"I shall expect to see you then tonight." She said as he nodded and gave a small, a bit forced, smile to her. "Good day Miss Richards."
"And a good day to you, Mr. Turner." And without a backwards glance Helen left the smithy behind.
--
She gave a content smile as her family's bakery came into view. Going through the front door she saw the bakery empty and already in the beginning stages of preparations for tonights feast with practically the whole town.
"Helen, dear, is that you?" Gloria Richards' voice called out from the kitchen in the back.
"Yes mother."
"Did you bring back flowers?" Gloria inquired as Helen set down the basket on a table and walked into the kitchen to find her surrounded by loaf after loaf after bread. Gloria was now working on her masterpiece, the wedding cake for tomorrow.
"Yes I did and the others should be here any moment with theirs."
Gloria nodded and wiped her white hands upon the apron and nodded up to the ceiling where the family apartments resided above the bakery. "Go on upstairs and help your sisters with preparations for tonight."
Helen nodded and left the kitchen, taking the stairs to the family units above. She walked down the long hallway to find her three sisters sprawled about in the cramped living room placing the final touches on the name cards.
"I don't know why mother's making us do this," Louise muttered, "Everyone's just going to sit where they very well please to sit."
Anna and Brooke gave grunts of agreement as they looked up as Helen entered the room.
"How does it fare in here?" she asked of her younger sisters as they all shrugged and continued with the careful art of writing the names on crisp pieces of parchment. Paper that nice was hard to find and they had been told if they messed up too often their mother would have their heads.
"Where's father?" Helen asked, hands on hips, as she had not heard the rumble of her father throughout the apartment. "Getting the barrels of ale from Ol' Mr. Lowell." Anna said as she finished one name card and crossed a name off of the list and took on the next one.
"And the pig is roasting still?"
"How should we know?" The littlest, Brooke, asked as Helen rolled her eyes and walked into the ever small kitchen and opened the small window. She stuck her head out and peered down into their next door neighbor's backyard. The pig was overturned above the fire as Mr. Sheldon stood before it.
"Mr. Sheldon! Is the pig roasting on schedule?"
"Of course Miss Helen! It shall be done promptly by seven!"
"Splendid, thank you!" she yelled back and shut the window with a smug look as the younger girls rolled their eyes and went back to their tedious work, silently cursing their sister and future brother-in-law to an eternity of torture.
The apartment rattled as their father's bulky frame raced up the stairs, Gloria and Lucy in tow. The three Richards' hurried into the living room and made it even more cramped as their father stomped around, grumbling to himself.
"What's going on here? Work quicker, we're running out of time!" Gloria snapped to the trio on the floor as she whirled around to face her eldest daughter. "And you! What are you standing around for?! I've prepared a bath, now get!"
Helen sighed but obliged as she dragged Lucy to their shared bedroom. The rustic tub was already set up in the middle of the room as their meekly pallets had been pushed aside to make room. Helen quickly stripped herself of her clothing and sank into the lukewarm water.
She gave an annoyed huff as Lucy pushed her head down and she emerged completely soaked. "Remind me to never get married again, it's not worth it." Helen spat out thinking of all the trouble just the rehearsal dinner had turned out to be. She was a bit scared at the outcome of the wedding tomorrow.
Lucy rolled her dark eyes and shook her wild mess of red hair. "It will all be worth it in the end, when you're married to Will."
Helen stared ahead as Lucy scrubbed her head with soap. She gripped the tub tightly and took no notice when Lucy dumped a bucketful of water over her head. "I hope so." she whispered, feeling nervous, and not for the first time, about the impending wedding.
"And why wouldn't it be? You've said so yourself Will would make any woman a wonderful husband. Half the port is envious of you."
"They're only envious because Will is pleasing on the eyes. What do any of them know of marriage?"
"What do you know of marriage?" Lucy retorted as Helen glared.
"Not much, but I know enough that no marriage will survive if all you think of your partner is that he's handsome! What about everything else? You have to live with the person for the rest of your life, bear their children, and grow old and more! I have no idea what to do!" Helen breathed in deeply and looked away from Lucy's kind eyes.
"I don't know." Lucy whispered as Helen looked up to her younger sister, "I truly don't. I don't think anyone's supposed to really. I think marriage is a journey you have to take with your partner; I think you learn the ropes of marriage along the way of life."
There was silence for a few moments before Helen finally spoke, "How at seventeen are you so wise?"
Lucy grinned and shrugged, "I'm just amazing like that." she then promptly ducked her older sister to prove that statement.
--
The party was in full swing as eight rolled by. The bakery was overflowing with people drinking, eating and celebrating the impending marriage of Helen and Will. Speaking of the groom, he was no where in sight. And for that matter neither was the bride. Dressed in a simply yet pretty lilac gown Helen stood in the kitchen with her mother, helping with placing cookies upon trays for her younger sisters to take out and pass around to their friends.
"It's insane out there!" Helen exclaimed as she peeked out to see the men doing a boisterous rendition of some sea shanty. She turned back to her mother who had a smile upon her face, "Aye it is, and as the bride you should be out there enjoying it."
Helen was interrupted as a loud cheer came from outside. She opened the kitchen door to see a mob forming around a poor chap who had just entered the bakery. The crowd shifted and Helen caught a glimpse of the newcomers. It was Will and his employer Mr. Brown. Feeling her heart in her throat Helen turned and threw her apron off as she wiped stray flour from her skirt and then went out into the mob.
The crowd seeing that the groom and bride were in the same vicinity wasted no time in placing the two together. Shoved towards Will, Helen landed clumsily in his arms as she grasped his shoulders for support and look up at her intended.
"I'm sorry we're late," he yelled over the crowd as he nodded to Mr. Brown who had wandered off, "It was not easy to fix him up for tonight."
Helen nodded in understanding; she knew that Mr. Brown could be unreasonable when intoxicated, or in this case hung-over.
"You're here now, that's all that matters. Are you hungry? My father's been slaving away all day over that pig of his. Come on, Ill get you a plate."
Will followed behind her as she made her way to the main table that held the food for the party. She left Will to get his own food as Louise and Anna pulled her away to sit at a table full of gossiping girls. So Helen dutifully sat and took comfort in the fact that Will looked as uncomfortable as she felt.
--
The dinner continued on for many hours. Finally ending after some very drunken toasts to the soon-to-be wed couple. The bakery had filled out pretty quickly, leaving it a rightful mess. The Richards' family grumbled as they began the grueling task of cleaning it up. It had to be nice and clean for tomorrow, as the wedding reception was taking place at the bakery. Will, being the kind man that he was, volunteered to stay and help clean with his future in-laws.
"Really you don't have to stay," Helen whispered as they wiped down a table, "I'm sure you want to get Mr. Brown and yourself home." she nodded to the sprawled out form of Mr. Brown in the corner as Will shrugged and looked at Helen.
"I would feel like a downright cad for leaving this mess in your family's hands when they have been nothing but kind and grateful to me over the years, Miss Richards."
Helen nodded and continued cleaning. Soon though her father came over and took notice that the bride and groom were up when they should be getting some sleep. Tomorrow, after all, was to be a big day.
"Will get on going, you need your sleep! So do you Helen. We have a wedding after all, go on."
"Are you sure? I don't mind staying, I truly don't." Will protested but was waved off by Robert. Finally consenting Will went to Mr. Brown's side and gently wakened his master. Mr. Brown grumbled, swore and complained, taking no heed of the young girls in the room. He stumbled to the door and then out into the streets as Will watched him go with a sigh.
Will shook hands with Robert, embraced Gloria and placed kisses on Lucy, Louise, Anna and Brooke's cheeks before coming to stand in front of Helen as she escorted him to the door.
"Well goodnight Mr. Turner." Helen said as her heart fluttered in her chest. Will nodded and took her outstretched hand and placed a chaste kiss against her palm.
"Miss Richards…until tomorrow."
She nodded and watched him go before turning around to see her family staring, all with smiles on their faces.
"What?" Helen asked as a blush came over her cheeks.
"Nothing." The Richards' blurted out together as Helen raised an eyebrow but shook her head. She yawned and bid her family goodnight as she hurried up the stairs and then went to her room. She changed into a nightgown and plopped down on her makeshift bed. She buried her head into her pillow as she tried to fall to sleep. Suddenly a thought came to her.
Tomorrow morning she would no longer be Helen Richards…but Helen Turner.
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Please read and review! I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean!