Elizabeth looked on as her husband and his ship disappeared over the horizon. The chest she held against her breast was heavy, filled with a heart she was charged with keeping safe. The wind tossed her hair as she held the trunk to her ear. A soft and steady thump could be heard through the wood--the only token she had of her beloved Will.
Elizabeth sat on a nearby rock, hugging the chest and weeping softly. Ten years was an awfully long time. How could she ever wait that long and remain sane? She looked up into the blinding sun, wiping her cheeks. Down the shore, she could see the Pearl anchored. Waiting. As she was.
Where would she go, now that her father was dead and her husband was gone? The sudden depression that fell upon her compelled her to go back to her native England to weep the next ten years away. She saw herself as a widow, no longer a blushing bride. She cursed Davy Jones and his murderous tendencies. Though one could hardly blame a man who had torn his own heart out because of a woman. How ironic it seemed that Will had his torn out to save the woman he loved.
Elizabeth smiled to herself, remembering Will's touch. A shiver ran down her back. How gentle he had been. Every kiss, every caress...
She was awakened from her memory as the sound of crunching sand drifted to her ears. Two men walked toward her: one, very proud and wise; the other, a little clumsy. Elizabeth could see Barbossa's eyes roll from where she sat. Jack seemed to be in the midst of concocting their next great adventure; his arms waved madly around him as he tripped and spun in the deep sand.
Their next great adventure. What would Elizabeth's be? Back to England? Back to the sea? Always looking toward the horizon, always waiting? There must be something. Some loop hole. Something she had missed.
"Your chariot awaits, milady." Jack bowed as both men came to rest in front of her. Barbossa sighed. Elizabeth stared at them, searching for answers.
"What am I to do now?" she asked. "The battle has been won, I've lost my husband--"
"Not all of him," Jack interrupted, knocking on the chest. Elizabeth tore it away from his curious grasp. Jack recoiled, taken aback. "I were only foolin', luv."
Barbossa shifted, putting himself between Elizabeth and Jack. "We best be leaving 'fore the tide comes in, Mrs. Turner." Elizabeth looked curiously at the captain, not yet fully grasping her new name. "Lest we lose a day's sail."
"And where is it we're sailing to, Captain?" Elizabeth asked. Jack looked hurt that she had addressed Barbossa as head of his ship. The taller man hesitated, then unrolled the charts they had used to find the end of the world. Barbossa laid them out next to Elizabeth, turning the circles until their previous route could no longer be deciphered. Elizabeth leaned in, watching until the circles matched up once again. She tilted her head, confused at what she saw.
"Aqua de Vida," Barbossa answered. "The Fountain of Life." He smiled his wicked grin as Elizabeth's eyes widened.
"You can't be serious," she said. Jack and Barbossa both looked up, one confused and the other annoyed.
"Why not?" asked Jack, sticking his chin out and up. Elizabeth stood, tucking the chest under one arm.
"Because even with charts, the place is enchanted." She waited. "No one can get in or out. No one has ever proved it's existence!"
"Since when have you become a skeptic, Missy?" Barbossa asked, crossing his arms. "You, who have fought sea monsters and spent time in the company of undead pirates?" Elizabeth's mouth hung open. It was true; she had seen plenty of things most children only read about at bedtime. She thought for a moment while both men waited.
The Fountain of Life.
Ten years.
"I'm in."
