The Prince and the Pirate

Chapter Two

A quiet moment was the world to a captain. They were so few, and so precious, that nothing ever compared. Not gold, not rum, not anything. To the captain of the Flying Dutchman, gold was not even comparable to a quiet moment.

The captain looked up at the stars and thought of all the things he'd missed in his life. And the lives of others.

Oh, the stars, the stars...

"Cap'n?"

He jumped, hitting his knee on the wood of the ship. Wincing, he bit turned to his father. "Yes?"

Bill Turner smiled. "Yer mind is elsewhere, eh, Will?"

Will didn't answer, he merely returned his gaze to the stars.

"You're scared she resents you."

Will looked at his father, and slowly answered with "It's been ten years. I left her all alone for ten years. How could she not hate me?"

Bill placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. He smiled. "What's to hate?"

"She wouldn't know- we only spent one day as a married couple. What's to love?"

"Everything, Will. Why do you think she chose you? She could have had anyone. Anyone. And she chose you. She chose to marry you right then and there, even though, let's be honest, it wasn't the ideal place to marry, was it?" They both chuckled softly. "And did she care? Even though both of you knew that one of you would die that night, she chose you." The were quiet for a moment, and Will filled his lungs with the smell and taste of the sea. "Go get some sleep. Go." Bill pushed him in the direction of the Captain's Quarters. "I don't care if you are the captain, I'm your father, now go."

Will chuckled to himself. As he fell asleep, he thought of Elizabeth, and how absolutely wonderful it would be to see his wife again.

"Just think..." He whispered to himself, smiling at the stars out his window. "You get a whole with no one but her...no one but Elizabeth..."

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William woke early and ran to get his mother, only to find her already dressed and ready to go.

"Hurry, Willie!" She told him. Will could tell that she could barely contain her excitement.

Will got out his nice clothes. He wanted to look his best for his father. As he scrambled into his garments, he practiced his greeting.

"Hello, Father! Hello, Father. Father! Should I call him 'Father'? Maybe he'd like 'Papa' better. If he likes 'Papa' better, he'll tell me. ...Hello, Father!"

"Willie!" Will spun round. Elizabeth was in the doorway, holding out his hat. "Let me fix your hair, and then we'll be on our way."

Ten minutes later, Willie was running ahead of his mother, eager to get to the beach first.

"Willie!" She called. "Slow down! You don't want to be all out of breath when he arrives, do you?"

Willie didn't hear her. "Mother! Mother! I see a ship! A ship!"

"Does it have a flag? It could be just a pirate ship."

Willie squinted. "Yes!" Elizabeth's smile fell. It was not the Flying Dutchman, then.

"What's on the flag?"

"Um...A skull and crossbones!"

Elizabeth instinctively quickened her pace. By the time she was at her son's side, the ship was close enough to see clearly. "It's the Pearl." She bent down so as to be at eye-level with Willie. "William Weatherby Turner, you listen to me: do not move from this spot. That is an order. Savvy?" He nodded. Elizabeth lifted her skirt and ran to the beach.

A small dinghy was gently rocking in the sea, making its way towards the beach.

"Your Majesty," Called a man who stood and placed his hat over his heart. The boat crunched to a stop. He jumped out and swept her a deep bow. "Your Majesty."

"So you said. Drop the formalities, Jack."

"Elizabeth," He offered his hand to a short cloaked person to in the boat. For a second, Elizabeth thought perhaps it was Marty, but then why would Jack offer to help Marty out of the boat? "may I present Miss Rosemary Sparrow." The small figure threw back the hood of its cloak. It was a little girl, younger than Will by at least a few years, with hair the same color as Jack's, but curled and done up. Elizabeth could now see that under the cloak she wore a darling little gown that reminded Elizabeth of dresses she used to wear.

"She's...?" Elizabeth didn't know how to ask.

"Madam," The girl curtsied, showing surprising grace and poise for one so young. "I am deeply honored that I have been given this chance to meet you."

"She's got my eyes, doesn't she?" Jack pointed out.

"Y...yes." Elizabeth stammered. "Jack, I-"

"Mother! Mother, Mother!" shouted Will as he came tearing down the hill.

"What did I tell you?!" She demanded.

"Look, Mother!" He pointed out to sea.

"Yes, she is lovely, isn't she? That's why we call her the Pearl." Jack smiled proudly.

"No, not that one! That one!"

Elizabeth turned, her heart twisting itself into a neatly tied knot. It was the Dutchman. She could see someone standing on the wooden beam holding the sail. It was Will. She knew it was. It had to be.

It seemed only a second later when suddenly Elizabeth realized she was in the surf. She had dashed straight into the sea itself to jump into the arms of her husband, who spun her around, kissing her, laughing with her, shouting with her.

"Will!" She cried. "It's been an eternity!"

"It's been a lifetime!" He agreed.

"Never leave again!" She begged, still burying her face in his shoulder, relishing the smell of his hair, the two of them standing in waves up past their hips.

"Elizabeth," He took her face in hands and brought her forehead to his. "Let's not spend these precious moments begging me to stay."

"Oi! Will! You two planning on drowning yourselves out there?"

Will looked closely at the man on the beach. "Jack?"

Elizabeth took him by the hand and they waded back to shore. "William-"

"Yes?" answered both Will Turner II and Will Turner III. Will II looked at the boy he knew not to be his son yet with confusion. The boy's face turned to utter distress at the realization that his father had no idea who he was. Then it seemed to click. Will looked Elizabeth, stunned.

"Will, this is William. ...He's your son. And Willie," She squeezed her son's shoulder. "This is your father, Captain Will Turner."

"H...h..." Willie struggled to get the words out. He'd rehearsed this his whole life! Just say it! 'Hello Father!' SAY IT! "H...Father!" He lept into the waiting arms of his father. When Will set him back down, Willie immediatly asked "Did you really save the life of Jack Sparrow and then help him escape Port Royal with just a length of rope? And then you were arrested a few months after by the East India Trading Company? And then you fought Davy Jones, and survived the Kracken? And then you stabbed the heart of Davy Jones and became the Captain of the Flying Dutchman? And is it true that-"

"Willie! Let your father speak." Elizabeth laughed.

"Look at you..." Will muttered, getting down on one knee to see his son closer to eye-level. "You'd be about...nine years old?"

"Almost ten, Father."

"You're tall." Will took his son's hat off and ruffled his hair.

"He looks just like you." Elizabeth joined Will at Willie's eye level.

"Your hair."

"Just the color."

"Mother says I've got your smart mouth."

Will looked at Elizabeth. She put her head on his shoulder. "Well he does."

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