True Love: Forever Reunited
Chapter 10: Strange Happenings at Shipwreck Cove
It took two days for the Pearl and the Empress to reach Shipwreck Cove. Because the Captains Turner were still lacking in crew members, Jack had offered some of his crewmen. Former navy men Murtogg and Mullroy were among them; the two had remained on the crew of the Black Pearl ever since the battle with the Company ten years ago. Groves, for one, was quite surprised to see that the comical duo had become pirates, for he had thought that they had been killed in the battle ten years ago.
"This has got to be the strangest group of pirates in the world," remarked Will as he carefully steered the Empress in the harbor of Shipwreck Cove. "The captains are a former blacksmith and a governor's daughter, and the crew consists of a tailor, a noblewoman, a maid, and three naval officers." He smiled. "Well, no one can say that we aren't a varied lot."
"Definitely not," said Elizabeth with a laugh. "It's good to see this place again, despite the worrisome circumstances; there is always something entertaining going on."
"How long will we be here mama?" asked Willy curiously.
"Well, that depends on how long it takes for the other seven pirate lords to arrive," said Elizabeth. "For those that are close by it will only take a week or so, but for those farther away it may take around three or four weeks to sail here, so I imagine we will be here for about a month or so." She grinned at her son; he was nearly quivering with excitement about being at Shipwreck Cove. He had had a very enjoyable time when she had brought him two years ago; she would never forget that visit, because that was the first time Willy had met Hector Barbossa. Although admittedly, Willy had been forced to spend many hours listening to Jack and Barbossa argue over the Pearl.
Willy's eyes widened. "A whole month!!! That's great!! Will you teach me some more sword techniques while we're here Papa?"
"Of course," answered Will, as he motioned for Murtogg and Mullroy to lower the anchor. "I'll give you, Charles, and Anna a lesson each day, if your mother consents to assist me of course. He glanced at Elizabeth with a grin, knowing that she would like nothing better.
"I'd be glad to," said Elizabeth as they lowered the gangplank and everyone stepped off the ship, bringing some of their luggage to take with them to their lodgings in the town of Shipwreck.
As they walked, Elizabeth placed one hand in her husband's and the other in her son's, still reveling in the feel of having her family together; she doubted that this newfound and wonderful feeling would ever leave her.
"This place is amazing!!" commented Amelia, her hands holding both of her children's so as to make sure they didn't run off anywhere. "Where will we be staying Elizabeth?"
"There's an inn in the town that we can stay at. Despite this being a pirate stronghold, it is still a rather nice place, relatively speaking," said Elizabeth to her friend.
"Does the Brethren Court always meet here?" asked Groves, who was still trying to get used to everything that concerned piracy. He walked with a tight arm around Estrella, who looked slightly unsure about everything that was going on.
"Yes," answered Elizabeth. "From what I've been told, and from what I've read, they've met here ever since the first court convened."
"I never thought of pirates having a sort of, governing body," remarked Andrew, bemused. "I would imagine it would be a bit, shall we say, insane, with all those pirates in the same room."
"That is an understatement," answered Elizabeth, "Last time it was hard enough to get the pirates to stop fighting with each other, let alone get them talk things out in order to get anything done."
After about half an hour they had found the inn and had gotten to their rooms, left their luggage there, and then went back outside, to see if anyone else had arrived yet. The moment they stepped outside however, they were met by the scowling face of Jack.
"This," he said pointedly, "Is just brilliant. Barbossa is already here, which means I have to put up with him for longer than expected. And not to mention that my father is of course here, being Keeper of the Code, and I never quite know just how to approach that. Elizabeth why did we have to summon the court? Surely we all could have handled this?"
Elizabeth glared at him, and he instantly backed down. "Jack, you know as well as I do that we couldn't do that. Clinton desires to destroy piracy and bind Calypso, which is more than enough reason to summon the court; I know that it is an uncomfortable situation for you, but it had to be done." Then she softened. "And besides, it's not as if you are friendless here; you have Will, Gibbs, your crew, my crew, and me."
"And me! You have me too, Uncle Jack!" piped up Willy.
At this, the usual sparkle entered Jack's eyes again, and he seemed to be a bit more lighthearted. "Quite right," he said. "Ah well, I feel a bit better now."
Just as he said this, Elizabeth saw a man that looked remarkably like Jack approaching them, silver crosses dangling from his black, mangled beard. "What do you feel better about Jackie?" he asked, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.
Jack visibly tensed, as though waiting for his father to reprimand him for something. "Nothin Dad, nothin at all. How are you doin?"
"I'm doing fine Jackie," he said, a broad smile on his weathered features. "Why so tense son?" he asked, a bit of concern in his tone. "Aren't you glad to see your old man?" With that he gave Jack a hearty pat on the back, and turned to Elizabeth. "Ah, Captain Turner," he said tipping his large hat. "It's good to see you again; it's been a few years since you've been to Shipwreck Cove. I see your son has grown considerably since then."
Willy nodded shyly, obviously a little frightened by the intimidating old pirate. Elizabeth noticed that Captain Teague's eyes gazed around and fell on Will. His shirt had come slightly open, and the very top of his faded but still very visible scar could be seen.
"Is this, your husband? He asked of Elizabeth, "Is this the infamous Captain William Turner of the Flying Dutchman?"
"One in the same," answered Will, "But I'm former Captain of the Dutchman, now. The only ship captaincy I have now is one I share with Elizabeth as co captains of the Empress. I've heard a lot about you, though."
"And I you," responded Captain Teague, reaching out to shake William's hand. "And who might all of these people be?" he questioned, gesturing around at Will and Elizabeth's crew.
"These are our best friends, Andrew and Amelia Riley, and their children Charles and Anna," she said gesturing the to Riley family, who, despite all of the things that had happened to them over the past days, looked as though they were having the time of their lives. "This is Theodore Groves, and Estrella Simmons," she said, leaving out the bit about Groves being a former naval officer. She thought that perhaps it probably wouldn't be a good idea, seeing as she was talking to the man who was the Keeper of the Pirates Code.
"Brilliant!" said Captain Teague. "Well let's get to the room where the Brethren will be meeting; we might as well do some talking while we wait for the rest of the court to arrive; it may be a few weeks before they get here."
With that, the large gaggle of people, including the crews of both the Pearl and the Empress piled into the largest room in the largest building in Shipwreck Cove, which was just down from the inn. The town bustled about them; the town of Shipwreck was a bit less wild than Tortuga, but it was still a pirate stronghold. A surprise met them when they entered the room where the last Brethren Court had met; Captain Hector Barbossa sat there at the table, his feet propped up, looking the same as ever.
"Ah well if it isn't Captain Jack Sparrow?" he said, a smirk on his face. "Tell me Jack, how is me ship?"
"My ship is fine," said Jack coolly. "And anyway, dear Hector, you have a ship now, and a rather nice one at that."
"Aye," conceded Barbossa, "But it isn't the Pearl. And it seems that you have taken some of my crew too,"
At this, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty, and Cotton all edged behind Jack, and out of Barbossa's line of sight.
"No matter now," said Barbossa, "Well, hello there Mrs. Turner," he said to Elizabeth with a respectful nod of his head. "And little Master Turner. And…" he stopped for a second, looking a little shocked to see Will there.
Will couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation, and Elizabeth had to suppress a chuckle; here in front of them sat a man, who had once tried to kill them, had then turned around and married them, and now looked a little relived to see that Will had been freed of the curse
"Hello Captain Barbossa," said Will.
"Hello Captain Turner," said Barbossa, "Back from your stint as the Dutchman's captain, I see."
"And thankfully, home for good," answered Will.
"It seems you beat us here, Captain Barbossa," said Elizabeth. "How did that happen?"
"I was actually here when I heard the summons for the court," said Barbossa. "So tell me; what has caused the Court to be brought together after such a short time?"
Everyone in the room took a seat, and Elizabeth and Will told the story about all that had happened in Port Royal, including the bit about how the Rileys, Groves, and Estrella had all been forced into becoming pirates in order to escape being punished by the Company. They had just finished relating the story to Barbossa, when suddenly, every candle in the room was snuffed out, and every nose in the room was filled with the overwhelming smell of seawater.
"What's going on?" asked Willy, his voice cutting through the darkness as he grabbed for each of his parent's hands. "Why did it get dark all of a sudden?"
"This is scary," whispered Anna in small voice.
"Tell me," said Andrew conversationally, "Do things like this often happen when around pirates? One is just sitting around having a normal conversation and the lights are suddenly snuffed out?"
Before anyone had a chance to answer him, an eerie, unmistakable voice could be heard from the doorway. "It be me," said the heavily accented voice, "Calypso."
The candles were instantly lit again as she spoke these words, and when they were, a rather comical sight met their eyes; when the lights had gone out Jack had jumped into Ana Maria's arms, and now she held him bridal style, looking down at him with an expression of highest amusement.
"Sorry love," mumbled Jack, "I was just startled."
Elizabeth however, did not join in the peal of laughter that went around the room. At the sight of Calypso, her heart shot to her throat; was she here to take Will away, to say that she hadn't been able to find a suitable captain for the Dutchman? Will spoke first, seemingly reading his wife's thoughts.
"Calypso," he said slowly, very unsure of why she was here. "What brings you here?"
"I have two purposes to be here," she said mysteriously. "First I bring you, William, tidings of your father. He has passed on to the Fiddler's Green without any problem, by the new Captain of the Dutchman, who is a sailor that I have, shall we say, befriended." At this, a wide grin spread across her face. "I also bring news of something that involves him. Before he left for the other side, I granted him one last request because he had done a faithful service helping you on the Dutchman. At first he said he wanted nothing, because he had gotten to spend that decade with you, but then he brought up something that he regretted; the death of a certain former Admiral, named James Norrington. At your father's request, I have resurrected Norrington, just the same way as I did for Barbossa."
She glanced over at the old pirate captain, who gave her a slight bow.
"But," cut in Elizabeth, "James is dead; he's been dead for ten years!!!"
"Barbossa was dead as well!" exclaimed Calypso, slight anger in her voice. "You should know a great deal about people returning from the dead. Elizabeth Turner; you yourself traveled with us to World's End."
"Where is he then," asked Jack, "Where is old Norrie?"
"He be here," answered Calypso, moving to the side of the doorway, and. revealing none other than former Admiral James Norrington.
His stood tall, but still looked very shocked at the idea that he was returning here after having been deceased for a decade. He still wore his naval attire, presumably because that was what he had died in, but his wig was no longer there, and his dark brown hair was tied back. Everyone in the room stood stock still, unable to say a word due to their surprise.
"James…." said Elizabeth in a barely audible tone. Flashes of the night he had been killed ran through her memory. Could this really be true? She looked back at Will, whose face was thoroughly shocked, his eyes unbelieving.
"Hello," said Norrington awkwardly, a smile upon his face.
Before he had the chance to say anything else, Calypso spoke up again. "There is a condition attached to your return James Norrington; remember that. And warn your Brethren Court; if they dare attempt to bind me again, they will regret it more than anything they can imagine. If you refrain from binding me, you will have my favor, and the Company will remain in disfavor. If you disobey me in that area, well, I need not go on." At this, the goddess walked over to Will, and stood, only inches from his face. Elizabeth looked back at him from her position on the other side of Willy, feeling extremely worried.
"Do not forget William, that you are the only one who knows how to bind me," she put a finger under his chin, forcing him to look at her. "And if you ever reveal the information to the Company, or to your fellow pirates, and it results in me being bound in human form, then you will wish you had never done so." She glanced around at Willy, Elizabeth, Jack, Andrew, Amelia, and the room full of people that Will cared about with meaning. "But you are a good man William Turner, and you served me faithfully, so I trust that you will do as asked. In the meantime," she said, looking around at everyone. "You shall have my favor over the Company." With that, she said nothing more, and disappeared.
"Bloody hell," muttered Jack, "That was unexpected."
Everyone in the room turned to look at Norrington, who seemed to be struck speechless. Elizabeth however, felt the need to break the silence. She still could not believe that her old friend was standing here, in the flesh. She walked over, unsure, and gave him a hug.
"James," she said in a jubilant tone, "How good it is to see you again!!"
"And you as well, Elizabeth," he said happily, returning the embrace. "I see that your husband has returned to you," he said, his eyes drifting over Will with a friendly expression.
"He has," said Elizabeth, looking over at Will with undying love in her eyes. "And this is our son, William, or Willy for short," she said, bringing Willy forward.
"Hello Willy," said James, bending down to shake Willy's small hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too, Mr. Norrington, sir," said Willy politely. "I've heard about you."
"It's good to see you James," said Will, giving the man a firm handshake. "I have to say, I never thought I'd see you here in the land of the living again, once I ferried you to the other side."
"Neither did I," answered Norrington, "But here I am. Your father sends his fondest greeting to you Elizabeth, and his love. He is with your mother."
Elizabeth's heart warmed at these words, and her face lit up with a smile. Despite all the hard circumstances that had been going on lately, there were still so many good things; first, the love of her life had returned to her for good, her husband and son were finally united, they had been reunited with their friends, and now a friend that she had thought gone until she passed to the other side ha miraculously returned.
"Wait a minute," protested Jack, "How do we know we can trust you?"
"Easily," said Norrington, surveying Jack with the look of disdain he had especially reserved for the pirate captain. "I regretted joining the side of the Company last time, and have no intention of doing so again. And as part of the bargain with Calypso, I promised that I would remain on the side of piracy and help to ensure that the Company does not find the information to bind her."
"Fair enough," said Jack. "So, going to join me crew, Norrie, old pal?"
"Not likely," said Norrington in an even tone. "I will be joining the Turners crew, that is, if they will consent."
"Of course we shall," said Elizabeth, "Right Will?"
"Certainly," answered Will. "I don't think it would be a brilliant idea for him to join your crew Jack, my friend; we don't need you two killing each other, after all."
This drew a laugh from all in the room, and lightened the mood considerably. After a few seconds, Norrington's eyes landed on Groves, an Elizabeth saw a large smile envelope his features.
"Theodore?" he questioned, delighted surprise in his tone. "Whatever brings you here?"
"I was caught helping the Turners an the Rileys retrieve some of the Turner's an Governor Swann's belongings from the Company back in Port Royal," he said, "And Gillette threw me in jail, accusing me of piracy. So you can say that I had to become a pirate in order to escape from the clutches of the Company."
"Well it is good to see you here my friend," said Norrington, giving his friend a warm embrace. "I'm sorry to hear about Gillette though, I'm disappointed in him."
"He's a twit," commented Amelia, "The Company as good as stole from Will and Elizabeth, and we were only trying to help them get it back. Now he's joined forces with that awful Lord Clinton. I hate that we had to leave our home, but a bigger part of me is glad to be rid of Port Royal."
"Indeed," said Elizabeth, completely agreeing with her dear friend.
After a few more minutes conversation, the rather large group of pirates realized just how hungry they were, and went in search of something to eat, and when they did, they all sat down together, and friends, both old and new enjoyed each other's company, trying to rid their minds of any negative thoughts, at least for that night.
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Later that night, once everyone had gone back to their rooms for some much needed rest, Will, Elizabeth, and Willy were left with themselves to talk. Willy was getting ready to go to bed, but had wanted to talk with his parents first. He, Charles, and Anna were staying in a room together, which was nestled between Andrew and Amelia's room, and Will and Elizabeth's, and could only be entered from one of those two rooms, and not from the outside, for the children's safety. Shipwreck Cove was an impermeable fortress, and not many besides pirates knew of its location, but it was a safety precaution that the parents were more than willing to take. Elizabeth had noticed during dinner that her son had been looking a little downtrodden, and she and Will had decided to ask him about it. The nine year old had just finished changing into his pajamas, and sat down between his parents.
"Willy is everything all right?" asked Elizabeth, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You looked a little sad at dinner."
Willy looked up at her, unsure, which surprised Elizabeth; Willy normally didn't have any trouble telling her how he was feeling.
"You can tell us son," said Will kindly, smiling down at his beloved son.
Willy sighed, looking like he felt a little better at those words. "I don't want to seem like a coward…." He trailed off.
"Willy," said Will firmly. "You are anything but a coward; you helped your mother for all those years I had to be away, and you've been brave in the face of all that has happened lately. Tell us what's bothering you." He ruffled his son's hair, sending a smile onto the boy's face.
"It's just that, well," began Willy, "I'm so glad that we're a family again, and I'm just worried that something will go wrong, and we'll be separated again. That would be my worst nightmare," he said, his brown eyes clouded over.
"Oh darling," said Elizabeth scooping him up into her arms. "I know it worries you. But we won't let that happen."
"I promise," said Will, wrapping his arms around both his wife and son, "That no matter what happens, at the end of all of this, we will all be together. Your mother and I will make certain of that, Willy. It is our highest priority."
"Really?" questioned Willy, looking up at his parents with a newfound smile.
"Really," answered Elizabeth, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now off to bed with you, if you want those sword lessons in the morning."
At that, Willy jumped off the bed and gave both of his parents a hug before heading into his room. "I love you Mama, Papa," he said sincerely, his eyes holding that twinkle that they normally did.
"We love you too son," said Will, a smile spreading onto his face as the words left his mouth. Elizabeth loved watching Will with Willy, and the obvious bliss that it brought him.
"Don't forget your prayers!" called out Elizabeth.
"I won't!" Willy called back, closing the door behind him.
"He's such an amazing boy," said Will softly, "I hate so much that I missed out on so much."
"You're already making up for that time," said Elizabeth, affectionately brushing a stray hair from her husband's eye. "You're a wonderful father Will."
"And you're a wonderful mother," answered Will, "You raised him so well for these years. He's so intelligent, and brave, and strong."
"He's our son Will," said Elizabeth, crawling into Will's arms, "He couldn't be anything less. He's special, that's for sure."
She looked up into his eyes, suddenly realizing just how handsome he looked tonight, his brown eyes smoldering with love, and she reveled in the fact that it was she whom that love was for.
"Elizabeth," he said in a whisper. "You're beautiful."
She smiled, adoring the way he said her name, almost like it was a fragile piece of china that could be broken. She wrapped her arms around him, and he pulled her into an amazing kiss, his hands running through her sun bleached locks.
"I love you Will," she said, kissing the scar on his chest. It was just like the first night he had returned home for good, and Elizabeth tingled with anticipation at what was to come.
"I love you too, Elizabeth," he said, pulling her closer and showering her with kisses, as the young couple gave into their passion, passion that has been denied them for ten years, and the passion they now had every opportunity to embrace.
AN: So, I hope you guys like this chapter, because, for once, I really like what I've written. I also hope that you like the WE fluff there at the end. I hope the return of Norrington is believable enough; I've been looking for a way for him to return ever since AWE, because I felt that his death was unnecessary. Oh, and a note; I read in my cool Pirate's Code book, that Fiddler's Green is the name for the land of the dead, and is the pirate's equivalent of heaven, while the Locker, as we know, is the equivalent of hell. Just thought I'd mention that, since I mentioned Fiddler's Green in this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you liked it!! Oh, and the "D" key on my keyboard is acting funny, so if you see a word that is missing a "D" then I apologize, I need to get my key fixed.