13. An Impossible Choice

"You are no thief, Rose. You're only postponing the inevitable." Calypso's hand was still stretched out. She had almost lost her humanoid appearance entirely now, her features were shifting, changing, a multitude of sea creatures moving restlessly under her skin.

Rose took a step backwards, frightened by the apparition. But the goddess was right, she was no thief. This was not the way to escape death. If only... if only there was another way.

But wait! Maybe there was one more thing she could try. She thought of it at the same time as Jack. "The seashell!" he cried.

Picking up the white pendant she whispered into it: "Otohime."

She looked around her expectantly. The lagoon was empty except for the towering sea goddess, and on the shore stood Elizabeth, Gibbs and Jack near the bound pirate – Jack's enemy. A bit further away huddled the oddly assorted crew from the Black Pearl and the three animals; Hector the pig, Jack the monkey and an unnamed parrot.

"Drink up ye hearties, yo ho," said the parrot when her eyes fell on it.

Rose's hope dwindled. There was no little girl and no sea turtle anywhere to be seen. Otohime had not come.

Had her adventure under the sea been a hallucination after all?

"Give me my heart!" boomed Calypso. Waves were rippling around her, a brewing storm, and by the fire Elizabeth was down to the last bottle of rum.

In Rose's hand, the now scarlet diamond kept throbbing, its pulse spreading uncomfortable through her own body. She did not want it anymore, it was not right for her to keep it, but if she gave it up and stayed here she would become a ghost.

Was it not better to return it voluntarily and follow the sea goddess to the afterlife? She was dead after all.

Slowly Rose took a step towards the water.

"Don't do it," warned Jack, taking her free hand, holding her back.

She gave him a sad look. "I have to."

"Damn your conscience." He actually looked pained when he relaxed his grip and let her go. Her hand slowly slipped out of his when she took another step. Maybe Jack still had a heart of his own, and maybe it was not entirely black.

The goddess bent forward, her upturned palm coming down to Rose's level. With a sense of finality Rose dropped the Heart of the Ocean into it.

"You chose well, Rose," she said, her voice soft as a breeze. Rose looked at her morosely. She had not actually had a choice.

Slowly Calypso shrunk, solidifying into the pretty woman again in the presence of her heart. She was holding it in both her hands, gazing at the pink diamond lovingly.

Then Rose heard a series of tiny splashes from the lagoon, like someone was paddling across it in a tiny boat.

"A sea turtle," said Gibbs. "That's unusual this time of year."

Rose looked up, a new hope dawning. There it was, the reddish creature from Jack's beach, steadily closing the distance between them as it swam ashore with even motions. It was her!

"Otohime!" cried Rose. "Please, help! Don't let Calypso take me!"

The turtle metamorphosed like it had before, turning into the girl. She looked embarrassed and would not meet Rose's gaze.

"Uh, hello Rose." She fidgeted with one of her red tresses.

"Can you help me? You said you would."

"Umm… you do remember I also said I was the daughter of the Ruler of the Sea?" Otohime glanced at Calypso, who was just putting the Heart around her neck, probably to prevent any new attempts at theft.

Realization struck Rose and her stomach plummeted. "It's her? Calypso is your mother?"

The girl nodded and poked the sand with her bare toe.

Rose groaned in dismay. Just her luck! Every time she found a straw to grasp at it was cruelly ripped away.

Calypso had finally noticed the new arrival. "What are you doing here? You are too young to come ashore," she scolded. Now that Rose knew it, she could see there was a strong likeness between the two, only the girl's hair was red instead of black.

"Rose called me. I promised to help her because she saved my life." She pointed accusingly at Jack. "From him."

"Me?" Jack gaped at her, feigning shocked innocence. Everybody ignored him.

"She must go to the afterlife," said Calypso.

"Aww. Why? Can't we let her stay?"

"That's not your concern, child. And why were you even in a position to need being saved? You have a perfectly nice castle to be in, where no treacherous sailors can ever get you!" Calypso frowned sternly in the direction of Jack, who again tried to look innocent.

"I'm never going back there. I want to get older!" The girl stamped her foot, producing a spray of sand.

"No! It's not safe." Calypso looked troubled. "You have to get back before you begin to change."

"You can't keep me little forever, mom! It's not fair."

"She's right," Rose chipped in. "It must be horrible to be stuck in a child's body. How old is she?"

"And who is her father?" added Jack casually, brushing off a speck of imagined dust from his hand. He had been Calypso's lover. Was Otohime another daughter of his? It was clear he worried she was.

"That's not important," muttered Calypso, dropping her gaze and shuffling her feet almost like her daughter had before.

"I want to know too," said Otohime. "My age, I mean, I already know who my father was. He's dead and his name was Davy."

"Davy Jones." Jack breathed out a relieved sigh.

"It's been around a hundred and fifty years since you were born, give or take," Calypso admitted.

"A hundred and fifty!" yelled Otohime, stamping her foot again. "Mom how could you!"

"I just liked to know you were safe. The sea is large and wild, with monsters and evil men. I wanted to protect you."

"You have to let me go. I must make my own mistakes."

Calypso sighed in resignation. "You will break my heart, just when I got it back too." She took Otohime's hand. "But I guess you are right. I can't keep you forever."

"Thank you, mom." The other stepped into her arms and hugged her. "I'm glad you have your heart back. You've changed."

Rose watched them with mixed feelings. She had done the right thing, the Heart was helping Calypso to be a better mother, but yet she could not really engage with their issues anymore because for the first time she felt the vicinity of Death. Earlier there had been fighting and excitement, strange things happening, and she had not had time to come to terms with her upcoming departure. Now that the inevitable was closing in, it frightened her. Her palms were clammy but her mouth dry as dust, and her heart acted strange, beating too fast and too loudly.

She needed more time. Time to say her goodbyes, and time to do all the things she had wanted to do but not had the opportunity. What was it her Jack had said? Drinking cheap beer and going on the rollercoaster until they threw up, and then ride horses on the beach like cowboys.

She had never learned to ride. She had never tried the rollercoaster.

Elizabeth came to stand close, putting an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. She too looked morose. They had both failed, Rose would die and Elizabeth be separated from her husband, doomed to give birth to and raise her child alone.

"I'm sorry, Rose," she said. "But at least we tried."

"I'm sorry too. Can you send my love to Captain Turner? And to… Bill." Her voice broke.

"I will. In … ten … years." They were both crying openly now. It was distressing to see Elizabeth with tears pouring from her eyes, she had always seemed so strong, like nothing could affect her. But before death and the curse of the Dutchman she was as powerless as anyone.

"Mom," said Otohime, who had noticed their plight. "I really think you should save Rose like she saved me."

"And Liz. Please help Liz," sobbed Rose, hugging her friend.

Calypso gave them an appraising look. "You have been helpful, both of you. Alright, I will do what I can. But I can only save one. Choose wisely."

She made a motion with her hands and water from the lagoon flowed up into them, forming a wet, swirling globe, reminding Rose of a snow globe or soap bubble. Then the water slowly dripped out through her fingers again until only a shiny object remained. It was a small box, inset with gleaming pearls and seashells.

"This was made from a piece of my castle a long time ago. The holder of it will be caught in timelessness, just like visitors to my home. No time will pass as long as its lid is closed."

"Would it save me from becoming a ghost?"

"Yes."

"Can I have it?" Rose stared at her, not quite daring to hope again after all the setbacks.

"Yes." She placed the item in Rose's hand. "But…"

"I knew there was a but," she groaned.

"The Pearl Box works both ways. If someone is stuck outside time, bound in immortality… then they could open it and become free."

"Will Turner..." Rose's shoulders slumped. "It could free him from the Dutchman?"

"Yes."

Rose's eyes again filled with tears. How could she make such an impossible choice? Her life for Will's and Elizabeth's happiness? It was not fair.

"That's a horrible choice you're giving the poor girl," said the bound pirate. She had almost forgotten he was even there with all that had happened.

"I only have one box." Calypso shrugged.

"But you said the Dutchman must have a captain… that it will not let him go?" said Elizabeth.

"If he leaves, someone must take his place."

Rose stared at her, feeling her choices narrowing down. An icy chill seeped through her body. She was meant to do this. To open the box for Will and take his place as captain. To be forever bound to the Flying Dutchman.

Sure, she would be alive, of sorts. But still… She glanced at Jack. Ten years at sea, one day ashore. Would he wait for her?

Knowing Jack, probably not.

"I give you three days to decide, then I'll return." Calypso took her daughter's hand and backed out into the deeper part of the lagoon. "Put that out." She nodded at the still burning remains of the wooden pig.

Gibbs fetched a bucket of water and with a hiss smoke billowed up around him as the fire was drenched. And then the sea goddess and her daughter were gone, with only a series of slowly spreading circles on the surface as proof they had ever been there.

It became very silent, the people on the beach looking at each other awkwardly. Jack, Elizabeth and Gibbs sheathed their swords, their fight from before temporarily forgotten.

Then Jack took the initiative as usual.

"Soo, who's up for some adventure?" He rubbed his hand in a businesslike manner, acting unconcerned but doing it so badly he fooled nobody. "My ship needs a crew. What say you?" He nodded at the sailors who had come ashore from the Black Pearl.

"Aye!" they replied in unison.

"Wind in your sails!" added the parrot from its perch on one of the men's shoulder.

"Great. Lovely." Jack grinned wide. Then he turned to Gibbs and Elizabeth. "And you? Wanna come?"

"Not this time, Jack," said Gibbs. His normally so cordial features had a stern, reproving expression.

"How dare you even ask?" Elizabeth's face was pale and her cheeks bright red. "If you had not been so selfish and taken the Heart for yourself, we could have used it to bargain for both Rose's and Will's lives. Thanks to you, we now have an impossible choice to make! How could you, Jack? I thought better of you."

Jack's grin remained but it was wavering, plastered to his face seemingly with effort as he turned to Rose. "How about you? With your new fancy pearl box you can stay alive. It will be fun." He seemed to be looking at a point a little to the left of her shoulder, as if he was afraid to read the disapproval in her eyes.

Instead of replying, Rose pointedly moved over to Elizabeth's and Gibbs' side. Jack's forced smile waned at last and was replaced with a disappointed frown.

"Suit yourself then. I already have a crew and they love me." He raised his voice, speaking to the sailors. "You love me, don't you?"

They said nothing, except for the parrot who crowed: "Dead men tell no tales."

"I didn't ask you." He scowled at it. Then he appeared to remember something and turned back to Rose. "Hector… Who's taking Hector?"

The bound pirate replied: "I can take care of myself, thank you."

"Not you. We named the pig Hector." He looked so smug he was positively gloating. "You, Hector Barbossa, will be marooned together with your monkey on a very quaint little island, that we're both familiar with. Seeing as you marooned me there twice."

The pirate did not reply, but if looks could kill Jack would have been buried already.

"Where was I… right. Hector. Pig Hector. Shall I take him with me?"

"He stays with me." Rose crossed her arms. "Piracy is no life for a young pig. It's no life for anybody in the long run, what with it being illegal and all, and pirates getting hanged. Hector is an honest pig."

"But consider what a great life he would get! Freedom! Adventure! He could be happy if he would just accept one can be a pirate and a good man. I mean pig." He took a step closer, finally meeting her gaze. She knew he was not talking about Hector.

The earnest appeal in his eyes almost made her waver in her decision, but then she remembered what had just happened.

"What if his captain suddenly decided to threaten poor Hector with a sword? He could never be with someone as untrustworthy as that."

He flinched, his gaze again dropping. "That was a mistake. I would never hurt Hector, savvy? He knows that. Doesn't he?"

"Yes." She sighed. "But he would always come second, you know. You would always love the Black Pearl more. How can a pig compete with that? He would be jealous, and with time probably bitter and sour. You would grow to hate him."

"I could never hate him. I would…" He broke off, looking confused.

"Do you think they are still discussing the pig?" Gibbs' whisper to Elizabeth was loud enough to carry to them all, but Rose did not care. It was as if the surroundings had faded away, her world narrowing down to just she and Jack.

"Hector wants to be with someone who puts him first," she said. "Someone who is willing to make sacrifices. Much as it pains Hector to let go, he has to."

"What happened with 'two people finding comfort in each other's company'? You said that was enough for you," he said accusingly.

Rose dropped all pretense of talking about Hector. "I thought it was, but… I realized I want more. The fairytale, you know? The prince in shining armor who leaves his fancy kingdom to find the princess in the tower…"

"You know I can't give you that." He looked frustrated.

"I do, and I don't judge you. It's who you are, and it's who I am. We're just not meant to be. And in a way that makes my choice easier. I shouldn't keep the box for myself when…" Her voice trailed off.

"You don't have to give the box to Will, Rose," said Elizabeth, who like everyone else had been listening. "We'll find another way. Somehow."

"No, Liz. I can't take that risk."

"Conscience… You're a softhearted wuss," muttered Jack, taking her hand. "We'll still have that date in the afterlife, then?" There was resignation and sadness in his features now.

"Yes." Rose's throat had grown too narrow and her voice came out slightly distorted.

"I can help you tune your harp. Did I mention I have a fairly good singing voice?" He stroked her fingers with his thumb.

"No. I shall enjoy hearing it."

He seemed reluctant to leave and Rose was too full of emotion to say anything more. Instead she crept into his arms, burying her moist face in the nape of his neck and drawing in his scent one last time. He hugged her back almost a little too tightly.

Only Rose heard his final words, whispered so faintly she barely perceived them: "I shall miss you."

And then Captain Jack Sparrow was gone, sailing out of her life with his motley crew, taking his fettered enemy and the monkey with him.

A/N:

Okay, so I may have been slightly inspired by "Pretty Woman" in part of the dialogue between Jack and Rose. Good movie quotes are there for the takers, right?! :)

Thanks for the reviews, 8Ball3, BrySt1 and TheGirlWithThe555!