14. The Pearl Box
Three days can feel like forever. When waiting for something you really look forward to, or for a boring chore to be over, time passes ever so slowly. The seconds stretch out before you in an endless procession. But when they are all you have left to live, three days are nothing.
Elizabeth felt bad for wanting time to go faster when every hour brought her friend's death nearer. But how could she not? She had waited for Will so long, liked him since they were children, seeing him grow from a pretty boy into a handsome man. When he finally confessed his feelings for her it had still taken ages until they could be married, with so many obstacles coming in their way.
And then he had died, just after their chaotic wedding, and become bound to the Flying Dutchman, caught in the same curse that had eventually killed Davy Jones. It was not right.
Now, for the first time in months, she felt hope for the future. With Calypso's gift she would get her husband back.
Before they sailed away, Elizabeth had half-heartedly tried talking Rose out of giving up the Pearl Box, but they both knew she only did it to be polite – of course she did not want the other to keep it. She had her baby to consider now, and no matter how much she liked Rose she loved Will more. And just as expected, the girl had refused.
Elizabeth gave Rose a guilty glance. Soon she would be gone and never again smile sweetly and call her Liz. Why did she have to choose between her new friend and Will?
A thought struck her. Would Rose be sailing with the Flying Dutchman instead of him? Calypso had been vague, stating it must have a captain but failing to specify who. If so, Elizabeth might be able to see her friend again every ten years. The thought did not make her feel any less guilty.
Rose sat with Hector's head in her lap, leaning her back against the mast with closed eyes while scratching the pig's sturdy neck. The wind ruffled her copper curls, and in contrast with her pale skin her lips looked crimson. She was beautiful, inside and out.
Death was unfair. So horribly unfair, always picking the best ones. Will, her father… and long ago, her mother.
Rose seemed unusually demure and Elizabeth suspected it had also to do with the separation from Jack Sparrow – for some obscure reason the girl had taken a liking to the pirate. That problem, at least, had solved itself with him sailing away with the Black Pearl. He was not good for her, much too old and much too bad.
Still… there had been moments she herself had felt Jack's charisma. She could well understand that Rose had fallen for it, young as she was.
Elizabeth checked the compass and adjusted the Barnacle's course a few degrees. She did not really know where she was heading, just that it was away from the island where they had summoned Calypso. Perhaps she ought to ask Rose? Let her decide what she wanted to do with her last days in life. Like a condemned criminal before his hanging.
"Where would you like to go, Rose? And how would you spend the time left? Pick whatever you want and me and Gibbs will make it happen if we can. Right?" She turned to the sailor who sat cross legged on the deck, mending a rift in his shirt from the fight with Jack.
"Aye. Anything."
"Do you have rollercoasters in this time?" Rose's voice was small and sad.
"Roller-what?"
"Never mind. Let's go to Tortuga. That inn we stayed in? I want to drink cheap beer. But first I want to ride a horse – like a man, mind you, with the legs on either side."
.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.
They spent the afternoon horseback riding in the countryside and having a picnic by the sea. Both Elizabeth and Rose used men's saddles, and even tried jumping over obstacles on their way back. Gibbs tried too, but after he had fallen off his gelding twice he decided he was more fond of walking.
In other circumstances Elizabeth would have enjoyed the outing immensely, but now there was a bitter aftertaste to everything. She just could not dispel the awful sense of finality.
Afterwards at the inn, Rose drank like there was no tomorrow. There would be a tomorrow, but only three more for her.
"Come, Liz, let's dance!"
Elizabeth found herself dragged up to an open space between the tables, where Rose hooked her arm as she had done that time before in what felt like another life. Just like then, they began to spin, around and around.
"Come Josephine, in my flying machine!" sang Rose. "Going up she goes, up she goes…" She had a horrible singing voice which did not improve with large amounts of beer, especially since the musicians in the corner played an entirely different tune.
"What's a flying machine?" yelled Elizabeth over the din.
"What it sounds like. You can fly in it."
"Fly?" Elizabeth laughed. Rose must be very drunk to talk such nonsense.
"Yes, where I come from, we don't need roads! But I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet."
.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.
In the morning of the third day, Calypso and her daughter returned. They came walking along the street outside the inn, looking for all the world like a normal woman and her child. The goddess still wore the heart-shaped diamond around her neck, but it looked different, smoother and softer. More like a living organ than a sharply cut rock.
Rose was ready. She had kept herself alone all the previous day, spending it at a desolate beach some way outside the town just thinking. Now she meekly went out to the sea goddess, carrying the Pearl Box in her hands, with Gibbs, Elizabeth and Hector following suit.
Elizabeth also carried a box, the ornate chest that contained her husband's living heart. Soon it would be back in his body where it belonged, and she had trouble keeping her excitement at bay. If ever there was a bittersweet moment, this was it.
"What is your choice?" asked Calypso.
"I choose to give the box to Will Turner."
"Then come with me." Calypso's voice was soft and her dark eyes kind.
Leaving the busy town behind, they walked to the harbor and out on the jetty where the Barnacle was moored. Calypso let out a shrill, nonhuman sound, like a whistle. Almost instantly a couple of slender dolphins appeared, jumping playfully and responding with similar whistles and a series of clicks.
Calypso clicked back, sounding for all the world as if she had a conversation with them, and then they dived and were gone.
"She told them to fetch the Flying Dutchman," translated Calypso's daughter, who had slid her hand into Rose's. They looked cute together, like sisters. Their hair had almost the same auburn hue, but where Rose's skin was alabaster the younger girl's was a dark bronze.
A movement out in the bay drew her attention. The Dutchman surfaced in a burst of waves and foam, and behind the wheel, tall and proud, stood her beautiful man. Elizabeth's heart nearly burst with love just at the sight of him.
Calypso and Otohime swam to the ship in the form of sea turtles while the rest of them rowed out in Gibbs' dinghy. Will came to meet Elizabeth at the railing, pulling her up from the rope ladder and into a hard hug. She buried her nose in the crook of his neck, filling her nostrils with the tangy scent of sea water and musk.
"What's happening?" he murmured against her hair. "Why did Calypso summon us and why is Rose still here? Didn't it work with the Heart of the Ocean?"
"Calypso has a box… it's a long story, but it will set you free."
"Free?" He took a step back so he could meet her gaze, his dark eyes full of doubt.
She only nodded, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. She realized she was crying. She never cried, she must be getting soft by all this.
Rose held out her cupped hands to Will, the Pearl Box glittering between them. With a pang of remorse, Elizabeth noted how much her friend's fingers trembled.
Will gingerly took it, examining the beautifully crafted object with curiosity.
"If you open the lid, you will be released," Calypso said. "You will no longer be trapped outside time, meaning you will begin to age, and in time, die as all mortals do."
"That's all I have to do? Just open it?" He sounded confused.
"Yes. But know that when you do, another's heart has to be cut out to replace yours in the chest. The Dutchman must have a captain."
Rose winced visibly and her face went white as a sheet. Elizabeth took a step closer in case she would faint and wrapped her arms around her. She felt sick knowing what the other would have to endure.
"Whose heart?" Will also looked shaken.
"Mine."
The voice had come from behind them, and Elizabeth turned in surprise.
"I'll replace my son." Bill Turner had already drawn his knife.
"No!" Will shook his head. "You can't! I swore I would set you free."
"I still have another ninety-odd years to serve before the mast. What difference does it make?
"But you would be bound to the Dutchman forever."
"I'm the first mate. It's my duty."
"I can't allow it." Will turned to Rose. "Take this back, I can't do that to my father. Or anyone else, for that matter." He put the box in her unresisting hands, wrapping her fingers around it. She stared at it, dumbfounded.
Elizabeth felt a tendril of fear. She had been so sure this was the day her husband would be free, but she had not anticipated his sense of justice. Of course he would not simply accept someone giving up their life for him.
Her stomach plummeted. Would their chance of happiness again be crushed?
Bill grabbed his son's shoulders, shaking him lightly. "Be reasonable, William. I'm old and got nothing else to live for. You are all I care about."
"And don't forget the baby," added Elizabeth. "It needs a father."
"Baby?" Bill's face lit up and he smiled widely. "I'll be a grandpapa?"
"Yes." Elizabeth smiled back.
"That settles it. No way am I letting you make the same mistakes as I did," said Bill, turning back to Will. "Your child shall not grow up fatherless. Take the box. Open the lid. I insist."
Elizabeth had never seen the old sailor look so stern and determined before.
"But…"
"No buts, boy. Just open it."
Will swallowed a sob and clasped his father's hands. "I'll see you in ten years. Then you shall meet your grandchild."
"Looking forward to it." There were tears in Bill's eyes too, happy tears.
Will took the box back from Rose, stroking the pearls on its surface. He resolutely squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.
"Alright. Let's see what's inside this, then." He nudged it open a small crack.
A burst of air soared out, forcing the lid wide ajar. It surrounded Will like a whirlwind, ruffling his clothes and long hair. A tendril of it caught the chest in Elizabeth's arms and its lid flung up too, revealing the pounding heart within.
The wind died down as suddenly as it had appeared and everything became entirely still.
Will unbuttoned his shirt and exposed his chest with the ugly scar over his ribs. His father carefully picked up the heart, regarding it lovingly. "A heart for a heart." He pushed it against his son's scarred skin. Right before their eyes it submerged, slowly disappearing until it was fully absorbed.
On the horizon came a bright light – a flash of green.
"A soul has come back to life," breathed Gibbs.
With a low groan Bill sank to the deck, clutching his own heart. The rest of the crew came nearer, mumbling the same words over and over: "Part of the ship. Part of the crew. Part of the ship. Part of the crew."
One of them bent over Bill's prone body, taking the knife from the man's limp hand. "The Dutchman must have a captain."
Elizabeth turned away, not wanting to see. She felt arms envelop her and leaned into Will's embrace.
Then the new first mate stood, sheathing Bill's knife and holding the chest in his bloody hands. "Take good care of your father's heart." He gave it to Will.
"I promise."
"We'll be back in ten years."
.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.
Back at the jetty, Will morosely looked at the point where the Dutchman had disappeared a short while ago, now with his father behind the wheel. He still clutched the chest protectively.
"It's time to go," said Calypso.
Elizabeth's breath hitched. She had nearly forgotten Rose would still have to die; without the box she would begin to fade away.
"Thank you for what you did. I will never forget you." Elizabeth pulled Rose in for a hard hug, feeling the other cling to her. "I wish you could stay."
"Me too. But I'm glad I didn't have to become a captain. I don't think I would have been any good at it."
Then Rose said her goodbyes to the two men, solemnly shaking their hands, her eyes dry now. Perhaps she had already shed all her tears. But when she bent down to pet the pig a final time she could not hold back a sob. "Take care of Hector, will you? He likes to have his neck scratched. Like this."
"We will," said Elizabeth unsteadily, blinking to ease the sting in the corner of her eyes. "Hector shall be the happiest pig in the Caribbean."
"Come now, child," said Calypso kindly. "Davy Jones' Locker awaits you."
"Davy Jones… your lover? I thought I was going to the afterlife?"
"The Locker is the gate to the Afterworld. It's a place to prepare you, making you ready for your final destination. And where that is, I do not know."
"Don't worry. We'll follow you there." Otohime took Rose's hand.
The sea goddess turned her head, catching Elizabeth's gaze. "When he comes, remind him there are choices, and there are sacrifices. All is not lost." And then a large wave brushed in over the jetty, taking the trio with them.
"When who comes?" Elizabeth looked at the wet patch before her feet.
"Him, maybe?" Gibbs indicated an approaching ship.
"The Black Pearl!" exclaimed Will.
And that it was. The ship was sailing straight towards them at a furious speed, her black sails billowing. Just when they thought she would crash into the jetty she made a sudden turn, so sharp the crew must have dropped the anchor to cause it. The boards of the Pearl's hull croaked in protest and all over the deck the pirates fought to remain standing.
A familiar figure dived overboard and swam ashore in quick strokes. "Where is Rose?" he demanded as he crawled up. He looked around him eagerly.
"She's gone," said Gibbs. "You were too late. Sorry, mate."
"Gone…" Jack stared at him in disbelief. "But Calypso said three days… there's still an hour to go!" Water dripped from his soaked clothes into a puddle around his feet. He clenched his fists and yelled at the sea: "Damn you! Curse you, Calypso! Could you not have waited another hour?" His voice was anguished.
Elizabeth had never seen Jack so devastated before. Had he actually cared about Rose? Looking at him now, it certainly seemed so.
Fancy that. Jack in love with a girl. There was a first for everything.
Then she remembered the message. "Calypso said to remind you there are still choices and sacrifices… whatever she meant by that."
"Sacrifices… choices," Jack muttered. Suddenly he took a step closer and grabbed her arms a little too hard. "Did Calypso say where she was taking her?"
"Yes. To Davy Jones' Locker."
"The Locker, huh!" He began to pace to and fro. "Davy Jones' Locker. Of course it had to be that awful place. Well, I been there before, I can probably still find the way." He picked up his strange compass, the one which always pointed to what he wanted the most. The needle spun and came to rest. "A-ha!" Jack's face cleaved into a pleased grin.
He turned to Gibbs. "Your dinghy. I commandeer it."
"Aye sir!" Gibbs straightened up and saluted. He was grinning too.
"Good man. Now take this." Jack removed his captain's hat and placed it in Gibbs' hands. Then he whistled. "Hector! Come here boy! You're going with me."
Elizabeth could hardly believe her eyes when Jack raised the tiny sail of Gibbs' dinghy and set out towards the horizon, patting Hector as he went, all the while mumbling about sacrifices and choices.
"He left the Pearl," said Will, equally baffled.
"Hm. So he did." Gibbs placed the black hat on his head. "I guess I'll be off too, then. Good luck with the baby."
"Goodbye, Gibbs."
"Captain Gibbs, if I may." He smirked and turned to the motley crew aboard the Black Pearl: "Ahoy, ye bilge rats! Hoist the colors! This is your new captain speaking."
From Jack's dinghy, a few notes drifted back to them: "Yo ho, yo ho … and really bad eggs."
A/N:
Not only Rose and Jack are heading towards the endstation, this story is too…
Also, I'm a sucker for quote theft… sorry Marty and Doc, but I stole some of your lines. ;)
Thanks for reviewing, TheGirlWithThe555 and 8Ball3!