Once Every Decade, a series of PotC vignettes by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 4
"Man overboard!" The lookout cried as he spied something floating on some wreckage in the water. A rather small something. The captain took one look at the aquamarine waves and dived right in, not even bothering to remove his sword belt. Cutting clean into the water, he reached the stranded soul in record time, starting slightly in surprise when he saw that the victim was actually a young girl no more than four or five years old.
The captain smiled gently when he saw that the child was still breathing, though her eyes were closed. Reaching out, he gently touched her shoulder to wake her. The girl's chocolate-brown eyes snapped open at once, and she looked around wildly before calming at the sight of her rescuer. He smiled wider as he held out his hand for her to take, and she took it without a moment's hesitation. He was surprised at her trust, as most would've feared his ship, The Flying Dutchman.
"Come on, I'll get you to safety." Will smiled as he waved to a crewman aboard the ship, who cast a line in response to the signal. The young captain grabbed the rope with one hand, and with the other held the young girl around her waist as they were hoisted out of the ocean waters and onto the deck of the ship.
"Thank you, mister!" The girl beamed when she got to her feet, and Will smiled gently.
"Tha's th' Cap'n, young miss." Bootstrap chuckled gently.
"Thank you, mister Captain, sir!" The girl repeated, earning a gentle hair-ruffle from the aforementioned captain.
"You're most welcome, young lady." Will laughed, adding a bow complete with a flourish. Looking at the child now, he was surprised at how closely she resembled Elizabeth when she was that age. Same curly brown hair, same cute freckles over her nose, same petite form. But there were a few differences as well. Her chocolate-brown eyes were similar to his own, and her nose looked a bit like his, too.
Will gasped softly to himself. Could this child be- No. She'd never do that. It has to be just a coincidence. He rationalised. Still, the similarities between the girl and his Elizabeth were uncanny.*
*[For the record, she is their daughter. Lizzie had twins!]
"What's your name, young lady?" Will asked. "How old are you?"
"I'm Liza, an' I'm five years old!" The girl answered. "Mummy says I have the same name as her! My big brother is Liam, an' he was named after Daddy!"
This information elicited another gasp from Will, and he felt a spasm shoot through the space where his heart should have been. He knew he had a son, of course- having seen him from afar just a year ago- and he'd been present when he was born aboard The Empress, but-
She is Elizabeth's daughter. Will gasped mentally. There's no doubt about it. Oh, Elizabeth, how could you do this to me? He lamented, looking down at his boots and closing his eyes.
"Mister Captain, what's wrong?" Liza asked, and Will put on a brave smile for the girl to hide his emotional turmoil. She didn't need to see that.
"Nothing's wrong, young one. I was just- thinking about something." Will answered, trying desperately to keep the tears back.
Suddenly, the child sneezed, and Will was brought back to his senses. "We need to find you something dry to wear. You're soaking wet!" He teased genially, causing the girl to giggle. Fortunately, they had just a few weeks ago come across a wreck that had a young girl's dress aboard as part of its spoils. Will had no idea why the pirates had wanted a little girl's dress, but- from what he could remember of it- it was just Liza's size. He took the child to the Captain's cabin, then told her where the dress was stored and stood guard outside the door. Unnecessary, but it never hurt to take extra precautions.
Liza came out a few minutes later in her new lime-green dress, and a certain relatively new crew member chose that moment to climb up to the deck.
Will smiled at the new arrival. "Oh, perfect timing! Liza, I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of your mum's, Mr. James Norrington. James, this is Liza."
The former Admiral could only gape slightly at the five-year-old, and Will knew that he was comparing the similarities between the child and his old almost-fiancée. "Captain, is she-"
Will nodded shortly, and the Quartermaster understood. Adopting a sympathetic look, he whispered, "That may not be the case. You never know. It could be an amazing coincidence."
Will shrugged. That was doubtful, but he appreciated what James was trying to do.
"He's right, Will." Bootstrap growled as he approached. "Ya don' know th' circumstances. Even with what li'l I know 'bout yer Elizabeth, even I know tha' she'd never betray ya. She loves ya more'n anything, ye know that."
Will looked at his father and smiled sadly. "You're right. I shouldn't have doubted her. I know that she loves me. And I her." But his words were just that: words. He did love his wife, and he knew she loved him, but he still doubted. How could he not?
"Land Ho!" cried the lookout as The Flying Dutchman neared the port where Will had grown up for most of his life. Will felt a pang of nostalgia as they sailed into the deep-water harbour and let down the anchor. The crew lowered two dinghies for the crew of The Black Pearl and young Liza, and Will jumped into one of them on a whim.
"I'll take you guys to shore, but I'm not getting out of the boat." He grinned cheerily when he received questioning looks. "That way I'm not breaking any rules. I just wanna look around at my old hometown for a bit." He smiled nostalgically, and Jack grinned over from the other end of the longboat.
"Yer just hopin' fer a glimpse a' Lizzie." He teased, and Will laughed. "You caught me."
-At the shore-
By some divine design, someone was waiting for them at the dock. A certain someone. "It can't be-" The mystery person gasped, and Will said the same thing at the same time. "Will?!"
"Elizabeth?!" The captain gasped in the same tone, just as shocked as his wife to see her here of all places. Who'd have thought that she would be waiting for them? Almost as if she'd known they were coming-
"Mummy!" Liza cried happily from in front of Will, and Elizabeth gasped as she lifted the girl out of the longboat and held her tightly. "Oh, Liza! Thank God you are safe! I was afraid I'd never see you again!"
"We found her adrift at sea." Will answered. "This side of World's End, thank Heaven. What happened to her?"
Elizabeth looked to her husband. "I honestly have no idea. She was out playing by the dock while I was buying some parchment, and then- when I looked over to check on her- she was gone! I looked everywhere in the water for her- I know she can swim fairly well for her age- but she'd just vanished without a trace!"
Will raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. That sounded like something a certain mischievous goddess would pull. As if in answer to his thought, a mermaid of all things suddenly leapt out of the water and flumped onto the dock- shining, golden tail hanging over the side and beaming at her gaping audience.
"Ya call me, young William?" Calypso grinned, and Will blushed abashedly. He didn't think she'd been listening.
"Eh- it's ah, nice to see you again, Tia Dalm- I mean, Calypso." He stammered awkwardly, and- up on the dock- Elizabeth was trying hard not to giggle at his expression.
"Dat was my doin', what befell de chile." Calypso confessed, a shy smirk of apology on her face. "Twas necessary ta get ya two togeder in de same place. Dere's sometin' ta say ta ya bot'."
"You could've just told us to meet somewhere at sea in a dream or something." Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been about Liza?" She asked the goddess, who grinned again.
"Aye, but where be de fun in dat?" She winked, and Elizabeth just rolled her eyes. Turning to Will, Calypso smiled warmly. "Ye be doin' a fine job dis far, William. So I tink I tell ya a small secret." She winked again, though this time it looked rather coy.
Will raised his eyebrows in polite anticipation, heart-area rising with hope. Could she really mean-?
"If ya stay true fer five moah years, den- I lift de Curse on young William 'ere." The nymph grinned at the two lovebirds, causing them both to gasp aloud. "T'was not meant ta be you, William, ta care fer de dead at sea. Was meant fer 'nother."
"You mean Charon, right?" Will asked rhetorically. "The pilot of the River Styx in Greek mythology?" He was still reeling from Calypso's revelation, but he was able to remember that from his boyhood lessons.
"Jes." Calypso nodded, slightly surprised and impressed that he knew that. Not many in this day and age did. "But Davy Jones force my 'and. T'was all I could do ta keep ya 'live til ya stab him heart."
"You did that?" Will asked, surprised. Then he thought about it. Normally a mortal man would've died a lot sooner from a wound like the one he'd received. He'd suspected that something had been keeping him alive, but he'd thought it was his willpower alone. Apparently he was wrong.
Calypso nodded again solemnly, and Will smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you." He breathed.
"Pretty!" A young voice came from beside Elizabeth, and everyone present turned their attention to young Liza, who was looking at the mermaid Calypso and smiling in awe at her tail. Calypso grinned. "Speakin' o' de chile, she do not complicate tings. She be ya dauta by blood 'well as 'lizabeth."
Suddenly Elizabeth gasped. "Oh, of course! You must've been so confused! I'm so sorry, Will!" She exclaimed, looking extremely guiltily at her husband. "Liza was born just after you left that night, to carry your new passengers to Fiddler's Green. I wanted to tell you, but I had no way of doing so. The resemblance between her and I is uncanny, so it's no wonder you were so conflicted!" She gasped, and just like that, Will's doubts evaporated like mist under the morning sun. He looked down and smiled, then sighed, "I should have known. I should have known better. Forgive me, Elizabeth. I doubted you."
Elizabeth shook her head. "There's nothing to forgive. I'm the one who should apologise. I should have told you about her right at the beginning."
"You had no way of contacting me." Will argued. "How could you have told me? I should have known you would never betray me. Forgive me my weakness, my love."
Elizabeth nodded, then grinned. "You are only human. It's natural, I suppose. I understand." She giggled a little, and Will smirked at her wit and rolled his eyes. He wasn't quite human anymore, and she knew that. She was just teasing.
"Hate ta interrupt this lovely banter an' touchin' reunion, but I've a ship to- eh, acquire." Jack broke in as he disembarked from the dinghy and hoisted himself onto the deck right next to Calypso, giving her a quick and sly peck on the cheek before sauntering off in his unique style. The others at the dock could only watch and gape at his boldness as he walked along the port and inspected the 'wares' for a worthy replacement for The Black Pearl.
Will laughed. "That's Jack for you. He'll never change." He winked at Elizabeth, who giggled again and broke the spell. Soon the other crewmates of the Pearl were chuckling and rolling their eyes at their eccentric captain's antics.
"By de way-" Calypso added after a minute of amused silence. "-ya deserve a few days off fer all ya hard work, young William. Ya may stay on dis side a' Worl's End til sunset t'ree days from now. Do wid dis time what ya please." She grinned as she splashed back into the water, disappearing from sight in seconds.
End of Chapter 4
Okay, I know in 'Dead Men Tell No Tales' that Will's son is named Henry, but I wanted him to be William Turner III, and Lizzie calls him 'Liam' to minimize confusion. Liam is kinda shortened from Wil-LIAM, isn't it?
And about Liza, I wanted to give them a daughter too. Plain and simple. And Liza is short for 'E-LIZA-beth'. Not too subtle, am I? XD
Kinda ended this on a cliffhanger again, didn't I? Ah well, it's the good kind, at least. None of our heroes are in any kind of danger for once. *Chuckles nervously*
See you next chapter!
God Bless!
Tsunami Storm
