Title: Overlooked an Orchid
Author: Saitaina
Author's Email: saitaina@wizzards.net
Pairing: Jack/Will, Will/Elizabeth, Elizabeth/Norrington
Rating: G-PG
Disclaimer: I don't own it, it owns me.
Summary: Hindsight's never kind, and neither is reality.
A/N: This was not supposed to happen. I was looking for a
song for "My Place". Instead I found this.
Not a sequel to "Orchids" more of a companion piece to
it. Timeline is given away in the first scene but it's
after Jack gets his letter from Will.
***
The orchid is a flower that blooms so tender'ly
To thrill the fairest lady of the land
If placed beside a blush'in rose
The rose could not compare
But how was such as I to understand
Will watched through teary eyes as the Pearl shoved off, a
lone figure near the wheel turned towards him, raising a bottle
in salute. He watched for the long hours as the Pearl
slowly drifted further and further away, further from Port Royal,
further from him. And he was the one that sent them away.
And asked that they not return.
He lowered his head as Elizabeth slid her arms around his waist,
resting her head on his shoulder, her gaze looking out to where
his had been, watching the Pearl and her Captain leave their
lives for good. "That's it then, time to move on with
our lives," she said softly, shifting her gaze to him,
watching her husband carefully.
"That's it." Will whispered softly, wiping at his tears
with the back of his hand. He turned and kissed Elizabeth's
cheek, giving her a weak, watery smile before turning away to his
study.
I over looked an orchid while searching for a rose
The orchid that I over looked was you
The rose that I was searching for, has proved to be un true
The orchid now I find my dear was you
It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, to break off
ties with his hidden lover, to be with his wife and their soon to
be born child. It had seemed like such a good idea.
But ideas are never what they seem and only in hindsight could
one truly understand the significance of an action. Will
had learned this many times over his life, and he was sure he
would learn it many times over.
It was a simple errand, running up to Norrinton's offices to get
the measurements for the new ceremonial he wanted. Just a
quick trip he could have sent his apprentice on, but for some
reason he wanted to go himself. Needed to go himself.
Needed the air, the feel of the sea, even if it was just crossing
the docks to the older man's offices, but he needed to feel it,
inside of him, to quell the longing that kept surfacing.
He had heard her voice before he even reached the steps, the
soft, laughing lilt that she had. He knew everything about
that voice, had to in the fifteen years they had spent, living
their lives together. Fifteen years...gone, forgotten as
she curled up in the arms of her lover.
Will had left them there, curled together, not knowing, not
seeing as he walked away from them. From her. From
his life.
He could understand this. Really he could. And, it didn't
hurt as much as he suspected it would, when he lay awake at
night, waiting for her to return to their bed. He had
suspected, guessed, but now, now he was free from the suspicion,
the uncertainty. Now he knew. And now he was free.
The rose has lost it's color
But the orchid is the same
And I'm alone to face these lonely years
I didn't see the orchid I was looking for a rose
And now I pay the price with better tears
Will sighed as he sat in the back of the tavern, rubbing a grimy
cloth over an equally grimy tankard. It was a tradition
now, to curl up in the back of the Irish Rose, sipping foul
tankards of ale and detestable goblets of wine, watching the door
eagerly as the hours passed and the patrons got rougher and
rowdier. The scene never changed and probably never would,
but every time the door opened, he hoped.
There was little call for a trained blacksmith in Tortuga,
generally the repair and replacement of sword blades, a few
knifes, and even fewer iron shackles. But Will couldn't
imagine a better place to put down shop and wait. This was
the haven for all that sailed the sea under the black flag. A
place to gather and talk shop as you rested and hid out from the
fleets. A place to relax, a place to be free.
Will was free here. He wasn't the orphan, the blacksmith's
apprentice, the Governor's son-in-law, or Norrinton's best mate.
Here he was only Will Turnner, occasionally Bootstrap's Son but
that was becoming rarer as he made his own name.
No, the scene never changed in Tortuga, and probably never would
for as long as it was alive, and remembered. But that was a
good thing. That meant it's inhabitants never changed.
And that they would return here when home called to them.
That he would return here.
Will drained the last of his drink and stood, watching the once
dark sky fill with the light that heralded the coming morning.
The tavern was emptying, it's patron's ready to stumble to a bed
or alley way, eager to shield out the light of day with a bit of
sleep and dreams of silver and gold.
"Not all treasure is silver and gold mate,"
Will smiled softly to himself as the memory floated across
his hazed mind as he fit the key in the lock of his shop, causing
him to pause a moment and reflect. He sighed, shaking his
head, pushing open the door. "Aye, Jack, but it's a lot
easier to come by." He whispered to himself, tossing his key
on the table by the door, kicking the heavy wood closed behind
him.
"Is it now?" A voice said from the corner, smile lit up
as a match flared, lighting a piper dangling from wind-chapped
lips. Jack flicked the match out and took a deep puff, the
smoke curling up around him, leaving only his smirk behind.
I over looked an orchid while searching for a rose
The orchid that I over looked was you
The rose that I was searching for,
has proved to be un true
The orchid now I find my dear was you