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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is copyright of Walt Disney Pictures. Characters are owned by Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliot, & Terry Rosso.
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Chapter Three: Estrella and Miss Swann
It was the second time Will had returned to the forge that day, only to leave it again. He told Brown he needed a drink, knowing Brown would be the last person to object to that. Instead of heading to the inn, Will decided to see the one person he could talk to about Jack.
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"Mister Turner! What a nice surprise! The Governor's not expecting you." Estrella, one of the house's maids, was beaming at Will from the front door of the Governor's mansion.
"Yes," Will paused for a moment, "I wondered if I might have a word with Eliz—Miss Swann?"
Estrella looked at Will with a slightly disappointed look. She had clearly thought Will was there to see her.
"Is she at home?" Will missed the subtlety of Estrella's reaction to his question.
"Why, yes, Mister Turner. If it'll please you to step inside the foyer?" she curtseyed and ascended the mansion's grand staircase.
Will stepped inside the house and missed a beat. The splendor of the mansion never ceased to enchant him. He walked over to small table in the center of the hall, which was boasting a bouquet of flowers. He ran his hand over the smooth mahogany table. What would it like to own something as fine as this one piece of furniture? Everything in the mansion was a sharp contrast to his own surroundings in town. Where the Swann's had a grand chandelier hanging above the stairs, Will had a leaking roof. Instead of a goose feather pillow on his bed, Will slept on a sack filled with hay and down. Will looked up to the staircase and saw Estrella coming back down.
"She'll see you in a few moments, Mister Turner." Estrella wore a false smile, the sort of smile a maid would give company. It was cheerful, but not at all sincere and Will saw the distinction immediately.
"Estrella."
"Yes, Mister Turner? Is there anything you need?" the short maid approached him.
"No," Will said softly, dropping what he was going to say, "Thank you."
She nodded and continued her way to the kitchen where she would probably spend the rest of the late morning preparing lunch or possibly cleaning all the dishes from breakfast. Will knew why she was being so false with him. They were one in the same, he and Estrella. They possibly understood one another better than he and Elizabeth ever could for the simple fact that they both played a single purpose in Port Royal: to serve. She did not own fancy dresses, nor did she get to sleep in late or attend ceremonies. Estrella was a maid. In her eyes, Will had no business seeking a courtship with someone higher in status than he. Indeed, the Governor's daughter! Estrella saw herself marrying a man like Will, not serving him, and his presence in the mansion as a guest was a mockery. Her tone of 'Mister Turner' stung as if she had slapped him.
"Will!" Elizabeth had finally appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Elizabeth." Will smiled and felt warm for the first time that day.
"How lovely to see you." she reached the bottom stair and greeted Will. "What are you doing here?"
Will was brought sharply back to reality and why he had come in the first place. "It's Jack," he said shortly.
The light in Elizabeth's eyes and her smile faded quickly into worry. "What is it?"
"Perhaps we should talk outside." Will doubted that their conversation would remain unheard.
"Of course."
They went outside into the mansion's sprawling gardens. Elizabeth looked beautiful as they walked in the sun. She ran her hand across the flowers as they did so, like a child might. Will spotted the gruesome scar on her left palm, a token of their ordeal with the Black Pearl.
"You think he might be in trouble?" she asked softly.
"I think Norrington is up to something. I saw him this morning at the fort. He seemed extremely happy about something." Will knew that it sounded like a hasty assumption on his part, but he had seen something in Norrington's eyes; something like victory.
Elizabeth stopped and looked into Will's eyes. "James is a very ambitious man, and proud as well. When Jack escaped it was a blow to his reputation."
"Norrington must know where Jack is—or where he's going to be."
"I believe you, Will, but Jack Sparrow is no obligation of ours."
Normally Will would have wholeheartedly agreed, but the words caught in his throat. Elizabeth touched his cheek.
"He can look after himself," she looked hopefully into Will's eyes for understanding.
"But..." Will found himself protesting.
Elizabeth silenced his words with a hand on his mouth. "No, Will. I know what you're thinking. Every time we're by the ocean, I see a look in your eyes. It's a longing. You don't belong on the ocean, Will." What she said wasn't cruel, it was a fact. Three weeks sailing under the command of a pirate didn't make Will a sailor. It was then that he saw something else in Elizabeth's eyes: fear.
"Don't go out there looking for trouble again," she said pleadingly. "It's not our concern."
Will took her hand off of his mouth and took it in his own. He turned over her palm and ran his fingers over the scar.
"I know." The words seemed to come from someone else, but they were said nonetheless. He let her hand go and showed his own left hand, revealing the exact same scar across his palm.
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