Life, it seems, was not always in its most forgiving mood. It had a tendency to beat the spirit out of lesser men; and snip short the lives of those who dared it. Fate chose princes, after a fashion. It decided who would be leaders of men, and who would pump the bilges and dream of a better life. One rode the tailwinds of life as one rode the sea : carefully, and with extra provisions. Jack often imagined Lady Fate to be a tall, dark-haired woman, lovely and proud; with one hand always ready to dole out a hearty slap. In point of fact, Lady Fate had recently taken on Elizabeth's visage in his mind; as if her charming person served to remind him of the violence she still reserved, as most women, the right to distribute.
Jack was lucky. There was no denying that life had surely seen him in the cradle and favored the bright-eyed, dribbling infant. Men who wished him ill were forever being knocked unconscious by a falling signpost, a thrown horseshoe, a well-placed chamber pot. He'd sent an attacker to his death by flinging a spoon at him once; as it happened, it caused him to stumble backwards off of a rooftop, spoon bouncing merrily off of his forehead as he hit the ground. Ironically, fate's love for Jack was one-sided. He made his own luck, or attempted to, and scorned the idea that destiny was responsible for his immense intelligence and dashingly disreputable good looks. But he made some concessions.
By virtue mainly of self-preservation exceeding all other virtues, Jack tried very hard not to tempt fate. He had found his earthly luck, and it was the Pearl. His treasure, if anything could ever be called that. His hope for the future; his wings. Stay with the Pearl, life whispered in his ear, and I'll lay the riches of man at your feet. Stay with the Pearl, and you'll always be free. Mostly it told him variations on that; and mostly, he listened.
It was an easy task, regardless. For the Pearl he loved, beyond life itself. Beyond gold and silver, beyond the love of woman and the glory of fame. And unlike the other females who drifted in and out of his sights like seabirds wheeling overhead; the Pearl and Jack loved each other as equals.
Unfortunately for both of them, the blasted man was apparently meant for trouble.