This would be about the time that Emma would be put to bed. The sun had turned a fiery red as it lowered itself behind the horizon. He remembered a time when he loved looking at sunsets, sitting with Elizabeth on the beach in silence. She would lie in his arms and he would hold her, and neither one would say a word until the sun had been hidden completely and the darkness had come over the beach. Reaching up, he gently touched the healing wound on his neck and closed his eyes, fighting the tears. He already missed his wife and daughter so badly he could barely help it, and the talk with Jack hadn't helped matters.
I can't go home to them. I can't see my daughter grow up and I can't grow old with Elizabeth. I have nothing left of my life. I took it for granted and now I miss it so much. He pulled his coat tighter around him to ward off the chilly wind coming in off the sea. He'd come down to the beach to make a decision, but so far all he had done was put it off, thinking in favor of a life long past. He felt so confused, angry and grieving at the same time. Could he take Jack up on his offer? That had never been his life before. It didn't matter if Jack and his father had taken to the lifestyle so quickly. It wasn't his.
He lowered his chin to his chest, feeling the newly healed skin stretch. What he truly wanted was to wake up and realize this was all a horrible dream. He would wake up in a few hours and be back in bed with Elizabeth, awoken by the crow of the rooster. Elizabeth would get Emma up and make breakfast before he went for a hard days' work at the shop.
What he wanted so badly would never come. This wasn't a nightmare or some distorted daydream. It was real life. He had been hung and had somehow managed to come back from teetering on the gaping abyss of death. The scene he had imagined back in Port Royal would never be anything but a distant memory again. He couldn't have what he wanted most because it was taken away from him. His entire life was forfeit because of a crime he never committed. Anger welled up in him. He got to his feet, still staring out at the horizon. He was made a fugitive for someone's mistake, a witness that had never shown, and a trial that was a sham. He felt like he'd lost touch with reality suddenly and everything became cold. There was no love, no wistfulness of days past, or mourning. Just want, anger, hatred. He hated the entire world for what it had done, what it had no reason to do.
With one last look out at the horizon, Will turned around and headed back up the beach, a man with a mission.
--------------
"Elizabeth?"
Governor Swann's gentle voice called to her from the hallway as he rapped lightly on the door. Elizabeth ignored him at first, looking out at the red sun sinking slowly behind the horizon. She didn't want to talk to anyone anymore, hearing their excuses and their regrets. Emma slept quietly in her arms, but she couldn't remain motionless. It was almost as if she could feel the tension and the grief within Elizabeth and it wouldn't let her rest.
Elizabeth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at her daughter. How long had it been since she had slept a decent night's sleep? Long enough. She was so weary yet could she could not sleep. The memories came in her sleep and turned dreams to blood nightmares and forcing her to watch the most horrible moment of her life repeatedly. She was so numb now, unable to feel the simplest emotion. Not anger or grief or love. There was another gentle knock at the door of the nursery, but the voice that came next was a different one.
"Elizabeth?" This time Elizabeth looked towards the door, hearing the voice of James Norrington. She got up slowly, laying Emma in the bassinette that Estrella had brought up for her. Her father had refused to let her return to the small house that Will had worked so hard to give her as a wedding present. She had returned to her old room at the mansion and a makeshift nursery had been set up.
For a moment, she did feel emotion. Anger at her father. Never once had he approved of his daughter's marriage to the blacksmith of Port Royal and had tried to convince her not to go through with it more than once. James had stepped in a few times on Elizabeth's side and arguing on their behalf. But the anger soon faded as she found she couldn't be angry with her father. What had happened had not been his fault.
There was another rap on the door before she reached it and opened it. Governor Swann and James looked at her as the door opened and she stood in the doorway, not speaking. Slowly Swann moved forward and took his daughter into his arms, holding her. She rested her head on his shoulder as she had done when she was a little girl and closed her eyes. They hurt horribly from the days of crying, but she couldn't bring herself to cry anymore. James turned his back to them and walked a few paces down the hallway, letting them have a moment together.
Governor Swann looked down at his daughter, pushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, wondering why he had come to the nursery knocking. "How are you?" She stared back at him for a moment, tired of hearing that question repeatedly.
How do you think I am? I've lost the man I love with all my heart and there's nothing you could do or did do that will bring him back to me. She wanted to say the thought out loud and see what expression would be on his face. Instead she held her tongue, giving him a smile that faltered. "As well as to be expected." Her voice felt a little hoarse, not having talked with anyone the past few days. She had been merely a shell, going where people escorted her to, doing what they had asked. The perfect, obedient, well bred daughter her father had always wanted.
He nodded slightly, rubbing her shoulder. "You will come to me, should there be anything you need?" He asked her. She doubted that what she needed he could provide.
"Of course." She told him. "I must go back to the baby now." She turned away from him and headed back into the nursery. To her surprise, it was not her father that followed, but James.
He hated seeing her like this. She was taking it so well, yet he didn't know what went on below the surface. Now he came bearing bad news for her as well. He still loved Elizabeth and always would. Someday he would find himself a wife that he loved dearly, but she would always hold a part of him. He had never felt any resent when she had chosen Will over him. She was following her heart to happiness, and he couldn't have expected anymore than that. Now he wished that she could've stayed happy.
Elizabeth caught the look on his face as she headed back towards the chair she had been sitting in. "Commodore?" She asked, turning to take a few steps back towards him. "Is something wrong?"
He looked down at the floor for a moment, wondering how best to break the news to her. He finally decided to tell her straight out. "William's body disappeared." James looked up to Elizabeth, watching her reaction. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Her face paled and she reached out for something to support herself with. James immediately came forward, taking hold of her arm. She rested against him, shock overtaking her.
Suddenly she pushed him away. He was caught off guard, stumbling a few paces back. "How could you let him be taken?" Elizabeth clenched her fists in anger, staring at him. Tears came to her eyes. "Why?" Her voice was no more than a shaky whisper as she said the last word.
"I'm sorry." The words felt thick in James' mouth. Wasn't that what everyone said when they made a mistake, whether they cared or not? It seemed so impersonal to him. "It was only a few moments after everyone had left the fort and there was no one around." He didn't know what else he could tell her.
"He was my husband and you let them take him away from me!" She shouted and sunk to the floor, dissolving into tears. He realized that she wasn't talking about the aftermath of the hanging, but the events leading up to. Breaking the image of a commodore and taking on the role of the best friend, he knelt beside her. She leaned forward onto him, sobbing into the fabric of his coat.
"I couldn't stop them." He told her quietly. "One of my men wrote a letter to those that are my superior and received an order to overrule my judgment in this case." James held her as she sobbed. He couldn't comprehend what she was feeling at the moment. All he could do was be there for her.
"Who?" Elizabeth looked up at him, tears streaked down her face. "Who did it?" He looked into her eyes and saw the pain there, knowing that the identity of the person in this case would let her direct her anger to someone who truly deserved it. Unfortunately, he couldn't give it to her.
"I don't know. I have yet to find out myself." He told her gently. Elizabeth closed her eyes and laid her head back down against his chest. The tears started to flow again, but this time they were silent.
He would be her support.
-----------
Jack glanced from the compass sitting idly on the corner of the table to the map spread out on the table in front of him. Picking up the crumpled paper beside him, he checked the directions he had been giving before going back to the map. One finger tapped a small patch of blue on it and he made a small mark with a piece of charcoal. "There she be." He said with a small smile.
A few minutes after Will had disappeared on him the night before, Jack had joined Gibbs and Anamaria at the Sunken Galleon Tavern for a few drinks. The bar brawl that had ensued from two men fighting over a wench had even reached their little table in the corner. Getting in a few hits of his own, Jack had managed to steal the slip of paper with the merchant ships information on it. With a quick glance, he noticed that the cargo on the ship would be worth a small fortune.
Hearing wood creak, he glanced up, expecting Gibbs asking him if he'd figured out the ships destination yet. Instead, he found himself looking at Will. A very different William Turner than the one that had left this ship. His eyes had taken on a cold look and it was a slight bit off putting.
"What?" Jack asked him before looking back down at the map to figure out the path the ship would take to reach its destination.
"I'll sign articles. I want to go on the account." Jack paused, never lifting his gaze from the map. He had expected much more of a fight than this from Will, not him coming to the cabin only a day after Jack had made the offer and asking to become part of the crew.
"Are you sure?" Jack rose to his full height, meeting Will's gaze. "You seemed pretty adamant last night that this was the last thing you wanted to do."
"What other choice do I have?" Will responded calmly. "I'm asking to join your crew, Jack. There's nothing left for me anywhere else." Pirate and blacksmith held gazes for a moment later, trying to read figure out what the other was thinking. Then Jack broke it, turning to the sideboard that held most of the maps and other important documents and pulled out a sheet of paper. He set it in front of Will.
"Read this. If you still find yourself wanting to sign, we'll go from there." He said. Will picked up the paper and read quietly as Jack went back to figuring out the shipping lane.
Will committed what he read to memory. No gambling, no fighting on the ship, no sneaking women aboard, no man was allowed to force himself upon an unwilling woman. Any disagreement to be solved with pistol and sword and those who committed mutiny in time of engagement would face death. He set the document back down on the table. "I'll sign." He said. Jack pulled a small dagger from out underneath the table and pricked his finger.
"Sign below the last name in blood." Will took the offered pen and dabbed the blood on the paper. Using the nib of the pen to trail through the blood, he scrawled his name. Jack took the paper and set it back in the sideboard before turning back to Will, his expression still eerily deadpan.
"Welcome to the crew of the Black Pearl, Mr. Turner."
I can't go home to them. I can't see my daughter grow up and I can't grow old with Elizabeth. I have nothing left of my life. I took it for granted and now I miss it so much. He pulled his coat tighter around him to ward off the chilly wind coming in off the sea. He'd come down to the beach to make a decision, but so far all he had done was put it off, thinking in favor of a life long past. He felt so confused, angry and grieving at the same time. Could he take Jack up on his offer? That had never been his life before. It didn't matter if Jack and his father had taken to the lifestyle so quickly. It wasn't his.
He lowered his chin to his chest, feeling the newly healed skin stretch. What he truly wanted was to wake up and realize this was all a horrible dream. He would wake up in a few hours and be back in bed with Elizabeth, awoken by the crow of the rooster. Elizabeth would get Emma up and make breakfast before he went for a hard days' work at the shop.
What he wanted so badly would never come. This wasn't a nightmare or some distorted daydream. It was real life. He had been hung and had somehow managed to come back from teetering on the gaping abyss of death. The scene he had imagined back in Port Royal would never be anything but a distant memory again. He couldn't have what he wanted most because it was taken away from him. His entire life was forfeit because of a crime he never committed. Anger welled up in him. He got to his feet, still staring out at the horizon. He was made a fugitive for someone's mistake, a witness that had never shown, and a trial that was a sham. He felt like he'd lost touch with reality suddenly and everything became cold. There was no love, no wistfulness of days past, or mourning. Just want, anger, hatred. He hated the entire world for what it had done, what it had no reason to do.
With one last look out at the horizon, Will turned around and headed back up the beach, a man with a mission.
--------------
"Elizabeth?"
Governor Swann's gentle voice called to her from the hallway as he rapped lightly on the door. Elizabeth ignored him at first, looking out at the red sun sinking slowly behind the horizon. She didn't want to talk to anyone anymore, hearing their excuses and their regrets. Emma slept quietly in her arms, but she couldn't remain motionless. It was almost as if she could feel the tension and the grief within Elizabeth and it wouldn't let her rest.
Elizabeth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at her daughter. How long had it been since she had slept a decent night's sleep? Long enough. She was so weary yet could she could not sleep. The memories came in her sleep and turned dreams to blood nightmares and forcing her to watch the most horrible moment of her life repeatedly. She was so numb now, unable to feel the simplest emotion. Not anger or grief or love. There was another gentle knock at the door of the nursery, but the voice that came next was a different one.
"Elizabeth?" This time Elizabeth looked towards the door, hearing the voice of James Norrington. She got up slowly, laying Emma in the bassinette that Estrella had brought up for her. Her father had refused to let her return to the small house that Will had worked so hard to give her as a wedding present. She had returned to her old room at the mansion and a makeshift nursery had been set up.
For a moment, she did feel emotion. Anger at her father. Never once had he approved of his daughter's marriage to the blacksmith of Port Royal and had tried to convince her not to go through with it more than once. James had stepped in a few times on Elizabeth's side and arguing on their behalf. But the anger soon faded as she found she couldn't be angry with her father. What had happened had not been his fault.
There was another rap on the door before she reached it and opened it. Governor Swann and James looked at her as the door opened and she stood in the doorway, not speaking. Slowly Swann moved forward and took his daughter into his arms, holding her. She rested her head on his shoulder as she had done when she was a little girl and closed her eyes. They hurt horribly from the days of crying, but she couldn't bring herself to cry anymore. James turned his back to them and walked a few paces down the hallway, letting them have a moment together.
Governor Swann looked down at his daughter, pushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, wondering why he had come to the nursery knocking. "How are you?" She stared back at him for a moment, tired of hearing that question repeatedly.
How do you think I am? I've lost the man I love with all my heart and there's nothing you could do or did do that will bring him back to me. She wanted to say the thought out loud and see what expression would be on his face. Instead she held her tongue, giving him a smile that faltered. "As well as to be expected." Her voice felt a little hoarse, not having talked with anyone the past few days. She had been merely a shell, going where people escorted her to, doing what they had asked. The perfect, obedient, well bred daughter her father had always wanted.
He nodded slightly, rubbing her shoulder. "You will come to me, should there be anything you need?" He asked her. She doubted that what she needed he could provide.
"Of course." She told him. "I must go back to the baby now." She turned away from him and headed back into the nursery. To her surprise, it was not her father that followed, but James.
He hated seeing her like this. She was taking it so well, yet he didn't know what went on below the surface. Now he came bearing bad news for her as well. He still loved Elizabeth and always would. Someday he would find himself a wife that he loved dearly, but she would always hold a part of him. He had never felt any resent when she had chosen Will over him. She was following her heart to happiness, and he couldn't have expected anymore than that. Now he wished that she could've stayed happy.
Elizabeth caught the look on his face as she headed back towards the chair she had been sitting in. "Commodore?" She asked, turning to take a few steps back towards him. "Is something wrong?"
He looked down at the floor for a moment, wondering how best to break the news to her. He finally decided to tell her straight out. "William's body disappeared." James looked up to Elizabeth, watching her reaction. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Her face paled and she reached out for something to support herself with. James immediately came forward, taking hold of her arm. She rested against him, shock overtaking her.
Suddenly she pushed him away. He was caught off guard, stumbling a few paces back. "How could you let him be taken?" Elizabeth clenched her fists in anger, staring at him. Tears came to her eyes. "Why?" Her voice was no more than a shaky whisper as she said the last word.
"I'm sorry." The words felt thick in James' mouth. Wasn't that what everyone said when they made a mistake, whether they cared or not? It seemed so impersonal to him. "It was only a few moments after everyone had left the fort and there was no one around." He didn't know what else he could tell her.
"He was my husband and you let them take him away from me!" She shouted and sunk to the floor, dissolving into tears. He realized that she wasn't talking about the aftermath of the hanging, but the events leading up to. Breaking the image of a commodore and taking on the role of the best friend, he knelt beside her. She leaned forward onto him, sobbing into the fabric of his coat.
"I couldn't stop them." He told her quietly. "One of my men wrote a letter to those that are my superior and received an order to overrule my judgment in this case." James held her as she sobbed. He couldn't comprehend what she was feeling at the moment. All he could do was be there for her.
"Who?" Elizabeth looked up at him, tears streaked down her face. "Who did it?" He looked into her eyes and saw the pain there, knowing that the identity of the person in this case would let her direct her anger to someone who truly deserved it. Unfortunately, he couldn't give it to her.
"I don't know. I have yet to find out myself." He told her gently. Elizabeth closed her eyes and laid her head back down against his chest. The tears started to flow again, but this time they were silent.
He would be her support.
-----------
Jack glanced from the compass sitting idly on the corner of the table to the map spread out on the table in front of him. Picking up the crumpled paper beside him, he checked the directions he had been giving before going back to the map. One finger tapped a small patch of blue on it and he made a small mark with a piece of charcoal. "There she be." He said with a small smile.
A few minutes after Will had disappeared on him the night before, Jack had joined Gibbs and Anamaria at the Sunken Galleon Tavern for a few drinks. The bar brawl that had ensued from two men fighting over a wench had even reached their little table in the corner. Getting in a few hits of his own, Jack had managed to steal the slip of paper with the merchant ships information on it. With a quick glance, he noticed that the cargo on the ship would be worth a small fortune.
Hearing wood creak, he glanced up, expecting Gibbs asking him if he'd figured out the ships destination yet. Instead, he found himself looking at Will. A very different William Turner than the one that had left this ship. His eyes had taken on a cold look and it was a slight bit off putting.
"What?" Jack asked him before looking back down at the map to figure out the path the ship would take to reach its destination.
"I'll sign articles. I want to go on the account." Jack paused, never lifting his gaze from the map. He had expected much more of a fight than this from Will, not him coming to the cabin only a day after Jack had made the offer and asking to become part of the crew.
"Are you sure?" Jack rose to his full height, meeting Will's gaze. "You seemed pretty adamant last night that this was the last thing you wanted to do."
"What other choice do I have?" Will responded calmly. "I'm asking to join your crew, Jack. There's nothing left for me anywhere else." Pirate and blacksmith held gazes for a moment later, trying to read figure out what the other was thinking. Then Jack broke it, turning to the sideboard that held most of the maps and other important documents and pulled out a sheet of paper. He set it in front of Will.
"Read this. If you still find yourself wanting to sign, we'll go from there." He said. Will picked up the paper and read quietly as Jack went back to figuring out the shipping lane.
Will committed what he read to memory. No gambling, no fighting on the ship, no sneaking women aboard, no man was allowed to force himself upon an unwilling woman. Any disagreement to be solved with pistol and sword and those who committed mutiny in time of engagement would face death. He set the document back down on the table. "I'll sign." He said. Jack pulled a small dagger from out underneath the table and pricked his finger.
"Sign below the last name in blood." Will took the offered pen and dabbed the blood on the paper. Using the nib of the pen to trail through the blood, he scrawled his name. Jack took the paper and set it back in the sideboard before turning back to Will, his expression still eerily deadpan.
"Welcome to the crew of the Black Pearl, Mr. Turner."