Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own the characters. It's a shame, if you ask me, but I don't.
A/N: Here's another POTC story from me. Hope you will enjoy it, because I think it will be fun. Oh, and if you read, please review, savvy? It takes you just a moment to do it, and makes me happy!
Pirates of the Caribbean: Calypso's Locket
Chapter 1: Rum Solves It All
Since he had escaped the gallows in Port Royal, Jack Sparrow had never paid a visit to his friends there, Elizabeth and Will. But after all, how could he, since in that same city lived the one person that despised him more in the world, and wanted him hung more than anything in his life?
"I guess they are happily married by now" he mused while looking at his crew manoeuvring the Black Pearl into Tortuga bay. Now that he thought of it, he wondered why he ended thinking of them in the first place.
But, he was given no time to dwell on that, as the crew had already lowered the boats, so they were to go to land.
The group crossed the city merrily, happy to take a much deserved break after their last adventures. A round of rum was what was needed to celebrate their last sackings of ships, but most importantly of St. Thomas.
So, Jack led them to his favourite pub on the island, the Green Emerald.
Once in there, they settled in a couple of tables, and ordered.
"A dozen mugs of rum, just to start, Frank" Jack called to the bartender who nodded.
As the night progressed, people started leaving the pub, and Jack's crew left too, to have a walk and taste ale and liquors from other pubs too. Not that they didn't do that in the other times they were there, but still, it was good to try different qualities of rum and such.
Only one, lonely man remained, as well as Jack, whose attention, albeit lowered by the amount of alcohol he had had, was drawn to the other figure.
Looking at him as well as he could, Jack started doubting his own capacity to hold his rum. Heck, here he was almost sure the other man was Will, but what would Will do, drunk in a pub on Tortuga?
Curious, he stood up and swaggered toward the man, just to be sure. And he was more than surprised when he saw that he ahd been right. It was really Will.
"Will!" he called, but to no avail. The other man had passed out.
Taking a room for the two of them, Jack brought his friend up the stairs, then proceeded to wake him up, throwing some cold water in his face.
When Will shook and opened his eyes, Jack sighed.
"Will, what the hell where you doing in a pub in Tortuga, all alone, when you've got a beautiful and devoted wife in Port Royal?" he asked.
Will snickered, still drunk but able to understand what Jack was saying. "I've got absolutely no one in Port Royal, Jack"
"What about Elizabeth?" Jack asked, sincerely worried. And it was a first for him. Usually he worried only about himself. "Aren't the two of you married by now?"
"Nope" Will said, shaking his head. "She left me during our engagement"
"Oh" Jack said. "Well, you're again a free man, lad, so you better start looking around because there's plenty of beautiful women out there"
Will glared at him. "I'm still in love with her, Jack" he said. "That is why I'm here. I tried, but I can't go on knowing in a month she is going to be Mrs. James Norrington"
Jack almost gagged. "She went back to the stuck up smartass?"
"Aye" Will said. "And it is not enough. Some Lord Cutler Beckett has come to Port Royal, and he acts like he owns the city. And he more than once threatened to put me in jail if I tried to oppose to Norrington and Elizabeth's engagement. Said I was too low to be with her, being just a blacksmith"
"Beckett?" Jack repeated. "Of the East Indies Company?"
Will nodded, his head throbbing madly. He just wanted to die right there.
Jack, in the meantime started pacing the room. "You know, lad, there's something that slips past my understanding. She's engaged to you, then Beckett comes, she leaves you for Norrington..."
"I would like to understand too" Will said, groaning. His head threatened to explode any moment now. "But for now I just want to sleep, so quit asking me things, Jack"
Soon both of them were sound asleep.
Next morning, Jack had an hard time reaching the Pearl. Sunlight blinded him, and his head was not helping. Will was more or less in the same conditions.
Once they reached the ship, they crashed on the deck and there they slept all day. At night, again in the pub, they started talking about Elizabeth and Norrington once more.
"So, one day she wakes up, and starts acting all cold on me, calling me Mr. Turner, and so on. I ask her what's wrong, what I did to make her angry, and she turns, glares at me and says, "You're a blacksmith, I can't be seen associating with one of your social level""
Jack was open mouthed. He simply had to drink half a mug of rum in one single swig after hearing that. "She didn't" he unbelievingly said.
"She did, Jack, she did" Will said, taking a long sip from his own mug.
"Well, mate, I know you're hurting, and I would too if I were in your place, but you know what someone told me once?"
"What, Jack?"
"Well, I was young, and inexperienced with women. I got deluded pretty bad by a lassie I met in Singapore, and this other pirate said to me, "Dear ol' Jack, rum always solves it all". As you can imagine, he was more or less as addicted to rum as I am, and maybe that was the time my passion with that drink started. I followed his advice, and it worked. Took me a month of being pissed every night, but eventually I forgot about her"
"I'm sure you did" Will sarcastically said. "After all, you're a pirate. You don't keep promises, so I wouldn't expect from you to understand what really being in love means"
"I do, lad. I do far better than you can imagine. This is why I've decided to not get seriously involved anymore in my life. Got burned once, I did, and it is enough"
They managed to go back to the ship even as drunk as they were, and slept both in Jack's cabin, Will on the chair while Jack took, of course, his bed.
However, neither could really sleep. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Jack was disturbed by what Will had told him, and wanted to help his friend, although he did not know how.
Will, on his part, sat awake, thinking about what could have he done to drive her away from him.
At some point, seeing that he was awake, Jack spoke. There was no reason to stay quiet since his companion couldn't sleep too.
"I was thinking, I once heard some sailors talking about some kind of jewellery, owned by Calypso, that seemingly had magic qualities, such as ensnare someone to love who gifted it to them. So, I was wondering, has Elizabeth received some jewellery as a gift during your engagement? From someone who is not you, of course"
Will thought about it, but his head hurt. "I don't remember. My head spins too much to let me think straight"
Jack nodded, and lay again on his bed. At some point, he fell asleep, while Will snuck out on the deck, and lay there, looking at the stars.
He couldn't stop remembering all the nice times he and Elizabeth had shared, and now to be treated that way from her…it was what hurt the most, to be cast away like some scum…
The more he thought about it, though, the more Jack's theory about something magic making her change made sense. They had know each other since they were kids, why would she treat him that badly if she wasn't under the influence of something? Ok, she could not be in love with him anymore, and prefer to marry the Commodore, but that did not explain why she suddenly started treating him like dirt.
So, he forced his brain to work, and work, and work. Slowly, memories of a golden locket with a big red ruby came to his mind, and he stood up, running into Jack's cabin as fast as his drunken state allowed him to.
"Jack!" he suddenly shouted.
