Author's note: Another very long chapter, but an important one. You'll see why. Enjoy. Pirate Cat
"What is he doing in there?" William was beginning to worry, as Jack had been in the cabin, alone, for almost an hour. Bill gazed at the door, his face starting to frown deeply with concern. Things had been going so well, and he was hoping that Jack was not having one of what William and Bill could only describe as a "dark time", again. Jack's mind sometimes fell into a state of terrible fragility much too easily, and they were becoming quite worried about the man behind the closed cabin door.
"He requested privacy... but what could be on tha' parchment tha' could possibly cause 'im to be in there, by 'imself, for all this time?" Bill glanced at his son, and William finally said, "I'm going in there..."
Just then, as he reached for the handle of the door, it turned, and the door opened slowly. The weary face of Captain Jack Sparrow emerged, and he looked up at the pair solemnly. He stepped to one side, and with a tired sweep of his hand, he beckoned William and Bill inside. Puzzled, they entered. Upon the table, there was a bottle of rum, and three mugs. The windows were open, and a cool sea breeze was wafting through the beautiful cabin, resplendent with the Dutchman's reborn polished woodwork and fine gilded trim.
Wordlessly, Jack pulled out a chair, and indicated that William should sit down. William looked at him, now with alarm in his eyes and wondering about Jack's state of mind, as his father kept glancing from his son to the silent Jack, and back again. Jack poured the rum and set a mug down for each of them, without a word. It was like as if Jack had completely lost the power of speech, and for Captain Jack Sparrow, that was truly something to be alarmed about. William was understanding, now, that the parchment that had been delivered to his friend out on the main deck held a very deep and emotional importance.
William and Bill pulled their chairs up to the table, and looked up at Jack, who was standing in front of them at the table, with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the floor. They could not read his expression, nor the stance of his body. He stood there, frozen, for a long moment, then picked up two parchments, one rolled inside of the other. He had carefully laid the thin strand of seaweed out on the table.
He looked up at the pair, unrolled the parchments, and cleared his throat, then, in a low voice, he said, "I took some liberties. I do not think tha' you will mind...bear in mind tha' Tia Dalma always rather liked me an' William..." There was no joking in Jack's face or voice. He closed his eyes for a moment, cleared his throat again, then began to read aloud.
"I, Captain Jack Sparrow, of the ship The Black Pearl, do solemnly and respectfully set forth this Petition in order to request and secure the early release of Captain William Turner the Second from his duties as the ferryman of departed mariners, captaining the good and noble ship The Flying Dutchman. The reasons for the aforesaid Petition on Captain Turner's behalf are as follows:
Article One: Captain Turner has taken on the duties of the aforementioned vessel with great diligence, in order to correct and rectify the wrongdoing and general neglect of his predecessor, Captain Davy Jones. The efforts of Captain Turner have brought all ledgers, accounts and records up to date. He was undaunted by the enormity of the aforementioned tasks, and performed them with efficiency, yet great respect was given to each task taken individually.
Article Two: Captain Turner has worked tirelessly and without complaint to secure safe passage for the souls lost at sea, administering to them with respect, love and compassion beyond the call of his duties. He has guided them, comforted them, and seen each of them safely and efficiently to their final destinations, making certain that each of them has proper passage before he has left them out of his service.
Article Three: Captain Turner has been faithful and kind to his crew, caring for them and enforcing the original articles of the ship The Flying Dutchman, and discharging them from service, should they request discharge. Captain Turner has not forced service before the mast for any crewmember, and has refused to bind any soul by oath against his will. An oath before the mast was never a requirement of service upon the ship The Flying Dutchman, but was a condition set forth by Captain Turner's predecessor, and was enforced by said predecessor. I, Captain Jack Sparrow, was made privy to this information upon inspection of the articles of the ship The Flying Dutchman, during my stay upon said ship. This inspection was made unbeknownst to Captain Turner, and I took this liberty to read the ship's articles upon my own direction.
I have witnessed the aforementioned articles with my own eyes and heart, and have benefited from Captain Turner's kindness and loyalty of friendship, personally. Having known Captain William Turner the Second, his wife Elizabeth Swann Turner, and his father, William Turner the First for a substantial time, I swear and testify that they are good of conscience, and are all true of heart. Captain Turner has gone over and beyond the all calls of duty, having administering to me in my own time of need, without request from me, and all of his family are beyond reproach in all matters of honor. Any sins of Captain Turner, his wife and his father have been, in my eyes, redeemed by acts of courage, fortitude, strength, and above all, love.
I understand fully that a new captain must be selected for the ship The Flying Dutchman. I might humbly request that a living heart being required by the ship be stricken from the ship's articles, as there are fine and good men to select from that are presently among the ranks of the already deceased.
To conclude; I reiterate. I, Captain Jack Sparrow of the ship The Black Pearl, respectfully petition the Sea Goddess, Calypso, on behalf of Captain William Turner the Second for the return of his living heart, for the immediate release of his curse of immortality and return to a mortal life, and the immediate release from his duties to the ship The Flying Dutchman.
Signed, Captain Jack Sparrow"
William stared at Jack in complete shock. When he found his voice, he whispered, "... just as you petitioned Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl all those years ago, you petitioned Calypso... on my behalf... on my family's behalf..."
Jack looked at William, seriously. He held up both documents for their inspection... "So's ye know tha' I did not write 'em both... one was written by my hand... this one," he indicated, quietly,"... was written by th' hand of another..."
Jack raised his mug of rum, and indicated that William and Bill were to raise theirs, and take a drink with him. William's hand was starting to shake ever so slightly. Jack then took the second parchment, and began to read.
"I shall set forth this response to the Petition by Captain Jack Sparrow, of the ship The Black Pearl,in a form that will be read and understood by mortal and immortal souls alike. These words are for all to see, that Captain William Turner the Second has proven himself to be honorable and true of heart. He has fulfilled his duties as ferryman of souls, and has passed the tests set forth by myself, Calypso, in order that I may see that there are still men who are of highest honor and compassion.
His goodness, strength, sense of fairness, caring and diligence have been observed by Calypso during his service upon the ship The Flying Dutchman, and by Tia Dalma during his service in the pursuit of the heart of Davy Jones to save his loved ones. He has proven himself in his administration to Captain Jack Sparrow, of the ship The Black Pearl, in his times of need, as Captain Jack Sparrow has borne witness.
Captain Turner has proven, most of all, his capacity for honor. He is a man with a touch of destiny... he was destined to redeem the ship The Flying Dutchman, and has restored her to her purpose of compassion and honorable intent with great expeditiosness and dedication.
I have selected a successor, and Captain Turner is to meet with him to explain his duties to him upon his acceptance of his commission as successor. One condition of the granting of the early release of Captain Turner from his service to the ship The Flying Dutchman, as per the request of the Petition of Captain Jack Sparrow, is that the mortal William Turner is to return to the ship The Flying Dutchman to assist the successor captain as it is requested by the successor captain, in order to maintain the honorable practices that the immortal Captain Turner has set forth.
This assistance will be temporary, and each term shall be very short in nature, but required until the period of ten years has expired. During times that his service is not required, he will be allowed to lead his mortal life. The articles of the ship The Flying Dutchman shall be amended to no longer require the service of a living heart, but to require the service of an uncommonly strong desire to serve for the benefit of the common good of those whose lives are lost to the sea.
Upon the acceptance of his successor, permission for the early release of Captain William Turner the Second from the ship The Flying Dutchman, for the immediate restoration of his living heart to his body, and for the reward of restoration to life as a mortal being...
... has been granted
Signed,
Calypso
Goddess of the Sea, Guardian of Souls Lost to the Sea, Guardian of the ship The Flying Dutchman"
The room was silent, as all who witnessed this miracle let it sink in. Captain Jack Sparrow said softly, "Th' voices in me head tell me tha' there is something that you need t' see, lad..."
He then gently guided a stunned William Turner the Second to the fresh air of the open windows of the cabin, and solemnly made the young man look out upon the sea... at hundreds of bottles, of all colors, shapes and sizes, floating in to anchored Flying Dutchman, for as far as the eye could see. It was truly not a figment of the imagination, as the crews of both ships were taking notice, exclaiming, pointing. Bottles everywhere, bumping up against the sides of the ship, merrily bobbing on the waves, making little clinking noises as they tapped against one another... Elizabeth's love letters...released by the hand of Calypso.
Because he had done the best that he could with what had been dealt to him... because he had courage, compassion, loyalty and love, William had earned the same from others.
And because of a mere mortal pirate captain's own courage and utter audacity to write a petition to a mighty goddess of the sea, to make absolutely certain that his friend's work did not go unnoticed, William would soon be the captain of the Flying Dutchman no more... he would merely help the newly chosen captain upon request to fulfill his ten year obligation... he would soon rejoin mortal life, in the arms of the love of his life... his wife...
There was more work to be done, but it would all be toward a different end, now... Jack, exhausted, took another sip of rum.
He looked up, as the young man who had so long ago been merely a naive young blacksmith from Port Royal, turned back to face him, his handsome face wrought with emotion, and his body shaking..
... and it was then that Captain Jack Sparrow and Bill Turner silently gathered William Turner the Second into their arms, as he finally broke down, and wept...
...Elizabeth Turner had taken to walking on the beach twice a day, now, always, always in desperate hope of finding another bottle with a letter from her beloved. None came, and she was slowly, slowly starting to sink back into despair. This morning was a particularly sunny morning, so she thought that she would perhaps try to lift her spirits, as she always did, by taking up the loose floorboards in her small bedroom, and lifting out the chest that she kept hidden there so carefully.
Kneeling down and pulling the chest from its hiding place, she was surprised to feel the warmth coming from it. She felt it all over with her small hands, and was completely shocked to see that the dark metalwork upon the chest, including its intricate lock, was no longer the deep gray that it had been since she, Jack and James Norrington had unearthed it on Isla Cruces... it was bright gold... purest, polished, real gold. The chest, itself, had become brightly polished mahogany, no longer the weathered and darkened wood; it was absolutely lovely. Elizabeth could not believe her very eyes, as she could actually feel the heart of her beloved beating, hard and strong, inside. Harder and stronger than it had ever been before.
She began to tremble, as the wind caught the shutters of the windows to her room and they flew open, letting the bright sunshine stream inside. She suddenly placed the chest back down into its hiding place, covered it in blankets, and replaced the floorboards over it, then quickly pulled a corner of a rug over that, and pushed a chest of drawers on top.
Not understanding, but knowing that it was the right thing to do, Elizabeth Turner ran from her cottage, down the pebble path through the trees and down to the sea as though her very life depended upon it, her feet pounding swiftly and her arms out as if to take flight. As she rounded the outcropping of rocks in the sand, she stopped dead in her tracks.
For as far as her eyes could see, bobbing in the water, swirling in eddys near the rocks, laying on the sand, rolling in the waves... were bottles. Hundreds of them. She quickly took one into her hands and stared into it... through the amber glass, could it be? Is it... yes, it was a rolled up page, and she struck the bottle hard against a stone, shattering it into a hundred glittering pieces, and fumbled with the message inside... and before her eyes was Will's handwriting.
She started to cry, incoherently, grabbing as many of them as she could, only to drop them back into the water. She ran out into the waves, letting the bottles bump against her legs, she fell into the waves among them, sweeping her hands over them, sobbing with happiness. She opened as many of them as she could, haphazardly...
...My Elizabeth, I love you so much...
...My darling, I miss you so much... I wish I could hold you in my arms...
...How I wish that we could be together...
Her breath was coming in such gasps that she thought that she might faint... she had to turn away from the sea for just a moment, one hand to her throat and her other hand gripping the many letters that she had removed from their vessels.
Momentarily looking down, she suddenly saw a wonderous thing... sitting on one of the rocks that jutted out of the water, was the most beautiful creature of the sea that she had ever seen in her life... gleaming like a diamond, iridescent as a pearl, as delicate and wispy as sea mist, was a tiny crab, white as snow... it stood, quietly gazing at her. Elizabeth gasped, as it held out a rolled up parchment, to her...
She took it into her hands, and tearfully untied the slender piece of seaweed that bound it... in elegant waterlike writing that was almost unearthly in its beauty, it merely said:
Your destiny awaits...Be ready.
And it was signed...
Calypso
To be continued...