Okay, so the challenge is to write a piece — not too long — with these three words.
Disclaimer: All the characters mentioned here belong to Disney. They’re not mine. I’m just borrowing them for this occasion.
A Belated Honeymoon
A Pirates of the Caribbean fanfiction
The sea lapped the shores of New England calmly. A woman and her son waited expectantly on the top of a grassy cliff. The briny smell of the sea always brought back memories for her. It had been ten years; ten long lonely years.
A flash of green lit up their faces. Her smile widened. Her son looked up at her excitedly. On the calm seas, a ship suddenly materialized, sailing towards them. Will was home. Elizabeth ran down to the beach to greet him, gripping her skirts in her fists to stop them from tripping her up. There he was, as young as he’d been when he’d left her. Everything else seemed to fade away. She could only see Will, her Will. And then she was in his arms. She clung to him, still not sure whether this was real or just a dream. “Oh Will,” she whispered. No words were needed to convey their emotions. She felt his arms around her. He was sweaty, salty, solid. Hot tears ran down her cheeks, and she buried her face in his shirt.
“I’m back, Elizabeth,” he said. “I’m back, and I’m staying for good.”
That night, as the reunited Turners were talking over dinner and laughing at each others exploits, there came a loud banging on the door. “Lizzie, open up!” said a familiar voice. There stood Captain Jack Sparrow, the most notorious pirate of the seven seas, self-proclaimed. He had a large crate in his arms and when he moved, the tell-tale clinking of glass bottles issued from within. His grin widened when he saw Will.
“William, how good to see you,” he said, setting his crate down in the middle of the dinner table.
“It’s good to be back, Jack,” said Will. He pointed at the crate of rum. “You came especially, didn’t you?”
“Wot?” said Jack innocently. “Nah, just happened to be passin’ by, savvy, so I thought I’d drop in and see dear ole Lizzie. Didn’t expect you to be here too.”
“Jack, you’re a dishonest man, and I can always trust you to be dishonest,” said Will, shaking his head while suppressing a laugh. “Trust me, I know when you’re lying.”
“Now you’re just being insulting, William.”
“You came with a crate of rum, intending to celebrate something, and let’s see, wouldn’t it be my return?”
“I can honestly say that I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Why, I think ye do,” drawled a voice from the doorway. “Welcome back to the world of the Livin’, Captain Turner.” They all whipped around to see Barbossa and the rest of his crew. Ragetti and Pintel waved. The old pirate strode into the house. His authoritative presence seemed to fill the room. That was until Willie launched himself at him.
“Cap’n! Did you bring me any presents, did you? Mama got me a pirate coat last week, cos I wanted to look like an ab-so-lute rogue…”
Barbossa sighed and like a doting grandfather, listened patiently to Willie’s monologue until Elizabeth lured him away with the promise of cake and extra icing. All the while, the Barbossa and Jack were holding a hostile staring contest and the rest of the Black Pearl’s crew were whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Jack broke off the staring contest to take a swig from a bottle of rum.
“Well, Mrs. Turner,” said Barbossa. He cleared his throat. “To celebrate yer belated marital bliss, we’ve got somethin’…” he trailed off, looking embarrassed by this show of affection for this young couple who’d earned his respect. He was saved from more embarrassment when two of his crew (which neither Elizabeth nor Will recognized) carried in a rolled up rug with intricate eastern designs.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” breathed Elizabeth, running her hands over the smooth silky surface and examining the bright vivid colours.
“It’s made from camel hair,” Ragetti informed her. “One of those famed Persian rugs, y’know.”
Will raised an eyebrow. Barbossa seemed to be the least likely person to go rug-shopping. The old pirate noticed his expression. “A gift from me old friend off the Barbary coast,” he said. “It took a bit of forceful persuasion.”
“Me ‘n’ Rag got ya this,” said Pintel, producing a spatula. “Seein’ as the cap’n’s back, you might need to cook him things, poppet.”
Jack sniggered while Elizabeth rolled her eyes. They all knew just how well Elizabeth could cook. “Well, I’d like to see you cook something,” she muttered darkly.
“Aw, come on, luv,” said Jack. “Don’t get angry on this happiest of days. How about I make it up to ya?”
“With what?” she said, latching on to Will. “I’ve got everything that I could possibly want.” At that, Will grinned and kissed her on the lips, with Willie saying “Eww!” very loudly in the background.
“Well, considering you two have not had a honeymoon yet, I thought I’d take you to Venice in me ship!” said Jack with a flourish.
“What ship?” said Elizabeth. The last she’d heard, Jack’s glorious vessel had been a leaky dinghy, which he’d stolen.
“The Black Pearl, of course!” said Jack indignantly. Why did everyone think of Barbossa as the Pearl’s captain?
“The Pearl is my ship, Sparra,” said Barbossa.
“No it’s not.”
“Tis so!”
“Tis not!”
Will laughed. Some things just didn’t change, not even after a decade. And he was glad.
