After their meeting in the smithy, their first bout of swordplay in years, Elizabeth was determined to see Will as often as she could – which was whenever she might conjure up an excuse to go into town, or invent a new project that required completion at the manor. Regardless of his distant manner towards her, Elizabeth persisted in her boldly flirtatious behavior towards Will - in front of her father, Captain Norrington, or any other person who happened to be present; once Will was in the room, Elizabeth could see no one else. However, her coquettishness seemed to gain her very little ground, as the young man in question continued in his determination to avoid all familiarities, steadfastly insisting on addressing her as 'Miss Swann'. Nevertheless, her heart would brook no refusal and simply would never hear of the notion of giving him up.
Yet, despite her wishes to the contrary, obligation and propriety took over her life as they were often wont to do, and Elizabeth's days passed by in a flurry of silk, ribbon, and lace. Before she could so much as catch her breath, going from one trying event to the next, one dismal tea party to another, she found it had been weeks since she had last had any sort of a lengthy conversation with Will.
Will achingly noticed her absence, for even the off chance of catching a glimpse of Elizabeth as she passed by in her carriage was enough to brighten his day. Still, he understood she had a life to lead that he was not a part of and, though he missed her fiercely, he did not fault her for the snubbing. Perhaps it was best to make the break now anyway. Soon she would marry and have little time for old childhood friends. It was easier all around if he could simply get used to the idea sooner rather than later. However, Will knew quite well that he would always love Elizabeth. He did not even wish to stop; she was his devilish angel, his mischievous little pirate, and he would have it no other way. He only hoped to someday silence the insistent longing for her and the ceaseless heartache for what he knew he could never have.
As time carried on, it seemed things would continue as they always had, with no relief in sight for either one of them – and then Elizabeth was taken…….
From there it was Aztec medals, cursed pirates, Captain Jack Sparrow, nearly missed chances and, finally, professions of love.
My heart has felt the peace of perfect love
The bliss of a glorious day
When I was sleeping, eyes wide open
Dreaming wide awake
- Lizz Wright
In the lingering joy of finding his only daughter alive and well, Governor Swann set propriety aside for the evening and – if not happily at the very least willing – left Elizabeth with Will on the parapets, allowing the blacksmith turned pirate to see his daughter home, already recognizing that one day in the not so distant future he would be called upon to give her to the young man for life.
Naturally, the pair soon found themselves far from town, walking barefoot along their beach. The heavenly feeling of Will's hand tenderly yet securely holding her own shortly became too much for Elizabeth to contain.
Reaching up, she placed her free hand upon his cheek. "I love you, Will," Elizabeth said softly, her eyes evidencing the truth of her words. A smile crept up across her lips. "And now I have a confession to make."
Her easy manner was a soothing balm to Will's longsuffering heart. Yet he could not keep his brow from furrowing slightly in confused worry at her words.
Elizabeth laughed lightly, placing a gentle kiss upon the wrinkle. "It isn't anything ghastly," she sweetly reassured. Looking away, she added with less confidence, "Although, perhaps you will think less of me…."
"Elizabeth," Will began tentatively, but was stopped as her eyes met his. They burned with such an intensity it left him speechless, his curiosity nevertheless piqued at whatever hidden thoughts tantalized her so.
With a soft intake of breath, Elizabeth uttered the truth that had gone unspoken for the past eight years. "I believe I've loved you since the very instant I laid eyes upon you."
Will was somewhat taken aback by her declaration, still stunned that she loved him at all and overwhelmed to discover that, in fact, she had all this time.
"I've dreamt about you, Will – both awake and asleep – more times that I can count. I – I've imagined us together," she breathlessly continued, closing her eyes and vividly recalling the images. "I imagined you telling me you loved me, taking me in your arms and demonstrating it beautifully."
Will watched her silently, her admission and subsequent reaction awakening feelings within him that he had spent years endeavoring to stifle and conquer.
Elizabeth opened her eyes, ignorant of the effect her confession had upon Will. "Of course, I could never tell you, as you did not yet share my longings. At times I feared you never would. You always shied away from my every attempt at intimacy, refusing to so much as call me by my Christian name."
"Elizabeth," Will incredulously replied, "you must know I loved you these many years. Surely you must have seen it – everyone else seemed to, though I tried my hardest to conceal it, for I was convinced that you would never think on me in such a way, never want me as I did you."
He took a step closer to her. "Since we are making confessions, I will tell you my secret: I have dreamed of you – in ways that are decidedly improper – since I was old enough to have such thoughts."
Elizabeth's eyes sparkled with pleased excitement at the notion, an ecstatic smile playing across her lips. "You dreamed of me, Will?"
"Elizabeth, I yearned for you."
She smiled lovingly at him, taking another step towards him. "All these years?"
Will laughed warmly. "All of them. Every moment of every day." He reached up and gently tucked a windblown strand of honeyed hair behind her ear.
"If you had only told me, let on just a little," Elizabeth affectionately said, "one of the many times I accidentally encountered you upon the street or came to find you at the smithy. Did you really never see through my ruse?"
"Elizabeth, I swear the thought never once entered my mind. I was always surprised that you would even speak to me." Will paused, smiling at some distant memory. "The easy, delightful manner in which you did always captivated me anew, despite the fact that I felt it was hopeless to wish to reach for you."
Elizabeth regarded him intently. "But the reach was never far."
The low, sultry tone in which she spoke to him brought to Will's mind the fantasies he had so recently confessed to her.
"Tell me of these dreams of yours, Will, and I shall compare them to mine." Elizabeth looked over at the ocean, observing the sun beginning its descent beneath the horizon. Glancing back to Will, she softly added, "It is early yet. Perhaps we may live a few tonight."
His eyes darkened at her words, still scarcely able to believe this was all truly happening. "Many of them took place right here, with moonlight upon your skin," Will replied, his voice low and sensuous. "I would say to you, 'Miss Swann, I have been thinking of you the whole day through'." Will closed the remaining distance between them. "Then you would invite me to stay with you."
Elizabeth smiled alluringly, her heart racing with excitement. "And in my dreams you would reply, 'Elizabeth, I love you and desire you beyond words'."
"I do love you, Elizabeth," Will said fervently.
Reaching out, he gently placed his hand upon her neck, tenderly caressing her soft skin. Elizabeth sighed blissfully at his touch. Thus encouraged, Will slowly trailed his hand down her back, setting the other low upon her waist and pulling her gently to him.
Resting her forehead against his, Elizabeth smiled ecstatically. "It's even better in real life."
"It is," Will happily agreed.
Elizabeth closed her eyes, giving herself completely over to his ardent affections, to the feeling of his strong, warm arms holding her, to years' worth of dreams and longings miraculous coming to life. Opening her eyes once more, she found Will watching her, his eyes drifting to her lips.
"Elizabeth," he whispered, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her with loving tenderness.
With a pleased little murmur she wrapped her arms about his neck, returning his kiss with escalated ardor. Finally alone together with no secrets or restraints between them, they at last indulged in the passionate kiss that had been denied them while aboard the Black Pearl.
At length, Will slowly pulled back. A satisfied sigh escaped Elizabeth as they ended the kiss she had been waiting eight years for. Her face was upturned, her eyes still closed as if savoring the taste of his lips. Will felt a surge of love for her at the sight. "Oh, Elizabeth," he breathed.
She opened her eyes at his voice. "Will…..I…." she trailed off, struggling to find the right words. Smiling softly, she simply said, "I love you."
Will softly stroked her jaw line, his thumb gently grazing her lower lip. "And my heart is overflowing with love for you."
"This is real," she said joyously, nuzzling her face into his neck and breathing in his scent.
Will laughed softly into her hair as he held her close. "It had better be, for this is one dream I could not bear to wake up from."
"Never," Elizabeth adamantly replied, lifting her head to regard him. "You shall never have to."
For the first time, the new lovers took note of the rapidly encroaching darkness, darkness which caused Will to reluctantly loosen his hold on her. "I will see you home before it gets any later," he said. Adding the tender promise, "The rest of those dreams we will save for another night."
"Tomorrow?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.
With a delighted laugh, he lightly kissed her nose. "As you wish. I can honestly say it cannot come quickly enough."
Elizabeth took his arm in both of hers, pulling him closely to her side as they began the walk back to the Governor's Mansion, content in the knowledge of all that time had taught them: they are each other's strength; they are each other's freedom; together, they are at their best.
Suddenly stopping, Will turned to her and teasingly said, "I believe our courtship will be our greatest adventure yet."
"And you know how I love adventure," she replied in the same playful manner. "Although, I am certain I have at last found my preferred excitement."
Will smiled. "Aboard a pirate ship?"
Elizabeth snuggled closer to him. "In your arms."
AN: I want to thank everyone who read Longing (especially those of you who reviewed!). I thoroughly enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I have several other Willabeth projects that I am in various staging of planning, preparation, and writing on. It was difficult to decide which one to work on fulltime next, but I thought the natural progression from here would be to take up the postCotBP, preDMC story I've had in the works for some time. I've said in the past that I like to explore different periods of Will and Elizabeth's relationship, and this next story is sort of the ultimate exploration of time. It's going to be a series of interconnected oneshots that follow the different phases of Will and Elizabeth's courtship, from the first days following their professions of love, through their engagement, and ultimately to their almost wedding in DMC. It won't be too extensive, probably of similar length to Longing. I haven't yet decided on the title, but if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, keep a weather eye, as I'll be starting that one soon.
Once this new one is finished, I'm going to attempt another story of a greater length. I have two such stories that I'm planning, and I definitely will get around to both in time, but I can't quite decide which to dive into next. So, I thought I would take some reader input as to which one to do first: a post AWE story (sort of a quasi sequel to The Key To Immortality, after Will has returned home) or a modern Willabeth story. I've already started on both, and once that plot bunny gets me I have to finish it. But I am curious as to what you'd like to see first. Feel free to write your choice in your reviews, or you can send me a private message, whichever you prefer.
This was quite a lengthy and somewhat rambling author's note, but I do have one last chapter song, and it is an excellent one that perfectly fits this epilogue. So I hope I haven't bored you to the point that you've already clicked away! Without further ado, here it is:
I Have Dreamed
Alone and awake I've looked at the stars
The same that smile on you
And time and again I've thought all the things
That you were thinking, too
I have dreamed that your arms are lovely
I have dreamed what a joy you'll be
I have dreamed every word you'll whisper
When you're close, so close to me
How you look in the glow of evening
I have dreamed and enjoyed the view
In these dreams I've loved you so
That by now I think I know
What it's like to be loved by you
I will love being loved by you