Title: From the Swan to the Sparrow

Author: Phoenix Song

Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney Productions

Summary: After Elizabeth tells Will her dark secret, he calls off the wedding and ventures off to find the Black Pearl - to find Jack. But what if there is more to Elizabeth's secret than the blacksmith is aware of? Jack/Will slash

Author's Note: Takes place after "The Curse of the Black Pearl" . . . er . . . before "Dead Man's Chest". I originally wrote this before the second and third movies came out and recently came across it again, so I decided to edit the existing chapters and finish it :) Thanks to everyone who reads and/or reviews!

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Chapter 1

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"We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal." ~ Tennessee Williams

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He did not love her . . . Not anymore . . .

At least, that is what Will Turner kept telling himself. It made the pain in his heart seem less real.

Elizabeth Swann . . . Even her name burned his ears. He could scarcely remember the time when it had sounded almost musical to hear, when he was in love, when they were in love, when thoughts of her comforted him during those dark, lonely nights in the blacksmith shop. During those times, memories of their childhood together would swim before his vision. They consoled him, helping him to forget his troubles with his drunken master.

But that is all they were now - memories. They were no longer his reality. They would no longer bring him comfort.

The blacksmith buried his head in his hands, willing the tears away. Why had she done this to him? Why had she betrayed him so?

'You told me that you loved me. Oh, why did you stop loving me?' Will exclaimed in grief, raising his tear-filled eyes to look up at the evening sky. He was sitting on a dock in the harbour, a place he used to frequent with the supposed love of his life. But now . . .

The man once again dropped his gaze.

'You took everything from me, Elizabeth,' he whispered, inwardly cursing her. 'My heart, my pride . . . everything that mattered! What do I have left to call my own?'

The waves swished softly in the wind, as if in reply to his question.

Will glanced out at the sea, vaguely noticing a large, dark shape in the distance - a ship. From where he sat, the sails looked almost black, but he knew that was impossible. He knew of only one ship that had black sails - the Black Pearl, the last pirate ship to sail the seven seas . . .

'Jack . . .' he breathed, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

His spirits fell when the glare from the lighthouse shone upon the faraway ship. The sails were only illuminated for a moment, but it was impossible for him to miss their dazzling white hue. Although greatly disappointed, a flicker of hope had ignited within him. He knew what he had to do.

'There is only one thing left that you can never take away from me, Elizabeth - my heritage . . . my future.' With that said, he leapt to his feet and hastened home which he fervently hoped was empty of his faithless wife.

He had some packing to do.

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Elizabeth's tears had finally subsided; she delicately dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes with one of the silk handkerchiefs her father had given her. How many hours had passed since Will ran off? Eight hours? Ten? She had lost track of the time while the sky slowly darkened from clear blue to inky black. She stared out the window at the moonless sky, wondering if Will was looking at the same stars she was looking at. . . It certainly did not feel that way.

'Milady? Are you all right?' a maid called, knocking softly upon her door.

'I told you to leave me be!' Elizabeth hissed angrily, pounding the window frame with her fists.

'Yes, Miss,' the woman said fearfully.

After a moment's hesitation, she heard the ruffling of the woman's skirts as she scurried away. Elizabeth sighed. She rarely snapped at the household staff, having known most of them since she was a small child. She would have to remember to apologize for her behaviour tomorrow.

She sighed again. Why did things have to turn out this way? She had expected Will to accept what happened, to at least give herthe chance to explain!

But no. He had run off, probably for good . . . and it was all Elizabeth's fault.

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They had been getting along reasonably well considering how stressed out they were over their upcoming wedding, excitedly discussing locations and guests and other details. They wanted a small wedding, only inviting family and close friends to share their moment of love.

But her father wished for otherwise. The governor, true to his form, wanted the best for his only child. He scoffed at their apparently old-fashioned ideas and opted for the grandest of ceremonies.

'After all,' he reasoned with a kind smile, 'this is the wedding of the governor's only daughter.'

In the end, the two lovebirds complied with his wishes and started to expand their preparations on a larger scale. In the end, what did it really matter? They just wanted to say the vows that would officially bind them together for the years to come, to be named man and wife as they already felt in their hearts. In the end, everyone would get what they want - they would be happily wed and her father would have had his elaborate wedding.

While the two men continued to exchange ideas, Elizabeth began to feel a strange queasiness in the pit of her stomach. Not being able to think of any logical reason that could have brought it on, she calmly ignored it. It soon became apparent, however, that she would not be able to disguise her state any longer. Using the hasty excuse to powder her nose, she ran to the nearest restroom and emptied her stomach into it.

Although this had been occurring for the past week or so already, she still found the smell overwhelming. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Elizabeth flushed the contents away and made her way to the mirror to assess the damage.

She certainly looked a sight! Her hair was mussed and her natural rosy hue was completely gone, replaced with a sickly, pallid complexion. She turned on the faucet and cupped some water in her hands, trying to wash away any evidence of what had occurred.

"Blush, I need blush," she thought, turning the faucet off and hurriedly drying her face with a towel. She tugged at the corner of the mirror to reveal the hidden cupboard behind it. Then she extracted a small jar of rouge and carefully applied some of the powder to her cheeks. When she was finished, she returned the container to its place in the cupboard and surveyed herself in the mirror. "Much better."

'Elizabeth?' a deep voice inquired from behind the closed door. 'Are you all right?'

'Yes, Will,' she replied; she tucked stray strands of hair behind her ears, attempting to look more presentable and lady-like.

'Are you sure?'

Elizabeth smiled in spite of herself. He always worried about her too much . . . but he was probably right to worry this time.

'Yes . . . Did you leave Father alone just to check on me?'

'Not exactly . . . He left a few minutes after you did to attend to some state business, but he said he'll be returning shortly.'

'I see.' A moment later, Elizabeth stepped out of the restroom to face her future husband.

'Are you sure you're okay?'

'Yes,' she replied, exasperated now.

Will smiled softly.

'I love you,' he said, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek with his rough hands. His expression hardened when he noticed the streak of pink staining his fingers.

Elizabeth determinedly avoided his gaze.

'Why are you wearing blush?' he asked, frowning. 'You never wear blush.'

'I . . . thought it was time for a change,' she replied with forced brightness.

'Elizabeth,' he said, giving her a stern look.

'I have been feeling . . . ill lately,' she admitted.

'Ill? Do you need to see a physician?'

'No . . .'

'Was it something you ate? Perhaps I should speak with your kitchen staff.'

'No.'

'Has someone hurt you?' Will's brows were furrowed with anxiety.

'No,' she said again, more insistently this time. 'Will, I . . .' Tears blurred her vision and she hastily blinked them away.

'Elizabeth?' Will drew her into his strong arms and rubbed her back to comfort her. 'You know you can tell me anything, right?'

'Can I?'

'Of course.'

'Not this,' Elizabeth responded, not realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

He held her out at arm's length to look at her, but she continued to avert her eyes.

'Why not?'

'Because . . . I don't want you to think any less of me,' she whispered brokenly.

'I would never do that!' he exclaimed, shaking her shoulders slightly. 'I love you, Elizabeth. I would never think any less of you, despite anything that has happened.'

'I . . . I . . .' Elizabeth stuttered.

'Yes?'

She bit her lip and finally forced herself to look Will in the eye. It was the least she could do when bearing such terrible news.

'I . . . I think I'm pregnant.'

The silence that followed was deafening.

Will abruptly released his hold on his future wife and turned towards the wall. His head was lowered, his long, dark hair shielding his expression from Elizabeth's gaze.

She did not know what type of reaction she could have expected from him, but this . . . this was too much.

'Will? Will! Say something!' she exclaimed, her fists clenching with agitation.

The blacksmith spun on his heel to confront her, anger flashing across his handsome features. More prominently displayed, however, was the pain in his dark, brooding eyes. Without saying a word, Will took long strides towards the front door. His destination was uncertain, but there was one thing that Elizabeth knew for sure about her childhood sweetheart - he was not coming back.

'Will!' she cried out, struggling to keep up with him as she was still weak from her earlier bout of sickness.

'How could you do this to me?' he asked coldly, increasing his pace. 'How could you betray me like this?'

'Let me explain!'

'There's nothing to explain!'

'Please!'

'Just . . . just leave me alone, Elizabeth,' he said, waving her off with his hand.

'Please, Will! You have to let me explain!' She grabbed his sleeve, but Will violently shook off her hold. He did, however, stop walking to turn around and glare at her.

'Why do I have to "let" you do anything?' he yelled, drawing stares from the nearby servants. 'You've already made it quite clear I don't matter to you!'

'But there's more to this than you know!' Elizabeth pleaded.

'I know what I need to know - and I will never marry such a whore.'

'Please, Will.'

'No. Just leave me alone,' Will said again, continuing on his way.

Elizabeth fell to her knees, tears flowing freely from her eyes. She noticed Will slow his pace, as if about to ask if she was all right, but he seemed to think better of it and did not even bother to glance back.

'Will . . . There's something you have to understand . . .' she whispered brokenly.

But he was already gone.

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She told him that very morning - and their dreams of being wed and having a family had ended not a moment after that. It was amazing how much difference a few minutes could make to someone's life.

Things may have turned out differently if Elizabeth told him about her predicament after the wedding had taken place. Who knows? Perhaps he would have believed the baby was his, but Elizabeth was not sure if she had it in her to live out such an important lie for the rest of her life. Or maybe he would have fallen in love with the idea of caring for a child with her - if it was his or otherwise - and raised the baby as his own. However, there was still a chance he would eventually discover the truth and abandon her. Or it was possible that he would have grown to love the child so much that he would never abandon it, despite its origins.

But those were just dreams now, for any hope she had of sharing a life, even part of a life, together with her best friend was gone.

Will was gone.

She had told him too soon - it was impossible for the baby to be his. They had never interacted in such a way that a baby could be conceived. There had been much kissing and embracing, yes, but not enough to conceive a new life.

Will, being the honourable man he was, wanted to follow tradition and wait until their wedding night. In the meantime, he lived by himself in the old apartment above the blacksmith shop.

Yes, blacksmith. She, the governor's only daughter, had fallen in love with a poor blacksmith. She had not minded, of course, although it was clear at times that he did.

Will had rather old-fashioned ideas about marriage - that the husband should be the one supporting the family while the wife did whatever wives do. He had not expected to marry a rich woman and gain the option of living off her inheritance, so he did not let those facts interfere with his plans. He intended to open up his own blacksmith shop one day or perhaps buy the old one from Mr. Brown since it was clear that he was too much of a drunk to maintain it on his own.

Whatever he decided in his life, however, Elizabeth was no longer a part of it.

She sighed sadly.

If only he allowed her to tell him the whole truth. If only he'd given her the chance to explain herself. If only he would at least try to understand.

If only he knew she was raped.

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