He waited, hidden in a shadow until night closed in around him.
Stars winked at him from a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze ruffled his
hair. The black silence was golden to him, for it gave him a chance to
think. Only 3 days, Elizabeth had said. Only! The girl had clearly never
spent 3 days helpless, unable to go after that which mattered most. She
was clearly unaware of the breed of desperation born of betrayal-betrayal
from her closest friend. During those 3 nights, dark, unbidden thoughts
began to pervade his mind, and he recognized for the first time the devious
hand of insanity. Was he mad? Yes, but only a little, and only with the
best kind of madness. But wait, philosophy time was over, for there she
was, his angel, his darling, the reason he awoke in the morning. She
stepped into the garden, unaware of his presence. The wind picked up, and
rose petals began to swirl around them both, encompassing them in their own
private world. She closed her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"It could have never worked between us", she whispered, "still I wish that
you were here." He longed to reach for her, to let her know he was by her
side and that not a day went by when he didn't think of her. He dared not
speak to her though, for if he did, she could tell him to his face that it
was over. As it was now, he could see her in the garden, surrounded by
rosebuds and scented by lilies. His mind held these images as any sacred
treasure, and later fantasy would take the actions he could not. She was
high society, the kind of girl Elizabeth would associate with. It was in
fact because of her that Jack had gone out in search of the Aztec gold. He
had hoped that such wealth would be adequate to by him status and
reputation-he already had her love. It was also she, indirectly, who
caused the mutiny. She had gone secretly to Barbossa, Jack's friend and
first mate. She implored him to convince Jack to give up piracy. Even if
she could not be with him, she could still protect him. Barbossa assured
her that there was nothing he could do to assuage Jack. The more he
thought about it, though, the stronger an idea began to form. An Barbossa
was not a man without ambition. Gradually, Barbossa began to spread
rumours among the crew that Jack planned to keep all of the gold for
himself, to buy the heart of a rich lass. When Barbossa knew they were
close enough to a well known rum-runners island, he began the mutiny, that
he prayed would turn Jack away from piracy, while making himself awfully
rich. Jack never knew of these circumstances, and given the state of the
curse, Barbossa never had the chance to tell the girl of his brilliant
strategy. The rumours had come back, and she believed Jack to be dead,
lost at sea. Yet he was her ghost, and she always felt him near. He had
waited so long to see her face, and tonight the temptation was almost
unbearable. He began to step into the light, when a man entered the garden
behind her. "Come, love", he said, "the wedding is only in 3 days, and we
wouldn't want you to catch cold." There was conversation, but Jack was
oblivious. Words flashed through his mind like sheet lightning.
"Wedding." "3 days" "love" "3 days." He was backn on the island again,
distant and unable to touch her. Oh how 3 days can change a life! Well,
not her life. Not the way it had changed his! He pulled his pistol from
his trousers and fired one quick concise shot. Maybe he couldn't have her,
but he'd be damned if anyone else would. He was, after all, a pirate.
