Important Notes: The story begins near the end of AWE and completely ignores the after credits scene. It also assumes that as long as Will does his job as ferrier to dead souls he will remain "alive", non-evil, and in human form. It assumes that the curse can't be broken unless the heart is stabbed. I also don't view Elizabeth being faithful and chaste as part of the curse deal.


Elizabeth watched Will sail away into the fading sun and felt a strange mix of emotions wash over her. It had been a long day. Not allowing herself time to dwell on it, she began gathering wood for a fire, piling it on the beach next to where she had placed Will's chest. Taking a piece of flint out of her pocket, she struck it against her sword to produce sparks and had a small fire going in no time. She was soon sitting next to the fire with her knees drawn up to her chest, watching, as the sky grew steadily darker. By dawn she would have to make her decision, but for now she would grieve.

The loss of her father, James, and Will had finally sunk in. It hit her hard at first, the enormous sobs racking her small frame. She cried in anguish over everyone and everything she had lost in such a short time. She screamed at the stars in the sky until her lungs hurt and she was sure she was going insane.

A calm would eventually wash over her hours later when her tears ran out. Feeling emotionally and physically drained, Elizabeth laid down and pressed her ear against the wooden chest. The beating of the heart brought her some comfort and she thought about her last conversation with Will. He had said he would understand if she wasn't there to meet him in ten years. Elizabeth reassured him that she would wait for him because she had made a commitment, but Will just smiled knowingly and said that he knew she was too independent to mean it. He told her that she didn't have to keep up pretenses for his sake, he knew she had married him in haste. When she tried to deny it he stopped her and explained that it would truly make him happy if she walked away and never looked back because it meant that she was living her life and not just waiting for him. He may not be able to live, he said, but she still could.

And then, right before he left, he leaned in to kiss her and whispered that he would always love her and that he released her from their marriage. She remembered feeling so empty at that moment. Will had been in her life since she was ten years old. He had been in her dreams, and in her thoughts. He had always just been there. She wondered if the only reason she had married him was so that she could hold on to something from her past. She realized right then, that for the first time, her life no longer had a set direction. Her father wasn't there anymore to guide her and tell her what was right and wrong. She was no longer married, betrothed, or promised to anyone. She no longer had a home to return to. It suddenly felt like there was no place left in the world for Elizabeth Swann.

With only a few hours remaining, Elizabeth began to weigh her choices. The Black Pearl was going to sail by the island at dawn and look for a signal on the cliff-top. If they saw a fire, they would wait for her to row back to them and she would rejoin the crew. If there was no fire, they would continue on their way and she would walk a few miles to the town in the cove and possibly settle there.

Elizabeth mulled over this for a long while as she watched the flames lick at the logs. She was reluctant to let go of the dream of being Mrs. Turner, but was certain she couldn't be content giving up pirating. Re-joining the Black Pearl's crew would mean a hard life, but it had been one she had wanted since she first read about pirates as a little girl. The only thing that made her hesitate was the overwhelming fear that Jack wouldn't welcome her presence on his ship. She knew there was a chance that he wouldn't want anything to do with her, and if that were the case then she truly had nothing left.

There was another option she had briefly considered, but by now was somewhat ashamed by. Hours ago, when she was out of her mind with grief, she was going to drown herself and wait for Will make her a member of his crew. She was so intent on her plan that she had frantically climbed up to the cliff-top, ready to jump into the ocean. But as she stood up there, watching the moonlight dance on the waves, something had stopped her. Even though she was in the throes of despondency, something had held her back.

Now, back on the beach with a calmer mind, she thinks that it was Jack that stopped her. She remembered the feeling of relief as she gasped for air when Jack pulled her out of the water in Port Royal and revived her. And then she recalled opening her eyes to find Jack's dark brown ones staring back at her. That was the moment things had changed forever, because that was when she discovered there was more to life than just what was in Port Royal. And when she was marooned on the beach with him she remembers being amazed by the fact that there was room in her heart for a man that wasn't Will.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. They had been sitting around a fire, like she was now. She was flushed and giddy from the dancing and the rum, and sitting so close to Jack in her under dress. And then she remembers the sound of his heartbeat. The way it thumped lazily as she rested her head on his shoulder that night, the way it pounded like crazy when she kissed him goodbye, and the way it sounded so safe and wrapped her in a familiar warmth as he flew her off the Flying Dutchman.

XXX

From the helm of the Black Pearl, Jack noticed that the sky was beginning to turn the pinkish-orange color that signaled the approaching dawn. He had paced the quarterdeck nearly all night because he didn't want to sleep. He was afraid when he woke he'd be back in the locker and this would all have been a hallucination. A nagging feeling told him it was reality though. A feeling that he had just made one of the biggest decisions of his life by giving up his immortality. And even worse yet, he had proved Elizabeth right. He was a good man after all. He sighed. When had he become soft?

The crew had begun to wake and wander out onto the deck, blinking in the few rays of sunlight. Barbossa, who had locked himself in the captain's cabin all night, finally emerged and approached Jack. "Why don't you join Marty in the crow's nest so you can watch for a signal from our Mrs. Turner?" he asked sweetly.

It seemed like a nice offer on the surface, but it would be a cold day in Hell when Jack took orders from his former first mate. "I'm not handing over control of my ship to you again," Jack said defensively, clutching the ship's wheel tighter. "And there's not going to be a signal," he added.

"My ship and I say there will be one. The lass makes a damn fine pirate. It'd be a shame to see talent like that go to waste," Barbossa said. He had been impressed with Elizabeth since she was first brought before him and truly felt she wouldn't give up her independent ways.

"Why don't you go back to studying your charts?" Jack taunted. He knew there was truth behind Barbossa's statement, but couldn't bring himself to think about the what-ifs. Elizabeth, in his mind, had made her choice when she got married.

Barbossa opened his mouth to reply to Jack's rhetorical question, but was interrupted by Marty shouting down from the crow's nest. "Captain!" he yelled. Jack and Barbossa both looked up in his direction.

"Aye?"

"What is it?"

Marty pointed toward the island. "I see a fire!"

XXX

A half an hour later, Elizabeth climbed out of the longboat and on to the deck carrying the chest with her. The crew swarmed around her immediately, welcoming her back happily. Jack never moved from the helm.

"Glad to have you back, Mrs. Turner," Mr. Gibbs said.

Elizabeth shook her head sadly. "No. It's just Elizabeth. I left Mrs. Turner on that beach. I'm not that woman anymore. Will is dead."

"Just the same, welcome back."

"Thank you."

When the commotion died down and the crew went back to work, Elizabeth walked over to the railing and looked out at the sea. She had looked around when she got on board, hoping to see Jack in the crowd, but he wasn't there. Instead, she saw him standing behind the wheel, not willing to catch her eye. Her heart sank.

Jack saw Elizabeth across the deck and knew she was upset, but he tried not to care. Instead, he tried very hard to think about how she left him to die. It wasn't working. "Mr. Cotton!" he called. The old man and his parrot soon appeared before him.

"Wind in your sails," the parrot replied.

"Take over for awhile," Jack said. Mr. Cotton saluted and took the wheel.

Jack cautiously approached Elizabeth. "So, Just Elizabeth is it? Or should I address you as Your Highness, King of the Pirate Lords?"

"It doesn't matter, either one is fine," she replied, not really listening. Jack frowned when his attempt to get her to smile failed. Another moment passes before Elizabeth says, "I know you did that for me. So that I could have a chance to make it work with Will."

Jack sniffed it off. "Nah. 'S just that I realized what the job entailed. Leave that to the honorable ones, I say."

"Still…you could have been immortal."

Jack smiled. She was still trying to convince him that he was a good man. "That kind of immortality comes at a price, " he explained. "I had it once before and gave it up too, remember? I don't like it when some bloody curse tells me what I can and can't do. If I want to come to port and spend my night in the company of a lady and drink until my heart's content then that's what I am going to do."

"Yes but—"

He stopped her. "Elizabeth, darling, I did what I did. You did what you did. We all do things."

Elizabeth misinterpreted his meaning and became defensive. "Are you still bitter about that? You still won't forgive me?" she pressed.

Jack stared her in the eyes and fought an internal battle before saying quietly, "Nothing to forgive, love."

Elizabeth backed off, confused at his change in tone, "But you were…" she trailed off, trying to figure him out.

"Giving you a hard time, " he finished for her. "I had to make an example of you or everyone would think they could just kill me and get away with it." He flashed her a smile.

Elizabeth didn't know if she should believe him. She had seen the look in his eyes when they met in the locker. He had genuinely been hurt by her betrayal. However, she let the matter drop and changed the subject. "Where are we headed?" she asked.

"Back to Shipwreck Cove," Jack replied.

"We have unfinished business with the others," Barbossa said, interrupting their conversation.

"What business is that?" she inquired.

Jack smiled mysteriously and said, "The best kind." Ignoring Elizabeth's confused looks, he backed away and bowed, before saying, "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a ship to sail."

When Jack had gone out of earshot, Barbossa spoke. "I have a proposition for you," he said.

"Oh?"

"Help me get the Pearl from Jack and I'll make you first mate and let you in on a new profitable venture I discovered."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're putting an awful lot of trust in me. What makes you think I won't just run to Jack and tell him what you're planning?"

"Because I don't believe that you fancy Jack the way he fancies you. And because I see you as a pirate who looks out for her own interests and doesn't care about anything else."

Elizabeth briefly wondered if that was how everyone else saw her too. In any event, while she didn't completely trust Jack, she didn't at all trust Barbossa. "You're right," she told him, "I am a pirate. And that's why when I sail away from Shipwreck Cove it will be aboard my own ship."

It dawned on Barbossa what she meant by that and he was shocked. It was a move he hadn't anticipated. "You're going to take command of the Empress?" he asked.

Elizabeth decided last night that she would throw herself into the role of pirate, figuring that as long as she kept busy, it would keep her mind off of things. Returning to Shipwreck Cove provided her with an opportunity. "Yes, I'm going to take over where Sao Feng left off," she replied. "I haven't told anyone else yet though, and I probably won't. I've already said my goodbyes, it's best just to leave I think."

"Mum's the word," said Barbossa, "You would have made a fine addition to me crew though. I'll be sure to keep an eye out on the horizon for you. I trust we can agree not to shoot at each other the next time we meet?"

"That sounds reasonable, as long as you don't cross me," Elizabeth said with a smirk. Barbossa laughed.

XXX

While Elizabeth had Barbossa distracted, Jack took it upon himself to find out exactly what had kept Barbossa up all night. Taking a quick glance around, he saw that no one was looking. He paused for moment, realizing that he was sneaking in to his own cabin. He silently cursed Barbossa for making him feel like a crewman on his own ship and entered the cabin.

The map scroll was resting on the table and several candles, burnt down to stubs, were still lit. So, Barbossa had been trying to coax more secrets from the map. Jack unrolled it. The rings were not aligned in any particular order. He wondered if Barbossa had stumbled upon anything of value and then decided that he wasn't going to take that chance. He retrieved a knife from a drawer and carefully cut out the center portion of the scroll, re-rolling when he was finished it so it looked untouched. He tucked the map into his coat pocket and stepped back out onto the deck, vowing to find a way to get his pesky former first mate off his ship as soon as possible. He glared secretly at Barbossa, who was laughing at something Elizabeth said, and then quickly and quietly headed for the helm. Shipwreck Island was visible in the distance and he would need to navigate them into the cove.