The wind was picking up. I walked barefoot along the beach, watching my feet sink into the cold sand. Port Royale was unusually gray in the cold light of the morning. It didn't look like it was going to be a very good water lapped at my toes. I looked up; out to sea. The water was gray and the horizon empty. It always was.

If anyone asked me why I stared so intently out to sea every morning, I wouldn't be able to answer them. No-one ever did ask because nobody I knew got up this early. I wasn't too sure what I was looking for myself.

White sails? They used to signal that James was coming back. Not anymore. Since he had resigned and gone chasing pirates halfway around the world, there was noway I could say hat king of ship he'd be on. I didn't even know where he was. All I knew is that he'd left with the intention of murdering every last crew member of the Black Pearl. James had been gone too long. I didn't know if that was good or bad. The longer James was away the more worried I got that he was in danger... or worse. But the longer he was away they more hopeful I got that I would see something else on that horizon.

Black sails. I knew that the Pearl was unlikely to return, but I can't deny that it was what I longed to see. Every morning I looked out and a tiny, suppressed part of me wanted those black sails to be there. Because that meant Jack would be coming back. In the short time I'd known him he had shown me new things and taught me more than anyone else ever had. In the months he'd been away everything had fallen apart and the sad truth was... Port Royale didn't feel like home anymore. Home was where the heart was and my heart was... well, I didn't know where it was, but ut wasn't here.

"Isabel!" a voice called to me across the beach. I turned. George had found me. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing!"

"I needed some fresh air," I lied. "I had a headache, I'm fine now."

"Alright," he said. "Well, come on then. Elizabeth needs you. The wedding's in a few hours."

The wedding, of course. The day that had been the talk of Port Royale had finally arrived. Elizabeth Swann, the Governor's daughter was marrying blacksmith, Will Turner. To a lot of people who didn't know them this was a highly scandalous and very unorthodox wedding, but I knew that there was no better match in the whole of Port Royale.

***

The rain poured from the sky, mixing with Elizabeth's tears. I put my arm around her and she leaned her head on my shoulder, looking weary and miserable. This should have been the happiest day of her life, but here she was, crying in my shoulder. The rain that had ruined her dress and hair was plopping into china teacups behind us that were already overflowing with collected rainwater.

"Why didn't he come?" Elizabeth's mournful question hung in the air. It was the first thing she'd said in ages. I didn't know how to answer her. It seemed like she had been left at the alter, but I knew her fiancée better than that. William Turner would never abandon Elizabeth. He had spent to long trying to tell her how he felt. Their love was so genuine, so pure that I knew he hadn't left her.

Something must have happened to him. I didn't voice this thought. That kind of worry was the last thing Elizabeth needed. In answer to her question all I did was hug her tight and assure her everything would be alright. No sooner had the words left my mouth did we both hear a sound that contradicted my words. Footsteps and lost of them. They were marching towards us. Elizabeth sat bolt upright and turned her head towards the sound. She dislodged my arm and, dropping the sodden bouquet she had been carrying ran towards the crowd of redcoats that had begun to form in the church. I hung back, sure that this couldn't be good news.

I stayed at the back of the redcoats and peered through the gaps. Will was handcuffed; standing in chains between two guards. They were talking quietly. A short man standing nearby was looking at them smugly. He muttered something to the taller, darker haired man beside him. An angry voice rose above the quiet murmuring voices.

"Out of my way!" said Governor Swann. "What's going on? Stand your man down at once. Do you hear me?"

The smug smile on the face of the small man widened. "Governor Weatherby Swann, it's been too long," he smirked.

A look of recognition crept across Governor Swann's face. "Cutler Beckett?" he said disbelievingly.

"It's Lord now, actually," Beckett corrected.

"Lord or not you have no reason and no authority to arrest this man!" Mr. Swann was still outraged.

"Oh in fact I do," the smug tone in Beckett's voice was so prominent it made me want to throw up. He turned to the taller man beside him, "Mr Mercer…" the man handed him a roll of parchment, which was then handed to Governor Swann, "The warrant for the arrest of one William Turner."

The sound of silence was heavy in the air as Governor Swann read the parchment. "This warrant is for the arrest of Elizabeth Swann!" he said, his eyes wide. I took a sharp intake of breath, but it was cut short. A hand was clamped over my mouth and someone grabbed me so tightly I couldn't move. I felt myself being dragged backwards. Away from Will and Elizabeth. I had to help them. What had they done? Why was this happening.

I struggled against my captor, but I was held strong. I was lead silently away from the church. I bit down hard on their hand and heard a gasp of pain. There was a momentary lapse in they strength they held me with. I raise raised my elbow and I felt it come into contact with their nose.

"Isabel!" they gasped. I twisted in their grip and found myself staring at George. I'd made his nose bleed.

"George?" I stared at him, so shocked I was unable to resist him dragging me quickly put his hand back over my mouth. He pulled me along the streets of Port Royale, always choosing the streets that looked the most deserted, until we reached his house. He pushed me through the door. Only then did he take his hand from my mouth and let me speak.

"What's going on?" I asked, as he wiped blood from his nose.

"They've come to arrest you," he replied quietly.

"Why?"

"For the same reason they arrested Will and Elizabeth! For helping that pirate!" his eyes were full of hate.

It took a while to sink in. "For helping Jack?" I said.

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "Him."

"George, we have to go back! We have to help them!" I said.

"Governor Swann will do what he can for them, but you have to stay here until your name is cleared," he replied. I stared at him as he locked the door.

"What?" I couldn't quite believe my ears. "Don't be such a coward, George! It's up to us to get them out!"

"There is nothing we can do. They are in the hands of the law, justice will clear their names," he was trying to calm me down, but I saw one major flaw in his words.

"Then why didn't you let it clear mine?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on his. "You know as well as I do that we helped a pirate escape from the gallows and no-one could possibly prove otherwise, Beckett has the evidence and authority to hang the three of us. " He sighed, defeated. I softened my tone, "George, we have to free them or they'll both be sent to the gallows!"

"I'll see what I can do for them, but you can't come. If Beckett sees you then you'll be as much trouble as they are."

I nodded. He put his coat back on and unlocked the door, "Stay here," he said.

"I will," I promised. "Thank you, George."

***

It seemed to take hours for George to come back. I sat there, listening to the swinging pendulum on the clock and worried about what was going on. The house craked around me and every time it did I thought it was George coming back. A knock on the door shattered the silence. I froze. It couldn't be George, he wouldn't knock on his own door. I stayed where I was and prayed they would go away. They knocked again more urgently and a male voice shouted something. I crept quietly to the curtain and peeked round the side. It was Will.