Disclaimer- I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean ... (unfortunately) ... Disney owns all.

(A/N)- This is an official update to Chapter 1. I didn't change around much, just added a few words, changed around a few others, and added a tad more detail. I don't plan on taking anything out for it would change the story. I reread this story, and while I still like it, I want it to sound more like it's coming from the hand of an adult and not a teenager. I don't want people to get halfway (I'm assuming it's about halfway done at this point) through the story to my most recent update (Chapter 18) and see the big change in grammar and whatnot from seven years ago when this story was first published. I will be updating all my chapters up to Chapter 17 over the next few months. I will put a date on them once they are updated so you will all know when each chapter is officially complete. (10/23/2013)

Also, this is set right after Curse of the Black Pearl and does not take into account any of the other movies as I originally began this before the sequels came out.

Chapter One- The Note

Elizabeth squeezed her fiance's hand as she looked at the white and gold colored mansion that had been finished only hours beforehand. She admired the balconies that she would soon be on, looking out to the sea. She imagined all the sunsets she would see from those spots, and saw her future children playing around the garden. Saw them playing "pirates" around the small garden pond. She took in the trellises where vines of flowers were just now being planted. Come another year, and they would be covered with orange flowers. Maybe not even that long. This is my house. My very own refuge. This is where I will spend the rest of my life. She wasn't sure if she felt secure or trapped.

Will squeezed back, lightly, and smiled down at her, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Isn't it magnificent, Will?" she asked him, still staring at the mansion.

"Yes, you are" he responded, looking at her. She blushed and looked down. "We'll be happy here, Elizabeth." The way he said it without much feeling had her worried.

"Yes, we will." she said, looking back up. At least I hope we'll be.

"It was very generous of your father to do this for us, wasn't it? All the way on the other side of the town, too." he commented, not noticing any distress on her part.

She forced a smile. "Yes, it was, but don't forget Jack's help." she said, still smiling.

"I wouldn't dream of forgetting his help. After all, he did give us almost half of the treasure in Isle de Morter. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if he had taken one of those coins out of the chest to keep." he said, half-smiling.

"Will, you know he wouldn't. He may want immortality, but not an immortal life in which he couldn't enjoy life's finer pleasures," she thought for a moment as he frowned at her contradiction, then laughed "at least he said he wouldn't, but you can never be sure with Captain Jack Sparrow." She tried to lighten the mood again since he seemed testy for some reason. It was weird. She hardly ever had to be on guard around him.

I know Jack wouldn't. He enjoys rum and food and probably women too much to ever want to live a half life for all eternity.

He laughed and kissed her deeply. She smiled slightly under the kiss. This is my Will. She must have been imagining his strange mood.

"Just think, only another two months before we're wed, and only a week before our home is furnished and we can officially move in. Though, of course in separate rooms for the time being," she said, teasingly, pulling away.

He gave a small smile, not saying anything. Elizabeth gave him a curious look. He had tensed up again. Maybe I wasn't imagining it. He had been acting weird around her lately and his behavior was beginning to put doubts in her head. Doubts she wasn't entirely sure what to make of yet. Why do I feel like I'm losing him more and more each day? Especially when I should feel closer to him now more than ever?

Two Weeks Later

Jack was sitting in the dining room of Will and Elizabeth's new home at an ornate, oval table made of mahogany. He had been visiting them for a few days now and was going to stay until the end of the week before setting off again. He had finished his dinner, a delicious cut of beef cooked rare and some melt-in-your-mouth roasted root vegetables, and had a large mug of rum in his hands while they waited for dessert to be served.

"So Jack ..." Elizabeth stopped mid-sentence, and he wondered what she had been about to say. For some reason, every time she opened her mouth, he was hanging on her every word. There had been a knock on the door, and he cursed whoever had interrupted her sentence. She smiled as the butler went to answer it, and Jack couldn't help but keep his eyes on her face. The butler walked up to Will and handed a piece of folded, sealed paper to him and hurried away. "Who's it from, Will?"

He opened it and Jack watched Elizabeth as she watched Will's eyes skimming over it quickly. A wide smile spread across Will's face, which pulled Jack's attention to him. What could this be?

"Will?" she whispered.

Will looked up. Elizabeth was behind him, her hand on his shoulder. She looked over to see what the letter said, but he crumpled it before she had a chance. She frowned. Jack frowned at her frown.

"Will?" she repeated, with a hint of concern in her voice that Will either didn't notice or didn't care about. So why did I notice? Why do I care? Jack thought.

Jack was looking back and forth between the two. Will looked torn between two emotions: happiness and anxiety. Elizabeth looked bewildered and distressed. He took another swig of rum to keep himself from saying anything. It wasn't any of his business, but whatever was happening was upsetting Elizabeth, and he didn't like that.

Will's hand went up to Elizabeth's and held it for a second. Almost like a reflex, and not like he actually means to comfort her. Jack noted.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. I won't be back for some time. I'll make it up to the both of you" he said, quickly getting up and walking out the door. Jack frowned.

Elizabeth turned to Jack, and he quickly hid his frown with a small smile. "Where do you think he's going?" she asked him.

"Who knows. Ya got anymore rum?" he asked, finishing off the rest. He had a feeling that drinking was not the best way to keep his concern for her from showing, but he didn't really give a damn at the moment. Will had him pissed off for some reason, and he couldn't quite come to terms with why. He refused to consider jealousy over the woman Will had or the stress Will was causing said woman.

Elizabeth smiled at him and went to a smaller table in the corner to get more. He ignored the way his heart fluttered at the sight of her smile.

In A Cave On The Beach

Will knew exactly where he was going as he sprinted along the beach. The cave was no stranger to him. Ironic that Elizabeth and I used this as a place of fun and games. The innocence of childhood. He felt a stab of guilt in his stomach, but shrugged it away. The closer he got, the less he cared, as always. There was something there on the island, on the smell of the note, something that was just enough to get him away from Elizabeth. Something, that when gone, was still enough to keep his thoughts away from his betrothed.

Will went jogging into the cave and stopped, gasping. As he caught his breath, he whistled into the air like a song bird. A second later he was answered with another whistle, one of higher pitch. He smiled broadly as the bushes in front of the cave's edge rustled. Out stepped a woman with long ebony hair and dark tan skin, the moon glimmering off her eyes and naked body. As he looked into her eyes, he felt the familiar pull on his being. It was almost like she was physically dragging him in, and he felt the guilt dissipate almost altogether.

She ran up to him and embraced him tightly. He lifted her chin up and pulled her mouth to his. She squirmed a little as his hand brushed over a spot on her ribs where she was ticklish. She hugged him again, resting her head against his chest and sighed in contentment. He knew she had been with other men, but never had she let herself be so vulnerable for anyone except him. Somehow, through the small bit of guilt he had left, he found a sense of pride in that. But Elizabeth has been with no one, I'm supposed to be her's, and I am betraying her. Again.

"I cannot stand being divided from you. I've missed you so much since I've been away." she whispered softly "I love you, Will." she said, looking up at him through thick eyelashes. Her voice entranced him. What tiny bit of guilt there had still been, no longer lingered.

He smiled down at her, affectionately.

"I love you too, Anna Maria," he answered, automatically.

(A/N)- This was originally my shortest chapter, but now, after editing, it is almost one thousand words longer. Wow! I apologize to anyone who is just starting to read this, as you'll have to put up with the earlier versions of each chapter until I have time to update them to a higher quality.