One month had passed since the fateful day that Will fulfilled his destiny. One month Elizabeth had waited on the island where they had truly joined as one. One month. One incredibly painfully long month where every minute had passed as slowly as humanly possible. One month where she had no one to talk to, save for Will's heart locked safely away in the Dead Man's Chest. His steady even heartbeat kept her calm and saved her from absolute and desperate loneliness, but still, it was almost too much to handle.

She was growing more and more restless with every passing day. It was torture being trapped like a bird in a cage. And the thought of ten years, here alone on this island? She knew she wouldn't be able to do it. There was no possible way.

That's why she had made her decision. Yesterday she had made up her mind. She was going home. She needed to socialize, to hear another human voice, or she feared she might go mad. And as much as she longed for it, she knew that the life of a pirate was never truly for her. She was raised a noble, and therefore must live her life as one. A deep passion for adventure and excitement burned in her heart, but in truth, her skin longed for the feel of fine silk and lace embroidery. Her mouth once more wanted to taste the fine repressed words of propriety that used to reside in her throat. Her eyes longed for the pretty sight of bustling little Port Royal. She wanted her life back.

Oh, how she desperately wished to go back to the years when she and Will would race along the beach and laugh, careless and oblivious to the world around them. If she could go back but one year, everything would be different. She would have never met Jack or Barbossa or any pirates for that matter. Will would still be with her; the sweet gentlemanly blacksmith's apprentice that had stolen her heart the first time he smiled. Her father would still be alive; calling to her in his gentle voice, a loving smile on his face as he watched her descend the staircase of their manor dressed in all her finery. James would still be alive; strutting about in his glorious splendor and admiring her from afar. She would still be living in the manor, the large extravagant manor with too many rooms to count. What a difference a year can make!

Elizabeth sighed as she sat down on the sandy shore of the island's beach. The calm even darkness surrounded her, making her feel even more small and powerless than usual. And more alone. Yes, she wished that she could go back to the way things were before. Existence would be so much easier, and she would not have to fear what each day may bring. Death was constantly on her mind. Death was a sly opponent, and she knew it could strike at any minute. She was the Pirate King of the Brethren Court, and she knew that was a dangerous position to stand at. Especially due to the fact that she was a woman…a woman alone.

She had not wanted the job. She had wanted to give it up after the final battle, but found it was not possible. Once you were sworn in as the Pirate King, you lived with that title until the day you died. There was no way for it to be undone. She wished Jack had not voted for her. If he had not, she would not have to carry the responsibility of leading an entire race on her shoulders. She knew the pirates depended on her and looked to her for guidance, and it frightened her. She didn't know how to teach them. She had only been pirate herself for a short few months. If it weren't for Jack and Will and even Barbossa she would have been completely lost. They had taught her everything she knew. And now all three of them were gone.

Elizabeth glanced over at the Dead Man's Chest sitting next to her and she felt her eyes fill with tears. She was not one to cry, she had always been admired for her strength, but lately it seemed to have disappeared. She was much more emotional now and sensitive to hurtful comments and actions. It had scared her a bit, noticing how prone she had become to things that would not have bothered her in the slightest a few months ago. But as she had so often thought, a few months ago things were very different. She was an entirely different person than she was then. In fact she could really only think of one thing about her that had not changed. Her love for Will. It alone had withstood every obstacle that had challenged her beyond belief. It had survived even the darkest and most difficult of times that had caused her to rethink her very existence. When everything around her had changed, it had not. And she was more thankful for that than could ever possibly be described in any way. Her love was her lifeline. It saved her and kept her going.

Elizabeth stretched out her hand and ran her fingers along the cool metal of the chest. She pulled her hand back and sighed. She looked down at her neck, where the key was secured on a thick black cord, glinting in the faint light of the rising sun. She glanced back at the chest and sighed again.

She hadn't opened the chest yet, and she had no plans to. She knew Will's heart lay inside, beating for her. Her. He had told her his heart had always belonged to her. Just her and no one else. The mere memory of him whispering those words made her own heart pound in her chest. She smiled despite herself, a slight chill running down her spine. Yes, her love for Will had not changed. And she knew that as time passed, it would only increase.

Elizabeth rose to her feet and walked down the shore to where her longboat sat in the golden sand. She looked at it warily, concern masking her features. She was incredibly thankful for her longboat, for it was her only connection to the world. But she rather doubted it would be able to sail her all the way to Port Royal. It wasn't that strongly built, and the wood was beginning to rot. But it was all that she had. And it was definitely better than nothing.

But an even more troublesome matter than sailing to Port Royal was finding it. She had absolutely no idea where she was, and she had long since guessed that this island was uncharted, as not one ship had passed it by. And she knew that a certain Mr. Sparrow and his magical compass were the only way she could ever dream of safely returning home. But of course she knew that she and Jack had gone their separate ways and would most likely never see each other again. And that troubled her as well, for he was the only true friend she had, save for Will of course. Will would always remain her best friend no matter what. But he was gone for the time being…for the very long time being, and she was prone to severe loneliness. And she knew Jack would make her smile and laugh as he always did, and that would make her happy. And that would make Will happy. He wouldn't want for her to be miserable.

Elizabeth gazed out at the horizon, watching the sun slowly begin to rise. She hadn't been able to sleep that night, for her mind kept tormenting her with horrible nightmares of the most alarming kind. She had died while Will was away. She had died a slow and torturous death at the hands of the pirates. Her pirates. The ones who were supposed to follow her command. But they had betrayed her, turned against her, murdered her, and stolen her pride. And the worst part had been when all those years later, when Will finally came home, she had not been there. She had not been there, and the look of anguish and sorrow on his face had been unbearable.

She had awoken then, eyes wide and heart rattling, sweat drenching her body. It had only been a dream, but the look on Will's face would haunt her the ten long years to come, and not until she finally held him in her arms would she be able to let it go. It would be a brutal but firm reminder of why she had to keep going. She was doing this for Will. She was doing it for him. She was doing it because she loved him.

Dawn's brilliant colors splashed across the sky as light slowly flooded the island around her. The ocean sparkled like a million diamonds had been dropped into its deep sapphire waters. Elizabeth sighed, watching the beautiful spectacle unfurl before her. She wished she were watching it from the decks of the Black Pearl, Will's arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he enjoyed the sight with her, Jack standing at the helm shouting orders to the crew that would sail her to Port Royal with her love where they would settle down and live happily ever after. But she knew such thoughts were nothing more than a foolish and mere fantasy. Jack had always said that nothing was impossible, but she knew that a carefree life with Will was. There was no way she could ever fulfill that dream. For even when he did come home to her, trouble would always lie ahead. The world had far too much evil and no one brave enough to fight it, and as time went by it only grew more powerful.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her shoulders and continued to stand there, watching the sunrise in silence. The power of it gave her a bit more strength and she knew that today was the day. She was tired of waiting, and so she would leave for her little Jamaican town today. Now. There was no point in waiting for the day to fully arrive; she was losing precious time as she stood. If she didn't make it before the sunset, she knew there would be hell to pay. It would be hard enough trying to find Port Royal in the daylight, but in the darkness. Impossible.

She walked back to where the Dead Man's Chest was lying on the sand and gently picked it up. She cradled it in her arms for a minute and pressed her head to the hard solid chest. Will's heartbeat answered her call for strength and she was thankful for it. She closed her eyes and lost herself in his calm mild rhythm, imagining that he was truly with her, in body rather than mind. His arms wrapped tightly around her, his forehead pressed to hers with loving adoration. Pure bliss.

She sighed, opening her eyes and gazing back out at the ocean. But it was just another dream. And she had learned the hard way that believing in foolish daydreams only brought more pain.

As a tear slipped down her face, she tightened her grip on the chest and began walking back to her longboat. There was nothing for her on this island, nothing but a memory. A memory that was indeed very important, and one that she would always keep close in her mind. But it was a memory. There was no solid figure or article to hold on to, nothing that connected her to this forested spit of land. So she had no reason to stay. She would come back when the ten years had drawn to a close, but until then she never wanted to lay eyes on the island again.

Elizabeth placed the chest inside the longboat and was about to clamber inside when she remembered her sword. Her beautiful Chinese jian. It was still standing proudly in the sand some fifty feet down the shore, untouched since it had been plunged into the ground the day the lovers had united. Oh, what a day of wild and purely erotic passion that had been. She would certainly never forget it.

She quickly ran down the shore and pulled her jian from its stand, trying not to think how sad it looked all alone. One month ago, Will's cutlass had stood with it. But his was long since gone. And she had had not the heart to take hers away as well. So it had continued to wait in the sand, letting the hot Caribbean sun shine down on it and make its cool metal sparkle. Letting the refreshing waves of the Caribbean Sea wash over it. But now it was time to leave.

Elizabeth Turner let her eyes wander along the island's beach one last time before she pushed her longboat into the ocean and climbed inside. As the minutes went by and the little boat drifted further and further away, she watched as her island shrank away into the distance. But she was happy. She was going home. She was determined she'd be able to find Port Royal; she had to. As she picked up the oars and began to row, she watched as the sun slowly started its climb to the top of the sky.


(A/N:) I just can't stay on one story. It's simply impossible. I have about four new Pirates one's I'm working on, but I'll try to keep this one my main focus. I'm taking a little break from Unbreakable so that I can focus on this one...and come up with some new ideas. :)

I've read so many stories about Elizabeth's life after Will leaves, and so I decided I'd finally try and write my own. I think I'll try and make the chapters moderately long...so expect updates about once every one or two weeks. This will probably be a pretty long story when it's finished...but that's what I say about all of my stories. ;)

Okay...my idea of thinking may be a lot different than other people's, but I believe that about eight months have passed between the first and second films, making Will and Elizabeth twenty-one. And then about a month between the second and third...making them still twenty-one. I just like the idea that they're as young as possible...and then Elizabeth drinks from the Fountain of Youth so that she is twenty-one until the end of the world!!! Lol. She's just my favorite character, so I'm obviously going to spoil her in this story...sorta. She will have some hardships though for sure. But anyway, please let me know what you think? Reviews are very much appreciated and I'll try and respond back ASAP! Thanks :)