This story is dedicated to my good friend Anna. She has inspired me to start writing, and not to mention getting me to love Sparrabeth. So, this is for her. Thanks Anna!

FREEDOM

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth darling, wake up." Governor Swann said, gently shaking his daughter's shoulders as she lied asleep in bed. "William is here to see you, he's brought you something." He said, smiling. Even though Will wasn't as proper as James Norrington, he was still a good man.

Elizabeth opened her eyes, sitting up slightly and rubbing the back of her neck. What was Will there for? "Alright, I'll be downstairs in a minute." She whispered to him, still half asleep.

"Good. I'll tell him you won't keep him waiting long then." Governor Swann said, smiling brightly and then heading out the door and down the stairs.

Elizabeth groaned tiredly and stood up, walking towards her dresser. She sat down in the chair in front of it and stared at herself for the longest time, desperately wanting to just go back to sleep. While searching through one of the drawers, she pulled out a brush and started to comb through her golden hair. What could Will have brought her? That was all she had been thinking about as she pulled on a slightly loose fitting dress, she never was too fond of corsets after falling in to the sea and nearly drowning. But it had been alright because Jack had saved her…Jack. Now that was someone she hadn't seen in a while. Though she often found herself wondering where the captain was. Finally after dressing herself, she stood up and slowly descended down the staircase.

Will stared at Elizabeth, his lips pulling upwards in to a smile. "Good morning, Elizabeth." He said in a gentle voice. She was so beautiful, he was more than glad that she belonged to him. They were getting married very soon, in about three days actually. "I've brought you something." He said, digging in to his pocket and pulling out a small box.

Elizabeth stood beside Will now, "Good morning Will." She said, then glanced down at the box in his hand. Thoughts ran through her head, wondering what it could be. She hated this, having to pretend to love Will as much as he loved her. The truth was she didn't even want to stay here in Port Royale, get married and have kids, she wanted freedom. "Oh, you didn't have to." She said, smiling and shaking her head.

"Don't be silly, I love you." He said, then opened the box and revealed a ring. It had a gold band, and a shiny diamond in the middle of it. Will grinned up at her, wondering if she'd like it.

"Will, it's beautiful!" she said, forcing the best smile she could, grabbing it and sliding it on to her finger. "Oh, I love it!" she said excitedly. Will could be so sweet at times, yet she had no idea how he could get such an amazing ring…and she felt terrible for accepting it.

"I'm glad you like it. It's an early wedding gift." He smiled at her, gently grazing the back of his hand along her cheek. "I've got to go, I have some things I have to take care of back at the shop." He said. "I'll come back later, alright?" he asked, slowly retreating towards the door.

"Okay," Elizabeth said, still in amazement as she stared down at the ring on her finger. After Will had left, she felt sort of empty. Deciding she needed to go out and get some fresh air, she pulled on her jacket and walked out the door. Sometimes she wondered if she would be truly happy with Will, if he could give her everything she wanted, but then she only thought of herself as being selfish. One of her fingers twirled a strand of her golden hair around her finger as she walked through Port Royal, humming a song and sighing in relief to get outside. Yet when a few men dressed in red coats rushed by cocking their guns, she stood and blinked, wondering what was going on. She swiftly followed after them, careful not to be seen or one of them would surely escort her back to her house. Elizabeth ducked behind a barrel and watched, there was a man on one of the ships…trying to commandeer it by the looks of it.

After a few more moments of watching carefully, she realized that the man was the infamous, Captain Jack Sparrow. All of the sudden her breath was snatched away and her heart sped up in an instant, she had to stop him…well maybe that was just her excuse for going down there to see him. After all it had been awhile since they last saw each other.

Jack looked drunk, he was stumbling around and shouting out orders, but the soilders had grabbed him, along with the crew and pulled him off the ship. Jack was shouting at them angrily, jerking and yanking away from them but they only tightened their grasp and snickered as they walked towards the jail.

Elizabeth stood there and watched him pass in amazement, their eyes even met for a split second. She froze, holding her breath even though she didn't know it.

Jack's jaw fell open at the sight of her, though it looked like he was trying to say something, he never did. He just stared at Elizabeth over his shoulder until he disappeared in to one of the buildings to be thrown in the jail.

"Elizabeth?" A voice said behind her, "What's wrong?" It was Will. He slid his arms around her waist and held her close. "Come on, we've got to get you back home. It's getting cold out here, don't you think?" he asked, starting to pull her back towards her house.

Elizabeth was speechless. Did that really just happen? Was that really Jack she had just seen a moment ago? It didn't matter. She was getting married soon, no need to worry about some dirty pirate.

The next day came quickly, Elizabeth had dreamed about Jack the previous night. She was unable to stop thinking about him. She had to see if that was really him in the jail, she had to talk to him. Elizabeth pulled on her jacket and brushed her hair before running down the stairs and out the door. Luckily her father and the maids were still asleep, so they wouldn't realize she had left.

Once she arrived at the jail, she snuck past the sleeping guards and spotted a man in one of the cells. He was sleeping, his hat pulled down over his eyes. He looked handsome, and oddly familiar.

It was Jack.

"Jack?" she choked out, kneeling down beside the bars. "Jack, is that you?" she whispered. Of course she knew it was him but she just couldn't believe it.

Jack lifted his hat up so he could see, and when he noticed the woman talking to him was Elizabeth he jumped. His face fell, he hated her for being here. It was like she had ripped open a wound that had already healed, Jack had feelings for Elizabeth. But once she was engaged to the whelp he had buried those feelings, and she had just brought them back for coming here to see him. "Aye, it's me." He said quietly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had the Pearl! Why did you need to steal a ship? Are you alright?!" she asked, gripping the bars tighter. He looked miserable for some reason, and she bit her lip. Elizabeth had sort of…taken quite a liking to the captain. Well before, and it sure didn't seem any different now.

"Well, darling." He began with a sigh. "Damn Barbossa and his crew, took me ship…again." He rolled his eyes. "I'd explain it to ye but it's awfully long." He grunted. "Good news is I have to sit and wait in here fer' two more days before they hang me." He said. "Too bad they took out all the benches, aye?" he chuckled, remembering what Will had shown him about the half barrel hinges.

"Two days? That's when I'm getting married to Will." She said with a smile. Instantly it faded, "Oh…that's right." She mumbled, looking away. She seemed disappointed by that.

"Really?" Jack asked, his voice shown no emotions. It didn't show the hurt and sadness he was feeling. "That's…wonderful, love." He said. "I'm glad for ye." He lied, tearing his gaze away. It wasn't fair, he wanted her! Will didn't diserve her! She wasn't a governor's daughter, she was a pirate!

Elizabeth slowly stood up, "Jack." She said, a question had come up in her mind. "Can I ask you something? And do you swear to tell me the truth no matter how embarrassing, or how badly you don't want to?" she questioned.

Jack was curious now, "Aye, I promise." He said, not sure if that was in fact, a safe promise but he decided to do it anyway. He sat there patiently and waited for her question, pondering over what it could be.

"Do you have feelings for me?" Elizabeth asked, biting her lip. "I mean, did you?" she rephrased her question. Elizabeth wanted to know, because she was almost positive she had feelings for him.

"Well love, it's sort of a long story." He said, trying desperately to change the subject. Jack refused to tell her he had feelings for her, it just wasn't his personality. Jack Sparrow wasn't supposed to fall in love and there was no way she'd get him to admit to it.

"Well, you've got time. It doesn't look like you're going anywhere for a while, right?" Elizabeth asked with a sly smirk. She sat down and leaned back against the wall, looking more comfortable and ready to listen to this 'long story'.

"Oh, right." Jack said, laughing innocently. "Well, Lizzie." He began, wondering where to start. "I uh…back then, I did have some…feelings for you." He said with disgust. "Ever since I first met ye', I well, adored you. I suppose." He grunted. "You were perfect, a pirate. I thought ye' were me long lost twin er' somethin'." He laughed. "I liked ye' a lot, Lizzie." He whispered. "But then ye' killed me…with a bloody kiss. I thought you really liked me, I thought you realized you wanted a man over a whelp and you were finally coming to your senses. But you killed me, and now you're marrying the whelp." He told her. "So yes, I still have feelings…" Jack squeaked. "I mean I did have feelings for you." He corrected quickly. That was a damn lie! He still had feelings for her! He had thought about her every day for the past ten months they hadn't seen each other.

"Oh, well thanks." She said quietly, then stood up. "I'll think of a way to get you out of here or something tonight. I've got to go." She mumbled. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Jack did have feelings for her long ago, she could have had him over Will! Elizabeth rushed up the stairs and out the door, making her way home.

The rest of the day went by terribly slow. Mostly she lied in bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for night to fall. Her father had even thought she was sick, but she insisted for him not to worry. Will had even come by to see her, but her father told him she wasn't feeling to well. She even slept most of the next day, the day before her wedding.

Elizabeth sat up, staring at herself in the mirror. She couldn't marry Will. Lying in bed that long and just thinking had made her realize that, she wasn't in love with the blacksmith, with the respectable man. But with the pirate locked up in that jail cell.