Elizabeth Swann sat on the steps, thinking about the day that Cutler Beckett had interrupted her wedding. She would never admit this out loud, but she was more upset by the fact that she was robbed of her wedding night, more than the actual wedding. Elizabeth was so ready to give herself to somebody, physically. Will had insisted they wait until they were properly wed, and so to help Elizabeth work off that extra energy, he taught her how to sword fight.

Elizabeth had agreed that they would wait until marriage, but only for Will, since he was such a good man, and she knew that he wanted it just as much as she, but he didn't want to take advantage of her. Elizabeth's maid, Estrella, had boldly explained to Elizabeth ways that she could satisfy her lustful thoughts. Elizabeth had blushed at what Estrella told her, but nevertheless, she had tried it, and it felt- kind of good. Not as wonderful as actual intercourse, Estrella told her, but it helped. Elizabeth felt guilty after doing it. Not because her father would be disgusted if he knew what she had been doing, but because it wasn't just Will she was thinking of while doing it. Most of the time, it was Jack. Jack. He was so handsome, and so free, that she couldn't help feeling attracted to him. She didn't love him, though. Liked him, yes, but nothing more than that. But why did the compass point to Jack and not to Will? Well, Jack did say that it was broken, so that was probably it. He couldn't get it to work, either.

There were times when Elizabeth had wanted to smack Jack for some of the comments he made, but at other times, they amused her. It was no wonder lots of women loved him. He was free, he was handsome, he was smart, he was witty, and he was a good man for a pirate. There was something suspicious, though, about Will ending up on the Flying Dutchman. Could Jack have had anything to do with it? Was he lying or telling the truth? Jack had been acting even stranger than normal. He even let Elizabeth use his cabin, and he would stay with the crew. It had been nice, laying there in his bed. A real, comfortable bed. The cabin didn't look that much different since the last time she was in there, when she had been Barbossa's prisoner, except the black curtains on the windows were replaced with dark brown ones. She was brought out of all her thoughts by Jack sitting next to her, bottle of rum in hand.

"My intuitive sense of the female creature informs me you are troubled."

"I just thought I'd be married by now. I'm so ready to be married."

Jack decided to help Elizabeth with her little problem, for she didn't exactly say "I'm ready to be married to Will," did she? No. She just said she was ready to be married.

"Ready? As in you're ready to be a wifey, or ready as in- physically intimate?"

Elizabeth didn't know how to answer his question. Her father had tried pushing her into marrying James, and she wasn't near ready. Now it was a year later. Was she still not ready to be a wife? Was it only lust?

"Could it be, luv, that you're not so sure that you love the whelp? That, he was the only man you knew at the time, who wasn't a red coat, that you found physically attractive? Could it be that it's just lust, and nothing more? That you wouldn't have chosen Will if he wasn't the son of a pirate?"

Elizabeth glared at him. How dare he make such comments as those? She loved Will, and wanted to be his wife, and have a family with him.

"Will being the son of a pirate has nothing to do with it, whatsoever, Captain Sparrow. I've loved Will since we were children, and he felt the same way about me. Remember, I was going to marry James so that Will could be saved. Will even set sail with a bunch of pirates in order to rescue me! Does that sound like we don't leave each other?"

Jack shooked his head, and handed Elizabeth the bottle of rum. She accepted it, and took a hearty swig.

"Lizzie, I never said he didn' love you or that you didn' love him, savvy? The lad is crazy over you, there's no doubt about that, but- just because you love somebody, doesn't necessarily mean you're in love with them. I don' see that spark in your eyes when you talk to or about him. There are times when you look bored out o' yer mind. James certainly wasn't the man for you, an' I don't think Will is, either."

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at Jack's words. "Oh, really? Well, then, who is the man for me, Jack? You?"

"Aye. Me. I know ye more than the whelp does, dearie. Me an' you are two peas in a pod. I've told you that once before already. Think about it. We both desire freedom, we both have the last names of birds, we both, at heart, are good people, but don't hesitate in doing something selfish to benefit ourselves. You grew up wanting to be a pirate, I am a pirate. I found you attractive, an' it's quite obvious you feel the same about me. I can't get the compass to work, an' it appears neither can you. It's fate, luv. How many times have we saved each other's lives?"

"Jack, I don't love you."

"You do. You just don' know it yet. You will come over to my side, I know it. All that's going through that pretty little head o' yours is lustful thoughts. None of those thoughts being about dear Will."

Elizabeth smacked Jack, handed him his bottle of rum back, and walked over to look out at the water. Recovering, Jack walked up and stood beside her.

"Not sure I deserved that."

"I disagree. I am a proper lady, and you have no right to talk to me about such things as lust."

"You happen to be on my ship, Miss Swann, wearing pirate gear, so I've every right to talk about what I so wish. Savvy? But if you really wish me to drop the subject, I will."

"Thank you."

Jack nodded and headed towards the helm. As he walked off, Elizabeth continued to stare out to sea. Was Jack right? Did she love him? No. No, of course not. It was Will, and always would be.

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She was kissing him. Her lips were locked with his, her hands around his neck. He wasn't touching her, though, as she thought he would. Elizabeth backed him up against the mast. She had to admit, he was a good kisser, even though his breath smelled like algae. She reached down, grabbed a shackle and locked it around Jack's wrist. He open his eyes, and smirked at her, when he saw what she did. He had been tricked.

"It's after you, not the ship. It's not us. This is the only way, don't you see?"

Jack didn't say anything but continue to smirk at her. He was right, after all. Curiosity got the better of her. Even though she was leaving him for dead, to save herself, Will, and the others, she came over to his side. She had done something selfish. Elizabeth leaned up, about to kiss him, again, but stopped herself.

"I'm not sorry." And she wasn't. She wasn't sorry for leaving him behind, wasn't sorry for tricking him, and wasn't sorry for kissing him. This proved that she didn't love him. She had wanted him, physically, yes, that part was true, but it wasn't love. It was pure lust. That kiss had helped her to slake off her lust.

Jack only responded with one word: "Pirate."

She wasn't exactly sure if it was a compliment, or an insult, or both. Even though she wasn't sorry, part of her would always feel guilty. But he was a pirate, and was used to betrayal. At least she wasn't doing it to save just herself. Hopefully, Jack understood that. Without saying anything else, she turned on her heel and climbed down into the longboat with Will and the others. Elizabeth half expected for Jack to yell down to Gibbs to come up and unhandcuff him, but surprisingly, he didn't say anything.

"Where's Jack?" Will asked, a cold edge to his voice.

"He elected to stay behind to give us a chance."

A lie. The crew all looked hesitant, and Will was glaring at her. Why weren't they rowing away yet?

"Go!" she commanded.

They started to row away from the ship, and they all turned and watched as the Kraken took it down to the depths, along with its captain. Elizabeth had to fight hard to hold back tears. If only there had been another way, but there wasn't. If she had to do it all over again, she probably wouldn't, but she still wasn't sorry.

After they had gotten far enough away from the Kraken, Will continued to glare at her. Why was he so angry with her? Surely, he didn't see the kiss? No. No, that couldn't be it. Could it?

Elizabeth had had nightmares about leaving Jack behind, and the nightmares would continue to haunt her until her dying days.

THE END