The battle was won.
At long last, the war was finally over, and home was finally close enough to touch.
Elizabeth Swann should have been the happiest girl in the world at that moment.
But deep down, her once-resilient heart was beginning to break.
She looked out at the crystal-clear ocean, glimmering in the sunlight,
And felt the weathered, familiar wood of the Black Pearl beneath her fingers,
Knowing that this may be the last time she would ever feel the freedom of the seas again.

It was almost too much to bear.

Suddenly, a kind voice called to her, shocking her out of her reverie.
"Your chariot awaits, your highness...".
She turned around, and saw her old friend Mr. Gibbs holding out a hand to her, waiting to lead her to the humble rowboat
that would take her home. But there was so much more to do before she left.

She looked around the deck at all of the faces of so many people she had grown so close to,
who she had lived with and fought with, and she could see nothing but sadness all around her.
It made it all the harder to say goodbye. But she knew it had to be done.

Slowly, she made her way through the column of pirates, saying her last farewells to all of them in turn,
and trying her hardest not to show just how much she was going to miss the life she was about to leave. True, there were times where she had missed England, but she was going to miss even more the thrill of adventure, and the freedom of sailing the high seas. And yes: she even found herself coming to appreciate every single dirt-faced pirate she had sailed with aboard the Black Pearl.
There was one Pirate, in particular, though, that she found herself scanning the crowd in constant search of.
The one person she wanted to see more than anyone: Captain Jack Sparrow.

It wasn`t too long before she spied his familiar visage amongst the crowd.
He stood at the helm of his beloved boat, his normally vibrant brown eyes turned downwards
and so full of pain that they felt like daggers to Elizabeth's heart.
Instantly, she started slowly walking towards him, ignoring everything and everyone else.
After all they had been through together, and all he had done for her, what could she possibly say?
She tried to find the words, but nothing seemed right.

"Jack..."

He finally turned to face her, fighting to put on a brave face, but she still knew that this was killing him
inside. She tried to brave a smile, as well, and tried her hardest to say what she needed so badly to say, choking back the tears that had finally started to fall down her face.

"I just wanted to say, I'm so sorry for all of the times I hurt you….And thank you, for everything."

"Now, now, no need for that, luv…", Jack replied.

Impulsively, she closed the distance between them, and threw her arms around him. For a few moments, they held each other tightly, expressing what could never be said in words.

"You're a good man, Jack…", Elizabeth whispered as she pulled away from him, so quietly that only he could hear it.

Gently, Jack stroked a tan, rough finger down her face to wipe away her tears, then slowly brought her face to meet his own

"..And you are going to be the death of me yet, Lizzie.", he whispered back, just as softly

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something in return, but she was cut short by a gentle finger across her lips.

"But it never would have worked out between us, darling. Remember?
And besides...I don`t I think I have quite enough rum for you to stay here. You`d burn me out of house and ship!"

A sly smile spread across his face as his finger dropped, and Elizabeth found that she, too, couldn`t help but smile. How she would miss seeing that roguish face every day. But she knew that he was right.

It was finally time to go.

She wrapped him in a hug once again, and after saying their last goodbyes, Elizabeth finally allowed Mr. Gibbs to lead her away to the rowboat. Back to the real world, and to William, the man she had sworn to protect.

Still in his place at the helm of his ship, Jack watched her leave until she disappeared from sight, fighting not to show the heartbreak he felt. He quietly pulled from his sash the magical compass that was one of his most prized possessions, and opened it. To Jack's surprise, it worked this time, but he found that the needle was now pointing in exactly the direction that Elizabeth had just left. He snapped it shut, not wanting anyone to see this, but apparently, someone had.

"Why, slit me sails…so the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow DOES have a heart, after all!",came a cold voice suddenly from behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

Jack spun around, and there stood his most mortal enemy and former first mate, Captain Barbossa, one of his favorite green apples in hand, juice dripping down his long, scraggly beard, and a grin playing on his face that Jack would have dearly loved to wipe off forever for such bluntness.

"If you don't have anything important to say, Barbossa", snapped Jack, hostility creeping in to his voice, "Then I would suggest you get out of my sight!"

But Barbossa stood his ground, the smile never leaving his face for a second.

"Ahhh, but I do", he replied, sauntering up closer "…I merely wanted to talk to an old friend, about a new business proposition that I think might be most profitable."

Jack was still annoyed, but at this, he couldn't help but be the slightest bit intrigued. "And what, pray tell, would that be, then?", he asked.

In reply, Barbossa simply reached behind himself, and picked up from on top of the nearest rum barrel a weathered, ancient-looking map, "Only this", he said, putting it in Jack's hands.

Jack unrolled the curled edges of the map, and glanced at it in curiosity. At first, it merely resembled any ordinary map, but a few seconds later, his eyes widened when he found, in flowery text, just what this map was for..

"This…Is…"

"Yes", Barbossa interrupted "It's a map, that will lead us to the fabled Fountain Of Youth"

"But, why are you showing me this?", Jack asked, both shocked and confused. Barbossa would hardly ever show such a treasure as this, without having some kind of motive.

"Well", replied Barbossa, "I've been dead once before, as have you, and I for one do not feel like dying again. I could have kept this all to meself, to be sure, but I can't have ye sailing away with me ship, now can I?

As much as he despised Barbossa, Jack knew the logic in this. Not only would he have the chance to cheat death forever, but he would also be able to keep an eye on the man who had betrayed him so many years ago.

"So…" Barbossa said, extending a grimy hand to Jack, "Do we have an accord?"

To this, Jack simply took the offered hand.

"Ye chose wisely, Jack Sparrow. Shall we sail on, then?"

"Aye", Jack said, nodding. "Let's find that fountain, but just know this: I WILL be watching you"

Nodding back, Barbossa walked away, satisfied.

Map in hand, Jack soon set his headings for the fountain, and for the freedom that lay just beyond the horizon, muttering to himself the words that Elizabeth had taught him so long ago.

"Drink up me hearties, yo-ho…."