I did originally plan to let this last six chapters, but the next one is likely to be the end. Quite like this chapter, I work best describing the way a characters' mind is working at that point in time; and what is causing it to act like that. The beginning is likely to feel rushed since I wrote the end first. It's a little short, sorry about that, but it's an update! The last part should -hopefully- be out tomorrow.

Disclaimer; I only own Marea, everything else belongs to Disney!

Amor Fatum
Chapter Four
This Is Wrong

Will stared at the sleeping form with worry.

Marea had been out of it for a day and a half now. There was a few times she woke up, but she was so disorientated she couldn't say anything; he doubted she would remember those few times. He was worried about her, and he wasn't sure why.

Well, that would have been a silly thing to say. He was going to be worried about anyone who got shot, but not in the same way he was worried about Marea. He wasn't worried the way he was because she was a woman; no, it definitely wasn't that. It was something else.

"This is..." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Marea wouldn't die; she couldn't, but she still looked pale, and she was definitely in pain. He could tell by the way she groaned when she moved, and sometimes she would let out a gasp if her arm grazed her wound.

What annoyed Will most though, was not the fact he was worried about her, but the fact, that even though she was in front of him... She would not leave his thoughts. If he closed his eyes, she was there. If he began to think about Elizabeth, it would turn into her. She was like a plague, and though it was beginning to annoy him, he couldn't help but welcome the thoughts even more.

He was beginning to think he was falling for her. If not in love, then in some form of lust at least. Of course there was going to be some sort of attraction; most of the men on the ship likely leered after her. She was the only women they would see for ten years; although they could easily go onto land, Will couldn't and there wasn't much in the way of making port upon the Dutchman.

Will sighed, and sunk back into the chair. Marea had been placed in a spare cabin for now. It was only small, with a bed, chair and a desk with a few pieces of paper scrawled over it. He soon realised, when he was looking around it, that it had once been the room of a child; probably the woman who lay before him. It explained the scraps of papers with rather bad drawings on them.

It would make a lot of sense though; there was no way she would be allowed to sleep with grown men when she was very young. She probably only began to share with them when she got older and could protect herself.

He chuckled slightly at the thought.

An hour or so went by, and the rain outside was beginning to bang against the windows. It had been picking up over the past half hour, and it was beginning to sound as though a storm was coming in. Will wasn't sure what to do; according to the crew, Marea was the best to get the ship through the storm without it being damaged; but even if she did wake up, she probably would be in too much pain to do anything.

The bullet had been taken out, but had she not been one of the Dutchman's crewmembers, it was likely the shot could have been fatal.

"That... rain sounds bad."

Will's eyes snapped towards the raspy voice, seeing Marea lying there with her eyes fixed tiredly upon the ceiling. She was still pale, and she looked exhausted, but she was awake; and conscious enough to speak. "You're awake," he smiled.

She blinked a few times, before she brought a hand up to her eyes and rubbed them. "I'm in my old room," she observed. "I recognise the smell anywhere."

He said nothing in reply.

She didn't sit up, instead she moved her hand over her stomach, and then to the side she was shot. She winced a little as she reached the spot under her bandages. "I got shot then," she observed, speaking more to herself. "Would have been fatal." She closed her eyes, and he thought she'd fallen asleep again; until her raspy voice carried on. "But of course, I can't die while I am bound to the ship."

"You were reckless," Will said forcefully and yet with a tone of concern.

She picked up on it right away, and the corners of her soft, pink lips turned up into a smile. "And I would be right in saying, you have not moved from that seat."

"That's not true," he muttered. It wasn't, technically. He had moved, to look around the room and to check on the crew. Not that he left her alone for too long of course. His mind yelled at him to leave now, before he acted upon his blooming feelings for her.

Feelings? He asked. No, nothing more than lust; it can't be anything else.

It would be completely understandable, even if not acceptable, that he lusted after her. He was a man, and she would be the only woman he would see for ten years; and as long as she stayed on the crew, she wouldn't ever look as old as Elizabeth would as she waited year, after year on that island.

Was he wrong to make her wait? She was so beautiful; she could find another man to spend her life with. It then occurred to him, he was comparing them to each other. But I love Elizabeth, he scolded himself. I do.

He had no doubt he loved her, but... What he felt for this other woman... It was different. Not stronger, just different. She was completely different to Elizabeth. They were both beautiful women; Elizabeth was a lot more feminine, of course, but there was something about Marea's rugged appearance that was like poison to him. One bit was not enough; he found himself wanting to have it all; needing to have it all.

He shook his head. He couldn't think about this; not now. "Are you still in pain?"

Marea's smile left her lips. "Only a little, it has not been the first time I have been shot- or even stabbed with a cutlass," she laughed a little, pushing some of her hair from her eyes.

God, she was so beautiful at that moment. If he could just... She was right there. Just there in front of him. What was to stop him from leaning over her, and kissing those pale lips? What was to stop him from pulling her towards him, and kissing her like he had never kissed anyone before?

Nothing was to stop him.

Will gripped the arms of the chair a little more, and tore his gaze away from her. What was he supposed to do? He did not want to be unfaithful, but if he was falling in lo- no, it couldn't be love. It had to be lust. It just had to. He would need something to settle his mind; there was no way he could avoid her for the next ten years until he could see Elizabeth again. He needed to ease his mind; right now, while she was there. He slid forward in his seat.

Marea quickly sat up, wanting to move around after being in bed for a day and a half; but Will's hand stopped her. She looked up at him; only just realising how close he was to her. She could feel his breath on her lips; oh, how she wanted to move forward, just a bit... Just to push her lips onto his. "Will..." She said breathlessly, using his name for the first time.

He slid forward from his chair, closing the gap between them even more. No, no, she thought, this is all wrong. "Will," she said again, her eyes closing slightly. "What about... Your wife?"

He closed his eyes. "She kissed Jack," he replied quietly. His breath on her lips made her want to pull him closer... She just couldn't bring herself to do it. "Am I not allowed to kiss someone else?"

Marea was sure they would have kissed; had the door not opened and Bootstrap walked in. She quickly shot back away from him, blushing, and looking for something to concentrate on; eventually finding a thread from her shirt.

"Captain..." He said quietly, as he glanced between the two of them. There was tension in the air; not an angry tension either. "The rain is getting worse; we're heading into a storm."

Will nodded, not trusting his voice; and watched as Marea stood up. "You can't go out there," he said quietly. "You're still in pain."

She gave him a lop sided grin, and pulled her hair back into its braid, and re-buttoned the bottom of her shirt. Of course it had to be unbuttoned to treat her; she didn't seem phased by the fact she was half exposed at all.

Ignoring him, she quickly walked over to Bootstrap, and left the room. He lingered behind for a while. "Son..." He sighed, opening the door. "You are..." He didn't know if he should say it.

Will sighed and stood up. "We have a change of course." He had decided he could not wait another ten years to see Elizabeth; he needed to put his mind at ease now. "Head towards the island I left Elizabeth... I nee- want to see her."