A/N: Thanks to my beta Azzie(Inkfire) for going over this one! :D If any readers are interested in taking over, please PM me!
Searching for What He Left Behind:
Chapter Six: Rumors:
Kaila stepped off her ship onto the dock, inhaling deeply the sweet scent of the sea before it was swept away by the stench of alcohol and unwashed bodies.
"We set sail tomorrow with the dawn's tide! Not aboard, not coming!" she called over her shoulder. Her crew knew that, and knew what they needed to do. Kaila herself set out for her quiet cliff by the beach.
As she passed through the crowds, trying hard not to inhale, she overheard snatches of conversation.
"Yes, the Jack Sparrow lost his ship to that upstart first mate!"
"Right, I heard..."
"...Here..."
Kaila ran straight to her cliff, but found someone already there. Jack...
Since they were twelve, she'd spent her life chasing him! All those times...going undercover in Port Royal for years waiting for him to show up, then sneaking after him back here, to Tortuga, and hearing he was setting out for Isla de Muerta, saving his life without being noticed many times while there...and the whole deal with the Kraken, she swore she should have just shot him then. But she couldn't.
Soaring above the Black Pearl, high enough for them to think her a bird, but low enough for her to see, Kaila wished she'd stayed at home. Because her best friend loved someone else. And now, now she recognized the pain in her heart. The jealousy, the longing to switch places with that girl, to be in Jack's arms, to be kissing him...she loved him. She always had.
Shaking those memories out of her head, she glared at the man standing and staring out at the sea.
What do I do now? Confront him? Leave? Hide-no, I won't hide. This is my place now!
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the open.
"You have some nerve, coming back here." The place where I jumped...after you abandoned me!
He didn't reply. Just stood there. Kaila huffed, and shoved past him.
Jack stood frozen. He heard her voice, saw her walk away, but he couldn't believe it was really her. It had been too long...
"Kaila?" He called out to the empty air. "Kaila!"
Running back towards Tortuga, he chased her, because he never should have left her, only to stop dead and stare once he reached the beach.