/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Ten

The sun was just coming up over the horizon when I awoke. Quietly so I wouldn't disturb anybody else, I hurried down to the river's edge to get ready for the day. Splashing water onto my face, I let my gaze drift across the river. Once again I marveled at the peacefulness of the place and felt the twinge of jealously that the people who lived here first had it all made. I wished I could live in such simplicity, but I knew I wouldn't be able to live without the technology that we had.

Deep in thought, I turned around to go back up to camp when I ran into someone. Gasping, I stepped back a few steps. I was about to apologize when I saw that it was Jack, grinning at me as if I had done some sort of trick.

"Is this your way, Elizabeth, always running into people?" Jack asked, laughing.

I blushed in embarrassment. "If you wouldn't keep sneaking up on people, then maybe they wouldn't."

"If I didn't, then I wouldn't get to see you blush," Jack said longingly, tracing my face with one finger.

I grabbed Jack's hand and put it back down at his side. I wasn't about to have Will sneak up on us and have him misinterpret the situation as he did last time. I wanted to preserve what little progress we had in getting back to where we had once been.

"I'm afraid I'm not in the right state to allow such advancements, Mr. Sparrow," I said indignantly.

"Of course, love," Jack gave a slight bow. "There was never anything between us in the first place."

I bowed my head, hiding my smile. Sometimes I couldn't help but smile at Jack's antics and crazy way of doing things. He certainly made the mood lighter with his crew and kept the moral up without even trying. Too bad Jack couldn't lighten Will's mood up a bit. He would be so much more agreeable then.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Elizabeth," Jack said, breaking me out of my reverie. "Why did you betray me on the Black Pearl?"

I sighed and walked back towards him. I knew this conversation was going to come up some time in the near future. I had been dreading it, not knowing what to say to explain what I had done. My actions had put us in this predicament in the first place.

"I did what I thought was best," I finally managed. "I thought that one sacrifice would be easier than losing the whole lot of us."

"So you think of me only as a mere sacrifice?" Jack asked. I could hear the rising anger in his voice and I knew I had chosen the wrong words.

"No, that is not it, at all, Jack," I pleaded. "I meant that Davy Jones was looking for you, and he would know that you wouldn't be on the ship and come for us instead. I didn't think you would want us all suffer at the hands of Davy Jones."

"You could have just said that to me instead of playing with my affections," Jack exclaimed.

"I realize that now and I'm sorry. But that was the only thing I could think of at the time," I said. "I thought you wouldn't agree if I tried to reason with you."

Jack nodded. "I'm not usually reasoned with, am I?"

I smiled. "Not very often. But I'm glad you're the way you are, Jack. We wouldn't be able to get out of so many predicaments if you weren't there to save us."

"That's because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack said, laughing. "I can do anything just because people know my name."

"And I hope nobody forgets it," I stated.

"Of course not, because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack said, laughing at his own joke.

I smiled but didn't say anything. If I encouraged him, he'd keep on going with little regard to others. Jack stopped his laughter and looked at me curiously. Feeling a blush rise against my cheeks, I looked away from him.

"Are you alright, Elizabeth? Was it something I said?" Jack asked.

Making myself become calm, I turned back to Jack and shook my head. "No, of course not. I was just thinking."

"About what?" Jack asked, inching a little bit closer to where I stood.

Moving a few steps backward, I could see that Jack was getting frustrated. Obviously he was still trying to win me over, but I wasn't going to let him do that. Until Will draws his last breath, I was still very much in love with him and wanted nobody else.

"I was thinking about how we were going to get back to Port Royal and defeating Davy Jones," I said.

"Well, we can't do anything without a good, strong ship," Jack said.

"And how are we going to do that? We don't have the time to build one. A ship takes at least a couple of years to be built," I protested.

Jack regarded me thoughtfully. "Have you ever heard of commandeering, Elizabeth?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I heard it once, I've heard it a million times. I guess I can't escape it when I'm on the run with pirates."

Jack laughed. "You've got that one right. Well, I plan on commandeering one. We have to find the right one. We don't want anybody to be cursed."

"Jack? How come Bootstrap Bill was on the ship with you? I would have thought he would have tried to help you off the ship if it was so cursed," I said.

Jack's face clouded over. "He was my jailer. He was bound by Davy Jones himself to make sure I don't escape. Davy Jones wants me dead really bad."

I looked at him curiously. "You mean Bootstrap Bill was bound to you? So if he's bound to you to make sure you don't escape, won't he come back to look for you?"

Jack rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"So that means when he comes back, we might be able to convince him to stay with us and protect us and then when we find Davy Jones' heart, we'll be able to defeat Davy Jones and free Bootstrap Bill," I said excitedly.

Jack shook his head violently. "No, we need to get away as quick as we can. If Bootstrap Bill finds me again, he'll kill me. That's what Davy Jones told him to do if I should escape."

"But surely he won't do that," I said in shock. "You two were as close as brothers. He couldn't kill his brother."

"You don't know pirates, Elizabeth. They betray their own brothers without a thought," Jack said.

"But strong bonds are hard to break and Bootstrap Bill will remember your relationship before the end," I encouraged.

"I sure hope you're right, Elizabeth," Jack said.

I nodded. "So what are we going to do now? We can't just sit on the banks of this river waiting for a miracle."

Jack sighed. "I think we might have to go to Tia Dalma's. She has all the answers."

I nod and got up. "I'll go tell the others to get ready. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"I'll go with you," Jack said.

Soon we were with the others, all of us making ready to leave. I just hoped that we were doing the right thing. I couldn't afford to have anybody killed now.

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Author's Note: Chapter Ten for everyone. I know, isn't it amazing that I did two chapters in one day, but I wanted to finish it and not wait for another day to update it. I hope everybody enjoyed the last chapter and like this one just as much. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, I really appreciate it. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy!