Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for an update, but I've been busy! Keep reviewing and favoriting, it really improves my day. More chapters are to come soon! And tell me, how do you think this 'quest' will end for Annabelle and Jack? ;)

Ambrosia's hands ran all over Annabelle's now naked body. The room in which she'd been placed was dimly lit, and cast eerie shadows along the marble walls. The flickering light made Ambrosia's gorgeous face look somehow sinister. The slick olive oil ran down her back as it was rubbed in. When her entire body was shining with the liquid, Ambrosia stood over her and took a handful of what looked like spices from a golden bowl. She gently sprinkled the blood red and brown grains over Annabelle, muttering an incantation in Greek. When she was finished, she walked to the left wall and picked up a silver bowl, with a water and sea sponge inside.

The sponge was rough against Annabelle's skin, but not enough to cause her to cry out in pain. The water squirted around her as Ambrosia scrubbed her down. A few drops flew to her lips and she tasted salt. Strangely, Annabelle did not feel any discomfort or shyness as the Greek woman touched her in some of her most intimate places. The woman had a sort of calming effect on her.

Finally, Ambrosia finished, and Annabelle looked down at herself. She seemed to be positively glowing. Her skin was soft and she felt almost as beautiful as the mesmerizing Ambrosia looked. The woman spoke to her for the first time since they'd entered the room.
"Turn, please." her voice was gentle, captivating.

Annabelle did as she was told, and found a gown much like Ambrosia's laid out in front of her. Strands of gold glittered in the low lighting. Ambrosia slipped the gown over Annabelle's head, the fabric flowing gracefully over her slight frame. She was asked to then sit on her knees, and again she obeyed. The woman gently combed through Annabelle's hair with her fingers, and leaned her head back. Annabelle felt a comfortable warm wetness spread over her head. She heard the liquid splash behind her, and as she lifted her hand to her lips, she tasted salt once again. The woman then rubbed in a cold cream and washed it out with salt water again. Annabelle kept her head back as Ambrosia rose from her place and walked to the other side of the room. She glimpsed a flash of gold and Ambrosia was tugging through her hair once again.

The Greek woman tied Annabelle's hair back loosely with a gold string, and she was allowed to raise her head once again. She came around to face her, examining her face. She then pulled a gold stick seemingly out of nowhere and told Annabelle to look up with only her eyes. The girl promptly obeyed. Ambrosia quickly swiped the stick along Annabelle's bottom lashes and stepped back. She looked at Annabelle and gave a triumphant smile. Annabelle couldn't help but smile back. Her entire body felt, softer, lighter. She hadn't realized how dirty she'd become aboard the Pearl until she glimpsed the sponge that had been used on her. She grimaced as she passed the bowl, embarrassed at her own lack of hygiene.

The clothes and shoes she'd come in with were folded neatly by the entrance of the room, including the piece of ribbon that was her last connection to her home in Port Royal, and to her dear Aunt Loraine. She quickly swiped it up and tied it tightly to her wrist. Ambrosia eyed her curiously, but said nothing.

They walked back to room which contained the long mahogany table at which she'd sat with Jack and Gibbs only moments before. Stefanos was sitting, relaxed, at the head of the table, his boots resting on top of its shining surface. He spotted the two women entering, and flashed a smile. He gestured to a seat on the right side at the opposite end, and Annabelle took it. She sat patiently, with her head staring at the swirling grains of the wood.

A door opened at the opposite side of which Annabelle had come, and out stepped Jack, accompanied by a woman that Annabelle had never seen. He looked positively magnificent. His skin glowed beautifully, and his dark dreadlocks had also been tied back with a piece of gold string much like Annabelle's. He wore his usual black kohl on his eyes, but gold had been swiped underneath his lashes. His clothes had been replaced with a new set, his white blouse an open V at his chest, and his boots shining brightly. He still wore his grimy red bandanna and tricorn hat atop his head.
He exchanged a sly smile with the accompanying woman, and hot jealousy bubbled up in Annabelle's stomach. She tamped it down, there was no reason to be acting this way! Why should she care whether Jack lay eyes on other women? Even still, the beast that risen, roaring in her chest settled down as Jack locked his gaze on her. For once, he seemed out of words. She smiled shyly at him, adjusting her golden-white gown about the shoulder.

"Damn, Anna, yeh look-look like quite a sight," Jack said almost breathlessly. "And by tha', I mean…well, beautiful."

A pink flush crept up Annabelle's cheeks, and heat flooded her body. Jack took a seat next to her, not at the end, as he had before, but directly next to her. Their bodies were almost touching, and she could feel the hard leather of his boot brush her bare foot. Goosebumps ran rampant up and down her arms. Stefanos sat up abruptly and began to speak.

"Are you both aware of what the ceremony entails after this point?" his fingertips lightly pressed together, he eyed both Jack and Annabelle.
Annabelle shook her head, but to her surprise, Jack nodded. She looked at him incredulously. How could he know? Why had no one told her? She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned forward, eager to hear more about the ceremony she was to take part in.

"Jack, do you mind if I inform Miss…" Stefanos struggled with her name for a moment.

"Annabelle Crowe, mate," Jack replied.

"Yes, well, would you mind if I informed Miss Crowe of the ceremony in private?"

"Nay, I can't say I would," Jack said, and he rose from the table.

Annabelle's heart sank. She didn't want to be alone with this man. Something in his gaze made her uneasy, and her skin tingled unpleasantly. It almost itched. She avoided his blue-green eyes as they locked on her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and started, but when she looked up, it was only Jack, smirking down at her.

He leaned down and whispered, "Don' worry, I'll be just outside. Stefanos is a dog, but he knows not ta mess with that which isn't his."

He sauntered out, hands in his pockets, and left an echoing silence in his wake. Stefanos smiled and rose, walking to a painting that was hung just along the western wall, next to the door Annabelle had arrived from. It depicted the sea, a great ship sailing into the purple and orange horizon. A setting sun sat in the background, spreading its light to all edges of the canvas. He spoke to Annabelle without looking at her, admiring the artwork absentmindedly.

"I assume you know the story of the treasure?" he asked, his hands twisted behind his back.

Annabelle nodded, then realizing that the man couldn't see her, gave a verbal assent to the question.
Stefanos turned, his uncomfortable gaze making Annabelle squirm in her seat. He slithered closer to her, and she could feel her pulse quicken. She looked around, and with a jolt, realized that Ambrosia and the woman that had accompanied Jack were gone. They were completely alone.

"Tell me, why do you think Jack chose you to help him complete this quest?" he asked, rubbing his chin with one long fingered hand.

"I-I don't know, sir," Annabelle replied honestly.

"From what I've been told, you were set to be married to a soldier of the British Queen-"

"Not quite," Annabelle interrupted him. "He was merely looking to see if I would be a worthy candidate. Though, I do think had I stayed longer, I would have been set to be married in a few days."

"Ah," Stefanos sighed contemplatively. "And would you have been happy with the arrangement?"

It occurred to Annabelle to lie, but after meeting his strong gaze, she thought better of it. Stefanos didn't look like the kind of man who took well to being lied to.

"No, I can't say I would," she muttered, twisting the skirt of the silky gown in her fingers.

"Was this man displeasing to you?" he asked, moving still closer to where she sat.

"No, no," she said quickly, trying desperately to avoid his eyes. "He was actually quite charming. Sweet, honestly. But…there was…something…missing."

"Ah, I see," Stefanos replied, a grin flitting over his dark features. "I suppose you didn't find the-" he snapped his fingers together, "-spark you were hoping for?"

Annabelle nodded. He seemed to have been spot on. A spark, any sort of attraction, was nowhere to be found between she and Jacob. And as guilty as she felt, she found she would not be privy to hiding her feelings for a man she knew little of. To her surprise, Stefanos was mere inches away from her when she pulled herself from her reverie.

"This, my dear, is why Jack picked you. You are not denying love because you care not for the man; you are denying it because you have no passion. And passion is all but outside Aphrodite's realm."

He brushed his black hair off of his shoulder and clapped his hands briskly. The woman that had accompanied Jack came rushing into the room, standing at attention.

"Would you tell our pirate companion to join us, Adara?" he said calmly, taking his place at the head of the table.

"But, how could he know how I felt about Jacob before we'd even met?" Annabelle asked, utterly bemused by the concept.

"Jack Sparrow has an intuition that even he can not sense," Stefanos replied, his fingers laced lightly together on the table. "And it often leads to places many men would not find suitable or plausible for travel."

At that moment, Captain Jack Sparrow strutted back through the marble doorway.