Author's Note: This was originally meant to have Will in it, but I've realized I need to plan a little more for his entrance! Lol! So, here we have the great escape of Jack and Arabella!

Chapter 11
--
The Almost Great Escape II

"We haven't much time!"

Mr. Reece didn't quite know if he was telling the truth, but he figured it sounded dramatic as he, Arabella and a very slow Jack made their way successfully out of the jail chamber.

"Why not?" Arabella whispered, peering around the corner, slyly. "Fitzwilliam's probably too busy planning our wedding to bother checking on us!"

"Though you were meant to be sarcastic, luv, that's probably true!" Jack commented from behind them, speaking a little louder than he perhaps needed to. He lifted his head up to the grey skies, breathing in the fresh air without a care in the world.

Belle, on the other hand, couldn't seem to relax.

"Jack! Stop fooling about, ye bloody dolt!" she snapped through gritted teeth, "Ye never know who could be watching…"

Mr. Reece looked up from his poking-his-head around the wall position. "She does have a point," he clarified. "Fitzwilliam's men could be anywhere!"

It was then Jack took the time to examine their saviour for the first time. He twitched; why was Reece wearing the uniform of and East India Trading Company worker? Strikingly odd, eh?

"Um… luv?" he hissed, tapping Arabella on her shoulder, gathering her attention which she wanted to stay fixed on finding a way out of the fort.

"Why do we have confidence Mr. Whatshisface isn't leading us into a trap… one with no way out, savvy?"

Belle just blinked. She wasn't amused.

"How could ye even think that Mr. Reece would be involved in Fitzwilliam's dastardly plans?" she retorted, heatedly. "He worked alongside my mother for many years!"

"Ah, the said mother who pretended she was dead and left you to become a pirate?" Jack quipped, sharpening his point.

Arabella shook with anger. "If we weren't in hiding from an insane little bugger such as Fitzwilliam," she began, breathing deeply, "Ye would be made into a bloody eunuch by now!"

"Stow it!" Mr. Reece brought himself back into the 'conversation'. "There's a safe way outta here, just hold your tongues and follow me!"

Bella flicked herself back to their redeemer, eyes flashing through the dawning darkness. "Ye have La Fleur with ye, right Mr. Reece?"

"Um…" the slightly elder pirate began to shift uncertainly on the balls of his feet, "Actually… I don't sail her anymore…"

Arabella's brown eyes widened into huge orbs resting bellow her brow. "W-what?!" she practically choked on her words.

Reece suddenly blushed as red as the bandana atop of his head. "Well, I still sail her… just not as a pirate ship. I use her as public transport, you see, I-I take people places they want to go… she's over with a Mrs. Elizabeth Turner at the moment… I'm taking her back to Port Royal once her baby is born."

As Arabella stuttered replies, Jack, who really couldn't care less about Mr. Reece's life story decided to get himself out of this mess. Taking a quick peek over his shoulder, he began to saunter off into the darkness of an alleyway, searching eagerly for a stupid looking officer.

It didn't take very long to find a slightly chubby one who seemed to be in the middle of a staring competition with a moss covered wall.

"'Scuse me, mate!" Jack called, waving his arms wildly as he strode casually up to him.

"Uh…" the man looked around himself before meeting Jack's eyes. "Oh, 'ello! What can I do for you, my good sir?"

Jack grinned; he liked the authority. "Lord Fitzy--ahh… Dalton 'as sent me to secure his sister a safe passage to England. And his father. We're just gonna need a ship is all, mate!"

"Why, of course!" chuckled the dim-witted officer, leaning against the wall, happily. "Are you a privateer, my friend?"

"Yes!" Jack suddenly said, voice jumping as he pointed at his 'friend' in realization of some strange sort. "Aye and here are my letters of Marque!" Quickly he shot his hand into the inner pocket of his cloak, flashing his list at the fellow before him and cramming it back inside within the blink of an eye.

"I didn't see it," complained the East India Trading Company worker, though still in a surprisingly cheerful mood.

"Wouldn't be surprised with this dim light, mate!" Jack responded, turning his kohl-lined eyes up to the grey clouded sky above them. "Try readin' in this and you'll strain yer eyes!"

Strangely enough, the officer burst into a fit of hysterical laughter as if some invisible force was tickling him with a huge ostrich feather. He was almost rolling on the dusty floor, the bloody idiot! Eventually – thankfully – it stopped.

Jack just stared.

"Take your friends down this route here, good sir!" he said, gesturing down the darkness of the alley way they stood in. If squinting, Jack could just about make out the end of it; a slight sight of the moonlight bouncing off the waves.

"You're a diamond, mate!" he grinned, flashing every single one of his golden teeth before turning to leave. "Oh, and I think we won't tell Lord Fitzy about our little talk, eh?"

The cheerful solider nodded, to wrapped up in the excitement of 'making a new friend' to ask why. "Of course!" he called after Jack, who was making no hesitation in returning to Reece and Arabella… who he found were still discussing the well-being of La Fleur de la Mort.

"Well, she's not much use as an infamous pirate ship without the invisible sails," Mr. Reece quoted, causing Belle to nod, yet not to lay off the pointless conversation;

"Of course, Mr. Reece, but who's to know this 'Elizabeth Turner' won't be treating her like Mother used to--"

"Oh, Lizzie will treat her just fine, luv," interrupted Jack, gathering back the duo's attention. They turned to him with expressionless faces as they met his checking-his-filthy-nails pose. He was up to something.

"What have ye done?" Arabella inquired with a slight sigh.

"Secured us a safe passage, Belle," he simply explained, "And a ship…"

Bella's eyes lit up. This had to be the best news she'd heard for a long time.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Jack seemed to have read her mind, already leading Mr. Reece past the jail entrance and into his new 'friend's' alley way. Heaving yet another sigh, Arabella followed, skirts gathered in one arm, head slightly hung.

Reaching the opening of the passage, Mr. Reece paused once eyeing the solider standing there, on the lookout for Jack's return.

"We can't go down there!" he hissed, pressing his back up against a nearby wall, taking in quick breaths. "Haven't you seen the guard?"

"Ah, never mind him, mate!" Jack replied with a casual flick of the wrist as Arabella stepped up behind them, curiosity smeared over her face. "He's expecting us!"

"What's going on…?" Bella began, though neither of the men seemed to hear her.

Mr. Reece just stared blankly at Captain Sparrow, blinking his eyelids over darting blue eyes in utter confusion.

Jack merely smirked, grabbing Arabella around the waist and Reece by the collar of his pearly white linen shirt, dragging them both into the darkness of the passage way and past the chubby soldier's presence.

"Oh, good night, sir!" he called after Jack leaping back into reality as the pirate whisked past him, a struggling Belle and motionless Mr. Reece in his grasp. "Good day, Miss Dalton, Lord Dalton Sire!"

"Why is he just letting us past like that?!" hissed Arabella's demand in Jack's ear as he yelled back to the soldier, muttering the words 'poor bugger' beneath his breath before replying with no hesitation;

"Couldn't resist my charm, luv." He grinned, devilishly at her, gold teeth sparkling in the moonlight.

Arabella felt a slight smile play on her thin pink lips whilst Jack continued to drag them out of the eyesight of the still-waving soldier, dark brown dreadlocks lightly crashing against her cheek.

Usually she would have stopped to examine the beauty of the night; the glistening stars, the thick blackness of the sky and the huge craters of the moon bouncing off the rippling waves but her only priority of the moment was to get as far away from Fitzwilliam as soon as possible.

And, luckily, it seemed to be Jack's too.

After enduring a few twisting pathways and turning streets, Jack stopped them, letting go of Belle's waist and releasing Reece, causing the dazed elderly sailor to crash to the floor with a bang.

Arabella resisted the urge to roll her eyes, crouching over Reece, attempting to bring him back into reality whilst Jack sauntered off down the docks, arms flailing more than they usually would.

Making his way to the fastest seeming ship latent at the bottom of the wooden platform, he began to ponder; why had he brought Arabella and Mr. Reece to safety along with him? He never usually helped others unless something seemed to be in it for him… was there something in it for him?

He shook his head lightly. This was too confusing to think about. He would just get aboard that ship, gather up his two companions and lead them to safety back in Tortuga… but why did he need to take them along? Did they offer anything for him?

This karma stuff was really getting to Jack.

For a slither of a moment he convinced himself he would leave them… yes, that's what he would do! That's what Captain Jack Sparrow does…

But then he looked back.

Arabella seemed to shine like an angel in the night. He couldn't just leave her. She had to be the best friend he'd ever had… no, Jack would leave Arabella like she had left him for La Fleur in New Orleans… though he had left her before…

He suddenly smirked to himself. What was he thinking? Jail had obviously tweaked his insanity. Yes, that was it. Arabella was just his first mate, his best friend… he didn't love her… had he loved her before, though?

Jack couldn't even remember. He just hauled himself aboard the ship… and he called for Belle and Mr. Reece.

He sighed as they began to run for the ship. It seemed like the old Jack Sparrow had gone…

"Hopefully not for good, though," he thought with a small grin.

--

Carolina was shocked.

Diego was shocked.

Fitzwilliam was… laughing.

As the two pirates were bundled into the cell, both were contemplating on Fitz's proposition. He promised to keep them alive if they helped. If not, it would be a painful death for them both, before, of course, months of torture.

Carolina sighed, resting her head on Diego's shoulder as they took their positions on the bench. Diego wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, breathing in the sweet fragrance of her raven black hair.

"Diego?" she whispered once the soldiers trudged up down a level of the jail, clearly going to check on Captain Sparrow and the 'future Mrs. Dalton'.

"Si?" he responded, equally as quiet as the footsteps faded into the distance.

Again, Carolina sighed. "What are we going to do?"

She felt Diego shrug against her. "We don't have a choice. Help Fitzwilliam capture – and kill – the Sparrow family or die…"

"But… there has to be a way out of this," assumed Carolina, almost inaudibly, "Before we know it he could be depending on us to murder all the pirates in the Caribbean… no, the world…"

"I know…" Diego said, in all honesty. "But Captain Sparrow will find a way out of this… he always does…"

The Spanish princess nodded, heaving a small sigh through pursed lips. Little did she know, the moment between them would soon be ruined as the two soldiers sprinted back up the stone staircase, literally pulling their hair… ahh… wigs out with some strange emotion I can't even begin to explain.

"You bloody pirates! You better not have 'ad anything to do with this!" the stronger seeming of the two spat, crashing his body against the bars of their cell in anger, his ugly face quite accurately turning red.

"Pierre, they couldn't have!" spluttered the insanely skinny one behind. "They've been with Lord Dalton the whole time!"

"They must've sent recruits in!" steamed Pierre, cramming his huge head against the rusting bars again.

"¡Señor, no hemos hecho nada!" blurted out Diego in thick Spanish, clearly unaware they couldn't understand his native tongue.

"Stop that!" yelled the second officer, nervously. "Inform Lord Dalton! We may be able to still catch them!"

"Sir, what's happened?" Carolina's musical voice inquired, the two rising abruptly from their seat.

"J-Jack Sparrow…" stammered the soldier as Pierre whisked himself ungracefully away. "H-he's escaped!"

Author's Note: Slight cliffhanger, I guess! Lol! Random Spanish from Diego… playing with the translator was fun! Anyways, I'm really happy; this story is REALLY picking up! Soon enough we'll have some insane randomness coming in… Yay!

Oh, that somehow reminds me; I have a poll on my profile page; a few ideas for this story! I'm probably gonna use most of them anyways, I just really want an opinion!

Well, thanks for reading! I wanna get 50 reviews before I update… think you can help me out? :D I promise more Sparrabella if you do! And more of Diego and Carolina!