Daydream Believer14, Dead Girls Watch and Cat Girl Utah – Thanks for the reviews!

Brittle – Indeed, they are still heading for Singapore! :-D They are due to arrive in the next chapter. hehe. You will probably get this after school too, seeing as I always seem to post chapters around the same time. Right before my bedtime. Hehe. Meaning I get to wake up to the reviews from my marvellous readers! :-D I enjoyed writing the last chapter very much, however this one is not nearly as dramatic. Merely the aftermath. Jack the evil one, lol. He is a pirate. Isnt it inevitable that Elizabeth will have to find out the secret eventually? There would be no point in it taking place otherwise ;-). Thanks for the review!

Cap'n Keira Sparrow – Hmm…I doubt Will will be returning to the story. I'm not too fond of him. If I do a sequel after the prequel, it may be possible. But I don't think he will be coming back from the dead anytime soon.

Q.Annes Lace – She does dish as good as she gets, doesn't she? From the movie, I didn't think she'd be someone to take someone saying those things to her quietly. Like you said, she 'dishes as good as she gets'. Glad the sexual tension is there, I've been trying to ensure it stays between them throughout the story. Thanks for the review!

Jen – I try to keep Jack as true to the movie as I can. I love his serious moments, the scary eyes (but gorgeous) eyes. As you may have noticed I mention his eyes a lot in the story. Thanks for the review!   

Cousin Mary – Ah! A new reviewer! Welcome! *blushes* Ah…yes…loose. *clear through, embarrassedly*. Thank you for pointing that out. Otherwise I would have continued using it. lol. Thanks for the review, hope u enjoy the rest of the story!

Concrete Angel – Aha! Another new reviewer! I've read your stories, they're brilliant. Like you, I enjoy reading stories that explore Jack's deeper side, which is why I tried to give it a go. Glad to see people think I did well at it :-D, I was quite worried. I love the whole 'War on the world' thing. Describes it all perfectly. Thanks for the review! And I hope you enjoy the story! :-)

On with the story!

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The ship was only another half day away from Singapore. The island had abruptly lost its appeal during the past few hours, in which Elizabeth and Jack had spent avoiding any contact with each other. She sat on a stool that was on deck, looking out at the ocean, a thoughtful expression lingered as she contemplated the things Jack had said. No one's lookin' out for ye, ye gotta watch yer own back. The comment had affected her more than it should have. She didn't really understand the feelings of hurt and betrayal that followed it. He owed her nothing. He never claimed that he would protect her. All he'd did was offer her a place here, seeing as she had 'nothing to lose.'  

We're pirates. But she wasn't a pirate. She was a lady, daughter of the former Governor of Port Royal. She didn't fit this. Her childhood fantasies clashed harshly with the realities of her lifestyle. A child's dream that she had clung onto all these years. Perhaps she was a child; a child that needed protection, like Jack had treated her during her first few weeks aboard.

No. She wasn't a child. She was no longer a lady; she had no desire to be one. She was not a pirate. Her eyes wandered from the ocean to the crew, who were hard at work on deck. Scrubbing the deck. Lifting the mast. Some carried sacks below deck. And here was she. Sitting watching them. No wonder they thought of her as a waste of space. No wonder they wouldn't hesitate to abandon her at their next destination. She lowered her eyes to her dress thoughtfully, before raising her eyes back to the crew. A tiny smile tugged at the side of her lips, as she stood from the stool and made her way to the captain's quarters.

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Jack leaned against the table, talking to Anamaria as she expertly peeled the skin off the potatoes.

'Ye ever been to Singapore?' he asked, biting into an apple.

She nodded, 'Aye. Me brother an' me went there when I was a kid.' She looked at him, lazing in front of her and glared a little, 'Y'know, I could use a little 'elp.' Jack just smirked and took another bite out of his apple. He looked down at the apple, remembering the time he'd tried to negotiate with Barbossa in the cabin. Will's name had been a great power he'd held over his rival. He hadn't really planned on telling him the name, a petty payback for the mutiny against him. Despite this fact, Barbossa couldn't die and was ever suffering. So being trapped on that island wouldn't have had the same affect. He'd still be living…in a way.

His mind wandered back to Will. His loyal friend. He reminded him off his father. That honest streak that did more harm than good. Who ever said honesty was a good thing? Honest only created nuisance, pain. As it would do, if he were an honest man. If he admitted to any sin, any blunder he had commited. The most recent being taking Ellie's family from her. He was sure there was a bruise where her fists had collided with his jaw, but he hadn't had the time to look at it really and, thankfully, no one had mentioned it.

'Somethin' on yer mind, Capt'n?' Anamaria spoke up, breaking into his thoughts.

Jack snapped out of his daze and looked at her. He grinned, 'None at all, luv.'

She smiled and put down the potato and knife, making her way over to him, 'It's that girl, isn't it?'

He frowned, it seemed the crew had noticed something was going on between them. He wandered if it was a discussed topic among the crewmates. He shrugged, 'Don't know what yer talkin' about, darlin'.'

She leaned against the wall across from him, 'I'm not blind. Ye know what I'm talkin' about.' There was a pause. He just looked at her, unflinchingly. She studied his features, 'Do you love her?'

Jack let out an incredulous laugh, 'Easy on, luv.'

Anamaria's face remained serious, 'But you do have feelings for her?'

Jack's expression slowly turned serious, he stepped closer to her, 'Yer prying, Anamaria.'

The sound of footsteps forced them to look up at the steps. Jack frowned, surprised to see Elizabeth clad in brown trousers and a tattered, white shirt. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, her feet on the wooden floorboards, their eyes met. She forced a grin, 'What're my orders, Captain Sparrow?'

Jack frowned, thoroughly confused, 'Elizabeth…'

'That's Miss Turner, if you don't mind, Captain,' she responded.

Silence filled the room. Jack's confusion and Elizabeth's boldness created an atmosphere that did nothing to comfort Anamaria, who was confused by their encounter. She looked over at Elizabeth, 'Ye can give me a hand with these,' she indicated to the potatoes.

Elizabeth didn't hesitate and made her way over to the table, lifting a spare knife. She paused for a moment, eying it uncertainly.

'Well…if you'll excuse me, ladies,' Jack made his way towards the stairs, 'Anamaria. Miss Turner.' He made his way back to the deck.

Elizabeth continued to eye the knife, uncertainly, her attitude left along with Jack. She'd gotten the surprised reaction she had hoped for. If he just wanted another hand on his ship, then that's what he'd get. If she really meant nothing to him, then that's what she'd be. Just another crewmate who would watch her own back. If only she'd ever peeled a damn potato!

'Ye never done this before?' Anamaria frowned, genuinely surprised. She lifted a potato and sliced off the skin of it, 'Like that.'

Elizabeth lifted a potato and mimicked her action, not a successfully, succeeding in dropped the potato back onto the table and almost cutting herself in the process. Anamaria couldn't help laughing and lifted the potato back up, giving it to her, and gave her a slower demonstration.

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Now, this was a pretty uneventful chapter. Pretty much a link between the last one and the next few. Nothing too significant happening aside from Elizabeth's new attitude. But I felt it was necessary. The smalls things an' all that. Like Anamaria and Elizabeth bonding. Not only that, I need to do a little research on Singapore during the 1700s, lol. I realised as I began to write their arrival on the Island and had to write this one instead. Don't worry, the next chapter will be better! Posted tomorrow, as usual! ;-)