He waited, hidden in a shadow until night closed in around him. Stars winked at him from a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze ruffled his hair. The black silence was golden to him, for it gave him a chance to think. Only 3 days, Elizabeth had said. Only! The girl had clearly never spent 3 days helpless, unable to go after that which mattered most. She was clearly unaware of the breed of desperation born of betrayal-betrayal from her closest friend. During those 3 nights, dark, unbidden thoughts began to pervade his mind, and he recognized for the first time the devious hand of insanity. Was he mad? Yes, but only a little, and only with the best kind of madness. But wait, philosophy time was over, for there she was, his angel, his darling, the reason he awoke in the morning. She stepped into the garden, unaware of his presence. The wind picked up, and rose petals began to swirl around them both, encompassing them in their own private world. She closed her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest. "It could have never worked between us", she whispered, "still I wish that you were here." He longed to reach for her, to let her know he was by her side and that not a day went by when he didn't think of her. He dared not speak to her though, for if he did, she could tell him to his face that it was over. As it was now, he could see her in the garden, surrounded by rosebuds and scented by lilies. His mind held these images as any sacred treasure, and later fantasy would take the actions he could not. She was high society, the kind of girl Elizabeth would associate with. It was in fact because of her that Jack had gone out in search of the Aztec gold. He had hoped that such wealth would be adequate to by him status and reputation-he already had her love. It was also she, indirectly, who caused the mutiny. She had gone secretly to Barbossa, Jack's friend and first mate. She implored him to convince Jack to give up piracy. Even if she could not be with him, she could still protect him. Barbossa assured her that there was nothing he could do to assuage Jack. The more he thought about it, though, the stronger an idea began to form. An Barbossa was not a man without ambition. Gradually, Barbossa began to spread rumours among the crew that Jack planned to keep all of the gold for himself, to buy the heart of a rich lass. When Barbossa knew they were close enough to a well known rum-runners island, he began the mutiny, that he prayed would turn Jack away from piracy, while making himself awfully rich. Jack never knew of these circumstances, and given the state of the curse, Barbossa never had the chance to tell the girl of his brilliant strategy. The rumours had come back, and she believed Jack to be dead, lost at sea. Yet he was her ghost, and she always felt him near. He had waited so long to see her face, and tonight the temptation was almost unbearable. He began to step into the light, when a man entered the garden behind her. "Come, love", he said, "the wedding is only in 3 days, and we wouldn't want you to catch cold." There was conversation, but Jack was oblivious. Words flashed through his mind like sheet lightning. "Wedding." "3 days" "love" "3 days." He was backn on the island again, distant and unable to touch her. Oh how 3 days can change a life! Well, not her life. Not the way it had changed his! He pulled his pistol from his trousers and fired one quick concise shot. Maybe he couldn't have her, but he'd be damned if anyone else would. He was, after all, a pirate.