Chapter 1

"Come here, boy. Nice juicy bone. Come here. Come on!"

Jack leaned against one of the walls, and lowered his hat to cover his eyes. He was tired of listening to the prisoners on the opposite side of the wall, who were trying very hard to lure the jail dog, who held the cell keys in its mouth, over.

"You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move."

The prisoner who was holding a bone in his hand spat back,

"Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet."

Annoyed, Jack walked over to a corner and sat down. This is a nice cell. It has a window that overlooks the sea, and some hay to sit on. Nicest cell I've ever been captivated in. Too bad the ones in Singapore weren't like this.

He heard a yelp, and it was the dog. It was sitting near the room entrance, and was staring at Jack with his big black eyes. Jack rose his hand and waved,

"Ello, doggie." The dog instantly ran away, and the neighboring prisoners hushed. Good. I scared the dog away. Hopefully those bloody prisoners will shut up. Jack turned his head and looked at the jail door. He saw a skirt.

"Mr. Sparrow," a feminine voice called.

Jack looked up to see who it was. She was wearing a cream colored robe that was decorated in a green floral pattern over her under dress. Her left hand held a lit candle, which illuminated the lady's fair face and long, curly brown hair. Jack placed his hand on the wall, and pushed himself up to a standing position.

"Miss Swann! Visiting the jail dressed in your nightgown and unattended?" Elizabeth grasped her free hand on a door opening and leaned in closer.

"You have something of mine, you filthy robber!"

Jack smiled, "Well, thank you for the compliment. It's always a pirate's honor to be called such names."

"I don't have much time, Mr. Sparrow! Please! I came here to claim the necklace that you took from my procession this morning." Jack reached into his sash and pulled out a gold chain.

"Ah, this?"

Elizabeth saw it, and put her hand through one of the openings and tried to grasp the necklace, even though Jack was standing far away, in the back corner. Jack grinned and took a few steps towards the direction of Elizabeth's location. She had an innocent face,

"Why can't you just give it to me? After all, what do you plan to use it for, Mr. Sparrow, when you're scheduled to be hung tomorrow?" Jack flicked his wrist in the air. It was something he always did without thinking.

"You're forgetting something, love. I'm a pirate. We take what we can and give nothin' back. And by the looks of it," Jack held up the necklace's medallion, and studied the skeletal engraving, "this isn't a proper lady like yourself's type of jewelry. Why do you want it back?"

Elizabeth glared at the pirate, "The importance of that necklace is none of your business, Mr. Sparrow!  I'm standing here, aren't I? Standing in a room where I'm not supposed to be! You've already got me this far. Please."

She had already developed a very, bad mood. Dealing with what would happen if her father found out she was gone would just add to the list of why. Jack looked at the necklace again, raised his eyebrows, and nodded. He wobbled towards his side of the prison door and faced Elizabeth.

"Well, all right then, Miss Swann. Because you're not much of a conversational woman, I'll say it right now. I'll give you the necklace, in exchange for my freedom."

What is he thinking!? she thought to herself.

"NO! I am not dense, Mr. Sparrow! What kind of girl do you think I am? I would never agree to that!"

Jack pointed his finger at her, "An understanding one, to be honest. You said yourself," Jack adjusted the pitch of his voice to be higher, "'Pirate or not, this man saved my life.' " He returned to his original tone, "Don't you think that it's unjust for me to be waiting in this cell for the next day to come, when I am supposed to die, and it's all because I rescued you?"

Elizabeth glared at him. As much as she hated to, she agreed.

"I'm sorry, but I disincline the acquiesce to your request. Your freedom is too much to ask for in exchange for a necklace. Surely, Mr. Sparrow, did you really think that I'm stupid enough to believe that?"

Jack opened his mouth to say 'yes', but instead he decided to say something else,

"Then I'll change things a little. You give me my freedom," he pointed to himself, "and in return, I'll give you your necklace, and," Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, indicating that she wanted him to finish the sentence, "I'll do whatever you want me pirate-self to do. Which, could include me departure from Port Royal and no return."

Elizabeth thought about his proposal. Jack reached out his right hand, "Do we have an accord?"

Elizabeth made up her mind, "I can't guarantee anything, but I will try."

She reached her hand through one of the openings and Jack replied, "Agreed." He shook her hand, and then let go. Elizabeth's candle was already starting to run out of wax, which pointed out that she had to leave soon in order for her to arrive home unnoticed. She opened her palm to Jack, "My necklace?"

Jack grinned and dropped the necklace into her open palm. Elizabeth closed her hand into a fist and pulled her hand back to her side of the door.

"I believe this is goodnight, Jack." She hurriedly walked towards the exit. Jack watched her and grinned, pleased with himself, "But not goodbye."