Disclaimer: Do you honestly think I would be posting this here if I owned PotC???

AN: Woohoo! I am now officially a college student!! Unfortunately, that means I don't have nearly as much time to write. But don't give up on me! Your reviews are much appreciated, and I will be writing as often as I get the chance, I promise! I have no intention of quitting this! And now, on with the show! Oh, and check out the lovely italics! I finally figured it out!

Chapter Four

The last few days had been rather uneventful on board the Pearl. Well, as uneventful as things can get on a pirate ship. Nora had insisted on her own cabin as part of the bargain. Jack had protested, but when Nora threatened to leave the ship at the next port, he had given in. She was used to the privacy of her own quarters, and a real bed, not just a cot. Tonight she was restless however, wandering around the cabin, deep in thought.

They hadn't seen or heard anything of Billy Blackheart since leaving Tortuga. Nora couldn't believe that her joining the crew of the Pearl had been such a well kept secret that Billy didn't know about it. But if he did know, why hadn't he attacked them? The only explanation she could come up with was that Billy was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. She tried not to think about it as she got ready for bed.

It took Nora a while to get to sleep, and when she did, she dreamed.

She was 17, on board her father's ship. Her face was streaming with sweat, as she concentrated on the clanging metal swords and footwork.

Her father's voice: "Good, good. Now let's try it again. Remember, never take your eyes off an opponent, or they've got a chance to kill you."

She nodded, and off they went again. She was concentrating so hard it was a few moments before she heard the voice calling. "Cap'n! I think ye'd better look at this!"

Her father wheeled around to his first mate. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"But Cap'n, it's…I think it's the Conqueror!"

Nora couldn't see her father's face, but she saw the muscles in his back tense up at the sound of that name. Nora's heart went cold.

"How far?" her father asked urgently.

"They'll be here in minutes. And what with young Sparrow missin'…" The first mate gave her father a dark look.

Robert uttered a curse under his breath. "Nora, go to your cabin."

"But Papa, I want to –"

"Go to your cabin and stay there! Lock the door. Now!"

She ran to her cabin as quickly as possible. She had no intention of obeying her father's order though. She went merely to grab her pistols. He was always like this, she thought. Teaching her how to fight, then never letting her put the training to use. But Jack had gone missing the last time they had made berth. Did that mean he had something to do with this? Nora silently cursed Sparrow under her breath. Father had trusted him! She had trusted him! She had even begun to think…no, she thought, no that way lies madness.

Suddenly she heard shouts and curses from on deck, and then an explosion rocked the Maiden to her core. Nora ran to the porthole and saw that miraculously the cannonball had missed, and hit the water just feet from the ship. Suddenly she heard cries in strange voices. The ship was being boarded! She ran out of her cabin, and up to the deck to join the fray. This was the first time she had been able to put her skills to use, and use them she did. She was just finishing off a particularly ugly scoundrel, when she felt the barrel of a pistol poke her in the small of the back.

"'Allo, young missy. Ye'll be comin' with me. Ye've caused too much trouble for yer own good."

Nora froze, terrified. She knew, without doubt, that this was Billy Blackheart himself, and that one wrong move on her part would end her life. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Let her go Billy. It's me you want, not her."

Nora was shoved aside, and watched in fascinated horror as her father grappled with Billy. Both were skilled swordsmen, and the fight seemed to last forever, though in reality it must have only lasted a few moments. The rest of Billy's men had been killed or captured, so it was just the two of them, locked in battle, oblivious to all else. Her father fought more fiercely than she had ever seen him fight, against the man he hated more than anyone else, for reasons Nora didn't quite understand.

Nora saw, as if in slow motion, her father knocked to the deck, and Billy dealing the final blow, running him through with his cutlass.

"PAPA!"

Nora's eyes flew open. She sat up, shaking like a leaf, the echoes of her scream ricocheting around the room. The door of the cabin flew open, and framed in the doorway stood Jack.

"What happened? What's wrong?" His voice was anxious, tense as he moved quickly into the cabin, looking disheveled; his shirt not completely tucked into his breeches.

Nora took a deep breath. "Nothing, it was nothing. I just had a…a nightmare."

"Must have been some nightmare" Jack muttered to himself. He hesitated, then halfheartedly reached over and patted her on the back. Nora moved out of his reach. She didn't want his pity. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Nora cut him off.

"Just get out."

Her tone of voice brooked no argument. Jack shrugged, then strode out of the cabin.

Nora put her head in her hands. She was shivering in cold sweat. She had spent the past decade trying to put the blame on someone else, to keep the guilt away. But no longer. Guilt was gnawing away at her innards. If only she had just stayed in her cabin that day! If only she hadn't been so willful! If only…if only…She fingered the small medallion she wore under her shirt; it was gold, and it was etched with the figure of a ship on the ocean. It had been her father's last gift to her.

For the first time in over 10 years, Nora Williams wept.