Disclaimer:  Yes, yes, we all know that they belong to Disney.  *sigh*

A/N:  I am so blown away by the great response to this story.  Thank you.  Thank you for the great reviews.  Keep them coming! 

            My finals are over now, so I hope to be able to give lots and lots of time to Jack and Ana :-)  Okay, now on to the story.          

"Sarah," Ana shouted as she rushed back to her room, "Sarah!"

            Ana stood in front of a mirror and took in her appearance.  Her black hair was falling in messy tendrils around her face and dark circles were hanging from her brown eyes.  Blood stained her dress, the blood of a pirate that was most certainly in danger.  She had to find him.

            "Sarah?  Where the –"

            "Yes, mum?" her maid asked as she entered Ana's room sheepishly.

            "I need to go in to town.  Help me dress."

            "It's still early."

            "I am perfectly capable of telling the time, Sarah."

            Ana's mind was reeling.  Why on earth would he leave?  He was injured, and he was wanted not only by the British authorities but the Spanish as well.  Why in the world would he leave the relative safety of her home.  Unless . . . no.  That was silly.  He would not leave on account of what she had said to him last night.  She had been cold and short with the man, but what did he care?  The man was a pirate, surely he had been insulted before.  No, her words could not be the reason. Could they?

            "The gentleman left not twenty minutes ago," Sarah offered as she buttoned the back of Ana's dress.

            "What does that have to do with anything?"

            "Nothing, I just thought . . ."

            "Thought what?"

            "Who is he, mum?"

            Ana chewed on her lower lip.  Sarah had never been the most tight lipped servant she had known.  Telling her that the man who spent last night in her house was an escaped criminal might not be the best idea.  Sarah was a faithful servant, but who knows who she would tell? 

            "He is, uh, an old friend of the family and . . . and I don't think it would be wise to tell anyone that he is here," Ana's explanation sounded weak even to her own ears.

            "Mum, are you and he . . . you know?"

            Ana's eyes widened.  What kind of woman did Sarah think she was?  Inviting strange men into her bed barely a year after her own husbands death!  On the other hand, that would provide a convincing excuse . . . "I suppose there isn't any use in denying it," she said trying to make it sound as though she was sharing her deepest secret, "Sarah, you musn't tell anyone."

            Sarah giggled as she finished buttoning Ana's dress, "ooh, I thought so, mum.  If you'll forgive me for saying so."
            "Of course."

            "He is handsome, isn't he?" Sarah gushed.

            Ana arched an eyebrow.  Handsome?  "Yes, I suppose he is."

            Before long, Ana was on her way to town, after piling her thick hair on top of her head and painting her face in the manner of every fashionable woman in Kingston.  Unlike the other women, she was walking to town, as she still had not hired a stableman or anyone to drive her carriage.  Those details seemed rather inconsequential compared to the current task at hand.

            Where to find a pirate in a bustling city?  He had wanted to find a crew and a ship.  She strolled down the road to the harbor.  Even at this hour the docks were a mess of activity.  Navy men, fishermen, and of course the Spanish, were shouting orders and carrying all manner of things onto different vessels.

            "Annie?"

            "James!" Ana's voice came out as a high pitched squeal.  She cleared her throat, "James," she said sounding more normal, "how good to see you."

            James Norrington approached, smiling.  Another man was with him, wearing a distinctly different uniform.  The second man had bronzed skin, black hair and eyes and a thin scar that ran from his left eye to his jaw.

            "Annie, may I present Captain Miguel Cornado."

            Her body stiffened slightly at the mention of that name.  The Spaniard smiled broadly.  Bowing gallantly he placed a single kiss on the top of her hand. 

            "A pleasure, I'm sure," Ana said.

            "No, m'Lady.  I am quite certain the pleasure is all mine."

            "What brings you to Kingston, Captain Cornado?" Ana asked tugging her hand back.  Quite obviously this man was used to making women swoon with that display, but at the mention of that name, Ana could not stop the images of la Cerradura from flooding her brain.  She could hear the pirate's screams as though it had been last night. 

            "Please, call me Miguel.  I have come with my father," he said, "we are taking prisoners to Spain."

            "To Spain?"

            "Sí, outrageous stories about pirates have been making news in my country, of late.  From the tales, you would think these pirates are gods.  Their Majesties thought it would be best to dispel the rumors and show the people what dreadful creatures pirates truly are."

            Miguel delivered his explanation in a typical bored aristocratic tone, but something in his eyes gave Ana a momentary spark of hope. 

            "Forgive me, Señor –"

            "Miguel."

            "Miguel.  Forgive me, but you do not seem as though you share their Excellency's opinion of pirates."

            The Spanish Captain shrugged, ignoring the shock on Norrington's face.

            "Personally, I do not care one way or another for pirates."  Ana arched her eyebrow, perhaps Don Cornado's son had managed to remain human in the wake of his father's barbaric tendencies.

            "Yes, well, we all must do our duty to our country," James said, apparently uncomfortable with the direction that the conversation was going.

            "Of course," Miguel nodded curtly.

            "I'm sorry, Annie, but Captain Cornado and I really must be getting to the fort."

            "It was nice to have met you," Miguel said, once again kissing her hand and smiling widely.

            "And you," Ana said trying to mirror his smile.

            Shaking her head, Ana refocused on locating one wayward pirate.

            Over an hour later, she found herself at the very same spot she had started.  She searched the docks and every restaurant and store that lined the harbor.  She sighed deeply.  Maybe he had done just what he told her he was going to do, find a crew and leave on the fastest ship he could steal.  Maybe his hasty departure had absolutely nothing to do with what she had said last night.  She smiled slightly, of course it didn't.  Why should she think that she had any bearing whatsoever on the actions of the most infamous pirate in the Caribbean?

            Before she could formulate an answer to her own question, Ana ungracefully ran right into a man clad in a long brown robe.  She heard him hiss in pain.

            "Oh, I'm so sorry," she fumbled with her words as she looked up and caught sight of a silver cross hanging around the man's neck.  "I mean. I'm sorry, Father.  I was rushing, and I didn't –"

            "Forgiven, luv."

            "Oh thank y – Jack!"  The hooded rob may have obscured this peculiar priest's face from anyone else on the street, but up close, Ana could not mistake his eyes for those of a man of the cloth.  "What in the hell are you doing?"

            "I believe cursing is a sin, darling, and what I am doing is no concern of yours," he answered cocking his head to one side.

            "You're the priest, ever heard of helping out your fellow man?" Ana said, trying not to worry about the way Sparrow was rubbing his wounded shoulder.

            "Look, luv," he said, gesturing with his free hand, "let me explain, and I'll try and not use any big words here, what I am doing is not your business."

            Ana stiffened.  Try as she might, she could not help but be a little hurt by Sparrow's gruff manner.  He had acted like a gentleman in her home.  Now, something was different.  She said nothing.

            "Now, I'll be on me way.  You'll be on yours, and neither of us need ever bother the other again, savvy?" 

            Ana raised her chin, "fine."

            "Fine."

            Sparrow turned and staggered his way towards the dock, leaving Ana to stare after him. 

            Her lower lip began to quiver almost imperceptibly.  He was a pirate.  That was his life, and he was going back to that life.  Why should she expect him to have any regard for her? 

            "Was that who I think it was?"

            Ana stared up at her brother's confused face.  She nodded.

            "Well, in that case, I suppose I shall go back into the shop and come out again.  So as to pretend I never saw him," Prescott said in a slightly mocking tone.

            "That's not necessary."

            "It's not?"

            "No."

            "Lover's quarrel?"

            "Prescott!"

            "Sorry, but I thought you told me you had found the scallywag with the heart of gold?"

            Ana stared after the robed figure fighting to ignore the ache in her chest, "I was wrong."

Don't forget to review before you go!