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Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Scene 6 – Who Cares?

On The Pusuer, Norrington has the soldiers lined up for a roll call. Satisfied that all his men are present, he turns to check on Elizabeth in his cabin.

"Um, excuse me Sir, but I thought you should know that the pirates took one captive."

Norrington whirls around to face the stammering lieutenant. "That is impossible. I just took roll call..."

"But I saw him myself, Sir. It was Lt. Boots."

"No!"

"Yes, Sir, I'm afraid it was."

Norrington goes pale and rushes to unlock his cabin door, pulling it open to reveal an empty room and an open window.

"Sir, I'm sure we'll find Boots again. He knew the possibilities when he signed up for this, and he is well trained..."

"No! You don't understand. Boots was Elizabeth Swan in disguise! She wasn't supposed to go near any fighting!"

This announcement causes everyone within hearing range to rush towards the Commodore, gasping. The whisper and murmur, trying to figure out if this could possibly be true.

Meanwhile, Norrington is having a panic attack. "Oh my God. What to do? We must, um, we must stop for supplies and, um, and more men at the next island we reach. Then we will find that savage pirate ship again and take everyone on board. Just pray that no harm comes to Elizabeth."

The sailors nod and head off to their posts. Only one man remains. "Um, Sir?

"What?!"

"Um, sorry. Just thought you might want to know, Will Turner is on that ship as well. Apparently, he has joined the pirates. He was fighting us with them."

Gasping, enraged, and turning yet paler, Norrington felt as if he was having a heart attack. His entire world had just come crashing down. "Oh my God. Carry out my previous orders at double speed, men. Let's go!"

The sailor rushes out to give the Commodore's command to the crew. Norrington turns to look out the open window. "My love. I will find you, I must. Please, remember your promises, your future. Do not abandon me. Again."


On The Black Pearl, Elizabeth exits Jack's cabin, now dressed in a plain white shift. She climbs to the uppermost deck and sits down on the railing, thinking silently. She is surprised when another woman climbs up onto the deck with her.

Anamaria looks at Elizabeth thoughtfully. "Hello, Elizabeth. Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you. My name is Anna. I am an old, um, friend of Captain Jack's."

"Um, hello. How do you know who I am?"

"You have been the only one spoken of by the crew. You are also the only other woman on board. As you will be stuck here for awhile, we probably should stick together."

"I suppose." Elizabeth really didn't feel like "sticking together" with anyone at the moment, but her inbred politeness would not allow her to suggest this out loud.

"I am not intruding on your space, am I?"

"Oh, no. Go ahead, have a seat." Why am I being so polite to this woman? I must be just too tired to deal. Or, suggested another voice in her head. Or, you just sense a friend in her.

Anamaria sits on the opposite railing and gives Elizabeth a friendly smile. Elizabeth opens her mouth to inquire as to the destination of the ship when they hear boots climbing the ladder. Both turn to see Will pull himself up onto the deck and look over at Elizabeth, not noticing Anamaria.

By this point, Elizabeth had almost got herself to forget about Will's presence onboard the ship, so this encounter was quite unwelcome for her. She rises defensively and they stand facing each other. "May I help you, Mr. Turner?"

"Why so formal, Elizabeth?" When she does not respond, he moves closer to her. "I've missed you."

Elizabeth looks at him coldly. "Please remember, Mr. Turner, that I am engaged to be married to Commodore Norrington as soon as possible."

Will is confused and getting angry. "Elizabeth, what is going on? You are acting as if I abandoned you. You don't understand..."

"I understand perfectly. I just don't want to hear it."

"Can't you open your heart for just one minute and listen to me? You know that I would never..."

"I don't care anymore. I can't care. Every time I "open my heart" I just get hurt. The Commodore could never hurt me."

"Of course he can't if you feel nothing for him. You want that to be your life? Nothing will matter? He can hold you, kiss you, declare his undying love and it won't matter to you?"

"Nothing will. I don't care. It doesn't make a difference."

Will looks at her sadly, then whispers softly, "Well then, it won't matter if I do this one last time."

He kisses her. Despite her every intention, she can't help but feel a rush. She leans closer to him...

Suddenly, he pulls away and sees that she is breathing just as fast a he is. With more than a hint of sarcasm, he says, "Well, I'm glad that doesn't affect you." He then turns and walks to the lower decks.

Anamaria turns to Elizabeth in surprise. "What was that all about?"

Elizabeth had completely forgotten Anamaria's presence. She blushes at the realization that someone had just been watching that entire encounter. "I don't know. Nothing, I suppose." "It didn't look like nothing to me. And I'll tell you something..."

"I'm sorry, but I really want to be alone."

"Look, Miss Swan. If you want to ignore this, go ahead, but hear me out. That boy spent the entire trip muttering to himself and worrying that he had lost you forever. Then you show up and act like he abandoned you. Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't sound fair. Now, you do whatever you think is right. Just remember that sometimes you only get one chance to make things better once you screw them up."

"Sure." Elizabeth replies dismissively. She turns and begins to walk away, her head pounding.

But Anamaria wasn't quite done. "By the way, Elizabeth, he didn't abandon you."

This caused her to stop in her tracks. How could running away on a pirate ship not be abandoning me?!

"A bunch of goons tries to kill him. He had no choice but to run away. That is what I believe he was trying to tell you before."

Sudden realization and instant regret flash across Elizabeth's face. She turns back towards Anamaria, but she is gone. "What have I done?"


Downstairs in his cabin, Will slowly and sadly removes a blue ribbon from his arm.


Next chapter: Will Will take her back? (no pun intended)

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