Hey everyone. Thanks for all the great reviews. This chapter, like the last was hastily written and I'm sorry. Please keep reading and reviewing, it has a great plot, trust me.

Chapter Two: Ill Tidings

Elizabeth Swann walked swiftly up the stone steps and into the cool shade of her mansion. Her father was sitting on a chase lounge in the tea room, talking to Mr. Lensier, a new craftsman in Port Royal. Smiling, Elizabeth bowed her head and took the marble stairs to the upper floors two at a time, antiques to get a look at her new gown.

One of her serving maids, a beautiful young girl named Sarah, was talking in a hushed whisper to Estelle, another maid and, when she saw Elizabeth, she smiled and stepped away from the other woman.

"Miss. Swann, you're dress is waiting on your bed." She opened the door for Elizabeth and when her mistress was in, shut it swiftly behind her. Elizabeth positively ran to the bed and ripped the top off the large box on her comforter. Inside was a beautiful white dress with light pink roses running up the side and a veil wrapped in a blue silk bag. Elizabeth gasped and pulled the dress completely up, holding it out for Sarah to see.

"What do you think?" She asked. Sarah came to her shoulder and grinned, letting her hand hover just above the beautiful flowing fabric.

"It's lovely, Miss. Elizabeth." Sarah answered, letting her hand drop. She looked around the room conspiritoriously and then voiced, in little more then a whisper, "Do you want me to help you put it on?"

Elizabeth looked up and felt her cheeks grow red, as though the prospect had never occurred to her. Put it on? Did she dare? It was so beautiful, she couldn't believe it was hers and she wasn't sure what she was feeling at the moment. Excitement and a sudden bout of nerves hit her as she stared down at the dress. She'd been dreaming of marrying Will since she was young…she'd never dreamed about the dress though.

"No." She finally answered, folding the dress carefully and setting it back into the box. That would have to wait, for the present anyway. In just three days she'd be getting married, she could wait until then.

"Sarah replaced the lid as Elizabeth went across the room and sat down on the bench in front of her vanity mirror, checking her hair. Will would be at the mansion in a few minutes to take her on their daily walk and she wanted to look her best. When she was done fixing her hair, her and Sarah left the room, Sarah going towards the end hallway and the other rooms of the house, Elizabeth to the stairs. She'd wait in the parlor or the teas room with her father until Will came.

Mr. Lenseir's voice was low when she dropped off the last step and began walking towards the tea room, but she could still hear it. "…and the waves were so high they tossed the ship. It's very strange, they've never been that high. Even the most qualified and experienced sailors said they've never seen anything like it." Elizabeth stopped outside the room, from view of the men inside and continued to eavesdrop. "It's strange; the weather out there has become more frightful in the last few days. And the fish! Hundreds have washed up on the beach in the last few days."

Elizabeth's brow furrowed. Strange weather? Where? "Yes, I've heard similar stories. They stared a week or so ago." Her father said. "All these weird things…it's almost like the world is coming to an end."

Mr. Lenseir's soft hiss startled Elizabeth slightly; the panic in his voice was evident. "Don't say it." He spit and Elizabeth could almost see his blistered finger lifted to a weathered brown face.

The bell rang at that moment and Elizabeth rushed away from the tea room, back a few steps to make it look like she had just come down the stairs and was on her way to the tea room. Pausing, she stopped and waited for her father and Mr. Lensier to appear as the butler appeared and made for the door.

"Elizabeth!" Her father exclaimed, smiling and rushing forward to kiss her cheek. "You remember Mr. Lensier?" Elizabeth nodded and inclined her head slightly in greeting before turning to the now open door and her fiancée standing on the step.

"William, my boy!" Her father smiled, leaving his guest and ushering Will inside. He motioned to Mr. Lensier. "William, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Mr. Lensier, he's from New York and he'll be working here in Port Royal. Mr. Lensier, this is William Turner, the most exceptional blacksmith in Port Royal." Mr. Lensier and Will shook hands, the other surveying Will with close regard.

"Mr. Turner pleased to meet you." Mr. Lensier sniffed slightly but Will didn't seem to pick up on it.

"Pleased to meet you to." Will answered with a slight nod before turning to Elizabeth. "Are you ready to go? I've been waiting all day." Elizabeth smiled as her father, nodded to Mr. Lensier and then departed.

Mr. Lensier watched them leave before turning to Governor Swann. "You allow your young daughter to go off on her own, unescorted, with a blacksmith?" Swann frowned and looked at the closed door.

"They'll be married in a few days." He answered. Lensier sniffed in disapproval.

Elizabeth clung to Will's arm as they walked slowly down the dirt path into the town of Port Royal. The sun was setting, sending a crimson glow across the shimmering water of the Caribbean. Elizabeth stared out at the water and could just make out the spots of two large ships on the horizon.

"Oh Will." She sighed, letting her head drop onto his shoulder. She could feel his body heat seep into her, feel his breathing beneath her cheek as his shoulders rose and fell. She felt his lips brush her hair in a kiss and smiled. "I got my dress finally."

"Yes?" Will asked, his voice cracking with some unknown emotion that he wouldn't share with her. "And?"

"It's beautiful!" Elizabeth squealed, squeezing his arm. "Oh, it's everything I hoped for." She let out a long breath and her eyes turned back to the small glimpses of the ocean she could see in between the buildings. "What do you think it will be like, being married?" She pulled her head from his shoulder and looked up into his deep brown eyes. He looked tired but happy to be walking with her again.

"Married." He whispered, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. "Is that so soon?" Elizabeth giggled and nodded. "I don't know. The same as it is now in some ways, as long as Jack doesn't come around and mess it up." Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. They had refrained from talking about their pirate cohort since his botched execution so long ago and now Will felt the need to bring him up?

"We haven't heard anything from him." Elizabeth pointed out, shrugging. "I wouldn't worry. He's probably off plundering some poor merchant ship right now and having a good time at it." Elizabeth shook her head, her eyes drawing to the harbor as they passed another shop. The ships were closer now, so close she could almost tell if they were Navy or not. They both, however, seemed very familiar.

Shouts from a bunch of Navy men could be heard from down on the beach but they couldn't see them. "Wonder what's going on." Will muttered, his eyes now drawn to the water. As they passed from the shadow of another building, he pulled her to a stop, his eyes squinting at the two ships now anchored in the bay. "Elizabeth…"

Elizabeth squinted at the ships to and picked out the Dauntless easily. It was large and grand and sat beside a smaller vessel. Though the smaller vessel was in direct sunlight, or as much as the dying sun could give, Elizabeth would have been sure it was thrown into the Dauntless' shadow because it was completely black…

"Will, I think that's the Pearl." Elizabeth whispered, bringing her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun's glow. "Actually, I'm sure of it."

"Come on." Will hissed, pulling her along quickly to the beach. Elizabeth felt worry and annoyment tug at her insides. She was worried for Jack, hoping he hadn't been caught but was annoyed all the same at the timing in which he had picked. Three days before their wedding and not to mention the fact that their walk was now in shambles.

They reached the beach just as a few small rowboats, lead by James Norrington, arrived on the beach. Going directly to the Commodore, Elizabeth grabbed his arm as he made to walk away. He smiled at her, his eyes roving her face before turning to Will and frowning.

Elizabeth nodded to the Black Pearl. "Where's Jack?" She asked. Norrington's brow furrowed at her forward question and a look of hurt crossed his face. He'd evidently been hoping she'd be happy to see him. Elizabeth felt her face grow red at her rudeness and was about to make up for her blunder when Norrington spoke.

"Does this mean anything to the two of you?" He asked, holding out a folded piece of paper. Will took it, examined it and then handed it to Elizabeth, shaking his head.

"'Help me'." Elizabeth read. Confused, she handed it back to the Commodore. "No, what does it mean? Where did you get it?"

"It was in the Black Pearl's captain's cabin. It was really all we could find." Norrington answered, staring down at the paper.

"All you could find?" Elizabeth asked. Norrington nodded. "What do you mean? Was the crew dead?"

"No. We don't know what happened to them." Norrington answered after a few seconds pause. "They…and Sparrow were missing."

Rebecca Foster crossed the beach, a basket under her arm. It was full of shells, a few clams and dripping seaweed. She hummed under her breath and danced in the tide as it licked her ankles. The weather off the cove had been so strange lately and she could only remember one time before this, when her father had told her the story of a famous pirate being hanged.

She rounded the bend in the beach and jumped over a few rocks and a log that had washed up on the beach, tripping over something half buried in the sand. Rolling over angrily, she was startled to see a foot there.

A man was lying up against the washed up tree, sea weed tangled in his long, damp brown hair. His clothing was ripped and torn and there was crusted sea salt in his beard which had been plaited into two dark braids ended in beads.

Half of him was buried in sand and, after a few moments frantic digging; Rebecca was able to unearth the rest of him. Holding him close to her to keep him warm, she desperately looked up and down the beach.

The storm the night before had driven most people into the town to fix most of the damage from the high winds and now, as she looked over the golden grains, there was no one but her to help him.

A groan in her arms made her turn her attention back to him. He had the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen but now they were wrinkled in confusion as he stared up at her. "Who…"

His voice was cracked and strained making Rebecca place her fingers to his lips to quiten him. "Shhh, you're okay. I'll get you to safety, don't worry. What's your name?"

The man closed his eyes, his face set in a painful concentration and he seemed to ponder her question. Finally, he opened his eyes and focused on her again. "I…uh," He shook his head. "I don't know. I honestly don't know."

To My Reviewers:

Holiday1081: Hey, it's been a long time since I've heard from you. I'm sorry about the suspence but everyone likes a little suspence once and a while…or all the time if you like to write like I do, it keeps people coming back for more (hopefully). Yeah, I like Norrington and I think he's fair, that's what makes his such a sucker!

Morph: How could I not get his first name write, it's easy for me to remember because it's my dad's first name…lol. Thank you for the review and keep reading please.

Flute Damioh: I can't tell you what happened to Jack and his crew, that will be reveiled during future chapters. (If you've ever read my work, you'll know I only give little bits away at a time). Yeah, I always thought of Jack as very educated when I watched the movies so I guessed he can read and write…I love a smart Jack.

Johnny'shumiliatedgrape: I love your name, it's so awesome! Lol, yes, Jack can read! Norrington is very shallow minded when it comes to the intellect of pirates. I can't tell you where they've gone, that will be answered later (and I have to figure it all out to, lol)

SiriusLupinJamesMarauders: Everybody is out for the afternoon, at some beach resort…no, kidding. You'll see.

Williz: Thank you, I love Will and Elizabeth action to…only I wish he were with me…lol.

PopRocket: Thank you, keep reading.

Jack-from-Cairo: Thank you, I updated, I hope it was fast enough. Please keep reading.

Smithy: Yes, Will would make one very, very hot captain…lol, but Jack does to so…

And to anyone who's reading this and hasn't reviewed or to anyone I missed, thank you.