Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates or anything having to do with said movie. See, if I did... I'd be someplace really cool and snuggling with my hubby-man. I DO own Zora and any characters not featured in PotC.

Author's Note: Yes, it's insane... another update! Well, all the better for you, my loyal readers, should I have any at this point. Quick comments for my reviewers (whom all get cookies for reviewing, yay you!)

dugadugabowbow: Thank you, glad you're enjoying it. And yes, I love the name Zora too; it fits perfectly with the character, which was rather a happy coincidence really.

Brigitte: Ah, yes... well, I must apologize, because this chapter has run a bit longer than I thought it would, and the bath scene will be in the next chapter. Sorry, mate!

writerplus: Thank you so much for your review! It's good to know people are enjoying this story, as I originally thought it was something to help me with my obsession with PotC, and Captain Sparrow in particular. Thankfully, Zora's come along better than I thought she would since I started creating her. And yes, I'm trying to make their relationship flow like any normal one would (or as close as it can be, considering...). I do, however, think I made Jack a bit too mushy for your liking, but who knows? It's incredibly difficult to keep that man in character, I tell ya... hehe, hope you enjoy this update, in any case, and hope you'll keep reading.

Now, this chapter is mostly just explaining about Zora, and it seemed rather slow to me, and is terribly long (especially with this note!), so I'll stop typing and let you get to reading... enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 5
Time to Tell Jack

At the manor, Jack and Will were engaging in a sword fight in the backyard… for old time's sake. Will had managed to improve, throwing in some tricks of his own, and even made sure to avoid any of Jack's pirate tricks, though this time, there was no bag of hot sand to cheat with. On the other hand, Jack had learned to fight a fairer fight, though it was difficult to teach an old pirate a different habit. They came to a stalemate before deciding to return to the study.

"I must say," Jack stated, reclaiming his seat in the same manner, one leg over an arm, leaning back against the other, "ye've certainly gotten better since our last duel."

"And you've learned to stop relying on cheating methods," Will returned with a smirk. Jack rolled his eyes slightly, and nodded; it wasn't something he was proud of admitting to. Taking his seat, Turner took a drink of tea before returning an eye to the pirate captain. "May I ask you something, Jack?"

"If I say no, ye'll just ask it anyway," he retorted with a slight curl of a smile, then flopped his hand at Will. "Go on, then."

Will took a few extra moments to get his thoughts in order. He didn't like prying into other men's affairs, especially a pirate's, but he was concerned about Jack's well-being. As far as pirates went, Jack Sparrow was a good man, and he deserved what every good man should have: a good and full life. Will wasn't entirely convinced this Zora would help Jack achieve that. "You do know that pirates don't marry, don't you?" Although no mention of marriage ever came up when the two men were discussing Jack's newest interest, Will was certain the matter would come up eventually, and he wanted to hear Jack's opinion on the possibility.

Jack watched Will for a moment, mulling those words over in his head, but the pirate simply cracked a smile. "Oh, I know quite well what a pirate does and does not do, Will," he responded slowly. "Fact is, the best pirates eventually marry. William Turner married yer mother. Ye married the young missy Elizabeth. That seems enough incentive for me to at least consider the option."

Nodding slowly, Will began to smirk. It still astounded him that Jack, of all people in the world, had declared to have found a true love - or something close to it. "Just wanted to make sure you knew what you could eventually get yourself into," he replied.

The opening of the front door and the melodic sound of female voices cut any further talk on the subject. Both men stood from their seats to venture toward the foyer. They arrived in time to see the numerous bags being taken up the stairs. "I told ye they might buy the entire city," Jack said firmly, watching the uncountable amount of purchases being taken away by the maids.

"Oh, we did no such thing, Jack," Elizabeth returned with a smirk. "We only bought maybe three quarters of Port Royal. We decided to be generous enough to leave a quarter for the other residents."

Will chuckled, and said, "That was very kind of you, Elizabeth." She smiled at him as she went to his side.

"Still, tha's…" Jack tried to calculate in his head what that might be between the two women. He soon resorted to counting on his fingers, but he still couldn't get a number.

Zora smiled softly, and offered, "Three-eighths for each of us."

Jack opened the eye that had been closed in concentration to stare at her. After glancing down at his fingers again, he looked up at her once more, and managed a half-smirk. "Aye, of course," he replied, slightly embarrassed at his lacking mathematical skills, but also relieved at not having to come up with the answer for it might have hurt his brain. "Tha's a lot of… purchases."

Zora didn't return an answer, just merely nodded in agreement. Knowing they would need some time alone, Elizabeth slipped her arm through her husband's, and said, "Will, darling, I believe I need some tea. Come with me to the kitchen, will you?"

"But we have tea out-" Will started to reply, but with the look from his wife that said he shouldn't argue and that all would be explained soon enough, he let the statement drop. He sighed, nodded, and led her toward the kitchen.

"Wonder what's their problem," Jack said as he watched the two leave. "Would hate for that little love thing to dissolve, especially after all the trouble they were." He smiled a roguish smile, his gold teeth flashing.

Zora sighed silently, and took Jack's right hand in her's, her fingers pressing against the leather cloth covering his palm as she led him toward the back gardens. "Jack… we need to talk," she told him softly.

Jack's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise when she stopped tugging him after her once they were outside. "I take it this isn't the time to ask if ye need any help undressing, is it…" he murmured, trying and failing to hide his amused smirk.

Not even his jesting changed her mood. "Sit down, love," she gently commanded. When Jack had taken a seat at the patio table, Zora came to his side, leaned down, and placed a kiss on his sun-browned forehead. "I do not wish to harm you, know this, but I have to tell you a good deal of… bad memories that has come to haunt me today." She struggled to get her words out, but she had to in order to get Jack to understand.

The pirate, realizing it was time to be serious, took her hand in his, and placed her soft fingers to his lips. "Just tell me, Zora." She nodded, and took a seat beside Jack, taking a deep breath as she collected herself. She promised herself to save her tears until the end so that she may be able to say everything she needed to say.

There was only one way to begin. "I was conceived on the sea, on my parents' crossing from England to Jamaica, to here; perhaps the first of many reasons as to why I am the way I am. Something on that trip made a lasting impression, enough to make them fear the ocean and all the excitement and adventure it holds. They would never tell me what it was, but I have a suspicion that it had something to do with pirates. Maybe that is why they hated how I fancied life at sea and how curious I was about the pirating world. As soon as I was old enough, they shackled me into the land life. They placed me in the best schools, then also made sure I attended charm school in order to learn how to live in society as a lady; that is where Elizabeth and I met and became friends. Oh, what a relief it was to know there were others that had a strange fascination with the sea and its pirates. She knew the code, I knew the legends, and we frequently exchanged them." Zora quirked a tiny smile. "In fact, 'twas the stories of you and the Pearl that held our attention most times."

"Ah, even then, ye knew ye were obsessed with me," Jack interjected, a gleaming smile on his face.

Zora nodded with a very light giggle before she returned to seriousness. "Word reached my parents about my strange behavior. Being the governor's daughter, Elizabeth was allowed her faults; I was not, considering all knew my parents hated anything to do with the sea and pirates and ships. It was then that my father hand-selected a suitor for me, one that would keep my interest simply because he was in the Navy, and one that suited my parents because they knew him well enough to know that he could force me to grow up. He was an officer of the Navy, after all." She looked off into the distance, toward the harbor. "You once asked me what had been the most disgusting thing I had ever done. Do you remember that morning?"

Jack smirked as he leaned back in his chair, propping his legs up on the table, crossed at the ankles. "I do remember," he answered. "I asked, ye never answered, but ye did take me mind away from it with how yer mouth teased me relentlessly before stopping all contact. I had to pin ye down to get any release… which I know ye very well enjoyed."

"I did not answer because the answer only makes my blood boil with anger and disgust," Zora stated, standing up to wander toward the edge of the pavilion, gazing out at the garden now. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, and she blinked them back as she continued. "It was allowing someone else to decide who was to take my most sacred treasure… my virginity."

Jack's feet slipped off the edge of the table, hitting the floor loudly. The pain shooting from his heels was hardly noticeable considering all his concentration was now on Zora. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear what she was going to tell him, but he sensed she needed to talk this out. Unresolved issues tended to tear people apart, and that was one of the last things he wanted to see happen to Zora. Just as he was about to ask her to continue, she started to speak again.

"I had just turned seventeen months before. The governor was throwing some big party; I do not remember why, but he had invited my family. There, my father introduced me to his hand-picked suitor, Charles Malrice. Let me tell you, Jack, this man makes you appear every bit as modest as the most innocent and naïve school girl. He was always very arrogant, and being a lieutenant for the Royal Navy did not help matters. My parents insisted he and I spend time alone that night, and so, I had become his arm candy for several hours at that party while my parents returned home. Elizabeth tried to get her father to pry him away so that I could breathe and perhaps escape, but nothing worked."

She swallowed hard before taking another deep, haggard breath. "After the party had ended, Malrice took me home. My parents told him to stay and visit for a while, tell them how the party went, and so forth. I immediately went to bed; I was worn out, and I had plans to solidify, plans of running away to Tortuga. Hours later, I was awakened by my door squeaking open and swiftly closing, the lock being thrown into place. Sitting up, I found Malrice coming across my room to my bed, and when he got there, he wasted no time in removing all clothing, holding me down, and stripping me of my dignity."

Jack watched her body language as she told her tale. She had reached out to hold herself up against a pillar, her hand tightly holding on until her knuckles were ghost white. Her voice had gotten soft and strained, and her shoulders slumped as if a major weight were placed upon them. Scrambling from his seat, Jack went toward her, placing his hands lightly on her shoulders. He supposed he should hold her close and soothe everything away, but at the moment, he wasn't sure that was exactly what she'd want from him.

Zora had been lost in the nightmare that had been that night, and only came out of it from Jack's touch. She glanced back slightly, not completely turning her head to the side. "It hurt more than I can explain, and in more ways than one," she whispered, trying to keep her tears at bay, letting her free hand touch one of his. "It hurts worse now, knowing it should have been you to have that honor, Jack. It should have been you." She swallowed again. "I-I did not know what to do, how to act, anything, so I laid there, tears coming from my eyes, letting him do it. He certainly was not going to educate me." She wiped a tear that had left her eye off her cheek. "First times are supposed to be unique and mind-blowing, slow and fulfilling, loving and tender, something you will not ever forget."

"Unless ye're drunk, like I was," Jack stated, trying to ease the tension around her with a little humor. Zora only tightened her grasp on his fingers. The pirate captain brushed his thumb over the back of her neck, trying to soothe her without being too physical; the incident scarred her, and Jack was at a loss on how to make everything better.

Again, she looked out toward the horizon. "I have nightmares still of it, so I doubt I should ever forget it. I digress… the next morning, I learned my parents had made arrangements for Malrice to take my virginity, hoping to force me into growing up quickly and marrying to save my honor and name. The following night, I stole away on a ship, and for the next two years, I made a life of being a stowaway on ships that berthed in the Caribbean, hoping one may one day take me to Tortuga. It worked, obviously; else, we would not be standing here, having this conversation."

"Tell me something, Zora," Jack said, pulling her closer against him now, wrapping an arm around her collarbone while he let a forefinger caress her cheek; she didn't protest, so he figured it was alright to do so. "Why are we having this conversation? We were perfectly fine in not knowing everything about our pasts and decidedly liked creating a present far better."

Zora loosened herself from him enough to turn and face him, looking up into his expectant brown eyes. Oh, how she'd hate this day and the humiliation this would be bound to bring him. All for her selfish and foolish pride and need for vengeance. "As Elizabeth and I were catching up during a break in shopping, they came by," she stated. "My parents and Malrice. I told them I spent the last three years working on a ship, and that I was engaged to a perfectly suitable gentleman whom also worked aboard the ship. They invited me, my fiancé, and Elizabeth and Will to my father's birthday party tonight; 'tis supposed to be some big, fancy to-do thing."

"Ah," Jack simply replied, running his fingers along his mustache, having nothing else to contribute. He feared he knew where this was going, and already, he hated it. To be sure, he asked, "And who is yer fiancé, exactly, Miss Leighland?"

She could tell he was miffed, maybe even angry. He only called her that when he was jesting or truly peeved, and she would bet her life that it definitely wasn't the former. "I was hoping you would be willing to play the part," she answered as gingerly as possible, twisting the tip of a forefinger between the forefinger and thumb of the other hand. "You have been known to impersonate several people during your time, all a more difficult role than that of a finely-groomed gentleman."

If he didn't feel so deeply for her, Jack would've strangled her with bare hands before pulling his pistol out on her. Instead, he took very deep breaths to keep his temper under control, his cheeks puffing out a bit. He turned from her, and started to pace. The audacity, the nerve, the – ARGH! It hurt to try to understand and reason through this request. As if being banned from drinking rum wasn't bad enough…

Zora went to him, grabbing him by the elbow to stop his pacing. "Jack, I apologize," she said gently, sincerely. "I made the lie without thought, and it is going to cost us both. I fully expect things to never be well with us again after this, and you may very well be criticized by your crew should you be spotted. All I can offer in return is the fact you can still be yourself, just look groomed, my gratitude for doing such a thing, and a bottle of rum I bought for you, along with the clothes to wear tonight."

A bottle of rum sounded excellent at the moment, but he would have to survive the night to enjoy it. "I've been in worse situations, I suppose," Jack finally stated, rubbing his face with his hand. "I bet there's a bath involved here as well, isn't there…"

"The maids were instructed to heat water in a tub basin as soon as Elizabeth and I stepped in the door," Zora answered softly. "Come then." She headed back into the house, and a few paces behind, Jack followed. At the top of the staircase, Jack took her wrist in his hand, forcing her to stop and look at him. After a brief pause, he raised a hand to brush a few stray tears from her cheek, then leaned down and kissed her deeply.

She had been wrong about one thing; things would always be well between them, no matter their arguments and differences, and nothing could change that. Jack knew it, and right then, Zora knew it, too.

A/N: Yes, I know.. I'm sorry. This chapter is long and I had to push some things off for it. The bath IS in the next chapter though, I promise. Please, review and tell me whether you liked the chapter or not, and constructive criticism is always appreciated!