Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates, alright? Are you happy now? My dreams are shattered... ah, who am I kidding... my dreams don't always deal with PotC... Anyway, I do own Zora, the Leighlands, Malrice, and any unrecognizable characters.

Author's Note: As promised, chapter 9! Read, enjoy, and please review!


Chapter 9
Clearing Up Misunderstandings

They hadn't been browsing long before the store owner walked up to them. "Mr. Turner, may I be of assistance?" the balding man asked politely.

Will smiled, and returned, "Yes, you may. You see, sir…" He looked over his shoulder to see the cloaked Jack gazing over a few trinkets, and pulled the shopkeeper a bit away, reducing his voice to a whisper, "my friend over there… he's a bit loopy. He believes he's the King of England sometimes, but he really is a good man. He's looking for something very special to give to a wonderful woman friend of his. Do you think you can help him out while playing along?"

The keeper smiled. "You can count on me," he said, and ventured toward Jack. Politely clearing his throat to get his attention, he swept down in a bow as Jack turned unsteadily to face him. "Your Majesty, if there's anything you would like to see up close, please, let me know."

Jack smirked under the cloak, and winked at Will. He knew the plan would work!

"Ye WHAT!" Jack boomed slightly as the two men made their way back to the manor near an hour later. "Ye told him I was crazy!" Will simply smirked in response. "Alright, perhaps sometimes I am, but I'm not delusional! I know who I am, mate. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, and don't ye be forgetting that."

"Oh, no worries there, Jack," Will returned, laughing. "I just knew that the whole 'this is the King of England in disguise' ploy wouldn't be pulled over even a simpleton fool. Honestly, Jack, you're losing your touch."

Jack managed to look stung as he blinked at him. "I'm not losing me touch, boy. I'm simply… saving my better ideas." He placed his parcel in the pocket of his long coat.

Will smirked, and returned, "Of course." He opened the door to the manor.

Almost immediately after the two men stepped inside, a female scream sounded. "Jack Sparrow, you filthy, despicable, uncouth, two-timing, boorish-" Elizabeth was halfway across the hall after racing from the staircase before Will caught her to keep her from attacking the pirate.

Elizabeth struggled against the hold her husband had on her. Will, on the other hand, stayed firm, eying her warily. "What is the matter with you, darling?" he asked in a whisper as the long string of insults from her mouth continued.

Jack didn't look quite phased, though he was confused as to why Elizabeth seemed incredibly angry with him this time. "CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow, love," he returned. That managed to cause her to pause. "Now, as long as ye're silent, mind telling me why it is that I'm these things and more?"

Zora had conveniently kept herself still while the two had a confrontation, managing to keep her sob held back as she wiped her face of her tears. Now, she had to say something; she couldn't hide from him forever. She stood slowly, turning to face Jack, and coldly replied, "Because they are the truth, Mister Sparrow. They are more conservative words than what you deserve." She stormed off toward the sitting room, priding herself in not crying again.

The notorious pirate captain was stunned silent. He'd never heard that cold tone from Zora. Teasing and light, always; warm and loving, yes; annoyed and flustered, often; but never like that. Never emotionless and cold. Nevermind that she called him 'mister'.

Will and Elizabeth watched Zora barricade herself in the sitting room, then looked back at Jack simultaneously. "Are you quite satisfied with yourself, you… you… PIRATE!" Elizabeth shouted, her rage growing at her friend's obvious pain. "The woman sees herself growing old with you, but you go off and break her heart." She then violently shook off her husband's arms before heading up the stairs in a huff.

Will watched her go, then glanced at Jack again. "Just what did you do now?" he asked, then shook his head, and quickly followed after his love.

That left Jack standing alone in the foyer, still stunned silent and stationary, staring at the doors of the sitting room. Deciding that just staying where he was wouldn't give him answers, he cautiously moved toward the sitting room, moving slowly as if any moment, Zora would open the doors and throw things at him. By the time he reached the closed doors, he deemed that no such thing would happen, and entered, closing them after him again.

Zora sat hunched over in one of the chairs, arms on knees, and her face in her hands. Jack flinched as he looked at her. He hated seeing the woman in any sort of pain, and he definitely didn't know how to comfort crying females that were obviously angry with him. His fingers curled and uncurled a few times in his indecision, his eyes darting here and there, but he finally ventured toward her, slowly by each step in case she lashed out. "Zora," he called out softly, a contrast to his gruff voice, "what be the matter with ye this morning?"

"If you do not know, then you are more daft than you appear," came her muffled reply.

He stood before her now, and after a moment's further thought, he reached down, grabbed her by her wrists, and pulled her to her feet, making her look up at him with her reddened eyes. "If I'm daft when it comes to ye, and only ye, it would be a good thing, would it not?" he asked, trying to turn on the suave charm.

That only seemed to incense his lady love further. She wrestled her wrists free, shoved Jack back so that he stumbled, tripped over his own boots, and landed on his ass. He looked up, shocked that he ended up down there, but made no move to get himself up. Instead, his eyes followed the ranting figure around as she shouted at him. "'Tis NOT a good thing, you pompous pirate! It only proves that you have not the slightest idea about a woman, no matter how much you boast to your mates about your whores."

"There are no-"

Jack's protest went unheard. "We had an amazing night, Jack," she went on, tears now sliding down her cheeks, her brows furrowed as she tried to reason in her head everything she knew. "Something to 'redefine first-times', remember? Obviously not. It made naught a difference to you; I highly doubt you meant anything you said, you scoundrel. Sweet words to get me to do whatever you please. Words that had me sleeping late so you could sneak off to attend to one or more of your wenches." She took a deep breath, glaring daggers down at him; any protests on Jack's lips died at the look. It didn't matter that what she said wasn't true, but it was the fact she believed them to be true that was wrenching at his heart.

"I believed you, Jack." Her voice cracked, and she took another breath to calm herself. "I believed you loved me because I love you. Even now, as I hate your very being, I still love you."

Jack winced. The pain in those words was enough to cause him physical discomfort. Finally, he made himself stand. He had no idea where she got these insane ideas. "Tha's quite enough now, love," he stated, gradually moving toward her, his hands at waist level and ready just in case of an attack of some sort. "No sense in getting yerself all worked up for nothing."

Those seemed to be the wrong words, because the next thing he knew, he had his arms up to shield his face from the vase Zora threw at him. The vase sailed past him as her aim was bad, and it shattered on the floor. "For nothing!" she shouted as he lowered his arms and looked at the broken vase. "Emotion means nothing to you!"

Deciding caution wouldn't be prudent just then, especially with all of Elizabeth's breakable trinkets around the room, Jack strode toward the hysterical woman, and grabbed her around the middle by locking his arms, pinioning her arms to her sides with his own in the process. She struggled, jerking around, demanding loudly he release her, but his grip was too strong for her. His hat was knocked off his head due to her violent struggling, and it took a quick eye to keep it from being stepped on. "Calm yerself, darling, before ye force me to harm ye," Jack said into her ear, but still, she wouldn't stop. "Yer captain commands ye cease movement straight away."

Only then did Zora stop, letting Jack keep her pinned back against his front. His grip relaxed only minimally, and his voice remained soft. "Tha's m'lass," he soothed. "Now then, tell ole Jack what troubles ye. Why does Elizabeth tell me ye're ailed with a broken heart?"

"You were gone," she answered meekly. Now that she had been in his arms again and silent as well, she realized how irrational she had been, not to mention insecure. How stupid and maniacal she must have appeared in her tantrum! "I could not find a trace of you. I thought the worst."

Jack finally let Zora go, and turned her to face him. "But I'm here," he stated, cupping her chin between his roughened hands. "I'm here now."

Zora sniffled, nodded, and laid her hand on his, her thumb running over his skin. "So you are," she replied, "but you left without a word. I had thought you left for good. After last night, after everything that had happened yesterday…" She looked down, shaking her head a bit. "I cannot blame you for wanting to leave. You are a pirate, after all, and pirates are not known for their settling-down abilities."

Jack managed to hide his smile. The previous night had meant more to the both of them than either realized. "There'd be no reason to be leaving ye, Zora," he returned. Leaning his sun-browned forehead against her's, he added with a wicked grin, "After all, love, ye do lay down easily enough." Seeing her eyes widen and her lips tremble with the retorting scream she would eventually unleash, Jack talked quickly to redeem himself. "Just jesting, simply a joke. Ye know ye mean more to me than just that."

Her chocolate-colored eyes softened. "Sometimes I do," she agreed, "but pirates are dishonest people by nature."

Gold teeth flashed in a knowing smirk. "So they are," he stated. "Ye be a pirate yerself, lass. Remember that."

"I am," Zora returned with a slight nod. "A pirate, but always a woman first. Being a woman assures that my emotions are never embellished or made to be lies. They are the straight truth."

Jack nodded, understanding her insecurity, then made a show of stepping back, digging into a pocket of his long coat, and presented his hand to her, showing her the brown-paper wrapped parcel held in his leather-covered right palm. "My word might not always be trusted, but me heart knows the truth," Jack told her. Tentatively, Zora reached out to pluck the parcel from him, and deftly opened it, gasping at what lay in her hand.

The excess of a sparkling, thin golden chain hung on either side of her palm as a single, glistening pearl shined up from the paper wrapping. The clutch hooking the pearl to the chain had a small diamond embedded in it. The beauty it held was marvelous, and with the way it took her breath from her lungs, he knew she hadn't seen anything like it before. "Jack, 'tis… 'tis magnificent," she whispered in awe, looking up at him.

He grinned again, took the necklace from the wrapping, and stepped behind her. "Like it, then?" he replied, slipping the chain around her neck. Zora reached up to hold the pearl between her fingertips, nodding slightly as Jack fixed the clasp. "This was what I was after this morning. I rose early with the idea of adorning ye with something as splendid as ye be, a hard task to be sure, and bought it with the help of young Will from the jewelry shop. Not stolen nor swag from the Pearl, but bought specially for ye." He stepped around her to appraise how she looked with it, and nodded to himself. "That'll do. Not nearly the beauty ye are, love, but it serves its purpose."

Tears welled up in Zora's eyes again, but this time, from joy with a splash of guilt. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Jack smiled, and gathered her into an embrace, holding her tight against him. She pressed her face into his chest, her arms locked around his waist as he stroked her hair softly. "Are we square now, love?" he asked.

Zora giggled lightly. "Aye, we are," she answered, tilting her head back to look up at him. A sly smirk spread across his lips before they descended to engage her mouth in a kiss. It wasn't long before the kiss grew in heat and intensity, and Zora had her back pressed to the wall with Jack's hands wandering under the shift.

Minutes later, the door to the sitting room swung open, and Elizabeth strode in, startling the pirate couple, who were in all sorts of undress; Zora's shift and Jack's shirt, vest, and coat lay on the floor. She stopped short, her cheeks flaming up with a blush. "My apologies," she replied meekly, turning her eyes down to the rug while Zora quickly straightened herself out as Jack simply smirked at the obvious discomfort the sight caused the governor's daughter. Elizabeth's eyes found the shattered remains of her vase, and gained the courage to raise her eyes toward them again, the question on her risen eyebrow.

"I shall replace it, Elizabeth," Zora said quickly, stepping between the woman and her lover. "My anger took the best of me, and I tried to wound Jack with it. My aim was well off." She turned to look at Jack, saw that he was still bare-chested, and quickly scooped up his shirt and vest, mumbling obscenities under her breath as she roughly assisted him back into it; the notorious pirate simply laughed.

Elizabeth only nodded. "It's a shame you didn't hit him in the head," she remarked with the beginning of a smirk. "It might have smartened up the old man." She left the room before Jack could turn his narrowed eyes on her.

Once Elizabeth was out of the room, Jack stared down his nose at Zora, who was still straightening out his clothing as she bit her bottom lip, trying to not laugh. "Ye wouldn't have hit me in me beautiful face just to 'smarten me up' now, would ye?" he asked.

Zora simply smiled. "No," she replied, then gave him a sly look, "I would have hit you in your other head for that."

His eyes widened as she finally laughed, him trying his best to not look down to see if she had the intention to follow that thought out. After a long pause, Jack relaxed, then returned, "But how would that benefit ye, ay?" His fingers grabbed onto her waist, pulling her close to him again. "Seems to me that ye'd be without the warmth of a lover for some time."

Zora stood on her toes to leave a light kiss on his lips, and whispered, "That is when I would go find myself a real man."

She used Jack's momentary shock to race from the room, giggling as she went. Jack half-smirked, and gave chase, catching her around the middle in the front foyer, swinging her around before falling to the floor. Immediately after landing, the tickling began, causing Zora to shriek with laughter as she tried her damnedest to squirm away.

Jack grinned toothily as he continued his playful torture. "I shall teach ye to insult Captain Jack Sparrow!" he declared fervently.

The next thing either of them knew, Jack was being pulled up to his feet by the back of his vest, and was thrown back toward a group of Royal Navy officers as Commodore Norrington smirked victoriously; it seemed that the maid had let the Commodore and his men in while Jack and Zora were playing. Norrington turned his smirk down toward Zora, who was slowly scooting backwards until she hit the wall, and only then did she stand. "Well, well, quite a treat," he drawled out. "Captain Jack Sparrow… and his little pirate whore." He chuckled to himself. "I think you both shall hang."

Jack gave him a deadly glare from where the officers were putting irons around his wrists. He hated that man more and more as his life wore on, but he'd ceased his struggling at Norrington's words in hopes that he would be all the Commodore would want. "She hasn't done anything, mate," he retorted. "It's me ye want, and it's me ye'll be getting, savvy?"

Before anything more was said, Elizabeth came into the foyer, drawn toward the noisy disturbance in her home. "Now what in the devil is going on here?" she demanded, narrowing her glare at Norrington as she stepped in the space between Norrington and Zora. "This is my home. That gives you no right to barge in here whenever you feel like, and-"

"You are mistaken, Mrs. Turner," Norrington returned with disgust at the name. "For you see, your home was harboring a wanted criminal. That gives me and my men every right to come in here and apprehend said man." He gave her a steely glare. "I would be forced to arrest you and your husband for harboring him, but seeing as you are under the Governor's protection, I can do nothing of the sort." With a curt nod, the officers began to drag Jack out of the manor, who went quietly but hung back to assure Zora with a haughty smirk, Norrington bringing up the rear as he closed the door before Elizabeth could even begin to mention the code.

Only when the door closed did Zora move again. She slid down the wall, then righted on her knees as she sat back on her heels, staring at the closed door with wide, brown eyes, her lips trembling. She had just stood there, silent as the Royal Navy carted her beloved off. She did absolutely nothing to stop them. Though Jack had given her one of his patent 'I'll be just fine' smirks, Zora worried for his safety.

Elizabeth turned in a huff to see her, and immediately hated Norrington even more than she had previously. She knelt down beside Zora, comfortingly rubbing her shoulder. "Don't worry, Zora," she said softly. "Jack's a smart man. He'll manage to get himself out of that sticky situation."

"I just… stood there," Zora meekly returned, raising her hand lightly toward the front door, her other hand clasped around the pearl settled on her chest.

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "I think Jack would have rather you done that than try to battle against Norrington and his men, risking your life for his." She wasn't sure about Jack's intentions when she barged in the sitting room like that and seeing that familiar smirk, but watching the two being separated by several Naval officers and Norrington and the looks exchanged, she concluded he was truly head-over-heels for Zora, and she for him.

Now, just how would Jack manage to get himself out of this one…

A/N: Whew, what a day for Jack and Zora, huh? Heheh, and see, Norrington DID make another appearance. But guess what - only one chapter remains... stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! And pleasepleaseplease, REVIEW!