Rouge-Pirate: Yes, it is terribly sad. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 3: The Second Spirit

Warmth spread through his body and a scent of the salty sea drifted to his sences.

"Bloody Hell." He whispered and opened his eyes to see the bright sun, blaring down upon him.

He must have had a little too much rum the night before. He was nowlaying on the beach of Port Royal.

But if he had drank a little too much rum then he would have an extremely painful hangover. But he didn't.

He groaned as he sat up, expecting pain to shoot up his spine. But it didn't.

Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and dusted the sand off of himself. The waves of the sea softly lapped the shore, but other than that, there was no sound. He glanced upward and saw the clouds, permanently still in the sky. They were not in motion as they should have been. They should have been drifting slowly; wisps of white, across the sun. But they weren't.

Then he saw the oddest thing that he had ever seen: Birds were frozen, permanently, in mid-flight. It was the strangest thing.

Maybe there had been something in the rum.

He suddenly remembered Elizabeth, and ran to their house hoping to find her there. And he did. But she was frozen, just as everything else was. But she was not the only one in the house.

Captain Jack Sparrow was standing in front of her, holding up what appeared to be a corset, trimmed with ribbons and lace.

"Interesting, isn't it?" A voice asked him from the doorway. "It's like a three-dimensional portrait."

He turned to look at the owner of the voice and saw a man that had died very recently. It was his father-in-law; Governor Swann.

"Governor Swann." He inclined his head to the man.

It was then that he remembered what his mother had said.

"Are you the second spirit?"

He was a bit frightened by what he might see, going by what he had seen with the spirit of his mother.

"I am... but do notbe afraid. I'm here to teach you."

"I'm not afraid!" He defended himself angrily.

The governor didn't respond to this and continued.

"This is an odd scene that has been chosen for you to see." He remarked, staring at his daughter; frozen in the memory. "But it was, none the less, chosen for a reason. There is something here that you should see. It will help with what I have to teach you."

He snapped his fingers and instantly Elizabeth and Jack began to move.

"So, how does this go on," Jack mused, attempting to wrap the corset around himself. "I've seen many corsets, luv, but I only know how to get 'em off, not how to put 'em on."

Elizabeth paled slightly at the visual image that had put into her mind's eye.

Jack, who normally took no notice of expressions, had trained himself to be cautious around Elizabeth, and he noticed her expression.

"So," he loudly interjected clearing his throat. "Will should – er – like it."

"You think so?" Her voice lifted higher with hope.

"Yeah er– men love when women wear red."

She looked up at him, and he knew that she had taken it the wrong way.

Jack silently cursed himself under his breath.

"Are y' feelin' any– better?" He slyly placed his question into the conversation.

"Yes." She answered, and stared at her hands.

Jack silently reached over and touched her hand.

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"It'll be alright luv– kay? Ol' Jack'll take care o' ye."

"Oh Jack– I'm so scared that I might hurt him." She whispered, a single tear rolled down the side of her face.

Jack pulled her into a soft embrace.

"Come luv. William may be stupid, and a whelp, but 'e loves ye and I don't think ye could ever hurt 'im."

They froze again.

"You see?" Governor Swann asked. "Elizabeth is scared. You didn't help her in the least by leaving her tonight."

He felt a twinge of guilt in his gut.

"If only I had know." He whispered.

"If you had know, it would have gone differently. Am I right? Life has a funny way of not letting us know and laughing at us when we try to figure out the unknown... you simply have to seek it."

"I should have never let her go to Tortuga alone. I should have been there when it happened... I could have stopped it."

"Regret is a part of life, my dear boy." The governor said, twirling his feathered, black hat in his hands. "But I am here to help you overcome your regret. – Don't dwell on it. Step up to the opportunity my boy. You have a responsibiliy."

He didn't answer the governor.

"The night is young William. More will come to teach you. Take care of my daughter. You made a promise upon your matrimony. 'In sickness and in health. In good times and in bad. Till death do us part.' Elizabeth is still alive Will, and she is lucky to have escaped with her life. Take care of her, William. I trust you. It's your: Reponsibility."

He looked at the face of his wife, hidden in the shoulder of his best friend.

Slowly he reached towards her and touched a tear, frozen in time. It instantly became moist on his finger.

"Only you can dry her tears, William."

Blackness.

So, I hope that you guys liked it. More is on the way, it's being typed continually following ths one. So stay tuned please!

Thanks, Nuriel the Pirate.

Nuriel the Pirate