Chapter 6

As she lay in her bed that night she knew she couldn't let something like that happen again. She was lucky this time, both Will and her father accepted her explanation without any further prodding for information but if it recurred she doubted it would be so easy. These fantasies about Jack were invading her dream sleep more and more, and she wondered just how much worse it was going to get? She had a wedding coming up which meant that soon she would no longer have her chambers...or her bed...to herself. If dreams like the one she had this evening on the beach persisted, it would be very difficult for her to keep her thoughts private as Will would most certainly figure things out.

She pulled Jack's letter out from inside her drawer and held it against her cheek, she could almost smell his scent coming off of the paper and her body still tingled when she recalled the dream she had earlier this evening. Sleep was coming slowly to Elizabeth once again, and she gazed out of her window to the horizon in front of her, picturing her pirate standing at the helm as his ship sailed into Port Royal. Oh how she wished it were true! She longed for him, desperate for his sultry voice to be whispering in her ear sending shivers down the length of her body, but tonight would be no different than any other night. Tonight there would be no Pearl and no Jack Sparrow, but at least she knew he was most likely still alive. She'd find out soon enough once her letter had been answered, until then, she had the current piece of parchment with his handwriting to keep her going.

Eventually, her thoughts of Jack took her back to sleep and this time, there were no dreams. Just a sound, peaceful slumber.

She awoke the next morning feeling her usual, rejuvenated self, however today her energy level didn't diminish like it had so many times in the past. She attributed that to the letter she had recieved from Jack and the hope that it brought her. She felt like a child at Christmas and it took all of her will power to not go running down to the shore and see if a response had come from her letter or if it had been picked up at all. Instead, she forced herself to have some breakfast and then attend to the details of her upcoming nuptials. She had a feeling this wedding would not materialize, but she had to continue the charade so as not to draw attention to her underlying goal. She wondered if perhaps she was being a bit too optimistic about the whole scenario, but something deep inside her was nagging, telling her to push ahead regardless of how improbable things were. Jack had taught her about improbability and how to never dismiss something because it seems that way, and now, she was taking that lesson very much to heart, positive that the Captain was right.

The wedding details were boring, boring, boring. She tried her best to remain focused, but found it almost impossible. She needed to be more active, more physical, and these daily tasks of a Governor's daughter were driving her to distraction. She wasn't suited for a life of paperwork, meetings and decisions made behind closed doors, she needed to get out in the field and live the life her father and Norrington were working so hard to supress. She had resigned herself to all of this and her dream on the beach had resigned herself to Jack as well. Now it was only a matter of finding him.

The wedding plans took the better part of the day, what with dress fittings and menu samplings she'd had enough of such formalities for now. When she was sure she had done enough work and planning to satisfy her father, she excused herself and announced that she would be going to her chambers for a nap. Instead, she waited until all the voices downstairs had died away, then dressed herself in her shirt and trowsers again, and proceeded to attach a rope to her window ledge. She was quite adept at climbing out windows and had been for some time. She'd been doing it since she was a child and it was a secret that was hers, and hers alone. Now, as a grown woman she found that she still needed to resort to such measures in order to get away cleanly, a fact that although seemed ridiculous, was indeed an actual fact. She quietly climbed over the window ledge and gracefully lowered herself to the ground, landing in the thicket which grew below her window. She crept through the garden until she came across a small, heavily-treed path and followed it down to the seashore and ultimately, to that special place where she dreams of pirates.