Disclaimer : I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, but any new characters are mine.

Chapter Ten

A Resolution ?

Jack paced in his Captain's cabin again, wondering how Elizabeth and her company were fairing...

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled with tears...she knew Will wouldn't miss her, and that thought destroyed her...She let Jack lead her onto the Black Pearl...With no objections this time, the little kitten snuggled to her breast, in the crook of her good arm.. Jack pulled her aboard...soon he threw her, unceremoniously, into a dark room, a sleeping cabin, with one large bed. It was very dark, and she could hear breathing...

Turning around, quite obviously more than frightened, Elizabeth searched the darkness for the someone, or something that was in the room with her. She strained her eyes to see who or what was in there. In the darkness, she could the form of person, sitting in a chair by the bed, their knees were crossed and their arms folded over their chest, their head was turned in her direction.

" Who are you !"

Elizabeth's voice wanted to crack in afrightment, but she wouldn't let it, not yet, not yet. No one answered.

" I repeat, who are you ! If you are man, than be brave and show yourself to me !"

Elizabeth mentally scorned herself for being so bold, this would get her nowhere, but her grave, and she knew it, and she wouldn't of even seen Will, on last time. Still there came no answer, but a snort of laughter from the person, it was man, she could tell by the way they laughed. Elizabeth was even more frightened now. She was locked in a room, with a strange man, and a bed, anything could happen. She could be raped.

" If you are going to kill me, please do so without delay."

" I'm not going to kill yeh"

" Than show yourself to me, so that I may see the face of the man who sullies my body"

" I'm not going to rape you either. But, if you really want to see who I am..."

There followed a hiss of a lit flame, as the man struck flint against rock, over an glass and gold oil lamp, and she gasped--

1.

Jack knew he shouldn't have done what he had, but none the less, he checked in on the two people that he had kidnapped and thrown into the same bloody cabin (it was the only one free actually). Yes it may be cruel to put them in the same cabin together, but what did Jack care ? Not a thing apparently. Every hour on the hour, Jack came to their door and peeked in, to see how Elizabeth and William were faring, and for the first 3 hours after he put Elizabeth in, nothing was happening. Will sat in his same place beside the oil lamp of glass and gold, and Elizabeth sat on the bed, away from him, playing with her hair, never talking.

" I'm begining to think that this isn't going to work at all."

Jack admitted to Anamaria

" I told you it wouldn't Captain. You can't throw them into a room after all this time, after all that has happened, and actually expect them to be all over each other as soon as you lock the door."

" Why not ?"

" Because it just doesn't work like that Sparrow"

Anamaria flicked his nose gently, laughing.

1.

It was half way through hour three before they spoke.

" Elizabeth, tell me something"

" Yes ?"

" Why haven't you come to see me? Don't you love me anymore?"

" What...Will NO ! I love you ! But you don't love me ! What point is there in going to spend time with someone who does not love me?"

" Elizabeth I love you !"

" No you don't . You were never mine, I know that you will find someone that you love, even if she is a whore..."

" A whore ? What , are you mad !"

" Stop it William !"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks now,

" I know you will love a whore, I saw it my dream !"

Will's eyes widened, and Elizabeth clapped her hands over her mouth, having just told him, the dream that she had sworn to keep from him...

"So that's whats torn us apart, all these months...a dream ?"

Elizabeth's lip trembled, she nodded, he was yelling at her. Well, truly, he wasn't yelling at her, he was just shocked, and upset that this all had been caused from a dream she had, those two months back.

" What was your dream, Lizbet ?"

She looked up at him, still slightly scared that he was going to strike her, though Will, no matter how angry, how upset, would never of hit her, or any other woman for that matter. It just wasn't like him, he was too good, too sweet to ever hit a woman. He smiled gently back, his liquid brown eyes shone softly in the flickering, fading light of the buring oil lamp. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth spoke,

" Will...I, Alright I'll tell you..."

Cold, sooooo cold...Elizabeth Swann looked around her, she stood alone in the streets of Port Royale, now late at night, passed midnight as near as she could tell.

The moon shone only a little above her...each time she drew a breath it was like a thousand knives stabbing at her lungs , the air, soo cold...Each time she expelled her breath, the silvery cloud of moisture showed her just how cold it was.

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to keep warm , in wearing only her night shift.

" The Caribbean is NEVER this cold..."

She whispered to herself, starting to walk along , only now realizing what part of Port Royale she was in...the end of it that a Lady like her should never be in, even with company...

The heels of her slippers clicked on the cobblestones, oh how she wished they wouldn't...

Elizabeth passed many bars...each of them had many a drunken brawls going on inside...she sped up her pace, for it she were caught, she could have anything done to her in this end of Port Royale...Rape, torture, kidnappingeven murder her...And Will would never know what had happened to her...She cried at the thought of never being able to see Will's smiling face, hear his soft laughter again...

Tears rolled down her ivory cheeks and she picked up her pace , but the street's length infront of her never changed...Elizabeth broke into a run , and the street stretched out, to forever keep her there...knowing that safety was just beyong that horizon, no more than normally 500 yards , lay Will Turner's Smithy...but she was now beyond his help...to far...

There was a snap and Elizabeth Swann suddenly fell to the cold, wet, dirty cobblestones , the heel of her slipper had cracked and broken off, sending her into a fall.

She tried to move, but she could, she could feel anything, and was paralised from the neck down .

She heard the clicking of someone else's shoes...and into her view came a large fat, woman's foot, bound back in too small of leather pumps. The dress that the woman wore was ratty and dirty...Elizabeth looked up, trying to see, and what she saw, was a whore, with a tall slender man. His form was so farmiliar, but his face was too greatly blurred for Elizabeth to be able to recognize him.

The man grasped her upper arm, hauling her up to her feet...His was dark and shadowed, he laughed cruely and beat herbut his hands, his hands were so destinctly rough.

"No"

Elizabeth thought to herself, when she felt the callosed hand brush against her soft skin.

"Get up you vile bitch !"

Lady Swann had falled to ground once more, and he pulled her up again , beating her senseless she cried out for William Turner, her lover...but come he did not.

The man laughed again and a faint shimmer of the moon's light shone upon him, illuminating his brown eyesthose captivating brown eyes...

He rose his hand to strike her again, but changed his mind...his hand, instead passed right through her chest, and gripped her heart, ripping it from her, he laughed

"You're not going to need this anymore !"

Elizabeth gasped and clutched her breast, now covered in her own blood. The sun rose and showed her, her attacker...She screamed upon recognition, for it was...

"Elizabeth ! I would thought, that after all these years, after these nine years of knowing me, being my friend, you would, nay, you should know that I wouldn't ever hurt you like that ! No Elizabeth, I'm not yelling at you. I'm sorry, but, prithee, why did you not come to me when you dreamed it ? I would of comforted you ."

" Will, it was at least 3:00 am, and when I looked out the window, stood on my balcany, your candle in your shop had just faded out. I didn't want to be a burden and run to you, just incase you really did hurt me. I would of, I should of, but it was soooo late, and you had been up for around 22 hours, I didn't want to keep you up longer."

" Elizabeth, you're never a burden. Just because my candle went out, does not mean that I was yet asleep. Was it the night before the date that had gone so...erm...differently ?"

" Yes ...I couldn't bring myself to look at you !"

" Elizabeth, you could of to me, I had the day of the next day. Worst case senario, was that I would of been a little tired during our date, but than again, it would of gone much better, it would of gone the way they had always before. Elizabeth, no matter what day, what time, nor whatever the problem, or reason, you can always come to me without fear. I'll always be willing to help you as much as I can. I love you, and that's what I am there to do."

" Oh William...can you ever forgive me for ruining what we had ?"

Elizabeth so badly wanted to hear him say that, yes he forgave her. She knew now, that he loved her, but she needed to know that she still meant something to him, anything, and her amber eyes showed that in the flickering light.

" No, I do not forgive you for ruining what we had."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, filling with fear and shame. She turned her head away from him, looking hurt, looking like he had just beat her with all of his strength.

" Because there is nothing to forgive"

Will's voice was soft, as was his touch. He gently turned her face back to his.

" You haven't ruin anything, simply postponed love. If anything, you have made us better, stronger, that is, if you trust me."

Elizabeth nodded frantically, getting hiccups from being nervous that whole time, she blushed when she started hiccupping and couldn't stop. Will smiled softly, chuckling as she hiccupped. It wasn't funny, not really, but she had been so very nervous that it had caused hiccups. This had always happened to her, since he met her. On the rare occasion that something had bothered her greatly, she hiccupped, even though, with the whole Pearl incident the year passed, she had never hiccupped once. Apparently she had always held hope that either Will was coming for her, as she wished with all of her heart, or at least that the King's Royal Navy was coming to take her home.

" I'm sor hic sorry, I never meant to hic"

"Lizbet, stop while your ahead, don't hurt yourself luv."

Elizabeth nodded and didn't speak till her hiccups had passed, 5 minutes later.

" I repeat, I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you Will"

" You didn't hurt me, but I was confused, no one seemed to know what the problem was, I thought that perhaps, your love for me had died, like a faded flame."

Elizabeth shook her head, her honey locks swaying

" Not ever."

" That's all I need to know my luv. I'm am here for you forever."

Will smiled and they leaned close, closer and closer till their lips met in a soft kiss, just as Jack peered in for his forth visit...

Still got it in yeh, Sparrow !

Jack grinned to himself, happy the couple was back together, and in each other's arms. He closed the door gently, not bothering to lock them in, for now there was no need, Elizabeth wouldn't try to escape.