Author's Note: This chapter was very spur of the moment; I wrote it within the last hour and half, so if there is any defects of plot in it, it is most likely because it is the work of an evening rather than being ruminated over for a few days. This chapter contains my take of what will happen when our heroic pirate crew sets out from Tia Dalma. It is still as sickeningly romantic and sentimental as ever, I forewarn you, but this is how I genuinely believe the characters would act. That said, please enjoy and if you have a spare moment, reviews are greatly appreciated.

Love's Hope Lost

The next morning Tia Dalma poked her head around the blanket hung in the archway that served as the bedroom's door.

"It is time to awake, children. There is a long journey ahead of you, and you be needin' to get a bigger boat and crew than what you came here with," she said before withdrawing from the room.

Elizabeth and Will groggily opened their eyes, from where they had fallen asleep sitting atop of the mat on the floor that served as a bed. They had sat up late into the night talking and sharing kisses, as only lovers do.

Their journey to pirate port of Tortuga was indeed a long and tiring one, and when Captain Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth, Gibbs, Pintel, and Raggetti arrived there a few hours after noon, they were quite ready to rest and rustle up some food before they set off on the even more harrowing journey to the end of the earth.

However, rest seemed to be the last thing on the mind of Captain Barbossa, who pointed to a grand pirate galleon in the harbor and said to them, "Ye have leave to go ashore until sunset. At that time, meet me aboard that ship. Her name be the Pirate's Glory."

"How do ye intend to commission a handsome old galleon such as that one to take us on a journey to the end of the earth, eh?" old Gibbs questioned contrarily; for though he would go with Barbossa to save Jack because the pirate captain was the only one who knew the way, he was not intending to make it easy for the bloody mutineer.

"Her captain owes me a debt," said Barbossa with a sinister and bloodthirsty smile that made the rest of the crew loathe to inquire anymore into Barbossa's plans.

They all dispersed, with Pintel, Raggetti and Gibbs off to get drunk off of rum at the saloon and Will and Elizabeth off to the inn where Will got a room for Elizabeth and left her to eat and then rest while he took care of some mysterious business he refused to tell her about.

Elizabeth awoke from a pleasant slumber despite the general noise of Tortuga just as the sun began its slow descent into the horizon. Dressing, she left the inn and went to await her knight in shining armor who, once arrived, would whisk her off to the Pirate's Glory and grand adventure.

"Elizabeth," she heard the familiar voice of her fiancée call out as he came up the street of the inn behind her. Whirling around, she saw Will standing before her with a strange man of about middle age; strange because his air of gentility and care for personal hygiene was extremely out of place in decadent Tortuga.

"I would like to introduce you to Mr. Christopher Watts," Will said, sounding ridiculously pleased with himself.

"How d'you do, ma'am," Mr. Watts said inclining his head in a bowing movement.

Elizabeth returned the genteel gesture, feeling nonplussed as to who this man could possibly be and why Will was bothering to make new friends when they were due back at the Pirate's Glory at any moment.

"I have arranged for Mr. Watts to take you back to Port Royal to await my return," Will explained, still wearing that idiotic self-pleased look that made Elizabeth long to slap him.

"Wait, what?" Elizabeth demanded, sure she had not heard him correctly. "Will, what are you talking about? I was operating under the delusion that I would be going with you and the rest of the crew!"

"Ah, if you will excuse me for a moment, I believe I see an old acquaintance," Mr. Watts said, apparently sensing an oncoming lover's spat and desiring to get away from them as quickly as possible, for he was a being who dreaded domestic conflict of any kind. "Just call me when you require my services."

"I am sorry to put you through so much trouble Mr. Watts, for we will not be requiring your services at all," Elizabeth snapped and instantly felt bad, for it was not Mr. Watts but Will who was the object of her ire.

"Thank you, Mr. Watts, if you would give us a moment, we will be with you presently," Will told the good man as graciously as he could.

"No we will not—" Elizabeth began, but it was no use, for Mr. Watts was already scurrying away.

"Elizabeth—" Will began in the tone of voice he used when he was trying to remonstrate with her.

"Do not even attempt to talk me into going back to Port Royal like a good, obedient little wife or I will knock you down on your overprotective posterior!" Elizabeth half-shouted at him.

"My love, I know you want to go with us to rescue Jack, but it is far too dangerous—"

"Dangerous? Dangerous!" Elizabeth spat lividly. "Like helping the crew fight the kraken was a walk in the garden!"

"Elizabeth, I am not calling into question your bravery or your ability to handle yourself, but the perils of the journey that lies ahead," Will said in his most wheedle some voice. "If anything should happen, it would be an immense comfort to me to know that you were home safe with your father."

"And should anything happen on the journey, it would be an even larger comfort to me if I could be there with you, sharing your fate as it is my duty as your wife to do so!" she returned obstinately.

"You are not my wife yet, Elizabeth, and of all the improper things you have done in the name of finding me and securing my safety, traveling with me to the end of the Earth to save a pirate would be the most improper of them all."

"You are about to risk your neck and the necks of the remaining crew of the Black Pearl to save Jack and you are worried about propriety?" Elizabeth demanded incredulously. "Propriety be damned! I am going with you and that's that, William Turner!"

"No you are not! Now I have tried to reason with you, Elizabeth, but I haven't time to stand about arguing with you—" Will began, finally letting his frustration come to the surface in the form of anger.

"Then just let me come—"

"And I am not asking you, I am telling you to go with Mr. Watts right now!" Will continued on, as if he had not her interruption.

"No!" Elizabeth exclaimed indignantly, the same as she had when he told her to stay behind with the Dead Man's Chest while he was engaged in a duel with Norrington and Jack (and a lot of good her refusal to mind had done them all).

"Elizabeth," Will said softly, now resorting to pleading, "I would die if anything were to happen to you. I love you. That is why I do not want you to come with me."

"I know you love me, Will, but just because I do not go with you does not mean I am safe. Mr. Watts's ship could sink and I could drown, or I could be killed in a carriage accident once I had gotten back to Port Royal," Elizabeth replied, softening a bit at those three magic little words that always made her weak in the knees when they were said by Will.

"Yes, but the odds of you getting killed in any of those ways compared with the odds of you being harmed on the journey to the end of the Earth are no where near as great," Will said with a sigh.

"Will," Elizabeth returned, tears coming to her eyes. "I want to make things right. It is my fault Jack is dead, and I want to help bring him back. And if that means going with you to make sure you do not get into any trouble, then all the better."

Will laughed softly at her last remark and felt himself relenting almost in spite of himself.

"Alright," Will said, "But, please, promise me you will try stay out of trouble?"

Elizabeth nodded as she rushed into his open arms to receive his embrace and kisses, for no one cares about the propriety of public displays of affection in Tortuga, and the love shown between two fiancées was much more innocent than anything going on around them.