Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean. Don't panic. I've done that enough for everyone.

Note: Mucho thanks to my reviewers! You guys really don't know how much it means to me that you review…or else…those people that read without reviewing WOULD review. Why do they do that, by the way? Do they get off by being rude? Eh…something I've always wondered. Anyway, this chapter will have the answers to a whole lot of questions you've been asking. But don't worry; it's far from the last chapter!

SHOUT OUTS: Kute Anime Kitty, Italian Bella, Amanda Michelle, SKateforever, lauren baker, 1Bookwormie1, Shay Bo Bay, and Erin McKinley! Thanks for your reviews!

Chapter 5, The Music Box

"Jack! Jack!" I'd been screaming his name for forever. My legs were tired from running and tripping over tree limbs and stones. The moon was disappearing; the sun rising. I knew I'd searched for him all night, and I'd gotten nowhere. Not even a footprint. Just as I was about to give up hope, I heard a low groan.

"Hello?" I whispered warily, looking through the trees. "Is anyone out there?" No one responded. Then I noticed the trees were becoming thinner, and I could see the ocean again. But the rest of the crew was nowhere to be seen; I must have been on the opposite shore of the island. And just at the edge of a small pool of water not connected to the ocean was Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Thank God!" I thought. I started toward him…My jaw dropped open at the horrid sight before me. Jack was facing away from me, and he'd removed his charred, blackened shirt; I could see his bare back. It was burnt horribly; blisters covered over half of it. Red, bloody, and oozing clear liquid, Jack looked like one of Davy Jones' diseased crew. He had ripped off a strip of his shirt and dipped it in the pool of water, and then he reached behind him as best he could and dabbed at his blisters. He cried out in pain every time he touched one. I put a hand to my mouth to stifle a horrified shriek. I moaned loudly, trying not to vomit.

"Elizabeth?" Jack said, turning to face me. He saw me, standing there, looking completely shocked, and he stood up in alarm, throwing his shirt back on. He began rushing toward me, and I stumbled backward into the sand. "Elizabeth! What--"

"So that's why I'm alive then? Because you…you saved me, didn't you? But…you gave your own flesh for me, didn't you Jack?" I'm ashamed to admit I felt giddy at the thought that he'd sacrificed his own body for me.

Jack didn't answer; he only froze, staring at me.

"But why didn't…why didn't you die? It was enough to kill you!" Jack was still frozen for quite a while longer, but then he blinked, and he seemed to take in things for the first time. Reaching down to me, he offered me his hand and pulled me up. I wanted to ask him why he'd give his own life for me…I wanted to hear him confess his feelings. But I didn't want to put him through anymore pain than he was already experiencing.

"Come with me, Elizabeth."

I followed him to the pool where he'd been cleaning his wounds, and he sat down at the edge, careful not to bend so much as to upset the sores on his back. He looked at me, almost, it seemed, to ask my permission for something, and then he removed his shirt again. I could now even more clearly see the damage that had been done. I wondered how on Earth I'd not noticed it before…

"Elizabeth, if you'd be so kind…" he said, handing me a wet strip of cloth. I nodded, and tried not to look too reluctant as I sat down behind him. Carefully, I touched one of his sores with the cloth. He shook with pain, but then he spoke. "Elizabeth…if you really want to understand…I'll tell you the story. But you're not--"

"I can take it. I've heard worse tales than you'd believe, Jack."

"Eh? Then I'll start at the beginning, so you can…understand.

You see, getting out of there was all a matter of chance, love. You can thank Davy Jones for that."

"What?" I asked, momentarily dazed.

"No interruptions, please," Jack said. He gestured to his back. "Keep at it!" I hadn't realized that I'd stopped tending to his wounds. "A long time ago, but not so long that I can't remember, Davy Jones fell in love…with a woman. Ow!"

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry, love. Anyway, he was so in love with her that he swore an oath: he'd never be with any other woman, not so long as he walked, or rather, hobbled, along on the earth."

"He was an invalid?" I asked, disbelieving. Jack nodded, and I could tell he was annoyed that I'd interrupted him again. He sighed and started again.

"And it was this oath that slowly became a curse. He found that merely speaking to another woman caused him great pain, and he confined himself to the sea, with only a group of men as his crew and his beloved woman for company. Which was how she wanted it, mind you…

"But then, something…unexpected happened. I believe she thought he was being unfaithful, so she cursed him. Cursed him to forever remain bound to the sea. And so Davy Jones became…what he is today. Tentacles, big sucking…round…things…and all."

"Oh, that's horrible!" I said, wondering if Will would curse me if he had the knowledge of how to do it.

"Aye, but that's only the half of it. Eventually, she apologized for cursing him, and he, being a fool, believed that she'd changed. So he gave her a second chance. And now, Davy Jones had the entire sea at his feet; it was completely under his control. He was no longer a peg-legged, weak sailor; she'd given him strength, which I don't think was her intention. This sly woman that he'd fallen for tricked him into giving her power over fire, though how that worked I'm not quite sure. So he owned the sea, and she ruled fire."

"How would that work? Fire and water cancel each other out, don't they?" I couldn't help but ask. I was entirely intrigued by the story.

"Most definitely," he said gravely, and he sank into a deep reverie. Then I hit a tender spot with the cloth and he was startled into his story again.

"So, since water and fire are so dangerous to one another, they couldn't be close anymore. So Davy Jones created them both identical music boxes; they each played a tune that Jones used to sing to his beloved to lull her to sleep."

I began to picture this all in my head, and a startling realization hit me in the face as Jack continued.

"So she used the trinket to sing her to sleep every night, and he used his likewise. So they were together, but apart, you see. But this woman was very…temperamental, as all of them are—OW!" I'd slapped him hard on the arm, where there wasn't a burn. "You wouldn't be offended if it weren't true…" I gave him a hard glare, and I was amused to find a fear of being slapped again in his eyes.

"But as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted…eventually she tired of him, and left him alone on his ship to suffer. He was hurt so badly that he nearly killed himself with a stab through the heart. But then he realized she'd taken her music box with her, and it gave him hope that she still loved him, so he locked his heart away for safekeeping until she returned to him, when he'd have use for his old heart again."

It was quiet for a long moment, and Jack turned to look at me, because I'd stopped cleaning his back.

"So…do you see?"

"Tia Dalma is Davy Jones' beloved?" I said, almost sure of myself. I remembered that she'd given me the music box, and that when she'd opened it, I'd had an uncontrollable desire to fall asleep. It all made sense now; my head was spinning from taking it all in.

"Right you are, lass."

"And…the music box…was hers…and since she had power over fire…it protected us from the explosion?" It sounded highly improbable, but with Jack, I guessed anything was possible.

"Correct again. So as I said, it was a matter of chance that we survived. Had Davy Jones not given Tia Dalma that music box, and had Tia Dalma not given you said music box, we'd all be dead right now. You, me, your prized William, and the rest of the crew. Like pork on a spit. Toasted through and through. Crunchy, even. Black like a--"

"Okay, okay…I…understand…but why were you burned? You shouldn't have been harmed at all!" I shivered at the thought.

"Tia Dalma has great power…but she's not that powerful. Davy Jones gave her those strengths; he loved her that much." I looked at him in awe; I reached into my pocket and withdrew the music box. I smiled at it thoughtfully. Tia Dalma had given it to me to protect me. She must have known I'd need it; she had, after all, seen my future. It surprised me how powerful that small, simple music box was. And how powerful Tia Dalma must has truly been. It also made me think, since Jack once had a relationship with Tia Dalma, that maybe she'd given him new strengths, and that was what had enabled him to survive so long inside the Kraken.

"Jack, there's something else that bothers me…about the Kraken…and you."

"What is it, love?" Jack asked calmly, looking out at the ocean again.

"How did you manage to…survive inside the Kraken? You must have been there

more than three months!" I shuddered to think of the possibilities.

"It's surprising how much the Kraken eats." I gasped, praying he hadn't eaten

what I thought he had. He read the look of horror on my face and laughed heartily.

"No, no, Elizabeth! I meant pelicans…fish…other small defenseless animals, and

most definitely humans, but I'd never eat—ew…" he said, and his face took on a faraway look, as though he were imagining the horrible thought himself. Suddenly, we both caught each others' gazes and burst into laughter. I couldn't imagine why or what was so funny, but I couldn't stop myself. Then another question wandered into my thoughts; I wondered how Tia Dalma could have given up such a love as Davy Jones had for her then, and had for her still. But then I felt ashamed, because thinking of love made me think of Jack.

"Jack…why…?" I trailed off, unsure how to put my thoughts into words. I wanted to ask him if he knew the real reason that Tia Dalma had severed herself from Davy Jones.

He seemed to know what I meant.

"No one knows. Some say she felt threatened by his rising power…others say she merely tired of his arrogance. No one truly knows except Tia Dalma herself. Forever a mystery, eh?"

"People shouldn't waste such things as love. You never know when they could be taken from you," I said softly, hoping he'd catch the double meaning in my words. He turned around and looked at me, smiling widely. His golden teeth shone brightly in the rising sun. Then I looked into his eyes, and was lost again. I watched his smile slowly fade; his hand came up and gently cradled my jaw. Pulling me forward, our bodies closed the gap between us, and his lips were on mine again. Suddenly, I remembered my purpose for coming this far to find him. I pulled away reluctantly, but with a good reason.

"Jack! The crew…Gibbs and Ragetti and Pintel and Will…they all made it! They're looking for you, and they said something about--"

"Shh…later, love…" he came slowly forward again.

"No, this is important! You have to hear this now!" I said, backing away.

"Nothing is more important than this, right now." I gaped at him, and he finally captured my lips in another kiss. Oh well. Who needs…hearts?

It was the first time in forever that Jack did not smell of rum. The smells of the Kraken were fading, but still vaguely present. But I also noticed his own fragrance, one that I'd never smelled before. It was a calming smell, like the perfume of a gentle rain or a budding flower. I was unable to describe the scent then, but now I can truly say it made me yearn even more for the sea, for adventure, and…most unfortunately…for Jack Sparrow.

End Chapter

Yes, kinda short this time (well short for me anyway) but I'm having writer's block! I hope I answered Lexapower's question! She asked how Jack managed to survive so long inside the Kraken. Hopefully, she's somewhat satisfied with the answer. Anyway, review and give me some ideas for the next chapter…they'd be appreciated!