"Elizabeth!" Weatherby Swann came walking into the parlour where Elizabeth was sitting, and she was shocked to see that her father wasn't alone. Indeed, he was accompanied by none other than Commodore James Norrington, who was apparently on still on shore. Elizabeth flew to her feet as quickly as she could.

"Father," she greeted him, closing her fan. Then she curtsied politely to James and murmured, "Commodore."

"The butler says that Jack Sparrow was here earlier," said Weatherby, and Elizabeth sucked in air hard through her nostrils. She nodded slowly and told the two men,

"He's taking an assignment on a merchant vessel. He came to say goodbye and to wish me well."

"Is that all?" Weatherby Swann seemed awfully suspicious. He shook his head a little and said, "I know you say he kept you safe on that island, Elizabeth, but I do not trust that man. He is a pirate. A blackguard. A rogue."

"He was my saviour," Elizabeth nodded. She decided to change the subject entirely, and she asked James, "Have you come for dinner, Commodore?"

"I have, Miss Swann," said James. "I should like to discuss the particulars of our wedding with you, if you are amenable."

Elizabeth gulped. She would be abandoning James tonight. She would be abandoning her father. She couldn't breathe, all of a sudden. She and her father and James were seated in the dining room, and soon enough the maids brought out roast pork, rice, and glazed carrots. Elizabeth hungrily ate her food, and she mused,

"On the island, we relied so much on coconuts for their water and their meat. But there was fish, too. Jack speared a snapper with his cutlass, and then he killed a barracuda, which we smoked to preserve."

James and Weatherby stared at one another, and then at Elizabeth, and James asked cautiously,

"Did he abuse you in any way, Elizabeth?"

"What?" She set down her fork and knife and shook her head wildly. She stared at James and scoffed. "No. Entirely the opposite, Commodore."

"Good. I am very relieved to hear that," said James meaningfully. He cleared his throat. "I understand that we must take into consideration the politics of this being the wedding of the Governor's daughter, but I should like to wed Elizabeth as expeditiously as possible."

"I think six weeks ought to be plenty of time to plan the occasion and invite all necessary guests," said Weatherby. "Does that suit you, James?"

"Six weeks suits well," he said, "for I shall be sailing again soon thereafter."

"Is no one going to ask me?" Elizabeth huffed, though of course it didn't matter, since she was leaving with Jack tonight. Still. She glared at James and her father, both of whom seemed surprised by her outburst. Weatherby shrugged a little and asked,

"Does six weeks suit you, Elizabeth?"

"Yes. Six weeks will be fine," she said begrudgingly, and the men began to discuss menu and a guest list. Elizabeth sat in silence, sipping her wine and knowing damned well that she would never in her life marry James Norrington. Midnight, she decided, could not come soon enough.

When midnight did come at last, Elizabeth's heart was in her throat. She opened her wardrobe in her bedroom at half past eleven and slid on a sturdy wool dress in dark green, lacing it loosely up the back and then tightening and tying it herself with unpractised hands. She tied her petticoats and the wool skirt herself, too, and she slid on black heeled shoes. This was as casual as her clothes would let her be, she thought with disdain. She braided her hair tightly down her back and went to her writing-desk, where she pulled out a piece of paper and a quill.

My Dearest Father,

I leave you and James not at the hands of a captive, but of my own free will. Do not come looking for me. I am precisely where I want to be. I shall love you always and always.

Your daughter,

Elizabeth

She left the note on her writing-desk and opened the door to her quarters. She looked round but saw no one, though she did not dare carry a candle to be certain. She crept through the moonlight across the upstairs landing and then toward the staircase, and when she reached that, she tiptoed down the stairs one at a time. She quietly padded across the foyer floor, and she spared a glance over her shoulder back upstairs to where her father was sleeping.

"Goodbye, Father," Elizabeth whispered, and she slowly opened one of the front double doors that led into the foyer. She slipped outside, shut the door, and breathed in the Caribbean night air. She dashed through the front garden and down toward the gate, and when she reached that, she pried it open and slipped out into the street.

And there he was, leaning up against the stone pillar surrounding the mansion. Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow, which was actually true now that he had the Expeditious. Elizabeth crashed against his arms, and he wrapped her up in an embrace and murmured against her ear,

"We have to go, love. Got to get down to the docks quickly, before anyone notices you're gone, savvy?"

"Jack…" She wanted to tell him how much more he meant to her than James could ever mean. She wanted to tell him that she missed those nights on the island, that she'd enjoyed touching him and having him inside of her. She wanted to tell him everything, but all she said up to him was, "Let's go."

They made their way down through the town of Port Royal in perfect silence, her fingers laced through his. As they approached the town, he put his leather tricorn on her head, and though she could barely see, she realised why he'd done it - to hide her identity. Elizabeth kept her face down and didn't speak as she let Jack guide her through the streets. The town was mostly quiet except for taverns and brothels, and nobody from those establishments seemed to much care that they were out and about. Elizabeth walked at a brisk pace to keep up with Jack's strides, her petticoats swishing as she did.

"I've got us a crew of sorts," Jack said over his shoulder as they approached the docks. "Realised this sloop was too much ship for the two of us."

"A crew," Elizabeth repeated. "Did you win them in a game of cards, too?"

"Just four men looking for adventure that I happened to encounter in a tavern, love," Jack said to her. Elizabeth walked with him onto the dock, and as they approached a twelve-gun ship that was at least seventy-five feet long, she asked,

"That's your tiny sloop? Jack, that's… that's a real ship."

"So she is. Isn't she a beauty?" Jack grinned over his shoulder, his gold tooth glinting at her. He paused and turned. "One condition. Well. One sort of… situation. She's a real ship, but she's still rather small. She's only got the one cabin for the captain, and the rest of the crew hammocks out. There's room on the berth in the cabin for you and me both, love, if you'll… if you'd care to share it with me."

Suddenly he wasn't smirking, or winking, or doing anything roguish at all. He seemed very serious. Elizabeth's breath hitched, and she nodded.

"Of course I'll share your cabin with you, Jack."

"Very good," he said quickly. "We sail now. Let's get onboard and meet our new shipmates, shall we?"

He hustled up the gangplank onto the Expeditious, and Elizabeth followed him up. He helped her onto the ship, and on the deck were three sturdy-looking men. One was broad-shouldered and dark-skinned, and Jack introduced him first.

"This is Harcourt. He was a slave, ran away, and has been running ever since. We'd like to keep him running as long as we're able."

"Pleased to meet you," said Elizabeth, her stomach twisting a little. Her father's policies had promoted slavery in Jamaica. She knew that. She chewed her lip and told Harcourt, "Every slave should be free."

"Mm-hmm." He didn't seem too pleased to know her, so she decided to leave him alone for now. Next she was introduced to Paolo, who had come from Portugal and barely spoke any English. What was clear was that he hated the Spanish and that he could sail. He wanted to be a pirate, he kept telling Jack in broken English. And he could sail. Last was a ragged but burly middle-aged man called Townsend, who had been in the Royal Navy until they'd forced him into retirement. His wife had died childless, and he was all alone now.

"I miss the sea," he told Elizabeth seriously. "I'll sail to rescue your blacksmith from those other pirates, if that be our mission. So long as I'm sailing, I'm happy as can be."

"Right," said Jack. "You all know your roles round here. Elizabeth, do what you can and learn as quickly as you please. Hoist the gangplank. Ready the sails. Our heading is south by southwest until we get into open waters. Let's get out of here quickly, boys… and… Elizabeth."

Soon enough the sloop was headed out of Port Royal's harbour under the cover of darkness. She moved very quickly through the waves, and Elizabeth stood at the bow of the ship and watched it cut through the water.

"Lizzie," called a voice, and she whirled round to see Jack smiling down at her from the helm. He beckoned to her in the moonlight, and she moved swiftly across the deck and up the few steps to him. She stood beside him as he helmed the ship, and he asked,

"Do you feel free now, love?"

Elizabeth pondered that question. She didn't have to marry James Norrington. She was standing beside Captain Jack Sparrow on the deck of a ship he'd won in a game of cards. They were off to look for Will. She had left behind everything she'd ever known to sail away with him into the abyss. Did she feel free?

"Yes," she said confidently. "I feel free now."

"Good." He flicked his eyes to her and told her, "I'm about to hand over this ship's wheel to Paolo for the rest of the night so I can get some rest. Care to join me?"

Her stomach flopped. Would he enter her body again? Would he touch her between her legs like he'd done before?

"I've got something in mind," he said, as if to answer her unspoken questions, "that involves my mouth going places you probably never imagined it doing. I should like to show you, love, if you'll come down below with me. Eh?"

"Yes." Elizabeth's voice was hoarse. Jack smirked a little and nodded. He whistled, and Paolo turned round on the weather deck and came trotting up to the wheel. He took control, and Jack mumbled something to him in Portuguese. Jack took Elizabeth's hand and guided her down the stairs, all the way aft on the weather deck, and through the door into the one and only cabin aboard the sloop. When he shut the door, Elizabeth tried to tell him that she cared far more deeply for him than she'd ever imagined doing. But before she could, he swallowed her up in a kiss.

Author's Note: Raise your hand if you feel a lemon coming on! Raise your other hand if you feel just a teeeeeeeensy bit sorry for James Norrington? No? Yes? Maybe? Haha. Thank you so very much for reading. PLEASE REVIEW if you get a quick moment.