A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: POTC belong to Disney.

Chapter 44

(Three weeks later)

Elizabeth listened to the muffled sound of the old clock striking midnight in the hallway down the stairs in her father's house in Port Royal. Outside it was raining very hard. The rain was pouring down in torrents, and once in a while she could see a flash of a lightning crossing the black, starless Caribbean night sky.

She was lying in her bed wishing that it would not rain tomorrow. Or... today, as it were. It was already today.

She tossed and turned, and could not sleep at all, thinking how terrible she will look like in the morning if she was not to get even one single hour of rest.

But it was impossible to sleep.

Elizabeth sat upright in bed and sighed, smirking to herself. It was just too unbelievably wonderful... Tomo- Today, she was getting married. She looked at her wedding dress that sat on the chair in the corner. This dress was more beautiful than the dress from Poseidon (with which, by the way, she did not quite know what to do...) This dress was a charming, white, silk, lace-trimmed wedding dress with wide ruffles, and puffed sleeves, exactly like the one that she has once read about in her favorite book of fairy tales.

She has never been too preoccupied with fancy clothes, and she rather liked wearing her "pirate" clothes, however, a wedding dress was a totally different story. It was not only a dress. It was all that the dress represented. Her future enclosed in the fabric, her dreams stitched in the ruffles, her expectations set in between the buttons... The new life about to begin. A white sheet of paper. A white dress. A white wedding dress.

Elizabeth pressed her face against the pillow convincing herself that she really should fall asleep. She closed her eyes, and remembered a trick that she has once heard about. The trick was about counting... Counting something, and then falling asleep in the process. But she could not recollect what it was that one was supposed to count, so she tried to think of something fit to be counted on her own.

Elizabeth sighed. She could count palm trees. Palm trees seemed good enough. However... she could also count ships. Or pirates. Or swords, cutlasses, pistols, bullets, knives, gun powder barrels, rum barrels, rum bottles, pearls, maps, treasure chests, pieces of Aztec gold, warrants for the arrest, letters of marque, compasses, words, smiles, lies, grins, truths, smirks, dreams, kisses, sneers, betrayals, regrets, hopes, kisses... Kisses. That was a good thing to count.

Although she doubted if counting the kisses could possibly make her feel drowsy...

But before she even attempted to start counting, something attracted her attention. A quiet, repetitive sound. As if... As if... She looked around the darkened room, and then at the window. She blinked, startled, and after a moment jumped out of the bed.

"Jack!", she whispered in disbelief, opening the window.

"Aye, luv", he answered with a smirk, water dripping from his hat, and down his face. The rain was still very heavy, and as Elizabeth opened the window, she felt the cold wind piercing through her night gown.

"What are you doing here, Jack?!", she inquired, helping him get into the room, and closing the window behind him. "You're soaking wet! Take it off!", she demanded tugging on his coat.

"Easy, luv", he chuckled. "We'll be married in a few hours. No need to be so impatient", he grinned, letting her take off his coat.

"Jack!", she exclaimed shooting him a mock-angry look, and putting the coat away. "No need to be sneaking into my bedroom in the middle of the night as well, and that for the same reason, I imagine", she retorted, raising her eyebrows.

Jack took off his hat, and threw it nimbly on a cabinet. "This is where you're wrong, darling", smirked Jack, pulling her into an embrace. "It's the last moment to sneak into your bedroom, since from the next evening on, I'll be there all the time which fact makes, in fact, the sneaking part factually superfluous."

"You're all wet", muttered Elizabeth, drying off his face with a lace-trimmed handkerchief. "You will get a cold", she wrinkled her forehead concernedly.

"I'm rather planning on getting something else", said Jack leaning towards her with a roguish smile.

"Yes", Elizabeth looked at him, trying to keep a straight face. "Pneumonia", she replied deftly.

Jack grimaced, but then glanced at her curiously. "Unless that's yer second name?"

"Jack!", Elizabeth smiled involuntarily, and hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"At yer service, luv", grinned Jack, pulling her into a kiss.

"Jack, I'm serious", whispered Elizabeth resting her forehead against his.

"I'm serious, too, Lizzie-luv", smiled Jack, but before he managed to kiss her again, Elizabeth clasped her hands happily.

"I know!", she exclaimed. "Come on", she took him by the hand, and led towards the door.

"Where are we going?", asked Jack, baffled.

"Downstairs. To the kitchen. I'll make you a hot tea", Elizabeth cautiously opened the door.

"A hot what?", Jack knitted his eyebrows disgustedly at the mentioning of something apparently associated with East India Trading Company.

"Shhh!", Elizabeth turned to him, raising her index finger to her lips. "Do be quiet Jack. Everybody's sleeping", she whispered warningly. "A hot tea", she repeated in an answer to his question. "A drink that one: helps you not to catch a cold, and two: does not get you drunk. Stunning, aye?"

Jack shook his head in disagreement: "Decidedly barbaric."

Governor Swann woke up with a headache. He looked around the room cautiously, and contently acknowledged that he was in his own bedroom.

Last time when he had woken up with a headache he found himself on a pirate ship, so now it was quite-

He sighed. It was rather peculiar to feel relieved, because of not being on a pirate ship, considering the fact that his own daughter (with his own consent) was going to permanently live on one. He shook his head, and sighed again. He sighed, and smiled, and sighed, and felt confused again. Maybe he was making a mistake? She was young, and in love, and she could have unreasonable ideas. But he, as somebody older, as a parent, should be reasonable, and think objectively whether what she was doing was wise, or perhaps... He waved his hand dismissively. He had gone through this kind of thinking too many times already. And he had never reached a perfect conclusion. In fact, he had never reached any conclusion, apart from the conclusion that there was no conclusion to be reached.

The Governor blinked. He was beginning to structure his thoughts in a strange way. Too many dinners with certain people within last three weeks, no doubt.

Governor Swann flung a dressing gown on, and walked out of his room directing his steps to the kitchen to make himself some herbal tea for the headache.

When he came near the kitchen, to his bewilderment he heard some voices, so he stopped in his tracts, and listened.

"...tell me what it does. I know it does something. Just tell me what it is!" The Governor recognized Elizabeth's voice immediately, and it calmed him down if only a little. At least there were no intruders in the house...

"Why do ye think, Lizzie-darling, that this ring does something?", asked a rather amused male voice that also sounded quite familiar. The Governor shook his head in thoughtful resignation, but the he knitted his eyebrows. What is he doing here at this hour?!

"I know it does something", insisted Elizabeth.

"Haven't you told me yourself, Lizzie", said Jack narrowing his eyes, "that our fortunately failed godlike grouchy groom himself had said that the black pearl was merely a souvenir-"

"Even if", cut in Elizabeth, "he doesn't know what the black pearl does, it doesn't mean that you don't know it either", pouted Elizabeth.

"Ah", Jack smirked contently. "I'm flattered. But unfortunately-"

"Jack!", Elizabeth exclaimed impatiently. "Tell me this instant what my ring does!"

Jack chuckled. "If it is yours, I think you should be the one to know best what it does, 'Lizbeth."

Elizabeth gave out a frustrated sigh.

The Governor finally decided to walk into the kitchen.

Both Jack and Elizabeth started at the sight of him.

"Father", Elizabeth blushed for no apparent reason, jumping off the chair. Jack politely staggered to his feet.

"Oh, sit down, sit down", the Governor gestured for them to sit down. "I just need something... I have a terrible headache."

"Father, you please sit down", Elizabeth rushed towards him, and sit him down on a chair. "And I will brew a herbal tea for you."

"Thank you, yes. I think that may help", the Governor smiled faintly.

Jack smiled politely.

Either because of the headache, or for some other reason, Governor Swann refrained from asking how, or what for, or why they were sitting in the kitchen and drinking tea in the middle of the night on their wedding eve.

"It seems that insomnia is an increasingly common affliction in our family", blurted out Jack.

The Governor coughed. Elizabeth dropped a spoon. She quickly bent down to pick it up, but then unfortunately dropped it again hearing her father's answer:

"So it seems."

"Here you are", said Elizabeth with a smile, setting the tea in front of her father on the table.

"Thank-", started the Governor, but stopped in mid-sentence. "What is that?", he asked wrinkling his forehead, as if he was listening to something attentively.

They all fell silent for a moment, and listened.

Rather loud knocking on the door was soon heard.

"Somebody is at the door", said Elizabeth confusedly in a low tone of voice.

"A rather bizarre time for visiting", observed Jack with genuine wonder.

Governor Swann and Elizabeth glanced at him, blinking.