"Where's Jack?" Lord Beckett narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He looked over at Cassandra, who still stood in shocked silence. He could see how time and past experiences had wizened her, how nature had kept her beauty. She was so different from the woman he'd known and yet so much the very same.

She managed to regain control of her thoughts and answered his question. "I don't know. I haven't seen him for almost three years." She seemed saddened, and then suddenly turned spiteful. "He's been being chased by the Royal Navy, or didn't they inform you?" She seethed. She could never forgive him what he'd done to her, to Jack. She could never forgive him for what he did to himself when he betrayed Jack.

Beckett's features softened almost immediately. "Are—are you alright?" He asked quietly and gently, hoping she would understand his intentions. He missed her, her smile, her laugh. He missed the times when she was happy. He knew what he'd done had caused her pain. She knew what she'd done had caused him pain.

Cassandra moved over to the window and leaned on the sill. The rising sun cast strands of golden and bronze light, which made her shine as they hit her face. She sighed and turned to face him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "It's hard to say. I'm alone, all the time. I help people for a living, but I never was able to help myself."

He moved over to her and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I'm here. You're not alone anymore." He pulled her into his embrace, old feelings flooding forward. This brought back memories. She didn't struggle against him, she had felt the old feelings too. But her heart wouldn't let her do this. She couldn't do this to him again.

A sudden cry of pain shot through the house, echoing through the halls. "Will." Cassandra gasped, remembering his injury that had remained untreated the previous day. Beckett let go of her, understanding that she had to go do her duty. She was vaguely glad to be out of the room, occupied with something else. There was too much deceit in that part of her past.

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Will woke more confused than he had been when he'd begun to sleep. He'd woken from a sharp stab of pain in his leg, unless he was imagining it. His conversation with Elizabeth had replayed in his dreams over and over, so much that he could barely discern the real from the fabled. He could barely tell reality from fantasy anymore. There was a certainty in his mind of one thing only. She loves Jack. This thought became his mantra. A cold and ruthless mantra it was, making him miserable. He wished it were untrue with every fiber of his being, but he couldn't change what had happened. She loves Jack. She loves Jack. He could think of nothing else, the pain his mantra caused him was too immense. His mantra was interrupted as he recalled something she had said. 'I love you, Will. I have made my choice, I choose you.' These words burned clear in his memory, these at least he knew were true.

He sat bolt upright, a feeling of happiness returning to him. She loves me. She loves me. He tried to focus his thought on these words, but they faded away, his happiness dampened by his returning mantra. She loves Jack. He tried to stand up, but found his injury was much worse than it had been. The walking must have agitated it. He wanted to see Elizabeth so badly, but he couldn't bear the pain of walking at the moment.

He settled instead for sitting so he could see both the door and the window. He watched through the bright sunlight streaming through the window as a person—he guessed it was Cassandra—paced outside. He watched this person as he tried to extinguish the mantra, hoping Elizabeth would come. He thought about her, thought about what he would say. He looked to the door and saw a woman standing by it. It was Cassandra, not Elizabeth. Will felt that something again, looking up at her. She came over to treat his injury, for which he was deeply grateful, and he resumed that dangerous thinking business of his.

At last he knew he could answer Elizabeth's question. He could say, with certainty, whether or not he loved Cassandra, and live with the consequences from both women. Cassandra was already here, he could tell her the truth now. He had no choice.

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Elizabeth hadn't slept at all. She had come outside to think, sitting by the water somewhere to the east of the house where the beach was sandy. The sun had risen some time ago, and so she resumed the frantic pacing she had commenced after her argument with Will. She couldn't stop thinking about the last things he said to her. His words had haunted her all night, keeping her from sleep. 'I risked everything for you and you don't even trust me enough to try explaining it. Just go, Elizabeth.' She was scared of these words. Not because they were accusatory, but because she feared he was right. She feared it was a lack of trust that had hindered her. She second-guessed all her reasoning, passing it off as excuses. Maybe I should try.

She looked to the door, half-expecting Will to be waiting for her. When he wasn't she decided to go inside to see if he was awake. The cool water splashed against her ankles with every hesitant step she took, pushing her a little farther each time. When she reached the house, however, she realized that she had no idea where she was. She could faintly hear the low voice she recognized to be Will's from somewhere to her right, and so she followed the voice until she found his room.

Elizabeth was about to walk in when she saw the Lady sitting in front of him, apparently listening to something he was saying. She tried to hear, but was still too far away and caught only the name Cassandra. Cassandra… so he knows her name too. She moved closer to the door, being careful to stay out of sight. She could hear him properly now. "Cassandra, I have to be honest with you. Elizabeth and I talked last night and… I can't bear to lie to either of you anymore. I… I think I've fallen in love again…"

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"I… I think I've fallen in love again. I doubted my feelings for Elizabeth before, but now I'm sure." Cassandra merely nodded. He heard a thud from the hallway and saw her eyes licker towards the door and back towards him. "I have to be honest. I think I love you. But I love Elizabeth more." Cassandra couldn't help but think one thing. If only Elizabeth had stayed to hear the last part.

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"I've fallen in love again." She didn't need to hear anymore than that. She backed away from the door, but unfortunately stepped too far and thudded into the wall. Cassandra's eyes flicked towards her, then back to Will. Cassandra had seen her, but hadn't made Will see her too. Elizabeth walked down the hallway and back into the foyer. So he's made his choice, too. He doesn't believe me. He doesn't trust me. He doesn't love me.

A voice from her left startled her. It was another voice she knew. "Cassandra, you're back. How is he—" The voice broke off, seeing it was Elizabeth. She gasped. "Ah, Elizabeth, it's you."