Disclaimer: I do not own the movies or the characters. I am making no profit off of this story.

Chapter Two:

The Unexpected Visitor

Elizabeth woke up in a puddle of sweat, breathing as if she had just run a great distance. She couldn't push the horrific images from her nightmare out of her mind. What was worse was that she was starting to think her nightmare had actually taken place. How else could she explain her father's presence? That and the fact that every aspect of her nightmare was so realistic. None of her other dreams had come remotely close to feeling like this one.

Still shaking from the awful vision, she rose from her bed and floated outside in a daze. A moderate sea breeze blew over her damp flesh and flattened her cotton nightdress against her body. She shivered at the cool early-morning air.

This was her third time having the same nightmare. Each time it became more violent, more grotesque, and more unnerving. This time she had discovered that her father had had a hand in brutally murdering the helpless farmers.

She hugged herself in an attempt to calm her nerves, but it didn't work. Her feet automatically started walking down the grassy slope of the hill her cottage rested on, leading her to the shoreline of the ocean located just beyond her home. She stopped when she felt the cool waters wash over her bare feet.

Tonight's nightmare had left her more shaken than usual. It was times like this when Elizabeth longed and wished for her husband, Will. She wanted him there with her, to calm her uneasy feelings, to soothe away her fears. But the ocean was as close to him as she could get; it was as close as she could manage for the past seven years and tonight was no different.

Yet, there was something about the melody of the waves crashing into the coast and the gentle way those powerful waves lapped at her feet that was able to calm her down. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Will standing behind her. The wind blowing off the ocean became his warm breath against her neck, the water became his gentle, yet reassuring touch, and the sound of the waves became his loving words of encouragement.

But then she would open her eyes and the reality of her situation would take over. She was always, utterly alone; a tired and lost woman wading in the ocean, feeling and looking as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. She hated that feeling more than anything.

Elizabeth opened her eyes with a drawn-out sigh, refusing to let her emotions get the best of her. She needed to figure out the meaning behind her nightmares. A dreadful knot grew in the pit of her stomach as she thought and reflected, for she had an overwhelming feeling that these nightmares had something to do with the negative feelings she had been sensing all this time.

She continued to ponder over her frightening dreams in a trance-like state until the sun could be seen on the horizon, tinting the sky with orange and yellow rays of morning light.

Putting her worries and thoughts aside, she decided she should be getting back to her home and her son. Thomas would already by up and she didn't want him to become concerned, although this wasn't the first time he had been left home alone. She knew her son wouldn't get into too much trouble in her absence.

She turned and slowly started walking back up to her cottage, making a mental list of everything she needed to do that day. Suddenly she heard hoof beats. A number of hoof beats. They seemed to be in a hurry, and they seemed to be heading right for her home.

"Thomas!" she cried, racing as fast as she could to the top of the hill. Her gut instincts told her that these riders weren't coming for a peaceful, pleasurable visit. Hardly anyone came to her cottage just to drop by and say hello; it was too secluded and out of the way for anyone to bother. And when she did have house calls, the visiting party always sent word ahead of time.

She found Thomas tracing figures in the dirt with a stick, innocently oblivious to the approaching riders. She grabbed him by the hand, and yanked him into the house, slamming and bolting the door behind her.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Thomas asked.

Ignoring his question, Elizabeth peeked out from behind the drapes that covered the front window. The riders were about a half mile away and approaching quickly, but they were too far away to identify as friend or foe. Until she knew otherwise, Elizabeth began preparing herself for the latter, not going against her instincts. She had learned from previous experiences to trust her first feelings on a situation.

"Mum! What's going on?" Thomas asked again, pulling at the hem of her white nightdress. His voice held a frustrated, even exasperated tone. Thomas wasn't the type of child that was shaken easily. But this situation required caution from both of them and she needed her son to understand that this was a potentially dangerous situation. She knelt down beside him and gripped both of his shoulders in her hands, looking him in the eyes so he would know that she meant business.

"Thomas. I need you to go into your room and not come out until I call you. Try to stay as quiet as possible. Understood?" she asked.

"But…" he began to protest, wanting to stay and help his mother. Elizabeth gave him a little shake and a cross glance. Reluctantly he agreed, saying, "Yes ma'am," before doing as he was told.

The deafening sound of hooves on the packed dirt road told Elizabeth the riders were getting ever closer. Pulling the drapes aside, she looked out of the window again; that's when she saw them.

Bouncing dangerously atop an enormous black stallion, an expression of excitement mingled with fear on his face, was a man she hadn't seen in years. Half of her had missed his crude humor and dastardly schemes; the other half had wished he had met an untimely end on his latest adventure. Both halves stood staring out the window of the cottage, rooted to the spot by surprise. She hadn't exactly been expecting the infamous Jack Sparrow to show up on her doorstep. Certainly not like this.

And Jack wasn't alone. Behind him two men and an old woman were in fast pursuit. They were dressed in colorful scarves and beads with sashes wrapped around the tops of their heads, their long hair flowing freely behind them.

"Gypsies…" Elizabeth whispered to herself, flinging the door open as the riders pulled their steeds to an abrupt halt. The animals whinnied loudly and stamped the ground, still on an adrenaline high from their chase.

Jack was already off his horse, his back turned toward her, addressing the Gypsies. The two unsavory looking men accompanying the old woman had drawn weapons and were advancing on the man before them.

The seasoned pirate chuckled nervously and held up his hands in surrender, the reins to the large beast behind him in his hand. The sunlight hit the reins, causing them to glitter and sparkle in the morning light.

Elizabeth noticed the breathtaking jewels that were inlaid in the shiny bridle. Were those real emeralds and sapphires? She imagined so. How had the Gypsies come to acquire such valuables? Elizabeth had always been told that the Gypsy people were thieves and vagabonds who spent their lives begging or stealing and reading fortunes. They were certainly not wealthy enough to place precious gems on the bridles of horses. Even the wealthiest Englishmen couldn't afford that expense. But the more important question was how Jack had come to have the horse and the bejeweled bridle in his possession. Elizabeth could only think of one explanation, and judging by the Gypsy men's faces, she was right. Jack had stolen the beast.

"I think you lovely gents have misunderstood the situation at hand," Jack explained, lowering his hands to pat the horse's long snout. The horse snorted dancing backwards and out of his reach, yanking the reins out of his hands. Jack stumbled but caught himself before he fell on his face. The gypsies didn't seem to accept Jack's surrender and continued to advance.

"Really, the horse is all yours mates. I was just testin' him ta see if he was as fast as he looked. And what a ride it was." He turned to the stallion and made a shooing motion with his hands. "Go on horsie. Get away with ye now."

The horse did not appreciate being pushed away like an alley cat and bolted forward toward his abductor. Jack's eyes grew wide as the enraged beast flew at him, but he kept his wits about him long enough to sidestep the creature. But the horse was more cunning than Jack had anticipated. One of its back legs lifted up and landed a kick to his back, effectively sending Jack flying through the air, landing right in front of Elizabeth. The horse, like a well-trained dog, trotted over to the old woman, who secured its reins to her horse's pommel.

"Elizabeth!" Jack exclaimed, jumping up to his unsteady feet. He always seemed to be wobbly on dry land, swaying back and forth as though in a wind tunnel; however, those same muscular legs held steady as a rock on the open ocean, even in a storm.

"It's been ages darling!" he said, giving her an awkward hug. He pulled back from her, giving her a slow once over. "My, don't you look…" he paused, giving her body another assessment, while his hands struggled to grasp the right word. "Cold," he said finally, his eyes lingering on her chest before glancing up to her eyes and back again.

Before Elizabeth could slap the smug look off of his face, the younger of the Gypsy men broke in, yelling: "Hand over the horse thief!" His tone was demanding.

Elizabeth turned her heated gaze on him and asked, "What is to be done with him?"
"He will suffer the fate of any man foolish enough to steal a horse. His punishment will be death by hanging."

"Hung?" Jack asked, as if scoffing at the idea, but Elizabeth could sense the underlying worry threaded in his voice. "There's no need for a hangin', is there mate? Ye have your precious pony back now, no worse for wear," he pointed out.

"Any thief would return what he stole if he was caught. It doesn't change the fact that you took it," the young man barked back.

Jack stepped out from behind Elizabeth where he had been hiding, using her as a human shield. Holding up his hands in front of him with both index fingers pointed at the creature in question, he tried to prove his innocence as only he would.

"I didn't want the bloody horse, mate," he began, "The jewels was what I wanted. What am I going to do with a horse? I'm a pirate! I just couldn't get that bloody contraption off its head!"

The urge to slap him was hard to suppress, but somehow Elizabeth managed to do it, choosing to give him a death glare instead. He returned to his previous position behind her, mumbling, "I just thought I'd make my motives clear."

"That contraption as you call it is the only remaining object that displays the history of our people. It is the only thing reminding us that we used to be a wealthy people. It is given to our leader when he takes an oath to attempt to restore our people to what we once were." The younger Gypsy man was getting extremely angry. "Your ignorance is unbearable! No one, not even a petty thief, would dare steal such an item from our people."

"He just insulted me!" Jack whispered vehemently in Elizabeth's ear, his pride injured. "He said I'm worse than a petty thief."

"Hush," Elizabeth chided. "He's right," she added with a small smile, killing his pride altogether.

"Enough! Turn over the thief, or be considered an accomplice and suffer the same fate," the middle-aged Gypsy man warned.

She glanced back at her friend. In that moment something unspoken passed between them. Elizabeth turned back to the Gypsies, who were just a few feet from them.

"No. You cannot have him."

The older Gypsy gave her an incredulous look, then sighed and said, "So be it."

With a roar, the two men charged forward, their swords raised and ready to strike against their defenseless opponents. Elizabeth and Jack stood back to back crouched in a fighting stance, waiting to parry the Gypsies' moves and disarm their opponents.

But two loud gunshots stole any chance of that happening.

Author's Note: Yay! Jack is back. But what will happen next? Keep reading to find out.

I also just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone reading that my friend helped me to write this story and I am very thankful for all her help. Also, my cousin put in his two cents. Their help made this story five times better than what it would have been.

If you like what you're reading so far, take a minute to tell me. Or if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them for you! Thanks for reading.