Her heart beat quickened and her first reaction was to panic. Her breath shot out in gasps and she began to struggle against the bonds that held her hands together. When her attempts brought no results, she burst into tears.

The guard 'escorting' her had noticed she was no longer at his side and turned back to see why she had stopped. When he saw her struggling, he almost laughed. But then when she started to cry, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. He walked back to her and asked, "What is it, Miss?"

She only continued to cry, her emotions raging. She was angry now, furious for that matter. She was so angry at this man just standing there watching her struggle and doing nothing. And she was angry at herself for being stupid enough to leave something so important behind. And she was also afraid. Absolutely terrified that someone would take the chest and it wouldn't be there when she came back for it. And then Will's life would be in jeopardy, and that brought immense guilt. If anything happened to him, it would be all her fault. But she had the key, so no one could open the chest. But she was still terrified. And she was ashamed of herself for letting this happen. Will would be ashamed of her. And that made her want to cry more. But she felt so helpless and worthless just standing there, crying. And for that she wanted to beat herself up. But she couldn't do that with her hands tied up. And neither could she wipe the tears from her surely red swollen eyes. She felt mortified crying in front of a man, a Royal Navy soldier nonetheless, and she wished she could disappear from the world. But then Will would…oh Will! She missed him so much! And now her tears fell heavier and she was so confused as to why she couldn't get a grip on herself. This was so incredibly unlike her. She was suddenly angry again, and wanted so badly to punch something…or someone. If only her hands weren't tied up! Gah! What was wrong with her? Bloody hormones!

"Don't just stand there!" she snapped at the guard. "Do something!"

"What?" He was thoroughly confused by now and a little bit afraid. This girl looked like she was fighting some severe internal battle. She was still crying, but her eyes were scorching with impossibly fierce hatred and frustration. She seemed in despair, but the way she was glaring at him made him fear for his life.

"Untie me, you idiot!" she hissed through gritted teeth. Her jaw was clenched and she was still desperately trying to free her hands.

He was slightly taken aback by her demand and only just managed to firmly shake his head and say, "No."

"Yes!" she yelled. "Do it now!" By now she had fallen to her knees and was struggling to rip the bonds by pulling her hands apart. Her attempts were useless, and only caused her wrists to burn.

"Why?" he asked a little defensively. "So you can run away?"

"No!" she shrieked.

"Then why?"

She was in so much anguish she couldn't speak. Her tears grew heavier and cascaded down her face in torrents.

The guard watched her helplessly and finally sighed in defeat. He couldn't stand it when women cried. "Alright, fine. Get up."

She gazed up at him and silently rose to her feet. She waited as he dug through his pocket for a minute before pulling out a blunt knife. She kept perfectly still as he took her wrists in his hand and carefully cut through the thick cloth. But the minute she was free, she took off sprinting in the direction of the mansion and never looked back. She heard the guard shouting from somewhere behind her, but she ignored him. Elizabeth knew he would catch her again, but she would worry about the consequences when they were upon her. She had only one thing to worry about now.

As she ran, she wiped the tears from her eyes and prayed that they would stop. But she knew that only when she held the chest in her arms would that happen. Hopefully it would.

Some six minutes later, she was racing up the road to the mansion gates. She pushed them open and bounded up the driveway, breathing heavily. When she reached the back garden, she frantically looked to thee tall oak tree. Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply in relief. It was still there.

Elizabeth walked over to the tree and fell to her knees. She just stared at the chest for a minute, before reaching for it and cradling it in her arms. Her tears did not stop as she thought they would though. The continued to fall and stream down her face. She clutched the chest to her body as closely as she could and rested her chin atop its hard metal side. She closed her eyes and listened to Will's heart beating in time with her own. He was safe.

"Oi! Missy!"

Her eyes snapped open as the guard's footsteps grew louder. She looked up and saw him striding towards her at a rapid speed. She continued to hold the chest protectively and narrowed her eyes into a threatening glare. He would not take her again.

"You said you wouldn't run away," the guard said. He was out of breath, but she could still hear the anger in his voice.

"And I hadn't planned on it," she replied as evenly as she could. "I didn't run away. I ran somewhere where I knew you could easily find and capture me, as you already have."

He looked thoroughly confused now. It seemed he wasn't the brightest sort, but then again, not that many were these days. "Well then what was the purpose of…I don't know…all that drama back there?"

"I wasn't faking it so I could escape," she spat. "That was real."

There was a pause for a minute as he struggled to think of what to ask next. "Well then what happened?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but then decided better and closed it again. She wasn't about to tell some stranger her whole incredibly long and complicated story, and quite honestly, she wasn't even exactly sure what had happened a few minutes ago. As she had decided, blame it on her hormones.

"Well…?"

She shrugged her shoulders, still keeping a firm grip on the chest.

He sighed. "Alright then, why did you run?"

Elizabeth bit her lower lip and let her eyes wander around the scenery as she thought of how to word her response. Finally, she motioned to the chest with one hand and said, "Because of this."

He looked at the chest in her arms for a minute and then raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

"A chest, obviously," she snapped.

"Well yes, I know that," he replied somewhat bitterly. "I mean, what is it that's so important about it?"

"None of your business." She clutched it to her chest again and glared at him.

He sighed again. "Very well." After a moment's pause, his face darkened considerably and he said, "Well Miss, I'm going to have to detain you again."

Her lips curled into a devilish smile. "You can try."

Keeping one hand secured around the chest, she reached down with her other one and snatched the jian from her leg. Crossing it in front of her protectively, she shot him a look that urged him to give her his best shot.

He looked surprised for a second, but then he frowned and shook his head slightly. "You know I can just shoot you now."

She lowered her blade slightly and drew her lips into a pout. "You wouldn't shoot a girl now, would you?"

"I wouldn't want to, but I would and I will." He tightened his grip on his bayonet. "Now if you would please drop your sword and walk this way."

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded. "Perhaps if I know I will not resist."

"I am not at liberty to state," he said firmly.

She raised her jian again. "Then I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way."

"Don't make me do anything I might regret tomorrow Miss," he said in a mildly threatening tone.

She grinned. "Oh, I will. Don't you worry about that."

There was silence for a long while where neither dared to move. They kept their eyes locked and kept their weapons raised. But finally, one of them broke. The guard sighed and looked at the bayonet in his hands before throwing it to the ground.

"Alright, alright, you win," he sighed. "I don't want to hurt you Miss."

She lowered her jian a little. "But you still want to arrest me."

He shrugged. "I have to."

Elizabeth sighed herself and clutched the chest tighter. He was right; she would have to go with him. There was no other way. If she ran, she would be caught and the punishment could be far worse. And besides, she was tired of running, especially from her own home.

She bit her lower lip and met his eyes again. "Will they hurt me?"

He looked at her quizzically. "Who?"

"The people you're taking me to."

He was silent for a minute, but then he shook his head. "No; I don't think so." He smiled lightly, and for a moment there was no cruelty or demand in his face. Perhaps he was a kind man, a shy one just hiding behind a threatening mask.

Elizabeth returned his smile and threw her jian down beside his bayonet. "Alright; I'll go."

He gave a slight nod. "Thank you."

"But don't expect any favors from me."

He nodded again and motioned for her to come. "Very well." He smiled once more in that kind way. "I won't tie you again."

She stared at him for a minute, but didn't move. In fact, she closed her eyes and brought one of her hands to her forehead before letting out a deep groan. The chest nearly slipped from her grasp, but she managed to keep her hold on it. The guard watched her closely, and began to wonder if something was suddenly wrong.

"Miss?"

Elizabeth reopened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hmm?"

"Are you coming?"

She creased her eyebrows for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh! Yes, of course."

As she took a step forward however, she stumbled a bit and nearly fell. She gasped slightly and leaned against the oak tree for support. She didn't know why, but suddenly she was beginning to feel extremely faint, as she often felt when trapped in a corset, but she hadn't worn one in nearly two months. What was happening?

"Miss," he questioned again. "Are you alright?"

"I hardly know," she mumbled as she attempted to take another step. But her head was now throbbing, and the overwhelming feeling of lightheadedness was starting to bring her down. Once more she tried to move, but she staggered forward and tripped. The chest slipped out of her arms and landed in the grass. A second later, she was lying beside it; claimed by unconsciousness.

(A/N:) Here's chapter five...finally. Sorry it took so long...I've been unbelieveably busy. I'm in a play next week, and we have so many practices that I barely have time to do my homework. And then my science fair project is due on Wednesday, and I am SOOOOO behind everyone else. And it count's for half of my semester grade. And on top of that, I got sick again, for the fourth time in two months. Flu season always hits me, but this is ridiculous. I think four is my new record. -sigh- And now I'm just gonna shut up because I know I'm not the only one in the world with problems. Far from it. Anyway, here's the next chapter, expect the next one in a week or so. Please review and let me know what you think:)

-Elizabeth