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(Ten years later)

Laura smiled from the bow as the sky flashed green, bringing the Dutchman back to the world she had grown up in. Will was on the rope ladder, looking at the mass of land ahead. Two figures could be seen on the beach.

Walking onto the beach beside her brother, the piratess stayed where the water still seeped into her boots while Will ran up to Elizabeth and the nine or ten year old boy next to her.

"Laura, come on!" Will called behind him as he walked off with his family. Laura simply stared at her shoes and the sand beneath them. It had been ten years since her feet had last touched the earth. Suddenly, Tia Dalma stood in front of her.

"Alright, now I know that I've lost it," Laura said to herself.

"It is me, Laura Turner," the woman encouraging replied, smiling.

"Tia…I mean, Calypso, what a pleasant surprise!"

"You are free."

"Now I'm certain that I'm imagining things."

"Mrs. Turner was faithful. You are free."

"No joking?" Laura asked before a sense of release swept over her. "Ok, I believe you. Thank you."

"You must first, however, find someone to replace you before sunset tomorrow, or you, Laura Turner, will be bound to the Dutchman for ten more years."

"Oh, well in that case, I'd better get to it, eh?"

Nodding, Calypso disappeared, leaving Laura to race to the closest settlement a mile away. In the town, she managed to find a married man who was dying of some unknown disease and willing to bind himself to the Dutchman. By the next evening, the girl was sitting on the beach, watching the ship sailing away. Will approached with his wife and son…then his gaze fell on the departing Dutchman.

"I thought I'd wait to tell you until this happened. We're free. Calypso freed us…after I found a replacement. Don't worry, he was dying anyway and needed a getaway."

After gaping for a moment, Will stuttered,

"We're…"

"Yes, we're free Will."

"What will you do?" Elizabeth asked. She was no longer the stubborn lady of ten years before, but she was nevertheless still a man-drawing magnet. "You can always stay with us."

"I don't know," the girl replied. "Perhaps I will stay with you and get to know my nephew, but after being on the Dutchman for so long, I think I need a little adventure."

The couple exchanged glances.

"There's always going to find Jack," Will suggested.

Laura grinned at the idea as the ship on the horizon disappeared in the green flash.

"In that case, farewell."

"But, couldn't you stay tonight?" Elizabeth queried.

"I'm afraid not, Lizzie," the piratess responded. "Freedom is calling me and it is too hard to resist."

"Very well," the other woman relented, "but do visit soon."

Taking a deep breath, Laura strolled off towards the bay, where several ships lay.

"All I have to do is sneak onto a ship and start at Tortuga."

--

Three days later, the woman had nearly given up on Jack's favorite town, so she decided to sit in the tavern for most of her last night there.

"…and then I stabbed the heart, rescued the damsel, and saved the day," the rough, light-hearted voice of a man was finishing, receiving a roar of applause from the small crowd of women which surrounded him. As the group parted, Laura's jaw dropped at what she saw: Jack Sparrow sitting at a table with Gibbs and totally oblivious to her presence. Sneaking up on the captain as Gibbs purposefully did not look at her, for fear of ruining her trick, the girl whispered next to his ear,

"Jack Sparrow, do you fear death?"

Choking on the rum he was chugging, Jack hesitantly turned around. His eyes nearly popped out of his head from the shock.

"Laura? Laura Lark Turner, could that possibly be you?"

"As far as I can tell," she gleefully replied.

After embracing his former comrade, the captain studied Laura's features.

"You haven't changed at all, dear girl!"

"Well, from what I have seen in the harbor, you need help getting your ship back again."

"Aye," Gibbs interrupted, "and his little attempt for the Fountain of Youth ended with its sinking."

"Then we had better get busy," the girl cheerfully concluded before Jack held her shoulders. "What is it, Jack?"

"Will you be my girl?" he questioned with all of his possible seriousness.

"If you're proposing…of course, Jack, I'll be your girl."

"At this rate, the Pearl is as good as found," he cried, picking his new fiancé up and twirling her around.

Laura laughed with joy. Her life was finally perfect.

Thank you everyone for reading my story. It would have probably never turned out quite so well without your advice and appreciation! My LOTR story will hopefully be starting soon. Enjoy!