(second chapter! I think you'll really like this...)

Chapter 2

Trouble at the Wharf

When Elizabeth reached the docks, it was in morning disarray. People were scrambling back and forth, looking for a ship, calling to the sea merchants, passing out coins, getting robbed…. Elizabeth noticed one man snatch a pouch of coins from an unsuspecting gentleman's belt. As the pirate was walking past, she bumped him "accidentally", grabbing the coins and returning them to their rightful owner before the poor man even knew what was going on.

Looking around, she inwardly sighed with relief to know that she had left the chest hidden in the woods, and hadn't brought it with her to the wharf. No one would think to look where she had left it, not even a pirate. If she had brought it, something was sure to happen to it, especially here of all places.

Glancing around, she spotted one ship at dock that looked promising (promising here, meaning pirate-y) and walked towards it, straightening her jacket as she walked. As the ship loomed up in her vision she felt her breath catch in her throat. This was truly a beautiful ship, there was no denying the fact, but there was something about it that seemed so familiar… She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but she had a feeling she'd seen this ship before, perhaps even sailed on it once.

There was a man standing on the wharf just in front of the ship with his back to her. She came up to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, excuse me sir, but could you direct me to…"

The man turned at the touch of her hand. His was a familiar face with twinkling, mischievous eyes and hair that was growing thin and graying.

"Why, Elizabeth! What are you doing down here? Last I'd heard o' ye, ye were livin' it up is some big place in town."

"Mr. Gibbs! How good to see you again. I thought you went off with Barbbosa to search out the Fountain of Youth."

Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Aye miss, that I did, but we didn't get far afore we realized that scoundrel Jack had pinched the charts from beneath our very noses. Couldn't even look for the darned thing, let alone find it. So after we'd sailed for a bit trying to find that sneaky rascal, we decided to come back to berth and restock. S'better than runnin' dry on the high sea."

Elizabeth looked up at the ship again, recognition finally dawning on her. "But then, if you're back then this would be…"

"The Black Pearl. Aye miss."

Elizabeth eyed the ship expertly. "She certainly doesn't look like the Pearl as I last saw her."

It was true. The Black Pearl was fitted out with a new coat of paint, and scrubbed clean of the grim and sea creatures that once had bunked on her haul. Seeing her fixed up, Elizabeth could almost see her at the head of an armada, leading the ships behind her into battle… but those pictures were quickly pushed aside. A ship like the Pearl must never be chained down in such a an undignified fashion. She was meant to roam the seas, to rule it alone. She didn't need an armada, or a crew of the royal navy. All she needed was her captain, a pirate crew, and the sweat of working men bathing her deck. She could never be as beautiful at the head of an armada.

An idea was beginning to form in Elizabeth's head. Her luck had been amazing so far. Coming to the wharf she had expected to find a second-rate, half-broken ship and a crew that she knew would have to be bribed to get them to take her seriously, but now she had stumbled upon the Pearl. Barbossa would know about the chest and Will's heart, and the pirates she had sailed with on her last two adventures would probably be willing to sail with her again. But she needed to talk to Barbossa…

"Mr. Gibbs, could you tell me where I might find captain Barbossa? I need to speak to him right away."

Mr. Gibbs eyed her closely and shook his head. "Captain's awful busy right now. I doubt he'd want to be disturbed." He winked at her. "Got a date with a rum bottle and I'd hate to interrupt it, specially with 'ow he sings when he's laid out!"

But Elizabeth didn't laugh. "I'm totally serious, Mr. Gibbs, and if you don't cooperate I might have to get violent."

"But miss Swan…"

"That's Turner, Mr. Gibbs, in case you'd forgotten, and need I remind you that I was named Pirate King by the brethren of the court? I must speak with Barbossa immediately. It is a matter of great importance. It cannot wait."

"Certainly miss… Turner. I'll see to it right away, though I can't say as Barbossa will be pleased with how I mean to bring him to…" Gibbs bowed and quickly hurried up the gangplank.

Sometime later Elizabeth was seen into Barbossa's cabain. The Pirate Captain was taking his leisure in a high backed chair behind a mahogany desk which most certainly had seen better days. Leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk top, Barbossa peered over the lip of the rum bottle in his hands, scrutinizing Elizabeth as Mr. Gibbs closed the door behind her. Finally he brought his feet down off the desk and leaned forward, a smile breaking his thin lips, beyond which his yellowed teeth could be seen.

"Ah, Miss Turner! I wasn't expectin' ye, but I be a mite happy to see ye again. Welcome aboard the Pearl! Now, what is it I can do for ye?"

Elizabeth gingerly seated herself in a filthy chair and looked Barbossa square in the eyes. "I find myself in need of a ship and a crew."

"Ah, now that be the thing, doesn't it? What are ye plannin' on doin' with a ship and a crew, I begin to wonder? Because you see, Miss Turner, the Pearl's now fit to sail again, but I be the captain, and only I be a sayin' where she be sailin' to."

"I need the pearl to help me find the Flying Dutchman."

All went silent in the cabin. Barbossa's mouth was hanging askew as he looked at Elizabeth as if she were crazy.

"What! You… you mean you're wanting to go search out the Dutchman?"

"Oh, I mean to do much more than that, Captain. I won't just look for it, I'll find it."

Captain Barbossa leaned forward even more in his chair. "And what would you be wanting to do that for, might I ask? Could it possibly have anything to do with our dear William?" He looked at her, taking a gulp of rum and then slamming the bottle onto the desk top with a bang! "The Pearl may be a fast ship, she may be a good ship, her crew may be the best, but it won't matter. You can't just find the Dutchman. You might as well face it, missy, your William's never coming back."

"I've taken most of what you've said into account already, Captain, but you've forgotten one thing; I am the keeper of Will's heart. I hold it, I protect it… I will find him, captain, and I mean to enlist the Pearl to do so. I will pull every string in the book, if I have to, even if I have to call on Captain Teague to remind you of all the Pirate King is entitled to. And we wouldn't want that, would we?" She gave him a cold smile.

Barbossa leaned back in his chair again, steepling his dirty, grimy fingers. "You seem to be sure of yourself."

"I am."

"Then I want to see it."

Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow. "See what?"

"The heart. I want to see the heart." When she began to protest, he silenced her with a hand. "Now, I'm the captain of this vessel and I've a right to know about the cargo she'll be totin'. You can't very well deny me that, now can you?"

Finally she consented. "Agreed then. But I didn't bring it with me to the wharf…"

"A wise move."

"I know." She eyed him suspiciously. "If there's one thing I learned in the years that I've now been in the company of Pirates, it's never to trust them, and always to watch them…

"If you want to see the heart, you'll have to come with me. And come alone. We must be quick. The last thing I need is to be discovered and dragged off to the boring life of aristocracy before I've even a chance of finding Will. And I've a feeling we don't have much time before that very thing happens…"

Elizabeth was very aware of the presence of captain Barbossa over her shoulder as she pushed back the leaves of the chest's hiding place. Dew soaked her clothing, chilling her skin, but she ignored it. Reaching into the small hole, she felt around until she discovered the latch to the hidden safe and her fingers found the lock. Working blindly, for the sun hadn't risen far enough for the shadows in the forest to have lifted, she unlocked the secret hollow and reached inside.

Her fingers felt only cool soil.

"Can you lend me a light?"

Wordlessly Barbossa handed her the lit torch they had brought along. She pushed back the leaves yet again and stuck her head through the opening, swiping the torch in a small arc so she could see…

The Chest was gone!

(so tell me what you think... review!)