/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Eleven

The walk to Tia Dalma's house was a long one. By the time we reached her humble hut at midday, I felt as if I had walked all day for miles. I was tired, hungry, and cranky and the others seemed to have caught on, as well.

As if she knew we were coming, Tia Dalma stepped out of her hut, her long skirts flowing gracefully around her. She would have been a beautiful woman if she took care of herself more.

Tia Dalma smiled broadly at us and I cringed before looking away. Her teeth were something unsightly.

"I see you have found your Captain Jack Sparrow," she said.

"Well, it was more like I found them, more like, Tia Dalma," Jack exclaimed.

"And what do you ask of me this time, Jack?" she asked twirling her skirts in the air as she walked closer to him.

"We came to ask for some help, Tia Dalma," Jack said, stiffening as she came closer to him.

"You always come when you need help, Jack," she said, laughing in that strange laugh of hers. I couldn't help but shiver at the sound of it.

Tia Dalma saw me and turned her attention to me. As she came closer, it was all I could do to not faint from her stench. She laughed when she saw me wrinkle my nose from the smell.

"We're in need of a ship, Tia Dalma," I managed, trying to keep my breathing slow and even.

"A ship, you say," she drawls, allowing her fingers to trail across my shoulder before dropping her hand back down. "Why do you need a ship when you had a perfectly good one only yesterday?"

"It was cursed," Gibbs grunted, his eyes blazing. "We decided to not take the chance."

"Not take the chance?" Tia Dalma asked, her gaze shifting over to Gibbs. "If you never took chances, you would never make it on the ocean."

"Yes, well, we didn't want to go to a certain death when our enemy still lives," Gibbs said uncomfortably, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Going out on the ocean is almost a certain death," Tia Dalma said simply.

Jack suddenly jumped in between Gibbs and Tia Dalma, for it looked like the two of them were about to get into a fistfight. I rolled my eyes. So much for making the Caribbean a civilized place to live.

"A certain death is marked by the one whose death is already proclaimed," Jack said. "And the fool who proclaims death is dead already for his anticipation."

Tia Dalma smiled. "You always had a way with words, Jack Sparrow."

"Not as well as you, my dear," Jack said, smiling back.

Tia Dalma frowned in thought. "Let me think about this, Jack Sparrow. A good ship and a journey needs worth thinking about. You will stay here until my decision is complete."

With these words, Tia Dalma swept off to her rooms upstairs. Grumbling about sleeping in a place of witchcraft, the crew settled down once again in the places that they had occupied last time they came to Tia Dalma's. Seeing Jack slip outside, I followed him when I was certain Will was settled down and asleep.

"What was all that about?" I asked when I found him standing beside the river.

"What do you mean, love?" Jack asked as he skipped a rock across the river.

"The one about certain death by the one whose death is already proclaimed and the fool who proclaims it is dead already for his anticipation," I said.

"Ever heard of Shakespeare, Elizabeth?" Jack asked.

"Yes, but that wasn't Shakespeare, Jack, it was a bunch of gibberish."

"It wasn't." Jack scratched his chin thoughtfully then twirled his fingers in the air. "One of his counterparts, then."

I rolled his eyes. "I hardly think so, Jack."

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"It's kind of hard to, sometimes, seeing how you are," I answered him.

Jack didn't answer, just skipped his stones in answer. I sighed before finding a huge rock at my feet, picking it up and throwing it as hard as I could. Jack was going to play in riddles and I wasn't about to figure him out.

"So what do we do now?" I finally asked, watching the ripples of my rock fade into the darkness.

"We wait," Jack said, finally looking at me and giving me his smile.

"And how long are we supposed to wait, Jack, because I don't think I can stand seeing Will in the state that he's in," I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Do not rush Tia Dalma. She'll be your worst enemy if you do anything rash," Jack stated.

"Like I really wanted to," I grumbled. "I don't want to be on her bad side if anything went wrong. I'm just so tired of waiting around, wondering what's going to happen—what's happening in the world out there." I didn't mention that I was worried about my father and if he survived the scrutiny of the new commodore. I shuddered and turned my thoughts away. I didn't want to think about what might have happened.

"Patience is a virtue," Jack said, smiling. "You better get some sleep, Elizabeth. Tia Dalma might have her decision by morning and then we won't have any time to lose."

And with that, Jack headed up to the hut, disappearing through the doorway, leaving me with too many questions unanswered.

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Author's Note: Chapter Eleven for everybody—I hoped every liked it. I'm sorry if it was a little on the short side and not as good as the other chapters that I've written for the story, but that's all I've got. I promise to make the next chapter better. Thank you to everybody who's reviewed, I appreciate the enthusiasm that you all have for the story. I would never have made it this far without you guys.

I will update as soon as I can and I hope everybody continues to read and enjoy the story. Don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy!