There he was again. Forcing himself into her thoughts, and he had been doing it for months now. They had parted on good terms, had even teased each other, and they both knew that that would be the last they ever saw of the other. Their adventures together were over for good, and Elizabeth Turner, nee Swann, had decided to give up her position as Pirate King of the Brethren Court in order to wait on land for her husband, Will, who still had nine years and six months to go before he returned to her. So far, she had been faithful, and always would for as long as he needed her to be, but Captain Jack Sparrow just would not get out of her head. He haunted her in her dreams, when she was reading a book, when she was fixing a meal, it didn't matter.

Why would he not just leave her alone? He was just another man, that was all. He wasn't the man whom she loved, truly. That was Will, and he was gone. Gone. Elizabeth had yet to shed tears for Will leaving her. Granted, she broke down in hysterical sobs when he was dying, but why did she not when he left her? Was that a sign of something? Did Will ever sob over her? No, probably not, for Will wasn't the type to break down and cry. Neither was Jack. Although, Jack did look close to it after he and her had parachuted off the Flying Dutchman during the battle of the maelstrom. She had clung to Jack for dear life, and even buried her face in his chest. Not just saddened by the fact that Will was possibly dead, but sad for a lot of reasons. Sad about James, sad about her father, and even sad about Jack. She never got a chance to apologize to him for what she did. No matter what Elizabeth said, she deep down, was sorry. Sorry for leaving Jack to die, sorry for a lot of things. But not sorry for kissing him. That kiss had been coming since the day they met, and she just had to taste his rum flavored lips. No matter the consequences. The kiss was just supposed to be a way of distracting him, but it turned into much more than that.

On the way to the locker to rescue him, she had gone through her head what she would say to him once they found him, but the words "I'm sorry" never came out. Elizabeth knew that it was the cowardly thing to do by leaving him to die, and if a situation like that ever happened again, she probably wouldn't do it again, and would try as hard as she could to think of another solution. Jack didn't seem to be angry with her, though, as he had every right to be. He just smiled and said "Pirate," like it was a compliment. She had proved him right, for he told her she would one day want to know what it was like to do something selfish, and that's exactly what she did. But Jack proved her right, too, when he came back to the Pearl and ordered everyone to abandon ship, the ship he loved most in the world to save everyone.

Jack had been right when he called them peas in a pod, for they both did selfish things, and both did good things. Elizabeth didn't know if she loved Jack or not. On their first adventure together, trying to defeat Barbossa, she didn't have any romantic feelings towards him at all. He was just an acquaintance. Then they worked together during the battle with the Kraken, where she left him to his demise. It was after that, that she started to realize, "Maybe I love him." No. She didn't love him. He was a very attractive and charming man, and she could see why a lot of women wanted him, but she knew she didn't love him. Did she? Well, even if she did, Elizabeth knew that he would never love her back. Sometimes, she wondered why he gave up his chance at immortality to save Will. Was it to make up for sending Will over to the Flying Dutchman not better prepared? Was it because he was having second thoughts about living forever? Or was it because he was a good man? All three were good possibilities.

Jack was a very hard book to read. One minute, he was driving her crazy, and the next he was being very charming, then one minute he did something selfish, and then something heroic. Jack Sparrow certainly wasn't a bad man, even though he was a pirate. Elizabeth still felt some guilt for some of the things she's said to him and done to him in the past. The Kraken being the worst. She had called him despicable, made fun of his personal hygiene, said he didn't have morals. Jack may not have been the cleanest man in the world, but did that make him a bad person? The only thing that really stunk on him was his breath, but that was probably because of all of the rum. At least his teeth looked decent. Nothing like Barbossa's which were pure yellow. Sometimes, she wondered would it have worked out between them? They both desired freedom, they both had the last names of birds, and they were both obviously attracted to one another. She wondered if she made the choice by agreeing to marry Will during the maelstrom. Was the marriage even legal? There had been no witnesses, no exchanging of rings, no marriage certificate, and they were married by a pirate. The pirate wasn't even the rightful owner of the ship.

They couldn't have asked Jack, though, for he was too busy dealing with Davy Jones. Elizabeth was brought out of her thoughts when a young boy of around fifteen ran up to her, carrying a letter.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Turner? This came for you."

"Oh, thank you, Thomas. Here's a chilling."

"Thanks, Mrs. Turner!"

With that, young Thomas took off, and Elizabeth looked at the letter, and her eyes widened when she was that it was from Will. He was able to write to her? If she had known they could write to each other, she would have sent him a bunch of letters. Quickly, she decided to open it and read it right there.

My dearest Elizabeth,

This is the only letter I'm allowed to send you, for I was given instructions by the goddess, Calypso, herself. I hope that you are well. I have some very distressing news. I have been informed that our marriage was not a legal one. We are not legally married, and it breaks my heart to have to tell you that. There is also something else. I don't want you waiting for me. I don't want you spending your life waiting just to see me one day every ten years. That has been on my mind since the day I left you. I want you to go out and find yourself someone who can be with you all day, every day. As long as he is a good man, I don't care if he's a soldier, or a pirate, or even a bartender. I just want you to be happy. I will love you forever, but you don't deserve to be chained on some island, waiting for me. Do not worry, for I will not become like Davy Jones. Maybe one day I will see you again. But go for now, Elizabeth. Be free.

Love,

Will Turner.

Elizabeth couldn't believe the words she had just read. So it was true. They weren't legally married, after all. Will wanted her to move forward, to not wait on him, but could she? Where would she go? She quickly ran inside, grabbed her few items that she had, and buried the chest where no one in their right mind would ever find it. Nobody on this island knew about the heart except for herself, and none of the other pirates knew where she settled, so this would work out perfectly. The key, she decided to keep with her.

XO XOO XO X O XO XO XO XX OO XXX OOOO X O XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XXXXXXX

Jack Sparrow sat at the inn in Tortuga, shaking his compass furiously. He had decided to take a break from trying to find the Fountain of Youth, and came back here, deciding to get a little pleasurable company, and some ale, but the ale didn't taste as good as it normally did, and the wenches could not satisfy his lust. Even thinking of Lizzie didn't help. It wasn't the same as having the real thing.

He loved her, and he had given up his chance at immortality, not for Will, but for Elizabeth. Seeing her so broken tore at his heartstrings. Jack looked up when she saw a shadow coming towards him.

"Hello, Jack."

Jack's eyes widened. "Elizabeth."

THE END