Very sorry I didn't update much sooner... busy busy... but this chapter is the longest so far, hope you will enjoy it

Thx for all the reviews,

Calypso Calista: I wanted it to be hazy, to develop the character's history slowly and such. I hope you like this chapter better :)

Princess-Maiden: thx as always, mate

captain katia: thx, I hope you will keep reading andlike the chapters to come

---------------

Cutler Beckett was yelling at his selected highest ranking officers for about half an hour now. He was totally berserk. He was pacing around his office and yelling, gesticulating quite wildly, resembling Jack Sparrow's hand gestures, the pirate whom he so much wanted dead. His wig was askew and a bunch of hair flew out of its tidy hairstyle and was flying around his head as he spoke. He was so out of himself that he ended up repeating several sentences all over again. When he realized that, he yelled at his men to ready his newest and fastest ship that they are leaving immediately. All of his officers shot quickly to be the first out the door, glad to get from under his eyes.

-------------

When Chris woke up, Jack wasn't in the bed with her. No surprise, really. So she went out of the cabin onto the deck and she saw him at the helm, guiding his beloved ship through the waters glistening in the sun. She also saw the crew with Norrington repairing the damage done to the Pearl, and saw Gibbs with Will doing the ropes and arguing.

"I think we should go to Tortuga to get food and stuff." Gibbs was saying.

"No, Tortuga will be the first place Beckett will search." Will was rolling his eyes.

"Nay, it won't. Even Beckett doesn't think us to be that stupid, he will think 'cause of this we will go somewhere else and he won't even bother to go to Tortuga. That's why we must go there if we wish not to be found by him."

Will processed this for a moment.

"No, I still think Beckett will search that place nonetheless."

Gibbs opened his mouth to retort, but Chris wasn't listening any more. She noticed Elizabeth, sitting on the stairs leading to the helm, in someone's breeches and a shirt, bottle of rum in hand, a sad expression on her face. Chris decided to join her.

"'ello, there. Breakfastin' rum?" Chris asked and sat next to Elizabeth, taking the bottle from her and taking a swig. Elizabeth didn't even look at her.

"What's wron'?"

"My father."

"Oh…. Well I guess 'e 'll be alright. 'e 's a powerful man back in Port Royal with many connections, eh?"

"He was." Elizabeth sighed.

"'e 's not dead, Elizabeth. Men in such positions know 'ow to get outta some sticky situations, even though they don't look like it." Chris smiled trying to reassure Elizabeth. Elizabeth just stared blankly back and then sighed resignedly.

"You don't know that."

"Ya seem to forget that me father was also a powerful man. I saw 'im get 'imself outta much more nasty stuff." Chris smiled again, bitterly this time. This snapped Elizabeth back from her musings to reality.

"Oh, I am sorry. Of course. Jack told me this bit about you. How's your forehead?"

Elizabeth asked to give herself the opportunity to think about something else, looking at the blue bandana covering it that wasn't there yesterday.

"It'll be fine." Chris said with a smile, even though it still hurt like hell.

"You know," Elizabeth tried carefully, "I would also run away if I was to marry Beckett, even though I only saw him yesterday for the first time in my life."

Chris laughed. "Who wouldn't?" And took another swig of rum.

"I can't believe he did that to you." Elizabeth indicated her forehead.

"'e didn't do it. I mean…'imself." Chris added when she saw Elizabeth's confusion. "'e just gave the order. Like 'e always did."

"You mean, he was always so cruel?"

"Aye, since the day 'e was born. Tortured cats, dogs, any animals 'e could lay 'is 'ands on. But never actually did it 'imself. Always commanded 'is friends or servants to do it for 'im. 'e just loved watchin' anybody in pain."

Chris's face contorted as she remembered her own pain caused by Cutler.

"So you ran away."

Elizabeth offered helpfully, hoping Chris would tell her the rest of her life, because Jack didn't tell her much and Elizabeth was always curious. Plus she wanted to know how Chris could have survived so many years among pirates, especially Jack Sparrow.

"Aye, to Tortuga. Jack found me in Tortuga, took me aboard 'is ship and taught me 'ow to survive. But then there was the mutiny and we got separated, and met again only a couple o' days ago, after about what? Ten years? May be…."

Chris took another swig from the bottle to help herself remember and count the years correctly. Just keep drinking, thought Elizabeth. Chris was becoming rather talkative after half a bottle of rum. Curiosity got the best of her and Elizabeth was eager to find out about the mutiny. Jack never told her, even though she asked him to do so when they were marooned on that island together. And in the brig he just told her a little about who Chris was and that she betrayed him.

"'Got separated? '" That's what she called it.

"Well, aye. Jack told ya, didn't 'e?"

"Not the details, only something about your betrayal."

"I very possibly saved 'is life."

"By betraying him?" Elizabeth asked with doubt in her voice.

"Aye. I knew 'bout the mutiny. Possibility one, if I told Jack, 'e would wanna kill Barbossa straight away. But 'e didn't 'ave a chance in 'ell. The whole crew was against 'im by that time. They'd kill 'im. And me as well. Possibility two, if I told Jack and the crew wouldn't kill us both straight away, but maroon us, Barbossa would still give us only one pistol with one shot, making the whole island thing even worse for both of us. So the best course of action – jump ship and leave Jack to deal with it. As it turned out, I did save 'is life after all."

Chris grinned triumphantly. Elizabeth thought about it, and realized, even though it seemed completely wrong to betray a friend in such a way, that Chris's logic was completely right and successful in the end. Elizabeth took the bottle from Chris, who left only a few drops of rum left, and emptied it. Chris thought this to be a signal for the end of the conversation and started getting up. But Elizabeth's curiosity wasn't satisfied and she wanted to hear more, she realized that Chris was good company. Not exaggerating the stories like Jack. So she reached under the stairs and produced a new bottle of rum and smiled at Chris.

"Jack spoiled ya rather quickly." Chris said, and sat back down with a smile.

"What else do ya wanna know 'bout Jack, Elizabeth?" She asked and took a swig. Elizabeth blushed slightly.

"I wasn't enquiring about Jack's life, but about yours. "

"You don't 'ave to lie to me. I know ya rather like 'im."

Elizabeth blushed at this again.

"And as ya must 'ave noticed, 'e likes ya too."

Elizabeth blushed harder.

But again, curiosity got the best out of Elizabeth and she asked.

"Does he really?"

"Aye, for the same reason ya like 'im. 'e knows 'e can't 'ave ya."

Elizabeth was red from ears to toes. She grabbed the bottle from Chris and drank almost half of it at once.

---------------

Jack was standing at the helm, looking down on the two beautiful women sitting on the stairs, talking and passing the bottle of rum between them. He took his time in eyeing both of them.

He loved Chris's beautiful suntanned brown skin, which made her piercing blue eyes even more fascinating. The blue bandana he gave her yesterday perfectly matched with them, her multi colored hair being tied by it a bit. She was half sitting half leaning on the steps in a very relaxed position. Her thin figure in breeches, boots and a loose shirt reminded him more of a man than of a woman. Jack also imagined the different scars he knew Chris collected on different parts of her body, including the most recent and most ugly one, hidden under the bandana. Her gestures were limited to swinging the bottle of rum to accompany her talk.

Elizabeth was rather different. Her skin was almost white from not spending her time on the sea but inside in some governor's house. Till now. Her eyes were dark brown, matching the color of her hair, which turned almost blond at the hair tips. She was wearing almost the same Chris was, but Jack still could see her figure was more womanly, with fuller breasts and broader hips. Jack rather liked that. She wasn't spread out on the stairs as Chris was; she was sitting like she would sit back in Port Royal in an expensive chair wearing an expensive dress.

Jack was abruptly yanked away from his thoughts by Will and Gibbs, who, when they realized they couldn't get the problem of where to sail to solve by themselves, went to Jack and demanded an answer.

---------------

Cutler stood at the rail of his beautiful new ship, the Triumph, which caught the Black Pearl a couple of days before. He stood there alone, given that all of his crew still feared to get to near him because of his mood.

"Sail ho!"

Cutler heard and snatched the spyglass out of the hands of the poor soldier that brought it to him. The Black Pearl was still a little black dot on the horizon, but Cutler knew that his new ship would catch them soon enough.

--------------

thx again for reading, reviews are much much appreciated :)