When she awoke, the feeling of being disoriented and incredibly sluggish was predominant on her body, but she felt quite comfortable as well. As she attempted to readjust her position, the realization of the warmth blanketing her back, coerced her to become sufficiently aware to pry her eyes open.

Her heavy eyelids fluttered several times before she realized they were open, and it was only that the world around her was still covered by the dark of night. Although the knowledge did nothing to make her more willing to wake up, she rarely woke up in the middle of the night and she hated how difficult it usually was to fall back asleep.

It took a little while, but eventually her pupils grew accustomed to the obscurity, which allowed her to discern her surroundings more clearly, albeit it caused her to become perplexed as well. There was a table, a desk, a chair… but none of it was part of her own room, even if it did cause a feeling of vague familiarity. It all made her unsure of whether or not she really was conscious.

Her mind was having trouble coming back to reality, so she could only stare absently at the room in front of her while the strong impact of the waves outside and the unmistakable smell of the sea started to invade her dulled senses.

It wasn´t until she felt a slight shift around her middle that she registered the hold keeping her secured. That served quite nicely to trigger the memories of the day before back into her head.

James…

They were aboard The Dauntless.

Her hand lowered until she made contact with the arm he had wrapped around her, her fingers carefully traced the length of his sinewy forearm, not stopping until her hand was covering his, digging her fingers in the spaces between his. His loose grip tensed the moment she did, which made her head turn around so she could look at his face.

But he looked to be deeply asleep. His eyes were closed, his brow was completely relaxed and his mouth hung slightly open. He looked much calmer than when he was awake. Peaceful.

Usually he would present such a stern mien to everyone around, -which had been a big part of what had made her reticent to him in the past- but after spending enough time with him, it became clear that his severity wasn´t due to a bad temper on his part, but because it was what everyone expected of him, or at least what he thought was expected of him.

Because otherwise, it would be impossible for her to understand why he was so different with her.

He no longer played the annoyingly perfect soldier that she had recoiled at and because of that, something fundamental changed between them.

It had all started the day Jack´s hanging was thwarted. The memory grew more distant with each day that passed, but she could clearly remember the way his fury had cracked the flawless mask and allowed her to see the man underneath, an ordinary man, a man capable of feelings.

It was the moment she accepted his feelings when he showed her how undeniably capable he was, simply by talking to her honestly, and smiling for her, and kissing her... it all made her feel incontestable affection for him.

Turning in his arms she moved to face him, lifting one of her hands up to his face and tracing the delicate skin under his eyes with careful fingers.

Even his serious face was different when it was for her. Now she was able to see that the piercing stare he would direct at her was much different to the one he presented to everybody else. It wasn't trained disciplined what his eyes had been seeking to communicate, but something much deeper, more promising… it was desire. After the night before, it became blatantly obvious.

As she drifted down the straight line of his nose, while his slow breaths tickled her face, she struggled to understand how this person could be so different from the one she thought she knew.

But how had he changed so much from the man in her past? That thought gave her pause ...Had he really? Maybe the one who had changed had been her? Or maybe it had been the two of them.

At least her feelings for him certainly had, she could recognize how special he had become to her, especially after the night they had shared... She had been fond of him before, and finally understanding his feelings for her had allowed her to dream of growing to love him, she had wanted to. But she hadn't really entertained the idea that she could fall in love with him…

Except she had, hadn't she?

It was absurd just how desirous she felt towards him. And daunting as well. The realization of his importance to her was almost scary.

As she observed James continuing to sleep, unperturbed by her touch, she felt her own concerns begin to ease a bit.

It would never have to be like what happened with him, would it?

This person in front of her was her husband, she wouldn't be forced to let him go and she was certain he wouldn't leave. She could keep him, and nobody would ever question them over stupid ideas like propriety or status.

It was still too early to leave the bed, and after giving herself unintentional worries, she just wanted to go back to unconscious bliss, so she burrowed her face on his neck and invited her body to relax once again while the heaviness of her lids took over.

She couldn't remember falling back asleep, but it felt like it was much later when the up and down trailing of his knuckles on her naked back brought her back to awareness.

"Good morning" she mumbled tiredly against his throat, not making any effort to move, even with her hands numbly stuck between their bodies.

"Morning, Love" he greeted back, sleep still evident in his voice. "How are you feeling?"

Her muscles ached but she felt otherwise excellent. James had been attentive and it had felt… She couldn't believe that until now, she had not known that was what she had been missing. She wanted to do it again, soon.

She smiled, humming lazily and kissing the skin under her lips before answering in a significantly more alert tone "Wonderfully"

His body shifted away from her enough so that his eyes could get an impended look at her "And what about your body?"

She couldn´t help the naughty urge to tease him as she inched back to him until she was fully pressed to his naked front, pulling her head back so their eyes met again "What about my body?" she asked with a playful challenge.

But he didn´t fell for her tease, he seemed completely focused on getting an honest answer out of her "Are you feeling well?" he tried again.

"I´m achy, I don't want to get up ever again" she answered lightly, closing her eyes lazily and burying further into him.

His frown as he offered with repentance "I'm sorry, I thought I was being careful" was very serious.

Laughing happily, she answered in the most pretentious prudish tone she could muster "That was a perfectly acceptable performance"

It got the laugh that she had wanted to hear.

"I´m glad my first attempt met the lady´s standards" he remarked with amusement as he held onto the back of her head and kissed her forehead, playing along with her silly mood.

His words perked her awake, enough to land him on his back and climb onto his waist in one fluid motion. "First? Really?" she asked, intrigued. Although she was sure there was a twinkling smile forming on her face that she would not be able to hide.

Realization of what he had blurted dawned on his face -which turned into a new grimace- before he offered a short nod.

Her smile became even bigger as she leaned down while pinning him to the bed. "Did you enjoy it then?" she asked softly, kissing a path up his jaw while both her hands held his neck in place so he would have no choice but to keep still.

His head jolted out of her grasp so it could turn her way. "Of course I did" he answered immediately, a small frown forming on his face, he almost sounded affronted by her question. "You are absolutely divine" he proclaimed with utmost resolve as his hands took hold of her hips, his thumbs caressed gentle circles onto her skin.

"Me too, I liked it" she admitted easily, as she let her body lay down along his while the sensations she had enjoyed the night before echoed in her mind "I loved it" she corrected promptly, letting her nose rub against his cheek as her nails scratched down his sides languidly, which provoked his middle to jerk. and his fingers to clutch her tighter.

His arms came around her, hugging her closer and trapping her completely in his arms as he held her ear to his mouth. "You can be really unkind towards me sometimes" he complained gruffly.

"I want to have you again" she confessed, wriggling in his arms gently.

He hummed his agreement and closed his eyes, tapping his forehead against hers lightly and clutching her tighter before immediately letting go. "But we can't" he lamented, carefully lifting her up from her perch over his middle with a regretful groan "I need to get up"

A look of feigned offence appeared on her face before she lied without shame "I was not going to do anything."

In turn, he gave her a look of incredulous disbelief as he sat up.

"Not right now anyway" she insisted, lying again.

He huffed with a short shake of his head but refrained from saying anything that contradicted her. Instead, he started a hunt for the manhandled pieces of his uniform that had been scattered on the floor of the cabin. It wasn´t until he found and secured his underpants that he approached the bed again, offering her chemise back to her while making a valiant effort to not stare down at her naked body.

She found the effort so endearing and unnecessary that a mischievous smirk took over her face, but she took back the provided cover and put it back obediently, letting herself fall back on the bed while staring at his back distractedly as he dressed.

There were faint red lines criss-crossing all over his back, which ended up making her involuntarily recall the feeling of his hard muscles contracting under her hands as he moved over her and… her face buried into the pillow, willing the inopportune reminders away as heat began to climb her neck.

Maybe his effort to separate them did have some merit to it.

Attempting to distract herself she asked him cheerfully "Can I go up to the main deck?"

The abruptness of her words turned his attention back to her, just as he finished putting on his shoes. His uniform was mostly on by now, sans the coat and hat "I am not sure how we would explain your presence to the rest of the ship" he answered with a small, thoughtful frown on his face.

"No one will question you, nor my presence here. You´re the captain and also quite intimidating. Besides, I´m the spoiled daughter of the Governor, they will assume it was all my doing" she insisted, quite content with her explanation.

"Which it was" he reminded her as he moved to the table and collected the documents he had dumped there when he came in.

But instead of showing repentance, she simply lifted a hand with a dismissive gesture while rolling onto her back "My point exactly"

"It´s about discipline Elizabeth"

"If you force any more discipline on your men, they will start jumping overboard" and she wasn´t completely joking either, but most importantly "I don´t want to stay locked in here the whole time"

He stared at her with narrowed eyes for a moment before letting out a small sigh and nodding in reluctant agreement.

She beamed, sitting up excitedly "You have to help me get dressed" she ordered, pointing at the various layers of her dress.

His troubled look at her words was entertaining. "Elizabeth, I could barely take it off. What makes you think I would be able to put it back together?"

He had a point, but she shrugged off his concern, finally standing up from the bed and picking up her pile of clothes next to it.

"You´re smart, you´ll figure it out" she argued with a sly grin, while pulling up her drawers. "besides, If you´re going to take it off, the gentlemanly thing to do is help me put it back on" she informed him, looking him in the eye while his cheeks became slightly flushed.

Coming to stand in front of him, she dumped the fabric on his arms. "We don't have much of a choice. I can't very well go out in my under clothes in front of your crew, can I?" Again.

His eyes flashed with jealousy at the suggestion, lips thinning with displeasure, completely ignoring the fact that she already had to parade around them with minimal coverage.

"See?"

"Fine"

Getting dressed took longer than it usually would have, had Estrella been the one helping her. Especially when she asked him to secure her stays.

"You're supposed to pull it tighter" she insisted, her back still facing him.

She couldn't see him but it was surprising that he argued against her and by the tone of his voice it was easy to picture the frown adorning his face as he said "I don´t think that´s necessary"

"It is, my bodice won't fit me otherwise" she insisted, quite amused by his stubbornness.

"I'm sure this much will suffice" he argued. Even though he had barely pulled the seams together and she could feel it moving around. Then seriously added "I don't understand why you would need to put this on" he added, pulling gently of the cords.

"So I can look pretty" she answered in a joke.

"Then there really is no need for you to wear this" he remarked, sounding even more annoyed about the piece of clothing. "Wasn't this the reason you fell off the battlements?"

It caught her a little of guard that he would mention anything related to that incident with such disregard, so she turned her head discreetly to look at him from the corner of her eye, but he was completely concentrated on his task and there were no signs of any negative emotion reflected in there.

So she quickly turned back to look ahead and continued with their conversation as if nothing happened "That was entirely the fault of the Londoners´ crazy trends, not mine" she complained. "Seriously, who had the brilliant idea to design a dress with a waist that small? and then it was so hot that day the stupid fan was doing nothing to help, and..."

She stopped her rant when she felt his forehead lay gently against the back of her head and his arm come around her. "Regardless, you could have easily died from that fall"

The uneasy on his voice, made her sober up a little.

"That bloody dress was just too tight" she told him gently, squeezing his hand comfortingly "You don´t need to worry so much, it won´t happen again. I promise."

In the end, she did manage to convince him that she would not suffocate to death.

After which they went up together to the deck of The Dauntless, making everyone present stare at her with incredulous shock when she appeared next to him.

Still, nobody had dared to so much as inquire about her presence and she had not being able to resist offering James a quick smug glance, knowing she had been right.

He hadn´t said anything, and his face had remained impassive in front of his men but she saw the glint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

Elizabeth spent the next hour leaning against the taffrail, enjoying the sea breeze while James discussed their current course with his officers on a small table near the helm deck.

It discouraged her to realize that the only two places she had ever been to, were London and Port Royal and that it was the first time she had been on a ship away from Jamaica since she arrived there 8 years ago, in the same ship she was currently on. Or at least it was the first time she left willingly, being able to actually enjoy the crossing.

The ocean was relatively calm at the moment and the sun was shining strongly above them, so she had an unencumbered view of everything around the ship, although she could see nothing but endless miles of water ahead. So instead, she watched with interest as the crew worked the deck, performing their tasks with practiced precision.

When she was hostage on The Pearl, she had been too busy thinking of a way to escape and too perturbed about the men aboard, to even contemplate appreciating her trip on the speedy vessel. Now, she could calmly admire the constant movement going all around her as the sailors worked.

James commanded a tight ship, with every bit of confidence expected from a Captain.

Looking at his form, still engaged in discussion with the other officers, she felt a great deal of admiration by the way he was able to act so perfectly normal after all they had done the night before. Although she was feeling a bit disgruntled by the fact that he had yet to turn her way.

Eventually, she decided try and help find the lost ship with the small spyglass she had borrowed from James. She fiddle with the thing for almost an hour before she started contemplating going up to the crow´s nest to try and get a better view. She had to discard the idea quickly when she realized she was wearing skirts and her new husband would probably have a fit if someone got a peek at what was underneath.

But then, she managed to spot a faint silhouette in the distant, to the east. Se couldn´t distinguish what it was exactly, and it looked much smaller than a ship, but it was the first anything she´d found. "James!" she called his attention looking back at him.

His head immediately lifted up at the sound of her voice. And when their eyes met, she pointed in the direction of her discovery.

Everyone on deck rapidly became alert, trying to spot what she was pointing at.

James walked to her, taking the spyglass when she offered it. He took a moment to assess the situation before finally ordering the crew on deck "Heave to and ready about!"

"Lieutenant" When Gillette appeared behind them a moment later, James turned his head and succinctly commanded "Set course to the east, and do not allow the men to relax the watch. Let us not get caught unawares in case we meet opposition" the Lieutenant gave a single nod before going back to the helm.

As the ship approached its objective, she could finally see what it was. It was indeed a ship, or at least the remains of what had been one. The full extent of the damage was intimidating, there was barely any ship left to speak of.

This was not the work of a common group of criminals, the ship was in complete ruins, but instead of being attacked by cannons it looked like it had simply been… crushed. There were not even scorch marks on the scattered pieces of wood that barely held together in a semblance of its past, but a thick layer of smoke hung all around them as they got near, it was an eery sight that made her uneasy.

The last time she had seen such a level of destruction actually floating, she had been but a child. Her mind took her back eight years into the past, the scene she was seeing was a grim reminder to the one of that time.

Was it really possible for an ordinary ship to do this? And if so, who would be able to command such attack?

She lifted her eyes back to James, she could tell he was asking himself the same questions. He was staring at the remains of the ship with his jaw clenched so hard his neck muscles were jumping out.

When he notice her gaze, his attention turned to her. "The moment we get near, I´ll send a couple of boats to assess the losses and look for survivors"

What survivors could you possibly be expecting to find in there? She almost asked him out loud, but instead she chose to remain silent.

His eyes gleamed strangely before his hand came to rest at her lower back, bringing her close and murmuring in a low tone of voice "The man who reached Port Royal and reported the incident was almost incoherent, but.." his mouth came even closer to her ear before he added with obvious reluctance "He kept spouting absurd claims about a demon ship with giant vines coming out of the sea and attacking them"

Elizabeth´s head jerked in his direction before he even ended the sentence, her eyes narrowed at him accusingly.

"I know Elizabeth. After what happened with The Black Pearl, I´m not completely dismissing the possibility, but the man was out of his mind with fear, he was probably delusional" he was probably having a hard time convincing himself of his own words at the sight in front of them, but was definitely trying to.

Her mind was drowning in possibilities and her uneasy settled deep in her gut.

He probably realized the effect of his words because he turned her away from the wreck and tried to appease her "I also don't believe it might have been them" and he seemed sincere enough to help her calm down a little. "Just... promise me you will keep a safe distance while we investigate"

She wanted to question him further but his eyes were begging her to acquiescence, so she sighed instead "Alright"

His steely gaze lost some of its sharpness but his posture was just as tense.

"But you need to calm down as well, you're making me worry" she told him affectionately, reaching one hand up to his face and diverting his attention from the pitiful remains floating adrift in the water.

She appreciated the effort he made to relax his body even while he clearly didn´t want to. "Please, stay where I can see you" he requested seriously.

He went back to the helm deck after that, barking instructions to his men as they prepared to lower the boats.

He had ordered a thorough search of what remained of the ship, but as the men on the yawls inspected all the rubble, the only that was found underneath, were a couple of bodies that had cooled long ago. Surprisingly, there were plenty of barrels and boxes of cargo floating around, apparently they had somehow spilled out of the ship without significant damage. Most of it looked ruined though. But it was much more than what one could have expected to find after a pirate attack.

She occupied her time by scouting out the area around them and trying to find any clue as to who or what could have caused such destruction. But there was nothing left to indicate who might have done it.

It took a couple of hours for the boats to be lifted, after attempting to recover as much of the provisions and goods as they could find. As she observed quietly from the taffrail, it became very apparent that there was nothing else that would be salvaged.

Oddly enough, a significant portion of the barrels his men managed to recover were found empty, but lined with black powder residue on the inside, which made her frown. Had the merchant ship not had time to fire back or…? Then how did the pirates manage to steal their cargo? and what exactly did they steal?

From what she could see, there was nothing particularly good about the cargo the ship had been carrying, it was mostly clothes, fabrics and tobacco, but it was all wet now. And if the ship hadn't fought back, then nothing would have merit for the level of violence.

'A demon ship' she repeated in her head. Surely the crew of The Black Pearl had not managed to get in trouble by unearthing another cursed treasure in such a short time …had they?

She couldn't help but think of Jack, that crazy man seemed to find trouble wherever he went.

She knew they were pirates but… But surely, they wouldn't do this, would they? This looked sadistic, like it had been done with the sole purpose of causing death and destruction, and they were not like Barbossa and his men. And Will would not stand for it, he wouldn't allow them to do this... Even James did not think it was them, so it surely must have been done by someone else.

Eventually, after coming up with absolutely nothing useful besides a clear understanding that whoever was responsible for the attack was long gone, she got bored and sleepy. Her eyes glanced at James, who was still engaged in a discussion with Gillette and Groves while they all examined the recovered goods.

He would keep busy for at least a couple more hours. So she decided to go inside his quarters and lay down for a short rest -or at least she had planned for it to be short- but when she woke up, it was dark again.

Looking around groggily she found James sitting at his desk. The only light in the room came from a couple of candles placed next to him. His uniform was gone, but he seemed to be working still, as his hand deftly moved a quill over a piece of parchment.

The rustle of her clothes as she sat up alerted him to her rousing.

"You're finally back" he told her with a subtle smirk, and resuming his work.

"Yes well, it seems like someone tired me out too much last night" she accused him while rubbing her eyes and yawning tiredly.

"And you have no one to blame but yourself for that" he responded unapologetically, resuming his writing "Just go back to sleep, we will arrive back to Port Royal in a few more hours"

She got rid of her dress -that had been conveniently loosened while she slept- then immediately went back to her prone position, staring at him as he worked. "What are you doing there?"

He responded without pausing this time. "Writing a report. I´ll need to send word back to England about what we found"

She frowned and moved her head just enough to find one of the windows "It's too late now, just come to rest" she instructed while she struggled not to fall asleep.

His hand stopped working as an unsure frown painted his features while he stared down at his papers.

"We didn't even encounter the ones responsible for the attack, it can't be that urgent." she tried to convince him "Come to bed, James" she slurred lazily.

And this time he obliged.

He was wearing a linen shirt and underpants this time, and as soon as he laid on the bed, she snuggled herself against his cozy body. She was too tired.

"Goodnight" was the only thing she mumbled before going right back to sleep.

…

The next day she woke up just in time to find Port Royal´s distinctive mountain taking over the view outside.

She was alone on the bed, and James was no longer in the room. She let herself enjoy the view outside as she relaxed on the bed, until her eyes caught sight of her clothes and she sat up with mild frustration.

Excellent! How am I supposed to put all of that by myself?

Ten minutes later she was still struggling with securing the lace at her back, before there was a knock at the door and James came in.

"Why are you knocking to enter your own quarters?" she asked him with amusement. "You gave me a scare"

He walked to her side and stroked her head gently. "I apologize, but we´ve moored already"

Her eyes looked at him with a plea as she moved her hair to one side and presented her back to him. "I can't tighten this thing up" she complained, offering him a dissatisfied scowl.

His eyes twinkled with mirth as he moved even closer, pulling at the lace with sure fingers until it was all in place, her bodice was even faster.

When he was done, his arms snaked down her middle and pulled her back to his chest. His lips pressed an open mouthed kiss on the side of her neck, sending a pleasant shiver down her body.

"You're getting good at this" she praised him with a faint smirk she couldn´t hide.

"It's easier than learning knots on rope" he answered, distractedly tracing the patterns on the fabric of her bodice. "Although I much prefer the part where I untie it" His lips were still resting on her skin and the sensation they were causing every time they brushed together, was not conducive for staying dressed.

Even being aware of that, she leaned her head to the side so he would have better access. Her invitation was immediately accepted, as he began laying kisses on her exposed skin.

She was about to suggest they locked the door when a knock echoed on the room, provoking an annoyed growl out of her; which made James chuckle, straighten his back and give her one last kiss on the head before commanding whoever was behind it to enter.

It was one of his soldiers, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "Commodore Norrington, Sir. The boats are ready!"

James gave the soldier a dismissive nod, and the man obeyed instantly, walking out of the room with a quick step.

She stared at the closed door with some conflict, then pulled on his arm until he bent enough so she could whisper in his ear "Later, then"