Where Her Heart Truly Lied

DISCLAIMER: I OWN POC! ... no... I really, really don't. I'm just making sure you're still reading my disclaimers.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well thanks a whole bunch for the reviews, guys, I love it! You're all so nice. This is the second last chapter. The last one is strictly going to be a Will and Liz chapter. I figured they deserve a nice scene after all they went through. Thanks for reading and keep reviewing. So you know... the last chapter might take a bit to get up, but I AM working on it!

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Will and Elizabeth had managed to slip through the front gates undetected. Elizabeth had changed into a dress before they left, but she brought no other belongings with her, including her wedding band which remained on her pillow. Aided by the cover of darkness they reached the docks quickly where the sailor Will had met the previous night stood waiting. The lantern he was holding cast eerie shadows over his face, causing him to look absolutely frightening.

“This be yer companion?” he said, glancing over Elizabeth up and down.

Will cupped his hand under Elizabeth’s elbow and drew her to his side. “Yes.”

The sailor held the lantern up higher and squinted, looking her over once more. He scratched his chin.

“It’s bad luck havin’ a woman on board.”

Will glanced over at the small vessel with its scratched paint and patched up sails. Even if bringing a woman along was bad luck, it couldn’t be much worse than travelling in that thing.

“I can always take my business elsewhere,” Will said.

“Now I didn’ say I weren’t gunna take ‘er, mate,” the sailor said quickly. “I were jus’ saying.”

Will smiled inwardly. Greed was a powerful tool. He pulled out the pouch of money from his satchel and handed it over, watching as the sailor emptied the coins into a dirty hand and inspecting them in the lantern light.

“All right,” the sailor said with a satisfied look. “Step aboard the Rosemarie. We make way for Tortuga.”

Captain Jack Sparrow had landed at Tortuga the previous night with the Black Pearl, having made the stop to gather information about where the location of the drawing of a certain key was. But like on all good quests, Jack had become distracted by a buxom blond in a tight blue dress and that was who he was now talking to.

“Giselle,” Jack was saying to the woman whose hands were on her hips and giving him a nasty scowl. “It’s always been you, luv, honestly. I swear on me ship there’s been naught but you in me thoughts.”

“Jack!”

He knew the voice instantly and was quite surprised to hear it. He whirled around, his hands dangling in front of him. “Elizabeth!” he called out, the grin widening. There was a tap on his shoulder and when he turned around Giselle slapped him hard across the face.

“Jack Sparrow you knave!” she yelled, and just as Jack lifted a finger as if he were about to answer, she slapped him again for good measure. Giselle gathered up her skirts and stormed off.

“No! No!” Jack started, reaching out. “It’s not like that! Giselle! I need to ask you about Davey-” but he curled his fingers into a fist and brought his hand down to his side as she disappeared into the crowd. “Jones,” he mumbled.

When he turned back, Elizabeth and Will were standing before him. Jack’s head snapped back a bit when he saw them so close, but a sly smile crossed his features. “Ah, and she brought dear William,” he said. “Wonderful to see you again, Will, really.”

Jack rested a hand on Will and Elizabeth’s shoulders. “Now, wot say we move this conversation inside?” He inclined his head towards the tavern. “Savvy?”

The three of them sat at a table in a corner of the pub away from most of the raucous. Jack was sitting across from Elizabeth and Will, a bottle of rum in front of him. He sat there, flexing his fingers.

“So?” Jack asked. “Wot brings you two to Tortuga? Last I saw of ye, ye were debatin’ o’er promises made and promises broken, even though said promises may not have entirely been broken at the time.” He took a swig of rum and stared at the bottle before asking, “Are ye sure ye don’t want any?”

Both Will and Elizabeth shook their heads and murmured “no thank you’s.” Elizabeth and Will exchanged a glance as Jack went back to his drink and finally Will spoke.

“Elizabeth did marry Norrington. But… that life was not what she wanted and so we escaped.”

“Now, really, Elizabeth,” Jack said tenderly, while looking at her sadly. “You should have thought about what you wanted before taking the thing you didn’t want, even if you only did so because you believed that the thing you wanted didn’t want you, because as you learned, said thing really did.” Jack paused. “And there’s no point in living in misery with someone else,” he added. Another swig. He pulled a face at Elizabeth. “Darling, you look a mess.”

And that was true enough. In fact, it was the first thing Will had noticed when he had the opportunity to really look at her when they sailed to Tortuga. Her features had looked sunken as if matching the depression she had been feeling inside. Her hair hung limp over her shoulders, the colour was drained from her face. She was quiet and her chin was no longer raised proudly, but pointed downward. It was if all bravado and happiness had left her. But slowly, Will could see it returning. He was certain she would be her old self again, once they were truly free. Seeing Jack was a blessing in disguise. Will knew he would be able to help them.

“Jack,” Will said. “Norrington’s bound to come after us once he’s learned Elizabeth’s gone.”

“True enough, mate,” Jack said. He shot the two of them a devilish grin. “So wot’s the plan?”

Will gulped and looked away embarrassed. “Well actually, there is none.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was so preoccupied with getting her out of Port Royal I had no idea what we were going to do when we got here.”

“Ah,” Jack said softly, leaning back in his chair. He spread his arms wide, “And now yer looking to dear ol’ Jack fer help, is that it?” His grin remained in place.

Elizabeth, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up at last. “If you could offer any suggestions, Jack, we’d be most grateful. Seeing as we had no idea you would be here, this had turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.” She offered him a small smile.

“Seeing as you had no idea I would be here,” Jack repeated. Though the way he said it suggested he were speaking more to himself. He seemed lost in thought for quite some time and both Elizabeth and Will jumped when he abruptly tilted his chair forward, bringing both himself and the piece of furniture upright.

“Well me onesies sees no problem in bringing ye aboard the Black Pearl with me. Ye’ve both been useful to me in the past and I see no reason why ye wouldn’ be able to help me now.”

“What exactly would we be helping you with?” Will asked, though he was sorely tempted to just accept Jack’s offer.

“I’m looking for the drawing of a key,” was the reply.

“A drawing,” Elizabeth said, an eyebrow raised. “That’s it?”

“That’s it, luv,” Jack said with a smile. “We’ll be gone by morning and far, far away from your husband by the time he gets here.”

Elizabeth cringed at the mention of the word ‘husband’ and exchanged a glance with Will. It didn’t seem too bad really.

“What do you want with a drawing of a key?” Will asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Jack shrugged. “To see what the key looks like, of course. And I’ll tell you wot. Not only am I offering you an escape from Tortuga, but if you accept me proposition, I will do the honour of helping you escape from your terrible marriage. As Captain of me ship I can undo wot’s already been done. Savvy?”

Another glance between Will and Elizabeth.

“All right,” Will said. “Yes, of course, we’ll come.”

Jack’s gold teeth glinted in the dim lighting as the largest smile yet, crossed his rugged features. “Somehow I knew you would. O’course, I’ll still have to talk to me crew, but they seemed to warm up to ye so nicely last time, it should be no problem. It’ll be more of a reunion, really.” He finished the remainder of rum. “Now then, I’ll be havin’ one more of these and we’ll be off.”

As Jack drank, Will and Elizabeth took turns in relaying the events of what had happened to them since Jack had left, but Elizabeth left out the part about being raped by Norrington. Will had only found out on their journey to Tortuga.

“Did he touch you?” Will had asked her.

Elizabeth did not answer at first. “Yes.”

Will’s brow had furrowed and he too said nothing for a few moments. “Did he…” but he was unable to finish the sentence.

“Yes,” Elizabeth said stoically. Not once did she look at Will, but kept a steady gaze on the ocean before her.

Will had put a protective arm around her at that and drawn her close. “It won’t happen again,” he told her, but he may have been reassuring himself of that fact instead of her.

Other than that, the trip had been pretty uneventful. The sailor did not talk much, he had seemed purely interested in the money and Elizabeth and Will had been so wound up by watching for Norrington’s ship, it was quiet for the most part. Only when they had reached Tortuga safely did they breathe their first sigh of relief. And it was when they saw Jack that they breathed their second.

After a fairly short discussion with his crew on board the Black Pearl Jack stepped off the gangplank to reveal the good news that Elizabeth and Will could join them.

Gibbs greeted them warmly when they stepped on deck. “Welcome aboard Will, Miss Elizabeth!”

“Friends for life, friends for life,” Mr Cotton’s parrot squawked.”

“Thank you for allowing us to join your crew,” Will said. It was funny. He had hoped to never again set foot on this ship, yet here he was. Except the last time he was on here, he had been at the mercy of a vicious pirate captain, set on taking his blood.

“Ah, it’s no bother,” Gibbs said, pulling out his flask of rum. “The whole crew’s happy to see ye again.”

A very loud screech was heard and Elizabeth screamed and stumbled back as “Jack” the monkey dropped in front of her.

“Except fer him,” Gibbs added. “Though, ‘e’s rarely in a good mood these days.”

“I thought it was dead!” Elizabeth cried, still clutching her hand to her chest, as if to still the frantic beating of her heart.

The monkey skittered away.

“Aye, so did we,” Gibbs said. “But it got off of the Isle de Muerta and Jack just happened to be the poor bloke it revealed itself to.”

A gunshot was heard, followed by a screech. Elizabeth looked up as “Jack” disappeared in the rigging.

“I hate that monkey,” Jack said, putting his pistol away. “Mr Gibbs, Prepare to make sail. We’re ready.”

“We have our headin’, Cap’n?” Gibbs said.

Jack revealed the compass that was hidden in his closed fist. “We have our heading,” he answered with a grin.

Norrington responded a lot quicker this time when Elizabeth did not answer the maid’s call in the morning. He immediately had the door to her room unlocked and even though he suspected she was not inside the room, he was still startled to find that it was true, especially since he had requested that her window be locked from outside. He gulped when he spotted a piece of gold flickering in the morning sunlight. Norrington walked over to Elizabeth’s bed and picked up the ring off the pillow. He lightly traced the pad of his finger around the band that was supposed to be a symbol of their eternal love. Norrington closed his fist over it. He had driven her off and couldn’t help but smile a little at the irony. He had told Will once that rash actions were not the way to go about things and perhaps he himself was rash when he took Elizabeth. He had been feeling increasingly guilty since the incident had taken place and he could not stand her mournful attitude ever since then. It came as no surprise to him when he learned that Will was also missing.

Needless to say Governor Swann had been furious when he learned Elizabeth was gone and not just gone, but gone with William Turner.

“Clemency! I granted him clemency!” was all he had said, and shook his head.

A thorough search of Port Royal had taken place, but nobody expected to find them. Suspicions that the pair were gone was confirmed when it was learned that a boat that had been stationed at the docks the previous night was missing.

“Find my daughter and bring her back, Commodore,” Governor Swann said. “If she is truly unhappy in this marriage then we will deal with it, but for now you must bring her home. The open waters are not safe and Elizabeth will not be either.”

Norrington gulped, slightly disturbed by the elder man’s words. Deal with it? “Yes, of course, Governor. My one concern is for Elizabeth.”

Governor Swann passed a hand over his eyes. “If she would only get that boy out of her head…”

“I’ll bring her back, Sir.”

After enquiring as to whom the owner of the missing sloop was and learning that it belonged to a man who was suspected of being a pirate, Norrington could only think of one place as to where Elizabeth and Will could have gone. And so he readied The Dauntless and made the trip to the island known as Tortuga. But he was too late. By the time Norrington arrived, Jack was long gone and none of the locals were too eager to assist an Officer of the Royal Navy. A small fee gained him some information however and he learned that Elizabeth and Will arrived at Tortuga and had left some days earlier with Jack Sparrow.

Jack Sparrow. How he loathed that name. The scoundrel had given him nothing but trouble and now he was responsible for Elizabeth’s departure from Tortuga. If you love her, let her go. Norrington sighed as he stepped back on board The Dauntless. Deep down he did want Elizabeth to be happy, but he had wished more than anything that she would be happy with him. If that could never be then why should he prolong both their suffering? He still had the Governor’s orders to carry out. Maybe, for the time, he would return to Port Royal with the news that she had departed in Sparrow’s company and that he had no information as to where they were heading, but that she would be perfectly fine, because try as he might, Norrington could never ignore the fact that Will loved her. She might not be safe with Jack Sparrow, but she would be if she was with Will. He would not be lying as he truly had no idea where she was.

He stepped up on to the quarter-deck and pulled out Elizabeth’s wedding ring from an inside pocket. He walked over to the railing and rested his elbows on it, leaning forward. He stared at the ring for a long time, rubbing it between to fingers.

"All right, Elizabeth," the man murmured. "All right."

Norrington brought the ring up to his lips and then dropped it into the ocean below. He turned away and headed to his cabin. Knowing that Elizabeth would be on her guard constantly watching, constantly waiting for him, was the only small comfort that nursed his broken heart.

“Gather round, gather round!” Gibbs called out.

It had been a total of ten days since Jack and his crew had put out to sea. They were heading towards a small island which was the location of a prison. Nobody who went in ever came out alive. Jack was going to have to enter and exit this vast torture chamber successfully. It would be his greatest escape yet. But there was still quite a ways to go before they reached the island, so in the meantime Jack set about to fulfill his promise to Elizabeth by ending her marriage with Norrington. Elizabeth and Will stood in the middle of the deck, a bunch of disinterested pirates surrounding them in a circle. Once the crew was assembled Gibbs nodded to Jack.

“Go ahead, Cap’n.”

Jack descended from the quarter-deck, wrists flopping as he did so. He made a flitting motion with his hands and a couple crewmembers parted to let him through. He circled Will and Elizabeth, glancing them up and down and then adjusted them a couple of times, arranging them like they were dolls.

“Here and here,” he muttered. “And Will, put your foot forward like so… very good… Elizabeth, you…” he went about this for a few minutes. At last he was satisfied and stepped back to admire his work. He rested his hands on his hips and smiled, obviously pleased with himself. Jack clasped his hands together.

“There! Now Elizabeth, I promised you a release from your plight and here it is. By the power invested in me, I, Captain Jack Sparrow, declare Elizabeth Norrington’s marriage to the slimy git Commodore Norrington, irrational, irregular, impure, inexcusable, indecent, insane-”

“Jack!” Elizabeth and Will chimed.

Jack held up a hand apologetically. “-repulsive and completely null ‘n void,” he finished.

Everyone stared at him with blank expressions on their faces as if they were still working out what he had just said. Jack shot his pointer fingers up in the air.

“I would also like to use said power to pronounce-” he pointed at Will. “You and-” the finger twirled in the air a moment before resting on Elizabeth, “-you, man and wife. Now kiss your bonnie lass.”

A soft smile crossed Will’s features as glanced at Elizabeth. He slipped his finger under her chin and tilted it up towards him, then leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, holding her close as she slipped her arms around his neck. It was done. Jack had come through for them in the end and now they were happily married and ready to start their new life on the high seas.