Stormy Waters

Author's Notes: Of course on the day I would be updating AFF.net would decide to shut down on me at random times and tell me that the service is temporarily unavailable... ::sighs:: But I did update! And where I live (California) it is 9 PM and still the 30th...but sorry if it’s now the 31st for any of you.

I wasn't too happy with this chapter, and I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but why not is confusing me. Well, maybe it's nothing...

And, no, you're not seeing things. That's really the title of the chapter. Read and you'll understand.


For disclaimers...ratings...pairings...etc etc etc...check the first chapter! There's a slight warning on this chapter, but it's pretty light compared to what I have planned in later chapters.

Part 5: Eucser a rof Snalp

Elizabeth stood, fuming as she gazed out over the ocean and watched the waves crash against the Dauntless. She knew that somewhere out there, the Black Pearl was sailing with Will onboard as a prisoner, just like she had been. It ate at her heart that he had risked everything to come for her, and now she could do naught but stand by in pained silence while her thoughts dwelled on what she was powerless to stop. Will was going to die amongst strangers, and it seemed that no one in Port Royal save for herself was going to even care. She just couldn't let that be his fate. She needed to try something – *anything* to get him back. Something deep inside told her that Will could not possibly be dead yet, that there was still a chance for him. If only she knew what to do.

Turning from the sea, she could see Jack Sparrow in chains and sitting on a large wooden box on the opposite side of the ship and surrounded by many armed guards. Not far from him stood the Commodore, who was standing up straight with his arms clasped behind his back as he observed his men work on tightening the lines above. Elizabeth could not believe that he had decided to ignore her protests. There would be no more help willingly gained from him, or anyone else on this ship. And of course her father was out of the question.

She bent over slightly as a sudden small round of coughing took her. Ever since the night she'd spent on that deserted island she had been feeling a little sick, but knew that it was nothing serious. Just a cold from spending all that time in insufficient clothing. She knew, though, that if Norrington or her father caught sight of her coughing, they would begin to fuss over her immediately.

Eizabeth paused as an idea hit her. Squinting her eyes, she gazed over at the Commodore, and then to the Governor's cabin. To her delight she saw that her father was just coming out, straightening his wig and smoothout out his uniform. Giving a long look to Jack, who seemed to be trying to strike up conversation with one of the soldiers who was studiously ignoring him, Elizabeth then turned and went over to her father.

"Elizabeth, darling!" he cried as she came over. "How are you faring?"

"Actually, father, I am feeling rather hungry." she replied with a smile.

"Are you?" He appeared greatly surprised by her statement, and gazed around the ship. Clearly he was astonished that she was not acting at all angry as she had been earlier. "Well then, I'll have some food brought up for you."

"Some soup, if you please." At her father's questioning look she hurriedly continued, "I'm feeling a bit below the weather, you see. I thought that some soup would be the best thing for it."

"Oh! Quite right you are, then." He looked once more over the crew, this time uncertainly. "Shouldn't take too long. I'm sure I'll be able to find *someone* here who can cook a decent pot of soup."

Elizabeth looked over the soldiers, realizing that all food they would have prepared for the trip would be sailing rations.

Raising a hand to push away an errant strand of hair that had come free from her braid and was now flapping in her face, Elizabeth said, "I think I could make it myself, if you don't mind."

Weatherby's brow wrinkled as he gazed at her. "Are you sure, Elizabeth?" he asked.

"Father, I may live in the Governor's house, but that does not mean I cannot cook." she lied. was wasn't sure if the ship even had all the right ingredients to make soup. "Remember what you used to tell me? ‘Every proper lady should know how to cook.'"

"Yes, and as I recall, you did not think too much of that saying."

Elizabeth inwardly winced. She had forgotten about that. "Well, I did not think too much of the lessons, true enough." she said. "But I would watch the maids do it from time to time, and I've learned that way."

Her father's raised eyebrow showed that he was not entirely convinced. He seemed to go over her words in his head for a while, before tilting his head to the side and then nodding. "I suppose it would be all right."

"Thank you, father!" she exclaimed, moving to plant a kiss on his cheek before moving away, leaving the governor thoroughly flustered.


**********


Will sighed as he settled himself against the wall of his cell once more. The winds were against them today, so it would be a bit more than a day before the Black Pearl reached its destination. The walls of the ship around him groaned as the Black Pearl rocked against the waves.

He shut his eyes tightly against the rage he felt against the humiliation he was forced to endure at Barbossa's hands. At one point the pirate captain had become more bold, and began brushing his fingers against Will's lips as he fed him the fruit. Will had tried to turn away from the touch, but the pirate had kept a firm hold on his hair. The blacksmith had only just stopped himself from resorting to biting Barbossa's wandering fingers. Next time -- Barbossa had assured him repeatedly that there would definitely be a next time -- Will did not know if he would have such restraint.

He turned and gazed at the prisoners in the cell across from him, and found himself wishing that he had at least been locked in with them. He was painfuilly aware of his seclusion, trapped alone in this cell. He was usually only in the company of himself back at the shop, but this damp, filthy place could hardly be considered home.

Earlier, he had painfully given the news that neither Elizabeth nor Jack were on the deserted island, and had been met with much surprise and many questions from the others. He had only been able to tell them a few things, such as the burnt palm trees he had seen. Any other information was as lost to him as it was to them. Anamaria had said she had heard him shouting, and he told her that it was just a small argument between him and Barbossa. He had not told them of Barbossa's threats, nor what took place after he was taken to the cabin.

Will focused on Anamaria, planning to break the silence in an effort to calm his heated emotions. It would not do him good to dwell on them, and he asked the first question that came to his mind.

"What happened to make you so angry at Jack, anyway?"

Anamaria's hair seemed to stay stone still even as she jerher her head up at his question. "What?" she asked, blinking.

"Back in Tortuga." he explained. "You seemed rather angry at him."

Remembrance suddenly flashed in her eyes. "I was." she said simply. Sighing, she continued, "I met Jack a long time ago, when he was captainin' the Black Pearl. He was not so discreet about his business back then, crazy git. Always goin' around and braggin' to everyone that he was going to be sailin' to an island that can't be found except--"

"By those who already know where it is." Will finished. "He's told me the story."

"Well, of course no one believed him. They all assumed he was mad." she chuckled. "I'm not even sure if he's all that sane myself."

"Nor I." Will agreed.

"Aye. I mean, how can anyone not be? The man walks around and acts like he's got everlasting drunkeness! Never seems to smell of alcohol, though." She let out a sigh. "Anyhow, near eight years later, Jack shows up in Tortuga, no ship, no crew, and drunk off his ass as I ever saw him. His only possessions his clothes, compass, and weapons. He found me and begged for a place to stay. I tell ya, Jack's gotta be more than a might drunk for you to ever hear him beggin', and it ain't a pretty sight. Every other girl he'd asked had turned him down."

"I can't imagine why." Will said sarcastically.

"Aye," she said with a nod, "his reputation among women wasn't framed by gold, to be sure." She gazed down at her hands. "Too bad I was foolish enough not to know about it."

Will's mouth dropped open for a moment, but he quickly shut it when she looked up at him again. "I'm sorry." he said softly.

Anamaria shrugged indifferently, obviously trying to conceal her emotions. "The bottom line is, he left." Her voice was sharp as she said this. "After the third night, I awoke in the morning to find that he was gone. He left no note. Nothing to tell me where he had went to. Only the missing boat to let me know just how well he thought of me."

The blacksmith frowned, his respect in Jack plummeting with every word she spoke. "He deserved *more* than a couple of slaps." Will said.

"He's a pirate, lad." she said, her dark eyes looking sqaurely into Will's own. "*I'm* a pirate. It's what we do. I'm sure you've heard the motto."

"Take what you can. Give nothing back."

"That's the one." She looked around at the dark walls and then sighed again. "But soon this will just become another story to be told among the townspeople, and we'll all go back to our old lives."

"I won't be." Will pointed out. "I'm the cabin boy, remember? I'll be slaving on this ship until Barbossa gets tired of me and decides to kill me off."

Anamaria shrugged again. "That be your fate, then. Unless of course, Jack is still alive."

Will scowled. "And what effect does whether he's alive or not have on me?"

"You haven't noticed it?" Anamaria asked, her eyebrows raised. "You grew on him, boy. He cares about you, more than he ever did me. And when Jack cares for someone, he goes to any lengths for them. Of course he'll make it seem like he's doing it for his own profit, but I learned to see past that lie a long time ago."

"You're saying Jack will be coming to rescue me." he said, an eyebrow raised in incredulity.

"Aye, that's exactly what I'm sayin'."

Will scoffed. "Forgive me if I find that less than believable."

"You cannk ank all you'd like, boy." She was smiling a little now. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Hell, the whole crew has!"

"I don't care for what you're implying." Will said, his voice low in warning.

"Then we won't speak of it anymore. But you can't just thrust it aside, boy, and you know it." With that, she turned back to the rest of the men, folding her arms as she stared at the wall.

Will stared at the fall of hair on her back for a moment, wondering if that was the end of the conversation. It soon became clear that he was not going to get anything else out of her, so he closed his eyes, suddenly feeling extremely weary. His mind repeatedly went over her words, but he was not able to think much on it as he soon found himself drifting off to sleep.


**********


*Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We're blacksheep, we're devils, and really bad eggs, drink up me hearties, yo ho!* Jack gently rocked his head from side to side with the song as he tapped the tune out with his finger on the wooden box he was sitting on. He had been doing this for the past hour just to pass the time. He found it a great way to get his head cleared.

After assessing the situation he decided there was no immediate action he could take, but he was forever keeping his eyes open for an opportunity. His style while in captivity greatly differed from the way he'd seen Will react. Jack preferred to act submissive, to fool his captors into thinking him meek for the time when he would make his escape. It would be a matter of days before they reached Port Royal, and he was more than sure he could come up with something by then. Anamaria had always said he was overly confident when it came to matters such as this.

*"Not overly confident, love. *Healthily* confident."* he had said to her.

The volume in his taps on the wooden box grew considerably louder as he got into the song, his entire upper body now moving with the music inside his head. He began to hum it softly as he danced in his seat, his long hair swaying.

*Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We're beggars and blighters, and ne'er do-well cads...drink up, me hearties yo-ho!*

"Would you stop that?!" the exasperated voice of one of his guards asked.

"Hmm?" Jack stopped tapping and looked up, slightly disappointed that his rhythm had been thrown off. "What?"

"Whatever you're doing!" another one said. "Stop it before you drive us insane."

*I think that'd be an improvement on your part, mate.* Jack thought. "Sorry," he said in false sincerity with a smile.

The guards were fooled by this and satisfied, they turned away from him once more. Jack was pondering whether or not to continue on with the tapping, just to be annoying, when Elizabeth suddenly came up to the soldiers around him. As he leaned over a bit to peer between the men standing surrounding him, he could see she was holding a bowl of some sort and was making an effort to compose herself.

"My lady?" one of the soldiers asked.

"I've brought some food for Mr. Sparrow." she explained, holding up the bowl in indication. The guard gave her a strange look. "Even a prisoner deserves his meal." she said.

It took a moment, but eventually the guards assented and parted, allowing her to come fully into Jack's view as she stepped over to him.

"Your food, Mr. Sparrow." she said, handing a bowl and a spoon to him. "It would not do for you to starve. Make sure you eat *all* of it."

Jack gave her a lingering look, hearing that her words held more meaning than they seemed. Glancing down at the bowl, he fought the urge to cringe at the look of the food within. The soup appeared far too watery, and some of the legumes swimming around in it were not fully cooked while others looked like they had been held over a spit until they caught fire. And he *thought* those were pieces of beef in there, but it might have just been charred lettuce. He didn't know why she would somehow think to cook lettuce, though.

Looking back up at Elizabeth, he forced a smile onto his face. "Many thanks, Miss Swann." he said.

She gave him a pointed look before turning away to stand over to the side, and he realized she was going to stand there and wait for him to finish his food.

*Make sure you eat *all* of it.*

He wondered what the girl had planned. Surely she didn't mean to poison him. There would be no point in that -- as far as she was concerned, he was going to be hanged anyway. *But even if that wasn't her intention, she may be unwittingly poisoning me with this.* he thought as he scrutinized the food in his bowl.

Leaning down hesitantly, he inhaled the scent, surprised when the soup did not smell all that bad. In fact, it was a very delicious fragrance, and before he knew it he was digging into the soup. It tasted quite good, and his stomach murmured happily as the eaten food settled pleasantly in his gut. It was a matter of minutes before the entire bowl was consumed. What was left of the darkish broth settled in what looked like strange cracks in the bottom of the bowl.

He stared down at the empty bowl, blinking. If he was correct, those crack-like spots were words. His eyes widened, realizing that Elizabeth had somehow carved words inhe bhe bowl to send him a message. He quickly began to read it.

*Agutrot...rean...ew...litnu...raf...woh... Agutrot rean ew litnu raf woh?? What in the blazes does that mean?*

Glancing up at Elizabeth with a furrowed brow, he shrugged almost imperceptibly in confusion. The girl raised her eyebrows, then made twisting motions with her hands. Jack watched her, his confusion only growing at her gestures. It looked like she was trying to imitate his gestures, like Will had done before when he thought Jack wasn't paying attention. By the looks of it, she was doing a very poor job.

He shook his head slightly to indicate that she was doing it all wrong. She stared at him, gesturing more furiously. He shook his head again; she still wasn't doing it right. He was a bit alarmed when she opened her mouth as if to give a shriek of frustration, but no sound came out. She gave him another meaningful look and then turned around.

Jack tried to comprehend what was going on. *The kids these days...* he thought. *...always wanting to--oh! It's backwards! That's what she's sayin'!* Feeling mighty pleased with himself for having figured it out, Jack snapped his head back to the words to look over them again. His mind worked frantically, and he was finally able to decipher the letters. *How far until we near Tortuga?* He looked back up at Elizabeth, surprised. *She wants to go to Tortuga? She'll never get Norrington to agree to that.* But Jack was beginning to think that maybe he shouldn't underestimate the girl. Obviously she had something more in mind.

"Miss Swann, I've finished my food." he called, drawing her attention.

Turning around, she walked back over and smiled kindly at the soldiers who granted her passage immediately.

"How was it, Mr. Sparrow?" she asked, raising of her eyebrows as she reached out to take the offered bowl and spoon.

"Positively scrumptious, Miss Swann." He looked warily at the men around him once. "Why, I believe I could continue eating that wonderful soup for a full *eight hours* before I tire of it."

Elizabeth's smile widened, and she gained a glint to her eye. "Well then, perhaps you would like another bowl?"

"Most definitely, my lady." He flashed his silver and gold teeth at her. "As many as it takes until I am sated."

"I shall return shortly." she said, turning and walking off.

Jack settled back on the box, his mind going over what Elizabeth had just done. He eventually smiled widely, leaning back as he began tapping "A Pirate's Life For Me" on his leg so it would not make as much noise. *Clever girl.* he thought. *That rebellious streak of yours may benefit us yet.*


**********


"Now that's a sight for sore eyes!"

"Aye, pretty little thing, ain't he?"

"After we break the curse, let's ask Barbossa if he'd be willin' to share with us."

"Nah. Captain said 'e's ta be left alone unless 'e says it different."

"That's no fun. I mean, blimey, look at 'im! I'd be takin' 'im as 'e is if it wasn't for the Captain's orders."

"Why not? 'E's already in position!"

As yet another round of raucous laughing started up, Will ground his teeth together so hard he thought they would all end up breaking under the pressure. Taking deep breaths to calm himself -- although he was not sure if he would ever be calm again after those remarks -- the blacksmith dunked his brush into the bucket nearby and continued to scrub the deck.

He was literally shaking with fury, having been forced to listen to the lasvicious words of the pirates around them and bear their lustful gazes. Barbossa had given the order that he be introduced to the duties of a cabin boy early, and it had been a rough awakening as he had been hauled out of his cell and almost immediately put to work. Now most of the crew had left off their own duties to watch as he worked, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not try and attack them in any way he could.

Not that the action would have done him any good. They were still cursed; they could not be harmed. As it was, his wrists were bound together before him with thick rope that trailed over to the mast and was wrapped and tied around the width of it. That put him at an even more severe disadvantage.

The crew around him continued to take in pleasure at the sight of him on his hands and knees, while he vainly tried to ignore them. Even the monkey was witnessing his degradation, sitting on one of the low-hanging lines and watching him with dark eyes as it seemed to screech its approval of the pirates' impure words.

Suddenly, a booted foot connected with the small of his back, and Will collapsed onto the soapy wet deck. The pirates began to laugh harder as he slowly drew himself up, and he turned to see that the pirate who had attacked him was a smiling Bo'sun. Will felt an involuntary thread of fear enter his heart as he glared up at Barbossa's well-muscled first mate. Bo'sun's eyes had been filled with what looked like unquenchable fury the last time he had seen them. Even with the smile, he knew it would be a miracle if it had dissipated by now.

"Back to work, boy!" the pirate said, kicking Will in the stomach.

The force of the blow sent the blacksmith rolling right into the bucket full of water. It fell over, expelling its contents to create a giant wet and soapy puddle on the deck. Will lay still, groaning softly as his stomach protested from the abuse.

"Look at this mess!" the pirate called Twigg cried. "Little bugger. What should we do with him?"

"I say we 'ave a little fun." another pirate chuckled.

The rest of the men shouted their agreement, and before he knew what was happening Will suddenly found a cloth being drawn over his eyes, blinding him. Rough hands descended upon him, grasping. The blacksmith began to kick and swing his arms, writhing as he fought against them. He felt someone take hold of his arms and wrench him to his feet, and then he was pushed hard.

Will found himself stumbling into the warm body of another pirate, who took hold of his bound hands and pulled his head back by his hair. The pirate's breath wafted against his bared neck and he shuddered.

"Pretty boy," the pirate growled against his ear, "we're goin' ta be enjoyin' yer services."

He was spun around and pushed into another body, this one larger than the others. With a feeling of dread he realized that it was Bo'sun. His hair was grabbed in a tight grip and tugged back violently, causing him to cry out from the sharp spark of pain. He felt his arms being yanked to his chest, and then rope was wrapping tightly around his neck, cutting off his breath and scratching painfully against the tender skin of his throat. Will struggled frantically as he began to choke, his mouth wide as he tried to suck in air that refused to enter his throat.

The rope around his neck was loosened and he gasped and coughed as the cloth was ripped from his eyes. He blinked to clear his vision as his beating heart settled somewhat, finding Bo'sun's grinning face only inches from him. Once glancing down found that the pirate had untied the length of rope connected to his wrists from the mand and that was what had been wrapped around his neck.

Giving a fearsome growl, Bo'sun released Will's neck from the rope and pushed the blacksmith back into another wall of bodies. The pirates took hold of him tightly, most of them sneering in his face. He watched as the first mate, who was still holding the end to the length of rope bound around Will's wrists, threw the rope up to another pirate, who tossed it over a stiff, strong line and back down to Bo'sun.

Will's eyes widened as he understood what was going to happen, and this only made Bo'sun's grin become broader. He watched as the first mate gave a hard pull on the rope, and simultaneously he was released by the pirates around him. His arms were yanked up over his head harshly and he was lifted a few inches off the ground.

Gasping at the fiery pain that coursed through his arms and shoulders at the sudden movement, Will desperately began to stretch his legs, trying to find some sort of purchase to take the weight off of his arms. The deck was just out of his reach, and with a resigned hiss he stilled, feeling the bite of the rope as it dug into his wrists. Bo'sun tied off the free end with the rest of the lines, then stepped forward to watch the proceedings.

Will shut his eyes as the pirates surrounding him began laughing once more, jeering at his helplessness. A hand brushed against his right leg, and opening his eyes he reacted instantly by swinging both of his legs out, kicking the offending pirate in the jaw. He was pleased to hear the man's neck snap as the pirate let out a gurgling shout and collapsed among the others.

This small victory was short lived as he caught the new menace in the eyes of the pirates. They were not going to be done with him any time soon, he knew.

Will stifled a yelp of surprise when a hand suddenly reached out to grope his buttocks. Twisting, the blacksmith tried to kick the one who dared to do so, but the pirate moved away before the hit could connect. At nearly the same moment yet another pirate moved forward and ran a hand down his leg, and once more his attack missed as the man jumped back before he could react.

The pirates seemed to like this game, but it lasted far too long for Will. As many as two or three would come at once and run their hands along his body or squeeze him somewhere, and then, laughing, they'd hurry back to the circle around him and out of his reach when he would try to lash out with his legs.

After several minutes his arms began to shake in weariness as his strength waned, and his kicks began to lose what reach they had. Sweat beaded on his brow as he refused to stop fighting, biting his tongue against the whrs ors of frustration and pain as his shoulders and wrists raged with fire.

At one point during the crew's sick game Will's eyes had trailed up to see Barbossa standing in the open doorway of his cabin, staring at him. Gasping in pain, the blacksmith had gazed with pleading eyes at the pirate captain as his torment continued. But Barbossa did nothing except observe him for a few moments before moving back inside his cabin and closing the door.

Finally, too exhausted and weak to fight anymore, the blacksmith went limp in his bonds, his head resting down against his chest. The pirates leered as they approached his trembling body, but Will only had the strength clench his teeth and throw his head back, writhing weakly as a hand ran down the length of his back. A hand c und under his shirt, and he jerked as it ran along his abdomen and pinched the flesh there. The pirates were eagerly watching his reactions to this treatment, taking pleasure in his humiliation and pain.

The hand on his stomach traveled lower, breeching the waistline of his trousers. With a flare of panic, Will tried to raise his legs to kick, only to find them being held down by a couple of chuckling pirates. Making a choked sound in the back of his throat, Will strained against his restraints, trying to twist his body away from the seeking hand. Tand and in his trousers continued to slowly trail down to one of his most private areas, the pirate before him unrelenting.

"S-stop." Will finally gritted out, desperate.

The pirate before him looked up in surprise, then began to guffaw loudly. "Y'here that? 'E says 'e wants me to stop!" Smiling as the other pirates' laughter followed his words, the pirate reached up with his free hand and grabbed Will's chin, his smile revealing rotting teeth. "I might think about it, boy. If ye beg me to."

"Gents! Leave the boy alone for now."

Will felt his relief soar as he looked up to see Barbossa standing outside of his cabin. The pirates surrounding him all let out collective groans of complaint, but knew better than to disobey their captain. The pirate in front of him released his chin and then removed the questing hand from his pants, turning to join the others who were going back to their duties reluctantly.

Will looked to see Bo'sun take out his cutlass and sliced through the rope holding him up. The blacksmith fell hard to the deck, gasping as his knees took the brunt of the impact. The rest of the rope coiled on top of him as he groaned softly and fell onto his side, weakness consuming his body.

He closed his eyes for a few moments as he waited impatiently for his strength to return, even though he wanted nothing more than to be left in peace. He felt more than heard the footsteps of boots against the deck, and after opening his eyes he raised his head to see Barbossa standing over him.

"Enjoyin' yer first day of work?" the pirate captain asked with a smile. "Sorry the boys were so rough on ye, lad, but I'm afraid you'll be havin' ta get used to this. Scrubbin' the deck'll be part o' yer daily duties, but I'll be sure and ask the crew to not do anything to ye that would interfere with yer work." He stepped closer to the blacksmith. "I'll let you liere fre for a minute, but *only* a minute. You look a might hungry, and I've got some hot food waitin' for ye in me cabin."

Will closed his eyes again and dropped his head back onto the deck with a light thud. He just wanted to be left alone, to be back in the shop at Port Royal and out of this hell. The last thing he was wishing for at the moment was another forced feeding session with Barbossa.

Beginning to pull himself up in resignation, Will swore silently, *The next time his fingers touch my mouth, I'm biting them off.*


TBC...


And, in case you didn't notice, the title for this chapter is backwards for 'Plans for a Rescue.' ::laughs:: Yes, I am weird.


Next chapter: Elizabeth's plan on how to get into Tortuga is revealed and Jack is skeptical. But then, he's come up with crazier things...


*Review Replies*

Sandrine Black -- Well, here it is, delivered as promised. Though, once again, late. ::cringes:: Damn computer. ::smiles::

Akurei -- Yes, poor Will. And I'm nowhere near finished with him yet. ::rubs hands together fiendishly::

Celesta Hellewise Harman -- Gah! Must KILL computer!! ::gnashes teeth:: ...but I guess I should be thankful that it let me update at all... Anyway, have you seen PotC any more times? Heh...I've only seen it about 8...the most recent two days ago, although some would beg to differ whether or not I should include ONLY... Well, the heavy non-con is going to start...as soon as I can get the characters to move their asses over to Isla de Muertes so Barbossa can break the curse...I wasn't sure if they'd be reaching it in this chapter but I was kinda disappointed when it didn't end up happening...so I decided to take it out on Will. ::laughs:: It's so fun to torture him. Well, I'll be e-mailing you back as soon as the computer stops it's little run on strike...::shakes fist at machine:: Ha...well...until then!

Aithilin -- Heh. For some reason, not too many people are liking Norrington in this story...and yes, Jack is very adorable! ::grins:: Especially when he's being...himself. Ha ha.

Melanie -- Wow... ::is immensely flattered:: Heh. But seriously, I'm glad that you enjoy this story so much...it makes me feel honored that a great author such as yourself likes reading this. If you want to chat some time, my SN is Legolas Torturer...lovely name...::laughs evilly:: I haven't been on it lately because the computer's not been allowing me to sign onto it, but I think it should be working now...I'd love to talk with you! ::smiles:: And I encourage you to continue with your stories (adding the new PotC 'Sinister' to the mix here) and am very guilt-ridden that the computer hasn't allowed me to review them yet...which I hope to do soon... Anyway, thank you so much!

Des -- Don't be so hard on yourself! That was a great review! I always love ones that comment on the actual content of the story as yours did. It's really nice to hear people pointing out the certain situations they enjoyed...and I thank you for doing that! ::smiles::

Rommie -- I update about every 5 days...so that's the length you can expect between chapters...although in a few weeks it will become longer as school begins once more. There shall be plenty of pain, death and destruction in this fic before it is through... ::smirks:: Ha ha. Thank you for reviewing.

Ami -- Ah...you're gonna have to watch out...the reviews you and Melanie keep on giving me are going to make my ego explode. ::grins:: And that's good to hear that you're writing a new fic...I'd love to read it when you decide to post it. I'm also waiting patiently but eagerly for your next update of On the Run...I know that authors have lives...after all, I’m one...so don’t worry about hurrying to get that out although it would be great if it was updated soon! ::grins again:: happhappy that you enjoyed the previous chapter and hope that you liked this one as well! Ha...bye now!

D’Artagnan – Well, there’s the next chapter for ya! Hope you liked it...and hope that you didn’t lose your sanity during the wait! ::grins::

Viviana – ::smirks:: Yes, I particularly loved writing the part where Barbossa makes Will eat the apples... And no, nothing really naughty will be happening until the curse is broken, although the events at the end of this chapter could be considered slightly so. Now let’s just see if I can get the Black Pearl to Isla de Muertes in the next chapter.

ghoulie – Yay! It’s always nice to hear I have the characters in character...it means I’m doing my job right! Yeah, I’m sorry that this isn’t hetero, but my specialty is slash...but I’m glad that you are enjoying it nevertheless! ::grins::