Almost Familiar Faces.

A/N: I decided that Elizabeth had to go. I was making her out to be a royal pain in the ass and a bitch. I like her though. Maybe I’ll use her again in something else.

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Will looked out into the water, catching a glimpse of Port Royal as they steadily approached. He knew that he couldn’t return to his humble life as a blacksmith’s apprentice but he still felt a pang of sorrow as he thought of the life he would be leaving behind. He would not be able to see Elizabeth as much, if at all but this was probably for the best. He didn’t want to leave his friends on the Black Pearl. It would haunt him forever. He couldn’t leave Jade alone now. She needed him more than he needed a simple life. Jack needed him as well, at least Will hoped he did.

~I don’t know. It’s a shord sid simple phrase but it holds so many truths about how I feel. The phrase may be simple but the meaning is complex beyond comprehension at this point. I know I’m staying. That’s about all I am sure of. I don’t know what my feelings for anyone are anymore. I know I thought that there was one person for me. Elizabeth. Then I knew that I was wrong. How many times can I be wrong about this? Until I die? I can’t make these decisions. I just can’t.~ Will had explained this to Elizabeth late last night. At this point it was only three hours later, but the sun had come up about half an hour ago.

Will’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him. “Will, I need to talk to you.” Jack’s movements swayed in unison with the ship.

“Jack, I need to know if it is alright if I stay.” Will had all ready turned his back to the captain to keep watch of the port. He was not able to see the relief on Jack’s face.

“If it’s what you want, you are more than welcome to stay as part of the crew.” Jack was unable to see the slight look of disappointment at the wording of tnvitnvitation.

Will suddenly thought that it was silly to wonder about these feelings. It wasn’t something a man should think about. ~I’m dropping it right now. No more.~ “All right, I’m staying… as part of the crew.”

Jack realized his mistake and cursed himself under his breath for being so daft. ~How do I fix something like this? I’m not even sure how he feels. I have to find a way to leave this open again, if nothing else. I don’t want it totally blocked out.~

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Elizabeth’s departure from the ship had been far less emotional than any of them had expected. The ship had been met by a naval ship led by Norrington. The man was happy to see Elizabeth was safe and allowed the Black Pearl to leave Elizabeth with them without a fight. Jack had given the girl a tight hug, missing Elizabeth’s spicy nature before she even left. Will had embraced his childhood friend and gave her a soft kiss, a slight look of regret in his eyes.

“Thought ye would be leavin’ without sayin’ goodbye to me, eh?” Jade had made her way on deck to give Elizabeth her fairwells against Ana’s loud protests.

“Ye daft girl! Are ye tryin’ to rip open the wound again?” Ana was right on Jade’s heels as the black haired girl made her way towards Elizabeth.

“I have somethin’ fer ye.” Jade reached into the inner pocked of her jacket, pulling out a simple but beautiful golden chain with a small green stone set as a charm. “Emerald. Thought it would look good with yer eyes.” Elizabeth was pleased with the gesture and shook Jade’s outstretched hand.

Ana stepped up to Elizabeth, whispering to make sure she wasn’t heard, “Don’t you be worrying. I’ll keep an eye on yer Will.” Elizabeth nodded and said her last words to the rest of the crew.

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It had been a few days since the Black Pearl had left the outskirts of Port Royal. They had supplies sent out to them, since Norrington would not let them dock in the port. He was gracious enough to allow them to order supplies.

Jack had made sure that Jade was comfortable in her room next to his before leaving her alone there. He had become accustom to the sobs coming through the wall in between the rooms and made sure they subsided before he went to sleep. This night, he heard the crying die down as usual, but this time there where voices. One of them was a man’s voice, he was sure of it. Getting up quickly and running to his door he thought ~None of them would dare touch her, would they? If she’s hurt, I’ll tie them to the mast and gut them in front of the crew.~ He had reached Jade’s door and stopped to listen to the conversation.

“Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s all right.” Jack knew the voice sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it. The wooden door had muffled the voice beyond recognition.

“Stop, let me go! Please don’t do this, please!” The voice was obviously a woman’s. That was all that Jack needed to hear before throwing himself into the room.

“What do ye think yer doing?” Jack had his sword drawn and was ready to fight. “… Will?” Jack slowly took in what had been going on in the small room. Both Jade and Will where on the floor, Jade curled up in a ball and Will protecting her by holding her tight in his arms, sitting with her between his legs on the floor.

“Jack, help me hold her down. She’s having a nightmare or something. I think she’s trying to hurt herself.” Will’s urgent tone prompted Jack to come over and help him.

When they had calmed Jade down, they both sat on the floor watching the girl sleep. Jack was the first to break the silence. “What do ye mean she was trying to hurt herself?” Jack tried to catch Will’s eyes with his own.

“I think she thought that someone had come after her. It seems she would rather die than go through that torture again.” Will paused for a moment to look up at Jade. “Jack, she thought I was here to hurt her.”

“It’s all right Will. She thought someone was here to hurt her. She didn’t know it was you here to help her.” Jack got up to leave. “I think we should get some rest.”

“I’m staying here tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Jack went to protest but thought better of it. It was probably the best thing to do, especially if Jade woke up again.

As if she had read their thoughts, Jade opened her eyes and looked towards the two men. “Hmm, a night time rondevue? Have I taken your meeting place?” Jade patted the bed she was in as she said this. Noticing the look of concern on the men’s faces, she put aside her joking. “Did I do something?” She searched their faces, hoping to find something more.

“You had a nightmare.” Will decided not to go any further with the details until morning. “I’m sleeping on your floor tonight if you don’t mind.” Will was standing by Jade’s side now, looking at her as if she might go mad at any moment.

Jade took Will’s hand, “Of course you can stay.” She grinned slightly, “But not on the floor.” Jade pulled Will’s arm forcefully making him fall over her and onto the bed. Snuggling next to his warmth, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Jack quietly laughed at the look on Will’s face. “Shut up you… you pirate.” Will whispered at Jack with a look akin to frustration.

“Takes one to know one.” Jack playfully gave his comeback.

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Confused yet? Yeah yeah, I know. I’m not making things clear right now. Bet you want to know what the hell is going on here. Sucks to be you.

A/N: So I lied about telling you about Anne Black. I’m getting to it.

Also, AdultFanFiction replies to reviews will now be at the top of the chapters, FanFiction.net will be at the bottom.

Replies to Reviews:

Untypical: It’s not supposed to be clear. Will doesn’t know what he wants right now. I hope I made it a little clearer for you in this chapter though.

Madkornfan: Hmm. I’ll take that into consideration. So was that a “beep!” as in ‘Move it along’, ‘I like’, ‘I don’t like’, or did you want me to honk back at you?