Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even this computer that I'm writing this story on.

Note: I've already seen the second movie, and this story DOES contain spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you. Told from Elizabeth's point of view, also.

Chapter 1, Uncovering the Truth

"Yes," I said. I looked at Will, wondering if he'd answer Tia Dalma's question; she'd asked if we'd go to the ends of the earth to find Jack. I knew I was willing to do anything to find Jack, and the look on Will's face was not hesitant. I wondered how this could be possible; Jack had been with us only a short time ago…and now he was gone. Will answered:

"Aye."

I exhaled sharply, and I realized I'd been holding my breath. Then, Tia Dalma said we'd need someone to help us navigate the uncharted waters. I looked to the stairs, and there, standing before us, was the infamous Captain Barbossa.

"So tell me…what has become of my ship?" he asked.

I watched as his decayed teeth bit into a bright green apple and the juice poured down his stubble-covered chin.

He smiled at us.

"He…will take you where you need to go. Don't be afraid, now. I have…examined him…and found him to be repentant. He will not harm you," Tia said, her smile reassuring.

Will had jerked to his feet and was staring at Barbossa.

"This is insane! That man tried to kill us! I'll hang before I let him on the ship with Jack's crew!" Will argued. The other crew members shouted in agreement. I remained silent, and began tugging on a bit of material from my trousers.

"Miss Swan? What say you?" Tia asked. I looked up, startled. Will and the others turned to look at me expectantly.

"I…" I took a deep breath and swallowed. "I'll do whatever it takes to find Jack. He's…there's no one else like him in the world. He gave his life for us…it's the least we can do to look for him…even if it means combining forces with our enemy." I was satisfied with this answer. Tia nodded, and another crooked smile stretched across her face. I needed to save Jack for my own reasons. It was I, after all, that had left him there to die. It was therefore my responsibility, if anyone's, to find out what had become of him.

It was completely silent for a few moments. I looked over at Will, and he was obviously torn over the decision.

"Fine. But only for Jack!" Will said; he stormed out of the room. The other crew members followed him.

"Ah, well I best be gettin' me rest then. Long voyage ahead. Miss Dalma. Miss Swan." He nodded to us as he spoke our names, and then he turned and walked back up the stairs, still clutching his apple. It still baffled me that he'd survived. I looked to Tia Dalma for answers, but strangely, she reached out and pulled me to my feet; I was eye level to her, and very close; we were the only ones in the room.

"Elizabeth, it is?" she asked, excitement in her eyes.

"Yes. It's Elizabeth."

"Come, child, and tell me…how long have you been engaged to Will Turner?"

The question startled me, and I said, "Excuse me?"

"I asked you how long you've been waitin' to marry him."

"Ah," I said. I was afraid I'd heard right. If I'd learned anything from her the few times I'd seen her…it was that every answer brought on another question…and another…and another…

"Are you goin' to tell me or not?" she asked, and I was brought back to the present.

"Oh, yes. It hasn't been long, ma'am. Not long at all. What is your purpose for asking such a question?" I said, and she dropped her hands from mine. She crossed the room and sat down at a round table with many jars of mysterious contents on it. She picked up a container and shook it; something inside it rattled. Dropping her hand from the opening, several small, white bones fell out onto the table before her. Her eyes roamed over them and then she gasped.

"Oh! It seems you've really fallen for him. And…you've seen Jack's compass."

I didn't understand how a pile of bones could convince her that I'd had anything to do with Jack's broken compass.

"Yes, I've seen the compass. And that means…?"

"It means it has shown you what you want. What…exactly…did the compass…point you to?" she asked, standing and slowly approaching me, like a spider slowly approaches its prey before killing it and draining it of blood.

"It…lead me to the chest. I wanted to find it to save Will." I hoped this answer would suffice.

"And this was all the compass showed you?" she asked, and I thought I heard disbelief and annoyance in her voice.

"No…" I said, wishing I hadn't the moment the words escaped my mouth.

"No? Then tell me, Elizabeth. What did the compass say you truly wanted? And don't lie…I will know if you do."

I took another deep breath and looked around the room once again to make sure no one was listening. I finally looked again at her, and she was smiling at me; I felt that she already knew what I was going to say.

"Well…on several occasions…the compass—and I'm sure it can't show what you truly want! After all it can't even point north--"

"The compass never lies. Tell me…what did it tell you?" she interrupted.

"It…often…pointed to Jack. But I'm engaged and Jack is a pirate…"

"Your William Turner is a pirate as well," she stated, as though my excuse was completely stupid. I didn't want to seem offended.

"Yes, he is a pirate…but he's only become a pirate because it has been necessary! Jack became one of his own free will and loves it! I know Will would rather die than be a pirate another day…unless he had to be one to save me."

"Oh you are a selfish one! Thinking he's only a pirate for you! Silly girl!" she laughed, patting me hard on the cheek.

"What do you mean? Why else would he be a pirate?" I asked, wanting answers.

"Do you really think he does not enjoy his…new…calling? He finds it adventurous! Being his betrothed, have you not noticed the change of light in his eyes? He's tasted…why, he's come to know fear…excitement…" she placed her hands on my shoulders as she circled me, "…love…anger…" I thought uncontrollably of my kiss with Jack and wondered if Will knew about it. "…and he's also felt loss. His friend is gone…but I wonder, Elizabeth…" she removed her hands from my shoulders and circled to the front of me, putting her hand under my chin and lifting it up, forcing me to look at her. "…I wonder if he knows…why Jack changed…so suddenly?"

This came as a blow to my stomach. She knew that I'd chained Jack to the ship. She knew I'd been the reason for his…disappearance. I could feel the terror swelling up in my heart. I couldn't help but look into her curious eyes.

"He doesn't know. Only you and I know. And I'd like it to stay that way."

She tossed her hair back and laughed at me as she walked away, back towards the small wooden table that was covered with small trinkets.

"Elizabeth," she said quietly, looking up intently at me. "How long have you been in love with Jack?" She said this matter-of-factly, and at first I thought I'd imagined it.

"I…I don't love Jack. Will and I…we're engaged to be married!"

"Aye; you are engaged. But since when has marriage spawned of true love?" Tia played with the ends of her hair, a knowing smile on her face. Then, she froze and sat up stiffly in her chair. She looked down at the table and said, "Child…come here. I wish to show you something…"

I bravely took a step toward the table and watched as she lifted up a small, silver box. On the top of it was a design that only a great craftsman could have welded onto it. Tia solemnly flipped open the box and whimsical music began to play. The melody was sweet and gentle, and I felt my eyes getting heavy as the beat throbbed in my head.

Then she snapped the box shut; the music died away; my tired state vanished as soon as it had come.

"Love is a very fickle thing. One moment, you are madly in love…and the next…it is gone. Changeful, unpredictable…almost cruel, love is. Like the music and your desire to close your eyes and give into sleep. And I know this painful love better than most."

"I don't understand…what do you mean by this?" She was still staring quietly at the music box, never looking up at me. She became lost in a trance, staring at it, her eyes roving over the silver. I reached out and softly touched her shoulder.

Tia Dalma jerked awake and her eyes were filled with pain as she finally gazed at me.

"You must go, child. You are the only one who can save him now."

"But why? Why should I be the one? Surely Barbossa or Will or someone--"

"No!...no. Only you. It must only be you. The only thing strong enough to survive death…is love. And only you truly possess that for Jack…love of that kind."

I sank into a chair and looked at her, bewilderment surely covering my face. She glanced once more at the silver box on the table before her; she stood and left the room, humming the same tune that her music box played.

I thought, for a moment, if what she said was possible; she'd said I was in love with Jack, and only I could save him, because I loved him. Which meant that I had possibly killed the man I loved, and that Will and I weren't meant to be. I then thought back to before in Cutler Beckett's office, where I'd threatened him with the pistol. I'd told him that he'd deprived me of my wedding night…and he'd said something about fate intervening. But surely it wasn't fate that separated Will and me. We were destined to be together. I knew it. I shook my head angrily and ran after Tia Dalma, into the back room, hidden behind a curtain.

"Tia Dalma?" I called, looking around for her.

"Yes…?" she asked quietly, emerging from the dark, carrying a small black bag in her hands.

"Is it…possible…that fate could be the reason I didn't marry Will?" I asked, hoping…it wasn't…and strangely, hoping it was.

"Fate…hmm…" she hummed, a happy smile on her face. She walked around me, back into the main room, and set the black bag down on the table. I followed her, careful not to hit my head on the many jars hanging from the ceiling.

"I…I need to know. Please tell me…if Fate is responsible."

"Fate is a wicked, wicked thing. But it is the reason for everything that happens in this life. So yes, to the question you ask. Fate stopped your wedding…not only Cutler Beckett."

I stared at her, wondering how she'd known Cutler Beckett had come to arrest Will and I on our wedding day. Then another thought dawned on me.

"But if Fate caused our separation, then surely Fate caused Jack to be captured by the Kraken! If Fate is the reason everything happens, then maybe Jack is supposed to be trapped—"

"No, Elizabeth. You are the reason Jack is gone. Of course, Fate had a fair hand in it. But without you…without your fear for yourself and mutinous behavior, he'd still be here with us."

My mouth dropped open, and I stared, gaping, at her. She narrowed her eyes at me, and began untying the small black bag.

"Well…maybe I am the reason he's gone. But it was not fear that prompted what you call 'mutinous behavior.' I wasn't afraid for myself; I was afraid for the rest of the crew! Giving Jack to the Kraken was the only way to save them!"

"Yes, you were afraid for yourself. But not for the reasons you think. You were…still are…afraid that what I say is true. You are afraid that you love him. That is why you fed him to the Kraken: to eliminate the possibility that you could ever betray your precious William Turner." She finally finished untying the black bag and withdrew a compass…which strangely resembled Jack Sparrow's broken one: the one that never pointed north.

"I can't…don't love him. It's a lie. I only love Will. What are you DOING with that?" I asked as she waved her hands slowly over the compass.

"This compass is an exact replica of Jack's. It will point you to what you want most…"

"But Jack said his compass was unique! There can't be another like it."

"Foolish girl! Where do you think Jack found his 'unique' compass? It wouldn't be so unique if I hadn't gotten my hands on it!" she looked angrily at me for a moment, then the anger faded, and a smile stretched across her lips. "Now, child…take the compass. It will point you to what you want more than anything in the world. It will point you to Jack."

"But you want Jack too! Why don't you use it?" I asked, staring at the compass in her hands as she approached me.

"Are you afraid to find that you want him more than William? And as I said…love is stronger than all else. I do love Jack; he was…very close to me once. But I assure you, young lass…this will only work in your hands. Take it." She held it out to me, and I took a deep breath. Slowly, I withdrew the compass from her cold, brown hands, and opened it, to reveal the spinning needle.

I heard footsteps, and turned to see Will coming in the front door.

"Will! Where did you go?" I asked, running over to him. I stood on tiptoe and stretched to kiss him on the lips. Just before I did so, he turned his head in a cold gesture and my lips only touched his cheek. He didn't wrap his arms around me or greet me. Instead, he turned to Tia Dalma with a look of expectancy on his face. She nodded to him and then turned to me once again.

"Well?" she asked, impatient. I'd almost forgotten the compass. I looked down into my hands, and I fully expected the needle to be pointing towards Will, who was standing a few feet from me. I gasped when I saw this was not so.

I looked up at her, and quietly whispered, "South."

Will was looking at me strangely, as though he didn't know who I was. Tia Dalma was smiling widely, glaring at the both of us, back and forth, never satisfied with our appearances.

"That's Jack's compass, isn't it?" Will asked me, not looking in my eyes any longer, but at the compass in my hands.

"No…it's just like his," I said, my voice weak against my will.

"Broken? With a broken compass, we'll never find him," he said coldly.

Shock rushed through me. It occurred to me that Will did not know how unique this compass was. He didn't know that it pointed to the thing you wanted most. So he couldn't be angry that it wasn't pointing to him…and once again, I didn't understand why he was angry with me. Confusion was obviously written on my face, because Tia Dalma spoke.

"You look flushed, Elizabeth. What's wrong?"

Will looked at me, finally, with a small amount of concern in his beautiful eyes. I looked from him to Tia Dalma, blinking, trying to wake up from this horrible nightmare. The compass told me I wanted Jack. But I didn't want to want Jack. I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Love is a very fickle thing," Tia Dalma repeated from our earlier conversation. Will looked at her with a confused expression. I felt sick to my stomach.

"We…must find Jack. How soon can we leave?" I asked Will. He looked at me, and I thought I saw hurt on his face. Then he held his head up high and cleared his throat.

"Soon. There was an abandoned ship off the coast of this island, but it's damaged. The others are repairing it and it will be…like new…" he said, trailing off. He seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"If you are leaving now…then you will need this," Tia Dalma said. She crossed the room to me and placed her small, silver music box in my hands. She seemed reluctant to part with it. I nodded to her, wondering how it would do us any good. The silence in the room became awkward; we all looked nervously at the other, internally steeling ourselves for the long, tiresome journey ahead.

"If you'll excuse me…I have a crew to attend to," Will said. I supposed he would take over Jack's position as captain, and Barbossa would be first mate. He nodded to Tia Dalma, and then he nodded to me. This cut me so deeply I thought I'd die. The gesture was so crude, so informal. Then I wondered…if he knew…Then Will turned and left the room, so that Tia Dalma and I were alone once again.

"I know you're afraid, Elizabeth. But you will be safe, because you are different. You fear Jack and his love more than you fear the deadly Kraken. That alone is something that defines you. Now go…go to your pirate. And if you don't mind…tell him I'd like my jar of dirt back."

I tried to smile at her joke, but somehow I'd lost control over my face. I tightened my grip on the compass and the music box; without thinking again, I rushed from the room. Behind me, I was almost sure I heard Tia Dalma whispering…

"May God have mercy on their souls."

End Chapter

So did you guys like it? My first Pirates of the Caribbean fan fic! It's kinda slow right now, but it'll pick up in the next few chapters.