Chapter 1

Author: PiratessDesire

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: This story is a Pirates of the Caribbean fan-fiction that takes place post CotBP and sort of follows the plot of DMC. But of course changed it to make it more Sparrabeth. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Elizabeth Swann is getting ready to marry Will Turner. But will a certain wedding gift change everything...

~•~

The Swann Residence, Port Royal:

"Don't tighten the corset too much. I would like to not faint during my wedding," Elizabeth said as her maids bound her in the many layers of her wedding dress. The silky fabric surrounded her like a cloud and it was the perfect way to describe how she was feeling today. After so many years of loving her fiancé William Turner, today she was going to marry him.

But in the midst of the fabric she felt a pin. It wasn't sharp but it was rather annoying and it seemed there was nothing she could to remove it. It was strange how accurately her dress represented her feelings. Just like the pin, something didn't feel right about the situation she faced on this day.

For as long as she could remember, Elizabeth had always been told that when she became a woman, her father would give her away to a fine man and she would live her life with him. But after her adventures with pirates and particularly a certain Jack Sparrow, she wasn't so sure that she wanted to live that kind of life. A smile appeared on her lips at how she had referred to Jack and quickly corrected her mistake, even though no one knew what she was thinking, and added his beloved title of "Captain".

"We are all done here madam," one of Elizabeth's maids said, interrupting her thoughts. She put the final pin into the back of her dress. Elizabeth stepped down from her dressing stool and examined herself in the gold-encrusted mirror that showed her the whole outfit from her veil to her shoes. She admired the lace embroidery on the bodice and the semi-clear fabric of her veil. She examined the lower portion and ran her hand over the hem of the dress and down the billowing silk.

"It's perfect. This should be the dream wedding dress of any woman," Elizabeth stated in awe as she twirled around to allow the fabric to flow in every direction. Her maids folded the private divider that had surrounded her for about an hour for the dressing. They greeted her to a quick bow before exiting her room, leaving her to her thoughts.

Elizabeth sighed in relief and opened the window on the west side of her room. She breathed in the salty sea breeze that stung her nose, but it felt far more pleasurable than anything she had smelled in a forest or grand city. She gazed at the sun hovering above the light blue waves of the Caribbean Sea.

"Will I ever be able to sail the seas and truly feel this after my marriage with Will?" Elizabeth mumbled as she reminisced about her times on the decks of the Interceptor and the Black Pearl. She placed her lace-covered arms on the ledge and hung her head. She suddenly heard a tiny but confident chirp to her right side. She looked over and noticed a sparrow crouching next to her with a box in its claws. She placed her fingers on the box and the sparrow chirped once more, as if it was saying goodbye, and flew away as fast as it had appeared.

Elizabeth examined the box in her hands. It was a rather small box but it was incredibly ornate and beautiful. It was black with gorgeous patterns engraved all over it in gold with a bejeweled latch. She gingerly opened the latch and lifted the lid of the box. The first thing she noticed was an envelope that covered what else may have been inside. She strode over to her desk and placed the present down and picked up the envelope. She noticed beautiful calligraphy on the back that read:

A gift from a Sparrow to a Swann

Elizabeth immediately understood why the gift was delivered so peculiarly and how it was completely normal for the previously anonymous gift-giver to perform such a grand, yet secretive, gesture. She hastily opened the envelope, wanting eagerly to know what her pirate friend had sent her. She saw the same beautiful calligraphy that was on the back of the envelope. Her fingers traced the writing as she read:

My dearest Swann,

I'm so sorry that I cannot attend your and William's special day. But, as you are fully aware I'm sure, it would not bode well for me to step foot in your dear Port Royal. I do, however, feel obliged to congratulate you for achieving something you have always wanted. But, as I have lately been realizing, sometimes what we think we want isn't what we really want. And it is for this reason, that my wedding gift to you is this compass.

Elizabeth stopped reading for a second with a curious expression on her face. She reached into the box and pulled out a greenish-black compass with golden beads surrounding the base and circular top. She urubbed the compass around in her hand as if trying to predict what it was for. She opened it and it spun around l ike any other compass. But when it stopped, it didn't point to the well known direction of north. Utterly confused by the compass's nature, she continued reading:

Do not be baffled by the fact that my compass appears to be broken. My compass is unique. It doesn't point north like all the others.

It points to the thing you want most. In case you feel the need to clarify your decision of marriage, this compass will show you if that is what you truly desire.

I hope you make the right choice.

Your Sparrow

Elizabeth looked down again at the compass in her hand. She looked back at the letter to make sure that it said what she had read. The clock struck 7 and she realized that her and Will's decision to have the wedding at night, provided her with a few hours to follow the compass and see where it lead her. She folded the letter and inserted it back into the envelope. She then tucked it along with the compass behind a secure band hidden in the many layers of her dress.

Her hand slowly turned the doorknob and it creaked slightly as she pushed it open. Her eyes scanned the hallway, which was completely empty. Everyone was probably getting ready for the wedding. The wood creaked beneath her feet as she crept up the hallway and down the stairs.

The house appeared to be abandoned but Elizabeth knew that everyone was in the kitchen because of the raucous noise that came from the laughter of the servants and the clanging of pots and pans. She held up the hems of her dress and cautiously strode out the back door, which was secluded from the rest of the house, so she could evade the residence in secrecy.

~•~

The town of Port Royal appeared to be deserted, but in reality everyone was at the wedding hall to obtain a good seat to witness the important joining. Elizabeth's shoes clinked against the cobblestone streets as she followed the arrow of the compass. Her eyes weren't paying the least bit of attention to her surroundings. They were intensely focused on the red arrow.

Her feet suddenly stopped moving when she felt the cool feeling of ocean water on her ankles. She moved her eyes off the compass and squinted at the sunlight reflecting off the crystal blue waves. She sighed and realized that, even though she didn't want to admit it, she had already known that the sea was what she truly desired.

Eyelids covered her amber orbs and a tear streamed down her face. Nothing was truly right about this marriage. Instead of gaining a life of happiness, she was going to lose the most important thing in her life. Of course she wanted to be married, but she now was questioning if Will was actually the right man for her.

"No. He isn't the right man for me. Oh no! How could I have been so blind!" She exclaimed as she held her head in frustration. She moved back slightly from the water and sank down onto the sand without even caring about the fact that she was in her wedding gown. Many more tears fell from her lashes as she regretted the decisions that had been made about her life by her and others.

Her hand wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. She thought back to something Jack had told her when they were aboard the Dauntless.

"Don't get me wrong, luv. I admire a person who's willing to do whatever's necessary," Jack had said when he was explaining why neither of them had told Will about the curse on Barbossa and his crew.

She had replied, " You're a smart man Jack, but I don't entirely trust you." She had honestly thought that he was trustworthy at least as far as she was concerned, but had been warned about the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow many times in her life.

That was when he had walked closer to her and whispered, " Peas in a pod, darling." He looked her in the eyes and stared into them only for a few seconds, but it felt like he had thoroughly observed the deepest parts of her soul. There was undoubtedly something different about the way he looked at her. Neither had she ever be seen that way nor had he ever looked at anyone like that.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she realized that he was right. They were peas in a pod. They wanted exactly the same things. Another thought entered Elizabeth's mind, a memory of her time on the island with Jack.

Though they were both drunk, they weren't drunk enough to not understand the depth of meaningful words. At least, Elizabeth was still able to do so.

"Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is you know," Jack stated as he was explaining what he would do when he got back the Pearl.

"It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, no, that's what a ship needs," he said, staring at Elizabeth's face to see if she was understanding. She looked at him slightly confused but still somewhat understood him.

He continued, "But what a ship is, is freedom. That's what the Black Pearl really is." Elizabeth stared at him a second and took in everything he was saying. Even in her clouded mind, she really took to heart what he had just said. She honestly felt bad for him. A man who longed the freedom that the sea provided wasn't meant to be stuck on a spit of land.

"Jack," she said as she leaned her head and rubbed it into his chest.

"It must be so terrible for you to be stuck on this island." He leaned his head on hers and began to wrap his arm around her shoulders. At this point he had begun to flirt with her, but she was sober enough to know that it was the rum talking now and began to tease him.

To move back to the subject, Elizabeth raised her bottle in the air in a toast and said, "To freedom."

Jack raised his bottle as well and clinked it against hers.

"To the Pearl," he toasted and began to chug down the remainder of rum in his bottle. He fainted shortly after that, but Elizabeth had stayed up and was contemplating his words. That was the point when she realized that he had the life she'd always wanted, but thought that she could never have.

The two memories clashed in Elizabeth's head and after a significant amount of said mental disturbance, she finally had an answer. Jack had told her that she could do anything necessary to achieve what she wanted. Up till now, she had thought that she wanted a life as a proper lady. But it was now that she realized what her heart had been yearning for all of these years.

She wanted to be a pirate. She wanted to sail the seas freely. She wanted to act on selfish impulse and not have to worry about status or image. She wanted to be like Jack. She wanted to be like herself.

Elizabeth's eyes brightened and her lips turned upwards into a smile. She pick up her wet and sandy dress by the hems and shuffled up to her feet. It was nearly sundown which meant that her wedding would begin soon.

"People will begin to look for me soon. I have to get away before someone takes me back to that awful life I have awaiting me," she thought as she ran towards the docks. She hadn't the slightest idea what she was going to do once she reached there but she did know that it was her only chance at escaping. She kicked off her heels as they were only slowing her down, and ran as fast as one could.

Within a few minutes she reached the dock. It was empty, except for a few sailors and a merchant vessel with its name, the Keeper, painted on its side. A plan occupied her mind and she quickly began tearing the seams of her dress. The heavy gown fell and pooled at her ankles, leaving her in a cotton morning gown. Luckily, the gown was decent enough to be seen in public.

Elizabeth stepped out of her wedding attire and pushed it off the dock and into the sea. As she pushed her dress into the water, she felt as if she had shed her life in Port Royal and was finally ready to leave it all behind.

~•~

To be continued...