A/N: This is not really a new story, I wrote it back in December for Secret Santa Challenge over at LiveJournal, but couldn't post it here earlier, because the challenge was... well... secret! lol

Many thanks to Bec for betaing the story :)

Summary: A CotBP scene modification/extension. Jack kidnaps Elizabeth... but only a little ;)

Disclaimer: PotC belong to Disney.

Piqued

"I knew you'd warm up to me."

She stood stiffly, looking at James with wide eyes, wondering how she had gotten in this situation in the first place; and more importantly why she was finding it more and more amusing?!

"Commodore Norrington! My effects, please. And my hat!"

She blankly returned James' half-worried, half-annoyed gaze, glancing at her dismayed father.

"Commodore!"

And then he swirled her around, her chest pressed against his, his eyes so close, and she suddenly felt as if the sky was torn apart, all the stars falling over her. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to look serious and calm.

"Elizabeth - it is Elizabeth, isn't it?"

And irritated. It was not a story, after all. It was real. She really should look irritated."It's Miss Swann," she said through clenched teeth.

And yet he still had a nerve to smile!...

She put his effects on for him as he had requested, then placed his hat on his head, steadily returning his gaze and giving him a cold frown in exchange for his roguish grin.

"Easy on the goods, darling,"

"You're despicable," she hissed, trying to concentrate on remaining in the same position, and not leaning closer... Maybe if it were not for all these people- after all, how often did one encounter a legend face to face?

"Sticks and stones, love." Dark eyes boring into hers, one hand nonchalantly placed on her shoulder, one of his wet dreadlocks brushing against her cheek as he said they were square, and then he turned her around once again, not even waiting for her reply.

And she did intend to reply!...

As she was standing there, cold in her damp chemise, facing James, her father, a dozen soldiers, for a moment she had the abstract conviction that he was going to throw her into the crowd and run away.

But he did not.

Instead, he started to walk backwards, keeping her in front of him. She gritted her teeth, considering trying to wrench herself free, but for some inexplicable reason she was intrigued by what could possibly happen next. What would he do now? Would he... kidnap her?

She inhaled sharply, not entirely certain her father would be pleased to know how her heart began to hammer in her chest at the idea. Kidnapped. By a pirate. By Jack Sparrow.

She had to admit that that would be rather fascinating.

When at last she successfully forced herself to shake off her disturbing thoughts and start paying closer attention to what was happening, she noticed that they had distanced themselves from the docks somehow, moving toward the town.

The soldiers made to follow them, searching James' face for orders, but he seemed to be at loss for ideas. Elizabeth stared back at him, with a strange impression that he actually expected her to do something. Perhaps she should do something... Shout? Scream? Thrash around? Faint? While she was pondering her options, Jack lowered the shackles to have some grasp of her shoulders and then pushed her into an alleyway right after a carriage that swished across the road in front of them. She almost fell, but he did not let her.

"That way," he whispered urgently against her cheek, grabbing her wrist with one of his shackled hands. They ran through the maze of narrow streets, turning as often as possible, not looking back.

When they reached the blacksmith shop, the very one where Will was an apprentice, Elizabeth had suddenly realized, not without a chilling sense of dismay that she had actually run with Jack Sparrow of her own will, that he had not specifically threatened her to have her run with him. Maybe it was the tone of his voice... or maybe she was just still curious to find out what was going to happen...

"Come, come, dearie, we don't have all day," said Jack, carefully glancing around, and pulling her inside the shop.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted once they were inside, glaring at him, balling her hands into fists. "How dare you!..." She hesitated, and he raised his eyebrows. "How dare you kidnap me!" she repeated after a pause, trying to make her expression stern enough to cover up the feebleness of her accusation. Here they were, facing each other; she absolutely free, and he with his hands shackled, his weapons stashed behind his belt. She could just reach out, grab his pistol from his sash and, what - threaten him perhaps?

"Kidnap?" Jack blinked, wrinkling his forehead in a falsely hurt manner. "I thought you were willingly assisting me in my escape," he added confidently.

Elizabeth widened her eyes at him, too agitated to notice the faint trace of humor in his voice. "Willingly?!" she exclaimed, taking a few steps toward him. "You threatened me!"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then a glass bottle hit the ground, and they both jumped at the sound, anxiously looking around. Jack eyebrows knit together, and he took a few swaggering steps further into the shop, stopping upon noticing an elderly man slumbering in a chair near collapse. "Ah," he fluttered his fingers in the air, and after a moment of consideration suddenly screamed at the sleeping man, causing Elizabeth to start.

Apparently satisfied with the lack of reaction on Mr. Brown's side, Jack turned on his heels and walked back toward Elizabeth.

She straightened up and pursed her lips, refusing to step back when he stepped closer. She would not give him the satisfaction of thinking that she was afraid of him, which she was not, obviously.

...Although perhaps it would have been better if she was.

"So what do we do now?" asked Jack, eyeing her appraisingly with a smile.

Elizabeth glanced at his still shackled hands. "I think I'll just run to report that you're hiding in here," answered Elizabeth with an unamused smile.

Jack smirked. "And you could do that faster than I could do... this?" he asked, squinting, and then in one swift movement that gave her no time to react he threw the shackles over her neck, and pushed her against the wall, his face inches away from hers. She gasped, finding his closeness both annoyingly intrusive and... thrilling.

"So what do we do now, Elizabeth?" he repeated with a mischievous smile, glancing at her lips.

"It's Miss Swann," whispered Elizabeth through clenched teeth, looking into his eyes unblinkingly. She was certain that if she blinked, she would somehow find herself glancing at his lips as well.

"Miss Swann," acknowledged Jack with a hardly discernible nod, and another infuriating smirk. "If you'd be so kind... I'd appreciate your help with getting off these unseemly manacles," he said, resting his hands on her shoulders, and she shivered at the feeling of cold metal touching against her unclad skin.

"You request my help?" she asked, thrusting up her chin. "After threatening me, and kidnapping me and... and... and assaulting me?"

To her further irritation, he smiled even more. "Is that your request?" he asked, amusedly.

Elizabeth widened her eyes at him, hoping that she did not blush. "It's a truth," she replied quickly.

"I'd hate not to live up to the truth, then," said Jack solemnly, and leaned down causing her eyes to widen even more. She raised her hand to slap him, but changed her mind and instead simply covered his mouth with her hand before his lips touched hers.

He held his breath, and so did she. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, and Elizabeth had a strange impression that she could see into his eyes deeper with every passing second...

A screeching sound broke the spell, and Jack looked over his shoulder; Elizabeth followed his gaze. A donkey stood near them, staring at them, blinking intermittently.

Jack narrowed his eyes at the intruder, eyeing the animal and its surroundings intently. Then he raised the shackles over Elizabeth's head and turned around. "That's a clever idea, mate," he said, walking away from her.

Elizabeth looked after him in confusion, finding no explanation in the fact that the donkey seemed just as clueless.

Jack approached a small stove, took one of the swords laying there, lifted it to his eyes, and scrutinized its blazing tip. He glanced at the donkey, and then at Elizabeth who did not return his smile, but instead turned around, ostentatiously focusing her attention on the door.

The door... She could very well run and escape. It was not as if he would just draw out his pistol and shoot her, was it?

Annoyed by her indecisiveness, she turned away from the door toward Jack once again, watching with raised eyebrows at how, having patted the donkey with the hot metal, he made the poor animal move, the movement causing a large wheel of one of the shop's machines to turn in such a way that when he placed the shackle chain between the spokes, the grinding cogs crushed them. It left him still shackled, but at least now each of his wrists was shackled separately, and had freedom to move on its own.

"There," Jack smiled complacently, trying to pat the donkey on the head, but the animal turned away from him distrustfully, making his smile turn into a small pout. "Fancy that, eh?" Jack turned around, took his hat off his head in a show of grandeur as if he were going to bow. He put his hat away, and swaggered toward Elizabeth, showing her his freed hands.

Elizabeth glanced heavenward with a sigh. "So what do we do now?" she asked mockingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jack stepped closer and stopped right in front of her, putting a finger to his chin in pretendedly deep thought. "And what were we...? Oh yes!" he smiled, as if remembering something, and then quickly drew out his pistol and pointed it at Elizabeth. She gasped, the wall behind her preventing her from falling backwards, the pistol's barrel lightly touching the skin between her collarbones. "Threatening, kidnapping, assaulting," enumerated Jack matter-of-factly, stressing each word with a tap of the pistol. "I think we stopped at kidnapping, didn't we?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"We didn't stop at anything," Elizabeth hissed angrily, stepping forward with the intention of pushing him away, and walking off, but he resisted her attempt, keeping her trapped between himself and the wall. He lifted the pistol, pointing it to the side of her head as he had done earlier at the docks, and she looked up at him with the faintest trace of fear in her eyes. Surely he did not intend to-

"You owe me a kiss, luv," he said in a low voice, a trace of a smile flitting across his lips. "After all, I wouldn't have gotten in my troubles if I hadn't rescued you from yours, aye?"

Elizabeth looked at him blankly, feeling her heart skip a bit. "You're insufferable," she whispered contemptuously.

"Not despicable?" he grinned. "I'm pleased that your opinion of me is improving at such a fast rate, luv. Next thing we know and you'll be asking me to let you join my crew."

She snorted. "Oh, of course. Didn't I already?" she asked with pretended surprise, glaring daggers at him.

"No," Jack shook his head with a smile. "So far you've only complained about not being assaulted," he said, trying to keep a straight face.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him and wanted to retort, but then the blacksmith shop's door creaked, and somebody was pushing it open. Jack's eyes widened in an instant, and he quickly grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her with him under one of the tables.

Once again she found herself reluctant to protest, despite her strong inner conviction that she should. After all, she was being kidnapped! Or at least threatened... or held hostage... or something like that.

"Shhh," Jack whispered into her ear, holding her, one hand clasped over her mouth, his other arm wrapped around her waist from behind, his chin almost resting on her shoulder, his dark eyes warily watching the floor, and a pair of boots that had walked into the shop.

Kidnapped, thought Elizabeth with an inward snort, feeling her heart beat faster when his cheek brushed against hers. She glanced at his face out of the corner of her eye, keeping strangely quiet, not really knowing why she did not try to bite his hand and scream or simply crawl out from under the table. Whoever had walked into the shop could doubtlessly help her...

Jack slowly removed his hand from her mouth. She swallowed, not knowing what had caused her breathing to become uneven... that was causing her to tremble... Was she scared of him, after all? What else could it be?

She glanced over her shoulder at him, and met his eyes staring back at her.

She had never known there could be so many thoughts crossing her mind at once; in one moment she simultaneously thought about leaning her cheek on his shoulder, running away, resting her forehead against his, smiling at him, crying, laughing, kissing him...

She was not sure if he could read her thoughts, or perhaps he was simply continuing his previous jest, but a cocky smile returned to his face, and he leaned closer, so close that she could see every line on his face, every detail of his lips... And she suddenly felt that this was the end of her sensible train of thought; she closed her eyes, for a split second feeling absolutely, thoughtlessly free, soaring inwardly at the thought of kissing him, of sharing her first kiss with none other than Captain Jack Sp-

But instead of feeling his lips against hers, she heard him mutter: "Oi! Me hat!"

Elizabeth opened her eyes and blinked, watching in stupefaction as he quickly crawled out from under the table and cautiously crept away.

Apparently kissing her was not as enticing for him as was ensuring his hat's safety, she thought with absolute disbelief.

Clinging of metal and loud voices shaking her out of her reverie only a good few moments later.