Chapter 10: I Love Weddings…

"Gents, we're going to have a wedding!" Jack announced to the crew.

The men cheered and congratulated Jack. He looked quite confused, but realized what they thought soon enough.

"No, not me! Her! Him! Those two!" he explained, indicating his first mate and the tiny pirate woman at his side. The crew corrected their mistake, and everything was back on track again.

After the short celebration, Cleo looked out into the dense forest. She witnessed an unnatural rustling of bushes, as if a human were hiding behind them. She secretly slipped over the railing of the ship and down the side into the water. She took care to make sure she was neither seen nor heard. When she reached the shore she encountered a familiar face in the bushes.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to let ye know that yer ship and the crew have been captured and have an appointmen' with the gallows in the mornin'."

"Is there any way I could see them?"

"Aye, there be a way. Ye'll have to trust me."

"Hector, I cannot risk going to them now. If you can break any of them out, do so. Bring Reah to me as soon as possible."

"They be askin' him questions about ye, Cleo. He tells them he doesn't know where ye are, but they will find ye. I'll do as ye ask, but should I ne'er see ye again I want ye to have these." He said, taking a ring off of his finger and handing it to her and reaching for a larger object behind him.

"I will look after them for you. Good luck."

The two smiled at each other and went their separate ways. Cleo looked at the large item he had given her. It was his hat adorned with peacock feathers. She donned the hat and returned to the ship. The crew stared at her in awe. Jack touched the hat and remembered who it belonged to.

"He came to see me about my ship. It has been captured, and so has my crew. He has agreed to try to break some of them out and bring them to me. Now that Barbossa knows where the Pearl is he could tell the navy. I'm sorry, Jack, but you're going to have to abandon your quest for now."

"When will he bring them?"

"They will come tonight, Jack. We will recapture my ship and head out to open sea. My hideout will serve as our stronghold. Barbossa does not know where it is, and therefore it would be quite hard for him to find us."

Jack complained for a while, but eventually gave in. Cleo spent most of the day scouting the military shipyard. She twisted the engagement ring on her finger nervously, knowing the consequences of getting caught in this town again. Eventually, the location of her ship was determined and she returned to the Black Pearl to await nightfall. She looked on as the crew got the ship ready to sail and kept a sharp eye out. Around twilight the lookout in the crow's nest rang the bell to signal that there were unidentified individuals approaching. When Reah came onto the ship she ran to him and hugged him. Cleo was very happy to see her first mate again. Barbossa came aboard last. He had brought enough of her crew to sail her ship properly. Cleo ordered that the longboats be prepared and readied herself to go ashore again and take back what was hers.

"Come with us, Joshamee. You can return to the Pearl any time you like."

"Of course I will go with you." He replied, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I be goin' with ye too. The navy's no place for a pirate such as meself."

"Barbossa, you stay with Jack. I only need these men and Gibbs to sail the Angel."

"Not to be disrespectin' ye, Cleo, but I made yea promise long ago to stay with ye until the end and that be exactly what I'm goin' to do!" he replied fiercely.

Cleo straightened and stared him down, matching his ferocity. "The captain gives orders on my ship, Barbossa. You are neither captain nor first mate, so I expect you to know your place. You will take the second longboat to shore."

She nodded to Jack and swiftly boarded the first longboat that would leave the ship. Jack appeared at Barbossa's side and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"She's due to be married, mate."

"To who?"

"Mr. Gibbs…"

Barbossa clenched his fists in anger, but didn't know why he felt so angry. He had told Cleo to make a choice, and her choice was clear, but he was still angry. For once, he was wrong about her. For once, he couldn't predict her next move. It was now that he realized how much he truly cared for her; how much he needed her. Barbossa understood the consequences of attempting to break up the wedding, but would try anyway. Besides, he was a pirate; a pirate who would do whatever it took to accomplish his goal.

The first longboat had returned by now to retrieve Barbossa and the rest. A crowd of people stood silently along the shore, waiting for the rest of their comrades to join them. The three extra crew members brought over by the longboat finally made it to shore and fell into line with the others. Cleo stood, dividing her crew into groups and giving them specific duties to carry out once they were on the ship. When she arrived at Barbossa all she did was give him a twisted smile and stalk off to join her soon-to-be husband. He glared at them, wondering how he could go about tearing the two apart. Reah, Cleo's first mate, watched his rescuer carefully, aware that he was planning something. The ever loyal first mate took his captain aside and told her his suspicions.

"Cap'n, I believe that tha' man named Barbossa migh' be tryin' to run afoul of your and Mr. Gibbs' impendin' marriage."

"Yes, I thought he would try to pull a fast one on me. Keep a sharp eye on him, Reah. I trust you with this."

"Aye, Aye, Cap'n."

Cleo led her crew to the shipyard where her ship was docked. The first group she sent knocked out the guards and hid their bodies behind barrels, rope, and tackle that had been left out. The first group kept a lookout for other approaching guards. The second group sent was the largest of the three. This group, under the command of Reah, made sure the ship was ready to sail immediately. Once the final signal was given, Cleo, Gibbs, and Barbossa crept from their hiding place and made their way onto the Angel. The first thing Cleo did was venture into her cabin and retrieve her Colors. She raised them high above the ship, refusing help from anyone. She wanted to be sure that all who saw this ship leave the dock knew whose ship it was; Cleo wanted to make her mark. As the ship slowly crept out of the yard, shouts were heard and guns went off. The crew loaded the guns and fired at every ship they could see, moving or stationary. Cleo took up her rifle and fired back at the guards. She grinned as she watched the men fall one by one. They had earned it…

The Angel eventually caught up with the Pearl. Both Jack and Cleo knew that the navy would be after them as soon as they could, but knew that the sooner they got to Cleo's hideout the better.

Gibbs stayed with Cleo while Barbossa slept below with the crew. Jack spent quite a bit of time on the Angel with his first mate. He often brought over rum and drank with him. Cleo would join them from time to time, but mostly just let them alone and took the helm.

"I'm goin' ter miss you, Gibbs. You were the bes' firs' mate a man could ask for."

"Thank you, Cap'n. I'm glad to hear you say that, even if you are a little drunk…"

"I mean it! You were the bes'. Ye always got the best whores at Tortuga and shared 'em with your ol' cap'n Jack. Drinkin's always fun when yer aroun' to keep me in line. Hell, yer even gonna have a reputation fer takin' a woman from Barbossa! She's a sexy woman too. D' ye think ye could let me 'av a go at 'er before the weddin'?"

"I think ye've had enough to drink, Jack…"

"No, ye can ne'er 'av enough rum!"

"Just think of the wedding, Jack. You're not going to be sloshed or hung over at my wedding are you?"

"Of course not! You're me best mate! And, I do love weddings…."