Her head was full of noise, and her heart ached with so many different emotions. She made her way up to the forecastle alone and gazed out at the sea, finally having a chance to assess everything that had happened that afternoon. Of all the things she could imagine, she never thought she would see Paul again. Her knees weakened and buckled, and she crumpled to the deck, sitting curled up in a ball. It seemed insane to her that she had forgotten exactly how much she had missed him; how much she loved him. Hot tears ran down her face as she also thought about how much he had hurt her, and how much she had hated him for what he did.

She wanted so badly to hold him and to comfort him, but she refused to do that. She was already angry with herself for having alluded to why she had left their time, because now he knew how much control he had once had over her emotions; still did, if truth be told. She wanted him to know how much he had meant to her, but she also wanted to show that she could get by without him. She longed to be by his side even now, and she hated herself for it. He had left her. He made her feel as though she wasn't good enough for him. He had chosen someone else, when she was right there, ready to give her all to him.

She thought she had become stronger in her time here, and she hated how weak she felt in that moment. Why couldn't she control her emotions? Hell, what about Barbossa?! Her heart panged at the thought of him. She had loved him, too, well and truly. Was she so broken that she needed someone else to make her feel complete? She growled through her tears, angry at him, angry at herself, angry at the world, and the universe. She hated that she loved so deeply, feeling in that moment that it was a curse.

She sat there for some time, her mind going in circles as it regurgitated thoughts and feelings over and over again. She stared at the bottle of rum in her hands. She had been avoiding drinking it since she came up here, trying to keep her head clear so that she could make some sense of things. Now that she found that was failing, she decided that maybe the best course of action was to drown out the noise. She put the bottle to her lips and took several long gulps, hissing as she swallowed the burning booze.

If he didn't want her then, why would he want her now? She found herself thinking this thought most of all. She didn't want him to want her back because she was the only part of his life here now. She would not fall right back into his arms, no matter what he said. If he did care about her, then, well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. She looked down at Barbossa's ring on her finger. No, she wasn't going to be the bleeding heart she was before; she wasn't that person, not anymore, she told herself again. She was going to be strong and independent, and she was going to continue on as she had expected to when she was sure she would never see him again. This changed nothing, she told herself.

She took another gulp of rum and hoped that maybe she could eventually believe that.

"Shilling for your thoughts?" Alice jumped and looked up, seeing Will Turner standing before her with a worried half smile. She shook her head.

"What a world," she said quietly. He gave a small shrug that conveyed his agreement. Alice furrowed her brow. "The hell are you doing here?" Will exhaled loudly, his eyes widening for a moment. She patted the deck beside her. "C'mon… Tell me what's going on." He sat gingerly, refusing her offer of the bottle of rum.

"We're being hunted," he said.

"Yeah, but we don't know by what," Alice said. She saw Will's look of worried confusion. "What?"

"You too, then?" Now it was Alice's turn to look confused. "The East India Trading Company is after myself, Elizabeth and Jack. And Norrington." Her eyes widened, and he stared at her for a half second before looking away. "They came on our- on our wedding day," he continued, his voice breaking. "They arrested me and took me to Fort Charles - where we were to be wed - in irons. Both Elizabeth and Governor Swann demanded to know more, and the man who arrested me turned out to be someone named Lord Cutler Beckett. Governor Swann knew him, but I have never heard of him. He had four warrants for arrest on charges of piracy, one of which was for Elizabeth. She's been locked up, Alice," he said, looking at her once more. Alice swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry.

"How did you—"

"Escape?" he finished, cutting her off. Alice nodded quickly. "I was taken to see Lord Beckett. He asked if I knew where Jack was and, when I asked him why he wanted Jack, he said something about them having left their marks on each other. I gathered he was the one who ordered Jack to be branded as a pirate, but he wouldn't say what mark Jack had left on him." He sighed and Alice drank, her thoughts trying to consume her at this new information. "Anyway, he offered to let me go, give me a full pardon… If I brought him Jack's compass." Alice's head snapped up, eyes wide.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"I know. He doesn't want Jack, just the compass." Will furrowed his brow. "I thought it didn't work?"

"It works for Jack, obviously."

"But how? And what's so special about it?" Alice snorted in amusement.

"Been wondering that myself."

"Well, he wants it, and I'm going to do whatever it takes it to get it to him… To free Elizabeth."

"If he wants it that bad, no good can come from it. Is there no other way to save her?" Will shook his head.

"It's not the same in Port Royal anymore. Guards everywhere, and they almost outnumber the citizens. The whole island is practically a fortress," he ended quietly, and Alice was shocked and saddened by this. "Well, that's my story," he said with a weak smile. "What about you? How have you been?" Alice cocked her head with a slight glare.

"How d'you think? Been on the run from the Royal Navy pretty much since Jack and I escaped. Thanks to you, by the way," she added with a small smile. "Sailed halfway across the world, through a hurricane even, and ended up on that island. How did you find us, anyway?" Will laughed.

"I asked everyone about Jack; where he might be, and so on. I got a million different answers, but one fisherman on Port de Paix mentioned an island where a ship with black sails was seen. Some of his fellows took me there, but they refused to approach it, so I swam for the shore. I made it a little ways in before being caught in a trap and taken to Jack."

"Same as us, then. Well, almost anyway." Alice said, standing up slowly. She looked across the deck below as Will came to stand beside her. "We were a pretty large crew when we landed there," she said quietly.

"So I heard." He looked across to the sterncastle at Mr. Gibbs, who was at the helm. "Where is it we're going, do you think?"

"He didn't say to you?" She asked, and Will shook his head. "No idea, then. But I don't like the look of worry on Gibbs' face." She gazed around, watching the sun move toward the horizon. "We're headed west -southwest, but that doesn't say much as to a destination. Jack wouldn't be fool enough to be heading back to Port Royal, would he?" Will shook his head.

"I highly doubt it. He's already escaped the gallows there twice, and I don't think he'd try his luck on a third time with the East India Trading Company there."

"Cuba, then?" Will shrugged, and Alice sighed. "I'll see what I can find out." She refrained from adding, 'if anything at all'.

She made her way back belowdecks, after a quick stop in the galley. Paul was still curled up in the hammock, and she touched his shoulder lightly. He glanced over at her, and it pained her to see his eyes were red and slightly swollen from tears.

"I brought some food," she said softly. "It will help; trust me." Slowly, he handed her the half empty bottle before climbing down, and then she returned it to him before taking a seat on the ground. She handed him a biscuit, an apple, and a measure of water in a small wooden cup. "Dip the biscuit into the water, or else they're like eating wood," she said with a tight smile. He eyed her for a moment before doing just that; however, he gagged on the first bite. "Doesn't make them taste better, just makes them easier to eat," she let out a small chuckle. She watched him slowly finish the hardtack as she sipped from her rum. He bit into the apple and closed his eyes in relief. "Feel any better?" she finally asked him. He nodded.

"A little bit. Just... a lot to take in." Alice sighed and nodded softly.

"It was hard for me, and I at least knew where I was headed." He took a sip of rum as he eyed her for a long moment.

"Have you really been here for a year?" She huffed out a soft laugh and nodded. "What has that been like?" Alice stared at him for several long seconds before speaking.

"It's been... interesting," she said, looking down at the ground and picking at the wood. She sighed and took a swig of rum. She gave him the short version of events, leaving out the night with Norrington and some of the interactions between herself and Barbossa. She wasn't sure why she wasn't telling him those parts, but she didn't think too much on it. His face changed from shocked to surprised to disbelief to amazement as she told the tale. "...And then I ran into you on the island," she finished.

"Holy shit," was all he managed to mutter, staring at her wide-eyed. She chuckled again softly.

"That's an accurate assessment."

"I can't believe you've done all that in only a year! The last year for me has been..." he trailed off and looked down at the bottle of rum. Alice had wanted to ask, but she didn't think she wanted to know the details. Now that he offered, though...

"How has your last year been?" He looked up at her and took a drink before answering.

"Far less interesting, I assure you," he said with a pained smile. "A few months after you left the company, things started getting kind of weird. Not there, I mean, but with... with Brenda." Alice fought not to let her reaction to this show.

"Oh?" she said simply. Paul sighed.

"Yeah... She... I had moved in with her about a month after you left," he said in a sort of rush, almost as though he'd rather not say it. "And, I don't know... She started going out a lot, but she wouldn't let me go with her anymore, saying someone needed to stay home to watch her kids. I offered to get a sitter, and sometimes she agreed, but it became more and more reluctant." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "About three months or so ago, she... Well, she kicked me out." Alice furrowed her brow, eyeing him quizzically, and he took a large swig of the rum. "She tried telling me a number of things: That I was lazy, that I needed a better job... Lots of bullshit. Turns out she was seeing someone else, and she was just keeping me around as a glorified babysitter." Alice exhaled deeply.

"Fuck... I'm really sorry to hear that." This was partially true. It hurt her that he was hurt, but the fact that it was the cow he left her for filled her with a dark satisfaction. "Feels good, doesn't it?", she wanted to bite at him sarcastically, but she held back.

"No," he sighed, "you're not. But it's okay." He gave her a small pained smile and drank more. "I guess I deserved it, you know?" He chuckled darkly, and Alice couldn't help but tilt her head and give a tiny nod in agreement. He took another swig. "Fuck it; it's in the past. Well, moreso now than it was before," he snorted, shaking his head.

"I really am sorry. I at least hoped that you were happy," she said honestly. He glanced at her.

"Thank you," he said with a grim smile before looking away. "At least there's booze here." She smiled as he took another drink.

"That there is." She rose to her feet. "Come on. You do need to meet the captain."