Sorry for the wait! I've been busy and tired and lazy and Allie's been sick, so nice old me took care of her. Today, I have another chapter for you AND I want to thank some reviewers.

Thanks to: TheOpportuneMoment, ontheotherhand, JackSparrowLover4ever, Marie Isabella, Dawn's Darkness, You cant rush science., rowj667, TellMeYourSecret, MusicAndApples, iLuvTwiBoyz, Alice Althea, and toxic petals :)

And SPECIAL THANKS to: ShesASuperFreak317, M-marije-e, TwiHard24, Amiee.P, and SailorSorcerer :)

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I awoke to the red silk comforter bunched up around my hips and my top exposing my overly pale stomach more so than usual. An arm was underneath my bare back and I could see a dirty hand with many bracelets and cloths wrapped around it on my left side.

Turning around as gently as possible, I looked to my right and saw him. He was still here. His arm was wrapped around me. His head was lying on a pillow below my, his rough cheek gently scratching my shoulder.

I knew that I should've been angry with him for taking advantage of me and remaining in his bed with me, but I wasn't. It felt too right, him lying beside me under the sheets.

"Morning." I nearly jumped out of my skin when he spoke, and when my heart became regular again, I noticed a smirk on his face. I glared half-heartedly.

"You scared me."

"I noticed," he quipped back, still looking smug. I tried not to smile and instead looked down at my bare abdomen.

"You should know better than to take advantage of a saddened woman," I scolded him playfully. He laughed.

"I didn't do anything, love," he replied gently. "Partway through the night, it was you who decided subconsciously your shirt needed to be raised a bit."

"I was referring more to the 'sleeping with me, but not sleeping with me'." He shrugged.

"Tomato, tomato."

Sighing, I felt the urge to remain on the comfortable duvet with him. But he had other plans, rising and fixing the sash wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Where're you off to, Captain Sparrow?" I asked curiously. He smiled, showing off his gold teeth.

"The helm, dearie," he replied. "I am, after all, s'posed to be captaining this vessel. And no matter how much I wish to remain here, I must be off." And with a tip of his tricorn hat, he left.

My body flooded with slightly embarrassed heat and I dropped into the pillows, enjoying their fluffy quality. It reminded me of my life back when my parents were alive. I was surrounded by soft, luxurious blankets and not a hemp hammock.

At the thought of my parents, the memories of last night flooded me.

They had rejected me, flat-out and without disagreement.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I sobbed into Jack's pillows.

The heat was unbelievable. If you only stepped out onto the deck into the blinding sun, you'd begin to sweat in places you didn't think had glands. I hadn't a sweet clue of this truth and did the naïve thing of going out unprotected.

With a shriek, I tried to shield my eyes from the bright sun and fight off the warmth that reminded me of the Cypress forest. It wasn't as humid, but still pretty damn hot out.

I slowly walked along the edge of the ship, running my hand along the banister. I could see the sun slowly setting along the edge of the water in the distance. Thin, heavy clouds were hanging in front of them gracefully. I stopped next to William, gripping his forearm as he looked at Elizabeth.

She hadn't moved since that night with her father. All she did was sit around, moping, much like I had after Jack had arrived on the ship again.

"If we cannot escape these doldrums before night," Tia began, coming towards us from nowhere, "I fear we will sail on trackless seas, doomed to roam the reach betweens worlds forever."

"With no water, forever looks to be arriving a mite too soon," Gibbs added, also appearing.

William strode purposefully behind us, muttering, "Why doesn't he do something?" He was looking at Barbossa, who was standing at the helm, looking out at the slightly hazy view of the ocean and orange sky.

As William and Gibbs began to discuss the charts words that we had found earlier, during the time of the unbearable cold. Tia put her darker hand on top of my pale one. Her hypnotic eyes, accentuated with black marks just underneath in a ritual pattern.

"You are tinking of your parents," she stated. I looked out on the still Caribbean blue sea. I didn't want to confirm the truth.

"Alice made a grave mistake in marrying your father," she continued, her eyes following mine. "She taught dat it would save her soul, and so yours. But John was a monster of a man. And I am sorry to tell you dis, but I rejoiced in celebration when I heard dat he had perished."

I felt the warm droplets of water fall down my face, and Tia wiped them away. A smile crept onto it against my will.

"Did you know dat John wanted to name you Mary, like de virgin?" I tried not to laugh. "Or Anne, like Saint Anne? You should be tankful dat I gave your mother a name dat wouldn't make you one of dose 'normal people'!"

I was almost in tears with laughter now. It felt so new, so strange. Happiness was a long forgotten emotion, especially for a pirate, and it felt so right.

Wait. Did I just call myself a pirate?

The thought of that title made me dizzy, but in a way that also allowed freedom. I'd always had free will, of course, as Tia wasn't one to constrict upon me. But I was older now, able to make decisions for myself. And I had decided that I was a pirate.

"Did Mother know?" I suddenly asked, looking at her slightly smiling face. "About your secret?"

Tia's grin slowly slid away and she turned stony whilst looking off the edge of the Pearl again. "She did. And she let my secret slip to John. And he, in his false sense of propriety, banished me from being her friend. I wasn't mad at her, by any means. It was an accident. But an accident dat cost her a friend and you…a god-mutter."

Her words sank in before I realized what her last words were.

"Godmother?" I asked, shocked. She nodded and held one of my hands.

"Aye," she replied. "A god-mutter. John was highly opposed to it, and wouldn't allow it, de nerve of de man. But, in secret, you were christened wid me at de ceremony and I was announced your god-mutter. I am sorry for not telling you dis earlier."

I shook my head, not angry in the least. "No, it's fine, I was just surprised." She nodded, gave my hand a final squeeze, and walked away.

So I did have some family. Family I had been living with for years without knowing of her relation, even if it was one of the church. Tia was my godmother. Calypso was my godmother. The power of saying such a thing was exhilarating.

I strode as slowly as possible to the helm, where Captain Barbossa still stood, looking proud and slightly arrogant. He turned his head slightly when he heard me stop beside him, but didn't change his expression. I was unsurprised.

"Any plans on what we'll do to get out of this realm?" I asked conversationally, though the topic itself was life threatening. He smiled a bit.

"None, Miss. Delaney," he replied evenly. I scowled at the use of my last name. "But I assure ye that soon enough Jack will come up with something."

As if on cue, a sudden cry from below elicited and I leaned over the edge of the helm to see the deck. Jack had risen from a table with the navigational charts on them and was now trying to figure out what was on the port side of the ocean. Much of the crew was staring at him curiously, a few going to look at what he was trying to see better.

Then he made towards the starboard side, still claiming to see something. From my position at the helm, I couldn't see a damned thing, other than that Jack was mad.

Back and forth, he made the crew run, so quickly that soon enough, the ship was rocking from side to side. I had to hold onto the edge to keep from falling over. Jack eyed me, and called to my shocked figure.

"Mind coming to help, love?"

Biting back a smile, and ran towards the group and clung to the port side as the ship rocked opposite.

Ragetti and Pintel were tied upside-down on the mast, and though I knew what their intentions were, it was a stupid idea. The heavy creaking of the Pearl under many running feet and the shifting cargo was loudly drumming against our ears.

The sails were nearly touched the water as we did a few more laps across the deck. Much of the time, I was barely able to reach onto the banister before we had to continue on. One of Tai Huang's men fell into the ocean, along with some cargo.

Our final time, I tried to keep a firm grip on the slippery wood, and felt my feet fly up from under me, so we were hanging. Another Chinese man let go of his place, and landed on the net, only to be hit by a heavy-looking cannon. Gibbs winced.

My hands were letting go, I knew it. One of them flew off, and Jack, on my right, grabbed hold of the one still there, willing me to remain stuck. I couldn't take my eyes off of his until the creaking became unbearably deafening.

"Now up," Jack began as the Pearl slowly became submerged in the icy water, "Is down." He made a confused face, and I almost laughed, but thought better of it. Sucking in the last bits of air, we were suddenly under the sea.

Through the salty water, I saw the members of the crew holding onto the ship with might. Tia looked strangely enjoyable, as though she belonged there - then again, she technically did. Barbossa looked confused. Elizabeth looked panicked, though I couldn't figure out why.

To get a better grip on Jack's vessel, I let go to reach onto something else, but instead was pressured downwards. Elizabeth saw this and made a gargled scream, catching the attention of several, including Jack. He made to swim after me, but was pushed downwards, too.

In the distance, slowly becoming dimmer and dimmer, I could see the sun almost completely underwater. I wasn't sure what would happen, just that I was afraid to be left here.

Then a flash of green. Bright and true and emerald all the way. The ship began to float closer to the surface, through a reverse whirlpool. I tried to grab onto something, and found Jack's hand. Looking up barely in time, I saw him clinging to a piece of rope hanging from the mast.

We jumped up through the ocean's surface, breaking it's calm and emptiness. Air was a gift that I gladly received and took a large gulp of it. It was a delayed reaction that I realized that I was falling downwards from the rope onto the deck.

Damned gravity.

I landed heavily, the wind being knocked out of me, and then felt Jack land right on my gut. He was coughing up water, as well, though not as heavily as I. Maybe because he was used to swimming and lack of oxygen, where I liked to stay in the air.

The moment he realized he was atop me, he climbed off and dropped on my left. I was soaking wet, still choking on salty water.

Jack's rough hand suddenly was placed on my neck, and I looked over at him. He was gazing at my overly pale throat as though trying to figure out what was choking me on the outside. I shook my head, but he just clutched my hair tighter yet it wasn't painful.

We both heard the cocking of a pistol, and saw Barbossa standing over us, his gun pointed at Jack. Immediately, Elizabeth and William both cocked their pistols at him. Jack stood quickly, making sure I was alright and behind him, and pointed one pistol at William. William followed suit, so Jack pointed one at Elizabeth, who looked at him in disgust and aimed one at him.

And then, they were laughing. Then, more pointing.

I didn't understand bloody pirates at all.

Shorter, yeah, but still review!