A/N- FINALLY IT'S HERE hahaha. Thank you all for the amazing reviews and I hope this chapter is as good as you guys expect. This took me a while due to being indecisive over how to approach the subject but I did get there eventually. Enjoy this long chapter!

Chapter 25

Her heart stopped.

"Armando…" She whispered brokenly, her voice cracking.

Constance suddenly scrambled under the desk and crawled until she was as far away as possible from her love. She squeezed her eyes shut as she allowed her body to fall against the wall of the ship and just prayed that this situation was not happening. But the sound of movement following her was very real. She found it very hard to breathe and when she turned to finally look at what she had been searching for, she released a terrified sob.

There stood Captain Salazar. The man she had fallen so helplessly in love with. But he was a shadow of the man she had known. As though she was in a nightmare, she took in his appearance through watery eyes. His once pristine naval uniform was tattered and darkened. His rapier looked as though it had rusted and he seemed to be using some sort of cane to help him walk.

But this was nothing in compassion to his face which to Constance's dismay was half missing and looked as though it was cracked like a mirror. His hair was flowing around him as though suspended in water and the entire sight was too much to behold. Shutting her eyes again, it all made sense, the compass and how Captain Barbossa had treated her. She wished she had known sooner just to mentally prepare herself for the hell which she had just been thrown into. But she knew deep down that not even a lifetime could prepare her for this. From not believing in ghosts to being confronted by the ghost of her love was too much to bare and she was struggling to breathe, as panic was rising through her chest as she was beginning to comprehend everything.

Constance didn't know how on earth to feel. Of course, there was relief flowing through her as after so long he was now in front of her. But in the most agonising way, he was not. The idea that he was dead and was now this supernatural creature was horrifying to Constance. Not because she didn't love him, as even in this monstrous form her love remained strong. She was in despair because after all this time he had been dead. Something she had spent years denying.

He seemed shocked to see her and opening her eyes, she watched as he blinked his eyes rapidly and cocked his head a few times to look at her. She hoped that he could remember her and was taken back at how even his characteristics had changed. The way he moved was almost reptilian rather than smooth and with all the courage that she had, she stood up on shaky legs, grasping the compass in her hand tightly.

He proceeded to move forward until they were only inches apart and she shook as she observed the dark black liquid run down his chin from his half open mouth.

"Constance?" Captain Salazar questioned. His voice was hollow and almost empty. It was nothing like the soothing rich voice he had before and she could only nod her head in reply. He went to move his hand which was hold of the rapier near her and she felt herself flinch. She gave him a look which told him she didn't mean to flinch and allowed him to very carefully run his finger over her cheek. The sensation was odd and his flesh was so cold that all her hairs were standing on edge.

As he seemed in slight shock, Constance had managed to stop her sobbing and very gently stepped even closer to the Captain. She was so close that she could feel his hair brush against her face which left an odd tickling sensation.

"How did you get here?" He asked quietly, his eyes locked onto her own sad ones. She watched as a glimpse of his old self was reflected through his dark eyes and she took a shuddering breath.

"I came to find you". She whispered back, wishing so much that this was a dream that she would wake from. For nine years she had waited and waited. She had never married or had children. She had never been able to settle down and be truly happy. And this was all because her heart craved her Captain so much.

She was about to speak again when he suddenly stepped back and looked away from her. His hair hypnotically swaying with the movement of his body.

"You need to go back to land". His hollow voice echoed and Constance gave him a confused look. Despite probably never being able to come to terms that Armando was dead, she felt her back straighten and wiped her teary eyes. She was not going to leave him now. After all, the last time she left him he went and got himself killed and turned into the ghost like creature she now had standing before her. She couldn't even comprehend what else would happen if she left.

"No. I have never given up on you and I will be damned if I do now. Please, don't push me away". She said desperately and very cautiously she approached his figure which seemed to be deep in thought. He didn't move when she managed to face him and she watched the black liquid gradually dripped against the wooden floor. He didn't react at first but his eyes were looking at her own. They seemed to hold so much anguish and she felt her already broken heart break more for the Captain.

Constance gave a loud squeak of surprise when his arm wrapped around her slender frame and she was pulled against his own freezing body.

"You should forget me Constance". His voice rumbled and she shook her head softly. Despite his words she saw a deep longing in his eyes and knew he didn't mean it.

"Have you ever forgotten about me?"

"Never".

She felt her eyes roam around his face and she was entranced by the cracks that were spread through his pale skin. He was still handsome despite all of it and she allowed herself to give a small smile as it had been so long since she had been in contact with him. Even if their current situation was far from ideal, she tried to stay positive and was now more than ever determined with being with him.

"I never got a chance to tell you how much I loved you". Constance spoke softly and watched as his face inched even closer to her own. His eyes flickered down to her chest for a moment and she watched as a small smile graced his lips.

"You are wearing my shirt". He pointed out and she nodded her head enthusiastically, glad that his memory had not been impaired with whatever curse had corrupted his body.

"It still fits". She replied smiling and very gently she felt him place his lips against her cheek. It was as though a feather had brushed against her skin and he gave her a sad smile as he used his thumb to suddenly rub away the residue of the oil like liquid on her cheek. She was about to say something when he all of a sudden cocked his head towards the door and all warmth that had been in his eyes had disappeared instantly. She felt his arm tighten around her waist and he seemed to be thinking.

"You shall join us for the meantime". He murmured to himself more than to Constance and she nodded in reply, not sure what he meant by us. But as he released her waist and took her hand, placing it around his arm, she was directed towards the door and saw several other ghost-like figures.

She tried not to gasp or make any sound as she realised that the whole crew of the Silent Mary were damned like their Captain.

The walk down the ship was an experience that Constance would never forget and she was surprised that Armando allowed her to walk with him so familiarly. He did not seem to care about the looks she was receiving from the pirates. She was focused on looking around at the crew and she spotted what looked like the remains of Magda standing near the body of a now deceased pirate. She was taken back by how much worse the crew appeared and felt that as monstrous as Armando now currently looked, at least he resembled some sort of past him. The crew on the other hand looked as though they had been on the worst of whatever had happened to them as they had complete sections of their bodies missing. She almost cried when she spotted Santos who was missing half of his face.

Armando noticed her discomfort and pulled her a long a tad forcefully, causing his rapier to scrape against the ground in a fashion that would cause one to wince.

Constance stopped looking at the crew and instead began to focus on the front of the ship where she could see the figure of Barbossa watching them approach. But her eyes began to widen and not at the ever so slightly smug look of Barbossa, instead she could see the Silent Mary which had risen as though it was a rib cage and was hovering over the Queen Anne's Revenge in a morbid fashion.

When they finally reached the front, Armando very gently released her arm and she wondered how odd it must have appeared to see a man who looked so frightening to treat her with respect. The words of the sea-witch rang through her mind and she supposed she was true after all, as the crew of the Silent Mary would never harm her intentionally. Or so she hoped as Constance was beginning to realise how much humanity that Armando may have lost.

Barbossa smiled at Captain Salazar and gestured for Constance to give him the compass which she did although a bit hesitantly. She watched as Captain Salazar cocked his head at Captain Barbossa and he seemed to be debating on what to do.

"See, I kept my word. The compass is in my position and the girl has been kept safe. So, my intentions are strictly honourable". Barbossa grinned although Constance could detect fear in his eyes. He seemed fearful of Captain Salazar and she would not be surprised if he had known of the Spaniard who was responsible for so many deaths by repuatation.

Captain Salazar cocked his head once more and watched the compass which was swinging slowly on the chain. He moved all of a sudden in a shark like fashion and Constance moved quickly to avoid getting slapped by his hair. She secretly wondered if she could try and tie it up but told herself off for thinking about such trivial things in such a serious situation.

"So, you can find me the sparrow". Captain's Salazar's hollow voice echoed and Barbossa nodded his head in reply.

"I can. Jack is heading for the Trident of Poseidon". Barbossa explained and Constance gave him an odd look wondering what the hell everyone was going on about. She was about to ask when Captain Salazar raised his hand at her and she gave him an even more pointed look. In return, he gave her a pleading look as though to ask her not to start asking questions now.

"The trident will not save him. My crew will destroy him…and all that he cares for". Captain Salazar then spat and Constance stepped back at the acidity of his tone. As he spoke, the black liquid trickled down his chin and he looked as though he did not notice anymore. She would have to ask him about that sometime. But for the moment she was interested to why he hated this Jack fellow so much and what the whole trident business was.

Barbossa had also stepped back in an attempt to avoid the mad ghost's wrath. Captain Salazar had suddenly stepped very close to Captain Barbossa and even Constance felt uncomfortable watching the whole affair take place.

"I give ye me word. I will find ye Jack by the morning and if I happen to fail, you make take me life". Barbossa bowed. Constance felt like she was ten steps behind everyone and wished that she had the smallest idea of what was going on.

"We have a deal". Captain Salazar snapped and seconds later she watched as he began to bang his rapier several times upon the wood of the ship at a rapid pace. Looking around, she watched as the Silent Mary crew began to slaughter several pirates and she gave Armando a desperate look hoping that he would stop his barbaric acts but he seemed to not care at all. She understood he hated pirates but as she looked away, her eyes managed to observe the last remnants of the English Royal Naval ship which was now sinking to the bottom of the sea.

She realised that this was a main difference between the man she fell in love with and the man who was now grinning at the sight of the dead bodies littering the floor. He was honourable when he was alive and would only kill those he believed were pirates. In his eyes, she understood he saw himself as administering some sort of justice, most likely sparked by his father and grandfather being murdered by pirates. But what he was doing now was no longer justice, it was evil and that was a hard thought to swallow. To her, for the past nine years, she had remembered him as a noble man who would be her hero in an almost fanciful way. But now he was becoming the villain, a thought she had never comprehended before.

Her thoughts were broken when Armando had abruptly taken her arm and pulled her closely. He then snapped some orders at his crew in his native tongue and she saw Lieutenant Lesaro for the first time as he emerged from around a large mast. He looked as though his face had been cracked like a mirror and she gave him a sympathetic look to which he gave her a bored one in return. 'Perhaps some things don't change after all' she thought and focused her attention back on Armando.

"You shall come with me". Captain Salazar murmured to her and she nodded her head deciding that after watching men die she wasn't exactly going to argue with the temperamental dead man. She wondered how the hell they were supposed to get back on the Silent Mary as it was half way up in the air. More so she was confused as to how damaged the Silent Mary was and hoped that when she was on it, she wouldn't fall through a hole and end up dying in an ironic turn of events.

"I will return in a few hours, you better hope that you know where Sparrow is before sunrise". Captain Salazar hissed at Captain Barbossa who looked less cocky than usual. Then, Captain Salazar tightened his arm around her waist and she automatically wrapped her hands around his neck as her chest was pushed against his own. They made eye contact and there looked as though there was a storm brewing in his eyes. It was mixture of pain, rage and…love. It looked as though there were remnants of humanity behind those eyes and she had been looking at them so deeply that she gave a loud scream when all of a sudden, she felt the floor from beneath her feet disappear.

A breeze flushed against her face and she buried her face against his uniform not caring what it looked like. She had no idea what was happening but she knew she was not enjoying it. The floor was back beneath her feet quite soon and she felt her limbs shake as she finally looked.

She was standing, or rather being held up by Armando, on the Silent Mary and she watched as the ship groaned and began to lower itself back into the water. Her eyes were wide and she wished for the hundredth time in the past hour that the whole thing was a dream.

"We have much to discuss". Armando sighed and she was surprised at the tiredness which laced his empty voice.

Constance nodded in agreement and just as she was going to speak, a sudden darkness started to cover her eyes. She felt Armando pull her against him and he seemed to be saying her name but it all sounded as though she was underwater. Her last conscious thought was hoping that she was finally waking up. Waking up from the nightmare she had found herself in.