Rose grinned as Ben sat down beside her, placing two drinks before each of them. "Tia Dalma's prophecy was right," she said. "Fate led me here. Had I not listened to Angelica I never would have found you!"

He shook his head in amazement. "Was that the woman you were with? That was Angelica? "

Rose nodded, gazing at her childhood friend. Beneath his haggard appearance, his wild hair and striking, serious demeanor, she could see the same kind eyes that shined at her, reassuring her that this was the same boy she once had held strong affections for. "Ten years have changed us both so much!" she said with a smile.

"My God," Ben exclaimed. "Has it really been that long?"

"I've been with Tia all this time." She looked at her companion in earnest, praying that he possessed the answer she was hoping he could deliver. "And…after all this time, have you been with Jack and the Pearl?" Perhaps her half-brother was closer than she thought.

He diverted his gaze as he muttered, "Well...yes and no…"

Rose swallowed her disappointment as she said calmly, "Where are Jack and the Pearl?"

Narrowing his eyes, he replied, "Jack's never come back to the bayou since the day we delivered Angelica?"

"No, not once."

"But…I assumed that would be the first place he'd go. I mean, I always figured that he'd escape and then he'd go straight to you and Tia Dalma…"

Rose tried to keep the welling panic out of her voice as she said firmly, "Escape from where?"

Ben took a deep breath before he began. "I'm so sorry. I had no choice, I— I had to—"

"Had to what?" she cried. "Good Lord, Ben! Speak!"

He tightened his jaw and gazed at her out of the corner of his eyes. "We marooned Jack on a deserted island."

Rose felt her stomach drop. "When?"

Ben's gaze averted so that he was now staring deep into his drink. "Not long after we left Angelica at the bayou."

"So you mutinied against him."

"Don't do that!" he snapped. "Don't just place the blame on me! We all mutinied against him!"

"You didn't have to, Ben! Jack was kind enough to let you aboard, even though it could have meant personal danger for him!"

"Don't speak on what you know nothing about!" he growled darkly. "I had no choice! You have no idea what they did to Bootstrap for sticking up for Jack!"

Another pang hit Rose's stomach. "Is he dead?"

Ben took a moment, then nodded sadly.

Rose pushed away her drink in silent fury. "So Bootstrap's dead, and you're a coward."

"A coward?" Ben leaned away from Rose. "Do you have any idea what they would have done to me? I would have ended up the same way as Bootstrap!"

"How do we know that Jack is even still alive if you supposedly marooned him, Ben?" Rose snapped.

"Will you stop?" he pleaded. "Let me explain! My God, you leap all over me, accusing me of things you know nothing about!"

Rose pursed her lips, placing a hand under her chin and leaning her arm against the tabletop. "Explain, then."

Ben began slowly. "After we left Angelica at the bayou, we waited for direction from Jack. He had promised us a route to some hidden treasure on an island called the Isla de Muerta, but then suddenly decided against leading us there. That was the final straw for Barbossa. He led the mutiny against Jack, and we left him on this little speck of land with only a pistol and a single shot." He paused here, waiting for Rose to spit some furious language at him, but when she only stared with intense anger, he continued his tale. "Afterwards, we headed to the Isla de Muerta ourselves, each of us looting some of the treasure. As we set off once more, Bootstrap voiced his guilt having mutinied along with us. Barbossa took his life as punishment. However, when night fell, we discovered that the treasure was cursed, particularly a chest of Aztec medallions. We each returned our respective medallions, but it still wasn't enough. The curse required a bit of our blood to break the curse and—"

"Good," Rose interrupted, already two steps ahead of Ben's story. "I'm glad. It's what you all deserve, killing Bootstrap. He died with his medallion, didn't he?"

"No," said Ben quietly. "That's what is so bizarre—we searched for months where we…where he died. We couldn't even find his body, let alone a medallion. Up until recently, we thought it was lost forever, and that we would live with the curse forever, but then—"

"As you deserve!" Rose said again. "I can't believe you would do this to your friends!" She shook her head. "I thought I knew you, Ben, but you've proven me completely wrong! I should have seen that when I last was with you."

"And why do think I'm here now and not with the Pearl as they continue their reign of terror across the seven seas?" he asked. "I left the crew over two years ago."

Rose blinked in confusion. "Why…why didn't you come to the bayou?"

"As I said, I thought Jack would have retrieved you years ago! And besides," he said in between sips of his drink, "I didn't want to face you for precisely the rift we currently find ourselves in. I went home."

"Back to Tortuga?" Rose asked.

"Aye," he responded. "But I was just as quickly turned away. My father wanted nothing to do with me, Josephine never wanted anything to do with me… So I stole a small boat, and have lived the nomad's life, trying to evade the Pearl at all costs. If they find me, there will be hell to pay. I'd wish for a death that now life is too cruel to even grant me."

Rose cocked her head to the side. "Come again?"

Ben snorted. "Be grateful for your night blindness, Rose. You can't see what the curse did to us." He lowered his voice so that only Rose could hear him. "Back in the room when I opened the shutters, I did so to scare you, thinking you could see my figure. By moonlight, we lose all flesh. We're nothing but skeletons. We cannot die, can't feel…anything."

"My word," Rose whispered. "That's horrible. Have you tried searching for the missing medallion?"

"I know where it is," he said simply.

"You…you do? Have you gone after it?"

"Not yet," he retorted. "We had no way to track it until this morning. The medallion has made contact with the seas, and so it calls to us. I've felt it, and so has the rest of the Pearl crew."

Rose grinned. "'The tides have turned' after all! This is what Tia was waiting for!" She stood in excitement. "Then let's go! Let's retrieve it!"

"It's not that simple," said Ben darkly. "Even if I found it, it's worthless without Bootstrap's blood."

Rose suddenly said in realization, "A son. Bootstrap told me once that he had a son slightly younger than us!" She placed a hand on Ben's forearm. "All is not lost, we'll find him!"

Ben pulled away. "He could be anywhere, even dead himself," he glowered.

"What if Bootstrap sent his son the medallion unknowingly as a keepsake? The two could be in one place!"

"Rose, I'm not going after it!" Ben spat. "The medallion called to every single one of the cursed men. The Pearl is the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and is most likely already at the medallion's location as we speak. I'd much rather just wait out the storm. If Barbossa breaks the curse, so be it."

"Surely you can't be in earnest!" Rose cried. "If we go after the medallion, not only can we take matters into our own hands and try to free you ourselves, but also we could find Jack! If Jack truly is alive, he'll be in search of the Pearl. If the Pearl searches for the medallion, therefore wherever the medallion is, Jack will there also be!"

"And, as you said, so will the Pearl! I cannot take that chance, Rose!"

"So to sum this little reunion up," Rose grumbled. "You wanted my body, I wanted your money, and then you proceeded to report to me that you betrayed everyone I love and have no idea where the man I'm supposed to find is. Not only that, but you seem entirely at ease to wallow in your self-pity." She snorted. "So glad I found you, Ben."

She waited for him to refute anything, but when he only continued stewing on his own, she then turned to leave.

After she got a few paces away from the door to the tavern, however, Ben stood and called after her. "Jack is alive!"

She turned back. "And how would you possibly know that?"

Ben shrugged. "One hears things. Jack is infamous around these parts." He looked over to the barkeep. "Hey, you!" he called.

The barkeep, who was red-faced, balding man, looked up from a conversation with a raven haired young lady. "What, then?"

"Have you heard of Jack Sparrow?"

The young woman giggled, taking a sip from her drink. "Oh, I certainly have!"

After giving a jealous glare to his female companion, the barkeep said to Ben, "Aye, last I heard he was found drinking rum with the natives of Madagascar."

"Madagascar?" Rose asked in surprise.

The barkeep shrugged. "The man gets around."

"Regardless," Ben said, turning back to Rose. "Jack is well-known. It's clear that he's still alive and clearer to me that we can find him. And you're right," he said guiltily. "Where the medallion is, so Jack Sparrow will also certainly be."

"Where is it calling from?" Rose asked.

"The North," he said. "If we follow its call, I can lead us there. I'm thinking it must be somewhere near Port Royal, if not there entirely."

The corners of Rose's mouth turned upwards slightly into a small smile. "To Port Royal then, Mr. McHenry!"