As she approached the speck in the distance that was the Black Pearl, Rose winced with every stroke she swam. The corset that Giselle and Scarlett had stuffed her into was constricting her breathing, and she began to fumble and flail beneath the waves. Timing was everything on this leg of the journey, and this corset was standing in the way. She took a large inhale of air and let her head fall beneath the waves, then, with what little sight she had, she managed to find the black laces that held the bodice of the red dress together down the center of her torso. Once she had loosened the tie, she grabbed one end with all her might until the criss-cross pattern of the laces had been undone. The bodice then came apart at the middle revealing the corset and the white chemise beneath it. At this point, Rose's already limited air supply had all but run out entirely, so without much thought, she grabbed a seam of the corset and tugged at it with all her might until it split apart. As soon as it did, she felt massive relief and swam to the surface to take a much needed intake of fresh air. She continued swimming for the Pearl, leaving the corset bobbing on the water's surface now behind her.
After a time, she had managed to work her way quite close to the ship, but she knew that there was no time to delay. The Black Pearl was renowned for being the fastest ship in Caribbean, and it was not going to stop its progress in rescuing their Captain just for her. A line was cast, and Rose stretched out her arm to grab a hold of it with her fingertips. As soon as she did, her resistance against the water became almost too much for the muscles in her arms to bear, so it became quite necessary that she begins inching herself closer and closer to the vessel. It was a time before she managed to get close to the ship itself, wherein she hoisted herself up to grab onto the netting that clung to the sides. Once she had, it took awhile for her to scurry up the Pearl and collapse in a sopping wet mess onto the deck.
Anamaria was waiting for her on the other end of the rope, and offered an outstretched hand to help her stand. Although at first she had seemed jealous that she was no longer the only woman aboard the Pearl, and perhaps a little vexed that Rose was not as active on the crew as she was, the two had developed a mutual respect for one another, and Rose was glad to see her.
Her first thought was on Jack. "Things went awry. We've got to find Jack—"
But the words had barely escaped her mouth before Anamaria nonchalantly pointed over her shoulder to where Jack stood, leaning casually against the mast as though nothing had surpassed. Rose's mouth fell agape as she walked over to her brother.
"…how…?"
"Improvisation, love!" he said with a grin. "Improvisation and a lot of running." He then cast a look over his shoulder. "And that goat."
Rose followed his gaze. Sure enough, just a few paces off stood a black and white goat casually munching on some rogue straw out of a nearby crate.
"…and…why do we now have a goat?" Rose wondered aloud.
"I think the proper question is why didn't we have a goat."
"Is the…goat going to find us the key, Jack?"
He frowned. "Probably not. It'll give us milk, however."
Rose squinted her eyes. "Isn't that a male goat?"
Jack fell silent for a time, realizing that Rose was quite correct in that observation. Finally, he announced, "Well, then he'll provide us company. Lord knows we need it. We're off for Tripoli."
With that and a flourish of his arm, Jack wandered away towards his cabin. Rose was bewildered. "Tripoli?"
She never would find out how Jack managed to outrun Norrington's men and get back to the Pearl before her, nor how the goat would materialize onboard. But before she could question Jack further, someone intervened and blocked her progress.
"We're headed for Africa?" Ben McHenry asked, voice low with apprehension.
Rose's mind was cluttered with everything that had just recently surpassed, and was just as confused as the rest of the crew, so all she could manage was a small shrug. "Apparently," she stated, sidestepping her childhood friend and quickly darting into Jack's cabin after him.
"Jack, what happened on Tortuga? What were you able to uncover?"
"Shh!" Jack hissed, holding up a finger to silence her. His eyes were fixated on his right hand, which held his compass. He had bartered for this compass from Tia Dalma ten years ago. It pointed to whatever he wanted most in the world, Rose recently discovered. His eyes remained glued to the spinning arrow, then he moved his other hand towards the direction it ultimately stopped on and placed a finger a map laid out on his desk.
"Yep," he finally said. "Tripoli."
"What on earth is there for us in Tripoli?" Rose asked in exasperation. "Did someone in Tortuga tell you that?"
Jack grimaced. "Eh…more or less."
"Do explain."
"While you were putting on quite the show, I must say, in the town square, I paid a visit to an old friend of mine."
Rose was skeptical. "Friend?"
"Well…a colleague."
Rose was still unconvinced.
"Fine, I may have accidentally seduced his cousin and stolen most of his fortune."
"Jack!"
"All in good fun, I assure you! He's…mostly forgiven me now. Or at least that's what I assume."
"Assume?"
"Turns out, he's dead."
Rose sighed. "Are you telling me I went through all of this," she said, motioning to her now soggy and torn apart costume, "Was nearly killed by Commodore Norrington, and swam for my life all for nothing?"
Jack feigned offense. "Are you suggesting a marriage to a nobleman is nothing?" In response, Rose only pursed her lips in annoyance so he continued, "Well, I started asking questions, and it would appear that the bloke has a sister in Tripoli."
"And…the sister will have information on this key?"
Jack replied under his breath, "…it's possible."
Rose huffed. "Honestly? Every day that passes is one day closer to Jones's deadline!"
"I'm aware of that, thank you!"
"Are you?" Rose asked earnestly. "Because a trip to the Mediterranean takes weeks! What if we hit another dead end with this sister you speak of?"
"Worry not, love!" he replied, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If his sister is anything like his cousin, I'm sure to get a response of some sort." Rose rolled her eyes at the obvious innuendo and remained unconvinced.
Jack seeing this, further prodded merrily, "And worst comes to worst, we'll dress you up again and use you as a distraction, eh?"
"Absolutely not!" Rose was quick to answer, as the two of them shared laugh. Even in their merriment, however, Rose felt immense worry. The clock was ticking on Jack's ownership of the Pearl. If he could procure Davy Jones's chest, then perhaps this debt could be settled. However, only Rose had been informed of this secret Jack carried. The rest of his crew simply had to blindly trust the judgement of their captain as they sailed across the Atlantic, the Royal Navy in hot pursuit. If Jack continued with his antics, providing no payoff or explanation for his crew, Rose feared mutiny once again laid in store for Jack, and she was not about to lose the life that she had been promised over a decade ago.
Later that evening, Rose made her way by touch down to the sleeping quarters of the crew. It was already night, and Rose's vision was completely gone. Most of the men were just settling down for the evening, so their pungent odor and conversational sounds told her that she had made her way into the proper part of the vessel.
From the bottom of the stairs, Rose cried out, "Ben!" to alert her friend that she was waiting for him, and that at this point, he must come to her. After only a few moments, she felt him at her side. She reached out her hand towards him, and felt him take the bundle of herbs from her palm. Under Tia Dalma's guidance, Rose had become quite the accomplished medicinal expert. Whenever they made port, Rose tried to barter or find various leaves and roots that could replenish the stock she carried on her person at all times in case of sickness or injury.
"Try these," she said. "Crush them together into a poultice and swallow it with water.
"You really think they'll help?" Ben asked. His voice was hoarse and shaky, as though it was taking everything he had to formulate these words. This pained Rose greatly. Ever since Ben was freed by the curse of the Aztec gold of the Isla de Muerta, something had been awry. Many of the cursed mutineers had died from previously sustained injuries to their bodies while immortal, but those who lived suddenly had to deal with the repercussions of years of mistreatment. Something had happened to Ben's body in those days that he was paying for now, and Rose had been trying everything in her power for the past few months to heal him. Nothing worked. If this current combination she was doling out to him proved futile, Rose wasn't certain what else she could do. On top of physical ailments, Ben was haunted by severe trauma and stress, and had fits of rage that flared up every so often. It had been quite awhile without incident, and Rose was not about to incite any fury tonight by telling him the truth, which was that she truly didn't know if this time, her herbs would cure his sickness.
So, she bravely lied with a smile on her face. "I'm sure they will."
She heard him take a deep breath, but she couldn't see his expression. She couldn't stay too long in this moment, however, for a jarring voice pulled her attention away.
"Hexfury!" this voice called out. All other conversation between the men quieted to a lull. "Why do we sail for the Mediterranean?"
Rose recognized this voice. It belonged to Leech, a humorless crewman that they had picked up along with a few extra men about two weeks ago. Rose was unnerved by the question, unsure of how to reply. She finally settled on, "Master Gibbs is at the wheel right now, but I'm sure if you just wait to ask him-"
"Gibbs knows nothing more than we do," Leech blurted again. "And you live with the Captain. Why do we sail for Tripoli, Miss Hexfury?"
Murmurs of resentment began to grow in the voices of the other men, and panic rose up inside of her. Just as she expected, the men were starting to grow uneasy with Jack's unorthodox form of leadership.
Suddenly, Ben spoke up, "Gentlemen, Miss Hexfury knows nothing more than any of us. Leave her be."
"Actually," Rose said, knowing that this might be her only chance to make a positive impression on the crew, "I do know. We sail for Tripoli for boundless treasures. The Captain's thirst cannot be quenched by the Caribbean alone. Therefore, we must expand. Gentlemen, we sail for the Mediterranean to see what other secrets she keeps. If you'll remain patient, you're sure to see results."
She could hear some utterances of satisfaction at her lofty promises, but Leech remained skeptical. "And what of the Royal Navy? They are leagues away from us as we speak!"
"If we remain vigilant, there's no chance the Dauntless can outrun us," Rose insisted. "So let's give the days ahead our best, shall we gents?"
She left it at that, turning to make her way back up the stairs. She could feel someone following behind her. Once they had together fully made their way to the main deck, she heard Ben murmur, "That was all a ruse, wasn't it?"
Rose took a deep breath. "Aye," she whispered. "But what else could I say?"
"So you really don't know why we sail for Tripoli?"
No, she thought. I do know, but it's not my place to share the dangers we face with anyone, not even you. But still, once again she lied as she said, "Truly, I do not."
"Unbelievable," Ben growled. "Nothing at all has changed with Jack." Earnestly, he then asked her, "Do you reckon you could try to get some information from him? As his sister and all?"
Rose's stomach churned. "I can try," she said. "Only insofar as you eat those herbs."
He could feel him give a soft smile, and her heart leapt as he placed a hand on her forearm to lead her back to Jack's cabin. "I promise."
