"Anna! Up!" Gibbs's voice stirred me from my slumber.

"Aye, sir!" I instinctively replied, sitting straight up from my makeshift bed in the dry dock shed where we all slept.

"Water, now," he ordered.

I rubbed sleep from my eyes. "Master Gibbs, I can't!" I protested, keeping my voice low. "I told you, if I touch the water…"

Before I knew what was happening, a wooden bucket was being pressed into my hands. "Fresh water, Anna," he said. "Unless you'd rather have us all die from thirst today."

"Oh," I chuckled, trying to hide my embarrassing overreaction. "Yes of course."

"And make it quick, too," he ordered as he left the shed. "We've got a big day ahead of us. We're finalizing the carvelling of the keel and retying the foremast. Given we put in our best effort, we'll be ready to make sail in the morning!"

Usually, speed was ideal. But for me, this was the worst possible news. It had been four days, and still no word from Henry. I had to find a way to delay us just a bit longer, for I still had hope he would return in time.

I made my way to St. Martin's main well, fastening my bucket and lowering it down. I felt the weight on the rope increase as it filled, and then began pulling it back up. Suddenly, a town crier entered the square, silencing all morning passersby.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" he called out. "Grand Opening of the Royal Bank of St. Martin planned for Wednesday next."

I rolled my eyes at the sound of "oohs" and "ahhs" rippling through the crowd. It was a bloody bank! What could possibly be so important?

The crier continued. "Town council announces public hanging of witch Carina Smyth for Wednesday next, post-opening of the Royal Bank."

At this, I gasped, letting the rope slip through my hands. I hurried to catch the end of the rope before losing the bucket altogether to the depths of the well, but I was shaken. Carina! How could I have forgotten about Carina? In my great excitement at having met my uncle and his crew, I had all but forgotten by plans to try and free Carina before the time of her hanging, which was scheduled for Wednesday. It was already Saturday!

Grabbing my bucket, I rushed as quickly as I could, trying not to spill too significant an amount of water as I returned to the docks. "Gibbs!" I cried. "I need to speak with you!"

He finished giving Cremble a directive, then walked briskly to meet me, alarmed by how out of breath I was. "What is it, lass?"

"Remember when I asked you how you were at prison breaks?"

Gibbs searched his memory, then nodded. "Aye. Why?"

"There's a girl on the island," I reported gravely. "She's innocent, yet she'll be hanged within five days. You must help me save her!"

"Lass," Gibbs said sadly. "We're finishing the Gull as we speak. We'll be off before we ever have a chance to even ponder an escape plan."

"What about Jack? If I could just talk—"

"Jack doesn't help anyone who can't help him," Gibbs protested. "Plus, we can't risk being found out by the Navy. The longer we're here, the more we run the risk, not to mention directly entering a Navy fortress!"

I knew he was right, but this was all happening too fast, and my chest felt as though it was going to cave in with the weight of the guilt that I felt.

Jack stumbled up, swaying back and forth, once again a new bottle of rum mysteriously in his grip. "What's all this about then, mm?" he asked.

"Nothing, Cap'n!" Gibbs assured him.

"GAH," Jack exclaimed. "Stop yelling, man!" He rubbed his eyes, "And for god's sake, why is the sun so bright? Can't we do something about that?"

I took the opportunity of Jack's distraction as Gibbs asked, "The…sun, sir?" to sneak away from them and to a secluded part of the port side of the ship. As the last repairs to the keel were taking place on the starboard side, I was completely alone. That's how I went unseen as I did something incredibly dangerous and stupid: I grabbed a nearby hammer and destroyed one of the boards we had noted as being one of the weaker parts of the vessel. I smashed a hole right in the center of it— I needed more time, and if no one was going to grant it to me, then I was going to find my own way.

"Anna?" I heard Jack's voice call. No! I thought. I've been discovered! I rushed to successfully destroyed it and once I had, I then walked back around towards the bow. I about nearly leapt out of my skin when Jack came into view, waiting for me there. I shrieked and quickly hid the hammer behind my back.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed. "You…gave me quite the fright!"

Jack scoffed. "What were you doing back there?"

I laughed nervously. "Oh, just checking on something I had been working on yesterday, that's all."

"And it's steady back there?"

I nodded a bit too enthusiastically as I lied, "Aye! All accounted for!"

"Good," he replied. "Because we're about to test her seaworthiness. Care to join me aboard as the others set her off?"

My heart raced. An opportunity to spend time alone with my uncle? I couldn't turn that down, especially since I had seen very little of him in my time working with the Gull and her crew. But then again, I was about to board a ship which I had just ensured would sink. But not being able to tell him that, lest I give myself up, I could only keep my fears within and nod eagerly, climbing aboard.

It was my first time on the deck of the Gull, and she was even less impressive from that angle. The vessel seemed claustrophobic, and felt as though the boards would crack beneath one's body weight with every footstep.

As though reading my mind, Jack said, "Careful, now, watch your step. …and your head. …and your body as a whole. You never quite know what you'll be met with on this chamber pot of a boat."

I chuckled nervously once more, trying to appear casual as I grasped firmly to the railing, anticipating the inevitable disaster that was to come.

"You ready, gents?" Jack cried down to the rest of the crew, who were readying lines to lead us down off the dry dock.

"Not yet, Cap'n!" Scrum cried back. "Just a bit longer!"

Now enveloped in silence, we just stood there on the quarter deck awkwardly. Finally, I asked, "I've heard about your ship, the Black Pearl?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Jack asked, producing a small bottle from his jacket pocket. "She's always with me one way or the other."

Amazed, I left the safety of my railing to regard her. The ship was truly exquisite, the ocean within churning dangerously, sending it rocking and clanging back and forth against the glass. "Incredible," I whispered. "So the legends are true!"

"Aye," he said sadly. "Never quite figured out how to get her back, however." He replaced the bottle back to the safety of his jacket.

"What all have you tried?" I asked.

Jack scoffed. "More like 'What haven't I tried?' It's been nearly twenty bloody years of chasing her. But alas, luck is there not for old Jack."

Truer than you know, I thought to myself. I then felt a bit of bravery grow within me, and I dared do something I knew Gibbs would disapprove of, but I was parched for Jack to give me any sort of information about his relationship with my mother. So, I carefully crafted the question, "Have you considered consulting some sort of a mystic? Maybe a witch of some sort?"

Jack, who proved an expert liar, immediately shook his head. "Can't say I know of any of those, lass. I go on word of mouth alone."

This could have so easily led to my mentioning of chasing the Trident, but this would result in the opposite effect of what I wanted; I needed Jack to stay here for a few more days, not to go chasing the trident quite just yet.

"So Teague told ya to find me here, did he?" Jack said, breaking through my thoughts and leaning against the uneven railing casually. "How'd he know where to find me this time?"

I gulped. In truth, it was complete happenstance that I found my uncle on St. Martin. Since my birth, no one in our family knew of his whereabouts. I quickly lied, "Oh, people talk. Shipwreck has become quite the pirate port. With so many coming and going, Teague would be keen to ask after you, and many reported that you were in this region."

"Hmm," he expressed with a quick raise of his eyebrows. "Heard rumors about Shipwreck being a port of call, but never went there meself. I owe too many people too many favors...and money…and, oddly enough, seven camels." He trailed off for a moment, as though mentally recounting all of the people he had swindled throughout the years, then blinked back to reality. "Basically, I don't talk to anyone anymore. Unless they don't know who I am and I'm in need of another favor," he said with a grin and a wink.

I chuckled. "Aye, Shipwreck has grown immensely..." My voice too trailed off, as I was once again encroaching upon stories from Anna Norrington's past, not Anna James. I so desperately wanted to tell Jack the truth, that he was my uncle, that my father and Will were in serious danger, and that I needed his help. I knew Gibbs was right—if Jack knew, he would immediately return me back to my mother and my entire voyage would be for nothing and Henry would remain missing. But I also longed for the relationship with a new member of my family, and to hear his many stories. What did he know about my mother that I had never known? Or my father for that matter? So, I took a deep breath and began to weave together reality and fiction once more. "Shipwreck wouldn't have become what it is now were it not for Mrs. Turner."

I saw Jack's eyebrows raise as his gaze shifted to me in interest. He said nothing, merely waiting for me to elaborate...so I did. "Miss Elizabeth played a large role in the War on Piracy, they say. She stayed on the island and revitalized it into what it is today." Still, he remained silent. I decided to prod with a very intentional question. "I know you were involved in the War as well. Did...did you know Mrs. Turner?"

He finally responded with a cryptic and somewhat concerning declaration of, "We have...history." Out of fear for what exactly this history was, I decided to abandon that topic and try another avenue. "Aye, it was actually Mrs. Turner and a gypsy soothsayer that built the island's reputation." Again, I watched for Jack's reaction, but he only blinked at me, expression unchanging. "She left the island before I born, but I've heard that she was a powerful woman." Tentatively, I asked, "Did you know her as well? Miss Hexfury?"

Again, Jack's face remained expressionless, unreadable. "Can't say that I have," he lied. Once again, I had reached a dead end.

I shifted uncomfortably, and decided to jump back on the Elizabeth route, though I was hesitant. "Well, since you knew Miss Elizabeth, what can you tell me of her past? She's...a hero of mine."

Jack snorted. "Oh, me n' Lizzy go WAY back. All the way back to Port Royal, in fact, when I rescued her from an early, watery grave." He proudly puffed up his chest as he reminisced. "Smitten with me, she was. It would have never worked between us though. Two different worlds, she and me. She did try again and again, a persistent little minx. Had to let her down easy, though." I struggled to hide my amusement. This story was not at all what I had heard from Elizabeth's perspective, and quite conveniently excluded Will altogether. Either Jack was giving me a variation of the truth, or had repeated the story of Elizabeth's unrequited love to himself for so many years that he too believed it as fact.

Jack then said something that made my blood run cold. "At least I was able to save her the fate of marrying that stuffy Commodore, though." I tightened my jaw, hoping that my face hadn't gone visibly pale with Jack's mentioning of my father. He looked out to the ocean, a dirty finger tapping against his chin. "Ohhh...what was his name... Something with an 'n...' Norseman? Narwhal?" I dared not correct him, otherwise I would completely give up who I was. "Oh...it was something pitiful, and sounded like a phrase," he continued. "AH. I remember. NorringtoN! Like 'No ring!' The bloke ended up with 'no ring' and no wife, so I s'pose it was fate that his name be Norrington."

When I didn't respond, he pressed with, "Get it? No ring?"

I smiled weakly, still staying silent, as Jack continued on his rant about my father. "Aye. A perfectly uptight bore of a gent, he was. Heard he really fell off the wagon after I escaped his grasp. Poor fellow risked it all trying to get back at me for corrupting his fiancé. He died in obscurity, I believe. What a waste."

My heart pounded in my chest as my mind whirred through many confused thoughts: Why is Jack pontificating about my father when he doesn't know that I am his daughter? I thought he knew that he was undead! Good lord, I knew that Father and Jack disliked one another, but not this much! Then, a harrowing thought occurred to me, when I noticed Jack's eyes studying mine, searching them for some unknown purpose. My heart sank into my stomach as I thought, Oh god. What if he suspects who I am? What if he's saying all of this to test me?

I opened my mouth to say some comment that would protect my identity, but it was too late. From below on land, Scrum called up, "Cap'n!"

"WHAT. CAN'T YA SEE I'M BUSY, YE STUB-WINGED BILGE RAT?!" he shouted, causing me to start before he walked away to lean over the port bow to address him.

Alone, I took a moment to catch my breath and regroup. Did Jack suspect me? Was I that obvious? Or worse, did Gibbs give my identity away?

"I'm about to cut the shard, stand clear!" Jack yelled to the men below. Unsheathing his sword, he looked back to me. "Hold on!" he ordered. I obeyed, clinging to the rail as he cut the line which released the weighed down bow and successively knocked down the supports keeping the Gull docked. The ship lurched, then began to slowly creep backwards, splashing upon making contact with the ocean.

Jack waltzed confidently towards me. Hands out enthusiastically. "Eh? So far so good, right?"

I gave a weak smile, and as though fate heard him, we suddenly felt the rear starboard side start to sink lower than the rest of the boat. I could only hold my breath as after a few moments, I heard the distinctive snap of the board entirely give due to the outside pressure of the ocean, causing the ship to creak and lurch precariously. Because of the small size of the ship, the ship began to lift out of the water in the front, and lean heavily to the port side, causing both Jack and me to lose our balance.

"GIBBS!" Jack screamed. "Tow us back! Something is clearly very, very wrong!"

I cringed to the railing, my heart pounding. We soon felt the men below scramble to grab lines to hoist us back onto the dry dock, but so uneven was the weight distribution between the port and starboard side that once the bow hit the dock, it caused a collision that caused me to lose my grip on the railing. For a moment, I was free falling before my fingertips grasped the edge of the deck. There was nothing between me except air and ocean, and ocean meant the end of my journey.

"JACK!" I screamed. "JACK!"

"Hold on!" Jack let go of his support on the railing and grasped onto a lower rung to grab my hand. With my free hand I grasped onto his wrist. "Don't let go!" I screamed. "Please don't let go!"

"I've got you!" he assured me.

Finally, the men managed to push the ship back to a level position, allowing my feet to gain traction on the hull of the ship and hoist myself up with Jack's help.

He grabbed me by the shoulders once I was fully back on deck. "What was that all about, eh?"

I grabbed my chest to catch my breath. "I…I can't swim. I'm afraid of the water," I poorly lied.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Some sailor you are! You want to be a pirate, yet you fear the ocean?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I figure that I will primarily be…out of the water?"

He shook his head. "You're going to want to get past that, lass."

"Aye, Captain," I said breathily as he lead me to the ladder Gibbs had secured to get us back down.

Once back on land, Jack and the men examined the damage done to the rear end of the ship. I lingered behind them as they discovered the broken board I had caused which had led to so much damage within. To my surprise, I remained blameless, as they rather blamed the incident on the sheer age and condition of the boards.

"How much longer will this inconvenience take, eh?" Jack asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Well," Cremble said, closely inspecting the damage. "It would just require draining the stores and the scrapping together of about three new planks. So I reckon…a few more hours? We could be off by morning."

"Good man!" a chipper Jack exclaimed. "Step to, all hands! Fix her up!"

No! I thought, but sadly before I knew it, another hammer was being pressed into my hand. There was no way I could get away with damaging the ship yet again. There was only one thing left to do, and I had to be the one to do it.

Night fell. Cremble's predictions were right, and the ship's damage I had caused was quick to fix. I forced myself to stay awake that night, waiting until everyone else had fallen asleep in the shed. Now disguised in darkness, I stood, put on my boots, then tiptoed out onto the beach to make my way into town. If we had to leave without Henry, this wouldn't be the worst thing. I could probably convince Jack to pursue the Navy vessel I had seen Henry leave on, or maybe the Gull and I together could free Will and my father, then find Henry later on. But Carina didn't have that sort of time. I had to find a way to free her, and though I didn't like entering a situation without a plan, I had little choice in the matter.

I approached the stone steps of the wall that led up to the town road, when a swipe of silver and sharp clang blocked my entry.

I traded the shape of a sword blade up to its hilt, and then to Jack's arm, as he sat perched on the edge of the wall.

"Going somewhere? So late at night?" he asked.

I gulped. "I…there's something I need to do. Someone who needs my help?"

"Who?" Jack said, cocking his head in genuine interest.

"A friend who has been falsely imprisoned. I asked for Gibbs's help, but he refused." I smiled hopefully, "But perhaps, maybe you can help me!"

Jack winced. "Love to, lass. Really would, but so soon to our departure? Can't risk that. Nor should you. So go on. Shoo, back to bed. Snooze away."

I stood my ground. "I'm afraid I can't," I insisted. "I'll be very careful, I promise."

Jack squinted, his gaze jumping between both of my eyes. "My, you are so like them," he said.

My heart began to pound ever quicker. He knew. He had to know. "Please let me pass," I begged.

"Stubborn, shrewd, manipulative," he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "But you can't lie to an expert liar, savvy?" He gave a sidelong grin, his ruby tooth glinting in the moonlight. "So you banged the bejesus out of the keel with your little hammer, eh?"

My heart plummeted into my stomach. "Please let me pass," I repeated, though I was less imploring and more demanding.

He shook his head. "It's not going to happen, Anna."

Now in a complete panic, I shoved past him and darted up the stairs, but he was right on my heels. Before I knew what was happening, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and suddenly the world turned sideways as I felt my body go limp and my vision fade to black.