Christina had learned a long time ago to trust her intuition. The oh so very hard way.

Sarah Whitefield. When they were both sixteen, Sarah had been a force to be reckoned with in the truest sense of the phrase. She was the ruler of London society for those under twenty-five. Her parents had control over those under sixty and her grandparents reigned over those who were over sixty and not yet dead. The Whitefields had their own kingdom and Sarah was the princess.

If society were the US Government, Sarah was the Illuminati in terms of utter and total control and deception. If society were a lion, she was the thorn in it's paw, manipulating it's every action however she desired. She was Lucifer himself in God's white robe. She would make you feel like you were the only person in the world one minute and then make your life a living hell the next. Confident people stuttered in her presence. She was a goddess.

Christina had been taken aback when she received an invitation to one of Sarah's many parties. She was Sarah Whitefield to those who did not want to be rocking back and forth, muttering self degrading words to themselves in an institution by the time they were twenty. Considering the sizable amount of people who didn't really fancy that as their destiny, she had almost as many friends and acquaintances as Sarah did herself; even if they weren't as powerful or rich.

And for that, Sarah hated her with the fire of a thousand suns.

Christina, being suspicious yet still pleasantly suprised, had quickly become overjoyed and eagerly awaited the event, pleading with her mother every day to buy her a new dress. Her mother had finally given in without informing her husband, purchasing her a dazzling white dress. Delicate embroidery of golden thread danced along the hems gracefully and the skirt swirled as though owning a mind of it's own when she turned. Christina was instantly head over heels in love with it.

The night of the party was a stormy one and the itching feeling that something wasn't right had grown. Christina considered not going at all but she quickly chastised herself for being so childish; after all, the girls were almost seventeen. Petty rivalry surely meant nothing.

Sarah had greeted her at the door with a big, kind smile on her face, taking her wet with rain coat and escorting her to the ballroom where the other guests had gathered already. As every head turned, Christina couldn't help but feel they had been waiting for her.

Sadly, they had.

"The guest of honor," Sarah announced loudly and a hearty cheer sounded from the guests. Christina smiled tightly, wondering what she had done to earn herself the title of guest of honor. She learned quickly.

"Like I was saying, I came across some information the other day that some of you may find very intriguing, I'm sure."

Christina tensed immediately.

"For a long time, I've been under the impression that Christina was just a normal person. A normal, insignificant, uninteresting person. But, as it turns out, I was terribly wrong."

Christina flicked through the people who knew her secret in her mind, trying desperately to figure out which of them could've let it slip. She could hardly believe Sarah's cruelty. She was about to be humiliated , her deepest secrets hung out for the world to see and all she could do was stand there and let it happen.

Sarah paused dramatically, much to the crowd's displeasure.

"What is it?" an impatient boy called out, rousing a few agreeing mutterings.

Sarah grinned and flicked her golden, perfect curls as she shrugged, "Not telling." The guests crowed in protest.

Christina's eyes instantly flew to the girl beside her, filled with a mixture of confusion and gratitude. Sarah winked at her, offering a secretive smile and Christina returned it once she found her bearings. She barely even noticed when Sarah discreetly nodded to one of the girls who stood near by and the girl quickly ducked away into the next room. The crowd continued to beckon Sarah to tell them but she shook her head, her blue eyes sparkling with the secret that Christina was so glad she was thoughtful enough to keep to herself.

Christina frowned when the girl who had left returned, strange objects in hand. Sarah took some of them off her and Christina's heart sunk to the soles of her shoes when she registered what they were.

"We thought you might feel more at home with these on," Sarah told her, holding out a large, tri cornered hat and plonking it on her head. The other girl draped a long, dark coat around her shoulders while Sarah roughly put an eye patch over her head. The other guests watched on with amusement, trying to figure out what Sarah was making a show of trying to tell them.

"She's a pirate!" a girl guessed with laughter in her voice.

Sarah let an innocent expression furrow her brow, "But how did you know?"

An awed silence fell over the spectators as Christina felt her cheeks burn crimson and tears of utter embarrassment well in her eyes.

Sarah put her arm around her shoulders, bringing her lips close to her ear as the first round of laughter started, "It's better to be up front about these things, Christina." Christina jerked away, looking at the crowd who looked back at her, laughing at her foolish appearance. She stood frozen for a moment, unable to fathom what had just happen as a tear spilled down her cheek.

Suddenly, she started running. Out of the ballroom and out of the Whitefield residence, into the storm outside. She ran down the cobblestone streets, throwing off the coat and eye patch and ignoring the mud that spoiled the bottom of her dress. After twenty minutes, she finally arrived at her own home, gasping for breath as the rain merged with the tears on her face.

She hesitated as she ran closer to the front door and this resulted in her misstepping, causing her fall to the wet grass in a heap, further ruining the dress she so loved.

She stayed there. She stayed as long as she could without becoming deathly ill from the cold. They knew. They knew the one secret that had kept her in her house since she was born. They would tell their parents who would discuss it amongst themselves like senseless clucking chicken in a pen. And then it would get to her father who would throw her out. His one condition for her living under his roof was that no one knew she was not his child but the bastard of a pirate.

As the tri cornered hat fell from Christina's head and onto the ground before her, she cursed herself harshly and a thousand times over for having the stupidity to trust Sarah Whitefield against her intuition. The foolish mistake had been the cause of her being shipped off to Port Royal to live with her uncle and cousin; the Swanns.

All of this had happened six years ago yet still the memory burned brightly enough for the lesson Christina had learned to stick with her for the rest of her days. Then, her intuition had told her to stay away from the party. Now, as she watched Jack swagger to the porthole, it told her there was still more that he hadn't told her. And she was eager and willing to listen.

"We're heading towards a storm," Jack informed lamentingly.

"What does that mean?" Christina frowned, standing to join him at the porthole and regarding the gathering grey cloud with apprehension.

"It means we're getting closer," Jack replied.

"To the tomb?"

"Aye."

Christina nodded grimly, watching as a bolt of lightning shot down and then disappeared in the same instant. A rumbling thunder echoed. Turning, she walked back to the bed, sitting down numbly. She studied the pirate's back as he gazed out to sea, searching her mind for an inkling of what he was not telling her. When it came to her, she was suprised she had not asked in the first place.

"How did you recognize them?"

Jack turned back to her drunkenly, "I'm sorry?"

"The women. How did you recognize them?"

Jack's expression froze as he debated over the best way to answer the question. Christina stared on unwaveringly.

"Well," he started, swinging out his arm, "there's been many people who have awakened them in the past. Sailors, lords and pirates alike. This is no new deal, luv. Hundreds have tried."

"And you were one of them," Christina finished for him.

"Well... yes," Jack admitted.

"How long ago?"

"A good ten years."

"So you woke the Terrified Brides," Christina mused. Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Which meant you had to have had access to someone in Sarbaous' bloodline."

Jack's eyes widened at her train of thought, "Don't get ahead of me now, luv."

Christina continued, "I'm in Sarbaous' bloodline and you certainly didn't know me ten years ago... which means... you had someone else. Someone else in the bloodline that you thought you would hand over-"

"I think ye may be reading into this a tad too much-"

"Someone you knew ten years ago... Jack, it was my father, wasn't it?" Christina realized in horror, "You were going to sacrifice my father, your first mate, for a bunch of treasure!"

Jack shook his head furiously, "It wasn't like that! Yer gettin' it all wrong!"

Christina glared at him, "How could I possibly get this all wrong? You've been playing victim for all this time when really, you were a potential mutineer!"

"I'm not a mutineer!" Jack shouted angrily.

"Why? Because you chickened out at the last minute?" Christina snapped.

Jack took a moment to calm himself, his anger sharping his breaths. "Look," he started quietly, "it didn't happen the way you think it did. I was looking fer Barbossa fer five years before I found him. Do ye honestly think a pathetic pirate like that could get a place on me crew because I was bizarrely impressed by him? Nay. I knew he was Sarbaous' blood when I met him. As it was in the middle of me search fer the treasure of Isle De Muerta, I had to take him on as first mate to keep him around. But not before I awakened the brides. Samuel was in on it as well, it was him who found out who Barbossa actually was."

He paused for a moment, trying to ignore Christina's fierce scowl, "Because the Brides business was keeping me preoccupied, Barbossa grew impatient with the lack of success in the treasure searching department and stirred up me crew t'feel the same. To keep him content fer a while, I gave him the coordinates of the treasure, figuring that there weren't too many souls he could tell that shouldn't know before I gave him over to the Brides. But after that, he was a better man, trying his very best to keep the Pearl in best form, looking after me crew as well as he could and the likes. The night we were t'sail to the tomb, I told Samuel that I wasn't going to go through with it. If all went well, we would still have the treasure from Isle De Muerta to keep us happy and I wouldn't have t'give up a perfectly capable first mate. Samuel kicked up a fuss and cursed me to the very depths of hell, that sort of thing. After Barbossa marooned me and found out Samuel had been in on the plot against him as well, he sought him out and gave him those lovely scars he wears today."

Christina stared at him blankly, taking it all in. She sighed and spoke slowly, "So, in summary, it's okay that you were going to betray my father because you had planned it all along to begin with and you decided not to go through with it because he was of too much benefit to you alive. Right?"

Jack lifted his eyes and a pointed finger, reviewing her words to decide if she was in fact right. With a smile, he nodded, "Aye, right."

"You stupid wretch!" Christina cried, swatting him hard on the arm. Jack yelped in suprise more than pain at her efforts and caught her arm at the wrist before she could hit him again.

"What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?" Christina shouted, struggling in vain to continue raining blows down on the pirate, "The matter is that you are a pathetic excuse for a man and don't even realize it!"

Christina was about to spit out more offensive words before a violent trembling caught her off guard and off balance and she fell towards Jack, taking him with her to the ground and landing ungracefully on top of him. As the Pearl slowly righted herself, Christina lifted her head to look at Jack, eyes wide, "What was that?"

"I would expect a lot more of that, luv. Like I said, we're headed into a storm," Jack told her as another powerful wave hit the Pearl's hull and she rocked violently. Christina let out an involuntary cry of fright and Jack smirked, well accustomed to rough seas. Christina glared at him, brushing hair from her face. She tried unsuccessfully to stand and landed on Jack again as the ship was shoved again, winding him with a knee to the chest. Jack let out a shout of pain and sat up to try and get air back into his lungs. Christina watched him without apologizing, still mindful of the bombshell he had just dropped on her against his will. If she hadn't figured it out, would he have told anyone at all? Highly unlikely.

He caught her gaze and matched it's intensity with his own as they sat on the floorboards, refusing to let her stare him down. The Pearl rocked enthusiastically again around them but their eyes did not break contact.

"You're a liar," Christina grit.

"Sorry you expected more but all I did was not tell the truth. You assumed that your father was the only one with treasure on his mind. That's no fault of mine," Jack replied, unoffended.

"Of course, how foolish of me to think that there was more to you then there seemed. You're nothing but a selfish, traitorous, cowardly, untrustworthy, no good git."

"Pirate," Jack reminded.

"Mutineer," Christina hissed.

"Minx."

"Bastard."

"Wench."

"...Fool."

"Whore."

Christina gasped angrily, "... You... You...-"

Her notably intelligent name calling was cut short as Jack's lips crushed against hers without warning. She pulled back momentarily but then, with little to no thought, returned the kiss with heated fervor, her anger at him still pounding in her veins. They leaned closer still as rumbling thunder sounded in the sky outside and the rain started to pelt down onto the decks above them. Christina pulled back, short of oxygen and stared at Jack, "You have terrible timing, do you know that? I'm about to be sacrificed to a bunch of undead scary women because of some old curse and treasure and you choose now to kiss me."

Jack smirked, "Sounds perfect timing to me, luv." Christina opened her mouth to object but found herself incapable as Jack's lips sought out hers again.

XxXxX

"I bet Jack's coming up with a plan right now," Elizabeth decided quietly. Ana Maria rolled her eyes and Will shook his head disbelievingly.

"I highly doubt tha', Miss Elizabeth," Mr Gibbs told her truthfully.

"Scurvy rat! Swab the decks, ye scurvy rat!" Mr Cotton's parrot agreed.

None of them noticed the stirring amongst their watchers, the twelve women who had stood almost perfectly still for most of the journey now shared anticipating looks with each other as the storm around them grew stronger.

They knew they were getting closer.

Sorry this one was a tad borin'... it was sort of a filler while I figured out exactly what I wanted t'happen in the next chapter. Cheers fer readin'.

AJ-Sparrow: Ha, ha. Sorry about yer blood pressure! I shall try me best t'tone it down a little if only fer yer own health an' safety.

JosieAndThePussycats: Glad ye liked the first chapter. I doubt ye'll read this anytime soon but, eh, I reply t'all reviews so if ye get up t'here, congratulations.

The Flying Breadstick: Ah, I love plausible curses. Aren't they jus' the greatest. Ha, thanks. Sam in a pink dress... with little flowers too? Oh, the details! Hm, it might subtract from his fiercesome factor but, eh, wha' can ye do? I shall see, I shall see. Ha, wha' did ye think of me suggestions? Brilliant, huh? I know. Someone's got t'be genius an' if it must be me... I think I can handle the load. Barely.

Queen.Bowie.Jack.Sparrow.Lover: Ye fergot tha' Chris was Barbossa's daughter? Tha' is one of the main plot points, luv. I imagine the las' chapter might have got ye a bit lost if ye fergot tha'. Ha. Good t'know me story keeps ye from eatin'. Well, fer me anyway. Yer welcome fer the quick updates. I accredit it to me lack of a life. Joking, joking. I 'ave a life, jus' not a busy one so it's all fine... I sound like a loser so I'll stop talking now...

Whims: Me answer: Me cleverness is above question, testing an' doubt, luv. Yer jus' goin' t'have t'square with tha'. Aye, cleverer is as much of a word as cleverness... Aye, I'm 32 percent sure. Glad ye like the alarm clock. The ocean suits ye, even with the bloody sqwaking seagulls. Thankye kindly fer yer review.

June Birdie: Chris an' Jack are in the cabin 'cause Violet decided Jack needed t'explain t'Chris why what happening was happenin', savvy? Aye. Not likely but I decided I would rather Jack tell Chris in private than with ev'rybody on the whole bleedin' ship overhearin'.

BONANZA: Glad ye like the idea of the Brides. Chris shall find out about Jack's encounter, me thinks anyway. It depends on whether or not it suits the plot... Oh, an' I'm ecstatic tha' ye thought Jack was in good character when he found Sam an' tha'. I didn't want him t'act too affected by it all. Cheers fer reviewin'.