Waw… I'm telling you now, this chapter is definitely long. It's supposed to be longer but I cut off the drag parts. Well, if you ask me, this is the best chapter I've ever written! Of course, it still depends on you. I've changed a bit of the original story though, so I thought I should make myself clear…

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from POTC. bow

CHAPTER 11: THE TRUTH

The moonlight shone over the lone island of dela Muerta. A huge ship was anchored in the distance, while a small boat was gradually making its way towards the shore. Finally, the little boat bumped into the sand, and a man was pushed over. Joshua groaned and rubbed the back of his head. He raised his eyes and glared at the dark, tall figure in the boat that loomed over him.

"Here's the drop off kid. Hope you don't get eaten by sharks before you died of starvation. They won't get much from you that way." He roared with laughter. The man rowing the boat also joined in the laughter.

The tall man grinned, his mouthful of golden teeth gleamed against the darkness. "Any last words before we leave?"

Joshua stood up and brushed the sand off his pants. "My father paid you a high price to accompany me here and wait for the Black Pearl. Since you're leaving me now, give back my father's gold." He stretched his palm towards the man.

The man shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Let me make this clear to ye laddie. The morning your father arrived at the Mariners, these were his orders." He cleared his throat and mimicked the deep and gruff voice of Ray Andersen. "I want ye to sail my boy to dela Muerta, to wait for Jack Sparrow and his crew. Feed him well."

He paused and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I did as I was told. As captain of the Mariners, I made sure you were fed well. Now, I brought ye here at this island, and that ye may wait for the Pearl. The truth is, we don't like Jack Sparrow one bit. You're lucky we still brought you this far." His eyes glimmered in the darkness, eyes filled with greed and evil that sent shudders down Joshua's spine.

Joshua snorted. "You fed me well all right: two cups of water and three bowls of porridge everyday."

"That's good enough for me laddie. Now if ye have nothing else to say, we shall bid ye farewell now and get on our way." The captain waved his hand impatiently at his companion.

The other man jumped from his daze and started rowing the boat away from the island. Joshua opened his mouth to argue, but realized that whatever he said will take him nowhere. He stared gloomily at the dark outline of the ship as it sailed away from the island, until its shadow silently crept towards the horizon and away from view.

Joshua sank down to his knees. Now he was definitely hopeless. If the Black Pearl didn't show up as expected, not only will they be unprepared of Tom Smith's attack, he will also die in that island, alone and lost. He felt his strength gradually drifting away, and his body gave in as he dropped into the sad. He lay down there with his eyes closed. He decided that the island could wait until tomorrow, if he manages to wake up tomorrow.

-----

Jack ran around his ship, searching frantically. If the crew hadn't known what happened before, they would have thought their captain had finally gone drunk and lost his way in his precious ship. There was no wind to push the sails anyway, so the Black Pearl dropped anchor in the middle of the Caribbean. The whole crew retired into their bunks and fell into a deep slumber, except for Captain Sparrow.

He looked among the abandoned rooms below the deck; there was no sign of her. After an hour of searching, the moon had rose high in the sky. Captain Jack Sparrow gave up his search and went back to his wheel. He looked up in the dark sky and checked the direction of the wind. That's when he saw it: a red piece of cloth hanging down from the crow's nest. Jack Sparrow strained his eyes for a better look. There was definitely someone up there. He pulled out his pistol and started climbing up to the crow's nest.

As he neared it, he heard sobs coming from above him. Then he knew what he would be expecting. Jack tucked his pistol in his belt and continued to climb up. True enough, Alicia sat there, her legs pulled towards her body. When she saw the captain, she quickly pulled the red cloth, which turned out to be her bandana, and covered her face with it.

Jack sat down beside her and patted her shoulder.

"It's alright Alicia."

Alicia lowered her bandana and stared at Jack's chocolate eyes. Somehow, she found comfort and trust in those eyes. Unable to control herself, she burst into sobs again. There was a long moment of silence, wherein Alicia's sobs and the ripple of waves were the only sounds heard. Finally, she fell silent, her face buried in her knees.

Jack, whose hand was still on her shoulder all along, shook her a bit.

"Are ye alright luv? Are ye asleep?"

Alicia raised her head and shook it. Then, she forced a smile in her lips and said.

"I'm fine now, Captain, thanks."

Jack smiled back. "Are ye hungry? Want me to whip up some porridge for ye?"

Jack started to rise from his feet but Alicia pulled him back down. She held his hand in hers and looked intently into his eyes. Jack stared back as well.

"I want to ask you a favor, Captain." Alicia said sadly.

"What is it?" Jack asked, his eyes never tearing away from their gaze.

There was a pause. "I… I wonder if you can sail to Port Royal, before we go to your treasure island."

Jack's eyes turned into a puzzled look.

Alicia continued. "I will never forget what Lynne had done to me tonight. But partly, it was my fault too." She broke away from their gaze and looked down.

"I was too selfish. The moment I stepped into this ship, I felt a great sense of belonging. Because of this, the idea of going back home never occurred to me. Even though I know how much Lynne wanted to go home, I tried to forget it, thinking that she would soon like the ocean as much as I do."

She paused again. Jack was afraid she would burst into tears again, but she didn't.

"I only thought of myself. I wanted to stay near the ocean, but I didn't want to lose Lynne. She is my family to me. Now that all this had happened, it is my fault not to have learned to let her go."

She pulled at Jack's hands. "Please Jack, just this once. We'll just drop her at Port Royal and we'll be off. I will stay with the crew. If you don't mind…" Her gaze dropped and seemed to be too ashamed to look him at the eye.

Jack listened quietly. When Alicia was finished, he raised her chin so that they were face to face.

"Since the day I saved Alexander, you were already a part of me crew, luv. And I'll do you that favor, on the condition…"

"What is it?" Alicia asked eagerly.

"On the condition that Lynne agrees to leave ye and go home herself."

-----

Lynne wailed, tears streaming down her face. Will brought her to her room and asked her to lie down. Stubbornly, she sat on her bed and continued to cry, her body rocking back and forth. Will was seated opposite her, obviously clueless on how to stop her tears from falling.

All the time they were in their room, Lynne never stopped wailing and crying. From time to time, she would murmur under her breath. "It's all my fault… all my fault. I should have known… I should have stopped it."

Will opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. Before, it would have been a lot easier for him to speak words of comfort to women, but many years at sea can somehow suck out all the gentleman-ness in him. He just sat there and watched as Lynne rocked back and forth, sobbing and weeping into her handkerchief.

The door opened so suddenly that Will stood up from his seat. Jack came in, with Alicia lying against his shoulder. Lynne stopped crying and stood up as well. The two girls looked into each other eyes. It was a very awkward moment of silence, especially for Jack and Will. Then Lynne finally broke the silence.

"Alicia, I need to tell you something."

"No Lynne, you have to listen to me first."

Lynne looked into Alicia's eyes, which made Alicia feel very uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and said.

"Jack agreed to drop by Port Royale, that is if you really want to go home."

Lynne's eyes brightened. "Of course I want to! When will we arrive?"

Alicia shifted her eyes away from Lynne's. Lynne got the message at once. 'You're not going back with me?"

Alicia shook her head. "I'm staying. I'm going to live a pirate's life. It's what I've always wanted."

Lynne sank down into her bed. "This couldn't be happening." She murmured.

Alicia fell silent at once and held Lynne's hand.

"Does this have something to do with what you're going to say to me?"

Lynne pulled Alicia closer and the two girls sat down side by side on the bed. Will made his move to leave the room but Jack stopped him and motioned him to sit on the other bed before sitting down himself.

Alicia looked eagerly at Lynne, but somehow, Lynne just couldn't look straight at her. Finally, Lynne cleared her throat.

"There's been something I haven't told you. It's the truth behind… behind your identity."

Alicia was startled. "My identity?"

Lynne nodded. "All these years, you've always thought that my parents adopted you and that was how we became sisters, but in fact," Lynne held Alicia's hand tightly. "We really are sisters."

Alicia's mouth fell open, so did Jack's and Will's.

Lynne continued. "That night before mother died, she told me everything about your identity, and her mistake: the greatest mistake in her life."

"Father was a very ambitious navy officer. Right after my birth, Father went out at sea for a very long time, leaving Mother and me at home. Of course, I was young then and it didn't mattered to me, but Mother was lonely. That was when… she met him."

"They were deeply, madly in love. Only when she conceived you did Mother finally realize the fault in her actions. You see, he was a pirate."

Alicia gasped, but Lynne ingnored her and continued.

"She gave birth to you in secret and sent you away to an orphanage right after you were born, paying the caretaker to take good care of you before the time comes that she can bring you home."

Lynne took a deep breath. Alicia was speechless, but she was definitely listening to her. After a few seconds, as Jack and Will looked from Lynne to Alicia and back, Alicia spoke up.

"Who is he… my father? And where is he now?"

At this point, Lynne fell silent and hesitated to continue. Alicia saw her uncertainty and held Lynne's hands tightly. Lynne sighed. She pulled out a piece of paper from a small pocket in her dress. Alicia took it from her with shaking hands. The paper was so delicate it seemed to tear apart with the slightest movement. Alicia opened it delicately: the writing still whole and legible. Both Jack and Will leaned forward for a closer look at the contents.

To my dearest Lara,

My heart is filled with sorrow as I write you this letter. My crew will be leaving tomorrow at the break of dawn; do not bother to come to the pier. At this point, I do not know if I will live to see my child again. That is why I leave you my ring, for our child. I hope with this ring, the child can be reunited with his brother, whom I have given the same ring, with my name carved into them. As for you, know that my heart will always stay with you, no matter where I will be.

With love, Bill

"If you are wondering, the ring is with me."

Lynne removed a long necklace from her neck, where a gold ring dangled below. Alicia took it from Lynne's palm and twirled it over the lamp light. Jack was still scrutinizing the letter, but Will's eyes were staring hard at the ring. His mind was twirling, confused but enlightened at the same time. Finally, he managed to ask.

"What is the man's name?"

Lynne looked questioningly at him but answered. "Mother said he was Bootstrap Bill."

There was a loud thud. Alicia and Lynne turned around to see Jack sprawled over the floor, his eyes wide with astonishment. Will on the other hand, snatched the ring from Alicia and examined it closely. True enough, at the surface of the ring, carved intricately in cursive, was a name he knows of.

"What's the matter, Jack? Will? Do you know my father?"

Alicia stood up and looked eagerly at both of them. "Is he still alive?"

Jack gulped. "Your father's gone to Davy Jones' locker, luv, but I bet your brother's young and alive."

"So you know where to find him?"

Jack became speechless. Alicia looked from Jack to Will. Slowly, Will removed the ring from the chain and placed in Alicia's fingers. Alicia's eyes widened. Then Will extended his palm over Alicia's hand. She look down, and there she saw it in his middle finger: a ring similar as hers, with the same name carved into it: Bill Turner.

So what do ye say mateys? Good enough? Harhar… send in those reviews!