A/N: Fifty chapters! Madness. Our story is just the right age for a mid-life crisis. Technically the last chapter was the fiftieth, but with the prologue being a thing that exists that's all a bit skew. Since the last chapter I spent two hours of my night outlining exactly what's going to happen between now and the beginning of At World's End. I don't usually outline things, my novel didn't even get that privilege, but this is all just so complex that I feel like if I don't go in with a gameplan, I won't do it any justice. Almost ten viewings of DMC over three months and two thousand words of outlining later (combined with the 2k I wrote for TCOTBP)….I'm very, very excited for what's in store. As you can probably tell by how I'm spamming you with updates. It's a lot, it's intimidating, hopefully you guys enjoy it!

"You can't tell me you truly mean to ingest some strange concoction, supposedly given to Jack Sparrow by a witch you don't even know," James pressed as they eased her chest of belongings between them, through the town towards the docks.

It wasn't too heavy, and half the trick seemed to be navigating through the general chaos of Tortuga to manage it.

"What other choice do I have?" Theo asked.

"Not doing so," he pointed out flatly "If returning to Ireland is no longer your aim."

"She never said this would help me get home - just that it'd give me answers. If I can get answers, that puts us in a stronger position than we are now, stumbling around in the dark hoping that something out there is working in our favour."

"You've done well enough up until this point," he pointed out.

They were stepping onto the docks now, and for that she thanked God because her arms were starting to burn terribly.

"If staying alive counts as doing well, sure," she snorted "I'd hate to see what doing badly would look like, though."

"I think it's a bad idea - categorically."

"And I have taken that into account, but we have countless bad ideas ahead of us to get through before all is said and done."

"Your bedside manner is appalling."

"Your idea of what constitutes a bedside is absurd," she countered.

The snort that her stupid little joke dragged out of him was incredibly begrudging, but it still made her smile all the same. Not least because she couldn't help but compare their current state of affairs to the one from the movies - James shitfaced, filthy, and vomiting over the side of the docks in the background while Elizabeth entreated Jack for help. Instead he stood now, healthy, clean, fairly happy, and perhaps more scruffy than usual, but Theo certainly wasn't going to complain about that. If anything, he seemed more relaxed like this, their current circumstances aside. It made her happy to see, and the idea that she might've had anything to do with it only warmed her heart more still. Before they could devolve into more bickering on the matter of the mushrooms, though, Theo heard a voice calling after her.

"Theodora?! Theodora! Theo!"

They lowered the chest to the dock just in time for a blonde blur to accost her. James' hand flew to the hilt of his sword, and Theo's might have too had she not been expecting Elizabeth's arrival, albeit perhaps not quite such an enthusiastic one. Instead, she tensed up in surprise and then she laughed and hugged the woman back, surprised by the ferocity with which Elizabeth clung to her, but happy to return it with just as much enthusiasm.

"It's good to see you," she greeted with a laugh when Elizabeth finally stepped back.

"It's good to see you! I was so worried when you left, we all were, I-"

Her eyes flickered to James as though briefly assessing the company Theo was in these days, and then she stopped dead, her dark eyes widening as she looked between the two of them.

"I…Com- er, Mr Norrington," she greeted slowly.

"Miss Swann," he replied in turn with a nod.

Theo watched the exchange with some small amount of amusement, tempted to reassure them that if they were on a first name basis she wouldn't burst into tears. But she held her tongue, partially because she had no idea what propriety actually dictated when it came to how they addressed each other (because what was the protocol for greeting your ex-fiance with your new kinda-sorta-betrothed standing by your side?)…and also because some small part of her had feared this moment. She'd warned James that Elizabeth would soon turn up, mostly because she feared what sort of impression not warning him might give, and he'd offered little reaction to that piece of news at the time, but she'd still feared her friend's arrival. Some small part of her lived in fear of this moment coming and her catching a glimpse of a very particular look on James' face - that soft, caring look that had taken hold of his features back on The Dauntless when Elizabeth first accepted his proposal.

It wasn't a fair fear, nor was it a founded one. It wasn't based on reality, not the one she found herself in anyway, but on the movies - on what might have happened had she not been here. It was rooted in paranoia, fear, and riddled with insecurity - and those were three things she found utterly tedious. It was unfair for her to take them out on James when he'd given her no reason to worry over such things, and so she would not. All of that being said, she felt relief - cool and light - wash through her chest when she looked to him and found nothing but politeness on his face. No secret longing, no puppy-dog eyes, no heart-aching tenderness. Friendliness, sure, which would probably be a bit less guarded were he not likely very aware of what impression his reaction might give Theo as she stood there beside him, and respect undoubtedly, but nothing more.

"You…" Elizabeth said slowly, looking between the two of them "Forgive me, you two er…found each other, then."

"We were happily reunited," James confirmed with all of his usual understated politeness "After…"

"After James tracked me down to Tortuga," Theo supplied "I'm known as Jack Sparrow's witch now, isn't that charming? Tales of me are spreading far and wide."

"Jack's here, then?" Elizabeth was keen to get back onto the topic at hand "Is Will with him?"

Theo hesitated "You should really talk to Jack. He's-"

"Still recruiting, Dora? Good lass," the man in question's voice rang through the night.

Theo sighed - as did James, likely for entirely different reasons - and they turned to watch him saunter towards them with a smile on his face. Until his eyes landed on Elizabeth, he blinked in recognition…and then his gold teeth glinted in the torchlight as he grimaced. Very smooth.

"We should leave you two to it," Theo said "We can catch up later, Elizabeth. I'm guessing I'm in my old quarters, Captain?"

He waved a hand, which she chose to take as a 'yes', and when James lifted his side of the trunk they resumed their progress up the gangplank and onto the ship - silently this time. Theo's cabin aboard the Pearl had always been for the sake of the crew more than it was for her. While she suspected in part that Jack wanted to reduce their chances of seeing her weird modern behaviours, tattoos included, as much as possible for the sake of everybody, she also knew full well that all aboard were more content when the witch slept separately. Given the, ahem, quality of the men that she'd now recruited for Jones, it was a sense that she now shared.

Still, the realisation of how much smaller her cabin was compared to her rooms in Tortuga only truly hit her when she stood in it with James, and found if they wanted to do much moving at all then they would have to move around one another.

"Are you alright?" She asked once her chest was set down and wedged securely beneath the bed.

He gave a snort, offering her an amused look "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

"I'm not worried, if that's what you mean," she said.

"Good," he replied frankly "You've no reason to be."

"But that reunion would've been uncomfortable for anybody," she pointed out.

"And it was, in a manner of speaking. But I'm well," he said.

"I only mean that it would be an uncomfortable situation for anybody - it was an uncomfortable situation for…everybody," she trailed off and then sighed, shaking her head at her own rambling "And that I wouldn't read too much into it if you found yourself…"

"Uncomfortable?" He supplied drily.

"Har-har," she rolled her eyes.

He was one of the few people who could laugh at her without making her feel like he was laughing, well, at her.

"You were in love with her once, James," she continued trying and failing to put her thoughts into words "All I mean is that you don't have to pretend that all of this is fine and rosy if it really is stressing you out. It would stress anybody out, modern or historical. Anybody human - and some of those…uh, non-human. Who we'll see soon enough, actually…something to look forward to, yeah?"

It was then that he finally took pity on her, stepping forward into her space and threading his fingers of one hand with hers.

"It was unpleasant, as it would be encountering anybody who knew me when I had my life in order…albeit not as unpleasant as it was having you see me in the state I was in when we were first reunited," lifting her hand, he traced the fingers the other against the back of it "And…I would disagree with your earlier assessment. I thought myself in love with Elizabeth, before I met you and discovered the reality of what it is to truly experience such feelings."

Theo opened her mouth to respond, but her cheeks were blazing and the words weren't there, leaving her spluttering and blushing.

"I…You can't just say things like that and…and…"

"And?" He prompted softly, amusement seeping into his voice.

"And expect me not to die."

Back home a great romantic line tended to consist of 'd'you wanna be my bird, then?' - she couldn't imagine such a proposition leaving James' lips.

"It's how I feel," he said.

She laughed, mostly because she had no damn idea what else to do with herself. She'd never had anybody able to make her feel so damn giddy before, and she'd never expected it from a man who appeared so prim and proper as James did on the surface.

"And I look forward to the day when I might be able to act on those feelings," he added.

Theo blinked at him wide-eyed, and then it was his turn to blush crimson - for all that he'd just been laughing at her for doing the same.

"I didn't mean…not like that, not that I'd be averse to…when the time is right and…"

"And the stars are in alignment?"

"We shall consult the astronomers when the time comes," he deadpanned and then he snorted, shaking his head "I only meant that I intend to prove myself once again worthy of your high regard."

Was it weird that it was even more charming that he wasn't entirely effortlessly smooth?

"You do that just by breathing," she teased, shaking her head.

"Then I shall endeavour to keep doing so," he joked in return - and had no way of knowing the level of dread that promise gave rise to within her.

In an attempt to banish it, she lifted her head finally and kissed him softly, smiling into it as his beard tickled her face. Then she sighed and stepped backwards, her hand slipping from his.

"I know discussions on matters of propriety are distasteful to you," he began ruefully.

Theo snorted "You make me sound much wilder than I am."

The corners of his lips twitched upwards into a smile "But I wouldn't be averse to finding alternative sleeping arrangements while aboard the ship."

"If you want to then I won't hold it against you," she said "But half of Tortuga already knows we shared my rooms all this time, and half of our new crewmates come from that number."

"And I don't much like the idea of you being left here alone, what with the calibre of men that will soon be aboard," he commented grimly, scratching at his neck.

"I could take them," she said.

"I don't doubt that," he snorted "But I wouldn't wish for it to come to that."

Theo smiled fondly "My hero."

"You mock me," he rolled his eyes.

"Not at all. Truth be told, I was going to ask you to stick around tonight anyway - probably not safe for me to trip when I'm on my own."

"Trip?" He echoed doubtfully.

She drew the pouch of mushrooms from her pocket.

"Ah," the thin set of his lips grew no less grim "Another delightful turn of phrase."

"I've done them before," she admitted, although she didn't know if she should "Not a whole lot happened. Spent a good long time staring at the carpet, which was fun at the time I s'pose but it wasn't exactly life changing. Then again, those weren't given to me by a witch."

The ship was beginning to liven up around them, with footfalls and shouts and laughter ringing out. James shut the door, and then bolted it.

"You mean to take them tonight? Now?"

It was difficult to say whether the frown that furrowed his brow was distasteful or worried as he regarded the pouch.

"It might be my only opportunity for the foreseeable future depending on how the next few days play out," she pointed out "And surely the sooner we have answers, the better - right?"

He continued to stare at the pouch with what was now definitely worry, offering no answer. If he disagreed, Theo knew he would say so. The fact that he said nothing meant that he could not argue, and hated that fact. Teasing the pouch open, she emptied the contents into her palm. The mushrooms were a brown colour, shrivelled and dry. Not exactly appetising.

"Are you to make a tea from them?" He asked doubtfully "Perhaps a-"

Any further theories were stopped short when she tossed them into her mouth and began to chew. The noise he made was one of distinct disapproval - and it was a sentiment that she shared when the bitter, terrible taste hit her and her face crumpled as she forced herself to keep chewing. It took a lot of work, and a fair bit of gagging, but she managed it in the end - and then yanked her hip flask from her belt and took a few hearty swigs.

"Jesus Christ," she grimaced, coughing "That was grim."

"What now?" His disapproving frown was back as he remained where he stood, watching her carefully as though he expected her to start seizing and fitting and frothing at the mouth.

"Now we wait."

Toeing off her boots, she padded towards the bed and scooched to the far side against the wall, sitting back against the headboard as she waited patiently for…something. Anything, really. James remained standing there for a few moments, appearing far too tall for her little box of a room. When she remained perfectly fine, he finally sighed and shrugged off his coat, still glancing back at her as he did so, then as he folded it and laid it on the tiny square of a table the room boasted, like she might drop dead if he looked away for too long. Finally, he removed his own boots and then took up the empty space at her side and they sat together - in silence, scared of missing something.

"How do you feel?" James asked finally.

"Normal," she said "They should hit fast, though - my stomach's mostly empty. I'll know when they hit, I won't lose my mind or anything. They're mushrooms, not…not acid…"

She trailed off with a yawn, suddenly finding her eyelids growing heavy and every blink burning her eyes. It wasn't long before keeping her head upright seemed like a wholly impossible task, the light of the lantern they'd swiped from above deck casting strange and constantly changing shapes across the wooden walls. She hadn't even realised that her head had tilted to rest on his shoulder until she was being jostled when he turned to look at her, her eyelids fluttering too much for her to look back at him at all.

"Theodora?" He murmured, but his voice sounded far away - foggy, even, like she was underwater and he was calling on her from above the surface.

Now wasn't that a throwback to their very first interaction? Turning his upper body towards her, his hand came up, warm against the side of her jaw as he tried to urge her to look at him. It was much too difficult a task with the room blurring as it was. The most she could make out were sparks of green as her head hung limply in his grasp.

"Theodora?" He demanded "Theodora. Look at me."

"M'fine," she slurred "Need t'sleep."

Any answer he might've given was lost as her eyes finally closed.

The humming was back - closer and clearer than ever, and this time? This time there was no jolting herself awake. Oh, she tried. Christ, did she try. Theo fought, she panicked, and she struggled, but it was like she was bound and no matter what effort she tried to make the message got lost somewhere between her mind and her body. Her limbs remained leaden, her heart continued pounding, and her struggling proved little other than futile. Fucking mushrooms.

It was only upon connecting those dots that Theo finally - forcibly - relaxed. If the mushrooms were meant to help her find answers, and they were stopping her from jerking away from this strange humming, then it only suggested that the humming would lead to the answers she sought. And so she wrenched the tension from her limbs, let her limbs go slack…and then she was in freefall.

With precious little choice, Theo was left with nothing to do but follow the feeling. She was reminded of something her father had once told her. During parachute training, he'd told her, he'd learned that the worst part was actually before jumping out of the plane - when you still had the choice about whether you'd actually fall or not. Afterwards, once you'd taken the leap, the fear was gone because there was nothing left to be done about whether it was going to happen or not. Well, other than hoping not to die. She'd always just sort of trusted the words and never much intended to find out for herself whether they were true or not - and while she was now finding that they were, she wasn't exactly thrilled over the discovery. Although she supposed it would've been worse had he been wrong and she'd spent the whole thing riddled with fear.

The fall ended not with an inevitable 'splat', nor even much of a jolt, just the sort of slow and confused realisation that it had stopped somewhere along the way. Instead she found herself lying down. She might have even thought she was back on her bed and that she'd open her eyes to find James demanding to know what the bloody hell had just happened…had the humming not continued. Theo's eyes flew open, and they were met with surroundings she felt like she hadn't seen in a lifetime. Ireland - lush, green Ireland. The Ireland she missed every day, the Ireland she'd left behind…the precise patch of Ireland she'd left behind, in fact, the stones surrounding her.

For a moment something in her chest seized and she thought she'd come home - something she never expected to devastate her as much as it did in that brief moment - but then the humming finally stopped, and a voice spoke behind her.

"Calm yourself, dear, I can hear your panic from here."

Scrambling to her feet, leaves and twigs fell from her clothing as she did, and she whirled to see…a woman? A beautiful woman - the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen, truth be told. Sitting tall on a fallen log as though it was a throne, she reclined a few feet away from a campfire that burned merrily. Every so often the glow of the flames caught her dark brown hair and made it appear pure crimson, redder even than Theo's, as it flowed about her with her every movement, caught on a breeze that didn't actually exist. A circlet of gold and emerald green gems was nestled among the tresses, matching the grand silk robes she donned.

Theo stared at her, and she stared back.

"Am I back?" She asked finally.

"Not truly, no," the woman smiled knowingly when Theo heaved a sigh of relief, smoothing a hand over her hair "Does that relieve you?"

It did.

"I…can't be back," she answered "Who are you?"

"Come, Theodora, sit with me. It's customary to stand in the company of royalty, but I make exceptions for my children."

Theo frowned at her "You're not my mother."

"So literal," the woman laughed softly "No, I am not. But I'm more your mother than your mother was."

So was Hattie, Ada, Elizabeth Swann, and even Jack Sparrow if they were going to go down that route of conversation. Walking warily towards the fire, Theo slowly lowered herself to the ground beside it, sitting on the leaf-strewn forest floor rather than beside the woman on the log. Why? She wasn't sure. It just felt like the thing to do. It was only then that the other part of the strange woman's statement registered in her mind.

"Royalty?"

The woman gestured to her circlet "A fine trinket, but not solely a trinket."

"You're a princess?"

This earned her the first unamused look she'd received from the woman, honey-coloured eyes piercing her as she corrected the misconception sharply "Queen."

"Queen," Theo amended, mostly because she wanted the woman to stop looking at her like that.

It worked.

"And what are you queen of?" Theo asked.

"Don't be so dim, dear, it doesn't become you," the woman rolled her eyes "The hold of my ilk may not be as strong as it once was, but it is strongest in places such as these and you know places such as these more than most. So think."

Theo bit down on the inside of her cheek, her legs crossed and her elbows resting on her knees as she did as she was bid. This strange woman claimed to be a queen, and by how she held herself Theo believed it, but she also believed she was something more. There was something different about her, and it wasn't Kate Middleton different, it was…more. So what higher being would not only purport to be royalty, but hold an interest in her life? Hold an interest in sending her across realities in order to fight pirates and fall in love with…

Stilling, Theo's head shot up and she stared at the woman.

"No."

Queen Achtland grinned widely "I do not make a habit of investing in fools - it warms me to see I haven't begun now."

"You're not…no - it's not possible."

The immortal woman laughed at her now "One might've thought you'd reframed what you view as possible by now. You're here thanks to a clever little concoction given to you by a sea goddess, are you not?"

"That's…that's different."

"In truth, I expected you to have worked it out long before now."

Theo bowed her head, trying her utmost to keep herself collected. She'd heard the story of Queen Achtland, sure - as a child. The mortal woman who could find no satisfaction with mortal men, the woman who fell for one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, one of the descendants of a goddess, and crossed through realms into the lands of magical folk so that she could marry him and live at his side as a fellow immortal. Yeah, she saw the parallels well enough. Well enough to set her head spinning and her heart pounding.

When she finally looked up, Queen Achtland continued to smile at her with all the indulgent patience of a mother.

"Why?"

"I'm not so selfish as to think I'm the only one deserving of love that those might find in realms elsewhere," she chuckled "I'll admit, there are few who could handle it, fewer still who deserve it, and my ability to grant this gift is limited to those who fit both bills and stumble into my territory, but it works out rather happily for you all the same."

"Happily?" Theo echoed.

Queen Achtland raised one impeccably shaped eyebrow at her, a challenge in her eyes - daring her to be ungrateful. And Theo wasn't. Not in a way. But happy? Happy remained to be seen. Happy was the very permanent thing of endings, and the end was nowhere in sight just yet.

"You were lost, and thanks to me you were found," the immortal pointed out archly "Do you deny it?"

"So all of this was for a man?"

She loved James - dearly, more than she'd ever loved a man, but it left a bad taste in her mouth all the same.

"All of this was for you. The man is a part of it, and a big part of it, and I even confess that my decision was no less for him than it was for you, but you're fooling nobody if you pretend you don't take more satisfaction in the life you've found here than you had in the existence you were mired in before I acted. You crossed realms, and you found purpose, you found meaning, and you found love. Do you cry now because it's not easy?"

I thought myself in love with Elizabeth, before I met you and discovered the reality of what it is to truly experience such feelings. The words came back to her, in James' voice, and they made her feel impossibly better and somehow worse all at once. It certainly had her believing the immortal's words, though.

The accusation was still jarring, though - not about the living and the existing, but about the crying. Because she was on the verge of tears, and she hadn't realised it until then. This just made it all so incredibly painstakingly real. Okay, maybe not real. The reality of the matter had sunk in long ago, she wasn't that stupid - she hadn't lived out the last year of her life fully expecting that it was all some weird fever dream. She didn't even want it to be one, not anymore.

But all the same, the presence of the being before her was unsettling because it confirmed that none of this had been random. She hadn't muddled her way through - first to the stones, then to the eighteenth century, and finally to James. She'd been sent here. It should have been impossible for yet more gravity to be heaped upon her situation, and yet it was. It was not an accident, and it was not a coincidence. Yet another thing that made her feel better and worse all in one. It seemed her day was a thematic one. Good or bad, better or worse, the fact remained that it was certainly overwhelming.

"I don't cry," Theo muttered.

"Of course not, you're far too strong for that," it was difficult to tell whether she was insulting her or praising her, but she seemed placated at least.

"Will I save him?" She asked bluntly.

"That remains to be seen."

"Can I save him?"

"As does that."

Theo buried her face in her hands, and this time tears did spring to her eyes - which was why she didn't look up when the rustling of leaves and robes signalled Achtland's movement. Then long arms were wrapping around her, pulling her close to her chest like she was a toddler in the midst of a crying fit.

"I did not seek to meet with you to offer you no reassurance at all, child," Queen Achtland said softly "You make this no easier for yourself by how you go about it."

"Don't tell me I've fucked it up already," she sniffed, shaking her head.

"You must change things - all things, many things, some things, few things, one thing. You must change everything while changing nothing. You must respect the order of events without disturbing them at all…having already disturbed them completely," the woman sighed.

Queen Achtland was voicing Theo's thoughts, not her own. The ones that constantly buzzed around her mind and sought to disrupt any coherent train of thought.

"What do you mean?"

"This is your outlook, is it not? An outlook which entirely disregards the facts."

"The facts being?"

"You changed everything the moment you fixed those pretty eyes on that man, and made him wonder what your lips would feel like against his."

Theo scoffed, and Queen Achtland's hold on her tightened as though telling her to listen up. Even as her eyes remained shut, she felt the woman's long tresses fall and flow about the both of them.

"The version of events you're trying to abide by no longer exist. They ceased to exist when you became involved. That was always going to be the way of things, save perhaps if you'd left Port Royal the very day you'd arrived. Your existence changes what everybody else will do in some manner or another, it already has, and so change is the order of the day. Daunting change, daring change, drastic change. That is my advice to you. Do you understand me? Tip-toeing is boring, darling, I would not have involved myself in your affairs if I thought you were one who took naturally to such things."

Only when she was finished speaking did her grip lesson, and long delicate fingers began to smooth over Theo's hair.

"Thank you," Theo murmured finally.

She wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking her for - the advice, sending her here, taking an interest in her mere mortal affairs, all of it, none of it, it was difficult for even Theo herself to know.

"You're welcome," she hummed "Repay me by ensuring that my investment pays off."

Her hold loosened entirely, but Theo didn't look up until she retreated back to the log she'd been sitting on when she'd first arrived. For a while there was nothing but the crackle of the fire, and she directed her gaze around her. It was nice to be home…now that she knew she wasn't really home. It was difficult to tell whether it was dawn or dusk, the trees blocking out the sky save for the warm red-tinged glow that poked through the canopy of leaves above them. Theo inhaled deeply. It even smelled like home - she didn't know how, she couldn't pinpoint the smell, only that it was home. Part of her wished she could bottle it and carry it with her, but she knew it would only make her more homesick in the end.

The fact remained, though, that taking in her surroundings felt like more of a comforting embrace than the one Queen Achtland had just offered. Both made her feel tired, and impossibly small and young, but this one wasn't quite so patronising.

"So you're watching, then?" She asked finally.

"Not all mothers abandon their children," she replied calmly "Although I cannot say when you will next see me."

The laugh rose up through her chest and out of her mouth before she could do much about it. So a mythical Queen from legend had sent her through time and reality to have her falling in love with a potentially doomed man…before summoning her for a meeting to poke fun at her childhood. Yeah, Theo surmised, that sounded just like her luck.

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