Chapter 22

Tragic Awareness

The sun was peaking over the horizon when the search was called to a halt.

"Alan, love, ye need to go to the palace and speak with yer ma," Jon said sadly. There were tears in his eyes as he spoke. "I'll get the Pearl ready, whatever happened we should get going."

"I can't just go back, and we can't just leave," she yelled. "I'm not going anywhere without my father." Jon grabbed her and held her tightly.

"Alan we've searched this entire town, yer mother was… If he's we've not found him yet he's not gonna be darling."

Alan pulled out of his grasp, "how dare you, he's Captain Jack Sparrow. Nothing can kill him, nothing," she screamed and ran away. She heard the crew run after her but somehow managed to lose them on her mad dash. Jon had been right; she had to get back to the palace. He would be there waiting for her, laughing at her and telling her how silly she had been to think something had happened to him. He had to be there, Alan couldn't imagine life without him.

Alan turned down a few side streets until the palace came into view. It was then that she realized she couldn't possible get inside looking the way she did. As she walked up she pulled her hair from its ponytail and decided to try anyway. She walked up to the main gate, the guards watching her closely as she approached.

"Excuse me," she said with a smile. "This may sound odd but I'm Alandra, Demetrius' sister. I, uh, snuck out last night." The guards laughed as she spoke.

"You're nothing but a boy, get outta here before we put ya in jail," one of them growled.

"If you get him I'm sure he will tell you, I'm his sister. My mother is Saihrena and my father is Jack. Tell him someone is at the gates claiming to be Alandra," she pleaded. The guards stopped their laughing and looked from one to the other, if she was asking the Prince to see her she may be telling the truth. She saw the wheels turning in their heads. Finally one nodded.

"Follow me."

Three guards surrounded her and led her inside the palace. "Wait here," one said and he ran off deep inside the castle, no doubt to get her brother, the other two stood guard, making sure she indeed stayed put.

"Alan what are you doing dressed like that?" Alan turned to see her mother walking into the room she stood in. The two guards looked from one to the other and then looked sheepishly at her.

"Lady you know this boy?" One asked.

"This "boy" is actually my daughter," her mother said as she glared at Alan. Alan smiled at the guards and walked to her mother, giving her a tight hug.

"We should speak mother," She whispered. Her mother looked down at her then simply nodded.

"Gentlemen if you will excuse us?" The guards nodded. Saihrena grabbed her daughter's arm and led her from the room and up the stairs to the room she had shared with Jack.

Saihrena closed the door and rounded on her daughter. "Why are you dressed like that, and why were you surrounded by guards?"

Alan looked into her mothers red eyes and burst out crying. The story flowed from her lips as her mother held her and tried to comfort her. When the story was finished and Alan had calmed down a bit Saihrena called her made Juliana and ordered a bath to be drawn for her.

Alan lay in the bath tub thinking about her father, about her brother, and what it all meant. Raul had come to her mother, not Demetrius; her brother had yet to even make an appearance.

"He couldn't have though," Alan whispered. He more than likely knew whatever Raul knew, and if her Uncle had indeed told her mother that Jack was dead Demetrius must know as well.

"Why isn't he here then?" She mumbled to herself, not willing to believe the answer that presented itself. When she had scrubbed herself clean she got out of the bath and dried off, her mother came in carrying a lovely, pale blue dress hemmed in ivory lace. Alandra slipped it on and allowed Juliana to fix her hair. The over-all effect was stunning and Alan smiled at herself in the mirror, this is how she would confront her brother.

Her mother took one look at her when she was finished dressing and nodded. "Speak with your brother, see what he has to say," she whispered. Alan nodded and left the room. Her brother, apparently, had been waiting for her. As she left her mothers room a servant hurried over to her, one that looked as if he had been waiting in front of her door for hours.

"His majesty Prince Demetrius wishes a word with you, Princess," the man said.

"Take me to him," she whispered. The boy nodded and started off, she followed him closely. He brought her down the stairs to a study that she had never been to. The servant knocked and waited. The door opened and her Uncle Raul stood there, a smile upon his face.

"Come in Alandra," he said.

"Uncle," she said politely, nodding her head. She walked into the room and Raul closed the door behind her. Demetrius was sitting behind a large desk sipping a glass of some kind of liquor; she could smell it from across the room. He looked disheveled and unhappy.

"Alandra please have a seat," he said as he indicated a chair in front of the desk. Alandra sat down, her eyes never leaving his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He looked at her then, his eyes boring into hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" She asked, her mind reeling at the implication of this. Dem stood and began walking towards her.

"For Jack, for Logan and Jessie, for mother… and for what I am about to do," he whispered. Alandra jumped to her feet too late. a secret door beside her chair burst open and out popped ten men, one was the pirate from the night before that she had beaten.

"Dem," she whispered as she was wrestled to the ground and her arms were tied behind her back. "Stop it," she screamed.

"Take her to the ship, and remember if she is harmed it is Morgead you will answer to," Dem said.

"I hate you," Alandra screamed as the men picked her up. She kicked and wriggled as hard as she could to no avail, they had her and were not letting her go.

"Father will kill you, if mother, Jessie, or Logan don't first," she cried. Dem turned and looked at her then.

"Hold a moment," he said to the pirates as he walked to her. Dem smiled down at her, a viscous smile that ruined the good looks he got from father. "Father is dead, Logan has been sold into slavery, and as for mother and Jessie… Plans have been made. No one will come for you sister dear, no one," Dem said. "Gag her and leave quickly."

The pirate she had beaten the night before was sporting a black eye and a limp, but he nodded and did as told gagging her. He slung her across his shoulders and walked into the passageway. Alan felt the hopelessness of the situation crash down upon her, Logan was gone, father dead, and mother and Jessie next. Tears began to well in her eyes as she thought this.

She didn't cry for Dem though, the man that had stood in that room was no more her brother than the one that was carrying her, she had lost her brother years ago. She cried for her family and hoped Demetrius had been lying, her father couldn't be dead.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks as the man carried her through the darkened secret passageway. Torches were lit sparsely throughout the tunnels, barely lighting anything in front of them.

It seemed like she spent hours sling across the strangers back, being carried through those vast, darkened tunnels until she saw a vague light far ahead of her, something brighter and all together more cheerful than the despairing torchlight. They had reached the end of the passageway.

It opened up to a secluded cove; it was beautiful if looked at right side up. She was upside down though and becoming kind of sick from the way she was being held as well. In the cove was a large ship, though smaller than the Pearl, she was almost as magnificent. The ship was a dark brown in color, its sails were pristinely white and it shined in the afternoon light.

The man walked to the shore and dropped her in the bottom of the row boat that sat there. He hopped in and the crew followed in his wake, they picked up the oars and began to row to the ship. When they were within talking distance a young boy, no older than Logan, poked his head over the rails of the ship.

"Captain do you have the cargo?" He called, a large smile lighting his young face.

"Yea, make sure all is ready aboard Drew," the stranger from the bar, the one that had slung her over his back, and was apparently the Captain of the ship, called back.

The boy nodded eagerly and ran off. A ladder was dropped down the side of the ship as the boat hit the ship. The Captain cursed and smacked one of the crew in the boat upside the head. The crewmember apologized and they began to climb up.

The Captain grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, hold her steady with one hand while he climbed up the ladder with the other. Alan was impressed in spite of herself. When he reached the deck he jumped on and carried her down the stairs and into a small room that she was sure had once been a closet. A cot barely big enough to fit in the closet sat there and he dropped her on it and pulled out her gag.

Alan spit on him.

"Careful girl, it's not very ladylike to be spittin on people, especially those that hold your life in their hands," the Captain said.

"What ever gave you the idea that I was a lady? I'll kill you for this you know." She smiled evilly and he took a step back from her.

"Who are you?" He whispered.

"Don't worry, you'll know soon enough when the Black Pearl is sneaking up behind you." The Captain looked at her for a moment before turning and closing the door. She heard the sound of a key being turned in a lock and him stomping away. Alan lay down on the cot; her arms and legs still tied, and closed her eyes. She would need all the rest she could get if she was going to get out of this. Nobody knew where she was, or even that she was missing yet. She was on her own.


I hoped you liked this, but I want REVIEWS! I want everybody to review this chapter and tell me if you don't want Jack to be dead or not… If I don't get enough reviews he may just die…

And no killing of the Shauna either!

Okay I haven't done this in a long time,

Disclaimer:

I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow, or, uh… I think that's all I'm using from the movie… But if you notice anything else that's not mine either, it's Disneys! Anything else on here that you don't recognize from any movie belongs to me and since nobody has asked me to use them, anybody using them is stealing from me!

Ok… don't forget to review everyone.