Jack shoved his dusty chair back from the table and bowed gracefully, "Thanking you benevolently, sympathetically, compassionately and grammatically. Taking into consideration your kind caveat, as soon as we have made repairs, we will set sail to Africa like a proverbial bat out of the theoretical Hell."

Stone grinned widely and chuckled to himself like Jack had said something incredibly entertaining before he once more leant across the table solemnly, "Actually, what this is," here he gestured around to the darked room, "is not so much of a warning as it is an 'informing'." Jack raised an eyebrow. Stone threw a week-old paper onto the scarred table. On the front cover, in curly Edwardian script was the bold headline, 'Queen's cousin taken prisoner by pirates'. Jack frowned and read on.

In the early morning of May the second, Alexandria Evelyn Helena Vantia, third cousin to the Queen, was believed to be villainously kidnapped and taken hostage by a band of blood-thirsty pirates. While they as yet have not been discovered, the English Navy is on full alert and scouring the waters for the offending vessel. It is believed the pirates took the ship Ms Vantia was travelling on in secrecy to wed her husband, Lord Damien DeKampft Lafew in Africa, as soon as it left English waters. The ship has been as yet unfound. It is believed the pirates will take Ms Vantia to Africa so that they may gain a considerable sum for returning her to Lord Lafew. Her family prays that Ms Vantia will be returned unharmed and …

It went on into a more detailed family history of Alex and the last sentence described Jack, but without giving his name. It seemed someone out there in the world hadn't heard of the famous 'Captain Jack Sparrow'… A likeness of him was sketched and placed next to a family portrait of Alex and her immediate family. The contrast between Jack's scruffy attire with his decorated deadlocks, and Alex's severe and austere well-dressed family was almost comical.

Jack slid the paper back over to Stone. "They forgot to add my pirate's hat." He stated, "And my teeth are straighter than that."

"Details, details." Stone shrugged. Jack sat back down in his chair and studied Stone.

"So I can see why you're here. You find out who she is, hire a crew and track me to Tortuga. You want to capture me and take all the glory. Return to the Navy with the rescued Alex and imprisoned Captain. Get yourself promoted to Admiral Stone." Stone nodded.

"That was the general idea."

"And then all your Christmases came at once when the precious Alex herself popped up in your esteemed company."

"That it did." There was silence in the party as each tried to gauge how the other would react.

"So clap me in irons." Jack shrugged.

"Wait!" Alex cried. All heads turned to regard her.

"I'll go willingly with you to my… husband, if they are pardoned." Stone looked unconvinced.

"It's my duty to apprehend them, and there's a price on his head." But Jack detected a hint of hope in his voice. Vice Admiral Stone wasn't as adverse to this proposal as he was making himself out to be.

"I can make things very difficult for you…" Alex trailed off. "One preoccupied moment and I may just… disappear. One slip in the night-time on deck and I'm overboard. I'm no criminal, so you can't legally detain me in the brig like some common convict," Alex argued. Stone appeared to consider this for a moment, but Jack already knew what his answer would be.

"Then we have an accord. No arrests for Misters Turner and Sparrow, provided your voyage to Africa remains… uneventful." It was almost too easy. The only complaint Jack felt was the incorrect use of his name; his correct title was after all, 'Captain Sparrow,' not 'Mister.'

"Deal." Sitting ramrod straight with her hands folded in her lap, it was suddenly obvious to Jack and Will that she was indeed who the papers claimed she was. So how had she fooled them for so long?

Will thought foolishly to how had had acted towards her - she was a noble, a 'somebody', possibly in line to the throne even (Will had no idea how these things worked), who had no interest in a black-smith turned pirate like himself. It was a wonder she could tolerate being in his presence, a common sailor whose hands were as rough as canvas and whose only possessions in the world was a small hammock hanging inside a dirty great hulk of a ship. His baffled confusion towards Alex's new identity turned into simmering rage.

How could she have deceived them all like that? She deliberately put them all in danger, having the Navy seeking them like they were. Why the devil would she run away from all that wealth – and a wedding even – and risk her life on a pirate ship? To her, the Black Pearl must have been her last adventure before a life of martial fulfilment. A last hurrah for independence and escapades. If Will was brutally honest with himself, deep down he had always known what she was – who she was. He'd had an inkling from the moment he saw her dressed up on the deck, and at the naval party, but his heart had ignored his brain's logical protests.

Will felt Alex had been living a lie and playing out someone else's life. All that talk about her aspirations, her opinions about the pointlessness of balls and the upper-class, when she was almost as upper-class as you can get? How much duplicity and hypocrisy had her words carried? Will balled his hands into fists in annoyance and anger at Alex's treatment of him, and at himself - that he'd allowed that to happen. The rich always assumed they could just fool around with the lesser folk, and they would just be so grateful that the affluent had chosen to associate with them, the working class. Ultimately Will had been fooled by a spoilt, bored little rich girl off on an adventure on the high seas, ready to bail and go back to her precious world at any moment she snapped her fingers.

Jack thought back to the first time he ever saw her, in that cell in London. He had over-looked her supposed breeding, because it mattered not in the slightest to him. And if he stirred a few rich men's feathers running off with their prize offspring, what did it matter as long as they pulled their weight on his ship? Then again, he had also never imagined Alex was as high on the social ladder as what she was. He though he was running off with some Governor's daughter, not the fourth cousin of the Queen or whatever the Lord Neptune she was. Jack was used to untruths, but Alex's deception seemed heartless. Why didn't she just tell him the truth? He asked himself.

"Why do you care so much about a miserable rabble such as them?" Stone asked Alex contemptuously, ignoring Jack and Will completely. The atmosphere in the room had changed from Jack, Will and Alex as the good against the evil, to the upper-class against the poor man scenario.

"Why do you care?" Will asked Alex softly. Alex saw the pain and hurt and shock in his eyes. He felt double-crossed and cheated.

"I never meant any harm." She whispered. "I didn't intend for this to happen."

"You're practically royalty Alex; what did you think would happen?" Will asked sharply, incredulously. Alex shrunk back in surprise. If you expected my sympathy, you were wrong, Will thought harshly.

As if reading his mind, Alex's eyes hardened, "I would have expected you to be a bit more understanding." She stated coldly.

"Understanding about what!" Will challenged. "You just expect me to understand what led you to lie to me and everyone else about who you were, what you believed in; everything? You put the entire crew in danger, but selfishly, you just ignored that fact. Did you think it was fun, dressing up and playing around on your new big toy? Did you have a little adventure? Are you bored now? Do you want to go home to your comfortable sprawling estate?" Alex regarded his outburst with speechlessness. She turned to Jack.

"Jack, you know I never meant – " she stopped short as she saw his expression. Why won't anyone believe me?

Jack regarded Alex with cold, hard eyes and a grim mouth, "If she truly is who you say she is, take her. She is of no consequence to me, and I dare not sully her reputation by detaining you fine gentlemen any longer. Will I be expecting an invitation to the wedding?" Jack asked bitingly. He might as well as held a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Alex stared at Jack in shock, limp with confusion. She saw Jack's cold eyes, and the ice that lay behind them. Her face hardened also to mirror Jack and Will's expression. Turning to Stone, Alex replied in her upper-class infliction,

"Thank-you for your understanding, sir." She rose gracefully and allowed herself to be led away by Montana, who seemed to have completely forgotten his earlier animosity towards her, once he knew of her worth to the Vice-Admiral. Montana threw the heavy iron door open and a naval officer standing outside escorted Alex without a word. As soon as Alex could no longer be seen, he closed the door once more. Jack felt his stomach drop. This was not part of the accord.

"Montana, I believe we have found two wanted criminals in our midst." Stone smirked. "But you granted us indemnity!" Will shouted, outraged.

"True," The Vice Admiral Stone said, "A navy man always keeps his word... It's a good thing I am no longer a navy man." The menacing face of the giant that Jack had refused to hire as a crew-member for the Black Pearl leered out of the darkness. "I found the old Admiral and his naval ways to be…inflexible." Stone elaborated. "Montana."

There was a gleam of white teeth from the shadows, and Montana stepped into the light and towered over Jack and Will. Raising his massive fists, Montana cracked his knuckles, smiling widely...

Yay – back to the action and suspense! History lesson's over; we now know who Alex is. But now – who is Stone? And what does he intend to do to Jack and Will? Yeah, if you didn't get that in the last sentence, Jack and Co. are in trouble (again). This time it's a pissed-off giant wanting to extract his revenge. That Jack is a lucky man. Next chapter – Jack and Will's fate: or possibly – dark chapter. Whatever floats my boat.

A special thanks to all my reviewers – I know I've been neglecting you of late, and I feel really, really bad. There's just not enough hours in the day. It's getting hard to update on time, let alone edit the chapter.

DCoD – Who did you think the baddie was going to be? I'm curious.

Jacquelyn Sparrow – introduce Commodore Norrington? Hmmm. Difficult. He's not in the plotline (I don't think I've mentioned his name so much as once, but I suppose he does exist outside of the story – much like Scarlet, I guess), but he could probably be squeezed in somehow, depending on where the story takes me. Taking into consideration I said I was going to star Anamaria, and she has yet to make her debut. She's waiting for the opportune moment ;) In case you haven't realised, my opportune moments take a while to develop :) I also promised another evil ship floating on the waters – that is definitely going to materialise soon. Very soon. Verrrrry soon. Me, refer to Captain Jack as 'Captain' constantly? That's a lot of extra typing; seven extra characters for my poor tired fingers. And what's a title between friends, me hearties?