Chapter 2- Dead Men's Tales

Carina held Jack the monkey in her arms, stroking his fur. Jack the captain had brought him to her the last time he came to the island.

"I wish you could speak. You'd tell me about my father, right?" Carina asked her little friend. Never in her life did she think she'd be asking an animal, well, anything. But now, the monkey was the closest thing to her father she had, save for the diary that never left her side and never would.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, the monkey jumped from her arms and scurried off. Will tried not to trip on him as he came out to the balcony.

Neither Elizabeth nor Henry knew that Will and Carina had been having nightmares on and off for the past three years, so suddenly announcing that they'd had the same one at breakfast would invite more questions than they wanted to answer.

So they went through with their day as if nothing were new. But that night, neither could sleep. So sometime after midnight, they met on the balcony again.

"Anything new?" Will asked, taking the seat opposite to her. She shook her head. "Me either."

They sat in silence, until Carina finally said the one thing on her mind." Tell me more about it, please, about the Ilsa de Muerta."

She listened intently as Will recounted the tale of when he first met Jack. How he struck a deal with him to help him find Elizabeth, who had been taken by Barbossa and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl. They believed she was the key to breaking their curse, when it was Will that they really needed. He left out how her father had died once the curse was lifted. She'd heard this before and he knew now wasn't the time for her to hear it again.

"Not long after, it was reclaimed by the sea." Will finished.

"Like my father." Carina said. "He was brought back to life once, it could be done again, right?" It was an impossible idea, but she needed to believe it could happen.

"I don't know." Will admitted. "I don't even know how it was done the first time."

Carina ran her fingers through her dark curls, torn between what she'd studied her whole life and what she'd seen in just the past few years. Science told her-proved to her-that no one came back from the dead, not once, and not twice. But could all her knowledge explain a ship that fit in a bottle growing and sailing on the ocean? Or how a simple ruby returned to its place opened the earth and sent one below? Not yet, and perhaps not ever. But then again, she was an astronomer, and they studied that which couldn't be held or always seen, and yet they still believed. She believed, and maybe that was all she needed to do now.

"I have to get him back, Will." she finally said. "He's my father."

"I know. I've been in your place before." he said, remembering the impossible task of freeing his own father. " But first, we need to tell Henry and Elizabeth about our secret."

"Henry said he was going to Fort Sterling in the morning. I'll go with him and tell him then." Fort Sterling was a settlement on a nearby island where they could get most anything they couldn't on their island.

"Alright, I'll tell Elizabeth while you're gone." Will said. "Now, you should get some rest."

"As should you." Carina said, smiling.

Carina told Henry on the short trip to the island about her nightmares. To her surprise, he wasn't mad that she had kept a secret from him for the past three years. He was more worried about how often they had been happening, and what the last one meant.

"Do you think he's there somehow?" Henry asked.

" I don't know. I saw the island, but I didn't see him." Carina answered as Fort Sterling came into view. "I wish I had something that could give me clues, like the diary with the Trident."

"We could just go there, find out for ourselves." Henry suggested.

"Oh, yes, and then we can pick up your parents and make a stop at Atlantis before dinner." Carina teased.

"I'm not entirely joking."

"Henry, it was reclaimed by the sea before either of us were born. Even if it wasn't, we don't know how to get there."

They arrived at the docks and Henry tied up the boat. "We know someone that's been there a few times, we could..."

" We are not bringing Jack into this." Carina interrupted. "We both know what happens when he's around."

Henry sighed and smiled. "It was only a suggestion, Miss Barbossa." he said, taking her hand to help her onto the dock. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold bracelet. It had a single charm with the letter C engraved into it. "For you."

"Henry, it's beautiful." said Carina.

"Just as you are." He placed the bracelet around her wrist and a kiss on her cheek.

Carina had planned on running errands with Henry, until, that is, a brand new bookstore came into view, with no sign saying a woman couldn't enter.

"Don't buy too much." Henry said when she looked at the store longingly. He gave her a handful of silver and another kiss.

"I'll meet you at the docks!" Carina said as she rushed into the store.

The heavy thoughts of the night before were lightened as she entered the store. She nearly ran through each aisle, searching through the books. An hour or so later, she'd settled on three books, leaving her a few pieces of silver left.

As she left the store, she noticed a beggar sitting to the side, a cloak hiding their face. Carina decided to give the last of the silver to them, and knelt down to place it in their bowl. But the bracelet she wore seemed to be of greater value, so they snatched it and ran.

"Oi!" Carina yelled and ran after. She knew it was foolish to wear that in a place like this.

Luckily, Henry had been nearby and had seen the whole thing. He ran with her, dust from the unpaved roads kicking up and circling around them. He caught the thief in an alley, and grabbed hold of them.

" Who are you?" Henry demanded.

"I know of you, Henry Turner." said the beggar woman.

In shock, he released her. She looked up at Carina. "And I know of you, Carina Barbossa. I know who you seek."

Anger and confusion swelled in her. "Who are you, and who do you think I seek?" she asked.

The woman took off the hood of her cloak, revealing a face with scars decoratively placed along her bronze skin. She was bald and had a kind of scab at the center of her forehead.

"I am Shansa. I know you seek Hector Barbossa, your father. I know where to find him."