The first thing Maria realised, was that it was dark. Her second thought was panicked, as she realised that she must be dead. Then, something touched her arm. No, it was someone grabbing her arm, and they were pulling her up to the surface. Barely conscious, Maria turned to face that someone. It was Jack!
She shook her head, trying to make herself more aware, and then began kicking her legs; her face turned up towards the dim light that she could only hope was the surface of the water. Oddly, it seemed so peaceful down there, and so much quieter. But the storm was still raging in the surface world, and this was made clear by the sudden flash that intensified the light above them, and lit up the mysterious world below for an instant.
The surface was getting closer. The light was getting stronger. But at the same time, Mariana was slowing. Her lungs felt as though they would burst, and her whole body ached for air. Jack gave one last tug on her arm, and she was brought up to the surface.
"Maria! Maria, luv! For the love of the gods, say something to me!" Jack shouted above the raging storm, still holding on to her still body. Maria pulled in a deep breath of the life giving air and coughed.
"My name is Mariana, and don't call me 'luv'," she said, her voice barely audible. Jack grinned, then turned his head skyward and mouthed 'thank you'.
"C'mon, Mariana, keep swimming," Jack shouted, beginning to pull her to the nearby shore. Maria started to kick her legs once more, and as oxygen mixed with the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she could feel herself getting stronger. "Good girl, come on," Jack encouraged her, using all of his strength to get them both closer to the island.
The waves rose in swells all around them, the rain struck their faces painfully, and the wind whipped around them, making swimming much more difficult than it should have been.
If the storm wasn't so loud, the whole world would have heard Anamaria shouting their names into the vast sea, searching frantically for their bodies in the uneven ocean, hoping to find any trace of the two. Gibbs was doing the same, but had silently already given up hope for anyone that had been thrown into those treacherous waters. Tears began to stream down her face, though the rain that pounded down absorbed them, making them seem non-existent. She shouted until her voice became hoarse, and broke with sadness and despair. Gibbs approached the distraught pirate, and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the truth and stop her tears from falling. She would grieve a long time for Jack, she knew, and had known this for a very long time. Now she also knew that she would grieve for Mariana. But now was not the time for grief, she realised as a look of determination came across her face. Now was the time for survival.
She pulled herself away from the side of the ship, and faced the stricken crew.
"Hold onto anything you can, and don't let go!" she bellowed as lighting cut across the dark sky. Though it was still early morning, the storm had made the world so dark it could have passed as night. "I don't want any heroics from anyone trying to save any cargo, because you won't be able to do it. Just hold on, and pray that we all make it through!"
Anamaria grabbed onto a thick length of rope that had been tied to the wheel, and wound it around her wrist, then around the wheel itself, holding on for dear life. Most of the men held onto the masts of the ship. At this point, each of them knew that everyone on board was afraid, so they did not bother to hide it in their expressions.
What seemed like hours later, Jack and Maria staggered onto the shore of the small island. They got to the line of trees, then collapsed, neither having the strength to go any further. Maria instantly slipped into unconsciousness, unable to keep herself awake any longer. She was alive, for now, and that was all that mattered. Jack looked at her face. For someone who had nearly died and was now stranded on an island in the middle of a horrific thunderstorm, her face looked so peaceful, as if she had left that place entirely, and was now asleep in her own bed. He smiled, and then felt himself slipping away to sleep.
When he woke, the storm had vanished completely, the only reminders of its occurrance the broken branches that were scattered around, and the fact that both he and Maria were stranded on the island.
"Not again," he groaned, remembering that this was the very island that he already twice been stranded on.
Maria woke as he stood up, and walked over to the shore of the island, scanning the horizons for the long gone Black Pearl. He cursed under his breath, but then decided that wasn't quite enough to cover it, and he broke out in shouts.
"I suppose you think this is all hilarious!" he shouted at the sky. Maria sat up, and watched the pirate. "This is the third time you've done this to me! This is just a game to you, isn't it! You just love watching me to see how many ways I can find to get off this goddamn island, don't you? Do you not have anything else to do except torture a pirate?"
The ranting continued, and as Maria watched him, she realised that there was something different about him.
"I don't think he's listening, Jack," Maria said from behind, making him spin around to face her. His face broke out in a grin, making Maria wonder yet again if he was actually insane. It was then that she realised what was different about him. "Jack, what happened to your hair?"
"Huh?" he mumbled, a confused look on his face.
"Your hair," Maria repeated. "It's gone grey!"
Jack pulled a lock of it forward with his fingers, and looked at it, an expression of dismay on his face. "Dammit, the sea and rain must've washed out all the dye."
"Dye?" Maria questioned.
"Yes, dye. I wish my hair was still black, but it's not, it went grey some years ago," Jack admitted. He hated admitting to himself that he was getting old, and despised telling other people.
"Jack, you're a pirate! Why bother to dye your hair?" Maria asked in disbelief.
"Because I want to look good," Jack stated bluntly, making Maria laugh. "What?"
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about staying alive than looking good?" she asked.
"Maybe," Jack conceded. "But where's the fun in staying alive if you don't look good?"
"Only a pirate would say that," Maria said. "No, wait, only you would say that, Jack."
"Aye, maybe I'm the only one to say it, but I wasn't the one who raced to their room to brush their hair as soon as the first storm had finished," he pointed out, making Maria's face go red with embarrassment. "Does wanting to look good make you a pirate, too?" he asked, grinning.
"Just find your way off the island," Maria returned, looking him straight in the eye.
"How?" he asked simply.
"Like you did the other two times you got stranded here!" Maria exclaimed. "You're the one who's done this all before."
"The fist time I was here, I got off the island when I was picked up by rumrunners. The second time, your mother got us off," Jack stated.
"How?" Maria asked in amazement.
"She burned all the remaining rum that had been abandoned by the rum runners, attracting the attention of the wonderful Norrington and your father," Jack stated. He still hated to think of all that rum that had gone to waste. Maria's hopeful expression fell as any possibility of them getting off the island that way started to disappear.
"Where was it?" Maria asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Jack asked in return.
"If I was a rumrunner, I wouldn't just abandon a good hideout. I'd leave it for a while, then use it again. Keep people guessing," Maria explained.
"Well, you're not a rum runner, luv," Jack replied. Of all her traits, Maria definitely got her determination from her mother.
"Just tell me where it is, Jack," Maria sighed. She didn't know why the man didn't just tell her. After all, they had nothing to loose.
"Forty strides east from that tree," Jack said, giving in, because, clearly, she wasn't going to. Maria walked past him to the tree, and took several long strides in the right direction. "But this isn't going to work." Maria sighed, and her entire body slouched. She took a deep breath, and Jack actually cringed, thinking that he would get a lecture, like he frequently did from Anamaria. Instead, the girl carried on, taking large strides. Jack sniggered, deliberately trying to annoy her, but Maria ignored him, and carried on. Granted, she was doing this much more gracefully than Jack ever could, and he knew this, but then again, she was a born Lady. A born Lady becoming a pirate. Now there was something that you didn't see everyday. The last time Jack had seen it, it had been with Elizabeth, and even she hadn't gone pirate as quickly as her daughter now was. For a moment, Jack wondered how Maria would be able to slip back into her old life, and become Mariana Turner again. A smile played at the edges of Jack's lips. He'd set out to show her an alternative life, and he had. What was more, Maria was actually enjoying it, and had even said so herself.
"What are you staring at?" Maria asked from where she stood, pulling Jack out of his thoughts.
"Nothing, luv," Jack replied, doing his best to grin innocently, and not achieving it very well. "How's it going?"
"Forty paces," Maria replied, pointing at the ground. She jumped up and down, and smiled as the hollow sound reached her ears. "Help me open it," she said, bending down and uncovering the trap door. Jack sighed and walked over to Maria before helping her lift up the door. Quick as a flash, Maria had descended into the darkness. Jack waited for a beaten girl to arrive, but instead, two bottles flew up out of the opening, and landed by his feet. Bending down, he found that they were filled with a dark liquid. Maria emerged seconds later, two more bottles in her hands, looking very pleased.
"RUM!" Jack shouted, throwing his arms out wide. "Maria, luv, I take it all back! You could be a Lady, a pirate and a rumrunner. We have rum!" He uncorked one of the bottles and took a swig, then smiled happily at Maria.
"Thank you," Maria replied, bowing slightly.
Jack's face fell as he saw the look the Maria was giving the bottles in her hand. "Oh, no, luv. Don't do what Liz did, please!" he said, practically begging.
Maria looked at him like he was insane. "I'm not going to burn it, Jack. We need something to drink."
Jack grinned again, suddenly feeling much happier with the situation. "You're a lot more fun that your mother."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Maria said. "Besides, the rumrunners are obviously coming back, and they won't give us a ride if we've burnt their stockpile, will they?"
"Indeed they won't!" Jack cried out, raising his bottle to her. "But I'm sure they won't notice a few bottles missing," he added, and then took a long drink from the cask. Maria just shook her head. She had no doubt that the pirate would be completely drunk within the hour.