I'm sorry, again. I feel like every single chapter I'm apologizing xD But I know I'm bad D= Anyway, one of my reviewers had a good question. They asked when this story was set. I meant for it to be set after Pocahontas (obviously) and after Curse of the Black Pearl, because Jack has the Pearl back and they were all surprised to see Barbossa 'cuz they all thought he was dead. I think what they were confused upon was that I wrote Barbossa had white hair. That was totally my bad, I wrote his hair color from my faulty memory and didn't bother to check. So please disregard that. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9

Jack leaned on the Pearls' wheel, his left hand gripping a handle, the other balled up in a fist that pressed itself to his forehead. She's gone, was all the pirate could think, she's gone. What he was feeling now was comparable to the time Barbossa had marooned him on that island, watching him sail away with the Pearl... but worse, so much worse. He felt like a failure for not protecting Pocahontas against Barbossas' cruelty. As much as he loved his ship and the open sea, Jack finally admitted to himself that he loved Pocahontas just as much.

Gibbs walked up to his captain. "Jack?" he asked nervously.

Jack gave no indication of hearing him.

"Jack." Gibbs said, firmer. "What do you propose we do?"

"Do? 'Bout what?" Jack asked flatly.

"The new damage to the Pearl. The injured men. Barbossa. Pocahontas." Gibbs' voice got quieter as he went on, so that he whispered her name.

Jack didn't answer at first. He thought about what he might have done if it had been any other woman but Pocahontas. To tell the truth, he probably wouldn't care. But it was Pocahontas. And he knew that he would go to the ends of the earth to rescue her. He took a deep, shuddering breath and straightened up. His left hand remained on the Pearls' wheel while his right darted into his jacket pocket. He took the compass out and flipped it open, as he had done so many other times before. This time, the needle swung around once and decisively pointed in one direction – north. Jack looked up into the fog, and the intensity of his gaze could have pierced a path through it.

"We're going after her."

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Pocahontas sat shivering in Barbossas' cabin. She had no idea where they were going, but it was getting colder the farther they went. It didn't help that she was nearly paralyzed with fear, either.

The door slammed open, making her jump. Barbossa strode smiling into the room, bringing a draft of freezing air with him. He looked down at her trembling form on the window seat and his smile widened.

"There are blankets there, ya know," he said in a terrible parody of compassion, "so ya don't freeze in your pretty skin." Said skin crawled, worsening her goosebumps. She shook her head and scooted away from him towards the window. She peered out of it, pretending that the fog was the most interesting landscape she'd seen. No way would she accept what he called charity. It gave her the creeps.

The old man chuckled. "You'll be needin' 'em before long, darlin'." Why did he insist on calling her that? It reminded her of Jack… and she wondered again when he would come to rescue her, if he was coming at all. "Mighty cold where we be goin'." Barbossa continued, sounding cheerful.

"Where would that be?" Pocahontas blurted, looking up at him. She had never spoken to him before now, but the need for information was too strong for her to keep in the question.

How much bigger could that smile get? "To the top of the world," he said enigmatically, and left her alone to shiver and puzzle over his answer.

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I'm a horrible tease, please don't kill me. *ducks to avoid heavy flying objects* I PROMISE I won't leave it so long this time. Thank you all so, so much for being this patient with me. Stay tuned!