A/N: Hello again, everyone - I'm back! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and of course I'd like to thank all the reviewers from the bottom of my heart. I can't believe we're already on chapter ten! And there still such a long way to go...

Chapter X

"Atlantis?" I heard Jack ask.

"Yes, Atlantis. That is where you must go to retrieve your ship. The city has not been destroyed, despite what the myths might have led you to believe. The race of the Atlantians is far too ingenious to let a little thing like a sunken island hinder their progress. No, no, they have adapted. They thrive there, at the bottom of the sea. It may interest you to know Edward Teach's quartermaster was once the chief of the Atlanian peoples, before he was enslaved. Another has taken his place. You must remember, Jack, that Atlantis teeters on the brink between this world and the next. It is only fitting, then, that what you should need is that which keeps all things bound to this world."

"And what might that be?"

"One drop of blood. Just one drop of blood from the chief of the Atlantians will bring your beloved Pearl back into existence."

"And just how exactly does one go about finding the lost city of Atlantis? Call me naïve, but I wasn't under the impression that it was a frequently traveled route, love."

"I believe you have your compass for that. Now that you know what you're looking for, it should lead you to your destination."

And then, just like that, the conversation had ended. I had just received/overheard much more information than I could possibly register.

Number one: I was, essentially, being traded for a ship.

Number two: the "treasure" had been Jack's ship all along. Not gold. Not silver. Wood and sails.

And number three, despite its misleading title, was the most important: I was not going to stand for this. I was not about to allow my life be thrown into the hands of some absurd pirate and a murderous sorceress.

But that meant I couldn't say anything. Not yet.

I wasn't stupid – I knew that Cecily had most definitely wanted me to hear that entire conversation. But I didn't know why she wanted to keep me here. I didn't know why she wanted me to turn against Jack, and I didn't know why he had so heedlessly agreed to leave me here with a woman who was, for all intents and purposes, a cannibal.

I needed to get off this island. Then I could worry about getting away from Jack. But, for the time being, I would just have to suffer his lunacy.

"Are you sure you're well?" Tim hissed to me as we heard Cecily and the Captain start walking back into the dining room.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I asked with mock-confusion.

"You've just stared into nothingness for nearly five minutes and no one was able to get your attention," he accused, "I wouldn't exactly call that 'fine.'"

"Sorry, I was just thinking," I whispered back.

Before he had time to ask any more prying questions, Sparrow and Cecily had returned. The first thing the sorceress did before she took a seat was lock eyes with me mischievously; yes, there was no doubting it – she'd intended for me to listen in on that conversation without Jack's knowledge.

"You've finished all the food," she commented.

"Aye, t'was very good, Miss," Tim said. I was somewhat surprised by how convincing he sounded, actually… Perhaps he was learning a thing or two from Sparrow, after all.

She glanced at him stoically, before tuning to me and asking, "Did you have anything to eat, my child?"

"No," I said, "the boys finished it all off before I got the chance – but don't worry, I wasn't that hungry." I don't know why I lied. Perhaps I'd said it to make her think that I was on her side – that I could be an ally in her vendetta against males. Or perhaps it'd been because I didn't know what affect the food was meant to have and didn't want to risk it being obvious that I indeed hadn't eaten anything.

Whatever the case, she seemed to believe me. "Boys will be boys," she sighed lightly. However, while the comment itself seemed to have been spoken in jest, there was some underlying tone in her voice that was sinister.

"Well," she continued, "Now that you've all been fed, I expect you should like to stay the night?"

"No," Jack interjected hastily, "I really think we ought to get going. We've a long journey ahead of us, after all – you've even said so yourself."

"Yes, but it's already dark outside. Now is hardly any time to start sailing, Jack – you know that."

The first part of what she said struck me immediately – she was right, it was dark outside. But the strange thing was, I never remembered the sun setting; and I'd only noticed after she'd mentioned it.

This caused me to become mildly panicked – we'd arrived on the island at no later than six o'clock in the morning, and all we'd done was hike through the forest and sit at the dining table. There was absolutely no way we'd been here for an entire day, and yet nature was proving otherwise.

"You must stay the night," she repeated forcefully, "I insist."

"Well, I s'pose I wouldn't want to deny the lady's wishes," Jack gave in bitterly.

"Fantastic! I have plenty of room, as you can probably tell. I do adore visitors," she rambled on merrily, "Here, come with me – I'll show you all to your rooms."

We did as was instructed, and followed her up the wide spiral staircase in the foyer.

"I'm going to have to pair you off, I'm afraid," she said as we started down that hallway. We stopped abruptly in front of the first bedroom. "You two twins can stay here," she ordered. The Spritelies glanced at Jack restlessly, who raised his eyebrows as if to say, "What are you looking at me for?" They then looked at me, and I mouthed "Go," to them before they had the opportunity to insult Cecily with their hesitance.

When the boys were safely behind closed doors, she commented, "You know, I've just realized – there's an even number of you."

"Is that a problem?" Jack asked uninterestedly, inspecting his blackened fingernails.

"Well, yes – we've a lady in our midst, and it wouldn't be proper to ask her to share a room with any of you… men."

"It's fine," I insisted quickly, "I stay with the crew back on the ship. It's really not an issue."

"No, no, don't be ridiculous. We're not animals, after all. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something. Perhaps we can have three people to one of the rooms… I've got it! You two – " she said to Emery and Schmitty, "You stay here. And you three," she said to Gibbs, Marty, and Cotton, "you stay in the room across the hall."

That left Jack and Wentworth. I grinned despite myself – I knew that Jack would most definitely not be pleased with these arrangements, though he might not show it. At this point, any discomfort he experienced, however minor, was a joy to me.

"You two," she said to the remaining men, "will stay next to the lovely Cassiopeia."

When they were secured in their own room, she led me into the one next door. However, she followed me inside and shut the door behind her. "I'd like to have a word with you, if you don't mind," she said silkily.

"Alright?"

"My child, I really hope we can move past these pretenses," she started, "I'm well aware of the fact that you overheard me and Jack speaking."

"I did," I allowed guardedly.

"You realize that I intended for that to happen, yes?"

"Indeed, I do."

"You're probably wondering, then, what purpose it served."

"I am…"

"Well, I'll tell you – Jack Sparrow is not the type of man any woman – any young woman, especially – should get entangled with. He's trouble – absolute trouble. And I can't stand to think of him hurting you… Because he will, he surely will, if given the chance."

"I suppose I just shouldn't give him the chance, then…"

She smiled sneakily at me. "Yes, or you could merely avoid him altogether. You heard what he said – how willingly he ridded himself of you, all for the mere location of a ship."

"Why do you want me to stay here?" I asked abruptly, not wishing to dwell on my own irrelevance to Mr. Sparrow.

"I don't know," she began slowly, "company, perhaps? No, but you're clever – much too clever to believe that, so I might as well tell you the truth."

I was not quite convinced, but I listened nevertheless.

"You must have noticed, no doubt, the similarities between us? The similarities between me and your species."

"I have."

"You – you are a product of me. Your species is a product of me. I willed you into existence, my dear. You are, for all intents and purposes, my child. That's why I was so thrilled when you came here – why I didn't bother wasting my time attacking Sparrow."

My eyes widened with shock; she – this horrid woman – was my mother? "You created mermaids?" I asked skeptically. Mermaids. It felt very odd to hear the word aloud; the mere action of saying what I truly was made it all seem much more real.

"Yes, I did – well, in a sense. Mermaids, as you are apparently unaware, are born when infant girls are claimed by the sea. I, being the pragmatic woman that I am, saw it as a waste for these lovely children to simply perish in shipwrecks and such – some are even thrown into the sea by their unwed mothers, can you imagine? So, because of my resourcefulness, mermaids were born. But I wasn't allowed to interact with my children, you see. This island, as you may well have noticed, doesn't drift into mermaid territory, darling. The only way I would ever be able to see one of my creations was if she came to me. This would be a very rare occurrence, obviously, so the gods more or less just assumed it would never happen. And then you came along," she continued, "My, you are very strange, aren't you?"

"Why did you create us?" I questioned.

"Well, if I'm stuck on this island, who's going to carry out my revenge? Two or three ships a year won't do at all. That is why your species hates men, dear. Because I made it so."

"If you hate Sparrow so much and I am basically just an extension of your rage," I reasoned harshly, "why not let me go with them? Why not let me destroy him?"

"Because, my child, Jack Sparrow is no ordinary man. In fact, no man – ordinary or extraordinary – could go through what Mr. Sparrow has gone through without being changed; it is simply impossible – the supernatural leaves a sort of residue, as it were. You cannot destroy him. I could not destroy him the first time around – granted, of course, I didn't try very hard… But that's beside the point. I'd like you to stay here – no, I insist you stay here. Trust me, I haven't forgotten about my revenge on Sparrow – I'll see to it that he's punished by keeping you here. He'd be far better off with you with him, especially on the mission he intends to undertake. In fact, it might cost him his life not to have you…"

"But I don't want to stay here," I complained boldly, "I don't want to be all alone – I want to see the world! That's why I left Whitecap Bay in the first place…"

"You haven't any choice in the matter. I'm sorry if it seemed as if I was giving you options, but I am not. You are staying here, and that is that. Good night."

With that, she spun on her heel towards the door. Before she left, however, she turned to me and said, "And don't even think about telling anyone about this conversation or running off – if you attempt any such thing, I'll see to it that the entire crew – including and especially your two identical friends – is killed." Then, she slammed the door behind her.

A/N: So, what do you all think? Do you believe that Jack really left her all on her own? Or does he have a plan? It would be very Jack Sparrow-esque to trade a woman for a ship... Review and let me know what you think! :)