"Annabelle"

Annabelle groaned, turning on her side and getting a faceful of hair. She opened her eyes and seemed to be peering into a dark brown field. She moved her head back, disentangling herself from the rat's nest that constituted her daughter's hair.

"Annabelle," the voice whispered again. "The sun is set to rise, we must move quickly."
Annabelle rolled over and gazed groggily into the face of Liliana Teague, who was peering over the small bed that held Annabelle and her children. The woman's dark curls made a waterfall against her high cheeks; they tickled Annabelle's nose and eyes. Liliana's dark eyes looked anxious despite the calm persona she held in the rest of her face.

"We must hurry, sister, we haven't much time," Liliana said softly, straightening up to her full height and rushing from the room.

Annabelle forced herself up into a sitting position, stretching her arms out carefully. She turned to her son, who lay asleep on her left, and shook him awake.

"Joseph," she whispered, leaning close to his ear. "Joe, get up."

The boy reluctantly rose and stretched, looking at his mother with one chocolate brown eye open. He stretched just as carefully as Annabelle had, peering around dazedly.

"Wha's it?" he slurred, running his hands through his messy, dark auburn locks.

"We must get out out of here, quickly!" Annabelle said fervently, discarding the nightgown Liliana had loaned her and exchanging it for Teach's pale blue dress again. She looked again to Joseph, who was still slowly pushing himself up from the bed, groaning the entire way.

"Hurry!" Annabelle snapped. "And wake your sister and Rosie."

Joseph groaned again, turning and shaking the eight year old roughly awake.

"Aaah!" Lily shrieked and waved her arms wildly about as she was thrust from the throngs of sleep.

"Shhh," Joseph quieted his sister, rising from the bed and changing from the night clothes he'd been loaned.

"What's happening?" Lily asked, sitting up and scratching her dark head.

"We have to go Lily," Annabelle said gently, not wanting to upset the girl, who had rather enjoyed her aunt's home.

"What?" Lily cried, her blue eyes widening in surprise. "But I like it here! I want to stay!" the girl crossed her arms across her chest, pouting.

Lily's petulant tone and the dire situation they were in did not bode well.

"I am your mother, and you will do as I say!" Annabelle said sharply, startling her daughter. "Now, get dressed!"

Close to tears, the girl obeyed her mother. As she struggled into her small gown, Roisin awoke. Upon witnessing the scene, she sighed.

"Nothin' good lasts forever, it seems," she said glumly, changing into her green gown again, and assisting Lily with hers.

When they were situated, Rebekah entered, fully dressed, her ash brown hair tied into a thick braid. She looked the group up and down once and turned back out. Annabelle made to pursue her, dragging Lily and Joseph with her.

They entered the kitchen, and found an assortment of dried foods. Liliana came forward with several small sacks made of burlap.

"Collect any food you wish. We haven't much time."

They each took a sack, filling it with dried berries, meat, and hunks of cheese. There were also a few sweets, which Lily took with relish, prompting a smile from Liliana. When they had finished, they tied the sacks together with twine and stood on guard, looking nervously toward the door.
Rebekah, to Annabelle's dismay, laughed.

"We won't be leaving through there," she said, adjusting her navy skirt, to which a dagger was attached at her belt. "We leave through the back, and then to the alleys and the pier."

The girl flipped her braid over one tanned shoulder and headed toward the back of the quaint home, past the bedrooms. Lily, Joseph, and Roisin followed suit. Annabelle lingered a moment, her blue eyes looking thoughtfully into Liliana's dark brown pools, so much like her brother's.

"Thank you for everything," she said hesitantly. "but why? Why would you help us?"

Liliana strode over to Annabelle, taking the woman's pale hands into her gentle caramel brown ones.

"My brother has had many women, but only one has ever captured his heart," Annabelle nodded absentmindedly, reminded of Jack's story about the fair Rose Montel. She looked to Liliana again, an emptiness rising in her chest.

"When that girl died, it shattered him. It ruined everything in him that I looked up to as a child. He turned into a cynical jester, using people to fulfill his emptiness. I despised him for a long time. But then I met you."

Annabelle's eyes widened in surprise. She was sure that no matter what, he would never feel towards her the way he felt about Rose. Liliana chuckled, a warm, deep sound.

"Do not doubt it. My brother has a heart of liquid gold. The look in his eyes when he held you, one could not mistake it for anything but love. You have managed to bring out the real Jack, Lady Montel. You have a good heart. That is why I help you now."

The Spanish woman kissed Annabelle's cheek, smiling lovingly. Her eyes flitted toward the door, and Annabelle took it as her dismissal. She quickly followed her niece and children, meeting them at the back entrance of the house. With one last backward glance, Annabelle gazed at the home of one person who didn't hate her for loving a pirate. They stole off into the slowly rising dawn, trying to keep to the shadows. As they grew more distant from the house, Annabelle could make out shouting voices. They were rough, clipped, and most of all, angry. Her faithful pirate guards had come to take her back into the hands of Captain Teach. She made a silent prayer for Liliana Teague as she went.

Sneaking through shadowed alleyways and hiding behind corners made Annabelle feel rather like a thief, but in a certain way, she had committed a crime, at least by Teach's standards.

When they arrived at the edge of the pier, Annabelle could not make out the Black Pearl anywhere. But she did notice a ship pulling away from the harbor. The Troubador. She found it eerie to have seen the ship twice, and always wherever Jack was concerned. She pushed disconcerting thoughts away, and turned to Rebekah.

"We have to swim from here," the girl said shortly, unsheathing her dagger and tying her skirt into a knot by her thigh, exposing a lot more skin than Annabelle thought her son should be seeing.

Lily made a small, frightened choking noise. All eyes turned to her.

"I don't know how to swim," she said quietly, a bright flush creeping into her face.

Rebekah smiled kindly at her, and then jumped smoothly into the water. She turned to Lily, the smile still on her face.

"Jump," she said, holding her arms out. " I'll catch you!" she put the dagger between her teeth and reached out with welcoming arms.

Giving credit to her age, Lily only hesitated a few moments before following her cousin into the water, and giving credit to Rebekah's honesty, she was immediately caught. She was shifted to Rebekah's back, clinging for dear life and shivering. Annabelle went next, trying to be as fast as she could despite the weight of her dress. Soon, they were all in the water, swimming steadfast into the horizon.

It was a good fifteen minutes before they reached the Pearl, Rebekah reaching the side first. She whispered something to Lily over her shoulder, and Annabelle caught her daughter smile. She then rapped her small knuckles loudly on the dark wood, in a short, clipped pattern. A Jacob's ladder was thrown down immediately. Rebekah removed Lily from her back, boosting her up to the ladder, encouraging her to climb and not look down. They all followed in a single file line.

When Annabelle reached the top, she first met eyes with Mister Gibbs, her muttonchops and ponytail in correct order. He smiled happily, taking in the rag-tag crew. Annabelle rushed to her shivering daughter, wrapping her arms around the girl and looking around. She met Jack's eyes almost immediately. He smirked at her, walking to her and pulling her up. She didn't see Jacob anywhere.

"Jack," she said, worried and nervous. "I thought you were going to-"

"Shhh," Jack put a finger, on which sat a ruby ring, softly upon her lips. "I told yeh I would do it, didn' I?"

He pulled her hand into the Captain's quarters, in which the curtains were drawn, and the atmosphere heavy. Jacob lay in Jack's bed, looking peaceful, if not rather pale in his slumber.

"Oh, Jack," Annabelle whispered, turning to the pirate with tears in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you."

Jack smiled, though Annabelle didn't notice the sadness pooling in his eyes when he spoke.

"I wish there was more." he said, leaving Annabelle to sit with her resting husband.