Chapter Text
Alice opened one of the windows as quietly as possible while Elizabeth finished tying the last of the cloths together to form a rope and Governor Swann began to talk to them behind the cabin door, certainly unsure of how to react after the spectacle they had given.
"We have to climb up to the boat, do you feel up to it?" Alice whispered to Elizabeth.
The blonde nodded and hooked their makeshift rope. Alice stepped over the window and carefully climbed down until she could hold on to the window line. She saw Elizabeth's slim figure following her cautiously, but determinedly. The two young women crept, hoping that no soldiers would spot them, to the rowboat which was swaying gently in the air. The deck seemed very quiet, most of the soldiers having left with Jack and the Commodore. The two young women climbed into the boat and worked the pulleys to lower the boat. Once they reached the water, Elizabeth grabbed the oars.
"You look tired enough as it is, I will take care of it.
Alice gave her a friendly smile and settled into the boat. The sound of the oars splitting the water in the silence made her uncomfortable. In the distance she could see the silhouettes of the military boats silhouetted against the moonlight. After a few minutes, as the ship disappeared into the darkness, Alice glimpsed the figure of the governor poking his head through the window of the captain's cabin.
The longboat slipped silently alongside the Black Pearl. The two young women climbed up to the rail and silently passed on deck. Two voices had alerted them to the presence of a crew. As they were about to move forward, the macabre figure of the maniac caught them unawares, and in a joint gesture the two women grabbed him with both hands before sending him tumbling overboard. A metallic clang sent their heads over the rail, and two skeletal faces appeared in the gun's skylight before looking up at them. The stealth had just ended. Alice grabbed Elizabeth's hand and pulled her towards the hold. The pirates' footsteps and raucous voices rose in their direction before passing them as they hid. As the pirates slipped away to the upper deck, Elizabeth led Alice to the lower deck and the gaols.
"Alice, Elizabeth!" said Master Gibbs, holding onto the bars.
Alice quickly found the keys to free her brother's crew. Together they pushed the two pirates overboard to the cheers of the crew.
"All of you with us!" cried Elizabeth. Will is in that cave and we must save him. Pare, o-ha-ha," she cried a second time, grabbing the ropes that held the boat together.
The ropes slipped from Alice's hands at the pirates' inaction, and Elizabeth stopped as well.
"We need you help, come on!
— Any port in a storm.
— Cotton's right, we've got the Pearl," Gibbs said.
“And what about Jack , your just gonna leave him ?" Alice exclaimed in outrage.
Jack owes us a ship," Marty exclaimed.
— There's the Code to consider Gibbs commented without looking her in the eye.
Elizabeth looked at them, disillusioned.
“The Code," she breathed. You're pirates, hang the code and hang the rules. They’re more like guideline anyway.
This time if Gibbs looked Alice in the eye.
"Sorry, but the Code, you know..."
With that Alice glared at him before grabbing Elizabeth's hand and pulling her towards the rowboat.
"Well, we'll do it alone. So much for those bloody pirates."
The two young women began to launch the boat, and this time Alice took the oars.
"Bloody pirates," Elizabeth grumbled.
The two young women arrived at the cave. Will was struggling with three pirates, and Jack was fighting with Barbossa. They grabbed some blunt objects and went to assist Will, who looked most surprised to see them. The three pirates were quickly knocked out and the trio watched the fight between Barbossa and Jack with a questioning eye.
“Whose side is Jack on?" asked Elizabeth.
— At the moment? Will laughed.
Alice stared at her brother who continued to spar with the pirate captain, his form sometimes skeletal, sometimes the brother she knew. She quickly snapped out of her lethargy, the pirates were coming to their senses. Alice rushed to an old sword that was sticking out of the treasure and began to fight alongside Will and Elizabeth. They quickly overcame the pirates by overcoming their skeletal form. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Will climb up to the chest and Jack toss a coin in the air, which he promptly caught. As Elizabeth rushed towards Will. Jack stopped moving and Barbossa grabbed his pistol, pointing it at Will. A shot rang out in the cave.
Jack.
He had just fired his only bullet.
"Ten years you carry that pistol and now you waste your shot.
— He didn't waste it," Will replied coldly, his hand over the safe.
The coin fell sharply into the trunk, and Barbossa opened his shirt. A red stain was emerging on his chest.
He muttered something that Alice did not hear, before collapsing to the floor.
Alice ran to her brother and threw herself into his arms.
"Never, never do that again, Jack.
The pirate merely squeezed her lightly before pulling away.
Alice regained her composure and bit her lip. Her heart was trying to calm down in her chest, while Jack started to rummage through the treasure. Alice's gaze met Elizabeth's for a moment, who gave her a sorry smile.
A lump formed in the young woman's stomach. The Black Pearl had left without them. Only the Navy ship remained. Jack had no way out. Alice looked down at her feet and headed for the longboat as Will and Elizabeth exchanged low voices and Jack retrieved some loot. He did not know that his crew had abandoned him.
Once they were all settled on the boat, Elizabeth and Alice exchanged embarrassed looks. Alice ran her hand over her face and turned to her brother who was looking towards the horizon, and the sea that was revealed behind the mouth of the cavity.
“Jack..." gasped Alice.
— Yeah?
— I have something to tell you..."
Jack turned to her. His gaze dropped as he met hers. He probably suspected that the news was not good. Alice decided to make a quick decision.
"Your crew left with the Black Pearl. I am sorry, Jack."
Her brother turned back to the horizon, saying nothing.
"I'm sorry, Jack," Elizabeth said.
— They done what that’s right by them" he replied laconically. Can’t except more than that
There was a long silence as Will continued to row.
“By the way," Jack said, "Alice and I never met until the day I forced her to come with me and Turner. Do we all agree?
— Absolutely," Elizabeth swore, grabbing Alice's hand whose eyes were beginning to heat up.
She squeezed the young woman's hand and brought her other hand to her mouth and bit her fingers. Her throat felt so dry and her eyes so sore.
The rest of the journey was silent and the arrival on the Intrepid in a heavy atmosphere. Jack was immediately placed in the iron. While the Governor clutched his daughter who did not let go of Alice's hand, who seemed to be standing over herself. Her face was so silent, her eyes so lost and her hands so clenched that it was difficult not to believe that she was traumatised by the experience. All she could think about was the fact that she was going to lose her brother a second time, and permanently.