Pirates of the Caribbean: Sea of Vengeance

Dead men's tales

Carina held Jack the monkey in her arms, stroking his fur. Jack the captain had brought him to her the last time he came to the island.

"I wish you could speak. You'd tell me about my father, right?" Carina asked her little friend . Three or four years ago, she would have called herself crazy, but now, wanting an animal to talk wasn't the craziest thing.

The monkey scurried off as Will came out onto the balcony to talk about the night before.

Neither Elizabeth nor Henry knew that Will and Carina had been having nightmares on and off for the past three years, so suddenly announcing that they'd had the same one at breakfast would intive more questions than they wanted to answer.

So they went through with their day as if nothing were new. But that night, neither could sleep. So sometime after midnight, they met on the balcony again.

"Anything new?" Will asked, taking the seat opposite to her. She shook her head. "Me either."

They sat in silence, until Carina finally said the one thing on her mind. "Tell me more about it, please, about the Ilsa de Muerta."

She listened intently as Will recounted the tale of when he first met Jack and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl. How they had taken Elizabeth, believing her blood was needed to lift their curse, when really it was his blood that they needed. He left out how her father had died once the curse was broken. She'd heard this before and knew now wasn't the time to hear it again.

"Not long after, the Ilsa de Muerta was reclaimed by the sea." Will finished.

"Like my father." Carina said. "He was brought back once, it could be done again, right?" It was an impossible idea, but she needed to believe it could happen.

"I don't know." Will said. " I don't even know how it was done the first time."

Carina ran her fingers through her dark hair. "I have to get him back, Will. He's my father."

"I know. I've been in your shoes." He said, remembering the impossible task of freeing his own father." But first, we need to tell Henry and Elizabeth about our secret."

"Henry said he was going to Fort Sterling in the morning, I'll go with him and tell him then." Fort Sterling was a nearby island that held a small town where they could get most anything they couldn't on their island.

"Alright. I'll tell Elizabeth while you're gone then."Will said. "Now you should get some rest." 

"As should you." Carina said, smiling. 

                              **********

Carina told Henry on the short ride to the island about her nightmares,who, to her surprise, wasn't mad at all that she had kept a secret from him for three years. He was more worried about how often they had been happening, and what the last one meant.

"Do you think he's there somehow?" Henry asked.

" I don't know, I saw the island but I didn't see him." Carina answered as Fort Sterling came into view. " I wish I had something that could give me clues, like the journal with the Trident."

"We could just go there, find out for ourselves." Henry suggested. 

"Oh, yes, and then we can pick up your parents and make a stop at Atlantis before dinner." Carina teased.

"I'm not entirely joking."

"Henry, it was reclaimed by the sea before either of us were born. Even if it wasn't, we don't know how to get there." 

They arrived at the docks and Henry tied up their boat." We know someone that's been there a few times, we could..."

"We're not bringing Jack into this." Carina interrupted." We both know what happens when he's around."

Henry sighed and smiled. "It was only a suggestion, Miss Barbossa." He said, taking her hand to help her onto the dock. " Oh, I almost forgot!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold bracelet. It had a single charm with the letter C engraved into it.

"Henry, its beautiful." Said Carina.

"Just as you are." He placed it around her wrist, along with a small kiss on her cheek.

                            **************

Carina had planned on running errands with Henry, until, that is, a brand new bookstore came into view. 

"Don't buy too much." Henry said when she looked at the store longingly. He gave her a handful of silver and another kiss.

"I'll meet you at the docks!" Carina said as she rushed into the store.

Carina loved reading almost as much as astronomy.  She nearly ran through each aisle of the store, searching through the books. An hour or so later, she'd settled on three books, leaving her a few pieces of silver left. 

As she left the store, she noticed a beggar sitting to the side, a cloak hiding their face. Carina decided to give the last of the silver to the beggar. She knelt down to place it in the bowl. But the bracelet Carina wore seemed to be of greater value, so they snatched it and ran. 

"Oy!" Carina yelled and ran after. She knew was foolish to wear that in a place like this. 

Luckily, Henry had been nearby and  saw the whole thing. He ran with her and quickly caught the theif in an alley.

"Who are you?" Henry demanded.

" I know of you, Henry Turner." Said the beggar woman.

In shock, he released her. She looked up at Carina. "And I know of you, Carina Barbossa. I know who you seek."

Confusion took her words away. "Who are you, and who do you think I seek." She asked when she had found them again.

The woman took off the hood of her cloak, revealing a face with scars decoratively placed along her dark skin. She was bald and had a kind of scab between her eyebrows.

"I am Shansa. I know you seek Hector Barbossa, your father. I know where to find him."