If Charlotte was picturing a grand display of glory and lifelong embarrassment upon catching up to Norrington's ship again, she was to be disappointed.

The Phaeton cut through waves, sun glittering across the sprays of water it threw, catching the naval ship with ease. Charlotte stood her ground, feeling freckles and sunburn breaking across her nose and cheeks and her tangled hair warming despite the wind. Her ship swung up next to the larger vessel and slowed gracefully to a stop and then...

Nothing.

No one even batted an eye.

Charlotte moved to the side of her ship and leaned over the rail, catching her foot between the rungs to stop from falling too far forward.

No one could even see her.

She could hear them. She could hear Elizabeth's passionate arguing and she could hear and see their father as they failed to be convinced. They had to go find the elder Miss Swann, after all. Mr. Turner knew what he was getting into when he became a pirate, after all.

Charlotte wrinkled her nose at that. Hadn't she also known what she was doing?

The Commodore was refusing to respond or interfere with the argument. She couldn't quite tell what his expression was as she looked up through passing legs and various parts of the ship as he passed by and away again.

"Closer," Charlotte whispered.

The ship obeyed.

Her knuckles grew white where they clung to the wooden rail.

"If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion." She'd missed Jack at first, but there he was, bold as ever. "The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it. The Black Pearl. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?"

"By remembering that I serve others," James Norrington turned to look down his nose at the pirate, "Mr. Sparrow, not only myself."

Elizabeth glared.

Jack grinned.

"And what of little Charlie? You all seem to want to find her. Where do think she'll be h-?"

James was suddenly right in front of Jack Sparrow, the pirate's collar in both of his fists. "You will watch your tongue when you speak of"--he spoke the last two words as deliberately as he could- "Miss. Swann."

The pirate raised an eyebrow.

Charlotte could see him reply but from the faces of the sailors and her family, it was too quiet for any of them to hear as well.

There was a pause where yet again she couldn't read Norrington's face.

Then...

"Take him to the brig." Norrington dropped Jack and walked away, disappearing somewhere into his cabin with a few of his officers.

Charlotte's eyes went back to her sister.

"What is the etiquette for asking someone onto a ghost ship?" Charlotte muttered to herself.

She cast her eyes desperately around for something, anything to spark an idea. She could swing herself over... no, they wouldn't let her come back... Charlotte shook her head: the other ship was much too tall for her to swing over, anyway. She could throw a note?... What could she write a note on? Charlotte watched her sister--her poor frustrated sister--walk away from their father and place both hands on the rail on the other side of the naval ship.

"Other side," Charlotte whispered to the Phaeton.

Eos' ship obeyed, ducking behind the larger vessel with unnatural ease and pulling up so that Charlotte could look straight up at her sister and see Elizabeth stare right through her.

Charlotte considered for a long, long moment and then she dashed to the mast, pulling herself up and finding new muscles to exercise if she ever made it out of this all alive. She reached the top and found herself a little higher than Elizabeth just as Elizabeth turned away, ready to start another battle for Will.

Charlotte looked around, desperate for any idea.

She seized a rope, shrugged, and launched it the ten or so feet to her sister.

...

Elizabeth stood alone, trying to let the sound of the ocean calm her thoughts enough for her to hear them. Instead, they were torn in so many different wants and worries that she began to feel as though she was drowning.

Why couldn't Charlotte have stayed safe? Would she save Will? No, she should stay safe. But then how could Will be rescued? James hadn't seemed concerned when he--no, he'd been concerned but not frantic or confused like her father when he told her that Charlotte had survived and then run off to find help.

James seemed tired.

Elizabeth could understand that.

She looked down at the still healing cut on her hand, missing the bandage that Will had wrapped there the day before. How disappointed must he have been when she showed him the medallion... But then he'd tried to save her. And he'd said he trusted Charlotte--if that wasn't where Charlotte was headed, then where else could she be?

Elizabeth's eyes snapped up.

She squared her shoulders and set her jaw.

She was nearly bowled over as a coil of rope appeared from literally nowhere and collided with the side of her face.

Elizabeth Swann grabbed at the rope instinctually as it began to slide down her shoulder, her hands gripping the rough texture as it gave her a sudden anchor into reality. Her eyes followed down the length to find a smaller ship, a small cloaked figure clinging to the mast, a small scarred cheek on the face of her sister.

"Charlotte!" She gasped.

Charlotte stood in one smooth motion, one hand steadying her as she leaned toward her sister with the rope still connecting them. She looked relieved. Then the relief fell and she looked ready to murder whoever stood in her path.

"Go get changed," Charlotte called. No one around them seemed to care. "I'll be right here."

Elizabeth opened her mouth and then closed it. No words seemed able to even squeak out.

But Charlotte nodded.

"Then we save Will."