Charlotte stared for a moment longer at the empty corner. She briefly entertained the idea of writing down what he'd said but Jack was threatening to leave her behind and that man had just been...

No he hadn't been messing with her, had he?

Elizabeth would have loved this.

Charlotte was simply steeling herself for the inevitable arguments when they found out she how poorly she was prepared. Honestly if she kept acting like herself they might just forget she was there. Charlotte caught up, hiding just behind Will again and then thanking her lucky stars that she'd allowed herself that comfort.

The drunk stranger was Gibbs?

Charlotte checked that her hair was tucked away and pulled her hood up again, wrapping herself up as though she was cold. She would have thought that he could be trusted: she remembered him being a good man with common sense. She'd loved his stories and superstitions...

...when they didn't involve kicking her off the boat for being a girl.

No, she didn't want him to recognize her.

Though she was experiencing rather a lot of bad luck.

They arrived at a grungy looking bar and Charlotte barely stopped herself from running straight into Will. She followed at the back, checking that no one was watching or following as she closed the door. She noticed a few looks as they walked through the crowd; some annoyed at the men, quite a few curious looks at her. She knocked the hood off and the looks continued. It took her a few minutes to figure out that even hiding behind her companions she was standing stick straight and walking like she was on her way onto the dance floor.

She let her shoulders curve down and put the hood back up, slumping against the wall when they stopped to grab drinks for Jack and Gibbs. She kept things the same as they walked back through the crowded room and slumped against a pillar as their little group slowed again. The looks stopped.

Charlotte turned her attention back to her allies as Will took position beside her. The pirate and Gibbs slipped into a side room, empty except for a few people discussing at wooden booths.

"Where are they off to?"

"Jack's just trying to convince him to help." Will looked away distractedly as drunk laughter broke out across the room. Charlotte hugged herself tighter: she'd never heard a sound quiet like it. "He knows people. And we need a crew."

Charlotte frowned. She should have paid more attention. She should have asked questions before they'd left the boat. She should have made herself ignore how awful and dark and dirty everything was because there was no way she and Will would have been left behind if that was all the others were discussing.

Of course, she would never have been brave enough to stop them.

But she could have gotten Will to argue for her.

Charlotte could see the two men. They were arguing but keeping their voices down. She wondered for a moment if she could slip across the room and listen under the next table but there were too many people and Jack did glance over at her every so often.

"Charlie..." Will groaned. Was he annoyed at her or the drunk woman trying to flirt with him? "What are you planning?"

"Nothing."

"No. That's what you said to your father when you decided to make me teach your swordplay. What are you planning?" He gave the woman a polite smile as he tried to pull away.

Charlotte tried to find the words to help him. She had nothing and Jack was looking at Will again.

"I just need some air."

Charlotte waited to see if he would disagree. Will just looked sorry for her.

She turned and walked outside, trying to look... tough? Harmless? Not like herself? As the door banged behind her again and the yelling muffled she turned to her left and made her way to an ally beside the bar. She'd walked about fifteen feet from watching the pirate to get to the door so they were probably the same distance down the alley.

The area of wall was fairly solid. Charlotte squatted down, gathering the cloak up so that it didn't trail in the muck. She spent a few seconds looking for a knot or crack and finally finding one that she could look through and actually see a sliver of Jack's boot. She turned her head and pressed her ear to the knothole, facing the street and keeping as still as she could.

Gibbs was the first voice she heard. "What about the lil' one then? You called him 'little Turner'."

"Him? Maybe. Maybe he really is Bill's. Maybe he just looks more like his mother. But Will's the sure thing, savvy? He's how I get the Pearl."

"Oh, aye."

They both stood and she turned her eye back to see them heading back to Will. She heard a whisper of Jack teasing that they'd already lost her. She pulled away before she could get caught and went to wait by the front door. What did Will's father matter? Was he one of the pirates? And their tone: secretive but not saying anything that she could use to tell Will. Not saying anything worth the risk of leaving them behind.

Charlotte bit her lip and then decided to take a risk, a tiny risk. She glanced at the door. It was still closed. She turned and walked down the street, weaving through people until she was looking down the alley where she'd seen the man in rags.

No one there.

A gust of wind blew in from the sea and she shuddered, hand going straight to her sword. She'd hidden the gun to well. She needed easier access to it. She needed to figure out how she was going to protect herself and Elizabeth--and Will for that matter--when this all went wrong. She need to find out if he was really expecting this pirate to get them there and not betray them. She needed her sister.

"There you are!"

Charlotte glanced up at Jack and nodded absently. "You find a crew?" She said when he seemed to expect a reply.

"You'll meet them tomorrow." He assured her. He looked down at the air where she'd been staring and then back at her. "Anything to share with the rest of us?"

Oh good. Instead of thinking she was rude, he thought she was crazy. Wonderful.

"I just felt like something was watching me."

Jack looked around. There were dozens of people watching her. And him now. The streets were crowded and she'd been standing in the middle.

"Right," Charlotte said. "To the ship?"

"To the ship," Will agreed as he caught up. "Stay close this time,will you, Charlie?"

"Right," Charlotte said again. "Well..." Maybe she should look into the ocean again. Maybe it would be different at night.

Gibbs and Jack had moved ahead. Will was shaking his head.

"Charlotte. Please take me with you."

That seemed reasonable.

"Alright." They began walking. She hesitated, not wanting to be a bother, then added. "And you watch your back. They seem to hate the pirates who took Elizabeth but..."

He nodded. "But they are also pirates. Same to you, Charlie."

As soon as they reached the ship, Charlotte returned to sleep in the pile of canvas again, using her cloak as a pillow and curling up like a cat. The three men disappeared below deck, Will calling good night. Charlotte called it back and settled some ropes over her cold feet, dreading the idea of waking up in the morning. Tomorrow there would be so many new people aboard. But tomorrow they would actually start heading toward her sister.

Her eyes were closed when she remembered she'd wanted to look into the water.

She considered for a moment but her body refused to move.

Tomorrow then.

Everything would change tomorrow.