A line of pirates ran along the dock between the ship and the town. Most seemed bored. Jack was supposedly deciding whether to hire them but none seemed to think there was any uncertainty in the near future. Though neither Jack nor Will seemed very impressed as they walked down the line.

Charlotte was not walking anywhere.

She hadn't even bothered to leave the ship.

Several of the pirates did seem a little put out by that. She'd caught a few of the men glancing at her out of the corner of their eye. Charlotte refused to acknowledge them, keeping her face still as she stood with one hand on the rail and another ready on her sword. Was there any chance that Will could train her without anyone seeing? She liked feeling this intimidating, with her cloak billowing and the sun glinting off the hilt of her blade: it was almost as nice as wearing the perfect dress and going an entire dance without her hair coming loose.

Charlotte's head cocked to the side as she considered: if she'd been able to let her hair down, would she feel more or less a brilliant picture?

Not that any of those people actually saw her how she felt.

Likely they were wondering what that small, strange child on the ship was daydreaming about.

Charlotte sighed.

She was ridiculous.

She ducked away to drop her cloak under her pile of canvas, next to a bag of powder and the note she'd finally written that morning to record the strange man's advice. By the time she returned, an argument had started.

Her eyes closed as she hovered on the edge of the gangplank, taking a deep breath for patience. Then she crept her way behind the line until she was directly behind the person yelling at Jack.

Just as the woman pirate slapped Jack across the face.

Charlotte's eyes went wide and before she knew it she had her sword in her hand. Jack recovered from the slap and began to give a sleazy grin.

"Borrowed. I-" His eyes focused on the woman. They then found Charlotte behind her, sword raised, face panicked. "Borrowed without permission. But, ah..." His hand, just below the woman's eyeline, waved frantically for Charlotte to stop. "With every intention of-" The woman's head jerked down to stare at his hand. "Giving it... back."

The woman whirled to find a very confused Charlotte lowering her sword.

She whirled back.

"Backstabber!"

"I will get you another boat!" Jack said hurriedly.

"I wasn't going to stab you." Charlotte then looked down at the blade in her hand. She tucked it behind her back and winced as the woman glared at her.

"He wasn't going to stab you!" Jack agreed.

The woman eyed Charlotte. Behind her, Jack was making more desperate hand gestures. Charlotte looked to Will. He seemed as confused as her. She looked back to see Jack rolling his eyes.

"Say something." He mouthed.

"Um," Charlotte said. They all waited. They were all staring at her. Charlotte defaulted to polite society. "I'm Charlie. How do you do?"

"I... He stole my ship." The woman explained. Charlotte waited. "I'm Anamaria?"

"Pleasure to meet you," Charlotte replied. She felt like she was dying. She barely remembered in time that she was a boy and had a sword and shouldn't curtsey. "Jack, why did you steal Anamaria's ship?"

The pirate looked very much as though he wanted to run away.

"He'll get you a better ship." Will offered.

Jack seized the chance immediately. "A better one!"

"That one," Will added.

"What one?" Everyone's eyes followed Will's pointing finger to the Interceptor. Jack and Charlotte winced. "That one?"

Anamaria tensed.

Will nodded. Charlotte glared at him.

"Aye, that one!" Jack agreed. He turned away, getting as far away from Charlotte and Anamaria as he could. "What say you?"

Two dozen voices yelled "Aye!"

Charlotte jumped. Then she slunk back to the ship, refusing to look up; she didn't want to know if anyone had noticed.

This plan turned out to be about as well thought as her attempt to defend Jack a moment earlier as everyone followed her onto the ship and began spreading out to various posts and preparations. Charlotte leaned against the mast, just beside her little bed of extra sails, dithering as she tried to find something she could help with that no one would have to teach her.

She was scowling at the canvas--wondering where she could move the possessions she'd hidden there and where she might have to sleep if someone decided to use it--when she was finally approached. Charlotte looked up in time to see the brim of a hat, right before it hit her in the nose and she had to snatch at it to get it off. She lowered the hat to find Jack grinning.

"Found you that. Bit less... creepy than your... looming, hood thing." He waved his hands around his face and then gave up and made a face instead.

"My cloak?" Charlotte wrinkled her nose. The hat was similar to his, a tricorn. "It's this Anamaria's?"

"I asked her. She said it's fine." He leaned forward, speaking in a conspiratory stage whisper. "She doesn't have anything to hide anymore."

Charlotte considered. She didn't really care if he knew she was a girl: it was the Swann bit that would be trouble. Then again she had other, more pressing secrets: she may as well throw him off the scent.

So she pushed back the hood and slammed the tricorn onto her frizzing, sea-tortured hair, and asked with as much confused naivety as she could:

"How will a hat hide me from Eos?"

A breeze whipped past the hat, but Charlotte was still in the process of straightening it and simply continued holding on, pretending there was nothing more than her and a confused Jack.

"Eos?"

"Yes. I... assumed you... You don't know anything."

Jack didn't reply.

"I... figured you would. She.. he... You were already claimed. They said." Charlotte shook her head, dismissing it. She began to pull off the cloak. As she continued, she tossed it onto her rope pile and threw her sword and sheath on top of it. "If you don't know Eos... then what are those pirates claimed by? Who made them... what they are?"

"You're asking a lot of questions."

"Answer one. And I'll answer one of yours."

The ship began to move. Charlotte looked up as a generous wind filled the sails and caught sight of Will and Gibbs talking off to the side. She looked away from Gibbs quickly.

"Alright." Jack turned and walked away.

Charlotte blinked for a moment. Then she took off after him so quickly that she tripped on her makeshift bed and caught herself on her injured palm. She scrambled to her feet and hurried to the front of the ship, her face and neck hot with embarrassment. Jack was holding his compass.

"I told your brother he was a pirate." He continued as she arrived.

Charlotte nodded but hugged herself uncomfortably. The water was rushing by within three feet on either side and the wind was biting her cheeks, begging her to look down. The pull inside and the wind now? She didn't have time for this.

"But you're not like him," Jack added, stowing the compass and looking up to find her looking very distracted.

"Is your question if am I a pirate?" It was nice that she was always so annoyed with him that she could talk and not care as much if she was being stupid.

"No."

"Is it about my father?"

"No."

"Is it about the..." But she had no idea what else a pirate might care about. "Just ask me, Mr. Sparrow. Or answer one of my questions."

"I am not part of the curse on Barbossa and his men," Jack said. "And I am going to save my question, whoever you are."

Charlotte scowled at that, more because it seemed like what Will's brother would do. Sister would do. Whatever Jack thought she was. She was going to have to leave half of this out when she told Elizabeth. And add in more of a fight with that Anamaria. Elizabeth would expect a clash of swords. The thought cheered up Charlotte a little: she'd expected to have done a lot more fighting by now. Maybe this thing would end with a simple exchange of hostage and they'd all sail home happily.

And then she'd still have Eos to deal with.

A bit of her hair came loose with the wind and whipped at her face.

Charlotte glanced back at the ship. Everyone else was preoccupied with work and calling directions. Jack was on his way back to the wheel. No one saw or cared what she was doing. Then again, there would be no dashing Norrington to swoop in and save her when she messed this up.

The girl wrapped one arm around the rail beside her, raised the other to hold tightly to her new, stolen hat, and looked down.

She didn't close her eyes this time. She watched the dark waters grow lighter until she was looking at shallows and sand. There was a tint of red from the setting sun, just like before. A cicada, about one inch long, zipped past her face and she followed its trail toward an island. It landed on the shoulder of a woman with black skin and hair pulled back into a bun of dozens of coiled braids. She stood on the edge of the island, about ten feet away, staring at the sunset. Her dress was the same color as the red sun.

"Good... evening," Charlotte said.

The woman didn't seem to hear her. Or see her.

But this was Eos. Charlotte knew, sure as anything, that this woman was Eos and that Eos knew Charlotte was watching.

The cicada fluttered its wings and then the cloaked man she'd seen in Tortuga was there in its place. She still couldn't see his face but his voice was stronger as he spoke.

"I didn't find her."

Eos nodded. She reached up and touched his face reassuringly as he continued.

"But I found your 'help'." He said the word like a title... or like an inside joke.

Eos smiled. "I know. " She looked up at the sunset again. "Now we see if 'help' comes."

Charlotte found herself back on the Interceptor a moment later, Will beside her saying something about Jack and sea turtles.