THE MERRY CREW CONTENTED THEMSELVES with banalities aboard the boat. Card games, palm plays or futile conversations, there was something for everyone.

But, among this delicious daily life, Asteria was beginning to worry about a new problem.

The Royal Navy.

She was bound to find her and call her to her duties. She knew very well that they were not looking for her for her own existence but much more for her role to be maintained within the royal court.

So far, five days after her escape, no one had come looking for her since Will and Jack. What a relief.

Jack, posed, a boot against a barrel, pondered among the many debts and adventures he could undertake or settle.

It was true that running away the last time was very cowardly, and he wondered day and night who had been behind the helm of the flag.

Nevertheless, his doubts were confirmed. A new attack occurred, in the middle of the night.

Boom!

All that was heard was the crash of cannons echoing in the dark night. The whole crew woke up scared. Gibbs turned to his roommate, who was not breathing.

He had taken a cannon ball in the head, which challenged the sailor who saw the big gaping hole in the wood of the ship. He climbed quickly, in a panic. Most men froze to death, getting out of bed as fast as they could.

Will popped up, and moved in all directions to make himself useful. He had to do something. He saw Asteria climb up the mizzenmast. Poorly covered, the latter gritted her teeth, but went on a reconnaissance.

Through her spyglass, she perceived the identity of the ship. And it all made sense in her head.

You see, it's the Cobra. One of the most powerful ships in the ocean. Controlled by Captain Barbossa, it sails and is all the rage wherever it goes. He is recognizable by his attacks, always throwing powder where it should not, had expressed the Governor to Asteria, returning from a trip one day ago.

Asteria couldn't help but open her mouth, surprised, and insightful. She couldn't wait to reveal her find to the crew, and to confront the terrible pirate her father was praising.

"Cobra! It's the Cobra!" She cried so loud you could hear her despite her height. My friends, we are facing Captain Barbossa.

Jack heard her words and froze in place, even more than the freezing cold outside. He hadn't expected to see him so soon.

"Then let's beat him!" Marty yelled loudly, despite his small size.

A movement of howls followed in chorus, bringing solidarity and fraternity.

Jack brought the boat near Barbossa with trembling hands.

He knew he was not trying to harm, but rather to attract attention. He liked negotiations. The discussions.

With the ships within foot shot, the crew of the Cobra infiltrated among the Black Pearl.

Captain Barbossa arrived, flamboyant as terrifying. Tall, he was imposing; he looked dark. His big hat made him look like a scarecrow. Barbossa had long light brown hair and a beard of the same color.

Most of the time he had a sky-blue bandana tied around his head. He was dressed in a white shirt, brown jacket and black coat and wore black pants and black boots.
He also had a yellow scarf at the waist and belts. He was dangerously armed with a saber and pistols.

Barbossa was, above all, attracted by what was rare or what had great values. Captain, he enforced firm but fair discipline on his ships.

He said he had honor, which he indeed had, but the way he applied the code contradicted this honor: he only applied it when it suited him. The importance of his image for him was also confusing: he wore nice clothes, which highlighted him or gave him importance, but his mimicry, his few spits, and his lifestyle gave a completely different impression.

Anecdotal but revealing observation, his favorite dish was the apple, a fruit not found in the Caribbean which he delighted in.

Barbossa was a great sailor: ingenious, Machiavellian, he embodied a good strategist, and an excellent navigator. He was a cruel and bloodthirsty pirate. In short, he was a pure buccaneer.

His courage could also pass for suicide. Very gifted with the sword, he presented himself as a hardened fighter who proved to be dangerous and deadly, even with a wooden leg.

He was surly in his duels, and seemed above all to have a defensive strategy, or he was looking to hurt his opponents in sensitive places. Moreover, his very sarcastic humor could make him almost doubtful. Fear, and admiration was felt by everyone, including his own crew members.

"Jack! What a pleasure to see you again! It's been... five years?" He began, smiling, revealing his yellowish teeth.

"At least! What brings you, my friend?" Jack joked, wanting to sound as welcoming as possible. The irony often worked so well that it was hard to pin down the seriousness of it.

"Does the word 'mutiny' ring any bells?"

"Vaguely. Why?"

"Five years. It's been five years since you promised me the Black Pearl and I'm still waiting. It was our deal."

"And so, you come in recognition to ransack your desired property? Not a bad strategy," laughed Jack.

"Listen to me, Jackie. This time you won't get away with it. You promised me the Pearl, so I'll get it."

Barbossa giggled with his yellowish teeth, showing his cobweb hair.

"It's crazy how I can't stay captain for more than ten days. Do you know the Governor's daughter is here? She is worth much more than a ship, not to mention that she is chaste to marry."

"The Governor is dead."

"What makes her a Governess, what more do you want!"

"We don't haggle Asteria!" Will shouted, furious at the way she was being talked about.

"Hmm, plus she's in love. You cruel miscreant, don't you want to snatch a poor little girl from her beloved? You would like that, huh?" Jack retorted, a smirk on his lips.

"The Governor's daughter, you say?" Barbossa smiled as he watched Asteria descend from the mast, unaware of the market that had just taken place.

"It's me. What is it?" She replied.

"What is your name, Governor's daughter? Or should I say, the maid?"

At these words, the two men who had been chasing Asteria during the attack appeared.

She was frightened and a knot was tied in the pit of her stomach.

Will and the whole crew just stood there, wordless, trying to figure out the situation.

"Asteria Swann, right?"

She nodded, puzzled.

"It would be about being aware of your personal information, child. That being said, the girl does not interest me. I want the Pearl, Sparrow."

"What? Who wanted to bargain me?" Asked Asteria, profusely uplifted.

Jack hid with a lantern, and Asteria slapped him. Hoos at Jack were heard.

"You, on the other hand, will never have my trust, agnostic. You're saving my life for the benefit of selling it? It is clear that you are not a good trader."

Barbossa chuckled mischievously, and Jack looked delighted.

"Yes, I admit that I really deserved that one," he said.

"That one?" Will asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Deal done, then! My friends, welcome to our Black Pearl. I'm making you the kind offer to keep you and your crew, and you won't have to argue. Come on, everyone on the move!" Barbossa bellowed.

"Are you going to leave the most powerful ship in the oceans at everyone's mercy? The Cobra cannot be abandoned," Asteria explained.

"Like I said, it would be about being aware of your personal information, child. The Cobra is not the most powerful ship in the oceans. It's funny how we believe things are, only to be counterfeit?"

The captain's tough, salt-eaten face was as rough as the barnacles that caked the hull of his ship.

The cohabitation was not very easy, and we had to squeeze together to get everyone on board the ship. The pirates bickered endlessly over trivialities, and the wisest were exasperated.

Gibbs, wandering, believed to be a passing angel. He wasn't sure what he was seeing, but fervently hoped that was what he believed. He followed the direction that had been given to him to see.

Late at night, no one was awake, and there was only the echo of his footsteps to clear him. The planks of the ship creaked and creaked, one could even hear a companion complaining:

"Hey, make less noise!"

"Sorry!"

After a few minutes of random walking, he ends up in a semi-lit room, only to see the ghosts of his past.

"Joshamee..."

He exhaled in amazement.

"Violette, is that you?"

He paused, amazed at his discovery, his reunion.

"Yes! Violette Perpendulum," he continued, as if trying to convince himself of his hallucination.

He seemed to be in a trance, unconscious. He couldn't come back.

"Did you miss me, my dear?"

"But you're dead!"

"Death is a strange business, isn't it?"

The woman emerged from the darkness. Blonde with blue eyes, she looked like an archangel fallen from the sky, only to end up in the water. She looked like she had taken care of herself for every minute that separated the thirty years that had pulled them apart.

"I don't understand," he said, often unconcerned about himself, now refined and composed again.

He ran his dirty hands over her arms. At the contact of his touch, Violette sighed.

"I never passed away. That night, you believed in my loss, but I was only asleep."

"But... Yet I had looked! I had checked your pulse! I believed in your loss! My world was collapsing!"

"Asphyxiated by the fire, yes, but not to the point of succumbing to it. You're supposed to know me, Gibbs. You loved me. You promised to marry you when we were twenty-one," she explained, pointing to the scrap metal ring she was wearing.

"I know it, but... but how did you want me to marry a corpse?"

"Then I waited for you. You caused my death, and I will blame you forever."

Gibbs got down on his knees, and began to cry bitterly. Shame overcame him, the crushing weight on his shoulders, so heavy he could sink to the bottom if it were not for the wood of the lodge that kept him alive.

"I'm terribly sorry, if you knew. Violette, forgive me, I beg you..."

"When Barbossa offered to make me human and to help him find the Pearl, I knew I would see you there. Oh, Joshamee," she giggled, and tugged at the man's hair for sole control.

"I am a seraph returned to haunt you to the Abyss," she blurted.

In his deep unhappiness, plunged into total decay, Gibbs wanted to jump. To drown. To exude to the gates of villainy that would bring him a redeeming amnesty. But, in his madness, altruistic hands came to save him.

Jack held his friend with all his strength and wondered what could have caused him so much harm. He no longer recognized him. Gibbs was calm, thoughtful, and loyal. Here, we believed in a demon coming out of the precipices.

"What the hell happened?" Jack asked himself. "Gibbs, hey, pull yourself together, old man!" he shouted.

And as if the death knell had sounded, the sailor's terror ended and he lay on the ground.

"Oh, Jack if you knew, I'm so sorry. Such. Sorry. Such..."

"What happened, Gibbs?"

"It's Violette..." her name was like a curse rising from her lips, burning the flesh that resided there.

"No, it's impossible. Violette is dead. Plus, her fishtail with her."

"And yet there she was, on two feet and dangerously fit. Please, something has to be done about it."

Gibbs made no secret of his grief, the ignominy having already got the better of him.

"Gibbs, I'd like to help you, but I can't believe it. Are you sure you haven't had too much to drink?"

"Jack, you've drunk all our rum supplies. The only liquid that crosses my lips are my sobs."

"Yeah, not wrong."

Jack patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Look, Gibbs, I think what you need a good night's sleep."

"Surely, Captain," Gibbs stammered thickly.

"Oh! You're back! Although 'Captain' is wrong now..."

"You'll find a way out, you're Jack Sparrow, that's a lot."

"Oh, stop flattering me," Jack said, looking smug.

The two companions managed to laugh, and the pirate led his friend to the holds. He tucked it in, though he never thought he'd do that for anyone. Tenderness prevailed and wished his comrade a good night.

Retracing his steps, Jack bumped into a body. The night was not going to be short-lived.

"I can hardly believe it! My lord! Jack Sparrow helping someone!" said a voice he knew well.

He only had to lift your head to see Asteria's face, mocking and placid.

"Sometimes I am in a charitable mood, it is true."

Asteria giggled.

"At what price? When are you going to use his weaknesses against him?"

This remark marked the corsair, who melted to reflect. His thoughtless actions, he had never gone back on them. Why when it came out of a child's mouth did it sound so accusatory?

"What happened?" she whispered quietly.

Sitting on the stairs leading to the deck of the Black Pearl, the two individuals landed.

"Our dearly beloved Gibbs has found a ghost from his past. Believe me, it's the worst thing that can happen, and there are a lot of people I don't want to see anymore."

"What is it?"

"Oh! But the question is rather who is she?"

Asteria waited for an answer, but realized she had to ask again.

"Who is she?"

"Thirty years ago, me and Gibbs were going to Whitecap Bay, to start a bargain with mercenaries. Little Gibbs was just a weakling, barely eighteen."

"Glad to know you were once young," she cut him off.

"Very funny," he laughed sarcastically. "May I resume my story, Governess?"

"Only if you stop calling me that," she laughed.

"So, Gibbs and I were in Whitecap Bay, and that's where he made the fatal mistake. This cove is famous for containing sea creatures whose song completely captivates you."

"Sirens."

"Exact. You are shrewd, tell me. And the mermaid fell in love with it in turn, and decided not to devour it. The two shared their romance while I struggled with all the work."

"Hard to believe."

"And yet! Unfortunately, the merchandise turned out to be gunpowder, and...boom."

"Boom?"

"We blew up the whole island, having had time to run before the explosion. Too bad for Violette, that being said."

"But then, if she's dead, what has she to do here?"

"I don't think she's dead and that she's going to cause us a lot of trouble. There is nothing worse than a woman in love, thirsty for revenge."

"We got off to a bad start then."

"Because there is a 'we'!"

The girl flinched and giggled, before walking away.

Jack found himself alone and had a hard time admitting it to himself, but he was starting to like the girl. Platonically, she was far too young for his liking. Although with a few more years...

Looking out the ship's window, Asteria noticed how close the water seemed to her and her fellows.

Pensive, she could no longer even distinguish the thin layer of glass that separated her from the asphalt. Stupidity envied by Curiosity, she held out a hand, Freedom not being so far away.

She was already reveling in the feeling of the sea breeze against her flesh, the cool morning air tensing her palm.

Instead, her fist banged against the transparency, and she learned that her imagination was way too fickle.