Barbossa's Daughter

Chapter 23

(A/N: This is the last chapter for Dead Man's Chest before we start on At World's End which is my favourite movie from the series. Hope you enjoy. XxD)

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The swamp was lit by people holding candles as they made their way back to Tia Dalma's, the silence suffocating.

And they all simply just sat. Will was throwing a knife into a table again and again as Tia walked around and offered them drinks, but most of them declined.

"Against the cold, and the sorrow," she said as she offered Elizabeth one and she accepted. "But nothing seems to be able to heal your sorrow, heart of the sea," Tia cooed as she crouched near Cora, who sat simply with a blanket around her shoulders and who hadn't moved or said a word since the Black Pearl went down. "Poor thing. All in good time," Tia sang before she turned to William. "It's a shame. I know you're thinking that with the Pearl, you could have captured the devil and set free your father's soul."

"Doesn't matter now," Will said as he took two drinks, placing one in front of Cora who still didn't move. "The Pearl is gone, along with its captain."

Both of them, Cora said to herself in her head.

"Aye," Gibbs agreed. "And already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all, right till the end, but I guess that honest streak finally won out. To Jack Sparrow," he said as he raised his stein up.

"Never another like Captain Jack," Ragetti agreed.

"He was a gentleman of fortune, he was," Pintel added.

"He was a good man," Elizabeth piped up and while Will found her tears suspicious, Cora found them inappropriate. She had hardly known Jack. She had nothing to be crying about.

Will raised his cup too and drank, but still, Cora did not move. She had nothing to move with. No energy, no emotions, no hope. Nothing. And it was obvious to anyone the way she was breaking apart on the inside despite the way she simply stared at nothing.

"Cora," Will whispered. "Cora," he repeated as he reached out and touched her arm and she shifted her gaze to him, her first moves all night after getting out of the boat and coming inside. "If there was anything that could be done to bring him back..."

She averted her eyes as her face scrunched up again as if she was going to cry and didn't want him to see it.

"Cora," Will said softly as he stood but Tia got in his way.

"Would you do it?" she asked. "Hmm? What would you...hmm?" she said to Cora. "What would any of you be willing to do, hmm? Would you sail to the ends of the Earth and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and him precious Pearl?"

Cora stood as the blanket fell from her shoulders, her eyes red. "I would."

And at the sound of her voice, Mr Gibbs stood straighter. "Aye. Me too."

"Aye," Pintel said.

"Aye," Ragetti said.

"Aye," Mr Cotton's parrot squawked.

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded.

And then Cora turned to Will who met her ocean eyes that were brimming with tears like waves before they crested.

"Aye," he said.

"Alright," Tia grinned. "But if you go and brave the weird and haunted shores at world's end, then you will need a captain who knows those waters," she said as she looked to Elizabeth.

"And who do ye suggest?" Cora asked, her voice still small but still undeniably powerful as Tia's head whipped to her.

"All in good time. All in good time," Tia sang. "Are you ready to find out what the blood of the heart of the sea can do? What I needed it for at the time? For now the time has come. To return what I had that belong to the heart of the sea."

And they followed her gaze up to the spiral staircase as a pair of boots made their way down. Lower. Lower. And lower.

Cora backed into the table as her drink spilled on the floor, the cup clattering down as a very alive Hector Barbossa faced them as he said, "So tell me, what's become of my ship?" And he bit into an apple as he laughed, Jack the monkey on his shoulder as Cora's chest rose and fell heavily. 

"Father," she gasped. "Is that really you?"

"Aye, me Cora. Now get over here and give ya father a hug."

She sprinted the short distance between them as she threw herself at her father, Jack the monkey jumping clear as her arms wrapped around his shoulders and for a single moment as Hector closed his eyes, he seemed truly happy as he held his daughter as he inhaled the sea salt scent of her hair. As for Cora, a light seemed to spark in her chest again as pieces of her once-broken heart began fusing themselves back together. She was not alone. Her father was here, and he would lead them to get her uncle and her home back. She was not alone. She didn't have nothing. Everything was not lost after all. There was hope.

"Yer alive. I can't believe yer alive," she cried into his shoulder as she squeezed him tight, and Will gave a small smile at the scene.

Barbossa then pulled away from the hug to gaze down at his daughter and he wiped the water off her face. "Believe it, me Cora. I be here and here to stay."

And she hugged him once more before she pulled back, and she walked back over to Tia Dalma. "Thank you," she said genuinely. "Truly, thank you."

The sea witch bowed her head. "We got no hope to survive what comes if the heart of the sea has a broken heart."

Cora ignored the vagueness of that statement as she turned back to her father who gave her a nod and she turned to the men and Elizabeth assembled before her. "Well, gents, I don't know of a better group to sail to the end of the world with," she said with a small grin. "Let us bring back Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker."

And they all let loose an "ARRRR!"