Rose of the Sea

The Brethren Court

Drew's POV:

I stand and wait while the Brethren remain frozen. Finally, one weak, hoarse, whisper breaks the silence.

"Bri? Is that you?"

Jack looks at me with a thousand emotions on his face. A couple tears silently fall down his face as he gingerly moves around the table towards me.

"Is that really you?"

He stops right in front of me and cups my face with a gentle hand.

I raise a hand and place it over his. "Yes Jack, it's really me."

He opens his mouth again as if he's going to say something else but not a word is uttered. He keeps his eyes locked on mine and leans in until our lips touch.

We kiss gently at first, then he pulls me in closer, knocking off my hat. His arms wrap around my waist and he stands up straighter so I'm pulled up to my tiptoes. I reach up and pull his hat off and kiss him deeper as I lean back. He follows me, not wanting to break the kiss and leans forward. He bites my lip a little and pulls me back towards him, but I remember we have an audience. I reluctantly pull back and turn my gaze to the rest of the court.

Barbossa chuckles and shrugs. "Well then, I guess we should welcome Captain Rose back to the land of the living."

The court gives a short cheer but soon go back to their earlier arguments. I make my way back over to the head of the table to stand beside Barbossa. He takes my hand, brings it to his lips and pulls me into a hug. 

"It's good to see you again Miss Rose. I knew you'd be back." He says as he lets me go. I give him a smile, pirates may be rough around the edges but they're all softies. I reach down to pick my hat back up and Jack wraps an arm around my waist to pull me in close. I stretch up to place his hat back on his head and kiss his cheek before turning to face the court.

"Listen, all of you." The pirates don't do anything to quiet down. "Listen up!" I try one more time. Still no change. Barbossa nudges my shoulder. He holds out a cannonball. I sigh and laugh. might as well. I take the cannonball and bang it against the table in front of me three times.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Finally, silence falls as everyone turns to face me. "Thank you. Now can we try to refrain from punching anyone else for just two minutes? I know that may be difficult for some of you, but we have a more important problem. Our location has been revealed. Jones is under the control of Lord Beckett and they're on their way here."

Lord Jocard speaks up. "Who is the betrayer?"

"Not likely among us." Barbossa answers.

Elizabeth steps forward. "Where's Will?"

Jack turns to her. "Not among us."

Yelling starts up again between the lords and I try yelling at them to shut up but once again, it doesn't work. Surprise there. I roll my eyes yell at the top of my lungs. "BE QUIET ALL OF YOU! EVERY SECOND WE STAND HERE ARGUING OVER PETTY DISAGREEMENTS THE ENEMY LINES GET CLOSER!"

Silence falls again so I take a breath and start talking before they can start fighting again. "I'm the one who led them here. I've just escaped being a captive aboard the Dutchman. I was tired of running, and now it's time we hold our ground and fight."

Mistress Cheng speaks up. "Shipwreck Cove is a fortress, a well-supplied fortress. There's no reason to fight if they can't get to us in the first place."

Barbossa steps closer to the table. "There is a third course. In the age of the first Brethren, at this very spot, they captured the sea goddess and bound her in her bones. Then and there they doomed the rest of us. They had tamed the seas for mankind but that was a mistake. The door was opened for men like Beckett to take control. Better were the days when mastery of the seas came from the sweat of a man's brow, and the strength of his back rather than oily bargains struck with creatures that call themselves men. Every single man in this room knows this to be true. Gentlemen, Ladies. We must free Calypso."