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[Oh man, I'm so sorry guys, I should've told y'all I was gonna be gone all this weekend... anyhow, back! *resumes cruel pirate atittude*

Grey merely sneered and let go of the girls throat. He would have more time for bringing down that bloody ego of hers later.

Drunkenly he stepped up to the deck. Ahh. So Jack was going to Tortuga. Now what on earth would he want there?

"Claudia!"

He looked up at her, and ordered loud enough for the whole crew to hear, "Bring her into Tortuga!"

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"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air."

((I'm gonna skip ahead if that's okay - I may slightly use a couple characters, but nothing too major, I promise))

"Aye aye, Cap'n," came Claudia's disembodied voice from up in the rigging, floating down to his ears.

Isabelle fixed her gaze firmly on the wooden planking of the ship's deck, feeling quite miserable.

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Not more than a few hours later Tortuga was visible in the distance, and Claudia expertly spun the tiller as the ship neared, to bring it alongside the dock. She cast a surreptitious glance about for the telltale black sails, and with an inward groan spotted them. The ship appeared, however, to be mostly deserted.

In fact, most of the Pearl's crew was still lounging about in The Faithful Bride, Elizabeth and Will along with the rest of the crew getting increasingly impatiant with their uncommunicative captain.

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As they pulled in the dock, Grey realized that his crew was in the dark about this matter. And he wasn't in the mood to explain it to them.

"Ye'll stay aboard th' ship this night!!" he ordered the crew roughly, in a voice that meant business. "Keep an eye on the prisoners... all but this'n." He jerked his head towards Isabelle.

"Claudia. Barry. Ye're both coming with me... and ye're bringing the wench. We might need her... for negotiating." Without realizing it, his fingers played with the hilt on his sword. His eyes were like steel, focused on the Pearl. He said nothing more.

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"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air."

The girl's sharp intake of breath was covered by Claudia's loud footsteps down the stairs. Her boots thumped confidently on the wooden planking, and in a few flicks of her capable wrist, Isabelle was suddenly loosed and fell to the deck in a heap.

She pushed herself up shakily, limbs numb and clumsy, and Claudia hauled her the rest of the way up and bound her wrists with a shorter length of rope. Isabelle stumbled and almost fell, only just recovering herself.

Claudia disappeared belowdeck, presumably to retrieve some few articles she wished to bring ashore, and Isabelle wearily leant against the mast, wishing for a good sleep and a bath and knowing it wasn't due to come anytime soon.

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Frowning, Elizabeth retrieved her spyglass from the pocket of her voluminous coat and focused it on the ship, which was far away enough to be half lost in the mist. "I do believe it's our friend Captain Benjamin Grey," she muttered, handing it to Will so he could see. "And that must be one of Victoria's sisters - do be quiet, Will," she added hastily. "It's much better if they don't know we're here."

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Grey sauntered down the gangplank, jauntily, and just slightly drunk. With his bony hands, baggy clothes, and determined face he looked absolutely sinister. He stopped, as he reached land, and motioned for Claudia and Barry to follow with the prisoner.

"We're going aboard the Pearl. If I know anything, Jack'll be at the inn drinking. We'll get aboard without causing too much of a stir, get the girl, and I'll do business with the halfwit Captain later. But, at all costs, get that girl. Understood?"

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"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air."

((Aramel, I didn't specify because I wasn't sure where you wanted Victoria - is she on the Pearl or at the inn with Jack and the rest of the crew? Will and Elizabeth are aboard the Pearl.))

Claudia hauled Isabelle along with her, a cutlass jammed in her belt and a pistol beside it. She had retrieved a battered old brown hat, which looked as if it had seen much better days. She prodded the girl ahead as they descended the gangplank.

Isabelle went unsteadily down, trying not to get splinters in her bare feet, and looked about - she could see a ship with black sails some ways away, and wondered if that were the one.

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Elizabeth went with him, glancing warily about. "They must be coming aboard for Victoria!" she hissed, as they crouched down. "But they won't find her, will they? What if they find us?"

((Victoria will be at the inn, if that's okay, Aramel...hope you don't mind...))

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