Port Royal, 1759 – 20 years later

"Mrs Thatch and Mrs Turner will see you now, sir." The clerk bowed.

Cutler Becket Junior rose from the waiting room chair, preparing himself to stand face-to-face with the woman who had once been King of the Pirates' Brethren Court, and caused his father's death. He hated her with a passion, hated them both for nearly putting him out of business with their successful enterprise. But instead of doing what he dearly wanted – which was strangling them – he would have to grovel before them, lick their dainty little boots and humiliate himself and his father's legacy.

The owners of the Turner & Thatch Trading Company were important, and with the impending downfall of the East India Trading Company he desperately needed them as business partners.

Smothering a sigh, Cutler Junior entered the office and greeted the women with an elaborate bow, putting on a fake smile.

"Madames! I am honored you could find time for me in your busy schedule. I have a business proposition to make..."

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When Becket had left, Rose and Elizabeth looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh loudly. As if they would ever have anything to do with his horrible company, and all that it stood for: slavery, murder, bribery, exploitation of the poor.

"How adoringly pathetic he was!" Liz chuckled. "I shall cheer when I read the news of his bankruptcy."

"Don't be too hard on him. Wasn't it thanks to his father, that Will ended up as captain of the Flying Dutchman? If he hadn't, I doubt you and I would have met."

"True. Davy Jones would never have summoned Calypso. Alright then, maybe I'll only cheer a little."

Both smiling, they returned to their work.

Today the T & T T C office would close early because of Pearl's premiere flight, and shortly after lunch Rose finished the last point on her agenda. It was a report from Commander Gibbs, summing up his latest trip to Europe with his captains Barbossa and Anamaria. The journey had generated a huge profit; apparently the new solid form of chocolate had been a massive hit over there. This meant the company needed to expand their cacao plantations and hire more workers, but Rose would have to think more about that tomorrow. She was too distracted now, and had been so nearly all day.

Rose's thoughts kept turning to Pearl and the afternoon's test flight. What if the balloon caught fire, or the wicker basket fell off, or she drifted out of course or... There were just so many things that could go wrong. She regretted ever telling her step-daughter the history of flying (or future, rather), because whenever Pearl got a notion to do something, nobody could talk her out of it. And as usual young Henry had cheered her on. At nineteen, Liz' and Will's son was a successful inventor who would happily bring to life all Pearl's wild ideas.

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The whole town had gathered at the test area, and over by the bright red balloon Pearl and Henry were making some final preparations. Rose and Elizabeth scanned the crowd until they spotted their husbands; finely dressed in elegant, feathered hats and long brocade coats. They were accompanied by Liz' and Will's many children, and Rose's and Jack's three teen daughters.

Jack – or John, as most called him now – had been ashore for a couple of weeks so he could witness his daughter's attempt to become the first human to fly. Despite their wealth, Jack was still captain of the White Pearl, the largest ship in the Turner & Thatch fleet. He loved the freedom behind the wheel too much to give it up. Similarly, Will had kept his business, forging his famous and highly sought-after ceremonial swords, but his second eldest son was interested in taking over the smithy whenever he wanted to retire.

As she pushed her way through the throng in a rustle of skirts, Rose reflected on how respectable they had become. This was a pleasant life, and she had no regrets – but it sure had been fun back in the good old days, when they were adventuring together in their first ramshackle ship – Jack and Rose, Pearl, Liz and Will – and Hector, their pig. They had seen so many places and met so many interesting people. With time, their ship got finer and bigger, and the number of children (and pigs) increased, but the horizon always remained far away; alluring, tempting them with new sights to see and new adventures to experience.

Still, at their age it had felt right to settle down, using all the treasure they had found and earned during their journeys to start a company. And there were benefits. Having people like Cutler Becket Junior grovel before you definitely made it worthwhile.

"There you are. I thought you'd miss it." Jack looked near panicking and was fiddling nervously with his silk scarf.

"It took a while to get through the crowd. I'm sure she'll do fine!" Rose took his hand and tried to seem calm.

"Of course she will." Josephine, their youngest, rolled her eyes. "Pearl has let Hector III ride the balloon lots of times and it always went well, savvy?" She hefted the black pig in her arms.

"Don't mock my speech," said Jack sourly.

Then all they could do was waiting. They listened to the roaring noise of the burner filling the balloon with hot air, said their prayers, bit their nails, and hoped for the best.

At last Pearl entered the basket. She raised a gloved hand to wave, and the crowd applauded enthusiastically. She looked so strong and confident in her padded leather helmet, and under it Rose caught sight of her pearl earrings.

Somehow that little detail made Rose relax. Those earrings had bought her Jack's help twenty years ago, and she liked to imagine they had brought their family luck.

Pearl dropped the sandbags and the anchor. Slowly and majestically the large, red globe rose into the sky, accompanied by the cheer of the onlookers. It became smaller and smaller, and everyone held their breaths as the aircraft traveled the planned distance.

Above the landing point a few hundred yards away, a new sound told them Pearl was turning off the burner and opening the vents, releasing enough hot air for the balloon to begin its descent. With a bump, the basket finally hit the ground, and the cheer from the audience was deafening.

"It worked!" Rose was bouncing with excitement.

"It did! Your crazy, dangerous, bloody stupid idea actually worked!" Jack caught her in his arms and hugged her tightly." Murmuring into her ear, he added: "Promise me you'll never, ever tell her about automobiles."

The End

A/N:

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