"Well hello, princess."

Unlike some of the others, Elora was willing to give Sarah Cameron a chance.

A year ago's Elora would've punched you if you'd said that.

But nonetheless, when the blonde girl walked through the Chateau and met them out the back where they were all chilling on the couches, she was the one snapping. "Shut up, JJ."

John B, meanwhile, joined his best friend, and asked. "Shouldn't you be on Figure Eight with your little group of polo players? Or did you break up with Topper?"

"I said shut it," Elora retorted, turning to Sarah. "What's up?"

"Well, first of all, we're just friends," Sarah said with a pointed look at John B.

"Oh, just friends, you have a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron-"

"Yeah, and it seems like you've got some of your own, too," Sarah clapped back.

"Alright, what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"We could've got to that hours ago if you weren't such an asshole," Elora nudged him, also looking at Sarah.

The girl sighed, announcing. "I'm here for Pope."

The boy frowned, looking at her. "Okay?"

Sarah smiled slightly. "I think I found the island room."

That got everyone's attention. Even John B and JJ sat up, looking at the blonde girl with a lot of interest.

And then the questions started.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

The last time they'd all been together in the Twinkie was right before Ward blew himself up.

Now, it was even more awkward. All seven of them were there, sure, but John B and JJ were both refusing to be nice to Sarah who was also being rude back, and it was causing a rift.

Now Elora finally got why everyone hounded her and Tyler to speak again, because of how insufferably awkward it got when people weren't speaking.

Pope, however, was helping the situation, spewing facts. "Guys, listen to this. The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior."

"So wait, he's saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?" Kie clarified.

"Yeah," Pope nodded, studying the photocopies of the diary's pages. "It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady."

"Holy shit," Elora gasped, realisation hitting her. "That's why Limbrey wants the key. It's not for the cross or the money she could get, it's because she's sick and she wants to be healed."

The others nodded and Kie asked. "What else does it say?"

Pope nodded, quoting directly. "Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike his vengeance on us."

"Thing is, god did have his vengeance," Kie deduced.

Tyler nodded. "He sent a hurricane to sink the ship. Only Denmark survived."

Eyes flicked between each other's, and everyone fell silent.

Great. Awkwardness again.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

The island room was in Tannyhill, apparently.

Elora had only been inside this house a handful of times, with her mum, of course, but everything felt different being here with the Pogues.

"Pope, look," Sarah said as they got up the stairs, shoving open the door to the island room.

And holy shit was it weird.

Tannyhill was known for being sort of Kooky, and this room was not. Though Elora suspected Renfield and Limbrey had something to do with that.

All the wallpaper was pulled off, for a start. And the whole room was wrecked. But underneath the wallpaper was a sort of painting? A painting that showed locations of different places on Kildare Island.

"Whoa," Pope gasped. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Yeah," Sarah smiked. "I know, right? It's the island room."

Tyler had only one word. "Incredible."

"Yeah, and it's been here the whole fuckin time," Elora shook her head in disbelief.

"No freakin way," John B was even speechless, not managing to quip a sarcastic comment for Sarah.

"This definitely means something," JJ voiced.

"Yeah, it's a map of the whole island," Elora said, coming into the centre of the room.

"Elle, I think you're right cause Rixon's is right there," JJ said, pointing to said beach on the wall. "And then there's the lighthouse."

"Guys, look, Parcel Nine and the well," Kie was on the opposite side, touching the labelled spot lightly.

"Okay, so if that's Parcel Nine and then if that's Rixon's, then that's gotta be the surf break at Mase," John B deduced, pointing right at it.

"Right, and look," Tyler came up next to him. "Pope, come here. This is Denmark's handwriting for sure."

He was holding up one of the diary photocopies, matching the drawings up to the ones on the wall.

"Holy shit," John B said, as Pope laughed, giddiness taking over.

"Denmark, you genius!"

"These are all his drawings, he- he painted this entire room!" John B shouted in shock.

"Yeah," Kie nodded. "Question is, what is he trying to tell us?"

"It's gotta have something to do with the key, right?" JJ frowned. "Right?"

John B, meanwhile, asked Sarah. "How did you know to uncover this."

"I didn't," she replied shortly. "It was like this when I got home."

"What?"

"Okay, then who did it?"

"I don't know!"

"The freaks!"

The whole group gasped, all jumping and turning as Wheezie appeared in the doorway, her eyes scrutinising every single one of them.

"Wheeze!" Sarah said in relief, running over to her sister.

"Wait, what freaks are we talking about, Wheeze?" Tyler asked.

"Uh, that sick lady and her attack dog. They showed up last night and they wanted to talk to Rafe."

"Oh, I fucking knew it," Elora scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Let me guess, this was a pale blonde lady? With crutches?"

Wheezie nodded.

"It's gotta be Limbrey," Pope said.

"Okay wait, what happened?" John B asked.

"Well, first they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs," Wheezie began to explain. "But I didn't wanna miss out, so I listened through the grate. They were talking about searching for something, and then the weird woman became very excited. Kept laughing and saying 'this is it'. Oh, and they also said something about getting across the sand flamingo."

"That's code, that's code for something!" JJ said.

"No, you mongo, it's the cross! The Cross of Santo Domingo," Elora rolled her eyes.

"Yep, that's it," Wheezie nodded. "And they were talking about, like, angels? A lot of angel talk, I don't know."

"Angels?" John B frowned.

"Guys!" Pope said excitedly. "Denmark's famous last words! He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel!"

"Bingo," John B snapped his fingers.

"They're looking for an angel! We have to find the angel in the room!" Pope shouted animatedly.

"Start looking, start looking!"

All at once, the Pogues dispersed across the room, all looking for this angel that was supposedly there.

"There's a church over there-"

"Yeah, check the church!"

"Wait guys this looks like an angel!"

"Maybe, maybe..."

"What's- what's going on?" Wheezie frowned. "Are you guys gonna tell me-?"

"The lighthouse, maybe?"

"Maybe it's heat sensitive!"

"That's what I said-"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hey yo, guys! I think I found something!"

Elora stopped arguing with John B in favour of running over to JJ, who was staring at a certain point on the wall.

It was of a place Elora knew less than anywhere else in the OBX, Goat Island. It was a small place just off Kildare. And JJ was looking at a tree, saying. "Remember this humongous tree on Goat Island? It's still there. And you know what else it's called?"

Pope gasped. "Angel Oak."

"And look right there," JJ smirked, pointing to a hole, painted in the side of the tree. "Look there. There's the keyhole."

"Wait," John B said, his own eyes wide. "That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel."

"That must be where he put it," agreed Tyler.

"Well then we need to go there right now, cause we are not letting Limbrey have that cross!" Elora declared.

"I think I'm Sherlock Holmes, alright?" JJ asked with a grin as they all darted about. "You're all welcome for that!"

Elora sighed, giggling as she dragged him along, the rest of them following. Apart from Wheezie, who just shook her head, frowning.

"Um, guys?!"

𔓘𔓘𔓘

"Guys, we're coming up on Freedman's Church," Pope said as the Twinkie rode past the old building slowly. "The church Denmark built for all the slaves he freed."

They drove across the water on a small stretch of land, approaching the tree as soon as they reached the other side.

"There it is, Angel Oak."

The tree was big, and cast a shadow on them as they drove up to it. John B, however, said. "Oh shit. Tide's coming in."

It was true. As they drove towards the old tree, they met a stretch of land which was covered almost completely in water and mud, but also had some very fresh tyre tracks in it.

"Shit, they already came through here," Tyler sighed. "We've got to hurry up."

"Hmm, what do you think, chief?" JJ asked John B.

"I think it's looking a little dicey," he replied.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree," Elora chimed in.

"Okay, well clearly they made it," Kie shrugged.

"In a two wheel drive? I don't know about that."

Then Sarah spoke up with a grin. "Why are y'all acting like you're not gonna do it anyways? Like when have y'all ever done the safe thing?"

"That would be never," Elora smirked, turning back to John B and JJ. "Come on, let's go."

"Right, speed if your friend here, okay?" JJ instructed his best friend. "So put her in second and hammer down, brother."

"Stick to the high ground in the middle," Pope added.

"Alright, ready? Here we go!"

He began to drive through it, and it was going well at first. It was very bumpy, and Elora and Tyler kept slamming into each other in the back, but it was fine.

By the time they made it through, they were all grinning and sighing.

"We're alive!"

"I told you we'd make it!"

"That's my girl!"

John B came to a stop on the flat ground that wasn't flooded they'd just got on to, and they all got out.

"Alright so, word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled okay?" JJ said warily with a hesitant glance at the water surrounding them on all sides. "You don't wanna step on a momma gator, that's the last thing you want."

"They have nests?"

"Nice place to park," Sarah shrugged.

"Wait! Hold on, I see something!" JJ shouted, picking up a random stick on the board and poking it into the water. "They like the brackish water, look-"

He slammed the stick down, causing a splash.

"You waking them up, JJ?" Tyler joked with a grin.

"No, I was just making sure it wasn't one, Ty!"

They continued walking, through the woods, JJ and Tyler making jokes and causing Kie, Pope and Elora to roll their eyes.

"Shhh!" Pope eventually yelled, but not because he was sick of them, because he'd seen something.

And when Elora caught sight of it, well, she wanted to scream or cry.

Because Rafe was there. And Renfield, and Limbrey. And another few lackeys with a digger and a load of excavating equipment. They'd dug a hole at the foot of Angel Oak, but as far as Elle could see, it was empty.

Rafe confirmed this when he yelled. "I don't see shit!"

Elora crept up beside Pope along with the rest of the Pogues, all of them with grave looks on their faces.

"You sure this is the right spot?" Rafe asked Limbrey.

She nodded, raising her voice over the sound of the digger. "It's there. The garment will be in the cross and the cross will be at the foot of the tree."

"Alright, well whatever we find, I get my cut," Renfield replied.

Elora stared in shock upon the scene. It was incredulous to her, that Limbrey had no use nor any want for the actual cross. All she wanted was what lay inside it.

"Hey! Wait!" Limbrey shouted, causing her to snap out her reverie to see Limbrey stood still, shouting. "Did you hear that? Stop! Get in there, boys! Do it by hand!"

As the lackeys working the digger jumped down into the hole, Limbrey, Rafe and Renfield approached it, the woman said in disbelief. "Oh, this has got to be the cross.."

But it wasn't.

Because when the men lifted the hole's contents out, what was revealed was a... casket.

Limbrey was deluded, Elora decided, as she said with a small chuckle. "He put it in a casket."

Bullshit, the girl thought. That's not the cross, it was way bigger than that.

"They've got the cross!" JJ was shaking his head, hissing out the words. "What do we do? What do we d-?"

"What can we do?" John B hissed back.

"Shut up, you two! That's not the cross," Elora snapped.

And she was right.

Because as the casket was opened and the contents revealed, there was nothing but a dusty white cloth and a few stray bones.

Rafe shook his head, rolling his eyes. "It's just a corpse."

Renfield nodded, biting his lip. "Sorry, Carla."

Limbrey was kneeling down beside the casket, shaking her head. She looked more defeated than angry, and was shaking her head by the time she hoisted herself up. "We must have missed something."

"Of course," Rafe laughed sarcastically. "Of course, yeah, of course it's just a dead body! Jesus!"

JJ, meanwhile, was tutting, looking at the redhead beside him. "Looks like you were right, Elle."

"Of course I was," Elora retorted without cracking a smile.

"We'll go back, to the island room," Limbrey was crazed and wild as she shouted. "We're going back! We're going back! It's not over!"

As their truck, along with the digger and all the equipment, and the three of them and Rafe all left, Elora let herself sigh, feeling defeated.

"Well, I... I may have been right, but... we still have no cross," she said as soon as they were gone, shaking her head slightly.

Pope, meanwhile, was taking the more direct approach. He marched through the trees, JJ running after him. "Pope! Pope, wait! Shit-"

They all went, all ducking through the foliage and running over to the old oak tree that now had a huge hole dug at the bottom of it and a casket open nearby.

Pope came to a stop at the head of the casket, and they all skidded to one just behind him, not wanting to dishonour Denmark's memory. He kneeled down next to it, looking inside and seeing a plaque with the word Cecelia within on it.

"Cecelia Tanny," Pope murmured, just loud enough for them to hear. "Denmark's wife."

He stood up, looking at the tree. "He wasn't talking about the cross," he muttered, shaking his head. "He buried her at the foot of the angel."

Kie smiled slightly. "The true treasure."

"His wife," John B breathed, glancing at Sarah.

Pope turned away from the tree, walking back towards them and collapsing down to the ground, a tear streaming down his face.

They all moved closer to him, Kie kneeling right down next to him as the others followed suit.

"Denmark was hung for burying his wife," Pope murmured. "And now they defiled her grave."

He slowly reached a hand into the casket, stroking a hand over the ash and debris to reveal a small flat metal pendant, which he looked at in despair. Sarah, too, had reached a hand in, and found a true prize; a golden engagement ring.

She smiled slightly at it, flipping it round in her hand. "This must have been from Denmark. Her wedding ring."

Elora didn't miss her quick look at John B, and his soft look back.

Yeah, they're not over, she decided quickly. Might take fucking months to get them back together, but they're definitely not finished.

And speaking of that, that ring was bringing her own relationship troubles to the front of her mind. She and Tyler still hadn't talked. They'd kissed plenty of times now, and fuck it had felt amazing, but Elora knew she couldn't keep putting off their talk.

However, right now she needed to focus on the open casket in front of them. So she looked up, shaking her head slightly and saying gently. "We can't leave her here."

"We won't," John B promised.

And without another word, they all stood, John B and JJ working together to slide the casket lid back on. They all played a part in knocking the nails back into the wood and Pope lay a small bunch of wildflowers upon it.

They all stood around it, looking at it for a second, and thinking of Denmark Tanny. Of Pope.

Of each other.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

"I mean, I just don't get it," Pope ranted as Elora and JJ shovelled the last of the earth back upon Cecelia's casket, patting it down thouroughly. "I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finger it for one hundred and seventy years, and then he sends a message to his son Robert to come here to his mother's grave, but the message never gets to him. And Denmark wanted him to find the cross, so I know we're in the right spot, it just feels like-"

"Like we missed something?" JJ asked, shoving his shovel down and standing tall, looking up at the tree and advancing towards it. "Guys, come here."

Elora sighed, throwing her shovel down as well and running over to join JJ with the others. He was hoisting himself up on top of the Twinkie now, and Elle didn't hesitate to follow him, Kie right behind. The three of them stood up on the top of the van, JJ pointing to a small hole in the side of the tree.

"That looks like-"

"The painting in the island room," Elora said with a smirk.

"Too right it does," Kie nodded.

Elora looked down at the others. John B, Sarah, Pope and Tyler were looking up at them all, and she just smirked. "Worth a shot, right?"

"Yeah," Kie nodded.

"Alright," Elora said hesitantly, before pushing her hand inside the hole.

And holy shit, when it was about halfway in she felt a sort of metallic feel under her fingers, and she exclaimed. "Guys, there's something in here!"

"What is it, Elle?" Tyler asked.

"I'm trying to get it!"

And she did. She snagged ahold of this object, bringing it out into the open. As she pulled it through the hole all she could see was gold, but when she brought it out properly she realised what it was.

"It's a spyglass!"

She wasted no time in handing it down to Pope who inspected it, her and Kie and JJ jumping down to see it as well. The whole group gathered around it to inspect it.

"HMS Royal Merchant!" Pope read excitedly, before JJ stole it off him.

"Alright, alright, give it to the captain," he said, extending the spyglass out to full length.

"Look, there's an inscription right there, look at that shit!" John B said, as he and Pope dived in to look closer.

"What does it say?" Tyler asked, also poking his head in.

Elora, too, looked down at it, seeing the words in time with Pope reading them out loud.

You've come this far, do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman's alter.

"Freedman's altar- the cross is at the church!" Tyler exclaimed, as the whole group went wide eyed and open mouthed.

"What we doing here, guys?" JJ yelled in excitement.

"Yeah, let's go get this piece of shit!" Elora grinned.

"Come on!"

"We got it!"

And it was just like they were back in the Twinkie, JB covered in mud with the nuggets of gold, all of them chanting 'full Kook'.

Because Elora was feeling that same spark of hope and joy.

Finally, they were getting somewhere.

And she'd be damned if they didn't find that fucking cross.