The Curse of the Black Pearl and the Keeper of the Treasure
Prologue:
Ten-year-old, Maria Cortez reached the docks in the town of New Orleans. It was just before dawn. The air was quiet. She clutched her bag close to her chest and waited for the ship that would take her to Port Royal arrived. Judging from the light in the sky it would be another hour. Maria hoped that this plan would work.
Three weeks ago, her abuela – her grandmother – the only surviving relative she had on this earth died from fever in their native Mexico. The Mexican government was threatening to put Maria in a convent. She refused that idea so she decided to run away. She wanted to get far away. She gathered all her belongings and a few coins. She stowed away on a cargo ship to New Orleans from Galvez. From New Orleans she bought a passage to Port Royal on a ship coming from England.
And now here she was waiting. She looked all around her hoping that she wasn't being followed by anyone. Not that she could think of anyone who would want to follow her. But her family's secret always made her fear someone might be after her. And as the last surviving member of her family, she feared that the day would come when she'd have to face her family's secret.
The ship arrived as scheduled. The captain informed Maria that she would be sharing a cabin with another child passenger, Will Turner. The captain explained to Maria that they were the only children on this ship without family.
Maria entered her cabin, nervous about meeting a new person. When she opened the door, she saw a boy sitting on a cot. He looked up surprised to see her.
"I...am...Maria," she stuttered in her faltered English.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Will. Will Turner."
He smiled and held out his hand. He was a cute boy, Maria thought to herself.
"El capitan say I am to...sleep here...You and I...no family...only children on boat."
Will frowned. No family.
"Well. At least now we have each other!" Will said with a smile. He took her bag and set it down on the other bed.
And a gentleman too, she thought to herself.
"Uh..why you go to Port Royal?" Maria shyly asked.
Will sighed. He sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. "My mother was sick for a long time. She died a few months ago. My father once told me to look for him in Port Royal, so."
It took a little longer for her to comprehend due to the language barrier, but she understood.
"Lo siento...very sorry, Will."
"Thank you. Why are you headed to Port Royal?"
Maria's eyes grew wide. She didn't want to answer his question. But he had opened up to her a little, she felt she needed to do the same. She didn't know why she was so easily trusting of him.
"Mi abuela just died. She only family I have. Government...put me in convent. So I run away."
Will laughed.
"You don't belong in a convent."
She shook her head in agreement.
"Where did you learn English?"
"Mi madre. She died as well. Don't know much English."
"Well since we will be roommates, why don't I try to teach you a little more English?"
She smiled and nodded profusely.
Two days into their journey, Will was making excellent progress with Maria's English skills.
"My name is Maria Cortez. I am from Mexico," she said in heavy accented English. Will was proud. She was improving.
"You're a quick learner, Maria."
Maria's eyes lit up. She understood him!
"Muchas gracias, Will...I mean. Thank you very much, Will."
"Let's take a break for now. You've been studying your English so much you haven't had time to relax. Would you like to go on deck with me and walk around a bit? Get some fresh air?"
It took Maria a little longer than expected to understand him this time. But she was thrilled when Will asked her to go on a walk with him. It was like her very first date. She blushed at the childish notion. She nodded with enthusiasm.
"Great. Let me get my things."
Maria watched him with curiosity as he went to his small trunk and pulled out a shiny trinket. It caught Maria's eye. She gasped and dropped what she was holding.
"What? What's wrong?" Will asked.
Maria's eyes never left the shiny trinket.
"That...that...that...where...from?" Maria stuttered in shock.
He looked at the trinket in his hand. "Oh this? My father sent it to me. It's a medallion."
She shook her head and mumbled to herself.
"Aztecs...Senor Cortez..." She mumbled to herself.
"Maria, what are you talking about?"
"It's following me."
"What is?"
"The curse!"
"What curse?"
"My family's curse! The one the Aztec's put on the treasure! I am a descendent of Cortez himself! He slaughtered the Aztecs for their treasures and their land in Mexico! They cursed the treasure so that anyone who spent the gold would be cursed forever! Only my family did not spend the gold. We hid it and locked it safe. But pirates found it. Pirates spent the gold! And my family's curse will not be lifted until each and every piece is returned to its chest!"
"How are you cursed, though?"
"Any descendent of Cortez has the responsibility to ensure that the treasure is intact. If it is not complete by the end of their life, it is passed down and so on and so forth. I am the last of my family. It is my responsibility to see that the treasure is intact. I'm its keeper."
"But if pirates stole the gold how do you know if it intact?"
"I don't. That is why the curse has gotten worse. Over the years my family has died very young. My grandmother...not even fifty years...My mother died in childbirth. My father drank himself to death after that. I am all alone in this world."
"No you are not."
"Que?"
"Now you have me. We'll get through this together. When we're older, we'll find out where this treasure is and make sure that all the coins are in their place."
"Oh, Will, you do not have to do this for me."
"But I want to. We only have each other in this world. And I will protect you and your family's secret. You are all I have now.
Maria blushed. She finally had a true friend.
Suddenly they heard shouting from above. Will looked at Maria. He told her to stay put. He lifted up the doorway to the main deck. Everyone was running around in a stir. Then he heard someone say "Pirates!"
Will turned to Maria.
"We are being attacked, Maria! Pirates!"
Maria shuttered thinking of the deadly possibilities. Pirates. She rushed over to Will and tucked his medallion in his shirt.
"If we stay together, we'll be fine."
As their ship was attacked upon, Maria prayed that she and Will would make it out alive.