"We know you're in here, poppit…"
Trapped.
Terrified, alone, inescapably trapped. Through the thin, gilt door, she could hear their heavy footfalls and smell their salty, putrid stench. Only one tiny, golden shaft of light struck her eyes through the door seams, flickering in and out like a dying candle.
They were pacing in front of the closet. And when that flame went out, she would be discovered.
She was surprised they hadn't heard her already-her racing heart surely had given her away. Even now, it was in her throat, crying to her pursuers. Right here, it beat. Right here. See us. See us.
Pirates. Not the kind she had so foolishly loved as a child, but Pirates. The kind of ruthless, dirty men who would take what they wanted, all else be damned. The sort of men who would rape, even kill with no thought of casualties. And now…now they wanted her. Jack Sparrow's face jumped into her head, his dirty fingers on her face, she powerless to stop him…but this time, there was no father or James to intervene.
Right here, right here, right here, her treacherous heart continued to echo. Please move on. She thought desperately. Please just go on…
"You 'ave something what belongs to us."
The medallion! Will! She clenched her thin fingers desperately around the cold, smooth disk, feeling its every ridge tear into her palm. Will's medallion-the guilty secret she had kept all these years to protect him…she had pulled it out, just this morning…
"It calls to us. The gold…calls…to us." Yes, yes not her heart but the gold, the gold called, beckoned, summoned all things evil. She had always feared it, hated it, loathed herself for hiding and keeping this terrible treasure.
What are you? What will become of us? She questioned, tracing the worn, ridged surface with a shaking thumb. But Will's medallion offered no answers, it's cadaverous smile only maddening in the certainty of her suffering. Right here--did it really pulse in her hand, like a tiny, hideous heart?--Right here…
Eclipse.
The medallion's glittering grin was plunged suddenly into darkness. A foul air crossed her in this terrible Hell, and she raised her fear-stricken eyes to a pirate's blackened smile. Her heart, too late, now ceased its beating.
Agony.
"'ello, poppit."