Part IV : Back to the Sea.
1. drink up me hearties yo ho!
It took weeks to get me and my new crew to the devils triangle, and that was with me at the helm. And I'm an excellent navigator, I learned from the best. I learned from Jack. We stopped once at the last port between us and open water to the triangle for supplies, stocking hopefully well over what we needed, just in case. The ship Elizabeth had lent me was not nearly as large as the Black Pearl, but she assured me it was fast.
And so it was, again, not as fast as the pearl ,but she'd do. She even survived two storms that I unerringly led us strait through.
"Captain." I turned to the speaker, my current first mate, a short man of Chinese decent with small, dark beady eyes, a bald head, and a surprisingly loud voice who went by the name of Shu.
"aye?"
"we won't be goin' into the triangle itself now would we?" he asked nervously.
"hopefully not, I would rather not have to chase my dear friend Jack through that hell-born place."
" it's got the men awful nervous….these parts and the stories that abide them."
"it doesn't matter if they be nervous or not. Where this ship goes is my decision as yer Captain. Until I hop onto the Black Pearl, that is. Then ye can steer the ship as you bloody well please, savvy?" damn. I spoke it like Jack.
"aye aye, captain."
"Captain, there be somethin' way off starboard." a crewman called from the crows nest.
"could ye be more specific there, mate?" I asked.
"….it's a dark spot."
"bring me that damn scope." I ordered Shu, who scurried off. I heard a few shouts and the rather unpleasing sound of glass shattering before Shu hurried back with the scope.
"here ye are, Captain." he handed me the instrument and hovered.
"what broke?" I asked, extending the scope.
"a rum bottle, nothin' to worry about, Captain."
"was it full?" I placed it to my eye and searched 'starboard' for this dark spot.
"…no."
"better not have been, I'd have yer hide for wastin' rum." there!
I strained my eyes trying to make out what I saw. Maybe it was some odd rock formation? It looked almost like a ship….but the 'spot' ran too long and was too blurry for me to quite make out. I returned to the helm and spun the wheel, my ship lurched beneath me as we changed direction. I checked my compass. It spun without stopping. To close to the triangle now, I was at the gods guidance. Unless I could get a hold of jack and his blessed compass. Every few minutes I'd step away and return to peering through my scope.
"debris in the water!" a crewman called.
I walked to the railing and looked out, sure enough bits of wood and crates drifted on the waves. I searched through my scope for the 'spot'. my stomach lurched. There she was! The Black Pearl! Two ships actually. Well….one and a half. The pearl seemed mostly intact, a bit battered and worn, while the other ship was quite well destroyed, half of it floated next to the pearl, making the ships look like on long dark spot because the white sails had fallen to the sea. Perhaps floating was the wrong word. I'll kill whoever was steering that ship. Morons ran her onto a reef. She was stuck, a sitting duck, as it were. I prayed to the gods that the Black Pearls keel was still intact.
"men, watch for the reefs, steady as we go!" I ordered, returning to the helm. I'd found me Black Pearl and hopefully Jack. Now I just had to get to them.
/
"don't put down a bridge just yet, I'm still absorbing this moment." I ordered, absolutely giggly with delight. I stood next to the railing and clapped my hands together, grinning from ear to ear.
"Bella, darlin', come to relieve me of my misfortunes?" Barbossa called out. I shook my head.
"Hector Barbossa. This is just perfect. You actually managed to ground the pearl on a reef!" I laughed.
"I did it not for yer entertainment lass. Are you here to aid us or not?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Bella…" he warned.
"oh, an ye have the audacity to take that tone with me, wonderful, just wonderful. Perhaps I'll continue on my way now." I laughed and started to turn around.
"Lass, dumpin' ye at port was far kinder than dumpin' ye with Jack on some island with not but a pistol with a single shot."
" oh, that reminds me, where is Jack?"
"… what concern do he be of yers?"
"I have a message for him."
"and the message be?"
"from Teague."
"the content, Lass."
"not for yer ears. Where is he?"
"in me brig."
" well that won't do, bring him here."
" perhaps if ye'll help us with our...misfortunes." I dropped my grin.
" yer lucky I haven't killed ye for doin' this to the Pearl, of course I'm gonna tow it." I gestured to my men to ready the ropes.
"now please tell… do ye have the charts?"
"…aye….an yer concern with them?"
" personal….curiosity an all that."
He gave me a searching look and I turned away, back to the helm.
" Hurry it up an keep a watchful eye on the reef! Move it!" I hollered.
With some curses, a lot of shouting, a close scrape and excellent steering on my behalf we managed to pull the Black Pearl free of the reef and into clearer waters, once again siding up to them. This time I let the bridge be put down.
"Shu, my affects please!" he scrambled into my captains cabin and brought me my pack. I motioned a tip of the hat to him and strode boldly onto the Black Pearl, my crew transferring supplies to the pearl behind me.
" what ye be doin' , Lass?"
"gettin' Jack, I told ye I have to deliver a message."
"an after the message be delivered?"
" haven't planned that far ahead." I grinned. He rolled his eyes and stepped back, talking with his fist mate. Once the supplies were transferred onto the Pearl, I waved my men away, back to their ship, and they withdrew the bridge.
"well, Hector, can I go see Jack now?"
"aye , Lass, I suppose ye can."
2. just like old times.
"This was not our agreement!" I shouted after him as the door swung shut behind me.
"lass, I don't believe we had an agreement."
"I helped you out and supplied ye, and this is my repayment?"
"Take what ye can, lass, give nothin' back!"
"that's Jacks line!" I screeched as he chuckled, walking away.
"Bella, darling, good to see ye, luv!" Jack piped up from the back of the cell. I gave him a dry glance and leaned against the bars.
"it is good to see ye right?" he asked.
"no. Captain Jack. It is not good to see me."
He gave a half smile and twittled his hands nervously.
"and why is it not good to see ye?"
"Jack… why are you in the brig?" I asked, changing the subject and looking away, around the walls of the cell.
" the ship…I commandeered….got destroyed on the reef and I was...eh…picked up by Barbossa."
" and you were commandeering a ship because…?"
"…he had…me Pearl, savvy?" Jack mumbled.
"he had yer ship?"
"yes, well….," he glowered at me, "why so many questions? Didn't you say you were bringin' bad luck?" he changed the subject roughly.
"nothin' Jack, forget it, and I do not bring bad luck."
"right, we make our own luck! Now, I'm on a venture…I died once an I ain't goin' back. I'm goin' to reach the fountain of youth….just as soon as I get out of this cell." he grimaced at the bars.
"just like old times then." I sighed. The message could wait. It had had to. Jack wasn't ready.
"Just like old times." he grinned, grabbing me and pulling me into his arms.
"don't touch me." I warned. He frowned.
/
I sat in the cell and screamed my head off. You'd be surprised how well this works. It was approximately five seconds flat when steps thundered down the stairs.
"what in the blazes is wrong with ye!" Barbossa shouted, coming up to our cell. I waited till he was at the door before I stopped my blood-curdling wail.
" I'm bored now. Can I get out now please?"
"I thought ye had a message fer Jack." he grunted.
"Jack doesn't need it yet. Am I gettin' out or not?"
"I'm afraid not, lass." he turned to walk away.
I started screaming again. He swung around.
"will ye stop that racket!"
"I'm afraid not, sir." I smiled.
He glared at me and I smiled brightly at him. He snorted and walked away. I waited for him to get up to deck and started screaming again. After a few minutes Jack started eyeing his pistol. A few more and he started banging his head against the wall. A couple more and Barbossa once again stormed down to the brig.
"I'll shoot ye , lass, don't think I won't!" I stood and spread my arms.
"by all means, Captain!" I grinned. He pulled his pistol from his belt and pointed it through the bars. I grinned back at him. He set the trigger. I didn't move. I was grinning and looking him strait in the eye when he shot me. I gasped and broke eye contact to look down at the blossom of blood forming across my side. I made a motion to speak and grabbed the wound. No words formed. Jack peered at me from the side, his head swinging from me to the wall behind him.
"You bloody shot me!" I screeched.
"ye gave me permission, did ye not?"
"I didn't think you'd take the bait!"
"ye obviously didn't think hard enough, lass."
The shot wasn't fatal, merely a graze on my side, I'd say I'd been caught by at least half, if not most of the bullet. It hurt like hell. Keys jingled and the door swung wide.
"next time, it'll be through the stomach, lass."
"next time, I'm not goin' to be standin' there like a target!" I grabbed Jack by the hand and went to leave the cell.
"what ye be doin'?" Barbossa stopped my with his gun.
"goin' to find some bandages!"
"Jack stays here."
"Jack comes with me, how well do ye think ye can lock him up? He's Captain Jack Sparrow, mate, and I'm on board."
Barbossa rolled his eyes and trudged away, grumbling. His mates followed him. The second they were out of sight I collapsed against Jack.
"Bloody hell this hurts, Jack!"
"I was wonderin' how long ye could last like that. Come on, easy does it, luv." he helped me up and together we limped up to the deck, were bright light met and stung my eyes. Jack smelled a little worse than usual.
"how long…have ye been in….the brig?" I panted, clutching my side.
"nearly a whole bloody week." his gait really was weird, now that I cared to notice.
" hurry up Jack." I groaned. Blood was seeping over my hand and down my side, bright red against my creamy colored blouse. A few crewman stopped to watch us walked, and my glare sent them away. Until my vision started clouding, that is.
"Jack…." I warned.
"yes luv?"
"-Jack." I stumbled and he caught me. My vision fazed in and out and my side throbbed like crazy as the pain set in. I could feel how shaky I was, how fast my heart was pumping, how weak my legs were.
"Jack-"
"just a bit more, luv."
The breeze did nothing to ease the burning in my side, nor anything to dry my clammy hands. I could feel sweat trickle down my neck and blood rush past my ears. My stomach felt hollow. Blood continued to drip over my hand.
Finally Jack sat me down on a stool and produced a roll of bandages from a nearby drawer. His rough hands placed themselves over mine, pulling my hand away from the wound. The pain intensified and I groaned. The hollow point in my stomach expanded. I felt dizzy. He pushed my shirt up and set to work fixing me up. Pain lurched up and I yelped as he used salt water to wash away the blood and cleanse the wound. I swear through a clear point in my vision the corner of his mouth twitched up. The wound clean Jack started to wrap the bandages. I looked around while he did so.
"Jack…are we in the Captains cabin?" I asked.
"yeah luv."
" what has Barbossa done to the place?"
3. the fog.
Several days and pints of rum later we were overtaken by a chilling, thick fog. I could hardly see around the deck let alone the water beneath us. The superstitions among the men ran high and at their center point was….me. The only woman aboard. I could hardly turn around without spotting a group of whispering crewman, casting nervous glances in my direction. After the hundredth or so encounter I resigned myself and went to help Jack annoy Barbossa at the helm. Only to find the both of them peering over the spinning charts, the wheel left unattended.
I walked silently over to them, peering over their shoulders. Jacks compass sat on the edge of the map, pointing northeast. It spun as I looked at it. I sighed and the both of them nearly jumped out of their skin.
"bloody blazes is wrong with ye!" Jack yelped, his pistol drawn. Barbossa rolled his eyes, tucking his own back into his belt. I smirked.
"couple of grown men, scared of a little fog?"
"these parts aren't natural, lass, one has right to stay on edge." Barbossa spoke up.
" stay to far on the edge, and ye'll fall off." I warned, stepping up to the charts. "let me see….."
I spun some of the rings, Jack watching nervously. I sat there nearly a half an hour, spinning the rings. Testing, searching, spinning again.
"that's very interestin'…" I mumbled.
"what?" Jack snatched the map from me. Too late, I'd already re-set the ring. Jack eyed me peculiarly. Sometimes Jack was a little too clever for his own good. Or mine. Barbossa grumbled and took the charts from Jack, setting them back on the barrel. Bored I stretched. Fog swirled around me. I shivered.
"I'm going for a swim! If I scream, come save me." I informed them. Both of them rounded in my direction as I grabbed a rope and jumped over the side. By the time my head surfaced from the frigid water, both of them where yelling at me from the deck. I ignored them. The heat was gone from my body so fast it left me numb. It was hard to move in the chilly water, but I kept swimming to keep warm. I felt for the current, surprised when couldn't find it. Surprised and not surprised. We were on still water, the thick white fog keeping us from seeing the fact. I didn't like this place. Alone, down here in the water, I felt isolated. The thick heavy fog prickling against my bare skin. The icy water leeching at my strength. It all felt so surreal. I grabbed my rope and followed it back to the ship. Now at the side I looked around once more. We weren't moving. We really, really needed to move. We needed to get out of here as fast as possible, else I give in to the fear curling in my stomach. I grab the rope and started to climb, one hand over the other. Again. Again. Again.
/
I hauled my sore, wet self over the railing and flopped down on the deck.
"enjoy yer swim, luv?" Jack asked, gazing down at me with too much of a leer for my comfort.
"we're not movin'" I informed him.
"what?"
"the ship isn't movin' , we need to get outta here , Jack."
"I bloody heard what ye said, how are we not movin'?"
"No current. No wind. No movement. I don't like it here Jack, I keep feelin' like somethin's comin' that I can't see. I don't like this fog." the fog that even now hung over the ship, like an eerie white shadow. Waiting. Watching.
"hold yerslef together, mate. It's just a little mist, that's all."
"yer a bad liar, Jack." he was scared too. I could tell in the tightness of his smile, a pitch of his voice, the nervous twittle of his hand over his pistol. I knew Jack to well for my own good.
I felt for the pendant under my shirt, clutching it for comfort. Jack sighed and crouched down, kissing my forehead and placing his(my) hat on my chest.
"hold onto that for me, will ye luv?" he asked.
"thanks Jack." I whispered.
"lower the oars mates! Get this ship movin'!" he hollered.
"belay that!" Barbossa barked from the helm. "what ye be doin' , Jack?"
" our dear friend Bella has informed me that not only are we surrounded by this cursed fog, but the ship is in fact, not even moving, savvy?"
"did she now?"
"yeah!" I called out, raising my hand in hopes maybe he saw that I was laying right there.
"then gents, lower the oars!" Barbossa ordered. Crewman scurried about, down beneath the deck. The long oars pushed out the sides of the ship, down into the hidden water below. Ever so slowly, the Black Pearl began to move.
4. The sirens song.
Night fell and the dense fog seemed more foreboding then ever. With the lamps lit I could see faint orange glows across the blank whiteness that filled the air, telling me where the rest of the ship was.
The creak of the ship and the sound of the men was the only thing that reached me through the fog. Feeling ill I went below, seeking sleep.
/
I woke up in a cold sweat, my nightmare fading quickly from memory. Leaving its fear behind to linger. Birdsong drifted through the ship, loud and eerie. The sound was disembodied, echoing and chilling, yet, it lured me. I walked past empty bunks and quiet places to the stairs, up to the stairs and into the cool night air. And the fog. The ever present fog. It was thinner now, and I could see shapes across the deck. The men, frozen still by the alluring sound of the song. I walked past them, searching their faces. Odd, all of them were crying. They looked so….crazed. They looked extremely happy and incredibly afraid at the same time.
Splash.
That song was so pretty. That beautiful , beautiful song. Who was singing?
The music swelled and I heard the soft flutter of wings.
Splash.
Who was singing, oh that beautiful music, where were they? So divine a sound…
Flutter.
I spun. Birds? Why on earth would birds fly in this thick pearly fog? The fog that resonated with that taunting song….
Splash.
I looked out over the railing…was that an island? Were they on the island, those singers of this heartbreaking song? Where? Where were they? I wanted that sound to continue forever…that precious sound….that wonderful melody…I needed to go to them…
Jack, look, there's Jack!
Splash. He dove over the side. He's going to the island! To the song! Oh how I need to follow him, how I need to follow this music, this enchanting music. I jumped over the railing. Splash.
Under the water the song broke. I gasped, inhaling frigid saltwater.
Don't go! That beautiful song, where was it, I needed it! I needed it so much! My foot pressed into the sea bottom and I pushed off, breaking the surface and again it filled my ears, that magical , luring sound. My eyes searched hungrily for the island, my gaze passed over Jacks hat and onto the island, the beach. I swam, my strokes powerful and driven by the haunting music that filled the air. Flutter. Splash.
My feet hit sand and I tried to run through the shallow water, tossing us sea spray as I went, the hat drifting back into the ocean behind me. As I glanced at it my pendant grew cold over my heart.
The hat. My hat. Jacks hat. Our promise. I couldn't leave the hat. But the song….
Broke.
I turned and bolted for the hat, the fog filling the air around me. Flutter.
I ducked. I had to save the hat. Then I had to save Jack. That song was cursed. It would kill him. That sirens song. I dove and snatched the hat from the surface of the water.
The sirens song.
Bloody hell.
Shoving the hat on my head I turned and ran after Jack, the water slowing my steps, the fog obscuring my view. Behind the island, creamy orange light filtered through the fog. Sunrise.
I pumped my legs harder, my breathing raspy from my earlier intake of salt water. I had to be faster. Sand dragged at my feet. Faster.
"Jack!" I yelled.
Faster.
"Captain Jack!"
Faster! I ran up the beach and into the tree line. Roots and grass tripping me up. FASTER!
I ran down the shadow filled path after Jack and after the song that lured him so.
"CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!" I screamed. Branches caught at my arms and face, stinging as they struck my skin. My lungs seared and my legs burned, the recently healed bullet wound stretching and throbbing.
I wasn't fast enough. I was gonna lose Jack. The taunting song echoed through the trees. I was gonna lose everything. Maybe I should just give up. The song chilled me and warm tears spilled over my cheeks. I was alone. Completely and utterly alone and my best friend was going to die. I wasn't fast enough. The song clawed at me, delving into my heart and opening my soul. I was weak. I was useless. I was afraid. I was so afraid. My stride faltered.
Jack don't leave me. Please don't leave me. Please I'm begging you! Don't leave me alone. It isn't fair! I'll do anything. Please, please don't leave me! Don't leave me behind. I don't want to be alone. Please Jack, don't leave me alone, I'm so scared. The song haunted my steps and rang in my ears. I stumbled on.
The path ahead opened up into a field. It was huge and almost perfectly round, filled with luscious, exotic wildflowers of strange and vivid colors and delicate, sweet fragrances. And corpses of the dead, those who fell prey to the song. You couldn't smell them through the flowers, for which I would have been thankful if my mind was even processing anything at that point except raw fear. Some were nothing but bone, others were raw and bloody and others still were fleshy and rotten and falling apart, infested with insects. The sight alone was enough to make you throw up.
And right in the middle were three beautiful creatures, and Jack. The women were all rather tall and thin, all three of them were identical. Beautiful women that would have been described as angles, only their wings seemed attached to their arms, with long graceful limbs and luscious curves. The parts that were human were naked and bare, sculpted as any mans ideal woman, they had full, red lips and wide, yellow eyes, with long, flowing black hair that matched their gleaming feathers. Their feet were like a seagulls, wide and flat, but their hands were like those of a bird of prey , tough and equipped with long, wicked talons. Bloody talons.
"Jack." I gasped. One of them embraced him, kissing him deeply with her perfect mouth. Bitch. The other two continued to sing and lure the men to their deaths.
"Jack!" I yelled. He didn't untangle himself from the siren, but all three looked at me with their wide, yellow eyes. I pulled my dagger from my belt and continued forward. Fear clawing me as I went.
"Let him go!" I called, my voice shaky.
One of the others stopped singing.
"who are you to take our prey from us?" she asked in a whispery, lilting voice.
"Bella. Just plain Bella." I growled with more bravery than I felt.
" you are but a child. You have no right to take our prey from us."
"he belongs to me. All the men aboard that ship belong to me. Release them."
" they are ours now, child. And we have no use for you."
" I won't leave without him."
" you leave without him or die with him."
"I'm not leaving!" I gripped by dagger tighter. I was close to them now, close enough to see their awful teeth. Pointed, yellowed teeth. The speaker ruffled her glossy feathers.
All the stories of sirens had not prepared me for this. Women of the water, I had likened them to something similar to a mermaid. Maybe they were like seabirds, who could fly in the sky and dive into the ocean depths. Probably. The flutters I had heard! They had been flying around the ship! Spreading their deadly song, concealed by the fog.
The last one finally stopped singing and hissed at me, as I was closest to her.
"then die."
I dove at her, but she was faster, slipping to the side and clawing me as she past. She hovered a few feet in the air. Damn. I glanced around. She swooped down and I dove, my hand sinking into rotten flesh as I landed on a corpse, I gagged and pulled a sword from his sheath. I swung around, catching her across the stomach with the blade as she tried to come at me again. She may have talons and wings, but with a sword, I had the longer reach.
"you dare fight an ancient one?"
"I dare" I spat. She hissed and her sister closed in as well. C'mon Jack, snap out of it. One flew at me from above, the other closed in as I swerved her sister. Both got me with talons. One across the shoulder, the other just above my ear. I panted and stood defensive, waiting. Both hovered above me, launching down with twin screeches. I spun and twirled the blade. The siren on the left avoided it, the one on the right caught it in full. It went right through her perfect stomach. Dark blood spilled out and she wailed, a high pitched, blood curdling screech. Her sister keened. The one seducing Jack tossed him aside and Joined the fight. Jack didn't move. I hoped to god he was still alive.
Both flung themselves at me in fury, I stepped back, trying to avoid them but getting caught in the middle. I went for one and the other got me, three talons cut deep into my skin as she clawed at my back. I spun to face her and the other caught me, tossing my sword away and pinning my arms.
"you killed our sister!" she screeched in my ear, her breath smelled rotten. Her sister came close to my front, leaning foreword and showing her awful teeth.
" for that. You will die slowly." she hissed. She drug one talon slowly down my collarbone. Blood welled from the cut. She leaned down and licked it. Gross. I squirmed but her sister held me tight.
" you taste good. For a female."
" she is such a pretty female, sister." the other crowed, her talons digging into my arms. The one in front tilted her head thoughtfully, pressing her talons into my stomach and catching the bullet wound, I gasped in pain. She cackled with laughter and brought her bloody hand towards my face. I flinched away. She grabbed my shoulder, near my neck, her talons sinking deep. I choked down a scream that turned into a high pitched whine in my throat. They cackled louder.
" such a pretty one indeed." she hissed, bringing her other hand back up to my face. She placed one talon just above my left eye. The one holding me began singing softly in my ear. I whimpered besides myself. Her sister ran her wicked talon down across my eye, blood trickled down my face and I felt tears threaten to well up once more. This was how weak I was. This was how pathetic. This was-
CRACK!
My torturer fell in a heap at my feet, the other whirled away from me. I staggered on the spot.
"sorry, luv." Jack muttered.
"my sister my sister! You vile creature!" the last siren keened. He swung his pistol her direction and she screeched, taking to the sky and flapping madly away. Away and out of sight. A single black feather drifted behind her in the orange rays as the sun rose over the island.
"Jack." I whispered, my voice light and hoarse.
"yes, luv?"
" I really hate you right now." tears trailed down my face and he gazed at me with minor concern. Oh yes, I really hated Captain Jack Sparrow.
/
Authors note: I was a bit confused when it came to the sirens themselves, and I mostly based them off of the Greek myths. Hope you like it!