PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
CHAPTER SIX
The next day, Elizabeth was sitting next to the window, staring out. Millicent even took a glance out there, feeling the ship start to halt. Just outside, they could see land, which could only mean that they have arrived at Isla de Muerta. Surrounding the island were various sailing vessels that have been beached, wrecked, and sunken to the bottom of the sea. Millicent took a bite out of a piece of bread she was able to salvage from the remaining bits of food from the other night. She was finally able to get Elizabeth to eat something earlier, but only a few bites of grapes. That was enough for her, at least she ate, and now she was less worried about her health in that sense. Of course, the only thing now to worry about was whether or not Hector and the rest of the crew had planed on killing the both of them. Suddenly, in walked four men. Twigg, Pintel, Ragetti, and Koehler. Rope was held in both Pintel and Twigg's hands.
"Time to go, Poppet." Pintel stated, looking straight at Elizabeth.
"Capt'n says to take precautions," said Twigg to Millicent with a smirk while holding the rope up.
Millicent glared at him, but went towards him and held her arms out. The men laughed and Twigg tugged on her arms, roughly tying her arms together. Millicent glanced at Elizabeth and nodded, letting her know that it was okay and she was going to make sure she wasn't going to get hurt. And so, Elizabeth followed her lead and approached the men so that they could bind her wrists. Out on deck, the women were tugged along towards the crew, getting ready to leave on a rowboat to the island. Ragetti was chanting something for intimidation, fiddling with a knife. Hector approached from behind, pulling back Elizabeth's hair before latching the medallion chain around her neck. The two women were then guided to a boat with the same men, including Hector.
It didn't take long for the group to make it to the cove. The men pulled the boat along to shore so it wouldn't drift away from the cave. Both women were pulled out of the boat violently, there were echos of cheering and jeering though the cave as they pulled the women forward. Eventually they were brought to an opening in the cave. Gold, silver, and jeweled treasures littered the entire cove, a mountain of treasure sat in the middle and on top of it sat a stone chest. It could only be the cursed treasure that was rumored to have been here.
All of the men started throwing around and grabbing whatever treasure they wanted. Millicent was in shock, never has she seen so much treasure in one place. Part of her was jealous about not being a part of this, but at the same time she wanted nothing to do with it. She left this life behind long ago. Yet, why has it been calling to her again?
"Move!" One of the men shoved the two women forward, towards the stone chest.
Millicent was pulled to the side before Elizabeth was guided up the pile of coins and jewels, nearly slipping every step of the way. Millicent pulled at her bonds, wanting to stay by Elizabeth's side the entire time, only to be pulled towards Pintel who had taken a hold of her wrists. She glared at him and he only scoffed, watching as Hector climbed up the treasure next to Elizabeth, who stood behind the chest once her wrists were cut loose.
"Gentlemen, the time has come!" Hector announced from next to the stone chest, gaining everyone's attention in the cove. They all cheered. "Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near an end! For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" The men cheered multiple times as he spoke.
"Suffered, I have!" Ragetti exclaimed.
"Punished we were, the lot of us, disproportionate to our crime!" Everyone nodded and grunted in agreement. "Here it is!" Hector kicked aside the lid to the chest, hearing it fall among the treasure, causing Elizabeth to gasp and step back. He then ran his fingers over the gold in the chest, causing the gold to clink together, taking a few coins in his hand before dropping them into the chest. "The cursed treasure of Cortes himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned. Save for this!" He pointed to the medallion around Elizabeth's neck. "And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?" They all yelled. "And who's blood must yet be paid?!"
"Hers!" They all pointed at Elizabeth, causing Millicent to struggle again to run towards her. She was not about to let Hector kill her, but was halted by being pulled back by Pintel once again.
"You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted?" Hector then asked while cackling, glancing at Elizabeth. "Eat a whole bushel of apples." He shoved Elizabeth's head above the chest, holding a dagger in his opposite hand and everyone started chanting for blood to be spilled.
"You can't!" Millicent yelled.
"Oh, I believe I can, dear Millie!" Hector laughed loudly, watching her struggle in her bonds. "Begun by blood. By blood undone." He snatched the medallion from around Elizabeth's neck and grabbed her left hand, putting the coin in her hand while slicing her palm open before closing her hand into a fist.
"That's it?!" Elizabeth asked in surprise.
"Waste not." Hector smirked once everyone stopped chanting as Elizabeth dropped the blood stained coin into the chest. He stepped forward, closing his eyes as if waiting for something, all the other pirates had done the same.
A few moments passed, and they just started looking around in confusion, muttering to each other.
"Did it work?" Koehler asked.
"I don't feel no different." Ragetti stated.
"How do we tell?" Pintel then asked.
A gunshot rang off, and Millicent nearly screamed when the person on the receiving end off the bullet was none other than Pintel, less than a few inches from her own body. Everyone just stared on in shock.
"You're not dead!" Koehler said with a scowl.
"No," chuckled Pintel, still happy to be alive before frowning and glaring at Hector. "He shot me!"
"It didn't work," Ragetti said woefully.
"The curse is still upon us!" Twigg exclaimed causing Hector look at the blood on the dagger before turning towards Elizabeth nearly in a rage.
"You, maid! Your father, what was his name?" He took her arms into both of his hands, roughly shaking her body. "Was your father William Turner?"
"No," Elizabeth said smugly.
"Where's his child?!" He pushed her away from him, grabbing the medallion from the chest and held it before her face. "Where's his child that sailed from England eight years ago, the child whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? Where?!" When she didn't answer him, he brought the back of his hand holding the medallion across her left cheek, causing her to fall backwards and collapse among the gold.
"Elizabeth!" Millicent cried, trying to get out of Pintel's hold on her tied wrists.
"You two!" The Bo'sun, a tall and muscular dark skinned man, yelled at Pintel and Ragetti, causing them to look at him frighteningly. "You brought us the wrong person!" While everyone jeered in agreement, Pintel spoke.
"No!" He yelled. "She had the medallion. She's the proper age!"
"She said her name was Turner, you heard her." Ragetti aided in defending the both of them. "I think she lied to us."
"You brought us here for nothin'!" Twigg yelled at Hector.
"I won't take questioning or second-guesses, not from the likes of you, Master Twigg!"
"Who's to blame him? Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse!" Koehler exclaimed.
"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!" Accused another man, causing everyone to cheer and Millicent to glance around wildly. She could tell that someone was missing at this point, but she didn't realize that they had killed Bootstrap Bill.
"And it's you who brought us here in the first place!" The Bo'sun yelled, unsheathing his sword. Everyone else seemed to do the same, even Hector so that he could defend himself if need be.
"If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!" Hector said, pointing his sword at the crowd before him.
"I say," started Koehler. "We cut her throat and spill all her blood! Just in case."
When everyone seemed to agree, Millicent finally got out of a distracted Pintel's grip and approached the gold mountain, trying to make her way around it to get to Elizabeth. When both she and Hector looked to where Elizabeth should have been after her fall, there was no one there. Millicent sighed, at peace with the fact that she may very well have gotten away.
"The medallion! She's taken it!" Hector announced to the crew. "Get after her, you feckless pack of ingrates!" Storming towards Millicent, he pulled her towards him. "You knew this all along, so why haven't you mentioned that our dear guest was not the daughter of William Turner?" He growled menacingly, only causing Millicent to smirk at him.
"We didn't think it was that you would be so concerned about, we thought it was because she's really the daughter of the King's Governor in Port Royal." Millicent spat. "How in the world would I have known you needed Bootstrap's blood? I was never a part of this in the first place."
It was the sudden echoing yells about lost oars that Millicent knew that someone must have followed them here to save Elizabeth. She smiled with hope that she would return to her home safe.
"Capt'n!" A man yelled through the cave. "You ought to see this!"
Letting go of Millicent, he pushed her away from him and followed the voices. As she tailed behind him, she was able to finally cut her wrists free with a stray dagger among the treasures and catch up. If anything else were to be happening with her here, she would rather have her arms free. That way she could put up a fight. But upon following Hector through the caves, she saw that the crew had been surrounding a man.
A man none other than the old Captain of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow.
