Chapter 9: Isla de Muerta

Footsteps on the stairs woke her suddenly and she stood up, dazed for a few moments as she tried to remember where she was. Koehler appeared belowdecks.

"We have arrived," he said with a melodic accent. Barbossa nodded to him and then looked at Alice, helping her up and gesturing with his head for her to follow before he practically ran up the stairs. The clouds had returned, and the horizon was starting to brighten as the cloaked sun rose from it. They made their way up to the sterncastle and looked out as the anchor was dropped. A group of pirates were readying longboats on the port side as a smaller group, including Pintel and Ragetti, exited the cabin gripping Elizabeth by the arms, her hands bound before her with rope, and led her up to them. She kept a steady face, but her eyes held a worry she could not conceal. She stared at Alice for a moment. Barbossa walked behind the captive girl and fastened the chain of the medallion around her neck while Elizabeth closed her eyes. They were led back down to the main deck, where Barbossa helped Alice into a boat, along with Elizabeth and the men who had brought her out. Alice held a lit torch she was handed as they rowed slowly to the foggy shore, taking care to avoid the black rocks that jutted out of the water.

They reached a small area of sand just inside of the cave and tied up the boat as the others did the same. Barbossa and the other two pirates led Elizabeth from the boat, while Alice followed with Pintel and Ragetti.

"Be mindful of pits and crevasses," the captain said over his shoulder to Alice. She carefully watched her step as they moved through, and saw that gold coins were scattered pretty much everywhere. They made their way along the winding path that led them deep inside the cave until it opened up. Then Alice truly saw the wonders within: One could not take a single step without either stepping on or tripping over treasure. Coins, statues, crowns and chests, among other bounties, were strewn everywhere, and the men were still adding to it as they unloaded the Pearl. Alice ran around excitedly with Pintel and Ragetti as they dumped out the newly added chests. The entire company was more ecstatic than she had ever seen them, some singing and laughing, others making plans for the future. Barbossa climbed a high mound in the very center where the early light streamed in through an opening in the ceiling, and he stood beside a large stone chest, taking it all in.

"Ten years of hoarding swag—" Pintel started.

"And now we finally get to spend it!" Ragetti finished and they laughed heartily. Alice laughed and then made her way over to the captain. He smiled at her and offered a hand as she climbed up the small hill. Standing beside him, she looked out from this better vantage point.

"'Tis quite a sight to behold," he smiled, and she realized this was the first time she saw him look excited. "Been a long ten years, an' I look forward to putting it to me back." Alice smiled.

As the men finished adding to the piles, they began to settle down a bit and moved toward the center mound. "Let's put an end to this," he said, and Alice climbed down to join the crew, standing beside Ragetti as everyone gathered around.

"Gentlemen, the time has come!" Elizabeth, now unbound, was pushed up beside him, and Barbossa began a rousing speech. He yelled about the unfairness of the curse, the others cheering and chiming in, and then he pointed out the chest. "Here it is!" he growled and, with a swift kick, the stone lid slid off and crashed down onto the treasure that surrounded it. "The cursed treasure of Cortés himself." The coins clinked as he ran his fingers over the surface. He continued on about how they recovered all of the pieces except for the one that hung around Elizabeth's neck, and the men cheered loudly. "Who among us has paid the blood sacrifice to the heathen gods?" he asked, and Alice couldn't help but smirk. The crew answered loudly that they had. "And whose blood has yet to be paid?" he asked next, and the entire crew pointed at Elizabeth.

"HERS!" they shouted in unison, and Elizabeth gasped, the panic finally starting to fully show.

"Ye know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted?" Barbossa asked with a laugh, and the crew joined in laughing. He turned to Elizabeth. "Eat a whole bushel of apples." He laughed once more and then grabbed her by the back of her neck, swiftly lowering her face until it was almost touching the gold in the chest, and he lifted a bone dagger. Alice was barely breathing; she felt a deep sorrow at the fact that Elizabeth was about to die, and she wished it didn't have to be so. The crew began to chant and Barbossa looked out at all of them for a moment. "Begun by blood; by blood undone," he intoned dramatically. Ripping the medallion off of her neck, he lifted Elizabeth's hand, placed the coin there and, with a quick motion, sliced her hand opened. She gasped and then stared at him as he closed her bleeding hand around the coin.

"That's it?!" she asked him, a little bit incredulously. Barbossa smirked at her.

"Waste not," he said simply and chuckled. Alice relaxed at seeing this. He wrapped his hand around Elizabeth's and lifted it, silencing the crew's chanting as they all watched raptly. He moved his hand to her wrist and squeezed, and she opened her hand, dropping the bloody coin in with the others. He released her and stepped away, his eyes closed as he waited. Alice looked around at the crew as they patted themselves and looked around at each other questioningly. Barbossa's face slowly contorted into a look of confusion, and he opened his eyes. All was silent still until Koehler spoke up.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"I don't feel no diff'rent," Ragetti chimed in.

"How do we tell?" Pintel asked and Alice looked back to Barbossa, who rolled his eyes. He reached into his belt and pulled out his pistol, aimed it at Pintel, and fired it into the man's heart. Alice gasped, but the man didn't fall; instead, he looked at the wound.

"You are not dead," Koehler stated.

"No," Pintel laughed, but then his face turned serious and he pointed at the captain. "He shot me!" The crew, realizing the curse had not been broken, began to grow angry. Barbossa eyed the blood on the dagger, and then turned and grabbed Elizabeth, turning her to face him.

"You, maid, yer father – what was his name?" he asked her, but she said nothing. "Was yer father William Turner?!" he asked next, shaking her. Elizabeth smiled evilly.

"No."

"Where's his child?!" he pushed her away. "The child that sailed from England eight years ago? The child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? WHERE?!" he growled at her, but she just smirked at him, for which she was rewarded a fierce backhand that sent both her and the medallion down to the base of the mound. Alice looked confused; she had never met anyone named Turner during her time in Port Royal. The large man who had first backhanded the girl, the bo'sun, turned on Pintel and Ragetti, yelling at them for bringing the wrong girl. Another man grabbed Alice.

"Let's try her blood next!" Shouts of approval rang out around her.

"Belay that!" Barbossa yelled. "She's not the child of Turner!" Alice was shoved toward the mound, and she tripped and fell onto the pile of coins, looking out at the crew frantically. They turned on Barbossa, their anger almost instantly mutinous.

"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!" Mallot yelled out, and she recognized the name from before, when they first boarded the Pearl. Men quickly drew swords and advanced, turning on Barbossa. The captain quickly drew his own sword and swung it around, challenging them to come at him, but they all kept their distance. Koehler suggested they cut Elizabeth's throat and spill all of her blood just to be certain. Barbossa's monkey caught his eye and he looked around frantically before looking down where Elizabeth had fallen.

"The medallion!" he yelled out. "She's taken it! Get after her, ye feckless pack of ingrates!" The men took off in an instant, clearing out of the cave faster than they had entered it. Alice could hear their echoing shouts reverberating through the passages. She looked up at Barbossa, annoyance warring with disappointment over which would take over his face. "You," he pointed at Alice. "Why did ye not tell me that she was not Turner?" he growled angrily.

"I didn't realize that was relevant," Alice responded, slightly exasperated. She clambered to her feet as Barbossa slid down to face her, his anger palpable.

"Not relevant?!"

"You never went into the full nature of the blood sacrifice! You never stated that it had to be someone specific!" Alice tried backing away, fear overwhelming her in the face of Barbossa's rage. She tripped and he grabbed her wrist before she could fall, pulling her to him. His face was inches from hers, and his teeth were bared, but no words came out. The silence terrified her even more as he searched her face. With a growl he pushed her aside and stormed off, pacing around the cavern. Knees trembling, Alice sank back to the ground, watching him. "If I had known," she started and he stopped to glare at her, "I would have told you." Barbossa huffed and stared at her.

"Do ye even know the name? In yer time in Port Royal, didja ever hear of or meet a Will Turner? He would've been about the same age as you and the girl." Alice shook her head.

"I met a few Williams, but none around our age," she answered, standing back up slowly.

"Who is the girl, then, if she isn't Turner? And why did she say so?" he asked exasperated as he strode back toward her.

"She's Elizabeth Swann – the governor's daughter. She gave a fake name because she thought you were there to kidnap her." Barbossa scoffed loudly and sighed in annoyance. He reached forward and grasped her upper arms, squeezing them tightly, his head down.

"I thought this would be the end of it," he growled. "LET IT JUST BE OVER WITH!" he yelled, raising his head to look at the ceiling. His fingers dug into Alice's arms and she yelped out in pain. His gaze snapped back to her and he let go of her arms. "Apologies," he grumbled and sighed, dropping to his knees slowly to stare at the ground. Alice was certain that, if he physically could, he would have had tears in his eyes. She felt a deep sorrow for the man and could feel her own eyes begin to grow wet.

"Captain Barbossa," she said softly, crouching down in front of him. He didn't lift his gaze. She reached through the curtain of dirty ginger hair and cupped his face softly, lifting his chin. His mottled blue eyes met hers. "We'll find him. Soon this will all be over," she finished softly. He opened his mouth to say something, but the distant voices were rapidly growing closer and louder, and he stood up quickly, turning to see what the commotion was all about.

"Yer not gonna like this," said one of the pirates as he stood at the cave entrance holding a torch and looking angry. Alice followed Barbossa closely as he marched toward the man.

"Out with it!" Barbossa snapped.

"Sparra'," was all he said. Alice almost ran into the captain as he stopped, his eyes wide.

"What?" His voice was deadly.

"In there," the man nodded toward one of the passages. "Squawking 'bout 'parley'." Barbossa growled and stomped in that direction. The gathered crew parted quickly as Barbossa marched through them. Around him, Alice caught a glimpse of the pirate they first encountered in Port Royal – Jack Sparrow. He leaned on an oar looking smug, and Barbossa stopped, eyeing him for a moment.

"How in the blazes didja get off that island?" he asked Jack.

"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate: I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he arrogantly replied with a smile and a small flourish.

"Ah," Barbossa said, marching up to Jack. "Well, I won't be making that mistake again," he menaced, inches from Jack's face, before turning to face the crew. "Gents, ye all remember Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, and the crew responded with grunts. "Kill him," he said, walking away. The crewmembers pulled out their pistols, aiming them at Jack and cocking them, evil grins adorning all of their faces. Jack, however, did not flinch.

"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Jack asked and Barbossa stopped in front of Alice, his face thoughtful.

"Hold yer fire!" he said as he whipped back around and walked toward Jack. Several of the pirates looked disappointed. Barbossa walked toward Jack slowly and then finally started nodding his head, but Alice could not see his face. "You know whose blood we need," he stated simply, having worked out why Jack had asked.

"I know whose blood you need," Jack echoed, giving a smug grin. Barbossa sighed in exasperation. "We may wish to be gettin' a move on, seeing as they now have a head start… And the oars," he added, looking at the one he was leaning on. Barbossa looked to several of the crewmates, and they turned, grabbed the single oar away from Jack, and made for one of the boats. Barbossa turned and walked toward Alice, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around as they walked back into the main cavern. Alice felt as though he was trying to shield her, and she was not wrong.

"Oh, who's this pretty little thing?" Jack asked playfully, looking at Alice.

"None of yer business," Barbossa snapped at Jack who grinned further still.

"Ah. I see you were indeed prepared for when the curse was lifted," he said suggestively, eyeing her up and down. Barbossa stopped and drew his sword, pushing Alice further from Jack with the back of his arm.

"I'm inclined to kill yeh now, Jack Sparrow, without so much as a word, if ye don't lose that grin from yer face," he threatened, pointing the blade at Jack, who lifted his hands in surrender. Barbossa eyed him for a moment before replacing the sword. "Mind yer tongue, Sparrow," he said lowly and walked Alice to the shadows near the center of the cave. "Watch yerself, Alice," he whispered in her ear, and she realized it was the first time he had addressed her by name. She nodded lightly and he reached down to pick up a rapier, the handle of which he pushed into her hand. Barbossa walked away from her to glare at Jack. They had a quiet exchange, but she didn't catch much of it, save for an odd word here and there.