Curse of the Cruise Ship
Chapter Ten
Battle in the Cave
ESF's Author's Note: You know, the first time I watched Curse of the Black Pearl, I thought Jack had been cursed since the beginning. Now I know that's not right, but did that happen to anyone else? Maybe I'm just slow. Oh well.
Guess who I'm gonna be for Halloween? Melody! That's right, I'm gonna be a character from my own story. LOL. Wendystwin is going to be Kailee Hunter, from my Harry Potter fic. Yup.
OOH! If you haven't heard, the At Worlds End preview will be on Santa Clause 3! Yay! Finally!
RHrWilLizKataangprincess2010: Why thank ye, Emma!
Fae's Fiyero: Where did you go? I didn't scare you off with the talk of rum, did I? I'm sorry.
wendystwin's Author's Note: Okay, so I'm doing my economics homework right now. It's fun! Ya'll should join in on this fun, yeah! Oh, and one other thing! I'm going to Washington D.C. in April! Oh yeah! So, like, review! Okay?
They finished tying the bed sheets together just as Governor Swann knocked on the window. Quickly, they dropped the bed sheet rope over the stern of the ship and climbed down into a conveniently placed longboat.
"Where are we going?" asked Wendy, as Elizabeth picked up the oars and began to row.
"To the Black Pearl," said Elizabeth. "We need to free the crew and get them to help us."
The girls shared a look behind Elizabeth's back, knowing the crew wasn't going to help.
When they reached the Pearl, they climbed up the side of the ship and set foot on deck. They were very quiet, so as not to alert their presence to the two cursed pirates in the galley. Suddenly, the undead monkey dropped down in front of them, and they all gasped. But Elizabeth had apparently had quite enough of the undead monkey. She grabbed him by the tail and threw him over the side of the ship, where he landed on a cannon.
"Nice one, Lizzy," said Melody, as the three of them watched as the monkey fell into the water.
"Thanks." Suddenly, the two pirates stuck their head out, having seen the monkey. Alarmed, the girls quickly headed below decks. They were able to hide before the pirates came running up the stairs, yelling. So much for the element of surprise. Once they passed, they continued on. They looked around when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Miss Elizabeth!"
They saw Mr. Gibbs in a cell, along with the rest of the crew, and hurried over to them. "Where are the keys?" asked Melody.
"Over there," said Gibbs, pointing to a table.
Once the crew was free, they snuck up on deck, where the two cursed pirates were still looking for an intruder. They quietly pulled back a longboat, and when the pirates looked over the side of the ship where the monkey had fallen, they let go. The longboat hit them, and they fell overboard in pieces. The crew ran forward, cheering. Then Elizabeth ran to the longboat, and the girls followed her.
"All of you with me! Will is in that cave, and we must save him. Ready, and heave!"
Elizabeth was the only one who pulled. Melody and Wendy hadn't pulled because they'd noticed that the crew wasn't helping. Elizabeth turned slowly, first to look at the girls, and then the crew. They were staring at her stonily.
"Please, we need your help, come on!"
Cotton's parrot squawked and said, "Any port in a storm!"
"Cotton's right," said Gibbs, "we've got the Pearl."
Elizabeth stared at them incredulously. "And what about Jack? Are you just going to leave him?"
"Jack owes us a ship," said Marty.
"And there's the Code to consider."
"The Code?" Elizabeth repeated. "You're pirates! Hang the Code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines, anyway!"
No one said anything for a moment. Then Wendy placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "It's no use, Elizabeth. Let's just go." She turned to the crew. "Can you a least help us get a boat in the water?"
The crew agreed, and soon Elizabeth was rowing into the cave. "Bloody pirates!"
The ride into the cave was silent for the most part, nerves having gotten the better of Wendy and Melody. It wasn't long before they reached shore, and they climbed out. "This way," said Elizabeth, and she led them to the treasure cave.
When the girls saw the amount of treasure in the cave, their mouths fell open in amazement. Then they realized they were supposed to be fighting, and quickly snapped out of it and began searching nearby treasure for weapons. Will was fighting Smokey, who had just thrown a hand grenade. It exploded and Will fell in the water. Elizabeth had wasted no time. She quickly found a long gold pole of some sort, and approached the pirate attacking Will.
"You like pain?" She hit the pirate over the head with the pole. "Try wearing a corset."
Wendy laughed. "Favorite line, right there," she muttered to her sister, who laughed as well. Once they had found weapons (a golden spyglass and a broken chair leg) they hurried off to help Elizabeth and Will. As they were running, they saw Jack jump through a shaft of moonlight.
"Jack is definitely the best-looking cursed pirate!" Melody called to Wendy. She laughed. They reached Will and Elizabeth just as they pushed the attached pirates out of the moonlight. Smokey was trying to get the grenade out of himself. Will pushed Melody and Wendy along as he and Elizabeth ran away. As she was running, Melody slipped on some treasure and fell into the water. She pushed herself up in time to see Barbossa pull out his pistol and aim it at Elizabeth, who froze in her tracks.
A gun fired, and Elizabeth jumped. For a moment, even Melody and Wendy feared Elizabeth had been shot. But then everyone realized Jack had shot Barbossa.
"Ten years yeh carry that pistol," Barbossa said to Jack, "and now yeh waste yer shot."
"He didn't waste it," said Will from atop the mound of treasure Cortez's stone chest sat upon. Barbossa looked up and saw Will drop his and Jack's medallions into the chest. Barbossa looked back at Jack, who still had his pistol aimed at Barbossa. He dropped his sword and pistol and opened up his coat to see blood seeping through his shirt.
He slowly looked up, not really seeing Jack, and laughed slightly. Jack lowered his pistol. "I feel...cold."
Finally, Hector Barbossa fell, dead.
Melody saw an apple roll out of his left hand and into the water. She stood up. Where did that apple come from?
Wendy hurried over to her sister as soon as she knew it was safe. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she said, still staring at the apple. "I'm fine."
"What?"
Melody snapped out of it. "Nothing." She looked up at Will and Elizabeth, who were having a moment. Jack promptly ruined said moment by beginning to rifle through the treasure. She sighed and smiled brightly. "So do you want to find something to take?"
Wendy returned the smile. "Of course."
They joined Jack in searching the mountains of gold and jewels, looking for appealing items. Melody wandered around the area near Jack, and Wendy went to the other side of the cave. Melody dug around for a bit until she found an elaborate diamond ring set into a gold band. She tried it on and held it up so she could see it better in the dim light.
"It's not real, love."
Melody turned to see Jack standing behind her. He was wearing a king's crown, strings of pearls and beads, and more rings than usual. He was also holding a goblet and a large bag of more treasure. She took off the ring and threw it down. "Then what do you recommend, King Jack?" she asked, grinning.
He smirked. "See that necklace down by your foot?" He gestured with the goblet. "I think it would look rather nice on you. Or you can pawn it for a few shillings. Whichever." He walked away, heading for Will.
She picked up the necklace. She had to admit, it was beautiful. The pendant was a large round amethyst surrounded by five small emeralds, set into silver, and attached to a thick silver chain. Feeling something rough on the back of the pendant, she turned it over. Crudely carved into the silver were the letters JW. She stared at the carving, wondering what the letters meant. Were they initials? Someone's name? Deciding to think about it later, she fastened it around her neck. Since she had found something to keep, she began grabbing handfuls of jewelry she could pawn and stuffing it into her pockets.
"Melody!" her sister called. "We're leaving!"
She grabbed a few more rings and bracelets before running to catch up with them.
Jack had been quite disappointed to find that his crew had sailed off without him.
"I'm so sorry Jack," said Melody. She and Wendy were sitting behind Elizabeth.
"They done what's right by them," said Jack, staring glumly to where the Pearl had been floating. "Can't expect more than that."
They made their way back to the Dauntless, where Elizabeth was immediately accosted by her worried father. Jack was sent to the brig, and his plunder was taken from him. Melody was beginning to shiver, as she was still soaked from her fall in the cave, and was given a blanket.
It was nearly midnight by the time they reached Port Royal. Governor Swann offered Melody and Wendy a room to sleep in, and they graciously accepted, glad to finally have a proper bed to sleep in.
Melody managed to hide the jewelry she planned to pawn before maids were sent in to give them a bath and get them ready for bed. As soon as the maids left, Melody got up and sat on her sister's bed.
"So what did you take from the cave?" she asked.
Wendy reached to the small table between their beds and picked up a necklace. It was beautiful: three amber crystals set at angles into the bottom of a silver design that looked almost elvish, and attached to a thin silver chain.
"That's so awesome."
She nodded, and put the necklace back. "I know. It just...stood out. What did you take?"
Melody opened the drawer and pulled out the necklace. "I didn't see it at first, Jack was the one who suggested it. I also grabbed a few things we can pawn off for some cash if we're really stuck here."
Wendy sighed. "How are we gonna get home, Mel? I'm liking it here less and less. I don't like strange women helping me dress and bathe."
"I don't either." Melody stood up and got back into her own bed. "Everything ends tomorrow, we can worry about it then."
Wendy put out the lantern. "Night Mel."
"Night Wen."