Ricki Sparrow
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any dialogue that was used in the movie:)
A/N: I'm sorry guys! I was going to update last night after I got home, but I'd had a super duper long day and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow:/ But thanks so much for all of the reviews! I appriciate all of the ideas and eagerness for updates:) So...here we go!
Ricki walked behind her mother. There was almost a procession going on as the group (minus Jack) headed for the Fountain. The men carrying the mermaid grunted, staggering beneath the weight, and Ricki was worried that they were going to drop her.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Ricki asked her mom, gesturing to the mermaid crate.
"They will be fine." Angelica promised. "They are strong."
"Mum..." Ricki said, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Yes?" Angelica asked her daughter.
"Did you ever think about me while I was gone?" Ricki asked.
Angelica paused for a moment before saying, "Every day. Every day that you were gone I thought of you. Hoping that you were alive, but knowing how unlikely that was. Hoping that - wherever you were - you were happy." Angelica looked like she was going to cry, and took her daughter's hand.
"I thought of you, too." Ricki said. "I didn't know what happened...I guess I was too young...but I knew that you and Dad were gone...and I missed you."
"I missed you too, love." Angelica said. "But let's not think about that anymore. It's over. The past is the past and we're together, now." Then, Angelica continued, lower. "You're father will come back with the chalices. We will drown ourselves in fame, my daughter. Our names will live forever."
Ricki smiled, but said nothing else, because that's when the crash was heard.
The men carrying the mermaid dropped the crate as they were trying to walk over a rock, the glass shattered. The mermaid fell, of course, and flopped around for a minute. But then, as Ricki watched in amazement, the mermaid's tail dissolved, and turned into legs.
Philip - who had been watching - pulled off his shirt and gave it to her. She nodded her head in thanks, and Blackbeard asked, "Can you walk?"
The mermaid stood up, then faltered, and fell back down. She shook her head. "I cannot."
Blackbeard pointed a pistol at the mermaid and commanded, "Walk."
Philip - not wanting the mermaid to get shot - picked her up in an offer to carry her.
"I will not ask for your help." The mermaid told him.
"But you need my help." Philip insisted. "Hold onto me."
The mermaid reluctantly gave up, and held onto Philip. The procession continued.
"We are almost there." Angelica announced as they reached a great tree. "Do you recognize this place, Ricki?"
Ricki almost wasn't sure why her mother had asked her that, until she remembered that everyone thought she had been to the Fountain. Not sure what else to say, Ricki told Angelica, "Yes. We are close."
Angelica smiled warmly at her daughter, and suddenly, she wasn't this teenager anymore. She was five years old, asking her mother why they lived on a boat.
"This is Daddy's boat." Angelica had said. "His most prized posession, next to you. Never forget, my love, how much we love you."
But the vision of her little daughter disappeared quickly, and was replaced by the beautiful young woman she had grown into.
"She has a name!" Angelica heard Philip scream, and realized that there had probably been a lot of yelling going on, but she was too out of it to notice.
"Oh?" Blackbeard asked.
Philip stared at the mermaid, and it was easy to see how enamored he had become. "Syerena. Her name is Syerena." He said.
Ricki watched Philip defend the mermiad, pick her back up, and insist that they leave. Blackbeard sighed, obliged, and they continued.
They had reached the Pool of Tears.
If Ricki had known what Blackbeard was going to do next, she was sure she would have stopped him. Instead, she watched in horror as her Grandfather tied the mermaid up to a pole in the water, and asked her to cry.
Syerena would not cry. She refused. Blackbeard said that if she did not, she would burn in the morning sun. Still, Syerena would not cry. When Philip joined the conversation, Ricki stopped listening and went to stand by Michael. She knew that Philip would probably kill himself trying to defend the mermaid. He had fallen in love with her, Ricki could tell.
"She is beautiful." Ricki said to Michael.
"Aye." he said, but he didn't look at Syerena. He just stared at her.
And Ricki could tell that he was staring. But instead of feeling embarrased, she exerted her father's attitude, and smiled boldly at him.
Ricki and Michael were both smiling like idiots when someone screamed.
They looked over and saw Philip on the ground, dead.
Still, Syerena did not cry.
But Ricki did. She teared up, and hugged Michael. In the few days she had known him, Ricki had come to like Philip very much.
But the real tears came later, when they backtracked to the Pool of Tears. They saw Philip - who had miraculously survived - speaking to Syerena, realeasing her from her bonds. She began to cry tears of joy, and they were collected by Blackbeard.
They re-bound Syerena to the pole, leaving her to die. Ricki didn't want to leave her there, but Angelica wouldn't let her try to save the mermaid.
"You are more important to me than the mermaid, and you know the punishment that will be dealt to you if you defy Blackbeard." Angelica whispered.
Ricki teared up, but nodded, leaving Syerena to die.
In the light, the jungle looked beautiful, Ricki could see that. The colors of the leaves were a bright, beautiful green, and the jungle teemed with life.
Until Angelica walked forward just a step too far and was almost decapitated by a stuck-out sword.
Ricki looked, and felt undeniable joy as she saw her father.
"Why is it we can never see each other without someone triyng to kill the other one?" Angelica asked, laughing.
But Blackbeard ruined Ricki's happiness at seeing her parents laugh and joke.
"Did you get the chalices, Sparrow?" he asked lazily.
Jack pointed to the pig, on which was strapped two silver chalices. Next to the swine was Gibbs!
Gibbs smiled at Ricki, and winked, and Ricki smiled back. While Jack explained his conditions for giving Blackbeard the chalices, Ricki trailed back to Michael again. It was almost like she was being drawn to him, almost like he was a flame, and she a moth. Why did she like him so much? Why did he seem so perfect in her eyes? She hardly even knew him...but...
The group walked through the dingy caves.
It was dark, and wet, and smelled just awful. At this point, Ricki didn't even care if this was the way to the Fountain; she didn't want to be there.
"Dead end." Blackbeard said as they reached the end of the cave.
"Aye." Jack admitted. "A dead end."
"You know, Jack, I'm starting to think that you don't know where you're going." Angelica said, eyeing him speculatively.
"Of course he knows where he's going." Ricki said, defending her father.
"Have either of you ever even seen the Fountain?" Angelica asked.
For that, Ricki had no answer, and Angelica sighed. She had trusted them...and they let her down.
"Hang on." Jack said, as though an idea had struck.
Ricki held her ears as her father banged the chalices together, creating a high pitched sound that pierced like no others. He repeated the action twice, and-
Nothing happened. At all.
"Let me see them." Ricki said, taking the cups from her father.
The chalices were beautiful. Intricate designs decorated them, and the words "Aqua de vida" were carved towards the top. Ricki knew that there had to be a way to access the Fountain...some way...
"Aqua de vida..." Ricki said again, trying to see if there was some secret meaning in the words. But there was no need to think about it anymore. At the sound of the words, the water came...and opened the way...
Angelica squeeled in delight, and everyone climbed up through the water that had pooled on the ceiling - the ceiling! - into the Fountain of Youth.
"So beautiful..." Ricki said, as she set her eyes upon the beautiful Fountain.
"Such beauty..." Angelica agreed.
"Eh, it's alright." Jack said, smiling.
Ricki and Angelica just stared at him.
"What?" he asked. "I'm not a girl; I don't grovel over beautiful things."
Angelica raised an eyebrow, and Jack quickly backtracked. "'Cept you, love!" he said, causing Ricki to laugh uncontrollably.
Angelica smiled, and led the group closer to the Fountain.
I hope you liked it! I know that I went really fast to get to the Fountain, but I REALLY wanted to get there because I have a great idea and I just want to get to it already! lol:) I hope the chapter itself was okay...please tell me if it wasn't! I really want this story to be well-written:) And don't worry, the story won't end with the end of the movie:) I'm going on to write about what happened after the credits;) Anyway, review please! 10 reviews before I continue? Thanks!
~PeachyKeen13