A/N: More from the story!! Thanks for the reviews!
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Kayla
Everybody looked at her, waiting for her to carry on.
"This," she said, "Is the last part of our journey, lads. To reach the treasure, we must pass through five different landscapes. Each of them represents an element, or rather, it's darkest, most dangerous side. Silent Valley represents air, as you've seen: it would've taken a mere sudden rumor to make it crash down; the rocks there look solid but are really extremely fragile. Then, there's the Land of the Depths, which is where we are now: it represents water. There is no sea life for what is known, in fact the water is so deep that, it is said, there is no seafloor at all. Sounds aren't dangerous here, the threats come from those rocks: hit one, and the ship will sink immediately to the depths. Now, in two days, we will enter the next land, the Passage of Fire. It's full of volcanoes, and the danger comes from them; the ship can burn down quite easily because of their fire outbursts. But that passage will be quick; in that same day, we will pass though the earth landscape, the Swamp of the Dead. It's a huge swamp that stretches on through a thick forest. You must under any circumstance touch the water when we are there, nor the plants: they are deadly, and poisonous. Then, after a day, we will enter the last of the landscapes. Shadowland."
She stopped when she said the name. By now, the entire crew, including Jack, was frozen on spot, anxiously, waiting for her to continue."Shadowland," she finally said, "Does not represent an element. As all of you know, Davy Jones is the keeper of many sailors' souls," she stopped to look at Jack, who had unvolontarily flinched, "Most of them," she continued, eyeing him, "Belonging to sailors who have traded them and agreed to become part of Jone's crew, instead of dieing a sea. Well, Shadowland is where all the souls go. So, if you ever need to find a soul, that's the one place where you'll find it. It isn't quite a landscape, there is no water, nor earth, nor fire, nor air; it is simply a black, empty space between us and the Lost Treasure. The treasure, right after the Shadowland, is kept," she paused, "In Davy Jone's layer." Some of the pirates gasped, some simply stared, "I have warned you," she finished, "This is what we must face if we want the treasure."
They were all silent for a moment, the fog swirling around them. Jack seemed lost deep in his thoughts, and everybody began to wait for his decision, which would determine what they would be doing.
Finally, Jack spoke.
"If Kayla has told the truth," he started, "Which she surely has, well mates, this is not going to be easy. Not at all. The Pearl has been through many dangers, aye, but this souds like a real challenge – even for her." He paused, thinking over what he had just said, and thinking about the treasure waiting for him, "On the other hand," he continued, beginning to slowly walk across the deck amongst the crew, "We're talking about a treasure, mates. And not just any old treasure, for that. We're talking the Lost Treasure. An honest pirate's most desired ambition is that of finding such treasure." There came a confused murmur of approval from the crew. Kayla said nothing. "All in all, indeed, we may be facing certain death..or at least have a very good chance of facing it, but," he raised a finger to emphasize his point, "If we DO happen to succeed…" he sigh, letting the sentence trail off. He turned his back to the crew, facing the threatening landscape in front of him, took a few steps, and then stopped. All of a sudden, he felt a very strong desire of winning the challenge Kayla had just presented him. Then, as though he'd finally made up his mind, he spun around, and proudly announced, "Gentlemen, onward. We have a treasure to catch!"
The crew cheered, but, Jack noticed, Kayla didn't say anything, in fact, she almost looked sad, or, worse, disappointed by his decision. So, as everybody else scrambled to their places, he walked up to her swiftly.
"Something wrong, luv?" he asked casually.
"No, Jack," she answered, her gaze lost in front of her, "You've made the right choice."
But Jack couldn't understand why, when she said those words, she looked at him with a now clear sign of sadness in her eyes.
And so, following Jack's orders, the crew began the last part of their quest for the treasure. At least one person was continuously in the crow's nest, checking the horizon ready to point out any eventual danger. The day's journey went by smoothly, and Kayla remained silent for most of the time, apparently lost in her own thoughts.
They all gathered for dinner, though everybody was too tense to actually enjoy the meal: it was as if everybody was just waiting for some disaster to crash down on them. What was more, some of the pirates had begun to occasionally stare at Kayla in a semi frightened way, as if they weren't sure whether she could be trusted or not. Kayla, who assumed this was due, apart from the fact that pirates thought having a woman aboard like her brought bad luck, also because she had just revealed what dangers they would have to face in order to get to the treasure, found that this attitude made her feel uneasy.
They spent the next day pretty much in the same way, almost without talking, concentrated on the route. Jack and Kayla exchanged a few glances, but didn't have time to speak, for Jack, as Captain, was continuously requested from the rest of the crew. The second day ended, and, as she stood at the dinner table, Kayla began to wonder why Davy Jones hadn't yet come to look for her.She played absentmindedly with the key around her neck as she layed in bed later on that same night. Then, just as soon as she was finally about to drift off to sleep, she heard an unexpected knock. Silently cursing whoever was knocking at her door at that time, she got on her feet and stomped her way to the door, lurching it open. She felt her heart leap unvolontarily when she found herself in front of Jack.