"What do you think, Jack? Too gaudy?" Sasha adjusted the ornate crown on her head in a broken gilded mirror amongst the piles of treasure.
"Gold isn't really your color." Jack shrugged, looking over a large statue before tossing it aside.
"Well what do you know?" She pouted, turning to Barbossa. "Hector?"
"Ye be as lovely as the sky at sunset." He offered from his seat by the chest.
"Lovely as the sky at sunset." She repeated in mocking disbelief. "Hear that Jack? You could learn a few things about talking to women, maybe it'd save your face whenever you stepped foot in a tavern." She replaced the gold crown with a silver tiara set with brilliant rubies, frowning because he had been right. Jack offered her one with sapphires instead.
"They match your eyes better." He spoke so only she could hear, fixing it in her hair and threw the other one away. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before she turned away and continued picking through the jewelry.
"William, let's pick something out for Elizabeth's wedding day. I think pirate treasure counts as 'something borrowed'." He watched her slip something shiny in her boot before wandering around the room.
"I must admit, Jack, I thought I had you figured but it turns out you're a hard man to predict."
"Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest." Jack swaggered back towards the remaining crew and Barbossa himself. "Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly...stupid." He spoke the last word to Will before grabbing the sword of the pirate skipping rocks, tossing it to the young man.
Everyone sprang into action. Will broke free of the man holding him, Jack and Barbossa lunged at one another, and Sasha pulled a sword from one of the skeletons and raised it to block a swing from one of Barbossa's men. Will was trying to fight off three pirates and nodded gratefully when Sasha joined him, back to back. Jack seemed to be handling Barbossa on his own but she kept an eye on him in case she needed to switch fights. She took the hard hits for the boy, stabs and landed cuts, one knocking her into a pool of moonlight. Startled, Will paused in the midst of the battle.
"Stay with us, William." Sasha threw her sword at an advancing man, keeping him from killing Will. She continued to fight in her skeletal form, using it to her advantage to catch blades in her bones and rip them from her enemies hands. They managed to fend them off long enough to notice Jack standing, admiring his skeletal hand, where he and Barbossa stood across the cavern. A sword stuck out of his chest and Sasha was thankful he had thought ahead with grabbing that coin. "You seem to be able to handle these idiots, I'll go help him." She darted towards the two men as they started their duel once again.
"Sorry!" Jack shouted over his shoulder as he bumped into a small end table, nearly tripping Sasha as she joined them. Barbossa was still a worthy opponent, even outnumbered. He stopped them for a moment and raised a fair point.
"So what now? Are we three immortals doomed to fight for all eternity?" The haggard man laughed bitterly.
"You could surrender." Jack suggested, infuriating the man. He chased after them as they ran to get better ground to fight on. One of his men threw an explosive at Will, startling them all. Sasha bowed out, patting Jack on the shoulder.
"Time for me to return to the boy." He nodded and watched her jump down from the ledge, knocking a skeleton to the ground as she landed. Will was trapped at sword point by an angry crewman.
"I'm gonna teach you the meaning of pain!" He raised his arm to strike and Sasha feared she wouldn't reach them in time.
"You like pain?" Another female voice joined the raucous. Elizabeth knocked the man aside with a large ornate staff. "You should try wearing a corset." Sasha smiled, rushing to their aid. Elizabeth helped Will to his feet and they shared a stare of longing for one another.
"Not now, children. There's a battle yet to be won." They all looked at Jack and Barbossa, still evenly matched, fighting in the moonlight.
"Whose side is he on?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.
"At the moment?" Will shrugged. The older woman sent them a warning glare.
"You two think you'll be alright?" They nodded.
Sasha was getting annoyed at having to run between fights. Jack needed to end this, and soon. She blocked a swing at his head, smirking at the angry scowl Barbossa sent her. They neared the chest once more and she knew she had to be careful now as the curse could be lifted any minute. Another explosion went off and it was the distraction Jack needed to slice his hand and wet the coin. He threw it at Will but Barbossa countered by aiming at Elizabeth with his pistol, kicking Sasha away before she could use herself as a shield for the girl. The jarring sound of gunfire echoed off of the cave walls but Elizabeth didn't fall. Barbossa's head snapped to Jack who still had his own pistol aimed where he had fired.
"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot." He smirked.
"He didn't waste it." Will spoke with confidence, dropping both coins so they joined their precious brethren. Sasha sank to her knees, brought to tears as she felt the cool breeze as it danced across her skin. Barbossa ripped open his jacket and saw the blood bloom from the hole in his breast. He too was shocked, almost amazed as he looked back at the man he once betrayed.
"I feel...cold." He whispered before falling into a pile of treasure, an apple rolling from his pocket. No one moved, no one spoke, until Sasha crawled to the creek that flowed through the cave.
"Jack," She dipped her hands into the water and a huge grin took over her lips. The three watched her, reminded of a child discovering something wonderful for the first time. She wiped her face and couldn't stop the squeal of joy at the feeling of it dripping down her jaw. "Jack, it's over!"
Sasha got up and rushed the man, wrapping him in a tight hug and spinning them around. He didn't stop her as she began running her hands over him. She brushed her thumb against his face, pulled at his hair. She placed her hand flush against the skin of his chest and smiled up at him.
"You're so warm."
"Amazing, isn't it?" He covered her hand with his and squeezed. "And now you are too."
"Say, Jack?" She looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'm in need of funds for a new ship."
"Well it's a good thing we're surrounded by ship funds." He chuckled, letting her go and helping her rummage through the treasures for something of extreme value. Sasha looked over at where Elizabeth and Will had wandered off to to have their own moment and grabbed Jack's shoulder.
"Dear, I think the children are having a lovers quarrel." She looked from them to him and couldn't stop the laughter at how silly he looked covered in jewels and a lurid crown. "Come on, young William is in need of feminine advice."
"Then are you the right one to give it?" Jack quipped, following her to Will's side.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Sasha pulled the boy's face to look at her. "You mucked it up didn't you?" He nodded.
"If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it. Now, if you'll be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me off at my ship." Jack patted his shoulder and followed where Elizabeth had gone.
"Jack!" Sasha barked at the inconsiderate man but walked with Will, trailing behind the others. "Look, William, you have to be honest with her. Using her guilt to mask your own hesitations and doubts will only make the rift wider."
"She doesn't deserve to be stuck with a lowlife like me. She deserves a Commodore."
"Status isn't everything." She spoke softly. To lighten the mood, she bumped him playfully. "I don't know if you know this, but I've killed my fair share of commodores in my time." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'll keep that in mind." They caught up to Jack and Elizabeth waiting for them in a row boat. Sasha and Will rowed them away from the cursed cave and into the cove. The Black Pearl was nowhere in sight.
"I'm sorry, Jack." Elizabeth offered.
"They done what's right by them, can't expect more than that." Sasha could hear the disappointment in his voice and reached out and squeezed his hand.
"Miss Elizabeth, I don't think I had the opportunity to properly introduce myself." She let Will take over rowing and turned to the young lady. "Sasha Hartford, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in peaceful circumstances."
"I've heard of you. You had wanted posters all over Port Royal when I was a girl." Elizabeth smiled.
"Can't say I've ever been to Port Royal but it's nice to be wanted somewhere." They laughed. Sasha reached into her boot and pulled out a silver chain with an intricate pendant set with a few diamonds and a black pearl. "I thought you would like a memento from your adventure with pirates. Maybe it will bring you luck."
"It will look lovely with your wedding dress." The female pirate elbowed Jack.
"Jack ass." She swore. She pulled another jewel encrusted treasure from her boot and offered it to Elizabeth. "It'll be straight to the stockades for us when we reach that ship. Can I trust you to look after this until I can collect it?" Elizabeth looked over the hairpin in awe.
"Are you sure?"
"Aye, wear it if you want. Just don't lose it, it's my new ship 'soon as I'm free." They were almost to the Dauntless now. "Could you do me one last favour?"
"Yes, anything."
"Can you vouch for us some decent food once we are on board? I'm starving."