A/N: Thanks everyone for all your reviews, I really appreciate it a lot. This is a long chapter, so I hope you enjoy. Anyway, thanks to the 15 minutes of POTC I managed to sneak in after watching Bend it Like Beckham (good movie with Keira Knightley), various clips, and the help of Kayden, I give you Chapter 4. (Oh yes, send all your love to Kayden because she stayed up VERY LATE – or early, depending on how you put it – to finish this)
Kayden: *yawns*
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
By: Savvy Jack Sparrow
-
Four prisoners clung to the bars of their cell. Their arms were through the squares in the iron grid, one with an old, dried bone, another with a rope and the other two, whistling and snapping their fingers.
"Come here, boy. Nice juicy bone. Come here. Come on..." they said coaxingly to the dog that sat just out of reach, holding the cell door's keys in its mouth. The dog didn't move. It just sat there and continued to stare balefully back at them.
"You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move," Jack commented dryly from the floor where he was leaning against the wall, in the cell next to the others, his hat lowered over his eyes.
The other prisoners turned to look at him and Jack cocked his hat so he could see them.
One of them glared at him. "Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet!"
Jack merely smiled and leaned back against the wall, readjusting his hat.
******
Back in the Swann manor house, a maid knelt in front of the fire, filling a bed warmer with hot coals. "It was a difficult day for you, I'm sure," she said, standing up and making her way over to Elizabeth's bed to place the warmer between the sheets.
"I suspected Commodore Norrington would propose," Elizabeth said looking up from her book with a smile, "but I admit I wasn't entirely prepared for it."
"Well, I meant you being threatened by that pirate!" exclaimed the maid, a little surprised that the Commodore proposing placed higher priority than being nearly killed by a pirate. "Sounds terrifying," she added.
"Oh." She put her book down with sudden realization. "Yes, it was terrifying," she agreed half-heartedly.
"But the Commodore proposed!" the maid said brightly, tucking in Elizabeth's sheets. "Fancy that. That's a smart match, miss, if it's not too bold to say."
Elizabeth smiled faintly. "It is a smart match," she said with a sigh. "He's a fine man; he's what any woman would dream of marrying."
The maid stopped her puttering for a moment and looked closely at Elizabeth. "Well, that Will Turner... he's a fine man, too," she said carefully, wondering if she had overstepped her boundaries.
"That is too bold."
The maid nodded apologetically. "Well, begging your pardon, Miss," she said as she turned to leave, "It was not my place." She left the room and closed the door quietly behind her.
Elizabeth touched the medallion that was around her neck fondly. The lamp on her bedside table flickered and she looked over at it. There was a sudden eerie feeling in the air as she closed her hand around the medallion. The flame went out abruptly, leaving Elizabeth in the chilling darkness as she looked uncertainly around the room.
******
Will hammered away on a new sword. He paused suddenly and slowly lowered his hammer. He left his sword and went to the window, flinging it open and peering out into the misty night. A black cat darted down the alley and around the corner.
******
Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington walked side by side along the top of the fort, in view of the gallows.
"Has my daughter given you an answer yet?" the Governor asked.
"No, she hasn't," Norrington replied, with slight disappointment.
The Governor gave a slight chuckle. "Well, she has had a very trying day." He looked out over the fort. "Ghastly, weather, don't you think?" he asked, changing the subject.
Norrington paused and looked around while Governor Swann continued walking. "Bleak. Very bleak," he agreed.
The Governor stopped, glancing around as though listening. "What's that?"
Norrington suddenly spotted something coming from the left. "Cannon fire!" he shouted, diving for the Governor and tackling him to the ground. Rubble and debris flew through the air as the cannon hit the stone wall. "Return fire!" He shouted to the soldiers, as he attempted to get up.
******
Jack was still leaning against the wall when he heard the echoing blasts. "I know those cannons!" he said standing up quickly and looking through the grated window. The prisoners in the cell next to him rushed to their window as well. They could see the dark ship over the black waters, shooting cannons in rapid succession. "It's the Pearl," Jack said with a gleam in his eye.
Upon hearing this, one of the prisoners came nervously over to the metal wall
that separated the two cells and still holding the bone, grasped onto the
bars. "Black Pearl? I've heard stories," he said
as another prisoner came up behind him to hear better. "She's been preying on ships and
settlements for near ten years." He
glanced behind him at his inmate.
"Never leaves any survivors," he finished with a slight
shudder.
"No survivors?" Jack asked, turning away from the window with a smile. "Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?"
The other prisoners exchanged bemused glances.
******
The Black Pearl shot cannon after cannon, destroying the battlements. Chaos erupted as the townspeople sought cover from the attack. People flew through the air from the impact of cannon fire near them, often soaring several feet. Others fell from balconies as the Pearl began firing towards the houses. A toddler with straw blond hair shrieked for his mother as other people ran past him screaming in the pandemonium. His mother came up to him from behind and snatched him up just before a wall crashed to the ground where they had been moments before.
Pirates rowed towards shore, jumping out of the boats and splashing through the water, shouting with their arms raised, each holding various weapons. They made their way to the village to continue the attack.
Two of the pirates, Pintel and Ragetti, followed more slowly as Ragetti carved a little off his wooden eye. He blew on it to remove any remaining shavings and stuck it in his eye socket while Pintel looked on. Ragetti paused for a moment as his eye rolled around and then looked towards Pintel. They both grinned and hurried off to join in the rampage.
Another pirate grinned maniacally as he lit two bombs and threw them into separate windows. The windows shattered as the bombs exploded within and he ran off laughing hysterically.
Will, hearing the commotion outside took up a sword, a hatchet and a knife before stepping out of the smithy. A pirate ran past chasing a woman. Will quickly moved out and swung the hatchet at the pirate, catching him squarely in the back. The pirate threw up his arms with a cry and fell face down. Will ran forward and grabbed the hatchet from the pirate's back and continued on, parrying with another pirate before impaling him.
******
At the fort, soldiers grabbed their bayonets to fight off the pirates. A horse whinnied with fear and nearly threw his rider when a cannon hit a nearby wall.
Norrington was on the battlements shouting orders to his men.
"Governor!" he shouted, above the mayhem.
The Governor had his back to Norrington but turned around quickly, looking frightened when the Commodore addressed him.
"Barricade yourself in my office," Norrington told him.
The Governor shielded his face as another cannon sent up blasts of stone.
"That's an order."
******
Elizabeth ran to her balcony and leaned over the railing. The small houses and shops below were engulfed in flames and smoke billowed out their shattered windows. The gates to the mansion clanged and a band of pirates ran through with torches and swords raised. She gasped and fled to the stairs, winding her way down the spiral steps as quickly as she could to warn the butler. There was a loud knock at the door.
"Don't!" she yelled from the landing.
But it was too late. The butler opened the door.
"Hello, chump," Pintel said with a wicked grin as he shot him.
The butler
fell backwards and Elizabeth screamed, covering her mouth in
horror.
The pirates filed into the house.
"Up there!" Ragetti shouted, pointing to Elizabeth.
"Girl!" Pintel yelled as Elizabeth turned and ran back up the stairs,
the pirates following her with shouts and jeers.
She ran into her bedroom, slammed the door shut and locked it.
Elizabeth turned and screamed in surprise as she collided with her maid.
The maid grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her over to a corner. "Miss Swann! They've come to kidnap you!" she cried frantically.
"What?" Elizabeth asked, confused.
"You're the Governor's daughter," the maid explained as calmly as she could.
The pirates began banging on the door and rattling the knob. The two women looked up in alarm.
"They haven't seen you," she told the maid as she stood up. "Hide, and the first chance you get, run to the fort!" Elizabeth let go of the maid and ran towards another room.
The door burst open and Pintel and Ragetti came through in time to see the hem of Elizabeth's nightgown disappear through the doorway. They followed and didn't notice the maid run out.
Pintel had no sooner made it to the door than Elizabeth hit him in the face with her bed warmer. He recoiled in pain and Ragetti came forward, grabbing Elizabeth's wrist.
"Gotcha!" he cried with delight as he sent her a wicked grin. She screamed. "Boo! Boo!" he taunted as they struggled.
Elizabeth found the latch on the warmer and released the still hot ashes onto Ragetti's head.
Ragetti immediately let go of Elizabeth and began clawing at his face in panic. "It's hot! It's on me!" he screamed frantically.
Pintel, recovered from his own encounter with the bed warmer saw Elizabeth dart away. "Come on!" he said to Ragetti, rushing after her.
******
The maid ran through the house, holding her skirts up. She saw the dead butler on the ground and screamed in terror as she raced through the entrance.
******
Elizabeth ran down the stairs with Pintel hot on her heels.
Ragetti vaulted over the railing of the overhead balcony and landed in front of Elizabeth, blocking her escape and growling with menace.
Elizabeth gasped and looked back and forth
between the two pirates, searching for a way out. The double doors crashed open and a pirate
holding an armful of valuables came through with a satisfied smile.
A cannon flew through the walls at that moment, catching the pirate square in the stomach and launching him into the room he had just exited.
Pintel looked up and cringed at the chandelier that was coming loose from the ceiling. Elizabeth seized the moment to escape and ran just as the chandelier crashed down behind her.
She raced into the dining room and closed the double doors, securing the handles with a double candlestick holder. She turned, searching the room for any type of weapon. Her gaze fell to a set of double crossed swords mounted to a wooden plaque that was hanging over the mantelpiece. She grabbed it and it fell to the floor with a clunk, being heavier than she had anticipated. She tried shaking one of the swords loose with no success and the door began to rattle. Knowing the candle stick holder wouldn't be able to hold the door for long, she dashed into a closet.
Pintel and Ragetti successfully managed to open the door and they rushed through looking around for Elizabeth.
Pintel growled in annoyance when he noticed the open window. They made their way towards it but Pintel grabbed Ragetti's shoulder suddenly and they both turned around, Pintel looking about the room with suspicion.
"We know you're here, Poppet," he said walking slowly towards the center of the room.
"Poppet..." Ragetti murmured, grinning stupidly.
"Come out, and we promise we won't hurt you," Pintel said with mock reassurance. Ragetti looked at Pintel questioningly who only smiled in reply.
"We will find you, Poppet," Pintel continued, moving around the table. "You've got something of ours, and it calls to us..." They noticed the corner of the carpet was folded "...The gold calls to us."
"Gold calls..." mimicked Ragetti. They moved towards the closet.
Elizabeth examined the medallion by the light that came through the crack in the door, and fingered it, thinking. The ray of light grew smaller as Pintel neared her hiding place.
"'Ello, Poppet," he said with a sneer, one eye visible through the narrow space between the doors. He opened the door and aimed his pistol at Elizabeth.
"Parley!" she cried out suddenly.
"What?"
"Parley. I invoke the right of parley," she said quickly. "According to the code of brethren, set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew, you have to take me to your Captain," she finished in one breath.
"I know the code," Pintel scowled.
"If an adversary demands parley you can do them no harm until the parley is complete," added Elizabeth.
"To blazes with the code!" Ragetti said, lifting his sword.
Pintel
turned to Ragetti. "She wants to be
taken to the Captain!" he shouted at him.
He turned back to Elizabeth with a wicked grin. "And she'll go without a fuss. We must honor the code."
******
Outside, the uproar continued.
Two pirates picked up a barrel and tossed it into a shop window, effectively shattering the glass.
Will was meanwhile occupied with Grapple. They struggled with their swords. Grapple grabbed Will's neck and brought him up close, raising his hatchet. "Say goodbye!" he snarled with a nasty smile.
Will glanced above him to see the chains that held a very large sign being broken. Noticing Will's gaze, the pirate looked up as well, loosening his grip on Will's shirt in alarm. Will pulled away as the sign came crashing down, sending Grapple through the window of the shop behind him.
"Goodbye!" he said, looking around for his next opponent.
"Come on!" Pintel snapped to the struggling Elizabeth as he towed her through the crowed street.
"Will," Elizabeth said breathlessly, noticing him
for the first time amongst the strets.
"Elizabeth," he whispered, seeing a group of pirates dragging her away. He turned, intending to help her but instead found himself face to face with the same pirate he had killed earlier with his hatchet. He stared at the pirate, utterly confused. The pirate waved to Will and looked down. Will looked down as well and saw to his horror a bomb right in front of him with an ever-shortening fuse. He stood there, dumbstruck, waiting to be blown to smithereens, but nothing happened. The fuse went out with a sputter and the pirate's insane grin immediately vanished.
Will was about to kill the pirate for the second time that day, when another one came up from behind.
"Outta my way, scum!" he shouted, knocking Will on the head. Will fell to the ground, unconscious.
******
Jack peered through his window and his dark eyes widened as he saw a cannon
being fired in the direction of the jail.
He jumped down from his lookout to take cover.
The outer wall of the cell next to his crumbled, leaving a large hole.
Jack looked up and saw to his dismay, the other prisoners climbing out.
"My sympathies, friend," one said before he left. "It's no matter of luck at all." He climbed out, leaving Jack alone in his cell. He watched them clamber down the rocks through a crack in the wall made by the cannon.
The misty clouds shifted to let the silvery light of the moon filter through.
******
Giving in to defeat, Jack picked up the bone that was dropped by the prisoner and stuck his arm through the door of his cell, whistling for the dog.
"Come on, doggy," he called cheerfully.
The dog whimpered as his head poked out from under the table.
"It's just you and me now," Jack said waving the bone encouragingly. "It's just you and ol' Jack, come on."
The dog took a few hesitant steps forward.
"Come on, good boy. That's it, good boy, come on! Bit closer, bit closer. That's it, that's it, doggy." The dog moved forward until it was just a couple feet from Jack's outstretched arms. "Come on, you filthy, slimy, mangy cad," Jack demanded, dropping his sweet voice. There was a crash from above and the dog whined, running past Jack's cell door, and down the stairs.
"No, no, no, no, no, I didn't mean it. I didn't..." Jack said desperately, trying to snatch at the dog as he ran past. There was another crash and the prison guard was thrown down the stairs. Jack peered through the bars to see what the commotion was.
Twigg and Koehler came down the stairs and looked around.
"This ain't the armory!" Twigg said accusingly.
Koehler noticed Jack and sheathed his sword. "Well, well, well, look what we have here, Twigg - Captain Jack Sparrow." He spat on the ground at Jack's feet and Jack leaned away with a slightly disgusted look on his face.
"Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinking away into the distance," Koehler said with a smirk.
"His fortunes aren't improved much," Twigg added, and they both laughed.
Jack smiled. "Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen." His smile vanished. "The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers."
Koehler snarled with contempt and reached through the bars, grabbing Jack's neck. His arm went through a shaft of moonlight that came through the small, grated window and revealed nothing but bone and tattered clothing where the light hit.
Jack glanced down at the skeletal hand that held his neck. "So there is a curse. That's interesting."
"You know nothing of Hell," Koehler hissed, yanking his arm back and they both left.
Jack watched their retreating backs, his brow furrowed. He looked down at the bone he still held and examined it thoughtfully. "That's very interesting," he said again, still thinking.
******
The clouds once again covered the moon as Elizabeth was rowed to the Pearl.
She stared at the ship with wide eyes, recognizing it as the same ship she had seen disappear into the mist the same day they had found Will. She glanced down at the medallion and hoped Will was still alive.
The black, tattered sails of the ship waved in the slight wind giving it a
ghostly appearance.
Barbossa watched the pirates pull Elizabeth on board as a monkey shrieked and jumped onto his shoulder.
"I didn't know we were takin' on captives," Bo'sun said in a deep voice, staring down at Elizabeth with distaste as she was pulled forward.
"She's invoked the right of parley with Captain Barbossa," Pintel explained with a hint of warning in his voice.
Elizabeth stepped forward. "I am here to negotiate -" Her
words were cut short as Bo'sun backhanded her across the face. She screamed and clutched her face, shocked.
"You will speak when spoken to," he growled.
"And ye'll not lay a hand on those under the protection of parley," Barbossa snapped, grabbing Bo'sun's wrist.
"Aye, sir," Bo'sun said, glaring at Barbossa and throwing down his hand.
Barbossa turned to Elizabeth. "My apologies, Miss."
"Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth said, with a slight tremor in her voice. "I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal."
Barbossa looked around at the other pirates and fixed his gaze on Elizabeth with a smile. "There are a lot of long words in there, Miss; we're naught but humble pirates," he said with a chuckle. "What is that you want?" he asked, more seriously.
"I want you to leave, and never come back," she responded coldly.
The pirates laughed and jeered in mockery.
"I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request," Barbossa said. Noticing her blank stare, he added, "Means 'no.'"
Elizabeth set her lips in a thin line and yanked the medallion off her neck. "Very well," she announced, striding over to the railing of the ship. The pirates moved forward, reaching out. "I'll drop it," she threatened, dangling it over the water.
Barbossa exchanged glances with his crew. "Me holds are burstin' with swag and that bit o' shine matters to us...?" He dropped his casual façade and turned back to Elizabeth with a frown. "Why?"
"It's what you've been searching for!" Elizabeth exclaimed, feeling panicked. "I recognize this ship, I saw it eight years ago on the crossing from England!"
"Did ya now?" Barbossa asked. The monkey on his shoulder chattered and shrieked.
"Fine," Elizabeth said, looking around dismissively. "Well, I suppose if it is worthless, then there's no point in me keeping it." She let the medallion drop a few inches and the pirates lunged forward with a collective gasp. She opened her mouth slightly and smiled at catching them in their lie.
"Ah," Barbossa said with a faint chuckle. He walked forward and Elizabeth wound the medallion up in her hand and drew her arm back. "You have a name, Missy?" he asked pleasantly.
"Elizabeth..." she hesitated for a moment, knowing that if she told them her real name, they would know she was the Governor's daughter and hold her hostage. "…Turner," she said quickly. "I'm a maid in the Governor's household," she explained.
Barbossa turned to the crew with a smirk. "Miss Turner…?" he said emphasizing the Turner and they all laughed.
"Bootstrap!" Pintel said to Ragetti, realization dawning.
"And how does a maid come to own a trinket such as that," Barbossa inquired. "Family heirloom, perhaps?"
"I didn't steal it," Elizabeth said, narrowing her eyes, "if that's what you mean."
Barbossa stepped forward extending his arm. "Very well. Ye hand it over and we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return," he reassured.
Elizabeth dropped the medallion into Barbossa's hand with only a slight pause of hesitation.
Barbossa rubbed the gold for a moment before handing it to the monkey who jumped onto a rope swinging above and dashed away.
"Our bargain?"
Barbossa turned from her and walked away, nodding to the crew.
Bo'sun began shouting orders. "Still the guns, and stow 'em..."
"Wait!" Elizabeth shouted over Bo'sun's booming voice, running after Barbossa. "You have to take me to shore!" she demanded. "According to the code of the order of the brethren -"
Barbossa whirled around, cutting her off and staring her in the eye. "First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations so I must do nothing," he said loudly, "And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly," he added, "the code is more what you'd call "guidelines"," he said thoughtfully, rolling his eyes, "than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner!"
******
Please review on your way out.
