Chapter 8:
The whole crew of the 'Fulmine' had gathered to witness her demise. After months that had passed by relatively uneventful, this was almost as entertaining as watching a street fight in an ally behind a tavern or barely clothed woman dance on a table with several mugs of rum in her hands. They cheered as Valentina's hands were tied. To their displeasure she was neither screaming nor begging for mercy. Her face was calm and her expression absolutely unreadable. Maybe she would cry later. They watched her expectantly and were not disappointed. As soon as she stepped foot on the plank she began wailing like a baby, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
"I don't want to be called cruel so I grant you one last wish," Giorgio said feeling a the ghost of a humane emotion stir inside of him. If he remembered correctly - he thought sarcastically - it was called compassion, he was not sure though. It was for the weak and bad for business.
"I want to kiss my lover one last time," she said with a voice that was heavy with emotions.
"Bring forth Signor Sparrow," the captain ordered. Jack was roughly pushed into her direction. His shackles clattered loudly when they embraced tightly.
"I'm impressed, love. 'ave ya ever considered playing Shakespeare?" he whispered in her ear with a hushed voice.
"Nay, I'll stay with thievery. More money," she replied.
"Do ya have it?" he asked his voice sounding a bit preoccupied.
"Yes, don't you worry, but what's more important - are they there yet?"
"I suppose, " he answered calmly.
"You suppose!" she had to conjure every once of her self-control not to raise her voice in anger or bite off his ear.
"They' d be 'ere in about 'alf an 'our. Ya can always swim to the shore in case they won't come," he informed her as if it was the most natural thing to do. Valentina nervously looked at the distance between the ship and the island. Of course, she could swim. It would be so much fun, she thought sarcastically.
"I thought ya wanted a kiss, " Jack remarked with a grin.
Kissing him momentarily was the last thing on her mind, all she wanted was rip off his head with her bare hands, but unfortunately she had to play along or all would be lost. The crew seemed to enjoy watching their display of affection, as they cheered and whistled loudly and to her wonder her anger slowly dissipated. At first she was only responding reluctantly to the kiss, but then her own passion was fueled. Combined with the adrenaline that shot through her body it felt like a drug. They were kissing like there was no tomorrow, well, maybe there wouldn't be, but neither of them cared for the moment. They finally broke apart and Valentina briefly wondered how she was supposed to still have enough air to swim after this kind of kiss, as her head was spinning and her body swooned slightly.
"Good luck," he whispered before two crewmembers of the 'Fulmine' pulled him away.
She raised her head in regal dignity and slowly walked down the plank. When she stood at the edge she briefly hesitated, looking down at the deep blue waves below her. Little baby fish in all colors of the rainbow were merrily swimming in the water a few meters beneath her feet and seemed to greet her as they scurried here and there busily. Oddly enough the world seemed somehow different in this very moment. It felt like looking through a telescope at a far away object. One moment it is blurry and unrecognizable, the next it's clearly visible. The colors suddenly were more brilliant, the sensations more vivid, the sounds louder than usual. Her heart was beating anxiously inside her chest, yet she embraced the feeling, which she knew all to well leading a life of excitement and danger. It made her feel alive. She closed her eyes took a deep breath and then she jumped.
Her body was heated up from the sun had been shining down on the ship mercilessly and consequentially the cold water stung her like countless tiny, pointy needles. When she sank deeper she felt a prickling sensation course through her entire body. It felt like thousands of ants were creeping over her skin. Valentina knew that she would soon have to come up for air. Her tied hands reached for the Giorgio's silver dagger that was hidden underneath her shirt. She had stolen it from him while she had performed her little 'please have mercy on a defenseless woman' - scene. It was good to know that she still hadn't lost her touch. Her teeth bit down on the hilt of the weapon and she started cutting the ties that bound her hands. Then, when she finally was free, she started swimming towards the surface, that greeted her with a mysterious silvery sparkle.
*
They dragged her aboard. Her chest was quickly heaving up and down from the exertion. She looked like a drowned cat, her wet hair sticking in tendrils to her face. Valentina coughed nosily when salt water ran down her throat.
"Are ya sure yer alright?" Ana Maria looked down at the other woman preoccupied.
"Bloody perfect," she managed get out in between two coughing fits.
Gibbs helped her to her feet. Her legs felt like jelly from treading water the whole time. She swayed a bit at first, but was able to stand on her own.
"I come with a message from Jack," finally announced after she had caught her breath.
"Oh, and what would that message be?" Gibbs sounded extremely annoyed. She could imagine why. Jack seemed to have that effect on people a lot.
"Well, if you sail around this bay there is a nice little ship. It will be completely deserted by nightfall, except for a handful of men, maybe. As a matter of fact it is just waiting to be taken. What do you say?"
Gibbs eyes sparkled mischievously and a smile spread on his face. She guessed that meant 'yes, we will set sails by nightfall'.
"There's just one tiny little thing. Nothing big at all. It will make absolutely no trouble," she noticed to her own dread that she was slowly picking up Jack's negotiation techniques, "I'll need a rescuing party to get Jack out of there."
Complete silence suddenly spread among the crew of the Pearl. Valentina could swear she could hear the wooden planks down at the cargo deck creak timidly. Great! So much for getting a rescuing party together.
~
"Just ya trust me, love. It'll all go as planned," she mimicked Jack's voice when she rowed the boat towards the shore of the Isla de la Muerte. She would find him and then she would bring him down.
All will go as planned?! Ha, of course! That surely included her swimming till she almost drowned and going on a crazy rescuing mission all by herself. She let out an angry snort and threw back her stubborn black hair that constantly insisted on falling into her face, thanks to the soft night breeze.
Valentina had absolutely no idea at all how she was supposed to get him out of there. It was her against the whole crew of the 'Fulmine', while the others were enjoying themselves as they comfortably commandeered said ship. She pulled the boat ashore with a groan. God, this was heavy! Why was it that she had to do all the hard work, while Jack was just being a lazy hostage?
A few hundred meters away she could make out the outlines of the boats with which the crew of the 'Fulmine' had arrived here. A gleeful smirk spread on her face. Grinning like a Cheshire Cat she sneaked over and started removing the paddles from each and every single boats. Her bad mood had almost dissipated by the time she had completed her task. Somehow it was almost therapeutic seeing said paddles float away on the gentle waves of the ocean
Time to move. She glanced around nervously before she quickly fled to the shelter of the forest, for on the shore she would be an easy target. The young woman was dressed completely in black - a shadow that crept through the wilderness. The silvery blades of her two daggers were briefly flashing silvery blue in the moonlight as she drew them. Her feet made no sound as the swiftly flew over the forest floor, remembering immediately years of hard training and experience.
Soon she found several footprints. They looked fresh, maybe only several minutes old. She followed their trail without difficulties. Trampled down blades of grass and heaps of hacked off branches were somehow hard to overlook. After a few minutes she could make out the warm flicker of several torches before her. She had found them. But what should she do now?
Suddenly something struck her as rather odd. Hadn't Jack told her the treasure were stored in a grotto near the sea that was only reachable by boat? That old fox! He had never had any intention of really leading them there judging from what she had seen. But what was he planning then?
The whole crew of the 'Fulmine' had gathered to witness her demise. After months that had passed by relatively uneventful, this was almost as entertaining as watching a street fight in an ally behind a tavern or barely clothed woman dance on a table with several mugs of rum in her hands. They cheered as Valentina's hands were tied. To their displeasure she was neither screaming nor begging for mercy. Her face was calm and her expression absolutely unreadable. Maybe she would cry later. They watched her expectantly and were not disappointed. As soon as she stepped foot on the plank she began wailing like a baby, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
"I don't want to be called cruel so I grant you one last wish," Giorgio said feeling a the ghost of a humane emotion stir inside of him. If he remembered correctly - he thought sarcastically - it was called compassion, he was not sure though. It was for the weak and bad for business.
"I want to kiss my lover one last time," she said with a voice that was heavy with emotions.
"Bring forth Signor Sparrow," the captain ordered. Jack was roughly pushed into her direction. His shackles clattered loudly when they embraced tightly.
"I'm impressed, love. 'ave ya ever considered playing Shakespeare?" he whispered in her ear with a hushed voice.
"Nay, I'll stay with thievery. More money," she replied.
"Do ya have it?" he asked his voice sounding a bit preoccupied.
"Yes, don't you worry, but what's more important - are they there yet?"
"I suppose, " he answered calmly.
"You suppose!" she had to conjure every once of her self-control not to raise her voice in anger or bite off his ear.
"They' d be 'ere in about 'alf an 'our. Ya can always swim to the shore in case they won't come," he informed her as if it was the most natural thing to do. Valentina nervously looked at the distance between the ship and the island. Of course, she could swim. It would be so much fun, she thought sarcastically.
"I thought ya wanted a kiss, " Jack remarked with a grin.
Kissing him momentarily was the last thing on her mind, all she wanted was rip off his head with her bare hands, but unfortunately she had to play along or all would be lost. The crew seemed to enjoy watching their display of affection, as they cheered and whistled loudly and to her wonder her anger slowly dissipated. At first she was only responding reluctantly to the kiss, but then her own passion was fueled. Combined with the adrenaline that shot through her body it felt like a drug. They were kissing like there was no tomorrow, well, maybe there wouldn't be, but neither of them cared for the moment. They finally broke apart and Valentina briefly wondered how she was supposed to still have enough air to swim after this kind of kiss, as her head was spinning and her body swooned slightly.
"Good luck," he whispered before two crewmembers of the 'Fulmine' pulled him away.
She raised her head in regal dignity and slowly walked down the plank. When she stood at the edge she briefly hesitated, looking down at the deep blue waves below her. Little baby fish in all colors of the rainbow were merrily swimming in the water a few meters beneath her feet and seemed to greet her as they scurried here and there busily. Oddly enough the world seemed somehow different in this very moment. It felt like looking through a telescope at a far away object. One moment it is blurry and unrecognizable, the next it's clearly visible. The colors suddenly were more brilliant, the sensations more vivid, the sounds louder than usual. Her heart was beating anxiously inside her chest, yet she embraced the feeling, which she knew all to well leading a life of excitement and danger. It made her feel alive. She closed her eyes took a deep breath and then she jumped.
Her body was heated up from the sun had been shining down on the ship mercilessly and consequentially the cold water stung her like countless tiny, pointy needles. When she sank deeper she felt a prickling sensation course through her entire body. It felt like thousands of ants were creeping over her skin. Valentina knew that she would soon have to come up for air. Her tied hands reached for the Giorgio's silver dagger that was hidden underneath her shirt. She had stolen it from him while she had performed her little 'please have mercy on a defenseless woman' - scene. It was good to know that she still hadn't lost her touch. Her teeth bit down on the hilt of the weapon and she started cutting the ties that bound her hands. Then, when she finally was free, she started swimming towards the surface, that greeted her with a mysterious silvery sparkle.
*
They dragged her aboard. Her chest was quickly heaving up and down from the exertion. She looked like a drowned cat, her wet hair sticking in tendrils to her face. Valentina coughed nosily when salt water ran down her throat.
"Are ya sure yer alright?" Ana Maria looked down at the other woman preoccupied.
"Bloody perfect," she managed get out in between two coughing fits.
Gibbs helped her to her feet. Her legs felt like jelly from treading water the whole time. She swayed a bit at first, but was able to stand on her own.
"I come with a message from Jack," finally announced after she had caught her breath.
"Oh, and what would that message be?" Gibbs sounded extremely annoyed. She could imagine why. Jack seemed to have that effect on people a lot.
"Well, if you sail around this bay there is a nice little ship. It will be completely deserted by nightfall, except for a handful of men, maybe. As a matter of fact it is just waiting to be taken. What do you say?"
Gibbs eyes sparkled mischievously and a smile spread on his face. She guessed that meant 'yes, we will set sails by nightfall'.
"There's just one tiny little thing. Nothing big at all. It will make absolutely no trouble," she noticed to her own dread that she was slowly picking up Jack's negotiation techniques, "I'll need a rescuing party to get Jack out of there."
Complete silence suddenly spread among the crew of the Pearl. Valentina could swear she could hear the wooden planks down at the cargo deck creak timidly. Great! So much for getting a rescuing party together.
~
"Just ya trust me, love. It'll all go as planned," she mimicked Jack's voice when she rowed the boat towards the shore of the Isla de la Muerte. She would find him and then she would bring him down.
All will go as planned?! Ha, of course! That surely included her swimming till she almost drowned and going on a crazy rescuing mission all by herself. She let out an angry snort and threw back her stubborn black hair that constantly insisted on falling into her face, thanks to the soft night breeze.
Valentina had absolutely no idea at all how she was supposed to get him out of there. It was her against the whole crew of the 'Fulmine', while the others were enjoying themselves as they comfortably commandeered said ship. She pulled the boat ashore with a groan. God, this was heavy! Why was it that she had to do all the hard work, while Jack was just being a lazy hostage?
A few hundred meters away she could make out the outlines of the boats with which the crew of the 'Fulmine' had arrived here. A gleeful smirk spread on her face. Grinning like a Cheshire Cat she sneaked over and started removing the paddles from each and every single boats. Her bad mood had almost dissipated by the time she had completed her task. Somehow it was almost therapeutic seeing said paddles float away on the gentle waves of the ocean
Time to move. She glanced around nervously before she quickly fled to the shelter of the forest, for on the shore she would be an easy target. The young woman was dressed completely in black - a shadow that crept through the wilderness. The silvery blades of her two daggers were briefly flashing silvery blue in the moonlight as she drew them. Her feet made no sound as the swiftly flew over the forest floor, remembering immediately years of hard training and experience.
Soon she found several footprints. They looked fresh, maybe only several minutes old. She followed their trail without difficulties. Trampled down blades of grass and heaps of hacked off branches were somehow hard to overlook. After a few minutes she could make out the warm flicker of several torches before her. She had found them. But what should she do now?
Suddenly something struck her as rather odd. Hadn't Jack told her the treasure were stored in a grotto near the sea that was only reachable by boat? That old fox! He had never had any intention of really leading them there judging from what she had seen. But what was he planning then?