Well...sorry that took so bloody long. I was desperately trying to find inspiration, and unfortunately, I can't find the soundtrack for Pirates anywhere, not even on the net. *pouts* Isn't life annoying that way sometimes? And then Harry Potter's been trying to force me to work on that story I started this summer......ack!
I swear, a girl can't get any work done when she has a weekend off......sheesh. University.
J. Liha: Aww....so generous of you to share Jack with me! Don't worry, you'll get him back (hopefully) in one piece when I'm done with him!
Brem Nakada: Y'know, all that praise is gonna go to my head....:D Thanks! Sometime I need that! Don't worry, here comes another chapter....hopefully you can talk coherently when it's done!
Lyssa2: Thanks! You make me blush! See? *blushes*
Huntress16: Begging and everything? Whee! Here ya' go!
Quicksilvermad: Oh, man, I know what you mean! That really drives me nuts, when I'm reading a story set in the 1700s, and suddenly someone says that something is "cool". Excuse me? It's not-warm? Yeah. Thanks, though, I really am trying!
Andi Horton: You're back! *huggles* More is coming! Yay! (Ditto on the University finally settling down thing, too)
HewasaPirate...: Yeah, Andi was the inspiration for this fic, actually. Go figure!
And, for those of you who have not figured this out yet.....I. Do. Not. Own. Pirates.
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Alright. You are warned now. This chapter contains....a spoiler of sorts. Well, it's a spoiler in that, in order for this chapter to be written, you must accept one central idea that, well, could kinda ruin a later piece of information for you.
On that note, if you don't want any kind of spoiler to ruin the story for you, skip this chapter. For that matter, skip every other chapter until a later point when I will tell you that it is safe to read again. However, that would result in you having no idea what's going on, and so I advise you shrug your shoulders, ignore the fact that it's a spoiler, and read on.
Alright?
Then, here's the spoiler : Christine does not die. She is alright, and at some point, I am reunited with her.
Why is this important? Because if she were not alright and I were not reunited with her, then there would be no way for me to discover just what happened to her and Elizabeth in that period of time that I was separated from her. And unless you want massively gaps in the story that leave you scratching your head and asking "huh?", then I advise that you accept that fact, and read on.
Thank you.
Now, onto the actual story.
As I have already ascertained, I do meet up with Christine again. And when I met up with her again, after giving her the biggest hug of her life, I immediately demanded to know exactly what happened.
And this is what she told me.
After being dragged out of that closet by two hygienically-challenged pirates, she and Elizabeth were led out of the house, down the street, and into a small, slightly rotten, not-very-sturdy-looking rowboat. Once inside that rowboat, the pirates accompanying them began to row towards a big, black ship out in the moonlit waters.
"I don't like the looks of this," Christine leaned over and whispered to Elizabeth, which earned a nod from Elizabeth and a bellowed "Shut it, you!" from one of the pirates.
The rowboat pulled up alongside the larger, darker ship, and hands reached both up from the pirates beside them, and down from the pirates above them. They were pushed/pulled/hauled up onto the deck, where, slightly breathless, Elizabeth and Christine found themselves surrounded by a nasty-looking pirate crew. One particularly large, scary looking pirate with the weirdest piercing/tattoos/odd mutilations stood menacingly before them, and grated, "I didn't know we were takin' on captives."
"She's invoked the right of parley with Captain Barbossa," Pintel told him, half angry, half nervously.
"I am here to negotiate-" Elizabeth began, but was sharply backhanded across the face by the large pirate.
("Bo'sun?" I asked Christine. She stared at me like I'd grown an extra head again. I sighed, and figured that that was probably who she was talking about. From now on that big scary pirate will be called Bo'Sun.)
"You will speak when spoken to," he growled at her.
"Why you-" Christine clenched her fists at her side, as though moving to smack the huge pirate. "She invoked parley! You can't touch someone while they're under the protection of parley!"
A grizzled, older pirate snatched Bo'Sun's wrist. "The lady's right. Ye'll not lay a hand on those under the protection of parley."
Bo'Sun snarled, "Aye, sir." As he stepped back, Christine's narrowed eyes were boring death glares through his skull.
"My apologies, Miss," Captain Barbossa smiled at Elizabeth, then, noticing her, nodded at Christine. "Miss."
"Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth immediately took matters into her own hands. "I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal."
Barbossa chuckled, and Christine's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "There are a lot of long words in there, Miss; we're naught but humble pirates. What is it that you want?"
"We want you to leave and never come back," Christine snarled.
Barbossa looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request...means no."
As Christine gaped at him, Elizabeth's jaw set and she marched over to the edge of the deck, pulling the medallion and it's necklace out of her dress collar. "Very well." She stretched her arm out, dangling the gold over the ocean. "I'll drop it."
Barbossa burst out in laughter. "Me holds are burstin' with swag and that bit of shine matters to us? Why?"
Elizabeth's self-assured veneer cracked a little, but her grim face was firmly back on before anyone (save Christine, who was getting pretty good at reading her by now) noticed. "It's what you've been searching for. I recognize this ship. I saw it eight years ago on the crossing from England."
Barbossa smirked. "Did ya now?" He asked in a decidedly patronizing tone.
"Fine, well, I suppose if it's worthless..." Elizabeth let out a little sigh, and let the cahin slip a little through her fingers. "Then there's no point in me keeping it."
The entire pirate crew lunged forward a step, as Elizabeth deftly caught the chain, and Christine took a nervous step towards the other girl, trying to avoid the swarming pirates.
"Ah." Barbossa chuckled, calmly stepping forward, acting as though he, too, hadn't darted forward upon threat of dropping the gold in the ocean. "You have a name, Missy?"
"Elizabeth..." The girl's face twisted for a moment, thinking. "Turner. I'm a maid in the Governor's household." And she curtsied.
"Miss Turner...?" Barbossa repeated.
"Bootstrap," Pintel muttered, just loud enough for Christine, who still stood next to him, to hear. She frowned, and turned, about to ask him what he meant when Barbossa interrupted, speaking again.
"And how does a maid come to earn a trinket like that? Family heirloom, perhaps?"
Elizabeth colored. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean."
"Very well, you hand it over, and we'll put your town to the rudder and never return." He held his hand out for the medallion, and Elizabeth, slowly, moved forward to place it in his hand.
"Our bargain?" Barbossa smirked, and looked down at the coin.
Christine stood closer to the captain than she had to Elizabeth, so now, for the first time, she could see what all the hubbub was about. All blood drained from her face. That was the exact same medallion that she and I had found in the theater! It couldn't be, it wasn't...
Barbossa closed his hand over the medallion, and walked away from the two girls. "Still the guns and stow 'em. Signal the men, set the flags, and make good to clear port."
"Wait!" A look of horror came over Elizabeth's face, and she hurried after the captain, Christine on her heels. "You have to take us back to shore! According to the code of the brethren - "
Barbossa spun on his heel, making both girls shrink back. "First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules." His grin made chills run down Christine's spine. "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, ladies."