Chapter 14
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaak, shiver me timbers."
"Cotton 'ere says ye missed a spot."
One of the pirates, Pintel, hit the bars with his dirty mop, splattering water over the crew. Opposite of them, also in a cell, were me and Will. I sat with my feet touching each other and extended, across the cell from my brother, and Will just leaned against the bars, watching Pintel and Ragetti (the one with two different eyes) mop the floor.
"You knew William Turner?" he asked softly. Pintel stopped mopping, and I raised my head.
"Ol' Bootstrap Bill .we knew him," he snarled. "Never sat well with Bootstrap what we did to Jack Sparrow, the mutiny and all. He said it wasn't right with the code, that's why he sent off a piece of the treasure to you as it were. He said we deserved to be cursed. and remain cursed." He spat out the last part.
"Stupid blighter," Ragetti muttered.
"Good man," Gibbs corrected from the other cell.
"But as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with the Captain," Pintel continued.
"That didn't sit too well with the Captain at all," Ragetti repeated gleefully. He poked Pintel in the back. "Tell him what Barbossa did."
"I'm tellin' the story!" Pintel yelled, and Ragetti backed off. I stood up slowly, watching how Will was patiently waiting to hear the rest. It was all his fault that we were here, but I know he didn't mean it. Will may be a bit flighty and not think all the time, but his heart's in the right place and he cares a lot. I walked up quietly behind him. "So," Pintel continued. "What the Captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstraps' bootstraps."
"Bootstraps' bootstraps," Ragetti repeated softly to himself.
"The last we saw of ol' Bill Turner," he finished. "He was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker." Will rested his forehead against the bars, his eyes closed. I placed a hand on his back and rested my cheek on his left shoulder blade. He relaxed at my touch. Pintel shrugged. "'Course, it was only after that we learned we needed his blood to lift the curse."
"That's what you'd call ironic," Ragetti piped up. Will shifted his eyes, and the pirates jumped. There stood Barbossa, the black man called Bo'sun, and three others. Barbossa roughly threw the keys at Pintel's face.
"Bring 'em."
Pintel grabbed Will roughly and shoved him over to Ragetti, who bound his hands and shoved him topside. Pintel held my arms for a moment. "What say? A little kiss before you go?"
SLAP!
"I guess that means no," Ragetti commented as I was thrown over to him. He tied my wrists so tight I lost all feeling and shoved me up the stairs. It was a cloudy night, the moon completely covered. The pirates laughed as they spun me down the chain until I reached the rail, where they shoved me overboard and into a longboat. I screamed the whole way down. Will crawled over beside me.
"Be strong," he whispered, grasping my hands. He pulled himself up behind me so we sat back-to-back. About five longboats were loaded with pirates, and they rowed us into the caves. The only sounds were the oars hitting the water. I was alone with my thoughts.
'Jack, Elizabeth,' I thought. 'I hope you get off the island alive. I'll be praying for you. Just don't do anything incredibly stupid.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bright torches hurt my eyes as we docked, and Ragetti grabbed my wrists by the rope and shoved me out. I hit the hard rocks, scraping my arm. He merely grinned and hauled me on my feet again. Pintel walked beside us with Will.
"No reason to fret," Pintel said, making conversation. "It's just a prick of the finger and a few drops of blood."
"No mistakes this time," a man named Twigg said as he brushed past us. "We spill all their blood. They're only half-Turners."
"I guess there is reason to fret then," Pintel said.
We were shoved atop a pile of gold coins and assorted items. They made us stand, bent over a strange chest with what appeared to be heathen men etched into it. Barbossa kicked off the lid, and I turned my head away. Inside, there were hundreds of old coins, worn and the symbols starting to fade. Will stared in amazement. Barbossa grabbed my hand and thrust it high into the air. The pirates cheered.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho." they chanted, the flames from their torches burning brighter than ever. I was scared stiff, trying not to start shaking. Barbossa bent me back over, and pressed a knife near my throat, ready to slit it. Tears dropped down my cheeks and into the chest, were the coins sucked them up immediately.
"Begun by blood," Barbossa hollered, and the pirates silenced. "By blood un- " He stopped, obviously puzzled. I dared to raise my head up. There was Jack, making his way to Barbossa. I never felt more relieved. I tried not to break down altogether. He was going to save us.
"Jack!" I whispered.
"'S'not possible," Barbossa muttered.
"Not probable," he corrected. Bo'sun put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going any closer.
"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked hurriedly.
"She's safe, just like I promised," he reassured. "She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really." He paused. "Except for Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman."
"Shut up!" Barbossa yelled. "Yer next." He shoved me over again, the knife posed.
"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack interrupted again.
Barbossa looked up again. "No, I really think I do," he spat.
Jack shrugged and clasped his hands in front of himself. "Your funeral."
Barbossa didn't move the knife, and after a moment he rolled his eyes and straightened up again. "Why don't I want to be doing it?" he asked scathingly.
"Well, because-" he slapped away Bo'sun's hand still clasped on his shoulder. "-because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore." He paused, letting them taste the suspense. "Waiting for you." The pirates starting muttering amongst themselves, and Jack hiked up the small mountain of gold to the top, where he stood beside Will, who struggled to stand upright. I already was. I stared at him hard, wondering what the hell he was thinking. He met my eyes briefly.
And I knew.
He turned back to Barbossa, who was still reluctant. "Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best." The pirates murmured amongst themselves, agreeing. "Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. 'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me Captain. I'll sail under your command, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as.Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?" It sounded irresistible, even to me. Barbossa considered it for a moment. "And I s'pose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelps," he said, returning the knife back to my throat. I struggled to breath in slowly.
Jack shook his head. "Nah. By all means, kill the whelps," he drawled. Will looked at him with the same look on my face moments ago. "Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse. until the opportune moment. For instance-" he picked up a few medallions from the chest "-after you've killed Norrington's men.-" he threw them back as he spoke "-every. last. one." I watched his hands, as did Will. There was a glimmer of gold, and then it was slipped away.
"You've been planning this from the beginning," I said in a low, dangerous voice. "Ever since you learned our names!"
He thought for a moment. "Yeah."
"You dirty bastard-" I lunged for him, and Barbossa pulled me back by the ropes. Jack simply stared at me with blank eyes, then turned to Barbossa, who looked a little suspicious.
"I want fifty percent of yer plunder."
"Fifteen."
"Forty."
"Twenty-five." He pointed. "I'll get you the hat. A really nice, big one.Commodore."
Barbossa held out his hand. "We have an accord." They shook on it, and turned to the crew, who had been waiting.
"All hands to the boats!" Jack proclaimed loudly, to silence. Barbossa gave him a disgusted look. Jack realized his mistake immediately. "Apologies. You give the orders."
"Gents," he proclaimed, grinning broadly. "Take a walk." There were satisfied murmurs, and it got slightly dimmer as those with torches left. Jack placed two fingers to his lips.
"Not to the boats?" he questioned.
Barbossa simply grinned at him.
A/N: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I'm almost done. Yes for me!
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaak, shiver me timbers."
"Cotton 'ere says ye missed a spot."
One of the pirates, Pintel, hit the bars with his dirty mop, splattering water over the crew. Opposite of them, also in a cell, were me and Will. I sat with my feet touching each other and extended, across the cell from my brother, and Will just leaned against the bars, watching Pintel and Ragetti (the one with two different eyes) mop the floor.
"You knew William Turner?" he asked softly. Pintel stopped mopping, and I raised my head.
"Ol' Bootstrap Bill .we knew him," he snarled. "Never sat well with Bootstrap what we did to Jack Sparrow, the mutiny and all. He said it wasn't right with the code, that's why he sent off a piece of the treasure to you as it were. He said we deserved to be cursed. and remain cursed." He spat out the last part.
"Stupid blighter," Ragetti muttered.
"Good man," Gibbs corrected from the other cell.
"But as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with the Captain," Pintel continued.
"That didn't sit too well with the Captain at all," Ragetti repeated gleefully. He poked Pintel in the back. "Tell him what Barbossa did."
"I'm tellin' the story!" Pintel yelled, and Ragetti backed off. I stood up slowly, watching how Will was patiently waiting to hear the rest. It was all his fault that we were here, but I know he didn't mean it. Will may be a bit flighty and not think all the time, but his heart's in the right place and he cares a lot. I walked up quietly behind him. "So," Pintel continued. "What the Captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstraps' bootstraps."
"Bootstraps' bootstraps," Ragetti repeated softly to himself.
"The last we saw of ol' Bill Turner," he finished. "He was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker." Will rested his forehead against the bars, his eyes closed. I placed a hand on his back and rested my cheek on his left shoulder blade. He relaxed at my touch. Pintel shrugged. "'Course, it was only after that we learned we needed his blood to lift the curse."
"That's what you'd call ironic," Ragetti piped up. Will shifted his eyes, and the pirates jumped. There stood Barbossa, the black man called Bo'sun, and three others. Barbossa roughly threw the keys at Pintel's face.
"Bring 'em."
Pintel grabbed Will roughly and shoved him over to Ragetti, who bound his hands and shoved him topside. Pintel held my arms for a moment. "What say? A little kiss before you go?"
SLAP!
"I guess that means no," Ragetti commented as I was thrown over to him. He tied my wrists so tight I lost all feeling and shoved me up the stairs. It was a cloudy night, the moon completely covered. The pirates laughed as they spun me down the chain until I reached the rail, where they shoved me overboard and into a longboat. I screamed the whole way down. Will crawled over beside me.
"Be strong," he whispered, grasping my hands. He pulled himself up behind me so we sat back-to-back. About five longboats were loaded with pirates, and they rowed us into the caves. The only sounds were the oars hitting the water. I was alone with my thoughts.
'Jack, Elizabeth,' I thought. 'I hope you get off the island alive. I'll be praying for you. Just don't do anything incredibly stupid.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bright torches hurt my eyes as we docked, and Ragetti grabbed my wrists by the rope and shoved me out. I hit the hard rocks, scraping my arm. He merely grinned and hauled me on my feet again. Pintel walked beside us with Will.
"No reason to fret," Pintel said, making conversation. "It's just a prick of the finger and a few drops of blood."
"No mistakes this time," a man named Twigg said as he brushed past us. "We spill all their blood. They're only half-Turners."
"I guess there is reason to fret then," Pintel said.
We were shoved atop a pile of gold coins and assorted items. They made us stand, bent over a strange chest with what appeared to be heathen men etched into it. Barbossa kicked off the lid, and I turned my head away. Inside, there were hundreds of old coins, worn and the symbols starting to fade. Will stared in amazement. Barbossa grabbed my hand and thrust it high into the air. The pirates cheered.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho." they chanted, the flames from their torches burning brighter than ever. I was scared stiff, trying not to start shaking. Barbossa bent me back over, and pressed a knife near my throat, ready to slit it. Tears dropped down my cheeks and into the chest, were the coins sucked them up immediately.
"Begun by blood," Barbossa hollered, and the pirates silenced. "By blood un- " He stopped, obviously puzzled. I dared to raise my head up. There was Jack, making his way to Barbossa. I never felt more relieved. I tried not to break down altogether. He was going to save us.
"Jack!" I whispered.
"'S'not possible," Barbossa muttered.
"Not probable," he corrected. Bo'sun put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going any closer.
"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked hurriedly.
"She's safe, just like I promised," he reassured. "She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really." He paused. "Except for Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman."
"Shut up!" Barbossa yelled. "Yer next." He shoved me over again, the knife posed.
"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack interrupted again.
Barbossa looked up again. "No, I really think I do," he spat.
Jack shrugged and clasped his hands in front of himself. "Your funeral."
Barbossa didn't move the knife, and after a moment he rolled his eyes and straightened up again. "Why don't I want to be doing it?" he asked scathingly.
"Well, because-" he slapped away Bo'sun's hand still clasped on his shoulder. "-because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore." He paused, letting them taste the suspense. "Waiting for you." The pirates starting muttering amongst themselves, and Jack hiked up the small mountain of gold to the top, where he stood beside Will, who struggled to stand upright. I already was. I stared at him hard, wondering what the hell he was thinking. He met my eyes briefly.
And I knew.
He turned back to Barbossa, who was still reluctant. "Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best." The pirates murmured amongst themselves, agreeing. "Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. 'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me Captain. I'll sail under your command, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as.Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?" It sounded irresistible, even to me. Barbossa considered it for a moment. "And I s'pose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelps," he said, returning the knife back to my throat. I struggled to breath in slowly.
Jack shook his head. "Nah. By all means, kill the whelps," he drawled. Will looked at him with the same look on my face moments ago. "Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse. until the opportune moment. For instance-" he picked up a few medallions from the chest "-after you've killed Norrington's men.-" he threw them back as he spoke "-every. last. one." I watched his hands, as did Will. There was a glimmer of gold, and then it was slipped away.
"You've been planning this from the beginning," I said in a low, dangerous voice. "Ever since you learned our names!"
He thought for a moment. "Yeah."
"You dirty bastard-" I lunged for him, and Barbossa pulled me back by the ropes. Jack simply stared at me with blank eyes, then turned to Barbossa, who looked a little suspicious.
"I want fifty percent of yer plunder."
"Fifteen."
"Forty."
"Twenty-five." He pointed. "I'll get you the hat. A really nice, big one.Commodore."
Barbossa held out his hand. "We have an accord." They shook on it, and turned to the crew, who had been waiting.
"All hands to the boats!" Jack proclaimed loudly, to silence. Barbossa gave him a disgusted look. Jack realized his mistake immediately. "Apologies. You give the orders."
"Gents," he proclaimed, grinning broadly. "Take a walk." There were satisfied murmurs, and it got slightly dimmer as those with torches left. Jack placed two fingers to his lips.
"Not to the boats?" he questioned.
Barbossa simply grinned at him.
A/N: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I'm almost done. Yes for me!