Author's Note: A great big thanks to everyone who reviewed, although I am slightly perturbed to note that Fanfiction.net took the liberty of deleting a majority of them. *forced smile* Thanks a million, ff.net! So to everyone who reviewed, thanks again, even though I can't respond to many of them because I no longer have them. So please, just to spite this site, feel free to leave a review for this chapter too! ;-)
Disclaimer: Don't own them quite yet. I am still waiting for pending response from Disney in regards to my acquisition of Will Turner and Jack Sparrow for my very own. Ahem. Captain Jack Sparrow, I mean, of course.
Let us now continue with the ever-growing saga:
Failing Hope
"The last we saw of ol' Bill Turner, he was sinking to the black oblivion of Davy Jone's Locker. 'Course it was only after that we knew we needed his blood to lift the curse." Pintel mused, glancing away from the figure of Will Turner in the dark brig.
"That's what you call ironic." Ragetti helpfully added, earning an irritated glance from the other pirate.
Will had stood up once again, forcing himself out of the dark self-imprisonment that he had placed upon himself. He had boldly inquired information regarding his father to the two pirates that had descended below deck to mop and had received said-information quite readily.
Across the way, Gibbs looked annoyed with the pirates' recollection of Bill Turner. He had managed to keep his comments down to a few annoyed remarks that Pintel and Ragetti had effortlessly ignored.
Will snapped out of his reverie when the heavy footsteps of Captain Barbossa resounded down the ship's rickety staircase. The blacksmith's dark eyes locked on to the large form of the cursed pirate, but Will remained silent, unwilling to speak to the one who had betrayed him so deeply.
Barbossa stopped several feet away from the brig that held Turner's son and studied him intently for several moments. He finally spoke as he heftily tossed the large ring of keys to Pintel. "Bring him." With that simple command, he turned and went back to the deck above, leaving Will in the hands of his two underlings.
Instinctively, Will's muscles tensed as the two dirty pirates struggled with the keys to his cell. He may have messed up everything else, but he blatantly refused to go down without a fight. Barbossa's damned crew would have to earn his blood.
"Would ya 'urry it up a bit?" Pintel grumbled to his counterpart, who at the moment was struggling to get the key to open the barred cell that contained Will. "Barbossa don't like waitin'."
Ragetti glanced up irritably at the other pirate, ceasing his efforts at unlocking the cell door. "Do you really think I don't know that? All of these cursed keys look the same." He looked back down and continued to try to force each key into the lock.
"Actually," Anamarie began from the other cell, hoping to distract the two men for a few moments, "I don't believe it's the keys that're cursed, hearties. That'd be you." A smug smile was on her face and roguish glimmer could be seen in her eyes under the scant lighting.
Ragetti stopped working once more and slowly straightened up, turning to face the still-beaming Anamarie. "Speakin' is not a good idea for you, girlie. Women is nothin' but bad luck on a ship. Specially mouthy broads like you. I think we should 'ave tossed her overboard right away."
Rolling his eyes, Pintel cuffed the fuming pirate on the head with a dirty hand. "Ignore her. She's nothin' but hot air. Get Turner's cell unlocked."
At this comment, Anamarie's grin only widened. "That's right, ignore the woman. I'm sure you all 'ave more important things t'do anyhow."
"Bloody hell…" Ragetti cursed, glaring at the sole woman on board. "Don't ya never shut up?"
Looking toward the ceiling, Anamarie feigned to think for a moment. Her eyes slowly traveled back down and she raised a single eyebrow as she looked directly at the two pirates who were rapidly growing more irritated. "Well," She began, lowering her voice to a deeper register, "normally I don't talk quite this much, but ya see…" She paused, looking around suspiciously, as though some unknown spy were listening. She motioned with her hand for Pintel and Ragetti to come closer. With a sigh, the two shuffled over to where Anamarie was looking positively mad.
"Ya see…" She began again, trailing off, her eyes growing intensely serious. "There's a secret. Somethin' even ol' Barbossa don' know."
With a disgusted snort, Pintel started to move back across the way. "She's bluffin'. She don' know anything."
Ragetti, however, did not seem to be quite as sure on that assumption. "Are ya sure? She sounds serious." He glanced nervously at Anamarie who now plastered a crazy, toothy grin on her face. It reminded Will vaguely of Jack Sparrow's own mad grin.
"'Tis your own doom, mates." She finally muttered, flipping her hand back casually. "Jus' thought that good pirates like yerselves should be privy to this information."
Sighing, Pintel turned back to fully face the dark skinned woman. "Fine. What 'tis it then? Speak quickly; we ain't got the time to listen to ye." A twisted mix of morbid curiosity and unabashed annoyance decorated the pirate's grubby face.
At this point in time, not only was Anamarie getting stares from the two pirates, but from her entire crew and also a fantastically bewildered Will Turner. She flashed yet another grin, causing the young blacksmith seriously to begin to question her sanity. He had always heard stories of the madness that the sea could sometimes wreck upon people, both sailors and pirates alike. Part of Will's theory regarding the demeanor Captain Jack Sparrow was based on that notion.
Motioning the two pirates closer still, she began to speak. "I would be careful if I were you." Her dark eyes clouded in seriousness. "From one pirate t'another I'm warning ya."
Ragetti jangled the keys in his hand, rubbing at his wooden eye absently. "That's no secret." Will could almost detect a bit of disappointment in his tone. Pintel glanced at his counterpart for a moment before turning back to Anamarie.
She smiled once more. "Of course it wasn't. The secret is that Jack Sparrow will be there, mates. It'd be in yer best interest to avoid this." Will, who had let his head drop once more, suddenly snapped it back up and stared intensely at the woman in the cell across from him. How could she know so surely of that? He was stranded on that island…with Elizabeth. The blacksmith quickly shut his eyes, trying to block that thought out of his head. Elizabeth was a smart woman – she would figure a way off the god-forsaken land, he just knew it.
Pintel took the opportunity to laugh heartily at that statement. "Jack Sparrow ain't gonna be anywhere near here, lassie. He's still on a….extended leave, I suppose ya could say."
Ragetti laughed appreciatively at the other man's comment. "Yeah, extended leave." This followed with more inane giggles.
Surprisingly, Anamarie laughed along with the two scraggly pirates for several moments, waiting until their laughter died down. Her smile never faded and her gaze never wavered from their faces. "You forget one thing, mates. He's Captain Jack Sparrow."
The amused grins on the two pirates' faces momentarily faltered as they comprehended the statement. Pintel stammered for a few seconds, searching for words before quickly spitting out, "Women is just bad luck on ships." He quickly turned back to Will's cell and cuffed Ragetti on the head. "Now get 'im out of there. He's got some blood to spill on good 'ol Bootstrap's behalf."
This time Will did not recoil away from the two men but stared steely-eyed at them. They might take my life, but they will never take away my honor. He took the effort to steel his jaw and show no sign of weakness. Inside, Anamarie's comment was eating away at his mind. What did she mean? Was she just wasting time and trying to distract Barbossa's lackeys? He hated the feeling of creeping hope that was starting to emerge. Deep down, he knew that his life would end at this island, and the elated optimism that was trying to surface would only make this more difficult.
With an echoing clink, Ragetti successfully discovered the correct key to open Will Turner's cell. With an obstinate creak, the door swung open. Before Will could even consider a method of escape, however, both pirates had blocked the brig door with their bodies, destroying any chance of flight.
Where would you go, even if you could escape? The sensible part of his mind drilled him, making the bleak situation look even grimmer. You're on a bloody island that no one can find. Once again, frustration filled his being.
"C'mon boy, we 'aven't got forever." The young blacksmith was jerked from his thoughts by the rough handling of Pintel. The pirate grabbed his forearms and yanked him forward, causing him to stagger slightly. Will took the time to spare the straggly, gray-bearded pirate an irritated glare.
A chortle fell from Pintel's mouth when he saw the heated look that the young Turner gave him. "Ya know, that was the same look that ol' Bootstrap gave us right before we threw him and the cannon into Davey Jones Locker." Ragetti nodded in agreement, an amused grin displaying his rotten teeth.
The pirate's grip on Will's arm grew tighter and the young blacksmith adamantly refused to show any sign of discomfort and instead stared steadily at the one who held him. Pintel ignored the continuing scathing look that his captive aimed at him and instead looked critically at the ropes around the young man's wrists. "This ain't going to work." He looked over to Ragetti who eagerly drew a knife from his boot.
Will's dark eyebrows lowered and he glanced at the two perplexedly. With a quickly slash, he immediately felt the burning pressure of the coarse ropes release their hold on his wrists. In a single motion, the same knife that released his hands from their ropes was at his throat. Not daring to move his head, Will's dark eyes clouded over in anger. He was sick of this.
As quickly as the freedom of motion had returned to his limbs, it was just as swiftly whisked away. Ragetti held the dagger lightly against the young man's throat, restricting him to doing much more than breathing, although Will desperately wished he could cringe away from the foul smell that the pirate emitted from such a close range. Taking advantage of the blacksmith's immobility, Pintel wrenched Will's arms behind his back and rebound his wrists, even tighter than before, something that Will thought highly improbable.
Only after the dark-haired man was once again restrained did Ragetti regretfully remove the sharp edge of the knife from his throat. Pintel stepped back, tightly grabbing the blacksmith's shoulder with a brawny grip. "Ye'll have less smart ideas without your hands in yer sight, lad."
With a resolute push, Pintel forced Will from the small brig, a smile on his filthy face. "Time for a long-overdue debt to be paid, me boy."
TBC
To the two reviews that were amazingly not eaten by the gluttonous FF.net –
Melanie2 – Thanks for the great review, and for pointing out that error to me! I love it when people actually give me feedback that helps…it's an amazing thing! :D Thanks again.
Nikki – Yep, no worries, there'll be more chapters! Seeing as that I am totally incapable of focusing on one story at a time, I usually am not one of those people who update every other day. I tend to be a bit more sporadic. At the rate I'm going, my LotR story should be finished sometime about when Return of the King comes out on DVD. Eep. Anyhow, thanks again!