Author's Note: Woah. Another chapter this soon? *feels own forehead* Am I sick? I never update this often! *shrugs* Oh well, all the better, I suppose! The crazy thing is that I wrote most of this in one sitting last night, so to have it finished and ready to go is just bizarre. Perhaps I've overcome my perpetual writer's block? Could I be so lucky? Anyway, look forward to more Will introspection and some good old fashion blood ritual ceremony! Wee haw! :D Onto the Caribbean, maties!
Disclaimer – I still own absolutely nothing and make no money off my stories. I am, however, working my way toward accepting the fact that I will never own my very own Will Turner or Jack Sparrow. *whimpers*
Failing Hope
Chapter Four
Written by: Pinto
A groan escaped an unsuspecting Will Turner as Bo'sun's large fist firmly connected with the young blacksmith's midsection. Lacking the use of his arms, instinctively Will doubled over, gasping for breath for the second time in the past half hour. His stomach was on fire from the ill-treatment. His vision briefly blurred sending the already dim surroundings of the cave that harbored Cortez's cursed gold into a wild spin. Will closed his eyes and focused on taking deep breaths in order to ignore the nausea that was plaguing him.
His thoughts were torn away from his misery when a rough hand tangled itself securely in his dark locks of hair, yanking him up to a slightly more upright position. However, through the throbbing in his skull, Will noticed that he was still leaning down considerably. Daring to open his eyes, the blacksmith was relieved to see that the caverns of Isla de la Muerta had kindly agreed to stop spinning. On the darker side, as his dark eyes traveled down, Will could see that he was hovering just above the large stone chest that held all of the cursed Aztec gold. It sparkled and shimmered merrily in mockery of his current situation.
Slowly, Will's eyes traveled up and surveyed all those around him. Down below the morbid pedestal on which he was held stood the rest of the crew. A new spark was in their eyes – bloodlust. Turner's son shuddered, a sudden gale of cold reality rushing into his face. His life was at an end. Internally, the blacksmith sighed. This was not the way he had hoped to go out. There was so much he wanted to do yet, so many things he wanted to experience before death led him away.
All of his life Will had simply wanted to be accepted. When Mr. Brown had taken him in as a blacksmith apprentice, Will had toiled endlessly, just hoping for a single word of encouragement or approval. Instead, he received constant criticism about his work. It never balanced just right, or the blade was too thin. Sometimes the hilt's designs were not intricate enough and Mr. Brown would put the entire sword back into the fire and make Will start over again. Therefore, when the Governor had been pleased with Will's work, it had taken all of his self-control not to break into a fool-faced grin and enthusiastically shake his hand. It did not matter to Will that Elizabeth's father never knew that the work was not Mr. Brown's but his own. What mattered was that someone cared.
After his mother's death, Will had left for the Caribbean in hopes that he would find his father and for once in his life discover where he truly belonged. Instead, he found himself taken into Port Royal, after the tragic ending of the ship he traveled on, and soon was slipping down into the cracks of the social hierarchy. The only person who ever saw him for his sincere worth was Elizabeth and she was soon shut away into the world of the rich and refined, stifled in the strict rules of the well-bred life. Only occasionally would Will catch a glimpse of her, but he lived for those moments. He held on desperately to the loving light that reflected in her eyes, knowing that someone in the world cared if he lived or died.
Now that Will was staring death in the face, he wished that he could see Elizabeth's radiant face one last time. He wanted to thank her for giving him warmth on the many days when he felt he was freezing in cold reality. She had saved him from more than drowning so many years ago, but she never knew. She never knew…
The daze that Will had slipped into was abruptly broken when the blacksmith felt the jagged edge of a yellowed, stone dagger rest against the far left side of his neck. He closed his eyes tightly, deeply breathing in the humid, stale air, trying not to think of what would come next. I'm sorry Father. He pleaded silently for forgiveness from one that he could not even remember. I did everything I could. Please understand.
As the young smithy tried to clear his mind, a dark figure crept into the crowded area and began making his way forward through the tightly packed bodies of pirates. Many broke away from the action on top of Cortez's chest to glance at the newcomer. Jaws dropped in shocked recognition, unsure if their eyes dared to deceive them in the hazy light of the cave.
The new arrival waved an apology to a man that he pushed aside in order to move closer to Barbossa and Will. "Beg your pardon." He regretfully stated, shooting the stunned man a gold grin.
Will grimaced, as the knife pressed harder against his neck, stinging like salt in a wound. Barbossa's voice echoed throughout the grottos, and Will forced himself to look impassive to what was happening. Inside he was shaking like an autumn leaf caught in a strong wind. His grip on the tree was slipping and there would be nothing there to catch him when he fell.
"Begun by blood…" The words pounded their way into Will's skull, and no matter how hard he tried to ignore them they just grew louder. His life had been spent mostly in solitude and so it would end the same. He would die alone. The dagger jerked slightly, grazing against the sensitive skin under Will's neck. The blacksmith scarcely dared to breathe now.
The newcomer continued to push his way through the crowds, his pace more hurried now that Barbossa had begun the blood ceremony. He pushed two large pirates apart and squeezed through the area created by separating them. "Excuse me." He dully added, not even bothering to glance back this time. He was cutting it close, even by his terms, this time.
The grin on Barbossa's face grew larger as he continued the ritual. "By blood un-…"
Slowly opening his eyes, Will forced himself to face his fate like a man. His eyes quickly focused on a figure that was not chanting and shouting like all of the others and he was quickly moving through the crowd. Hope suddenly lit up his heart again. "Jack!"
At the sound of that name, Barbossa removed the knife from Will's neck, but the young man was forced to remain bowed down over the gold. "S'not possible!" The Black Pearl's captain seemed to be caught somewhere between shock and disgust.
Jack smiled distantly, holding up a hand in objection. "Not probable." He modestly corrected, slowly lowering his hand after making his point. Bloody hell, he had to compliment himself on his timing. He had arrived not a moment too soon, it seemed.
Will was finding it hard to breathe at this point. Jack was alive and here at Isla de la Muerta, meaning he managed to escape the island. That would mean Elizabeth was safe! Unless Jack had left her there…but he wouldn't do that, would he? The more Will thought about it, the less sure he became. He had to know for sure.
"Where's Elizabeth?" He sounded a bit more desperate than he cared to admit, but Will had recently passed the point of being concerned with his image.
Placing his hands together in a prayer-like form, palm against palm, Jack turned to the dark-haired younger man. "She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised." Will relaxed at the first half of the statement, but quickly tensed up again as he finished his report. Jack then focused his kohl-rimmed gaze strongly on Will and continued. "And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really, except for Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman."
Confused, Will stared at Jack, trying to understand what had just been said. His faith in the pirate was rapidly ebbing with each word. The relief that had flooded his mind at the first sight of Jack quickly became muddled with worry and uncertainty. Whose side was Jack on?
Barbossa narrowed his eyes in disgust, obviously not amused with Jack's speech. "Shut up!" He spat out angrily. He quickly leaned in, putting the dagger against Will's neck again, this time even harder than before. "You're next." His eyes had not left his ex-captain throughout the action. With a twisted smile, he turned his attention back to the task at hand – slitting the throat of Turner's son.
Sickness inundated Will. He could not handle the sudden swings between wild hope and debilitating despair anymore. If he was going to die, he wanted it to end quickly, and if what Jack said was true about Elizabeth marrying Norrington, perhaps death would be the easiest route. Will did not know if he could handle his life without Elizabeth. She was his life.
Shaking his head, Jack crossed his arms and spoke in a whimsical warning tone. "You don't want to be doing that, mate." His dark-rimmed eyes stared with burning intensity at the ritualistic alter where Barbossa was trying to take the life of the blacksmith.
Without looking up, Barbossa answered the other pirate with exasperation. "No, I really think I do."
Shrugging, Jack tossed his hands up in defeat. "Your funeral." The comment was spoken unworriedly, expressing that he was unconcerned with Barbossa's consequences.
Barbossa released an aggravated sigh as once again the knife lifted away from Will's neck. The cursed captain straightened up and stared at Jack Sparrow. "Why don't I want to be doin' it?" The question was asked in a frustrated curiosity.
A brief smile flashed across Jack's face when Barbossa showed interest in what he was about to say. Brushing the controlling arm of a pirate off his shoulder, Jack shot the offending brigand a look before answering Barbossa's question. "Because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just off shore…waiting for you."
Will's brow lowered at that statement. What would the Royal Navy being doing here? There was nothing that would register as important here – Will almost laughed aloud at the thought that they would care of his fate. Obviously, there was something more at work here. Fixing his stare on Jack, the blacksmith quickly decided that this was all of Jack's design. He carefully listened as the eccentric pirate finished his proposal to Barbossa.
"'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship and who's to argue?" Jack paused, allowing time for his proposal to sink in. "But what of the Pearl? Name me captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as…Commodore Barbossa." He flashed a dazzling grin toward the other pirate. "Savvy?"
A feeling of anger began to smolder deep down in Will's heart. So that's what Jack was all about. Nothing was too important to sacrifice just as long as he got his bloody precious Black Pearl back. The blacksmith tightly clenched his teeth together, trying to see things clearly. It would do him no good to loose his cool now.
Barbossa scrutinized Jack Sparrow carefully and thoughtfully flipped the ancient dagger in his hand. His gaze turned to Will. "I s'pose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelp."
"No, no, not at all!" Jack quickly corrected, causing Will's gaze toward him to grow even darker. In response to the look that the younger man gave him, Jack simply raised an eyebrow. "By all means, kill the whelp. Just not now." He stopped again and swaggered up to where Barbossa stood. Will tried to straighten up, but Bo'sun immediately pushed him back down.
Jack Sparrow's eyes glanced down at the gold and he set his hand on the side of the stone tomb before looking back up to Barbossa. "Wait to lift the curse…until the opportune moment." His hand delved into the gold and he pushed it around with his dirty fingers.
Restraining himself, Will tried not to jerk at that comment. There was something in Jack's voice that spoke directly to him. There was something that made Will try to read in-between the lines. He had heard Jack say that before. As inconspicuously as possible, the blacksmith's dark brown eyes moved up and looked over to the outlandish pirate. Jack saw the movement and quickly met eyes with him. In that moment, an understanding made itself clear in Will's mind. He did not know Jack's plan, but he had to trust him.
As quickly as the eye contact was made, it was as swiftly broken and Jack looked back up to Barbossa, shuffling several of the gold coins around in his hand. "For instance, after you've killed Norrington's men…" He paused and flipped a coin back into the tomb with each word that he spoke. "Every…last…one."
Then, Jack tightly closed his fist around the one coin that he did not throw back, keeping any from seeing his action, save Will. Feeling reassured that Jack did indeed have some sort of plan, Will decided that the least he could do at this point was make Sparrow's act more believable.
Smoothly straightening up, Will glared as fiercely as he could at Jack Sparrow. "You've been planning this since the beginning! Ever since you learned my name!" Surprisingly, Bo'sun did not shove the young man back down. Will assumed this was probably because he was entertained by his anger toward Jack Sparrow.
Jack looked thoughtfully at the young Turner, letting his fingers run over a string of beads that hung down from his hair. Finally, he gave a slight nod. "Yeah."
The blacksmith stared at Jack for a few seconds, noting that his face gave no outward sign of any lies. Once again, Will searched out the pirate's eyes, hoping to find that he had done the right thing. However, it was impossible to tell. Jack Sparrow gave no outward sign of any deception and this only served to unnerve Will.
Barbossa seemed to be sold on the proposition of Jack Sparrow and its authenticity, and the two argued the percentage of the plunder back and forth for a bit. Jack finally gave a little bit of ground, but threw in another gain.
"Twenty-five. And I'll buy you the hat…" He trailed off, seeing that Barbossa seemed interested but was unwilling to give in at just that bonus. "A really big one…" He smiled convincingly. "Commodore."
Finally breaking underneath the attractiveness of the deal, Barbossa threw his arm out to Jack Sparrow. "We have an accord." Jack met the captain's hand with his own firm grasp. Will continued to watch, at a loss as toward what he should do now. He was not entirely sure if Jack was even on his side, or for that matter, if Jack ever took sides save his own.
Jack promptly turned to the pirates that were watching the interaction and raised his hands in the direction of the boats. "All hands to the boats!" His voice was indisputable and several of the men that looked up at him turned to leave and follow his orders. However, a large portion looked with confusion toward Barbossa, who was giving Jack a disapproving glare.
A diffident laugh escaped the infamous Jack Sparrow and he lowered his arms, directing the attention back to Barbossa. "Apologies, you give the orders." He corrected, smiling briefly.
A smile also graced the face of the Black Pearl's captain, but this one was cold and conniving. He lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Jack before looking back to his expectant men. "Gents! Take a walk." The command was meant with low laughs and all of the pirates soon emptied out of the cave, save several to guard Will.
Will looked nervously at Jack, who seemed to have an equally disturbed air about him. "Not to the boats?" He conjectured, his dark eyebrows lowering to where they shaded his already dark eyes.
Smiling even wider, Barbossa shook his head. "Not to the boats." He affirmed, resting against the cool stone of Cortez's tomb. It was only a matter of time before he had everything now: The blood of a Turner, the title of Commodore, and his very own fleet to command. Only a matter of time.
TBC…
Reviewer Responses:
Toria – Well, Bo'sun almost left Will alone in this chapter! He was trying, he really was…errrr. I think with this chapter you discover more of why Will has the issues that he does. Poor guy. Thanks for reading!
Ildera – Once again, HUGE thanks for the wonderful review! As for the empathetic writing, that's a very good view on it. I'm an extraordinarily empathetic person in real life, so it kind of shows up in my writing too. I don't think it's possible to understand a person or character until you can feel what they feel. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Hopefully this one is okay too! =)
legolaslover – I can forgive the hyperness, LOL! I'm happy that you are enjoying the story…hopefully I update fast enough for you guys! *grins*
Carrie5 – I know what you mean! It's so easy to put your favorite character through horrendous situations, but I think it's classified under tough love. I'd never let any of them die off…*pauses*….or would I? *mysterious smile* Heh. Anyway, thanks so much for the review! Let me know when you write a story – I'd be thrilled to read it!
Saru Namii – Thanks for the review – I'm glad you like my portrayal of things! Hopefully this chapter is up to par! =)