2nd last chapter: The Curse (Part 2)
Louisa found herself in an enclosed space, and at once waves of claustrophobia washed over her. The skeletons were everywhere, and as she was unarmed, she couldn't do a thing to help. She saw the handle of an old sword underneath the form of a skeleton, and grasped it, only to almost drop it again when she saw the skeleton was one of the living ones, and holding onto the other end. She kicked it in the spine, pushing it back and into the chaos of the battle. It let go of the sword blade as it fell, and the force that it let go with almost caused her to let go again.
Another skeleton, noticing Louisa standing near the wall of the cavern, moved in. Picking up the sword as though it were a plank, like in their games as children, she waiting until the skeleton was within striking distance, and swung. The skull flew across the cavern, shattering against the head of another not too far away. The heavy dress she was wearing was making it hard to move quickly, so she pulled it off, leaving only the light shift she wore underneath.
Knowing she had to get away from the corner, she took a breath and dived into the midst of the fight. There was so much confusion that the skeletons were beginning to fight amongst themselves. Louisa found a spot in the middle of the cavern, with a slight elevation, and looked around for someone she knew - namely Jamie, but if it had been Will or Elizabeth she wouldn't have complained. Hearing a shout, she turned to see Jack and Jamie fighting back-to-back, surrounded by skeletons. Best not to bother *them*, she mused, and ducking out a skeleton's way she looked for her father or brother. Her father was fighting off skeletons, sending bones and skulls flying, so he was definitely in control of the situation, but Isabelle and Will were nowhere to be seen.
Jack knew Jamie was skilled with a sword, but had never actually seen him in the midst of a full-blown fight - even though he himself had taught him. Their movements were matched perfectly, and the impact with which they struck caused the same amount of damage. Jamie, however, also had the gift, or curse, of youthful enthusiasm on his side, and many of his steps were obviously restrained.
There was a slight lull in activity, which Jack used to have a discussion with his son. He and Jamie still circled, back to back, but each holding their energy in. Jamie spoke up first, "Ye said ye knew of one way t' break this curse - what th' hell is it?" Jack mentally punched himself. "There was a reason I didn't tell ye, Jamie-boy." Jamie laughed, "Aye, well, there's a reason I want to know, Da. Are ye gonna tell me, or shall I force it outa ye?" Jack sighed, "Fine, I'll tell ye - the only known way t; break the curse is fer someone t' kill themselves as payment for all the murders done. Ye see why I didn't say?"
Jamie stopped, shocked, and Jack bumped into him. "Then why th' hell are we here if ye don't know any other way t' break it?" Jack shrugged, "'Tis an adventure, Jamie-boy. 'Tis an adventure." Jamie said nothing, just continued to mirror his father's steps as the skeletons bashed into them again.
Will Sr. was fighting with a smile on his face, confident in the knowledge that he could smash a skeleton's skull with one blow, leaving the body to attack whatever it bumped into. One was still happily hacking away at a wooden beam, sending wooden splinters flying. He saw Louisa make it to the middle of the cavern, and stop. Every part of him, as a father, wanted to run over, to protect her, but he knew if he did, one of them would be distracted, hurt, and possibly killed.
Another skeleton barged into him from behind, knocking him into the start of a single-file line of skeletons. It caused a domino effect, and there was a long line of fallen skeletons leading away from him. He ducked as another skeleton swung a sword at his head, coming up on the other side to slice it cleanly in half.
*****
Will had some difficulty in finding Isabelle. The ridge led along to where the one main cavern branched into caves - three of them, to be exact. The stony ground made it almost impossible to track someone by footsteps, so Will looked around for something else to tell him which way Isabelle had gone.
The middle cave was marked on the wall, where someone had torn a torch from it's hinges, but Will didn't look for obvious signs - there was no way for Isabelle to *light* the torch, so why should she need it? Will stepped into the middle cavern, and wasn't surprized to see it lying, half-hidden, just a few steps inside. He glanced at the right cave, and saw a piece of her heavy blue dress snagged on a jagged rock. Shaking his head, he ventured just inside to find her entire dress stuffed into a small crevice. Not following the right cave either, he ventured into the left cave and started to follow the rocky pathway.
It was hard going, but he felt, rather than saw, that Isabelle was at the end of the path. Hearing the clicking noises reach the start of the caves, Will hurried his pace, feeling his way along in the dark, anxious to find Isabelle before the skeletons did.
Isabelle hadn't wanted to push Will, or to hurt him, but the pull of the triangle was too strong. It called to her, reeling her towards it. she knew how horrible the place was, how dank and dreary, but not even the fact that it scared her father could change the fact that she had to get back - her ties to it were too strong.
She reached the end of the cave to find a river of fire. "No!" she yelled in despair - she had to get across, to the cave entrance on the other side. Through that, and along the passage, and she'd reach an opening into the Triangle - proving that Armadaeus' journals were correct.
At that single moment, when she felt she could never get across, the ties almost seemed broken, but then she noticed the narrow stone bridge and the pull became stronger than ever. Before she had a chance to move towards it, though, she heard something behind her. When she turned, she could just make out Will further back in the cave. Damn, she thought, the decoys didn't work. She took one last look towards Will, and headed for the bridge, not caring that her shift kept snagging on the rocks.
*****
Louisa didn't like to remember the first man she'd killed. He'd been a big man, drunk, and fair determined that she'd been a whore.
~Flashback~
He towered over her, reeking of rum and ale, more than capable of knocking her unconscious, if not killing her, with one blow. He was also very convinced that she was a whore in Tortuga. "What? Ye think yeself too good fer me, do ye lassie? Ye ain't too good fer Bootstrap's bed though, are ye?" Louisa was mortified, "Bootstrap is my *father*, you pig! I'm no whore, an' I ain't even been in Tortuga afore now!"
The man merely laughed, and lunged at Louisa. Will (Sr.) had no real way of getting to his daughter, but still, he tried, ending up wedged between the bar, and a mob of brawling men. Louisa felt for her knife, pulling it out at the same time the man tripped, and fell, taking the knife with him. Louisa screamed, and the man was revealed to have taken the knife under the ribs. There was nothing that could have been done; the man was dead by the following night.
~End flashback~
"'Member me, lassie? Ye still ain't too good fer Bootstrap, are ye? Well, *I'm* too good fer ye, now, an' seein' as ye killed me, I think I should return th' favor, aye?" The man had managed to find Louisa in the midst of the crowd, and he was set for revenge. Louisa steeled herself, took aim with the sword in her by-now-usual manner, and swung. The man merely blocked the blow with his arm, and held up the sword he was carrying. Louisa tried to back off, but found her way blocked by a thick, wooden pillar. The skeleton advanced, lifting his sword, closing in, preparing for the blow. It all seemed as though it were in slow motion; Louisa spoke a quick prayer in her mind, closing her eyes against the flash of silver from the sword... but it never came.
When she dared to open her eyes, she saw the now-headless skeleton moving around, arm's outstretched, as though looking for it's head. The head in question was in the hands of Jamie. He leaned on his sword, throwing and catching the skull with one hand as though it were a ball. But he didn't see the skeleton behind him.... Louisa paled, "Look out!" she yelled, and Jamie turned in time to duck as the skeleton swung a heavy club directly where Jamie's head had been. He glanced at the skull of the big man, still in his hand, and without warning, smashed it into the skeleton, which was regrouping for another attack.
Both skulls shattered, and the remaining bodies bumped into one another, automatically fighting the other, thinking it were an attacker. The skeleton with the skull swung, and the big man fell back, knocking both Louisa and Jamie to the ground. Louisa, by sheer coincidence, ended up on top of Jamie. "Well, this is... interesting," he quipped, sounding a lot more like his father than he would have realized. Louisa laughed, "Well, ye could've chosen a more appropriate, and convenient time for it, couldn't ye?"
Jamie shrugged, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Louisa dared to say the first word, "Well..." but trailed off, not wanting to break the moment. Jamie, acting extraordinarily like his father, suddenly found that his hands were at Louisa's ribs, and he dared to slip them lower. Louisa slapped his chest lightly, and Jamie managed a slight chuckle before paling, and rolling them both over, as a skeleton fell where they'd been lying. "That was close," he managed, and before long, both were back on their feet. Looking around, they noticed Jack and Will fighting together.
It was easy to see how much they trusted one another by how they fought. Whenever one left a block open, the other was there to cover it; whenever one left themselves unguarded, the other rectified it. Some moves seemed almost nervous, for both parties, as though they weren't sure of their own abilities, but the underlying trust was there.
Louisa looked at Jamie, who nodded, and they pushed their way through the crowd until they reached Jack and Will. The two pirate captains finished off the two skeletons they were fighting by simultaneously sending their skulls flying through the air, before turning to the two teenagers. "Where's Bella?" asked Jack before anyone had a chance to say anything else. He looked from Louisa to Jamie, and added, "...and Will? Where are they?" Louisa shook her head, "I don't know. We split up, an' Will went after Isabelle. I don't know where they went to, though, I got a bit... distracted."
Jack looked around, but couldn't see either of them. Will sent a look to Louisa, which clearly read, 'we'll talk later,' and looked to Jack. "She'll be fine, Jack. But if ye don' tell us how t' break this bloody curse, I'll kill ye myself!" Jack shook his head, still holding onto the golden Hand. "I can't tell ye that, Will. But we gotta clear these men outa here, an' back t' the ships, if we can't find *another* way t' *stop* this infernal curse!"
*****
Will Jr. reached the end of the cave at the same time Isabelle reached the start of the bridge. "Isabelle!" he yelled, and ran towards her. She paused, and Will could see she was torn between going after the Triangle, and staying. The papers were in her hand, and the writing was faded to almost unreadable. She took one, tentative, step onto the bridge, and several of the stones in the middle moved warningly. Will stopped, a few meters from her. "Isabelle, we can fight this, together, just trust me! Come back, please... I love you!"
Isabelle looked at the other side, but pulled back from the ties with a burst of energy, falling onto Will. Neither said anything; Will dropped his sword, pulling Isabelle into an embrace, dropping his mouth to hers. When they pulled apart, Isabelle made as though to say something, but didn't have the chance as a skeleton bashed Will over the head, heading for Isabelle. "Ye've got my map, lass, an' I'd like ye t' gi'e it back." Isabelle backed up, near the edge of the ravine. "You're... you're Armadaeus..." she managed, and the skeleton laughed. "Aye, that's be me. Now, give me my map!"
He lunged at her, at the same moment Will pushed him over the edge. As soon as he hit the flames, an explosion rocked the entire cavern, sending fire shooting up from the already flaming river. Two things happened, which neither was sure if they were good or bad. The explosion sucked the map and other papers from Isabelle's hands, and the sheer heat caused the bridge to collapse. Isabelle lunged for the papers, with an anguished "No!" before they hit the heat, but Will held her back.
She was hysterical, she could hardly talk clearly, and the pull of the Triangle hit her in one big wave. She turned around, and caught Will in a hug, still sobbing.
*****
The explosion hadn't just been felt by Isabelle and Will; the main cavern rocked, and parts of the cavern roof caved in. Jack held onto his hat, Will braced himself, and Louisa clung to Jamie. Both father's saw, and exchanged glances. Once he was moderately sure the earthquake had stopped, Jack spoke up, "I don't know what *that* was, but it weren't good!"
Will nodded in agreement, and looked at his daughter. Louisa remembered she was holding onto Jamie, and let go, almost overbalancing in the process.
*****
A/N: A note to all those who either emailed or reviewed regarding the sequel. I've decided to post it on here, as it will make it easier to keep track of everything, and i won't forget to email a chapter to someone as i go. Thanks for taking the time out to let me know....
Louisa found herself in an enclosed space, and at once waves of claustrophobia washed over her. The skeletons were everywhere, and as she was unarmed, she couldn't do a thing to help. She saw the handle of an old sword underneath the form of a skeleton, and grasped it, only to almost drop it again when she saw the skeleton was one of the living ones, and holding onto the other end. She kicked it in the spine, pushing it back and into the chaos of the battle. It let go of the sword blade as it fell, and the force that it let go with almost caused her to let go again.
Another skeleton, noticing Louisa standing near the wall of the cavern, moved in. Picking up the sword as though it were a plank, like in their games as children, she waiting until the skeleton was within striking distance, and swung. The skull flew across the cavern, shattering against the head of another not too far away. The heavy dress she was wearing was making it hard to move quickly, so she pulled it off, leaving only the light shift she wore underneath.
Knowing she had to get away from the corner, she took a breath and dived into the midst of the fight. There was so much confusion that the skeletons were beginning to fight amongst themselves. Louisa found a spot in the middle of the cavern, with a slight elevation, and looked around for someone she knew - namely Jamie, but if it had been Will or Elizabeth she wouldn't have complained. Hearing a shout, she turned to see Jack and Jamie fighting back-to-back, surrounded by skeletons. Best not to bother *them*, she mused, and ducking out a skeleton's way she looked for her father or brother. Her father was fighting off skeletons, sending bones and skulls flying, so he was definitely in control of the situation, but Isabelle and Will were nowhere to be seen.
Jack knew Jamie was skilled with a sword, but had never actually seen him in the midst of a full-blown fight - even though he himself had taught him. Their movements were matched perfectly, and the impact with which they struck caused the same amount of damage. Jamie, however, also had the gift, or curse, of youthful enthusiasm on his side, and many of his steps were obviously restrained.
There was a slight lull in activity, which Jack used to have a discussion with his son. He and Jamie still circled, back to back, but each holding their energy in. Jamie spoke up first, "Ye said ye knew of one way t' break this curse - what th' hell is it?" Jack mentally punched himself. "There was a reason I didn't tell ye, Jamie-boy." Jamie laughed, "Aye, well, there's a reason I want to know, Da. Are ye gonna tell me, or shall I force it outa ye?" Jack sighed, "Fine, I'll tell ye - the only known way t; break the curse is fer someone t' kill themselves as payment for all the murders done. Ye see why I didn't say?"
Jamie stopped, shocked, and Jack bumped into him. "Then why th' hell are we here if ye don't know any other way t' break it?" Jack shrugged, "'Tis an adventure, Jamie-boy. 'Tis an adventure." Jamie said nothing, just continued to mirror his father's steps as the skeletons bashed into them again.
Will Sr. was fighting with a smile on his face, confident in the knowledge that he could smash a skeleton's skull with one blow, leaving the body to attack whatever it bumped into. One was still happily hacking away at a wooden beam, sending wooden splinters flying. He saw Louisa make it to the middle of the cavern, and stop. Every part of him, as a father, wanted to run over, to protect her, but he knew if he did, one of them would be distracted, hurt, and possibly killed.
Another skeleton barged into him from behind, knocking him into the start of a single-file line of skeletons. It caused a domino effect, and there was a long line of fallen skeletons leading away from him. He ducked as another skeleton swung a sword at his head, coming up on the other side to slice it cleanly in half.
*****
Will had some difficulty in finding Isabelle. The ridge led along to where the one main cavern branched into caves - three of them, to be exact. The stony ground made it almost impossible to track someone by footsteps, so Will looked around for something else to tell him which way Isabelle had gone.
The middle cave was marked on the wall, where someone had torn a torch from it's hinges, but Will didn't look for obvious signs - there was no way for Isabelle to *light* the torch, so why should she need it? Will stepped into the middle cavern, and wasn't surprized to see it lying, half-hidden, just a few steps inside. He glanced at the right cave, and saw a piece of her heavy blue dress snagged on a jagged rock. Shaking his head, he ventured just inside to find her entire dress stuffed into a small crevice. Not following the right cave either, he ventured into the left cave and started to follow the rocky pathway.
It was hard going, but he felt, rather than saw, that Isabelle was at the end of the path. Hearing the clicking noises reach the start of the caves, Will hurried his pace, feeling his way along in the dark, anxious to find Isabelle before the skeletons did.
Isabelle hadn't wanted to push Will, or to hurt him, but the pull of the triangle was too strong. It called to her, reeling her towards it. she knew how horrible the place was, how dank and dreary, but not even the fact that it scared her father could change the fact that she had to get back - her ties to it were too strong.
She reached the end of the cave to find a river of fire. "No!" she yelled in despair - she had to get across, to the cave entrance on the other side. Through that, and along the passage, and she'd reach an opening into the Triangle - proving that Armadaeus' journals were correct.
At that single moment, when she felt she could never get across, the ties almost seemed broken, but then she noticed the narrow stone bridge and the pull became stronger than ever. Before she had a chance to move towards it, though, she heard something behind her. When she turned, she could just make out Will further back in the cave. Damn, she thought, the decoys didn't work. She took one last look towards Will, and headed for the bridge, not caring that her shift kept snagging on the rocks.
*****
Louisa didn't like to remember the first man she'd killed. He'd been a big man, drunk, and fair determined that she'd been a whore.
~Flashback~
He towered over her, reeking of rum and ale, more than capable of knocking her unconscious, if not killing her, with one blow. He was also very convinced that she was a whore in Tortuga. "What? Ye think yeself too good fer me, do ye lassie? Ye ain't too good fer Bootstrap's bed though, are ye?" Louisa was mortified, "Bootstrap is my *father*, you pig! I'm no whore, an' I ain't even been in Tortuga afore now!"
The man merely laughed, and lunged at Louisa. Will (Sr.) had no real way of getting to his daughter, but still, he tried, ending up wedged between the bar, and a mob of brawling men. Louisa felt for her knife, pulling it out at the same time the man tripped, and fell, taking the knife with him. Louisa screamed, and the man was revealed to have taken the knife under the ribs. There was nothing that could have been done; the man was dead by the following night.
~End flashback~
"'Member me, lassie? Ye still ain't too good fer Bootstrap, are ye? Well, *I'm* too good fer ye, now, an' seein' as ye killed me, I think I should return th' favor, aye?" The man had managed to find Louisa in the midst of the crowd, and he was set for revenge. Louisa steeled herself, took aim with the sword in her by-now-usual manner, and swung. The man merely blocked the blow with his arm, and held up the sword he was carrying. Louisa tried to back off, but found her way blocked by a thick, wooden pillar. The skeleton advanced, lifting his sword, closing in, preparing for the blow. It all seemed as though it were in slow motion; Louisa spoke a quick prayer in her mind, closing her eyes against the flash of silver from the sword... but it never came.
When she dared to open her eyes, she saw the now-headless skeleton moving around, arm's outstretched, as though looking for it's head. The head in question was in the hands of Jamie. He leaned on his sword, throwing and catching the skull with one hand as though it were a ball. But he didn't see the skeleton behind him.... Louisa paled, "Look out!" she yelled, and Jamie turned in time to duck as the skeleton swung a heavy club directly where Jamie's head had been. He glanced at the skull of the big man, still in his hand, and without warning, smashed it into the skeleton, which was regrouping for another attack.
Both skulls shattered, and the remaining bodies bumped into one another, automatically fighting the other, thinking it were an attacker. The skeleton with the skull swung, and the big man fell back, knocking both Louisa and Jamie to the ground. Louisa, by sheer coincidence, ended up on top of Jamie. "Well, this is... interesting," he quipped, sounding a lot more like his father than he would have realized. Louisa laughed, "Well, ye could've chosen a more appropriate, and convenient time for it, couldn't ye?"
Jamie shrugged, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Louisa dared to say the first word, "Well..." but trailed off, not wanting to break the moment. Jamie, acting extraordinarily like his father, suddenly found that his hands were at Louisa's ribs, and he dared to slip them lower. Louisa slapped his chest lightly, and Jamie managed a slight chuckle before paling, and rolling them both over, as a skeleton fell where they'd been lying. "That was close," he managed, and before long, both were back on their feet. Looking around, they noticed Jack and Will fighting together.
It was easy to see how much they trusted one another by how they fought. Whenever one left a block open, the other was there to cover it; whenever one left themselves unguarded, the other rectified it. Some moves seemed almost nervous, for both parties, as though they weren't sure of their own abilities, but the underlying trust was there.
Louisa looked at Jamie, who nodded, and they pushed their way through the crowd until they reached Jack and Will. The two pirate captains finished off the two skeletons they were fighting by simultaneously sending their skulls flying through the air, before turning to the two teenagers. "Where's Bella?" asked Jack before anyone had a chance to say anything else. He looked from Louisa to Jamie, and added, "...and Will? Where are they?" Louisa shook her head, "I don't know. We split up, an' Will went after Isabelle. I don't know where they went to, though, I got a bit... distracted."
Jack looked around, but couldn't see either of them. Will sent a look to Louisa, which clearly read, 'we'll talk later,' and looked to Jack. "She'll be fine, Jack. But if ye don' tell us how t' break this bloody curse, I'll kill ye myself!" Jack shook his head, still holding onto the golden Hand. "I can't tell ye that, Will. But we gotta clear these men outa here, an' back t' the ships, if we can't find *another* way t' *stop* this infernal curse!"
*****
Will Jr. reached the end of the cave at the same time Isabelle reached the start of the bridge. "Isabelle!" he yelled, and ran towards her. She paused, and Will could see she was torn between going after the Triangle, and staying. The papers were in her hand, and the writing was faded to almost unreadable. She took one, tentative, step onto the bridge, and several of the stones in the middle moved warningly. Will stopped, a few meters from her. "Isabelle, we can fight this, together, just trust me! Come back, please... I love you!"
Isabelle looked at the other side, but pulled back from the ties with a burst of energy, falling onto Will. Neither said anything; Will dropped his sword, pulling Isabelle into an embrace, dropping his mouth to hers. When they pulled apart, Isabelle made as though to say something, but didn't have the chance as a skeleton bashed Will over the head, heading for Isabelle. "Ye've got my map, lass, an' I'd like ye t' gi'e it back." Isabelle backed up, near the edge of the ravine. "You're... you're Armadaeus..." she managed, and the skeleton laughed. "Aye, that's be me. Now, give me my map!"
He lunged at her, at the same moment Will pushed him over the edge. As soon as he hit the flames, an explosion rocked the entire cavern, sending fire shooting up from the already flaming river. Two things happened, which neither was sure if they were good or bad. The explosion sucked the map and other papers from Isabelle's hands, and the sheer heat caused the bridge to collapse. Isabelle lunged for the papers, with an anguished "No!" before they hit the heat, but Will held her back.
She was hysterical, she could hardly talk clearly, and the pull of the Triangle hit her in one big wave. She turned around, and caught Will in a hug, still sobbing.
*****
The explosion hadn't just been felt by Isabelle and Will; the main cavern rocked, and parts of the cavern roof caved in. Jack held onto his hat, Will braced himself, and Louisa clung to Jamie. Both father's saw, and exchanged glances. Once he was moderately sure the earthquake had stopped, Jack spoke up, "I don't know what *that* was, but it weren't good!"
Will nodded in agreement, and looked at his daughter. Louisa remembered she was holding onto Jamie, and let go, almost overbalancing in the process.
*****
A/N: A note to all those who either emailed or reviewed regarding the sequel. I've decided to post it on here, as it will make it easier to keep track of everything, and i won't forget to email a chapter to someone as i go. Thanks for taking the time out to let me know....
