_ /\ _¸.~**~·.¸·~**~·
\ ¸.~**~ PotC~**~.
/.· ·.\¸.·~**~·.,·~**~·
'There's no reason to be killin' you…yet,' the words haunted my daunting dreams; on the nights I could get to sleep that is. I was as close as the living could get to hell; on hell's own ship, with hell's own men. These men were damned; cursed. They were cursed by the very thing that had been in my possession for so many years. I gave a shiver, although at this time of day the weather was hot. I had sensed something about these pirates was very asymmetrical, but this was too much. They weren't even human. A chilled terror filled my every moment; I had never been so miserable. I was petrified of where we were going, and what my fate would be when we got there. But horror wasn't the least of my emotions.
My heart was brimming with jealousy; spilling down into the dark pit of anger below. I was jealous of everyone. Everyone but me; everyone with freedom. I was even jealous of the giggling girls back in Port Royal. At least they didn't have Commodore Norrington undressing them with his eyes whenever my father wasn't there. I would give anything to be anyone else, anywhere else, but myself, on this damned ship. I wanted to be able to stand up for myself, put up a good fight, and have the brains to outwit anyone! Most of all I was jealous of Jack.
Jack occupied most of my thoughts. I told myself over and over again that this was his entire fault. The Black Pearl had ambushed Port Royal the same day he arrived, didn't it? It wasn't likely that two legends would suddenly appear in the same day. I needed to put the blame on someone. I was livid at him; and furious with myself for thinking about him so often, even though the thoughts were far from kindly. But at the same time I had a gnawing feeling that he was the only one who could rescue me, and he was enslaved in the prisons of Port Royal.
My brain was a waterfall of colors and thoughts, hatred and love, crashing down upon me with astonishing force. But I didn't let it show. I put on a tough face and faced my fears the best I could. I was good at hiding my emotions.
_ /\ _¸.~**~·.¸·~**~·
\ ¸.~**~ PotC~**~.
/.· ·.\¸.·~**~·.,·~**~·
The deranged roars of the pirates surrounding me filled my ears, throwing in a sense of quivering dread to my fear. Side by side with Barbossa, I was almost blinded by the glare of the torches on the mountains of gold we were standing on. Barbossa's proud cries were blurred, and my brain wasn't registering what the jumble of words meant. But one sentence rang out loud and perfectly clear.
"And now…spill her blood," he turned to me, teeth bared in a menacing grin. This was it; I closed my eyes, but when I heard the groan of old hinges being put to work again, I couldn't resist. I found myself staring into more gold coins, identical to the one that had caused all this mess. But unlike mine, I detected ghastly stains; blood, dried in the edges and cracks, I felt my stomach turn. Very soon another would be joining the horde of gold skeletal faces staring up at me.
A glimmer and a streak of black caught my eye, followed by another glimmer. I whirled around. That damned monkey, staring innocently up at me, the medallion hanging by the golden chain I had fastened to it dangling from one tiny hand. As I watched, Barbossa delicately plucked the coin from his grasp, and turned to face me. The other glimmer soon became obvious. The tip of a long dagger was lightly pressed against my skin. In one instant it was over. A searing pain, the cold hardness of the coin in my oozing palm, and the chink of gold upon gold.
I stared, aghast at the men. That was it? A mere scratch compared to what I had imagined. All their eyes were closed. A deathly silence had filled the cave, they were waiting for something. It was only then that it hit me. The complexity of my situation all started by one simple lie, to ensure that my identity was safe. Words came spilling back to me. The story Barbossa had told; my own voice telling the men I was Elizabeth Turner. Their faces had looked shocked, and hungry. Of course they hadn't taken me back to shore. They needed me…or so they thought. One by one their eyes were opening. The portly pirate that had first captured me in my own closet spoke.
"I don't feel no different," this was followed by choruses of 'did it work?' and, 'what's going on here captain?' Lazily, Barbossa removed a pistol from his jacket, and aimed it at the portly pirate in front. The shot was heard, and his grungy shirt had a singed hole in the chest, but the pirate was still very much alive. The pirate was indignant, but Barbossa was livid.
"You!" He barked at me, "are you Elizabeth Turner?! Are you William Turner's daughter?!" Somehow he didn't seem so frightening anymore. I drew my self up to full height, and answered proudly,
"No." Angry roars filled my ears.
"I say we spill all her blood, just in case!" This was answered by a howl of agreement. But Barbossa's anger seemed beyond words. At the height of his fury, his strong fist collided with me, sending me tumbling down the mountain of gold. Something landed beside me. The medallion, I fastened a hand around it before losing consciousness.
_ /\ _¸.~**~·.¸·~**~·
\ ¸.~**~ PotC~**~.
/.· ·.\¸.·~**~·.,·~**~·
What was probably only minutes later I was shaken lightly awake. I found myself looking into a most comforting pair of eyes. Will motioned for me to come quickly with him, and I slid into the frosty water, still clutching the medallion. I had thought for sure that if I was going to be saved Jack would be the one to thank. But now I felt a rush of hatred towards Jack, and myself. Why had I ever doubted Will? How could I?! Jack Sparrow was probably locked up in Port Royal still. And he was most likely responsible for my kidnap, not my rescue!
Before I knew it I was boarding the 'Dauntless' (had Will really commandeered a ship?!) and was enfolded in a warm blanket. But I was still shivering. Will looked incredibly troubled, and would not meet the eye of an elderly man at my side. A very familiar elderly man at that.
"Captain Gibbs?" I asked cautiously.
"Aye…first man Gibbs," His eyes narrowed slightly at Will, "Speakin' of which…where be the Captain? Where's ol' Jack gotten to?" Will looked more anxious than ever.
"Hold on! Jack? Jack Sparrow?" I interrupted, an odd feeling creeping up inside me. Gibbs gave a quick nod, and I felt my mouth drop. Will was still looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"He fell behind," He mumbled, before turning, heading for the lower decks. I wasn't sure what 'he fell behind' meant, but by the look on Gibb's face, I knew it wasn't good.
~*~
AN-It's finally finished! Chapter 5 is up! This freakishly long prologue will be over in two chapters. Then the fun begins…
