Pirates of the Caribbean: The Ring of the Abyss

By: Anna Summers

Question: Do I have to do a bloody stupid Disclaimer every time I make an entry? Well, if I must, I must.
Once again, I STILL do not own Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp...unfortunately. Hey, shut up, I can dream.
Oh yes, and many, many thanks to ping*pong5 for the wonderful review! Meant a lot to me :) Thank you!

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Ten Years Later
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Colonel Eastman, a strict, overweight man with a heart of stone, entered the kitchen were Katherine Pearl was sweeping a stone floor. Kate, now eighteen, had been daydreaming of ten years prior, when her father had presented her with a beautiful ring on the evening of his death. She looked down at her finger; the ring fit now, and accented her long beautiful fingers. Kate lost all her belongings, and she had to persuade the Colonel profusely to let her keep her one and only memoir of her parents. Sirus had left Kate with the Eastmans when she was just eight years old, before commandeering a ship of his own and fleeing the Port Royal. Sirus said he would return shortly, but she knew better than to trust any pirate other than her father. And she had been right. Ten years later she still slaved away at the Eastman mansion. Sirus wasn't coming back.

"You missed a spot. There." The Colonel's cold blue eyes glared into her own brown ones, and she curtsied slightly, as was the custom.

"Sorry, sir." She bowed her head a bit.

"Don't slack, Miss Pearl." He marched off, and Kate scowled at him behind his back.

"Slime," she muttered under her breath.

Kate leaned against her broom and gazed out the open window, where a light breeze calmed her worries and let her mind drift back to ten years back, back to the life she loved with the people she adored. Everything was so perfect, so complete. But nothing lasts forever.

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Captain Jack Sparrow, a rough, yet surprisingly charming man no older than forty, squinted into the morning sun. He opened his compass that didn't point north, and stared straight ahead, smiled slightly when he noticed the silhouette of an island not a few miles off.

"Land, Gibbs."

"Port Royal, Captain." Jack's first mate, Gibbs, said knowingly. Gibbs stood behind his captain on the helm, following commands. Gibbs was a chubby pirate with graying hair and a good heart, always the sensible one between the two. Jack trusted and respected Gibbs and they made a perfect team.

"Give the order and let go of the anchor." Jack ordered, still smiling, never taking his eyes off the island. If it wasn't for Port Royal, Jack might have never met William Turner, and if Jack had never met William Turner, he may have never gotten the Pearl back. The Black Pearl, Jack's ship, was his pride and joy. He had fought for this ship, and nothing could take it away. Nothing.

"Captain? Don't fall for their trap. Aye, the island is beautiful, but last time ye were here they tried to hang ye. They don't take kindly to pirates, if ye have forgotten." Gibbs reminded his captain.

"Gibbs, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack said matter-of-factly. "And that was years ago. Surely they couldn't hold a bloody grudge that long."

"Wouldn't be surprising if that Norrington bloke is still in charge."
Gibbs mumbled.

"Anchor, Gibbs."

"Aye."

Gibbs jumped onto the deck and began yelling at the rest of the crew to wake from their sleep. It was early morning, not yet nine by the position of the sun. Gibbs stomped on the deck and rang the Pearl's bell.

"Land, you dogs! Lower the anchor! Hoist the mail sail! Anamaria, get the bloody hell out of bed!"

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William Turner's nose twitched when he smelt something burning, but he didn't worry. His wife, Elizabeth, had been working on mastering cooking since the two married five years before. She had yet to achieve an edible meal, but Will knew Elizabeth better than to insult her work. It was Saturday, and Will was relieved he didn't need to be at his work in the Blacksmith Shop until later in the afternoon. He stretched and got out of bed, where he then stumbled tiredly into the kitchen and kissed Elizabeth's cheek.

"Good morning," he whispered into her ear. Elizabeth smiled.

"Hello, Will. Breakfast is ready. I have a new recipe I'd like you to try."

"Can't wait. I'm famished." Will said, trying to sound like he meant it. In truth, he was truly hungry, but he had to decide whether or not he was ravenous enough to choke down Elizabeth's cooking.

Will sat down at the couple's wooden table next to an open window. He loved their little home; it sat on a hill, away from the commotion of the town. It was one story, nothing fancy, but Elizabeth had furnished it beautifully with items from her youth. Will adored it.

The sun was shining, and a breeze carried the smell of the ocean seawater into the room. Barely a cloud in the sky, it was a beautiful day.

Will's expression turned from hungry, to a look that suggested that he had lost his appetite when Elizabeth placed his meal in front of him. The eggs seemed to bounce when the plate struck the table, and the bacon was strangely orange in color with brown spots.

"New recipe, eh?" Will eyed the strange meal.

"Supposed to be very healthy. Well, go on, then! Dig in!"

Just then, a trumpet sounded. Elizabeth was familiar with the Royal Navy's code. Her father, the Governor of Port Royal, had taught Elizabeth at a young age the codes and orders of the Navy. She recognized the trumpet call and looked out the window.

"What is it?" Will asked, noticing Elizabeth looking out the window as he picked at a strange mold of oatmeal on his plate.

"The trumpet sounding means approaching ship. Let's have a look."

Will, glad to have an excuse not to eat, followed his wife to the open window in their small Port Royal cottage, where they saw a ship not too far off shore, with very black sails and white crossbones decorating the flag.

"Tell me that's not the ship I think it is." Elizabeth feared, staring
out the window.

"It is. It's the Pearl...It's Jack." Will spoke quietly, staring at the ship, which was growing closer and closer by the moment.

"What the blazes does he want?" Elizabeth shuddered at the memories of being held captive on that ship by its previous captain, Barbossa.

"Elizabeth, come on. We haven't seen the chap in five years. The least we can do is welcome him. He did save our lives."

"Good luck to him getting past the Commodore. He would not love anything more than to hang another bloody pirate."

"I'm a pirate." Will looked her in the eye. Elizabeth knew it was true.

"I try to forget." She smiled.

~~~

That silly pirate William. Wonder what messes Jack will cause on his little holiday in Port Royal? Hmm, well I suppose you'll just have to press the little arrow at the bottom of your screen and find out as you read the next chapter!

You all are great!

-Anna Summers