Yes, I know, it's been ages, but hey, I have an excuse! And it's a good
one! *ahem* I have a new job. And I'm working shifts. So don't get stroppy
with me or I'll lose interest altogether. How's that for a threat?
*~*~*
With a gasp that echoed throughout the cavern about him, James' head broke the surface of the water, drawing in breath after shuddering breath as he flailed about, trying to gain some control over his limbs. A few seconds later, there was another tremendous splash as Marin, too, seemed to catapult from beneath the water, coughing as she struck out for the nearest bit of land. She clambered up it weakly, paying no heed to her surroundings as James hauled himself up beside her. Weak and exhausted, they collapsed onto the smooth rocks, holding one another tightly as the shock of their ordeal hit them.
James had been torn from his companions by the rushing water, pulled mercilessly below the surface until he had no idea of his direction, or even which way up he was. When he'd ventured his eyes open, they had been met with blackness and rushing bubbles that stung as he was drawn inexorably through them. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that he was being pulled against the flow of the water, into the cavern where the water had rushed from. It had felt as though he was being crushed by the weight of all that water, and as soon as the rushing ceased, he had struck out for his idea of the surface, desperately hoping to reach it before his lungs gave out on him.
Beside him, Marin heaved suddenly, turning to throw up what little she had in her stomach, along with the copious amounts of sea-water that she had swallowed only moments before as she was dragged against the current. James forced himself to sit up, reaching over to rub her back as she gagged, her body convulsing weakly. Ever the gentleman, even in his current state, he averted his eyes from her sopping wet shirt as the once white fabric clung to her cold skin. Of all days, she had to choose this one to go about without her waistcoat on.
Shaking, Marin turned back to him, letting him gather her into his arms and hold her close as they both looked out across the cavern, shivering with cold. They were sat on one of many little outcroppings of rock, the only one that was free of any burden. Atop the others lay huge stone chests, decorated with exotic runes and pictograms. And ahead of them lay an opening out to sea, through which a fleet of longboats could easily sail.
'Well,' James stuttered, his teeth chattering as he held his cousin close. 'We found the treasure then.'
Marin laughed weakly, numb fingers clutching at him as her body trembled uncontrollably.
'Who bloody cares?' she managed, rubbing her hands up and down his arms in an attempt to warm him.
James' answering laugh was just as feeble as her own, but it made them both feel far better to indulge the bitter amusement that rose within them. He leant back, his hand on the rocks and his fingers instinctively flinched away from a cold metallic object behind him. He turned, staring down at what he had found in amazement. By his fingers lay the four pieces of the silver doubloon, wet with salt water.
A shout echoed through the cavern to them, making them both jump. He looked around wildly, seeing no one until Marin pointed upwards. There was another hole in the roof of this cavern, and several concerned faces were peering through it, the most prominent being Jack and Will's. The two pirate captains looked a little the worse for wear, but on the whole fine as they shouted down to their companions.
'Everything alright down there?'
James opened his mouth to reply and flinched as his chattering teeth found a purchase on his tongue. Laughing at the expression on his face, Marin raised her voice.
'Cold and wet, but apart from that, fine,' she told them. 'There's an opening to the cave from the sea.'
Jack frowned, clearly interested, but also frantic to get down there and ascertain for himself his wife's health.
'Where?' he called.
She gestured vaguely in the general direction, and heard Will send several of the Dragon's crew back to the ships for the longboats.
'Get them to bring dry clothes,' she called up to them, hearing her request passed on by Gibbs as he ambled away from the hole.
Elizabeth's head appeared over the edge as she gazed down into the cavern, her face concerned as she looked down at her friends.
'Are you sure you're alright?' she asked worriedly. 'Nothing broken or cut?'
James sneezed suddenly, making Marin chuckle as he wrapped his arms about himself in yet another futile attempt to get warm again. She grinned up at her friend.
'We're fine, Liz,' she called. ' Just . . . get them to hurry up, would you?'
As Elizabeth got to her feet and moved away, Jack's head reappeared over the edge.
'We're going to scout down the headland and meet the boats as they come around,,' he told her. 'Will you two be alright there while we're gone, love?'
'For the last time, Jack, we're fine,' Marin laughed. 'Hurry up and bring us something warm and dry to wear, for heaven's sake!'
His grin was fleeting, as though he wasn't quite convinced by her laughing dismissal of his worries, but he dutifully got to his feet and moved away, calling those who remained on the surface to him as he made his way down the headland as he had said he would.
James chuckled hoarsely as Marin returned to his arms, resting her head wearily on his shoulder.
'Do you think they might be a little worried about us?' he asked her, gratified to feel her laughter reverberate through his chest in answer.
'Just a little,' she agreed, sighing softly as they settled down to wait for their friends to retrieve them.
They didn't have very long to wait, for within a half an hour they could hear the shouts as the longboats thumped ashore to collect the stragglers from the beach that must be just outside the cavernous opening. Shortly after that, the longboats appeared, drifting slowly in towards where they sat with some agitated faces looking them over as they rose to greet them.
Jack was among the first to set foot ashore, wrapping his wife in a blanket as he held her to him, not ashamed to show how worried he had been for her. Gibbs swathed James in another blanket, pinching his cheeks mercilessly to restore some of the feeling into his face, as the rest of the men secured the boats and stepped ashore.
They stared in wonder at the chests that littered the rocky outcroppings, amazed at the amount of wealth stored in this one cavern alone, and yet, those who had come to retrieve it, to claim it as their inheritance, had almost died to reveal its resting place. The Black Pearl's crew had experience of Aztec curses, their compatriots aboard the Red Dragon too cautious not to heed their warnings. This was the captains' venture, let them be the ones to test the patience of the heathen gods.
Marin accepted Jack's kiss willingly, letting him rub the blanket over her, warming her frozen body with the warmth from his own as he brushed his lips tenderly over hers. Drawing back, he smiled down at her, relaxing finally now that he had her in his arms and he knew she was safe and well.
'You have a cold nose,' he murmured, grinning as she rolled her eyes.
'Well, you're standing on my foot, but I wasn't going to mention it,' she shot back sweetly, laughing at his expression as he glanced down to make sure that he wasn't standing on her.
With a chuckle for his unfounded worry, he turned to look out across the cavern, trying to stem the apprehension that rose within him when faced with not one, but twenty Aztec chests, filled with Aztec gold. He remembered all too well the trouble that only one piece had caused not so long ago, and glancing over at his companions, he could see that those same thoughts were running through Will's head. Could the curse really be got around as easily as Elias' Celtic ancestors thought?
*~*~*
Marin knelt before the nearest chest, running her hands over the yellow stone with something akin to reverence. The pictograms were typically gruesome, images of ritual sacrifice and dismemberment that could have been frightening had she taken the time to properly look at them. She glanced up at her companions, seeing their grave expressions as they talked quietly nearby.
She didn't understand why they were so nervy. It was just gold, and since when had anyone put any store by the stories of the cursed pirates? Oh, she had heard the tales of Barbossa and his crew of undead, but really, such stories were for scaring children around a campfire. Still, Jack, Will, Elizabeth and James all seemed to have some personal reason for wanting things to go perfectly when the first of the chests was opened, something that bound them together, and though she felt a little left out, Marin was willing to go along with it.
So they were waiting for the moon to rise, and shine down into the cavern to illuminate the chests where they stood on their little islands. Will glanced over at Marin where she knelt, his eyes troubled.
'Are you sure we shouldn't tell her?' he asked quietly. 'If the curse is still active, she has a right to know.'
Jack shook his head, sighing softly.
'She'd never believe us, mate,' he murmured. 'And besides, where's the point in telling her only to find out that this Celtic curse-breaker had the right idea after all? She'd think us all mad.'
Elizabeth was nodding.
'Jack's right,' she said, her voice barely audible above the crash of the waves against the rocks outside the cavern. 'Anyway, the only way she'd believe us is if she turns into a walking corpse when she takes a piece of the gold.'
Will sighed dejectedly, nodding in agreement.
'I know,' he muttered. 'It just doesn't feel right, leaving her in the dark.'
Jack snorted.
'How do you think I feel?' he bantered. 'I'm married to her!'
James laughed quietly.
'By your own choice, Jack, stop complaining,' he said firmly.
The pirate captain glowered at him. He was about to speak when the cloud cover broke suddenly, and a sharp ray of moonlight shone down into the cavern, illuminating a chest not far from where they stood. Jack glanced at his companions, nodding solemnly.
'That one,' he said, gesturing to the shining chest.
Marin rose from her knees to join them, slipping the silver doubloon from her boot as she approached the chest. Glancing back at them, she placed the doubloon into the indentation in the very centre of the chest lid, stepping back hurriedly in case the sea decided to make another incursion into their otherwise harmless trip. There was the sound of stone grating against stone, and the chest lid moved fractionally. Drawing in a deep breath, Jack lifted one booted foot and kicked the lid free, revealing the golden medallions within.
As Marin moved forwards, unaware that she was the unwitting test of the Celts' curse breaker, Will sighed softly.
'Here's where we find out if this was all a waste of time,' he murmured, his hand seeking Elizabeth's as Marin's fingers closed about a medallion.
As she lifted it to eye level, the clouds covered over the moon once more, leaving them with no way of knowing if the curse was still active. They waited in silence, not one of them prepared to take their eyes off Marin as she examined the piece. Then Jack sighed sadly.
'Ah, well,' he shrugged. 'We've got no other option open.'
He drew his pistol, sighting along it at his wife's unprotected back. Elizabeth's elbow connected with his midriff, knocking the wind out of him, at approximately the same time as James' fingers clamped over his wrist, wresting the weapon from the wheezing pirate's hand. As Jack fell to his knees, gasping for breath, the moonlight shone into the cavern once more, illuminating Marin where she stood. And to their everlasting joy, nothing happened.
She turned, frowning at the sight of her husband wheezing on the floor and her cousin ostensibly examining his pistol.
'What's going on?' she asked, dropping the medallion back into the chest as she knelt beside Jack.
He grinned up at her, drawing in a deep breath and coughed lightly.
'Proving a theory, love,' he said off-hand. 'I think they won.'
Elizabeth laughed at him, surprised that her elbow jab had had such a dramatic effect.
'I should say we did,' she agreed, letting herself get caught up in the triumph of the moment as she turned to embrace her husband.
Will grinned, holding her close, more relieved than he could say that no more of his blood would have to be spilt to set another curse to rest.
'Begun by blood, by blood undone,' James murmured, tracing the heathen lettering around the rim of the chest. He looked over at his celebrating friends, letting himself laugh heartily. 'Bloody hell, Elias, we really did it.'
*~*~*
With a gasp that echoed throughout the cavern about him, James' head broke the surface of the water, drawing in breath after shuddering breath as he flailed about, trying to gain some control over his limbs. A few seconds later, there was another tremendous splash as Marin, too, seemed to catapult from beneath the water, coughing as she struck out for the nearest bit of land. She clambered up it weakly, paying no heed to her surroundings as James hauled himself up beside her. Weak and exhausted, they collapsed onto the smooth rocks, holding one another tightly as the shock of their ordeal hit them.
James had been torn from his companions by the rushing water, pulled mercilessly below the surface until he had no idea of his direction, or even which way up he was. When he'd ventured his eyes open, they had been met with blackness and rushing bubbles that stung as he was drawn inexorably through them. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that he was being pulled against the flow of the water, into the cavern where the water had rushed from. It had felt as though he was being crushed by the weight of all that water, and as soon as the rushing ceased, he had struck out for his idea of the surface, desperately hoping to reach it before his lungs gave out on him.
Beside him, Marin heaved suddenly, turning to throw up what little she had in her stomach, along with the copious amounts of sea-water that she had swallowed only moments before as she was dragged against the current. James forced himself to sit up, reaching over to rub her back as she gagged, her body convulsing weakly. Ever the gentleman, even in his current state, he averted his eyes from her sopping wet shirt as the once white fabric clung to her cold skin. Of all days, she had to choose this one to go about without her waistcoat on.
Shaking, Marin turned back to him, letting him gather her into his arms and hold her close as they both looked out across the cavern, shivering with cold. They were sat on one of many little outcroppings of rock, the only one that was free of any burden. Atop the others lay huge stone chests, decorated with exotic runes and pictograms. And ahead of them lay an opening out to sea, through which a fleet of longboats could easily sail.
'Well,' James stuttered, his teeth chattering as he held his cousin close. 'We found the treasure then.'
Marin laughed weakly, numb fingers clutching at him as her body trembled uncontrollably.
'Who bloody cares?' she managed, rubbing her hands up and down his arms in an attempt to warm him.
James' answering laugh was just as feeble as her own, but it made them both feel far better to indulge the bitter amusement that rose within them. He leant back, his hand on the rocks and his fingers instinctively flinched away from a cold metallic object behind him. He turned, staring down at what he had found in amazement. By his fingers lay the four pieces of the silver doubloon, wet with salt water.
A shout echoed through the cavern to them, making them both jump. He looked around wildly, seeing no one until Marin pointed upwards. There was another hole in the roof of this cavern, and several concerned faces were peering through it, the most prominent being Jack and Will's. The two pirate captains looked a little the worse for wear, but on the whole fine as they shouted down to their companions.
'Everything alright down there?'
James opened his mouth to reply and flinched as his chattering teeth found a purchase on his tongue. Laughing at the expression on his face, Marin raised her voice.
'Cold and wet, but apart from that, fine,' she told them. 'There's an opening to the cave from the sea.'
Jack frowned, clearly interested, but also frantic to get down there and ascertain for himself his wife's health.
'Where?' he called.
She gestured vaguely in the general direction, and heard Will send several of the Dragon's crew back to the ships for the longboats.
'Get them to bring dry clothes,' she called up to them, hearing her request passed on by Gibbs as he ambled away from the hole.
Elizabeth's head appeared over the edge as she gazed down into the cavern, her face concerned as she looked down at her friends.
'Are you sure you're alright?' she asked worriedly. 'Nothing broken or cut?'
James sneezed suddenly, making Marin chuckle as he wrapped his arms about himself in yet another futile attempt to get warm again. She grinned up at her friend.
'We're fine, Liz,' she called. ' Just . . . get them to hurry up, would you?'
As Elizabeth got to her feet and moved away, Jack's head reappeared over the edge.
'We're going to scout down the headland and meet the boats as they come around,,' he told her. 'Will you two be alright there while we're gone, love?'
'For the last time, Jack, we're fine,' Marin laughed. 'Hurry up and bring us something warm and dry to wear, for heaven's sake!'
His grin was fleeting, as though he wasn't quite convinced by her laughing dismissal of his worries, but he dutifully got to his feet and moved away, calling those who remained on the surface to him as he made his way down the headland as he had said he would.
James chuckled hoarsely as Marin returned to his arms, resting her head wearily on his shoulder.
'Do you think they might be a little worried about us?' he asked her, gratified to feel her laughter reverberate through his chest in answer.
'Just a little,' she agreed, sighing softly as they settled down to wait for their friends to retrieve them.
They didn't have very long to wait, for within a half an hour they could hear the shouts as the longboats thumped ashore to collect the stragglers from the beach that must be just outside the cavernous opening. Shortly after that, the longboats appeared, drifting slowly in towards where they sat with some agitated faces looking them over as they rose to greet them.
Jack was among the first to set foot ashore, wrapping his wife in a blanket as he held her to him, not ashamed to show how worried he had been for her. Gibbs swathed James in another blanket, pinching his cheeks mercilessly to restore some of the feeling into his face, as the rest of the men secured the boats and stepped ashore.
They stared in wonder at the chests that littered the rocky outcroppings, amazed at the amount of wealth stored in this one cavern alone, and yet, those who had come to retrieve it, to claim it as their inheritance, had almost died to reveal its resting place. The Black Pearl's crew had experience of Aztec curses, their compatriots aboard the Red Dragon too cautious not to heed their warnings. This was the captains' venture, let them be the ones to test the patience of the heathen gods.
Marin accepted Jack's kiss willingly, letting him rub the blanket over her, warming her frozen body with the warmth from his own as he brushed his lips tenderly over hers. Drawing back, he smiled down at her, relaxing finally now that he had her in his arms and he knew she was safe and well.
'You have a cold nose,' he murmured, grinning as she rolled her eyes.
'Well, you're standing on my foot, but I wasn't going to mention it,' she shot back sweetly, laughing at his expression as he glanced down to make sure that he wasn't standing on her.
With a chuckle for his unfounded worry, he turned to look out across the cavern, trying to stem the apprehension that rose within him when faced with not one, but twenty Aztec chests, filled with Aztec gold. He remembered all too well the trouble that only one piece had caused not so long ago, and glancing over at his companions, he could see that those same thoughts were running through Will's head. Could the curse really be got around as easily as Elias' Celtic ancestors thought?
*~*~*
Marin knelt before the nearest chest, running her hands over the yellow stone with something akin to reverence. The pictograms were typically gruesome, images of ritual sacrifice and dismemberment that could have been frightening had she taken the time to properly look at them. She glanced up at her companions, seeing their grave expressions as they talked quietly nearby.
She didn't understand why they were so nervy. It was just gold, and since when had anyone put any store by the stories of the cursed pirates? Oh, she had heard the tales of Barbossa and his crew of undead, but really, such stories were for scaring children around a campfire. Still, Jack, Will, Elizabeth and James all seemed to have some personal reason for wanting things to go perfectly when the first of the chests was opened, something that bound them together, and though she felt a little left out, Marin was willing to go along with it.
So they were waiting for the moon to rise, and shine down into the cavern to illuminate the chests where they stood on their little islands. Will glanced over at Marin where she knelt, his eyes troubled.
'Are you sure we shouldn't tell her?' he asked quietly. 'If the curse is still active, she has a right to know.'
Jack shook his head, sighing softly.
'She'd never believe us, mate,' he murmured. 'And besides, where's the point in telling her only to find out that this Celtic curse-breaker had the right idea after all? She'd think us all mad.'
Elizabeth was nodding.
'Jack's right,' she said, her voice barely audible above the crash of the waves against the rocks outside the cavern. 'Anyway, the only way she'd believe us is if she turns into a walking corpse when she takes a piece of the gold.'
Will sighed dejectedly, nodding in agreement.
'I know,' he muttered. 'It just doesn't feel right, leaving her in the dark.'
Jack snorted.
'How do you think I feel?' he bantered. 'I'm married to her!'
James laughed quietly.
'By your own choice, Jack, stop complaining,' he said firmly.
The pirate captain glowered at him. He was about to speak when the cloud cover broke suddenly, and a sharp ray of moonlight shone down into the cavern, illuminating a chest not far from where they stood. Jack glanced at his companions, nodding solemnly.
'That one,' he said, gesturing to the shining chest.
Marin rose from her knees to join them, slipping the silver doubloon from her boot as she approached the chest. Glancing back at them, she placed the doubloon into the indentation in the very centre of the chest lid, stepping back hurriedly in case the sea decided to make another incursion into their otherwise harmless trip. There was the sound of stone grating against stone, and the chest lid moved fractionally. Drawing in a deep breath, Jack lifted one booted foot and kicked the lid free, revealing the golden medallions within.
As Marin moved forwards, unaware that she was the unwitting test of the Celts' curse breaker, Will sighed softly.
'Here's where we find out if this was all a waste of time,' he murmured, his hand seeking Elizabeth's as Marin's fingers closed about a medallion.
As she lifted it to eye level, the clouds covered over the moon once more, leaving them with no way of knowing if the curse was still active. They waited in silence, not one of them prepared to take their eyes off Marin as she examined the piece. Then Jack sighed sadly.
'Ah, well,' he shrugged. 'We've got no other option open.'
He drew his pistol, sighting along it at his wife's unprotected back. Elizabeth's elbow connected with his midriff, knocking the wind out of him, at approximately the same time as James' fingers clamped over his wrist, wresting the weapon from the wheezing pirate's hand. As Jack fell to his knees, gasping for breath, the moonlight shone into the cavern once more, illuminating Marin where she stood. And to their everlasting joy, nothing happened.
She turned, frowning at the sight of her husband wheezing on the floor and her cousin ostensibly examining his pistol.
'What's going on?' she asked, dropping the medallion back into the chest as she knelt beside Jack.
He grinned up at her, drawing in a deep breath and coughed lightly.
'Proving a theory, love,' he said off-hand. 'I think they won.'
Elizabeth laughed at him, surprised that her elbow jab had had such a dramatic effect.
'I should say we did,' she agreed, letting herself get caught up in the triumph of the moment as she turned to embrace her husband.
Will grinned, holding her close, more relieved than he could say that no more of his blood would have to be spilt to set another curse to rest.
'Begun by blood, by blood undone,' James murmured, tracing the heathen lettering around the rim of the chest. He looked over at his celebrating friends, letting himself laugh heartily. 'Bloody hell, Elias, we really did it.'