Author Notes - Hey everybody! Sorry its taken me a while to update...I've
had a bit of a block. In truth, I had this part written but I don't like
to post a chapter when there's nothing to follow up with...but that's just
an embodiment of my craziness. For Wind Ensemble, the honour band at my
school, we are playing Pirates of the Caribbean music!!!!!!!!!!!! It is
seriously the best thing we've ever played. In one part...all I see when
I'm playing is Jack coming in on the sinking ship...*sigh* Anyways, enjoy!
Author Thanks -
jinxd n cursed - Thanks, mate! Great to hear from you, as always. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Zubachickqt4u - Yay! You're back! Congrats on getting...ungrounded. Trust me, I intend on continueing to write! Its a part of me...I don't think I could go without for too long...Besides, I wouldn't want you to gain your sanity...that might be a bad thing for both of us. And please, don't pull a Van Gogh...only with your nose...imagine how weird that would look if someone walked down the street without a nose...wicked...Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Anaknusan - Thanks for the review! I am really appreciating all your complements (and everyone elses!) You have no idea how hard it is to write such an evil character...ie- Tomas. And I have to make him mean otherwise the story just looses stuff...I wanted to make Jean nice...someone has to be decent...Hope you like this chapter!
TriGemini - Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. One thing, though...I didn't try to make it seem like Jack and Christina are back to formalities...Jack is trying to protect Christina from the truth...which like you said, didn't sound to good. Part of the reason for the formalities is the situation they are in at the moment and also the fact that Jack is trying to protect her from what might happen. Hope that you like this chapter!
WeasleyGIrl - (CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW) Jenni, girl, you're nuts! But its okay because if you weren't nuts than I would always be the only one in our group whose nuts...which is a very lonely position, by the way. You're stories aren't stupid in the slightest and I love them. Seriously, you are an excellent writer and if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be writing the way I am now. And your stories aren't corny...they are hilarious! Grrr woman! You are an awesome writer, don't think otherwise! Anywho, thanks for the review! Always appreciated! lol...talk to you soon...Hugs, CrazyCanoeingGIT...William Turner...you know who I am....I hope...lol
Jess58 - Thanks for the review! I know it was a dark chapter...but bear with me...the plot has to climax somewhere...and its not always happy when it does. Don't we all wish we were imposters? lol...that would be an exceptionally memorable experience....Hope you like the chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own Christina, Colin, Francois, Jean, and Tomas...no one else. Don't sue me...its not very nice...
Last time:
I nodded and lay down on the floor to sleep. Glancing up, I saw Jack put his tri-corner hat over his eyes as he too tried to sleep.
What's in a Name?
Chapter 12: Into the Cave
~*~
I woke up the next morning, feeling ready to run. I had a nervous energy filling me and I felt ready to go. Since I could not, I resorted to pacing wildly around the cabin, trying to draw up strength for the day ahead. I knew that I would have to use every ounce of cunning and physical ability that I had in order to get out of this with me and everyone else still in tact. Mentally, I paged through all the stories that my father had ever told me, all the little lessons that never made sense, all the habits that my father had.
I probably had been thinking and pacing for an hour when I realized that all of this would do me little good. My stomach plummeted and I had to fight to keep the bile from rising in my throat. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer for strength in the coming day and hoped that I could live to see the next.
Sometime after this, I was sitting on the floor next to Jack just watching him. I realized that I had had no real reason to be afraid of him. Granted he was a pirate and perfectly capable of killing but he had never given me any inclination that that had been his plan. He hadn't been the nicest man in the world and he had overstepped a few of my personal boundaries, but mostly because I was being an impudent little brat. Once I was able to be myself...or at least close to myself, he had been quite kind...even during my little breakdowns. Remembering what the innkeeper's wife had told me, I realized, too, that he had never slapped me or touched me in anger. That had to count for something. A lot, really. And as I was thinking, I came to notice the 'small' fact that I had a bit of a fancy for this man...a little more than a bit. Kisses don't justify a bit. Then it dawned on me... I was in love...
That thought inspired an entire new path of pondering. I retraced everything that had happened and tried to figure out just when this occurred. But I couldn't...I couldn't figure out just when my feelings towards him changed.
Sighing in frustration, I banged my head against the wall.
The pounding right beside his head, Jack woke up. "That can't be very good for yer head, now can it?"
"Can't hurt," I answered, hitting my head once more for good measure.
"Deep in thought this early in the morning?"
I raised an eyebrow at the early part. "Early? The sun rose ages ago. But as for deep in thought, you might say so."
"Anything that I need to know about?" Jack asked, grinning devilishly.
"Do you mean any lecherous and evil fancies waltzing into my head that involve you? Sadly, my thoughts have been all too decent for me this morning," I replied, grinning myself.
"Well, we can change that," Jack whispered, leaning close to my ear.
I pulled away, shaking my head. "No. We can't. He'll be up any minute, and they're going to be coming for us any second now. Besides, I'm not ready yet...and I can't think of anything right now other than getting out of this in one piece."
No sooner had I said this when Tomas stormed in and pulled me to my feet. I fought to hold on to Jack, to keep safe but Tomas was so much stronger than I that he broke my grasp easily. He pulled me from the cabin and took me to the Captain's Cabin.
Once there, Tomas stuffed a map written in my father's handwriting under my nose. "Tell me what it means."
I scanned over it. The map was of an area prior to a cave. The ocean narrowed into a river and down the centre of the river were a list of names. At the start of the river, there was the label London. I realized that it was a list of coded directions. Assuming that my father had based this all on living in London, so that Timothy and I would understand, I slowly decoded the message. London - Madagascar - St. Thomas - Mexico - India - Singapore - London - Liverpool.
"Go straight until you reach the sharp rock pointing up from the ocean. Then make a sharp left and hold it until you can see the outcrop of that peninsula. Next, make a turn southwest and keep to that path until the next peninsula. Before breaching it, you must turn the ship slightly to the northwest. Keep going west until we are within the walls of the cave. Then pull the ship sharply west, so that the ship is nearly upon the shore of the river. When the river starts to narrow drastically, you must go directly straight down the centre. There are rocks on the riverbed that are as sharp as knives waiting to slice through the ship's hull if you stray from the course. Then you end up in a bay and in the bay, there should be a small entry that you will have to reach by rowboat...and there you go, that's where the treasure is," I said meekly.
Tomas smiled deviously advancing on me.
I backed away slightly. "What do you want?"
"I think you know," he replied evilly.
I shook my head frantically. "No, you wouldn't. You can't," I whispered before backing away. I ran into the door and frantically twisted the handle...it was locked...or barricaded or something...the point was that it wouldn't open.
Tomas kept approaching.
I pounded on the door frantically but no one would come.
Tomas was very close to me. He shoved me back further into the cabin and pushed me up against the wall.
I struggled against him but he was too strong. His fingers made there way over me, touching me most inappropriately and his mouth took mine with an angry ferocity. I pounded my fists into his chest but he didn't relent. I screamed when he started to undo my clothes. Roughly, he tore at my shirt and several of the buttons popped off. The pants that I had donned soon lost their buttons and I had to cock my hip so they wouldn't fall off.
A moment later, Tomas froze as Jean came into the room. "Brother, what are you doing?" Jean asked angrily.
"What does it look like?" Tomas hissed.
"Don't," Jean said warningly.
"Lighten up, my dear brother. You can have her when I'm done."
I was shaking with fear as I watched the two.
Jean walked closer to us. "Let her go," he repeated.
"NO!" Tomas hissed, clenching onto my neck tightly.
I could hardly breathe...he was grabbing so tightly onto my throat that I thought that it would burst at any second. I couldn't move, couldn't fight. The only thing that I could do was make eye contact with Jean and not break it. Even though my eyes were watering and my vision was starting to go black around the edges.
"I warned you," Jean whispered before he hit Tomas in the back of his neck. Tomas crumpled to the ground, unconscious. I fell down as well, but didn't faint. Jean helped me up and tried to fix my clothes, but there wasn't much to be done for them, Tomas had torn most of the buttons off. "I'll get you something else."
I nodded and accepted the arm he offered as he helped me back to the cabin. Jean pushed me gently into the cabin. I stood stone-like as he locked the door. I couldn't really move, I just stood there staring at the wall, clutching together the remains of the shirt. The shock of what had happened, of what could have happened, washed over me in waves.
Jack and Black-Eyed Pete looked up at me curiously. I didn't meet their gazes, I just stared at the floor, ashamed.
"Ye alright, Chisty?" Jack asked concerned.
I didn't respond. Instead I moved stiffly to the wall and sat down so that I was a good distance from both men. I was numb...an explosion could have rocked the cabin and I wouldn't have noticed. So, instead of answering, I rocked myself back and forth, my right hand clenching tightly at the rip in my top...
Jack got up and came over to me. Sitting in front of me, he repeated, "Are you alright, Christina?" he asked seriously.
I shook my head no, but I couldn't talk. I felt Jack's gaze running over my body. I wanted to hide in the darkness, not be so vulnerable. I think Jack must have noticed the missing buttons on my shirt and the fact that my pants were unbuttoned as well.
Jack sighed angrily. "Did he---"
I shook my head 'no' once more. I sat silently for a long time before I whispered, "Jean stopped him."
Jack moved so that he was beside me and attempted to put an arm around my shoulders to draw me close.
I pulled away quickly before he could, though. "Don't touch me," I hissed.
"Christina," Jack said carefully.
"NO! I don't want to be touched. Just let me be alone, alright?" I said quietly.
Black-Eyed Pete spoke up for the first time in a long time. "Leave her be, lad. I've seen that," he said, gesturing to me. "Seen it too many times. And if ye push 'er...don't. Give 'er time to get o'er the shock."
Jack didn't respond but scooted away.
I turned my back to them and with shaking fingers, redid what was left of the buttons of both my shirt and pants. One tear traced its way down my face. Soon it was followed by many more and I sat silently, shaking from the repressed emotions overwhelming me. I must have sat for nearly an hour without moving or speaking but every tear that I shed released some of the pain inside.
Tears dried up eventually and I listened to the renewed snores of Black Eyed Pete for a moment before I turned around. I looked over at Jack and met his eyes, smiling faintly. Silently, I motioned for him to move over to me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"'S'ok," Jack said calmly. "Ye alright."
"I guess so. Now, the only crisis is to keep this," I said, nodding down at my torn shirt. "From showing too much of these," I nodded to my front.
Jack laughed quietly. "While in a normal situation, I wouldn't mind too much of that," he teased, gesturing as I had to my front. "I heartily agree with ye, lass. Don' want to get too distracted at the fine view ye would be providing. But yer forgetting 'bout what ye found in yonder chest. There were some clothes in there I me memory is right."
"Oh, yeah," I said quietly. "I completely forgot!" I added before scurrying over to the sea chest and withdrawing another shirt and pants...making a mental note to thank Colin immensely when this was over. I looked over to double check that Pete was still asleep and whipped my head around to Jack.
He caught my gaze and stared with a determined innocent look on his face.
Sighing slightly, I said almost frustrated, "Jack...turn around."
Once he had, I quickly changed out of my revealing clothes and into the good ones. Then, I moved back over to the wall and sat with Jack, using his chest as a pillow.
However, once I had gotten comfortable, the door sprung open and the Frenchmen strode in. Tomas looked a bit angry but mostly disorientated. I had to stifle a giggle at the bemused look on his face.
Noticing that their self-proclaimed leader wasn't his usual 'chipper' self, Francois ordered, "Up! All of you! And no trouble, from either ov you two. Or ze girl will 'ave to take the blame," as it was becoming normal for me to be threatened, it didn't phase me as much as before when Francois pulled me over to him and tied my arms behind my back.
They led us up on deck and I noticed that Anamaria and Colin were standing under the guard of some of the French crew. I smiled at Ana and Colin as we approached and watched as looks of fury covered their faces at the bruises on not only me but also Jack and Black-Eyed Pete were modeling.
I gazed around the cave that we had sailed the Black Pearl into and began to prepare for whatever came next. I mentally calmed myself and reminded myself to keep my head firmly on my shoulders and I would be fine.
Colin leaned up from his place behind me in the boat and whispered, "I love yer shirt an' pants, lass," playfully.
I smirked. "Well, there's another one in your cabin that I used but, it was later rendered unusable...so I stole another one."
"Ever becoming more a pirate," Colin teased.
I laughed a little louder than I had intended and Tomas turned and glared at me. "Do you see that water, fille?" Tomas asked menacingly.
"It's a bit hard to miss, seeing as we're in a boat, you know?" I replied. I didn't really care about my tone. I knew what Jack had told me and I knew that my chances were pretty slim...so it didn't really matter if I acted like the well-bred, soft spoken creature that I had been instructed to be all of my life.
Tomas laughed and said, "There are sharks in ze water. I would like nothing better than to have an excuse to feed you to them. I hear they like eating people...and we could cut you to draw them to you quicker. You would like that, no?"
I shook my head quickly no. I really didn't like sharks...
"Good, then shut your mouth," Tomas hissed.
So, from then on out, the journey to the cave was a silent one.
Once we were actually inside the cave, we still had to row a while. I stared in awe at the stalactites and stalagmites. Never before had I seen such a thing...but I knew what they were, and how they were useful.
It was about fifteen minutes before the water narrowed so drastically that we could row no longer. I was pulled to my feet and pushed forward roughly. We walked in a single file line through the shallow stream until we reached a set of tall doors that seemed to be carved from stone.
I stopped when I saw those. I recognized those doors. I didn't know how I recognized them but I felt a memory stirring in my mind as I gazed at the doors. 'I had been here before,' I realized.
Silently, I watched as Tomas, Francois and Jean attempted to push the door open. As they struggled, I slowly inched over to Ana and the rest.
"Is everyone okay?" I whispered. "The crew?"
Ana nodded. "What 'bout yerself?" she whispered.
"I'm fine. A bit roughed up but nothing that time won't cure," I said confidently.
Tomas let out an embarrassing string of French profanity and kicked the door hard. There was a cracking sound as his toes broke...
I had to stifle the giggles that were threatening to come out as he hopped around the cave, cursing in pain.
Finally growing bored, I called out, "It won't open that way. You have to read the inscription," I added, pointing to the words that circled the double doors.
The inscription was carved in Spanish. I knew what it said...and so did Jack, apparently, because when I looked over to him, I saw a look of understanding on his face. Basically it read, "Rodee el marco en láminas del acero y coloqúelo en el impresión de la mano uno con mi nombre." (Surround the frame in blades of steel and place on the handprint one with my name.)
The Frenchmen obviously didn't know what it said. They shot looks of confusion at it before Francois approached me.
"You know what it says?" he growled.
I nodded mutely, intent on staying defiant.
"Tell me."
I shook my head 'no'.
Cursing in frustration, he turned to Tomas and rattled off in French that I wouldn't talk.
A look of fury crossed Tomas's face and he began to approach slowly, with barely contained rage.
Thinking better of being defiant, I quickly said, "Okay. You have to put blades of steel in the corners and then I have to put my hand on that wheel thing."
Francois nodded curtly and stalked off to do as I had suggested.
It took a while for them to place the swords in the correct places. I had to call out directions for them in French...their English wasn't nearly as good as they had made it seem, apparently.
"One thing first," I called. "You might want to untie my hands so that I can actually put my hands like it says," I suggested.
Jean came over and quickly cut the bindings and then hurried off to help the rest.
Finally they got them correct and I slowly walked forward to the spot on the wall where a wheel was carved. There was a spot for a hand in the centre of the wheel and I gingerly placed my hand on it.
The stone, previously cold, suddenly felt piercingly hot and I had to keep from pulling my hand away. It felt like melting wax was dripping down my hand. But the longer I left it there, the more pleasant it became. There was a loud clanking sound and the doors began to open slowly.
Then it happened!
Author's Note: Oooh, I'm evil again! MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Two cliffies in a row...what are ya'll going to do with me? I hope you enjoyed this. Now....
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. I really appreciate your support.
Check out Pirates of the Caribbean: The Aftermath by The Quidditch Gals...its an extremely well written story that is highly highly, highly underappreciated.
Till next time,
~CrazyCanoeingGIT
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Author Thanks -
jinxd n cursed - Thanks, mate! Great to hear from you, as always. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Zubachickqt4u - Yay! You're back! Congrats on getting...ungrounded. Trust me, I intend on continueing to write! Its a part of me...I don't think I could go without for too long...Besides, I wouldn't want you to gain your sanity...that might be a bad thing for both of us. And please, don't pull a Van Gogh...only with your nose...imagine how weird that would look if someone walked down the street without a nose...wicked...Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Anaknusan - Thanks for the review! I am really appreciating all your complements (and everyone elses!) You have no idea how hard it is to write such an evil character...ie- Tomas. And I have to make him mean otherwise the story just looses stuff...I wanted to make Jean nice...someone has to be decent...Hope you like this chapter!
TriGemini - Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. One thing, though...I didn't try to make it seem like Jack and Christina are back to formalities...Jack is trying to protect Christina from the truth...which like you said, didn't sound to good. Part of the reason for the formalities is the situation they are in at the moment and also the fact that Jack is trying to protect her from what might happen. Hope that you like this chapter!
WeasleyGIrl - (CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW) Jenni, girl, you're nuts! But its okay because if you weren't nuts than I would always be the only one in our group whose nuts...which is a very lonely position, by the way. You're stories aren't stupid in the slightest and I love them. Seriously, you are an excellent writer and if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be writing the way I am now. And your stories aren't corny...they are hilarious! Grrr woman! You are an awesome writer, don't think otherwise! Anywho, thanks for the review! Always appreciated! lol...talk to you soon...Hugs, CrazyCanoeingGIT...William Turner...you know who I am....I hope...lol
Jess58 - Thanks for the review! I know it was a dark chapter...but bear with me...the plot has to climax somewhere...and its not always happy when it does. Don't we all wish we were imposters? lol...that would be an exceptionally memorable experience....Hope you like the chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own Christina, Colin, Francois, Jean, and Tomas...no one else. Don't sue me...its not very nice...
Last time:
I nodded and lay down on the floor to sleep. Glancing up, I saw Jack put his tri-corner hat over his eyes as he too tried to sleep.
What's in a Name?
Chapter 12: Into the Cave
~*~
I woke up the next morning, feeling ready to run. I had a nervous energy filling me and I felt ready to go. Since I could not, I resorted to pacing wildly around the cabin, trying to draw up strength for the day ahead. I knew that I would have to use every ounce of cunning and physical ability that I had in order to get out of this with me and everyone else still in tact. Mentally, I paged through all the stories that my father had ever told me, all the little lessons that never made sense, all the habits that my father had.
I probably had been thinking and pacing for an hour when I realized that all of this would do me little good. My stomach plummeted and I had to fight to keep the bile from rising in my throat. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer for strength in the coming day and hoped that I could live to see the next.
Sometime after this, I was sitting on the floor next to Jack just watching him. I realized that I had had no real reason to be afraid of him. Granted he was a pirate and perfectly capable of killing but he had never given me any inclination that that had been his plan. He hadn't been the nicest man in the world and he had overstepped a few of my personal boundaries, but mostly because I was being an impudent little brat. Once I was able to be myself...or at least close to myself, he had been quite kind...even during my little breakdowns. Remembering what the innkeeper's wife had told me, I realized, too, that he had never slapped me or touched me in anger. That had to count for something. A lot, really. And as I was thinking, I came to notice the 'small' fact that I had a bit of a fancy for this man...a little more than a bit. Kisses don't justify a bit. Then it dawned on me... I was in love...
That thought inspired an entire new path of pondering. I retraced everything that had happened and tried to figure out just when this occurred. But I couldn't...I couldn't figure out just when my feelings towards him changed.
Sighing in frustration, I banged my head against the wall.
The pounding right beside his head, Jack woke up. "That can't be very good for yer head, now can it?"
"Can't hurt," I answered, hitting my head once more for good measure.
"Deep in thought this early in the morning?"
I raised an eyebrow at the early part. "Early? The sun rose ages ago. But as for deep in thought, you might say so."
"Anything that I need to know about?" Jack asked, grinning devilishly.
"Do you mean any lecherous and evil fancies waltzing into my head that involve you? Sadly, my thoughts have been all too decent for me this morning," I replied, grinning myself.
"Well, we can change that," Jack whispered, leaning close to my ear.
I pulled away, shaking my head. "No. We can't. He'll be up any minute, and they're going to be coming for us any second now. Besides, I'm not ready yet...and I can't think of anything right now other than getting out of this in one piece."
No sooner had I said this when Tomas stormed in and pulled me to my feet. I fought to hold on to Jack, to keep safe but Tomas was so much stronger than I that he broke my grasp easily. He pulled me from the cabin and took me to the Captain's Cabin.
Once there, Tomas stuffed a map written in my father's handwriting under my nose. "Tell me what it means."
I scanned over it. The map was of an area prior to a cave. The ocean narrowed into a river and down the centre of the river were a list of names. At the start of the river, there was the label London. I realized that it was a list of coded directions. Assuming that my father had based this all on living in London, so that Timothy and I would understand, I slowly decoded the message. London - Madagascar - St. Thomas - Mexico - India - Singapore - London - Liverpool.
"Go straight until you reach the sharp rock pointing up from the ocean. Then make a sharp left and hold it until you can see the outcrop of that peninsula. Next, make a turn southwest and keep to that path until the next peninsula. Before breaching it, you must turn the ship slightly to the northwest. Keep going west until we are within the walls of the cave. Then pull the ship sharply west, so that the ship is nearly upon the shore of the river. When the river starts to narrow drastically, you must go directly straight down the centre. There are rocks on the riverbed that are as sharp as knives waiting to slice through the ship's hull if you stray from the course. Then you end up in a bay and in the bay, there should be a small entry that you will have to reach by rowboat...and there you go, that's where the treasure is," I said meekly.
Tomas smiled deviously advancing on me.
I backed away slightly. "What do you want?"
"I think you know," he replied evilly.
I shook my head frantically. "No, you wouldn't. You can't," I whispered before backing away. I ran into the door and frantically twisted the handle...it was locked...or barricaded or something...the point was that it wouldn't open.
Tomas kept approaching.
I pounded on the door frantically but no one would come.
Tomas was very close to me. He shoved me back further into the cabin and pushed me up against the wall.
I struggled against him but he was too strong. His fingers made there way over me, touching me most inappropriately and his mouth took mine with an angry ferocity. I pounded my fists into his chest but he didn't relent. I screamed when he started to undo my clothes. Roughly, he tore at my shirt and several of the buttons popped off. The pants that I had donned soon lost their buttons and I had to cock my hip so they wouldn't fall off.
A moment later, Tomas froze as Jean came into the room. "Brother, what are you doing?" Jean asked angrily.
"What does it look like?" Tomas hissed.
"Don't," Jean said warningly.
"Lighten up, my dear brother. You can have her when I'm done."
I was shaking with fear as I watched the two.
Jean walked closer to us. "Let her go," he repeated.
"NO!" Tomas hissed, clenching onto my neck tightly.
I could hardly breathe...he was grabbing so tightly onto my throat that I thought that it would burst at any second. I couldn't move, couldn't fight. The only thing that I could do was make eye contact with Jean and not break it. Even though my eyes were watering and my vision was starting to go black around the edges.
"I warned you," Jean whispered before he hit Tomas in the back of his neck. Tomas crumpled to the ground, unconscious. I fell down as well, but didn't faint. Jean helped me up and tried to fix my clothes, but there wasn't much to be done for them, Tomas had torn most of the buttons off. "I'll get you something else."
I nodded and accepted the arm he offered as he helped me back to the cabin. Jean pushed me gently into the cabin. I stood stone-like as he locked the door. I couldn't really move, I just stood there staring at the wall, clutching together the remains of the shirt. The shock of what had happened, of what could have happened, washed over me in waves.
Jack and Black-Eyed Pete looked up at me curiously. I didn't meet their gazes, I just stared at the floor, ashamed.
"Ye alright, Chisty?" Jack asked concerned.
I didn't respond. Instead I moved stiffly to the wall and sat down so that I was a good distance from both men. I was numb...an explosion could have rocked the cabin and I wouldn't have noticed. So, instead of answering, I rocked myself back and forth, my right hand clenching tightly at the rip in my top...
Jack got up and came over to me. Sitting in front of me, he repeated, "Are you alright, Christina?" he asked seriously.
I shook my head no, but I couldn't talk. I felt Jack's gaze running over my body. I wanted to hide in the darkness, not be so vulnerable. I think Jack must have noticed the missing buttons on my shirt and the fact that my pants were unbuttoned as well.
Jack sighed angrily. "Did he---"
I shook my head 'no' once more. I sat silently for a long time before I whispered, "Jean stopped him."
Jack moved so that he was beside me and attempted to put an arm around my shoulders to draw me close.
I pulled away quickly before he could, though. "Don't touch me," I hissed.
"Christina," Jack said carefully.
"NO! I don't want to be touched. Just let me be alone, alright?" I said quietly.
Black-Eyed Pete spoke up for the first time in a long time. "Leave her be, lad. I've seen that," he said, gesturing to me. "Seen it too many times. And if ye push 'er...don't. Give 'er time to get o'er the shock."
Jack didn't respond but scooted away.
I turned my back to them and with shaking fingers, redid what was left of the buttons of both my shirt and pants. One tear traced its way down my face. Soon it was followed by many more and I sat silently, shaking from the repressed emotions overwhelming me. I must have sat for nearly an hour without moving or speaking but every tear that I shed released some of the pain inside.
Tears dried up eventually and I listened to the renewed snores of Black Eyed Pete for a moment before I turned around. I looked over at Jack and met his eyes, smiling faintly. Silently, I motioned for him to move over to me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"'S'ok," Jack said calmly. "Ye alright."
"I guess so. Now, the only crisis is to keep this," I said, nodding down at my torn shirt. "From showing too much of these," I nodded to my front.
Jack laughed quietly. "While in a normal situation, I wouldn't mind too much of that," he teased, gesturing as I had to my front. "I heartily agree with ye, lass. Don' want to get too distracted at the fine view ye would be providing. But yer forgetting 'bout what ye found in yonder chest. There were some clothes in there I me memory is right."
"Oh, yeah," I said quietly. "I completely forgot!" I added before scurrying over to the sea chest and withdrawing another shirt and pants...making a mental note to thank Colin immensely when this was over. I looked over to double check that Pete was still asleep and whipped my head around to Jack.
He caught my gaze and stared with a determined innocent look on his face.
Sighing slightly, I said almost frustrated, "Jack...turn around."
Once he had, I quickly changed out of my revealing clothes and into the good ones. Then, I moved back over to the wall and sat with Jack, using his chest as a pillow.
However, once I had gotten comfortable, the door sprung open and the Frenchmen strode in. Tomas looked a bit angry but mostly disorientated. I had to stifle a giggle at the bemused look on his face.
Noticing that their self-proclaimed leader wasn't his usual 'chipper' self, Francois ordered, "Up! All of you! And no trouble, from either ov you two. Or ze girl will 'ave to take the blame," as it was becoming normal for me to be threatened, it didn't phase me as much as before when Francois pulled me over to him and tied my arms behind my back.
They led us up on deck and I noticed that Anamaria and Colin were standing under the guard of some of the French crew. I smiled at Ana and Colin as we approached and watched as looks of fury covered their faces at the bruises on not only me but also Jack and Black-Eyed Pete were modeling.
I gazed around the cave that we had sailed the Black Pearl into and began to prepare for whatever came next. I mentally calmed myself and reminded myself to keep my head firmly on my shoulders and I would be fine.
Colin leaned up from his place behind me in the boat and whispered, "I love yer shirt an' pants, lass," playfully.
I smirked. "Well, there's another one in your cabin that I used but, it was later rendered unusable...so I stole another one."
"Ever becoming more a pirate," Colin teased.
I laughed a little louder than I had intended and Tomas turned and glared at me. "Do you see that water, fille?" Tomas asked menacingly.
"It's a bit hard to miss, seeing as we're in a boat, you know?" I replied. I didn't really care about my tone. I knew what Jack had told me and I knew that my chances were pretty slim...so it didn't really matter if I acted like the well-bred, soft spoken creature that I had been instructed to be all of my life.
Tomas laughed and said, "There are sharks in ze water. I would like nothing better than to have an excuse to feed you to them. I hear they like eating people...and we could cut you to draw them to you quicker. You would like that, no?"
I shook my head quickly no. I really didn't like sharks...
"Good, then shut your mouth," Tomas hissed.
So, from then on out, the journey to the cave was a silent one.
Once we were actually inside the cave, we still had to row a while. I stared in awe at the stalactites and stalagmites. Never before had I seen such a thing...but I knew what they were, and how they were useful.
It was about fifteen minutes before the water narrowed so drastically that we could row no longer. I was pulled to my feet and pushed forward roughly. We walked in a single file line through the shallow stream until we reached a set of tall doors that seemed to be carved from stone.
I stopped when I saw those. I recognized those doors. I didn't know how I recognized them but I felt a memory stirring in my mind as I gazed at the doors. 'I had been here before,' I realized.
Silently, I watched as Tomas, Francois and Jean attempted to push the door open. As they struggled, I slowly inched over to Ana and the rest.
"Is everyone okay?" I whispered. "The crew?"
Ana nodded. "What 'bout yerself?" she whispered.
"I'm fine. A bit roughed up but nothing that time won't cure," I said confidently.
Tomas let out an embarrassing string of French profanity and kicked the door hard. There was a cracking sound as his toes broke...
I had to stifle the giggles that were threatening to come out as he hopped around the cave, cursing in pain.
Finally growing bored, I called out, "It won't open that way. You have to read the inscription," I added, pointing to the words that circled the double doors.
The inscription was carved in Spanish. I knew what it said...and so did Jack, apparently, because when I looked over to him, I saw a look of understanding on his face. Basically it read, "Rodee el marco en láminas del acero y coloqúelo en el impresión de la mano uno con mi nombre." (Surround the frame in blades of steel and place on the handprint one with my name.)
The Frenchmen obviously didn't know what it said. They shot looks of confusion at it before Francois approached me.
"You know what it says?" he growled.
I nodded mutely, intent on staying defiant.
"Tell me."
I shook my head 'no'.
Cursing in frustration, he turned to Tomas and rattled off in French that I wouldn't talk.
A look of fury crossed Tomas's face and he began to approach slowly, with barely contained rage.
Thinking better of being defiant, I quickly said, "Okay. You have to put blades of steel in the corners and then I have to put my hand on that wheel thing."
Francois nodded curtly and stalked off to do as I had suggested.
It took a while for them to place the swords in the correct places. I had to call out directions for them in French...their English wasn't nearly as good as they had made it seem, apparently.
"One thing first," I called. "You might want to untie my hands so that I can actually put my hands like it says," I suggested.
Jean came over and quickly cut the bindings and then hurried off to help the rest.
Finally they got them correct and I slowly walked forward to the spot on the wall where a wheel was carved. There was a spot for a hand in the centre of the wheel and I gingerly placed my hand on it.
The stone, previously cold, suddenly felt piercingly hot and I had to keep from pulling my hand away. It felt like melting wax was dripping down my hand. But the longer I left it there, the more pleasant it became. There was a loud clanking sound and the doors began to open slowly.
Then it happened!
Author's Note: Oooh, I'm evil again! MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Two cliffies in a row...what are ya'll going to do with me? I hope you enjoyed this. Now....
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Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. I really appreciate your support.
Check out Pirates of the Caribbean: The Aftermath by The Quidditch Gals...its an extremely well written story that is highly highly, highly underappreciated.
Till next time,
~CrazyCanoeingGIT
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