Chapter Fourteen
The chamber was heaped with gold. A treasure like this had never been seen like this before to me. It was the most luminescent thing I had ever seen in my life, but it did not wow me. I could not feel anything. I looked over at Jack, and his face was unreadible. I slowly inched over to him, and asked so softly that it could barely be heard by me, "Does this gold fill you with joy?" He shook his head, and looked at James with disgust, who looked like he was about to cry at the beauty of the gold.
He fell to his knees and wept, kissing the ground the gold lay on. "Gold! My treasure has been reached! I cannot believe my luck! I have reached my goal! More gold than the world has ever seen and a most beautiful woman at my side. I can fuck gold and then fuck a woman whenever I want to!"
I felt my insides burn so bright that I could barely breath. My body shook so violently that I fell to the ground, my body unable to stabilize myself. Jack moved towards me by James snapped, "Do not bother with her. She is probably shaking in the anticipation of seeing the wonderland my body is again!" I glared so hard at him, but something caught my eye.
A shining object so bright up above me caught my attention. It was dull compared to all the treasure, but it was more beautiful than I had ever seen. It was a woman, wearing a white shining robe. She looked at me, smiled and even though she never spoke, I knew she said, "Watch this." She motioned her arms towards James, and flicked a finger at him.
He looked at the gold again, and walked towards it slowly, as in a trance. I looked up at the woman, and she smiled. James walked slowly and jerkily, as if someone else was controlling him and he was a string puppet. The woman moved her hands as if she held a wooden string puppet handle, yet she held nothing.
He touched the first piece of gold, and then, the woman tugging the strings up, he jumped up and landed in the gold. A sudden smoke rose from the gold, so thick it smelt acrid. A force pushed Jack and I backward against the wall so hard that I didn't know what happened. I felt that we had been surrounded by a clear glass, protected against the smoke and what happened to James.
His body was raised up above the gold, his carcass burning with white fire, smoking black, blue, and green smoke. His screams were nothing in my heart. His skin had been melted to his bones, but that was not all that was to happen to him. His eyes dribbled out of his head, and landed in a puddle. His soul flew out of his body and floated up towards the woman, yet she paid no heed to it.
Two giant stones flew up, and his body went between them, grinding his bones into a dust so fine it disappeared from all sight, and eventually, even mind. His soul was floated down, and the woman, taking a sword burning so bright with a purple flame that Jack and I had to cover our eyes, cut his soul up into a million pieces.
She took his heart, which was lying on the ground, and tapped it twice. It was revealed to be the size of my fist, shriveled up, and black. She took a basket out of no where, put the heart in it, and set the basket afire, letting the last of him be destroyed forever.
She smiled at me, and motioned out again. The gold had all disappeared, and only a single chest remained. She spoke, this time outloud, her voice like a baby robin, speaking its first words of spring, yet her voice was as elegant as the harp, and as thin as a leaf.
"Now your treasure is left behind
With a treasure of what your hearts desires are
Along with all the gold you will ever need
But take of heed:
You cannot tell of this place ever again
And when you leave, you may never return
Seal the passage, and vanquish the stones
So that this plight can never be found again…"
She swirled up into a cloud of white smoke that sparkled with the light in the room. I walked, slowly, up to the chest, the dust remains of James swirling around my feet. I touched the chest, and I instantly felt relieved. I opened the chest and found everything I ever wanted.
I found a red book, bound so beautifully. Inside was a small painting of a woman, and underneath it were words that told me it was a picture of my mother. I flipped through the book carefully, and found every legend, myth, and story that had ever been said about my mother written in its pages. I looked under the book in the chest and found a scroll of paper, that when it was unrolled, showed a map. It was a map of the Caribbean, and a large X marked a spot. I looked on the reverse side and found the words, "To your father's ship…"
Under the scroll was a necklace with a clear crystal vial. It was half the size of my smallest finger, and as thin as a needle. Inside were three hairs. A voice in my head said very knowingly, "The hairs of those who you have lost and loved…"
I knew instantly that it was the hairs of my mother, father, and brother. After that was a sword, so beautiful that words could not describe it. I unsheathed it and the blade said, "May you, the Sparrow, fly ever higher…" I handed it to Jack.
"'Tis for you…" He looked at it, and he just shook his head.
"Beautiful… Never thought I-" he started, but I put a finger to his lips.
"Shh… speak when we leave… We must leave now…" I fastened the necklace around my neck and pulled the diamond off. We packed the trunk up and it shrank into a tiny size, which fit into Jack's pocket. "So the crew won't find it…" I said, smiling. We walked out slowly, looking around. I would never forget this place, how my life's end was ended.
We arrived at the mouth of the cave, and I looked around. Our boat was just out around the corner. I nodded at Jack, and threw the diamond on the ground so hard that it shattered into a thousand pieces. I pushed him, and we ran to the boat. He rowed with all his might, and we quickly made our way to the Black Pearl, as the Island containing the Treasure of Algerath collapsed, never to be found again.
The crew helped us up onto the deck, all their mouths asking questions of us. But their words never reached our ears. He just led me down the stairs to his cabin. He closed the door behind me, and locked it. I just stood there, and my emotions broke out. I sobbed so hard that I felt my body would break apart into so many pieces.
He put his arms around me and held me for hours, while I cried what I had needed to cry for years. The death of James had filled me with so much joy that it felt criminal.
He stroked my hair, and I wept. Finally, when all my tears had dried up into nothing, he pulled my face up by my chin. "Now, tell me what happened. Everything… Leave nothing out…" I looked up into his eyes, and nodded.
"Everything?"
"Everything…"
"Well, it started one night at a party Charlotte threw a party. She thought she knew his family very well, but she was very mistaken. His mother ended up stealing three very expensive vases of Charlotte's. And then Charlotte cheated on my dad with his father, but she threatened my life if I told my father. Anyways, that night, everyone was especially happy and excited because Charlotte was well known for her, um, services.
"James came in late, and he looked very unkempt, with hideous, greasy hair, his fucking pox marked face, and all that damn ego he's got in his exploded head. He saw me almost instantly and walked over to me. He took my arm, and pulled me towards him, and whispered in my ear, 'You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life…"
"I pulled away from him really quickly, and tried to find my brother, but his friend said he and this woman were up in his room. I held in my anger, and just walked around, trying to find someone to talk to other than ego balls. I found one girl, who was all by herself, and we talked for a half of an hour, but she had to leave then. James was on me in a instant.
"I knew he had been watching me the whole night, because I felt a constant pressure of eyes on me the entire time. He was holding two mugs of rum, and gave one to me. I knew not to be rude to him, so, stupidly and blindly, I drank half the mug. James just kept pulling me to him, and trying to show me off to everyone. Finally, I left his presence and the rest of the room, and walked up into the additional chamber. The window was basic and adorned with white curtains. There was a metal bed with not a cover on it, and a chest in the corner. I sat down on the bed, and just thought.
"About ten minutes later, James walked in, and he smiled evilly as he slowly locked the door behind him. 'What are you doing?' I asked him, as he advanced towards me. I stood up, ready to hit him if I needed to. He pushed me against the wall. "I've only known you for three hours, and I want you. I want your body to join with me. I want you." I sneered at him.
"Well, you'll have to kill me first. I won't do anything with you." I laughed haughtily at him. He just smiled at me, and shook his head.
"Oh that is where you are wrong. As you will soon see, you will find yourself in a trance that will cause you to do whatever is willed by me. And that should be a hell of a lot of fun for me." He pulled me to him and started to kiss me. His lips are poison on mine. I tried to struggle away, and whenever I do, he just pushes me against the wall, and encages me again.
But then, after two minutes of this subjection to hell, my life is forever changed, and I feel dirty from then on, never to be clean again.
I felt my body turn cold and limp. I no longer can move. My mind is still thinking, but I have no control of my actions. I am a rag doll, only can be moved by a controller. James pulled me away from the wall, and throws me on the floor. I want to run away, and hide, but I cannot. I have no control. He started to pull off my dress. The party is still going on downstairs. But it is no use. I cannot yell. I cannot do anything."
I looked up at Jack, and breathed deeply. "That's why. I hate him so much. I would wish death upon him if he was still alive, but as he is not, I cannot. But I have decided that I will never let a man do anything like that to me again!"
Jack looked into my eyes. "I am very sorry that such a horrible thing happened to ye, love. I want to protect this from ever happening to you again. I want you to be with me forever. We can be wed privately, so that no one will ever find out, but I love you so much. I really do."
I looked into his eyes, and pulled his face to mine, so that all I could see was his chocolate eyes. "Tell me that looking into my heart, and see if you really mean it."
He repeated, "I love you. I want you to be my wife." I felt in my heart that he really did mean what he said.
I nodded, and kissed his lips softly, and then, we fell backwards onto his bed.