Elizabeth

Jack, that bastard! He let it slip to the entire crew, including Will, that I had Will's medallion! I don't know why it was such pertinent information, but I wouldn't give Will a reason to hate me. Not now. I fled to my room and slept until noon the next day, scared that Will would come and find me. But he didn't. I only ventured out to steal a hardtack biscuit. And hard it was. I nearly broke my teeth. Then I heard Jack bellow, "C'MERE ALL OF YA!"

I was at the edge of the crowd, so no one noticed me. "Come forth, Will and Elizabeth, if you please," Jack ordered.

I gulped. Will stepped forward, looking confused. He wore that expression a lot out at sea. "What do you need, Captain?" I asked, smiling.

"Get in the boat, chums," he said. He started whispering some things to Gibbs. I heard Gibbs say, "And if the worst should happen, sir?"

"Stick to the code." Jack started lowering the boat, and jumped in. As we were almost set to hit the water, Annamaria leaned over and yelled, "Elizabeth! The medallion!" and dropped it. I caught it and stuck it in my bodice. Will would never snatch a peek of what was truly his.

It was a quiet trip into the eerie caves. Will held onto a lantern so Jack could see where he was rowing. I shivered. The humidity had dissipated into frigidity.

Will finally asked, "What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?"

Jack smiled to himself. "Pirate's Code. Any man that falls behind. . . is left behind." We saw a skeleton clutching a rock as a crab scuttled nearby.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will said sardonically.

"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one. Joined up with a pirate and his hostage, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga. . ." Jack, Will, and I looked over the edge of the boat to see gold on the bottom of the river. "And you're completely obsessed with treasure."

Will frowned. "That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure."

With a slight look in my direction, Jack purred, "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

We climbed out of the boat. Will and I stared at the sight before us. Glittering mounds of treasure were everywhere. The highest heap held a massive chest with odd markings. "And now we wait," Jack said. "Why?" Will asked.

"Because Barbossa an' I have some negotiating to do," Jack replied.

"But wait! What's the curse? Why is the medallion so important?" I shouted, frustrated with Jack Sparrow's secrecy.

Jack rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, it's about time you realize why it's necessary." He sat down on a pile of treasure. "This is what I was told long ago- we all thought it was just a legend, a myth. May I see the medallion, Miss Liz?"

Surprised he just didn't reach into my gown, I took it out and making it so Will couldn't see what it was, gave it to Jack. He smiled at it.

"You don't know what this is, do ye?"

"It's a pirate medallion," I said, taking a guess.

Jack shook his head. "This is Aztec gold. . . one of 882 identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortes himself. Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies. But the greed of Cortes was insatiable. So the heathen gods placed upon the gold a terrible curse. Any mortal that removes but a single piece from that stone chest shall be punished for eternity." Jack paused for effect.

Will looked like he was about to burst out laughing. I gave him a look. He said pompously, "I hardly believe in ghost stories anymore, Jack."

Jack's eyes flashed. "Ghost story, is it, Willie boy? That's exactly what I thought when I was first told the tale. Buried on an Island of Dead what cannot be found except for those who know where it is." He sighed. "I heard the stories. Find it, they did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And they took 'em all. They spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more they gave 'em away, the more they came to realize. . . the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in their mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake their lust. They are cursed men, Mr. Turner."

I gasped. "We're the middlemen in your operation, Captain Sparrow. You're using us to get your ship back!"

Jack laughed. "You're a bit slow on the uptake, Elizabeth. But yes, thanks to you and Will, Barbossa is going to be mortal and I get to have the Black Pearl. There is one way they can end the curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to Elizabeth, we have the final piece."

"My father, the pirate," Will said quietly. "They need his blood. My blood. The blood of a pirate."

Jack nodded. "Aye." But then the mood was shaken by a gigantic explosion. "What the bleedin' hell was THAT?!"

Commodore Norrington

Sailing for a week with little to show for it. The fact was, I had no idea where Sparrow, Turner, and Elizabeth might have gone. I was almost ready to give up when I saw a ship out in the distance. Gillette saw it first, through the spyglass. "Eh, Commodore? Mine eyes may be lying but does this look like the Dauntless?"

I had a gander. "It may very well be, and since we have nothing to lose, we shall advance."

The Navy men aboard the Interceptor cried, "Aye aye, Commodore!"

Elizabeth was just within reach.