Disclaimer: I do not own POTC.
I have no excuse for this being so late. But, I do. See my profile for details. : )
Chapter 12: The Smoke Thickens
Natie gazed out across the blue waters. She was momentarily forgotten by her captors. All eyes were on the horizon, straining to see the ship that could bring them the greatest wealth imaginable. Jack Sparrow was on that ship, and whoever killed him got a bigger portion of treasure. And they had been saving up their treasure for a very long time. Even those that got average shares would probably never work another day in their life.
"Get the girl up here! I want her tied in my quarters!" Cadoom yelled.
"What about the boy? He might be her accomp…accom…companion," a pirate called. Natie noticed that it was Roy, the dumb pirate from the beach.
"Anywhere but the brig! Please not the brig! They always smell awful, and there's rats and vermin!" Jack cried out, hysterical. Natie had to admit, he was clever when he cared to be.
"Put him in the brig." As Jack was lead away, practically screaming, Cadoom smiled. "I think your little friend will enjoy himself down there. We have a lot of rats."
She put on a face full of concern. She knew quite well that it was an act, and that it would take Jack seconds to escape from the cell. It seemed as if they didn't even know how they had escaped before. A few pirates grabbed her, forcing her into the captain's quarters. They simply closed the door after her, not tying her up or locking the door. They seemed to believe she wouldn't cause any problems. To pass the time before her escape, she looked through the window in front of the cabin. That was the first time she noticed something.
Only about half the crew had their faces revealed, shining with sweat in the setting sun. The other half wore bandanas over their faces, wit the exception of their eyes, which were completely covered up. They must be the ones with the burned faces. She tried to remember the story about the ship.
Years ago, right after she was born, there was a ship known as the Sudden Surrender. It had been a powerful pirate ship. As terrible as the cursed Black Pearl. But something had gone wrong. Some of the crew wanted to attack more ships, more towns, and kill anyone in their path. The second group wanted to stop altogether. The captain had sided with the peaceful group, and decided to turn his ship into a merchant vessel.
This brought the crew to mutiny. Many of the ones that wished to continue plundering had been marked as pirates by the East India Trade Co. There was no way they would be allowed on merchant ships, and if they sought jobs on land it wouldn't be long before they were discovered as one time pirates. They were outraged at the captain because his decision ensured them an early meeting with the noose.
The two parts of the crew fought, neither winning, neither losing. The leader of the mutineers tried to use the cannon on the opposing force, but it backfired, setting the ship alight. The rightful captain burned in the flames.
His final words were, "Curse ye all! The bad shall be tainted, the good shall be beautiful. All who join the crew shall suffer as well! Forever alive till the ship belongs to the rightful heir! The child of my child! All false shall perish!"
The captain had been a descendant of the mysterious Aztec people. At the moment of his death, his curse was carried out. Those against him burned and yet they lived. Those who had remained loyal stayed youthful. When the fire went out, the two parties set up peace talks. They believed this would lift the spell. But it did not.
Under the command of the first mate, the damned crew set out in search of the heir. Along the way, they renamed the ship the Burning Death. They soon learned that the captain had a wife and two sons. For years they searched for them, hoping that they would give them the ship and the curse would end. Hopefully, one of them would have a child. It was clear that the curse meant only a grandchild of the captain would do. The curse was already strengthening, and I was early on. Some men had joined the crew after the curse was set, and those men too became undead.
They found one son in Tortuga. He had set out in search of his missing father. He had even heard the stories. They brought him aboard the ship, showing him the crew. The man agreed to be captain. As soon as they called him their leader and rightful heir, the man was struck down and died. The crew was at a loss.
They traveled to England with the body, bringing it to the wife of the late captain. She explained that the dead son was her first born, and not the captain's child, the woman had said blushing. Their only hope was to find her first son, who was indeed the captain's flesh and blood. He even had a child. She told them that he was planning to sail with his family to the Caribbean. They decided to intercept the ship.
They planned on stopping the ship and taking the man, but something went wrong. The ship left early, and they managed to set a trap farther out to sea. But too many ships fell prey before they got the right one.
They found the son, a man named Cadoom. He was made captain. But the curse wasn't broken. His child had to be captain. The mother disagreed, saying a five year old couldn't be a pirate captain. She took the child to a lifeboat, and they planned their escape. But Cadoom shot the mother, and the boat capsized. The child was never seen again. The ship was forever cursed.
But Cadoom was unwilling to believe. So, he took another wife, and they had a child, but the boy died in infancy. It happened right after they called the boy the heir to the ship. Only Cadoom's first child would break the curse.
So, for the past eight years, they had searched for the child.
Natie hated the story. The ship she ad been on with her family had been destroyed while the pirates searched for the heir. A startling thought came to her.
What if they think I'm the heir? Natie thought. They would try to announce her the rightful heir, and it would kill her. They would fight the Pearl while immortal, then try to change to mortals again. They would be very disappointed when they learned it wasn't her. But she had a lot of leverage if she played her cards right. If Jack could help her escape to the Pearl when the fighting started, the pirates could fight against Jack Sparrow, because they could accidentally kill her. Then they would think they had killed the heir. It was the perfect plan.
So evil of my cliffy.
And I'm sorry, but the story is drawing to a close. A few more chapters before it's over of course. But I'm going to have another POTC story out soon.
