Pirates of the Caribbean: The Cursed Rings
Chapter 3: Stormy Weather
Chapter Quote:
Someone is loaded to the gunwhales! – Mr. Gibbs
Elizabeth glanced down at her snow white wedding gown and then at the Black Pearl in the near distance. She gave Will an uncertain look as he began to follow Jack to the ship.
"Will, I think we should change first."
Will turned around and then looked down at his own wedding clothes. He had almost forgotten. He glanced back at Jack and nodded.
"I think she's right. We have other clothes in the carriage."
"Hurry up then," Jack said. "Your friend Norrington won't like me hanging around here all day."
Jack watched the two run off until they disappeared from his sight. The ceremony was still going on and Jack could hear the music and laughter.
The wind began to pick up somewhat and the waves started getting larger.
"Hey mate!" a voice called from behind Jack. "Have I seen you before?"
Murtogg and Mullroy walked up to Jack Sparrow and circled him a few times. Both guards were in red uniforms and were carrying guns.
"You're Jack Sparrow," Mullroy said with his eyes getting bigger. His lips formed a smile, remolding his chubby face.
"Well, if it isn't my old favorite guards on Port Royal!" Jack said with a little enthusiasm. He loved playing around with these guys.
"See," Murtogg said sarcastically. "I told you the Black Pearl was a real ship."
"I knew it was a real ship," Mullroy snapped.
"No you didn't. You said it wasn't real."
"I did not," Mullroy insisted.
"Yes you did," Murtogg snorted. "Just as the Bloody Star is a real ship."
Mullroy rolled his eyes. "The Bloody Star isn't real."
"Yes it is I've seen it."
"You've seen it? You haven't seen it," Mullroy laughed.
"Yes I have."
Jack cocked and eyebrow at the two upstanding citizens of Port Royal. "And they give these men guns…"
As Mullroy and Murtogg continued to argue, Jack saw Will and Elizabeth running toward him in the distance.
Elizabeth was now wearing a casual peach dress outlined in white lace. She let her curly caramel hair down. It bounced behind her as she ran.
Will simply changed into his work clothes. He had on a stained white shirt with a vest. He had on his casual black pants and boots.
Jack began easing away from the guards without notice as they continued to argue over stupid issues of the moment.
Jack motioned for Elizabeth and Will as they finally caught up to him. Leaving Port Royal behind, the three hopped aboard the Black Pearl and set sail to Tortuga.
Will and Elizabeth walked to the bow of the ship and watched the waves of the ocean. Mr. Gibbs walked up to them both with a smile on his face. He took a quit sip of rum the hid the container inside his vest. His beard was scraggly and his hair was damp and wild.
"Someone is loaded to the gunwhales!" Mr. Gibbs shouted with a large smile on his face.
He slapped Will on the back and shook him a bit. "It's been a while since I've seen you lad."
"You're drunk Mr. Gibbs," Will said nonchalantly.
Mr. Gibbs paused. "Aye, you're probably right." He took another sip of rum.
Jack walked a few feet behind Mr. Gibbs. His musketeer boots clicked on the wood as he walked. "Mr. Gibbs, bring to. You're not going on the Binnacle list just because you're drunk."
"Aye Cap'n," Mr. Gibbs said and went toward the sails.
Will turned to Jack. "What about the Bloody Star? I want to know more about this ship and his crew."
"Well," Jack hesitated. "It's more of a squadron than a ship."
Elizabeth turned sharply and looked at Jack. "Squadron?"
"Yes, squadron."
"How many then?" Will asked a little worried.
"About five or six," Jack said walking toward the stern.
"Five or six," Will and Elizabeth said in unison.
Will's eyes encircled the Black Pearl.
"Is the Bloody Star a warship?"
"I don't know. I've never seen it," Jack admitted.
"Then how do you know it exists?" Elizabeth chimed in.
"Stories love." Jack swaggered a bit over some holystone but finally reached the stern of the ship. He glanced out at sea as if looking for something.
"Do you know anything about the ship? It's crew? The captain?" Will asked desperately.
"All I know is that the ship's flag is black with a red skeleton on it," Jack said leaning on the edge of the ship. "I might have seen it once when I was younger."
The tone of Jack's voice as he referred to his youth gave Will and Elizabeth chills. There was a mixture of animosity and sadness. Two emotions that didn't set well together at all.
Elizabeth placed a gentle hand on Will's shoulder. "I'm worried about him."
Will glanced at Jack and then back at his newly wife. "We have other things to worry about now."
"And this is Tortuga," Jack said proudly as they left the ship and entered the island.
"This is the great place?" Elizabeth said dully looking around. Most of the people were drunk. Prostitutes were running around clear as day. Even a few cross dressers were walking around with large mugs of rum.
"This place is a disaster," Elizabeth said.
"This is one of the greatest places in the Caribbean," Jack said defending the dump.
A pretty petite woman wearing a red revealing dress caught Jack's eye. "Oh that's Scarlet! Don't let her see me…let's go."
Scarlet's face looked rough as a hint of a hard life. She didn't seem to notice Jack as she was too busy talking to a large man with no shirt on.
Jack ducked and walked quickly behind a group of people trying to hide himself from the hooker's view.
Will and Elizabeth followed walking at their own pace until they came to an old run down tavern.
"This looks familiar," Will commented.
Elizabeth looked at him funny. "What?"
Jack pointed to the entrance. "In here."
Will walked in front of Elizabeth. "Be careful. People in here are barbarians."
Several fights were going on inside the tavern. Chairs were being broke and tables were being knocked over.
A woman in an older style yellow dress walked up to Jack and slapped him across the face. Her blue eyes were blazing. Most of her curly blond hair that sat on top of her head had fallen.
Elizabeth gasped.
"He's use to it," Will said grinning.
Jack rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?"
"You promised several weeks ago now that you got the Black Pearl back to take me for a cruise in it."
"Oh yea…"
"I haven't seen you in weeks. The last time I did see you was with that scalawag Scarlet."
"Giselle I'm sorry," Jack said giving her big brown puppy dog eyes.
Giselle huffed then looked behind Jack and saw Will and Elizabeth.
"Oh Will I remember you." She smiled a little. "I'm glad Jack didn't kill you dragging you all over the Caribbean chasing that ship and that awful pirate Barbossa. And you must be Elizabeth. You're alright as well. That's good. What can I get you to drink?"
"Things would have gone smoothly if everyone would have stuck to my plan instead of doing something stupid," Jack said looking at Will.
"Do you work here?" Elizabeth asked Giselle ignoring Jack and Will.
"Mm hmm. It's a good job too. The tips make the pay much better. And I get to hear every story that's happened at sea."
"Speaking of which," Jack said wrapping his arm around Giselle and walking her over to a table. He pulled a chair out for her and waited for her to sit down. Once she did, he sat down beside her and Will and Elizabeth followed.
"What do you know about the Bloody Star?" Jack had an unusual serious look on his face and Giselle knew he meant business.
"Well," she began. "The tales of the Bloody Star are much like the ones of the Pearl back when Barbossa was captain. The flag intimidates even the evilest of enemies. The canons leave nothing behind but a fire. When the Bloody Stars attack…there is hardly ever a survivor. A man by the name of Jonathan Stone is the captain of the ship as we speak. The tales of him are even more horrible. The moisture of his kiss is as of the venom of a snake. His eyes glaze with pure evil. His body is a temple of disaster."
Giselle's words frightened Will and Elizabeth but seemed to fascinate Jack.
"You said Bloody Stars," Elizabeth interrupted Giselle. "So they are a squadron?"
"Yes," Giselle said sighing. "But, generally they don't sail together. Captain Stone has gathered many followers over the years. His crews are large and he has enough to actually take care of that many ships. The original Bloody Star of course was designed and cared for by Richard Shaw. Good man."
"Richard Shaw!" Jack said loudly. "That's the man I was trying to think of. That's the one. He's the creator of the rings."
"The rings," Will said. "Those are actually our most concern. You see my wife's wedding ring is actually one of the cursed rings. We would really appreciate it if you could give us any information at all."
"Oh my," Giselle said starring at the ring. "I'm not sure how much help I will be at this. But, I will tell you everything I know. You see years ago Richard Shaw created two of these identical rings. It was from a mystic gold substance found in an Egyptian treasure. But, unlike most pirates at his time, Shaw didn't desire large amounts of gold and silver. He simply loved his ship, which at the time was the fastest ship in the Caribbean. He had the largest canons as well so many feared his ship. That's actually how it got its name. All the blood it caused under the stars."
"Do you know how to get rid of the curse?" Will asked.
Giselle sighed. "I'm not that sure Will. You see, when Richard Shaw cursed these rings he was in a lot of pain and anger. After his crew was killed along with his family those rings and that ship were the only things he had left. The only reason he was alive was because of those rings. He saw that as a curse. His entire life he built was destroyed. It was destroyed because greedy pirates desired those enchanted rings. He tossed them into the ocean. Anyone who places a ring on their finger is automatically cursed. Their most loved ones will die at the next lunar eclipse. Like his family and crew died because of the lunar eclipse."
"Yes," Elizabeth said sadly. "Jack explained to us about the lunar eclipse and how he lost it all because of that."
"Yes. No moon light no magic. But, as long as you have that ring on, you can use its power. That was Shaw's intentions. If you are willing to pay the price of loosing everything just to have power, then it's yours. He figured if your heart was that black, then there was no hope for you."
"But what do we need to get this ring off of Elizabeth's finger?" Will said slamming his fist down on the table.
Giselle bit her bottom lip. "I haven't really heard any cures for this curse."
The sound of high winds made all four of them look out the window of the tavern. The waves were very high now and rain began to pour down.
"Oh no the weather," Elizabeth said. "It looks like it's only going to get worse. We can't go out in that."
"It's not so bad—" Will's words were stopped by the intense flash of lightening and the loud burst of thunder.
"Well," Giselle said. "I do know who desires the rings. And that's Captain Stone himself. He's looking for them and if he finds out you have one, then he'll stop at nothing to get it. And…I have heard some of the pirates that come in here say he knows the secret of Shaw's curse. He knows how to get that ring off your finger and use it for himself. But, going to Captain Stone is way too risky. You're better off sailing these seas trying to find the cure yourself."
Elizabeth stood up. "I'll risk everything to make sure Will is safe."
Will stood up. "Elizabeth no. I don't want you to risk your life to save mine. I'm sure there is another way. Maybe someone around here has heard something about this curse. Maybe Jack knows somebody."
"Curses are his thing," Giselle mumbled.
Jack stood up. "I'll see what I can do mate."
But what none of them knew was that Captain Stone himself was in Tortuga and wasn't far from them.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! This is actually one of the first stories I've ever written. I'm glad you all like it.