Curse of the Cruise Ship

Chapter Two

Port Royal

ESF's Author's Note: In case some of you don't know, CGI stands for computer-generated imagery. Well, since I have nothing more important to say, please read and review!

wendystwin's Author's Note: Hello everybody! This is chapter two! Yeah, so you all better read it now cuz its longer and better then chapter one. It's quite fascinating, yes? Enjoy!

Melody was shaken awake by her sister. She felt as if she'd been hit by a truck. "What happened?" she asked, sitting up and looking around. Her vision was rather blurred from sleep, and her head was throbbing. "Where are we? And why do I sound English?"

From what she could see, Wendy looked freaked out. "You're not going to believe this, but I think we're in Port Royal."

Melody stared at her sister, who was also speaking with an English accent. "Are you insane? This is just some dirt alley in some Caribbean town."

"Port Royal is a Caribbean town, you dummy!"

"Oh yeah. But still – "

"Also, we're wearing 18th century men's clothing!"

She looked down at herself, her vision now back to normal.

She was wearing what looked like typical pirate garb: and open waistcoat over a loose-fitting off-white shirt, dark brown slacks held up with a belt, and boots that looked strangely similar to the kind Jack Sparrow wore, with the tops sort of folded down a bit. All of it smelled slightly of alcohol, and she was quite sure she wasn't wearing any underpants.

Some of the buttons on the shirt were undone, showing a bit more of her cleavage than she was comfortable with, and she hastily buttoned it again. She paused when she noticed she was wearing some sort of crudely constructed corset, made with various bits of leather sewn together and laced with twine.

Confused and wondering who had the nerve to change her clothes for her without asking, she went to run her hand through her loose hair, but instead, her hand came in contact with fabric. Feeling the top of her head, she found a hat, and took it off to examine it. It was a three-cornered hat, properly called, if her memory served, a tricorne. It was dark, almost back in color, and made of some material that Melody couldn't place, but looked somewhat like old and worn leather.

She then noticed that her hair wasn't down, but pulled back. She pulled out the ribbon that was holding it back and pulled some down in front of her face. It had been cut about shoulder-length, and it was stringy and in desperate need of washing. As she tied her hair back again, she suddenly realized that she felt dirty, as though she hadn't bathed in weeks.

Now even more confused and feeling a bit anxious, she put the hat back on and looked at her sister, who was watching her inspect her outfit. Wendy was wearing basically the same thing as Melody, but with no hat, and her bandanna was pale orange. But the most notable difference was her hair, which, instead of the usual dark blonde, it was now red, the same as Melody's. Unusual for fraternal twins, Melody and Wendy looked nearly exactly alike, except for their hair color, which was the only way to tell them apart.

"What happened to your – ?"

She interrupted her. "I looked in there," she pointed at a shabby-looking wooden door, "and I saw Jack Sparrow trying to get off the handcuff thingies, and – "

"Whoa, slow down!" said Melody, throwing her hands up to stop her sister. "Jack Sparrow? Are you sure?" Wendy nodded. "Look, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this."

"Reasonable? What could possibly be reasonable about any of this? Look! Look at that!" She pointed a shaky finger towards the entry to the alleyway, where Melody could see men in red navy uniforms running by. "The British Royal Navy in the Caribbean! They're after Jack Sparrow! I could have sworn I saw Commodore Norrington!"

"Ok, Wendy, we just need to relax. Just breathe, okay?" Melody led her sister through the door where Wendy claimed to have seen Jack Sparrow. Though it did quite resemble the blacksmith shop from the movie, Jack was nowhere to be seen. "See? Empty."

At the sound of metal hitting metal the girls looked up and saw two men sword fighting in the rafters.

"Oh my god..." said Melody.

"Jack Sparrow and Will Turner," whispered Wendy. "I told you!"

They jumped down and the girls ran to get out of their way. As Will ran towards him, Jack grabbed a bag of some sort of powder and sprayed Will in the face. As Will was trying to get it out of his eyes, Jack kicked the sword out of his hand, pulled out his pistol, and aimed it at him. Will, now able to see, looked at him.

"You cheated," said Will.

"Pirate," explained Jack.

There was a banging at the door. All four of them turned to look at it, and then back. Jack took a step toward the door Melody and Wendy had come through, but Will moved to block his path.

"Move away," Jack ordered, his pistol still aimed at Will.

"No." Melody and Wendy saw the drunk man wake up, realize what was going on, and move toward Jack with the bottle of rum.

"Please move."

"No," said Will, louder. "I cannot just step aside and let you escape."

Jack glanced at the door again and pulled back the hammer. "This shot is not meant for you." Will only looked confused.

The drunk man then hit Jack over the head with the bottle, successfully knocking him out, and a second later, Commodore Norrington and his men succeeded in breaking down the door. They rushed in and surrounded the unconscious Jack Sparrow, aiming their guns at him.

"Excellent work, Mr. Brown," said Norrington. "You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."

"Just doing my civic duty, sir," Mr. Brown slurred.

"I don't recognize you two," said Norrington, drawing attention to the girls for the first time. "I assume you are part of Mr. Sparrow's crew."

At this, some of the guns moved from Jack to Melody and Wendy.

"Excuse me, but we've never met this man before in our lives!" said Wendy truthfully.

"A likely story." Norrington looked down at Jack. "Well, I trust you will always remember this is the day that Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew almost escaped. Take them away."

"So, who are you lads?"

Jack and the girls had been taken to a prison inside the fort, despite the girls' claims that they had never met Jack before. Now they sat in a cell, facing the noose the next day at dawn, and Melody had not spoken since they had been told their fate. A few hours had passed since sunset, and the men in the next cell had long given up trying to flirt with Melody and Wendy.

The girls looked at each other in surprise at Jack's question. Did they really look that much like men?

"Uh, we're women, sir," Wendy informed him shyly.

Jack looked surprised. "Really?" They nodded. "Apologies. Who are you lasses, then?"

"Wendy Parks, and this is my twin sister, Melody."

"Twins, eh?" The girls nodded. "Never met twins before. So how did you get yourselves thrown in here with me?"

"That man in the blue coat thought we were part of your crew," said Wendy, "so he had us thrown in here with you."

"It's not fair!" cried Melody, speaking finally. "We're going to be hung for – " She stopped when she heard cannon fire. "What's going on?"

"I know those guns." Jack jumped up to look out the barred window. While his back was turned, Melody and Wendy shared a brief, excited look. "It's the Pearl."

"The Black Pearl?" said one of the men in the next cell. "I've 'eard stories. She's been preyin' on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

"No survivors?" Jack repeated. "Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?"

The men shared a confused look and continued trying to bait the dog with a bone.

"Well, sir," said Melody, after a moment. "We gave you our names. You're Jack Sparrow, right?"

"It's captain, love. Captain Jack Sparrow."

The next fifteen minutes passed in silence, save for the commotion outside and the men in the next cell still trying to lure the dog, who was now hiding under a wooden bench. Then, without much warning, the wall of the next cell exploded. Jack jumped away from it, and the girls, who were on the opposite side of the cell, stood up together.

"My sympathies, friends," said the same prisoner who'd heard the stories of the Pearl. "You've no manner of luck at all." Jack, Melody, and Wendy could only watch as they headed for freedom. Jack then spotted the bone that was lying outside the cell door.

"Well," he said, "guess it's worth a try." He reached through the bars and picked up the bone. He shook it and whistled.

"Come on, doggy," Jack called. "It's just you and me now."

"I don't think that's going to work, Captain Sparrow," said Melody delicately.

Jack motioned for her to be quiet. "It's you and old Jack. Come on. Come on. That's a boy." The dog had crawled out from under the bench and was now walking slowly towards Jack. "Good boy. Come and get the bone." The girls joined him at the door. "That's a good boy, come on. A bit closer. Bit closer. That's it. That's it, doggy." The dog was now standing in front of Jack. "Come on, you filthy, slimy, mangy cur."

A door closed, and the dog looked towards it. "Don't do that." The dog ran away. "No no no no no, I didn't mean it!" He called after the dog. "I didn't... Aw."

There was a gunshot from upstairs, and a navy officer fell down the stairs and landed, unconscious (and hopefully not dead). Two men, presumably part of Barbossa's crew hurried down the stairs.

The first one looked around. "This ain't the armory!"

The second one saw Jack and put away his sword. "Well, well, well. Look what we 'ave 'ere, Twigg." The pirates approached the cell. "Captain Jack Sparra." He spat at the ground in front of Jack.

"Last time I saw you," said Twigg, "you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinkin' into the distance." He laughed a little, and looked at his friend. "His fortunes aren't improved much."

"Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen," said Jack. "The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers."

With a growl, the pirate whose name Melody and Wendy didn't know reached through the bars and grabbed Jack by the throat. Melody and Wendy gasped; the skeleton arm looked much worse when it was real, and not CGI.

Jack looked at the arm. "So there is a curse. That's interesting."

"You know nothing of hell," said the unnamed pirate. He let go of Jack roughly and left with Twigg.

Jack watched them leave. "That's very interesting."

"Um, Mr. Sparrow?" said Melody after a short silence.

"Captain Sparrow, if you don't mind."

"Right, Captain Sparrow. That guy...his arm..." She rubbed her forearm, as if to make sure it was all still in one piece.

"You said something about a curse?" said Wendy.

"Aye," said Jack. "Don't you know the stories?"

"No," said Melody.

Wendy jumped in. "We can't remember anything before we woke up in the alley behind that blacksmith's shop," she said. "We don't know anything but our names."

"Really?" They nodded. "Well, then, since we obviously have a bit of time in here, I shall tell you of the cursed treasure."

So, Jack sat between Melody and Wendy, who listened intently to the tale, though they already knew it.