The next few days were uneventful. Well, uneventful to the Dutchman, it seemed. There were a few new recruits from a ship that had been destroyed by pirates, all boys, of course. I was the first and only girl the Dutchman would have under Davy Jones's command. I was slowly growing stronger, as was Will. The muscles in our upper arms and shoulders were growing more pronounced with each day. Elizabeth would have been very happy to see Will in the buffed state he was in. My back, on the other hand, was being torn up by whiplashes, given to me by Maccus for every possible offense he could think of. Some crew even got to play tic-tac-toe on my back with the lashes. With the harder lashes, I would end up screaming in pain and Davy Jones would have to play his haunting organ louder to try and cover it up. Erik would often cringe when this happened, and it was either him or Will who would end up retying the leather thong that held the back of my shirt together.
One day, though, Will was working with us to hoist up the cannon that Erik and I had dropped. Will, Erik and I were holding onto the same rope, so we all heard when the bosun cried out, "Secure the mast anchor, Mr. Turner!"
I watched as Will ran up the rigging to get to the thick rope. Another man had come up to do it as well. My mind raced as I tried to remember who else was on board whose name was Turner. I watched as the two began to fight over the control of the rope, and I recognized the older man. The bosun wasn't my favourite person to have me whipped, it was Bill; Bootstrap Bill Turner.
"What do you think you're doing?" Will yelled. "Step aside!"
"Mind yourself, boy!" Bill replied.
"He called me up, so move!" Will replied just as simply.
"Hey!" Bill yelled, and then he turned to look at Will. I was in perfect view, so I could see Bootstrap's facial expression. A look of pure horror had crossed his face. I winced, for I had forgotten what the poor man had looked like. There was a starfish under his bloodshot right eye, and seaweed hung from his hair and clothes. Mussels and barnacles grew on his cheek and his pale yellow skin glistened with salt water. I heard his gravelly voice whisper, "No!"
The rope slid from Bootstrap's hand and Will, still holding on, was dragged over to the said of the deck. The cannon dropped and all the crew jumped out of the way. I almost got a cannon dropped on my head, and I started swearing bloody murder as I jumped back and the cannon missed me by a couple of inches. Maccus smiled a little, hearing my disappointment and anger instead of my constant joy and tormenting remarks toward him. I snarled at him, and was about to lunge at him in anger, but my attention was instantly drawn to the call from the bosun.
"Bring that weevil to his feet!" Will was dragged up, and Maccus kept a strong hold on my body so I would not run up and interfere. The bosun grabbed the whip and said, "Five lashes to remind you to follow orders!"
"No!" Bootstrap yelled, grabbing the whip to stop its downfall. He looked the bosun straight in the eye as he did so. The exact same dialogue that had came between Erik, the bosun and Davy Jones now began again.
"Impeding me in my duties, eh?" The bosun snarled somewhat joyfully. "You'll share the punishment."
"I'll take it all." Bill replied, his voice husky.
"Will you now?" Davy Jones rumbled, walking over with his swagger. "And what be the reason for this change of heart?"
"My son." Bill replied, confirming my thoughts as he stared at Will in fright. "He's my son."
"I was right!" I yelled cheerfully. Davy Jones stared at me and I explained. "If you take off the undersea decorations on Bill's face, he and Will look somewhat alike. Also, when I was onboard the Dutchman the first time, Bill used to tell me stories about his son Will back in Port Royal. I think the connection is pretty obvious, Captain."
Davy Jones looked from Bill to Will and he began to laugh. "I see. Now, Bill, its either the bosun's hand that holds the whip, or yours."
The whip was handed to Bootstrap and Bill shook his head. "No. No."
Davy Jones tilted his head a little, and then he was about to give to the bosun when Bill snatched it out of his hand. The back of Will's shirt was ripped open and Bill stared in horror. I kept my eyes open as the first whip lash tore through Will's skin and he cringed. My eyes then closed and I was forced to listen to Will's restrained cries of pain without being able to help. Finally, I stopped thrashing and swearing. Will was then kicked over the deck and a simple sentence followed. "You had it easy, boy."
I jumped down and helped Will to his feet. Bootstrap followed and tried to help, but Will snarled, "I don't want your help."
"The bosun takes pride in cleaving flesh from bone." Bill said.
"So I am to understand that what you did was an act of compassion?" Will snapped.
"Yes." Bill whispered. I nodded my agreement as I tied Will shirt back together. Erik jumped down too. I raised a hand in a signal to stay back.
"Will, you were lucky." I told him. "Remember I had Maccus whip me? He's way worse. At least you had someone who cared about you do it. I had to be whipped by my biggest tormentor. Not that you are to blame, Erik." I added as I felt Erik's shame.
"I know." Erik replied. "I just wish that I could have actually done something to help you."
"You are not at fault." Bill said. "No of us are. It's Davy Jones. But at least we are together. That's what counts."
"Says you." I hissed. "I think possibly the most important thing for Will and I is getting off this gods-be-damned ship. We never swore an oath to the Dutchman, we came here to find this."
Will showed them the drawing of the key and he said, "We need to find this key."
I heard a crunching noise and I spun to look at the wall of the ship. The man who had melded into the wall, whose name was Ribbins, I believe, was trying to pull himself out. "The Dead Man's Chest." He moaned. I stayed straight, but more than anything I wanted to hide behind Bootstrap Bill. Ribbins's face was covered in stag coral and when he pulled his head from the wall, his brain remained on the wall.
"What do you know of this?" Will asked, leaning forward a little. I moved back, grabbing Erik's hand as I did so. He squeezed it gently, but I did feel the barnacles rubbing against my palm. Blood began to drip from my hand, but I ignored it. My eyes were riveted on Ribbins as he moaned.
"Open the chest with the key and stab the heart. No, don't stab the heart. The Dutchman needs a living heart or there'll be no captain! And if there's no captain, there's no one to have the key!"
"So, the captain has the key?" Will and I asked in perfect harmony. I shivered in fear once again.
Ribbins nodded and melded straight back into the wall. I looked at Will and said, in a tone of voice that I had inherited from my father, "Alright, we have our heading. Let's see if Davy Jones can point the way."