I wrote like all of this today. Literally. Took me all day. So you better enjoy it xDD

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Chapter 12

Not only a fur overcoat was provided, but also leggings, a pair of gloves, and boots with two pairs of wool socks rolled up inside. Pocahontas pulled on all of it, her soul colder with fear than it had ever been before. She fixed the faces of John Smith and Jack Sparrow in her mind as best as she could. She knew that memory would be the only way she would be able to see them again.

The cold slammed into her when she opened the cabin door. She gasped. This was nothing like the winters at home. This kind of cold was hostile and biting. Clumsily, on account of the bulky gloves, she parted her hair in the back and brought it forward so it hung on both sides of her face. She hastily pulled the hood up over her head and felt a little warmer. Moving to the rail, she peered up at the moon through the fur in the hood. It was full, bigger than usual. It seemed they had pulled into a natural bay. All around the ship was a wasteland of ice. The moon threw sparkles on it, lighting it up from within. It was beautiful, but the fear within Pocahontas drowned out any pleasure at the scenery.

"That fur coat becomes ye, darlin'," Barbossas' voice behind her made her jump and turn. He too was dressed in fur. One of his gloved hands made to rest on her shoulder, but she wrenched her body away before he could touch her. He sighed as if in resignation and beckoned to his crew. A rope ladder was thrown over the starboard side of the ship. A few of the crew climbed down, then Barbossa signaled for Pocahontas to do the same.

A light powder of windblown ice, almost like snow, covered the surface of the frozen world. It crunched underneath Pocahontas' boots when she hopped off the ladder. Barbossa followed after, and gestured again for the crew and Pocahontas to follow. They struck out north, furs silhouetted against the silver ice and black star-studded night sky. They had gone maybe a mile – it was hard to judge distance against such a featureless landscape – before their captain called a halt.

Barbossa walked forward a little more, away from his crew. When he stopped, he raised his hands to the full moon and shouted words in a strange language. Pocahontas looked around, confused. This spot looked like every other place here – flat, white, and cold. This can't be the home of the giants, she thought, it's too… ordinary. A flicker of hope that maybe this wasn't real flared through her chest.

Even as she thought it, the ice beneath Barbossas' feet cracked. The fissure wasn't large, but it made a noise like a gunshot, and she flinched. It can't be, she told herself incredulously, the ice is much too thick to break! Yet it had.

Why was the ground losing its' gleam? Had a cloud covered the moon? No, a cloud wouldn't make a ruddy orange glow like that. Pocahontas looked up at the sky and instantly realized what was happening: a lunar eclipse. What had the god said to Barbossa? "When Hati devoured the moon and the skies lit blue." As if summoned by her memory, curtains of mint green, robins' egg blue, and the deep violet of a sunset shimmered into place among the stars. The Native American had never seen anything so beautiful, and she gaped at the phenomenon for a moment.

Something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. She looked down and nearly screamed. A sickly green, glowing face was glaring up at her from between her feet. Perhaps it was just a distorted illusion from the ice, but that face looked larger than life. As she stared, she saw more faces appear, each one subtly different than the last, some even looking female. They moved slowly and blinked a lot, as if they were just waking up.

A bright orange light, brighter even than the moon before the eclipse, blinded Pocahontas. She shielded her eyes with her gloved hand. She squinted, trying to find the source. Across the icy field, in front of where Barbossa stood, was a shifting, disjointed figure that was the source of the light. The only thing Pocahontas' sharp eyes could really make out was the flaming red hair.

It's true, she realized. Barbossa was telling the truth. Fear froze her, then stole the strength from her legs. Her knees hit the cracking ice without any pain, for she could feel nothing except the hopeless despair that gripped her soul. This is the end.

A roar made her turn around. Men were sprinting towards them from a burning ship. How strange, but as they got closer, she thought she recognized some of the men from the Black Pearl. I must be hallucinating, Pocahontas thought in wonder, or dying. But the visions persisted, and another appeared – the Pearl beside the flaming Naglfar. It was them; Jack had come! Her relief was quickly drowned in the realization that even though Jack was here, it was too late. Barbossa was conversing with Loki and the giants awakening from their freezing slumber. Who could challenge a god and even hope to be the victor?

Above the Pearls' crew, another god-light flashed into existence. A voice big as a mountain boomed down upon them all, speaking the language Barbossa had chanted to the moon. Barbossa and Loki looked up in alarm. The second god – the voice was undoubtedly male – swooped down upon Loki in a clash of blue on orange. Barbossa threw up his arms in front of his eyes and stumbled backwards. His foot caught on a widening crack in the ice and he stumbled. A hand large as a wigwam punched through that crevice. The dread pirate screamed and tried to crawl away. The giant, however, was merciless. It grabbed Barbossa by his legs. His eyes were wide, mouth open in a scream that no one heeded as the giant dragged him down through the rift.

Pocahontas was suddenly aware of rushing air and pounding feet all around her. Barbossas' crew abandoned their captain and his captive. The gods were wrestling, rolling around on the ice in a terrible parody of squabbling children. Like children, they were shouting at the top of their inhuman lungs. The ice, thick as a continent but more solid, splintered with their every move with a noise like a cannon blast combined with breaking glass. The giants were striking the ice from underneath, desperate to escape their prison – or find their next human snack. She tried to stand, but the ground was shaking so much and her legs were numb. She fell again. Before she could hit the ground, a hand clasped her upper right arm. She gasped and swung her head, looking directly into the eyes of Jack Sparrow.

"Come on!" Jack shouted over all the noise. "Get up! Run!" He heaved her up and they dashed towards the Pearl hand in hand. They leaped over the bodies of Barbossas' men bleeding out onto the ice. The crimson blood contrasted eerily with the glowing green bodies of the giants underneath. Pocahontas' hood fell off and her hair streamed out behind her as she kept pace with Jack.

Suddenly, a thunderclap sounded right beneath their feet. Ice shards heaved up, threatening to cut their faces. Jacks' right hand slipped out of Pocahontas' left one, ripping the glove with him as they were thrown apart. She landed heavily on her back, sliding back a few feet on the ice from the force of the blast. A giants' fist rose out of the void. Pocahontas struggled up onto her elbows, one leg stretched out while the other bent with her boot on the ground. Dazed, she looked up at it, luminous and green against the night sky, still not believing any of this was real.

"Pocahontas!" Jack shouted from the other side of the fist, what sounded like the other side of the world. She saw him start to dart around the hole to get to her. The fist swiveled around to strike him. Jack flew through the air, landed eagle-spread twenty feet away, and didn't move.

"Jack!" Pocahontas shrieked, but he made no response. She looked up in horror at the massive hand. It turned towards her as if it had heard her cry out. Slowly, with the menace of a nightmare, it started towards her. She scooted backwards, but it did no good. The enormous fingers closed around her legs the same way they had done Barbossas'. Screaming, twisting onto her stomach, scrabbling to find purchase on the smooth ice did no good; the giant started dragging her towards the gap.

The closer she got to the edge, the more desperate she became. She turned to look at Jack one last time. He was struggling to sit up, shaking his head as if in a stupor. He looked towards Pocahontas and his jaw dropped. Automatically her arms reached towards him; whether in a plea for help or a final farewell, she did not know. Immediately he lurched up and ran to her. He slammed down on his stomach before her, arms flung out. They clasped each others' forearms.

"Jack…" Pocahontas breathed.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, love. Come on." He started pulling, but Pocahontas yelped in agony at literally being torn in two directions. Her hips and legs were already inside the fissure with her stomach pressed against the sharp edges, and her elbows resting on the top of the ice.

"It hurts, Jack," She gasped, tears of pain running down and freezing on her cheeks.

"I know, love. Here, I've got an idea. Let go of my right arm." Pocahontas' eyes popped. "Just for a minute. Grab my other arm." She did so reluctantly as her stomach slid below the surface. Jack, who was reaching inside his coat for something, was pulled forward as well. He brought his legs up beneath his body and rose to a kneeling position as he pulled his pistol out from his holster.

"Keep your head down," he warned. He aimed the pistol over her head into the hole and fired. The blast made her ears pop. His aim was apparently true: her whole body jerked as the giant twitched in pain. Jack shot again, and again the monster convulsed but did not let go. Only Pocahontas' head and arms, laying flat on the ice holding onto Jack, were above the edge now. Jack pulled the trigger a final time, and the giant let go with a roar.

The sensation of her legs dangling in empty, bottomless air nearly sent Pocahontas into a hysterical panic. But Jack tossed his pistol aside and threw his right arm down to grip hers again. He heaved, and when she was able to, she pushed up with her elbows. A moment later she was able to throw one leg onto the surface, and then the other. No time to rest: as soon as she was out, they were running again, nearly taking flight over the multi-colored ice absorbing the colors of the sky.

The crew had gotten back to the Pearl before Jack and Pocahontas. They leaned over the rail, shouting encouragement as they neared the ship. Jack urged her up the rope ladder first, and followed immediately after. As soon as they touched the deck, the rope ladder was pulled up and the Pearl cast off. Jack for once did not take the wheel, but stood with his arms around Pocahontas, cheek resting on the top of her head, watching the gods duel. Before long, the god sheathed in blue flame appeared to have won, for Lokis' orange flame was extinguished. At the same time, the moon resumed her usual silver sheen as the eclipse ended. Her brightness nearly drowned out the dancing lights. Pocahontas nearly cried with relief at seeing the world so blessedly normal again.

The gentle blue of the god-light blossomed in front of the couple on deck. The light wasn't so intense this time, so they could see a heavily muscled man, naked to the waist, with a thick wavy mustache and beard standing before them.

"I thank you, Jack Sparrow." The god spoke their language, with a slight accent. "The trickster, Loki, has been put in his proper place. I think not Barbossa nor him will trouble my oceans again."

"Your oceans?" Pocahontas asked, curious.

The god chuckled. "Aye, daughter, my oceans. I am Aegir, lord of the seas. The waters of my home have been disturbed as of late. I felt it especially when the sea serpent Jormungand swam once more. He is Lokis' son, you see. He sent it to destroy you and your ship, because Barbossa knew the only man who could ever outdo him was Captain Jack Sparrow." He nodded to the pirate. "I knew then that something was not right. Loki was confined to a secret place, as punishment for his wily ways. He must have appeared to Barbossa in hopes to strike a bargain. The only time Loki could be released was at Ragnarok. If Barbossa could set in motion the beginning of Ragnarok, Loki would be set free."

"What about Lokis' promise to make Barbossa a god?" Pocahontas wanted to know.

"Doubtless he never meant to give him those powers." Aegir responded, "He has cheated many a man this way. Loki is only interested in his own affairs. He delights in the suffering of others. Starting Ragnarok all on his own would have been his idea of the greatest prank of all time."

The god continued, "When I felt something was not right, I appeared to the Captain of the ship that Jormungand touched." Again, he nodded to Jack. "Jack told me of Barbossa, and of your kidnapping. I eavesdropped on the conversation he had with you," here, he looked at Pocahontas with ancient and knowing eyes that pierced her soul, "and realized at once what was happening. I sped the Black Pearl on its' way to stop this madness. Loki has been confined once more, and the giants slumber again in their frigid beds. As thanks for keeping the world safe, I shall grant the good Captain of this ship one wish." He turned back to Jack. "What is it you most desire?"

Pocahontas looked up and searched Jacks' face. She could read the answer in his eyes.

…

"What is it you most desire?"

The question rang in Jacks' ears. He looked down at the woman in his arms. Intuitively, he knew that she could tell what he was thinking. Of course his greatest desire was her. But even Jack at his worst knew he couldn't ask for her. She was an independent thing, wild in a way. If he bound her into something she didn't even ask for, any chance of her loving him would evaporate. And yet he couldn't bear to part himself from her.

In the end, Jack knew she would have to make her own decision. The look in her eyes told him that she knew, too.

"Just get us to London safely," Jack didn't look at Aegir as he answered. Instead he kept his brown eyes on Pocahontas' black ones. He stroked her cheek as she had done to him so many weeks ago, "No more surprises, no more tricks."

"And so it shall be done," the sea god declared, "and more." They turned to look at the god one last time. "Jack Sparrow, as long as you are Captain of the Black Pearl, the winds shall favor her and she shall not meet neither monster nor the bottom of the waves. Thank you again. Fare thee well, Jack Sparrow." The god was gone in another flash of light.

"Thank you, Jack," Pocahontas murmured. He turned back to her and returned her small smile. Her hands were warm against his back underneath his jacket; his hand thawed against her face. He couldn't tell if she was thanking him for rescuing her or for acknowledging her right to choose. In the end, before he lowered his lips to hers, he decided it was a bit of both.

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Told you it'd be a long one xD Next chapter will be the last. Please stay tuned. =)