Book Four - Chapter Eleven: Beginning the Beginning

The Black Pearlsailed on to the Isla de Muerta. Getting to it with the coordinates on Jack's map turned out to be a stroke of good luck above all else. All around them were traces of ships that had tried and failed throughout the ages. The rocks where nearly unavoidable, but with careful consideration the Pearl made it by. Boats were lowered and the men rowed into the caverns.

What they found will come to no surprise. The gold - all eight hundred and ninety nine pieces. The men couldn't load it onto the ship fast enough. That task accomplished, there was a matter that was still pressing. The second set of coordinates was examined. The destination was unquestionable. There wasn't a man aboard that wasn't now prepared to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

Feersen's ship had been waiting longer than its master had patience for. He questioned the girl numerous times a day. He asked about the witch in the bayou. Amelia knew nothing of her and was struck for it. He asked about the location of the gold. Amelia had no idea where to look and was struck for it. He asked about the ship that would retrieve her. Amelia couldn't guarantee that it would retrieve her and she was struck for it. He asked about her services to her captain. Amelia struck back.

The longer Feersen waited, the sloppier the scouting became. He was nearly ready to accept that Bimbly had betrayed him. Had they been in a more studious mind, they would have seen hope in the form of black sails, but impatience burdened them. Due to this the Black Pearl was practically handed the fortuitous element of surprise. What neither party was yet aware of, however, was that prepared or not, the odds were already skewed.

The Pearl swooped in and began firing. The enemy retaliated, of course, but their delay bought the Pearltime enough to be in close range. Barbossa had already assigned a party to board and as soon as the grappling hooks hit their target. There was not a moment wasted before Feersen's ship was swarmed with pirates. The men all knew their orders - find the girl and take down anyone standing in the way. With the adrenaline rushing through them, the men hadn't really noticed the extent to which they were being hurt. Many should have already fallen over dead. Feersen's men were the ones who took notice of this phenomenon but only for a moment before they were shot at or run through.

Amelia was not imprisoned per se. She was kept in a private room rather than the brig. When she heard the commotion she was certain that it was her rescue party who had come for her at last. She banged on the door and the walls, trying to make enough noise for anyone outside to hear. Unfortunately the amount of noise that was taking place with the guns drowned out all of the girl's cries. On the plus side, however, the amount of guns in use allowed for a blow to the door. Amelia dove to the floor in time to avoid the impact herself. When most of the dust had cleared, she got to her feet and tried to pry away the splinters of wood that were the remainder of the top half of the door. The attempt was futile but at least it caught the attention of one of her rescuers. Pintel saw her hands through the door and rushed towards it himself. He called out for her to stand back as he shot at the door frame. The blast was enough to eliminate the purpose of the lock and enable what was left of the door to open. Amelia ran out. Pintel took her by the arm.

"Get a line over," Pintel told her.

Amelia nodded.

Pintel ran behind her, ensuring her a safe crossing. As she took hold of the line, she saw one of Feersen's men come at Pintel sword drawn. Amelia instantly dropped it and kicked the man only a moment too late after he had already run his blade through Pintel's ribs. What she didn't expect was for Pintel to have enough time to shoot the man once he had hit the floor. Amelia turned to him aghast that he still stood with the hilt of a sword still visible in his chest.

"My god, are you alright?" Amelia cried.

Pintel turned her about and told her to take hold of a line. Amelia wouldn't listen. She couldn't understand why he wasn't even bleeding.

"Come with me, then," Amelia begged.

Pintel looked around and then replied, "I'll follow you."

Amelia doubted it. Even if he was running on adrenaline, it was bound to ware off soon and he wouldn't make it back onto the ship. That wasn't the case, however. As he said he would, Pintel took hold of a second line once Amelia touched down on the deck of the Pearl.

Barbossa ran to his daughter to ensure that she was alright but Amelia was twice as concerned about those around her. When Barbossa saw the sword lodged inside of Pintel, he agreed to have Amelia resume her surgical duties. While she went to sit Pintel down Barbossa sent out the signal to return to the ship. Once the men were back aboard they finished off Feersen's ship, letting it burn and sink from the cannon fire.

Amelia readied all that she could to remove the sword, praying that it wouldn't kill the man instantly. Shockingly, he didn't even flinch as she tugged on it. Barely moving it an inch, Amelia expected the blood to start pouring out, but there was none. One of the men, also seemingly injured, passed by, and seeing Amelia moving the hilt in a stop and start fashion, assumed that Amelia was unable to pull it out. Trying to be helpful, he took hold of it and yanked it. Amelia shrieked as he did so, knowing that it would do more harm. Pintel reacted to Amelia's reaction more so than having actually felt anything. Amelia went into a panic and began screaming at the man for his stupidity, but then it was Pintel who was trying to calm her down. Amelia stopped and looked at the puncture wound. It still was not bleeding. She looked at the sword. It had blood on it. She knew that Pintel should be dead or at least passed out from the pain and blood loss, yet he was as conscious and alert as ever. Her attention then turned to the other man whose hole in his shirt clearly indicated a bullet to the chest, yet he too showed no signs of bleeding. She reached for the surgical tongs and without even asking the man to sit down she pried into his chest. He didn't let out a cry or a groan. She pulled out the lead. It was covered in blood but the wound did not bleed. Amelia backed up until she hit the wall. She didn't know what was happening but she assumed that she was losing her mind. In any case, she was certain that she was in no state to be helping anyone if her perception was so altered. Her panic sent panic into those around her who were concerned for her well-being. She was led to the captain's cabin and left alone. Amelia tried to tell herself that she was delusional from trauma and that she needed to sleep it off in order to regain her senses.

As she lay down, Amelia was going through her mind of what could have caused this severe trauma. In thinking it over, she then came to the conclusion that any number of events which had taken place in the past couple of weeks would be reason enough for trauma. The fact that she had experienced so much in such a short amount of time would also be reason enough to explain an overwhelming traumatic reaction. She was kidnapped out in the open while her friends, father, and lover stood by and did nothing. She had told Jack who had apparently already knew about her condition and yet he did nothing. She had to endure the treatment from Feersen. She had to endure the fear that perhaps she was not going to be rescued. She had to fear what was to become of her when being with child became obvious. The more Amelia thought of it, the more she wanted to drown it out.

"I'm back," she tried to tell herself, "I'm safe on the ship."

All she wanted was for Jack to appear and tell her that it was all alright. She lay in his bed and waited. He would come, she was certain of it. The door opened. Amelia lifted her eyes to see.

"My poor girl," a gentle voice said.

It was not the one Amelia wanted to hear. Barbossa sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on his daughter's cheek. Amelia began to cry. Barbossa brushed his hand through her hair and calm her.

"It's alright, pet. Ye're safe now. No one will hurt you."

Amelia could not stop herself from crying. She wanted to. She wanted to ask where Jack was. She wanted to know how this all came about. She wanted to know why she was taken away. Her tears would not allow for her to speak. They were ceaseless and overpowering until at last the girl had cried herself to sleep.

Amelia had unwittingly slept through the night and did not wake until morning. The crew was thankful for this. They had seen themselves in the moonlight and knew the cause of it. When Amelia awoke her flood of questions was ready to begin. The first one, however, would be enough to answer the rest.

"Where's the captain?" she asked the first crew mate she saw.

He hesitated, unsure of what he was permitted to say. In failing to come up with an answer, he simply pointed at Barbossa.

Amelia instantly knew the gravity of the gesture. If something had happened to Jack, Barbossa as first mate would be captain. If Barbossa knew of what had happened to Jack, chances are that he was the cause of it. If Barbossa was the cause of Jack not being here, she was unsure of how much she really wanted to know. There was only one way to find out.

"Where's Jack?" she asked her father.

Barbossa turned and looked at her only to turn away again.

"I'm not sure if you be well enough to know the truth yet," he replied.

Amelia's breathing shortened.

"The truth would be a nice change," Amelia said after a moment.

Barbossa faced her as he said, "I regret to inform you and our once beloved Captain Jack Sparrow has met his end, completely and irreversibly."

"How?" Amelia asked calmly. "Did you have him killed?"

Barbossa raised an eyebrow, let out a sigh, and said, "He sold you for the gold."

"What?"

"He and the gangly fellow came up with a plan to get the gold. Jack traded you for trust in him, and then once he had the location of Isla de Muerta, he had the so-called friend killed. The crew and I tried to reason with him. Tried to get him to uncover these secrets he'd been keepin' to himself. It was an intervention of sorts. Jack didn't take it well. He feared us as a threat, became hostile. Ended up going overboard."

Amelia put her hand over her mouth.

"'Tis a sad end for any man, but when I think of what he must have put ya through," Barbossa said putting his arm around her.

"I don't believe it," she said.

"Maybe he meant it as a favour."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jack had promised that when you were taken, you'd be sent back to your mother's in Stone Chapel. We later learned that it was all a lie. You were naught but bait."

"Yes, Feersen had mentioned the arrangement with Bimbly."

"We got ourselves the gold, but I thank the heavens that you weren't there to take part in it."

"What do you mean?"

"The gold is cursed."

"I heard the stories."

"Aye, but 'tis another thing altogether to be livin' it."

Amelia's eyes begged for more answers.

"Now be not the time for it," Barbossa said, looking away. "Whatever you see, pet, don't fear it. Ye're safe here."

Those words were not as comforting as Barbossa had intended them to be and the warning did not cushion the reality Amelia witnessed the following night. The gruesome alteration from man to corpse made Amelia sick to her stomach. She quickly learned to stay in doors when the sun went down. The hardest part still, however, was adjusting to the thought of Jack being dead. It was unnerving to see her father take on the role of captain so easily. The men hardly seemed bothered by it. The burden that Amelia was bearing felt like it was eating her from the inside out, but she was running out of souls to confide in.