I am completely and utterly fed up.
"Commodore, why are we not going back to the Dauntless according to the plan? We have to ready the guns."
"We will not be going to the Dauntless."
"Why not?" I ask, "It was a part of the plan."
"Because it was Jack Sparrow who said it. I am not an idiot. I will not trust anything or anyone to him."
"You are just being stubborn. You don't just not trust him, you don't want to trust him. And why? Because he is a pirate." I say, angry at James' lack of flexibility.
"Yes, Annalee, he is a pirate. He has stolen, murdered, and far worse. I am in absolute shock that even you trust him."
"He saved my life! Of course I trust him!"
"This isn't up for discussion, Annalee."
"Then I will jump off the boat right now and swim to the Dauntless, or to the cave, whichever is closer."
Norrington snickers, "You can't swim."
"That will be your problem when you have to explain to my father how my death came about." I say getting to my feet.
"Sit down, Annalee! Or, so help me, I will tie you down and gag you."
I cross my arms and glare at him. Would he actually do it? I figure yes after him locking Elizabeth, his fiance, up.
I plop back down and the Commodore breathes a sigh of frustration yet relief.
"This is why you shouldn't have come." He says.
"No, this is why we should return to the Dauntless."
"You really do love to argue, don't you?"
"Everyone has a talent, and Father says that that is mine."
"Unfortunately, good talents must have run out by the time you came around."
"You are funny, James. I find you incredibly amusing. Maybe you should quit your position and become an entertainer, traveling from party to party and get people to laugh at you. Oh, wait, they already do."
"Someone fetch me a gag." The commodore orders the soldiers sharing our boat.
"You wouldn't." I say through slitted eyes.
"Oh, yes, I would."
Before he can actually follow through with his threat, something catches his attention. Everyone looks to where he is staring intently and we see a small rowboat coming into view from behind a large rock jutting out of the cave. The strangest part of it all is that the passengers are two women, dressed for a picnic, parasols and all.
The soldiers all point their muskets at the strangers.
"Hold fire." Norrington orders.
The ladies row on past us, almost as if they didn't even notice the six boats filled with soldiers.
They soon disappear into the fog, heading straight for the Dauntless.
"What on earth?" I say.
"What was that?" A soldier calls from another boat.
"I thought I was just seeing things." Norrington says.
"Mass hallucination?" I offer skeptically.
He gives me a grim smile as the night's silence is interrupted by the ringing of a bell, which draws our attention to the Dauntless.
Gunshots and shouts, which we had not noticed before, emanate from the ship.
"Make for the ship!" The Commodore orders, "Move!"
Oars are taken up and all the rowboats start rowing for the ship at a break neck speed.
The sounds of battle become our guide as a fog sets in around us.
"To the ship!" One of the higher officers calls to his men, encouragingly.
"Row men!" Norrington echoes, urging them faster.
All of a sudden, a cannon balls lands only a couple meters away, thankfully landing in the water with a large splash.
After that first one, it is an unrelentless barrage of shots, fortunately all landing in the water.
Large doses of salty, ocean water lands in the boat, slowly but surely soaking the passengers.
By the time we get to the ship, I am soaked to the bone. My loose, thin blouse and black skirt did nothing to protect me from the cold water of the sea. The rest of the passengers, however, look barely disheveled, their thick military attire keep the water out.
"Boarders away!" Norrington calls out to his men, "Annalee, you stay here. You will be safer down here."
"Absolutely not." I say starting to climb the side of the ship along with the men, "I know how to fight."
"Annalee!" Norrington calls, climbing up after me.
I ignore him and swing over into the ship, only to be faced with a living nightmare. I stand paralyzed at the sight that meets me.
The pirates of the Black Pearl, have lost their humanity. Only bones and clothing, they stand, the living dead.
A pirate notices me and slowly makes his way towards me, his sword at the ready.
I don't move. I can't move. The shock at seeing the physicality of the curse has rendered me helpless.
Norrington climbs up after me and shoots the pirate, the sound jolting me back into reality just in time to dodge another pirates sword.
Norrington unsheathes his sword and pushes me behind him.
"This was very foolish of you, Annalee!" He shouts parrying a pirate's sabre.
"Just give me a sword and I'll be able to defend myself against these, these monsters."
"Cover me!" He shouts and all the soldiers nearby encircle us, keeping the pirates at bay.
"Take this." Norrington says, holding out his pistol. "Get somewhere safe and high and use this to help us in any way possible."
"No."
"Annalee..."
"I will not watch from afar as these pirates completely destroy this ship and its crew. I have done enough of watching from the side as other sacrifice themselves for my sake. I want to help."
"What you are doing is helpful." Norrington argues.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a pirate heading straight for me. I don't recognize him but I see pure hatred in his eyes as he gets ever closer to me, dispatching soldiers left and right.
"I'll take it." I say grabbing the pistol and running in the opposite direction before Norrington can say anything else. I quickly find myself at one of the shrouds of the main mast. Stuffing the pistol down into my skirt, I start climbing, ever so slowly to the top.
I look only down once to find the pirate stalking me having completely lost his view of me. I grin and keep on climbing until I reach the fighting top. I squeeze myself into the small balcony like enclosure and look down upon the fighting.
From this high up and through the fog, it is difficult to see which figures are on what side. I knock the pistol and look for a target, praying that I won't accidentally shoot a soldier.
I find a pirate on the top deck with no other soldiers around except for the one lying dead at his feet.
I point my pistol and with a deep breathe, pull the trigger. The bullet hits him straight in the chest, shocking both of us.
The surprise and the weight of the shot pushes the pirate back and he flips over the side of the ship, landing in the water with a large splash.
I just stare at the smoking pistol, startled that I had actually managed to hit a target. A smile blooms up onto my face and I look around for another target.
I find one in a pirate that is slowly climbing the foremast towards a soldier in the fighting top. I watch as the soldiers expression changes once he sees the pirate approaching him. He fumbles with his musket and tries shooting the pirate, missing every time.
Seeing that if I don't help, this man will die, I point my pistol at the pirate and shoot, hitting him in the leg. He trips up and looses his grip. He falls but re-grabs the shroud and continues climbing, glaring at me in the process.
I groan in frustration as the pirate gets ever closer to his target. A smile would have formed on his face if he had any lips.
I aim my pistol one more time and pull the trigger. A clicking sound comes from the pistol and in a moment of sheer panic, I realize that I have run out of bullets. In a moment of desperation, I grab the dagger, surprisingly still in my boot after all this time and throw it at the pirate, the blade imbedding itself into his chest. This time, he loses his grip on the rope for god, barreling down to the deck and landing with a big thump.
The soldier looks at me in shock and mouths thank you before firing a shot into the battle below us.
With a sigh, I realize that either I stay up in the fighting top and wait the battle out, or I go back down into the carnage. Choosing the latter, in what I admit is a moment of lost sanity, I slowly start making my way down the shroud.
Once my feet it the wooden deck, I am engulfed by the clashing of the swords and the firing of the rifles.
I stick close to the mast, hoping no one will notice me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a fallen soldier and, with a silent prayer, I walk up to him. Wrenching his sword out of his stiff fingers, I keep my eyes away from his face. No face, no identity.
I take the sword back to the safety of the mast. Looking down at it, I realize that I haven't a clue how to sword fight. I laugh grimly as the shouting around me continues.
Deciding that the armory is the best place to start, I carefully make my way through parries and thrusts and over bodies, doing my best to not look down.
I quickly make it down the stairs and a few minute search, I find the armory. Looking around at all the different weapons, I admit to myself that I have not a single idea what half of these are.
Remembering my success throwing the dagger, I walk over to wear the knives are. I pick out a leather belt, made specially for holding dagger, little sheathes all the way around the piece.
I wrap the belt around my hips and tie it tight before filling it with a dozen small daggers.I also grab another pistol, just in case, making sure to have some extra bullets as well.
Feeling well stocked and prepared, I walk back up into the fighting.
Choosing a good location to deliver the pain, I crouch right beside the staircase leading to the top deck. With two of my sides covered, I only have half my body to worry about and yet, I still have a good view of most of the deck.
I grab a dagger from my belt and scope out the possible candidates for a knife in the back.
Spotting the tall pirate that had been eyeing me earlier, I smile gleefully. Oh, revenge is definitely sweet.
I take out my pistol as well, just in case, and lie it down beside me.
I turn back to my prey only to find him gone. I get to my feet slowly, hoping that he hasn't already been taken care of. I look around at the crowd but the pirate is definitely gone.
I lean back against the side of the staircase, disappointed that my fury wasn't going to be released.
All of a sudden, hands grab my face from above and I am lifted off my feet and flung across the top deck, screaming. I hit the railing with a resounding crack. I open my eyes to find the world in double.
I groan and feel the back of my head, wincing in pain and finding it sticky with blood.
I stiffly get to my feet, relying on the railing to carry most of my weight as my legs are still literally shaking. I raise my head to find my prey, turned predator.
"I am going to enjoy this, little princess." He says menacingly.
"Why am I always 'little'?" I say, "Little swan, little princess... You pirates really need to get more original ideas."
"I am original in other ways, little princess." The pirate says running his finger bones over his sword, "For example, in the ways that I kill."
I gulp but maintain my calmness. "Now, what is that in your hands? A butter knife?"
"The pirate shouts in anger and lunges towards me. I easily dodge his sword and he growls. He thrusts his sword in direction but I duck under it, before stabbing him in the foot with one of my daggers. He cries out in pain for but a moment before continuing his attack.
I will have to be more clever in order to defeat him. I sidestep another of his swings and spot a lever tied to a rope that loops up through a pulley attached to the gaff before coming back to the deck and pooling on the ground.
An idea springs to my mind and I slowly lead the pirate ever closer to the pirate. He lunges and I cross two of my daggers, blocking it. He swings again but I sidestep closer to the lever. I can feel his anger growing, his frustration building, at his inability to connect his blows.
As we get ever closer to our destination, I find myself getting more and more confident in my ability to block or dodge anything that his pirate can deliver. I time my ducks and dodges later than before and the pirate roars in frustration missing my head or torso by an inch or two every time.
One we stand by the lever, I accidentally lose concentration for a moment, his sword striking me across the chest. His sword slicing my shirt and skin straight from my left shoulder, across my chest and ending right below my arm connection.
I scream out in pain before crumpling to the floor, blood already forming a puddle. I clutch the cut and can immediately tell that it is deep. Too deep.
The pirate laughs and crouches down beside me.
Before I lose the chance, I tie the end of the lever's rope around his boot, slowly and carefully, while the pirate is distracted by the pleasure he is getting from my pain.
"Well, the little swan has finally had her wings clipped." The pirate mocks, "Any last words before I send you down into the depths of Davy Jones locker?"
"Just one," I say coughing up a bit of blood. I spit it down beside me.
"And what would that be?"
"Goodbye." I gasp out and with the rest of my strength, I slam the lever down.
The pirate goes flying into the air with a yell, never to be seen by my eyes again.
I can feel myself losing consciousness. It is slow at first. Time decelerates and it feels as if the world is under water, floating around at half the speed it usually is.
Then I lose the feeling in my legs, unable to move them and my brain doesn't even register that they are still there. My arms are next to go, slumped down at my sides, unmoving, unable to be moved.
The paralysis moves slowly up my body. My mouth is next to go. I am unable to scream for help, no matter how much and how forcefully my brain tells my mouth to move, to form the sounds. Then my eyes. The moment that the connection between my eyes and my brain is severed, my eyes are closed.
My brain doesn't freeze just yet though, still able to think. But that is, in fact, the worst: wondering if I will ever see the sun again; ever see Elizabeth again. Wondering if I will ever be able to eat without the function of your lips, your tongue. Will I ever walk again? Hold someone dear in my arms?
Before the tears can come, the darkness does. I can feel my mind being wrapped up in it, one piece at a time until I am left with nothing. Not even darkness.
