"Indigo," Jack called out, crouching down by the trapdoor. A head popped up so suddenly even he flinched. A woman with messy, untamed hair and wide green eyes looked solemnly up at us all.
"Too many," was all she said before she disappeared back down. Jack nodded.
"I thought as much," he said. "Belle, Gibbs, come with me, the rest of you will have to wait here."
Gibbs looked as sick as I felt. Jack grinned at us. I went to stand near the hole and Gibbs reluctantly followed suit. I looked down into complete darkness. Gibbs asked exactly what I was thinking, "How… er, how exactly do we get… down?"
"Jump," Jack replied and stepped over the edge as if it was the simplest thing it the world. I waited for a thud but it never came. Gibbs and I looked at each other.
"After you," I smiled encouragingly. He was looking distinctly pale. He shook his head.
"No, no, ladies first," he gave a courteous little nod. I sighed. Pirates were only gentlemen when it suited them. If this had been the queue for rum there is no way Gibbs would have adopted a 'ladies first' attitude. Then again, were I still a proper lady I shouldn't have been in a queue for rum. I glowered at him for his cowardly chivalry and took a deep breath. I shuffled forward so that my toes rested over the very edge and looked down into nothing. My stomach turned over. There was still no sound from Jack. I closed my eyes and stepped off, holding my breath to stop myself from screaming. Air rushed past me for a second. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and kept my arms clamped by my side. The fall was not as long as I thought it would be and the landing was much more comfortable. I sank into something soft and for a second I didn't move. I knew I should before Gibbs came tumbling down on my head. I moved to stand up. It was difficult to get up from such a cushiony surface. Someone grabbed me and pulled me up. Before I could ask who it was I felt them pull me away from where I had landed and kiss me.
"Jack?" I whispered, as a precaution.
"I am very glad you're not Gibbs," was his reply. I laughed and looked up to see Gibbs silhouetted against the light above us, still peering down. I almost shouted up to tell him that I was alright and so was the fall, but I decided keeping quiet would better punish his courage. I thought about making a loud, painful sounding scream just to scare him but he'd never jump if I did that. After a second's hesitation Gibbs jumped and Jack and I stood well back. I felt him land on the spongy material we were standing on.
"Are you gonna go and kiss him?" I asked. I felt Jack shudder.
"Isabel?" Gibb's voice called.
"Over here," I replied. "Jack's here too."
"Where's… that woman?" Gibbs asked as he. I'd almost forgotten about her.
"Follow me," Jack took my hand and tugged on it. In the dark I turned and reached for Gibbs so that he wouldn't get lost. I found his arm and took hold of it just as Jack pulled us all forwards. I was sure there had to be a wall close by, but I couldn't see anything. A corner of the dark lifted away in Jack's hands and light beamed through. Jack had lifted up a heavy black curtain and was leading us into a bright room beyond it. In contrast to where we had just come from the light made my eyes ache. I tried to blink it away before I even attempted to focus on anything. "Belle, Gibbs… meet Indigo Capriol."
She was a tiny woman with big hair and long nails. She was younger than I had been expecting, but there was something about her eyes that made her seem older and wiser than her years. There was also something incredibly powerful in them, she was tiny but you wouldn't cross her. I smiled and stuck out my hand for her to shake. She grabbed it and used it to propel me towards her. I heard her sniff me. It was a bit alarming. "You are with child," she informed me.
"Creepy how she knows these things isn't it?" Jack grinned and Indigo moved to sniff Gibbs.
"…Or maybe she's just observant!" I said, pointing at my stomach, which had, in the time it had taken us to get to Indigo's, developed somewhat of a bump. Jack frowned.
The air was thick with incense. A strange, sickly scent filled my nose and mouth. It made me feel dizzy, drowsy and sick all at the same time, the only possible benefit being that it completely relaxed me. Spirals of bright purple smoke were twisting their way up from several of the candles around the room. The flames were green and seemed to flicker less than the other, ordinary candles with ordinary flames. My eyes couldn't seem to focus on much with the incense clouding all my senses. I looked at the others as best I could. Gibbs was looking dizzy, Jack was blinking a lot and Indigo was staring at my baby-bump. His eyes met mine as I swayed on the spot. He caught my elbow. "You alright?"
"Yeah," I smiled. "The incense is a little strong, that's all."
Indigo lifted her eyes from my abdomen. "I'm sorry," she said gravely, but from the look she was giving me I got the feeling that she wasn't sorry about the incense. An inexplicable shiver ran up my spine.
"Ah, she'll get used to it," Jack brushed it off. "I suppose you already know why we're here, we're looking for the Fountain of Youth."
Indigo's eyes left mine, "You shouldn't do that."
The words 'I told you so' sprang to the front of my mind and danced on the tip of my tongue.