A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited! It really means a lot to me - I'm so lucky to have people who enjoy reading my stories :)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter VIII
That very same night, whilst everyone was asleep, I wandered once again onto the main deck. Truth be told, I was very rarely alone during the day and I had always been someone who valued independence – it very was difficult for me to adjust to being surrounded by people every at waking moment. However, it really wasn't something I wanted to adjust to; I was perfectly content in being just a mite antisocial. Plus, I'd always liked to think there was something to be said about setting aside time to be alone; I thought, perhaps, that an in-depth knowledge of one's own character could be beneficial in terms of decision-making and the like. But maybe that was just me.
I contemplated going swimming again, but decided against it. Instead, I looked into the distance at the numerous glittering stars against their dark blue backdrop. The view was something I truly appreciated about being on land. From beneath the surface of the sea, the stars were just faint globs of light. But, on land, they were breathtakingly beautiful – especially when they were reflected against the water.
It was then that I noticed something very far off in the distance. I squinted and tried to make out what it was, but the darkness made such a feat nigh impossible.
I decided, either because I wanted to or because I felt it was my duty, to inform Sparrow.
"Captain," I hissed, knocking lightly on the door. I didn't want to rouse him from his sleep, but I suspected that there was a faint possibility of him already being awake. If he wasn't, he probably wouldn't hear me and I could further investigate the shadow on the horizon during the day.
I heard a shuffling from within, and suddenly a disgruntled-looking Captain Sparrow appeared in front of me. He was in some sort of state of undress, without his usual frock, tricorn, or effects.
"What could you possibly want at this late hour?" he asked gruffly. Perhaps I was wrong in thinking he'd been awake…
"I think I see land," I whispered. He briefly disappeared back into his chamber, causing me to crane my neck to see what he was doing, but to no avail. He soon came back out with a spyglass in hand.
The two of us walked over to the side of the ship. "There," I said, pointing to where I saw the shape.
He extended the telescope and peered through the lens.
"Is it land?" I inquired.
"Aye," he replied quietly, "But it's difficult to say whether or not it's the land we're looking for – we'll only be able to know for sure in the morning."
"I see," I said, nodding.
"What were you doing out here?" he asked after a beat of silence.
"Erm, I don't know… I was just thinking, I guess. I like to be alone when everyone's asleep…"
He raised an eyebrow. "You've done this before? We've only been aboard for three nights."
"Is there something wrong with my being out here?" I asked defensively.
"No, I s'pose not. It's just a tad peculiar, is all," he answered thoughtfully.
I gave him a look that said, you're one to be talking, but didn't verbally respond.
"In any case," he continued, "you should be getting back to sleep. If that is indeed the land we're looking for, then we'll be sailing for it tomorrow as quickly as possible."
"Why should there be any rush?" I questioned, "It's not as if it's going anywhere…"
He gave me an unsettling half-grin and replied, "I don't like to take any chances, love. Now off you go, back to bed."
(The next day…)
I was on deck that morning before everyone else – the excitement of having spotted an island caused me to awake with an inordinate amount of energy. I bounced up the staircase and became aware for the first time that I was now able to walk with almost complete normalcy. I grinned to myself proudly and continued my hike upwards.
After my eyes adjusted to the light of the rising sun, I looked over the side of the ship and couldn't believe what I was witnessing.
I ran to Sparrow's door (invoking a strange sense of déjà vu) and started banging. "Captain, Captain you really must get out here!" I exclaimed, my gaze still transfixed on the unbelievable sight before me.
I hadn't noticed that he'd opened the door, and I fell onto him. However, I quickly recovered, only to be met with an odd look from Sparrow.
"You really ought to pay more attention to what you're doing," he commented wryly. "And thank you for the sentiment, but I did in fact see the island from my window."
He was calm. Very calm. And I couldn't comprehend why.
"Aren't you surprised?" I pressed.
"Oh yes, absolutely astounded," he said in a tone that completely contradicted his assertion.
By this time, the rest of the crew had heard the commotion and begun to trickle on deck as well.
"Well I'll be – would you look at that!" Tom exclaimed with a laugh. "Fantastic!" Tim concurred cheerily.
Emery and Schmitty rushed over to the railing to get a better look, and Wentworth stood slack-jawed in amazement. "That – that's impossible," he stuttered.
"Obviously not," Sparrow commented lightly.
"Ah," Gibbs croaked with a lazy grin, "So I was right all along."
"You've been here before?" Marty asked.
"No, but I've 'eard stories. First-hand stories, mind you. Jack's one o' the only people to have ever gotten off that there island. Isla Flotante, as it happens to be called, and let me tell ye…"
"Sounds like every story concernin' Cap'n Sparrow," Marty remarked skeptically.
The older man contorted his face in puzzlement, as if it were the first time he had ever realized this fact.
"It's so close," I said under my breath, "How can it possibly be so close?"
"Funny things, islands are," Sparrow began in response, staring at the landmass, "Tiny heaps of sand surrounded by water. Not big enough for anyone or anything to properly live on, and yet here they are. Purposeless. Stationary."
"Where are you going with this, sir?" I asked un-amusedly, turning to face him for the first time.
"What if they weren't any of those things," he said mysteriously, "What if they weren't purposeless or stationary?"
"Then they wouldn't be islands," I reasoned.
"On the contrary, love – that's where you're wrong." He finally looked at me and grinned crookedly, before shouting, "Oi, mates, we need to get onto that island, savvy? Run 'er aground – we need to beach her on the shore."
"But sir," Tom piped in, "We've got long boats – we don't need to beach her…"
"Trust me, son: if you intend on leaving this island, we need to beach her."
The crew did as the captain ordered, much to everyone's chagrin. Thankfully the ship wasn't very large, but it was still going to be an ordeal to get it back into the sea. In fact, I couldn't fathom how the ten of us would be able to move it.
But we would worry about that later, I supposed.
Suddenly, something dawned on me. "Isla Flotante," I whispered to myself, "Floating Island!" That's why we needed to beach the ship…
Out of nowhere, Sparrow had come up behind me, dropped Schmitty's tricorn on my head, and said, "Aye, Floatin' Island. And sorry mate, but she's been needing this much more than you have." Before anyone could conjure up a response, he was gone again.
"You can have your hat back, if you like," I said to Schmitty after a few moments had passed.
"S'all right, lass. You do indeed need it more'n I do – it'll keep the sun off ye."
"Thank you," I said, genuinely touched by this small act of kindness.
In one rough and sudden movement, the entire ship started to quake. I assumed this was the act of us running aground, but I hadn't realized how violent a toll it would take. I, for one, was unceremoniously thrown to the floor, whilst the others braced themselves on various parts of the ship.
"Well that was graceful…" I muttered sarcastically when the tremor had ceased.
"Everyone!" Sparrow began, "It is extremely important that you listen to what I have to say before we go on land. This, as you all know, is not where we will find our treasure. It is, however, a bit of a detour, as it were. A very, very necessary detour, to be sure, but a detour at that. So, what I wish to say is this: do not be fooled by anything you see here, for it is not in fact what it may seem. You will not, I repeat, will not, find treasure on this island, understood? Don't let your eyes deceive you."
There was a general rumble of consensus.
"Good! Now that that's out of the way, I say we go out n' explore this lovely little piece of property." Without further ado, he grabbed one of the ropes and began his descent, protecting himself from hitting the side of the ship by using his feet to propel down. The rest of the crew soon followed suit.
When we were all firmly on solid ground, I surveyed the area. The island had most certainly looked smaller from the boat. The beach stretched about three ships' lengths, and towards the center of the landmass laid a dense forest of palm trees.
"What now?" I asked.
"We must head into the woods," Sparrow announced loudly.
"I wonder what the Captain was referring to when he told us not to 'be fooled by anything we see,'" Wentworth whispered to me conspiratorially.
"I wouldn't worry about it," I replied lightly, "Half of what he says seems to be completely irrelevant..." "Or perhaps just impossible to decipher," I added as an afterthought. I soon walked past Wentworth, not wanting him to get the impression that we were chums. I had no intention of being his confidant, and honestly was not interested in his suspicions regarding the Captain. I needed to keep my distance from him, before he got any unwelcome ideas; I was not about to be press-ganged into some sort of ridiculous romance.
Instead, I made my way towards Mr. Gibbs. For some fascinating reason, his wariness of my presence only made me want to be around him more – it was as if I longed to win his approval. (Though, that couldn't possibly be it – I certainly did not need anyone's approval; I wasn't a child. But something deep inside gave me the nagging feeling that I was trying just a little too hard to convince myself of this fact).
"Mr. Gibbs," I started, "What exactly is it about this island that makes it so dangerous?"
Never one to pass up the opportunity to tell a good story, the older man couldn't help but answer. "You see, lass, this spit o' land ain't just any ordinary island."
"I'd guessed that," I replied, rolling my eyes, "But why? Apart from the fact that it floats, of course."
"Legend 'as it that this island is inhabited by but one creature – one of the most fearsome known to man."
"What type of creature?" I asked in wonderment.
"A woman."
At this, I stifled the urge to scoff.
"But not just any woman," he continued, "nay – a sorceress and an enchantress. Incredibly beautiful and incredibly evil, she is said to be, and lures innocent men into her clutches."
All of this was sounding dreadfully familiar, but I allowed him to continue.
"She was chained to this land by the gods, forever cursed to drift at sea with naught but the trees for companions. But, every now and again, a ship might stumble upon her island by some wicked slight of chance."
"Wait," I interrupted, "why was she cursed?"
"She was an unstoppable force – she could con even the best of men and bend them to her will. Her power needed to be restrained."
"I see – continue," I prodded eagerly.
"So, as I'd been sayin', every now and again a ship might fall upon this cursed land. When such a thing happened, the sorceress would delight in their presence. She would give 'em food and drink and refuge from the sea. At first, everythin' would be right and dandy. But this wouldn't last, for her hatred of men was stronger'n the torturous solitude."
"What did she do to them?"
"Well, she don't want to be alone, ye see, but she couldn't keep 'em as men. So she did the only thing she could do – she turned 'em to animals."
"Animals?"
"Aye, animals."
"What types of animals?"
"Oh, anythin' you can imagine – birds, monkeys, wildcats. Anythin'. But the sorceress has got to eat, aye, and there's nothin' on the island in terms o' food. So what do you think she does with said animals?"
"She eats them?" I exclaimed in horror. Though, I really shouldn't have been horrified – my sisters did the very same thing and even took it a step further without the aid of transformation.
"True enough, she eats 'em. And judgin' by the lack o' wildlife around, she's hit a bit o' a dry spell…"
"Why does she hate men?"
"Well, ye see she wasn' always like this – evil, I mean. Hundreds of years ago, she fell in love with one o' the gods. He loved 'er back and lavished her with all sorts o' gifts. Not physical gifts, mind you, but gifts such'as the ability to see the future n' immortality n' the like. O' course, all this made 'er quite powerful in 'er own right. But one day, the god apparently decided that he didn' love 'er anymore and got up n' left. As ye can imagine, this didn't sit too well with the sorceress and she went mad with heartbreak. Hence, she's decided to take 'er anger out on the entire male species, as it were."
"How did Jack escape last time?"
"Well, Cap'n Jack ain't just any ordinary man. He could match even the gods with 'is wit n' trickery, and so he was an entirely suitable match for the villainous trollop. It's been said that he seduced her, the ole devil, and left before she woke; however, not before takin' a souvenir, o' course – see that bit o' lace on 'is wrist? That be from 'er very dress."
My eyes quickly shot to Jack's left wrist, and, sure enough, said grimy bit of lace was secured in view. However, I still wasn't sure how much of the story I actually believed.
"Why on earth is Jack – I mean, Captain Sparrow – going back? And taking us with him! This really does seem like an awful idea… She's going to be furious!"
"Aye, indeed. Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned. But there be no other way fer Jack to get what 'e wants. Only she knows the location o' the treasure."
"But even if she knew," I reasoned, "why would she tell him?"
"That, lassie, I do not know. We can only hope – for all our sakes – that the Cap'n 'as a plan."
I tried not to let my jaw drop. So here we were, blindly following this madman into absolute peril – into the lair of a woman who could only be punished by the gods – all because Sparrow said so. It was complete and utter insanity. Plus, Sparrow didn't exactly seem like a "man with a plan," as the saying goes.
"Captain Sparrow is quite the strategizer, then? Likes to think things through before he acts?"
"Well - er - I dunno if I'd say that..." Gibbs stammered tentatively.
I knew that this was just a euphemistic way of saying that he made almost everything up as he went along. The only reason things worked out for him in the past, as far as I could see, was because he was either a genius in disguise or incredibly lucky. I favored the latter explanation, personally...
"I know it might be out of my place to say so, sir, but doesn't this seem like a bit too much of a chance to take? Surely there's another way to find the treasure, or another treasure to find?"
"This partic'ler treasure can't be matched by anythin' else in this world, at least not in Jack's eyes. And I can assure you, missy, that this be the only way. If but one thing is for certain on God's green earth, it's that the Cap'n ain't a man to take unnecessary risks."
I mulled these words over in silence. Perhaps such a statement was true, but that didn't mean Sparrow wasn't one to put others in the position to take unnecessary risks...
This conversation had distracted me from paying attention to where we were going, and I had been blindly following the crewmembers in front of me. It was only when Gibbs had finished his story that I noticed the large and incredibly out-of-place stone mansion towering before us.
A/N: There you go, guys! This chapter was pretty long, so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't want to say who they're going to see just yet, but if you're familiar with Greek mythology you might have some inkling as to who the "sorceress and enchantress" is ;)
Please review!