A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You guys are awesome :) I hope you all enjoy chapter nine!
Chapter IX
"What in the bloody hell is that?" I wondered aloud.
"Tsk tsk, is that any way for a lady to speak?" Jack scolded.
Jack. I'd begun mentally referring to him a Jack. How had this happened without my noticing? More importantly, why had it happened without my noticing?
Perhaps it was just because I'd been listening to Gibbs for so long and he had been referring to him by his first name. Yes, that was it – that had to be it…
"I think Miss Cassie speaks for all of us, sir," Tim said shyly.
"This, my dear boy, is what we have been searching for."
"This – this is where the creature lives?" I asked nervously, turning to Gibbs.
"Aye, 'pears to be."
Without another word, Jack climbed the steps to the small patio and prepared to knock on the white, freshly painted wooden door. As his fist was raised in midair, however, I couldn't help but blurt out, "Wait!"
He turned to me expectantly, with an eyebrow raised beneath his red bandana. The others directed their attention towards me as well, which only added to my pre-existing apprehension.
"Isn't," I stuttered awkwardly, "isn't there some plan or something? What do we do in case of an emergency? I'd really like to know an escape route…"
"Aye, Cap'n, I can't 'elp but agree with the lass," Emery piped in.
"Aye," Schmitty concurred.
"Yes, that does sound rather appealing," Wentworth insisted as well (albeit a tad more eloquently than the others).
The Spritelies did not say anything out of some misplaced sense of respect for the Captain, but it was obvious that they too would have felt comforted by the knowledge of a back-up plan. They watched him intently, awaiting his response.
Sparrow glowered at me in irritation. "If the worst should happen," he began with a loud, exasperated sigh, "head to the boat."
"And what exactly be the worst, Cap'n?" Emery questioned.
"Oh, I dunno," he replied impatiently, "Say, for instance, someone dies – kicks the bucket – meets 'is maker, as it were. I would consider that to be sufficiently dire as to warrant a retreat, ey? Any more questions, or are we prepared to press onwards, ladies?"
I was not at all calmed by this answer (nor was anyone else, as it turned out), but I was also not fond of causing conflict (despite evidence to the contrary…). So, I kept my mouth shut.
"Splendid," Jack muttered sarcastically. He then proceeded to knock on the door with utter confidence.
At that moment, I felt my entire body alight with anticipation. For my entire life, I had been a predator; but now, for the first time, I felt instead like prey.
My uneasiness must have been obvious, for Wentworth put a what-was-meant-to-be-comforting hand on my shoulder; I, in turn, surreptitiously shirked out of his grasp.
Then, the door opened.
A woman appeared.
And there she stood – astoundingly beautiful. She was completely ageless – physically, she appeared to be young; but there was something about her that was so, so ancient. Her skin, like smooth white marble, was stretched delicately across her high cheekbones, defined jaw-line, and petite nose. She was dressed in an elaborate sky-blue gown, with lace detailing down the front, at the neckline, and on only one of the sleeves. Her shiny, flaxen hair was pinned up in a meticulous French twist. She easily commanded everyone's unwavering attention.
But what struck me most was not her ethereal perfection; it was her unnatural irises. They were dark, pupil-less. Utterly black.
"Well," she began with an effortless aura of sophistication, "if it isn't Captain Jack Sparrow."
" 'ello, Cecily," he replied with a sly grin.
I couldn't help but gawk at how mismatched she and the pirate were – seeing them together in the way that they undoubtedly were would have been an amusing sight. It was only after the thought had irrevocably passed through my brain, however, that I realized how disturbing the notion truly was – why, in the name of land and sea, was I imagining such things? It was shameful, really – in all honesty, I hadn't known that I had such a filthy mind…
"You've brought friends," she remarked coolly.
"Aye, this is me crew."
"The Pearl is doing well then, I imagine?"
"Er – well, not exactly…"
She looked him over suspiciously, before cocking a well-manicured eyebrow. "Come in," she instructed disinterestedly, "All of you."
As we all began anxiously filing into the house, I unwittingly caught her notice.
"What are you doing here," she asked sweetly, playing with one of my ringlets of hair.
Startled by her sudden change in demeanor, I tentatively explained, "I joined Captain Sparrow's crew in Tortuga."
"Oh, that's not what I mean at all, darling."
My expression turned to one of sheer panic. She knew. She had to know. She wasn't a mere mortal, after all – I was sure she could sense the truth of my being.
But, luckily, she understood in an instant.
"I see," she whispered so that only I could hear, "they don't know, do they?"
I simply locked eyes with her meaningfully, before noticing that Jack was watching us like a hawk whilst pretending to be occupied with the chandelier.
"What I mean is," she continued casually, "what is a woman doing on your crew, Jack?"
"Her name's Cassiopeia, if you must know – she wanted to enlist," he shrugged, making a show of turning his attentions back to us, "And, as you well know, I've always been a proponent of equal-opportunities, as it were. "
"Indeed," she commented snootily. She turned back to me and shed her snobbish air once again. "My, my, child, you poor dear. Your skin is the very same shade as your lovely hair. We must fix that. I have just the thing!"
She left us in the foyer and disappeared into one side-rooms. While she was out of sight, I heard Wentworth hiss to Sparrow, "This is impossible. There is no way that this can exist – who even built this home? And who maintains it? She cannot be living on this island all by herself."
"You'd best get used to impossible things," Jack replied bluntly.
Just then, she glided back into the room. "I assure you, kind sir, that this all what it seems. We've no room for illusions here," she said with an unsettling smirk.
"Now, my love," she continued, turning to me with a vial in her hand, "you really must put this on your face. It will clear that horrid burn right up."
Wentworth shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably and Jack stepped forward. "I'm not sure if that's the best idea," he interjected hesitantly as she passed me the vial.
"Mr. Sparrow," she reproached, "what's the matter? Don't you trust me?"
He didn't answer, but instead eyed her skittishly.
"I'd never harm a woman, Jack – you know that. Not one of my own. And not so soon, either – you've all only just arrived!"
This was a comforting statement (for me, at least – I imagine it was a bit unnerving for the others), but I wasn't sure if I believed her. Plus, I didn't very well want the rest of the crew to be hurt; I may have been selfish, but I didn't completely disregard everyone else's wellbeing.
In fact, the extent to which I cared for them was remarkable, given the fact that I was not what one would call an affectionate person. True enough, there were those on the crew that I preferred to others – the Spritelies, for example, were probably by favorites. Gibbs, too, fell in a close second (why, I did not know – there was just something about his goofy superstitions and love of storytelling that I found quite endearing. That and – oh yes – he'd saved me…). But to think – I'd only been with these people for less than a week, and yet I highly prioritized their safety. I supposed this would be the effect of spending time with anyone incessantly, though I hadn't previously thought myself so susceptible to such frivolities of human nature. The fact that I wasn't human might have had something to do with that.
"Thank you," I said to Cecily (as I think Jack had called her), uncorking the vial. It contained some sort of pungent seaweed-scented lotion, which I emptied into my palm and applied across my face and ears. Instantly, the stinging sensation that had been ravaging my skin began to subside.
At the sight of this, the Spritely boys' eyes widened in surprise and the sorceress smiled knowingly, which I took as evidence that the redness had disappeared. "I did tell you it would work, my dears," she said playfully. "Now," she continued, "I do hope you'll follow me into the dining room for some refreshments – you all must be simply famished."
We proceeded cautiously as we were told.
"Captain," I whispered as we were walking, "she doesn't seem to be very angry."
"That's what worries me," he mumbled pensively through the side of his mouth.
Once in the dining room, we were seated at a gigantic mahogany table with a shimmering pair of golden candlesticks in the center.
"Now," she said as soon as we'd all settled, "you all make yourselves at home – I'll be but a moment. Let me just whip you up some hors d'oeuvres!"
I looked to Jack, who was seated at one of the heads of the table and tried to gauge his feelings on the situation. I was almost the furthest away from him – Cecily had seated my next to where I believe she intended to sit, and I therefore had a difficult time reading his facial expression. However, I was able to notice him soundlessly mouth to everyone, "Don't eat anything!" which seemed to imply that we were in some sort of impending peril.
My crewmates acknowledged this command, apart from Emery and Schmitty, who were too busy marveling at the vast collection of floral oil paintings displayed around the room. I hoped that they would be swift enough to figure this out for themselves (Jack had warned us earlier, after all), but I had a nagging fear that I was to be disappointed.
Soon, she returned with a silver tray of food.
"As you might imagine," she prattled, "I eat a lot of coconuts – I hope this doesn't displease any of you. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm a little short on supplies…"
There was an awkward lull during which no one dared respond, but Tom apparently could not tolerate the void in conversation and bashfully replied, "It's quite all right, m'am. I'm sure they're delicious."
She beamed at him, and for a fleeting moment her teeth appeared distressingly pointed.
"Cecily," Jack butted in, "Would you mind if I spoke with you in private? I won't be but a minute." I wasn't sure if he really wanted to talk to her, or if he wanted to give us an opportunity to dispose of the food without actually eating it. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
"Of course not, Jack." Turning to me, she said, "My child, will you be a dear and mind the boys while I'm gone? Thank you ever so much…" With that, she and Jack disappeared into what I presumed to be the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of sight, I pounced on the appetizers and shoved them into my pockets – the rest of the crew followed my example, until all the food was gone.
However, I soon heard Jack very clearly and jumped at the sound – how could they possibly have been back so soon?
I looked around manically, however, and saw no evidence of either his or Cecily's presence.
"You a'right?" Tim asked, staring at me suspiciously.
"Hm? Oh yes, yes I'm fine…" I replied, "There was just – there's a sort of buzzing in my ears. I think I may just be tired…"
"Firstly," I heard Jack's voice say, "I'd like to apologize for my piggish and irreverent behavior the last time I was here – I'm truly and deeply appalled by my own actions, and I assure you that I have matured in a most considerable sense in the period since we have last spoken."
"Oh Jack," Cecily replied, "Please don't make the mistake of thinking you're the first man to have left me alone in my bed. And don't make the mistake of thinking you could hurt me, either, my dear. You're nothing but a grain of sand on the beach that is the universe."
Why could I hear them, I wondered desperately. And then I recalled the lotion Cecily had given me – I'd put it on my ears. Perhaps it was affecting my hearing... But didn't she know that it would cause such a thing to happen?
Unless, of course, she intended for me to hear all this… But why?
"Brilliant! I am immensely glad that there are no hard feelings between us, then."
"Hm. Why have you come here, Jack?"
"Well, you see, it's about the Pearl…"
"Isn't it always?"
"Yes, well, she's in a bit of a predicament…"
"You haven't sunk her again, have you?"
"No, no, that's not it – well, not exactly. Perhaps it'd be best if I just showed you…"
There was a rustling, which I took to be Jack digging through his pockets.
"My, my, that's very strange," said Cecily.
"Aye, I was hopin' you might know how to… mitigate the situation, as it were."
"I may know a way, but why should I help you? There may not be any hard feelings between us, but that doesn't mean I'll help you without a price. Really, Jack, do I look like the type of woman to help someone out of the goodness of her heart? What's in it for me?"
"Er – what would you like?"
"I want the girl."
"The girl?"
"Yes, Cassiopeia."
"Why?" I could practically hear him narrowing his eyes distrustfully.
"The reason does not matter. Do we or do we not have an accord?"
"Alright, I s'pose. Ye can suit yourself, but she's really not worth anything…"
That bastard! How could he? Who did he think he was, trading me like some sack of coins?
"I'll be the judge of that," she responded cryptically, "Anyway, first I'd like you to tell me what you know about these… circumstances. How did the ship come to be like this?"
"Aren't you supposed to be the one telling me?"
"Oh, I already know. I just like to make you feel inferior before helping you, is all."
"Charming. Well," he replied with an impatient sigh, "Blackbeard did this with some sort of voodoo magic, I wager – or his quartermaster did it. I dunno, does it really matter how it happened? I just want 'er back to normal…"
"How he did it has everything to do with how to get her back. You say his quartermaster might have had a hand in it?"
"Aye, he was big into the supernatural and such – 'e was one of ole Beardie's poor zombie-fied wretches, if I remember correctly."
"I know of Edward Teach's quartermaster, of course," she said, "Surely you must have realized that he was not just some simple voodoo priest? Where else have you seen such a connection to the other world? Because you have indeed seen it before, Jack, I know you have. Tia Dalma, perhaps? A goddess bound in human form? Really, I'd hoped you weren't so ignorant to that which is right in front of you… But back to the story – the quartermaster can predict things before they happen – he is a witness to fate, you see. He was the source of Blackbeard's power, a member of a race now lost to the world."
"The quartermaster was the reason Blackbeard was able to lead his own ship in such a way and harness those of others," she continued, "Edward Teach did not simply stumble upon his quartermaster. He found him. He sought him out. He went to the deepest depths of the ocean to retrieve the thing that would make him most powerful – in fact, it was I who showed him the way. He came to me and asked how to rule the seas. And I told him. To restore your ship, Jack, you need to use the very same magic that destroyed it."
"And what, precisely, might you be referring to, ey? Are you sayin' that I need to find the quartermaster and force him to change it back? Because if that's the case…"
"If only it were that simple… No, you must go directly to the source. You must go where Blackbeard went all those years ago."
"You mean – " Jack seemed to have come to an epiphany, but Cecily was not about to let him steal her thunder.
"You've heard the stories, I'm sure. You of all people must know – you who has seen everything. You, a child of the sea… Blackbeard's quartermaster is from a race both curse and blessed by the gods. A race that was once so powerful they threatened the authority of Zeus himself and needed to be punished."
"At – "
"Yes, I'm talking about Atlantis, Jack."
A/N: For those of you who guessed that Cecily was meant to be Circe in the last chapter, you are correct! I realize that I changed her story a bit, but they certainly changed Calypso/Tia Dalma's in the movies so I figured no one would mind too much.
Just as a side-note, I'm going to be away for a while so there won't be any updates until at least next week - sorry!
Please review and let me know what you think!