Chapter 7: The Curse
Elizabeth was in a state of total panic. Alice tried to calm her, but nothing worked. Finally, Alice grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her, reminding her that she was not alone in this. Elizabeth apologized, and expressed her gratitude for that. She worried about what would happen to them, but her guess was as good as Alice's. Alice finally sat down in a heavy wooden chair and heaved a sigh; a bottle of wine sat on the large table that took up part of the room, and she pulled the cork with her teeth, taking a sizeable gulp from it. Her thoughts from earlier finally were able to surface once more.
"So, Norrington asked you to marry him…" she started, handing the bottle to Elizabeth.
"Yes… I suppose he did." She, too, sat down finally, and took the bottle, drinking from it more eagerly than Alice had.
"You don't seem very pleased about that." Alice couldn't entirely hide the annoyance in her voice.
"I don't really know how to feel, I suppose," she answered meekly, looking at the floor.
"He's a good man, as far as I can tell," Alice added, irked by Elizabeth's answer. The other girl took another draw from the bottle and then passed it back to Alice without a word. "Where did you get that medallion, anyway?" Alice finally asked. Elizabeth looked down quickly before remembering that Barbossa had taken it.
"I found it ten years ago. There was a shipwreck we came across when heading here from England…" she started, but trailed off, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter now." Alice disagreed, but decided not to press the issue. The two girls finished the bottle, wondering what would happen to them, but not speaking further about the commodore or the medallion. They found the bed, half hidden behind a cloth tacked to the ceiling, as well as more wine, and drank until they were able to sleep fitfully through the night. They awoke the next day feeling ravenous, wondering whether the captain had intended to starve them to death. They rifled through everything they could find; mostly it was old books and maps and instruments, but no food was to be found amongst it all.
That night, however, they were visited by the two men who captured them, with an instruction to join the captain for dinner. Alice almost punched Elizabeth when she refused it; luckily for her, Elizabeth redacted her position when told the alternative. They were provided with gowns to wear, and they quickly helped each other to change into them. Elizabeth's gown was a deep burgundy velvet – the colour of fine wine. Alice's was a deep, mossy green, like ivy. Neither of them cared for the style nor the density of the material, but Alice, at least, was happily willing to oblige the captain for the promise of food.
The cabin doors swung open, just as they barely finished dressing, and several men marched in carrying large platters. They set out a lavish meal, the delicious scent of which made Alice begin to salivate heavily, and Barbossa entered. He eyed them both and then spoke to Elizabeth.
"Maid or not, it suits you," he smirked.
"Dare I ask the fate of its previous owner?" she asked with slight sarcasm. Barbossa clucked his tongue.
"Now, none of that," he admonished with a dark playfulness before he pulled out chairs for them on either side of the table.
"Please – dig in," he smirked and then sat between them at the end of the table.
Elizabeth was very stiff in a manner of rude politeness, but Alice maintained a warm and cordial demeanour with the captain. They tore into the spread of bread and turkey legs, suckling pig and grapes, and other such fare. He watched them with an intensity that bordered on some lustful fetish, offering them goblets of fine wine, until Elizabeth refused an offer of a single apple, suspecting it to be poisoned. The captain barked out a laugh and explained the story behind the gold. Elizabeth scoffed, calling it a 'ghost story', but Alice shushed her; the girl was raptly intrigued.
Barbossa went on to explain the nature of the curse they were under, and why he needed her alive, and he was rewarded with a panicked Elizabeth stabbing him in the chest. He pulled it out, asking what she planned on doing now, and she fled beyond the cabin's doors. Alice immediately went to the captain's side as he tossed the knife to the ground; she noticed it was coated in congealed blood. Barbossa looked at her, expecting her to flee as well, and Alice's gaze turned to the door as Elizabeth screamed. Alice crept over and looked out; whatever she had been expecting, it had not been this. The crew, now ghastly skeletons, chased and laughed at the girl as she ran to and fro in panic. Barbossa came up behind Alice, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he seemed genuinely surprised that she was not having the same reaction.
"Are ye not frightened?" he asked, and she looked back out at the crew.
"You don't yet know my story, captain," she responded softly. Elizabeth ran their way screaming, and Barbossa stepped around Alice to catch the other girl outside of the doors. As he explained the nature of the curse further, Alice felt her heart ache. What he had described perfectly captured how she had been feeling since her breakup with Paul. Elizabeth fled inside past her, pushing her out of the way, and Barbossa slammed the cabin doors shut in anger. Alice tried to comfort the girl, but she was in some paradoxical state between catatonic and raving mad. She decided to leave Elizabeth be for now, and went to change into her street clothes. She finished dressing to find that Elizabeth had not moved at all from her position on the floor. Alice sighed and decided to chance the deck.
She emerged quietly, not wanting to attract any attention right away. Despite their cursed state, the crew was hard at work, manning the rigging and scrubbing the deck. She watched them for a moment from the shadows before she strode out across the deck. Several of the crewmembers sneered at her or tried to menace her, but she merely returned it in kind. They didn't quite know what to make of her but, not wanting to raise Barbossa's ire, they didn't harass her physically. She made her way around the forecastle to a small area at the bow, where she stood to look out at the sea. She found it absolutely beautiful and leaned over the ballast, watching the choppy reflection of the night sky in the black water. But she cursed at herself for not getting a jacket sooner as the night air chilled her through her clothing. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see the pair who had taken them. The short man immediately began to try to intimidate her, but the tall one stopped him and introduced them as Pintel and Ragetti. While Pintel, the short one, came off as a bit gruff, Ragetti had a kindness about his haunted form; he even offered to show Alice around the ship, for which Pintel growled at him. Alice excitedly agreed, but another set off footsteps caused their gazes to shift.
"Maybe later," he said softly as Barbossa stood watching them. They left to return to their work, and Alice turned her gaze back to the open ocean ahead of them. She could hear Barbossa's heavy bootsteps approach, and he came to stand beside her, also looking out to sea.
"I've never been on a real ship before," she said softly, and Barbossa turned his gaze to her.
"Never?" he asked, and she was caught off guard by the softness in his voice.
"No. Never had the chance to before."
"Is that the reason ye wanted so badly to stay?"
Alice shook her head and turned to look at him. The clouds drifted slowly over the moon causing Barbossa's skeletal form to shift back to normal. "That is… another story entirely."
"Maybe ye'd like to be sharing that story, seeing as I've not yet been given a full reason to keep ye aboard." She could see that he was genuinely curious, even though he tried just barely to hide it under a mask of annoyance. She decided to tell him some of the truth; she felt she could trust him to believe it, even if only a little.
"My secret is for you alone," she whispered and Barbossa cast his glance around warily.
"We'll not be heard here, miss. Now, what could possibly be stranger than all of this?"
Alice chuckled lightly. "It's going to sound insane," she warned, but the captain gestured toward the ship and the crew before giving her a wry smile. "True, true… Captain Barbossa," her voice dropped even lower still, "I am from the future." Barbossa looked at her questioningly, so she continued. She told him some minor details, and even pulled out the device to show him, though she didn't fully explain how it worked. She told him it was likely damaged, though, and there was a chance she was stuck here; she had to look away several times to keep the tears from falling at this thought.
"And what yer saying be absolutely true?" Alice sighed and nodded slowly. "So, here we both are, each of us some manner of trapped, with ye in the wrong time and myself existing between the planes, frozen in time," he commented, his mind visibly mulling over many things. His focus returned to Alice and he let out a very soft chuckle, shaking his head slowly. "I think that alone be reason enough for ye to stay." Alice couldn't help the sad smile that broke through, or the wave of relief that washed over her. "For now," he added when he saw her relax a bit.
"Thank you, Captain Barbossa." He smiled sadly at her and they both looked out to the sea again. "And thank you for the meal." Lightning flashed in the distance; a storm was headed their way.
"Don't get used to it, missy. Meals can be few and far between on any ship of this nature, but doubly so on a ship where the crew can't eat," he warned, and she nodded to show she understood the seriousness behind his words.
"How long will this journey be?"
"It will pass quick enough fer ye, but not fast enough for my liking," was all he said.
They made idle chatter for much of the night as the winds picked up; Barbossa asking her about the future - the details of which she kept few and scant – and her asking about life on a pirate ship. All the books she had read could not even compare to actually being here, and she wanted to settle in as best she could. He made it clear that her time aboard the ship, while indefinite at the moment, did not mean he would be taking her onto his crew, but he did give her some insights on things she may want to start learning, such as handling a sword, or climbing and working the rigging. She thanked him for understanding, and he gave a small, sharp nod in return. She was having a hard time keeping her footing as the deck pitched about in the storm, and soon rain began to spatter about them.
"Ye might be wanting t'return to the cabin – storm's the most dangerous time to be on deck." Alice nodded as she continued to almost topple over. Barbossa laughed loudly in amusement before helping her partway back to the cabin. He turned her over to Ragetti and his squat companion when the pair came into view, and quickly made for the helm. The trio crouched low and scurried as quickly as they could to the cabin's doors. Alice hurried inside as they ran back to work. She found herself starving again – the day they spent without food mixed with the energy she spent on deck was depleting her sources. She looked over to Elizabeth, but the girl just stared at her. "Hungry?" she asked, but Elizabeth shook her head, wide-eyed and trembling. "No reason to let this sumptuous meal go to waste," she said as she made her way over and sat down, grabbing a bit of everything before digging in. Much of it was cold, but Alice didn't care; she devoured it ravenously until she was so full she could barely breathe. The meal made her sleepy and she stood up, grabbing the various breads and rolls to store for later. She looked over at Elizabeth who was still watching her.
"Coming to bed?" Alice asked softly, but Elizabeth shakily shook her head slowly, her eyes still wide. Alice shrugged and made her way behind the curtain, where she set the bread on a nightstand. She noted the clock there, surprised to see that it was nearing sunrise; with the density of the storm clouds, she could not see the sky, and did not realize how long she had been out there. She didn't bother with undressing beyond taking off her boots, and she crawled under the battered covers. Her mind swam with remembering the conversation she had with Barbossa, and she slept soundly.
