Geneva was never one to administer empty threats. She was not above being cruel to keep herself on course, and Elizabeth was no exception. From the moment the girl entered the playing field, she'd posed a bit of a threat.
It was quite obvious that Elizabeth was an attractive young lady. Of course Hector and the entire lot of the crew would regard her at face value. Geneva was not jealous of Elizabeth for this reason—and Geneva would even go so far as to say that she wasn't jealous at all, but rather that she was afraid that if she lost Barbossa's affection, he wouldn't have a reason to keep her anymore.
Elizabeth was a problem that would be easily taken care of, though. As long as she knew her place in the hierarchy, that was enough, and Geneva made sure that she understood that she wasn't a prim and proper guest under the perfect protection of parlay: she was a prisoner with whom, at any moment, the crew could do whatever they wished.
But Geneva couldn't quite side with Barbossa either. She was a bit opposed to the way the crew had treated Elizabeth. She saw no reason to scare the daylights out of the poor girl, who clearly had no intention of creating any trouble for herself or anyone else. Geneva didn't find it at all humorous either when Elizabeth had finally witnessed the true extent of the curse. As amusing as her fear might have seemed to the crew, it wasn't at all funny to them when they first discovered the curse either. In fact, Geneva could recall even more magnitude in their screams of terror, and so, in comparison, Elizabeth had held up remarkably well.
When the Black Pearl arrived at Isla de Muerta once again, almost the entire crew came into the cave to witness the breaking of the curse. They lugged in the last few chests full of gold, trinkets, and other valuables, dumping them haphazardly all over the floor of the cave. Elizabeth was brought up to the chest where Barbossa stood, and Geneva sat off to the side, watching.
"Gentlemen!" Barbossa began, looking down upon his eager audience. "The time has come!" The crew echoed his words with a great cheer.
"Salvation is nigh!" he went on. "Our torment is nearing an end!"
"Yeah!" the crew cried out in unison.
"For ten years, we've been tested and tried, and each man-jack of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over! And a hundred times again!"
"Yeah!" the crew cried out, even louder this time. Barbossa was a master at rallying the crew. He knew how to use words in his favor perfectly.
"Suffered, I have!" cried out Ragetti, and Barbossa turned to him.
"Punished, we were," shouted Barbossa. "The lot of us, disproportionate to our crime!"
"Aye!" they growled in response.
"Here it is!" Barbossa announced, shoving the lid of the chest away with the sole of his boot. "The cursed treasure of Cortes himself. And every last piece that went astray, we have returned. Save for this!" He pointed at the medallion hanging around Elizabeth's neck, and the crew let out a roar.
"No more of our misery!" Barbossa continued. "No more shall we be despairing of ever finding the lass! We have found her!" The crew roared in approval, and Geneva's eyes narrowed at the sound of Elizabeth being adorned with her pet name. She said nothing though, and remained still and attentive.
"And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?" Barbossa asked the congregation, and they collectively erupted in unison, "Aye!"
"And whose blood must yet be paid?" he shouted, riling the crew even more.
"Hers!" they shouted back, pointing their swords and guns viciously at Elizabeth, who became startled.
"You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted?" Barbossa mused thoughtfully, chuckling deeply, and the crew laughed along with him. The captain turned to Elizabeth, simply to scare her.
"Eat a whole bushel of apples!" he snarled, and then he forced her down close to the chest. The crew began to chant, over and over again, louder and louder.
"Begun by blood," Barbossa said, brandishing a dagger. "By blood undone." He yanked the medallion from Elizabeth's neck and placed it in her hand, and then he took the dagger and sliced her palm, drawing blood. She yelped, but he wasn't deterred, and he squeezed her hand shut, allowing the blood to touch the gold.
"That's it?" Elizabeth asked in shock, looking to Barbossa, and he smiled.
"Waste not," he replied, and Elizabeth looked over at Geneva, the look in the sea lioness' eyes only a confirmation. They really only needed a little bit of blood. But Geneva's eyes were also narrowed in discontent, and Elizabeth was made uncomfortable, and she looked away.
The crew was howling now. Barbossa let her blood sufficiently cover the medallion, just to make extra sure there was no fluke in the process. Then, the suspense came to a peak as he began to release the medallion from Elizabeth's hand, and it fell silent in the cave, the entire crew waiting to hear the clink of the coin hitting the chest.
Then, the coin dropped, and it hit the others, accounting for all eight hundred and eighty-two of them. Elizabeth tore her hand away the moment Barbossa loosened his grip, and he stepped away and closed his eyes, waiting to feel the curse lift. The entire cave waited.
They sat there and waited for a few moments, and then, the crew began looking about at each other curiously, to see if anything had changed.
"Did it work?" asked Koehler, and the crew exchanged unsure expressions.
"I don't feel no different," Ragetti said, shrugging.
"How do we tell?" asked Pintel rather loudly, looking about for an answer from anybody.
Barbossa rolled his eyes, pulled his pistol out of his belt, and shot Pintel in the breast. The whole crew jumped, shocked. Pintel looked down at the hole in his chest. Nothing happened.
"You're not dead!" Koehler said.
"No," Pintel said, so relieved at the idea that he giggled before catching himself and looking up at the captain and pointing an accusing finger at him. "He shot me!"
"It didn't work," Ragetti murmured nervously.
"The curse is still upon us!" shouted Twigg, a stinky man who always hung around Koehler. More accusations began to fly. Barbossa lifted the dagger to examine the blood on it. Geneva stood from her seat, looking first at the captain, and then, her eyes slowly traveled to where Elizabeth stood, and they narrowed suspiciously.
"Hector," Geneva murmured, indicating that she was on the same page of understanding that he was. He turned quickly toward Elizabeth.
"You! Maid!" he demanded. "Your father, what was his name?"
When she didn't respond quickly enough, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.
"Was your father William Turner?!" he snarled at her, and Elizabeth firmly stared him down in response, unfazed.
"No," she replied defiantly. Barbossa was infuriated.
"Where's his child?!" he shouted at her. "The child that sailed from England eight years ago?! The child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? Where?!" Geneva remembered that merchant ship they destroyed for seemingly no reason so long ago. The crew could sense the gold there. She had sensed where it came from. They all knew it somehow.
Elizabeth did not back down. She was wading too far into dangerous waters. Barbossa was desperate and angry. She said nothing, and only stared at him, refusing to speak. Barbossa lost his patience and backhanded her across the face, knocking her down the pile of gold, tossing the medallion along with her. Geneva took a step toward her, but no further, a distempered remark catching in her throat. She didn't like what she saw at all, but if even if she said anything, it would do no good. All she could do was watch Elizabeth's unconscious body.
"You two!" Bo'sun growled at Pintel and Ragetti, who had brought Elizabeth aboard the Pearl in the first place. "You brought us the wrong person!" The rest of the crew growled angrily in agreement.
"No!" claimed Pintel, anxiously trying to ward off the accusations. "She had the medallion! She's the proper age!"
"She said her name was Turner!" Ragetti added quickly, and Pintel nodded vigorously. "You heard her!" The crew responded in agreement. She had said that.
"I think she lied to us!" Ragetti went on, rallying the crew to their side even more.
"And I say that witch lied to us, that's what!" shouted Koehler, and Geneva glared as the crew jumped on the bandwagon.
"She was supposed to know who Bootstrap's child was!"
"The witch tricked us!"
Geneva did her best to keep from saying anything that would devastate her agreement with Barbossa. "You're the ones who insisted the medallion was at Port Royal!" she snarled back, her temper finally flaring. "I had nothing to do with that!" She became quite terrifying when her anger manifested.
The crew mulled over that point for a moment, grumbling amongst themselves, and then a new accusation was born.
"You brought us here for nothing!" Twigg shouted at Barbossa, and even more shouts of agreement came in.
"I won't take questionin' nor second-guessin', not from the likes of you, Master Twigg!" Barbossa snapped back at the man.
"Who's to blame him?" Koehler snarled. "Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse!"
"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!" called out another man, and more of the crew rallied behind this new notion. Bo'sun drew his sword angrily, the chaos heightening.
"And it's you who brought us here in the first place!" the barbarous first mate roared. The crew was thundering now with anger. Jack the monkey was screeching hysterically. Barbossa drew his sword in response, ready to fight. Geneva's hand was at the ready on her cutlass.
"If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!" Barbossa demanded, and Bo'sun hesitated. Barbossa brandished his sword formidably, and Bo'sun thought better of it.
"I say we cut her throat!" Koehler growled. "And spill all her blood! Just in case!" The crew roared in agreement. Jack the monkey squealed again, and Barbossa looked at him. Geneva glanced at the monkey, and then she and the captain both turned to look back at Elizabeth, but she had vanished.
"The medallion!" Barbossa cried out. "She's taken it! Get after her, you feckless pack of ingrates!" The crew roared in response and charged out into the tunnels, yelling and howling, their murderous voices echoing loudly all throughout the cave.
"Did you see where she went?" Barbossa demanded gruffly, turning to Geneva and sheathing his sword as soon as they'd left. She shook her head.
"There's no way she could have made it far," Geneva assured him, a troubled look on her face. She was getting visions though. Her mind was somewhere else. She was getting strange feelings of understanding, but she didn't know what they meant. They felt important. She wouldn't let herself discard them.
The shouts were getting softer. Barbossa was becoming impatient.
"What in the blazes are they doing?" he muttered. Geneva ignored him. She'd never gotten a vision like this before. She couldn't see anything, but she felt as though she was being forcefully injected with knowledge. It was coming in so rapidly that she couldn't keep up with it. The feeling was heightening and headed toward a peak. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to take everything in. This was all coming from one person she'd imprinted before. Their connection was strong, and their proximity was close.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes. She knew. And she let out the only utterance she could. She laughed, more heartily than she ever had in all her life. Oh, how she loved tricks.
Barbossa looked at her confusedly. "What's come over you?" he demanded, but Geneva couldn't contain herself enough to respond appropriately.
"Incredible!" she roared, laughing so hard that tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. "Unbelievable!"
Barbossa snarled. "What?!"
Geneva couldn't respond. She didn't care to respond to the captain anyway. She had been humored so much by this revelation, and she didn't need to tell Barbossa. It wasn't urgent. She hopped off the pile and made for the tunnels, Barbossa quickly following behind her. She knew.
The crew had congregated near the boats they had used to get into the cave, surrounding a familiar face. Geneva stepped around the corner, pointing a knowing finger at the face of the one and only Jack Sparrow, still unable to wipe the wide smile from her face.
"You, sir," she said in congratulations to the man, chuckling. "Have amused me." Sparrow smiled warmly at her.
"Have I?" he cooed back at her, and this only tickled her more. Barbossa shoved past her and confronted Jack himself, clearly frustrated that the sea lioness knew more of what was going on than he did at the moment.
"How the blazes did you get off that island?" Barbossa asked, and Jack smiled, leaning comfortably on the paddle of a wooden oar. Geneva snickered even more, and Barbossa seethed with discontentment. Everyone looked to Sparrow.
"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land," Jack said. "You forgot one very important thing, mate." The crew looked at him expectantly. Geneva's grin only intensified.
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, as if that response adequately answered the question. Geneva sniggered again, and Barbossa turned to her.
"You knew this?" he snarled, and Geneva shook her head.
"Not until just now," she said, an amused grin still played across her face. "I can only receive understandable visions from clear-minded people, if I ever do at all. And Jack is anything but clear-minded! This is probably one of the very few moments when he isn't intoxicated!"
Jack chuckled. "So you did cast your eye spell on me," he said, and Geneva looked at him, only smiling. "Tell me; was it my devilish handsomeness that led you to make that decision?" Barbossa rolled his eyes at Jack's flirtatious attempts at Geneva.
"Enough," he snapped, eyeing Jack. Geneva could sense a bit of territorial jealousy in their connection. Barbossa was not pleased with anything in this moment. But he had a right to be impatient. Geneva could agree that it was time to move on and quickly.
"Gents, you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow," Barbossa said pleasantly. "Kill him." The men raised their pistols and aimed them all at Jack's head. Jack appeared absolutely unfazed by this, though.
"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" he said, smiling knowingly. Barbossa snapped his head back towards Jack.
"Hold your fire!" he ordered, and then he stared at Jack. "You know whose blood we need."
"I know whose blood you need!" Jack confirmed eagerly. Geneva smiled with her eyes. She could use Jack. But there was no time for lollygagging. She could get to the point faster than anyone there.
"You," she said, suddenly. "You didn't swim here, and to get this far this quickly, you would have needed a ship and a crew. Isn't that right?"
Jack raised a finger in order to speak, but then paused.
"Actually, I used sea turtles," he replied. "Strapped 'em to me legs. Quite efficient."
"Of course ya' did," Geneva replied. "And the person whose blood we need. I know that person came with you. Did he not?" She knew this person was a he. She could see everything as plain as day now. She read Jack like a book.
Sparrow hesitated and made a face. That had happened a bit quickly for him, but he certainly didn't expect to be read. Geneva huffed in amusement, paying no attention to Jack any longer. She turned to Barbossa and waited for him to give the order. The information had been presented clearly enough.
"To the Pearl with the lot of you!" he ordered. "And take Jack along!" The crew scurried to ready the rowboats, and then they were off to the ship.
They finally made it aboard, and Barbossa had Jack thrown in the brig. He was still a bit frustrated. He liked to be on top, Geneva could tell. But the tides were turning. She could sense that, too.
Barbossa made it up to the quarterdeck and pulled out his telescope, eyeing a ship that was about a half a mile off. Geneva leaned against the railing next to him, peering out at the same ship.
"Don't stress yourself so much, Hector," she cooed, stroking her amber locks. "They'll be no trouble for us. It's only fair that we give them a head start. After all, the Black Pearl is the fastest ship in the ocean." Her words seemed relax Barbossa some, and he put away his telescope, a smile almost tugging at his lips as he gave the order to let out the sails and make chase.
They sailed away from the island and out into open sea quickly, and already, they were gaining on the measly little ship.
"Haul on the main brace! Make ready the guns!" Barbossa bellowed from the quarterdeck, turning to his first mate with a grin on his face. "And run out the sweeps." Geneva smiled. This was the very reason the name of the Black Pearl had become so laden with fear.
The cannons were readied and the pirate flag was raised. Cargo from the ship ahead was floating past. They were trying to move faster by lightening the load, but it would do them no good. Their doom was immanent.
The Pearl gained further on the little ship in no time. They were only one hundred meters away now. Geneva had been watching it intently, waiting to see what its crew would do. Suddenly, she saw the anchor on the starboard side drop, and the ship began to veer dangerously on its side, turning sharply against its own momentum.
"They're putting up a fight, then?" she commented to nobody in particular, her voice laced with amusement. The tactics of sea warfare always tickled her interests.
"They're clubhauling!" Barbossa called to the crew from behind her. "Hard to port! Rack the starboard oars!"
The Pearl pulled up to broadside the little ship, the barbaric roars between opposing ships echoing back and forth. Geneva heard Barbossa draw his sword from its sheath in anticipation. Everyone was waiting for the command.
"Fire!" ordered both ships, almost at the same time, and the sound of cannon fire rung through the air. The smoke filled the air between the two ships, and gunshots rang out as bullets flew through the smog. The adrenalin coursed through Geneva's veins. She always enjoyed these fights.
Men fell from both sides as they were shot, tumbling down into the water between the ships. Both sides were holding up viciously. But the battle would be over soon. The Pearl had a valuable weapon.
"Strike your colors, you bloomin' cockroaches!" Barbossa called out amidst the chaos, heading down to the main deck. "Hands grapples at the ready! Prepare to board!" The crew roared and grabbed for their grappling hooks. Barbossa strolled leisurely onto the center of the main deck in front of Geneva, who was now leaning calmly against the main mast of the Pearl. Cannon fire rung out from the Pearl, and her prized weapon of destruction, the chain shot cannonball, flew through the air, striking and shattering the main mast of the other ship. The fight was as good as over.
The mast groaned and lost its balance, and it came crashing down gloriously onto the main deck of the Pearl, crewmen running out of its wake so as not to be crushed. The mast missed Barbossa by only a few feet.
There was a moment of stunned silence aboard between the two ships, but it was short-lived.
"Pistols and cutlasses, men!" Barbossa ordered. "Koehler, Twigg, to the powder magazine. And the rest of you, bring me that medallion!"
The crew roared in response and threw grappling hooks at the rails across the water from them. Men swung on ropes to board the ship, and chaos ensued. Geneva pushed off her resting place on the main mast and made her way to Barbossa's side to better watch the fight.
Soon enough, Jack the monkey came bounding across the mast with the medallion, being pursued by none other than Jack Sparrow. When he reached the rail of the Pearl, he looked up and saw Barbossa, medallion in hand.
"Why, thank you, Jack," Barbossa said, and Sparrow smiled.
"You're welcome," he responded, and Barbossa petted the monkey, which was now perched on his shoulder.
"Not you," Barbossa replied. "We named the monkey 'Jack.'" Then, he turned to the rest of the crew, holding the medallion up for all to see. "Gents, our hope is restored!"
Jack flashed a hesitant smile, and as Barbossa stepped away, he could see Geneva standing in his place, smiling coyly. Jack really didn't like that smile.
"'Ello again, Jack," she said, almost as if she had been expecting him. Jack flashed a short, uncomfortable smile in response as he dismounted from the mast and onto the main deck of the Pearl.
"You're quite clever," she said, looking him up and down, almost flirtatiously. Her grip on his arm as she pulled him off the mast did not feel nearly as pleasant, though, and he winced a bit. He cleared his throat, intending to return her flattery, but she cut him off.
"Put a sock in it," she said, walking off and leaving him in the hands of her crew-mates.
Barbossa's crew made quick work of the opposing crew, tying them all against the main mast of the Pearl. The crew had shoved the remainder of the main mast of the other ship into the water and was sailing to a safe distance from the wreckage. Elizabeth's eyes were wild. Geneva could see them, absolutely filled with fear. Just when nobody was looking, she slipped under the rope holding her to the mast and made a break for the rails where Barbossa stood, but Geneva caught her arm. Just as she did, the little ship in the distance exploded and burst into flames. Elizabeth let out a shocked whimper, and Geneva handed her back to a crew member to be tied up again.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Let her go!" All turned toward the voice.
A young man with long black hair stood on the railing of the Pearl, holding fast to the ratlines. He was sopping wet, but his face had a look of determination. He brandished a pistol, and he pointed it at Barbossa.
"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa asked him, looking at him as though he were a joke.
"She goes free!" the boy responded valiantly.
"You've only got one shot, and we can't die," replied Barbossa, almost boredly.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Jack whispered to the man, and Geneva eyed him, then the boy. This was him. This was the boy they were looking for.
"You can't," the boy went on, responding to Barbossa. "But I can." He turned the pistol on himself, finger resting on the trigger, hammer cocked.
"Like that," Jack muttered, rolling his eyes. Geneva smiled coyly.
"Who are you?" Barbossa asked the boy, curiosity in his voice now. Jack jumped from the grasp of some crew members and scurried between Barbossa and the boy.
"No one!" he said, smiling like he was hiding something, but Geneva already knew and shook her head. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though. Eunuch."
"My name is Will Turner," the boy said from behind Jack, ignoring Jack's tries to conceal his identity. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins." Will was certainly making things easy. Geneva sighed at his ignorance. These people really knew nothing of the sea. But at least she wouldn't have to do any explaining to Barbossa as to who this boy was.
"He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us!" exclaimed Ragetti, and murmurs circulated throughout the crew.
"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker," threatened Will, and Barbossa made no attempt to hassle the boy.
"Name your terms, Mr. Turner," Barbossa said, quickening the pace of the conversation so as to hasten Will's mind. It was always the tactic he used. Keep your negotiants feeling as though they're in control, and they'll give you all the loopholes you want.
"Elizabeth goes free," said Will, and Barbossa rolled his eyes.
"Yes, we know that one," he said, helping Will along. "Anything else?"
Jack motioned at himself, trying to get Will to let him make the bargain. Will misunderstood.
"And the crew," Will added. "The crew are not to be harmed."
Barbossa looked about at the crew behind him, smiled a devilish, black smile, and said to Will without any fuss, "Agreed."