Chapter 7: A Matter of Leverage
Will Turner, sighed up at the dark ceiling above him. It was just before dawn if the grey light peeking over the horizon was anything to go by.
Four days and four nights had passed since he and Peggy had set out from Port Royal.
Three of those days had been spent in the company of a crew of pirates led by the enigmatic and eccentric Jack Sparrow.
Had anyone told him he would ever consort with a pirate, let alone sail as part of a pirate's crew, he would have laughed and called them mad. Ever since being attacked by pirates on the passage from England he had felt a great distaste and hatred towards the lawless buccaneers.
Then the Black Pearl had appeared in Port Royal, and everything was turned upside down and on his head.
He had thought all pirates to be rotten, evil, vile villains who'd sooner cut your throat than speak to you. While that was true of the crew of the Black Pearl (and many other ships), the current crew of the Interceptor did not seem to fit such a bloodthirsty description.
Oh, for sure there were many dubious characters amongst them, and Will was often warned to keep his guard up when it came to his personal effects, but apart from that, the ragtag crew of the Interceptor were not all that bad.
Most kept to themselves, and aside from Yarrow and Daniel's squabble over dice and a couple of small skirmishes, it was relatively peaceful sailing. Many were good sailors, hardy and surprisingly as efficient as any of the navy officers back at Port Royal. Indeed, some of the men had once been naval officers who had left the service of the Crown in search of a less restrictive life.
One such man had been Jack's first mate Gibbs. He was, Will thought, a rather decent chap all things considered. Aside from his annoying gullibility regarding superstitious nonsense, he had an admirable sense of loyalty and knew how to manage a tight ship.
Then there was Cotton, a very calm and patient man who had been very generous to Will in teaching him how to properly tie the more advanced sailing knots when the winds were slow. Despite his naturally docile nature, he was deceptively strong as Will discovered after watching the older gentleman pull apart a squabbling pair of pirates and draw a knife on them in warning before either could escalate to guns or swords. For a man of few words, he could make his point known quite well without the aid of his rather foul-mouthed parrot Paulie.
Marty was also someone Will had been made to work with often. Or rather, Marty had been tasked with keeping an eye on him whenever Jack or Gibbs were unavailable. The shorter bald man was watchful like a hawk and kept Will on his toes when it came to his chores, pushing him hard. However, he did enjoy divulging a few interesting stories and tales of brawls and fights he had won during breaks which were often entertaining and insightful.
Another person Will saw often was Annamaria, though this was in the evenings when she took the night shift at the helm. Despite her hot head and vicious streak, she too had a lot of interesting tales to tell of her time on the sea. She came from a family of smugglers in Tortuga and had been out on the oceans since before she could walk and talk. She was especially good at cards, and Will was grateful he had not placed any wagers against her in any game for she would have fleeced him for all his coin.
Then once you got over the motley crew, there was the captain himself. Even by pirate standards, Jack Sparrow was considered an anomaly, and that said a lot. He was just as conniving and as selfish as a pirate should be. He loved his rum and his women and was especially good at twisting his words to make any argument suit himself, but then there were the smaller moments that made Will wonder at the man's true nature. Despite trying to appear disinterested in other people when it suited him, Jack was oddly observant of his surroundings. He kept a close eye on the crew and the ship and could assume command quite well when pushed.
Then there was how he treated Peggy. That was what frustrated Will most of all.
Peggy might have tried to shrug off her relationship with the pirate as being as strictly professional as any cabin boy and captain would be, but Will was not blind. Yes, there was still some tension between them, but Will could see how comfortable Jack and Peggy were together when they thought he and no one else was looking. Peggy certainly was more adept at reading the enigmatic pirate captain than most of the crew, except Gibbs.
When they were alone, their teasing was softer, and more playful, with many a reference and an inside joke that only they knew. Then there were the serious moments where they became quieter around one another, each saying more with a glance than they ever did in words as if they could read one another's thoughts through their eyes.
It greatly annoyed Will whenever that happened, for Jack would smirk at him with smug satisfaction like a little boy showing off a better and shinier toy than the rest of his playmates. Normally Will would have been able to shrug off such childish gloating, but for some reason, it was difficult to ignore the pangs of anger that swelled within him whenever Jack shoved his "victory" in his face.
The worst had been the day before when Jack had called Peggy and him up onto the deck for some swordsmanship practice. Or rather, Jack had practised with Peggy while Will had been made to sit to the side and watch on the sidelines like a scolded child.
Then the captain flaunted in his face one more piece of information Peggy had not seen fit to share.
"Now love, let's see how much you remember from our lessons."
Of course, not only was Jack Sparrow Peggy's old captain, but he had taught her to fight, and Will had to admit, that Jack had taught her well. As they fought, Will could not help but remember his first fight with the pirate and how his style had briefly reminded him of Peggy. At first, Will had thought nothing of it, believing it was merely the mark of a good swordsman. But now seeing the two of them sparring it was clear to Will that Peggy had picked up a lot of her old captain's surprisingly smooth and dance-like style, though she had put her own more aggressive and sharper spin on it to suit her.
With a scowl Will turned over onto his side, his nose now engulfed by a mass of coppery curls. After two nights sleeping on the floor of her cabin, Peggy had finally snapped and dragged him up to sleep beside her on her tiny cot.
There was barely enough room for one of them let alone them both, but somehow they had managed to squeeze in and fit side by side.
It was hardly a decent arrangement given their situation, but at the time Will had been too tired and sore to care. Besides, as Peggy had pointed out, it was not the first time they had been forced to share a bed due to necessity.
They had often done so in the early days of their friendship, as awful nightmares had haunted them both rather frequently. Then as young adolescents there had been times when Mister Brown had been on a rampage after a night of heavy drinking that Peggy had been forced to hide in Will's room for her safety. Eventually they solved the problem when Will worked with the town locksmith to create a bolt to secure her room from the inside.
Since then, they had both been comfortable in their own spaces, only ever staying in one another's rooms in a chair beside the bed if the other was sick and needed tending, which was rare as they had both developed quite strong constitutions.
But that had all been in the past. They had been innocent children, seeking comfort and security from one another when their guardian failed in his duty of care.
Now…now Will could not help but feel hyper-aware of every small movement she made even as she turned over to face him and buried her face into his chest. He could feel every small breath against his clavicle, her hand accidentally slipped past the open collar of his shirt to rest over his racing heart, the smell of her hair as it tickled his nose. The scent of soap, sea salt and spices grew more powerful as her body shifted closer. Will sucked in a sharp breath as he felt the softness of her curves press against him in ways that made his entire body tingle as if touched by embers.
The action was so innocent on her part, but Will could not contain the shiver that ran through him down to the tips of his toes as her body moulded into his. Though he may have thought of her as only a dear friend, he was still a man. He was not completely immune to her looks and charm.
Will was willing to admit that his biased opinion might have stemmed from his fondness for his friend. Several women in Port Royal were renowned for their good looks like Elizabeth, though most were of noble birth or noble adjacent. And there had been those women in Tortuga who were just as gorgeous in that careless, exposed way.
Still, despite bearing witness to their loveliness, Will found his opinion hardly changed. Peggy was one of the most beautiful women he had known, only second to Elizabeth who held his heart.
Her hair was perhaps Will's favourite feature. Even now as she slept peacefully in his arms her curls spread over her side of the bed in an untameable mass of red copper. It was such a pretty colour that reminded him of the warm fire in the forge back home. Her eyes when open reminded him of a clear sky reflected in the blade of a steel sword and could be just as sharp when she was annoyed or angry.
As for her body…well he had not given it much of a thought… till now.
After feeling it so intimately against his own tonight he could understand why so many men in Tortuga had looked at her with such longing. Had Will's heart not been taken by another and his inhibitions lowered by looser morals he may have sought the comfort of her curves to ease his base desires.
He felt his cheeks burn at the memory of her exposing her chest to Gabrielle the prostitute. Will knew she had only done that to protect his virtue and deliver some petty revenge upon Jack for all his teasing. But he had found himself unable to look away. It was ironic really. So many women had been exposed to him in that bar and yet he could not tear his eyes away from the barest hint of his best friend's chest. It was, he had to admit, a rather nice bosom, but still…
He tried to assuage his guilt by assuring himself it was nothing more than a biological response and perhaps a little curiosity for he had never seen so much of Peggy's skin since they had been children.
Normally she abhorred exposing her body in any way. Will was not sure if it was a byproduct of her secretive nature or if she was always just that shy, though he assumed it was a generous mixture of both. The only time she was ever willing to expose any skin to him was if it was to do with injury or sickness, and even then she only showed as much was needed.
Will had respected her boundaries. She was his friend and housemate; it would have been wholly inappropriate for him to leer or lech at her as Mister Brown did in their home. The fact that she still trusted Will so much that she was willing to put aside her discomfort for his protection made his heart swell with pride and affection.
What had he done to deserve a friend so loyal in the form of such a woman? If she was to give access to her body he sincerely hoped it would be to a husband who loved her and revered her like the moon and stars above.
He chanced another look down as he felt her lips curl downwards against his skin.
Just what was making her press so much against him tonight? She was never this clingy.
He found his answer when he lowered his gaze further and noticed that her shift slipped from her shoulder to reveal her freckled skin.
Not only that but her ankles and feet were also curled and cringing as she unconsciously searched for a covering.
He sighed and shook his head. No wonder she was so desperate for closeness tonight. He had hogged all the blankets leaving her with very little to protect herself from the chill night air.
Carefully, trying not to disturb her slumber, he spread the blanket back over her feet before reaching up to fix her shift. Her skin was beguilingly smooth, he mused as his fingertips drifted away from her resettled sleeve and up along the column of her neck.
She had freckles running along the sides too, how had he never noticed them before?
While many back in Port Royal considered her freckles a blemish upon an otherwise fine complexion, Will was fond of them. They reminded him of the way the stars speckled across the night sky.
He pulled the blanket up to her ears and felt her body instantly relax and melt tiredly into the thin excuse of a mattress. Her sigh of contentment fluttered against his shirt as he rolled onto his back once more, keeping her close against his side with one arm wrapped around her shoulders.
As inappropriate as this all might be, it was deeply satisfying to know that only he would get to see her so unguarded like this.
So much for Jack knowing all your secrets.
He smiled smugly to himself, then felt instantly guilty.
God, the childish way he was acting was almost shameful. What would his mother say?
His heart softened as memories of his mother drifted across his mind's eye. It had been a long time since Will had thought of Katherine Turner. He remembered her long dark hair, her big doe eyes that were patient and wise beyond her years, and her kind smile. He wondered what she would make of his turn to piracy. Would she have been ashamed of him? Hated him? resented him? Or would she have understood that what he did he did for love? Will liked to believe she would have understood, after all her husband had been a pirate right?
Or was that something she had never known? Had she been in the dark like he had been until her death? Or did she know the truth about the man she married?
Had she lied to William to spare him the pain? Will dearly hoped she hadn't if only so his last memories of his mother were not tainted by such horrible pain.
Honestly, he still was unsure if he could believe it all or not. His father, a pirate…just another criminal on the high seas.
Had he been like the motley crew of the Interceptor? Just an oddball outcast with nowhere else to go, or had he been a cutthroat like those on the Black Pearl?
Will wondered about the letters his father had sent him over the years. Despite hardly seeing the man since he was barely out of infancy, Will had always admired his father, or at least, his mother's version of the man. The very man who sent all those letters encouraging him in his studies and telling tales of exciting adventures and distant ports. The man who sent him that strange but beautiful gold medallion with the promise of seeing him someday soon when he was old enough to understand.
Will no longer had any of the letters or the medallion since his first ship to England had been attacked by pirates. Wherever they were they must have been at the bottom of the sea, he thought glumly as he turned his head and nuzzled his nose into Peggy's hair.
It was so long since those letters he had almost forgotten their contents. The one he remembered the most had been the one with the medallion, as it was the last one he ever received.
He wondered if Peggy had been mentioned in them. She had known his father for two years and had seemed fond of him as a friend. What strange luck she had that the first person she met after being abandoned by her crew had been her friend's son.
He still could not quite believe how she had not drowned to death after being thrown off a ship in the middle of a hurricane. Then there was how she had gotten thrown overboard by Jack's old crew. Yes, she could have wiggled out of her bonds before she hit the water, but how on earth did a ten-year-old girl survive being out on the open water without freezing to death or catching pneumonia?
Something still did not add up.
He frowned as he turned his head towards the window. The sky outside was lavender grey turning to a pale pink as the sun began peeking over the horizon line, illuminating the contents of the windowsill. On it, his brown vest had been folded next to the neat pile of Peggy's day clothes which was kept from flying about the place by a blue leather-bound book placed on top.
Will frowned.
When had Peggy brought this along? He knew she liked to read but he hardly thought they would have had any time to indulge given the urgent nature of their expedition.
Curiously he took the book in his hands and read the spine.
"Tales of the Deep." He murmured as he traced a line down to the author's name. Percival Stafford. Will had never heard of him. Then again, with how much he worked to cover up for his master's slack, Will barely had any time to read for pleasure in recent years.
He was literate, and for this, he silently thanked his dear late mother for her persistence in his education as well as Peggy for making sure to keep her bedroom stocked with books in their humble home.
Myths, Legends and Lore…Wait…why is this page bent?
He shifted slightly on his pillow to a semi-sitting position, doing his best to keep himself from jostling the still-sleeping Peggy draped over his chest as he opened the book to the marked page.
"The Cursed Treasure of Cortés…" he breathed, heart hammering and eyes widening as he looked up at the illustration above the chapter title.
"What in God's name…"
"Dead man tell no tales!"
Peggy shivered as the call of Paulie the parrot echoed eerily over the deck.
They had done it. They had reached the Isla de Muerte. Against all odds, they had caught up to the Black Pearl and found her berth.
And what a terrible place it was too.
The entire cove was littered with shipwrecks, half hidden by a foul thick fog and sharp gnarly rocks that jutted out ready to pierce any vessel that veered a millimetre off course. The unearthly chill that had nearly frozen her last night had not abated. If anything, it had increased, and with it, the wind whipped about haphazardly, making the sails luff loudly above their heads. It was so chill, it seemed as if not even the warm Caribbean sun dared touch this accursed land.
The isle of death. A fitting name. She folded her arms across her chest as she spotted a dark shadow bobbing in distant waters. A dark shadow with three tall masts.
The Black Pearl. She was just as magnificent as Peggy remembered her. Her sooty black wood and furled sails stood out starkly against the grey rock behind her like a black ghost.
Peggy felt her heart swell and ache as she remembered clambering its rigging for a taste of the morning sun and the fresh sea spray. She remembered her tiny nook just off the captain's quarters, all black like the rest of the ship, with her little pouch of trinkets. Nothing had been of much monetary value in that pouch. Only a few shells, baubles and charms she collected from their journeys.
Hector must have chucked them away by now.
She thought bitterly.
She glanced back at Jack at the helm. He too was gazing at the Pearl. In all the time she knew him, it was the most subdued and serious she had ever seen the pirate. His eyes were dark with wrath and full of desperate longing as if he were looking at a long-lost love.
And in a way he was. Jack adored the Black Pearl more than any other thing in his life. She was his pride and joy, his greatest treasure. Barbossa might have stolen her for ten years, but to Jack, the Pearl would always be his.
Peggy felt a warm body settle beside her at the railing and looked up to see the rest of the crew had joined her by the railing as well, with Will right beside her. He was squinting at the Black Pearl as if trying to scan it for any sign of a head of blonde hair.
"So that's the Black Pearl?" He muttered.
Peggy nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat before it could consume her. She was glad when Gibbs strode up and patted her on the shoulder.
"Puts a chill in the bones, how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." Gibbs nodded before turning to Peggy. "Captain wants to see ye at the helm."
"On it." She mumbled and quickly backed away from the railing.
Will watched her go, his gaze straying to the captain at the helm even as he carefully adjusted their course with the aid of that broken compass of his. Or was it broken? Will assumed it worked but was unsure if it followed the conventions of basic common sense…much like its owner.
"How is it that Jack came by that compass?" Will asked Gibbs as they left the crowded railing.
"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow 'fore he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of Isla de Muerte." Gibbs grunted as he adjusted a piece of rigging and took a swig from his hip flask "That was before I met him. Back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl."
"What?!" Will's gaze snapped back to Jack and Peggy, both talking in urgent hushed voices. "They failed to mention that." Deep in his gut, hot anger bubbled like a cauldron. Just when he thought he had it all figured out, she lied to him again.
Well, sort of lied, he told himself bitterly. She had told him she was Jack's Cabin Girl, and she had been honest about the night she had been thrown overboard…he just had not bothered to ask what ship they'd been on. That was on him.
Something of his frustration must have shown in his face because Gibbs hastily tucked his rum away and coughed.
"I know it's been a bit topsy turvy for ye lad, but don't be too harsh on the lass." Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder. "Given how it ended up I don't blame her for playing things closer to the vest now. The same goes for Jack. And a hard-learned lesson it was." Will frowned back at the older man, his irritation lowering to a simmer as curiosity got the better of him.
"What happened to them?" he asked quietly, hoping he sounded more casual than he felt.
"Well, I ain't too sure meself." Gibbs shrugged as he led Will over to a quieter portion of the ship away from prying ears. "I only know what Jack has told me and he wasn't too big on the details since he and I were well…rather enjoying a large barrel of rum at the time. From what he told me, he found Peggy stowed away in an apple barrel two days after restocking supplies at Tortuga. Not sure how such a little girl managed to wriggle her way into becoming one of the crew, but she must've made a mighty impression on Jack because he ain't never taken a cabin boy before that or since."
"She can be pretty forceful when she wants to get her way. Even when we were children." Will snorted and Gibbs grimaced.
"I don't doubt it. Now 'twas around the end of those two years that everything went ter hell. See three days out on the venture, the first mate comes to Jack and says, 'Everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure too.' So, Jack gives up the bearings. From what I made out of Jack's mumblin's, Peggy did try to warn 'im against the idea and the two of them ended up having a massive flamin' row over it."
There was a pause as Will and Gibbs looked back at the helm. Peggy and Jack were still talking in hushed voices, arguing softly amongst themselves, their faces unnaturally tense even as they both glanced sidelong at the Pearl.
"I'll bet he regrets not listening to her now." Will turned back to Gibbs whose expression darkened like thunderclouds.
"Aye, I have no doubt he does. Mind you, I don't know how she knew somethin' was going to go wrong, maybe she had heard mutterings or maybe it was just intuition, or maybe the rumours were true and she really is a witch with ungodly powers-" Will glared at the man indignantly but was ignored as the story continued "-but that night, there was a mutiny. They bound and tossed Peggy overboard and then sailed for a day and a night with Jack in the brig before marooning him on an island and leavin' him to die. But not before he got mad with the heat."
"Ahh…so that's the reason for all the…" Will trailed off as he pretended to sway like Jack did whenever he was on land.
"Reason's got nothin' to do with it." Gibbs pulled him down to sit on a couple of crates. "Now Will, when a pirate's marooned he's given a pistol with a single shot. One shot. Well, that won't do much good huntin', nor to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starving belly and thirst, that pistol starts to look really friendly. But Jack, he escaped the island, and he still has that single shot. Only, he won't use it, though save on one man. His mutinous first mate-"
"-Barbossa,"
"Aye."
Will stopped for a moment, remembering the conversation from a few mornings ago.
Now everything was starting to make sense.
Will grimaced as he remembered how Peggy had spoken about the Black Pearl after its attack on Port Royal. Of course, she could guess its movements since she had sailed on it before. It was also no wonder she was so hostile towards Jack when they had freed him.
The last she had seen of the man he had broken her trust and let her get tossed to her death for the sake of his bruised pride. Despite his annoyance at being kept in the dark once more, Will had to admit, that he understood her unwillingness to talk about such a painful topic. Despite working together for the last few days, he had yet to see either the pirate or his cabin girl resolve whatever hurt feelings they had over the topic.
And Jack…that single shot…
His vow to kill Barbossa with that pistol and take back the Pearl was the only reason Will was alive after their first fight. It was the only motivation Jack had to aid him in his quest to find Elizabeth. Why else would such a self-serving man ever agree to help in such a heroic cause?
But just as much as it answered so much, Gibbs's story only brought even more questions to mind.
"…how did Jack get off the island?" Will asked.
"Well, I'll tell ya." Gibbs leaned forward, more excited than before "He waded out into the shallows and he waited there three days and nights. Till all manner of sea creatures came, acclimated to his presence. Then, on the fourth morning, he roped a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft!"
"Sea turtles?" Will quirked a brow. That was…the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. What was in that rum these pirates were drinking that they'd believe was such an utter tripe?
"Aye sea turtles." Gibbs looked mighty pleased with the story, it was a favourite of his to tell and Will had to admit for an absurd yarn it was somewhat compelling. Yet he could not resist the urge to mockingly ask:
"What did he use for rope?"
It took Will all he had not to chuckle as the older pirate desperately struggled to figure out a good answer. For all his dramatics, he had not thought about a reasonable explanation for such a basic problem with his tale.
However, the poor man was spared the trouble as a shadow loomed over him and Will. The blacksmith looked up to see Jack standing with an odd frown, Peggy just behind him looking as exasperated and bitter as Will felt.
"Human hair." He grunted at Will's questioning look "From me back."
Will grimaced in disgust along with Peggy who rolled her eyes as Jack commanded the crew to let go of the anchor.
"Young mister Turner, Pegsy and I are to go ashore." The pirate added as he sauntered off, though Will did not miss the dirty look he threw over his shoulder at Peggy who only smiled coldly in return.
"You managed to convince him?" Will muttered as the pirate meandered to where the men were arranging a longboat.
"It was a battle and a half but I managed." Peggy sighed before adding with a small mutinous mutter. "He's still just as stubborn a lout as ever."
"It will be dangerous," Will admitted earning himself an exhausted scoff.
"It would be more dangerous to let you go alone. Hector Barbossa is not a man to be trifled with. I should know…" She sucked in a deep breath and did her best to suppress the shiver that ran through her.
However, Will saw it and his heart grew heavy. As peeved as he was he could not help but feel pity.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." He murmured and coughed quickly as she glowered at him. "I do not doubt your skills, but I can see how upsetting it must be to be so near those that once hurt you."
Her glare softened to a grimace.
"You're right…I'm not fond of the idea of seeing Barbossa or his lot again." She mumbled folding her arms tight "But I'd be even more upset if I just sat back and did not do everything in my power to help."
Will nodded. Though he disliked the idea of letting her near such vile scum, it was not like he had a leg to stand on. It was that very same determination that led him to break the law to save Elizabeth in the first place.
"Oy! You two hurry up! We don't have all day!" Jack snapped as Gibbs rushed up beside him and whispered.
"What if the worst should happen?
"Keep to the code," Jack muttered and Gibbs nodded fervently.
"Aye, the code."
Code? What code?
But even as Will turned to ask he saw that Peggy was already in the longboat securing a lantern to the prow.
It would seem his questions would have to wait once again.
The house along the river was dark and lit by candlelight.
At a long wooden dining table, laden heavily with trinkets and jars filled with strange liquids and ingredients, a woman sat hunched and muttering softly.
She was a strange woman, dark-skinned with black dots tattooed below her equally dusky eyes. Brown dreadlocked hair obscured her face from view like tangled seaweed as she read the pile of bones scattered about a large hand-drawn map.
Dark blue lips pulled back to reveal blackened teeth as she traced a long slender finger across a piece of bone that had landed in the middle of an open patch of water where no island had been marked.
"Suh yuh 'ave find yuh way back tuh Jack, little pearl." The woman sneered to herself. "Yuh try tuh run but di ocean ave ways of calling all its daughtas back tuh its watas."
She reached up to her throat to stroke a thin gold chain on which a spiralling pointed conch seashell hung and rested over her breast. The cold victorious light in her eyes hardened as she turned the trinket over in her fingers.
To others, it was just a meaningless trinket, but the woman knew such things were probably more valuable than any gold coin in a treasure trove. As she traced her finger along the hole at the top, a soft singing filled the air of the house. The tune was sweet but sad, like a lullaby of old. For years the owner of it had not sung it for it had been in the keeping of the woman at the table.
Safe she had kept it and safely she would give it back, once the fair price had been paid.
Songs and music were the most precious gift of the sea gods, and not even the woman dared steal them wrongfully away from their owners without fear of ancient wrath descending upon her mortal form.
"Him ave taken suh much from di both of us. An' him seeks tuh tek away more from yuh even now." Her fingers tightened their grip on the shell in her hands. "Nuh worry little pearl. Suh lang as yuh stick tuh yuh path, all bi fine an yuh ago free. Yuh only haff to remember yah promise to mi. Or else there bi no ocean or lands leave fir yuh tuh hide from mi wrath!"
There had been silence in the long boat as Will and Peggy sat at the front and Jack rowed them into the caves of Isla de Muerta. The foul mood between the captain and his cabin girl had not abated even with Will in the boat as a buffer.
There was no teasing, no snarky banter. Just tense, unnatural silence that only fuelled Will's unease with their surroundings. Indeed, Will thought the air of hostility had only thickened with his presence.
Was he the reason they had argued? Peggy had been rather protective of him ever since the start of their venture, rarely letting him and Jack be alone together for more than a few minutes at a time.
Will could not help but wonder if it had anything to do with what he had read in Percival Stafford's book.
While he was sure it must be a ridiculous load of cock and bull, that illustration had been most haunting indeed. It was almost an exact replica of the medallion his father had sent to him all those years ago. But how could it be an illustration in a book? And how on earth could it have been cursed?
Did his father know it was cursed before he sent it to his son? Will barely knew the man, but he was sure his father would never have sent him something so wretched that could hurt him.
The blacksmith still felt himself shiver as he remembered the author's words.
"Begun by blood spilled in greed by thine hands, and so by the blood of you or your own it shall be undone in sacrifice. That is the only way for the curse to be lifted for those who dared take the cursed Treasure of Cortez from its resting place"
Will had heard stories of the heathen gods of these ancient tribes demanding human sacrifices, but surely that was not what Jack had planned for him. Or was it?
Jack had asked him how far he'd be willing to go to save Elizabeth, and Will had not lied when he said he would die for her. He loved her, he would do anything for her.
And yet, a small part of him, a tiny pathetic piece of self-preservation could not help but feel scared at the prospect now that it was so close.
Well, he supposed it must be all a part of the natural fear response-
"What's that?!" he gasped as something moved in the corner of his eye, gripping at Peggy's arm as she turned the lantern towards the source of the motion.
They sighed as they caught sight of a large crab clicking on a nearby rock, only to gape as it scuttled to the side where a horrifying skeletal corpse lay with a sword sticking out of it. Despite how clean most of the skull was, it must have been a recent kill because the corpse still had hair, and the crab was still picking bits of something red from one of the outstretched bony hands.
Will could not blame Peggy for shutting her eyes tight. The sight was almost enough to make him throw up over the side.
"What…What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" he coughed back at Jack who was busy rowing.
"The pirate's code." The pirate shrugged, sparing a disdainful glance at the disgusting display and barely batting an eye. "Any man who falls behind is left behind."
"Ain't that the truth." Peggy snorted bitterly, grimacing as Jack's back hit her own with a rather large stroke of the paddles oh-so-accidentally.
"So speaks the woman who left me to the mercy of that bloody Commodore."
"The way I see it, I was merely bestowing the same courtesy you bestowed upon me." Peggy snapped. "You left me to die at the hands of old Hector. I left you to die at the hands of the Royal Navy. We're both square."
Will stared at Peggy in alarm. Petty and harsh she may have been sometimes, but he had never thought she was capable of that level of cruelty, no matter how justified it may seem.
"Well, ain't you just the cutthroat little pirate. Old Hector will be so proud." Jack sneered.
"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will cut in, trying desperately to lighten the mood. He had an inkling that if the pair were allowed to continue, feelings would get hurt and swords might get drawn or someone might get thrown overboard. The last thing they needed was for their enemy to see them so divided.
Thankfully for Will, his prayers were answered as Jack turned his ire upon him instead and said with a scoff.
"You know lad, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one. You rescued a pirate and hid her in your house for years, sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga…" he paused as something shimmered beneath the boat.
The three of them all looked down at the source of the twinkling lights.
Will felt his heart catch in his chest. Coins…piles upon piles of gold and silver coins were scattered about under the water flecked with many brightly coloured jewels and tokens. Peggy's eyes bulged as she caught sight of a massive golden cross slide down as one of the oars nudged it and a ruby necklace out of place.
"…and you're completely obsessed with treasure." Jack finished his sentence, his mocking tones snapping Will and Peggy out of their trance just in time for their boat to hit something solid.
"That's not true!" Will snarled as Jack leapt past him and onto the sandy bank they had found, "I am not obsessed with treasure."
"Not all treasure is silver and gold mate," Jack murmured and to Will's surprise, the pirate's eyes flickered briefly to Peggy who was scanning their surroundings warily.
Theirs was not the only boat docked on the dark bank of the cave. Several other long boats were run aground, all made of darker, scuffed wood like the black ship they belonged to.
To Will's surprise, Peggy walked over to the vessels and began taking their oars from within, along with a coil of rope.
"So they can't follow us." She explained simply as she began carefully piling up her bounty and tying it all together. "I'll find something to weigh them down and sink them."
Will sighed in relief, glad for her foresight. At least now they could buy time to escape without fearing a pursuit.
"Best tie up the other boats while we're at it," Jack muttered darkly to Will who quickly grabbed another coil of rope from another boat and began tying the bows of the rowboats together. The cave system they had travelled had been extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one long boat to drift through.
Add the missing oars to the mix and the crew of the Black Pearl would have a very difficult time getting out by themselves.
"Hold it still-There! Got it!" Peggy grunted as she pulled the stevedore's knot good and tight around the bundle of oars and rocks she had secured in a bundle with her vest.
With a grunt of effort, she and Will carefully slid the large heavy parcel down into the water, doing their best not to make a splash or get more than an ankle depth in. Luckily for them, any sound they made was muffled by the sounds of chanting, shouts and loud stomping of feet.
Wait stomping feet?
Peggy and Will both looked up to see Jack slip up a nearby rock and peer over the top.
They quickly followed his lead, their hearts hammering as their eyes were met with an impressive and terrifying sight.
Peggy gasped.
She had seen treasure troves before in her travels with Jack, but never had she seen one quite so opulent as this.
Pile upon piles of coins, jewels, jewellery, chests and statues covered the floor to such an extent there were barely any bare spots of rock left. Amidst the dips and valleys between each mound, grubby and vicious-looking pirates stood with their hands raised or weapons drawn as they hollered and hooted in excitement, their gazes all drawn to the biggest pile of treasure at the far end of the cavern.
On it, was an ancient stone chest, covered in carvings of skulls and bones that shone under the light of the one opening in the cave roof that let in light from the sun above.
Though the light around the Isla de Muerta had been dim on the Interceptor, in the caves it was almost blinding.
So, blinding that Peggy almost missed the sight of the two figures standing next to the stone chest.
One was a woman, blonde-haired, pretty and pale, wearing a dark crimson dress and a frightened expression on her face. Still, she stood as still as she could, determined to maintain some dignity despite her obvious fear for her life.
Hang in there Lizzy. Peggy gulped as her eyes drifted to the person beside her, only for her gut to sink like a stone.
It was a man, tall and older than Jack, with a scraggly fair beard and a large black hat with a half-ruined plume sticking out the side. His gnarled hand was gesticulating dramatically as he struck a formidable pose on a nearby jutting piece of rock.
"Hector." She breathed, chest constricting tight as if a snake had her in its coils as the crew of the Black Pearl cheered Captain Hector Barbossa into his speech.
"Gentlemen! The time has come! Our Salvation is nigh!"
Another cheer and Elizabeth winced where she stood. Peggy could not blame her friend. She had been on the receiving end of one of Barbossa's rousing speeches herself and he always had a way of making his prey feel pathetic and small while riling up his men's bloodthirst beyond a hundred per cent.
"Our torment is near an end!"
"Elizabeth." Will breathed and almost would have bolted forward had Peggy not grabbed his hand tight to stop him.
"Wait."
"For ten years we've been tested and tried by that little red-haired witch's curse! And each man-jack of you here has proved his metal a hundred times over! And a hundred times again!"
Of course, blame the ten-year-old red-head for all your troubles why don't you? Peggy rolled her eyes as the men cheered their captain once again, several of them yelling curses and swears.
"Suffered I have!"
"I'll kill that little witch!"
Will glanced at Peggy whose grip on his hand had turned vice-like. He remembered Gibb's words from before.
"-or maybe the rumours were true, and she really is a witch with ungodly powers."
But what had Peggy done to earn herself the title of witch? Her red hair couldn't be the only reason…or was this Barbossa just using her as a scapegoat to rally his men?
"Punished we were the lot of us! Disproportionate to our crimes!" the pirate captain snarled earning himself a jeer of anger mixed in with the cheers as he raised a booted foot and kicked off the lid of the stone chest.
Peggy nearly stopped breathing as a glimmer of gold, far brighter than any of the treasure in the hall caught her eye from within the stone casket.
There was gold…and then there was GOLD. Never in all her years had she seen gold like that! So fair and lovely it was almost foul to look upon.
"The Cursed Treasure of Cortez himself!" Barbossa slid a gnarly, almost loving hand over the cursed treasure. "Every last piece that went astray we have returned, save for this!"
He pointed sharply to Elizabeth and Will nearly leapt from his spot again.
"Jack!"
"Will no!" Peggy hissed as she and Jack dragged the struggling blacksmith back down from their vantage point to hide behind the stone. To Peggy's dismay, several coins slid disturbed, the tinkling sound echoing off the rocky walls.
"Wait for the opportune moment!" Jack hissed at Will as he dragged the lad back down into the shadow, before turning back to Peggy. "You Pegs, get back to the boat and get it ready to set off!"
"And when is the opportune moment?!" Will snapped as Peggy quickly dashed back to her post "When it's of greatest profit to you?"
Jack paused and sucked in a deep calming breath to steady his already frayed nerves.
It had been a tough morning for him, what with the rum getting rationed, and Pegsy getting all snippy and insubordinate with him. And now here he was, barely able to get his plan into motion because the whelp thought he could get snarky with him.
When all this is over I am buying a whole casket of rum and ditching this boy into the ocean myself. If Pegsy feels that bad about it she can bloody hell join him.
"May I ask you something?" Jack turned and walked straight into the lad's face "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Now, do us a favour, I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here and try not to do anything stupid. " Again. He added the last word in his head as he meandered around the rock.
Will looked at Peggy who sighed as she caught sight of the stubborn gleam in his eye.
"Go, do what you must. Just…be careful." She added in a low whisper, her voice hoarse.
"You too." Will cupped her neck and leaned down to murmur. "If something happens to me, take Elizabeth and return to the Interceptor without me."
"Will-"
"Promise me Peg-"
"No, I won't!" Peggy glared at him. "Because it's never going to come to that. All three of us are going to get out of here together!"
Will sighed but did not argue. Instead, he planted a firm peck on the top of her head, relishing in the smell of salt and spice from her hair for a moment as it soothed his heightened nerves.
"In case I don't make it." He muttered only to wince as Peggy shoved something long and heavy into his arms.
"You will make it!" She returned the kiss with a firm one on his forehead before pushing him away.
Will looked down and saw she had one oar she had missed from her raid of the boats was now in his hands.
"You sure?" He frowned as she pointedly glared at the back of Jack's silhouette as it crept into the shadows.
"If that's what needs doing, then you need to do it." She shrugged "Even if you don't, it's still a strong weapon. Now go! Quick!"
Despite his surprise at her ruthless practicality, Will did not object to the idea.
Though he wanted to save Elizabeth, he did not sign up for being Jack's ticket to revenge.
Peggy felt her gut churn guiltily as she watched Will stalk behind Jack's shadow, the oar raised to strike him down.
Perhaps it was a bit cruel of her to stab Jack in the back like this, but this way they would both get what they wanted. Jack would get back on his beloved Pearl without having to fear being caught by the Navy, and she could get Will and Elizabeth safely back to Port Royal without being seen associating with him.
That may earn Will and her enough points with the Governor and the Commodore to stop them both from dancing the hempen jig.
As for Barbossa, he would keep Jack alive, if only to sate his curiosity, not to mention it would keep him off Peggy's trail until she could get a safe distance away. The last thing she wanted was the Captain of the Black Pearl to figure out her greatest secret. It was bad enough the Devil was using it to tie her down into one awful existence. If Barbossa found it out, she'd be sliced, diced and served up on a silver platter before she even made it to the Locker.
She had so far managed to chalk her near brush with death to coincidence and luck with Jack, but Barbossa was not quite so patient when dealing with riddles, especially those concerning who he thought had wronged him. And for some stupid, bizarre reason, Peggy was ranked very high on that kill list.
But why?
What had she said that was so terrible that it could be misconstrued as a curse? What in Poseidon's name made the crew of the Black Pearl think she had cursed them?
She pushed the boat gently back into the water, making sure to hold onto it so it would not float away and doing her best to not let her feet sink beyond ankle depth into the water.
She remembered cussing them all out and swearing a lot. Who wouldn't swear and curse if they had been accosted in their bed just as they were trying to sleep?
She remembered yelling to Jack to help her, to save her from Koehler and Twigg's pawing hands as they bound her in tight, rough rope that she could still feel over her wrists and legs. She remembered Barbossa kneeling before her and hissing softly in her face.
"Just so ye know, it's nothing personal lass. Just business. When you mutiny it's best to clean up ship as best ye can. Can't have the old captain's scraps lying about the place and causin' trouble now can we?"
She remembered spitting in his face and saying:
"Go ahead throw me overboard! Nothin' will change the fact that you are a miserable old codfish! You can steal as much gold as you want! You can take all the beautiful women in the world, and feast on every goddamn apple under the sun, but nothing will ever make you feel whole! Not now or ever again! All you'll have is your misery and yer bones! Nothin' will ever be enough to quench it!"
But that had not been a magic curse. That had just been her running her mouth off because she was scared. She couldn't even do any magic! The only thing magical about her was something she could not even control and it only affected her and no one else!
Whatever happened to make Koehler's arm turn to bone in the moonlight was NOT her doing.
That had to be the Curse of Cortez. The old conquistador had many cursed items he had left behind in his wake including, it was said, a magic sword in which his very soul had been imprisoned.
Peggy did not know whether to believe the story about the sword, but after what she had seen during the attack on Port Royal, she was not so sure of anything anymore.
I mean look at me, she mused sadly as she looked down to her wrist where a black ring of ink flashed out from her pale freckled skin. How could I of all people not believe in curses when I am marked by the devil himself?...not to mention all the other crazy shit I've been through to get here today.
Her dour thoughts were interrupted by the scuffling of footsteps, and she looked up quickly, one hand flying to the sword at her hip while the other kept the boat still.
"Will! Lizzy!" She sighed in relief as the familiar form of Will came rushing from the shadows, followed closely by Elizabeth.
Both were drenched to the bone, Elizabeth looking out of breath as she held up the hem of her drenched scarlet dress and petticoat to her knees so she could match Will's frantic pace.
When she saw Peggy her face brightened with joy and confusion.
"Peggy, what are you doing here?" she gasped as Will pushed her towards Peggy who ushered her into the boat
"Helping rescue you of course! Can't let this one have all the fun." Peggy grunted as she pushed the lantern into her hands. "go to the front and hold this Will-"
"I'll be fine, you get in first. I'll row!" Will grabbed the boat and shoved hard at Peggy's shoulder to get her moving.
Peggy did not refuse, if only because she was too afraid for her body to sink any further into the water than was necessary.
Anything up to the knees was fine, but beyond that and…well…there would be too much explaining to do and a great deal of pain on her end. So far she had been able to avoid getting fully dunked in the water and she preferred to keep it that way unless she had no choice.
It did not take them long to get away from the cavern with Will at the oars. Peggy meanwhile had swapped spots with Elizabeth so that she was at the front with the lantern guiding the boat along what little of the path she could remember while her friend was keeping a watch for any followers.
Luckily for them, no pirates were on their tail, though they could hear lots of angry shouting and swearing echo throughout the caves.
"THE OARS?!"
"WHERE ARE THE OARS?!"
"THE OARS HAVE GONE MISSING! FIND THEM!"
"BLAST THAT MISERABLE WRETCH!"
Peggy smirked smugly.
Whatever happened next, at least she gave that old codfish Barbossa one last taste of petty vengeance.
Jack Sparrow's head was spinning, and aching, but mostly spinning, as he stumbled through the caves of Isla de Muerta trying and failing to find his bearings.
He was vaguely aware of the shouting and the thundering of many footsteps but did not pay them any more attention.
That whelp. That blasted good-for-nothing troublesome whelp had dared knock him out from behind with an oar!
Where had he gotten the oar? Peggy had bundled them all up and thrown them in the…
Jack paused and groaned to himself softly.
Ah…that little brat. Jack took a deep gulp of air as he staggered into a wall of rock, one hand gripping the oar that had hit him tight to brace himself on his feet. Of course…of course, SHE would encourage such disobedience and backstabbing. She and the whelp had been feeding off one another's deviousness the entire voyage. Or had the whelp just been following her orders?
Jack gagged as he remembered the tender way that lad had kissed Peggy's head goodbye.
Jack did not know whether to be disgusted by the loving gesture or impressed with how deeply Peggy had sunk her claws into the boy.
I'll give her credit; she's done a good job bending him to her will to do her dirty work.
Jack would have been proud if he weren't so annoyed by the splitting headache.
"YOU!" a man's voice gasped, and Jack looked up to see a pair of very familiar faces.
Two men, one bald on top and short, and the other taller with a dopey mop and a wooden eye were staring at him as if they had just seen a ghost.
It did not take long for more men to notice Jack as the man with the wooden eye pointed at him aghast.
Ah, here we go. Jack swallowed hard, doing his best to blink his double vision back to normal as many swords and guns were pointed in his direction.
"You're supposed to be dead!" the shorter bald man shouted.
"Am I not?" Jack slurred looking down at himself. If he was dead and the whelp had killed him then this was a very odd place to end up in the afterlife. Given the pounding of his skull, he was quite sure he was still alive. "Oh, pardon me,"
He tried to turn tail and stumble back the way he came, only to find several more pirates blocking his path, their swords pointed to his throat.
He turned back again towards the first two that had found him. What were their names again? He could never remember, but he knew their faces.
"Puh-la-lem." He mumbled as he pressed his fingers into the muzzle of the shorter man's flintlock.
No wait that's not it. What was that word again? Gods me skull. When I get my hands on that Turner I'm going to give him a proper hiding.
"Puh-lu-luh-lu-lay-lool!" he tried again. The pirates around him all looked at one another in bewilderment.
Okay so clearly he was not making much sense. Goddammit, what was that infernal word?
"Pa-leh-nee. Parsnip…parsley…par-par-partner-pardner-"
"Parley?" The man with the wooden eye offered helpfully.
"Parley! That's the one! Parley!" Jack cried out victoriously. Finally! he knew it started with a P.
"Parley?!" the short man snarled at his wooden-eyed compatriot who shrunk into himself guiltily. "Damned to the depths whatever muttonhead thought up parley!"
"That would be the French." Jack offered as he pushed the gun nozzle back down again. "Latin-based of course. Inventors of mayonnaise."
"I like mayonnaise." Another pirate groaned sadly only to get shushed by his mates with a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"Take 'im to the captain!" The short pirate at the front snarled and several hands reached out to grab at Jack roughly.
Jack rolled his eyes but let them push him ahead. At least with them dragging him along he could concentrate on getting his feet to co-operate without worrying about the destination.
It did not take them long to find Barbossa, and Jack had to admit it was eery to see him again after all these years. Not because of the circumstances of their meeting, but because of the older pirate's face.
Yes, his face.
It had not changed even the slightest. Even if Barbossa had kept himself well with good food, good air and plenty of exercise, there would have been signs of him aging further during the ten years apart. But no. Jack could not see one extra wrinkle or scar on his old first mate's face that had not been there before the mutiny. It was as if the older man had been stuck frozen in time.
That's interesting. Jack thought as he caught sight of the chest of Cortez's treasure far off behind Barbossa's back.
"S'not possible!" Barbossa's lip curled; eyes wide as he gaped at Jack.
"Long time no see, Hector." Jack grinned as he was let go and leaned casually on his oar. His old crew had taken his gun and his sword from him during their journey, but he was not perturbed. He had gotten out of worse spots than this with less on him. One time he had almost managed to escape being knifed by the angry madame of a Tortugan brothel with barely any clothes on and his hands bound by a silk scarf, but that was a tale he could relive in his head another time. Right now, the sight of Hector Barbossa trying to right himself after a massive shock was very entertaining.
To his credit, the older pirate was hiding his discomposure quite well given the stressful circumstances, but Jack could see the ticking of the vein in his temple and the way the gnarled fingers twitched by his sides as he growled:
"How in the blazes did you get off that island?"
"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing mate…" He paused for dramatic effect and was pleased when Barbossa and the rest of the crew craned their heads to listen intently. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
"Ah well, I won't be makin' that mistake, again." Barbossa sneered as he stepped into Jack's face, leering as he caught no sign of fear. "Gents you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow? Kill 'im!"
The crew around them all chuckled maliciously as they gleefully raised their weapons to fire or stab at their old captain.
Jack, however, was unphased by the threat.
Pegsy and that Whelp might have left him stranded, but he still had plenty of cards to play in his hand.
"The girl's blood didn't work did it?" He muttered at Barbossa's retreating form, enjoying the way the old pirate's spine stiffened warily, like a cat that had felt a disturbance in the air behind them.
"Hold yer fire!" Barbossa shouted before any trigger could be pulled, his head whipping around, blue eyes blazing with wrath.
There were groans and grumbles as many men stowed their pistols away. Though peeved that they were denied their chance at an easy kill, the crew of the Black Pearl loyally obeyed the order to stay their hands and watched with intrigue as Barbossa stalked back to Jack with a sneer.
"You know whose blood we need."
"I know whose blood you need." Jack grinned wickedly eyes sparkling as he added "And…I know where to find a certain red-haired witch…savvy?"
If you want to start playing around with the big boys Pegsy,
Jack thought as he watched Barbossa's lip curl in triumph.
Then you better be prepared to face the consequences.
Dun-dun-duuun! Yeah, so that's chapter 7! Peggy and Will double-cross Jack and leave him to his own devices! I was considering leaving Peggy in the dark about Will's plan but she is a pirate. She's not exactly going to be a goodie two shoes. Will her crossing Jack be her undoing or will it work in her favour?
Please review if you enjoyed it and would like to see more, and keep following and faving for more
Thanks,
FuzzyBeta