*Trigger warning - Mild body horror/painful transformation, slight nudity and maybe language! (Please, whatever you do, please don't send Captain America after my blood!)
Chapter 9: A Walk Along the Plank
Peggy Delphine Blake…my, my, my…how you've grown. Hector Barbossa grinned as he looked down at the woman staring up at him from the helm of the Interceptor.
Ten years. Ten years since he had seen the little wretch face to face.
The first thing he had noticed was her hair. How could he not? It was still the same bright shade of copper that shone brightly under the Caribbean sun. It was as long, curly and unruly as he remembered, each lock battling against the bonds of the braid she had tried to restrain it in. She wore a blue bandanna over the top of her head to keep it back from her freckled face which had matured nicely now that she had lost the puppy fat of youth.
The same could be said of her body. What had once been a gangly, scrawny, wiry ten-year-old was now a lean but curvy young woman. He smirked appreciatively as his eyes wandered to the open collar of her oversized white shirt which revealed a hint of shapely bosom before glancing down to the grey-cream pants that clung to a pair of shapely hips and solid thighs.
Now that was the body of a woman who had done a hard day's labour and still had a healthy appetite. Not like the fake Miss Turner, Barbossa thought to himself angrily. How could he have been so foolish to believe her guff about being a maid in the Governor's household? The blonde chit's hands had been so soft and unblemished, they had never done a day's honest work or held a sword.
Not like Peggy. Who even as he watched, raised a gun in her hands and pointed its muzzle at him.
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
Oh, now this was unexpected.
Little Peggy Blake who hated hurting even a fish was daring to raise a gun to kill him?
Then again, ten years was a long time, maybe she had finally gotten some proper blood on her hands while they were apart.
He paused as he saw her ready herself to squeeze the trigger.
Was it just him or had her eyes glowed silver for a split second? And wait…what had happened to her hands? What had once been regular human hands were now tipped with sharp almost claw-like nails and connected by strange webbing.
He glanced back at her face and felt his heart stop as he caught sight of her snarling mouth where four long sharp fangs bared up at him like a beast.
His smirk fell for a split second as his gaze travelled to the rolled-up sleeves of her arms. There, he could see under the light of the sun, a strange blotchy brown and cream colouration, running along the back of her hands up to her elbows.
Ahhh…now I see…He sucked in a deep breath as realization dawned bright and burning.
It all made so much sense now. Oh, what a fool he had been! What a massive, massive fool! Of course, he could not drown her. No one could ever drown someone like her, not even if they had weighted her to a cannon and dropped her into the deepest underwater canyon.
No. The best way to kill a creature like her was to run a sword through her.
But how do you catch someone like her? He mused to himself. Now there was a problem and a half.
I guess I'll have to figure it out before she can sink her claws into me! The Pirate captain of the Black Pearl mused as he quickly ducked to avoid the shot she had taken for his heart.
He'd give her credit; the girl always did have balls.
Peggy swore loudly, her voice drowned out by the cacophony of raucous, bloodthirsty shouting, booming cannon fire and snapping gunfire that blasted around her.
The bastard. The slippery old codfish!
She had him right there, perfect shot…and he had ducked!
I should have known it was too good to be true. She growled as she ducked beneath the safety of the Interceptor's railings to avoid a spray of bullets aimed at her head. Honestly, now she thought about it why had she bothered shooting?
These were cursed undead pirates, mundane things like bullets could not kill them.
She supposed she wanted the satisfaction of leaving a nice mark on Hector Barbossa to piss him off. By the sea gods he deserved it after all he had put her through.
With a snarl of fury, she quickly raised her rifle above the railing and took a couple of shots wildly upward towards the much higher-positioned crew of the Black Pearl.
It had been so many years since her last ship-to-ship battle. Due to her young age, Jack had kept her as far away from the fighting as much as he could, often locking her up in his cabin. He used to say he did not want her screwing everything up and getting in people's way, but Peggy now knew, much to her sinking gut, that he was only trying to protect her.
That did not mean she had not been forced to be involved in some battles when times were tough.
On the rare occasions she had not been able to run and hide in Jack's cabin, she had been witness to some nasty skirmishes, many of which still haunted some of her nightmares to this day.
The worst of them had been with other pirate ships for unlike the regular merchants or navy vessels they were not afraid to fight dirty nor did they show much mercy. The worst had to be Borgan the Butcher and his crew of the
And now here she was, amidst another battle, no longer a child who could be sheltered in the captain's cabin.
She sucked in a deep breath as she steeled herself to take another shot.
She had almost forgotten how violent these altercations could be. She had forgotten the bloodshed and the deafening sounds, the rush of adrenaline as you ducked and wove through sailors to find a safe spot to hide and shoot.
She was pleased to hear one man getting hit and falling backward only for the sound to be covered by a blast of the Interceptor's cannon fire.
"STOP BLOWIN' HOLES IN MY SHIP!"
Oh…wow, so Hector did keep him alive? Peggy's eyebrows rose as she caught sight of a familiar silhouette through a hole in the lower hull of the Pearl. Well fancy that-OH SHIT!
"LOOKOUT!"
Peggy squeaked as someone grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to the side only just in time.
There was a massive crash behind as a cannonball smashed through the wood, right where her head might have been if not for her saviour, who was desperately dragging her as they crawled, doing their best to keep their head down.
It was Elizabeth, her blonde locks flying about her and her terrified face sweaty but determined as she and Peggy scrambled for a safer position with more cover.
"OVER HERE!" Annamaria shouted as she left the helm to join them in the fight from a safer vantage point.
Together the three women dodged and wove through the crowd of men and guns, Annamaria and Peggy both popping up occasionally to cover Elizabeth's path and fire shots at the crew of the Pearl.
"HIT THE DECK!" Peggy yelled as she pushed Elizabeth down to the floor to avoid the gunfire whizzing through the air towards where she had been standing only for it to hit someone else.
Peggy barely even heard Will's shout as she watched the dead man's body fly backward, a bullet lodged in his chest. As he fell backward, the wound spurted out crimson liquid iron that sprayed all over her face, blinding her. Luckily for her, her ears were still, somehow, miraculously working so she was able to duck quickly to avoid the several guns that aimed their bullets at her exposed head.
"Gah!" she cried, scrubbing hard at her stinging eyes, glad for Elizabeth's grip on her hand as she led the way to Gibbs and Will who pushed them to duck by a piece of rigging that obscured them from view.
"We could use some more ideas, lass!" Gibbs shouted at Peggy when she finally surfaced to take a shot.
"It's your turn!" she snarled back as she ducked for cover again, blinking hard as her eyes slowly regained their focus.
"AGH! We'll need us a devil's dowry!" Gibbs yelped as a bullet whizzed over the top of his greying hair.
"We'll give them her!" Annamaria cocked her pistol and held it up to Elizabeth's head threateningly only to have her arm yanked back by Will.
"No! She's not what they're after!"
"The medallion!" Elizabeth breathed realization dawning in horror as she looked down at her chest only to find bare skin.
She looked up at Will whose gut sank in his chest as he tried to recall where he had last seen the Aztec coin.
Elizabeth had given it to him when he had been bandaging their hand in the galley. Then he had brought it out to show Peggy while they had been preparing lunch-
"Peggy where-" Will turned to look at his friend but to his surprise she was nowhere to be seen. "Peggy?"
"There!" Gibbs shouted pointing across the deck.
Will wheeled around just in time to see a copper braid and a blue bandanna disappear below deck. Heart hammering, he leapt over the bodies on the ground and ship debris after her, the cannon fire and gunfire muted against the pounding of blood in his ears.
How he avoided getting shot in those precious few seconds he had no idea, and he had very little time to celebrate such a feat as he descended towards the galley and found his feet drenched in a foot of water.
Oh no…this was not good. This was not good at all.
Everything was a mess, water was streaming in from holes made by cannon fire all along the starboard side. Barrels and crates floated, some of the smaller livestock the ship kept were swimming around haphazardly in various states of stress, their bonds cut or snapped.
But where was Peggy? She had come down this way he was sure of it so where was she? Was she under the water? She always said she could swim but she avoided getting dunked in anything more than a bathtub full of water so she can't have been that strong.
"PEGGY!" he roared as he waded through the water avoiding barrels and floating foodstuffs. He spotted the small kitchen, now flooded and hot with steam as the coals and fire that had once lit the tiny stove were consumed by the ocean water.
But still, no sign of red hair as he caught sight of the kitchen table, the last place he had seen the blasted medallion.
Desperately he scrambled for the table but could not see a glimmer of gold anywhere. There were potato peels and strips of cabbage floating just under his knees.
Knees?
He cursed as he saw the water levels rise to his kneecaps.
Taking on water was one thing but they were now sinking?!
KABOOM! CRAAAAASHHH!
"AHH!" Will cried out as the ship shook and the lower deck compressed, the ceiling suddenly caving in above him as something long and heavy crashed into it above deck. The impact was so massive that not only was more water flooding into the galley but several support beams had been broken and smashed to pieces. Then there was the exit. It had shut tight with a loud clang, a shadow cast over the metal grating blocking out half the light.
"HEEYY!" he called out as he scrambled to the closed hatch and tried to shove it open with a loose piece of wood beam. Whatever was blocking out the light above the grate was also weighing down upon it, preventing him from even moving it up a budge. "HEY BELLOWW!"
However, it was no use.
The shouting had gotten louder above deck and there was ten times more thudding of feet as the crew of the Black Pearl boarded the sinking Interceptor.
"WILL?!"
Will shook his head out to relieve the burning of saltwater spraying in his eyes from a leak nearby.
"WILL?!"
That voice…
"PEG?! PEG WHERE ARE YOU?!" he shouted as he paddled through the sinking debris towards the sound.
"OVER HERE!" She yelled from the kitchen side of the galley where several crates and some beams had collapsed to form a small barrier.
To his relief and dismay, Will saw Peggy's face through a gap between two beams of this wall. She seemed to be trying to push one of them up to make a hole for herself to fit through to reach him. She looked pale, drenched and waterlogged, like a wet ginger tabby cat but otherwise appeared unharmed. He could only imagine how awful he must look from her eyes.
"Here! I got it!" Quickly paddling over, Will slid up against the side of the beam, putting his shoulder under it and pushing it up with all his strength allowing her to duck under the water and swim through the hole.
"AGH!" he groaned as he let the weight go, the wall of debris almost falling on top of his arm had it not been for Peggy pulling him back towards the exit.
"It's okay Will. It's okay. I'm through. I made it." She gasped for air as she threw her arms around Will's neck.
Will returned the embrace with a sigh, inhaling the salty spicy scent of her hair as she whispered into his ear.
"Will I can't find the medallion!"
"Neither can I! Are you hurt?!"
"I'm fine but I don't think the ship is gonna last much longer."
Even as she said that the wood above her head groaned under the weight above, the wood buckling and bending above their heads like fragile glass.
A hissing shrieking sound made them jump and turn around in a splash.
There clambering on the archway of a door just above the water was a small capuchin monkey in a white shirt and red vest. In his little furry front paws, a gold Aztec coin medallion was dangling tantalizingly above their heads. It would have looked playful and adorable if the little primate had not exuded an air of cruel deviance from its very being.
"OH HELL NO! NOT YOU!" Peggy snarled at the creature, her fury making her grey eyes flash venomously at the creature which hissed nastily back at her, hackles raised and fur on end.
"What's that?!" Will recoiled from the critter's gnashing teeth.
"Hector's pet! Grab him!" Peggy lunged for the monkey as did Will, but too late.
The critter was slipping through the cracks in the grate of the hatch above and out of sight.
"Where's that blasted parrot when you need him? We could use those talons!" Peggy snarled as she and Will swam back over to the closed hatch and began to push together, both calling out desperately to the world above for aid.
"WILL!" a familiar voice finally shouted as a shadow of crimson material and blonde hair blocked out half the light.
"ELIZABETH!" Will called as his fingers reached desperately between the holes in the grating to graze hers just as another shadow blocked the other half of the light a shadow with dreadlocks and beads in his hair and beard.
"JACK!" Peggy grinned as the familiar face of her captain swam into view, his derisive smirk for Will's plight morphing into a look of horror as he clocked her presence below.
"Pegsy! What on earth are ye doin' down there?!" He hissed at her, but Peggy only shook her head.
"Jack! Monkey! The monkey has the medallion!" she yelled and was relieved as Jack whipped his head to search for said primate.
"Monkey!" he snarled as he caught sight of the critter running over a few bodies nearby "Swim down love!" the pirate shouted at Peggy before rushing off after his quarry, leaving Elizabeth struggling to move whatever was blocking the hatch.
"I-I can't move it!" She screeched as many grubby hands suddenly started grabbing and snatching at her dress and hair from behind her. "WILL!" she desperately kicked and screamed against her new captors only to get dragged away.
"Elizabeth!" Will bellowed as he caught sight of the sneering men grabbing Elizabeth's legs to stop her flailing, their eyes alight with wicked glee as they licked their teeth. One of them heard his shout and with a grin of gleeful malice, he pointed the blade of a bayonet of a gun towards the hatch.
"Will look out!" Peggy pulled the blacksmith back as the pirate took a stab at them through the grating, the tip of the bayonet coming so close to his eye that it missed him by a hair's breadth.
"OY! Leave it an' get a move on!" a rough voice jeered from somewhere above. "Don' wanna be here when this tub blows."
Peggy's felt the blood drain from her face and an icy chill spread through her body.
"Oh no…They've rigged the ship to explode."
"How-?"
"They must have rigged the gunpowder kegs on the bow side! I-I should've known-Hector always does this whenever he wants to finish something quickly." her voice fell away gaze travelling upwards as the water around them rose to the middle of her neck.
Will felt his heart break a little as he pulled back and saw the tears pricking the corners of her fearful eyes. It made her look so much younger, like that scared little girl he had found on the beach all those years ago.
"We're gonna make it out of this Peg." He cupped her cheek as he forced her to look at him, thumb wiping away a stray tear as it fell down her cheek. "We will. We just need to find another way out."
"T-Then we need to swim down like Jack said" She sucked in a deep shuddering breath to calm herself. "There must be a hole in the hull large enough for us."
"Got it!" Will tilted his head up to take a breath only to get stopped as Peggy grabbed his jaw.
"Will wait!" she breathed. "I-whatever happens down there, whatever you see-"
"Peg! Don't speak like that. We're going to be fine. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Now come on!" he kissed her between the eyes bracingly, horribly aware that the water level was now almost level with their ears.
Will you dummy that's not what I'm worried about. Peggy thought as she watched Will raise his head to savour the last few inches of air he had left. "See you on the Pearl." She whispered into his ear.
"Gents our hope is restored!" the shout of Hector Barbossa and the resounding victorious cheers were the last thing Peggy heard before she ducked swiftly below the surface, not even bothering to take a breath for herself. Not that she needed it.
Oh gods of the sea and tide give me strength. Ahh!
She cringed with pain as she ducked lower into the shadows of the water below a couple of beams, glad that Will's body blocked out most of the light above as she felt her body begin to change.
Guess this is it then. Will…please don't be mad.
Oh gods of the sea and tide give me strength.
The woman in the shack smiled fondly as she fingered the conch seashell pendant around her neck.
The woman's voice within the shell was singing softly, a sad and lonesome lullaby.
Och, ma bonnie bride o' sea,
Where hae ye gone fae me?
Ye left yer bairn an' hame behind,
An' noo I wander, lost in mind.
So the girl had finally returned to the water.
It had been months since her last transformation. The woman had been very generous in allowing the child to keep her gift and to her credit she had not abused the privilege. Then again, not even the woman in the shack could deny a daughter of the ocean her birthright. Not when so few of her kind remained in these waters.
The woman in the shack snarled as she thought of the white-sailed ships that had hunted down the children of the ocean in recent years. It was not enough that mankind thought they could bind the gods to their whim, they had to destroy all traces of their children and any magic that remained.
"Di tides are wid yuh chil'. Dem wi nut let harm cum tuh yuh or yuh luv mi pramise. Yuh still 'ave a part ta play an yuh muss seet through tuh di end." The woman murmured fingering the singing shell as it continued to sing its sad mournful tune.
Ma sweet love, wi' eyes sae clear,
I long tae haud ye near,
But ye've gone back tae the sea,
An' left me wae an' drear.
Will was frantic as he swam through the sinking Interceptor.
He couldn't believe it. He had lost sight of Peggy. She had ducked under the water while he had been busy taking in as much air as possible and when he had made to follow her he could not see her.
All he found floating in her place was her blue sash, her shirt and the necklace of keys drifting in the murky water.
He had grabbed the sash and the keys tucking them into his belt, leaving her shirt to float away as it snagged and tore off on a nail in a nearby beam. But no matter how much he turned his head he could not see her red curls anywhere.
His lungs burned as he forced himself to concentrate on swimming down through the ship.
He was of no use to anyone if he drowned. Besides, if she had felt comfortable swimming on her own then perhaps she might be alright after all. Maybe she was going ahead to search for a way out. Yes, that had to be it.
"See you on the Pearl."
That was what she had said, wasn't it? Then to the Pearl, he would go.
As he made his way down he thought he saw the tip of something flick around a corner and out into blue water.
There! A hole in the hull. Perfect.
Vigour renewed he followed the strange shadow out of the Interceptor, his body relaxing as he found himself in the open ocean his body no longer hemmed in by the dilapidated ship.
There was still no sign of Peggy, but he could see the blurry dark shadow from before twist and turn upwards through the water with astonishing grace.
Will followed its path upward gasping for breath as his nose and mouth broke through the surface.
He was under the shadow of the Black Pearl, just beneath the figurehead at the prow and hidden by a curtain of sea kelp that had somehow found itself draped over the side.
He could hear men cheering and jeering overhead and quickly swam closer to the ship's hull. The Black Pearl had done it. They had captured the medallion and the crew, Elizabeth, Jack, Gibbs, Anna, Cotton, Marty all of them, and were forcing them to walk across to the safety of the dark ship.
But they had not captured HIM yet. Without his blood, they still missed their one piece to freedom.
And Peggy? Where was she? God if she had drowned because of him he would never forgive himself. No! He could not afford to think like that. Peggy would survive, he knew she would.
Will winced as water splashed into his face from the side and he gasped in surprise as he turned to face the culprit only to find himself faced with…
Will blinked in confusion
There, bobbing in the water before him was the head of a large seal.
Its wet coat was a smooth and velvety brown while its underbelly was soft and cream-coloured. At the other end of its round, slightly tapered, long-whiskered snout was a wide pair of big and expressive dark grey-blue eyes. Those eyes…Will felt he knew them from somewhere.
Will stiffened in astonishment as the mammal swam up to him without fear, ducking its head at the last minute to swim around his torso. Will felt strangely comforted as its thick body of blubber and muscles brushed him by with a slick smoothness belying its build.
Curiosity piqued; he tracked the animal as it resurfaced nearby right under one of the Black Pearl's lifeboats on the starboard side still whole as it had remained out of the way during the ship-to-ship battle.
Was this normal seal behaviour? Will frowned as the creature turned its head to look at him almost expectantly.
Cautiously Will peeked around the port hull of the Black Pearl just in time to see the gangplank being slid backward away from the Interceptor deck as the last of the men swung across, taking their grappling tools with them. He also noticed to his relief that the cannon hatches were all shut tight, the only windows into the ship now the holes made by cannon fire and shrapnel courtesy of the Interceptor.
No one should be looking over the side now. Will gulped down on his nerves as he ducked beneath to swim starboard near the seal and the lowered lifeboat.
To his surprise, the animal did not flee upon his approach. It stayed close beside him nudging his side gently with its head to push him into the tiny vessel. Will sighed with relief, bones aching and muscles burning as he reclined onto his back and looked up at the sky. Despite the strange supernatural fog that seemed to constantly roil and broil around the Black Pearl the skies above were still that same crystal-clear blue shade, and the sun was warm and bright.
He jerked back to a sitting position as the small lifeboat suddenly tilted and looked down to see the seal trying to hoist itself into the boat beside him.
On instinct, Will raised his hands to push the creature away, but something in its baleful eyes gave him pause as it managed to slide into the boat beside him, its weight tilting his resting spot till he was sitting at an awkward angle.
Will's expression softened as he watched the creature pant and yawn, its head hanging heavily as it sagged.
The poor thing. It looked as exhausted and stressed as he felt. It must have been nearby when the two ships decided to have a go at one another in its hunting grounds.
With a careful hand, he slowly reached out to the animal. Sure, it was wild, and it was probably very foolish of him to attempt such a thing, but he felt no animosity from its presence. For some strange reason, he knew the creature would trust him not to hurt it.
The seal stiffened, its blubbery form flinching as his fingers grazed its fur. However, it quickly relaxed into his touch, blinking up innocently at him as he stroked his hand soothingly across its side. As he rested his hand against the front of the seal's chest he marvelled at the robust and powerful pounding of its heartbeat.
Despite being drenched in cold seawater, its body was hot under his touch. He could see why sailors coveted such creatures so fondly. In an underwater world, filled with scaly, slippery cold things like fish it felt nice to touch something warm and soft for a change.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Will did not know whether he was projecting his emotions onto the creature, but he could have sworn it smiled at him as it rolled onto its back. He grinned as one tired flipper gently tapped its side as its body stretched to its full length.
It was not quite as large as Will had first thought. He had been expecting something almost his size, but this seal seemed only about as tall as Elizabeth or Peggy. Of course, its round sausage-like body was still much heavier than any human so he would have trouble lifting it even with all his strength built up from working in the forge.
"GENTS!" a voice yelled spooking Will and the seal back to sitting positions as they looked up to the deck.
Just above, they could see the brim of a large dark feathered hat peeking over the side. Will instantly sidled backward to plaster his body against the side of the Pearl, praying he would not be seen as the owner of the voice called out:
"Let's leave this pitiful scrap heap behind."
C'mon Pegsy where are ye? Yer must have escaped by now.
Jack Sparrow gritted his teeth as his eyes wandered over the bedraggled remains of the crew of the Interceptor. Only a handful of the crew were left, all tied around the main mast of the Black Pearl. He could see Gibbs struggling alongside Marty and Cotton while Annamaria delivered a ferocious snarl to a couple of Barbossa's leering men. There was even the whelp's bonnie lass Elizabeth. She was lovely in that red dress, with those pouty lips and a long swan neck framed by those luxurious blond locks. Jack, however, was not in the mood to appreciate the lady in all her glory as his eyes continued to search for that mass of copper curls he knew so well.
Come on lass! Come on, yer smart enough to try to double cross me then yer smart enough to escape a sinking ship.
He had hoped she would be smart enough to have swum away when he told her to. Peggy was usually self-serving when it came to saving her skin.
Then again when it came to the Will Turner, her sense of self-preservation and common sense seemed to fly out the window.
Stupid bloody whelp! You just had to ruin her for me didn't ye? Jack scowled as he looked out over the distant waters beyond the Black Pearl.
There, low in the water, the Interceptor was sinking, her bow dipped below the water with the stern following slowly but surely behind.
It would not be long till the entire ship was sunk, courtesy of Barbossa. The madman did delight in blowing his prey up when he had no further use for it.
He just hoped she was not there on it when it blew to pieces.
C'mon Pegsy, c'mon.
"I don' see the witch here cap'in." one of the men of the Pearl snarled in Barbossa's ear. "She mus've been shot or sunk wit' the ship."
From where he stood Jack could see Barbossa's lip curl as he twirled the gold medallion of cursed Aztec gold in his fingers.
"No Raben, no. She'll be around 'ere somewhere. After all, Peggy Blake would never dare leave her precious Captain Jack behind."
"That's what you think" Jack muttered to himself, forcing down the shiver that threatened to run through him as Barbossa's sneer widened sidelong at him.
Something was wrong. The old pirate did not seem phased by Peggy's absence despite being so desperate to get his revenge on her earlier.
Indeed, it seemed he had been expecting this news all along.
But what on earth did he know that Jack didn't? Had he seen her in the water below?
Jack cautiously sidled up to the railing and peeked over the edge.
No. There were only waves lapping against the ship and perhaps the tail of a seal as it snuck onto the ship through a hole below.
Huh? A seal? Jack frowned as he squinted for a better look.
But there was no sign of the marine mammal.
Jack remembered the time that he and the Pearl had been taking provisions from Tortuga after a bad storm. He had decided to stay on the beach and take a cheeky skinny dip with a couple of very eager wenches on one of the smaller beaches when a rather playful seal pup stole his shirt straight from the beach.
Despite its blubbery form, the little rascal had made it to the safety of the ocean and had disappeared with his shirt, much to the amusement of the two ladies Jack was entertaining. How they had cooed over the creature while he had chased after it into the cold waves completely stark naked.
Jack rolled his eyes as he remembered Barbossa's chortles at his expense when he had tried to explain what happened to the crew the next morning, half-dressed and drenched to the bone. A right fool he had looked.
And now here he was, looking a right fool again as he tried to listen into Barbossa's whispered command to Raben.
"Take some men down below and search the ship. Take a net with ye."
"A net Cap'in?"
"Aye…a witch has many forms; best be prepared for anything."
"An' which form are we lookin' for Cap'in?"
Jack leaned in to listen as Barbossa opened his mouth but was unable to hear his old enemy's reply as those buffoons Pintel and Ragetti sneered from where they were taunting their new prisoners on the mast.
"Any of you so much as thinks the word parley, I'll 'ave your guts for garters!"
There was a rush of cloth as Elizabeth ducked out from under the ropes that bound her to dive for the railing.
KABOOOOOOOOM! SPLASH!
No…Jack's eyes widened as the Interceptor burst apart violently, the shockwave running through the water and hitting the Black Pearl so hard she rocked a little unsteadily.
"Pegs…" he breathed. Falling overboard was one thing, but being drowned and blown to bits in a sinking ship…
Jack shut his eyes, barely heeding Elizabeth's screeches as she lunged for Barbossa.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!"
"Welcome back miss!" Barbossa sneered with vile victory as he caught the young lady by the scruff of her dress. "Ye took advantage of our hospitality the last time. It holds fair now that you return the favour."
And with that he tossed her straight at a group of leering men who wasted no time pawing at her dress, trying to rip it off as several of them tried to pin her struggling form down.
"BARBOSSA!"
Jack's eyes flew open in shock, his nostrils flaring as he and everyone else aboard the ship turned to see a figure clambering up the port railing to stand dramatically on the railing above a cannon.
There was a silence as all parties on board the Black Pearl froze in their spot. Even the group of men trying to gang up on Elizabeth had stilled in shock as a sopping wet but fiercely determined Will Turner leapt down from his spot and grabbed Jack's gun from where it had been confiscated on a nearby barrel along with his coat, hat and other effects.
Well blow me down, the bloody whelp survived. Jack's eyebrows rose as he searched the skyline behind the lad.
No sign of Peggy, but if Will were here then that had to mean she was not far behind. Jack doubted the lad would be so put together if his little friend was dead or hurt. For all his guff about his lady love Elizabeth, the boy did care about his friend, Jack would give him that much credit.
"She goes free!" Will snarled as he pointed Jack's gun at Barbossa's confused face.
"What's in yer head boy?!" the pirate growled frustrated that his fun had been interrupted by this foolish whelp.
"She goes free," Will repeated, barely flinching as Barbossa sauntered almost lazily into the path of the gun, so it was pointed directly at his scraggly bearded chin.
"Yer've only got one shot, and we can't die." the older captain smirked smugly.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Jack hissed at Will hoping he would pick up the hint.
But as always with the whelp, Jack's prayers went unanswered.
Foolish boy. he groaned in his head as Will leapt back from Barbossa to stand on the railing of the ship again, this time pointing the pistol of Jack's gun under his chin much to Elizabeth's dismay as she struggled against her captors.
"You can't! I can."
"Like that." Jack cursed softly.
"Who are you?" Barbossa frowned at the young blacksmith. There was something familiar about the face he would admit, but the lad did not look like a pirate. He was too put together, too clean, too innocent. He must have been freshly lured to piracy for the daring doos and romance of it all, who had not yet realized the cutthroat world he had just entered.
Gods how Barbossa hated young lads like this. They were always such a hassle.
"No one! No one!" Jack leapt in front of his old first mate before Will could open his mouth. "Distant cousin of my aunt's nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice though, eunuch." He added in a whisper only to cringe as Will steamrolled over the top of him.
"My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs through my veins!"
And now he's gone, and ruined plan B. Well done William! Well done. Jack sighed as he skulked away to a safe spot.
"It's the spittin' image of ol' Bootstrap Bill, come back to 'aunt us!" Ragetti bleated as he pointed with a shaking finger up at Will.
"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones Locker!"
"Name yer terms, Mister Turner," Barbossa said calmly, ever the professional despite his turn of the tide.
"Elizabeth goes free!" Will repeated loudly and the older pirate nodded and waved him off.
"Yes, yes we know that one! Anythin' else?"
And a little something for good ol' Jackie ey?! Come on! Something for Jack! I got ye this far didn't I? Jack gesticulated silently to the lad only to scowl and almost facepalm as the boy said eagerly:
"A-and the crew. The crew are not to be harmed,"
"Agreed!" Barbossa grinned wickedly up at the amateur before him holding out a grubby hand to shake on the deal.
Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots. Jack thought shooting a dirty look at Will as the lad lowered himself down onto the deck to shake the pirate's hand.
Well, he had tried. No one could say now that he didn't try to keep the boy alive. Whatever happened from now on was all on the whelp's stupid, STUPID head.
And it was only about to get worse.
Will had barely let go of Barbossa's hand when Raben and six other crewmen thudded up the stairs and onto the deck. Shouting and hollering in success as they hauled something on deck in a large net.
Something heavy and writhing.
"We found 'er Cap'in. We found the little witch in the hold jus' like ye said!" Raben smiled as eagerly as a dog that had just successfully retrieved the ball his master had thrown for him.
"Well done lads. Well done. Bring 'er forward." Barbossa's grin widened as he beckoned to the men. He had the medallion, Bootstrap's whelp and now he had the witch in his grasp. This truly was a fortuitous day.
Will backed away from Barbossa, glancing at Jack, but the pirate was not sparing him a second thought. His eyes fixed on the creature in the net as it hissed and spat at the sailors with sharp teeth.
What on Earth is Barbossa playing at here?
Jack frowned as the six crewmen dumped their catch onto the deck, one of them leaping back to avoid the biting teeth as the brown-furred creature thrashed around trying to free itself of its bindings.
"Ye bloody cowards," Barbossa strode forward confidently towards the creature's tail grabbing the net and pulling it aside. "Come on runt! It's time to face the music."
Will's eyes widened as he recognised the seal that had saved him earlier, roll out of the netting and onto its stomach. It reared up at Barbossa with bared teeth, hissing, spitting and grunting so aggressively at the pirate that half the crew were backing away from it in fear.
"Now, now Miss Blake there be no need for that nonsense!" Barbossa rolled his eyes as he drew his pistol from his belt and aimed it right at the snapping snarling face.
"What are you doing that for? It's just a seal!" Will shook his head incredulously at the older man. Miss Blake? What the hell was this old pirate talking about? Why was he calling a seal by Peggy's name?
Had all the years drinking rum under the Caribbean sun fried his brain?
"A seal lad? Nay. This be no seal." Barbossa grunted, hardly phased by the lad's impudence. "She's a selkie. A daughter of the ocean, and the witch that cursed me crew."
"Selkie?!" Gibbs shouted from where he was tied. "No that cannot be. There are no Selkies in the Caribbean!"
"The man's right Barbossa." Jack scoffed as he looked the seal up and down. "The East India Trading Company wiped out all the selkies in these waters a long time ago. Now maybe if we sailed back to Scottland we might be able to find some very comely selkie ladies who I am sure would be excellent company for a night or two, but here in these waters, fat chance."
"Aye, that's what I thought too until today. Now Lass if ye wouldn't mind transformin' back to human form. It is difficult to negotiate with ye in this state." the older pirate cocked the gun earning himself a shout from Gibbs and surprisingly one from a member of his crew.
"Captain no! If she really is a Selkie then you'll bring bad luck on us all if ye kill her!"
"Yeh! O'Conner is right!"
"Aye, if we hurt 'er we'll only end up getting' another curse upon us."
"He's mad! You're all mad!" Elizabeth cried out from her spot.
Mad? They're insane! Will agreed bewildered as murmurs of ascent flooded the crew of the Black Pearl and the Interceptor.
"Well, when ye put it that way." Barbossa grinned suddenly turning his gun on Jack's temple. "Now Pegsy. Be a good girl and turn back or I kill ol' Jackie right here and now. Come on! You know I mean it!" he shouted so loudly that even Will flinched at the volume.
"Pegs." Jack whispered at the seal which looked up at him with big round dark eyes "If that really is you kid, then please just transform back. Come on lass, ye owe me one."
There was a silence as the seal stared at Jack for one long moment then began to back away, making its way towards a broken piece of white sail left over from the collapse of the Interceptor's mast from the earlier fight.
"Goddammit!" Jack sighed, shutting his eyes as he felt rather than saw Barbossa's finger hover over the trigger.
"I'm getting' impatient lass!"
"Wait-hold on! We don't need to do this-" Will cried out holding up a placating hand to stop Barbossa who just snarled at him.
"Back off lad. Ye already made yer deal, now stay outta this! The professionals are talkin' now."
"OY LOOK!" Marty's voice rang out the loudest over all the hubbub.
Will wheeled around and Jack opened his eyes.
The seal was writhing on the ground, tail thrashing, as a roar escaped the fanged snout which had started to move grotesquely backwards, the flat nose lengthening to a small point while the jaw flattened out and the whiskers fell from her face as if plucked from the root.
"Sweet Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the donkey that took them all to Bethlehem!" Gibbs gasped in horror as he tried to form the shape of the cross across his chest while his hands were half-bound.
He was not the only one alarmed by the disturbing transformation.
Elizabeth's face was green as she desperately tried to herself back from gagging, barely even noticing when one of her captors fainted as the tail of the seal suddenly shrunk down and split apart with a violent snapping sound, the tail fins paling to the colour of lightly tanned pale skin as fur disintegrated before their very eyes.
The torso flippers that had been short but powerful for swimming elongated and grew, the webbing between the fingers sliding back as bones cracked into the shape of opposable thumbs. What once was the blubbery tubular body of a seal, seemed to fall away to reveal a woman's curvy back that was quickly covered by a long mane of copper-coloured curls that had sprung from the top of a now humanoid skull, coiling around the shell of ears that sprouted at the sides of her head.
"AHHHGH!" Peggy Blake cried out in pain, spine bending at an awful angle as her insides began reforming themselves to fit into her now very naked, and very humanoid frame which fell flat onto the deck hard.
"Gods" she panted, clutching at her stomach as her gut finished rearranging itself, horribly aware of the cold winds brushing her bare back as she curled in on herself on her side in the foetal position.
She did not know what was more embarrassing, transforming in front of everyone in such a grotesque way or laying stark naked on the floor like a useless fish.
"Peggy?" Elizabeth sounded so far away and strangely muted.
Despite her attempt to stay calm, tears of humiliation pricked the corners of Peggy's eyes as she felt a pair of feet slowly approach her.
With each step the man took, she could hear men whispering and muttering worriedly, fear lacing the crowd around her.
Murmurs of "witch" hit her ears as did "pelt" and "cursed".
"HEY! Leave her alon-oof!" Will's voice tried calling out to her only to get cut short as Barbossa hissed.
"Grab 'im!"
There was a scuffling, heavy thuds and grunts of pain. Peggy did not need to look to know that Will had been punched into submission.
I'm done for. Hector might not kill me but he can make me suffer. Peggy bit her lip, flinching as she saw a hand reach out through the corner of her eye.
Spurred by instinct more than sense she snarled at the owner of the limb, her canines still sharp and fang-like, only to freeze in shock as she caught sight of who was beside her.
It was Jack. He was kneeling with his coat in his hands, his eyes narrowed warily as they glanced down to her mouth. Peggy shut it hastily, cursing herself for her lack of control. Even after a few minutes of transformation, her brain always took a while to snap back to being fully human.
"Easy Pegsy," the pirate murmured. "Easy. It's just me."
"Sorry." She mumbled, eyes falling ashamedly to the floor as she gingerly sat up doing her best to cover her body. Luckily for her, her curls were long enough to cover her breasts and shoulders a little, but it was still a relief when Jack drew his coat around her shoulders to cover her back.
"How are you feeling?" He muttered as he pulled the ends of the coat over her legs to help her cover herself.
"My skull just changed its fundamental shape twice in the past hour. How do you think I feel?" she mumbled as she rubbed her pulsing head.
"Like yer ready to tear ol' Barbossa's gizzard to shreds," Jack smirked at her, brown eyes softening slightly as she snorted into his shoulder.
"Gizzard, eye-sockets, I'll take what I can get," she grunted leaning into his touch. The smell of rum and salt around her was oddly soothing. It was warm, it was familiar. It was very Jack.
"Well, ain't this just a sight for sore eyes." Barbossa stalked up to Peggy's bare feet, lip curled in a satisfied sneer at her vulnerable, exposed state. "Hello brat. Miss me?"
"Can't say I have, ye old codfish." Peggy clipped, not liking how the old pirate's eyes roved hungrily up her legs and over her body.
"Well, I must say this is a definite improvement on how ye were the last time we met. Ye have grown into yer looks haven't ye lass?" Barbossa purred licentiously and despite her attempt to stay stoic Peggy could not help but shrink into Jack ever so slightly.
Flirty and teasing though he may have been, Jack would never look at her like that. Jack was still safe.
Barbossa was…ugh she dared not think about it lest she throw up.
And it was not just the captain leering at her.
Will grimaced with disgust as he caught sight of several men licking their lips, their hungry gazes travelling up and down her bare legs as if they were strips of meat.
Disgusting pigs. First Elizabeth and now Peggy? Is there no low they won't stoop to? Will struggled against the three burly men holding him back but could hardly move for their grip.
"Now, now Barbossa, one would think you'd never seen a naked woman before." Jack's voice was sarcastic like usual, but Peggy felt his grip tighten around her shoulders as his brown eyes hardened ever so slightly on his old first mate's face. "Besides it's our just Pegsy. Remember? Little Pegsy?"
"Oh, I remember," Barbossa sneered smugly at Jack, like a cat enjoying toying with the mouse in his paws. "Ye just can't help yourself can ye Jack? Yer precious little cabin girl gets herself in trouble and ye just have to gallantly swoop in for the rescue."
"It's either that or face her ghost haunting me from beyond the grave mate." Jack snorted airily, but Peggy could feel him stiffen in readiness by her side. "You know how annoying this youngin' can be when ye ignore her for too long."
"Aye…annoying." Barbossa looked down at Peggy, nostrils flaring as lust gave way to wrath. "That curse o' yers has been a real thorn in my side for too long lass."
"Alright, that's it!" Peggy rolled her eyes as she forced her legs underneath her and tried to stand up. Jack caught her as her legs buckled, holding her back and covered as she pointed her finger at Barbossa and hissed in his face "Look Hector I have no idea what you or your two-bit chumps have been drinking for the past ten years but come on the game has gone on long enough. I may be a selkie and I might be able to turn from oversized sea dog to human but come on? Curses? Really? Have you run out of that many scapegoats that you've got to turn to hocus pocus of all things to cover up for your mistakes?"
"It ain't hocus pocus!" Some of the men yelled and snarled at her from the side.
"Aye! We all heard ye lass! Ye cursed us plain as anythin'! You said we could eat, drink, steal and take as many women as we wanted but all we'll feel is unquenchable misery for the rest of our lives and that's exactly what happened!" Pintel raised a dirty knife from his belt to point threateningly at Peggy, earning her many nasty shouts and jeers from the crew of the Black Pearl.
"That's right!"
"Aye!"
"Aye! I haven't been able to taste a drop of rum for ten whole years!" one man shouted, his voice shaking as his eyes filled with tears.
"Poor man." Jack grimaced in sympathy, though Will was glad to notice the pirate kept a firm grip on Peggy as more shouts were hurled her way along with some spit and curses.
"Aye, we have all felt the effects of yer magic lass, even if ye haven't." Barbossa's voice rang out dramatically over the rest of his men, forcing them all to quieten down.
"OH MY GOD! How many times do I have to tell you, ingrates! I didn't curse you! You're just feelin' the effects of your own hubris that's all it-"
KATHWACK!
"Barbossa!" Will shouted as he watched Peggy's face fly to the side, Barbossa's hand pulling away from her now very red cheek to push Jack away before he could put himself between them.
"Hubris?! HUBRIS?!" The man roared in Peggy's shocked face as he grabbed her painfully by the jaw and yanked her head up hard to snarl into her face "Hubris is it? That I cannae feel the heat of the sun on yer skin when I touch it. Hubris that all food and drink that touches my tongue tastes like ash. Do ye know how long it has been since I felt the spray of the sea on me face and the cold wind? Aye the curse of Isla de Muerta turns us into the living dead lass, but it was yer magic that made us suffer like ghosts of the Locker!"
"You don't know that!" Peggy rasped, grunting in pain as she felt the bony fingers squeeze her jaw painfully tight.
"Oh, but I do, lass. I do know." Barbossa hissed, his pungent breath almost shocking her still-sensitive nose. "I know because I felt the magic that night, just as surely as I felt it when the Curse of Cortez fell upon us. Ye put this curse upon us. Yer with yer selkie witchcraft. And now ye are going to undo it."
"But I don't-I don't know how-"
"Liar!"
"I'm not a liar! Really Hector I don't know. Let me go!"
"Not until ye-AH!" Barbossa stumbled back, two thin stripes of red now adorning his gaunt scraggly cheek.
Many of the Interceptor and Black Pearl's crew gasped as Peggy also stumbled back, crimson blood staining the claw-like nails on her right hand.
"Sqwaaak! Shiver me timbers!" Paulie the Parrot squawked excitedly from where he was being held captive in a birdcage near Jack's effects. The sound mingled nastily with the shriek of Jack the Monkey as it looked down upon the scene from above in the rigging, fangs bared as his master straightened up and touched a hand to his cheek.
"Ah-hahaha!" Barbossa chuckled, but his eyes were a cold fire as he shook out his hand to rid himself of the touch of blood, his footsteps slow but threatening "Well, ain't you just beggin' for a thrashing. Bosun get the cat-o-nines-"
"NO!" Will bellowed desperately struggling against his bonds only to receive another hard punch in the guts to stop him. Oh gods if he had thought Barbossa was murderous before it was nothing compared to the bloodthirst in his eyes now as he advanced on Peggy who was scrambling backwards away from him fangs bared in a snarl once more.
"Woah-woah-woah! Woah! Whoa there, now, woah there, now then now! Now then! Then now? Agh! Bugger it! What was I trying to say?" Jack's loud confused voice cut through the excitement of the would-be fight as he stepped between the angry pirate and the growling selkie woman, hands up in token of peace. "Ah yes. Time out you two! Time out! There's no need for this sort of violence on MY ship."
"There would not need for violence on MY ship Jack, if ye had taught yer little brat some respect," Barbossa spat venomously, disappointed that his path to his prey was once again blocked.
"HA! Respect?! Respect! I don't need lectures on respect from the mutineering bastard that threw me overboard and got himself cursed not once but twice!" Peggy hissed.
If Will had his hands free he would have facepalmed. And to think Jack sneered at him and called him reckless? Peggy was unarmed, barely dressed and already she was rearing to go for round two with a vicious pirate that was out for her blood. He would be impressed by her boldness if he weren't terrified for her safety.
Apparently, Jack shared his exasperation because he shot Peggy a warning look over his shoulder and snapped.
"Oy! shut it! Both of you!" he added with a glance towards Barbossa whose chest was heaving up and down with deep angry breaths.
"Honestly, I keep you two apart for ten years and five minutes you see each other again and already you're at one another's throats. That must be a new record." Jack muttered, more to himself than to the crowd. "Now look, we've all had a pretty hectic day. Lots of things achieved, and still lots more to do. I mean," He gestured to Will's struggling form and grinned "Ye got yer medallion and ye got Bootstrap's whelp! What more could you ask for? Now all that's left to do is scuttle back to the Isla de Meurta, drop a little bit of his blood into that bloody casket and Bob's yer uncle. We can all just kick back and enjoy a keg of rum don't while we figure out what to do with this one's curse."
"But I don't know how to undo it!" Peggy blurted out and Jack waved her off.
"One thing at a time love, one thing at a time."
"Aye…one thing at a time." Barbossa's lip curled as his gaze turned upon Elizabeth standing in the corner with her guard of pirates, her face paling as she met his vicious gaze. "And I know just what to do first. GENTLEMEN!" He shouted and his men stood to attention.
"Set a course for Black Sam's Spit!"
Peggy stared in horror at the scene unfolding before her.
It had been an hour's short trip from the waters where the Interceptor had sunk to Black Sam's Spit, a small scrap of island with only a few coconut trees and bushes and sand. Lots and lots of sand.
Peggy thought it should hardly count as an island but what did her opinion matter?
She was just a selkie way out of her depth, who was the prisoner of one of the foulest pirates she had ever met.
And to think I once considered him my friend. She glowered as she was forced back alongside a struggling Will Turner at the base of the Pearl's mizzenmast where they were pushed back against by many hands, while several guns pointed at both their necks.
Fortunately for Peggy, Jack had persuaded Barbossa to give her some spare pants and a shirt to cover herself beneath with his jacket. Barbossa agreed if only to keep Jack quiet on the journey and to stop his men from leering at Peggy and earning a swipe of her claws. The two cuts she had left on his cheek were shallow and had long since stopped bleeding, but it made the men cautious about how they approached her when he gave the order to tie her up.
However, Barbossa's newfound wariness of the selkie did little to deter him from bringing out the plank and forcing the lady Elizabeth to walk on it at the point of many, many swords.
The noblewoman gulped as she looked over the edge of the thin wooden board. It was a long drop, but she would survive. She just hoped her dress would not weigh her down like the last time. That would be bad luck.
"Barbossa you lying bastard!" Will growled as he lunged against his bonds for Barbossa, only to get held back by many strong arms. "You swore she'd go free!"
"Don't dare impugn me honour, boy!" Barbossa spat irritably at Will. He was tired of all these brats back-chatting him all day when all he wanted was for things to keep running smoothly.
"I agreed she'd go free. But it was you who never specified when or where." He chuckled as he nodded to the men who leapt at the opportunity to gag the rebellious young blacksmith with a raggedy old cloth and slam his head back hard into the foremast.
"Will! Will don't you'll only make it worse for her." Peggy grabbed Will's hand as he groaned in pain from the impact against his skull.
"Not too rough lads!" the Barbossa called, though he looked satisfied with his men's handiwork. "We still need Mister Turner alive."
There were sniggers and hollers from the men as Will blinked in a daze, trying desperately to refocus his attention on Elizabeth who was watching him over her shoulder in terror.
"Speaking of loss, it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?" Barbossa leered at the blonde woman's fretting. Silly thing, did she think he would be so courteous and kind after she had betrayed the rules of hospitality? "So I'll be havin' that dress back before you go." He held out an expectant hand.
Elizabeth's nostrils flared as with defiant fingers she began to unlace the front of the red dress and tear it off unceremoniously.
This blackguard. As if humiliating Peggy was not enough for him already. Now he wanted to humiliate her? Fine. Fine! He wanted the ruddy dress back fine. She did not mind in the slightest. It would at least make the swim to shore that much easier.
Barbossa snorted derisively as Elizabeth tossed it at his head with as much anger as she could muster.
"Hmm still warm." he chuckled as he shoved the garment into the hands of his crew and stalked back onto the deck arms folded as he leaned back to watch the show.
The little chit, even after all of this still had attitude. Good, she could bother someone else while she was stranded.
Will felt his heart hammer in his chest as Elizabeth turned her back on them to walk back to the edge of the plank.
"She's got this Will." He heard Peggy whisper, her fingers lacing with his despite their predicament. "Lizzy can swim, she can make it. She can make it." It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him. Still, the thought counted.
He gripped Peggy's hand tight in his though it did little to stop the pounding of his blood in his ears as Elizabeth turned for one last look back at him.
He desperately wanted to tell her he was sorry. Sorry, he got her involved in this. Sorry, he did not fight harder or make a better deal. He wanted to tell her he loved her but-
"TOO LONG!" The bosun of the Black Pearl roared, raising his foot to stamp hard on the plank, shaking it violently.
"E-zzbeeett!" Will's shout was muffled by the gag in his mouth as Elizabeth fell off the side of the plank with a loud shriek of fright.
There was a heart-stopping moment as Peggy gripped his hand so tight he could hardly feel his fingers, her fear silent but just as palpable as they heard the echoes of a splash from below.
Pintel and Ragetti peered over the side at the sound, the latter groaning in disappointment. "Aww! Darn she's swimming."
Peggy and Will's shoulders both relaxed as several men around them groaned, a couple of them exchanging betting money with their very smug shipmates while others just laughed at their plight.
Jack, who had been held captive by Koehler and Twigg right beside the plank, tried to join in the laughter, only to groan in pain as his captors cuffed him around the back of his dreadlocked head as they pushed him forward.
"I really hoped we were all past this." the pirate said as Barbossa sauntered up to him and wrapped a brotherly arm around his shoulders.
"Ah Jack! Jack!" The old friend chuckled almost fondly, eyes dancing with disdainful amusement "Did ya not notice? That be the same island we made you governor of on our last little trip."
Jack turned to look back at the spit of land and gulped. Ah…yes, he had wondered why it had looked so familiar on the horizon.
"I did notice." he nodded to Barbossa who only smirked.
"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape. But I doubt it." there was a slide of metal as Barbossa drew his cutlass and pointed it at Jack's chin, just as three other swords poked from the sides. "Off you go."
But Jack hesitated.
"Last time you left me a pistol with one shot." he prompted.
"By the powers, yer right! Where be Jack's pistol, bring it forward." Barbossa ordered, lowering his sword as one of his men scuttled forward carrying Jack's pistol, his compass and his sword in a pile, along with their associated belts.
"Ah yes, well, seeing that there's two of us, a gentleman, would give us a pair of pistols." Jack tried but Barbossa just shook his head.
"It'll be one pistol as before, and you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady. And then starve to death yourself!" And with that, the Pirate tossed the pile of effects over the side.
"Jack wait!" Peggy squirmed but too late. Jack had dove right in after his belongings without a moment's thought.
"Idiot." Barbossa snorted as he heard the splash below, rolling his eyes once more towards Peggy and Will. The Witch and Bootstrap's brat. What a pair they made. Stubborn, fierce and reckless. He could see why Jack kept them both around. For all his complaining he was very good at collecting such easy marks to target. "Now what to do with you two…"
Barbossa circled them, round and round, calm and calculating eyes flying up and down searchingly over his prey.
"Hmm…so…it's like that is it." The captain mused softly to himself as he noticed Will's and Peggy's entwined hands. Of course, of course, the two whelps would be holding hands. How sickeningly sweet.
"Well, we cannot have the two of ye causin' a ruckus in the cells. It wouldn't be fair to yer precious crewmates." He sneered at Will who tensed under his intense scrutiny. It was almost like being surveyed by a hungry shark.
"Bosun!" he barked after a long pause "Take Miss Blake to her room and get her some better clothes. She'll be with us for some time. As for mister Turner and his lot" he spared one last contemptuous glance for Will. "Take them to the brig."
"Aye, Captain!"
"Nhmmm! Waif!" Will shouted through the gag, lurching forward as Peggy reached out to cup his cheek consolingly.
"Will! Will listen to me, it's going to be okay. I'm going to be fine! Everything's going to be fine. Just go down to the brig, I'll figure something out."
"Nhmm! Phegggyy!" he struggled for her as the Bosun's large hand clapped down on her shoulder as he and several men began steering her away towards the glass doors of the Captain's cabin
"Will! Will! Please don't struggle!" She called out as she saw a couple of the men begin to shove at him to join the crew of the Interceptor by the hatch on the far side of the deck "Will it's okay! Will I'll be fine! It's going to be alright!"
"Nhmm! Nhmm! Phegggyy! Phegggyy! GUHH!" he doubled over as a fist thudded into his solar plexus winding him but also knocking the gag out of his mouth. "Ugh! Peggy no! Let her go! Peg! PEG!"
"No! Stop! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him! HECTOR YOU BASTARD IF YOU HURT ONE HAIR ON HIS HEAD I'LL BLOODY KILL YOU!" She called out to Barbossa as she saw several men dogpile onto Will's struggling form. But it was no use.
Barbossa only smiled at her vindictively as he flicked a hand in her direction.
There was a heavy thump on the back of her head and then…
Darkness.
And there we have it. Chapter 9 is up.
Apologies for any OOC behaviour but I was on a roll. I swear my fingers could not stop. I had to force myself to cut the chapter off when I did because i could not decide on a good point to end it XD
I always thought it would be interesting how the dynamic might change if Jack and Barbossa had a third member to balance them out. What with Peggy and Barbossa being such fierce hotheads it made a weird sort of sense that Jack (who is canonically less bloodthirsty than the average pirate) would be the calm one keeping the peace in his own weird way. Whether or not Barbossa or Peggy would listen to him is another matter entirely.
Also yeah Peggy is a Selkie. A mythical human/seal hybrid similar to a mermaid that originated from the U.K.
I was going to make her a traditional fish-tailed mermaid like they had in "On Stranger Tides" but I realised that had been done so many times before. I mean, I love all the POTC fanfics with Little Mermaid references/inspiration but I wanted to try something different and something about the Selkie just felt right.
Peggy's selkie seal form appearance is inspired by the Caribbean Monk Seal, a species of seal that was widely hunted during the 1700s through to the mid-20th Century. Sadly they were officially declared extinct in 2008 due to overhunting for their blubber, body oils and their meat by humans. They are cousins to the Hawaiian Monk Seal and the Mediterranean Monk Seal.
I know selkies are supposed to be akin to grey seals, but given that mermaids have often been depicted to have a very diverse array of tails and fish markings, I thought it would be interesting to give the Selkies a similar range of diversity. There are many different types of selkie-like mythological creatures from across the world so why shouldn't there be many variations of their appearance?
Also yes, I know that Selkies can transform and have powers related to their magical pelts...but will be addressed later on I promise *wink wink* ;)
If you enjoyed this chapter please keep reading, faving and following for more, and please write a review if there is anything else you'd be interested in seeing moving forward or have some interesting feedback you'd like to share. I'm always open to constructive criticism.
See you the next time around.
Cheers
FuzzyBeta