Chancing Fate - Jack Sparrow x OC

Part 1 - Chapter 9

The sun beat down brightly over the Black Pearl as she sat anchored just off the shore of a small island in the distance, her black sails hanging dark against the open water while Barbossa's crew crowded the deck around their captives. Salt clung heavily to the air beneath the heat, mixing with the smell of tar, wet rope, and stale rum while the ship rocked lazily beneath everyone's feet as though none of this were unusual at all. It was there fate chose to leave Jack, Caroline, and Elizabeth, lined up beneath the watch of cursed pirates while Will struggled uselessly against the men restraining him nearby, apparently kept there to ensure Barbossa upheld his side of their bargain. Caroline found plenty of room to debate that particular definition. Being thrown into the ocean hardly counted as freedom in her mind.

Elizabeth stood first at the start of the plank, shoulders drawn tight despite the way she kept her chin lifted stubbornly high.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard!" Will shouted, straining hard enough against the pirates holding him that one nearly lost his footing. "You swore she'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy!" Barbossa snapped back. "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when nor where." His eyes slid slowly toward Elizabeth then, considering her openly while a crooked grin spread across his face. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?"

A low chorus of agreement rolled across the deck, rough laughter following close behind it. Caroline's stomach turned as Barbossa's attention fixed fully on Elizabeth again.

Grinning broadly, Barbossa spread his hands slightly. "So I'll be having that dress back before you go."

The hesitation crossing Elizabeth's face lasted only a second before she yanked the outer red gown free and threw it toward him. "It goes with your black heart."

Barbossa caught it easily, bunching the fabric in his hands before grinning down into it. "Oh, it's still warm."

Laughter erupted louder through the surrounding crew as he tossed the dress carelessly toward them. Several pirates grabbed for it immediately while others barked out crude remarks Caroline tried very hard not to hear. Her hands tightened at her sides, nails biting into her palms as she fought the urge to say something she would regret the second it left her mouth.

Elizabeth moved forward again before anyone could stop her, balancing carefully along the narrow plank while the ocean shifted darkly beneath her feet. Wind tugged at the loose fabric left clinging to her while waves crashed hard enough against the rocks below to spray mist upward across the side of the ship.

Near the end she paused briefly, glancing back over her shoulder as though she meant to say something, but the pirate waiting nearby had clearly grown tired of patience. With a sharp stomp against the plank and a barked, "Too long!" he sent her tumbling violently into the sea below.

The splash echoed upward a second later, and Caroline lurched forward before she could stop herself, only breathing again once Elizabeth surfaced near the rocks below, coughing as she pushed wet hair back from her face. Around them the crew broke into fresh laughter while Will shouted something else lost beneath the noise.

The amusement died almost as quickly as rough hands seized Caroline next, shoving her forward hard enough that she stumbled onto the plank before catching herself.

Barbossa's grin widened. "Yer next, miss."

The wood shifted faintly beneath her boots as Caroline steadied herself, ocean water churning below while heat from the deck still clung to the soles of her feet. For one brief second she considered refusing simply out of spite, though another shove would send her over anyway.