A Rebel's Treasure 3

Prologue

The East India Trading Company had taken over Port Royal, and owned every other port except Tortuga. And since Jack Sparrow's defeat by the Kraken, the sea had been changed to how Lord Cutler Beckett had always envisioned it; The annihilation of pirates and those who supported them. At that very moment, his new decree was being carried out.

Lines of people, pirate or otherwise, were chained and shuffled closer towards the gallows to their death. "In order to effect a timely halt to the deteriorating conditions, and to ensure the common good, a state of emergency is declared for these territories, by decree of Lord Cutler Beckett, duly appointed representative of His Majesty the King," an officer called out over the crowd awaiting the gallows. "By decree, according to martial law, the following statues are temporarily amended: right to assembly, suspended." With each passing sentence more and more pirates were added to the pile of dead. "Right to habeus corpus, suspended. Right to legal counsel, suspended." More fell to the gallows. "Right to verdict by jury of peers, suspended. All persons convicted of piracy, or aiding a person convicted of piracy, or associating with a person convicted of piracy, shall be sentenced to hang by the neck until dead."

Within the crowd of hopeless criminals, chained like his fellow pirates, was a small boy. His face was bruised and dirty, and no one looked at him with pity or tried to excuse the child from the death that awaited him at the gallows. He looked up, fear shining in his eyes, as he fiddled with a small coin in his hand. His timid voice began to sing a song he'd learnt from a young age, a song that was supposed to encourage him. "The king and his men, stole the queen from her bed, and bound her in her bones." No one turned to look at him. "The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam." The boy took his turn up to the gallows, shuffling his feet. The executioner placed a barrel beneath the child's feet so the noose could reach his neck.

"Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colours high," the man to the boys right sang out. His voice wavered with each note, but he seemed determined to allow this young boy some comfort.

"Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die," All the pirates began to sing out. A loud hum filling the courtyard where they were all gathered for their deaths.

An officer ran straight to Beckett's office, his face stricken as Beckett looked up at him. "Lord Beckett, they've started to sing, sir."

Beckett smirked, his eyes gleaming with wickedness, "Finally.

"Yo ho, all together, hoist the colours high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die."