Barbossa's Daughter

Chapter 21

"You were telling the truth," Ex-commodore Norrington said with surprise as Jack held the Dead Man's chest in his hands after they'd dug it up.

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised," Jack said.

"With good reason," called Will's voice as he stood next to a soaking-wet Cora after they'd abandoned ship before the Dutchman dove beneath the waves, and swam for shore.

"WILL! You're alright! Thank God! I came to find you!" a rather manly-looking Elizabeth cried as she ran to hug him. Cora rolled her eyes as she pulled out a pistol she'd stolen from the Dutchman and marched towards Jack before she slugged him in the face.

"You traded me for yer life! ME! After everything we've been through, after everything ye did to me, I deserved better from you of all people, Uncle Jack!" she spat venomously as he spat blood into the sand before he staggered back to his feet. Whether his imbalance was from her punch or from his drinking problem, she didn't know as the barrel of her gun pressed into the skin of his forehead harder than necessary. "Maybe I should do Jones a favour. Can't even imagine what I'd ask for from capt'n of the Dutchman."

"But Delia, Delia, my darling Delia-"

She cocked the pistol and he decided to get to the point.

"As you knew I'd survive my marooning, I knew ye would survive on the Dutchman."

"Ye had no way of knowing that," she sneered.

"I did," he insisted in a way that made you know he was lying. "So are you going to kill me?"

And Cora surprised him as she lowered her gun.

"No. I am not going to kill ye, Uncle Jack."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but why are you not going to kill me?"

"Because I am a better pirate and a better person than you will ever be. Because loyalty and honour mean something to me. Because I never believed in that moronic saying of yers about not trusting family. And because if this fails, Jones will give ye a worse fate than I ever could. And because I'm the one that holds the key to the chest that gains yer freedom that ye won't be getting," she snarled as she pulled the key out from under her shirt, letting it sit tauntingly between her breasts as the medallion had once done.

"How did you get the key? How did you get off the ship?!" Elizabeth wondered as she pulled away from Will's hug.

"Sea turtles, mate," Will answered as Cora backed away from Jack.

"Aye. We lashed a few of them together and made a raft."

"Not so easy, is it?" Jack said before he raised a brow. "But it is fortunate that the two of you make such a team."

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack," Will called before Cora could lunge at Jack again.

"You do?"

"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones-"

"What?!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"What?" Jack mimicked.

"I was reunited with my father," Will continued.

"Oh, well...you're welcome then."

"Oh, I really want to shoot him," Cora murmured as Elizabeth took slow steps towards Jack across the sand.

"I'll be taking that," Will said as he reached for the gun only to have it aimed at him. "Or not," he muttered as Cora fixed him with a sarcastic smile. Just because they were allies, did not mean that they were friends, a lesson he'd now learned.