The Blackheart Curse

Part VIII

"Thank you, Winnie." I sigh after Charming has been dragged out of the room. "I don't know how you managed to find these letters, but thank you. You saved this crew."

He nods. "All part of it, lass." He gives me a soft smile. "I'm just sorry it had to be him... he was a good lad."

"What do you plan to do with him?" Fox finally speaks.

I shrug as I sit at the table, the shock hitting me. "I don't... I don't know..." I admit. "Kill him, probably. Death is suiting for any traitor, I'd say."

Winston nods with agreement. "I'll even do it for you, lass." He says. They both know that, even though I'll never admit it, this royal has grown on me.

"I'm sorry, darling." Fox tells me gently. "Winston's right. Him and I can do this for you..."

"No," I say, loading my father's embroidered gun that he had left me, "I'm going to do this." I step out of the room.

"Where is he?" I ask Cub upon boarding The Maria.

"We put him in The Maria's hold. Locked him in one of the prison cells at the bottom." He replies. "Cleared him of any weapons, too." He spots the gun in my hand and gives and understanding nod. "We'll leave you two be. Just clean up when you're done with him, I don't do well with blood."

I nod. "Good man. Thank you." Cub opens the hatch for me and I descend into the dark hold.

"Jocelynn." Charming looks so pathetic all tied up and in that small prison cell.

"Well, well." I chuckle coldly. "The turns have tabled."

"Listen, please, Winston is—"

"Stop." I say. "Just stop. Winston? As in the man who raised me when my own father didn't want to? As in the man who's more supportive of me than any of my own family members combined ever were?" I scoff. "I don't think so." I dig in my pocket. "Winston found this letter on the desk. All the rest were in the trash. What's this one say?" I toss it through the bars to him. He stares at it like I've just thrown a lit stick of dynamite in there with him. He picks it up slowly, his tied hands shaking.

He reads it aloud, his voice unwavering. It's a request to a bounty hunter for his help to turn in me and my crew. "Sincerely..." he pauses there.

"Sincerely who?" I press.

"Me." Charlie looks at me.

"Uh-Uh. That's a longer word than 'me', I'll tell you that. It's also longer than your real name. So what's it say?"

"Bloodhound." He says quietly.

My heart drops. "Bloodhound?" I breathe. He nods and slides the letter back underneath the bars. It bounces off my boots as I stare down at him. My instinct was correct. He is Bloodhound. "So you're..."

"A pirate hunter." He nods, watching as I sink down to a sitting position. "But, as you can see, I never sent that letter..."

"Why should I trust you?" I scoff. "Why should anyone trust you?"

Bloodhound shrugs. He looks down at the ground. "I wouldn't trust me either, Pirate." His eyes lift to meet mine with a sickeningly soft gaze. "You have to understand, though, that those other letters were not written by me."

"Yeah right, you traitor." I shake my head.

He nods to the gun in my hand. "You gonna shoot me with that thing?"

I sigh. "I don't know what you've done to me, but I can't. Trust me, Charming, I wish I could. I wish I could shoot you between those eyes of yours. I wish I could watch you collapse and die right now. But I can't."