A Touch of Destiny (Pirates of the Caribbean fan-fic)

Chapter 1

   "Lay down chil'! Here, hurry be'ore you pass out!" Tia instructed me. My breathing was coming out in quick wisps and my body was covered in a coat of sweat. My hair was matted to my head and back from it and now my head was starting to throb in time with my heartbeat, which wasn't very steady to say the least. So I complied and lied down on my bed once again while Tia scurried around the shack looking for something. All of a sudden my body jerked and I began to shiver uncontrollably. Every square inch of my being shaking without my say-so.

   "Tia!" I cried out. I was scared I was going to die. Out of all of the times I have stared death straight in the face and never been scared, this time I realized just how foolish I had been. Tears started to welled up in my eyes and soon they began to flow and roll down my cheeks with ease. My body was burning with the shivers that now began to feel like needles poking and prodding my skin. "Tia!!!" Is all I could manage to say at the moment, knowing that she would be the one to help me. A few seconds passed before she charged through the little doorway holding what looked to be another bottle of some sort. The first thing that came into my mind was 'There is no way in Hell I am drinking that'. Since this seemed like a rather reasonable thought, I decided to voice it out loud. But before I could, she gasped at something while looking directly at me. 'I wonder what she's looking at?'  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. My appearance must be changing! As I struggled to look down at myself, she abruptly stopped me.

    "You do not need to see yourself like dis. Here drink up..." Now was the time I finally got to voice my thoughts. "But chil'! Dis is de only t'ing dat will stop de pain and e'ryt'ing else you are going through!" She replied to me while trying to get me to sit up. But trying to sit up when your body is shaking with the same force as a minor earthquake isn't as easy as it may seem. My breathing was becoming shallower and i had made a pool of sweat on my bed deep enough for fish to swim in. When I finally sat up, Tia shoved the mouth of the bottle into my own and tilted it backward so the liquid could flow easily down my throat. Unlike the first drink, this one was bitter in taste and stung my tongue as soon as it made contact. I choked at first but then began to drink it more greedily despite the above mention of how horrible it tasted. With every sip I could feel myself slowly going back to my old self again. My breathing was starting to fade back into it's normal pattern instead of the shallow breaths like moments just before. This caused my heartbeat to steady and become more even because of the fair amount of oxygen flowing through my bloodstream. And then slowly, I stopped sweating as much as I was brief moments before and there I sat on my bed, still wet from the sweat-puddle formed on my bed. 

   I didn't know how to reply to what just happened. As I sat there, I could feel the intense gaze of Tia Dalma. I slowly lifted my eyes up from the floor to look her in the eyes. I wish I hadn't though. Her eyes were brimming with unsheathed emotion. You could see fear, regret, concern, and some other unspoken feelings. We sat there for what seemed like hours, which happened only to be a few minutes, when finally, I decided to brake the silence.

   "Tia," I spoke softly, never breaking eye contact. "What just happened to me?" At the time, I wasn't sure if I truly wanted to hear it or not. But deep down, in the pit of my stomach, I now realized I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know why I had been having those dreams, why she made me drink that liquid, why was I convulsing, why wouldn't she let me look down at myself, what was in that second bottle, and most importantly, why did it happen. She simply sighed and looked away. At this gesture, I started to lose my temper. "Tia," I said in a deadly tone, "What just happened to me?" She still refused to look at me. Now, she was a hair away from getting snapped at. I was pretty sure she could feel the anger radiating off of me, but she still didn't move her gaze. "God-damn it Tia!!!  Why won't you answer me? For Heaven's sake I deserve to know! I just had one of the most terrifying experiences of my life and I don't even know what happened! I fucking deserve to know!!!" I screamed. She nearly toppled over in her chair from my outburst. She soon quickly recovered and slapped me hard across the cheek. My face jerked to the side from the impact and immediately my cheek felt like it was on fire. I was shocked to say the least. My only mother-figure, the only positive thing in my life, just assaulted me. Somehow, this only angered me even more. I whipped my head back towards her and shot up off the spot of my bed to look her dead in the eye. Our faces were so close we could feel the warm air puffing from each other's mouth. I stared hard and cold into her eyes and she returned the favor. We stood there for an immeasurable amount of time, until finally, I once more saw regret and concern leak from behind the stone walls in her eyes. Her face softened  and she broke eye contact with me and looked to the floor ashamed. Despite her actions, I still glared at her with daggers shooting from my eyes. My cheek stung something terrible but I quickly pushed that aside as I saw her start to say something. "There is no need for you to talk now. I think we both know where the other stands, now, if you'll excuse me." I gruffly said as I pushed my way pass her and over to my dresser. She watched me with curious eyes as I grabbed a leather sack and angrily shoved my few clothes into. She finally decided to speak.