Siren Song: Curse of the Black Pearl

Chapter 21

When she pulled away, he stared at her again, and she made a series of clicking sounds before wrapping her arms around his midriff. She hauled him towards the surface, where she would be faced with many questions.

~-Night, Caves, Main Cavern, Isla de Muerta-~

Barbossa looked surprised, and turned to Jack. He couldn't believe it. Jack, pistol raised and aimed, still smoking, had as shot him.

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot?" Barbossa questioned, amusement clear on his voice. Was Jack really this stupid?

"He didn't waste it." Victoria chimed in, and Barbossa turned to see Victoria standing over the Aztec chest, holding the knife, her left hand in a fist.

As she opened her palm, and both her and Jack's coins dropped, revealing the cut in her palm, and they fell into the chest to join the others in a mass of glittering gold.

Barbossa felt a shudder go through him, and then it seemed like a certain weight was lifted off his shoulders. He slowly looked down at his chest. Blood was blossoming around the wound, staining his shirt a dark red.

Jack lowered his pistol, which was still smoking slightly.

Barbossa stares at the blood in disbelief, before looking up at Jack, then to Victoria, and then back at Jack. He felt anger, which was quickly followed by dismay and resolution. He took an unsteady step back, and a soft smile graced his lips.

"I feel... Cold." He breathed out, before collapsing onto his back, propped up by a pile of gold treasure. His sword and gun fall from his hands, and a sigh of relief is let out throughout the cavern.

Victoria moved toward Elizabeth, relieved she was okay, because for a moment there, she wasn't sure which gun had fired. Their eyes met, words so desperately wanting to be spoken behind closed lips, like a dam waiting to burst. Victoria pulls her into a tight embrace, relishing in the moment.

Which is promptly ruined by a loud CRASH. They both turn to see Jack gathering up pieces of treasure, including large gold objet d'art. Victoria and Elizabeth look back at each other, the moment was officially ruined, and they were forced back into reality...

"We should return to the Dauntless." Elizabeth sighed, averting her gaze, and Victoria nodded, the chance like so many others, was lost.

"Roxanne and her fiancé will be wanting to know we're safe." Elizabeth blinked, confused as how she knew that, but then she remembered Roxanne, who was probably wanting her dress back.

"Yes, I do believe she'll want her dress back..." Victoria made a face. "She decided to be reckless and went to go help." Elizabeth explained, before turning and heading out of the cavern.

"Right, of course." Victoria mumbled, her shoulders sagging. Jack strolled up to her, holding and wearing a large amount of treasure, including a crown perched precariously on his head.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment... That was it." Victoria nodded numbly, and Jack gently pat her shoulder while adjusting his bag, which was slung across his shoulder, of treasure.

-- Night, Water, Rowboat --

The gentle waves sloshed against the side of the rowboat, the rocking making Elizabeth nervous as she looked around for Roxanne, eyes focused on the dark waves and rocks around them. Jack, sulking from the missing Pearl, sat at the bow, facing forward; Victoria was at the oars, facing backwards.

"I'm sorry, Jack, about the Pearl." Victoria interrupted the silence, and Jack shrugged.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that." Victoria shot him a look, dammit, man you could expect more than that. She was about to say something, but Elizabeth stopped her by pointing out where Roxanne was. Perched on the rocks, with what looked like a body lying next to her.