Aztecs' Curse

Chapter 7

       Will raced along one of the streets of Port Royal, momentarily free of the pirates. He spotted the Governor's Mansion in the distance, where figures moved away from it, Elizabeth forced by two of the pirates, Victoria nowhere in sight. Will hurried forward, but before he could make it far, a pirate with one arm and a yellow bandana jumped out from the shadows and slashed at Will, who was quick to defend himself. Will hesitated when he registered him, remembering him as the pirate that he was sure he already killed, his head tilting in confusion.The hesitation was just enough for another pirate, swinging a flaming torch, to slam Will in the head from behind, causing him to crumple. The pirate lit a second torch, handed it to one-arm, and they hooted with delight before heading off, setting fires as they went.
     On the ground, Will didn't move.

* * *

     The wall of the cells exploded inward, and after a few seconds Jack pulled himself out from under rubble. Moonlight spilled in through the gaping hole created by the cannon ball. Beyond it: freedom. But it is centered on the other cell. The part of Jack's cell that had blown out was far too small for any man to slip through.

     "Praise be!" one of the prisoners exclaimed before scrambling through with a couple of the other prisoners. He paused just at the edge, looking back at Jack. "My sympathies, friend--you've no manner of luck at all!" Then, he and the others descended the rocks beyond, disappearing from view, leaving Jack to himself. 

     The cannon fire continued, occasional shaking the fort. The dog within it cowered under a long bench, key ring still in his mouth.
     Jack sighed--resigned--and picked up the bone from the other cell before going over to the edge of his own, trying to coax the dog forward. "It's all right, doggie," he said, waving the bone.      "Come here, boy. Come here, Spot. Rover. Fido?" To his surprise, the dog crawled out from under the bench, starting for him. Just as he was right at the edge of Jack's reach, the dog's attention went to the cell door, growling at it before whining and taking off, keys still in his mouth. "No, no, no, no!"
     Just then, two pirates burst through the door; Koehler and Twigg, both elbowing each other and chuckling before stopping and glancing around.
     "This isn't the armory," Twigg said, sounding irritated. He turned to go, but Koehler stopped him, the pirate having had spotted Jack.
     "Well, well," Koehler said, accent unmistakably Jamaican. "Look what we have here, Twigg. It's Captain Jack Sparrow."
     Jack only offered the both of them a sour smile.
     "Huh," Twigg mused, somewhat impressed. "Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a God-forsaken island, shrinking into the distance. I'd heard you'd gotten off, but I didn't believe it."
     "Did you sprout little wings and fly away?" Koehler asked.
     "His fortunes aren't improved much," Twigg said, and the both of them burst into laughter.
     Tight with fury, Jack drew close to the bars and said, "Worry about your own fortunes, mate. The lowest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers...and mutineers."
     Koehler and Twigg immediately stopped laughing, and Koehler lashed out, grabbing Jack by the throat through the bars. Jack clutched the pirate's wrist, and looked down. Where they entered the moonlight, Koehler's wrists and hands were skeletal, making Jack's eyes widen.
     "So you are cursed," Jack mumbled, unable to keep his eyes from the skeleton arm that held him in its clutches.
     Koehler ignored him and said, "You know nothing of hell," before sneering at him and shoving him back, pulling his arm from the moonlight, and Jack watched as his arm became normal the instant he was back in the shadows.
     When the two pirates skulked off, Jack raised the bone that was in his hands, stumbling back over to the bars of his cell to look at it under the moonlight, before he murmured, "How interesting."

* * *

     Amid the thunder of cannon fire, a longboat slipped through the fog. Elizabeth sat in the prow as columns of water from cannon balls geyser up around the boat. The fog parted, and Elizabeth looked up to see it--The Black Pearl, a tall galleon, its black sails looming high above her. At the bow was an ornately carved figurehead of a beautiful woman, arm held high, a small bird taking wing from her outstretched hand. The longboat made for a pair of lines dangling from a winch.
     Lit by lanterns; no moon is visible beneath the fog. Smoke hung heavy above the deck, and the longboat was raised above the deck rail, where pirates spotted Elizabeth, and stared. One polite fellow stepped forward to offer his hand. She took it and stepped down before huddling, self-conscious in her nightgown and dressing robe. Though she was clearly terrified, and wished she wasn't alone, she was more than happy that they hadn't captured Victoria.
     I didn't know we was taking captives," a dark and aggressive pirate--Bosun--said as he glowered Elizabeth's way.
     "She's invoked the right of parlay," Pintel said, "with Captain Barbossa."
     An imposing figure in silhouette, standing by the wheel, too far away to have heard Pintel's words, turned his head at the mention of his name before moving towards the stairs. A cloud of smoke obscured him; and then, as if he skipped the stairs, he strode out of the smoke on the main deck. It was clear that this man was, indeed, Captain Barbossa, and on his shoulder there sat a dressed monkey. Despite the bright colors of clothing, definitely not a man anyone would want to meet in a dark alley--or anywhere, for that matter.
     Elizabeth, more terrified than ever, couldn't look away from his eyes. But, she mustered her courage to speak, striding up to him, hardly paying heed to Bosun up beside him. "I am here to-"
She cut off with a sharp cry as Bosun backhanded her and growled, "You'll speak when spoken to!" His wrist was then grabbed, painfully, by Barbossa.
     "And you'll not lay a hand on those under the protection of parlay," Barbossa said to him.
     "Aye, sir," Bosun said, voice low.
     Barbossa released him before turning to Elizabeth with a toothy grin, revealing silver and gold teeth. "My apologies, miss. As you were saying, before you were so rudely interrupted?"
     "Captain Barbossa," she said with a nod of her head, resisting the urge to look around at everyone, "I have come to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal."
     His eyes seem to spark with amusement. "There was a lot of long words in there, miss, and we're not but humble pirates. What is it you want?"
     "I want you to leave," Elizabeth responded, head now held high, "and never come back." Her confidence seemed to waver as everyone around her laughed, though the dark haired man--Cyrus--remained silent, simply watching her.
     "I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request," Barbossa responded mockingly. After a moment, he leaned somewhat forward and added, "Means' No.'" Around him, the pirates laughed again.
     "Very well." Elizabeth's teeth clenched, and she quickly slipped her medallion off, darting to the side rail and dangling it over the side of the ship, causing everyone to fall silent. "I'll drop it!"
     Barbossa looked around for a moment before turning back to her and saying, "My holds are bursting with swag. That bit of shine matters to me ... Why?"
     Elizabeth's eyes seemed to spark with realization. "Because it's what you're searching for. You've been searching for it for years. I recognize this ship. I saw it eight years ago, when we made the crossing from England." She wondered if, perhaps, Victoria had pieced it together yet, eyes flickering to the ocean for a brief moment before going back to Barbossa.
     "Did you now?" Barbossa asked, simply staring at her and the medallion.
     She glared at him, impatient. "Fine. I suppose if this is worthless, there's no reason to keep it." Her fingers loosened their hold on the chain, which began to slip from her hand.
     "No!" Barbossa stammered, stepping towards her, though he froze when she quickly tightened her grip and smiled at him triumphantly. After a moment of silence, he chuckled and said, "You have a name, missy?"
     Elizabeth seemed to hesitate, having had been sure that they had known who she was all along, and looked around as she said, "Elizabeth--Turner." She stirred nervously. "I'm a maid in the governor's household." She curtsied somewhat as she spoke, unsure as to whether or not they would believe her.
     Barbossa visibly reacted to the name Turner: as it confirmed what he suspected Around him, the other pirates surreptitiously exchanged glances and nods. Then, he said, "You've got sand, for a maid."
     Her eyes narrowed as she hesitantly curtsied again. "Thank you...sir."
     "And how does a maid come to own a trinket such as that?" He asked, first asking suspiciously, and then smiling cheekily. "A family heirloom, perhaps?"
     Elizabeth's eyes only narrowed furthermore before suddenly looking offended. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean."
     "No, no, nothing like that," he said, staring at her for a moment longer. He seemed to come to some internal decision before smiling at her. "Very well. You hand that over, we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return."
     She hesitated, but knew she had no choice, holding out the medallion, which he then grabbed, clutching it in his fist as if it was more than just a gold piece, staring at her as he slowly handed the medallion to the monkey on his shoulder, and she said, "Our bargain?"
     He only gave her a devilish grin, then turned away from her and nodded to Bosun, who shouted, "Still the guns, and stow 'em! Signal the men, set the flags, and make good to clear port!"
     For the first time since the attack began, the booming of the guns ceased, which first surprised Elizabeth before she grew relieved. The pirates hustled to follow orders. But, it became clear that there were no intentions of returning Elizabeth to shore, and she strode after Barbossa. "Wait! You must return me to shore! According to the rules of the Order of the Brethren-"     Barbossa wheeled around to face her, cutting her off as he said, "First: your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, and so I 'must' do nothing. Secondly: you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply. And you're not. And thirdly...the code is more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules." He grinned silver and gold at her as she stared at him with ever-growing dread. "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner."
     Elizabeth stared at him in horror as the Black Pearl turned out to sea, and she was led back along the deck to the captain's cabin. The fog started to dissipate, turning to a light mist; and through it, the Black Pearl made for the scarlet glow of dawn.
     Cyrus's attention turned from everyone on the ship, and in the area of where he knew Port Royal lay, his thoughts turning to Victoria, of whom he was sure Elizabeth meant more to than that that a maid would, and his brows furrowed as he wondered who--exactly--that woman was, and what about her reminded him something of a love he had lost time ago.

     This chapter's a bit on the shorter side, so sorry. I also apologize with how glitchy the paragraphing has gotten at parts; it wouldn't let me fix that, yikes.