Aztecs' Curse

Chapter 16

     Victoria panted lightly beside her sister as they waded onto the shore of the island they had just marooned on. And, when she heard splashing behind her, she jumped, half expecting some merciless sea creature to have followed them. Though, when she saw that it was Jack, her heart gave a little thump. So, they had decided to add a bit of irony by casting him to those shallow shores as well.
     Despite how happy she was to see him, that made not only herself and her sister stuck on the island, but the man she was still falling for as well. She still had questions on her mind. Like, whether he was really on their side. And, of course, whether he actually loved her or not.
     He stopped about a foot from the land as Elizabeth turned around, and he said, "That's the second time I've watched that man sail away with my ship." When he turned back around, he faltered, staring at Victoria. And, when Victoria glanced over at her sister, she was relieved to see that Elizabeth was pacing away a distance, as if she knew to give them privacy. No doubt, everyone had been a part of the display of him pronouncing his love for Victoria. But, had he really meant it.
     Before Victoria could completely turn, Jack's arms were around her, making her jump somewhat, and she slowly placed her hands on his back, cheek resting against his shoulder.
     "I don't know what I would've done if they would've decided to keep you on that ship with them... What Cyrus would have done." He withdrew, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "But now, you're stuck on this blasted island with us as well." Naturally, he was indicating her sister--but, that proved that any tales of his escaping the island was exaggerated. He, clearly, couldn't do whatever it was he did before.
     She swiped the thought aside, shaking her head as he started across the beach, and she kept pace with him. "What you said--on the ship-"
     "There's no telling what Cyrus would've done, had I not said it," Jack said without looking at her, stopping her in her tracks. Though he stopped walking as well, he didn't turn her way, face angled towards the sky. "He wanted me to...announce my love for you. He wanted me to say those words. So, I said it." He looked over at her at that point, a grim smile on his face. "I'm just happy he didn't go back on what his intentions seemed to be, love." Then, without another word, he strode towards the green of the island.
     Tears fought to the surface. They struggled so hard against the current of Victoria's stubbornness as well as her eyelids. But, she wouldn't let them slip free. So, the pirate didn't actually love her after all.
     "You were marooned on this island before," Elizabeth called out, and Victoria lifted her head to see her sister following Jack.
     After a moment, she followed after the both of them, jaw set and fingers clenched. She may not have gotten what she wanted, but she would stand by her sister's side from hereon out. There was, most definitely, no way she would allow Jack to openly see her feelings for him and manipulate her into treating her like the other women he had had in his life.
     "We can escape in the same way," Elizabeth was continuing insistently, quickening her step so she stood right behind Jack as they walked, "you did then-"
     He whirled around, stopping them both, as he said, "To what point and purpose, young missy?" His eyes looked distraught, and Victoria caught them flickering to her own before quickly going back to her sister. "The Black Pearl is gone. Unless you have a runner and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice...unlikely...young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."
     Victoria felt her heart stop for a moment, and her breath catch as well. No doubt, Elizabeth felt much worse than that.
     "But you're Captain Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth insisted as he walked up to a tree and knocked on it. "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company. You sacked Nassau port without even firing a shot."
     As he continued to awkwardly pace and jump around as if trying to find some trap door, Victoria gaped at her sister. How did she know all of this? Had the men of the Black Pearl told her about Jack? Not even she knew so much about him. Her eyes narrowed; and, they did so furthermore at her sister's next words.
     "Are you the pirate I've read about or not." She seemed to be avoiding her older sister's gaze, of which was glued onto her. "How did you escape last time?"
     Jack looked back and forth between Victoria and Elizabeth before saying, "Last time I was here a grand total of three days. All right?" He turned and brushed at the sand on the ground before grabbing a wooden ledge that made Victoria's head tilt as he grunted, pushed the trap door he had been looking for open and said, "Last time, the rumrunners used this island as a cache." He climbed down, and Victoria and her sister walked up to the edge as they stared down at him. "They came by, and I was able to barter passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that." His hand, which contained a bottle, flew into the air, followed by the rest of his body as he climbed back out.
     "So, that's it, then?" Elizabeth said, voice breaking somewhat, though she looked more furious than upset. "That's the secret, grand adventure of the infamous Captain Sparrow. You spent three days lying on a beach drinking rum."
     Jack's eyes flickered to Victoria, though not long enough for her to be sure he actually had looked at her, before he gave Elizabeth a false smug expression and threw his arms out. "Welcome to the Caribbean, love." He dropped the expression with a look of distaste, and pushed past her, shoving a bottle into her hands as he passed by.
     As soon as he was out of sight, as Elizabeth stared down at the bottle in deep thought, Victoria said, "You read about Jack, hmm?" When her sister's eyes landed on her own, her lips curled. "I'm just dying to know from what book. You and I both know I've read every single book in that blasted mansion at least three times growing up."
     "Not...all of them," Elizabeth responded, looking away.
     "Oh," Victoria said with a curt nod of her head as she stepped closer to her sister, "I gathered that much." Her teeth clenched as she stared at her a moment more before saying, "Why the bloody hell did you and father-"
     "Who said he's a part of this?"
     "The fact," Victoria said, raising her voice, "that these books are about a man who actually does exist, and who is a pirate no doubt, says plenty. Did you and father, really, not want me to see that even the worst of titles can contain the best of people?" Her heart twinged at her own words, and her voice broke as she spoke, eyes shining as her sister gave her a pained expression.      "Did you two, truly, wish me no hope?"
     "It's the fact that you see so much good in others, Victoria," Elizabeth said insistently. "Victoria... You need to remember that even though some people do good things, it doesn't always make them good people. Jack... Jack's nothing but a deceiving pirate. Even you've ought to know that by now."
     That only made her feel worse. "Yeah, I've figured that one out already! Everyone else hides things from me--I don't need my own family doing it to me too."
     Elizabeth's pained eyes slid shut. "I'm so sorry, Victoria..."
     "Sorry isn't going to cut it," Victoria muttered before turning to follow after Jack.
     "If that won't, then at least hear me out," Elizabeth's voice called, stopping her. As Victoria turned, she shifted, bottle still in her hands. "I have a plan..."