Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold...

Chapter 12

"She's a pretty one, ain't she?"

"Shut up! You're gonna wake 'er up!"

"Aye, she is very pretty though...I think tonight is going to be fun for us all lads!"

I opened my blue eyes slowly, and lay my cool palm on my forehead, waiting for everything to come back into focus. As everything shifted back and lost the blur surrounding it, I saw three men, looming over me. I pulled my dress further down my legs, shivering as they grinned down at me with their yellow teeth, leering.

"W-Who are you?" I stuttered. "What am I doing here?" I mumbled, looking around the deck of a ship I didn’t know.

"The Captain wishes to see you," one of the men replied. It wasn't the answer I was looking for.

"Tell me where I am right now!" I shouted in as intimidating voice as I could muster, jumping up onto my feet and then stumbling as my vision went fuzzy. I felt an ache in the back of my head and placed my hand up to it gingerly. My fingertips met a bump and dried blood.

"What have you done to me?" I asked, voice wobbling. I was feeling pretty frightened.

"Come with me," the tallest man said, and his fingers closed over my wrist, dragging me roughly across the deck. We reached a door and he swung it open, pushing me inside. I bit my lip to prevent myself from crying right there. Where was Jack?? Why had he abandoned me...?

"Why hello, Miss Callaway," came a voice from beside me. I jumped. I was face to face with a man who I vaguely recognised. He had light brown, dirty hair and a beard, and horrible, leering eyes. I took a step backwards.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I asked, heart racing and causing the blood to pound in my ears, only adding to my headache.

"Ah, but Miss Callaway, I know so much more than just your name!" He laughed. "I've been watching you very carefully indeed. I know your friend William Turner, I know about you and Jack Sparrow," he paused, sneering at me as I blushed. I suddenly felt very exposed as he continued to watch my every move. "I know how he deserted you in pursuit of his "box", and of course...I knew your dear mother," he smiled, and then laughed harshly. I stared at him and felt a horrible shiver go down my spine. This was Barbossa. I knew it. The man we had fled from all that time ago in the tavern...this was him. He continued laughing.

"STOP IT!!" I screamed. Barbossa stopped, an ugly expression appearing on his face as he looked at me. "I know what you did to her, and you're a terrible person! She didn't deserve it!"

"Ah, but missy, you don’t understand! She had the Pearl, I wanted it, I got it. And if anyone, including her, was to get in my way, then I had to dispose of them!"

"So it's all about what you want?!" I shouted angrily.

"I didn't get what I wanted!" He shouted, spit flying everywhere. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, still staring at me, livid. I paused, confused.

"You wanted the Pearl! So you did get what you wanted! And then Jack took it back!" I cried. Barbossa's bright blue eyes met mine.

"I wanted her!" he said quietly. I froze.

"Oh, yes, I wanted her! I wanted the woman who I had loved five years earlier, the one who had promised me the Pearl, that we would share it, that we would raise our child together and then when she was older, she would follow in our footsteps; she would become Captain of the Pearl. But then I discovered that after she had given birth to our child, she had found someone else. Bootstrap Bill," he spat, looking livid. I was unable to speak. "Of course, I hid my knowledge of what had been going on until the opportune moment, when I took the Pearl from your dear mother, and Bootstrap was sent to the bottom of the sea. To Davy Jones' locker," he smiled, looking satisfied.

"And you killed my mother too!" I gasped, eyes full of tears.

"She was sent alongside Bootstrap, her lover! So I really wasn't being that cruel!" Barbossa protested.

"I bet you tortured her first, you evil bas-"

"You really shouldn't be insulting me now, Rose," Barbossa said calmly. I glared at him.

"Oh, really...and why would I not insult you?" I asked, stepping backwards as Barbossa moved closer to me.

"Oh, come on now! You're a clever lass! Is it not obvious? You've always lived with your mother. You've never known your father. I fell in love with your mother five years before I had to...dispose of her. You were five years old when she died. Do you see where I'm coming from?" Barbossa cried, moving closer towards me. I gazed at him, horrified.

"It's not true!!" I screamed. He smiled idly.

"Oh no, it really is...daughter," he said, smirking at my expression. I backed into the wall, refusing to believe this. This was not my father!

My bright blue eyes locked onto Barbossa's and I felt a horrible, cold realisation. Our eyes were identical.

Apart from the fact that Barbossa's were bloodshot, our eyes were exactly the same shade of sky blue, and the same almond shape, with the same curved long fair lashes. I shivered. It's just a coincidence, I told myself, You're just paranoid.

"It isn't true," I tried to say calmly, my voice shaking with the effort. "I refuse to believe it."

"Well, if you refuse to be my daughter, then I suppose you can be a source of entertainment for myself...or perhaps the crew...you are very pretty..." Barbossa said, sending another sickening leer in my direction.

"You're vile!!" I screamed, and slapped him hard across the face before I could stop myself and realise this wasn't the best idea, my hand stinging across his rough cheek. He staggered and looked up at me, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Now you're in trouble," he snarled and moved towards me, arms outstretched...

And then a voice came from behind me.

"I'd keep away from her, mate."

It's Jack!!

It's Will!!

It's Elizabeth!!

It's Mr Cotton's Parrot!!

It's Gibbs!!

It's The Kraken!!