Rose of the Sea

Journey to the Land Beyond the Living

The King and his men spilt the Queen from her bed,

And bound her in her bones,

The seas be ours and by the powers,

Where we will, we'll roam.

Elizabeth's POV:

I hope this plan works, we need everything to be perfect.

My pole squishes out of the mud at the bottom of the canal as I push my little boat onward. A few fireworks burst over my head, causing me to flinch but I keep rowing. Eventually, my boat bumps up against a stone platform at the side of the canal. I tie up the little boat and step onto the stone, the old pirate shanty still on my lips. "Yo ho, all together hoist the colors high. Heave ho-"

"Thief and beggar, never shall we die." I turn and see a group of locals leering towards me.

"That is a dangerous song to be singing for someone ignorant of its meaning. Especially a woman." The man in front sneers. "Particularly a woman alone."

"And what makes you think she's alone?" Barbossa says, stepping from the shadows.

The man in front turns to face Barbossa. "You protect her?"

I jump for his neck and press a small blade to his skin, snarling. "And what makes you think I need protecting?"

The rest of the locals lunge towards me, guns at the ready. Over the man's shoulder, Barbossa gives me a look, reluctantly, I release my grip. Suddenly, footsteps and shouts of Navy sailors sound above us on the bridge, forcing all of us to scurry into the shadows.

"Your master expected us," Barbossa mumbles to the leader.

All he does is give us a shallow nod, and gestures for us to follow him.

As we walk, I step closely with Barbossa. "Have you heard anything from Will?" I mutter to him, barely a whisper.

He gives me a sideways look. "I'm trusting in young William that he'll acquire what is needed and that you'll remember your place in the presence of Sao Feng."

"Is he really that terrifying?"

Barbossa lets out a chuckle. "He's much like myself, just minus my merciful nature and sense of fair play."

Before I can express my sentiments, our guides stop at an aged, round door. We're let in one by one, and halted again. I stand for a moment, unsure of it's their intent, while Barbossa starts to lay out his weapons. Acting as normal as I can, I simply hand over my sword and begin to follow Barbossa inside, but I'm stopped by one of the guards with a sneer on his face.

"You think that since she is a woman we would not suspect her? Remove. Please."

My eyes narrow at the man as I unbutton my coat and take off my vest. Four pistols thump against the solid wooden table and are joined by a round bomb. I hesitate a moment and hold up my index finger before reaching down the back of my pants to grab hold of one last weapon. Barbossa and all the guards look at me in confusion, I just return with a shrug and a look of innocence. Barbossa starts to move forward, but the guard stops me again.

"Remove." He says with a sly smile. I look down at my trousers realizing what he means.

As we walk through the bathhouse, I tug at the hem of my shirt, wishing for it to be longer. The guards lead us all the way to the back of the bathhouse and there he is, the Great Sao Feng.