The Cry of Liberty

Chapter Seventeen: Retribution

Sasha didn't sleep, she couldn't. She had learned a lot about the curse since the first night and had started keeping a list of every side effect as it manifested. In the flesh, all food or liquid turned to ash in her mouth, unable to satisfy her hunger or quench her thirst. She could not feel the sun on her skin, nor the pain of injury, and any wound received seemed to heal almost as quickly as it had been inflicted.

Night was tricky as she was trying to keep the worst of the curse from her crew, locking herself away as soon as the sun began to go down and only coming out on moonless nights. Sasha hadn't even told Elias about the more macabre side of the curse. She hung spare bed linens over the windows in her cabin in case someone burst in unexpectedly.

It had been less than a month since the expedition into the cave and on their way to Cuba, Sasha ordered a stop in Tortuga. She needed to know if Jack had found the treasure and if he too was cursed with what she could only describe as undeath. No one had seen the young pirate in quite some time, some claiming he had been in China helping another Pirate Lord.

"You haven't heard?" A gruff voice had caught her attention. "Mutinied, he was. Barbossa convinced the crew he was unfit to lead and they abandoned him on an island and went after some treasure."

"And how did he escape the island if he's in China?" Sasha raised an eyebrow. The dirty old man leaned in close and looked her in the eye.

"Sea turtles." The woman rolled her eyes but thanked the man for the actually useful information he had given.

On course to bring supplies to the villages near Tia Dalma, and to speak with the voodoo priestess, Sasha mulled over the news that Jack had been betrayed. Jack had given his life for the Pearl in ways she'd probably never know and now his beloved ship was in the hands of a mutineer.

"Captain, it appears we have company." Davu called from his spot on the netting. Sasha looked out at the port and saw the familiar Jolly Roger of Gentleman Jocard. A large grin spread over her face.

"I wasn't expecting to attend a feast." She chuckled to herself. "Start unloading the supplies. Ask the Ranger's crew for assistance if you must." She barked, rushing off the ship to greet her old friend.

"If it isn't the Little Spider." Jocard opened his arms wide when he saw the brunette walking towards him. He was as ornate as usual dressed in his snake skins and glittering gold jewelry. "Come to join our celebration?" Sasha accepted his hug, missing the warmth that should have been there.

"And what are we celebrating?"

"Life, Little Spider. We celebrate life." He kept an arm around her shoulder and guided her down the dock towards the village. Sasha had to laugh to herself at the irony of stumbling into such a festival.

"I'd love to join in the celebration, Jocard. I need to speak urgently with Tia Dalma but perhaps after I shall make an appearance." Jocard nodded and let her go. "My crew are offloading our plunder, perhaps they would enjoy a little food and dancing."

"The more the merrier, Little Spider. I look forward to sharing a table with you once again." He waved her off as she began the long hike from the village into the swamp to Tia's hut. She opted to go on foot as opposed to boat to give herself time to think. She was incredibly lucky to be on Jocard's good side, having heard tales of how brutal he was to those who crossed his path. Sasha certainly cherished their friendship and hoped Tia Dalma could help her survive the night without having to hide away in her quarters.

"What is it you seek, Sasha Hartford?" Tia Dalma didn't even look up from her boiling pot of herbs, simply holding out her hand for Sasha to place her own. She didn't flinch at the cold fingers in her palm. "Been a bad girl, mhm?"

"No worse than before." Sasha tried to make light of the whole situation.

"So you seek a way to break de curse?"

"That depends on a few things." Tia Dalma looked up finally, curiosity in her eyes. "Tell me exactly what the curse does."

"De curse was placed on de gold by Aztec gods as revenge on de man who slaughtered innocent people. Him foolish enough to take even a single piece, be damned to walk Earth in a state of nei'der life or death."

"And the way to lift it?" Tia Dalma inspected her hand closely before letting it go.

"Every stolen coin must be returned and de blood debt repaid by de one who took it." The voodoo woman was startled at Sasha's sudden bout of laughter.

"So as long as I have the coins I took, anyone else past or present who is cursed..."

"Remains so, yes." Sasha smiled sincerely for the first time in a month. "You have some trickery on your mind?"

"Not trickery, retribution." She had gotten exactly the answer she came for and felt some semblance of joy at the thought of indirectly punishing Barbossa for his misdeeds. "Say, Tia, are you joining the festivities?" Tia Dalma seemed to enjoy the pirates' change in mood.

"Are you? Might be too cloudy for de moon to shine." She winked.

Sasha thanked her for her help and trudged through the swamp to get back to the village. Her crew was helping set up for the nights festivities and Jocard was hauling a freshly slaughtered hog to the cooking pit. She felt saddened by the fact she wouldn't get to enjoy Jocard's cooking but sent up another silent 'thank you' to Tia Dalma that she would at least get to feel some semblance of normality. As the sun began to set, the villagers began to gather and play music, singing and dancing along with the rhythm. The voodoo priestess even made it in time to bless the feast.

"Little Spider! Come, the pig is ready." He handed her a wooden bowl of rice and sliced some of the roasted pork off for her. Her crew was pleased to see her out after dusk and they partied the night away with Jocard and the villagers. Though they celebrated life and all it brought, Sasha celebrated death as well.

"Seem's that whatever Tia Dalma told you put you in a good mood." Elias leaned against the railing in front of the wheel as they sailed away from Cuba. The crew seemed sad to go so soon, at least the ones who could walk straight did. "You seemed genuinely happy last night and I don't think it was dancing with Gentleman Jocard that put the smile back on your face." Sasha set the wheel and locked it on course.

"Are you certain? He is quite elegant on his feet."

"And you haven't sassed me either until now. Did she tell you how to break the curse?" He followed her down the stairs as she made her daily rounds to inspect the rigging and general care of the ship.

"She did." Sasha pulled on the lines that ran up to the mast.

"So how do we break it? Get you back to normal?"

"We won't." She replied simply. Her answer shocked him.

"Why not? You know how, we can help you-"

"No need, I have decided to stay this way." She pulled him into her cabin and shut the door so they could speak without the rest of the crew overhearing. "Yes Tia Dalma told me how to break it but I've been thinking on how to get revenge on Hector Barbossa for turning Jack's crew against him and attempting to kill him." Elias sat on the desk and scratched at his beard.

"I don't follow."

"Hector managed to find the treasure which means he and his crew are also cursed. If they found the treasure long before us, why was there so much in the chest? They'd surely have taken most of it, if not all." Sasha paced, finally verbalizing what she had realized last night on the walk back from the swamp. "Therefore, they are trying to return the gold but either haven't learned of the whole ritual, are still searching for pieces, or both. As long as I am in possession of my pieces, they'll stay damned for eternity." Now that she heard it out loud, she knew this was the only way to ensure Barbossa paid for his backstabbing ways.

"You have condemned yourself to the same fate, Sasha."