The Cry of Liberty

Chapter Twenty Seven: Trust

Sasha continued to tell Will her stories as they sat in the rowboats. Barbossa had given up trying to silence her, deciding he too would like to know more about the famous woman pirate. His crew rowed and listened, whispering amongst themselves about this and that. Sasha wanted to ease the boys worries but it did little to ease her own.

"Make haste, I want this over with." Barbossa barked as their boats landed. Pintel jerked Will out and to his feet. Ragetti offered Sasha a hand and helped her climb out of the boat, earning a glare from his stout friend. The crew shuffled into the cave, torches lighting the way to the large open cavern. She was glad it had been cloudy as to not have frightened Will but as they were forced further along, she could feel his dread.

"No reason to fret. It's just a prick of the finger, a few drops of blood." Pintel told Will as they walked. Another crewman leaned forward and corrected him.

"No mistakes this time. He's only half-Turner. We spill it all!" The man sneered, pushing them both forward. Pintel looked at Ragetti and shrugged.

"Guess there is reason to fret."

The crew gathered at the base of the chest, Will and Sasha flanked their captain atop the mound of gold surrounding the cursed coins. The excitement was palpable as Barbossa pulled his dagger from his belt and began to speak over the assembled.

"This woman would have seen us damned for eternity. She had stolen some of the gold for herself and got herself drowned to see to it we remained cursed for what we did to Jack." The crowd yelled and glared at Sasha. She returned their anger with an innocent smile. "What say ye? Spill her blood or save her as a reward?" She refused to show any emotion at the threat, simply holding a hand out.

"My coins, Hector." He handed her the pouch and the knife. She sliced her palm open and dumped the coins into her bloody hand, making sure each coin got a coat. "By blood begun, by blood undone." She spoke the incantation and dropped the gold into the chest. The crew cheered and began chanting as two men held Will's throat over the treasure. Barbossa snatched his dagger back and raised his hands dramatically.

"Begun by blood," Sasha saw movement in the crowd and had to stop the genuine smile from crossing her lips. Will saw it too, relief flooding his eyes. "By blood undo-" Barbossa stopped, spotting Jack pushing his way to the front.

"Thank god." Sasha sighed to herself.

"S'not possible." Barbossa said quietly.

"Not probable." Jack corrected, stumbling over a slippery rock.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked, being pulled upright.

"She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really except for Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman." Sasha winced, knowing she probably made some sort of deal with this 'Norrington' fellow to save Will. Barbossa rolled his eyes.

"Shut up! You're next." He pointed the dagger at him before putting it back against Will's throat.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate." Jack winced.

"Oh, but I really think I do."

"Your funeral." Jack rocked on his heels. The irritation seeping from Barbossa was pretty amusing to Sasha but she pinched the bridge of her nose, sensing another pissing contest between the two men.

"I wish I could die." She muttered.

"Why don't I want to be doing it?" Barbossa glared at his old captain.

"Well because-" Jack pushed Bo'sun's hand from his shoulder and stepped closer, accepting Sasha's hand to help him stay balanced on the pile of gold. "Because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore. Waiting for you."

The cave echoed the sound of disgruntled pirates as Barbossa's crew muttered amongst themselves. Their captain waved his hand and Will was lifted from over the chest. Sasha rushed to his side and checked him over, reminding him of a doting mother. He seemed unharmed other than a small cut along his throat from the dagger. She wiped it clean with a torn piece of her shirt and whispered so only he could hear.

"We'll see you out of this, just play along and trust us." With a squeeze of his shoulder, she tossed the cloth away and joined Jack at his side.

"Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the Dauntless. They do what they do best. Robert's your Uncle, Fanny's your Aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. 'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the Pearl? Name me Captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as 'Commodore' Barbossa. Savvy?" The brutes eyes lit up at the prospect of commanding a fleet but they narrowed slightly in mistrust.

"And I suppose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelp or Miss. Hartford?"

"I would appreciate if Sasha remained breathing as it'd be hard for her to perform her duties as first mate from a grave, but by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet, wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment. For instance," Sasha knew he was speaking to Will when he said to wait for the right moment and she hoped he was smart enough to understand what he meant. Jack reached down and grabbed a handful of coins. "After you've killed Norrington's men. Every. Last. One." He tossed them back in to drive his point home but Will and Sasha didn't miss the one he slid up his sleeve. Will seemed to think everything over and, to Sasha's relief, played along.

"You've been planning this from the beginning, ever since you learned my name." He glared at the three. Sasha turned to him and put on a scowl.

"Look, you're young and have yet to learn the ways of the world. I spent years just tied to my ship and if siding with Hector lifts the curse and gets me back out on the sea, I'll take that deal a hundred times over." Barbossa seemed smug that even with the animosity, she'd choose him over their feud. He turned to Jack.

"I want fifty percent of your plunder."

"Fifteen." Jack scoffed.

"Forty."

"Twenty five." Sasha crossed her arms.

"And I'll buy you the hat, a really big one." Barbossa seemed pleased but Jack knew how to sweeten the deal. "Commodore." The scraggly man nodded with a grin, shaking their hands.

"We have an accord." Jack let go and turned to the undead crew.

"All hands to the boats!" He stopped when he noticed both Barbossa and Sasha looking at him like he was an idiot. "Apologies." He bowed a bit and stepped aside.

"Gents, take a walk." Without hesitation, his men turned and descended into the water.