King's Men Chapter Two
Title: King’s Men
Author: Aquaseamage
Pairing: None really, Will/Elizabeth mentioned
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action Adventure
Characters: Elizabeth, Barbossa, Groves, Gillette, Jack, Gibbs, Scrum, etc
Spoiler Warnings: This is post-OST so please watch the movie first!
Disclaimer: the characters are not mine. They belong to Disney.
Synopsis: Post OST. Barbossa just got the Queen Anne’s Revenge and finds himself in service to the King again, except this time it’s the Pirate King on a new dangerous quest.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Captain Hector Barbossa stood on the deck of his new ship; the Queen Anne’s Revenge and couldn’t help grinning. The ship was everything he had dreamed it was and more. That and the magic sword more than made up for the hairy leg he had lost to Blackbeard. Never had he felt as intensely satisfied as when he had run his poisoned sword blade through Blackbeard’s body, killing the notorious pirate. The man had attacked him unjustly, taking the Pearl and kidnapping his crew. Worst, he had ignored the rules of Parley. Of course, he had made a name for himself, too. Captain Hector Barbossa, the pirate that had killed Blackbeard. It had a nice ring to it. Jack wasn’t the only one who could be famous.
Barbossa eyed the crew with narrowed blue eyes, seeing everything at once. The crew he had inherited from Blackbeard was the usual assortment of rough men that called themselves pirates. They were the deckhands, the cannon crews, the ones that climbed up into the rigging. They were dressed in torn and stained shirts, sported messy hair, etc. In other words, it was what he was used to. They didn’t care who was Captain of their ship and held no loyalty to Blackbeard, who had apparently treated them cruelly. The crew was busy now, their faces cheerful after hearing that their new destination would be Tortuga. They looked forward to the upcoming vacation of rum, brothels and all of the other pleasures that the pirate island offered those with coin. And by giving them this, Barbossa knew he had won them over partly. Trust, that would come later, but the fact that he had beat Blackbeard went a long way too.
But Blackbeard’s officers had been a different story. He would be a fool to accept them as his own, as they would be loyal to their former Captain. Besides the point was moot, as all of the zombie officers had died at the Fountain of Youth. He was glad of the fact, as the unnatural creatures only reminded him of his long cursed years among the undead.
Luckily, his own officers had survived the battle at the Fountain of Youth - not that they hadn’t tried to get themselves killed and at first he had thought that they had succeeded. They had both fallen and had been lying still, but he had remembered to check if they were still breathing. Normally pirates didn’t care about their fallen comrades, but with his leg paining him the way it was he needed someone to help him run the ship and the Revenge was a huge ship. And he had had no idea if any of Blackbeard’s deck crew were up for the jobs, that is, qualified to supervise and be his first mate. And so he had had the pirates carry his two unconscious Royal Navy officers back to the ship and take them below.
And that was when he discovered that Blackbeard had no doctor on his ship, as he preferred the voodoo zombie thing. Why heal people if you can just turn them into undying loyal zombies? Or steal more crewmembers from other ships, just as he had attacked the Pearl and made the ship’s rigging come alive only to attack them. Men were easy to replace most of the time.
And his own doctor had been killed in the battle with Blackbeard’s crew. The British Navy did like their doctors…
Luckily, his officers injuries were not life threatening. Second Officer Andrew Gillette had been hit in the back with a sword, his layers of uniform partly deflecting the blow. But the cut across his back was nasty and had bled a lot. With no doctor, Barbossa had been forced to stitch the wound up himself. Well, that wasn’t anything new. He was a pirate and as such had stitched up plenty of wounds. It should heal well but will leave a scar.
And as for his First Officer, that had been sheer stupidity waving the British flag at the Spanish and claiming the Fountain of Youth as English property. He had been practically begging to be shot, so it’s no surprise that some Spaniard had shot him. The lead shot had been partly deflected by one of the metal buttons on his uniform and then had hit the chest bone, the sternum. The force of it slamming into him had been enough to knock him unconscious and send him tumbling with his precious flag. He had thought Theodore Groves smarter than to do something so utterly foolish, but apparently a rash streak ran through him. Perhaps with some guidance it could be channeled into something more useful.
Barbossa spun around on his good leg and made for the stairs, his crutch firmly in his armpit to help support him. After trekking through the thick jungle, his stump was paining him more than usual. Jungles were not just made for people with bad legs, not with their thick vines that tried to trip one. Still, all in all he was well pleased with the results and it was well worth the pain he was suffering now. He carefully made his way down into the innards of his ship and into the room where his two injured officers were. By now they should be awake.
And to his pleasure they were.
“Gents, we have a new ship.” Captain Barbossa informed them with a wicked smile. “The Queen Anne’s Revenge. I claimed this ship from Blackbeard, after I won our duel. Now that be enough of sleeping. Up with the lot of ye and go attend yer duties.”
“Aye, Sir.” Groves and Gillette replied at the same time. They both rose to their feet, Gillette grimacing as his movement pulled on the stitches that ran across his back.
“Don’t go pulling them stitches out, Lt. Gillette.” Captain Barbossa warned him. “Watching the crew doesn’t require any fancy moves. There naught be a doctor on board, just so you know and I won’t be stitching ye up again.”
Gillette’s eyes grew wide at the fact that the captain had stitched him himself. “I’ll be careful, Sir. And thank you.”
Barbossa turned around and made his way back up towards the main deck, his two officers trailing behind him. Climbing the stairs was a slow process with the peg and the crutch, but he soon reached the outside air, which started to whip his scraggly brown hair about his face. The breeze was refreshing and he soon felt slightly better as he made his way towards the table and chair he had the men set up on the aft deck for him, the Captain’s cabin right behind him. Upon it sat fine dinnerware that he had liberated from Blackbeard’s cabin: a teacup and saucer, a teapot and a plate for his fruit. He sat down with a sigh of relief and propped his peg up onto a handy railing, as that seemed to make his leg feel better as raising it above heart level helped take the swelling down. And even thought it had been many months since he had lost his leg, the leg still had not made a total recovery at the location where it had been chopped.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Groves said as he stood near the Captain’s table with his hands behind his back. He had pulled his powdered wig out of his pocket where he had stuffed it earlier during the jungle trek and now it was on his head again along with his gold-trimmed tricorn. “May I acquire as to our destination?”
“Tortuga, Lieutenant, we’re going to Tortuga.”
“But Sir, with all due respect, Tortuga is a pirate port.”
“That as it may be, we be needing supplies and a doctor.” Barbossa reached for a piece of fruit that had been found in the ship’s galley, frowning at said fruit as it was a peach. Mangoes and peaches was all that had been found. He preferred apples and there were no green apples on board. “And as a former Pirate Lord, need I remind you I know Tortuga and can get some nice bargains there. Surely there be nothing wrong with that, err?”
Barbossa cleverly did not mention the fact that he had torn up the Letters of Marque from King George II and fully intended to go back to pirating. His two Navy men would find out soon enough. Perhaps they would make good pirates. Still, the table with the plate of fruit would remind them of the ill fated Providence and set them somewhat at ease.
“No, I suppose not, Sir.” Groves replied although he looked doubtful.
“A man can find anything in Tortuga.” Captain Barbossa grimaced at the peach, as it had been rotten inside from the insistent heat, and flung it violently over the side of the ship into the ocean. “And the first order of business when we get there is acquiring bushels of green apples.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Barbossa started the process of skinning a mango with his dagger. “I know a shop there that imports them from the far north, as that is where apples grow best.”
The ship was traveling incredibly fast thanks to the magical wind he had put into the sails with his new sword and he knew that soon they would be there. He could practically see the wonders already: the free-flowing rum, the warmth of big-bosomed girls and all of those green apples. Raising his eyes from the sticky fruit he was peeling, he gazed at his first officer. “Have ye never been there?”
“No, Sir. The Royal Navy does not dock there.” Groves replied firmly. He had also noted the state of the new crew they had: rough looking fellows that reminded him of pirates. But the crew of the HMS Providence were dead except for the three of them. He just hoped that the new crew would follow orders. Of course, the new ship seemed in a somewhat questionable state to him as well. While the deck was firm enough, the red sails were tattered and had numerous holes in them. But oddly enough, the ship was skimming the waves at a fast speed - it didn’t exactly make sense. And the dreadful colors on the sails, maroon and black haphazardly mixed together depending on how the light fell from above, it was like looking at a gaping wound or dried blood.
“Well, we be fixin’ that soon enough.” Barbossa took a bite of the mango, juice dripping down his chin into his beard. “And ye need not worry about ye crew. Pirates are not the unruly lot yer Royal Navy thinks they are. If we were, we would never have won the battle at the Maelstrom. We have our own rules called the Code. They’ll work hard enough.”
“I had been wondering about the crew…” Groves admitted as he glanced towards the main deck where the crew was. They seemed to be busy enough and to know what they were doing. His best friend, Gillette, had taken up a position near the wooden railing just a few feet away so he could observe the crew.
“Land Ho!” a voice ringed out from above.
“I can taste them apples already…” Barbossa said as he lowered his peg to the deck and stood, leaning heavily on his crutch. “Bring the ship to the dock and lower the gang plank. Then we’re going ashore.”
The Revenge was soon parked at an empty pier and the crew lowered the gangplank. Groves and Gillette looked uncertainly at each other about this new venture into pirate ports, but they followed their Captain down the deck towards the gangplank. They could already hear the raucous shouts coming from Tortuga and smell the rum on the breeze. The buildings looked rundown, as if a stiff wind would knock them over and the people didn’t appear in any better shape. Countless numbers were lazing about in drunken stupors and that was just what they saw from the deck of the ship. The innards of Tortuga were no doubt worst.
“I can just feel today is our lucky day…” Captain Barbossa was commenting as he hurried towards the waiting plank. He reached it and stepped onto the thick, sturdy board and was halfway down it, Groves and Gillette dutifully right behind him, when he came to a sudden stop.
“Captain Barbossa!” A loud voice called firmly.
“Why, if it isn’t Mrs. Turner!” A wide grin spread across Barbossa’s pockmarked face. “Fancy meetin’ ye here. Out enjoying yerself, are we?”
“Where’s Jack?”
“How would I know? Last I saw he was at the Fountain of Youth … somewhere. Ye know better than me how he is, traveling around on sea turtles and all. He could be anywhere by now. What is it ye be wanting with Jack?”
“Is this your ship?” Elizabeth asked him, her brown eyes going up to the Revenge. She could see it was a frigate and fully rigged as a battleship, something she could use at the moment. The presence of Norrington’s two lieutenants, Gillette and Groves, right behind Barbossa confused her for a moment but she allowed her eyes to dart past them up to the ship itself. The damaged sails reminded her of the Pearl when it had been under the curse of the Aztec coins and gave the ship an eerie presence. She figured Barbossa probably loved it, especially since the dark red color was like old dried blood.
“Why, yes it is! I just got it, actually. I’ll give ye a tour later if ye like.”
“We need to leave. Now.” Elizabeth said as she squeezed her way past Barbossa on the gangplank and came upon the two lieutenants who were both surprised to see her. She saw recognition light their eyes as they realized who she was: the late Governor’s daughter and the former fiancé of their late commanding officer. Too many of the people she knew and cared about were dying lately and she was glad to see that someone she knew from her old home was still alive.
Barbossa turned around, leaning on his crutch heavily. “Listen, Missy, I just got here and I not be leaving so soon. It be my ship.”
“King!” Elizabeth cried at him, smirking.
Barbossa grimaced and grumbled under his breath. “That Jack… I’ll kill him when I see him for voting you King! He’s spoiled you, carting you all over on the Pearl. And now cuz he naught have a ship, ye be doing it to me!”
“Oh, by the way, somebody destroyed Shipwreck City.” Elizabeth told him. “I thought you might want to know….”
With her statement dropped, Elizabeth squeezed past Gillette and Groves as she counted to three inside her head. She knew that by the time she reached “three” Barbossa would be running after her.
A roar came out of Barbossa’s lips and he surged back up the gangplank after her, his two lieutenants just barely managing to jump out of his way. “That be impossible! Nothing can destroy Shipwreck! It’s a fortress!”
“Well, I barely got out of there alive!” Elizabeth told him as she hurried inside the relative safety of the Captain’s cabin. She didn’t know who might be watching or who might have followed her. She had tried to throw off her pursuers by wearing one of the elaborate outfits from Sao Feng, hoping they wouldn’t recognize her. So far it seemed to be working, as no one had attacked her here. “I had to take the secret exit, the one that Teague showed me. The people attacking were using some odd weapons, something I’m not familiar with. It certainly wasn’t cannons and they got inside somehow…”
“That not be good…” Barbossa frowned at the unexpected news as he followed her into the cabin, his officers following him. “When did this happen?”
“About two months ago…” Elizabeth replied. “I barely made it here. It all looks the same out there.”
“That’s because ye never learned to navigate.” Barbossa narrowed his eyes. “How did ye find Tortuga if ye can’t navigate? Shipwreck isn’t exactly next door…”
“I trusted the sea to take me in the right direction and it did.” Elizabeth hefted the chest onto the table in Barbossa’s cabin and set it down carefully, staring at it. “I suppose this helped a bit…”
Barbossa was silent for a moment, eyeing the chest. He knew very well what was in it and he didn’t want to think about it. Not only was she the Pirate King, but she was married to the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Jones had often referred to himself as the sea and Barbossa figured that Will was the sea now. And as a pirate, he needed the sea on his side, not against him. That meant he had better help Elizabeth with whatever mess she had stepped into this time. “Aye, I reckon it did help. Always good having the sea on yer side.”
The room was silent for a moment.
“Tell ya what, Missy. I need to go buy some supplies and then we can leave, go do whatever needs doing.”
“Thank you, Captain Barbossa.”
“Ye be welcome to my cabin, of course, until we have one fixed up for ye. There should be some unused rooms on this ship.” Barbossa turned around and headed for the door, his wooden peg and crutch thumping loudly on the floor. Looking at Gillette, he issued his orders. “Stay with the ship. Make sure the crew loads the supplies when it arrives and stores it away securely.”
Gillette looked relieved he wouldn’t have to go see the unknown horrors of Tortuga. “Yes, Sir.”
TBC...
Author: Aquaseamage
Pairing: None really, Will/Elizabeth mentioned
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action Adventure
Characters: Elizabeth, Barbossa, Groves, Gillette, Jack, Gibbs, Scrum, etc
Spoiler Warnings: This is post-OST so please watch the movie first!
Disclaimer: the characters are not mine. They belong to Disney.
Synopsis: Post OST. Barbossa just got the Queen Anne’s Revenge and finds himself in service to the King again, except this time it’s the Pirate King on a new dangerous quest.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Captain Hector Barbossa stood on the deck of his new ship; the Queen Anne’s Revenge and couldn’t help grinning. The ship was everything he had dreamed it was and more. That and the magic sword more than made up for the hairy leg he had lost to Blackbeard. Never had he felt as intensely satisfied as when he had run his poisoned sword blade through Blackbeard’s body, killing the notorious pirate. The man had attacked him unjustly, taking the Pearl and kidnapping his crew. Worst, he had ignored the rules of Parley. Of course, he had made a name for himself, too. Captain Hector Barbossa, the pirate that had killed Blackbeard. It had a nice ring to it. Jack wasn’t the only one who could be famous.
Barbossa eyed the crew with narrowed blue eyes, seeing everything at once. The crew he had inherited from Blackbeard was the usual assortment of rough men that called themselves pirates. They were the deckhands, the cannon crews, the ones that climbed up into the rigging. They were dressed in torn and stained shirts, sported messy hair, etc. In other words, it was what he was used to. They didn’t care who was Captain of their ship and held no loyalty to Blackbeard, who had apparently treated them cruelly. The crew was busy now, their faces cheerful after hearing that their new destination would be Tortuga. They looked forward to the upcoming vacation of rum, brothels and all of the other pleasures that the pirate island offered those with coin. And by giving them this, Barbossa knew he had won them over partly. Trust, that would come later, but the fact that he had beat Blackbeard went a long way too.
But Blackbeard’s officers had been a different story. He would be a fool to accept them as his own, as they would be loyal to their former Captain. Besides the point was moot, as all of the zombie officers had died at the Fountain of Youth. He was glad of the fact, as the unnatural creatures only reminded him of his long cursed years among the undead.
Luckily, his own officers had survived the battle at the Fountain of Youth - not that they hadn’t tried to get themselves killed and at first he had thought that they had succeeded. They had both fallen and had been lying still, but he had remembered to check if they were still breathing. Normally pirates didn’t care about their fallen comrades, but with his leg paining him the way it was he needed someone to help him run the ship and the Revenge was a huge ship. And he had had no idea if any of Blackbeard’s deck crew were up for the jobs, that is, qualified to supervise and be his first mate. And so he had had the pirates carry his two unconscious Royal Navy officers back to the ship and take them below.
And that was when he discovered that Blackbeard had no doctor on his ship, as he preferred the voodoo zombie thing. Why heal people if you can just turn them into undying loyal zombies? Or steal more crewmembers from other ships, just as he had attacked the Pearl and made the ship’s rigging come alive only to attack them. Men were easy to replace most of the time.
And his own doctor had been killed in the battle with Blackbeard’s crew. The British Navy did like their doctors…
Luckily, his officers injuries were not life threatening. Second Officer Andrew Gillette had been hit in the back with a sword, his layers of uniform partly deflecting the blow. But the cut across his back was nasty and had bled a lot. With no doctor, Barbossa had been forced to stitch the wound up himself. Well, that wasn’t anything new. He was a pirate and as such had stitched up plenty of wounds. It should heal well but will leave a scar.
And as for his First Officer, that had been sheer stupidity waving the British flag at the Spanish and claiming the Fountain of Youth as English property. He had been practically begging to be shot, so it’s no surprise that some Spaniard had shot him. The lead shot had been partly deflected by one of the metal buttons on his uniform and then had hit the chest bone, the sternum. The force of it slamming into him had been enough to knock him unconscious and send him tumbling with his precious flag. He had thought Theodore Groves smarter than to do something so utterly foolish, but apparently a rash streak ran through him. Perhaps with some guidance it could be channeled into something more useful.
Barbossa spun around on his good leg and made for the stairs, his crutch firmly in his armpit to help support him. After trekking through the thick jungle, his stump was paining him more than usual. Jungles were not just made for people with bad legs, not with their thick vines that tried to trip one. Still, all in all he was well pleased with the results and it was well worth the pain he was suffering now. He carefully made his way down into the innards of his ship and into the room where his two injured officers were. By now they should be awake.
And to his pleasure they were.
“Gents, we have a new ship.” Captain Barbossa informed them with a wicked smile. “The Queen Anne’s Revenge. I claimed this ship from Blackbeard, after I won our duel. Now that be enough of sleeping. Up with the lot of ye and go attend yer duties.”
“Aye, Sir.” Groves and Gillette replied at the same time. They both rose to their feet, Gillette grimacing as his movement pulled on the stitches that ran across his back.
“Don’t go pulling them stitches out, Lt. Gillette.” Captain Barbossa warned him. “Watching the crew doesn’t require any fancy moves. There naught be a doctor on board, just so you know and I won’t be stitching ye up again.”
Gillette’s eyes grew wide at the fact that the captain had stitched him himself. “I’ll be careful, Sir. And thank you.”
Barbossa turned around and made his way back up towards the main deck, his two officers trailing behind him. Climbing the stairs was a slow process with the peg and the crutch, but he soon reached the outside air, which started to whip his scraggly brown hair about his face. The breeze was refreshing and he soon felt slightly better as he made his way towards the table and chair he had the men set up on the aft deck for him, the Captain’s cabin right behind him. Upon it sat fine dinnerware that he had liberated from Blackbeard’s cabin: a teacup and saucer, a teapot and a plate for his fruit. He sat down with a sigh of relief and propped his peg up onto a handy railing, as that seemed to make his leg feel better as raising it above heart level helped take the swelling down. And even thought it had been many months since he had lost his leg, the leg still had not made a total recovery at the location where it had been chopped.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Groves said as he stood near the Captain’s table with his hands behind his back. He had pulled his powdered wig out of his pocket where he had stuffed it earlier during the jungle trek and now it was on his head again along with his gold-trimmed tricorn. “May I acquire as to our destination?”
“Tortuga, Lieutenant, we’re going to Tortuga.”
“But Sir, with all due respect, Tortuga is a pirate port.”
“That as it may be, we be needing supplies and a doctor.” Barbossa reached for a piece of fruit that had been found in the ship’s galley, frowning at said fruit as it was a peach. Mangoes and peaches was all that had been found. He preferred apples and there were no green apples on board. “And as a former Pirate Lord, need I remind you I know Tortuga and can get some nice bargains there. Surely there be nothing wrong with that, err?”
Barbossa cleverly did not mention the fact that he had torn up the Letters of Marque from King George II and fully intended to go back to pirating. His two Navy men would find out soon enough. Perhaps they would make good pirates. Still, the table with the plate of fruit would remind them of the ill fated Providence and set them somewhat at ease.
“No, I suppose not, Sir.” Groves replied although he looked doubtful.
“A man can find anything in Tortuga.” Captain Barbossa grimaced at the peach, as it had been rotten inside from the insistent heat, and flung it violently over the side of the ship into the ocean. “And the first order of business when we get there is acquiring bushels of green apples.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Barbossa started the process of skinning a mango with his dagger. “I know a shop there that imports them from the far north, as that is where apples grow best.”
The ship was traveling incredibly fast thanks to the magical wind he had put into the sails with his new sword and he knew that soon they would be there. He could practically see the wonders already: the free-flowing rum, the warmth of big-bosomed girls and all of those green apples. Raising his eyes from the sticky fruit he was peeling, he gazed at his first officer. “Have ye never been there?”
“No, Sir. The Royal Navy does not dock there.” Groves replied firmly. He had also noted the state of the new crew they had: rough looking fellows that reminded him of pirates. But the crew of the HMS Providence were dead except for the three of them. He just hoped that the new crew would follow orders. Of course, the new ship seemed in a somewhat questionable state to him as well. While the deck was firm enough, the red sails were tattered and had numerous holes in them. But oddly enough, the ship was skimming the waves at a fast speed - it didn’t exactly make sense. And the dreadful colors on the sails, maroon and black haphazardly mixed together depending on how the light fell from above, it was like looking at a gaping wound or dried blood.
“Well, we be fixin’ that soon enough.” Barbossa took a bite of the mango, juice dripping down his chin into his beard. “And ye need not worry about ye crew. Pirates are not the unruly lot yer Royal Navy thinks they are. If we were, we would never have won the battle at the Maelstrom. We have our own rules called the Code. They’ll work hard enough.”
“I had been wondering about the crew…” Groves admitted as he glanced towards the main deck where the crew was. They seemed to be busy enough and to know what they were doing. His best friend, Gillette, had taken up a position near the wooden railing just a few feet away so he could observe the crew.
“Land Ho!” a voice ringed out from above.
“I can taste them apples already…” Barbossa said as he lowered his peg to the deck and stood, leaning heavily on his crutch. “Bring the ship to the dock and lower the gang plank. Then we’re going ashore.”
The Revenge was soon parked at an empty pier and the crew lowered the gangplank. Groves and Gillette looked uncertainly at each other about this new venture into pirate ports, but they followed their Captain down the deck towards the gangplank. They could already hear the raucous shouts coming from Tortuga and smell the rum on the breeze. The buildings looked rundown, as if a stiff wind would knock them over and the people didn’t appear in any better shape. Countless numbers were lazing about in drunken stupors and that was just what they saw from the deck of the ship. The innards of Tortuga were no doubt worst.
“I can just feel today is our lucky day…” Captain Barbossa was commenting as he hurried towards the waiting plank. He reached it and stepped onto the thick, sturdy board and was halfway down it, Groves and Gillette dutifully right behind him, when he came to a sudden stop.
“Captain Barbossa!” A loud voice called firmly.
“Why, if it isn’t Mrs. Turner!” A wide grin spread across Barbossa’s pockmarked face. “Fancy meetin’ ye here. Out enjoying yerself, are we?”
“Where’s Jack?”
“How would I know? Last I saw he was at the Fountain of Youth … somewhere. Ye know better than me how he is, traveling around on sea turtles and all. He could be anywhere by now. What is it ye be wanting with Jack?”
“Is this your ship?” Elizabeth asked him, her brown eyes going up to the Revenge. She could see it was a frigate and fully rigged as a battleship, something she could use at the moment. The presence of Norrington’s two lieutenants, Gillette and Groves, right behind Barbossa confused her for a moment but she allowed her eyes to dart past them up to the ship itself. The damaged sails reminded her of the Pearl when it had been under the curse of the Aztec coins and gave the ship an eerie presence. She figured Barbossa probably loved it, especially since the dark red color was like old dried blood.
“Why, yes it is! I just got it, actually. I’ll give ye a tour later if ye like.”
“We need to leave. Now.” Elizabeth said as she squeezed her way past Barbossa on the gangplank and came upon the two lieutenants who were both surprised to see her. She saw recognition light their eyes as they realized who she was: the late Governor’s daughter and the former fiancé of their late commanding officer. Too many of the people she knew and cared about were dying lately and she was glad to see that someone she knew from her old home was still alive.
Barbossa turned around, leaning on his crutch heavily. “Listen, Missy, I just got here and I not be leaving so soon. It be my ship.”
“King!” Elizabeth cried at him, smirking.
Barbossa grimaced and grumbled under his breath. “That Jack… I’ll kill him when I see him for voting you King! He’s spoiled you, carting you all over on the Pearl. And now cuz he naught have a ship, ye be doing it to me!”
“Oh, by the way, somebody destroyed Shipwreck City.” Elizabeth told him. “I thought you might want to know….”
With her statement dropped, Elizabeth squeezed past Gillette and Groves as she counted to three inside her head. She knew that by the time she reached “three” Barbossa would be running after her.
A roar came out of Barbossa’s lips and he surged back up the gangplank after her, his two lieutenants just barely managing to jump out of his way. “That be impossible! Nothing can destroy Shipwreck! It’s a fortress!”
“Well, I barely got out of there alive!” Elizabeth told him as she hurried inside the relative safety of the Captain’s cabin. She didn’t know who might be watching or who might have followed her. She had tried to throw off her pursuers by wearing one of the elaborate outfits from Sao Feng, hoping they wouldn’t recognize her. So far it seemed to be working, as no one had attacked her here. “I had to take the secret exit, the one that Teague showed me. The people attacking were using some odd weapons, something I’m not familiar with. It certainly wasn’t cannons and they got inside somehow…”
“That not be good…” Barbossa frowned at the unexpected news as he followed her into the cabin, his officers following him. “When did this happen?”
“About two months ago…” Elizabeth replied. “I barely made it here. It all looks the same out there.”
“That’s because ye never learned to navigate.” Barbossa narrowed his eyes. “How did ye find Tortuga if ye can’t navigate? Shipwreck isn’t exactly next door…”
“I trusted the sea to take me in the right direction and it did.” Elizabeth hefted the chest onto the table in Barbossa’s cabin and set it down carefully, staring at it. “I suppose this helped a bit…”
Barbossa was silent for a moment, eyeing the chest. He knew very well what was in it and he didn’t want to think about it. Not only was she the Pirate King, but she was married to the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Jones had often referred to himself as the sea and Barbossa figured that Will was the sea now. And as a pirate, he needed the sea on his side, not against him. That meant he had better help Elizabeth with whatever mess she had stepped into this time. “Aye, I reckon it did help. Always good having the sea on yer side.”
The room was silent for a moment.
“Tell ya what, Missy. I need to go buy some supplies and then we can leave, go do whatever needs doing.”
“Thank you, Captain Barbossa.”
“Ye be welcome to my cabin, of course, until we have one fixed up for ye. There should be some unused rooms on this ship.” Barbossa turned around and headed for the door, his wooden peg and crutch thumping loudly on the floor. Looking at Gillette, he issued his orders. “Stay with the ship. Make sure the crew loads the supplies when it arrives and stores it away securely.”
Gillette looked relieved he wouldn’t have to go see the unknown horrors of Tortuga. “Yes, Sir.”
TBC...