The Sacrifice of Love

~26~

Enid could still remember the look of fear on Davy Jones' face when she told him of her discovery. "Will Turner is now captain of the Flying Dutchman, and his son intends on breaking his curse with the Trident of Poseidon," she had announced when she returned to the coral reef the day before.

"I cannot allow you to do this alone, Enid! It is too dangerous, and I already know that Jack Sparrow will somehow be involved!" Jones had argued. "I do not have a choice - it is my duty! If the trident were to be stolen, or worse yet broken, you would be trapped underwater and drown!"

Enid closed her eyes at that sinister thought, and she glanced over her shoulder. She had left the coral reef almost at once and began her travel through the ocean in search of the sought-out trident. "Whatever happens, my love, please...remain on land until I return," she had told her husband.

"Only if you promise to return..." Enid squeezed her eyes shut when she felt the faint, familiar sting of tears, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. I am the keeper of the sea and loyal to these waters - I must keep the peace and keep the ones I love safe, she told herself. 

The sound of cannon fire made her come to a stop in her swim, and she looked up to the surface to see the flames and explosions. What? She swam up for the surface and burst through the water, her wings carrying her into the air, but she immediately gasped at what she saw.

There was a mangled, severed ship with scattered blue souls desperate to claw their way towards the woman. Each piece of debris was ablaze, and the culprit had already begun to sail away from the wreckage. What is this?

She flew over the desperate souls, biting her lip to prevent the scream from erupting from within her, and she soared over to the tattered looking ship. The sails were torn, the hull had dozens of holes littered about, and the crewmen did not glow their usual blue, for she could smell the stench of death.

Undead pirates...well that's a first for me, she told herself. With a sigh she turned back towards the shipwreck and opened her arms, as well as her wings, and she finally let the tears fall as the souls made their way towards her.

~~~~

It had taken Enid two more days to cross the open sea in search of the Trident of Poseidon, and with each day she had found more and more massacred ships. She had managed to fly close enough to the ghostly ship to see the dismembered ghost crew and the blood-thirsty captain she heard a crewman call Salazar.

These men will be released from their curses if the trident is found. I will have no choice but to face them and lay them to rest before that, to ensure that they will never sail the sea again. After two long days of travel, Enid spotted a glittering island in the distance that stirred an instinctual urge within her - the siren within her.

This must be it - Poseidon's Tomb. As she flew closer to the island, however, she could see one ship was already docked. Oh Gods, I can't be too late! With a battle cry Enid propelled forward through the air, her arms outstretched towards the three pirates that had set foot on the island. 

Had it not been for the familiar ghost ship that she saw was also at the island, although turned away and floating off, she would have snatched those pirates right up from the ground. She heard a terrified shriek come from one of the three pirates as she flew over them, and she looked down. 

"Banshee! Banshee woman!" a voice yelled out. Oh...my...God. Below her, cowering in fear behind the only female present, was Jack Sparrow, and at his side Hector Barbossa. Enid rolled her eyes and circled around the island, slowly lowering herself down. 

"What on earth is that?! F-first ghost pirates, and now winged people?!" the woman cried out fearfully, shoving Sparrow away from her. "Ye be not be afraid, lass," Barbossa reassured her. Enid folded her wings against her back as she approached the trio, her gaze flickering out towards the ghost ship. 

"Why am I not surprised - you are the ones in search of the Trident?" she asked them curtly. Jack Sparrow staggered to his feet and took a few steps away from her. "Are you going to try and kill us again?" he slurred out, stumbling a little in place. 

Enid scrunched her nose up in disgust at the man's actions and crossed her arms. "No, I'm not, you pathetic drunk," she growled. Her gaze settled on Barbossa, and she sent the man a polite nod. "But I am goddess of the sea, and it is my duty to bring peace to my waters." 

She pointed towards the ghost ship and shook her head. "And they are the reason for my recent imbalance." The woman looked from Jack to Barbossa, the fear in her eyes not once leaving as she gazed over Enid's black wings. 

"Who is this woman? She doesn't look like any form of god I've heard of," she asked. Enid lifted her chin proudly, her wings fluttering once and making the woman shift uncomfortably. "You should spend more time at sea then, child, haven't these pirates taught you anything?" she sneered.

Barbossa then tensed at the goddess's words, which didn't go unnoticed by Enid. She sent him a narrow-eyed stare, but the captain merely turned away. "My name is Enid, though the sailors call me Calypso, for I am the goddess of the sea," she said with a curtsey. 

"I can assure you I mean you know harm, and I only wish to aid you in ridding the seas of these ghost pirates," she told them honestly. The woman's eyes then brightened in both shock and awe, and her fear was soon replaced with hope. 

"I am Carina Smyth. Our friend was trying to find the Trident to free his father, and those pirates have him on their ship. Captain Salazar is out to kill us all," she explained. Enid blinked once and turned to look at Jack, who merely shrugged a shoulder.

"Don't look at me, everyone wants to kill me," he muttered carelessly. "As darling of a reunion as this is, we have a Trident that be needing findin'," Barbossa interrupted, nudging the woman, Carina. She then led the way, with Jack following closely and Enid and Barbossa trailing behind.

The woman looked up to the old pirate captain and arched a brow curiously. "The girl looks rather familiar, don't you think?" she asked him innocently. Barbossa let out a grunt and frowned, shuffling along as he tried to keep up.

"A bright, young lass she is, and be nothing more," he grumbled, nearly tripping. Enid glanced down and eyed the dazzling peg leg the captain adorned, and she pursed her lips. She looped one arm around the captain's and held his forearm with her other hand, stabilizing him.

Barbossa hummed and turned away in embarrassment at her gesture, but Enid simply brushed it off. "Well...how has the sea treated you all these years, lass?" he asked her somewhat awkwardly. Enid looked forward towards Jack and Carina, then out towards the sea and the ghost ship.

"Not much has changed, truth be told, except for the level of responsibilities I must now fulfill," she said with a small chuckle that Barbossa mimicked. Enid then looked down and took a deep breath, her thoughts wandering back to her home.

"I do have a husband now, a man turned siren. But I fear that if the Trident is to be broken, he will return to being a man," she said quietly. "Who be this man?" Barbossa asked, placing his hand on hers. Enid looked up at him from the corner of her eye, and she saw the genuine look on the pirate's face.

"Davy Jones." She noticed Jack falter in his steps once she spoke her husband's name, but the stumbling pirate didn't comment or look back. Enid lowered her gaze once more and let out another long sigh. "Perhaps it would be for the best, gods know the sea has tortured him enough," she muttered.

Barbossa stayed silent and slowed, and Enid looked up to see Carina had stopped as well. "We do what we must to protect the ones we love, lass. T'is the way of life," he told her. Enid arched her brow again and followed his gaze, which was settled on Carina. Ah...no wonder she is familiar.