The Older Swann

Chapter 4

The fat and skinny pirayes walked into our room. "You'll be dinin' with the captain. And he requests you wear this." The fat pirate said. "Well, you may tell the captain that we are disinclined to acquiesce to his request." I said. "He said you'd say that. He also said if that be the case, you'll be dinin' with the crew...and you'll be naked." The fat pirate said. I grabbed the two dresses. "Fine." The fat pirate said.

We changed into the two dresses that were black and red respectively. We started to eat daintily like we were taught. Barbossa said "There's no need to stand on ceremony, nor call to impress anyone. You must be hungry." Elizabeth then dug in to the pork but I was still cautious. Barbossa then poured wine and gave us each a goblet. "Try the wine. And the apples?" He offered us both apples. "One of those next."
"Don't. It's poisoned." I said.
"There would be no sense to be killing ye, Miss Turner ." Barbossa said.
"Then release us, you have your trinket; We're of no further value to you." Elizabeth said.
"You don't know what this is, do ye?" Barbossa said holding the medallion.
"It's a pirate medallion." I said.
"This is Aztec gold... one of 882 identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortés himself. Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies. But the greed of Cortés was insatiable. So the heathen gods placed upon the gold...a terrible curse. Any mortal that removes but a single piece from that stone chest shall be punished for eternity." Barbossa said.
"We hardly believe in ghost stories anymore, Captain Barbossa ." I said.

"That's exactly what I thought when we were first told the tale. Buried on an Island of Dead what cannot be found except for those who know where it is. Find it, we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize...the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner . Compelled by greed, we were, but now we are consumed by it." Barbossa said

I slid my butter knife into my napkin as Barbossa spoke. "There is one way we can end our curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to ye, we have the final piece."
"And the blood to be repaid?" Elizabeth asked.
"That's why there's no sense to be killin' ye...yet." Barbossa said as he offered us two apples. "Apple?" He asked. I grabbed the knife and stabbed it straight through his heart. He pulled it straight out but now it was covered with what looked like blood. "I'm curious - after killin' me what was it you plannin' on doing next?" He asked. I grabbed Elizabeth and we ran out onto the deck. We saw the crew members as decaying skeletons. We tried running but there were more of them. We ran to under the stairs but the monkey dropped down and screamed one of his human-like screams.

We tried to run back into the Captains Quarters but Barbossa caught us and said, "Look! The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living, and so we cannot die, but neither are we dead. For too long I've been parched with thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing - not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea, nor the warmth of a woman's flesh." He stepped out into the moonlight and turned into a decomposing skeleton too. Then he said, "You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner . You're in one!" We ran through to where we were staying and we both hid.

"I miss dad!" Elizabeth said.
" I miss Norrington. I hope he is trying to find us right now." I said.
"Do you love Norrington?" Elizabeth asked.
"Of course I do, Elizabeth." I said.

I don't think we made port very often but Elizabeth and I were taken good care of and treated very well. After a few days the fat pirate who by now I had discovered was named Pintel, came into our room and said "Time to go, Poppet." Barbossa latched the medallion around Elizabeth's neck and most of the pirates got into boats and started toward a cave on what I could only assume was the Isla de Muerta from what I had heard the crew talking about.