A Curse?

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After I had hidden under the bench, and I was at least somewhat certain that nobody would find me, I looked back at Sparrow, who had a worried look on his face. He glanced me a look as if to tell me to 'shut up' so I did so, and calmed my breathing.

I wondered if Sparrow knew these people, would they help him escape?

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and I saw a man fall down the stairs, a dead man, wearing a red and white uniform. This was followed by two men shouting and bumping into each other as the came down the stairs. They were armed with swords and one had a gun. I prayed that they wouldn't find me, I wasn't meant to be here in the first place.

"This aint the armory!" one of the men yelled to another, even though they were right next to each other.

One of the men took a few small steps in the direction of Sparrows' cell.

"Well, well, well, look what we 'ave 'ere Twigg," he grinned, the other man of course being Twigg.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," he continued to mock.

I had a perfect view of the interaction. Sparrow sat with his arms through the bars, as the man spat on his hand. How disgusting.

Sparrow raised an eyebrow, wiping it off before turning his attention back to the two men.

"Last time I saw you, ye were all alone, on a god forsaken island, shrinking into the distance," Twigg snarled.

What? These men had known Sparrow, and something had obviously happened between them, they knew each other and didn't seem to be the best of friends. Who am I kidding, they're pirates.

"His fortunes aren't improved much," he continued, laughing at him.

Now it was Sparrows turn to speak up.

"Worry about your own fortunes gentlemen, the deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers, and mutineers,"

Now it was beginning to make more sense, these men must have been a part of a mutiny against Sparrow, which would make him their former Captain.

To my utter surprise, the man next to Twigg lunged his arm through the cell bars and grasped Sparrows' neck. I let out a small gasp, which I prayed nobody heard, but clearly Sparrow did, as he shot me a quick and subtle glare.

The mans arm was skeletal, decaying flesh hung from it loosely, and tattered clothing covered its upper arm. The bones were a grim off-white colour and looked as if they were coated in a thin layer of slime.

Sparrow looked at it in realisation and interest. He looked back into the mans eyes.

"So there is a curse, that's interesting,"

"You know nothing of hell," the man glared before aggressively pushing the Captain back to the cell and walking off. Sparrow looked back at them in deep thought.

"That's very interesting," he muttered to himself.

I was now breathing heavily. A curse? Like in the fairy tales that I was told as a child? I knew that it was no lie; I had seen the mans arm.

Sparrow looked at me under the bench, he seemed annoyed and bored.

"Almost got yourself caught there lass," he sighed. I emerged from hiding and stood before his cell once more.

"What?"

"That little gasp, don't think it went unnoticed,"

"If you expect me to see that happen to someone's arm, unaware of the supernatural, and not to be at least the smallest bit surprised..."

"Calm down lass, it's over and done with now," he spoke, sitting back down and once again putting his hat over his head.

"So what was it?" I asked.

"What was what?" he asked frustrated.

"The 'curse' the 'God forsaken island,' the whole conversation," I recalled.

He sighed and sunk against the wall even more.

"It's gettin' late love, shouldn't you be gettin' to bed, ye father will be worried I imagine, with the cannons an' all,"

"I'll be fine, my Father can wait,"

"Well, I myself am getting a little drowsy so I'd appreciate some piece and quiet,"

"But you're to be hanged tomorrow! I've tried everything that I can to prevent it! My Father just uses 'He's a Pirate' and 'He threatened you' as an excuse,"

"Don't worry love, I'll be fine as always," he grinned.

"Mr Sparrow?"

"Call me Jack love," he responded.. He still had his hat over his eyes and wasn't facing me, it was difficult to talk to him.

"Would you actually have shot me Jack?" I almost whispered. I had hoped that this man wasn't as bad as my Father had perceived him, and that I was right not to feel threatened.

This caught his attention as he sprung from his sitting position and put his hat back on his head properly. He came up to the bars and began to talk to me, finally.

"No love, I merely used you to escape, savvy?"

"Savvy?" I asked, what does that mean? I had never heard of this word, most of my vocabulary was proper English because that's what my Father wanted.

"What?" he asked, seemingly appalled.

"What does savvy mean?"

His jaw dropped slightly and he looked at me disapprovingly.

"Savvy means to understand, or, do you understand, savvy?"

"Savvy," I grinned and he smiled, lying on the floor in the middle of the cell, resting his head on some hay once more, as if he would need a pillow with that head of hair.

I sat on a bench outside his cell, thinking to myself, there would be no point in me going back home now, Father would be worried and I couldn't deal with that right now. Elizabeth would be wanting to know where I was, it would just be better to go back when it became noon. I could see daylight outside so obviously it had been at least a few hours since the men had left the cell. Jack was humming to himself.

"Am I of an annoyance to you?" I asked, if I was then I would go. He looked up at me.

"Not at all love, it's nice to have company,"

"I will try my best to stop you from facing the noose, I promise,"

"If I may be so bold to ask, Miss Hazel, why do you care so much what happens to me, are you not brought up to hate people like me?"

"You saved my life, and I do not believe that what you are doing is wrong, wanting to live shouldn't be a crime, I am forced to stay here, I may even be forced to marry Norrington at this point," I sighed.

"The Commodore?" Jack furrowed his brows.

"Yes, he was about to propose yesterday before I fainted and fell off the fort wall," I recalled.

"I see, and you don't want to marry him?"

"Not my type, and I want to live a little first, before I'm tied to a man that I don't love forever,"

"I'm sorry love, I wish the best for you,"

"You're the one with the problem at hand, you could die after noon!"

He didn't say anything and only smirked, a smirk that I had picked up on in the short time I had known him.

"Lass, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, I'll always find a way to escape.

I nodded and began to daydream again, until I heard the creaking and opening of a door. It couldn't be the guards, could it? It was too early for his hanging, especially after the attack last night. They should be far to busy to hang a man that is of no current threat.

I heard the footsteps of someone running downstairs and before I knew it, Will turned the corner.

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