That little episode left me with hatred and fury at Pintel, but confusion and mixed emotions about Ragetti. As I slip into the fort, I see Jack being led into a prison cell. When I glide into the shadows to avoid being seen, he sees winks, and me as the heavy iron door slams shut with a grim formality. Immediately after the marching footsteps of the guards recede, I run to his cell. “Why are you not on the Black Pearl and cursed?” I ask. He laughs. “Are you concerned with my well-being, Storm? I was mutinied upon by my first mate, Barbossa. I was marooned on a tiny island with only a pistol and one shot.
“Ah, did you now? I’m assuming you escaped that little island by riding on some sea turtles you roped together to make a raft with your own hair off your back as the rope material, right?”
“That was quite a mouthful, missy, and yes, I did.”
“Why are you here, Jack?”
Silence
Great. He’s a real help.
I leave and see it is getting dark. I head to the palace before Governor Swann sends out a search party for me. I’d like to see my real father. I know who he is, and that he’s alive. I have some strange powers that I haven’t quite figured out how to use properly yet and I have no master in the ways of the sword. Not many people know my name yet, but they will soon. I long to be aboard a ship again, and I think my chance is near.
I hear cannon fire and know that they have arrived and that they will destroy everything and slaughter everyone until they find the last medallion, which Elizabeth has. Now, all I need to do is to tell Elizabeth to invoke the right of parley if she is caught and for me to get captured. Sounds easy, right?
I see the crew rowing to shore, so I run to the Blacksmith’s to grab my sword I asked Will to make me. I throw a bag of coins his way and rush to the palace, where I will wait for them to come to me. I see Elizabeth and tell her about the parley rule of the Pirate Code, and how she should invoke its right. We watch and wait. I see the flames spreading; hear the distant shouts of men calling others to arms, shrieks of the women and crying children. I smell the acrid cannon, gunpowder and pistol smoke rising from the town. I hear the roar of cannons, the blast of guns, and see buildings crumble. Suddenly Elizabeth sees a group of them coming up the path to the mansion. We run down the stairs and I see none other than Pintel and Ragetti burst through the door first.
I whirl and yell at Elizabeth’s now-fleeting figure to hide. I pull out my sword and turn back to the mob. Most of the gang spreads out to find any valuables, but those two see her run and are heading for the stairs where I am. “I’ve been waiting for this day for so long.” I growl at Pintel. My sword hums in my hands, eager for its first taste of blood. I had William use a special type of metal I melted down from enchanted coins and jewelry. (I’m not telling you where I got it.) This created a blade that was attuned to its owner, and the longer I had it, the better attuned it would become. I also added my own special enchantments to it, ones that would take my powers and amplify them. A few enchantments I put on it are: it would stay at a razor edge forever, that would make a ship rig herself and the wind will be in my favor, and the ability to create any storm I liked, at any strength I liked. It also took my emotions and made it so they were reflected upon the blade itself. Normally, it looks like standard cutlass, but with my fury, it looked like a blade modeled after a tongue of flame, the handle a blood red.
“Hello there, Poppet. Don’t know what you’re plannin’ on doin’ with that pretty sword, but it won’t hurt me. It’s a shame you’ve got to go. You’re the kind of girl I like.”
He cackled. Ragetti sniggered, and I shivered and gaped.
“You don’t remember me?! You raped me.”
My temper rose and my blade burst into flames.
“How can you not remember?! The night before you sailed and got yourself cursed. Do you not remember?!”
Ragetti’s eyes open so wide I think his wooden eye might fall out. “No. Pin, look, it is her. She’s just a little older. I told you that we’d be punished for that.” With that being said, he got down on his knees and prayed. A pirate, praying? I was confused. Did he not remember the kindness and the care he showed to me that night? “You’re an idiot.” Pintel said. “We’re not gonna get punished for that. We can’t die. She’s blocking the way to the medallion, so she’s got to go.” He turned to me. “Guess you’d better follow his example, Poppet.” A grin that showed all his rotten, foul teeth spread across his face. “And let me tell you I enjoyed that night!” I stepped back, nose wrinkling; totally repulsed, but realized that now was my chance. As Pintel raised his sword to strike, I countered with a lightning flash flick of my sword and shouted, “Parley!” He glared at me, then grabbed my arm and roughly led me upstairs. I wrenched free from his grasp and shuddered.
Ragetti, not knowing quite what to do, put a hand on my arm. “We wouldn’t want you to be escaping now, would we?” He said voice deep. I think that he was trying for scary or fierce, but I’m not so sure. Whatever it was, he was trying to impress Pintel. “Why would I want to escape after I invoked the right of parlay? In parlay, my attackers can do no harm to me until the parlay is complete.” I say. He nods, and then squeezes my arm. “Where’s the girl with the medallion?” he growls, loud enough so Pintel can hear. Startled, I squeak, “I don’t know.” He squeezes harder. “You told her to hide. You must know where she is hiding.” I laugh. “I’ve only been here one full day! I can’t possibly know all the passageways and halls and rooms!” “Liar!” says Pintel. “Stop stalling!” After a moment, Ragetti stammers, “I-I thought I saw her run up here,”
He seems scared to say that. I think he’s been bullied by Pintel, because he’s actually surprisingly intelligent, but whenever he shows it, Pintel tries to make him look stupid. And, apparently, whenever he gets something wrong, Pintel never lets him live it down. Pintel is only vaguely smart, but he is fairly knowledgeable in the ways of a pirate. He seems to know most of the rules. I suddenly realize that Ragetti is squeezing my arm harder and harder the farther up the stairs we go. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I tear my arm from his death grip and rub the red mark from his hand. “Ow!” He looks at me and says
“Sorry about that. I’m just kind of nervous.”
I laugh. “You obviously have no idea how to be a pirate, that’s for sure.”
“You’re right.”
“Well, tell you what. I’ll think about helping you be a real pirate, if you tell me why you and Pintel…did what you did that night.” My sword was no longer flaming, but it was still warm and humming only softly.
“Well, we were kind of drunk and Pintel wanted to have some fun. I don’t think that he had anything against you, it’s just because you were the only girl there. I thought it was a bad idea, but he made me come along anyway. I’ll tell you more a little later if you aren’t killed.”
On that cheerful note, we reached Elizabeth’s room and they started to break down the door. I stepped back, let them do their thing, and prayed that she remembers the parlay. They break down the door and I see her flee in a panic. I stand and watch them chase after her. I think that they have forgotten about me. I’m wondering if Barbossa will find out why I asked for parley. I only did it for a way to go back to pirating and a teeny bit of revenge. I just hope that these idiots don’t kill me before I can complete the parley.
