Wings of a Sparrow

Masterpiece

A man can only go through so much. It wasn't uncommon to see a pirate who'd gone through the wringer while captive upon a rival Captain's vessel, and none were more ruthless than the pirate lords of the day. That being said, the captured inhabitants of the Interceptor knew, even Will and Elizabeth knew, that Jack Sparrow had probably gotten his ass handed to him while aboard the Pearl. In fact, they were counting on seeing at least a limp. But they forgot to factor in one key item: Barbossa was more ruthless than most. And he was out for Jack's blood.

Not one person was prepared for Barbossa's masterpiece. Barbossa whistled, and motioned for it to be brought forward. No one uttered a word. They couldn't, for there were no words to describe the atrocity placed before them. They all just stood, mouths agape, as Captain Jack Sparrow was thrown to the deck before them. Or, rather, what was left of him.

There seemed to be no patch of skin that remained untouched. His back was heavily flogged and small bits of skin all over his body appeared to be flayed off, and not delicately either. The goal of the crew was apparently to see how much of Jack they could take without him dying of blood loss or infection. His right hand was missing the tip of his index finger and his left was missing nearly half his pinky, not to mention the left index being obviously broken. His boots were gone, leaving the cut up soles of his feet and his two broken toes in full view. The bottoms of his pants were cut away, showing the lashes they dealt to his calves as well. These, along with countless bruising and god knows how much internal bleeding was only the outer damage. Who knew what they had done to his mind?

After Jack had been thrown to the deck, Barbossa spread his hands and smiled. "You see, dearie, I've no need to take blood from a lass as fine as yerself. As I said, I've enough to keep me occupied for the foreseeable future." At this, Jack slowly began to lift his head. He got about five inches off the deck before letting out a guttural cough, a spurt of blood coming out of his mouth and his head once again dropping to the wood. Of all things, this invoked a laugh from Barbossa. "Well, as long as he's alive anyway."

This sprung Cora into action. She whirled on her captor, jabbing him in the stomach and grabbing his pistol. She then grabbed Will by the cuff of his shirt and dragged him to the edge of the vessel, all the while holding the pistol to his temple. "That's quite enough, you sorry excuse for a pirate." she growled.

For a moment, the crew of the Black Pearl was shocked silent. Then, uproarious laughter. After a few moments, Barbossa bellowed, "What be in your head, girl?"

"I said. That's quite enough. His wounds need to be addressed. NOW." Cora snarled, digging the pistol deeper into Will's temple, causing him to yelp.

"Cora, what the bloody hell are you doing?" he yelled.

"Shut up, you idiot, it's a matter of leverage!" Cora hissed.

"Lass, what leverage could you possibly hold over me damned soul? You've got one shot, we can't die, and I care nothin' for the swine you're holding." Barbossa interjected.

Cora smiled grimly. "No. You can't die. But he can." She elbowed him in the side, raised an eyebrow to him, and continued. "This is the only living child of Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs through this swine's veins. On my word, do as I say or you will never be free of your curse."

The crew of the Pearl began to murmur among themselves, shocked at the way the tables turned on their Captain. "It's true! He's the spittin' image of old Bootstrap. A curse on him, and you!"

"Enough of this!" Barbossa bellowed. He narrowed his eyes at Cora. "Name yer terms."

Cora smirked. "That's what I thought. You heard me the first time. Tend to Captain Sparrow before he bleeds out. Then you are to turn this vessel around and sail for Tortuga. The crew and Elizabeth will be released there, with no harm done to them. No harm shall come to Elizabeth either."

"I'm no fool, lass. Ye don't expect me to let you or Jack go at Tortuga, do ye?"

Cora laughed loudly. "Of course not. I'm the one that defied the great Hector Barbossa. Jack and I will remain in the brig, as long as Captain Sparrow is no longer harmed and you'll all keep your grimey hands off of me. We have an accord?"

At this, Jack found his strength. He slowly lifted his head and leaned on his less gashed right forearm. "Cora... wait... can't... trust... " he wheezed out.

Cora let Will go and dropped the gun. She went to Jack's side and started to help him to his feet, him leaning heavily on her. "Jack, don't you think I know we can't trust them? We really don't have many other options. Why do you think I was so specific in instruction?" she whispered in his ear. She turned to Barbossa. "Take me to whatever infirmary you have." She commanded. "Now!"