Arabella's P.O.V.

After a couple more days of sailing, the mountain of an island can be seen in the distance. A fog surrounded the island, miles off the shore. We heard a pirate shout out, naming the island.

Isla de Muerta.

The Black Pearl sailed through the fog; wreckage of ships passed the cabin windows. Elizabeth stared out the window, as I paced around the room.

"We need a plan," I muttered.

Elizabeth glanced my way.

"If we escape the pirates, how do we escape the island?"

I stopped pacing and sighed.

"I don't know..."

The doors opened and we turned to see four pirates walk in. Pintel and Ragetti were two of the pirates and the others I learned were Keith and Twigg.

"Time to go, poppet," Pintel spoke, all of them staring at her.

She slowly stood, then walked towards them. Keith and Twigg grabbed her by the arms and began to lead her out onto the deck. I began to follow, but was stopped at the doors.

"Captain only wants Miss Turner," Pintel told.

"I don't care," I sent him a withering look. "She's not going by herself."

He opened his mouth, but before any words could form I pushed past him and his friend. Lizzie was at the top of the stairs, when I made my way to it. As soon as I took the first step, Pintel and Ragetti grabbed my arms, hindering me from going any further.

"I'm going as well," I said loudly, gaining Barbossa's attention.

"Is that so?" He asked, smirking.

I nodded resolutely.

Barbossa was quiet, no doubt contemplating my joining them. After a moment, he nodded his head. With their captain's permission, Pintel and Ragetti led me up the stairs. I stood diagonally from Lizzie. Keith took two lengths of rope, giving one to Twigg, and our hands were bound. Once Lizzie's wrists were tied, she was turned around, and Barbossa came up behind her.

He gently pulled her hair away and tied the medallion around her neck. She kept her face neutral, but I knew, deep down, she was terrified.

So was I.

Soon, the long boats were readied, and everyone but two men climbed into the boats. As the boats were rowed to shore, Lizzie and I sat side by side in the same boat, while Barbossa was in the leading boat.

The boats were coming to large cave, which I assumed was the entrance. I began to hope and pray that help will arrive soon. Hopefully Commodore Norrington is close behind us.

Soon, the boats docked on the rocky shores of the cave. Twigg grabbed the rope keeping our hands tied, and dragged Lizzie and I out of the boat. We walked through the tunnels and arrived in a huge cavern. We gazed at the gold, silver, and anything of value littering the large cavern. The valuables were piled in separate mounds and the pirates added more treasure to them.

"Bella," Elizabeth hissed.

I turned to her, seeing that she was staring ahead of us. I followed her gaze and saw it. In the middle of the cavern, was a huge mound full of treasure, with Barbossa standing at the top, walking around a chest.

I knew that mound was the captain's share, but it wasn't the treasure that had my attention. It was a stone chest. The chest that Barbossa said holds 881 pieces of cursed Aztec gold. Since the pirates believed Elizabeth to be a Turner, they believed her blood is going to lift their curse.

I turned back to my friend. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide. I stretched my bound hands toward her and gently squeezed her arm. She gave me a grateful smile, just before we were pushed forward.

We reached the center of the room and the ropes tying our wrists were cut. With difficulty, we climbed to the top. Lizzie was instructed to stand behind the chest, while I stood beside it. Soon, the pirates gathered around and Barbossa began.

"The time has come!" He shouted. "Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near an end. For 10 years we've been tested and tried, and each man of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over, and a hundred times again."

The pirates shouted their agreements. Barbossa kicked the top of the chest off, prompting a flinch from us. He ran his hand over the gold.

"The cursed treasure of Cortez himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned," he picked up a few of the coins and dropped them in the chest.

"Save for this," he said, pointing at Elizabeth. "881 we found, but despaired of ever finding the last. Who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"

Together the pirates shouted.

"Us!"

"And whose blood must yet be paid?" Barbossa asked them.

"Hers!" The pirates shouted pointing at Elizabeth.

Soon, Barbossa was standing on Lizzie's right side and he made her to bend over the chest. He grabbed a knife out of the chest and held it up, as the pirates began to chant.

"Begun by blood," Barbossa spoke. "By blood undone."

Barbossa waited a couple minutes, before he ripped the medallion from Lizzie's neck. Grabbing her left hand, he placed the medallion in her palm, and made a long slit with the knife point. Blood immediately oozed into her palm

"That's it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Waste not," is all he said.

He closed her hand, soaking the medallion, as it hovered over the chest. Soon, the chanting stopped. Barbossa gripped her wrist, squeezing hard. Lizzie's hand opened and the medallion, coated in her blood, fell into the chest. Barbossa stepped away from us, as Lizzie checked her hand.

Silence had fallen over the cavern......

Till Keith spoke up a moment later.

"Did it work?" He asked, looking around.

"I don't feel no different," Ragetti spoke up.

"How do we to tell?" Pintel asked.

Barbossa took out his pistol and shot Pintel in the chest. He stood there frozen, everyone waiting for him to fall dead but he didn't. Pintel looked at the hole in his shirt.

"You're not dead," Keith pointed out.

"No," Pintel seemed a bit happy about it.

"The curse is still upon on us," Twigg stated, angrily.

Barbossa inspected the blood on the knife, before turning to Elizabeth.

"Your father, what was his name?" He asked, before grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Was your father William Turner?"

"No," Elizabeth replied.

"Where's his child?" He let go of her and grabbed the medallion, shaking it in her face. "The child that sailed from England eight years ago, the child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? Where is he?"

Elizabeth didn't make a sound. He back handed her, causing her to fall down the mound with the medallion. I turned, about to check on my friend, but before I could Barbossa turned to me.

"Where's the child of William Turner, Sparrow?" He asked me, pointing the knife at me.

"I don't know who you're talking about," I lied, grinding my teeth.

He dropped the knife in the chest and grabbed my arm, pulling me closer.

"You're lying."

Before I could try to lie again, his crew grabbed his attention. He kept a firm grip on my arm as he faced the pirates below us. Movement caught my attention and I glanced down the mound.

I had to fight the smile off my face as I saw Will surface. He swam closer and gently placed his hand over Lizzie's mouth, waking her up. As she grabbed the medallion, Will looked up at me, gesturing me to follow.

I spared a glance at Barbossa and the pirates, glad that I was practically invisible. I turned to my friends, watching as Lizzie quietly slipped into the deep water. They turned to me, gesturing me to follow, but I shook my head.

'I can't,' I mouthed, pointing to Barbossa's back. I waved my hand at them, 'Go.'

The two glanced at each other, before turning to me. I nodded, waving my hand at them to go. After a moment of hesitation, they ducked beneath the surface and disappeared.

"You brought us here for nothing!" Twigg shouted, bringing my attention back to the bickering pirates.

"I won't take questions or second guesses from you, Twigg," Barbossa bit back at the man.

"Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse," Keith growled at his captain.

"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!" Another pirate shouted.

As they continued to yell, I could see Will and Elizabeth in the back of the cave. They took one look at the commotion, sparing a glance my way, before they quietly ran for the exit.

"And it's you who brought us here the first time," Bo'sun drew his sword, stepping toward the mound.

Barbossa threw me down the mound and unsheathed his sword. I grunted in pain as I fell on the treasure, and came close to falling in the water. Thankfully only my arms, up to my elbows, got wet.

"I say we cut her throat and spill all her blood," Keith spoke as I climbed to my feet.

Screeching caught Barbossa's attention. I followed his gaze and saw the monkey pointing to the cave entrance. He turned to look behind the mound, no doubt discovering that Elizabeth was gone.

"The medallion!" He shouted, turning back to his crew. "She's taken it!"

With that, the pirates began running out of the cavern. I began to hope that Will and Lizzie made it out. Now I just have to find a way to escape.

Before I could dwell on an escape plan, a hand seized my arm and roughly turned me around.

"Where is she?" Barbossa asked, leaning close.

"Lizzie?" I questioned, playing dumb. "Last I saw she was unconscious behind the chest."

He growled and he began to pull me with him. Soon, a pirate stepped in front of us.

"Captain-"

"Did you find her?" Barbossa immediately asked.

I held my breath.

"No," I quietly sighed. "But we found someone else."

"Who?"

"Someone we thought was dead."

His brows furrowed for second before relaxing. He pushed me to the pirate, who grabbed my arm and followed the captain. Ahead, the pirates were gathered around and parted to let us in. Standing there, leaning on an oar, was none other than Jack, bringing a smile to my face.

"How did you get off that island?" Barbossa narrowed his eyes.

There was a beat of silence, all of us turning to Jack, before he spoke.

"When you marooned me on that forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate."

Silence fell once again.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he smiled, earning a quiet snort of laughter from me.

"I won't be making that mistake again," Barbossa spoke, walking closer to Jack.

He came to a stop and turned to his crew.

"You all remember Captain Jack Sparrow?" The pirates murmured 'ayes' and 'yeses'. "Kill him."

"No!" My shout went unheard.

As Barbossa walked away, his crew drew their pistols, pointing them at Jack. I struggled against the pirate holding me.

"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Jack asked.

Barbossa froze, as did the rest of us. I stared at my brother, trying to figure out exactly what he meant.

"Hold your fire!" Barbossa ordered.

A few groans came from his crew as they put their guns away. Barbossa came back, standing a few feet away from Jack, nodding his head.

"You know whose blood we need," he stated.

Jack smiled, confirming the man's suspicions. Then I realized, I hadn't thought about how Will got here.

He and Jack must've entered the cave together, but Jack is still here while Will and Lizzie are gone. Either Jack stayed behind because of me, or...

Before I could continue thinking, I was being dragged to the boats and pushed into one. Jack came over, after Twigg ripped the oar from him and joined me in the boat. Pintel and Ragetti along with Barbossa, who stood near the leading boat, stayed behind as the others began to search for the oars that had disappeared.

Jack placed his hand on my shoulder, giving me a gentle squeeze. Not caring about the other pirates, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Jack embraced me, patting my back.
—

Elizabeth's P. O. V.

Once we left the cavern, Will led me to the boats. He helped me into one, before quickly grabbing the oars to the other boats. When he was done, he placed the oars in our boat and climbed in, beginning to row away. A knot formed in my stomach as I glanced behind us, wanting to jump out of the boat and grab Bella.

Will must've noticed for he gently squeezed my right hand. In his eyes, I could see the guilt he felt for leaving Bella too.

As we made our way across the water, Will would drop an oar into the water. In the distance, I could make out a ship, and the closer we got, I was able to recognize the flag. With the fog starting to lift, I saw it was the Interceptor.

Soon, we arrived at the ship and Will helped me up the built-in ladder, then went back to throwing the oars in the water.

After climbing over the rail, I looked up, hoping to see naval officers and sailors, but I saw men and one woman, dressed in ragged, dirty clothing.

"Not more pirates," I breathed, staring at them.

One of them stepped forward.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Elizabeth," he smiled.

I know that voice, and that face...

"Mr. Gibbs?"

He turned to Will, who climbed over the railing and stood behind me.

"Where be Jack?" Mr. Gibbs asked.

"Jack Sparrow?" I turned to him. "Bella's brother?"

Will was quiet, before turning to Mr. Gibbs.

"He fell behind."

He turned me around and began to lead me below deck.

"Keep to the Code," I heard Mr. Gibbs shout, then the woman pirate began giving orders.

Below deck, Will and I sat at a table. Sunlight poured in through the boards above us, but not enough for us to see. Will laid out candles and lit them along with a few lanterns. As he was lighting them, I told him what happened the night Bella and I were taken. After finding a strip of cloth, Will sat across from me at the small table, and I took the cloth.

I began to bandage my left hand, as he began telling me how he got here, and why Jack agreed to help. Other than to save Bella.

"What sort of a man trade's a man's life for a ship?" I spat, aggressively wrapping the cloth around my hand.

"Pirate," he stated simply.

He suddenly reached out, gently taking my hands in his.

"Let me," he spoke softly.

I allowed Will to pull my hand closer to him and he wrapped the cloth around my palm.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Silence fell for a moment before Will spoke again.

"You said you gave Barbossa my name as yours," he looked up at me. "Why?"

Several reasons came to mind. One reason I could've gave was Anne saying they came to take me, since I was the Governor's daughter. The other reasons...

"I don't know..."

A sharp pain went through my hand. I gasped lightly, pulling my hand back.

"I'm sorry," Will apologized. "Blacksmith's hands, I know they're rough."

"They are, but..."

He glanced at me before returning his eyes to my hand. He gently tied a knot, keeping the cloth in place.

"But don't stop."

We stared into each other's eyes. I began to lean closer and Will leaned in too, cupping my cheek in his right hand.

"Elizabeth," he whispered.

I pulled back slightly, remembering something. I lightly grabbed his wrist, leading his hand to the chain around my neck.

To the medallion that belongs to him.

I grabbed the chain, lifting it slightly so he could see the smiling gold skull. Once it was in his hand, I tore the chain from my neck.

"It's yours."

Will fell silent, staring at the medallion. A small smile began to form on his lips.

"I thought I lost it the day I was rescued. My father sent it to me, it was a gift."

Another knot formed in my stomach upon hearing this. His smile vanished as he turned to me with wide eyes.

"Why did you take it?" His voice was thick.

"I was afraid you were a pirate," I said quietly. "And if my father or Norrington knew... It would've been awful."

Will glanced down at the medallion, before looking back at me.

"It was my father's blood they needed, not yours. My blood," he tightly clenched the medallion and lowered his head. "The blood of a pirate."

"Please forgive me, Will, I'm so sorry."

He slammed his hand onto the table, making a loud sound. Upset, and not knowing what else to say, I stood from the table and left.