Shadows, Sails and Pirate Tales

Dette was awoken to the sound of clattering metal on a wooden floor.

"You idiot! Captain'll kill us!"

Dette glanced over to the source of the noise and saw Pintel and Ragetti standing by a large metal bucket, and a rather large puddle. From what she could see, it appeared to be a puddle of filthy water - they must have been cleaning the floors again. Apparantly they were more like maids than crew members.

"What we gonna do?" Ragetti mumbled, glancing nervously up the stairs.

"Well, we bloody well ain't got time to do nothin'! Captain wants t' get goin'!" Pintel spat.

"We could, err, blame it on the little madam?" Ragetti asked nervously seeking approval.

"Actually, that ain't a bad plan!" Pintel said turning to grin at Dette.

"Right, well, if we say that she got in a temper and must've kicked it over while we were gone..."

Pintel and Ragetti carried on their discussion as they climbed the stairs.
Dette waited for a while, making sure that they were completely gone and stood up. She stuck her arm out of the cell, attempting to reach the bucket. When this tactic failed, she squeezed her upper half through and grabbed the bucket. Pulling the bucket back through she hid it in the cell. There was no way she being blamed for that mess.

"Can you fit through those bars lass?"

Dette turned around to meet Gibbs.

"Why- What do you mean?"

"Well, y'managed t' squeeze yer upper half through then, can y'get the rest through the bars?"

The idea clicking firmly in place in her head, Dette ran over to the cells, and squeezed through as far as she could. She got stuck around her hips - damn her figure. She glanced back at Gibbs.

"How can I get through any further?"

She heard a clatter and then a loud racket coming from behind her. The noise continued for a while, and then it suddenly stopped. Gibbs appeared by her side, holding a large flat piece of metal, which appeared to be the remains of the bucket.

"How did you-"

"I jumped on it a bit. Squeeze out."

Dette did as she was told and stepped back to allow Gibbs access to the bars. Pressed the bar again the bar and began to bash it; kicking, pushing, pulling. Slowly the metal bars began to inch apart. With every inch, Gibbs removed the metal and Dette tried to squeeze through. They didn't want too large a gap or else the difference would be noticed. As they worked Dette asked Gibbs if Will had returned.

"He hasn't lass. Barbossa will've taken 'im wherever they're goin'."

Dette frowned, hopefully he was okay. She'd already lost one sibling today.

After several trys, Dette managed to squeeze through.

"The keys should be hangin' in the Captain's office." Gibbs called to her.

She nodded and quickly walked toward the door. Sneaking up the stairs, she peeked around the corner, checking if the coast was clear to attempt to reach the captain's cabin. It was eerily quiet on deck. As she snook across to the cabin, she saw very few crew members. Those she saw were preoccupied with a gambling game at the rear of the ship.

Finally, Dette reached the captains cabin, and peeked through the window. When she was sure there was nobody within she tiptoed in, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door was firmly shut, she ran toward the desk, moving items around. There had to be spare keys somewhere. She found a pistol and a few daggers, and grabbed them - it would be good for the crew to be armed when they escaped.

Suddenly she heard footsteps and dived under the desk.

"I'm sure there was someone movin' in here."

"You idiot. There ain't nobody here, bet we've lost our bets since we went. Idiot. You knew those bleeders would rob us. Someone in here my arse."

The angry man left, but the other remained, once again glancing around the cabin. It was clear that he was too frightened to enter - obviously this cabin was out of bounds. After standing and watching for another few minutes, the pirate retreated returning to his game.
Dette sighed in relief and stood up. She knew she'd have to get out of the cabin soon, who knew when Barbossa would return.. or what he'd do if he found her in his office. She inched towards the door, but remembered she had yet to find the keys. She frantically scanned the room.

She noticed the keys hanging in the corner, and ran over and grabbed them. In her haste she knocked over a glass decanter and it fell to the floor with a large smash.
She heard a flurry of footsteps jumped out of the cabin window, landing on the decking behind.

"There! Told yer there was someone in there!"

"Where's the bleeder?"

"Quick, check around, he's gotta be here somewhere!"

"Someone check around back!"

After hearing the last comment Dette climbed on top of the cabin, Lying flat to avoid notice. A dirty pirate walked around the back, sword raised anticipating an attack. Luckily Dette was shrouded by shadows, and the pirate didn't notice her.

"Nobody 'ere." he called as he returned to the front.

Dette quietly jumped down and shuffled away from the cabin in the shadows. It seemed like hours when she finally returned to the cell. She shoved a key in the lock, but it was unsuccessful. She could hear footsteps coming toward the cells. Frantically shoving another key in the lock, she twisted and it clicked. She dived inside shutting the door behind her and in her rush, Dette didn;t notice the keys falling from her hands and sliding away across the cabin floor.

Two pirates walked down the stairs and eyed the crew beadily. As they turned to leave, Gibbs flung the door open, knocking the two men unconscious as they fell to the floor.

"Gibbs!" Dette called, throwing a dagger to him.

He caught it and moved toward the door. She passed the remaining daggers to the crew.
Those who did not take a dagger grabbed objects which could be used - a mop, a broom and the crushed metal bucket. Dette held on to the pistol as they went to leave the cabin.

Now, it was time to save Jack.

The pirates sprinted towards the captives and the battle began. The clattering of swords was heard from every side as Dette ran towards the crews quarters. She burst in, finding it empty and grabbed all the swords she could hold.

As she rejoined the battle, she threw the swords to her companions. She swiped at a pirate attacking Gibbs from behind. The pirate jumped to avoid her blow, and slipped on a net, falling over the side of the boat and landing in the water with a large splash.

The battle looked like it would be won, when the moonlight shone and the pirates turned to skeletal figures.

“What's happening?” Dette cried at Gibbs.

“A curse!” he replied.

The captives were slowly getting tired, but the pirates were still sprightly – the blows did not hurt them.

“They can't be killed!” Anamaria yelled.

Soon the battle ended and the captives were returned to the cell. A dirty looking pirate noticed the keys lying on the floor of the cell and picked them up, grinning at the crew. The cabin door slammed shut behind them and cackles of laughter were heard from up top.

“How are we supposed to escape now?” Anamaria yelled, kicking the bench.

“I don't know..” Dette mumbled.

Her thoughts drifted to Will, Jack, Elizabeth. Were they okay? Were they still alive? She dropped her head into her hands. There was no escape. They were trapped.