The Cursed Doubloon

by B. T. Love

  “Tell ‘em Captain!” one of his men yelled out from the crowd.

  The ugly captain grunted. “They don’t be callin’ me Keelhaul fer no reason. My favorite thing be to throw a man off the bow of me ship and drag him along the rocks below until he be dead. It be a fittin’ punishment fer the likes of ye, don’t ye think?”

  I searched the eyes of my crew members, most of them aimed down at the ground. “We need to help him!” I shouted. “He’s going to kill Ladarius!”

  “We don’t be standin’ a chance,” one of the men spoke up. “We will surely be dead if we board their ship.”

  “But he is a part of this crew!” They stayed silent. I sighed heavily, releasing a puff of steam that floated into the cold air above me. My eyes followed its path and I gazed up at the stars in defeat. I tried desperately to rack my brain for a plan, anything that would get Ladarius away from that ruthless pirate, but I could come up with nothing.

  “Well Lad,” Keelhaul continued, “I think it be time fer yer punishment.”

  Without another word one of his men stepped forward and tied a rope around Ladarius’s ankles. “When should we be throwin’ him overboard, Captain? The ship not be movin’ yet.”

  Keelhaul grunted. “We be havin’ more business to attend to upon The Fog Chaser. As much as I be wantin’ to drag him along the hull, I’ll just have him thrown overboard fer now. A death by drownin’. We’ll pull him along after we be finishin’ our dealin’s here.”

  “Aye Captain.”

  The men cheered and lifted Ladarius above them. He squirmed hard against the ropes that were around his wrists and ankles but there was no use; he was trapped in the torrent of angry pirates.

  My eyes widened and filled with tears as I watched them carry the love of my life to the bow of the ship. I was at a loss of what to do. A single drop rolled down my cheek and left my skin, falling on my hand. It was then that I had an idea. “The pearl!” I took off down the ship and flew into my room, opening my bedside table drawer and pulling out Ladarius’s last pearl. “Where is my father?” I cried to myself.

  I left my room and looked back at Keelhaul’s ship, only to see Ladarius being held up on the ledge. He looked so graceful in the moonlight, with his hair covered over with his red bandana and his gold hoop earring catching the light of the flickering lanterns. Even though he was still gagged he seemed to be breathing easier now, as if he was accepting his fate. Keelhaul approached him and stood behind him, untying his gag and dropping it to the floor. Ladarius spoke, his words lost in a small gust of wind so I could not hear. Keelhaul thrust his hands out in front of him and with a solid blow to Ladarius’s back he pushed him over the front of the ship.

  “No!” I screamed. I ran across the deck to my father’s room and pushed open the door. There he was, sitting on his bed with the Cursed Doubloon in one hand and a pistol in his other. I didn’t expect to see him there.

  “Grace?” he yelled. “I thought you were a man! I could’ve shot ye!”

  “Father I need the doubloon, now!”

  “No!”

  “I need it for the pearl to save Ladarius. They threw him overboard!”

  “They threw him overboard?” The realization seemed to sadden his mood.

  “Yes! I need it! Now!” He pushed his hand out in front of him and without hesitation I placed the pearl on its dingy surface. “I wish Ladarius was safe!” Nothing happened. “I wish Ladarius was safe!” I yelled again. Still, nothing.

  “It must not be wantin’ to grant yer wish.”

  “No! It has to!”

  “Make another one!”

  “I, I don’t know what to wish for! We’re running out of time; Ladarius won’t be able to breathe underwater for . . .” As soon as the word left my mouth it hit me. Underwater. I knew what had to be done. I stared down at the pair of items once more. “I wish Ladarius was a merman.” In an instant the doubloon exploded with bright light, filling the room.

  “Did it work?” my father asked.

  Without giving him an answer I flew out of the room and went to the stern of our ship to the spot where Ladarius and I used to meet when he lived in the sea. “Ladarius!” I called over the side. It was silent. “Ladarius, please, answer me!” Nothing could be heard except for the men’s escalated cries at the bow of the ship. I looked out in front of me into the darkness, recognizing the wall of fog that was coming our way. The tears came again at that point, rolling ferociously down my cheeks with the realization that I was too late. I didn’t save him. “I’m so sorry Ladarius, I—”

  “Grace! Grace is that you?”

  I sucked in a breath, cranking my head down below to the water. In the fine light of the moon I could see the love of my life, with a cut on his forehead and a fin parting through his slicked-back hair. “Ladarius!” I cried. “You’re, you’re alive!”

  “Yes, my Grace. I assume it was you who turned me back into a merman?”

  “Yes, yes it was. I used your last pearl tear. Are you okay? You have a cut on your forehead.”

  “I’m fine. Once I changed back I was easily able to get out of the ropes that were binding me. Now Keelhaul’s crew is boarding your ship as we speak. You need to hide yourself; I do not want them finding out that you are a woman.”

  “But he will likely kill my father for the doubloon. I need to do something to fight and help protect him.”

  “You remember what I told you about these men, don’t you? You will be harmed! And I have no more pearls to use to save you if you need help.”

  My head was so clouded with thoughts. I almost lost Ladarius and now he was back and we were reunited, but I still had my father and the crew to think about. I didn’t know what to do next.

  “Jump off the ship and stay in the water with me; you’ll be safe.”

  “No, it’s much too high.”

  “Please, Grace. You need to do this.”

  “Ladarius, I love you. But I need to help my father. I am dressed like a pirate and I will stay hidden. Stay here and I will come back.”

  “Grace!”

  As I ran back to my father’s room I watched as countless men fought each other. The battle wasn’t over; Keelhaul wanted more than just revenge on Ladarius. I pushed through my father’s door and he jumped, raising his pistol.

  “My god, Grace! Ye startled me!”

  “Why did you do that Father?” I yelled.

  “Do what?”

  “Why did you let Ladarius be thrown over Keelhaul’s ship?”

  “What do ye mean?”

  “I know that you knew what they were doing with him. You knew they had captured him and had plans to harm him!”

  “And what was I to do, go out and let Keelhaul kill me instead?”

  “I don’t know but you could have done something!”

  “I had to protect me doubloon!”

  “Your doubloon, that’s all you care about! You don’t care about me or anyone else for that matter; just your tarnished old doubloon, Melody, and your hidden treasure!”

  “That not be true!”

  “Your men were out there,” I breathed heavily, trying hard to calm myself. “They were dying for you. Countless crew members were slashed to pieces while you sat in here on your bed and hid like a coward!”

  “I’m no coward!”

  “Then what are you?”

  “A cursed captain!”

  “I’m tired of your excuses! That doubloon will never let you remember where you hid your

  treasure!” Melody squawked in the corner of the room. “And I’m tired of you loving that bird more than you love me!” I trudged over to her and grabbed her off of her post.

  “What ye be doin’?” my father asked in a panic.

  “I’m trying to get you out of this mess!”

  I took off out of his room with Melody tucked under my arm.

  “Grace!” he yelled after me. “Don’t take me Melody!”

  Ten: Parley

  I held Melody above my
head and made my way through the crowd of battling pirates. One by one the men stopped fighting as I went up to the bow of the ship, their eyes spotting the colorful bird and treating her as if she were a weapon to be used against them. I tucked her under my arm and clamped down as she fluttered her wings. “Oh stop it you silly bird.” There was a gap between our two ships that I had to defeat. Most of the men had jumped back and forth but I decided to reach out for Keelhaul’s rope ladder and pull myself up the few rungs, especially since his ship loomed higher than our own. Once I was on board I stood and collected myself and repositioned Melody, only to be faced with one of the ugliest men I had ever seen in my entire life: Keelhaul Kelley.

  “A woman,” he smirked, his rough lips falling into a down-turned smile. The men around him gathered and peered closely at me.

  “I be no woman,” I replied huskily, hoping to pull off my charade of looking like a man.

  Keelhaul chuckled under his breath. “I be knowin’ a woman when I be seein’ one.” He stepped closer and raised his hand, placing it behind my head and pulling off my bandana. My long hair fell down around my shoulders. “Ye sure be one pretty man.”

  The crew laughed around him. “She be pretty alright,” one yelled. “I wouldn’t mind tyin’ her up and takin’ her down below fer me own pleasure.”

  Keelhaul nodded in agreement as the crew poked and prodded each other, amused with my presence. “Ye’ll have to be excusin’ me crew. A woman on board is a rarity.”

  I worked to regain my composure and ignore his closeness, but his milky eye peered eerily into mine. It was the strangest thing to observe and was terribly distracting, like some kind of orb of glass that could foresee the future. I was entranced by it.

  “So,” he hummed, “I notice ye have me bird. Are ye plannin’ on givin’ it back to me now?”

  “Yes,” I cleared my throat, returning my voice to its usual feminine tone. “But only if you turn your ship away and leave us.”

  The men all laughed in unison with Keelhaul. “Well, that be soundin’ like a fine plan.”

  My shoulders fell with relief but I stayed guarded. “Then that will be our condition: the bird for your departure.”

  He raised his hand and ran a rough finger down my cheek. “Oh, ye don’t be callin’ the shots here lass. I be requirin’ more than just the bird.”

  “Well, what else then? Weapons?”

  “No, no. The company of a woman such as yerself would do just fine.”

  “That’s not a part of the deal,” I choked out. “I am not a bargaining tool.”

  “Well,” he said, blowing out a puff of rum-scented air, “those be my conditions. Although, I’ll still be takin’ ye both anyway. I’ll plan to kill every man on yer ship before we go, includin’ the captain. He has a certain doubloon I’ve been after and I missed me chance to slaughter him for it once already.”

  “But that’s not fair!”

  His fingers wrapped around a lock of my hair and he yanked harshly, pulling me closer to him. “Fair? Ye want to be talkin’ fair with me? One of yer crew stole me bird! Does that be soundin’ fair?”

  “You’re hurting me!”

  “Good!”

  I pulled my leg up and kicked him as hard as I could in his knee, which did nothing but make him laugh. “You stole my father’s bird first!” I yelled.

  “Yer father’s bird?” he asked with a suck of air. “Ye be telling me yer Grog Blossom’s daughter?”

  Uh oh. That was a big mistake. Outing myself as my father’s daughter could not work in my favor. “No,” I lied. “He’s not my father. I just look at him as a father.”

  “Are ye lyin?” he asked, tugging my hair some more.

  “Parley!” my father’s voice called out.

  Keelhaul looked over at our ship. “Well look who it be,” he said, releasing my hair. “It be yer father.”

  I turned and watched as my father approached the side of his ship, the blanket of fog finally reaching us and rolling throughout the crowd of standing men. “I be requirin’ me daughter back, as well as me bird,” he said.

  Keelhaul laughed loudly into the air. “Really, ol’ Grog Blossom? Ye think ye can call the shots with me? I see now where yer daughter be gettin’ it from.”

  “It’s not a request; it’s a demand.”

  “And why would I be givin’ ye everything ye be wantin’? I can just as soon come over there meself and kill ye, becomin’ the rightly new owner of the Cursed Doubloon. In fact, that sounds like a fine plan. Then I can have yer doubloon, yer bird, and yer beautiful daughter.”

  My father laced his hands behind his back. He looked calm for the situation and seemed to be mulling something around in his mind. “I be hearin’ ye be runnin’ a rough crew, Keelhaul.”

  “The roughest,” he gloated.

  “I also be hearin’ ye don’t divide yer

  findin’s equally among them.”

  Keelhaul’s eyes narrowed. “My men are happy with whatever I be givin’ them.”

  “Is that true?” my father asked, speaking more to Keelhaul’s crew than to him.

  His crew stayed quiet, some of them glancing at each other and others looking down at the floor. “Me crew be satisfied with the way they be livin’. Now let’s be gettin’ back to business. I don’t really want to be draggin’ this out if I can be killin’ ye right now.”

  “I be havin’ another plan,” my father said. “And it be fer yer crew.”

  “Me crew?” he snarled.

  “Aye. If yer crew joins me ship I’ll be givin’ them an equal share in me treasure.”

  The men all whispered amongst themselves. “Ye mean the treasure of the Cursed Doubloon?” one shouted.

  “Aye.”

  They continued to talk, their whispers turning to shouts of excitement. Keelhaul looked around, scanning over them with his milky eye. “Mutiny!” he cried. “This be mutiny! I’ll be hangin’ ye all fer this!”

  “Do we have an accord?” my father asked.

  Keelhaul’s men rejoiced in unison. “Aye!”

  “Then I be orderin’ ye to kill yer former captain!”

  “No!” Keelhaul rebutted. He stuck his hands out if front of him to ward off his approaching crew. “I order ye all to stop!”

  “Yer not our captain anymore!” one yelled. The men circled around him and they drew their swords.

  “No!” he called again as one by one they sliced into him, killing him quickly. The only sound left was his blood curdling gurgles as he took his last breath.

  The men cheered and stomped the deck around Keelhaul’s body. I held Melody tightly under my armpit and descended the rope ladder down to make connection with my father’s ship. John met me and helped me on board. I flew over to my father and threw my arm around him. “Thank you, Father. You saved me.”

  He leaned in, still keeping his hands laced behind him. “It’s amazing what greed will make men do. And I’ll always be savin’ ye, Gracie.” I smiled and pulled away, handing him Melody. He took her and placed her up on his shoulder. “Hello, Melody,” he cooed while stroking the feathers on her neck. She leaned against the comfort of his finger. My father straightened. “John!” he called.

  John was at his side in seconds. “Yes, Captain?”

  My father’s eyes scanned along Keelhaul’s ship, surveying the rowdy crew that he recently acquired. “I want to ye to be killin’ all of Keelhaul’s crew. There be no room fer rapists on me ship.”

  “Aye,” John said with a solid nod before trudging away, gathering what was left of my father’s crew to take care of his order.

  I watched my father and noticed that his eyes were hooded with sadness, and I wondered what was going through his mind. He never was a captain who enjoyed killing a lot of men. His order surely had to be affecting him in some way. What surprised me most was that the cursed man that I knew him as saved me from Keelhaul. Yes, he could have made that deal to get Melody back. But after Keelhaul was dead he made an order that conti
nued to protect me from those ruthless men. He really did love me.

  “Father, I’m sorry about all the men you lost tonight.”

  “Aye. We will have to see to their bodies with proper respect.” His eyes fell to my shirt. “Is that the blood of an enemy pirate?”

  “Yes, it is. I killed a man tonight.”

  He grunted under his breath. “Good.”

  I cleared my throat. “Well, I’m going to find Ladarius. He surely is very worried about me.”

  He said nothing, but stared ahead at Keelhaul’s ship while his own crew boarded it to carry out his brutal command. Minutes later the men were caught off guard, surrounded by the pirates who I knew as my friends. I was thankful that the fog was growing thicker so I couldn’t see the bloodshed. Hearing their desperate screams was enough.

  When I reached the stern of the ship Ladarius was waiting in the water, though I could barely make out his form.

  “Grace!” he shouted up to me. “I’m so glad you are alive! I heard everything that happened. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help you!”

  “Yes I’m fine, my love. My father actually saved me.”

  “I know. What a fine man he is.”

  “I never thought I would hear you say those words,” I said with an exhausted smile.

  “Nor did I ever think I would say them.”

  I rested my face in the palms of my hands. “I can’t grasp everything that has just happened to me. It all happened so fast.”

  “Yes, it did. And now I am a merman and I can’t hold you in your bed and comfort you.”

  I raised my head and looked up through the fog at the blurry brightness of the moon. “Are you mad at me?”

  “Mad at you? For what?”

  “For turning you back?”