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"𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐓; mind the tide... don't touch my dirt," jack told pintel and ragetti, stripping off his coat and starting across the island.
bella, elizabeth, and norrington followed after him. soon enough, an abandoned bell tower came into view.
"i didn't expect anyone to be here," norrington said to bella.
"there's not," she answered plainly, at first unwilling to converse with him.
"you know this place?" he asked in disbelief.
"isla cruces," she began, turning around to him and demonstrating her vast knowledge. "being a pirate for the past year, i've heard no shortage of stories. the church came to the island, and brought salvation. . . and disease. . . and death. they say the priest had to bury everybody one by one. he went mad and hung himself."
"better mad with the rest of the world than sane alone," he replied, stone-cold.
bella stared into his eyes for a second, a little worried.
jack appeared next to her, breaking off their silence. "no fraternizing with the help, love," he stated.
bella turned to him, glanced back at norrington, then moved over to stand by jack. he gestured for norrington to move along.
"oh, no, after you, sir," norrington said sarcastically. jack grinned and pushed his shovel into norrington's hand.
bella gazed up at her pirate laughingly before they walked after elizabeth, hand in hand.
they reached a sandy clearing, and elizabeth started walking in circles. she glanced down at the compass, then back up to jack. bella flexed her jaw, irritated as she realized what that meant.
elizabeth shook the compass. "this doesn't work. and it certainly doesn't show you what you want most," she complained, sitting down on the sand.
jack walked over and looked at his compass. "yes, it does," he said. "you're sitting on it."
"beg pardon?"
jack shooed her away. "move." he whistled to norrington to start digging.
* * *
norrington suddenly hit something solid, making a noise. bella got up from her seat next to jack.
they all looked down into the hole.
it was the chest.
after they pulled it out, bella swept the sand off the wooden box. jack grabbed a shovel and broke open the lock. there were dozens of letters inside, but he dug through them and pulled out a smaller chest.
