Rosalind|| A Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic

Chapter 53: Monster

And so, Rosalind, Paul and Garrick made their way to the decks of the HMS Endeavour, only to be greeted with the slimy, cunning smile of Lord Cutler Beckett.

"Right, spit it out. What do you want from me? You want to burn the crest of a pirate into my arm?" Rosalind yanked the sleeves of her jacket and shirt up to her elbows, exposing the golden skin to the small man stood in front of her. "Here. Made it nice and easy for ya." Rosalind's lips were curled into an evil smile, and she could sense the urgent, pleading looks of Paul and Garrick standing at either side of her, but her eyes were trained on Beckett and his challenging gaze.

"I'm not here to brand you, Miss Ricci. I am only here to ask one very simple question."
Rosalind shifted her sleeves down then, dismayed at the poor reception of her stunt. Nevertheless, she rolled her eyes and dropped one hip.
"Shoot. Give me your best."
"What are you and your crew doing here?"
Another smug smile stretched across her features.
"W-well you asked us to come over, Beckett."
Beckett rolled his eyes then, sighing as he did so. He had not heard many stories of The Burning Rose and it's captain, but they were stories nonetheless. In fact, he hardly knew what to expect from the famed Rosalind Ricci, and so to be greeted with only smugness and cheek was something he was sorely prepared for. All Beckett knew of Rosalind, was that she had managed to cleverly evade capture from the East India Trading Company time and time again. Whether it was her smarts, or mere finesse at sailing a ship, he did not know. But to finally track her down and have her cornered in such an unlikely port was something not even he thought was imminent. Now, Beckett was standing face to face with the woman who had escaped his cold grasp for so many years, and he knew then that something was setting Rosalind apart from the others. Something he was entirely intending to take advantage of.

"Miss Ricci, I hardly have time nor patience for your poor perception of humour. Now, could you be so kind as to offer your true intentions of sailing these waters?"
"Ah, I'm afraid not. But thank you for asking so nicely." Crooned Rosalind.
"Exactly as expected." Beckett droned slowly, his jaw clenching with the irritant of the Captain. "Now, I'd like to refer to you, my previous agreement. The agreement which regrettably entails the lives of your crew and ship. So, if you comply with me now, I may be so nice to let you all live."

Rosalind's stomach twitched then, with the promise of death looming over them all. Worriedly, she glanced towards Paul, then towards Garrick; both of whom held sympathetic and understanding gleams in their eye, silently pleading with Rosalind to comply. Rosalind rolled her lips between her teeth then, carefully surveying the man before her.

"Fine." She spoke eventually through clenched teeth. "We came to Singapore to meet with Sao Feng."
"Sao Feng, you say? Pirate, I'm assuming?"
"Aye, pirate."
"And what is it you needed from Sao Feng?"
"The-" Rosalind stopped herself, a single second before the utterance of the word 'court'. She did not know whether Beckett knew of the brethren court, but the multifaceted intention of their journey was about to prove itself extremely useful in the bargain of her freedom.
"World's End. Sao Feng has the maps to World's End."
"World's End?"
"Aye...Davy Jones' locker itself."
Beckett responded with a plotting gaze, rolling his gums between his teeth as he thought.
"Interesting...and whatever could you need from Davy Jones' locker?"
"Jack Sparrow, of course."
"Ah. And...what is it you need from Jack Sparrow?"
"We, uh...we miss him."
"We?" Scoffed Beckett.
"Aye...uh, we, as in, my, um, me and my friend...my good friend and I, we miss Sparrow so. Poor bastard getting himself killed? Shocking. Though a little pathetic, if you ask me."
"I'd be inclined to agree with you there, Miss Ricci...and I thank you wholeheartedly for your compliance so far, but I do have one more question."