Hi!
I just wanted to add a note here to say a huge thank you for your continued support throughout this year. It truly means more than you could ever think, and it makes me indescribably happy to know that 'Rosalind' is loved by so many.
I hope you all have a safe and happy time celebrating the new year. Here's to 2022!
Much love, and happy reading
❤️
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fight had been rolling for quite some time by the point Rosalind, Jack, Hector, Elizabeth and the crew had become tired of watching pirates trumping other pirates. It was then that Hector rose to duty and climbed to the table top, gingerly stepping over beaten allies as he waded to the centre and raised his pistol to the air; firing a single shot and demanding the end of their scuffle.
"It was the first court what imprisoned Calypso! It should be us that sets her free! And in her gratitude, she will see fit to grant us boons!" He boomed, as Rosalind winced at his words. A pretty coat of sugar, it would do well to thwart the sour taste, she thought - but pitiful lies nonetheless.
"Whose boons? Your boons?" Implored Jack, readying himself too, to make a tour of the table. Hector groaned in anticipation, but lowered himself from the table with an impressive bout of patience. "Utterly deceptive twaddle-speak, says I." Jack continued, eliciting an eye roll from Rosalind and Hector the like.
"If ye have a be'er alternative. Please, share." Urged Hector, no stranger to the Devil's advocate himself. Jack thought for a short while, carefully selecting his speech, deceiving the others with his silence before he finally spoke.
"Cuttlefish!" He began boldly; brows furrowing with confusion all around. "Let us not, dear friends...forget our dear friends, the cuttlefish. Flipping glorious little sausages." He continued, landing first on Mistress Ching's men and eliciting stern gazes from them all as he defended his words. "Pen 'em up together 'nd they'll devour themselves without a second thought...human nature, isn't it? Or-or fish nature, rather." Then, resting his hands on the shoulders of Mistress Ching, continued bravely. "So, yes. We could hole up here well provisioned and well armed, but half of us will be dead within the month...which looks quite grim to me whatever way you slice it."
Moving to Gentlemen Jocard's men, he stopped as a tall deckhand blocked his path, becoming instantly intimidated as he stumbled over his tongue. "Or, as my learned colleague so naively suggests, we release Calypso! And we can pray that she will be merciful...I rather doubt it." He spoke, inching closer to Villanueva until, in his reception, painted a distinct expression of disgust on the lord's features. "Can we pretend, in fact, that she is anything other than a woman scorned like which fury hell hath no?! We cannot! Res ipsa loqitur, tabula in naufragio, we are left but with one option! I agree with...and I cannot believe the words are comin' out of me mouth...Captain Swann. We must fight!"
"You've always run away from a fight!" Interjected Hector quickly.
"I have not."
"Ye have so."
"Have not!"
"Ye have so!"
"Jack, you have so." Added Rosalind snobbishly.
"Aye, ye have so and ye know it!"
"Have not! Slander and calumny! I have only ever embraced the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. Here now, I submit that this is what we all must do...we must fight...to run away."
"AYE!" Boomed Gibbs with enthusiasm Rosalind could not quite remember seeing from him before. Nevertheless, the rest of the room seemed to agree.
"As per the code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the King!" Hector added smugly.
"You made that up!" Jack protested hastily.
"Did I now? I call on Cap'n Teague! Keeper o' the code." Rosalind's smile stretched wide across her lips. Remembering the days in which Hector had been quick to profess his distrust of the old Captain, she couldn't quite believe he was calling him so keenly on that day. Jack, on the other hand, looked more than disappointed in the prospect. And so did another lord at the table.
"Sri Sumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly! Hang the code! Who cares about the-"
A gunshot sounded then, it's song echoing through the room as Sumbhajee's speaker fell cold and limp to the ground. Collectively, the room located the murderer. It was Teague, standing proudly in the doorway, his lips curled around the barrel, the smoke dribbling from the tip like a tear.
"The code is the law." He spoke lowly, in that thick tone Rosalind had become so adjusted to. Walking slowly towards the table, the room was quick to notice two of his men, carrying the pirate Codex...alongside a dog, with keys hanging from his mouth. As Teague had the code lowered gently to the table, Pintel and Ragetti seemed to be in a state of disbelief, pointing with trembling fingers to the dog.
"H-how did he-"
"How did you-"
"Sea turtles, mate." Shrugged Teague, winking at Rosalind as his gaze rested on her.
The room's occupants waited in anxious silence, as Teague lifted the leather-bound cover of the code; exposing the thick pages with dribbles of smudged ink. Elizabeth looked awe struck, and Rosalind smiled proudly at the words. With a heavily ringed finger, Teague dragged a tip over a page, landing eventually on the appropriate line.
"Ahh, Barbossa is right."
"Hang on a minute." Jack spoke in protest, scanning the law for himself.
"It shall be the duties of the king to declare war...parley with shared adversaries...fancy that." He mumbled, looking up to the smug face of Hector.
"There's not been a King since the first court! And this is unlikely to change!" Offered Chevalle.
"What? Why?" Came Elizabeth's frantic voice, to which Gibbs rushed to response.
"You see the pirate King is elected by popular vote."
"And each pirate only ever votes for hisself." Finished Hector.
"I call for a vote!" Jack announced, to which the room was plunged into the hum of muffled conversation once more. Teague took a seat then, locating quickly a fiddle, and began strumming a gentle tune to fill the heavy silence which was soon to follow.
"I-Uh, I just want to submit myself, that I am no longer Ricci, but Barbossa. So, uh, if any of you happen to vote for me, or-or my husband, then specification is required." Projected Rosalind. She knew it to be futile, but the name of Ricci had been wrongfully stained by the drooling tones of Beckett not long ago, and for peace of mind, she insisted. Her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment, for she knew the lords well enough. It was hardly necessary to make such an entrance, but it earned her warm smiles from Ching, Teague, Villanueva and Hector nonetheless.
And so, as Teague's tune filled the room, melting into the night, the voting began.
"I vote for Armand, the Corsair!"
"Capitaine Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman!"
"Sri Sumbhajee, votes for Sri Sumbhajee."
"Mistress Ching!"
"Gentleman Jocard!"
"Elizabeth Swann."
"Barbossa! Rosalind Barbossa."
"Barbossa!" Came Hector, looking mischievously down to his wife.
"Uh, sweetheart, I said about-"
"Rosalind Barbossa."
"I beg your pardon?"
The room instantly was plunged into a state of unrest. Men from all angles were badgering for Hector to change his vote, whilst Rosalind remained totally and utterly amazed; eyes wide and jaw wider.
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"Hey, hey, hey! You lot have yet to register my vote! Am I correct in understanding this is a democracy?" Roared Jack, all eyes suddenly resting on him. Rosalind studied him carefully, hardly expecting his ego to make way for any selfless moves today. Alas, the room shuffled collectively in discomfort; their features sour as they waited impatiently for Jack's entrance.
"Elizabeth Swann."
"What? But- can- will this work? Is this not a breach of the code? I-" Stuttered Elizabeth, also in shock.
"Breach o' the code? Nay. Morgan and Bartholomew, kings themselves under th' same court 'nd age. Only two can share the title, though, and 't must be shared willingly." Hector responded smugly, whilst Rosalind stood in shock of Jack's vote.
"You- you- what?"
"I know. Curious, isn't it?" Jack smirked.
The lords had become restlessly used to the antics by this point, what with Hector's vote for Rosalind, they merely drew a sigh of dismay, before Mistress Ching rose from her seat, and prepared to address the newly appointed Kings.
"Very well! What say you, Captain Swann, Captain Barbossa, kings of the Brethren Court?!"
Elizabeth and Rosalind smiled at each other, stretching over the table in unison as they silently and mutually agreed with each other's sentiments.
"Prepare every vessel that floats...at dawn, we're at war." Began Elizabeth.
"And prepare to take back the seas, my brothers...because at dawn, we're releasing Calypso." Finished Rosalind.
The court roared in agreement, and as Tia's words echoed in her mind, Rosalind felt an immense surge of empowerment rush through her veins.
No god will serve you what you cannot handle.
The Brethren Court would, indeed, release the goddess. Perhaps even, lose a fraction of their control. But the Brethren Court, as Hector had earlier reminded her, were weathered and beaten pirates. Storms, gales, tornados, thunder, lightning, tsunamis, Rosalind struggled to name a single natural disaster the pirates had not reigned victorious over. Granted, the result of many was evident in the walls of Shipwreck tower, but pirates united, were invincible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth had only just retreated to bed, eager for rest before battle, understandably. The night had been spent in celebration for their shared kingship of the court, and whilst Elizabeth figured it best to decide only alongside the day, Rosalind was pacing the cabin; thinking, still relishing the vote of confidence elicited by Hector.
"But...why me? Hector, only this morning you were convincing me to stay on land if war should happen."
"Rosa, my sweet, ye've resilience, ye've leadership, ye've concern fer the people. Ye're th' bravest soul I've e'er had th' pleasure of knowin'. Please don't make me say it all again, ye know why I voted ye, 'nd it's because you, of all people, deserve it. The power."
"Well, your confidence means an awful lot...can't imagine what's going through Beth's mind at the moment. God, it's surreal. The first kings since Morgan and Bartholomew....Swann and Barbossa."
"Aye, probably the same as what's goin' through your mind. The battle be at dawn, and ye've plenty o' thoughts surroundin' I presume."
"Aye...aye, plenty. Firstly, there's no doubt Beckett'll have an armada against us, so, as much as I hate to say it, parley will be our best bet...we'll possibly need a flagship for the battle, but theirs will entirely influence ours."
"So, ye're suggestin' there's a chance ye'll not be in th' war'?"
"Hector, sweetheart, you needn't worry about me. You voted me king and so, I shall do what kings always should."
"King or not, ye're still me pregnant wife, 'nd I've the right t' worry. Ye'll be stayin' close to me should ye battle, not as a favour asked t' a king, but a favour asked from a husband."
"Fair enough...I can get on board with that. I'll stay close to you...I promise."
That night, Hector and Rosalind did not meet the comfort of a mattress, nor the sheets. Earlier that day Rosalind had located a blacksmiths, and had purchased a new sword and scabbard. Now, in her fully dressed form, she felt as if she could take on anything Calypso and Beckett had in mind. Albeit, the scabbard sat awkwardly atop her pregnant stomach, and every day it seemed as if Rosalind was growing larger. But lord knows Rosalind was akin to protecting her own, and with her sword, she would battle on bravely.
Rosalind, Jack and Hector stayed up all night; carefully manoeuvring the Pearl from the Devil's throat at the lead of the other 9 ships. By the crack of dawn, all 10 were lined neatly on the horizon; not far from Shipwreck Cove, where Rosalind would bet money on Agatha watching from the shore. Elizabeth awoke as the sun creeped over the waves, and joined Rosalind's side as they sailed on, in bold pursuit of Beckett.