The bedroom door burst inwards with a heavy crash.
The table that had been dragged in front of it was hurled aside as if it weighed nothing, skidding across the floor and slamming into the wall.
Pirates poured into the room, swords drawn.
The prisoner stood there stood alone.
Terrified.
His hands shook at his sides, breath coming fast and uneven as half a dozen armed figures closed in on him. He swallowed hard, forcing the words out.
"I—I'm the son of Bill… Bootstrap Bill Turner," he said, his voice cracking as he looked at them.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then the pirates noticed the gold coin hanging at his neck.
Their expressions changed.
Slow smiles spread across faces that looked far too pleased for the situation.
And then—
Laughter.
"Hahaha!!!"
Low at first.
Then louder.
The sound filled the room, unnatural and wrong, echoing off the walls.
The prisoner flinched, panic flooding his face. "W-why are you laughing?" he asked, backing away a step. "I—I told you who I am!"
One pirate stepped forward, tilting his head as he studied the coin.
"Look at that," he said with amusement. "Aztec gold."
Another chuckled. "And a Turner is wearing it."
"After all this time," a third muttered. "We finally find him."
The prisoner's confusion only deepened. "Y-you… you believe me, right?"
A pirate leaned in close, grinning wide.
"Oh, we believe you," he said. "Every word."
The laughter faded into something colder.
"Get him," one of them ordered casually.
The pirates moved in, grabbing the man by the arms as he cried out in fear, struggling uselessly against their grip.
"No—wait! You said—!"
"Easy now," a pirate said, tightening his hold. "You're very important to us."
Inside the wardrobe, Elizabeth leaned forward slightly, peering through the narrow gap in the door.
"Why are they laughing?" she whispered. "I don't understand. Why would they react like that to the locket… or the name Turner?"
Daniel watched quietly, his voice low so it wouldn't carry.
"What do you think a desperate traveler, trapped in an endless desert without water, would feel when he finally sees water?" he asked.
Elizabeth frowned, thinking. "…Relief?" she said. "Happiness?"
"Yes," Daniel replied. "Exactly that."
She glanced back at the pirates, still unaware of what they had truly taken.
"That's what's happening," Daniel continued. "They believe they've finally found what they've been searching for."
Elizabeth swallowed. "But… they haven't."
"No," Daniel said calmly. "They haven't."
He didn't say the rest out loud—that they were celebrating too early, that the mistake would cost them time, and that the moment of realization would be far less pleasant.
The truth was simpler.
He wanted to see it.
The looks on their faces when they discovered they had taken the wrong person. When the curse didn't break. When all that hope turned into frustration.
For a brief moment, the thought crossed his mind.
'When did I become like this?' Daniel wondered. He wasn't usually the type to enjoy watching other people's plans fall apart—especially not with this much interest.
Then he thought about it again.
They were pirates.
Very rude pirates.
Daniel shrugged to himself.
Maybe this isn't sadism, he decided. Maybe it's just stress relief.
If they were going to suffer the consequences of their own mistakes anyway, he might as well help things along a little.
Add some fire.
Maybe a bit of chaos.
Purely for entertainment value, of course.
Elizabeth shifted uneasily beside him, still trying to understand the larger picture.
Outside the wardrobe, the pirates dragged their prize away—completely convinced they had got the person they needed.
As the last of the pirates left and the noise faded, Elizabeth relaxed slightly.
"…Should we leave now?" she asked, still looking through the narrow gap in the wardrobe door.
"No," Daniel said quietly.
Elizabeth turned toward him to ask why.
The wardrobe was too small for that movement.
Her face ended up only inches from his, close enough that she could feel his breath. She froze, suddenly aware of how little space there was between them.
"Why?" she asked.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
"I'm enjoying this position," Daniel said quietly. "Let's stay."
Elizabeth's expression darkened immediately.
Without another word, she pushed the wardrobe door open and stepped out, straightening her dress as she put distance between them.
"Well, there's no need to be that wary," Daniel said as he stepped out of the wardrobe. "I did save your life. Just imagine if the pirates had found you wearing that locket—you'd be in their hands right now."
Elizabeth hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Thank you," she said, before her expression tightened again. "But can you explain what's happening?"
She took a breath, steadying herself. There was too much she didn't understand—who this man was, who those pirates were, and why they reacted the way they did when they saw Will's locket.
"Who are you?" she asked. "And why did that name—Turner—matter so much to them?"
"Fair questions," Daniel said. "My name's Daniel. I travel around. I get involved in… adventures."
Elizabeth waited. "And?"
"And," Daniel continued calmly, "you're being kidnapped."
She blinked. "Kidnapped?"
"Yes," he said simply.
Her eyes widened. "By the pirates?"
"No," Daniel replied. "By me."
Elizabeth took an instinctive step back, her gaze flicking toward the door as if measuring the distance. "Didn't you say you were here to help?"
"I did," Daniel said evenly. "I helped you avoid being taken by pirates."
He met her eyes, unflinching. "I'm just kidnapping you myself instead."
Elizabeth stared at him, disbelief mixing with anger. "You can't be serious."
Daniel shrugged. "I am."
The truth was simple. Traveling alone at sea was tedious. Endless days surrounded by unwashed pirates who smelled of rum, sweat, and poor life choices was hardly appealing.
If he had to spend time on a ship, he'd much rather have Elizabeth with him then atleast he won't be bored.
*****
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