Bastard Grandfather

(Nerina's P.O.V)

It seems like the battle has stopped, we are all battered and bloodied from the blows that were exchanged. We've wiped out most of these weird zombie things, when William is facing off with one who seems to recognize him and that is when I hear him yell.

"GREYBEARD!"

So that's my bastard grandfather. Being undead suits him, he should really stay that way. William is matching him blow-for-blow, landing as many hits as he is taking until Grandfather Bastard slices into his shoulder. No!

"NO!" I scream and begin running pell-mell towards the duelers.

William will NOT die like this; my grandfather will NOT die. It's been hard for me to call him grandfather because it's just been too weird of a situation to wrap my brain around, but no longer. Once I reach them, Greybeard is about to strike the final blow to William. I see the blade of his sword glint in the weak sun that is peeking through the clouds. As his blade comes down, I thrust my sword out, successfully blocking the blow.

"Greybeard, that is enough! The Moon Goddess has brought us here to end this curse. We will be opening this chest and I will not hesitate to kill you right here and now. No matter if you are my grandfather." I grit out, the weight of Greybeard's sword and body pushing down on my sword.

"You are no descendant of mine! You lie, like all women. Vile creatures! DIE!" He spits out.

He lifts his sword, to strike again when he suddenly jerks forward, a blade going through his skull. It's like in the movies, slow motion, he begins to crumple to the sand. Dead. Looking up from my dead grandfather, I see John standing there, his chest heaving with his heavy breathing.

"Nerina." He whispers, as he walks to me bringing me into his arms and kissing me with an insane amount of passion that I get dizzy.

"Ahem, you know some of us are dying and need medical attention," William says through gritted teeth.

"LIZZIE! GRANDPA WILLIE IS HURT!" I yell and go back to kissing John.

His tongue pushes into my mouth, dominating my own. I can't help the moan that escapes me as his kisses move from my mouth, across my jaw, and then down to my neck where he nibbles at my weak spot.

"OI! SLUTTY MCSLUTERSON! TAKE YOUR TONGUE OUT OF HIS MOUTH FOR THREE SECONDS AND OPEN THE TREASURE!" Ashe yells, causing me to startle.

I had completely forgotten the treasure and the fact that we still had a job to complete, I was so lost in John and our kiss to even think clearly. I walk over to Ashe while Lizzie and Corie fix up my grandfather. There's a heavy lock on it that I break with the head of the shovel. Flipping the lid open, everyone gasps at what is inside: jewels, gold doubloons, and a painting. A painting of a beautiful woman with raven hair and pale skin, sharp cheekbones and full lips, blue eyes piercing through you as you look at her portrait. A soft smile plays on her lips in the painting, her blue eyes a gleam with mischief. Pulling the portrait out, I turn over the frame and see that the artist signed the photo and subject:

Subject: Beatrix De Lisle

Painter: Robert Teach

"Who is Robert Teach?" I whisper.

"That would be dear grandfather." I hear William grunt, not noticing that he had been patched up and was standing behind me.

"He really did love her," I state.

Putting the portrait back, we continue digging through the treasure to find what Selene was talking about. My hand meets a cool glass object, a bottle buried deep under the treasure of my bastard grandfather. HA! Who gets the last laugh now, gramps?! Yanking the bottle out of the chest, I pop the cork and turn it upside down, a piece of parchment tumbles out. I unroll the paper and find the incantation written upon it, stating that each of us—John, William, Edward, Harry, Arthur, Ashe, Corie, Anne, Elizabeth, and I—needed to cut our palms and place them on the parchment while reading the incantation together, and the final step is to light the parchment on fire and bury the ashes. We follow the instructions and read the incantation:

This curse upon thee is broken, so shall it be.

So it is, this curse is undone.

John pulled out what he called friction lights, or matches as we call them, and lights the parchment on fire after William had set it on the sand when we were done with the incantation. The parchment curls and uncurls, smoke rising from it as the fire consumes it, turning into ash. Harry digs a small hole in the sand, and we scoop the ashes into it, covering it up once all the ashes are inside.

"Soooo, is the curse lifted?" Nikita asks.

Literally NOTHING happened; no crazy winds, no sudden change in the weather, no spinning/rotating of the Earth at alarming speeds.

"No idea dude." I say.

"Yes, the curse is lifted." I hear a lilting voice behind me.

The girls and I jump and scream, having not been paying attention to our surroundings, only to find Selene standing directly behind me.

"Goddess above you scared the shit out of me!" I shout.

"Watch your mouth, Nerina! That's the Moon Goddess!" Ashe hisses at me, a nervous glint in her eyes.

I think she's still scared that the Moon Goddess will smite her for being wrong when it comes to her depictions of the Moon Goddess in her books.

"So, now what happens?" Corie asks.

"Yeah, do we have to stay here, or can we go back to the future with the girls?" Arthur inquires hopefully, looking all lovingly at Kailani, who blushes profusely under his gaze.

"That's up to you gentlemen. You can either stay here and live out the rest of your days in the time you knew or go back to the time you adapted to." Selene answers.

All the men are thinking hard about their options, though Arthur has Kailani wrapped in his arms, whispering what I assume are dirty things in her ear based on the blush that keeps deepening on her cheeks. Realizing that John has a decision to make, my heart silently breaks at the thought of going back home without him. I wanted him. I wanted to be with him. I just hope that he felt deeply enough about me, to come back with me and give it the good ol' college try.