hoensbroek-etienne:
“The Curse of Atlantis,” he whistled low through his teeth, “now THAT’S a name for a pirate ship. Where is home? If you don’t mind me asking.” Étienne guessed that Hector probably would mind, but his curiosity constantly got the better of him. “I’m very interested in spiritual healing,” he replied, surprised that he’d been asked a question in return, and keen to give a suitably interesting answer. “I travelled a lot around Europe, looking for things for the university, or sometimes for other people, and often people had attached an almost divine power to these ancient objects or manuscripts, they believed that they could actually enact change in the community. Now–– I’m sure that most of these things were just plain old objects, but it proved my theory that if people believe in something enough it gives that thing real-world power.” He shrugged. “So while I’m not sure spiritual healers themselves have much going for them, people’s faith in them… now that’s interesting.”
Hector was right, he hadn’t considered that the man might be well-travelled, even more so than them. In his mind he had pictured someone elderly, even frail. “China or Asia definitely work, thanks Hector –– I hadn’t thought about it like that.” Maybe they’d make an okay team after all.
"It had its moments,” Hector admitted. Joining the Cure of Atlantis had a pivotal moment of his life. In addition to being the first time he left home, he had been thrusted into a new world with its own set of norms and expectations - a stark difference from the island. He had been a big fish in a small pond before he boarded the ship. “Home is an island near the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea. It’s a popular stopping place for pirates so I guess I’ve been dealing with pirates my entire life,” he answered. While he didn’t look down on the pirates who visited the island, Hector wouldn’t say he ever aspired to be like them. Yet, he did feel genuine camaraderie with them when it came to the Spaniards who had claimed his home as theirs. “That’s an interesting perspective to have,” he noted, reminding himself of his own foolish attempt to trick an alleged witch. “I agree with you, there is power in believing. Once, I gave someone valerian root to help with headaches and it worked for them which was odd since the root had no known effect on headaches. Sometimes people are so desperate to believe in something their minds will trick them into believing,” he added.
“It’s nothing. This isn’t my first time in Nassau and doubt it’ll be my last either,” he explained. Things would only be more difficult for them if they made enemies of everyone on the island. “The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better.”













