White and Black Pearls 1 - Seven Pearls

Chapter Nine


‘David!’ Celeste screamed shrilly, startling Davy out of his sleep. He shook his head and stood immediately, turning to look at her as she grabbed the crook of his arm and yanked hard. ‘David, he’s drowning!’ she screamed, pulling again and trying to get him out of his quarters. ‘Jack Sparrow, he’s gone into the sea, he’s trying to pull the ship up himself, and he’s caught in the ropes! David!’

Never in his life had he seen Celeste so emotional, and he couldn’t even imagine hearing her scream in horror. Had it not been happening in front of him right now, he wouldn’t have believed it could happen. ‘What do you want me to do about it, woman!’ he barked back, pulling his arm away from her. ‘You asked me to strike a deal with him to pull his ship up, not to perform a search and rescue for the man himself!’

‘Count it as your second boon!’ she blurted in a panic as the precious seconds ticked by. She was the sky, not the ocean, and though she had seen him slip beneath the waters a full minute ago, and she could see his security rope thrashing up at the water’s surface, she could not go down into the ocean herself or see what was happening to him.

There was a moment of pause for Davy Jones as she said this would count for both of his favors owed. He would be entirely off the hook with her after this, and once he’d completed her two requests, he could do whatever he pleased afterwards. This brought urgency to Davy’s voice as he moved to the starboard side of the ship and saw the spot where some fool had gone diving for his ship and where Celeste was pointing. ‘Down!’ he bellowed to his men.

Instantly the ship began to dive down into the waters, and the rushing seawater gushed around Davy Jones as it flooded the deck and the entire ship disappeared under the waves. As expected, when he turned to look at his side where Celeste had been, she was no longer there. Whatever happened down here, she could not interfere. He was a practical man, true, but he was also a conniving one when he wanted to be. Celeste had bound him into this permanent state of ruin from his dealings with Calypso, and while he was grateful to her for some of the help she’d given, her gifts had been roses with thorns and he still didn’t have what he wanted. The thought of Davy being the one to give Celeste what she wanted without any thorns in return made his blood churn with rage; that would not be happening.

He spotted the man she had been screaming about, his foot caught in the rigging of a sunken ship as he thrashed in the water and the last moments of consciousness were slipping away.

‘Jack Sparrow,’ he called out to the man, knowing his voice carried under the water as his ship pulled up alongside the sunken vessel. ‘Your time here and now is running out; you are dying. I can put off your death. I can raise this ship from the sea floors for you.’ His eyes narrowed wickedly as he knew he’d caught the man’s attention even in his death throes. ‘I will raise this ship for thirteen years and you along with it, and in exchange at the end of those thirteen years, your soul will belong to me,’ he said with a grim smile. ‘Thirteen years to put your death off, what say you?’

Several more seconds passed as the man named Jack stared at Davy Jones, knowing full well who he was, before Jack nodded in agreement.

‘That’s it then!’ Davy said with a laugh as he felt at least one of the puzzle pieces falling into place in his favor. His laughter rang out through the ocean as his men cast ropes around the sunken ship and they prepared to bring it to the water’s surface.


Jack gasped loudly as his ship exploded up to the water’s surface in a pillar of water, sending droplets high into the sky and causing the world to shimmer for a few moments as they fell again and the sunlight above caught and glistened off them. Never before had he been so thankful to feel the warmth of the sun on his skin as he coughed and water flooded out of his lungs. It took a minute, but when he could finally bring himself to stop coughing and choking, he managed to open his eyes and take a few deep breaths while looking around.

He was alive. He was alive! And his ship was afloat! Jack’s eyes widened as he threw himself at the nearest mast and kissed it. His ship, his ship, it was back! He was a captain again, captain of this ship, his father’s ship!

The eerie wooden clunk of a leg that was not flesh and bone hitting the deck brought Jack back to reality then, and he let go of the mast, looking over his shoulder. His shoulders rose slightly as he went on guard. ‘Davy Jones,’ Jack said tightly. That was right; he’d just struck a deal with the captain of the Flying Dutchman.

‘Jack Sparrow,’ Davy replied with a grin. ‘As you can see, you are alive. Your ship is afloat. Your deal stands. Thirteen years from now, your soul… is mine.’

A shiver ran down Jack’s spine but he nodded anyhow. ‘Right then,’ he agreed. ‘Thirteen years, captain of this ship. Sounds good.’

‘A word of advice,’ Davy added as he turned towards the Flying Dutchman once more. He looked at his own ship for a moment before glancing over at Jack again. ‘The ship that sank, her time has passed. The ship that rose again, the one you’re on board right now, she needs a new name. Make it something good.’ Oh, how he was enjoying this. He knew Celeste would be watching; he knew she had certainly heard the both of them clarifying the deal that had been struck beneath the waters. He knew that she was most certainly writhing with rage and betrayal somewhere, but there was nothing she could do because both of the debts Davy had owed her were now settled.

Jack’s hand went to one of his locks of hair as he frowned thoughtfully. Davy Jones was right; this was a new era for his ship, and she needed a name to match it. Without too much thought, he released the lock that was third from the front on the left side of his head, and called out, ‘The Black Pearl.’ When Davy looked at him for possible explanation, Jack gave none, but affirmed with a nod at the name, ‘She’s the Black Pearl.’

‘Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl then,’ Davy said with a nod before laughing heartily again and disappearing from Jack’s ship, going back to the Dutchman. ‘I’ll see you in thirteen years.’

Jack watched the Dutchman sail off into the distance, before looking down at his own ship. He blinked as he realized that there were no men on board to crew it other than him and he was damn well stranded.


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