She anchored off the prison, glaring at the crows that settled in her rigging like loud mouthed seagulls. The prison guards sailed the perimeter, guns always drawn and ready to fight. This was where the most villainous scum of the Caribbean were kept. She was disgusted both by the deeds that sent them here as well as the Spanish's way of disposing of them. The bells rang and the crows took to the air. Pearl did her best to tune out the screams. She knew she had to get in. That was easy. But finding the map, and getting out, that's what was going to be hard. Especially having to endure the sights and sounds up close. It was up to Jack to do the sneaky part and Pearl had little doubt about his abilities. Still, she had a right to be concerned. If he was caught... She pushed the thought of her head. If he didn't try, they were both condemned. And she had no intention of serving a ghost ship! Pearl eyed the coffins floating past her, watching as a crow landed on one and was shot. "That's my Jack." She chuckled. Right on cue, the infamous pirate burst through the coffin lid, looking around before putting his hat on. When she got close to pick him up, she could see he was as innovative as ever! Using the severed leg of his dead coffin-mate as a paddle to row to her. She rolled her eyes fondly. "You got what you went in for then?" She asked. "Mhmm!" he smiled, holding up a piece of cloth as he turned to walk to her stern cabin. "Nicely done." She grinned. "Can I see it?" He unfolded the cloth to show the image of a key. "A key to a woman's heart." Pearl purred. "The key to our freedom, Pearl." "I can't wait to see the look on Dutchman's face when she sees us with the heart." "We can command her to have her do whatever we want. Now, set sail, in a general..." he looked at his compass, "uhh... That way, direction!" "Jack?" Pearl was confused. Usually he always knew which way to go. "Well go on, snap to it, set the sails, you know all that." he replied as he made his way to the cabin on her stern. She did as she was told, noticing that her course took her towards that island.
"You look good, Wench." Pearl stiffened. She knew that voice! Peering over, sailing beside her was Morning Star. The ship looked familiar. Pearl felt she knew her but she couldn't, she just couldn't place her! "She sent me." Morning Star frowned, "Dutchman." Pearl blinked, then winced. "And what does the esteemed ship of the dead have to say to me." She growled, well aware of why Dutchman sent her even if she did not know this particular ship. "Time's run out. 13 years of freedom, a lifetime of servitude under her command." "Dutchman already has the sea at her command she doesn't need a fleet." Pearl said. "Then it's the Locker for you! Dutchman's terrible Leviathan will come for you, and drag you back to the depths." "Any idea when Dutchman will release said terrible beastie?" She grinned nervously. "It comes now, Pearl." Morning Star growled, wrapping her rigging along Pearl's deck, staining an even blacker spot into it, "Drawn with ravenous hunger to the ship what bears, the Black Spot." Pearl shivered, looking at the spot on her deck then back at Morning Star only to find the ghost ship had vanished. She set every threadbare sail and urged her hull to make as many miles as she could. Her captain was of the same mind set, and soon enough an island came into view. Any land was good land! Pearl's bottom scraped sand with her bow almost into the trees. It hurt but she didn't care. She was completely out of the water, and out of the reach of any sea creature or ghost ship! "Ha, take that Dutchman!" She thought. Her captain could go upriver and get answers from Tia Dalma. Then she could use her newfound leverage over Dutchman.
However, the hours turned into days. Then weeks. Her crew had left her, and hadn't returned ever since. She was beginning to get worried and that's when another ship appeared on the horizon. She saw a boat launch, but about halfway, one of the occupants jumped overboard and swam! And coming up to her was none other than William Turner. "Well well well the eunuch returns." She grinned. "A familiar face!" he sighed, "Where's Jack?" "No idea. He disappeared into the jungle a few weeks ago. He was headed for those mountains." "Well, I'll find him. Thank you." he told her, before hiking into the jungle ahead. "Good luck." She called after him and settled in to wait.
Drums began beating in the distance, eerie and creepy. That was until she heard two very, very familiar voices arguing. Pintel and Rahgetti, those two rats! She bared her teeth at them. "Come on, let's get her ready! The tide's coming in!" Pintel laughed, the pair ignoring her snarls. She tried to throw them off when they boarded her. "Come on, you don't see anyone else trying to take care of you!" Rahgetti complained, his wooden eye popping out randomly. "Who says I want you two to do so? Cause you did so well last time!" "Barbossa wouldn't let us do anything more than load a gun and clean the decks! Not our fault that we couldn't do more!" She snarled. "Stay away from me!" "Haul loose the mooring line! The mooring line!" Pintel called from down below. "She's being difficult!" Rahgetti cried. "Well figure out how to satisfy her!" "Excellent, the work is half done!" Gibbs said as he and a third of the crew ran up, Will with them. Pearl sighed in relief as her old crew returned. "What about Jack, I won't leave without him!" Will protested as Gibbs prepared to cast off over Pearl's objections. At that moment, her captain came running around the corner followed by a hundred angry native cannibals. "Time to go." Will said. "I couldn't agree more!" Pearl agreed as she unfurled her sails. "Oi!" Jack called, half running and half swimming out to the lines off her side and climbing aboard. The natives threw spears at her, before they all broke into groaning and despair. Pearl shot them a parting grin. "You're a little late." To her captain she was a lot less genteel. "Get. On." She growled as he made his typical speech. "So what was that all about?" Will panted once they were a good distance out to sea. Jack looked at Pearl, giving her that look of his. Tell him only the bare minimum of what he needed to know. "Well this island is home to a special friend of Jack's but instead of using the river as he was supposed to, he decided to take a more dangerous route through the jungle and came upon the natives. And Jack being Jack, well…" He gave a sort of 'of course' look before he and Jack began squabbling. Something about Elizabeth being tried to death for helping Jack escape, and the only way to free her is with the compass. Pearl tuned them out. Jack could handle himself here. "Pearl." she finally heard her name from her captain, "We have a need to travel upriver..." "Do you mean a trifling need or fleeting need?" She wondered. "No, a... resolute and unyielding need." She sighed. "Fine!"
The voyage to the other end of the island was short, but eventually they reached the river mouth. Too small for Pearl, the crew left aboard two long boats. Pearl was forced to sit anchored in the shallow waters of the river's delta and wait. And it wasn't a long wait.
An hour or so later and they had returned. Jack smirked and looked to Pearl once the others in the boarding party had left the long boats. "We're going to find the Dutchman. TIa Dalma told us the key was aboard her. And young Mr. Turner has volunteered to be the one to fetch the key while we hide." "Volunteer. Sacrificial lamb you mean." She sighed. "Tomato tomato, love!" She sighed and nodded, following Jack's compass like she always did. The day turned to night, and a hard downpour soaked her and those on her deck. Ahead, lay the remains of an unfortunate merchant that ran aground and broke in two on a shallow reef. Pearl knew Dutchman would come and collect her soul so she doused her lamps and hid. Will slowly rowed over in one of her boats. A small skirmish could be seen as Will began looking for survivors... Then suddenly, a roar...
Even though she was well hidden she stiffened and shrunk back when she saw Dutchman break the waves those monster jaws parted to take in the first breath of fresh air. Thankfully the ghost ship's attention was on the dead merchant, watching the young Will skillfully battle her cursed crew, who had managed to board. She watched, worrying for the lad but he was in good hands. And it was better for him to be out of the way. However, after several minutes, Will had been defeated and forced to surrender. There was a bit of a conversation between him and Dutchman's infamous captain... And as Dutchman listened in, Pearl saw her slowly turn. In an instant she was nose to nose with the ship of the dead. Pearl was staring right into her soulless eyes, turned sickly yellow in her curse. "You have a debt to pay," she hissed, "You've been sailing free for thirteen years, that was our agreement!" "The agreement was I was sailing with Jack and I only had him for two years before he was viciously mutinied upon." The very thought of Barbossa turned her stomach. "Well then you sailed poorly but you sailed the seas nonetheless!" she grinned, "Have you not called yourself, all these years, the Queen of Piracy?" she said mockingly. Pearl glared. "You have a payment. One ship to serve on you is already over there!" "One soul is not equal to another!" "Aha." Pearl smirked. "We've established that my proposal is sound in principle now we're just haggling over the price." "Price?" Dutchman looked at her curiously. Pearl leaned in and said quietly "Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?" Dutchman pondered a moment. "100 souls. 3 days." "You're a diamond mate. Send me back the boy. I'll get started right off." Pearl turned away. "I keep the boy, a good faith payment. That leaves you only 99 more to go! Ha ha!" she laughed. Pearl wasn't about to let Will go without a fight. "Have you not met Will Turner. He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four, maybe three and-a-half." Pearl paused, a sly look entering her eyes. "And did I happen to mention, he's in love with a girl. Due to be married, betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony." Dutchman looked into the distance as she listened. Love... She snapped out of it. "I keep the boy, 99 souls. But I want to know. Can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?" Pearl pretended to think for a moment. "Yep, I'm good with it. So shall we settle this in blood- eh I mean ink?" Dutchman glared at her and wrapped her rigging around her. "3 days." she huffed, before letting go and slowly sailing away. Pearl looked at her now slimy rigging as the black spot went away. "I feel somewhat unusual…" "And just how do you plan on getting these 99 souls in three days?" Gibbs asked. "Tortuga."