Book Three - Chapter Eight: Bargaining

As the Roving Maid was sailing along that night, a sudden sound of cannon fire was heard off in the distance. Attention was called to it and those who gathered around the deck saw the glimpses of light that flashed from one ship to another. Captain Jack Sparrow ordered that they approach cautiously. All adjustments were made to carry out his orders.

The battle between the two ships ahead grew fiercer. The closer the Roving Maid came, the sooner the realization hit both the captain and his first mate. The one ship did not fly a flag, while the other flew a very well known one. Seeing the trademark of the East India Trading Company, the captain's blood began to boil. Worse still was that it seemed the Company's ship was gaining victory over the other.

Without further hesitation, the captain ordered that they join this fight from the other side. Every man was called to his station. They began firing at once, hitting the Company ship only just a little. The damage was not much, but enough to cause a headache since they would now have two fronts to be dealing with as they were still being attacked by the lesser ship. The shots kept being fired, and more directly as the ships aligned with one another. Those below deck could see the portholes of the opposing ship and then, after another shot, see a missing wall in its place crumbling with debris. It was not long before the anonymous ship could take no more. The cannons ceased to fire and the men that survived jumped ship as the vessel began to take on water.

Jack began to arm himself, though no one knew why since the battle had not spread to man on man combat. He ordered a cannon to be fixed with a grappling hook. When the hook was fired and caught in tightly on the opposing ship, the captain took immediately to crossing the line. No one aboard the Company ship seemed to notice the line there, so no one thought to cut it down. Captain Jack Sparrow was on his own on the foreign vessel. He did not order any to follow him and did not expect any to.

The shots continued to be fired. The Company ship was weak on the starboard side and so they tried to manoeuvre away, but Barbossa was quick to mark their opponent and give orders to match their turns.

Meanwhile, Captain Jack Sparrow began combat with every soul he encountered. It sickened him when he realized that most were just young boys, much like he was when first the East India Trading Company took him on. He tried to leave the petty officers, the young boys, and go after the real men in charge, or any who tried to test him. The decks were always shaking with the impact of the cannon ball hits.

Amelia, running with a barrel of powder, suddenly stopped, dropping the barrel, and ran straight towards her father.

"What's Jack doing?" she asked in near hysterics.

"'Tis a personal vendetta," her father replied.

"Then you must order a cease fire. Their ship can do no more damage to us and our captain is aboard that vessel."

"Amelia, 'tis my vendetta, too. We'll see her good and sunk," he said.

She was not satisfied with the response and ran through the lower decks shouting a cease fire to all. It was not until most of the cannon fire had halted that Barbossa even heard his daughter's cries from below.

"Nay! Belay that! No cease fire! No cease fire!" Barbossa screamed.

He chased after his daughter. Amelia did not know that she was being pursued and accidentally ran right into her father as she ran towards the stairs. Barbossa took hold of her.

"What the blazes do ya think ye're doing?" he scolded.

"We can't sink it!" Amelia cried.

"Ye'll not defy me!"

Amelia tried to pull away but he tightened his grip around her arms.

"Scarus! Monk!" Barbossa called to nearby crewmates. "See Ms. Amelia to her cabin. See to it that she stays there!"

Barbossa handed them the key to the room. With that, Amelia was physically lifted away, kicking and screaming, trying to break free from her captors. It took a third man to open the cabin door since the two men had their hands full trying to keep the girl from fighting her way out of their grasp. Once the door was open, they threw her on the bed and rushed out as quickly as they could. Two men held the door shut as the other tried to get it locked again. Amelia had already charged for the door and was banging profusely to get it open.

"You can't do this! Please, you can't!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"So sorry, Ms. Amelia," they said sincerely, not wanting to harm her but afraid of the repercussions of disobeying an order from Barbossa.

They got the door locked and then scrambled back to their stations to ensure that the enemy ship would be sunk.

Captain Jack Sparrow could feel the ship creak as it was barely keeping afloat. Fire had broken out at one end and water was rising at another. Beckett was not aboard this ship. Jack realized that had not really expected him to be. He could hear screams coming from all around him. Guilt overcame him. He rushed back atop of the deck, taking the young boys by the shirt collars and telling them to grab hold of anything that floats if they hoped for a chance to live. He ordered the boys to grab hold of bits of fallen wall or loose doors and throw it into the sea, either for themselves or their shipmates who would not last long in the waters alone.

Out from the calm of the ocean sprang a fierce watery ship. Jack was frozen when he caught sight of the strange phenomena. As soon as the ship appeared on the water, new creatures stood aboard the ship. They took hold of the men with shrapnel in their skin and limbs missing from direct cannon fire. Jack darted out of sight but continued to watch the unbelievable scene.

"Do you fear death?" he heard the squid-like captain ask the boys.

Most were too afraid to answer and were killed on sight. Others cried that they did not want to die and begged to be allowed life. Jack overheard the terms given to those choosing life. One hundred years of service on the Flying Dutchman under the legendary Captain Davy Jones. As though he had appeared from through the wall, a gruesome creature took hold of Jack, holding a serrated blade to his throat.

"Strange stowaway it is," the gruesome creature said, leading Jack forward. "Captain, I found something!" he said.

Davy Jones approached him.

"You, sir, are out of place here," the captain said to Jack.

"You're right. It's not my ship, mate. Just looking for an old friend," Jack replied.

"You'll find a shortage of friends here, I'm afraid. Tell me, foundling, do you fear death?" Davy Jones asked.

"Captain Davy Jones," Jack said, "you need souls to man your ship. If you take my life, that's one less you'll have. Do I wish to delay death, yes, same as any man, but I'm not ready to serve under any man…or squid…just yet."

"So I'll be killin' ya then," Davy Jones laughed.

"You once helped a Captain Ewould find a golden temple," Jack quickly inserted.

"Aye, and it killed the man in the end."

"I propose a trade," Jack said.

"And tell me, what you would trade?" Davy Jones asked, not taking the proposal seriously. "Your soul for Ewould's island, I suppose?" He laughed.

"Already been there, mate. Don't have no need for more gold. But there was a ship once. Nearly ten years ago, now, there was the greatest ship to ever sail the seven seas, and it was wrongly used by the East India Trading Company, and brutally destroyed by it too. You must have been there unless too many lives were lost for you to be able to salvage any for your purpose."

"Aye, I know the ship. It burned. Charred all black, and sank before it could be turned to naught but ash," Davy Jones said. "And ye want this ship, do you?"

"I want it raised, I want it sailable, and I want twenty years to captain her," Jack said.

Davy Jones looked at him, puffed out his cheeks, and smacked his lips.

"And what makes you think that your soul be worth all this trouble? Hmm?"

Jack smiled proudly as he said, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, mate. Me father, Captain Teague, passed his lordship down to me. If I recall correctly, the Brethren Court did you a mighty big favour some years ago. Savvy?"

"It was for the Brethren's benefit, not my own!" Davy Jones shouted. "Don't let my past generosities fool you into thinking that they will be repeated!"

"Of course. But still, one hundred years is a long time, and should you need a leeway into the Court for whatever future possibilities that might arise, I'd be a good man to have around," Jack explained.

Davy Jones exerted his pincer like claw at snapped it around Jack Sparrow's neck.

"Ten years," Davy Jones said.

"Fifteen," Jack Sparrow squeaked.

"Thirteen."

Barely able to breathe, Captain Jack Sparrow agreed, "Thirteen."

The pincer loosened. His other tentacle like hand reached for Jack's.

"We have an accord," the squid captain said.

Then Davy Jones disappeared altogether although his ship and crew remained. Then, out of the water, just as the Dutchman had sprung up from nowhere, came a black ship with black sails. Davy Jones reappeared.

"You've got thirteen years, Sparrow. Use them wisely," Davy Jones said eerily.

Jack was escorted to his new ship. He walked around the deck as though in a daze, not believing this to be the Wench. It was not the Wench, it came out of the foams of the sea, still traces of sand and slime on her from the depths. She was a pearl emerging from the slimy oyster. A black pearl. Everything would be alright now. Jack could keep this ship, give the Maid to Barbossa, and sail freely along with Amelia on his crew.

Neither Barbossa nor Bootstrap could believe their eyes when they saw what seemed to be the Wench rising from her watery grave. Barbossa ordered the ship to be moved closer for inspection.

Jack dropped the anchor. When the Maid was close enough, Jack hooked a line across to rejoin his crew.

"Captain," Barbossa said, "tell me that not be what I think it be?"

"Aye, sir, and I plan to leave this ship for it. You may take on the Roving Maid as captain, sailing under my colours. The crew may divide themselves as they see fit."

Captain Jack Sparrow spread the word amongst the crew. Half of everything was to go aboard the new ship. Men were busy loading when the Dutchman snuck alongside the Maid. It was worrisome, but did not create panic until cannons began to fire. Realizing that he had neglected saying anything securing the Maid in the accord, Jack quickly scrambled to get the men across. Grappling hooks were being fired into the newly risen ship.

"Where's Amelia?" Jack asked his first mate.

Terror came into Barbossa's eyes. He ran towards the cabin, the captain ran close behind him. Barbossa tried the door, but it was locked, just as he had ordered. He searched himself for the key, but could not find it.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"I haven't the key," Barbossa said, his heart sinking.

"Key? Why should you need a key? Amelia! Amelia open the door!" Jack cried.

"It's no use, Jack. I had her locked in," Barbossa admitted.

"What the bloody hell for?"

Barbossa did not reply, he simply tried to recall who would have the key now. Meanwhile, Jack started to kick at the door, all the while calling out for Amelia.

"Jack!" Amelia cried back through the door.

More shots fired. One went through the officer's quarters.

"Amelia!"

In desperation, Barbossa ran off. Jack did not care to see where his first mate went; his only focus was to get that door knocked down. Barbossa, with the help of three other men, took hold of a cannon and used it to ram to door. Jack quickly jumped out of the way. It took three good hits at the doorpost before the latch broke. Amelia quickly ran out and threw her arms around her captain. Barbossa was hurt that her affection did not instinctively go to himself, though he recalled that his earlier actions would most likely prompt her to seek security elsewhere. Jack did his best to refrain from showing any further emotion in the matter. He simply took hold of her arm and ran with her to the nearest line. Once he got her crossing to the ship. He took up his own line and hurried across it. It was a miracle that every man made it aboard. They all stood watching as their former ship and home burned and sank, replacing the Wench in its resting place.

"What have ye done, Jack?" Barbossa quietly asked his captain.

The captain did not answer him, nor even acknowledge the question. Immediately he began barking out orders, trying to get the ship set up, though it was never made to accommodate so many people at a time. With so few supplies, it would make their first journey that much harder.

"Clean up what you can, and find a place for everything, including yourselves!" Jack ordered.

He checked up on his old cabin. Everything seemed to be there though displaced and terribly unusable due to its soggy condition. It proved to be a long, cold and damp night. The crew mostly huddled together on the floor for lack of any other place. Amelia was quite torn. She was angry with her father and knew that she could not go to Jack for comfort. As an alternative she found Ragetti and curled up beside him. He took a small blanket off of another man and put it over her. There would have been a quarrel over it had Amelia not have been the recipient.

Jack did not sleep that night. He sulked in the cold alone. Thirteen years…what had he done?