Chapter 23: A Devil of the Deep Blue Sea
BOOOM!
Peggy shivered as she watched the rain fall through the window of her nook.
It had been four days since they had left Tia Dalma's shack. Four days since, she had drank that mysterious tonic.
As Tia Dalma had said, it had helped numb the pain in her chest for a day and a half. Even now, as it throbbed, it felt somewhat manageable, though Peggy did not know if that was because she had gotten used to it or she was too busy trying to ignore the pain in her right wrist.
The Devil's mark was now darker than ever before; the black ink in her veins spread so far around her wrist that it was creeping onto her palm.
She was glad their meagre crew was so busy above deck because she could not bear to explain everything with all the other drama in her life.
Jack had been cautious with her, not letting her do more than her assigned tasks and cutting her slack in some of her chores. To her surprise, none of the crew seemed to mind. They had all been very kind and gentle towards her in the last few days, letting her rest when her chest or wrist got sore or sending her to do less manually taxing jobs like taking inventory or helping in the kitchen. Even sharp-tongued and gruff Marty had brought her food up to her nook the night the pain in her chest had returned.
Peggy wondered if Jack had told them about her condition…or had those who had come to Tia Dalma's heard her talking that night. Whatever the case, it did not matter.
It would all be over soon. If she were lucky, she would not have to explain anything. She would be long gone before she could see Jack's hurt. Or the Devil would reveal everything without her having to open her mouth. He was a sadistic, hateful creature. He'd love to rub her betrayal in Jack's face.
Jack…Would he understand her actions? Or would he condemn her to the damned pits of hell?
It was hard to tell with a man like him.
Was there any point in telling him the truth? As fond as she was of Jack, she knew there were limits to one's forgiveness. Jack's betrayal at the hands of Barbossa had done much to break his trust in people, even her.
Peggy sighed raggedly into the heavens, unsure whether to curse the One God she had been forced to pretend to worship or pray to the old Ocean Gods she believed in for kindness.
Despite the heavy storm around her and the weight of her thoughts, Peggy felt strangely calm inside as the words of the old shanty drifted out of her mouth.
"Some men have died and some are alive
And others sail on the sea
With the keys to the cage
And the devil to pay
We lay to Fiddler's Green!"
This was it. This was the day.
The day everything would come crashing down, and the truth would all be out in the open.
"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die"
It was an oddly soothing thought, she realised, knowing that the worst of the worst times in her life was finally coming to fruition. After all, if today was the worst, the days after it could only improve, right?
"The bell has been raised from its watery grave
Do you hear its sepulchral tone?
A Call to all, pay heed to the squall
And turn your sail towards home!"
It would all be over soon. Jack would have his key and could barter with the Devil. The Crew of the Pearl would be safe. Will could get the compass, buy Elizabeth's freedom, and sail into the sunset with her. Sloane would return to her father or wherever he came from and pass on the sad tale of the last selkie of the Caribbean.
And Peggy…she would repay her debt to the Devil and serve her sentence as promised, locked away in the bowels of a cursed ship while the rest of the world passed her by. Her body would not die on that ship, but her mind would quickly shatter once the remnants of her bond with Will had finally faded and frayed with time.
By the time her sentence was over, death would be a kindness…if the Devil did not put her out of her misery himself.
"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die"
The last word had barely left her lips when the wood of the door behind her creaked open.
Peggy looked up quickly to see Will standing in the doorway to her nook. He was soaked from the rain outside, his brown hair plastered to his wet and grim face.
He had been very pensive since their visit to Tia Dalma's. Peggy had never known him to be so broody in all their years together. He hardly spoke much to anyone except Jack and Gibbs, with whom he was conspiring to steal that key.
Peggy had not bothered to listen in on their plans. Usually, she would have been annoyed to be kept out of such essential dealings. But what did it matter? She'd be back in the Devil's clutches soon enough. Even if she could get her hands on that key, she doubted the Devil would let her go quickly. It would do nothing to halt her inevitable doom.
Speaking of doom…She watched as Will timidly fidgeted on the threshold of her space.
Not only had he been brooding recently, but he had also been cautious around her. No longer was he desperately trying to chase her for answers. He no longer slept by her side, though she could sometimes swear she heard someone enter her nook at night. Then again, Jack sometimes checked in on her on nights he could not sleep so she could not be sure who was watching over her.
However, from what she could tell, Will kept his distance, watching over her from afar, his face a mask of guilt and sadness. If he was ever close to her, he treated her gently, doing his best to keep his fussing to a minimum, though she could tell it was a massive effort on his part. He was a natural worry wart, and she could see the torment in his eyes whenever she stumbled by accident or felt any pain.
She did not know if Jack had gotten through to him or if Tia Dalma had told him about her condition. Either way, it was a relief not to be hounded for answers for once. Distance kept the pain in her chest manageable.
Today was the first time in days that he had approached her in private like this. He looked very nervous, his eyes pointed down to his toes, as he tried his best to steel himself to talk to her.
"Peg?" He gulped. "Can I come in?"
Peggy felt her heart throb as a memory of him flitted across her mind. It was her thirteenth birthday, and Will was fifteen. She had lashed out at him for trying to hover around her after she had woken up that morning from a nightmare. She could not even remember what the dream was about. All she remembered was the sheepish apology he had mumbled while handing over her birthday present, a book he had purchased from scrimping and saving whatever he could salvage of his earnings. Instead of shouting back at her, he hugged her until she had lost steam and apologised for her loss of temper.
He had been such a sweet and innocent boy back then.
And she had been such a rotten, short-fused brat. Hell, a few days ago, she had even punched him in the face!
No wonder he'd want to be with Elizabeth over me. She grimaced sadly. She might have her shortcomings, but who wants a terror like me who would hit and yell at him like that?
"Come in," she sighed, nodding for him to enter her nook.
"The plan is going ahead tonight, " he murmured as he cautiously stepped over the threshold. We've spotted the place Tia Dalma showed us. I'll be going across to investigate soon."
"Alone?" Peggy peeked up at him in surprise, cursing herself at the concern in her voice. Damn, even now, she could not stop worrying about him.
"I'm just scouting ahead. Jack told Gibbs and Marty to prep the canons just in case." Will bit his lip as he took another courageous step forward. "I…I just…I wanted to see you before I left."
For an awful moment, Peggy wanted to snap at him, 'Now you've seen me, so now you can leave,' but she held her tongue. For all she knew, this could be the last time she ever saw him again.
"Peg…" Will murmured, reaching out to take her hands in his as carefully as if he were handling delicate glass. "I know things have been rough between us lately. And…I know you need space and probably don't want to ever look at my face again after everything that has happened." he sucked in a deep breath as he saw her eyes widen in astonishment. "I just…if something happens to me today, I just want you to know I am so sorry. When I proclaimed my love to Elizabeth, I thought I was being romantic and bold. I did not pause to think if my actions would affect you or others that day…That you would be so hurt by what I did…" he gulped down on the lump in his throat as he caught sight of the tears welling up in her eyes. "I should have warned you of what I had planned so you would not have been blindsided like that."
"It would have helped. But what does it matter now? It's done. We can't change it. It doesn't matter anymore," Peggy muttered through pursed lips as she willed herself not to blubber and melt into his arms like she usually did whenever they fought and apologised to one another.
"Please don't say that," Will muttered stubbornly, gripping her hands tightly in his "We have been through so much together. How often have you put your life on the line for me and my happiness? And when you needed me the most, I was not there for you like I should have been. I'm sorry. I have…I have no excuse for what I did other than I was selfish and stupid. So please, don't say it doesn't matter because it does. It matters so much to me because you matter so much to me." His hands reached up to cup her cheeks, smoothing his thumb over one tear as it fell down her cheek. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I meant what I said when you were dear to me. I meant every single word. I wasn't just telling you all that because I wanted to keep you on the hook. I did not know how my rescuing Jack was going to go. I did not know if I would come out of it alive-"
"You were tying up loose ends," Peggy mumbled, wiping at her nose before it could stream. "I know. I figured. I've been doing a lot of that myself recently."
There, she had said it. From the stricken expression on Will's face, she could tell he had already heard the truth, though it pained him to listen to her speak so bluntly about it.
"I will find that key," Will murmured fiercely, leaning in so his forehead rested against hers. "I will find it tonight, and when I do, I'll find a way to help save you-"
"Will. You can't stop this." Peggy whispered, tears now freely streaming down her cheeks. "It's too late-"
"No, Peggy. It's not too late." he cut across her firmly. "I know we can find a way to stop it. Tia Dalma gave you that potion to buy you some time. If I can get this key back to Jack as quick as I can tonight, then we can-"
"Will stop-" She tried to pull away, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her, one hand buried in her hair while the other wrapped tight around her waist, keeping her tight to his chest as he buried his nose into the crown of her head.
"I will not watch you die." He mumbled, and Peggy tensed as she felt the bubbling of grief well up in her chest at the feel of the hands that held her. They were trembling badly. Those capable, steady, calloused hands that were so careful when handling delicate gold filigree or iron now shook like leaves rattled by a cold wind. "There are many things I can do, Peggy, but do not ask me to watch you die."
"Then don't watch."
She pushed back against him, forcing him back, her eyes pinned down to the floor, unable to look at him lest her resolve crumbled.
"If you don't want to see me dead, then it's best you leave and never come back." Peggy spat out, but her trembling voice gave her away.
"Peg-" Will tried to pull her face up, but she shook him off and turned her back on him.
"Will, I'm not much longer for this world. Whether you like it or not, that's what will happen, and you can't stop it."
She folded her arms around herself as a cold breeze blew through her nook. As hurtful as her words were, it was easier this way. Her end was coming; she should not give him false hope. A tiny bit of cruelty would spare him all that pain later.
"So you're just expecting me to give up because you have?"
Will's sharp question cut through her thoughts so coldly that she winced.
"No." She mumbled, "I'm asking you to respect my last wishes so I can pass over peacefully."
There was a silence as Will stared at the back of Peggy's curls.
Though her voice was so soft, Will felt her words echo in his skull as if she had shouted them into his ears.
He might have wept to hear them, but the stirrings of anger had bubbled in his gut. Anger at Jack for tearing him from Peggy before they had found a way to save her. Anger at Peggy for giving up on him so easily…but mostly anger at himself.
If he had been less selfish or oblivious, she might not have left him in the first place. They may have been able to resolve this without the heartache. They may have been together back home, safe and happy in that dingy little flat, going about their day, laughing and finding fun in their chores and…and…
Peggy pursed her lips to stop herself from sobbing as she felt his strong arms wrap around her from behind once more, trapping her back against his chest. She tried to stay stiff and immobile, but her shoulders melted back into his warmth.
Will was always warm, like a furnace. Even when wet and shivering like he was now, he was still warm, and his hands were strong yet so gentle when they held her.
She shut her eyes, willing herself not to let any more tears fall as he rested his cheek against her head.
"I know you're only pushing back like this because you're in pain." He whispered, "But I still care about you whatever is said and done. You're still my dearest friend…my Peggy. So, no matter how you try to push me away, or even if you give up on yourself, I'll always fight for you. If you need me to step in for you to be your second in this fight, then that's what I'll do. If you want me to carry you because the burden is too great, I'll carry you, however long the road may be. But don't ask me to give up on you like this because that's the one thing I can ever do."
"You already did," Peggy whispered, Will's arms stiffened around her.
"I know." He murmured, shutting his eyes and his voice breaking slightly despite his attempts to stay steady. "I know, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I must."
"You can't, Will." Peggy shook her head sadly. "Not if you want to be happy with Elizabeth."
"Peg-"
"Will, you love her." Peggy's voice shook as she said, "You've wanted to marry her since you were children. If you're chasing after a ghost like me, you can't have the future you've always wanted with her. You know that-"
"Says who? You?" Will shook his head. "You keep saying it's not possible even when you haven't tried-"
"Because I can see it won't work!" Peggy snapped, her face falling into her hands. "By God, William, you still don't get it! You can't always be the hero! You can't save everyone! Nor can you keep everyone happy all the time! Not every choice you make can have a happy ending where everyone goes home with no hurt feelings. You made your choice, and I made mine. And now we have to pay the price-"
"Not like this!" Will's grip was so tight it was almost crushing her. "Not at the cost of losing you!"
Peggy groaned and shook her head in exasperation. There was no talking him down when he was being stubborn like this.
She opened her mouth to speak, only to tense as she felt her right wrist tingle beneath its wrappings.
No, not tingle; it was prickling like twenty tiny needles were poking the skin.
A warning…an omen…
A chill spread through her. She was not sure how she knew it, but she knew.
He's coming.
"Peggy?" Will frowned, his arms slackening around her as he tried to peer over her shoulder to see her face, only to stiffen as he caught sight of her tearful glower.
He let her step away, his heart sinking as he saw the tiniest hint of a fang as she snarled:
"Answer me this one thing, William, truthfully." She sucked in a deep breath. "Are you apologising to me because you feel really sorry for what you did? Or are you just trying to play the hero again because you think I'm some damsel in distress?"
"What? No Peg-" Will tried reaching for her, his eyes wide with shock, but she still kept going.
"If I wasn't dying. If I were just a heartbroken, normal human woman…would you be going so far as to make amends? Or would you have just given one half-arse apology and pissed off back to Elizabeth whenever it was convenient?"
"Peg-"
"I used to think you were the most honourable, kindest person in the world." She murmured, "All my life, I've been surrounded by people who've hurt me and used me, but I always took comfort in the fact that you were the one person I could rely upon to never do that to me."
"Peggy, please, I do care-"
"In the end, you're scum just like the rest of them." She glared at him. "You're greedy, ungrateful, selfish, and so oblivious to anything outside your narrow, naive little fantasy world that you just hurt anything good that crosses your path. And you want to know the worst thing? The worst thing is that you lie to yourself and try to paint yourself as some noble, decent person."
"Peg-"
"Get out!" She spat, eyes flashing silver as she pointed to the door of her nook. "Get out! and leave me alone! When you get your precious key, don't come looking for me. If I die before you get back, then don't be there at my funeral because I don't want you there! You don't deserve it! I…I'm done being your charity case, your consolation prize. I'm done with you! So get out! Get out, get that key and go crawling back to your precious Elizabeth! I never want to see your face again!"
Tears fell from Will's eyes as his chest stung horribly. Yet this time, he knew it was not the pain of her heartbreak he was feeling. No, these words of hers cut his soul more profoundly than any knife. They carved invisible grooves into his chest so deep he would not be surprised to look down and see bleeding cuts all over his body.
He looked back at her eyes, desperate for her to see what she was doing to him. How deeply those words stung…how much he truly cared.
Yet as he looked, he felt his sorrow falter.
Despite her vicious, cutting words, Peggy was not angry. Whenever she got angry, her nostrils flared, and her cheeks burned the same colour as her hair. Her fists flexed and clenched into tight fists, ready to strike as she glared him down.
However, her face was pale and clammy, and her entire body was as tense as a board. Her lips were trembling, and she gripped her right wrist so tightly that she cut off circulation to the limb. Her eyes quickly darted away to the floor.
Will reached up to touch her face, his heart aching as she cringed away from his touch. Its feather-light touch stroked a stray curl of copper from her face, and his hand wrapped around the back of her head to pull her into another crushing hug. His grip tightened as he heard her suck in a sharp tearful breath against the open collar of his wet shirt.
"Push me away all you want." He whispered into the top of her head, inhaling her salty-spicy scent and enjoying the warmth of her body. "I am never giving up on you. We will get through this, and you will live a long and happy life. Whether I'm in it or not, that doesn't matter. You may not trust me anymore, but believe me when I say I will never stop trying to make things right with you because, believe it or not, I do care about you. I care about you so much it breaks my heart to see you so hurt like this."
"Get out!" She pushed against his chest, but Will could feel her resolve wavering through the warbling of her voice.
They had known and cared about one another for too long, and both knew how to play this game. He knew her resolution would crumble the longer she was in his arms, the same way she knew exactly what to say to gut him.
"I will. But Peggy, I am coming back to you no matter what you say."
"Don't-"
"I am. And you can't stop me-"
"You stupid oaf!" she sobbed into his chest as she pushed and shoved against it. "You stubborn, stupid, selfish-"
"You're right. I am selfish," Will admitted bitterly. "That's why I can't let you die like this. I already lost you once; I'm not making that same mistake again."
This time, Will let Peggy push him back, her eyes wide with that same fear as she clutched at her wrist.
"Go!" She spat, half in pain, half in anguish. "Just go!"
Her eyes shut as he bent down and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.
"I'll be back soon."
With that, he let her go and walked out, closing the door behind him, leaving Peggy alone to slump on the edge of her bed in the dark.
Tears streamed down her face as she choked back a sob.
Will you idiot, you utter idiot! Why, of all times, do you pick now to be so stubborn?
She clutched at her arm as it burned horribly.
Just when she finally thought she had gotten through his thick skull to leave her be and leave her alone, he doubled down like a stubborn bull. Everything she said should have made him angry with her. Any time she used to aim low like that in an argument, it would make him mad, and they'd both be snarling and sniping at one another.
Instead, he had just hugged her. He hugged and kissed and treated her tenderly as if he...
No…no, that could not be it. She shook her head to herself to dispel that thought. How foolish that even now, a small piece of her dared to hope he harboured more than just friendship or guilt towards her.
Why? Why weren't any of her rejections working?
Why did all her attempts to keep him away make him coil tighter around her?
Did he care about her as much as he claimed? Or was that just the guilt talking?
I'm not even going to be here when he gets back. When he knows the truth, he's going to chase after me. She shook her head to herself.
Gods just when she thought she could slip away into obscurity and make peace with her situation, Will bloody Turner decided to throw a spanner in the works.
The ship in the water was broken in two, with many pieces of its middle scattered over the spattering rocks that broke through the surface of the stormy sea like the spires of a castle on a horizon line.
She was not a large ship—merely a tiny sloop, quick but not that powerful. Her paint job was faded and old. Years of sea travel had taken a toll on her weary, aged wooden hull. And now, here she lay in ruins, waiting for the final blow of death to hit her.
Waves crashed against the broken vessel, the impact of each collision breaking off even more fragments bit by bit into the swirling waters, where they either drifted away or were submerged and drowned, never to be seen again.
Yet despite the salt of the sea and the howling of wind blowing massive sheets of rain in every direction, the smell of rotting corpses permeated the air.
Will scowled as he looked upon the grim sight, wincing as he was drenched simultaneously by the splash of a wave hitting the port side of the Black Pearl and a sheet of rain lashing down on him from above.
Usually, he hated being so drenched, cold and shivering, but tonight, he hardly paid any heed to it.
How could he? All he could think about was Peggy's terrified face in her nook.
It was like that night after Labelle and Sloane had told them about the Selkie's bond. The fear, the way she trembled all over. Even her words, as harsh and as cutting as they were, were laced with the tremors of fear.
What was she so afraid of?
Why was she so keen on him staying away from her when she knew he could help her?
He only ever saw her behave in such a manner whenever she had a nightmare.
And not just any nightmare.
That Devil…again, he comes between us. Just who is he, and why does she fear him so much? Why does he have such a hold over her that she would fear him in death?
But those questions would have to wait.
He had to find that key—and, along with it, the key to buying Peggy more time to save her. If Tia Dalma was right, then everything hinged on tonight.
His fists clenched on the Pearl's railing as he looked back at the broken ship in the distant waters, illuminated by the flashes of lightning in the raging storm.
"Will, I'm not much longer for this world. Whether you like it or not, that's what will happen."
"Over my dead body," Will growled.
"Ey? What's that, mate?"
Will gulped down on the burning rage.
Beside him at the railing, Jack and Gibbs were both similarly waterlogged and grim in mood, though he doubted either of them would be able to match his inner turmoil tonight.
"That's the Flying Dutchman?" Will snapped, unimpressed by the sight of the broken ship. "She doesn't look like much."
"Neither do you." Jack rolled his eyes. "Do not underestimate her." The pirate nudged Gibbs hard in the stomach, forcing the older sailor to cough.
"Must 'ave run afoul of the reef." He piped in, quickly avoiding Will's eye.
"So what's ye plan then?" Jack asked the blacksmith, eyeing the shipwreck before them with pity, even by his standards, that looked like a very gnarly.
"I row over and search the ship until I find your bloody key," Will grunted as another wave splashed onto his cheek.
"And if there are crewmen?" Jack quirked a brow at the lad, wondering at his fierce determination.
"I cut down anyone in my path." Will snarled, the fire in his chest intensifying as it burned with renewed vigour. Finally, after all these days of wallowing and uncertainty, he would do something that would actually make a difference.
No more would there be words of apology, grovelling or pleading. He would prove to everyone that he was not just talking out of his arse. Jack would see it, Gibbs would see it…And Peggy…She would finally see he meant every word he said to her. She had to.
"I like it." Jack nodded approvingly to Gibbs "Simple. Easy to remember."
"Lad's going to get himself killed." Gibbs shook his head sadly as they watched the young man accept a lantern from Pintel before lowering himself down over the side of the ship to the longboat Ragetti had prepared for him.
"Yer chariot awaits ye, sire!" the scrawny pirate cackled with wicked glee as he pushed two wet oars into Will's hands.
"Oi!" Jack shouted from above, "If you do happen to get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. Might save yer life!"
I'm not doing this for you, you scoundrel. Will scowled but nodded all the same to the pirate as Ragetti pushed him out into the water with a gleeful 'Bon Voyage!'
But Will did not care.
Whatever debt Jack had to deal with, that was his business. Will had more important things to worry about.
With a grunt, he rowed through the choppy waters, his eyes drifting up to the railing of the Pearl as his thoughts turned to a head of red copper curls and a tear stained face.
I'll be back soon, Peg. I'll save you, I promise.
BANG!
The lightning flashed so violently and loudly that the winds and waves began to rock the Black Pearl even more violently in the churning seas.
However, Peggy paid no heed to the change in weather.
How could she when she suddenly caught sight of a barnacle-encrusted boot and a pincer crab leg in her vision as she stared at the floor of her nook?
"So…here ye are then." a man's voice rumbled, piercing through the violent and loud storm outside.
Peggy stiffened as a dark shadow loomed over her, blocking the light from the crack in the door to her nook.
A shadow so large it seemed to fill the entire room with his malice.
A shadow with broad shoulders, a long cloak and a large bi-corn hat silhouetted in the flash of lightning as his pale eyes glimmered eerily in the dark.
She had not even heard him enter the room.
Then again, he always loved entering from the shadows.
"Ye came back ter me! I'm impressed. I'd have thought ye'd have pulled another runner." the Devil snarled down at her. "Then again, it wasn't like ye could run from me this time."
His eyes drifted down to the black mark on her arm with savage pride.
"In the end, it doesn't matter how far ye run from me, lass…ye can never escape death, can ye?"
Peggy hung her head, tears streaming down her face as she stared at her toes.
"No, sir."
"And can ye-" the Devil stopped quickly as the thudding of booted feet thundered out in the captain's cabin.
"Blake? Blake, are you in there-"
"No…" Peggy breathed, her eyes widening as she looked up at the Devil.
He straightened up to his full height, alert, and his tentacled hand flew to his belt, where a cutlass was sheathed in a crusty old leather scabbard.
Peggy's heart leapt to her throat as he pulled out an inch of the tarnished but sharp blade, his slimy index-finger tentacle slithering tight around the hilt as a pair of booted feet blocked some of the light at the bottom of the door to her nook.
"Blake!" Sloane's voice called through the door, worried. "I saw Turner come out of here. Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine!" Peggy bleated, her hand flying to stop the Devil from drawing his weapon.
"No-please!" She whispered desperately, her eyes wide and pleading as she met the Devil's pale orbs in the dark "He's not a part of this. He doesn't need to-"
"Blake?" Sloane called, his voice confused. "Is someone in there with you?"
"N-No!" Peggy cried, "Everything's fine!"
"Look, Blake, we're all worried about you out there. Maybe you should come outside for a bit. I know that lug is out there, too, but Captain Jack would not let him try anything in front of the men. He would look after you-"
"Oh, would he now?" The Devil sniggered maliciously.
Peggy's face fell in dismay as she heard Sloane sniff from outside the door audibly.
Oh no…oh no-no-no!
"Blake, are you sure you're not alone?"
"Sloane, wait!" Peggy called, but it was too late.
The door opened wide to reveal Sloane, soaking wet and dripping onto the wooden floor. His fair mop of hair fell into his eyes as he shook his head and tried to sweep it back from his green eyes.
"Okay, Blake, what the hell is going-"
"NO!" Peggy called, but too late.
Sloane looked up just in time to see a massive crab claw hammer down on him from above, his yell of surprise drowned by the crashing of thunder overhead.
Peggy stared in horror as the male selkie fell to the ground with a hard thump at the Devil's feet.
"Silly pup. Should've known better than to meddle in affairs that don't concern him." The Devil spat down at his latest prey before sneering at Peggy's distraught face. "Was that him then? Was he yer precious lad ye brought into yer silly heart?"
"N-no? He-He's just my crewmate." Peggy shook her head and quickly knelt beside Sloane to check his head.
He was unconscious and had a small lump where he'd been struck, but he was otherwise unharmed—one small mercy.
"You shouldn't have-" She whispered. "He wasn't a part of any of this-"
"He's one of Sparrow's crew." The Devil sniffed, "That makes him a part of this…speakin' of Sparrow…"
Peggy fell silent, her heart hammering as the Devil towered over her, his face split into a malevolent smile and his pale eyes gleaming brightly in the dark as a slimy hand with a tentacle for an index finger extended towards her.
The gesture would have almost been gentlemanly had it not been for the sneer playing across that horrible face. "Come, lass. There is one more job I need ye to do for me."
"Yes sir…" Peggy nodded, shutting her eyes.
Jack…Will…please forgive me.
It did not take Will long to row his way over to the bow of the scuppered vessel. Most of it was splintered wood cast in a crude mockery of what a ship should have been, the bowspit jutting out of the water at nearly ninety degrees skyward.
Will was forced to jump out of his small rowboat and wade onto the ruined boards.
She was in worse shape than he had thought. The only reason she had not sunk was because beneath them were hard and sharp rocks.
Yet still, he could see the outlines of men dotted here and there amongst the rigging.
How could anyone have survived this? Will gaped in horror as he held his lantern aloft to guide his path as he waded from one side of the broken vessel to the other.
The stern of the ship was no better than the bow. Bodies draped limply over several overturned pieces of rigging, a couple of them impaled by pieces of timber and metal from the broken hull or simply laying on the ground lifeless.
The torn, soaked sails hung and swayed above his head like wet, tattered laundry. One sheet dripped icy rainwater down the back of his collar and shirt.
Will winced as the cold droplets slithered down his spine. He held his lantern a little closer to him for the warmth of the tiny flame protected within. Unbidden, his mind wandered back to Peggy, of how warm and dry she had been in his arms barely an hour ago…the smell of her fiery hair filling his nostrils with its salty, spicy scent, soothing him…the smell of home.
He shook himself off again. No…no, he shouldn't let himself get distracted. He just had to search this ship until he found that key, and in a few short hours, he'd be back on the Pearl with her again.
The thought was enough to make the flame in his chest flare up and push him forward over the broken deck towards a shadow moving by one of the ropes.
At first, Will thought it was one of the sails that had fallen and was flapping about in the howling wind.
Yet as he cautiously approached, he found, to his astonishment, it was a man.
A thin, pale, terrified man, his clothes reduced to rags in his sorry state as he kept pulling and pulling on a rope looped around a pully that should have hoisted a jib…only, there was no longer any sail attached to the rope.
"Hoisting the jib, Captain's orders." The man mumbled, hardly noticing Will as he carefully stepped forward, doing his best to keep his face calm and his footsteps slow.
"Sailor?" Will called gently as he could manage, only to be ignored when the poor man before him kept mumbling and tugging on the sheet. "Sailor!"
"Hoisting the jib. Bring up with a round turn."
"Sailor, there's no use. You've run aground." Will jolted as the man finally turned to face him, his pallid face a mask of pain as a blister on his knuckles burst and bled.
"N-no!" he gasped at Will, eyes wide with terror "B-b-beneath us….foul breath…"
SPLASH!
Will almost leapt out of his skin as he wheeled around to face the source of the collision.
Another man had fallen from the mast rigging, and the impact sounded like it cracked many things inside him.
Will did not know whether he should feel ill or not that he had become so used to the sound of breaking bones after watching Peggy transform those few times.
How she could bear the pain of such magic was beyond him, for the man on the deck moaned and groaned in absolute agony as he tried crawling up from the waterlogged pieces of the ship and onto the main deck.
"Hey! Hey!"
Will rushed towards the man, hoisting his lantern on a nearby shard of wood.
The man was still moving and breathing. Good, maybe, as pained as he was, this new man might be able to shed some light on this horrific situation, passing by other survivors who were hiding traumatised in nets or trapped with their legs or arms caught under mounds of wreckage.
Yet no sooner did the light of his lantern glide over the man than Will cried out and leapt back in horror.
His face? HIS FACE?!
Will had a strong stomach, but even he nearly fainted at the gruesome sight below. He dared not describe it.
It was like…like…
"A fearsome creature with giant tentacles that'll suction yer face clean off", Gibbs's voice echoed loudly in Will's brain as he backed away, hand clapped over his mouth to stop himself from throwing up.
CRASSH!
Water splashed straight into Will's back, and he turned around sharply as something huge and solid ploughed out of a nearby wave.
Will gasped as he leapt to the railing to see the new arrival.
It was not a large ship, only a little bigger than the Black Pearl, but she was a sight to behold. She had a crocodilian maw at the bow and three tall masts trimmed with raggedy sails made from kelp and seaweed. Her wooden hull was worn but sturdy even as water spewed from all her iron-trimmed portholes. She hardly seemed affected by weight loss as she smoothly glided and cut through the stormy seas.
Will had thought the Black Pearl was an intimidating ghost ship back when she was under Barbossa's captaincy. Still, she hardly held a candle to this incredible monstrosity that was and could only be the Flying Dutchman.
"There she is. The Flying Dutchman. Still a beauty after all this time."
"Aye…beauty…a beautiful nightmare is what she is. An' her captain is no better. To think I'd live to see the day…ahem – Speakin' of beauties ye think we should check on Peggy, Captain? She an' Sloane have been in there for a good long while."
"Aye, Mister Gibbs, best leave her outta this as much as we can."
"Ye trust this selkie lad? I know he's one of Labelle's boys but still, he did work with the EITC."
"I know. But right now, whatever side he's on, there ain't much he can do to anyone out here. If he wants to leave, he sure as eggs can't take Pegsy along with him in this state without killin' her, and if he tries anythin', then he'll have me and the rest of the Court swoopin' down to nab him. He has no choice but to play nice now."
"Ahh…I see. Still…"
"I know, Mister Gibbs, I know."
"Speakin' of knowing things captain...are...are ye sure about what yer doing? I mean with Peggy in this state, are you sure it's wise to let him-"
"Of course I'm sure mate. Trust me on this one. Now, me that spyglass. I want to see what that whelp's up to."
"Oy! Wake up ya louts!" A harsh voice yelled.
Will grunted as something hard hit him and his cheek stung sharply. Good Lord, what happened? The last thing he remembered was being on that broken ship, and those strange man-like creatures had attacked-
"Gettup ye dogs!" the harsh voice from before growled and Will's eyes opened wide as he was shoved up onto his knees.
The first thing he saw was that he was on a ship. A very wet, rain-drenched ship.
He knew it was not the pearl he was on, for lichen and barnacles dotted the ground everywhere. Jack Sparrow might have appeared to be a careless, haphazard man but he would never let his beloved Pearl look anything less than perfect.
Then that had to mean…
Will sucked in a sharp breath as he beheld his new surroundings for the first time.
The ship was old and weathered, covered in slime and with rotting wooden boards. The sails above were a mix of tattered cloth and seaweed, so ragged they must have been held bound together by some magic because Will could not tell how they were staying stitched together in the harsh stormy winds.
Beside him, four other men of varying ages are knelt. Two of them had their hands clasped before them as they muttered and mumbled tremulous prayers to god. The other two were silent, too terrified to move a muscle as swords were held to their backs by their captors.
Their captors…
Will shivered at the sight of them.
These were not the skeletal, living corpses he had seen fighting in the caves of Isla De Muerta. These were people who looked half sea creatures and half human.
Most of them had arms and legs, yet nearly all were deformed or twisted in some macabre oceanic way. Behind Will, a shorter "man" sported pufferfish quills on one of his cheeks and both his shoulders as he aimed the tip of a rusted blade at the back of his ponytail.
A few feet away, a pale man with the head of a hammerhead shark and strange crustacean-like appendages growing out of his spine stood, his sharp-toothed grin twisting at the edges of his mouth as he called out.
"Attention! Captain on the deck!"
All the strange and malformed crew of the Flying Dutchman stood to attention immediately, their twisted half-human faces showing fear for the first time since Will had seen them.
Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk.
The muffled thuds of a peg leg pounded into Will's ears. Or was that just his head pounding from the hit that had knocked him out a short while ago?
Whatever it was, he found his gaze drawn to the helm of the ship, where a tall figure was stalking out of the shadows, followed by a couple of other shorter figures.
At first glance, it appeared to be a man, for its overall shape seemed human. It wore human clothes, including a long dark coat and a large hat, all covered in slimy kelp and hard barnacles. Yet the closer the thing got, the less man-like it appeared.
Its right leg was not a peg leg, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, it was a sharp point like a crab claw, matching the left arm, which was a gigantic pale pincer. Will frantically looked at the other hand as it reached into a pocket and saw that though it did have fingers and a thumb, it also had a pale tentacle for an index finger that coiled around the pipe it raised to its mouth.
It's face…Will shuddered at the sight of the face.
It had eyes and a mouth similar to a human, but the skin was smooth and strange. His bone structure was framed by a "beard" made primarily of tentacles of varying lengths and sizes that each moved of their own accord. One of them reached to hold the pipe in place at the being's mouth as he busied his hand with lighting a match, the yellow light of the tiny flame illuminating its pale blue-green eyes, the one truly human part of the creature. However, even these eyes were cold and pitiless as they settled on one of the terrified men kneeling and praying on the floor a few feet away from Will.
"Five men are still alive. The rest have moved on!" the man with the shark head hissed to Captain Davy Jones, "An' with the girl comin' aboard soon, that'll be six new crew. We'll be tight fer space, sir if we take any more."
"Never mind about the lass, " the Dutchman's captain snapped so harshly that the shark-headed man and several of the crew flinched,"She will have her place down below, where she belongs."
Will was jarred by the thick Scottish accent that left its mouth. For some reason, he had expected something more diabolical and resonant, like a demon from hell. The thing certainly looked like it belonged in such a place.
Yet something else tickled the back of his mind that threw all uncertainty about the creature's origins out of Will's mind.
Girl? What girl?
Will's looked around. From what he could remember and see, there was no woman on deck with them…was there? He had not seen any woman aboard the decimated ship. Was she a child of one of the sailors? Or had a woman been sailing with them, and was she lost at sea?
Will was not the only one confused. The rest of his fellow captives were also glancing about the deck in bewilderment, only to get cowed as the creature turned its terrible gaze upon them.
Will felt his insides shrivel at the expression and looked down at the wooden boards below, cursing himself for his cowardice. He had always prided himself on being brave in the face of fear, but-
"Let's take a look at ye." Davy Jones mumbled, taking a long drag of its pipe and blowing smoke into the face of one of the men.
"Do ye fear death? Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished. Bah!" the accursed captain snorted, the exhalation blowing not just through his mouth but also through another tentacle on his face that blew out the match's light in his hand. "I can offer you…an escape-"
"Don't listen to him!" one of the other men shouted. He was bleeding from a massive gash on his forehead, but his gaze and his voice were incredibly steady despite his injury.
Will recognised him at once as the sailor he had found pulling on the broken rigging, only now, instead of rope in his hands, he held tight to a beaded rosary with a small wooden cross. Davy Jones eyed the holy trinket with disdain as he hobbled towards its owner, the pincer hand swiftly moving up to grab the man by the throat.
"Do ye not fear death?" he asked, eyes wide with delighted malice.
"I'll…I'll take my chances, sir." Will could almost admire the scared man for his courage even as the captain of the Dutchman straightened up and sniffed at the horrific sea creature-man nearby.
"To the depths."
There was a flash of steel and a splash of red. Will winced and turned his face away to avoid watching the now dead man's body slump, though he almost retched as a stray droplet of sea water did manage to hit him on the back of the head as the crew of the Dutchman tossed him overboard like trash.
"Cruel blackguard!" the first frightened man spat, only to whimper and cringe as Davy Jones rounded on him sharply.
"Life is cruel." he snapped, dousing his pipe on his crab-like claw hand. "Why should the afterlife be any different?"
He turned to face the man closest to Will with a sneer as he leaned in to inspect his haggard face.
"I offer you a choice. Join my crew and postpone the judgement. One hundred years before the mast. Will ye serve?"
"I…I will serve." The terrified man bleated, though Will was horrified to see a strange sort of relief well in those dark and haunted eyes. Then again, Will could see some telltale sickly yellow scurvy staining the man's skin and eyes, so maybe a hundred years before the mast in a frozen state of limbo would have been preferable.
Davy Jones's leer of victory at a new crewman did not last long as he moved along the line and did a double take on Will, for in comparison to the other bedraggled souls, he was still very much alive, whole and kicking.
"You are neither dead nor dying!" Davy Jones snarled down at him, pale eyes glancing at the rest of his crew for an explanation for this anomaly on his ship before settling on the blacksmith again. "What is yer purpose here?!"
Will gulped as he tried to think of some excuse. He could not claim to be a stowaway; that would get him killed. Nor did he look as injured as any of his fellow captives, so pretending to be one of them was out of the question.
Then he remembered…
"Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt." He muttered, and to his surprise, the Dutchman's crew and her captain drew back in shock.
"What is yer purpose here?" Davy Jones repeated his question, eyes wide as he tried to stare straight into Will's, doing his best to detect a lie.
"Jack Sparrow…sent me to settle his debt." Will gulped as he met the pale, tentacled face. It was just as gruesome as Barbossa's undead face, though Will felt he'd much rather have tentacles than skin and flesh hanging off bones.
"He! Did he now?" Davy Jones snorted, leaning back and straightening up to his most entire height. "I'm sorely tempted to accept that offer."
Peggy felt the Devil's presence before she saw him arrive on deck.
Jack had been looking through his spyglass since the dreaded Flying Dutchman had broken through the water's surface. Most of the Black Pearl crew watched in a mixture of awe and horror at the sight of the cursed.
Peggy could not blame them for their terror.
If ever a ship terrified any sailor pirate or not, it was the Flying Dutchman. She was the ghost ships of ghost ships, the home of the devil himself…a pirate's death sentence.
And she, Peggy, had led it right to their door.
She clutched at her arm as she quietly shut the doors to the captain's quarters behind her and locked it with her spare key. Inside, she had put an unconscious Sloane on the bed of her nook, a cool, wet compress on his head and a letter for him to give to Jack. It was not much of an apology to her fellow selkie, but it was all she could manage given the limited time the Devil had given her.
Now, here he was, standing before Jack Sparrow, towering over the pirate lord in the cold moonlight and flashes of lightning.
Peggy watched with teary eyes as the mangled and malformed crew of the Flying Dutchman all slithered behind the crew of the Black Pearl, swords and weapons raised to their throats.
Gibbs was pale and stood still as a statue, his eyes wide with fear. Ragetti and Pintel were whimpering like beaten dogs as they shut their eyes and quietly wept. Cotton, like Gibbs, was silent, though Peggy could see his lips were trembling as he put his hands up in token of surrender while his parrot Paulie squawked in agitation. Marty, who was a few feet away from Peggy with a couple of other men, found himself grabbed from both sides, gulping as the tip of a sharp serrated blade pressed against his Adam's apple.
Only Peggy did not find herself with a sword to her throat, though one of the devil's crew, a man-like creature with the face of a deep sea fish and a bloated body did grab her and twist her arm behind her back to keep her from running.
"'ello lass...miss us?"
"Angler." Peggy gulped as she nodded to the man-creature once before returning to watch Jack and the Devil.
Jack gulped,, taking a startled step back from Davy Jones, though unlike the rest of his men,, he was not terrified. If he was, Peggy was impressed at how well he hid his fear, as he muttered, "Oh…"
"Ye have a debt ter pay!" Davy Jones bore down upon the pirate, each thud of his pincer peg leg and his boot hitting the deck like a clap of thunder. "You've been captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years. That was our agreement!"
"Uh…technically, I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon." Jack pointed out in his usual quick thinking only to find himself leaning back as Davy Jones stalked around him and spat:
"Then ye were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless. Have ye not introduced yerself all these years as Captain Jack Sparrow!"
The crew of the Dutchman all chortled viciously as Jack quickly turned to face the sunken devil, hardly phased by the mockery.
"You have my payment. One soul to serve on your ship is already over there."
Peggy's heart froze in her chest.
Oh no…oh no…what the hell? When did Will go to the Dutchman? He was supposed to search the wreckage and then return. That was the plan, wasn't it? Unless...
She looked at Jack as tears streamed down her face.
Was there a greater plan at work? Was Will supposed to be on the Dutchman to find the key? Was he in on the plan? Or was this just Jack being petty and cruel? Jack had been very displeased with William since the blacksmith had dumped her high and dry six months ago. And he had been very reticent to let Will into his life or his ship again after discovering Peggy's condition. Was sending him into the Devil's clutches just Jack's way of getting rid of Will once and for all? Despite their differences, Peggy knew Jack did like Will as a friend to some degree…unless she had been entirely wrong and misread the signs.
Her heart hammered as Davy Jones's voice drowned out all other terrible thoughts from her mind.
"One soul is not equal to another."
"Aha!" Jack smirked "So we've established my proposal is sound in principle and now we're just haggling over price."
"…Price?" Davy Jones quirked a brow at the pirate, intrigued.
Peggy shut her eyes in dismay. Why did Jack have to open his mouth? The second you gave the devil an opening, he'd make a deal that always benefitted him and him alone.
However, she kept her mouth shut, wincing as her right wrist throbbed painfully in a reminder of her orders from before.
"Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?" Jack whispered conspiratorially.
Peggy shivered as Davy Jones looked around the deck of the Black Pearl, his gaze eventually landing on her pale petrified face.
He sneered with malicious pleasure, eyes glimmering in the moonlight and piercing straight into her. She wanted to curl up and hide in a corner under that stare but she could not. She was pinned in place like a butterfly on a corkboard as the Devil hissed into the cold night air.
"One Hundred Souls. Three days."
The Dutchman's crew laughed again, and Peggy hung her head to stare at the deck's boards.
"Yer a diamond mate. Send me back the boy and I'll get started right off!" Jack grinned congenially and tried to turn his back on Davy Jones, only to find himself faced with a shark-headed crewman.
Maccus…he's still as fearsome an attack dog as ever. Peggy felt her hackles raised at the memories of the shark-headed man's harsh shouts and brutal slaps to her head.
"I keep the boy, a good faith payment. That leaves you only ninety-nine more to go." Davy Jones barked with laughter, the rest of his crew joining in. Peggy cringed away from Angler behind her as he sniggered greasily into her ear.
Her hair must have caught the light or Jack's attention because, for the first time, he finally seemed to notice she was standing there.
For the first time since his conversation with Jones had begun, the pirate lord did look somewhat grim and guilty.
Peggy wondered if it was because of remorse for Will or concern for her broken bond. Now that Peggy thought about it, would her heart shatter if the Flying Dutchman separated her and Will? She had never given it much thought before. The ship itself was a plane outside of life and death. Would she die if it took either her or Will away from one another?
But that would not happen. She knew it would not. The Devil had wasted too much time waiting to collect on her soul. She was going on that ship whether Will was on it or not.
Either way, he was a lot less convivial as he stepped towards Jones and called over the top of the chortling:
"Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. It's worth at least four…maybe three and a half…And did I happen to mention…he's in love…with a girl." He glanced at Peggy's direction, and Jones followed his gaze curiously, listening intently as Jack now took the opportunity to circle him and whispered in his ear.
Peggy frowned as she strained to listen, but Jack spoke so quietly that even the crew nearby squinted as they desperately tried to eavesdrop without looking suspicious. What Peggy could see, however, surprised her.
For a split moment, the Devil's face was slack, the anger gone. His pale eyes stared between her and the open ocean with deep sorrow; it made her already damaged heart ache to see it.
It was the most human expression she had ever seen on the Devil's face, and as lightning flashed overhead, she thought she saw, for a split second, the face of a human man with a scraggly beard and a weathered face.
Then the moment was gone as Jones sharply turned to face the rest of the crew, squaring his shoulders proudly as he barked:
"I keep the boy. Ninety-nine souls-ah!" he shook his head slightly as he brought himself under control again to return the volley to Jack.
"But I wonder Sparrow, can ye live with this? Can ye condemn an innocent man, a friend, ter a lifetime of servitude in yer name while ye roam free?"
"…yep, I can live with it. Shall we seal it in blood or…uh…ink?" Jack smiled, holding out his arm, ready to seal the deal. Had Peggy not been so dismayed already, she might have facepalmed at his cavalier attitude.
She should have known Jack would give Will up without a second thought. Jack was selfish till the end…though it did not come as a surprise to her.
She watched as Davy Jones took Jack's hand with his own, the tentacled finger gripping the pirate's hand so tightly he gasped and winced with disgust.
"Three days." He muttered, wrenching his hand out of the pirate's with a few tugs as the suckers on the tentacles accidentally got stuck.
Once free, Davy Jones turned to face Peggy and glowered at her.
"Angler, bring 'er over!"
"Wait, what?" Jack blinked in surprise as Angler shoved Peggy towards his captain.
"Oy! Let go of her!" Marty struggled against his captors only to grunt as the blade against his throat pricked the skin.
But Peggy was already standing between Jack and Davy Jones, her head bowed as she kept her eyes fixed on her toes, and Jack held up a hand in his usual awkward negotiation.
"Ah, Jonesy, I already gave you the whelp, didn't I? No need to take her-"
"Aye, she ain't a part of this," Gibbs called out.
"On the contrary, laddie…" Davy Jones sneered, raising his pincer hand to push Peggy's chin up. "She has been a part of this since the beginning. How else did ye think I was keepin' tabs on ye all this time?"
"Pegsy, what is he talkin' about?" Jack's eyes sharpened on Peggy, trying to meet her eye, but she kept her gaze fixed on his scuffed black boots.
"Ah…didn't she ever tell ye she was one of mine?" Jones chortled wickedly, "Clearly ye don't know yer precious cabin girl as well as ye thought ye did, Sparrow! Well go on lass, tell 'im! Tell him the truth! Tell 'em how ye wiggled yer way into his service on my orders. Tell 'em how loyally ye have been keepin' me abreast of this ship fer the last few months with this!"
Peggy gasped in pain as the crab claw grabbed her right arm and pulled it up for all to see. Illuminated by the moon's light, the dark ring of black ink stood out starkly on her skin as if it were as white as paper. The veins around the mark were all black and tinged a violent, angry red at the ends, but towards the centre, they had paled to a sickly green.
"The Devil's mark!" one of the crew near Marty yelled as his fellow mate cried out:
"Witch! She's a witch!"
"I knew that red hair was a curse."
Peggy shut her eyes as Jones shoved her into Jack's arms, unable to bear the slew of curses hitting her eardrums; worse still was the expression on Jack's face.
It was cold and devoid of emotion, save the ice in his eyes as he pulled her away to examine the mark more closely.
When Jack's gaze met her tearful eyes again, his expression was strangely tricky to read. He could have been angry, indifferent, guilty, or even sad. She wished he was angry and shouting at her; it would be easy to plead and beg for mercy then. This silence and blankness scared her more than any of his odd moods.
"So…You are one of his lot. The last selkie of the Caribbean, the devil's loyal sea dog." He sneered, and Peggy hung her head in shame as she wept.
"Jack…I…I'm so sorry. I was trying to…trying to do what I could to survive. I had no choice-"
"Oh, you had a choice, love." Jack snorted. "Ye chose to slither yer way around and survive any way you could. Oh, don't get me wrong, as a slithering survivor, I can respect that. Be that as it may, I wouldn't be a good pirate if I let some scurvy little rat like you stick around on my ship, no matter what we've been through" He would have sounded accepting and supportive if not for the cold gleam in his brown eyes. He was beyond furious now. Peggy would not blame him for taking his gun out on her.
Instead, what he did was far worse.
Peggy winced as she felt Jack's hand slip something down the open collar of her shirt before she was roughly shoved back into the Devil's waiting arms.
"Tell yer beloved whelp I said hello. You two selfish brats deserve one another." The words were cold and blunt, with no hint of his usual smarm and swagger.
Peggy felt her heartache at the sound. It was not like the ache of her broken bond, but it came near second place to it. Second to Will, Jack was one of her dearest friends. She always knew he would be disgusted and hurt by what she did, but nothing could have prepared her for the wave of guilt that washed over her as she
"I'm sorry, Jack…truly I am." She murmured, only for Jack to grunt wordlessly in response, his expression rigid and blank, much to the amusement of Davy Jones.
"Daughters of the ocean. Deceitful little creature, aren't they?" The Devil snorted, his tentacled index finger wrapping around Peggy's throat as his hand rested on her shoulder. "Three days, Sparrow. Three days, ninety-nine souls-"
"Ninety-eight," Jack muttered stiffly, pointing a cautious finger at Peggy, who blinked at him in surprise. "Take her, and it's ninety-eight souls."
"The Lass doesn't count." Davy Jones sniffed waspishly.
"I thought we established that no soul is worth the same as the other." Jack tilted his head, his tone light and casual, but his eyes stiff and tense. "Now that I think about it. I'd have thought the last selkie of the Caribbean would be worth at least eighty souls-"
"Perhaps," Davy Jones leered. "But ye see, Sparrow, she's already been mine for the last thirteen years. Ye can't barter a soul that already belongs to me."
"Worth a shot." Jack shrugged bitterly. "Fine then, take her. See if I care."
"Haha- and people call me cold-blooded." Davy Jones chortled along with the rest of his crew. "Back to the ship! Our work here is done for the night."
Will stared as the hulking mass of tentacles and barnacles that was Davy Jones stepped out from the shadows once more and began walking up to the helm, waving an arm at his men to continue their duties.
While the devil of the deep had been busy with Jack and the Pearl, a mottled, barnacle-browed blackguard called Clanker had lined Will and the rest of the survivors of the shipwreck against the railings for a quick inspection, which included harsh pat downs and rough tilting of heads to check for vermin or parasites.
"Hmm, strong arms. It'll be the deck for you, laddie." He grunted as he shoved Will's head down to inspect it for lice.
"Oi, Clanker! Got one more for ye!" the shark-headed man, whom Will guessed was the First Mate, barked roughly, shoving someone hard onto the deck.
"He-he-he! Look who's back!" Clanker jeered, unhanding Will and thudding over to the newcomer, who yelped in pain as they were dragged roughly to their feet.
Will looked up at the sound. His heart almost vanished as he recognised a familiar head of damp copper curls.
"No…no-no-no-no!" He gaped in horror as Peggy's freckled face came into view, twisted in pain as Clanker pulled her head around by the hair.
"Well, well, well. Those are new." Another crew member sneered from nearby as they and several others leered at how Peggy's wet shirt clung to her curves, a couple of them even whistling and catcalling.
Will could only be thankful Peggy was so diligent about wearing her stays and a shift beneath her pirate clothes because many of these wretched creatures were eying her like a fresh piece of meat.
"Not bad, not bad at all." Clanker nodded approvingly as he looked her up and down, though his interest had less to do with lust and felt more like a trainer examining a champion racehorse. "Not too scrawny either. Show me yer arms. Hmm, ye got some muscle. Now let's see them legs-"
"Get your filthy hands off her!" Will snarled before Clanker could kneel to inspect Peggy's hips and thighs.
There was silence as all eyes turned to Will. Clanker and Maccus glowered at him so ferociously that the man beside Will shrivelled into a ball and started cowering.
Will, however, was no longer afraid. How could he be when his entire body burned with rage?
He was not sure what the hell was happening. He had no idea why Jack had let this sunken Devil take Peggy, but Will would not let these dastardly creatures have her. He would not have a repeat of Barbossa. Not when her life hung so delicately in the balance.
Before any crew could hold him back, he rushed for Peggy, planting himself straight between her and Clanker, who stumbled back as he was pushed aside.
"Will no!" Peggy tried pushing Will away, her eyes wide and frantic as she saw the rest of the crew suddenly reach for their weapons at their belts.
"What are you doing, boy!" Maccus snarled, baring sharp shark teeth at Will, who glowered back just as fiercely.
"I said, keep your hands off her."
"Will don't. You'll get killed!" Peggy whispered, her voice dying in her throat as the heavy thudding of footsteps announced the arrival of Davy Jones as he descended the steps from the helm, staring down his nose at Will with all the disdain of a feral cat.
"So…Sparrow was right." Davy Jones's voice echoed across the deck, cold and sharp as a dagger as he stalked towards Peggy and Will, who quickly stood in front of her to shield her from view. "This be him then? The lad you so foolishly wasted yer time on? Tch! Should've guessed."
"Whatever deal you made with Jack Sparrow and me is between us. Leave her out of this. She doesn't belong here." Will glowered at the captain, who threw his head back and laughed.
"HA! What's this lass? Ye really did follow me orders didn't ye? Ye didn't even tell yer pretty little whelp about our deal. Hmph! So much for the loyalty."
"Deal?" Will's brow furrowed. What was this devil talking about?
"Oh, ye might have her heart, lad. Ye may even have her hand." Davy Jones rolled his eyes "But her soul, well…that's belonged to me for quite some time. And thanks to ye, it will still belong to me for far longer." he then barked at Maccus, "Take these two to old Silver in the Galley. They got two hours till they start their shift-"
He looked back at Will and Peggy, his gaze turning to ice and steel as he sneered:
"-and I'm sure they have much to talk about!"
The bell has been raised from its watery grave
Do you hear its sepulchral tone?
A Call to all, pay heed to the squall
And turn your sail towards home!
Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die
And there we have it. Chapter 23! Finally the Devil himself arrives.
I hope it was worth the wait; I've been looking forward to getting to Davy Jones forever!
So yeah, poor Peggy and Jack have been hit with this massive blow, and Poor Will does not know what is going on (cue confused Legolas's face in the background). Yeah, he was really left in the dark. Will Jack ever forgive Peggy or will this bode ill for them? Questions questions, all of which will hopefully make sense as we move forward ;)
Anyways to keep it short and sweet hope you enjoyed and keep faving, reviewing and following for more.
Until next time,
FuzzyBeta