The Redhead of the Sea (Jack Sparrow x OC)

Chapter 37: A Deal with the BlackBearded Devil

[A/N] – According to the movies, the time skip between the two movies is 20 years. However, it is unclear when Barbossa lost the Pearl. Some say it's around 16, so I will make it 14 since I want to give him time to find the King and climb the ranks, while Artemis explore her little path on top of Blackbeard's ship.

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Almost 14 years have been spent on top of the Pearl for Artemis. The endless freedom was in her grasp going from one adventure to the other. Sailing on endless seas, the pirate crew being her only family. Her heart never settled for anyone, and with her gaze always locked on the horizon, she found the years passing faster than she expected.

Everything though, was about to change in one single eventful night.

The sea was calm, and the Pearl was moving along the small waves, gently rocking its sailors to sleep. All unaware of the threat coming from the mist and the shadows around them. Artemis was asleep on top of the crows' nest, and Jack the monkey was sleeping curled in her lap. Her teeth slightly hit each other as a cold rush of wind seemed to touch her.

Opening her single eye, she noticed a faint silhouette through the fogginess of the sleep. In seconds, it became clearer that it was a ship and she doubted it had good intentions. Quickly she grabbed the rope connected to the bell and started to ring it with such ferocity that she was sure the rope would break any moment.

The sound of the bell raising alarm, caused everyone to quickly rush on board with their swords extended. They looked around just as the ship came into full view. Whether its intentions, the Black Pearl was known not to take it lightly upon any ship crossing their paths, let alone one with no pirate flag on it.

Wasting no time, the pirates all charged. Grabbing ropes, they swung on the ship that had approached them only to find it empty.

Artemis landed last, looking around at the deserted deck. Was this some sort of joke? The ship could not move on its own and without any crew. Even the Flying Dutchman needed manpower to sail properly.

She was about to say something when she felt it... A weird sensation, like some insect or something crawling up her leg and causing her to shiver from that foreign and sneaky touch.

Looking down, she stared once she realised it was a rope.

In seconds, the ropes of the ship came alive.

Like snakes they moved fast, trapping the legs and bodies of her crew before hanging them upside down. The cries of those daring to speak were muffled by the ropes, keeping them all trapped and silenced.

Then from the shadows and the deck beneath, the crew of this mysterious ship emerged. They had fallen into an elegant and very smart trap, a trap that had sorcery behind it for there was no way to explain what had taken place and how the ropes moved as if they had free will of their own.

The crew was variant, with some men looking very out of place.

The majority though were black, muscled men who did not speak and only glared. They towered over most of the sailors, theirs and the crew of black pearl as well.

"Looks like we have a good catch guys," a female voice said, a Hispanic accent not being ignored.

Into the light of the candles walked a woman, wearing a black fatherly hat. She looked young, around Artemis' age, if not a little younger, and from her clothing; she must have been the captain of the ship.

"He will be proud," the Hispanic woman said and looked at the men hanging around her, not noticing Artemis, who was ironically hanged right above her. Her mouth was free since she never made a noise, but her hand was already working on the ropes by using the knife she always had hidden in her boot.