Captain Jack Sparow and I: A Pirates of the Caribbean Fanfiction

Chapter 6: The Latin Words

Chapter 6: The Latin Words




Jack looks at the map laying on the table. He places his ringed finger over the circles and traces them as if trying to read them. I look at him cluelessly as he runs his finger along the criss-crossing circles on the parchment, all the while muttering to himself words too inaudible to understand. He catches a glimpse at the strange words lining the border of the map and reads them softly under his breath,

"super ore. super iterum"


"What?" I ask with wide eyes.

"super ore. super iterum. That's Latin for 'Over the Edge, over again'" he answers. He continues to run his finger along more of the words as I look at him in awe and confusion.

"sursum est deorsum. Up is down" Jack reads.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask in disappointment. These clues that will help us find Whitewater Bay are maddeningly unhelpful.

"These things are never clear" Jack says as he examines the words over and over again.

"Over the edge? Up is down? What does this all mean?" I ask him.

He stops what he is doing and looks up at me seriously. "We are going to the Land of the Dead."

I stand up abruptly, shoving the chair backwards. I give him a puzzled look. I'm pretty sure I heard him wrong. "What?"

"The Land of the Dead" Jack answers. He rolls the map up and secures it with a thin rope. He's lost it this time. All that rum must've gotten into his head. Land of the Dead? What is he talking about?

Storm clouds start to gather above us as strong gusts of wind rock the ship.

"There's no such thing! There's only Heaven and Hell!" I call over to him.

"Believe what you must, love, but I've been there" He replies

"Jack, you're mad!" I yell at him over the crashes of the waves.

"Thank goodness for that!" he calls back at me. He tucks the rolled up map inside his coat and quickly walks towards the chartroom. I hastily follow. We hurry inside the chartroom escape the gathering storm outside. I shut the door behind me, blocking out the wind and noise. I look back at Jack seriously to find that Captain Turner and Bootstrap are there already.

"We must sail the Dutchman to the Land of the Dead" Jack says to Captain Turner.

"We can't do that! You're mad!" He replies in shock.

"We have to go there. That's where Whitewater Bay is" Jack says.

Silence fills the room. Captain Turner and his father exchange uncertain looks. "And how do you know that?" He replies.

Jack reaches into his coat and searches through his various pockets. He pulls out the rolled up map and hands it to the unconvinced Captain Turner. He unrolls it once it is given to him and stares stunned at the map.

"That girl. That girl is the one from the prophecy about Whitewater Bay. She drew that map" Jack says, jabbing his finger at the map. "See those words? they translate to 'Over the edge, over again'" Jack says as Captain Turner examines the map interested.

"Over the edge? Over again?" Captain Turner says, staring intently at the words.

"Sound familiar, eh?" Jack says. He points to the other words on the map. "These translate to 'Up is down'" Jack says with a smile.

Jack and Captain Turner exchange looks. Captain Turner looks at Jack with suspicion.

"What interest do you have in the Semper Stone?" Captain Turner says to Jack with mistrust.

"Immortality. Sailing the seas forever" Jack replies. He starts to pace around the chartroom, picking up bit of knick knacks and putting them back. He picks up an odd coin from the desk.

"What interest do YOU have in the stone, William?" Jack says, playing around with the coin with his fingers. He circles around Captain Turner, the coin still spinning in his hand. "Curious as it is, why is it you want the stone of Semper when you already are immortal?"

Captain Turner looks at Jack and snatches the coin out of his hands. He places the coin back on the desk and looks up at Jack. "The Semper Stone does not only grant immortality, Jack."

Captain Turner turns around and walks out of the Chartroom as Jack follows him, leaving me alone with Bootstrap. I shut the door behind them to block out the cold from outside. I look at Bootstrap who is sitting himself down at an armchair.

"Please tell me what's happening," I ask him. "I don't know the whole story"

Bootstrap grunts and rests his arms on the sides of the chair. "You want to know the whole story? About what's going on? They haven't told you?" He says in a gruff voice.

I silently nod.

He lifts his feet up and rests them on the footstool in front of him. I Walk closer and sit beside him on a wooden stool.

"What do you want to know?" Bootstrap asks.

"Everything," I say softly, "I want to know where the Land of the Dead is, what the Semper Stone does, and why does Captain Turner need it?"

He looks up at me with his pale, weathered face. "You want to know everything? I'll tell ya." He says with a cough in between.

I lean closer to Bootstrap as he starts to speak. "The Land of the Dead is a place not of death, but of punishment. People sent there are doomed to wander there for all eternity. You may also know it as Davy Jones' Locker..."

"Davy Jones' Locker?" I interrupt. "Jack told me he's been there"

"He was sent there," Bootstrap continues. "They had a map, you see, which they used to rescue Jack from the Locker. On the map, the words up is down and over the edge, over again were written. The crew worked out what they meant. They sailed over the edge of the world to get to the Land of the Dead, and to get back, they flipped the boat upside down."

"What?" I say in disbelief.

Bootstrap ignores me and continues to talk. "The map that you just drew contained those words written on it. That's why we must sail to the Land of the Dead. That's where the Stone lies."

I look at the ground, all the while listening to everything he is saying.

"There is a legend. Calypso, the great sea-goddess herself, bound some of her power into a rock. She hid this stone from the world. Whoever would find this stone would gain eternal life, it was said. The stone's whereabouts would forever be unknown until a woman, like Calypso herself, would be born. This woman would be born knowing the route to the stone. Throughout the centuries, sailors have been seeking this woman until Jack found you." He pauses and notices the look in my eyes of confusion.

"If the stone grants eternal life, why does Captain Turner need it? He's already immortal being captain of The Flying Dutchman, right?" I ask, looking back up at him.

"Being captain of the Flying Dutchman also has its disadvantages," Bootstrap says.

"What are you talking about? He already has immortality" I interrupt.

"It's not just about living forever, Catherine. Being Captain of the Flying Dutchman caused William a great loss. You see, becoming captain of this ship, his heart was carved out and locked in a chest, to which he gave to his dearly beloved. Being captain of The Flying Dutchman forces you to only set foot on land once every ten years, separating him from his wife."

"I imagine that to be torture, only seeing his wife once every ten years" I tell Bootstrap who slowly nodded. "But what use would the stone be to him?"

"The stone does not only grant immortality. It also grants the chance to be with whom you love forever." He says. I look at him confused.

"The Semper Stone," he continues, "Allows the Captain of the Flying Dutchman to resign his post and be with his wife. The captain job shall be handed down to the first mate. William would get to be with his Elizabeth for the rest of his life. That's something he would give up anything for, even immortality".

I look down to the floor and think about everything he just said. I know how to get to Whitewater Bay now. I know what the Semper Stone does now. I know why we are after it.

Jack Sparrow wants the stone for immortality. Captain Turner is willing to give up his immortality for the love of his life. I suddenly find my need for the stone greatly lessened. I don't want the stone for myself anymore. I want it for Captain Turner. I never really experienced love before, but the fact that this man would give up living forever for the chance to be with his wife is touching. Someday, I want to love someone that way too, and for him to feel the same about me.




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