Chapter 23

The Troubadour sailed through three storms during that week. And as they lowered the anchor into the ocean, Jack ran towards the side of the ship and stepped into a row boat, his excitement as clear as day. They had arrived at Tia Dalma's, and Jack was eager to get inside the hut, produce the rings to the sorceress, and get his Pearl back.

"Come on, come on!" Jack exclaimed to the crew, waving his hands around wildly. "Quickly!"

Teague chuckled as he stepped closer towards the railings, "Jackie boy, what did I tell you about being patient?"

"You didn't." He replied, making a random gesture with his hands. "So on that note, get in the boat." He frowned in thought, "That rhymed."

The crew all stepped into the long boats before being lowered into the water, Jack immediately began rowing towards the narrow river running between the two islands, and the rest of the Troubadour crew followed in his wake.

The small trip was silent, except for Jack's humming which appeared to grow quieter and quieter the nearer they got to Tia Dalma's hut. Once mooring, Jack became silent and hopped out of the boat. He counted each of the Four Sacred Rings on his fingers before nodding happily and stepping inside the hut.

As Vikki crossed the threshold of the hut a strange feeling overwhelmed her. She didn't know how to describe it, only that it was sickly sweet and neither good nor bad. It made her uncomfortable.

The brunette stood beside Mr Gibbs and Buck as Jack and Teague placed their hands upon the table in front of the voo-doo witch.

The woman grinned once everyone took their places, her black teeth glinting in the dim lighting, "I was expecting you." She began, her thick Jamaican accent sent shivers down Victoria's spine. "I see you've picked up some friends along the way." Her statement was aimed towards Jack, who shrugged in response.

"I wouldn't call them friends." He stated, "More...acquaintances...and relatives."

The woman's dark eyes darted towards Victoria, and smirked knowingly, "Of course." She rose to her feet and slowly began to walk around the side of the table. "You have the rings?" She asked, stopping her slow patrol to glide her bejewelled fingers through Vikki's long brown hair.

"Aye," Jack grinned, wiggling his fingers in front of the sorceress. "That I do, wouldn't have come without them!"

"Good..." Tia nodded and licked her lips before producing a small square shaped, gold bowl. "Now, give them to me."

"You do know what you're doing, right?"

Tia merely gave him a pointed look in response, causing Jack handed the rings over to the witch as she took a seat at her table once again. And the crew watched on in bewilderment as she poured a trickle of black water into the bowl.

"Victoria," Tia beckoned for the brunette to step forwards, and handed the bowl towards the young woman, who held it tightly with both hands out in front of her.

"The first ring, from Port Royal, symbolising greed and mercy." Tia began, "The second ring, from the island of the Pelegostos, represents danger and the need of survival. The third, from the Isla de Muerta, symbolises curses and lost treasures." Tia Dalma dropped each ring into the bowl as she called them out, "The fourth ring, taken from Mermaid Cove, represents lust, love and hate." The final ring was dropped into the bowl, and Vikki could feel the bowl tingling underneath her fingertips.

"The Pearl?" The sorceress asked, holding a hand out towards Jack. Reluctantly, and with a pout, the Captain pulled the bottle out from inside his shirt and handed it over to Tia, who accepted it graciously in her slender hands.

"With the power vested in me, I call upon the spirits of the four sacred rings to free The Black Pearl from Blackbeard's bottled imprisonment!" A strong gust of wind suddenly knocked the bowl flying from Vikki's hands. The gust of wind took it out of the window, shattering the glass across the wooden floorboards. The row boats tipped upside down in the water.

The dreadlocked woman then threw the glass bottle into the air, where it appeared to glow mysteriously and hover in the air before following the golden bowl out of the hut.

The crew rushed outside, and watched as - from a distance - the four sacred rings burst into flames and floated up towards the ship in the bottle. Together, they manifested a magnificent gold and silver glow as the four rings melted and infused together. The liquid treasures circled in the air before encasing around the bottle and compacting it tighter and tighter before shattering in the air. Sparks settled in the ocean before creating a whirlpool, and spewing The Black Pearl from its mouth.

Everyone's jaw dropped as they saw The Black Pearl floating gloriously in the ocean, and all was silent before Jack began to cheer from somewhere among the other Troubadour crew members behind Victoria in the hut.

"Mothers love..." Gibbs murmured in awe.

"Right then!" Jack stated, stepping towards the door. "I believe father dearest has the necessary payment? Cheers you old codfish!"

Teague grasped his son by the forearm before he could take another step towards the door. The older Captain chuckled, "You're forgetting I supplied you with a helping hand in retrieving the rings, Jackie. You can bail yourself out now."

The Captain pouted before turning to face Tia. "What would the...lovely...lady...like as payment? What about the undead monkey?" He gestured towards The Black Pearl. "We can all scurry over there and catch it?"

Tia smiled slyly at the Captain, "Jack," She began. "I'll do this out of me kind heart."

Jack was taken aback, his eyes darted left and right in suspicion, "Is something wrong?"

As Tia opened her mouth to explain, Jack quickly spoke up, "Everything's fine, you say? Alright then, au revoir, talley ho, adios, goodbye!" He then swaggered out of the hut without another word, "Come on then! Mr Gibbs! Victoria! Get a move on!" He paused once he stepped outside of the hut and turned on his heel to look at the young boy, "And I suppose you owe it to Victoria that you're coming too."

The goodbyes were hard for Victoria. Everyone from the Troubadour had been immensely kind towards her during her time on the ship. Especially Captain Teague, Buck and Nigel.

"I wish you well on your adventures from here on out, Stripes!" Buck grinned, shaking her hand.

"You too, Buck." Vikki replied, smiling.

"I hope to see you again." Nigel stated, placing his hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"I'll miss you, Nigel." Victoria stated, before moving off to find the Captain. She approached the man at the helm of the Troubadour and bowed her head towards him. "Thank you, Captain." She stated sincerely, "For everything."

Teague grinned, "You're most welcome, Victoria. Your presence on board my ship will be hard to forget."

As Jack, Mr Gibbs, Victoria and Thomas sailed away from Tia Dalma's on The Black Pearl the dark clouds dispersed, and left the small crew in golden rays of warm sunshine.

A/N: That's all there is for now! This story is completed! I shall eventually work on a sequel, but right now, I've just started university, so it shan't be anytime soon – I want to be settled first.

But please, review and let me know what you thought of this story, and what events you wish to happen in the sequel.

I have slightly tweaked this chapter

Much love xx