Author's Note: To my PiC, Scarlett Burns. I hope this is better then some of the others you've read. ;) It's just really getting started. Co-insides with my PotC fics, involving Jack in love with Davina. And a lot of Gallagher Spike.
"Galvin Trey Winter!" The boy fell off the wall and tumbled into the sweet green grass beside it as he heard his mother's yell. Looking up with startled golden brown eyes, he watched his mother's willowy frame storming down the lane towards him and knew he was in trouble this time.
Pushing the sable hair from his face, he dusted off the knees of his breeches, spat out the reed stem and tried to look innocent.
But his mother's gaze bore into his as she came to a stop. "You slipped out of the window again didn't you?! Galvin, HOW many times have I told you!"
"But mum!" The seven year old tried to pled with her.
"No buts! I don't pay Mr. Tanner to come here and teach thin air, now do I?! Always slipping off to day dream, never doing your work...do you know what Mr. Tanner told me this morning?!" His mother demanded, eyeing the boy.
Galvin swallowed, kicked at the ground and muttered a dejected no.
"That you've been drawing sailing ships again!" His mother snapped, but her gray eyes softened on him and she sighed, pulling the ragged shawl tighter around her thin shoulders. "Galvin, WHAT am I going to do with you?"
"I wasn't day dreamin', honest mum!" Galvin replied earnestly. "And I promise I'll work harder at me studies! Promise!" He stared up her with an honest stare.
Annie Winter looked at the boy, she'd taken in as her own. She could see so much of the boy's father in him, that the resemblance appeared to be a miniature verson of the man. But when the boy looked at her, with those honest eyes, the only thing that could be seen, was the child's real mother.
She sighed deeply, and reached out, ruffling the boy's hair. "Get back t' the inn, on the double, Galvin, I have chores for you. I want you to go to the market, and bring back some sugar cane. There's five shillings in the box on the mantel. Get it and run down t' the market. On the double."
"Yes mum!" Galvin brushed his knees again, and scurried past her. Annie watched him run to the Inn, she owned, before turning her eyes to the ocean. It had been nine long months, since Annie had seen her husband, Adrian, who was a sailor, and she was always on the look out for the ship that bore him. Many times, more for the boy's sake, then her own.
And today, her sights weren't disappointed. White sails crested the waves, coming closer to the small port town on the island. She frowned. White sails would not bring the ship Adrian served on, nor Galvin's real father. Perhaps it was a navel ship, passing through, as some times happened.
Galvin found the five shillings, his mother had spoke of and was leaving the Inn, even as he saw her return. He gave her a wave of fare well and headed for the market, near the port's docks. The boy loved heading into the market. It did a fair brisk of trade with privateers and there was nothing Gavlin enjoyed more, then to take in all the colorful pageantry they brought with them, and the wonderful treasures of their cargo.
Sugar cane only cost two or three shillings, which insured Galvin had extra for a tankard of cider at the other local inn in town. One that catered to the sailors. It was a privet joy to take up a table in the back of the inn, and listen to their stories.
Stories of great ships, greater captains, and extraordinary treasure. His mother was right, Galvin was quiet guilty of day dreaming. He did it all the time. In his day dreams, he was a fierce, heroic pirate captain, with the best and fastest ship on the seven seas. He made sure his mother always had money and a fine inn and the latest dresses, the sailors were always talking about the ladies of Port Royal and Kingston wearing.
Entering the market place, his mind firm on what his mother, Annie wanted him to do, he went to the stall that sold sugar cane. Enrica ran the stand and had a soft spot for Galvin. He popped up at her stand, just as she was finishing with another customer.
She turned to see Galvin standing there grinning impishly and reached out, dragging the child into a large bone crunching hug. Enrica was a large part spanish, part native woman, who was grandmother to all children on the island, Galvin she was espeically fond. "How is your mother?" She asked, putting several sugar cane sticks in a birch bag.
"She's well, Grandma Enrica." Galvin said with that mischievious grin.
"I see she most 'ave caught ye slackin' at yer studies again..."Enrica said, eyeing the boy.
"Oh no! I've been sticking to my studies! Honest!" Galvin gave her the honest stare and Enrica just laughed. She only took two shillings for the cane. "Now go have some fun, the way little boys are supposed to!" She said, shooing him off with her broom to his backside.
Galvin laughed and took off running down the lane, towards the other inn for a cider.
He'd just turned the corner, when he ran smack into someone, tumbled backwards on to his butt. As the dust cleared, he was staring up at the very tall figure with blonde-ish white hair, his face was angular, sharp defined, aristocratic. He had a hawks nose, between silver, hawk eyes. He was immaculately dressed in the finest fashion of the time.
But it was the way he was looking down at the boy, calculating, shocked. Then he reached down with a gloved had and snatched the boy to his feet. "What are you doing, HERE?! You should be at the Inn!" The stranger's autocratic British accent unnerved Galvin and he struggled to get out of the man's grip.
But the more he struggled, the more his grip was tightened.Galvin looked up at him, then heard a horrendous explosion and Galvin's golden brown eyes, widened as he turned to find the inn, he'd left, his mother's inn, his home, in flames. "They've blown the rum kegs..." The stranger who still had his arm, muttered, shaking his head.
He let go of the boy's arm and began hurring towards the path that led to the inn. Galvin scrambled to follow. "Go back to the market, boy! Stay with the sugercane lady. Until I come to retrive you!"
"Retrieve! What is going on! and I'm going with you!" Galvin said, ending on a dangerously firm note of resolution and he marched right after the peacock stranger, but he didn't seem to try and stop him a second time, only meeting the child's eyes. Then nodded. "But you stay behind me, boy!" The man told him.
They ran up the hill towards the burning in. As they approached, the few guests they'd had made it out. "Mary, where's my mother?!" Galvin asked the sevring maid that worked for them.
"Still in side!" She cried. "He wants he to tell him everything and find the papers!"
"What did he look like?" Asked the blonde peacock with Galvin.
Mary sniffled. "Sir...sirr...I can't possible..." The man grabbed her shoulder, "What did he look like!" HE demanded again, this time with an air of authority. Galvin watched. Mary sniffled once more and looked into the haunting silver eyes and said. "He was big, real big, had a scar down the front of his face, from left to right I think. A wild stock of black hair. He was dressed all in black... and he when spoke...never softly, always booming..."Mary fell into a wilded frenzy of sobs.
The man let her go. "That's all I need to know." He pulled a astoundingly ravishing blade, something Galvin had never seen before and charged through the fire.
"Galvin! No!" Galvin charged into the inn behind him and followed him up the stairs, picking up a spare cutlass on the floor. "Know how to use that?" The man asked him, nodding to the cutlass. "Yeah, the pointy end goes into the other man..." Galvin replied.
The man smiled, bemused and shook his head. "Just try to keep alive Galvin Sparrow.Stay behind me."
"Wha?! What did you call me?" Galvin asked, from behind the stranger.
"We'll get to that later, and I imagine that's what this all about! HA!" THe stranger kicked over a door as the walls around them burned. The room was in shambles, it was Annie's private chambers, her trunk lay open, letters scattered about
In the middle of the mess, the big man Mary had describe, was holding Galvin's mother. "MUM!" Galvin tried to push past the stranger, but he held him firm behind him, as he lowered his outsanding blade into a defensive postion in front of him, his eyes on the other man.
"So there's the little brat. Would have made this MUCH easier had ye just givin' him t' me!"
"Never!" Annie shrieked, even as he pulled her hair taughter.
"Let he go!" Galvin screamed, his limps locking up with fear. He had no idea what he could do to save his mother, and he prayed that the man in front of him did. He'd never been so scared in all his life.
"What do you want with Galvin, Bear?" The stranger asked!
"That's fer Ravenskull t' know!" Bear growled back, drawling a dagger hard across Annie's neck.
"NO!" Galvin screamed as the first sight of blood on his mother's neck blossomed.
"Go! Run, Gallvy! Just Run! You're mother's finished!" She screamed through the pain, her only concern the child.
Galvin tryed to push past the stranger holding him back, to save his mother, to run to her at least and tell her it was alright...
When she saw Galvin wouldn't run, she turned her gray eyes on the stranger. The stranger she knew. "Please Gallagher! Take Galvin away! Protect him from harm! Find his father! I'm not more here!" And indeed as she said, Bear sliced her neck again, clear to the bone. But she managed one last breath, which came rasping out of the slit throat, bubbling up the blood. "Protect him...take...him...t'...Jack..."
There was a crash as Bear lept from the second story window in his escape. But they heard his scream of rage. "You ain't seen the last of me! I'll have the other before you can get to her! And then it'll only be a matter of time!" His chackling laughter faded into the darkness, replaced by the cackling of the fire about them.
Gallagher Spike knelt, taking the now dead Annie's hand as Galvin flung himself at her body, sobbing. "You knew I was coming to collect the boy, Annie...if only you could have held out longer...Damn Bear Kingly and Ravenskull to the depths of Davy Jones!" Gallagher swore. "Damn them to hell!" He kissed her hand, brushed the hair back from her face, then bent and kissed her forehead. "I'll avenge your death, dearest Ann. I swear on Marcosa and Pearl, I will."
With that he stood, and grabbed Galvin's arm gently. "Come on boy, she's done for. And you've got to come with me."
"NO!" Galvin sobbed. "I'm not going anywhere with you! You caused this! My mother's dead!" Galvin cried, buring his face in her chest.
Gallagher knelt beside the boy. "Son...you're life is endanger and it would be shaming Annie's memory, to shun the moments of chance she just bought you. Now you've GOT to come with me...I'll explain everything. Then we'll find your father...and God willing, you're real mother..." He took a hold of his arm more forcefully, and as gently as he could, pryed the child away from the body.
Galvin reached out to the body and snagged the single black stone, that hung about her neck, and he pulled it from the body, holding it tightly in his hand, feeling the warmth from it, that had come from Annie's body. He allowed Gallagher to lead him out of the burning in, with out looking back.
Sobs shook the eight year olds thin frame as Gallagher walked him down the lane, away from the site as villiagers tryed to put out the fire. He tried to rub the blinding the tears from his dark brown eyes as the man turned him down the docks, towards a large racing galleon that was docked there, silver and black and beautifully constructed, like the ships from Galvin's day dreams.
Gallagher led him up the gang plank, gave the order for his men to set sail then led Galvin into the captain's cabin, sitting him on the bed. Then Gallagher lit a few candles and began digging in a chest. "You're name, boy, is Galvin, Trey Sparrow. Adrian and Annie Winter were not your real parents...they led you to believe they were. You came to them when you were two...so you dont' remember much of your real parents." He got up, with a bundle of papers and moved over to the bed.
He sat down the candles on the bedside table and looked at the boy, before reaching out, to touch the boy's face. He jerked back, looking up at him. Gallagher sighed, and took the first document from the pile, handing it to Galvin. "Can you read?"
"Yes...my mother made me learn..." Galvin responded hollowly as he read the documents.
Galvin Trey Sparrow, born on January 21st in this, year of our Lord, 1687.
To the proud parents, Captain Jack Sparrow and Davina Sparrow.
"I realize, this is an impossible lot for you to grasp, Galvin. But your parents, your REAL parents are Jack and Davina Sparrow. They are very close friends of mine. Some one I would give my life for." Gallagher said, looking at the boy.
"Why aren't they raising me?!" Galvin demanded, flinging the birth certificate away.
Gallagher sighed. "Do you know who Jack Sparrow is?"
Galvin was still for a moment, his mind processing this...of course he knew who Jack Sparrow was, he wanted to be just like him! The most famous captain in the seven seas, with the famed and feared Black Pearl. Some said he'd even out beat the devil himself. A master sword fighter and the best captain to command a ship, he crew loved him. Women loved him, the british goverment wasn't fond of him. Infact, Commodore Knight despised him. But Galvin know that Commodore North, was actually fond and a friend of the rogue pirate captain.
That story being that North had married Diana, the cousin of Davina Blackwell, who EVERYONE knew was Jack Sparrow's true lady love. They said, she was still in Port Royal, and the eleven years she'd been in the Carribean, her beauty had only increased.
Then Galvin blinked. Davina Blackwell, Jack Sparrow's true lady love...Davina Sparrow...He looked at the birth certificate. "She's my real mother?! Lady Davina Blackwell?! Is that why she got rid of me?!" Galvin asked, trying to force back a sudden rush of tears.
Gallagher slipped down to his knees, turning the little boy to look at him. "No, no, laddy. She never just GOT rid of you...She was forced to put you in Annie and Adrian's care, for your protection. Your father has some terribly evil enemies, would have come after...long before now, if the rouse that you were Adrian and Annie's son, hadn't worked...but they must have found out some how..."
"I've seen...my...my...Jack Sparrow...at the helm of his Black Pearl, when...da...Adrian would come to visit...He always looked at me with such...I thought he hated me...until he gave me my first saber..."
"He never hated you, Galvin, your father loves you beyond words...it's just been...heart breaking for him...to see some one else, even some one he loves and trusts like family, raising you."
"Who are you?" Galvin asked, looking at the man before.
Gallagher smiled sadly, and ruffled Galvin's hair. This time, the boy didn't turn away. "My name is Lord Gallagher Spike. I am your father's best mate in all the world, your mother's care taker, and your Godfather...I feared Bear may haven't gotten to close to the truth. I rushed here to protect you, and Annie...but...I was to late to protect her..."
"I can't...my head hurts..." Galvin whimpered. He curled up on Gallagher's bed. Gallagher moved the papers and pulled the blue quilt, the one Davina had made Gallagher, up over him, tucking the boy in.
"Sleep now, Galvin. We can talk more in the morning..." Gallagher said softly.
"Gallagher...Uncle Gallagher...thank you." Galvin whispered sleepily, closing his eyes. Gallagher bent over and kissed Galvin on the temple.
"Your father wouldn't have it any other way, me boy'o."Gallagher said with a smile as he bent to blew out a few candles.
"Uncle Gallagher..." Came a sleepy reply.
"Yes, Galvin..."
"Where are we going?"
"T' find your father, lad. Now sleep."
A few moments of silence, as Gallagher moved to the door. Then, "Uncle Gallagher..."
"Yes, Galvin?"
"Does he love me, my father?"
Gallagher smiled, knowing the truth of the matter, the mystry of why Jack and Davina had not be able to live together and raise their son. But the truth that Jack loved and adored his wife and son more then anything. "Yes, Galvin, he does. Now sleep. All will be better in the morning." Gallagher closed the door to his cabin, heading for the deck.
He thought about the last ten years as he headed to the helm of the Marcosa. Jack had married Davina in secrecy, two years after they'd proclaimed their love for each other and battled unnatural forces, not to mention Beckett, to be together. But the threat of Ravenskull, the one that was always over Jack and Gallagher, had forced Jack and Davina apart, just after the wedding. He'd wanted her so bad, to remain at his side. But her safety meant everything to him. And for her safety, it meant she return to Port Royal and play King's niece and nobility, while being in secret, Mrs. Sparrow. She was Lady Blackwell to the world.
If not only for the few months every year, Gallagher arranged for Jack and Davina on his island, Dove Island, where they could be husband and wife. And not even the new Governor of Jameica could refuse an invitation from Lord Captain Spike, War Hero and large estate owner. They used the ruse of Davina's half sister, the late Jacquelyn Spike, Gallagher's dead wife, to get Davina there.
From there, it was months of peace, for them all. Gallagher found he adored watching Jack and Davina, remembering the better times with Jacquelyn. He owed his life to his best mate, Jack Sparrow, and Jack Sparrow owed a life debt to Gallagher.
When it had been discovered Davina was pregnant, she spent a year on the island. She'd wanted to stay longer, but Gallagher and Jack feared Ravenskull. The only thing that was safe for the child, and for the mother, were to seperate them. IT had broken Davina's heart. She'd pinned for her child, even when returning to Jack's arms a year later.
Jack and Gallagher had placed Galvin in protection of Adrian and Annie Winter. Adrian was a long time and loyal sailor of Jack's. Gallagher had bought and opened the inn for Annie to raise Galvin in. And he came, all the time, to check on his god son. He made sure Annie had to money to get tutors for the boy. Jack wanted him to be more educated then Jack had been, at seven and eight.
But he knew now, Ravenskull had found out the truth, and he would come after both Galvin and Davina and the only way to protect them, was to get them reunited with the only man who could protect them. Jack Sparrow.