Voodoo In The Bayou
~Artemis Quinn Morgenstern
Author's Note:
I do NOT own Captain Sparrow, Angelica, or any other characters (or ships) that appear in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. The other characters are of my own creation and I hold all rights to them. Please do not steal anything out of this story. I worked very hard on it. This is the first fic I have written in 7 years. I don't steal anything from you, so you shouldn't do it to me. I got the idea for this after seeing "Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides". I hope you enjoy! – Artemis
Summary:
A mysterious dream haunts Captain Jack for nights on end. He has no explanation as to why the dream continues to haunt him night over night, but Angelica thinks she knows someone who can help. But when Jack and Angelica land in the New World, Jack begins to feel like he's been there before. Will Angelica's plan work? Will Jack finally get the answers he's searching for?
Chapter 1: The Dream
"Cassandra? Cassandra, where are you," a male voice calls out.
"I'm over here! Follow my voice!" The feminine voice sounds farther away than it had last time he had called out. Stumbling through the dark woods, the man moves in the direction he thinks the voice came from.
"We're almost there," the voice, a little farther ahead and to the man's left this time, says.
"Are you sure? I can't see a thing," the man shouts back as he alters his course left in pursuit of the female voice.
"Trust me!" The man has been following this girl for what feels like hours through woods and swamps, never getting a good look at her. He always just barely sees her back of the hem of her long coat disappearing around a corner. Now in almost total darkness, the man hurries along through the woods and trips. He falls for what feels like an eternity until he finally lands face first into the cold alligator-infested water...
With a jolt, the man's eyes flew open and he abruptly sat up. He was in his bed, sweat dripping down his muscled bare chest and back onto his black pants, sun streaming in through enormous bay windows. Next to him, a beautiful woman yawned and stretched, slowly sitting up as well.
"Did you have that dream again, Jack?" the woman asked, her voice thick with a Spanish accent.
"Yeah," Jack replied. "Sorry...didn't mean to wake you, Angelica." With a sigh, Captain Jack Sparrow swung his legs to the floor, rose to his feet and stretched. He trudged over to a basin of water on the opposite side of the room and splashed a couple handfuls of water onto his face to assist in the wake-up process. His girlfriend Angelica, daughter of the late Captain Edward Teague (better known as Blackbeard), slid from the comfort of Jack's bed and padded barefoot over to Jack. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her head against his back.
"I wish I knew who that girl Cassandra is in my dream," Jack muttered. "Maybe then I could figure out why she keeps appearing in my head."
"I know, Jack. I'm sorry this dream won't leave you alone," Angelica replied, kissing Jack's tan back.
"It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the same dream every single night." Jack turned around in Angelica's arms and kissed her forehead, then stepped over to his chest of drawers. He pulled on a white peasant top, a chocolate-brown vest and his knee-high boots, then put his sword and pistol at his waist and strolled out of the room and onto the main deck of his beloved Black Pearl. The ship was on a course headed for Hispaniola to re-supply after a long trip back from the Cape of Good Hope. Jack climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck where he found his first mate, Joshamee Gibbs, reading a book.
"I didn't know you could read, Mr. Gibbs," Jack said, casting a shadow over the man sitting on the deck at his feet.
"Captain!" Gibbs exclaimed, dropping his book to the deck and scrambling to his feet. Jack chuckled to himself, picking the fallen book off of the deck and examining it's cover. It was an old and very worn copy of plays by William Shakespeare.
"Shakespeare, Mr. Gibbs?" Jack inquired, handing the book back to its owner.
"Well...y'see...I..." Gibbs stumbled over his words, stuffing the book into his vest pocket.
"Mr. Gibbs, I don't mind having a first mate who knows how to read," Jack said, resting a friendly hand on his old friend's shoulder. "It's nice to know I'm not the only pirate on this ship who knows how." Still embarrassed, Gibbs shuffled down the stairs to the main deck, then disappeared into the crew's quarters below. Still smiling to himself, Jack took up his telescope and looked out to sea. A few storm clouds were visible on the horizon, but nothing that looked too severe. With no threats in sight, Jack lowered his telescope and turned to go back down to his cabin when Angelica appeared on the deck below him.
"Jack. I just thought of someone who may be able to help tell you what your dream is trying to tell you," Angelica said, climbing the stairs to the quarterdeck.
"Who?"
"A woman by the name of Madame Renée Bertrand. She's a dream interpreter who was cast out of France on suspicion of practicing witchcraft and she fled to the New World. She now lives in a city on the water called Nouvelle-Orléans."
"Why was she suspected of witchcraft?" Jack asked, taking Angelica's hands in his own.
"It's said that she had a dream where she saw King Louis and his queen Marie Antoinette being killed by the people of France. Upon hearing of this dream, King Louis had Renée arrested and asked her why she was telling his people that he and his wife would be killed. Renée told him she had seem it in a dream and the King - believing the only way it was possible that she would have such visions was that she practiced black magic - had her exiled from France, so she fled to the New World. If she ever returns, she will be arrested and executed immediately." Jack mulled over the information, then he released Angelica's hands and paced back and forth on the quarterdeck.
"So...you're saying we need to go to the New World to find this woman."
"Only if you want to see if she can help."
"Well, what do I have to lose. If there's a chance I'll get answers, I'm in." With that, Angelica turned to the helmsman, who had been standing quietly the entire time.
"Change course. Two points northwest. We're going to the New World."