- Chapter 2 -
Jack almost got shot by a Red Coat while trying to escape somewhere outside the streets of London, and if it wasn't for his father, Captain Teague, he would have been dead.
It was a surprise to find his father indeed in London, but either way, Jack didn't question it much. He knew all too well that his father was capable of many things. Even taking the Misty Lady to London and keep it hidden till he decided to sail away.
The father and son talked about the Profane Ritual at a pirate-friendly pub called the Captain's Daughter, the very same pub Gibbs mentioned Jack earlier that day, and is strangely enough a place that's pirate-friendly in London. Clearly Captain Teague knew that his son didn't know of the Ritual. He told his "Jackie" what was needed and pointed out a certain man with someone who was recruiting for a crew. It was luck for Jack indeed since he was in need of a ship at the moment.
After looking over to the man playing on a string instrument and singing Jolly Sailor Bold, Jack looked back to his father.
"And one last thing, Jackie," said Captain Teague.
Jack leaned over a little closer.
"The Fountain will test you," said Teague, picking up a mug of rum. "Mark my words."
Their cups clunked with a toast, as they both drank from it, with Jack once again looking back to the man still singing the sea shanty. But as he looked back, probably wanting to ask something more to his father, Teague was no longer in his seat and was gone.
Captain Teague then had went off to find another way out of the pub, until he reached the back door, and stopped as he had stepped outside.
"If your intent was to surprise me," he said as he looked over to the dark, hooded figure standing by and leaning over on the cold wall, "I'd say you failed."
"Good," said the figure, removing the hood of her cloak. "Because I'd be very disappointed if you weren't able to notice me at all."
It was Olivia.
"Mrs. Barbossa," greeted Teague with a nod. "What comes you to London?"
"I could ask you the same thing," replied the brunette. "But then again, I suppose I know the answer to that."
Teague then looked over the brunette despite being dark outside. "How long has it been?"
"A few years," Olivia quickly replied. "Since that time you married Hector and me aboard the Misty Lady."
"Aye," Teague nodded to the memory.
To be quite honest, Olivia never thought the intimidating Keeper of the Code might even do it.
The day Barbossa decided to sail the Black Pearl to Shipwreck Cove, he wasn't entirely certain whether he would have a warm welcome from Teague.
He was greeted by the old Keeper along the way to Shipwreck City, and said he (Teague) was wondering what Jack would be doing in Shipwreck Cove, since he heard of the Pearl's arrival. But since Jack wasn't there, Teague was wondering more what the Pearl was doing there.
Barbossa started by saying that he didn't want his son (Victor) to grow up in an old shack down at Pantano River. Only then did Teague expressed verbally that he had respects for Barbossa for being a man who have a vast knowledge of the Code better than he was as its Keeper. Teague also said that Jack's dealings with Barbossa was to Jack's business alone and not of his, adding up the fact that Jack won't let it slip anyway, and that Shipwreck Island was welcome to all pirates.
Not wanting to destroy what little respect the Keeper had for him for the sake of his son's stay at the island, Barbossa did his best to not cross Teague in any way, which was far from happening since Teague had thought to have no reason(s) for him to be crossed with the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.
It was then a little less awkward to ask Teague about marrying Barbossa and Olivia when the time came.
"So you are with your husband?"
Olivia nodded simply.
"Headed for the Fountain as well?"
Olivia shrugged at this. "The King has ordered Hector to lead an expedition, so yes."
"The King?" Teague raised a brow.
"Yes," said the brunette. "My husband's a privateer now."
Mouthing an 'ah', Teague nodded. "So thing's have changed."
Again, the brunette shrugged. "Perhaps. But who knows? There might be something more than what's on the surface, yes?"
The old Keeper then caught on quick on this, but didn't say a word, just smiled and nodded.
"As much as I want to talk with you some more, Mrs. Barbossa," he then said, as he gestured a hand toward a direction, "I must go. I have a ship and crew waiting for me." Then touching his hat with two fingers and took it off quickly, just the way how he did to greet Jack moments ago, he signaled it was a goodbye.
Olivia returned the favor by nodding and putting back her hood on.
When the old Keeper went off, Olivia went inside the pub and caught sight of Jack who went into what she knew was the pub's storeroom.
She went off, as quickly as she could.
"Where have you been?" asked Barbossa, as his wife finally showed up at their meeting place.
"Made a few visits," Olivia answered her husband simply, as they started walking, having glanced toward him with a smile. "You weren't worried about me, were you?"
Barbossa looked over his wife as they walked.
He shrugged. "Ye're a big lass," he teased. "I be much worried about whoever crosses ye."
She only smiled back. "You tease me, mi amor."
"Ah, there ye are with that Spanish o'yers again." Barbossa then dismissed the teasing and went back to the matter at hand. "Now, are ye not to tell me where you've been?"
"Down the Captain's Daughter, you know of it?" she asked, with another quick glance toward her husband.
"Aye!" answered the privateer. "What business did you have there?"
"I heard the Misty Lady is in London."
Barbossa stopped in his tracks and turned to face his wife. "Teague? In London? You've seen 'im?"
"Exchanged a few words," said the wife simply, as though the matter was unimportant at all. "Didn't take long. Anyway, it was obvious why Teague is here, so I went to the Captain's Daughter to confirm it. I only went to call the Royal Guards when I saw Jack."
"And? Where be Sparrow now?" asked Barbossa. "The younger one, of course."
Olivia continued her story. "I knew Jack's impostor was to be there at that time too, and knowing Jack, he probably went face-to-face with his impostor. I used that opportunity to call the Guards but, unfortunately, both Jack and his impostor got away."
"Why am I not surprise?" said Barbossa with a rhetoric answer.
"At least I tried, but then it just so leads us back to Gibbs." Olivia then suddenly stopped, as having noticed her husband had just taken a rope with him from a naval officer. "Oh, so you are to use that?"
Barbossa looked over to his wife with a wicked smile. "There be an old friend of mine that I have not seen in years that we are about to meet, lass. This here be simply a greetin' of me own."
After sharing wicked smiles, the couple then walked on, until they finally stepped out into the courtyard. As they stepped out into the night, they heard the familiar voice of one Joshamee Gibbs.
"There's been a mistake! It's a life sentence, not death. Life!"
The guards dragging the savvy old sailor came to a stop and spun him around, only for Gibbs to see a man whom he almost couldn't recognize who was with a woman he realized he knew too.
"Barbossa?"
The name escaped Gibbs's lips with obvious surprise, and he addressed the woman with the same surprise.
"Miss Gale?"
"It's Mrs. Barbossa now, actually," Olivia informed.
"Thank you, gentlemen," said Barbossa to the guards, as he then walked over to Gibbs and addressed the sailor. "I trust you can tie a noose." He threw Gibbs the rope he had, with Gibbs having caught it with both hands.
"That's a hard thing," said Gibbs, meeting the privateer's gaze with a steady one of his own. "Forcin' a man to twist his own hangin' rope."
Gibbs then threw the rope back to Barbossa, whom caught it deftly with one gloved hand.
"You must lie in your bed the way you made it," said the privateer, then throwing the rope toward Theodore Groves, who was standing nearby.
"What's happened to you?" asked Gibbs, as he then glanced toward Olivia. "Both of you, fer that matter."
"Love to tell," said the brunette, "but I don't have the time."
"Where be Jack Sparrow?" intervened Barbossa. At this, Gibbs smiled, realizing Jack must have had an encounter with the privateer.
"He escaped," said Gibbs, as he started with a low chuckle, but was stopped by the privateer's next words.
"I'm on a tight schedule, Gibbs, the HMS Providence sets sail at first light," looking up to the noose that Groves had tied and put up on a nearby post, Barbossa continued by making his point, "and if you do not care to watch it hanging here dead with a mouthful of flies..." He looked back to Gibbs with an almost evil smile. "...Speak now."
Gibbs hesitated but for a moment, but then smiled and held out his arms on his sides. "Take me with you," he said. "At any point of the compass-"
"Take you where, Gibbs?" interrupted the privateer, stepping over to Gibbs a little closer. "The Fountain, aye? Is that where Jack be headed?"
Gibbs didn't answer, and stared down at Barbossa, though he was clearly intimidated. Olivia on the other hand was counting the seconds on how long Gibbs can keep it up.
"Have you anythin' you can offer me, Gibbs?" said Barbossa. "Anythin' at all?"
Still the sailor didn't answer.
"You know for such a story-teller," said Olivia, causing Gibbs to look to her, "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut at this circumstances."
When Gibbs still didn't answer, Barbossa walked off to Groves, holding out a hand as though signaling to give him the noose, saying, "Upon my naked word you'll not see the dawn."
Here Gibbs reached a hand inside his waistcoat, with Olivia having caught this action, she touched her husband's arm lightly. When Barbossa looked over to his wife, he followed her gaze, only to see Gibbs having produced the Mao Kun map.
Holding out a hand to Gibbs, Barbossa ordered, "Hand it over," confident that he'd won over the old sailor.
But Gibbs did not. Instead, he moved to reach for a nearby lamp.
"NO!" cried Olivia. But it was too late, Gibbs had burned the map with the lamp.
"You fool!" cried Barbossa, stepping towards Gibbs.
"I've had just enough time studyin' those infernal circles," said Gibbs, meeting the privateer's gaze with a brave attempt. "Every route, every destination, all safe" - he held out a finger and pointed it to his temple - "in here."
The privateer looked as though he could almost kill the old sailor right then and there, but with his anger in check, Barbossa said, "Welcome back to His Majesty's Navy, Master Gibbs." He then turns to leave but stopped for a pause to look to his wife. "I'll see ye at the ship," he said to her and went off, obviously irratated by what Gibbs did.
Sighing as she watched her husband walked away, Olivia looked to Groves and jerked her head to the direction where Barbossa went off. "Follow him," he said to the officer, by whic case Groves just nodded and left.
When the two guards standing by took Gibbs by the arms to get him to the Providence, they were stop by a hand from the privateer's wife.
"So this is how you tend to survive, Master Gibbs?" she asked the old sailor.
"One thing I know 'bout Cap'n Barbossa," replied Gibbs, "strikin' a bargain with 'im is dirty work."
"And so you tell me."
Gibbs looked over the brunette more carefully despite the darkness of the night. "You're comin' with us, ain't yah? Never took you to be one interested in immortality."
Olivia smiled to this. "Still think having a woman aboard is bad luck?"
The savvy seadog returned the smile. "I've sailed with women, Mrs. Barbossa. What I learned, it's not who's with you aboard, it's the destination."
The brunette said nothing more as she turned and left, followed closely behind by the guards dragging Gibbs along.
She was standing by the port side of the HMS Providence, arms crossed at her bosom, eyes closed.
Although the crew were making a lot of noise in making ready to set sail, and with the wind whispering through her ears, she was deaf to it all. Instead, all she can hear was cannon fires from a painful memory that happened one night. There were cries of sorrow and hurt, coming from her mostly, and then she heard that one voice that haunted her still in her sleep saying, "Papa."
When she heard that familiar sound of a footstep accompanied with a thump of wood, she turned around.
She found Hector Barbossa, her husband, looking at her attire from head to toe.
She was wearing a white shirt with frills on the cuffs under a sleveless, dark blue coat that was buttoned at the middle which covers her stomach, full breeches and long sea boots.
Barbossa met her gaze with a raised brow.
"What?" she said to her spouse. "You expect me to be in a dress on the voyage to the Fountain?"
She gave him a playful smile as she left to go up the quarterdeck, while he just shook his head to her.
"Weigh anchor," Barbossa ordered to Groves.