Elizabeth Swan had never seen Jack look as frantic as he did when the Dutchman once again disappeared beneath the choppy waves of the ocean once more. He was firing off commands the way a captain should. The crew could not keep up with his orders to get the ship moving in the correct location. He was gripping his compass so tightly the whites of his knuckles were prominent against his sun kissed skin. She could still not help but feel a wave of guilt hit her every time she looked at him, she was the reason he had met an untimely demise, she was the reason he ended up trapped in the locker. Her intentions were pure but in hindsight the decision she made was a poor one that had caught them precious time in defeating Davy Jones. Will had barely been able to look at her let alone speak to her since her treachery had been exposed by the boozy pirate himself.
She noted that not even Barbosa was trying to drive a wedge between Jack and his command of the pearl, usually by now they would be in the middle of a shouting match that would result in pistols being drawn from all angles. Instead the old pirate was merely standing, observing the chaos around him as the crew scrambled to aid Jack. She could see a similar look of bewilderment on Will's face as well, with curiosity evidently getting the better of both of them they made their way simultaneously to Barbosa. Will was the first to speak, his tone hushed so he would not attract the attention of Jack or the rest of the crew.
"You know, I did always imagine Jack had many children from many women across the world, but I am shocked that for one he knows of one or for two that he cares. Is this... Child of his common knowledge?"
Barbosa laughed and spat on the deck beneath him as if he were washing a terrible taste from his mouth. "Nay, although Jack probably does have enough spawn to make a crew this boy be a secret. Well, he was a secret. You see, when me and Sparra were just lads we sailed to those dark waters of the north after hearing stories of the women being the most beautiful the world over. It was a hard place to find and the seas there are merciless and cruel. When we docked by a small village, we could see that the stories were true, the maidens were like paintings, but we learned quickly that strangers be most unwelcome in their parts. Sparra of course managed to win them over in minutes talking his codswallop but not everyone was as lucky. Ye see the people in those parts, they believe in these gods, gods that talk to them and come to earth, gods that taught them that if you be a Christian you be trouble. Pagans they are, and anyone they suspect of being a member of the church they kill dead. Of course, we looked like scoundrels, it was obvious we were no god-fearing men. One woman in the village caught Jack's eye immediately. She was stubborn but Sparra wouldn't top hindering her for nothin'. She eventually grew fond of him. Taught us all kinds of map reading and sailing skills us young lads had yet to learn, she was a young woman, but she had an old soul. We spent months living with the pagans, they took us on their boats. Long narrow little things that they had to row by hand. They were warriors though, and they let us join on the plunder of their neighboring lands. It wasn't long after that the lass gave birth to a bairn. A young lad. It would seem Sparra panicked and did what he does best." Barbossa shrugged.
"He ran away" Elizabeth interjected.
"Aye, he ran away. I was tired of the lands by that stage and was leavin' anyway. Sparra didn't come with me but I got news months later that he had ran not long after meself. Jack used to disappear over the years of me knowin' him. He thinks I don't know but he was travelling back to the lands to check in on the lad. Goin' by his reaction today though, he has left something else there too. Not even the fruit of his own loins could make Sparra that frantic to get back there." Barbossa said cynically.
Elizabeth shook her head "how could he be capable of such a selfish act, leaving that woman alone to raise a child in such a barbaric place. I did not even think Jack Sparrow could stoop that low." She said in utter disbelief at the tale she had just been told.
"Then obviously you have not been paying close enough attention." Will replied cynically as he turned his back to her facing out to sea.
In truth they both had thought Jack had redeemable qualities at times, but this had altered their view greatly on the pirate they once had been fond of and had once even dared to call a friend.
"Get the dead weight off this ship she needs to be at peak speed!"
Jack yelled frantically at his crew.
"Get rid of the canon balls! Get rid of the canons! Knives, forks, that bleedin' monkey toss it all overboard!" He bellowed.
He manned the wheel his dark brown eyes staring darkly into the horizon, he had faith the Pearl would get him there, he had made the journey to this exact place through these waters more times than he could count, and he knew he could do it again. His pearl could beat that slimy walking tentacle any time.
He refused to let the crew rest for love nor money. As the sun set, he sailed recklessly into the night, the further from the Caribbean they got the harsher the weather. The rain battered against Sparrows face blinding him as he tried to look through the violent mist. It would take days for them to reach their destination which meant Jack had days to concoct a plan. It was clear that Jones knew a son was not the key reason why he would be frantic to go north. It was Beckett, Beckett had given Jones information Jack was stupid enough to divulge in his younger years. The wood of the pearl groaned under the weight of the waves battering against it. Jacks hands were blistered and sore from gripping the wheel so tightly. The men were dropping like flies around him from exhaustion, he grit his teeth, ignored the pleas from Hector and Turner to let the crew rest for a few hours and continued on. If they wanted any hope of beating the Dutchman sleep was no longer a priority.
Days of nonstop sailing had taken its toll on the crew, more than one set of dead dehydrated bodies had been thrown overboard, they had not stopped for water, they had not stopped for supplies. They had all barely slept and the fatigue of the journey had made many of them hallucinate seeing horrendous things like the fearsome jaws of the kraken coming toward them. Jack felt as if he was living in an alternate time. He was going through the motions of sailing his vessel without even thinking about it. His mouth felt like sandpaper, his back felt as if it was broken for standing for so long, he was unsure if he could even unfurl his fingers from the wheel of the ship now even if he wanted to.
He heard a squawk to his left and readily reached for his pistol to shoot Mr. Cottons damned parrot. He was almost certain if the crew had the energy, they would have decided to mutiny him once more on an island somewhere so his remorse for planning on killing the stupid bird was nonexistent. It was not until he turned to look at it that he realized it was not Cottons parrot at all. This bird was as black as coal. It was a raven. For a second, he thought he had lost his mind, the journey had finally driven him to the insanity levels he had reached in the locker. It was not until he blinked several times and gave himself a considerable wallop in the face followed by a second one from Mr. Gibbs that he realized it was in fact truly there.
"It's a bloody raven!" He exclaimed triumphantly.
The rest of the crew looked at him in bewilderment as to why he was so overjoyed at the sight of the bird.
Barbossa rolled his eyes "if there be a bird on the ship that was not there before it means there be land nearby ye pack of foolish dogs!"
It was only then the crew erupted in a chorus of both celebration and relief. As the horizon became clearer the shape of land came into view, land Jack had become very acquainted with. Dawn was breaking on the sleepy village as they drew closer. There was no sign of the Flying Dutchman but that did not mean it was not already here… Waiting for their opportune moment to spring an attack.
In the distance the silhouette of a lone woman standing at the shoreline came into view. Barbossa appeared next to Jack both of them looking at the ever-nearing village that molded them into the captains they are today.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say they were expecting us, Sparra."
"Make no mistake Hector, they knew we were coming here before we did."
/ Yes, it is still fairly cryptic, BUT the next chapter will explain nearly everything. I just love a good cliff hanger you know? Anywho, let me know if you love it OR if you hate it. When I establish everything properly, I will most certainly be looking at you guys for suggestions on what way you would like to see the plot to go so stay tuned. Shits gonna get juicy!