Summary: Upon the death of his father, Jack Sparrow's light of life seems to be fading dimmer so he seeks Tia Dalma for answers. Not only does she have the answers, but she reveals to him the things that he'd lost and shows him how it feels to love again.
*Takes place between Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest
Chapter Four: The Court of the Sparrow
"Jack…!" Another gruff voice was heard and Jack immediately knew who's it was. It was hard to hear, seeing as how everyone is loud in Tortuga. There was the endless laughter and the sound of bottles breaking upon hitting the wall. There was also to occasional sound of gunshots that rang throughout the small island.
"Hector!" He cried and he sauntered over to the older pirate. Captain Barbossa cut Jack short and he spoke in a loud, booming, gruff voice again…
"Sparrow!" He huffed, "Ya know I'm here fer." Jack stared at him and shook his head. Barbossa let loose a long sigh. "Normally, I'd have just gutted ya right here and now! But ya know since yer father died, Captain Teague, bless his soul… the Brethren Court is short one pirate lord."
Jack's eyes widened. "I'm going to stop you right there, Hector…" (1) He fiddled with his braided beard idly as he began to continue to speak, "… since me father died… yer Brethren court is short one lord, therefore you're here to make me the missing pirate lord?"
"Yar." Barbossa spoke. There was the gentle little pitter-patter of tiny feet and hands as Jack the monkey climbed up Barbossa's back and rested himself on Barbossa's shoulder. He looked at Jack Sparrow and turned his head to make short, cheeping noises.
"Okay. Fine then." Jack said. "Take me to yer… er.. Brethren Court." He sneered and looked at Barbossa. "But let me warn ye, I'm not so good with garden parties…"
There was loud sound of skin slapping skin and Jack's head was violently thrown back by the force of Barbossa's hand. "Well.." Jack spoke as he massaged his cheek, which was now reddened from the blow. "Don't ya think that was rather unnecessary?" Barbossa grabbed Jack by the collar of his jacket and dragged him towards the docks.
This is it? Jack thought as he sat at the table of the infamous "Brethren Court". This wasn't anything more than a group of old pirates and a few of their crew members. Jack sighed and he knew he wouldn't like being a part of this… whatever it was.
His mind was going in and out of focus and the conversation seemed to fade out and come flooding back in randomly at times. He couldn't keep his mind off one thing… His father. This same chair was where his father sat and where his father discussed. As Jack closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, he could almost hear Teague's voice, "Jackie! Ye need to learn to start getting into politics, boy! They're more important than ye make 'em out to be."
A piece of the conversation became clearer again, and he heard the oriental Mistress Ching speak,
"We do not need more pirate lords!" She yelled in her usual, cranky voice. "We need more freedom at sea!" A loud roar of agreeing pirates rang throughout Shipwreck Cove and Barbossa nodded.
"Aye. That we do!" He then looked down at the table, "But ye forget…. How do we free up the sea? What, with Davy Jones and Calypso controlling everythin'!" He chuckled as he spoke, and Jack the monkey chirped along as he sat on Barbossa's shoulder. "That and we'd still have the British Navy on ar tails!"
"Comme ci comme ca!"* (2) Came the Frenchman's voice. Jack shook his head, "If we can get rid of Calypso… we will have the entire sea in our hands!" Another roar broke loose and the men agreed. "We would have easier access to the channels!"
Barbossa nodded and looked at Jack. He then smiled and nodded once more and stood up to speak again, "Then that is it?" Suddenly Jack's brain began to comprehend what was actually going on, and he realized what was happening. They're going to kill Calypso!
"We'll take Calypso and kill 'er!" Another roar of gentleman and women that agreed. Jack stood up and turned to face Barbossa.
"Why would you do that?" He yelled, the rest of the Brethren Court stared at Jack and sneered, not a single member took Jack seriously. Jack didn't mind, he convinced himself that this would definitely be his last time attending these meetings. "Hect.. er… Barbossa, she's a goddess… and she's in love. Ye know?" He smiled, "Sounds a bit cruel to up an' kill 'er, aye? Imagine 'er lover… Davy Jones, is it? I've heard that Calypso has a terrible wrath if ye trigger it. Imagine 'er lover… could you really trust that he won't be seeking… revenge?"
Barbossa pondered it for a moment as Jack sat back and continued to grin.
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"Tia Dalma!"
"Witty Jack!" They greeted each other with a long embrace as though they haven't seen each other in years. Tia Dalma patted Jack's back gently and she led him to an empty chair next to her table.
Jack looked up at the ceiling and noticed she had hung more jars and bottles as well as some wooden utensils.
"So den, Jack…" Tia Dalma began, "How did tings go wid ye an' de Bred'ren Court?" Jack beamed and he huffed proudly. He lifted his leg to cross the other and leaned on the table with one elbow.
"Ah, Dalma…" He smirked. "Ah'm about te be completely honest with ye." Tia Dalma nodded in anticipation for the news. Her smile never left her face and her eyes began to widen as the length of time grew.
"…N'yes?" She tried to encourage him to continue talking.
"Frankly, Love…" He smirked and shook his head, he couldn't seem to find the right words to say to make it sound any better. "Ah'm never going back there again." Tia Dalma's face changed to that of confusion, but she didn't dare question Jack's motives and instead she spoke again, of Jack's father.
"Jack…?" She asked him softly. He turned to look at her, of course his face was more solemn now and his eyes seemed sunken and sleepless. She hadn't noticed it before, but he did seem exhausted. Whether it was physical or emotional, she could not tell. "You know dat yer pirate fada would 'ave been very proud today…"
Jack fell silent and his eyes wandered to an invisible spot on the floor. A soft sigh came from Tia Dalma's kohl colored lips and she stood from her chair to kneel in front of Jack. She gazed into his eyes and felt the hurt that he was experiencing and out of her pure nature, she pulled herself up and gently pressed her lips against his. Jack didn't refuse her kiss and instead he equally pressed himself against her.
As their kiss became more heated, Jack begged with his lips for her to part her mouth and allow him to taste her. She slowly parted her mouth and as soon as she did, she felt Jacks rough hands touch her cheeks and he held her head in his hands as they kissed.
When they drew apart from each other, they were both panting softly and their eyes seemed to be locked onto each other's. Two pairs of chocolaty, dark orbs gazing into each other's dark pools…
Jack gently pushed Tia Dalma to the floor and the sounds of their love making became so soft that not a single creature in the bayou was stirred…
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Jack was awakened by the bright sunlight that came pouring into the hut through a hole in the hay of the ceiling. "Bugger." He huffed and as he began to sit up, he felt a soft fabric covering him. He glanced down and felt it, "Ah… it's just Dalma's dress." He nodded, then looked down and blinked his eyes, making sure it wasn't a dream. "… Wait..." He turned his head and directly next to him, laid Tia Dalma. She was very covered by Jack's long coat. Nothing but the dark skin of her face and her arms were exposed.
Jack's nose twitched and he reached out to take his jacket. Just as he was about to touch the rough fabric of his coat, Tia Dalma hummed softly in her sleep and turned over so that her back was facing him. His hand immediately flung back and he stood up slowly. A nice breeze blew in from the open windows of the hut and it was then that he realized his shirt was missing. He huffed and began to chew his bottom lip as he dug around the pile of fabric that was their clothes.
He dressed himself and sat at the table, rubbing his temples and waiting for Tia Dalma to wake. "What ar ye doing, Jackie…?" He asked himself.
Author's Notes:
*(1) - When I was writing this, I automatically thought of Kanye West and I would've said,
"Yo, Barbossa... I'm really happy for you. Imma let you finish... But Captain Jack is the best Captain of all time!" *Lols in a corner*
*(2) - I'm no dummy, I don't speak French, but I know "comme ci comme ca" is "how are you?". I know, that doesn't fit in with the context, but whenever I see that French guy I always feel as though they always try too hard to seem legit and thus, they use Englench. I purposely wanted his French to seem like that of a middle schooler.
Anyway! READ AND REVIEW!