Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine

Chapter 4.

Teague had been going through some of his papers absentmindedly. Three weeks ago the first of the pirate lords had come to the cove with news of the impending meeting. Teague had been aware of it though, as soon as the pirate song had been sung he had known the lords would be assembling at the cove. He had tried to keep going as usual, but the increasing number of pirates arriving at his home was disturbing his routine. His men had their hands full in trying to keep some semblance of peace, while the pirate lords tried to get a bit of his time to try and curry his favor. To say that Teague had little patience for such moves was to put it lightly. He hated all the fawning and adoration, especially since he knew any of them would kill him given half a chance.

The old pirate was sitting in his study, enjoying the start of the day with a cup of tea. He knew the peace would not last long, but he was determined to enjoy it. Suddenly a bird entered through the opened window, nearly upsetting his cup of tea. Teague looked startled at the parrot that had landed on a stack of papers and that was now looking at him intently.

"And who are you, little friend?"

The parrot ruffled his feathers and suddenly spoke. "Letter Captain, letter Captain."

Teague blinked in surprise. That was even stranger. Quickly he scanned the small parrot and located the piece of paper neatly tied to one of his legs. "I assume that if I try to get to that letter you will not bite me, will you?"

The Parrot blinked and then spoke again. "Wind in the sails."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Quickly and carefully, Teague took hold of the letter and liberated it from the bird's leg. As soon as the paper was loose, the bird shook his feathers again and took flight, leaving the same way he had arrived. The old captain shook his head ruefully, wondering where on earth the bird came from. His attention though was soon back to the letter. Turning it around, his hands froze in mid motion when he spotted the seal on the letter. His seal, the seal of the Teague family, was clearly printed on the closed letter. That could only mean the letter was from Jack. Now worried, the keeper broke the seal and quickly scanned the contents of the letter.

Dear Father,

I hope this letter finds you well and that Mr. Cotton's parrot will not drop it somewhere along the way. I am sure that by now you are aware of the meeting of the court of the brethren. I am on my way to the cove, on board of the Pearl. Barbossa is with me. We expect to make it there in about two days.

I cannot tell you everything that has happened since the last time I saw you in this small piece of paper. But I ask, as your son and heir, that you grant me sanctuary within the cove. I am not myself and I need time to get over everything that has happened. I cannot fend off the other pirate lords right now and I fear some of them may try to kill me despite the need for the meeting. Don't be alarmed Father, I'll be fine with a bit of time, and I hope I will not impose too much on your hospitality. Of course I'll understand if you do not wish me to rest within your domain, then I will just lock myself up on the Pearl till the meeting. Either way I will see you soon.

Faithfully yours,

Jack

To say that Teague was worried would be an understatement. His son had never asked for his help. Not when the East India Trading company had sunk his ship and marked him. Not when Barbossa had marooned him and left him without his ship. And not in any of the other problems Jack had managed to get himself into during the years. His son was extremely independent, and had the ability of getting in and out of trouble with nary a scratch. That he was now asking for help meant things had gone extremely wrong and he was afraid of knowing what could bring his son to ask for help in such a manner.

Shaking his head forcefully, he stood up and rushed out of his study. When Jack had written the letter they had been two days from the cove, which meant there was a good possibility they were making the crossing through the devil's throat at the moment. He only hoped that his son was well enough to lead the ship himself.

Teague stalked out of his rooms and towards the central complex of the cove. He ignored several pirate trying to get his attention, completely focused on finding his right hand man. He found him in the galley, having breakfast with other members of his former crew.

"Victor!"

All the men jumped at his shout, turning their startled gazes towards him. A burly man quickly put his mug of grog down on the table and stood up. He was not used to see such a fierce glare on the keeper's face anymore.

"Captain? Is there something wrong?"

Teague growled. "Yes, there certainly is something wrong. I just wish I knew exactly what it was." The men still sitting at the table exchanged startled looks, very little was able to ruffle that Captain's feathers these days, so anything that could bring him to this state of anxiousness had to be bad. "Jack just sent me a message, he has asked for sanctuary."

Several men jumped to their feet, shock written over all their faces. They all knew the keeper's son, most of them had even sailed with him at one point or the other, and they all knew that something had to be very wrong for the younger captain to ask for his father's help. He had not done that even as a young lad.

Teague let them process the news before starting to bark orders. "Victor, set someone on the lookout. I expect the Black Pearl to do the crossing either today or tomorrow. I want to know as soon as she arrives. Emery, get some of the women to clean up Jack's rooms. Nolan, gather some of the most trustworthy younger men, they will board the Pearl and make sure no one attempts to sail away with her. That traitor Barbossa is with Jack and I want to make sure he does not leave this place alive. We may need him for the meeting, but he will be fair game as soon as it's over."

Then the man turned around sharply and left the room. The men quickly stood up and hurried to comply with the Keeper's bidding.

That same evening Teague got the warning that the Pearl was approaching the docks. He quickly gathered Victor and three of his most faithful men, including Daniel, one of the best doctors the cove had. Together they hurried down to the docks, where the Pearl was just being tied down. Teague was barely aware of the looks he received from the crew of the Black Pearl as he walked up the plank. Hi eyes quickly moved towards the helm and locked on the man leaning tiredly against it. Jack's face was pale and drawn. His eyes were dull and his hands hung limply at his sides. No emotion seemed to cross the normally animated face, filling Teague with dread. There was something really wrong with his son. His scrutiny was broken when an older man with a large hat stepped forward till he was standing next to Jack.

"So you are Captain Edward Teague, it's an honor to finally meet you Keeper."

The older pirate glanced over him briefly, assuming correctly that the man was the other pirate lord.

"The pleasure is all yours, Captain Barbossa. I do not readily deal with mutineers. Any pirate unable to get his own ship through other means than stealing from his own brethren does not deserve my consideration. Be happy that the court has been summoned and I do not have the time to look for a replacement for you, else you would be dead."

Barbossa took a step back, shocked at the cold voice the man had used. He had never met Teague before, so he was quite surprised at the level of animosity coming from the other man. Before he could decide whether he should remain silent or call on the other man's threat, Teague continued speaking.

"I suggest you remain on the Pearl till the time of the meeting. I will have some of my men aboard the ship in a few minutes to make sure everything remains peaceful."

Barbossa stood up straight not liking the implications of those words at all. "You may be the keeper of the code, Captain Teague, but you cannot do anything on board this ship. Your men are not welcome here."

Teague's dark gaze flashed. "That is not your decision to make Barbossa. You are not Captain of the Black Pearl. Attempt to fight me and I'll just lock you in the brig and be done with it." The keeper paused, as if in thought. "I should be doing that anyway. But there are more important things to take care of first."

Barbossa gaped at the man for a few seconds before rounding on to Jack, who had remained uncharacteristically silent the whole time. "And are you not going to say anything? It seems the Keeper does consider this your ship."

Jacks emotionless face didn't change at the obvious jibe. "The Pearl is my ship, and you know it as well as anyone here. Captain Teague's men are welcome on board. I assume the crew will want to take turns to visit the cove, and I prefer to have the extra protection the keeper can offer us."

The older captain swelled with indignation. "Our men can take care of it!"

"We barely have any men, Hector. Most of the crew here belongs to Sao Feng, they will be off as soon as you turn your back on them. That leaves us with at most six trustworthy men to mind the ship for several more days. Not the odds I would like to have considering this place is crawling with pirates."

Teague watched the exchange with a frown. Jack had always had a temper, and he knew that some of the comments Barbossa had thrown should have been enough to rile the younger man up. But he had remained impassive, as if they were discussing something irrelevant.

Barbossa was about to reply, but Teague didn't give him the chance. "Enough. My men will be here in a few minutes and that's it." Then he turned to Jack. "I assume you'll be staying with me?"

Jack felt all the eyes move to him, he could feel their curious and confused glances, but he ignored them. He straightened, fighting the slight dizziness invading his senses. "Of course."

Everyone watched as Jack walked down the stairs slowly and approached the Keeper of the code. As soon as Jack was standing at his side, Teague wrapped an arm around his shoulders, turned them around and started walking back to the plank, his men surrounding him and Jack. Everyone watched as the group of five men left the Pearl, confused about their Captain just leaving with the legendary Keeper. Barbossa for his part was fuming.

"Who on earth does that man think he is?"

Pintel pressed his lips together, guessing that if he didn't say anything they would find out sooner or latter. "He's Jack's father."

Everyone froze and turned to watch Pintel with incredulous expressions. The older pirate could see many different emotions crossing their faces. From Gibbs awed surprise to Barbossa's horrified countenance.

Barbossa's face lost all color, his mind quickly catching the implications of those words. "He is what? Please tell me this is one of your jockes, Pintel."

Pintel shook his head somberly. "Jack is the Heir of the Keeper. Teague is his father. I thought you knew. I was a bit surprised you were reckless enough to sail to this place without taking precautions. Teague is not known for being very forgiving and you kind of nearly killed his only son and heir." Then he turned his gaze to where the men had disappeared. "He was more restrained than I expected him to be. I thought that, at the very least, we would be locked up somewhere in the cove by now, awaiting trial for crimes against the keeper and his heir."

Barbossa knew then that he was doomed. He may not have known Teague personally, but he knew the stories going around by heart. He would have to get out of here quickly, else he was a dead man. He was just considering ordering the men to set sail when he noticed that the ship was now nearly empty. As Jack had predicted, Sao Feng's men had left. And even worse, the men Teague had said would come to watch the Pearl were already approaching the ship. They were now trapped in this place till the meeting took place. A soft sound startled the old captain from his musings. Turning around, he saw that Elisabeth was sitting down on deck, pale as a sheet. William was standing next to her, a grim expression on his face.

"What am I going to do?" The girl's soft voice drew all their attention. "You only marooned him, but I actually did kill Jack."

Pintel grimaced. "I suggest you do not talk about that where other people can hear you. There is still the chance the Captain will not mention that little fact, poppet."

"And if he does?"

Pintel pressed his lips together and turned around to face the cove again. "Just pray that he doesn't."

To be continued…