A Pirate's Life 4: The Sparrow's Nest

Chapter 6: A Matter of Family Part 3


Jack reloaded his pistol as he fired another bullet at the bottle he was currently aiming at. As a boy he'd taught himself to shoot while on ships, he'd throw bottles overboard and shoot at them, empty bottles of course. But now he was drinking rum with one hand and shooting with the other, but which his right shoulder still sore it was difficult. And of course he'd been pushing his luck fighting Barbossa and Val.

He swore under his breath as he missed the bottle yet again, and he loaded the pistol again. Jack put down his rum bottle and held the pistols with both hands too steady his aim.

After their little fight he'd gone back to the house to grab some food...since he hadn't eaten in days with being unconscious and all, but he could go days without food. He had before. And he'd left the kitchen with fruit and stale bread, not the best food but no one in the family had ever bothered to cook a gourmet meal.

Jack picked up the last of the stale bread from where he'd left it on the ground on top of his coat which he'd retrieved from his room. Perhaps eating only fruit and stale bread after not eating for two days was bad for his health but he'd survived worse than a little starvation. He brushed off his hands, put away his gun then put on his coat with a little difficulty and walked off towards the cave.

With Barbossa on the prowl Jack wasn't going far from his ship, but he soon was relieved to see that the 'Pearl' was still moored beside the 'Troubadour'. He hovered at the edge of the cave, hidden from the men on board both ships. It seemed that men from different crews; Teague's, his and Elizabeth's, were taking turns guarding the ships.

He stared across at his ship with a contented expression before turning away and walking quickly through the tunnel as his thoughts turned to his family again. Jack wasn't sure of the exact date but he knew it was late December...or at least he thought it was. So if his father had planned some big celebration then it would be soon and then he could get back to the 'Pearl' and be on his way.

He walked back up to the house to see 'Quick Draw' and 'Ace' riding side by side on two beautiful horses, one black and the other light brown. Both were talking quietly to the other, and when they saw Jack they smiled and waved to him.

"Ahoy there, Jack!" 'Ace' shouted and doffed his hat, "Quite a get-together yer old man planned, ay?"

Jack and the two riders drew closer together and he smiled, these two people he was a little happy to see. Unlike his cousin or Barbossa, or even his grandmother they, generally didn't try to kill him every five minutes.

"'S 'e plannin' a shindig, or something?" 'Quick Draw', his aunt asked him and he shrugged.

"Ain't got a clue," he replied.

"There's still horses in't stables, go saddle up and catch up with us," his uncle said with a smile and Jack nodded. It wasn't like there was much else to do anyway. So he made his way to the stables that were still falling apart with creaking hinges and broken windows. There had always been horses here for as long as he could remember, even now there were still at least 10 of them.

Jack chose the largest black stallion, saddled it with ease and rode quickly out of the building. He quickly found his aunt and uncle and rode over to them, despite not riding as often as he used to it was not a skill that one forgot and he found the chance to ride across the island a refreshing change.

He talked with his two relatives of some of his recent adventures and they in turn told him of theirs. They mourned the dying age of pirates and still joked about the crown never being able to hold down any of the family for long. They laughed at 'Quick Draw' throwing more tankards at grandmama and encouraged her to throw even more.

But soon he found that he wanted to be alone and he rode across the beach around midday watching the waves lap against the pristine sand. He had left his aunt and uncle on the other side of the island and had been riding for at least an hour by himself now. He rode the horse 'Nebuchadnezzar' across the beach where the sand met the sea, he jumped over the waves which splashed up against his boots and trousers.

The heat though was wearing the horse out fast so Jack tethered him under some shade and wandered a little further along the beach himself. He pulled off his coat and hat then collapsed on a heap on the sand. He set aside his rum bottle that he had somehow managed to keep undamaged all morning in his pocket and removed his boots. Then he laid aside his sword and pistols and took up the rum with a contented smile.

Far away from the Brethren Court, the island wasn't half as imposing or threatening. It was like any other Caribbean island with its palm trees and the beautiful beach stretching for miles. After he was marooned Jack thought he'd never want to see another beach again, but they were rather common in the Caribbean so he'd had to ignore his hatred for them. And he did have to acknowledge their beauty.

Jack stared out at the ocean and could have sworn that he saw one of the small, white crabs that he'd seen in the Locker. The ones that looked like rocks and tasted vile...but as soon as it had come it vanished back into the water...maybe he'd imagined it.

He went back to lying on the sand and drinking his rum as he looked up at the sky. Gently he touched his tender shoulder and tried massaging the aches from it, but it didn't help all that much.

The cool breeze was comforting and he must have dozed off at some point because when he observed the sky again it was darker and the sun had moved across the horizon. Jack picked up his effects and rode the horse slowly across the beach then once again led the horse under the shade as he climbed over rocks and into a small hole.

He doubted anyone would find him here if they hadn't already seen him on the beach; it was a cave he had found and hid in as a boy, granted it wasn't as easy now he had grown but once he got through the tunnel the cave opened out. His other rum bottle was empty and as a boy he'd hidden other bottles here. He just couldn't remember if he'd left any full or not.

After searching under every rock and in every crack in the walls he discovered that even as a boy he'd drank all the rum. He cursed his younger self and decided that he'd be best getting back to the house for food and rum. It didn't take long before he was leaving the horse in the stables. He then walked into the house and saw that everyone was sitting or standing in the large foyer.

"Where yer been, boy?" his father asked him and for once on seeing his his grandmother didn't throw anything at him which he found strange. He looked around the room and saw his aunt and uncle, Mabeltrude the 'violent visionary', his cousin Valerie, Barbossa, his crew and Elizabeth and her son.

And all were wearing coats and holding bottles, and Jack looked on slightly apprehensive. Either this was going to end very badly in real life or he was dreaming; most of these people did not stand in the same room without attempting to kill him. So what was his father up to?