The Spaniard turned on his heel and left, his men followed. Scrum ran to Tamara, he picked her up in his arms. "Angelica, I…we can't let her die." Scrum brushed back Tamara's hair back from her face; she was already looking pale, so very pale. He couldn't let her die, not just because Calypso would rip him apart if he let her die, but because well…he outright loved his little mermaid, despite her tendencies to play with his heart and insult him on occasion. It made Scrum love her all the more.
"No, my father is more important than any common mermaid," Angelica said, still trying to wriggle free of Jack's grip.
"She's isn't a common mermaid," Philip strode over to her and grabbed the phial, "Your fathers soul is not worth redemption." Gibbs ran to collect the chalices and handed them to Philip. He knelt down beside what remained of the fountain, fumbling with the phial for a second. It was impossible to tell which chalice held the tear and which was regular fountain water.
By this point, Barbossa was helping Jack hold Angelica back. "Feisty one, isn't she?" Jack said, half smiling.
"Sparrow, if you don't let me go, I swear I will kill you!"
"Someone take her sword," Barbossa said. One of his men ran forward.
Philip handed one of the chalices to Gibbs, "Give it to Blackbeard, make sure he drinks it." Gibbs nodded and pressed the chalice to the half dead Blackbeard's lips. Philip moved over to Scrum and Tamara.
Scrum grabbed the chalice from Philip. He helped Tamara hold the chalice, she spluttered once before downing it in one gulp. Scrum looked over at Gibbs, he nodded solemnly. Tamara touched her bullet hole gingerly; it was slowly starting to heal. Blackbeard crawled towards Philip; he jumped out of the way quickly.
Blackbeard stretched out a hand but it had started to turn into dust. Soon the rest of him started to turn to dust too, Angelica let out a cry of anguish. The only thing left of Blackbeard was his sword. Barbossa let go of Angelica's arm, grabbed the sword then promptly led his men out of the nightmarish hellhole.
Angelica punched Jack in the face, "You bastard! You just had to take my father away from me too! Didn't you? Didn't you?"
"Angelica, really, you're overreacting, he did threaten to shoot you after all," Jack said, holding up his hands.
"I don't care!" Angelica said, trying to lash out at Jack again but the revenge's crew grabbed her before she could do so.
Tamara looked up at Philip weakly, "Thank you," She whispered before closing her eyes and nuzzling up against Scrum's chest.
"You're welcome," Philip said solemnly.
Tamara woke up uneasily in a room she didn't recognize. First off, she was lying in a bed, a rather soft bed; second, the room was painted deep red like blood and there were rather sinister looking objects. Tamara got to her feet slowly and opened the door; she didn't want to spend any more time in a room that looked, well evil. Well, she was in a ship, to be more specific, she was in the captain's quarters of a ship. Judging by the size and grandeur, a galleon at that.
Jack looked up from the maps spread on a desk, "Good to see your up love."
"What?" Tamara rubbed the back of her neck.
"Ah, well after the whole Fountain of Youth episode you sort of blacked out. Scrum suggested that we bring you back here, to the Revenge." Jack shrugged, "So we did. Angelica isn't too happy about it though…we sort of had to…sedate her a bit."
Tamara's eyebrows shot up. Barbossa brushed past her as he entered the room. For a man with a wooden leg, it was surprising how quiet he could be. Barbossa stormed up to Jack, "I be taking these, thank ye Jack. You good for nothing-" He grabbed the map out of Jack's hand and glared at him. "I am the captain of this ship."
"I think you'd have to answer to Angelica for that." Jack said grimly.
"That be precisely why we're letting you do the honors of marooning her, for her own good of course." Blackbeard studied the map carefully. "Ah, see here, we can make it to that island we left you on Jack. It's well supplied, traveled trade route-"
"Though completely devoid of rum." Jack interrupted.
"Excuse me, but what exactly is going on, where are my sisters?" Tamara asked.
"She cares more for her mermaids than she does for Scrum," Jack whispered to Barbossa.
"Yes, him to, where is he?"
"Relax love, the rest of your pretty little mermaids are out on the deck enjoying that lovely sea breeze. And last time I checked, Scrum was out with them making sure none of the other sailors touched them." Jack explained.
"Be a bit wary of the missionary though, what's his name?" Barbossa added.
"Philip."
"Yes, Philip. Kept looking over at the young one with the doe eyes. The one with the accent."
Tamara nodded, turned and left to go out onto deck. Sure enough, Philip was watching Syrena, from a distance and Scrum was giving anyone and everyone who came close to the mermaids the stink eye.
The mermaids bowed their heads in respect when they saw Tamara. Scrum turned around and smiled at her.
"Hey, when did you wake up?" Scrum asked.
"Just a few minutes ago," Tamara sat next to Scrum on an upturned barrel, "Do Jack and Barbossa always fight like that?"
"Oh yeah, they've been doing it for years apparently."
Tamara looked at her mermaids, "Oh, you girls are excused." She waved them off and sure enough, they stumbled down below decks, using each other and anything else they could find keep them from falling over.
"I've been trying to help them walk-" Scrum began.
"How long have I been unconscious for?" Tamara shrieked.
"Whoa, easy love. Just 2 days."
"2 days?"
"Why are you so upset?"
Tamara sighed, "Because, you have no idea how stupid those girls are without me. They're like children."
"I don't think you give them enough credit. They seemed to do just fine by themselves," Scrum draped an arm across Tamara's shoulders.
"Perhaps, but not Syrena."
"The one with the doe eyes? Is she the youngest or something?" Scrum asked, "I still haven't gotten all of their names."
"Yes. The one with the doe eyes, she's the youngest you see. The poor girl is so easily swayed, so innocent…Have you seen the way Philip looks at her?" Tamara said in a low voice.
"I found it kind of hard to miss." Scrum admitted. "And besides, she's not that innocent, she can be rather, er, bitchy when she wants to be."
"I just don't want her getting involved with Philip. He'll fill her head with silly ideas and together they're just so….ignorant. They could walk into a bloody minefield and think that they were going on some lovely picnic."
Scrum raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, Philip was tied up to the mast until Jack cut him loose."
Tamara snorted with laughter, "And how exactly did the man of god end up tied to the mast?"
"Oh, you know him, he doesn't filter what he says at all."
"Gets him into a lot of trouble doesn't it?"
"Yep." Scrum pulled Tamara closer to him and together they watched everyone else on board run around doing their jobs.
"One pistol." Jack the the pistol down next to Angelica, "One shot."
"To kill myself before I starve?" Angelica yelled angrily.
"There's no trusting you love. Besides, this is a well-traveled trade route." Jack said pleasantly as if commenting on the weather.
"And how will I get free of these bonds?"
"You broke free of your bonds half an hour ago, waiting for the precise moment to pounce." Jack turned around to grab the oar Angelica was about to club him over the head with and gave her a stern look.
"Admit it Jack, you still love me." Angelica said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"If you had a sister and a dog, I'd choose the dog." Jack turned to leave.
"Wait, Jack," Angelica grabbed his arm, "I am with child. Yours."
Jack pulled a face, "I don't recall we ever-"
"You were drunk!"
"I've actually never been that drunk." Jack sauntered back to the dingy.
"Wait! There's something I've wanted to tell you since the moment I saw you: I love you." Angelica looked up at Jack with an innocent expression.
"As do I. Always have, always will." Jack said and leaned in closer to her, their lips brushing before: "I gotta go." Jack said quickly then got into the dingy.
"Jack!" Angelica yelled angrily. "This is not over! Jack!" Angelica grabbed the pistol and shot it at Jack.
"Missed." Jack said nonchalantly as he continued rowing back to the Revenge. Angelica screamed a mixture of Spanish and English from the shore at him.
Tamara raised an eyebrow. "Scrum, I honestly don't think that would work. I belong in the sea and you…"
"And I?"
"You are a sailor, you wouldn't be happy without a boat or a money trail."
"Money trail? I don't care about money."
"Then how would you afford your rum?" Tamara shook her head.
Scrum ran his hands through his hair and thought in silence for a second. "There's always Shipwreck cove. Jack told me about it."
"Shipwreck cove? You pirates have no imagination do you?"
"Well, whatever." Scrum sighed, "Anyway, it's in this old volcano and well, it's built out of ships. It's an island made out of ships, so, I could be with you and you could still be close to the sea. So it's a win win for everyone."
"Except that that place is crawling with pirates and you men aren't exactly stone cold sober for most of the time-"
"What are you? Oh." Scrum said, then realized. A pretty girl in Shipwreck cove had to watch her step all the time in Shipwreck. Hell, even an ugly girl had to watch her step.
Tamara looked at him sadly, "I'll go with you to see it, but I'm not promising that I'll stay there with you."
Scrum picked her up and hugged her tightly. "Scrum, let go," Tamara wheezed.
Tamara leaned against the gunwale on the upper decks of The Revenge, Barbossa glanced at her before returning his attention to manning the ships' wheel.
"You're very quiet today." Barbossa noted.
"So is everyone else. Where exactly is Shipwreck cove?" Tamara asked, quick to change the subject.
Barbossa pointed to an opening in a cliff far ahead them. "Can't have it anywhere it'd be easily found." He said, noting the look on Tamara's face. "It be hard to sail through, very few ships are lucky to make it through without a few scratches."
"Is that why the men are all quiet?"
"Aye."
Tamara looked at the cavern looming above them. It was appropriately named, stalactites hanged down from the ceiling looking like the Devil's teeth. Bits of wood lay here and there along the throat. Tamara's mermaids looked at it curiously before murmuring amongst themselves.
Jack appeared at Tamara's side. "Scrum's not very happy about all this. Won't come up below, even when I told him you wanted to see him."
"I don't want to if he's going to act like a little child." Tamara's mermaids giggled when she said that.
"He is worried about you," Syrena said, "He's afraid that he'll lose you, perhaps if you were to talk to him-"
"Syrena, I forbid you from spending anymore time with Philip. I do not need your head being filled with anymore nonsense than it is already." Tamara said sternly. She turned her attention back to Jack. "I'm not going to leave him, but I don't like the sound of Shipwreck cove… it sounds…"
"Nasty? Eh, it's alright once you get used to it, I was raised there you know."
"Doesn't that say everything?"
Scrum was in fact, down below decks. He outright refused to see Tamara, or anyone else for that matter. He knew deep down that Tamara would not be happy in Shipwreck cove nor would she be happy with any other idea that Scrum came up with to keep them together. However this seemed to be the only answer to their predicament.
Syrena's big brown eyes appeared above Scrum's head. Scrum started, "Jesus Christ girl, give a man a warning."
"Philip has been teaching me about this Jesus Christ, is it true that he walked on water?"
"Yeah sure, whatever." Scrum hauled himself off his hammock and stretched.
"Tamara has been asking for you."
"Has she now?"
"She is worried about you. She thinks you're depressed."
Scrum sighed. "I'm not depressed, I'm just-"
"Worried?" Syrena said helpfully.
"Yes, worried."
Syrena shook her head. "She won't leave you Scrum. I know that you both love each other very deeply, although both of you are too proud to say it."
"She will leave. That's just me luck in life. I finally get a good thing going and then it's gone." Scrum grabbed a nearby bottle of rum.
"You think that she would come here if she would just leave you. No. You are not like most men, greedy yes, you are that, but you are not compliant. No man has ever said no to Tamara before."
"That's because she ate most men before they had the chance." Scrum pointed out.
"Ah, yes, but you grabbed her and pulled her out of the sea. You claimed her as your own, and Calypso has chosen you."
"Oh don't go on about some damn prophecy." Scrum walked into the ship's galley, Syrena followed.
"No, there is no prophecy, I just mean that it's like the two of you are meant to be."
"Syrena, why don't you do me a favor and go tell this all to Philip." Scrum said angrily. Syrena frowned for a second before turning on her heel and marching away.
Shipwreck cove was exactly what Jack and Barbossa had described to Tamara; a city made out of boats. Spanish galleons, sloops, carracks, there were even a few rafts here and there, but the whole place was made out of boats. In the dark it looked almost like a Christmas tree with all of its lights. Tamara stared at a figure head of an angel as they sailed past.
"I've always wondered what it's like to fly." Tamara mumbled to herself.
"It's not very fun, believe me." Jack said and looked around nervously.
"Is something wrong Jack?" Tamara touched Jack's arm.
"It's nothing really; I just owe a few sailors some money. Well that and there's Teague." Jack said quietly, "This place doesn't harbor very fond memories for me love." Jack gulped. Tamara followed his gaze to a man standing on the docks. He was wearing a hat that was even larger than the one Barbossa wore. He had a red coat with ornate stitching, various objects braided into his hair, and enough gold on his fingers to keep himself drunk with rum for a month. He looked like an older version of-
"Jack, he's not-"
"Yes, that is my father, Captain Teague, keeper of the code."
Teague looked at Tamara over his goblet of wine. "So, you're what a mermaid looks like?"
Tamara straightened up slightly. "What a queen looks like." She spat back. They were presently sitting in the captain quarters of Teague's ship. He had insisted that he be allowed to give Tamara her first drink in Shipwreck cove, although so far it hadn't been a very pleasant experience.
Tamara cast a wary eye around the quarters, they weren't much better than the Revenge's. Albeit there weren't any voodoo things lying around but there was a taxidermied monkey in the corner of the room wearing feathers around its neck and the place was rather gaudy for Tamara's taste. Jack himself looked sorely tempted to grab one of the many guitars from off the wall and smash Teague around the head with it.
"So, Jacky here caught himself a queen. Well I must say boy, I'm rather proud of you." Teague said, although he didn't smile or sound proud at all.
Tamara resisted the urge to tell Teague that it was actually Scrum that did the catching but thought better of it. She lifted her goblet of wine to her lips and tipped it back, but didn't drink any of it.
Scrum rubbed his eyes blearily. A considerable amount of time had passed since he walked into the tavern and ordered rum but he couldn't honestly remember much at that point in time. His drinking partner, a French man rather ornately dressed, even by pirate standard named Christophe had been supplying him with rum whilst he eyed up wenches and Scrum poured out his story.
Christophe took a swig of rum, "Ah, you caught yourself a little mermaid? And Jack (which he pronounced Jacques) is back in Shipwreck cove?"
Scrum nodded, "But you're French right?"
"Yes."
"Well, my mermaid, I don't think she likes me very much." Scrum said sadly. "I just can't tell if she's waiting to kill me and eat me. I mean, that's what mermaids normally do."
"But you've saved her from several perils already, how could a woman not love you for that?" Christophe asked. Scrum raised an eyebrow and pointed to his own face.
At that moment, Jack casually sauntered in with Tamara holding onto his arm. She spotted Scrum and Christophe and immediately made a b line over to them.
"Scrum, why have you been avoiding me?" Tamara puffed up.
"Ah, this is the mermaid?" Christophe's eyes widened.
"Yes." Scrum said, trying to avoid Tamara's gaze.
"You think you can just come to Shipwreck cove and think that it's appropriate to stay in the bottom of a rum barrel?" Tamara asked hotly, "Have you any idea how I've felt about this?"
Scrum shook his head. Tamara's eyes narrowed dangerously. She pulled a chair from a nearby table swung it around and sat down, facing Scrum. "I'll tell you then: I'm absolutely disgusted at you!" Scrum shrank back against his seat, Christophe quickly got up and joined Jack at the bar. "How dare you pull the "poor pity me" card! If you had just talked to me and told me how you were feeling we wouldn't even need this conversation!" Tamara breathed heavily.
"You don't understand." Scrum said in a small voice.
"I don't understand what?" Tamara asked trying to keep herself from screaming again.
"Everyone in my life has left me at some point or another. My father left when I was just a lad, then my mother a few years later. That's why I worked on ships; it was that or the workhouse." Scrum looked up at Tamara, "And on ships, you'll be there one day and gone the next. As soon as I got to finally liking someone, they'd be off somewhere else. And there was this one girl I liked, met her in Port Royal, Caroline, her name was…I thought I was in love with her, but…" Scrum shook his head, played me for a fool."
Tamara raised an eyebrow, "That's all very touching Scrum. But as you know, I don't shed tears like you humans do."
"But you forgive me right?"
"Perhaps."
Scrum smiled at her before resting his head on his arms and falling asleep right there. Tamara rolled her eyes.
In closing, no, Tamara does not trust her mermaids as far as she can throw them, which should be far considering she's a mermaid and all, but still, if it weren't for her they'd all be dead. Probably. Anyway I like to think that Syrena is the youngest of the mermaids and that' why she saved Philip from the explosion. She's sort of naïve and a big cheerleader for love.
Scrum has abandonment issues and trust issues while we're at it. But yeah, sailors didn't stay very long on one ship whether it be better pay or because they met a girl or because the ship was looted by pirates. =P
Christophe is character of A.C. Crispin, who wrote the Price of Freedom, a potc book. Spoiler, Christophe dies, but I need a malicious character so in this little story, Christophe never died.
Also, me apologies for the lack of updating, I have not in fact dropped off the ends of the world (and into Davy's locker) but heat waves + computers = lots of computer crashes.
