Title: Journey To The Past
Author: Ella Enchanted
Rating: PG-13 for fowl language and a bit of violence.
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it's going!
Summary: What was Jack's home life like? Did he have a loving family or girl? Read on to find out!
Disclaimer: None of these characters, places, etc. belong to me. They belong to Disney, ya da ya da ya da. I DO however own any character(s) that did not appear in the movie. Nuff' said? On with the show!
(Read)Author's Note: Sorry this took me two days to post! All in favor of killing my boss say "Aye". I'm STILL looking for a beta reader. If anybody's interested please email me at tinkerbellstoyshoppe@yahoo.com It's that time of the month again……just kidding. It's that time to thank all the bitchin' reviewers who have taken the time to read and appreciate my story. I LOVE YOU ALL! They are:
ChelseaBloom:Thanks, and I will continue just because of all the cool people such as yourself who like this story!
Alex: Thanx for being a faithful reviewer! You're just way too kick a$$!
MrsPitt: Don't bite your nails it's a nasty habit! JK! I do it too! Thanx!
Rhea: Hmm, I think you're a mind reader because there will be a chpt w/ Will and Liz. Sorry I didn't get this out earlier!
XM6: A medal! YAY! I'd like to thank my muse, my reviewers especially XM6, my family (Gets knocked off podium)
Cassie-chan: Sorry for the cliffie. Thanks for adding this to your fav. List. You're too damn cool. YAY!
Chayter: Loverly! That reminds me of My Fair Lady (sings-All I want is a room somewhere far away from the cold night air….) sorry got carried away. Seriously, thanx sooooo much.
Novembergirl: Thanx. It is a different Jack, but I hope he's likeable.
ElfPilot: I liked my solution to the ports as well! Hehehe. Your story RULES! Update soon!
Tilly is still laughing: Well everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I know this is a Mary-Sue, it's supposed to be. Sorry if you don't like it. Thanks though.
Arabella: I didn't want to clean up Jack at all but I reconsidered. I just love him as Captn Sparrow! Sleep is definitely a good thing. I HATE my boss! He's evil! He's like Barbossa but not as hairy because my boss is bawled!
Pirate girl: Sleep is a necessity in my life. I sleep like 12 hours a day! Hehehehe! But coffee…hmmm there's a solution. Thanx!
PineAppleLint: Thank you so much. You're all too kind! I did sleep for like half a day, hence the reason this is up later than promised.
Aznkitty11: I love it too! JK, I'm not that conceited. (Looks around suspiciously) No but seriously thank you soooo much!
CallMeMoo: First off, love the pen name! I think that yours has got to be the best review. No offense to others, I LOVE ALL MY CHILDREN, I mean reviewers! I loved the Fabulous comment, it reminded me of my friend in band who talks like a SoCal girl. Please don't sick the pirates on me! Unless you want to send Jack Sparrow my way….J All will be revealed in due time about Lucie and Jack!
Maya1: Wow! Thanks. I feel like I have my own little personal bodyguard. (Burst out Whitney Houston's- And I will always love you. JK)
Princess of Pain: Where to begin? Oh, big words from a little person. No, I don't think I'll stop writing this 'dreck'. I respect the fact that you hate this story, but that's not going to change anything. If you are in fact reading this right now, ask yourself why you are. Are you seriously that demented that you have nothing better to do than sit around on your ass all day long and chew people out a new asshole for their 'GAFF'? The reason I didn't research for this story is because I really could give a tinker's fuck about what were they actual names, places, etc. I'm not some obsessive fan who has to go to great, strenuous lengths to make it 'authentic', like some people I have the misfortune of coming across. On another note, nobody gives a shit about what you did to research your story. Nobody. Are you actually that conceited to think somebody would care? Do you honestly have nothing better to do with your time? Do you have a job, or a life? Sorry if I offended you. Thanks 'sweetling'. P.S. – I honestly don't care if you flame me till the end of time, because I'm still not going to take this 'dreck' down.
Journey to the PastChapter 4: Quite the Family Reunion
"Mother!" Jack raced up to his mom and threw his arms around her in a vice tight embrace. Even after fifteen years she still had that familiar aroma of vanilla and roses. He inhaled that scent trying to make a permanent place for it in his mind. Fifty years from now whenever he thought of his dear mother he wanted to remember how she always smelled of vanilla and roses.
"Oh my dear boy, how I've missed you!" Tears were running down her cheeks freely and spilling out onto Jack's shoulder. After a few sniffles she straightened up and stood to get a good look at him. Cupping his face with her hands she smiled, "You've grown so much. And you're much more handsome now than I've ever seen you. But dear why on earth do you have gold teeth? Is that the fashion in Paris now?"
He mentally thanked himself for formulating excuses ahead of time so that he wouldn't be caught off guard. Crossing over to give his father a hug he laughed, "No mother, it's not the fashion in Paris. I lost a couple of my teeth and had to have replacements. The man who fixed them said that gold would last the longest and would be the strongest as well. You're looking at a smile worth 3 gold pieces. So now let's not say another word about it dear mum, savvy?" 'Shit!' Jack closed his eyes and kicked himself for slipping up so soon.
"Oh, dear. And I see that your tongue has taken to the twang of those sea lovers! What else has altered while you were away, dear?" She laughed as she linked her arm through his and started walking towards the waiting carriage. "Arthur Smith, you help your son with the luggage. Can't you see the dear boy is tired and I dare say famished?"
"Yes, dear," Arthur sighed as he picked up a couple of Jack's bags and sauntered slowly behind his wife and son. "So, Jack tell us all about the adventures you've had in gay Paris." He was now caught up with them and walking on the other side of Jack.
"Well there's not much to tell. I've jes' been doing business." He scratched to back of his irritated neck. Damn, he forgot how uncomfortable these freakin' high society clothes were. 'What I wouldn't give to be in a pair of my other trousers.' He got a dreamy gleam in his eye at the prospect of being back in his old, comfortable attire.
"Certainly it's not all business in France. Tell us, have you had any luck in the female department?" Anita gave her son a knowing glance as he handed her into the grand, black carriage. Helping his father in as well he climbed in after them and sat next to his mother.
"Nay, no such luck," He laughed cynically as he thought about the reaction his mother would have if she ever found out about the number of women he'd been intimate with. She certainly would keel over and die right there in the carriage.
"Ah," she said as if she was confirming a thought or premonition she had been suspecting.
"Ah, what?" He turned and looked a little irritated with her half ass answer. He reached up and undid the top button on his collar. Between the carriage and that blasted shirt, he was surely suffocated before he even so much as got a glimpse of London.
"Oh, it's nothing really, dear." She tugged at the blue satin gloves and neatly placed them in her lap.
"No, there is something. I know ye' too well mother. There was definitely a hidden meaning behind that 'Ah'. What are ye' getting at?" He rephrased those sentences in his head so that they played out correctly. 'No matter. If they won't say anything neither will I.' He turned to his mother with an expectant expression.
"It just seems queer to me that you haven't courted any other girl after the way things ended with Lucille Vaughn, but far be it for me to say anything." A tiny grin broke through and lighted up her face in humor.
"Oh mother, please! That was fifteen years ago. The reason I haven't courted anybody is because I haven't found the right lass yet." He suddenly turned defensive and gave his mother a slight glare.
"Anita, let the boy be. He hasn't even been home for half an hour and you're already bombarding him with unwanted questions." Arthur felt the need to intervene at that point when he saw how embarrassed and uncomfortable Jack looked.
"What? Can't a mother get reacquainted with her only son after fifteen years?" She knew that the classic guilt trip always won over in any situation. She was like Jack in that they both were scheming and devious. Jack definitely got his cunning ways from his mother's side of the family. "So, Jack. I suspect you'll be anxious to see Lucie again, but I really must say that I've never truly forgiven her for the way she slighted you all those years ago."
"Slighted?!?!" Jack more or less squeaked out in astonishment and confusion. "What on earth do you mean 'slighted?'"
"I'm referring to the fact that she turned down your proposal fifteen years ago." She looked at her son like he had grown a set of boobies.
"What?" He asked in a low, calm, steady voice. "I did nothing of the sort."
"But..I…surely you must be joking." It was her turn to look shocked now.
This is where Arthur stepped in, for he too was interested in what Jack had to say to his defense. "Jack, you didn't hear the rumors before you left?"
"No, and think about what you just said: rumors." He leaned in closer to the other side of the carriage intrigued by the story his father was telling him.
"Well, everyone said you proposed to Lucie the day before your departure. Did you propose to her?"
"No." He said simply while looking away and finding the red-carpeted floor very interesting.
"After you left the whole town was up in arms. They all said what a 'vile' and 'mean' spirited girl Miss Vaughn was to turn down a proposal from such a fine man, and this rumor certainly appeared to be true in every respect, for Lucie certainly played the part of a distraught and depressed girl."
"What do you mean by that, 'depressed' and 'distraught'?" Jack didn't know why but he suddenly felt a pang of guilt and misery flood over his senses. His heart seemed to be screaming at him for hurting her like that.
"Well after you left she became a recluse for a year or two. She mostly stayed locked away in that house of hers. She came out every once and while for parties, auctions, and other things, but her appearance had altered greatly. She was pale, deathly thin, dark circled eyes, and something in the way she walked. She seemed uncertain of herself like she was just waiting for something to come and help her out of the depression, but after three years?" He stretched his mind to recall how long ago this all took place. "Yes it was three years. Well, three years later she just showed up in public again. Nobody knew why for quite sometime. That is until she joined the theater, then everybody knew why. She'd found her profession and it consumed her. She just-" He was cut off by Jack raising his hand, trying to stop him.
"Wait! What theater?"
"Surely you've heard of the infamous Lucie Vaughn: singer, dancer, and actress? She's become quite famous," his mother cut in and was now subconsciously leaning in with her husband and son's huddle.
"No, I hadn't heard, but news is slow when crossing the great oceans." He tried to process all this information. There was certainly a lot to take in.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, she joins the theater and is in all sorts of plays and operas. Well, it wasn't until recently that Sir John Upton decided to set his cap at her. The rest is all history, as you know. He proposed and she accepted rather reluctantly in my opinion."
"She doesn't fancy him?" This part greatly intrigued Jack. He leaned in even closer and almost fell off his seat before catching himself.
"Well it's clear she enjoys his company, but it seems to me that she's putting a show on. She is, after all, an actress," Arthur laughed and slapped his knee at his own corny joke. He sat back in his seat and thus broke apart the little huddle.
"Interesting. Very interesting." Jack slouched back in his seat and started stroking at his beard.
"Well, I'm rather depressed now." Anita straightened up and crossed her arms across her chest. "To think that sweet Lucie could have been my daughter-in-law if you'd only proposed."
This set Arthur into another fit of laughter. Anita snapped her head and gave her husband an icy glare. It didn't last long however when she too cracked and started laughing.
"It never would have worked out between us mother."
Sobering up now she turned to her son and asked, "Why not?"
"We bickered too much and I never liked her in that respect. We were never more that just best friends," he said this mostly to convince himself rather than his parents. Shaking his head he looked up at his mother and saw her roll her eyes.
"That's one rumor that I'll never believe as long as I live."
"Believe what you will mother, but I can honestly look anybody in the eye and say that I, Jack Smith, do not love Lucille Vaughn." His air of cockiness and self-assurance surfaced and gave him an air of indifference.
"But could you look her in the eye and say that?" His mother raised her eyebrows at him.
Jack looked away without saying anything. 'Great! I'm not even back for an hour and we're already bickering and arguing about issues I don't care to speak of'. He shook his head trying to rid them of any thoughts of a set of ice blue eyes and the woman that embodied them. 'I'm just lusting after any female. I haven't been with a woman in a good month now. I need to a drink and some female company.' He crossed his arms and sunk even lower in his seat gazing steadily out of the window. The rest of the ride home was spend in silence for Jack had passed out and so had his father.
Anita unpinned her shawl and covered her son with it. Smiling she brushed away a stray lock of his onyx hair. She had missed her son so much and it felt good to finally have him home, even if it was only for a month. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. He silently stirred, but did not wake. She laughed at this and thought, 'He looks so angelic. My little angel.'
After another two and a half hours they finally reached London. Anita turned and gently shook her son awake. "Jack, wake up dear. Jack, we're here darling."
He woke up and was quite groggy and disoriented. Looking around trying to take his settings in he instantly recognized where they were. He silently smiled as they passed through the little streets and the accompanying shops. He and his family lived just on the outskirts of London so they didn't have very much further to go till they reached home.
Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned his head all the way back and stared out the window. It was a flash of bright pink that caught his attention, bright pink and even brighter yellow. How could anybody miss you in something like that? He only caught a glimpse of a woman in the flashy dress. He couldn't see her face however because she had her head down and her parasol covering most of her face. 'Could it be? No, I'm just imagining things. Get a grip, Jack, you daft prick.' He straightened up as they pulled out onto the tiny, dirt road that led to their home.
Gazing up and the house in wonderment he remembered how it seemed so much bigger to him when he was younger. Of course he was much small then compared to the house, but even today he felt insignificantly smaller than the manor. The carriage came to a slow halt and the attendants came around and held the doors open for the Smiths to exit. Jack was the first to step, for his mother was currently trying to rouse Mr. Smith from his deep slumber. Stepping out onto the soft earth he took a deep breath and inhaled the familiar scent of the great oaks that lined the path up to the house.
Stepping out of the carriage, Mr. And Mrs. Smith stood by their son and waited for him to move forward. Finally interpreting their stares he headed off in the direction of the manor. He still was swaggering to and fro like a drunk, but he had managed to lessen the violent appearance.
"It seems like you still haven't found your land legs yet Jack!" Arthur came up and patted him on the back.
"It would appear so." With a laugh he pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the main hall. 'Some things never change, even after fifteen years.' He gazed around the room in wonderment at all the fine possessions they had acquired throughout the years. 'No, you're not stealing from family.' He scolded himself for thinking such thoughts.
At that moment a nursemaid wheeled his dear old Great Aunt Eliza into the room. She had been very ill through out the years and had finally been confined to her wheelchair and sent to live with her great niece and her family. Jack never liked her because she was such an old, bitter bitch. She'd turned that way after her husband passed away and left all of his fortunes to his mistress. Jack grimaced at the sight of her sitting there all shriveled up in her black, moth-eaten dress and her yellowing blanket. He caught site of a stunning broach that was attached above her left breast. It had one giant sapphire with diamonds surrounding it. 'Definitely worth a pretty penny! All right, so I won't steal from immediate family.' Nodding his head in approval he bent down to see eye level with the old windbag.
"What? No kiss for your dear Aunt Eliza?" She turned her face so he could kiss her. He almost wretched up his breakfast when he felt the dry, leathery under his smooth, soft, wet lips. "That's better, m'boy. Now, let me get a good look at you." She reached down and pulled at the chain that held her spectacles and started staring him up and down. "Well, he certainly has grown. I'll allow that, but he hasn't grown any handsomer. And that dreadful skin! It looks as though you've been living on the sun itself. I don't much care for the mustache or beard either. Filthy people wear facial hair, like pirates, murderers, rapists, and drunks."
"Correct me if I am wrong, Aunt Eliza, but I do believe I saw a painting once of your dear husband, Uncle George with facial hair." He feigned kindness and now stood up a full height. He didn't need to sit here and be ridiculed by some old, windbag who's sitting on death's doorstep. He was Captain Jack Sparrow god damn it and he didn't take any shit from anyone. Of course they didn't know this, so he just stood there grinning and bearing it like a true gentleman.
"Well, I never!" She reeled back in shock. Picking up her cane, which Jack didn't understand why she had it, she started banging it on the side of the wheelchair. The nursemaid scurried over to the back of the chair and grasped the handles in her shaking hands. "Lily, take me to my room. I've had enough excitement and lowly company for the day."
"Yes ma'am." Lily turned the wheelchair in a full circle and exited the room.
Turning and trying to suppress his laughter he caught a glare form his mother. His father, however, was doubled over in laughter.
"Arthur really! Don't encourage the boy." She slapped his arm and headed into the drawing room.
"I don't care what your mother says, your Great Aunt Eliza needs to be put in her place every once and awhile. Just steer clear of trouble my boy and you'll be all right." He patted Jack's back (a.n. - I'm a poet and I didn't know it) once again.
"I'll try me best," he called to his father's retreating figure ascending up the flight of stairs. Once he was gone and out of earshot Jack smiled wickedly, "Trouble? That's my middle name." He turned and walked into the parlor where his mother sat sipping at some mint tea.
"Yes, dear?" She asked expectantly.
"Mother, would you terribly mind if I went for a stroll into town?"
"Go right ahead, but do return before six for the Vaughns are to have dinner with us," she called out as her son started to exit the room. He stopped and turned to face his mother. Surprise was etched into his face.
"The Vaughns? As in, all the members of the Vaughn household?" His questions started out slow, but hastened with his ever-persisting need to know whether or not a certain some one would be attending.
"Yes, all the Vaughns. With the exception of Lucie of course, for she has a performance tonight."
Heaving a sigh of relief he smiled gratefully at his mother and exited the house. Once he was outside he relished in the fact that he didn't have to contain his drunken swagger like walk anymore. 'Now, where can I get a decent pint of rum?' He smiled as he turned onto the main road where all of the shops were. "Ah, 'The Singing Parrot'. Fine a tavern as any." With that he entered the dark bar, sat down, and ordered a drink. It was going to be a long night and he was definitely going to need some sort of relief.
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YAY! I actually updated. Sorry it took so long. Let's kill my boss, eh? He shall pay penance for keeping me from my beloved laptop! ANYWHO, R/R please!
