Author's Notes: Past again. We'll get back to the present in a bit; the fic is mostly in the past though. We meet another main movie character in this part. ^_^
Again, see the end notes for translations, etc.
Disclaimer's in chapter one.
Chapter 5: A New Identity
Marin wept for what seemed like a small eternity, and when he was through, he felt physically and emotionally drained. He sat, curled against the wall of the brig, shivering terribly and clutching his ring tightly. Looking out the small window, it became apparent that it was nearly dawn. He could see that they were still beside the cargo ship; the British flag flapped in the ocean breeze, seeming far too cheerful for Marin's liking.
He turned away from the visage, choosing, instead, to study the ring his mother had given him. It was a very beautiful ring, if you looked closely enough. The band was plain, brightly-polished gold with a large emerald set into it – that much he'd already determined. However, upon closer inspection he could see that there was an engraving of a bird in flight surrounding the emerald; a sparrow, to be exact. He slipped the ring back onto his finger.
He sat, deep in thought, for several moments before his feelings went from sad to bitter.
"Let's go over the events of the last few days," he grumbled to himself angrily. "First, I come home to find my village up in flames and my mother dying. Then, I narrowly avoid being caught by the sailors in port upon my arrival. And now, I'm locked in the brig of a pirate ship, because they mistook me for the son of the cargo ship's Captain!"
"By the sounds of it, you're not 'aving a very good time, mate."
Marin's head shot up at the sound of the voice, but he could see no-one in the darkness. Unable to think of anything rational to say in reply, he stammered, "W-who's there?!" 'Raklo…' he thought, narrowing his eyes in suspicion… and quickly realized that, of course the person would be a raklo; he was on a – presumably – British ship.
There was a slight scuffling noise before a figure appeared in Marin's short line of vision. He had to look up a bit to get a glimpse of the young man's face; tanned and angular, the face was framed by shoulder-length, mousy brown hair that looked to have seen better days. The boy's eyes were bright blue and, at the moment, were locked in a staring match with Marin's own brown eyes. Marin scooted backward in the cell, intent on ignoring this stranger, and leveled the other with a glare.
The blue-eyed boy scowled right back, and Marin could tell he was sizing him up. 'I must look a right mess by now,' he thought bitterly. He supposed his face was probably red from crying; his features were still a bit childish, and he knew the boy staring at him must think him a baby. His plaited hair hadn't been brushed since the incident in Aurel, and was beginning to get a bit matted. The beads, once vibrantly-colored, had dulled with the dirt of several days. His shirt, vest, and trousers were tattered and grimy. 'Yes,' he thought, scowling. 'A right mess indeed.'
The brig's other occupant seemed to think the scowl was directed at him, for he sounded irritated when he next spoke. "You 'ave a problem with other people, kid? Not bein' very social."
Marin, again, kept his mouth shut, bound and determined not to let these people get the best of him.
"C'mon now, mate. I know bloody well ye're capable of speaking," the boy chided. "I'm not gonna hurt ye, if that's what ye're worried about."
"I'm NOT your 'mate'," Marin stated fiercely, giving the other his best glower.
To his surprise, the boy only laughed. "Aye, I suppose ye're not. We haven't even had a proper introduction," he agreed, blue eyes sparkling with amusement. When Marin only blinked at him, he cleared his throat and continued. "Me name's Barbossa," he said, motioning to himself, "and I work on this ship under Cap'n Harundo – ye've met him already, I gather?" Marin nodded absently. "He's a good cap'n, boy. He won't hurt ye unless ye give him reason to."
There was a small pause; Marin was watching Barbossa carefully, searching his face for a hint that he could be lying, but he found none, and so he nodded again.
"So," Barbossa said, sitting down and scrutinizing Marin once more, "Ye 'ave a name, or do I 'ave to keep calling you 'kid'?"
Marin froze. 'I can't tell him my real name; he might know it isn't English…' He looked around the brig, searching for something – ANYTHING – to use as an alias. His eyes fell upon the flag out the tiny window. 'Union Jack…' he thought. It was better than nothing.
"It's… Jack," he said uncertainly. Then he got an idea. Glancing quickly down at his ring, he coughed slightly and added, "…Sparrow." Barbossa raised an eyebrow.
"Well which is it?" he asked, misunderstanding.
"Both," Marin said quickly. "My name is Jack Sparrow." He bowed his head slightly.
"Right then, Jack," Barbossa said, grinning. "Cap'n will prob'ly be wanting a word with ye soon; I'll leave ye to ye're musings till then." At this, he flashed Marin – Jack – a lopsided grin and sauntered out of the brig.
'So that's it, then,' he thought to himself. 'I'm not Marin anymore. From now on, I'm Jack Sparrow. Marin died with the rest of his people.'
Now all he could do was wait.
End Notes: Raklo is Romani for 'a non-Romani boy'. Same website as the other words *can't remember the URL off the top of my head*.
So, Jack Sparrow is born! Before you all start shouting, "CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!" let's consider this: he's not a captain YET. Capice? He will be, eventually. ^_~ So don't worry about that.
Somebody let me know if I got Barbossa's eye color wrong… I couldn't find anyplace that said. ^^;;;
Please R&R, as always! ^_^