Pirates of the Caribbean: The Sparrow's Demise
Chapter One
"Off the ship, ye scalawags! And I best not be hearing about anything that you've done. Remember, we stick to the code-anyone left behind stays behind!"
Jack Sparrow-Captain Jack Sparrow-watched gleefully as his crew made its way into boats and prepared to row to Port Maria along the coast of Jamaica. He was close to his old haunt, Port Royal, but Sparrow hated moving too close for fear of the zealousness of Commodore Norrington and his force of King's soldiers. His crew needed shore leave; however, so he decided to lower anchor just off Montego Bay.
The waters of Jamaica never ceased to arouse his senses. Swirls of turquoise and green brightly radiated through the crystal clear ocean and beckoned to him. He loved Tortuga but the lushness and sensuality of Jamaica comforted him as nothing else could.
"Are ya sure yer not comin', Jack?"
Jack Sparrow looked over the side of the Black Pearl down to the boat that held the remainder of his crew-first mate, Joshamee Gibbs and AnaMaria, his, well his-truth be, he didn't quite know what to call her.
"I have to take stock of supplies, then I'll row ashore."
"Aye, Captain. Are we free to plunder, then?"
"You're free to do as you wish, but I don't want to hear about it, savvy?"
Gibbs nodded knowingly. He knew Jack a long time and knew he didn't bother himself with the trivial things. Jack also trusted his crew. AnaMaria, the dark-skinned beauty who became a pirate solely because of Jack, looked up at her captain longingly, her dark hair hidden under a weathered slouch hat. Things could be dangerous for her if townsfolk knew she was a woman, so she presented herself as a man and Gibbs or another crewman had strict orders to stay with her. Sparrow blew her a dramatic half-kiss, half salute and headed back to the hold.
The ship was nearly out of everything and he made note of what he thought he could steal from the docks: mangoes, bananas, melons, nuts, fish, fowl-and what he would need to buy: rope, rigging, medicine. The twelve souls who manned the Black Pearl-Jack's pride and joy-would all assess the lay of the land and either return with supplies or an idea on how to get some.
Sparrow mentally tallied his list, grabbed ten shillings and found his way to a boat. Of all the misfits on board, he most looked the part of a pirate. His long dark hair was braided with beads, and he wore rings and trinkets, tattoos and scars, had gold teeth, donned a muslin shirt, brown breeches, knee-hi boots and of course, the hat. Captain Jack Sparrow caused contemplative stares even before he made landfall.
As he walked onto the dock and paid the harbormaster his shilling, worried women pulled their children closer and scurried past. Men "rested" their hands on guns and canes and eyed him as he sauntered by. Jack Sparrow had a peculiar gait, that of a man perpetually drunk or always at sea.
The cobblestone streets of Port Maria were bustling on that sunny November day. Street mongers peddled their wares and Jack stopped by one or two, finding something he might like to take, never buy, putting his fingers to his bearded chin and calculating its value. He could tell almost immediately whether it would be worth the time or trouble.
Wooden carts with brightly painted signs showed off dishes, cups, utensils, jewelry, beads, hats, flour, potatoes, knives and even ammunition. Jacked tarried a bit longer looking at the bullets and shot.
"Pirates aren't welcome on these shores."
He had heard it a thousand times before and didn't even bother to turn toward the woman's voice. He continued to examine a round ball from a flintlock rifle and wondered if he would have to use it.
"I said, 'Pirates aren't welcome here.'"
"I bloody well heard you!" Jack turned then and stopped when he saw her. He might not have seen her nigh on eighteen years but he knew it was Jordan, his cousin--his mother's brother's only daughter. He drew in breath at the sight of her. His uncle had departed England when Jack was sixteen and Jordan only twelve. He remembered clearly seeing her sail away from the harbor toward lands unknown. Jordan had been crying. Jack was more like her best friend. They were inseparable. His mother had been crying also, tears staining her olive-skinned face, the face that had been so lovely at one time, but had become so hard from years of abuse at the hands of her own family, all because she had fallen in love with a pirate. Beyond that even, she had brought a bastard son into the world and had the gall to give him the name of Sparrow. He knew deep down, even though his mother never said it outright, that he was the reason Jordan had to leave. His uncle didn't want them together anymore. Come to think of it, Jack had cried that day, too.
Jordan had grown so beautiful. She had to be nearly thirty by now. Her hair was even darker than his and shined only the way the hair of the well to do could shine. Her dress was cream and brown toile that brought out the sparkle in her large brown eyes-eyes that were a mirror of his own. He wondered if she had children, because her figure had filled out some from the lankiness that accompanied her as a girl.
Obviously, she didn't recognize him. Her hands were on her hips, sensual mouth drawn into a thin line. He stepped into the lamplight. "Jordan, it's me Jack."
She was clearly startled. Her eyesight had grown poor, but was this grime-laden pirate her first love--the cousin she could never bear to see again? Jordan Sparrow Owens backed away and then turned on her heel and ran down Fox's Alley. This man couldn't be Jack. She heard he had turned pirate, then found out what he had done to her father and never wanted to set eyes on him, never wanted that pain to rip through her heart again, never wanted her father to force her to make that choice again.
He was behind her and was able to catch up to her in only a few strides. He swung her toward him and she came in contact with the wall of the tobacconist shop. "Please, don't run!"
"Don't touch me!" She hissed.
Jack didn't know what to do, so unexpected was her reaction to him, that he pulled away as though Jordan was on fire. She looked into his dark eyes once more as if searching for some sign of the boy she left behind in England, then hurried away.
The pirate watched her go, "It isn't over, love."
Chapter Two
Jordan didn't slow until she reached her house. Closing the door tightly behind her, she looked around as the sound echoed through the large foyer and up the staircase. A maid hurried out from the dining room and curtsied.
"I'm sorry, M'lady. I-I didn't hear you coming up the walk."
Jordan smoothed her skirt and absent-mindedly fixed her hair. "It's quite alright, Julia. I didn't expect to be home so soon myself. Where's Abby?"
"Napping, M'Lady."
"Very good. I will be in the study should anyone need me."
Julia curtsied again and watched with odd fascination as Jordan went into a room she hardly used since her husband's death. "Yes, Ma'am. Your father sent word he would be arriving on the 4:35 docking of the Grand Entrance."
Jordan's heart began to pound. She forgot her father's visit, she had been so busy in town. Surely he would see the Black Pearl somewhere-wherever Jack had her anchored.
"Ma'am?" Julia waited patiently, tendrils of auburn hair escaping from her already many hours hard at work cleaning the large house. "Shall I fetch you some tea?"
"No, thank you. Just let me know when my daughter is awake."
The maid took her leave and Jordan went into the study, closing the door behind her. Immediately she went into the powder blue cupboard along the far wall and took out a bottle of brandy. Dusty tumblers were lined behind the crystal decanter and she snatched one, poured and gulped it down. The liquid burned her throat and stomach and it was then that she began to cry.
Gazing out the dimpled windows of the study, she could see the azure water with its pastel reefs of coral below. Where was the Black Pearl? Why had Jack Sparrow come to Port Maria? Along the sleeve of her daydress, Jordan noticed the mark Jack's dirty hand had left when he grabbed her.
"What do you want?" She asked him in the reflection of the water.
Jack found his way to Raven's Tavern and was surprised, but glad, that none of his crew was there. He purchased a tankard of rum and found a quiet corner. If this were Tortuga, "quiet" would have been difficult to define, but since Port Maria was more civilized, the number of boisterous drunks and ladies whose job it was to please them was slightly lessened.
He drank deeply and was glad when things began to swim into focus. He realized how different his mood was at that moment than when he first came ashore. Seeing Jordan had affected him. Jack knew he wasn't going to leave without seeing her again.
"I just don't understand why he's making you go too!" Jack growled, as they sat in the tall grass outside their home, her father's estate in Essex.
"Don't be angry, Jack. It's father's work."
"He works for East India Trading--and as a free agent no less. Any good size port city will do. And blast him, let him go, but leave you!"
Jordan sat up, agitated, and tucked her legs underneath her. Jack's shirt was wrinkled from playing and his knee stockings and breeches were dirty. Jordan never got dirty; she would run and jump, but somehow never get dirty.
"He says there is more money to be made in Jamaica. And you know I have no choice but to go."
Jack pushed her long, dark hair out of her face and pulled her down to lie on his shoulder in the soft summer grass. "I'll miss you Jordan. You and Mother are all I have."
"I'll miss you too, Jack."
He wanted desperately to change the subject. He hated that feeling of loss he experienced every time he thought about her father breaking them apart. He pointed to the sky and a large billowy cloud, "Can you see the tiger in that one, Jordan?"
"But, I've never seen a tiger."
"For certes, you have. In that book I showed you..."
"More to drink, Jack?" Joshamee Gibbs sat heavily in the chair across from him. He had been standing over his captain for a long time and realized the pirate was looking through him. Something was wrong.
"Aye, thank'ee."
Gibbs waved to the barkeep. "Two more, if ye please!"
Jack looked at Gibbs, who looked no worse for wear for being let loose all day. His muttonchop whiskers made him seem older than his years, although he was always a father figure for Jack.
"Where's AnaMaria?"
Two ladies sauntered over to them, hoping to make their first pence of the day, but were shoo-ed away by a conscientious first mate. Their scorn was palpable. "She's headed back to the Pearl--to get her ready to make way. But you're not there."
"No..."
"No, sir. What might be troublin' ye, if I may ask?"
Jack took another long swallow of rum and looked at his first mate. He didn't divulge much about his life prior to the Black Pearl to many. But he had to admit, he took comfort from Gibbs's wise countenance and experience. It didn't seem likely, however, that Gibbs would have run into this particular predicament.
"I'm going to need you to take command of the Pearl for while, keep her out of harm's way. I need to tend to a family matter."
"Jack!" His first mate nearly choked on his rum, "Who is she?"
Sparrow smiled, "Nothing like that, my good man. I wish it was that simple. Remember, the bloke I took the Pearl from?"
"Aye..."
"His daughter is here."
It dawned on Gibbs that there would be a reckoning.
"And, she's my cousin."
"She's livin' in Port Maria?"
"So it would seem."
The first mate took another swig and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "And how long do you think you'll be?"
"Wish I knew, mate. As long as it takes to make peace."
"Take all ye can!" Gibbs held up his tankard.
Jack toasted him, "And give nothin' back!"
After slamming their steins back on the table, Joshamee stood up, "Just let me know what I can do."
"Thanks. You may be sorry ye said that."
"Mama?" Six-year-old Abby cautiously walked into the study. The sunlight made her squint and rub her tired eyes.
Jordan turned around and smiled at her daughter. Every time she saw the girl, Jordan marveled at how she had the ability to create something so magnificent.
"Hello, Abby! How was your nap?"
"Good, has grandfather come yet?"
Jordan snatched the girl up in her arms. Her white dressed was wrinkled from sleep. Since she was old enough to remember, Abigail Madison Owens equated her grandfather with material goods. It seemed he always had some. It was ironic how much like a pirate that man was.
"Not yet, darling. Soon."
"What are you doing in Papa's study?"
"Just admiring the view, love. Let's get you into fresh clothes."
They began to talk about Abby's nap and what dress she wanted to wear when the door opened with a bang. Jordan looked back from the staircase with a jump and Abby's arms closed in tighter around her mother's neck. John Thaddeus Sparrow, Jack's namesake, stood like a specter in the doorway. As the sun moved slowly toward the horizon, the shadows put most of Jordan's father in silhouette.
Abby scrambled out of her mother's arms. "Grandpa!"
"Upstairs, child! I'll be right up to see you!"
The girl immediately obeyed and Jordan felt her breath catch in her throat. Her father slammed the heavy wooden door behind him. She didn't know whether to run to him for an embrace or to escape.
"Into the study, Jordan."
"Father..."
"Now!" His voice boomed and echoed through the foyer.
Jordan quickly moved down the stairs and past her father. She returned to the room she had just left. Sparrow shut that door hard as well.
"What is the matter with you?" She asked, indignantly.
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
He slapped her so hard her eyes watered. "Don't play with me! That bastard my sister saddled on this family!"
Jordan held her cheek as she thought her face might split in two. "Your sister? That's rich! Don't treat me like I'm stupid. You are just angry the child wasn't yours!"
Thaddeus lunged after his daughter again, but she put the corner chair between them. "I'll ask you again! Where is he?"
"I don't know!"
"His ship is anchored in the bay! I have contacted the governor to see that it's blown to bits, but I know he must have seen you."
Jordan tried to clear her head, to think straight. She couldn't get past her father's ominous words. Had Jack truly come to Port Maria looking for her? Why had he risked himself like that? What did he want? She found herself staring at the water again. Where could he be?
Sparrow grabbed her, knowing she wouldn't have time to pull away. She gasped. "You are going to find him and set a time to meet him and I will have guards ready to cart him off to the gallows!"
"Father, I..."
He shook her. "You will find him! I will give you until tomorrow afternoon."
With that, he released her and left the study. Jordan knew he was going to see his granddaughter. His boots echoed up the staircase and in her mind's eye, Jordan could picture him reaching for Abby, hugging her, pulling whatever prize out of his coat pocket that would become hers. He had become so angry, so bitter over the past ten years, and so spiteful toward Jack. She had let him pull her into that.
Taking her wrap off the peg in the foyer, Jordan quietly stole her way out the door. For certes, they would be busy for while, giving Jordan the chance to find Jack and warn him.
Chapter Three
Jack followed his mother back into the house. Even after five years of the family being apart, she was still melancholy. He knew the feeling well. At night, he was plagued by dreams about Jordan. He wondered what she looked like, had she married, was she happy? He wondered where they made their home or if they even got there at all. The possibility of Jordan rotting at the bottom of the ocean made him physically ill.
If his uncle met up with Davy Jones's locker, it was no skin off his nose. He despised the man. Why his mother named him for that lout, he would never understand. More than once Jack had been on the receiving end of Thaddeus Sparrow's belt and fist-and it only got worse when Jack was old enough to fight back. Jack had walked in on many an argument where his mother caught the back of his uncle's hand. He had wanted to kill him then.
"Mother, I will be fine, I promise you that."
"I'll miss you, lad."
His mother's face was weathered and she looked defeated by life, so much older than her thirty-six years. It didn't get past him all the times his uncle had called him a bastard, and reminded him that the man who sired him was nothing but a scalawag, a pirate. Jack decided when he was old enough he would turn pirate himself, find his uncle, and make him pay.
"I need to be findin' my way in the world. I'm a man now."
And what a fine man he had become. Gisele Sparrow put her callused hands on either side of her son's face. He looked so much like his father it was uncanny. Jack's dark hair had grown long, to his shoulders and his eyes could reach into a person's soul. His chest, arms and legs had become strong.
"Do your best, for that's all you can do and remember that you are my son."
Jack nodded and hugged his mother, longing to go to the sea. He boarded the first ship he could get work on and went to Tortuga. His sights were set on the Black Pearl--his uncle's ship--and he was going to get it!
Jack heard footsteps and stayed hidden in the alleyway until they passed. It sounded like the light footsteps of a woman, but he couldn't be sure. He had brushed away the hands of many women of the evening over the past few hours--and was sorry he had--but he needed the time to think.
It would be easy enough to find where Jordan Sparrow livedùone just needed to sniff out the largest house in the highest location. Her father would have seen to it she lived in opulence just like before, no matter whom she married.
The echo of footsteps stopped. He carefully peeked out and nearly jumped when he noticed it was Jordan. What the blazes was she doing wandering the docks after dark? She looked as if she planned on walking even closer to the water and so he grabbed her, pulled her to him and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming--all in one fluid motion.
Her eyes were wide with fear until she saw him. He let her go. The moonlight allowed them to see each other clearly. "Jack!"
"Jordan, I need to talk to you."
"There's no time. You have to leave!"
Gently, Jack took her face in his hands, noticing the red swelling on her cheek. "Hold up there! What happened? Your husband?"
"What? No, Jack, my husband died four years ago. Listen to me--my father is here! In Port Maria!"
"Aye! Your father did this! I'll kill him, that scurvy bastard!"
His eyes had narrowed to evil slits and his sudden and blatant anger unnerved her. "Jack! You are not listening to me! He's sent the Royal Navy to sink your ship. He's coming for you!"
Just as quickly, his anger faded and he ran his hand along her bruised cheek. She had put the past to rest. She didn't hate him anymore.
"Are you daft, man? Why are you smiling?"
"The Pearl is tucked out of sight--no worries."
"But you-," she made her point by wagging her finger at him, "you have to go with it!"
"Not before we clear the air, love."
Jordan couldn't understand why Jack took her warning so lightly. He had enough run-ins with her father to know John Thaddeus Sparrow wouldn't stop until the pirate was dead.
"I only have until tomorrow afternoon."
His kohl-lined eyes narrowed at her. "For what?"
"To deliver you to my father."
"Or what else will he do to ya?"
"Don't worry about me!" She said, exasperated.
A rattle on the cobblestones caused them both to hold their breath. Jack took her hand, leading her down the alley. He didn't stop until they were hidden neatly away in the shadows.
"Jordan," Jack took off his hat as soon as he felt they were safe, "I don't know what you're thinking, but me guess is that it's not good."
She stared at the red bandana that he wore around his tan forehead and listened to the slight slur of his words. "Why, Jack? Why did you have to go off and become a pirate?"
"Is that what all this is about?"
"Yes--No, Jack, I thought once my father and you were apart, you would go on to school, learn a trade, take up law or something. You were such a brilliant young man. I know you felt my father suffocated you..."
"Suffocated me?" Jack's eyes grew dark, "That bastard stepped on me every chance he could, hit my mother, made us feel like we owed him our lives...and then...and then..."
She watched him falter. It hurt in some deep place when he disparaged her father that way, but it hurt only because it was true. He had treated Jack and his mother horribly. Jordan heard the talk, had seen things herself when she was supposed to be asleep. "And then what, Jack?"
"Nevermind!" He slapped his hat back on his head. "Come on, let's go."
"Go where?" Jordan noticed the sky was beginning to lighten and knew she had better get home. Her father probably had the Royal Navy out looking for her already.
"To the Black Pearl."
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
He sighed, "Is that so? You know, love, I had to go after his ship. It was the natural choice to commandeer. He baited me, dared me to get away with it. I eluded no less than seven agents of his beloved East India Trading Company during that raid!"
Jordan began to walk away, her shoes clicking against the cobblestone. In a flash of anger, Jack grabbed her and turned her to face him. "For God's sake, woman! It was ten years ago! When are you going to stop letting him run your life!"
She roughly took his right arm and yanked up his sleeve until it reached his forearm. She nodded toward the white "P" embedded in his flesh. "Jack! You've been branded a pirate! If you are caught, you will be hanged. You ruined any chance you and I had to remain close. I can't be seen with a pirate."
"Then you shouldn't have left! My mother would have gladly taken care of you--instead your father made my mother miserable and drove me as far away as I could get!"
Jordan realized she still held his arm then let it drop. "Why are you here, then?"
He watched her walk away and it took everything he had not to go after her.
Chapter Four
Seeing all the lanterns in the house lit upon her return, Jordan could only imagine her father's frame of mind. Cautiously, she stepped inside and nearly fell as the heavy front door was wrenched from her.
"Mama!" Abby yelled, running down from her perch on the stairs.
Jordan caught her balance and scooped Abby into her arms, "My, my child! I'm right here."
"Where have you been, daughter?"
"Father, I have to ask you why you are so short with me. Why do you have this irrational mistrust of your own blood?"
She saw his rugged jaw clench and was glad. He would do nothing to her while she held Abby. How tired she was of the anger between Jack and her father! How tired she was of being mad at Jack herself! He was five years her senior. If he chose the life of a pirate, it was certainly up to him. Jordan would never have been able to talk him out of it anyhow. Once Jack Sparrow had something in his head, he went all the way with it. His own father had been a pirate after all. Besides, Jordan could have cared less about the Black Pearl. It was the ship that took her away from her home in England, took her away from Jack. It was her father's favorite ship; his pride and joy.
"Mama, where were you?" Abby jolted Jordan out of her reverie.
"Just out for a walk."
"Who did you see, Jordan?" Thaddeus asked.
"No one. If you must know, Papa," Jordan put her daughter down and gave her father her sweetest smile. "I walked around to check if, indeed, Jack Sparrow was in Port Maria."
"And?"
"I saw no ships that resemble the Black Pearl and certainly didn't see her captain."
Thaddeus moved to her like lightning, his face only inches from hers, "I am her captain, her rightful owner and Jack Sparrow will die, Jordan, mark my words!"
Jordan moved to the stairs to quell her shaking. "Come, Abby, you should have been asleep hours ago."
"I slept already, Mama, and woke up already."
"Still, I'm certain you didn't sleep well and I still have yet to get to bed myself!"
Jordan continued up the stairs, feeling her father's anger boring into her back. Once she got her daughter tucked back into bed, she went to her room and locked the door behind her. Taking off only her dress, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and unpinned her hair. Jordan crawled under the quilt of her large, canopied bed. She had always shown a healthy fear of her father, but once the Black Pearl was stolen from him, he had become a different man--more strict and domineering.
After the sun rose, Jordan finally dozed off. Her sleep was filled with fitful dreams about Jack, her father and even Abby. A few hours later, she lazily opened her eyes and stretched. It was eerily quiet in the house. Jordan realized with a little panic that Abby had not woken her. She sat up quickly.
Putting on her robe and slippers and running her fingers through her hair, she went downstairs. Coffee service and biscuits with jelly sat on a silver tray in the dining room. Still wary of the silence, Jordan sat and began to pour herself coffee.
"Julia?" She asked.
"Yes, Ma'am?" The maid came out of the pantry and curtsied.
"Where is everyone?"
"Down at the fort, Ma'am."
"The fort?" Her coffee sloshed over the top of her cup.
"Yes, it seems the pirate was captured not long after you returned. Mr. Sparrow took Abby to the fort with him once word came."
"Oh, God! Abby! He took her there?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Jordan jumped from her seat and ran to the door. She heard Julia calling something after her but she didn't stay to listen. Jack caught! In irons! Had they killed him already? Had her father made Abby witness? She would never forgive him for that!
------
Jack sat in his cell, cursing himself for getting caught. He had kept hidden in the shadows long enough to make sure Jordan got away without incident. Then, looking surreptitiously around him, he had walked into the breaking dawn. The dock was nearly empty, except for a few merchants taking inventory of trade goods as the hired crew hauled the items on board. Jack had muttered under his breath how that would have been good plunder.
Sunrise gave Port Maria a pinkish-red glow. Jack missed sunrise from the bow of a ship. It was something to feel like you were sailing into that fiery horizon. He had moved to a higher point and retrieved his spyglass. Part of him hoped he could not spot the Pearl, even though he yearned for her familiarity. Jack inhaled the salty air--she wasn't there. Gibbs was more than likely making his way around the reef and would pop back into sight in a few hours.
It was when Jack turned around that two guards from the Royal Navy swooped in to clap him in irons. He stood disinterested, didn't struggle, he never would.
"Captain Jack Sparrow! It seems we meet again."
At the sound of the voice, Jack smiled and shook his head, "Commodore Norrington, it's so wonderful to see you. How are Elizabeth and Will--married yet?" Jack knew that would anger Norrington, the wound of losing Elizabeth Swann to blacksmith-turned-pirate Will Turner still fresh.
Norrington looked more smug than hurt. His handsome face was stoic as he ignored the pirate's barb, approaching the scene that was beginning to draw stares from the growing crowd.
"Finally, you're in my grasp. It has been too long."
"Apparently, not long enough. Why aren't you in Port Royal?"
"And miss this? I received word that you were here."
The guards roughly pulled him toward the fort, through crowds of excited onlookers. "Well, Commodore, that is an honor."
"You have enemies here, Sparrow, and they have your last name. I find that amusing."
"It's Captain Sparrow and one enemy Norrington, just one."
"No matter. I know Mr. Sparrow looks forward to this interrogation as much as I do."
Jack sat in his cell, head throbbing from the gash above his eye where Thaddeus had hit him. Sparrow had come into the garrison with Norrington, who was dressed in his gold and blue uniform and a small child. His uncle referred to her as Abigail. Was the child his? Or had Norrington married? Why would he bring his daughter to interrogate a prisoner, especially a pirate? Jack didn't have much more time to think about it. The cell door was opened and boldly, his uncle walked in.
"I want the Black Pearl back, boy!"
Boy? That was rich! Even now, the man tried to dominate him. He hadn't been anyone's "boy" in twenty years. "Never, old man! She's mine and you'll never have her again!"
It was then Sparrow gave him the back of his hand. Jack reached out for him, went for the man's throat, but guards ran in and pulled the prisoner away. Both Norrington and his uncle were smiling. Jack wanted to kill them both.
"Then I will be forced to take her back--and watch you hang."
Jack regarded his uncle with a sneer, "Somehow, I believe that was your plan all along."
It was then Jack remembered the child peeking out from the behind the bars. She had a curious, yet scared look on her face. She was also beautiful.
"What did ya bring her for?"
"So she could learn at a young age the sort of people one stays away from, those whom never to trust."
"She only needs hasten to your side for that answer, Uncle."
Thaddeus reached for him again, but the guards separated them. "Your time is up, Jack Sparrow!"
"Captain--Jack Sparrow." Commodore Norrington added with a laugh. "And you have Jordan to thank for it."
Jack looked sharply at his uncle then, "What does that mean?"
"She gave you up, Jack. Told us where you were."
"I don't believe you."
"I don't much care what you believe. But sure as I'm standing here, she sent you to the gallows."
The pirate didn't know what else to say, merely stood there silently as the two men and the little girl walked out of the room. The guards freed his hands and left him locked in his cell, blood streaming down the side of his face.
------
Jordan made her way to the fort using as many deserted alleys as she could find. It took her but a moment to realize she had left the house in her nightclothes. Just as she reached the garrison, her father, daughter and some officer from the Royal Navy whom she had never seen before came outside. Quickly, she pressed herself out of sight until they passed her. Please let Jack still be alive! And please don't have let my daughter witness the execution!
Two guards stood at the entrance to the cell. They knew who she was on sight. Despite the fact her father no longer lived in Port Maria, he was still a powerful man. Their eyes lingered over her scantily clad form and she hugged her robe around her tighter.
"I want to talk with the pirate."
"Mrs. Owens, that's not a good idea. Your father would..."
"...not have to know about this, gentlemen."
"He's due for the gallows." A tall man, gun at the ready, spoke softly to her, as if he was keeping the event a secret from the guest of honor.
"So it should cause no harm for me to see him if he's to die soon anyway."
The tall man, blond hair peeking out from beneath the powdered wig he wore, looked at his companion, a dark-skinned man with blemishes on his face. They stayed that way for awhile until Jordan broke the silence.
"I won't tell anyone gentlemen. Just stand aside."
With a shrug, they did and Jordan descended the cold, stone staircase. Jack was the only prisoner in the square of four cells. She gasped at the site of the cut on his face. He had used his bandana to stem the blood.
"Jack!"
He looked at her, anger in his eyes, "Something I can help you with, love?"
"What's wrong?"
Jack moved closer to the bars and smiled his most disarming smile. "Jordan, why don't you get the key? Come in here for a moment and we'll talk."
She turned toward where he pointed. A large ring with four keys hung from a peg on the wall. Without thinking, she went to the keys, took them down, then after fumbling a moment for the right one, unlocked the cell door.
Quickly, Sparrow grabbed her, pushed her so he was out of the cell and held her, one arm around her neck, back pressed to him. Jordan struggled, trying desperately to get away. "What are you doing?"
With a free hand, he awkwardly grabbed his cutlass, pistol and hat. The pistol fell to the floor with a clatter.
"Don't move!" He hissed.
"Everything alright down there, Miss?"
Both Jack and Jordan looked up to the light at the top of the stairs. Jack slowly picked up the gun and pointed it to her. His face was devoid of emotion. Silently, he nodded his head.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Just tripped."
"Well, you better come up, Miss. Your father is lookin' for you."
At the mention of her father, Jordan instinctively ran to the stairs. Jack grabbed her and swung her toward him. She could feel the gun pressing into her side. "Jack, please...."
"You fed me to the wolves once already, love. Not again."
"What are you talking about?"
"We're getting out of here. You need to dismiss the guards and now."
She looked at him, the maniacal look in his eye, the completeness of his actions. Jack Sparrow was a pirate through and through, forever distances from the boy he had been.
"Do it Jordan!"
Do what? Slowly, she went up the cold stone steps, feeling his eyes on her back. Once in the sunlight, she stopped in between the two guards.
"Would you gentlemen do me a favor?"
"What, Miss?"
"Could you please find Reverend McLahey?"
The man with the blemishes gave her a puzzled look. "I think he has gone to Port Royal. Why do you need him?"
"The prisoner and I are--praying." The story came to her quicker. "He-he wants redemption and would like to talk to the Reverend before his death."
The two soldiers stared at each other for a moment. Her story was ludicrous, yet, she was John Sparrow's daughter.
"Could you at least see if he has indeed gone to Port Royal? One of you could go to his house; the other to the church. It would be quicker that way."
"Miss, I don't know if that's wise." The tall one said.
"Sir, we have a pirate in custody--a very famous one wanted all over the Caribbean. We're not savages. If he wants to talk with God, shouldn't be grant him that one wish?"
"We can't leave the prisoner unguarded."
"It will only take you a moment. I won't tell. Besides, I'll be here."
One soldier nudged the other, "Aw, come on. It'll be alright."
"Fine, Mrs. Owens. We'll find him, but please don't let him get away."
"I certainly won't. My father would kill me."
As the two moved toward their respective goals, Jordan breathed a sigh of relief. Her shoulders hurt; she hadn't realized how tense she was.
Jack moved up the stairs behind her, watching the scene with interest. She was quick on her feet, that one. It was too bad their relationship had disintigrated, too bad that she dispised him so much she was willing to watch him die. Well, now she would know what it was like to be a pirate--a fugitive and Uncle John would wonder if his daughter was alive or dead. If he wanted a showdown, a fight to the death, he would get it, but only on Jack's terms.
Lifting his gun, he let the butt of the pistol fall on Jordan's head. She let out a small moan and crumpled to the ground.