A/N: Thank you again for the kind support! And most of all, thank you for not getting mad for the typos I have among the chapters. As mentioned many times before in my other stories, I tend to write late in the night, which sometimes makes me not having the best vision but rather a blurry one. Specially when I edit so many times back and forth and a letter disappears along the way. ;-) Just wanted to say thank you!
Okay folks, drama is on!
And just a little "info" - this story is not written to be one of those ideas of how a Pirates of the Caribbean number 6 or 7 could be like. There is just too little action and adventure written in here for it to be believable. I just wanted to write a dramatic outtake of Jack and Angelica's life after the (lastest) movie. ;-)
Here comes the next chapter, hope you will like reading it. :-)
Chapter XVI
The Sweet Love Story That is All You'll Ever See
MARRIED
"Marriage license," Jack reads as he by mistake has found the piece of paper. It is a dusty thick paper with fine black inky words with capital letters across it. His name with title stands fine at the top with Angelica's name adjoined, just below. For this brief second, he feels something pull in him for such a sight. Maybe because the idea of this has been so unlikely, that when he finally gets to witness it, he can barely get a grip of the reality of it.
But it does make his head spin. Oh, it bloody does, aye.
Intentions were to find a file of certificates of owning Grenada. In his other hand he holds an apple which he sloppy eats from. Devouring the juices as if he never has seen this fruit before. Hans would palm his face by this sight, but due no audience around, he keeps his senses together this particular afternoon. What Jack does not know, is his unwilling image of angering two pirates when he clearly has ticked of one already.
"Yes," Mister Hans speaks. "The church's archive obtains yet another one reaffirming this. Your marriage."
"Why?" Jack nosily retorts while laying it back to continue look for the right certificate.
As always very serious, Mister Hans finds the questions not too entertaining to answer. So he replies the shortest and informative one he can form. "Safety reasons."
Finding the answer not truly interesting in the end in any case, Jack quickly lets go of these thoughts anyhow.
Captain Jack Sparrow is an immensely street smart man. It has been the benefit of his survival for many years, perhaps for a lifetime when he thinks of it. And it means he has an intuition probably stronger than others. Specifically for people he actually has around.
Someone like Angelica Teach.
Which means that when she enters the room, he can see right away that something is wrong. How her mouth opens when she at last has found Jack, but closes it upon understanding Mister Hans is also present. That however goes by Jack and he never grasps it.
"Going to present the certificate to the baron," Jack speaks and just assures she simply has entered the room to have some late afternoon tea or something. Her chest makes larger motions as she breathes deeply, clearly nervous of what she wants to regard. She seems to want something, again, but Jack has left the room, deeply in thought before she even gets the chance to speak. Once again, she is alone with Mr Hans.
The lurking supervisor waits for Jack's departure before he opens his mouth. "So, if I may have interpreted you rightfully - you are willing to spill to Mister Sparrow, Angelica?"
Even if his words may not be harmful, his tone tells otherwise. While her eye can appear challenging, her backing steps reveal something else. Mister Hans sits upon a position where he literally, or almost can do whatever he pleases and she is definitely not.
"I wanted to talk to you," she opens, pushing down all ideas of a monster hiding in this bony feature of a nobleman. She may hate Jack in some sort of ways. Oh, she does. But the hatred she carries for Hans is way different. As if being two completely different emotions, even if both are nothing but hatred.
Hatred for both men for having such a power of her. Jack for having her around his finger and Mister Hans for having her life around that finger.
Hans gestures to an armchair but keeps on standing himself, eventually adding folded arms to his posture.
Her Spanish touch to her words grow with each word spoken in frustration as she goes on accusing Hans. "You said you wanted us to act as a family, in love and all there is. I do!"
"Act, indeed, Angelica," Hans points out. "Act! But you're not acting anymore."
She snorts. "Certainly are!" but it does not come out as assuring as she had intended, nor does Hans seem to buy it by his expression. He needs to control her, tighten the invisible reins he has around her. With just a jerk, he can have her right where he wants her and being an independent woman with a strong will, was never a favorable ability Hans thought of her. "Anyhow, how would it even change anything? Affect you, Governor Milton or whatever cause we're here for to begin with."
Now Hans harshly approaches her again. And he leans down to almost her level, yet towers over her and has his face dangerously close to her. He looks like an angered bull. His hands cramp into the sides of the armchair she sits on to prevent her from leaving. Again, a very intimidating gesture to her.
"How it would change?" Hans questions, repeating her words as if she is delusional. "Miss, dearest," oh sarcastic much? "Angelica. It changes everything!" Now he is quite spitting words. "If you idiots start to rethink the situation, postpone getting Governor Milton what he wants, or simply decide not to do it because you are too happy in this false bubble you are supposed to eventually leave - you. are wrong. Governor Milton and I representing him will get humiliated enough -."
She still refuses and pushes. "But Frances is innocent in this!"
With a push, he forces himself back from her. To stand straight. "She is, Miss Angelica. But you carry the knowledge as much as I do, that getting rid you or that Sparrow doesn't help me and Governor Milton approach the island he desires to have as his."
Angelica keeps staring at him. If looks could kill she would have had to bury many people. But Hans earned such a grand glare from her he even would have been forced to dig his own grave.
"Frances is just a puppet for this false illusion, nothing more," and she has to take a deep breath to calm her nerves down while Hans speaks. "This is escalating, Miss Teach. And I don't approve of where we're heading."
If Jack had not reentered the room by then, unaware of course, but to prevent their conversation to continue, Angelica has no idea what she or Mister Hans may would have spit out to each other. Consequences would have been far grander than what actually happened to say the least.
Jack himself is deep in thought as he searches among shelves for the certificate and he mumbles something of taking the wrong one. At first he does not notice the painful silence nor tension between Hans and Angelica. But at last he stops his action upon it and has raised eyebrows. He turns to them and wonders.
"What be ye doing here?"
With Angelica quite numb, she does a tryout of speaking when she opens her mouth. But Hans is too fast to shut her down.
"I just wanted to gather you for breakfast tomorrow. There is something I will inform you." And with that, Hans leaves. Again, Jack completely misses the warning eye Hans discreetly shoots Angelica on his way out. If Jack never had been too occupied browsing the lines of the paper certificate, he would have noticed Angelica trying pull herself together, gathering herself as if trying to tell him something.
Her hands remain clasped together and her look on him stays the same before she eventually understands she has found herself speechless. So she goes and heads for Frances instead.
This is also something he would have been able to point out if he had not been too into the bubble of his work. All afternoon was spent in his office room, dark furniture suiting the aura of the house quite well. Dullness from the weather outside only added to it.
When he skipped dinner due his flow in work, Angelica carefully would enter his office, trying to gain his attention. She was quietly sneaking around the house, mainly trying to hide from Hans's overly prying. And she did manage to navigate herself to Jack's office unnoticed by anyone.
"I have to talk to you."
When he at last breaks his attention from a map to meet her deep eyes, he understands there is something different about her. She seems to struggle. Like she is battling on a matter inside. Something is clearly troubling her but whatever that is, she will come to the conclusion to just falsely force a smile. Instead of speaking her mind, she has reconsidered before even embarking on telling him. She just ends up letting go of the breath she had held.
What is going on?
Jack sets the map aside and eyes her carefully. "Love?"
"Just wanted to say that Frances seemed to ask for you," she lies. It could have been true though, as Frances does say his title of being a father quite all the time. But knowing her for so many years, he understands there was something else she had intended on bringing up. While for some reason, changed her mind.
Nodding slowly, Jack still tries to read her inner world as a book with the tightest lock around it. In other words, an impossible book to read for the person she refuses unlock herself to.
"Tell her goodnight then," Jack eventually responds and continues to search in her for a clue of what she truly wants. "It be quite late, and a girl like her should be asleep by now. Don't ye think, aye?"
She takes a deep breath and seems to smile, sadly? "I guess so. Will you be up late?"
He really should have asked her about what was going on. But he never did. Instead he just answered her question.
"Probably."
And with her nod, she would give up and gently speak, "Goodnight then," before leaving him for his late night work. If he by then had known that he never in the morning would get the chance of pushing the matter out of her, he would probably have stopped her right here to hear her out. For all the hours throughout the night. But he did not.
Without knowing it yet, he did lose the chance and he did let it slip right through his fingers.
Because he returns his attention to his papers, maps and files and tries to figure out what he will do next. As soon as he has retrieved his Pearl. First of all he would avenge Joshamee Gibbs. Not too harshly. It is after all his friend. But a little punishment for putting Jack into this would be well suited for his first mate to experience. Just a little.
And then he would embark the idea of a rumored island somewhere in the Pacific where he had heard many ships stealing gold had sunk. Getting coins and tons of gold would help him relax for a few months, or in best cases, years to just celebrate and have fun. Even though he knows just as much as anybody that it would probably make him bored after just a couple of weeks. He seeks adventure all the time. That is his curse.
When he browses the certificates of Grenada and St Lucia he also looks on the written contract ready for Rothley's signature. How on earth will he make this intelligent and nasty baron ever give away this island he is responsible for? How will he make a baron give away this island that belongs to the British crown?
He is running out of time and it is his job to fix it.
Almost around sunrise Jack feels his heavy eyelids and decides to call it a night. He retreats to his bedroom with heavy steps and is partly asleep as soon as he forces himself upstairs. The image of Angelica still triggers his mind with question marks and his intention is to have a talk with her. Seeing her peacefully sleep in bed, head softly buried in the majestic white pillow with a bit of orange burning sunlight on her face, slipped from a window, he changes his mind of waking her up rather quickly.
Softly he instead sits down on his side and leans towards her. Gently he removes a strand of hair from her face and intently eyes her peaceful face. She looks dazzling. She always has, and probably will forever, for him.
In between, he remembers how much time has passed since they used to live like a couple. So many years. They used to be young adults, quite fooling around. Even so when they met on different occasions afterwards. But they are no kids anymore. They are grown ups.
Instead of waking her up, he focuses on laying down beside her and going to sleep himself. His intention was all along to talk to her in the morning.
It was.
But when he wakes up, she is already gone. It is strange how this bed can feel this large without her. Yet in situations where they try to behead each other, the bed cannot get any smaller.
Muffled voices come from somewhere outside. Either way from the hallway just outside their bedroom, or downstairs. He cannot tell. By ringing in this bell when feeling ready, he has all of these butlers entering his room to assist him into a suitable clothing of the day.
Another day has embarked, and perhaps he already feels it in his gut that something is about to happen. He cannot put his finger on what, but the feeling within is threateningly there anyhow. Everything from his fine pants, shining shoes to a brushed appearance is in order before he leaves the adjoined dressing room to this grand master bedroom.
While Angelica sips on a cup of tea, a watchful eye of Frances getting fed by their nursemaid, it is Hans's intense stare that brings Jack to have a peering eye at their supervisor. He is up to something, that much is clear. Yet deciding not to ask for it, Jack sits down at the table and reaches for a croissant. Now he tends to be able to eat whatever he likes, whenever he prefers to, but having everything rightfully served in front of him like this is definitely something that has spoiled him in his adult years. It will be different to accustom back to his true lifestyle. As much he can admit.
Truthfully there are many things he will find hard to leave behind and re-accustom to. Many things, aye, but one person or maybe two in particular that he will have a specific difficulty in accustom away from.
He has to swallow and aims for a bottle of rum. He knew from the start what he was in for. He cannot back now.
Around the time of this silent breakfast that the nursemaid excuses herself to go to Frances' playroom with the toddler, Hans decides to lean to one of the windows. He pushes the curtains aside to peek at something. Now Jack nor Angelica can see much but a glimpse of a fancy carriage approaching their estate.
"A visitor," Jack comments with quite disinterest and Hans clears his throat.
"So it seems."
There is this change in the air that brings Angelica to pause. She says nothing but reacts with her intuition of an odd thug in her. When she turns to Jack, who seems oblivious to the matter, she carefully takes a new hold of her cup of tea.
"I've decided to bring a friend to you," Hans informs and forces Angelica let go of her uptight state of mind. "He will act as Jack's cousin."
Carefully Angelica brings her hot cup of tea to her lips and sips on it. Jack munches on his marmalade croissant and cannot really throw another care in the world of what Mister Hans has up his sleeve.
"Gibbs?" Jack thinks aloud in between sloppy bites. He even licks his fingers, totally not nobleman-like. But before he gets to continue his quick vision of how fun he and Gibbs can have at the gentlemen's club together, he loses his croissant from his hand.
And Angelica has her cup barely saved with her quick reaction as it lands down onto the saucer with a porcelain thud.
Salazar.
Standing grand with this Spanish pride in the doorway as if he belongs to the estate and has lived there for years. As if he cannot see the absolute absurdness of being present in the same room as Jack. The absurdness of being in the same world as Captain Jack Sparrow?
The absurdness of being alive?
Jack is up at once, ready to strike when Angelica gasps and so on brings him to a hold. "Oh my..," and her hand goes for her chest in an overly dramatic gesture. "Armando? Is it really you?"
These words are everything for Jack to put two and two together.
Come again?
Did she say Armando?
Salazar?
Salazar is Armando?
Oh for the love of bloody..!
He cannot be? Or can he?
Does she have any infernal idea? At all?
This cannot be happening?
He must be dreaming, aye? Having a nightmare.
He needs to wake up.
Wake up, Jack. Wake up, now. It is about bloody time to wake up.
He has to look between them and it is as everything goes in slowmotion.
Returning to Salazar, he is ready to face this but gets stopped upon Salazar's attention on Angelica. He looks at her as if she the apple of his eye, as if he knows her. As if he knows her in the ways that Jack does.
As if she holds not Salazar's fullest attention - but only attention.
"Angelica, mi amor." And he aims to hug her. Which he does. Arms out to hug her tight to his broad body.
There is this instinct in Jack that needs to tear Salazar away from her. He is nothing but pure danger for her. Hell, he is bloody danger for Jack, let alone Angelica?!
How did this happen?
How did they meet?
Why is Angelica hugging Salazar?
Why is Salazar looking at her like that?
Why are they looking like an infernal bloody couple?!
What the actual bloody hell is going on?
But he finds himself absolutely numb to the scenario. Because of how closely Angelica hugs him, and how he partly lifts her up from the ground and swings her in a circle as he chuckles. How they seem to be in absolute bubble together that has no idea of whoever or whatever sees them.
As Salazar does so, having her in the air, his gaze at last meets Jack while smelling her hair, purposely talking to him through a look. And his eyes say everything. And they do pop the slowmotion bubble Jack was forced into.
And now Jack lounges for a nearby sword hanging on wall, without a care in the world ready to. challenge him.
"Let her go, Salazar."
Acting, oh bloody hell acting, Armando Salazar sets a confused Angelica down. She stays in his embrace as she looks to Jack, truly confused.
The situation is impudent enough for her to even dare questioning him. "What are you doing, Jack?" As if he, Jack Sparrow, is the person that deserves and needs to answer an interrogation. As if Jack Sparrow is the person doing something wrong.
As if Jack is the one who is not supposed to be there.
What is going on?
He still sees nothing but this ghost of Salazar. The person that should be buried somewhere on the bottom of the sea. At least, this is the last place this excuse of a man should be at. Anywhere but near Jack.
Anywhere but near Angelica.
Jack motions for her to step aside. "He is dangerous, love," he informs her, trying to bang the words into her. She appears just puzzled by him so he turns his decisive tone to Armando Salazar. "Let her go, Salazar."
But only confusion displays in his acting and gentle face. "Pardon?"
"Love, get away from him."
Angelica clears her throat. "Take the sword down, Jack. This is Armando." And she dares to act as if she is embarrassed by Jack trying to challenge her gentle suitor.
"Salazar," Jack corrects.
"Yes, Armando Salazar," Angelica agrees, obviously not getting it. She stays by his side and Jack does not know what makes him go more insane than this sight.
That Armando Salazar clearly never died.
That he obviously is back in Jack's life.
That he has manipulated himself into Angelica's or that he probably will have a grip around them all?
What is worse? Not even Jack would be able to answer that.
All Jack can see is the steady hold Salazar has on her upper arm, even on her lower arm, as he keeps Angelica tight to him. And the worst part is that she even seems to let him. As if HE is the one protecting Angelica from Jack?!
The irony of the situation is almost provoking Jack to burn up from inside.
Oh that bloody privateer of a moron..!
"Angelica," and Jack tries to approach them, swallowing his desperation for her to listen to him. Now, it is Hans stopping them. Bringing the trio out of their argument.
"Mister Sparrow," he gains his attention. "This is Armando Salazar, Angelica's… suitor, sort of."
Suitor?
Ah, just let Jack challenge this Salamander-idiot once and for all!
"Soon to be fiancé," Salazar fills in. "We intend on marrying each other when fate lets us."
His eyes turn to Angelica, that seems yet again, to struggle with something. Now, having enough of this, Jack snatches her out of Salazar's embrace.
"Jack?!" she exclaims confused as she gets forced behind him, Jack blocking anyone to reach her. "Jack, stop it." And she pushes herself forward to return to Armando, an eye she quickly exchanges with Mister Hans.
Adding to nothing but this chaotic breakfast, the nursemaid hurries inside the room. "Oh, forgive me my lady if I interrupt something - but I would ask for your kindness of witnessing Frances run steadily for a very first time."
Angelica's lips part as she finds herself speechless of what to do, a war inside on what to say but just leaves with the nursemaid as quick as the staff member had appeared in the first place.
By now, Hans is about to close the doors and steps out to have nobody eavesdrop on them, a prying eye nor anybody to interrupt them. Now he needs a serious conversation before things get out of hand. Two alpha males inside the same room, obviously he must have understood that was not the best of ideas. Yet Angelica's magnetic power on Jack and nothing else had brought him to come to this resulting conclusion of this after all, being the necessary arrangement.
Jack Sparrow and Armando Salazar keep their distance to a safe space in case any of them would rethink.
Jack very aware of any motion this Armando Salazar does, in case the ill-tempered Spaniard may try to kill him. And Salazar, equally aware of Jack's every motion in case the angered pirate captain would have had enough of him.
"How are ye even alive?" Jack wonders. "Didn't Hector kill ye enough?"
Salazar only has a wry grin threaten at the corner of his mouth. "You saw me… ¿Cómo se dice?..," he speaks. "Dying, El Sparrow?"
Jack never tears his gaze from Salazar's gloating posture. No, he had never seen Salazar die. He never witnessed it. Only what he believed, as he saw Salazar fall into the depths of the ocean.
"The eye can be deceptive," Salazar continues to speak. "And I've waited so long for this moment."
As Jack again considers lounging at him, Hans returns back into the room and only gestures for Jack and Armando to sit down. He himself rounds the table and stands along the long side of it, having each man on each end of it - as far from each other as physically possible.
"Mister Armando Salazar has been kind enough to attend this most important mission. To enter this false bubble. And he shall play the part of being your cousin Jack."
It brings Jack to snort. "How come? Because of my Spanish part of the family? Where? Be it my pretended half cousin who met a priest in Tortuga who thus plopped out the ugly face of this man?" And Jack earns a glare from Salazar. "Least make it the slightest believable."
Jack mutters the latter adding part. "And the baby got run over by horses two three times."
By now, Salazar is the provoked one standing up and ready to lounge for Jack. It has Hans quick to stand straight and slam his fist for another time into the table. He should have perhaps considered this happening, but he never realized again, what a handful of additional job it would lead him to. When he has both men seated, he brings his tender hand to gently rub it. He has slammed the table for too many times and now it begins to grow bruised.
"You have no idea," Jack speaks to Hans. "What you. have done. What a dangerous man you've brought into this. Someone won't come out alive of this. And I refuse having Angelica under the same roof as of this Salamander."
Hans shakes his head, in belief Jack simply acts upon jealousy. "Armando, you will be named Teague too. You are half English from a descendant and have lived in the Caribbean for a long time, now visiting your cousin, Lord Jack Teague."
"A lord?" Salazar sarcastically wonders. He eyes Jack's every part. "Dare to agree you'd never fit for any higher title. It'd be too obvious when you cannot play that part."
The man had the nerve, but Jack simply has to smile as response. He truly is so mad he cannot do anything but to smile.
And he just thought moments ago that Mister Hans was the man he hated the most?
Fate has its ways of playing with him, he can say as much.
"This be a bad idea, Hans, mark my words," Jack says.
As if in fact listening to Jack, Hans seems to consider as he then turns back to Salazar. "Perhaps Jack is right, Mister Salazar. That you'd better fit as Angelica's cousin, rather than Jack's."
Gloatingly, Salazar wears this smug face. "But then how, Señor Hans, would I be able to hit on her?"
Again, Jack feels his blood boil. "What are ye even here for? Killing me? I'd challenge ye. I'd challenge ye right 'ere, right now."
But Salazar only shakes his head in amusement. "No," he chuckles. "To take my woman back."
As if missing the last part in his deep thinking and analyzing, Hans speaks up again with his final words spoken as law itself. "True," he agrees and then nods. "It's settled then. Mr Armando Salazar will be, Jack, your cousin Armando Teague. Do we have an accord, gentlemen?"
Oh this is a real struggle. And Jack fights with every nerve he has to agree to this. Hans only needs to mention his beloved vessel, "The Pearl," for him to give up. To let Hans know that he is on to this. Because he truly is forced. He has no other option. But he certainly needs to warn Angelica, and he certainly needs to speed up this process.
Armando is already agreeing and Hans poking his forefinger into an unfolded paper causes Jack to implode. It is a painted image of the Pearl and Hans slides the paper over to him.
Because he knows, that when he does so, Jack cannot do anything but to agree to whatever Hans suggests.
A/N: Always thought it would be 'fun' to play with the idea of Jack, Angelica and Salazar and I guess this is the nice part of writing. ;-)