Little Sparrow
Summary: "Now up is down," was the last thing any of them heard before the rush of water drowned everything else out. Later, waking up on a random, deserted island, they almost immediately notice that something was not right with their Captain. Sparrington, Salazak, Willabeth, maybe others mentioned.
Song: Davy Jones [Lyrics] by Fialeja
Some time after midnight, when half of the crew was already down for the count due to drunkenness or simply wishing to get an early night of sleep, the core crew of the Black Pearl found themselves on the quarterdeck, sitting around a rare metal bucket in which they had started a small fire, idly drinking or snacking on some leftover food while Jack strummed absentmindedly on the guitar. He had plucked it off of a shocked Frederico when he had tempted James onto the 'dance floor' for a round of, to the Spaniard's great shock, paso doble without prompt from anyone at all. Norritngton had stumbled through it but Jack had been laughing all the while, so Sanchez had seen it as a win and had left the deck. He'd rather not stay and find out how Jack will react when he realizes what he had done and what that might imply.
Jack had played on the guitar for hours on end, stopping only long enough to consume alarming amounts of rum, but after seeing him drink all that tequila, no one bothered trying to take away his drink. The crew had greatly enjoyed themselves, playing games and participating in dances, telling and listening to stories and competing in arm-wrestling - they were now terrified of Tia Dalma, who had beaten them all - before finally passing out on the deck or retiring to their hammocks bellow it. Philip was sleeping propped up against the mainmast with Pintel and Ragetti, but the rest of the core crew were awake, not counting the monkey and the parrot, who were also asleep in their owner's lap or shoulder respectively. There had been singing and dancing - James and Elizabeth had even managed to talk Jack into playing a few court dances as best as the pirate could on an instrument that was not meant for them - and lots and lots of drinking.
The party was now over, the ship was quiet save for the occasional snore from below and the sound of Jack's skilled fingers flying over the guitar with seemingly thoughtless grace. The friends all whispered to each other, Will and Elizabeth seemingly having worked everything out between them and Norrington having decided to not glare at Will for the night, instead conversing with Theodor and - surprisingly enough - Barbossa about some thing or another while Marty told Cotton about this one time in Tortuga. Jack was in a world of his own, his fingers absently playing snatches of songs and melodies from his youth that his Da was particularly fond of, or the more recent ones he had used to play aboard the Wicked Wench or on the Silent Mary when he was tapped on the shoulder.
Broken out of his thoughts, the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean looked up from where he had been staring at the fire, blinking away the sports of light that came as a result from staring into the flames, only to see that it was Tia Dalma that had wanted his attention. The dark beauty smiled at him as she leaned against her favorite pirate, a hand coming up to caress the wood of the guitar's neck.
''Would ya have a song fer ol' Tia Dalma, Witty Jack?'' Said teen blinked at her before he understood what she was asking and eyed her suspiciously. Oh, he knew what she was asking for. They hadn't been friends for six years - at least, just in his head; there was a twenty years gap missing for him but as she was still fond of him even now, then they must have stayed relatively close over the two decades - for nothing, after all. She had taught him the song herself, when he had first opened the locket she always wore around her neck or had close at hand but she usually hated the sound of it. Why would she want him to sing it now? ''Please? Fer an old woman's weary heart.''
Jack sighed, hating he could never deny a friend. His fingers immediately started stringing individual strings, brow arching when he noticed William's head snapping up, as though he recognized the melody. Interesting, since Tia Dalma had never let anyone else here this song besides Jack before. Jack filed that thought away for later as he continued complying to his friend's request.
''Cruel and cold like winds on the sea
Will you ever return to me
Hear my voice sing with the tide
My love will never die.''
Tia Dalma joined him in the gentle song with a surprisingly gentle, smooth and very beautiful voice, brimming with emotion that could not be faked or masked. Just like every time they had snag it together or apart, they got every note perfect and they were quite in tune with each other.
''Over waves and deep in the blue
I will give up my heart for you
Ten long years I'll wait to go by
My love will never die.''
The group was enchanted but a shiver ran down their spine when Jack picked up the pace and started strumming the guitar in an almost haunting mirror image of the beautiful melody, sounding lower and foreboding. Like a heathen spell.
''Come, my love, be one with the sea
Rule with me for eternity
Drown all dreams so mercilessly
And leave their souls to me.''
Gibbs was crossing himself as though the devil himself had descended upon them. The two darker skinned individuals looked like fey creatures of the night as the melody continued, their voices almost as addicting and as alluring as the mermaids' would be. James watched warily, yet as enchanted and drawn in as the others, as two humans seemingly transformed right before their eyes. A trick of the light, yes, but chilling all the same, especially since they knew just what was hiding out on the sea and bellow its surface.
''Play the song you sang long ago
And wherever the storm may blow
You will find the key to my heart
We'll never be apart.''
''I know this melody.'' Will murmured to Elizabet and she reacted as though as if she had just been snapped out of a trance.
''What? Where from?''
''I'm not sure, but I know it. I've heard it somewhere before, I swear it!'' Even as they spoke to each other, the song seemed to have reached its climax as the beat had speed up and Jack's and Tia Dalma's voices were stronger than ever, all but challenging the forces of nature with their words.
''Wild and strong you can't be contained
Never bound nor ever chained
Wounds you caused will never mend
And you will never end!''
Jack stopped playing his guitar at the same instance Tia Dalma opened her locket, the sweet, innocent sounds of the music box being the only background melody to their once again low and gentle voices, as if they were trying to sooth the forces they had challenged, put them to sleep, console them. It was almost a whisper, a promise of forever and not enough.
''Cruel and cold like winds on the sea
will you ever return to me
Hear my voice sing with the tide
Our love will never die.''
They sang together, Tia Dalma's voice fading out halfway through the last verse so only Jack's voice finished the haunting, heartbreaking song of a doomed love. Tia Dalma snapped her locket shut and scurried away with a barely audible ''Thankee, Jack.'' They all watched her go with worry but they knew better than to go after her. She needed a moment alone, to herself, to her thoughts and they were all, except Jack, rather awkward around her. The only one who could really go to comfort her was the Captain of the Black Pearl, but the young man made no move to go after her, instead sighing and rubbing a hand over his eyes tiredly.
''What a way to end a perfectly beautiful evening.'' Sparrow cursed under his breathe as he put his guitar away and the other's couldn't help but silently agree. But before they could ask any questions - and, like always, they had a lot of them - a splashing sound surprised them, the thud that followed had them whirling around and wishing they had not put away their weapons for the party, especially when they saw an unfamiliar mermaid-like creature. Except she had almost claw-like hands, sharp, pointy teeth and elfin ears, though her appearance was no less beautiful than Lucia's or any of the five mermaids hat followed the Pearl because Jack had not felt safe with strangers.
''It is so, too, oh blessed with the song.'' The blue tailed, black haired, brown eyed woman said seductively as she beckoned Sparrow over. ''Such a beautiful song, yet none dare nor are they allowed to utter it. No wonder you could never fall under our spell.''
''Morveren,'' Jack greeted as he cautiously stood up and walked over to where the siren was sitting on the railing, eying his companions in the same manner Lucia had ignored them. Most of all, she studied Sparrow, but she lacked any fondness for him that the mermaids held in their gaze. ''I do believe I asked for Regina, not that I am not pleased to see the woman who had tried to eat me and my friends when we were but wee brats or anything.''
She snorted derisively at him, pushing her hair back over her shoulder and noticing how only a few men followed her movement. How odd. Two of them were almost immune. In love or already fancying someone else. She ignored that thought for now, for she knew it was not important. She had more interesting dealings with Jack Sparrow.
''You know we have as much hierarchy as you humans do.'' She practically sneered the word out, looking down her nose at them. ''You cannot ask a simple mermaid to vouch you for a meeting with the mistress of all sea creatures without first at least speaking to a higher ranking siren.''
''So you volunteered?''
''Let's say I was skeptical about Lucia's words. The girl is far too infatuated with you for us to take half of what she says about you seriously.'' Morveren answered, leaning closer to Sparrow when he was a few feet away. ''Although she seems to have been right. It indeed is an extension of that stupid lover's spat, especially your current condition. Your soul is troubled, Jack Sparrow.''
''So we've met again?''
''Yes.'' The woman said mildly, almost boredly, inspecting her nails. ''I traded you the Deep Sea Opal in exchange for a miniature stone head from the Easter Island, which turned out to be a fake.'' She hissed, making to snatch at him with her claws but he moved out of the way in the very last second. ''I will kill you for such treachery.''
''Pirate,'' was all Jack said, now understanding the strange little rock figurine he had found in the chest and why he had been compelled to place it in one of his many, many hidden pockets. He had no idea what it did or why it was so special, but if a siren wanted it so desperately as to trade something as precious as the Deep Sea Opal for it, it must be bloody well important. He'll have to ask Tia Dalma about it once she's in a better mood. ''And I do believe that he who saves one of the merfolk and/or is offered a mermaid's tear is not to be attacked by another of the merpeople.'' He paused for a second, furrowing his brow. ''Why was I even searching for the Opal?''
''Long story be that.'' Barbossa cut in, eying the familiar mermaid with distrust. He remembered that meeting well and he could still not believe Sparrow had had the guts to not only so casually talk with her but also cheat her out of an honest bargain. ''Let's jus' say you needed it to get somethin' else fer the Keeper.''
''Well, that explains bloody everything.'' He sighed before turning to the, once again, calm siren. ''So, what says your council?''
''Regina already knew we must hide from this ... Beckett and sirens and mermaids alike have been ordered to stay in the deep until this is resolved.'' Morveren answered coolly, once again feign disinterest in the conversation. Oh, she hated looking like a fool after he had tricked her but she admired how skilled he had become at getting what he wanted. This was a stage of Jack Sparrow that she did not know, however, but she had heard stories that this was perhaps when he had been at his deadliest. She'd rather not test it. ''A terrible storm is coming for you, Jack Sparrow. Your past will catch up to you, sooner than you think. You'd better be prepared.''
She made to leave but Jack stopped her, being bold and daring enough to grab her by the upper arm before she could jump off of the railing. ''I wish to speak with Regina.'' It was more a demand than a question or a wish, an order. ''There are things I'd like to discuss with her privately.''
She smiled mockingly at him. ''You have the means. Why don't you use them?'' With that, she wrenched her arm free and escaped to the waves, purposefully splashing Jack with her tails before she was gone. The teen was not amused but he guessed he deserved that.
''What did she mean by that?'' James asked as the pirate Captain returned to sit close by the fire, cursing scorned women and mermaids under his breathe as he tried to chase away the chill with the fire's warmth. Taking pity on him - and hoping it will be a sufficient enough bribe to get the truth out of the younger male - Norrington gave him his coat, grimacing at the state of it. If he ever returned to being an Admiral, he will need a new one.
''My Compass can show the way and Lucia's tear can turn me into a merman so I can survive in the depths that Regina resides in.'' The soaked male said with a sigh. "Getting an audience with her would be great. For example, we might know if the Kraken is still on the hunt or if it had returned to the waters of the deep. Maybe we could even get something that could alert us to its coming if it does start chasing us again."
"Davy Jones knows not that ye're alive, Sparrow. 'E won't be callin' for a hunt, that be certain." Hector said, his voice as somber as the mood. No one felt like partying anymore. Not when they were reminded that they were on the clock, that any moment now, the British Royal Navy, the East India Trading Company or, the worst, the Flying Dutchman could be upon them at any moment. Not when they were reminded they were all being hunted down to extinction, if Beckett had his way. "Not if 'e don't know ye're no longer in th' Locker. Not unless Beckett finds out."
"'Tis a right mess, it is. I leave you lot alone for five minutes and the whole world turns on its bloody head." Sparrow ran both hands over his face, half massaging his temple, half despairing at the situation he had found himself in. The truth of the matter was that he was scared. Scared of the world he had woken up in. Just a little over a week ago, he had been happily sailing on his untouched Wicked Wench with people he knew for a little over three years, whom he knew he could trust; he had known his family were alive and well and the biggest threat to his way of life had been eradicated and by his own hand, no less. The only worries and problems he had such a short time ago (for him and as far as he was concerned) were his nightmares and sorrow and the increasing need to go back and check out the Devil's Triangle. Even being told pretty much everything he needed to know about this situation, Jack still found that he was in way over his head and yet people still looked to him for directions. He, who was lost, was expected to lead and so he once again found himself in the unfavorable position where he must take care for the lives of others. He didn't know his new crew all that well, especially the strangers they had picked up in that little Dutch port, but he still felt he had failed them.
Jack Sparrow loved being a Captain, never doubt that. But at times he had felt it be too great a burden. Even as a child Captain of his modified fishing boat, he had had a small crew for whose lives he had to care for. Back then, for all that he knew of the sea and its legends, he had not taken everything as seriously as he should and they had all nearly died more than once. No wonder they had left him. On the Wicked Wench, he had more people to take into account. They were all experienced sailors and yet they've all accepted him as Captain and they expected him to lead them and lead them good. Maybe it didn't feel like a burden anymore as time passed, but right now, a month after he had had a hand in the death of someone he had very nearly given his whole heart to, someone who he had loved, he was not at all ready to face the Brethren Court. He had not seen them since the Caribbean's pirate's dozen ship fleet had sailed off to meet Salazar in battle, not even when his Da passed on his Piece of Eight to him. A week of being the Captain of his beloved Wench had finally convinces his father that his son had grown up and no longer needed his constant protection. Moreover, he had accepted that his son was a pirate worthy of such a high standing among their ilk and gad believed in him enough to entrust him with his place in the Brethren Court.
Jack knew he wasn't the best candidate. Far from it. If his Da had wanted to keep it in the family while doing right by their reputation, like past generations had done it since the very first meeting of the Brethren Court, he would have chosen Valerie, Jack's older cousin. She was a real pirate. When they were little, his Da had always lamented that his son wasn't more like his niece and Jack never forgot that. One of the reasons he ran away. He had always felt so ... unwanted, when his Da would talk like that. He knew he was a failure as a pirate, a disappointment, but it hurt to hear it come from his Da's lips. His Uncle Jack always tried to reassure him that his Da didn't think like that but Jack, with his rebellious streak and his rather low opinion on piracy, had known he would never fit in and that, if anyone found out from which clan he hailed, he would shame them. So he ran away, for his many, many reasons, only to disappoint his father again when he was captured by Lawrence Norrington and his nephew, Fitzwiliam P. Dalton III, who had fooled him into thinking they were friends. He had thought his Da would never come looking for such a worthless son, would never risk his Misty Lady or any of his other pretty ships for someone like Jack. And that had hurt and scared him more than knowing he was going to the gallows, thinking that the man who sired and raised you, who you looked up to and who had protected you all your life might no longer care whether you're dead or alive. Only pride had stopped him from crying himself to sleep those three nights he spent in the Navy brig.
But his Da had come, guns and cannons blazing with all the rage of their bloodline, hot tempered and aimed at Lawrence for daring to even think about taking his only son from him. He had not taken Valerie with him to search for Jack, as he'd been doing that half year since Jack had ran away. He had taken his fleet and had ran after his son, only finally, finally finding him when Admiral Norrington had arrogantly boasted - in order to draw him in and his Da had known that and yet had came still - that he'd caught Jack.
When it was all over, his father had given him his ring, this magical ring he wore on his finger still, and told him to wear it as a constant reminder of who he was - his father's son, no matter what. He'd never been scolded by his Da for his running away from home, although the rest of his family had done more than their fair share. He had thought Grandmama was going to almost kill him for the fourth time when she had nearly cracked his ribs with her hug. He had never known they had actually cared for him.
He wondered if that had changed. He had obviously changed, as he had found out from observing the men and women he traveled with. They had ... expectations. Expectations he very often did not meet for the sole reason that he was still not the Jack Sparrow they had come to know. And those expectations stretched out to the battle ground as well, so to speak. They expected something akin to miracles from him but what if he can't meet those expectations? He was only human. He didn't have his older self's experience. He didn't know their enemies like his older self probably did. So why do they trust him to lead them to victory when he was newer to the situation than they were?
'Simple, mate. It's 'cause you're Captain Jack Sparrow!' Said teen nearly started at the answer, eyes flicking about to see who had spoken. No one seemed to have spoken at all, almost as lost in thought as he was. Yet he had heard it, he was certain. The words had sounded slightly slurred but the tone, the voice ... it sounded somewhat familiar. Was it a suppressed memory slipping through Tia Dalma's spell? Or was it perhaps the Pearl's doing? A shimmy of the sails told him it was not the latter, although her giggle informed him it was indeed a memory and something said often enough that she found it amusing.
"That's why we need ye back, Jack." He focused in on his companions again, his eyes going straight to Gibbs, who had spoken. He seemed so earnest, so hopeful, so sincere that something in the teen steered and he realized he did not want to disappoint this loyal man. "The world went screwed 'bout the same time we lost ye so we need yer help to right it back up again."
"You, Barbossa and the rest of the Brethren Court will find a way to defeat Beckett, of that we have no doubt." Elizabeth added with determination, meeting and holding his gaze with pride, strength and confidence. Confidence in his ability to make it happen.
"No matter how impossible it may sound, we know we can count on you." Will said with a smile, raising his tankard in toast. Norrington surprised them all by being the first one to raise his cup in answer, a smirk on his face as he met all their eyes for a brief moment before they fell on Sparrow.
"The impossible is only the improbable. After all, you are Captain Jack Sparrow."
"A toast! To the best pirate we have all ever seen!" Theodor cheered and the others raised their drinks with cheers of their own. "To Captain Jack Sparrow!"
"To the sea!" Gibbs added.
"To th' Brethren Court." Barbossa threw in, standing up. The others followed suit, all except the stunned Jack, who just watched them as they regained their cheer from seemingly nowhere.
"To friends." Will toasted, sweeping his arm to indicate them all, although his eyes stayed glued firmly to Jack.
"Old and new," Jamaes agreed, offering a hand for their youngest member so he would join them in the standing circle. Jack hesitated for only a second but he allowed James to hoist him up, still not understanding how the somber atmosphere had dissolved like this.
"To adventure!" Marty exclaimed, thrusting his cup as high as his little body allowed.
"Wind in the sails!" Mr Cotton's parrot screeched as it had been jostled awake ever since Morveren's appearance. "Arrrrgh!" Said bird's owner agreed with a nod and a gesture with his own rum.
Elizabeth looked Jack straight in the eyes as she stepped closer, extending her tankard of rum so she and Jack could hit them in a toast. The fire lighting up their eyes had them both experiencing deja vu, only Jack didn't know why while Elizabeth remembered days when this man had trusted her and hoped to see those days again. "To freedom." She said in an intimate tone, just barely heard over the cackling of the fire. Jack looked at her silently for a long moment before his tankard met hers and she smiled.
"To the Black Pearl."
Down below, in the cabin shared with Elizabeth, Tia Dalma smiled as she felt the first and biggest hurt starting to heal.