۞
William, smiling, got out of the bunk and lit the lantern above them. "What do you suppose he left behind?" he whispered, turning to his sleepy wife.
"I don't know, but I know that my curiosity is certainly piqued!" Elizabeth grinned, "With Jack, it's no telling... I want to know, too!"
As William checked upon his sleeping child, he reached down and pulled the parcel out of the rocking cradle... the seas were still tossing outside, and the ship swayed pleasantly, her timbers creaking. He returned to the bunk, unfolding the parchment. As he settled in beside his wife, he held the parchment so that the soft light of the lantern hit Jack's unmistakable and ornate handwriting. His eyes widened as he read, then he looked at Elizabeth, softly..."... we must always save this for our son..." Elizabeth's brows went up in surprise at his serious tone, and she said, "Read it, Will..." Will cleared his throat, and began...
"Dear Little Will,
We were not properly introduced at the moment of your birth. I am your cousin... my name is Captain Jack Sparrow.
Really, I am your father's half cousin, and I don't really know what that makes me to you, exactly. I think it is a first half cousin, once removed. But I am not sure. That is not important. I am your cousin, simple as that. I am very proud to say that we are related by blood; up until just a few months ago, I thought that I had no family other than my own father, and the two of us are not close. He scares me a bit, so I can imagine how you would feel about him. Too bad, he's your great uncle...he's old.
Anyway, I am taking quill in hand to write things down for you a bit. You see, I can sometimes write things better than I can say them. I did not learn English until I was about eight years old, so there are times that my words come out of me mouth discombobulated... now there is a word... I can write discombobulated, but I can't pronounce it.
Now, then...I am Captain Jack Sparrow, and I am a very famous and legendary pirate captain... you will no doubt hear many marvelous stories about me...
...William rolled his eyes and Elizabeth giggled...
... and your parents are also very famous and legendary, for other reasons besides also being pirates.
Your father, my first half cousin, William Turner the Second, was the Captain of the Flying Dutchman for quite some time, a distinction that no other living person shares, and he is the finest and bravest man that I have ever met. He has a true living heart, and is the best man that I know, bar none (other than your grandfather Bill)... William is my best friend, although there have been times in the past that there might have been doubt. We have risen above that. He sees me for what I really am, which I have tried so hard to not let others see for most of my life. He seems to believe that I am worthy of caring about, and am worth all of the trouble that I have been, and unfortunately always will be. I'm not so sure that I am worth it, most times. He does.
Your mother, Elizabeth Swann Turner, is the daughter of the former Governor of Jamaica, and the former Captain of the Empress, bequethed to her upon the death of the former Captain, Sao Feng. She was then made the Pirate Lord of Singapore and Pirate King. I am the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean... it's all political and holds no real power except in the world of pirates, but there it you have it. Your mother is quite the lady... she is full of fire and is a fiesty one, brave and strong, but she can also be very kind and caring. She and your father looked after me when I was quite ill recently, and she can be as full of love as she can be full of fire. Our "Izzy" is very, very dear to me. We have had our differences, but have let bygones be bygones. I would not have your mother any other way than the way that she is. She has even learned to drink rum, much to her credit. She does not burn it anymore... that is yet another story.
Your father and mother have resigned their captaincies for each other...and for you. The Flying Dutchman involved a curse that we lifted, and The Empress has been bequethed by your mother to her crew, as she had more desire to sail upon the Black Pearl with your papa. Your papa has become my first mate, but our memories of our experiences aboard all three ships will always be engraved upon all of us. Aye, your home is the Black Pearl... that is my ship... the finest and most beautiful ship what ever sailed... the ship that you were born upon, during a storm, just like meself!
I am telling you all of these things so as to make you understand the significance of gift that I made for you. Significance... now there is a good word.
There was something else that none of us shall ever forget, called the fearful Kraken... the Leviathan...the Terrible Beastie. I shall not go into details, as we have many stories to tell you some day when you are much older, but the Kraken was a very important part of the history between your parents and meself. It almost tore us all apart, only to bring us all back together. It is gone, but in it's horror, it was a magnificent creature. The last of it's kind...
We found it dead, upon a beach, during what your papa calls The Dark Times, and Hector Barbossa and I (you don't need to know about him... you wouldn't like him) chipped a large part of one of the Beastie's teeth with the hilts of our swords... I regret that this might have damaged the blade of my sword; it broke rather easily later, but that is another story for later. I must say that even Hector was sympathetic toward my feelings upon that sad day that we found the dead Beastie... once again, we will tell you many stories about it when you are older. The Beastie did harm to me, but I survived, with help from your mama and papa. They have no idea how grateful I am.
Anyway, part of the Kraken tooth has become an ornament for my bandana, and I also fashioned a handsome Kraken tooth ornament that your father wears around his neck, on a cord with beads from Singapore.
You will find, enclosed, a special gift for your mother... she gets very few pretty things as a pirate, and I thought she would enjoy it. She will understand the design... I drew it out upon the day that they announced that you were on your way to join the crew... Izzy deserves to have pretty things... I thought that she might like this better than getting a tattoo from me... that is a joke, and you'll understand as you are older. I hope that she likes what I made for her...
Your gift celebrates your birth, Little Will, by celebrating your family a bit. Aye, a little bit of applause for all of us. It is just the right size for your hand, as I had hoped... I wonder if my own hands looked like yours at one time... your mama and papa say that you have my hands... I am honored, and not just a small bit amazed. Never expected that...
And the enclosed gift for your father? It is also very special... he will understand ... I won't have to say anything else... he will simply understand...
It is a wonder that I didn't get caught making these, but your mother had trouble with stairs whilst she was expecting you and I would keep your father busy with all kinds of things so's I could carve them down in the rum cellar. These gifts, made of a Kraken's tooth, are so that we never forget who we are, and never forget the things that brought us to where we are, now.
I want you to always be proud of who you are, Little Will. You are a combination of many, many interesting people. Your family has a tremendous history, like no other family. Family is very important... I know, as I did not have a family before now. Always remember, with pride, wee little cousin of mine, that we are a family of pirates, and we have our own special kind of pride...we are like no one else... we are The Pirates of the Caribbean.
I remain, faithfully, your cousin,
Captain Jack Sparrow
The Turners sat in silence for a few moments. They had never heard anything like this from Jack. He had opened his mysterious heart to a baby boy... born only that very afternoon, just as he had very slowly been opening his heart to them. Silently, and together, they opened the parcel.
The first gift that they saw was a comb... a comb fashioned to ornament a lady's hair. It was carved so that it was so thin and delicate that the light shone right through it, and upon it was a hand engraved design... two beautiful and graceful swans, one larger than the other, their long necks forming a stylized heart. Elizabeth gasped... swans... her maiden name... Swann... her father's name...her eyes welled up with tears.
As she examined it more closely, the tears began to fall down her cheeks. With his unsuspected artist's hands, the captain had carved into a piece of the Kraken's tooth the beautiful pair of swans, with a tiny cygnet - a baby swan - peeking out from under it's mother's wing. Above their heads, perched on a trailing weeping willow branch was a tiny, slight sparrow... it's wings outspread. Elizabeth was overcome... it was lovely, and she had given up everything or had lost everything like this that she had ever owned. She did not have anything like it, nor had she ever had anything that had meant so much, as it was created by one that she loved.
As she dried her tears, William slowly held up a gift that was meant for tiny Will... it was a whale, also carved of Kraken tooth, creamy white and highly polished. Elizabeth gasped in delight, as the piece of art also was engraved with images... on it's port side was a rendering of the Empress... a proud and beautiful Chinese junk that had helped to bravely hoist the colours at the Battle of the Maelstrom... on the whale's starboard side was the reborn and beautiful Flying Dutchman, bursting forth from the seas, majestic and powerful... and upon the little white whale's back was the Black Pearl, her sails billowing and the water splashing from her sides...
As William turned the little whale over to look at it, he laughed. Elizabeth looked at him quizzically, wiping her eyes. William just grinned and said, "You weren't there... you wouldn't appreciate the humor..." as he looked at the whale's underside... and saw a tiny etched rendering of a little wooden dinghy, with a pirate flag... The Sparrow's Revenge was carved on the whale's smooth belly.
As the young couple looked through the wrapping for the last gift from Captain Jack Sparrow, William caught his breath. He stopped for a moment, as he and Elizabeth both caught sight of the light shining off of their golden wedding bands simaltaneously... wedding bands that Jack and Bill had made sure that they had fashioned from the hinge of the Dead Man's Chest... and as their baby stirred in his cradle, everything came full circle for William Turner the Second... his eyes shone, as he beheld his gift from his cousin... his friend.
... the final gift, with Kraken tooth chips set as its eyes, was a finely carved and highly polished whale... a teakwood whale... just like the one that a fourteen year old whelp named Jack Sparrow carved for another baby boy named Will, over twenty years ago...
To be continued...