CHAPTER THREE: The Troubadour

The Troubador was an enormous ship painted rebelliously in shades of red and purple, the colours of royalty, though no such aristocracy was aboard. Many of the men were laughing and lazily chugging rum as Jack, Katie and Teague came aboard, though they attempted to look sharper as the latter walked by. Teague merely shook his head and waved his hand in a gesture to tell them to carry on. He led them to the cabin, into a room with a large rosewood table taking up much of the room and an assortment of chairs surrounding it. Teague took a seat in the most comfortable looking chair and Jack took one beside him. Katie sat the other side of Jack.

"She's a fine vessel." Jack noted out loud, glancing around at the room.

"Not quite as bonny as the Misty Lady," Teague responded, "But serves me well." Katie gave a slight jump of surprise as she glanced out the window and realised the ship was already moving, sailing and full speed in the autumn sea wind. Despite the tossing waves, their motion seemed smooth. Teague noticed her movement, "We're flying false colours but it'd be unwise to linger in this port. The French Navy were already hanging around, lookin' suspicious."

"You'll get used to keeping on the move." Jack added to her. Katie nodded. Jack turned back to his father, "So what's this business with Angelica?"

"You tell me, boy." Teague produced a bottle of rum seemingly out of nowhere, and sized three cups from a nearby, out of place chest of drawers shoved in a corner. He poured a measure of the rum into each and slid one across the table to Jack and another to Katie. "Did you or did you not leave 'er marooned on an island?"

"I saved 'er life and all the thanks I got was 'er trying to shoot me." Jack said defensively.

"You killed 'er father." Teague eyed his son between swigs of rum.

"Her father was Blackbeard!"

"What interests me most about your little trip to the Fountain of Youth is that you didn't take the potion. I thought that was what the whole point of it was." Teague said frankly, "You told me the trick was survival."

"And you told me I'd 'ave to live with meself forever." Jack responded. Katie was too busy trying to piece together the conversation so it made any kind of sense to her to contribute anything. Besides, she had read somewhere once about the Fountain of Youth- maybe in a newspaper, something to do with the Spanish- and was curious. "I wasn't sure, on the whole, that I was the best company to spend forever in." Teague laughed at this.

"You've learnt a lot, Jackie, and not too soon either." Teague sat up a little straighter, "Word is, Angelica is out for revenge. And more than that, she has a prize she'd like to claim. She's talking about seeking Calypso."

"That's why you want me to find the Dutchman, ain't it?" Jack frowned. Teague nodded. "What if I don't want to?"

"You made Turner the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Only you would be able to ask him to support the Brethren Court." Jack reached up and removed his hat. He turned it over three times in his hands, staring at it but apparently not seeing it. "That's two people you passed up near-immortality for: Will Turner and Angelica Teach. Jackie, both of them are important people and it's important they're not on the same side of the fight."

"So the plan is find the Flying Dutchman, get this Will Turner on our side, summon the- the court of- of whatever it was. And then… fight this Angelica so she can't seek Calypso." Katie piped up after several minutes of silence. Both men looked at her. She didn't quell her gaze or apologise.

"That sounds about right to me." Teague said, grinning.

"How do we find the Flying Dutchman?" She asked. Teague looked at Jack inquiringly at this.

"You still have that compass, boy?" Jack sighed and produced his compass, tossing it to his father, who caught it skilfully. Teague flipped it open and Jack got moodily to his feet, placing his hat back on his head.

"I'm gonna say 'ello to my old friend, the sea." He announced, leaving the cabin without further ado. Katie and Teague remained seated for a while.

"You don't ask many questions, do you?" Teague asked the young woman. Katie met his gaze easily. She already had a strange liking for the old man, even if he was enigmatic and had many legendary crimes to his name.

"I don't think I'm in a position to ask. I'm all for doing." She responded. Teague nodded.

"You haven't touched that rum." She'd forgotten about the cup in front of her.

"Spirits aren't for me, I fear." Teague smiled again.

"You're a strange lass, Katie. You remind me of someone else I knew."

"Who?" She said curiously.

"My wife."

The day wore on and Jack seemed to have disappeared. Katie explored the ship. Teague insisted she shouldn't have to apply herself to manual tasks such as sailing and said she ought to get her 'sea legs' for now. Most of the pirates were respectful towards her, either out of fear for Teague's temper if they acted otherwise or because they were used to being around women. Katie spent most of the afternoon helping the cook to prepare the dinner. He was a young man with curly brown hair and a slight form by the name of, apparently, Moss.

"I washed up on Shipwreck Cove after the ferry I was onboard got shipwrecked," He was telling her, "Well obviously. I figured life was over for me then, surrounded by pirates and all of them armed- but then Captain Teague came along and said I might come in handy. And now I cook."

"You don't seem as if you were raised to be a cook." Katie noted.

"You don't seem as if you were raised to travel the world with Jack Sparrow." He returned. Katie smiled.

"Touché." She said.

"So why are you?" He asked her. Katie frowned, already being tired of this question after only one afternoon.

"I think that's my business." She answered, slightly coldly. Moss' good breeding seemed to prevent him from pressing her anymore, the same way Jack had given up asking her because he could tell she was never going to answer the question if he did.

"I'm sorry, Miss…" He hesitated at the end of this sentence.

"I'm just Katie." She finished firmly, "And thank you." Back on friendly terms, Moss made to change the subject. But before he could do more than open his mouth, the door burst open and Jack swaggered in. He was clutching a bottle of rum in one hand and a pistol in the other. When he'd left the cabin which served as a dining room earlier he'd seemed moody and withdrawn, but now a mischievous grin was spread across his face. The smile seemed to soften a little when his eyes alighted on Katie, becoming more genuine.

"Aha, there you are!" He exclaimed. He turned clumsily towards moss and waved his hands at him, "Shoo." Moss grinned at Katie before making his exit; the crew were expected to listen to Jack's commands almost as much as Teague's. Jack placed his rum bottle upon a nearby barrel and put his pistol back in the holster attached to his belt. He then smoothly seized Katie's hands and pulled them into a waltzing position. Laughing confusedly at his jolliness, she allowed him to whirl her around the small kitchen a few times to the cheerful tune Jack was humming.

"You dance wonderfully, by the way." He informed her.

"It's a shame there's no real music." Katie returned, thinking of balls and dances in bygone days. He saw the memory gleam in her green eyes despite the dimness of the room. The sun was setting outside and the sea was rapidly becoming stormy. Jack slowed their pace a little, and she permitted him to place one hand on her waist now.

"I don't need music." He told her.

"That's because you're drunk." She giggled and he tilted his head to the side a little at the sound. Katie wasn't a giggly kind of person, that he had surmised, but dancing seemed to bring a different mood over her.

"I'm not! Well," He chortled, "Maybe a little."

"So, are you going to tell me, then?" Katie queried, aware that he'd pulled her ever so slightly closer to his body. He felt very warm. She was remembering Teague earlier, noticing that she didn't like to ask questions and had decided that if she was going to ask, now was a good time.

"Tell you what love?" He had pulled her still closer. He seemed to be drifting into a world of his own. Katie swallowed nervously, choosing her question with care.

"Who is Angelica?" She had managed to piece together the rest of the conversation earlier; everything about the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard, Will Turner taking Davy Jones' place as Captain of the Flying Dutchman (this last one had fallen into place with the aid of a crew member explaining the Captain's role in ferrying dead souls from the sea to the Locker). The one part that didn't make sense was Angelica and the way Jack reacted when she was mentioned. He didn't answer right away and she thought maybe he would become sullen again and walk away, but he seemed to be considering something. Finally, he answered:

"She's a girl… or was a girl, now she's a woman, but a girl I knew. Corrupted, some call it." He smirked slightly to himself, "She never forgave me for leaving her and exacted her revenge by enlisting her father, Blackbeard, to take the Black Pearl away from me and put it in a bottle… then there was what 'appened at the Fountain of Youth, and for her… betrayal… I left her on an island. An island I knew she'd 'ave no trouble getting off of, I might add. But obviously, she wasn't happy about it."

"You loved her." Katie stated. It wasn't a question.

"I thought I always would." Jack admitted. "She was the only girl I ever… But I've 'ad a lot of time to think since I left 'er behind." His brown eyes met hers. "She's spiteful and cold. I ruined her, I admit it, but there are better options out there than a woman who wants you dead."

"Seeking Calypso seems rather far to go for revenge." Katie said thoughtfully.

"She's vengeful. Much like 'er father." Jack looked away from her. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I've barely told anyone any of this."

"I didn't expect you to really give me an answer." Katie admitted. He smiled sadly at her.

"You didn't demand it love, and I appreciate that." Her eyes scanned his face. His kohl-rimmed dark eyes were misted over both with alcohol and with memory. The tanned face was handsome though with high cheekbones and, beneath the moustache his lips were soft-looking. She caught herself looking at them and tore her gaze away. Maybe she was becoming intoxicated off the rum fumes on his breath, being so close. He was still turning her around the room throughout the conversation, but now he brought them to a gentle stop.

"You're beautiful, Katie." He said suddenly.

"Oh… erm… thank you." She whispered. He suddenly seemed intimidating to her, the way he had seemed when she first been alone in the room at the inn with him. Intimidating, masculine, and just a bit dangerous. Every nerve seemed to tingling in her body, which felt very weak and petite beside his. A part of her wanted to run away and another part of her…

It wanted this, this crushing surrender, as suddenly he kissed her. She hadn't known that was what she wanted but when Jack seized the moment, she realised. Her arms went around his neck and he gripped her waist, pulling her body against his, bending over her slightly. Katie had never been kissed like this. She had kissed one boy before at a ball, and it had been awkward and tentative. He had apologised afterwards and hurried away and she had decided she didn't understand why the other girls giggled when they talked about kissing. Now she knew, because her knees were weak and she had the strange, excited urge to feel his hands on her, touching her. She was kissing a man this time, not an inexperienced boy.

But then she remembered something he had said to her before: "I don't want you that way", "If I was desperate I'd find a wench." Well, he couldn't find a wench at sea and perhaps he was now desperate! Katie wrenched her mouth away from his and stared up at him. His jaw was slack and his eyes were still cloudy as he looked at her. He let her go though.

"You're drunk, Jack." She said again.

"I know. I shouldn't have done that." He seemed to be coming back to his senses now, and he met her eyes, "You 'ad my word I wouldn't touch you. A man's only as good as 'is word, isn't 'e?"

"Jack, it's… it's alright. Just… we were agreed we didn't want each other." He gave her a hard look, but nodded.

"Friends?" He offered.

"Yes." She accepted, thanking God as she said it that nobody had walked in on them during that moment of madness. And sure enough, a moment later, Moss returned to the room.

"We don't need the food to burn." He said jovially, not seeming to notice the atmosphere of the room. Jack scooped up his bottle of rum and departed, and Katie followed in a different direction, wandering towards the helm where Teague stood. The old pirate's presence was strangely calming and that was definitely what she felt she needed at that moment in time.

A/N: Hello everyone and thanks for reading if you've gotten this far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as it's quite integral to the plotline overall. I don't plan to rush this storyline though so sit tight! Somebody reviewed and asked if this is going to be Jack/OC or Jack/Angelica. I forgot to reply, but I don't want to give any spoilers away. The main pairing is in the description, though. But Angelica is definitely going to be an important character for this story! Don't you worry!