A/N: Hey, everyone! Thank so much to shippolove844, Evangeline Crystal, xoxoMyRealityIsFiction, Kirsty Mikelsons, and sunnydayz56 for reviewing! I hope you all are still enjoying this story... Anyway, this next chapter is game-changing...
Chapter XXIII
"And what, exactly, is it that we are waiting for?" I inquired.
"All in good time, all in good time…" Jack answered ambiguously. He flagged down a barmaid and ordered a pint of beer.
"Certainly, Captain Sparrow," she replied with a girlish giggle. I grit my teeth and suppressed the desire to scoff as he grinned at her fetchingly. I noticed Gibbs observing the pair of us, and I quickly fashioned a mask of disinterest. The last thing I wanted to do was add fuel to the fire, as it were…
"Cap'n" Gibbs started, "Where be the exact coordinates of the Lost City?"
"The center o' the Triangle," he answered simply. "Haven't you heard the legends?"
"Aye, I have, but I'd just as soon presumed ye'd be usin' yer compass to lead us there."
Jack shook his head, causing his hair ornaments to clang. "Nay, me compass don't work in the Triangle. Nor does any other sort o' bewitched device... Or normal device, for that matter," he added as an afterthought.
"So the legends are true, then?" Gibbs continued, "All of them?"
"Never been there. But if I'm to place my bet based on experience, then aye. Jocard seemed to know what 'e was talkin' about, and 'e didn' seem too enthused by the prospect o' going back."
"Aye, and somethin' that's got Jocard flustered don't bode well for the rest o' us…"
"True enough. But don't worry 'bout that, mate. I've got a plan," he said with a sly grin, glancing covertly at me.
Gibbs and I shared a puzzled expression, but let it go. I was too disturbed by the prospect of Barbossa discovering us to make any attempt at sorting his riddles.
"Jack, if Barbossa should come…" I whispered.
"As I expect he shall," he finished.
"Yes… Shouldn't Mr. Gibbs be… made aware of the situation?"
His eyebrows disappeared beneath his bandana. "Is that what ye'd like?"
I thought for a moment. Was it? Surely Gibbs was just as well traveled as Jack; the discovery should not shock him. Although, it might horrify him… He was already wary of women as it stood.
"He can be trusted?" I hissed.
"Aye. Ye can be trusted, can't ye, Gibbs?" Jack asked his companion, whose mutton-chopped face was already buried under the rim of his mug.
"Aye, 'course I can!"
"Well, there you have it," Jack answered lazily. Gibbs' response hadn't exactly been comforting, and Jack knew it.
I sighed deeply; I was extremely nervous and hadn't the slightest idea how to broach the subject. Clearing my throat absurdly, I started, "Mr. Gibbs, I think there is some information you might benefit from learning."
His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he completed a gulp of the amber liquid. He wiped the foam from his whiskers with the back of his hand, before replying, "Oh, n' what is that?" He was endearingly oblivious.
I looked to Jack for help. "Oi, this was your idea, love," he said, shirking involvement.
"Well, Mr. Gibbs," I stuttered, "Hm. I really don't know the best way to phrase this…"
"Out wit' it, lass!" he instructed impatiently.
"I'm a mermaid!" I said in a hushed declaration.
Gibbs studied me for a moment, before bursting into a hearty fit of laughter. "That's a good one, lass," he sniffed, brushing a stray tear from the corner of his eye.
"I'm serious," I insisted, taken aback by his reaction.
"Id est, she's not kidding," Jack piped in; his inflection made it seem as if he was mocking me, and I didn't doubt that he'd done it intentionally.
"Lass," Gibbs began gravely, "mermaids be deadly, vicious creatures, borne from hatred and spite. Their sole purpose be to extact revenge on mankind for the ill-treatment of one enraged sorceress. Tear the flesh from a man's bones, she will, but not b'fore seducin' 'im wit' 'er feminine wiles 'n devilish beauty. They're beasts, same as sharks n' other vile menaces of the deep."
I glanced at Jack out of the corner of my eye, and saw that his hand was placed conveniently over his mouth. However, the twinkle in his eye told me he was resisting the urge to snicker.
"You," Gibbs continued with unprecedented grammatical prowess, "do not possess any o' the aforementioned traits. Why, just then in the Hall ye were as frightened as a lamb amongst wolves! Ye said naught but a word and stayed by 'is side like a chick to a hen!" He'd motioned to Jack during the last part. Jack made a face, displeased with the fact that he'd been compared to a type of fowl - a female one, no less. "Plus," Gibbs said, "there be certain ways to identify the wretches…"
"I'm telling the truth," I contended. "Tell me, what ways?"
"Well, for one, alcohol is poison to a mermaid." Wrong. "They drink copious amounts of water when on land." Wrong. " 'N they revert back ta their true form wit' even one drop o' water." Also wrong. This one doesn't even make sense in accordance with the other. "They cannot resist the sight o' blood…" Getting a tad warmer… "On a Sunday night in the light o' the moon, 'er face contorts to the demon's it really belongs to." Alright, now this is just ridiculous…
"Look, what do I have to do to prove it to you?" I asked.
"Show me yer tail," he joked.
I let out a breath of exasperation; "Well, I can't do that. I'm being completely honest."
"She really is telling the truth," Jack finally said solemnly. He had an uncanny talent for re-phrasing everything I said...
"Yer in on this too?" he asked his friend.
"Not 'in on it,' per say, but aware, aye. I've known for a while now."
"Yer both pullin' me leg."
"No, we're not. Lookit 'er, mate. How often do ye come across a lass like that?"
Gibbs eyed me skeptically. "Not often," he admitted.
"Do you remember how I was walking strangely when we first met? How I was able to sing away the sirens?"
"N' how Cecily wanted 'er," Jack added.
"Yer tellin' the truth?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, how many times must I say it?" I complained.
Suddenly, Jack perked up and straightened in his chair. I followed his line of sight, and noticed Barbossa walking towards us through the crowd.
"This'll all make much more sense to you now," Jack hissed over his shoulder to Gibbs.
Without a word, Barbossa pulled out a chair and sat in front of us.
"What can I do for you, Hector?" the dreadlocked captain asked cheerily.
"I'd like ta know," he began, "what heinous twist o' fate allowed you ended up with her."
"She found me, mate."
"Be that as it may, I'll be wantin' 'er back."
"Excuse me?" I demanded.
"I saw 'er first, makes 'er mine."
"I do not belong to anyone!" I spat venomously.
"Not yet, at least…" Barbossa mumbled. "Tell me, darlin', what be yer name."
"Cassiopeia," I stated firmly. He knew this. Why was he asking?
"Aha, just as I remember. So now tell me this: who gave ye that name. It's the same as when I first met ye, so I'm presumin' ye gave it to yerself…"
Oh, no, no, no! No! He couldn't – he can't! How does he know?
"It's dangerous, what you're proposing," Jack stated grimly.
"Don' ye think I know that, Sparrow? I'm not a fool. But there's more'n one way to make a mermaid useful – 'specially when it comes to information… So I'm askin' ye, Cassiopeia, did ye name yerself?"
"No, I did," Jack cut in urgently. "I gave it to her. I name her Cassiopeia."
All of a sudden, a burst of color exploded behind my eyes, as if I'd been struck. My chest – my heart – swelled to an extent that I didn't think possible. I thought I might collapse. My body was numb, but at the same time so overheated. So full of emotion. So full of feeling.
So full of… love. The word. It was dangerous, true enough, just as Jack had warned. I felt a line of pure adoration tethering me to him. I was bound to him. I was in love with him. We were bound. We were in love.
All because he'd spoken the words.
I snapped my head to look at him wildly. He, too, felt the attachment; that was the price. He had just given himself a new weakness.
His eyes widened momentarily, after having experienced something similar to what I had, I imagined. But he recovered smoothly.
"I believe ye mean ta say named," Barbossa growled viciously, "Or as I can see now, ye obviously didn't."
"Hm?" Jack grunted, his voice cracking. "What? Oh – oh yes. Named. That's it. I did – I named her Cassiopeia. Sorry, mate. Now scurry off."
"Yer mad, Jack. And this is even madder'n usual. Ye've sacrificed yer soul before, but the heart is another matter entirely. It's best not ta gamble yer heart wit' a monster, 'specially not wit' a monster than can now be used as leverage. N' love is the ultimate renouncement o' freedom."
"But now she is of use to me and only me," he said, carelessly inspecting his fingernails. "Plus, I feel completely fine. So much of mermaid lore is only legend, after all… It's not in your best interest to cross me, mate. How else do you intend to find the City? You know it's not as simple as just sailin' into the Triangle…"
Barbossa faltered.
"Ah," Jack said with a smile, "now there's a good lad. Why don't ye run along and prepare the Revenge. We sail at dawn."
The older man clamored angrily to his feet (foot) and hobbled indignantly to the door. He turned and flashed Jack one more menacing look, before leaving.
I felt… I felt.
I felt more than I ever had. Everything. Love. I'd never felt more alive. I'd never felt more vulnerable.
Why had he done it? It was so utterly stupid. It compromised both of us. To make sure Barbossa couldn't have me. It was an act of possession. He had marked me as his. And I couldn't find it in my heart to care; that was the worst part of it. He had just completely robbed me of my freedom, as Barbossa had put it, and I wasn't even upset in the slightest.
"Jack" I breathed amorously.
"I know," he grit out. He seemed almost as if he were in pain.
"Would someone please explain what in the bloody hell is goin' on?" Gibbs demanded. "Ye two look like a pair o' love-struck pansies!"
"When one names a mermaid," I started carefully, "The two become bound to one another. Because of this, the various methods that can be employed to extract information from a mermaid are now null and void. Jack has made it so I only will be willing to help him. My song will not affect him. I will not feel bloodlust. I will protect him from all danger while in the water. Such is the consequence of naming a mermaid… But the deed is not without its cost to the one who names her. Jack is now bound to me as well, in an emotional sense."
"Jesus, Mary, n' Joseph," Gibbs muttered. "Is it reversible?"
"Yes," I said, "He can break the spell, when the time comes."
"I don't think it worked properly," Jack remarked nonchalantly. He was in denial. He had to be.
"Never – not in all the years we've sailed together – have I seen that look in yer eye, Jack. Somethin's changed."
The man in question mumbled some profanity under his breath, and it dawned on me that this was the first time I'd heard him really swear.
I suddenly experienced the overwhelming urge to cry, and I hadn't the faintest clue as to why. I wasn't sad. I wasn't unhappy. In fact, the sensation was pleasant, of all things. It felt as if the blood in my veins had just started moving for the first time.
"You cannot deny the connection." It was a statement, no room for dispute.
"Cassie, I'm sorry, but this wouldn' be the first time voodoo magic didn't work on Captain Jack Sparrow." He called me by my name, deliberately avoiding the use of the word "love"; I didn't understand why he was fighting it.
"This isn't 'voodoo' magic, as you put it. It is law. It is a force of nature. It is all right to succumb to it," I said. I brought one of my hands up to his face and traced the tips of my fingers along his jaw line, watching in fascination as his eyes fluttered closed. It was clear that I was evoking some sort of stirring within him.
Gibbs eyed us in disgust. "Per'aps I oughtta leave you two alone…" he started.
"No!" Jack ordered hastily. "You mustn't do that. You mustn't leave us alone. Ever. Do you understand? I'm your captain; you must obey." I didn't think I'd ever seen him so adamant about anything.
"If ye say so… But ye look as if ye want ta be left alone."
"Yes, and that's exactly the problem."
"A'right," he said tentatively, before taking another long swig from his mug.
This was certainly not the sort of problem either Jack or I or Gibbs was used to dealing with, to say the least. We were out of our element.
A/N: So, as I hope I made clear, when someone names a mermaid, the two of them are bound together. While Jack and Cassie will now feel as though they're in love, it's really just the spell. Certainly puts an interesting spin on Philip and Syrena's relationship, doesn't it? As far as I know, I made this myth up - although it's entirely possible that someone else already thought of it.
I'd really love to hear your thoughts! Please review :)