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Savarna	By : BrethlessM Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > Het - Male/Female > Jack/Elizabeth Views: 5383 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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A/N: Hello all! I intended to get much further with this chapter than I did, but I've got a hugely busy day tomorrow, which means no weekend for Kimmee. I made the executive decision to end the chapter early, leaving the big fight scene for next week. This will give me a lot more time to prepare, and make it extra awesome, and it means that I can post what I've got now. It also brings the total number of chapters to 20 (if I stay on track and no more plot bunnies hop by), which is also cool. So yay! Drinks all around! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and stayed tuned for next week, when there will be a big battle and a surprise so horrible I'll get hate mail for weeks (or at least until I fix it and we get our happy ending at last)! Someone asked if I was definitely doing the trilogy, and I'm answering with a resounding YES! I'm very excited, and I already have ideas for it, so woo-hoo! See you next weekend! - Kimberlee

Chapter Fifteen

They did not sleep, they did not eat, but they remembered having done so. The memory made their mouths water and their eyes feel heavy, though they needed neither accommodation. Like a muscle spasm � involuntary, but startlingly powerful nonetheless � certain experiences were beginning to return to the Becoming, whether useful or not.

Eating, sleeping; they remembered the motion of the arms as they trimmed the sails, or the peculiar rolling gait which had once suffused their steps. They remembered crying, and tears began to flow from their renewing eyes. They remembered hating, and loving, and even sex, though more distantly.

There was little they did not experience now within the chambers of their minds. It was so distracting that it was hard to remember that none of it even mattered anymore. They knew that they were dead - that none of the emotions coming back to them now would be as powerful if they were anything else � but life, death� none of it mattered, for they were Becoming. Walking the Earth along the deepest reaches of the seabed, it was only a matter of time before they Became, and then things like love and hate would have little meaning.
But for what purpose? None of them could say. It occurred to the Leader that he should know what their intent was, and it made him nervous. Fighting the gravity of fathoms-deep water pressing down on them, they had traveled great distances in mires of sand. Their bodies were reminding them of what it meant to feel, but it seemed as though this was an unexpected distraction. Every time they stopped or hesitated to fully appreciate a sensation, an urgent but invisible force pushed them onward.
The Caribbean Sea. The Pelegosto Islands. The Pantano River. Then at last, a small shack somewhere upstream. They were not there yet, but close, and getting closer. It would not be long, and the Leader found himself shivering in anticipation whenever he though of it. The woman who haunted him had a beautiful face, and in his mind she held something very important to him. It was the key to his rebirth � it must be � and when he found her, he would finally know what he had to do.
Deep inside the Leader�s mind, something sparked. He sensed another revelation being born, and when he slowed to a stop to let it wash over him, the rest of the Becoming halted as well. It was a memory � it was a person. He expected to see the golden-haired beauty again, but it was no woman whose image rushed to greet him. It was a man with long, gnarled brown hair, and darkly ringed eyes. His smile was cunning, and flashed gold � and the instant the Leader saw him a barrage of emotions made him double over in pain. Affection, gratitude� but also the deepest and sincerest hatred he�d felt for anything yet.
Who was this man to inspire such profuse and varied emotion? And then a name came to him� Jack. Who or what Jack was, was of vital importance now, especially as the Leader remembered something else. This man, this� Jack, standing with the golden-haired woman, and they had pistols pointed at each other�s heads.
Fury rose within the Leader, and without realizing it, he was moving again, with the full force of the Becoming behind him. Their pace somehow managed to increase a bit, and bubbles streamed from the Leader�s mouth. Had anyone been able to hear him they would have been awed by the intense rage with which he repeated that single name, �Jack� Jack� Jack�.�

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Savarna ran through the woods and the men were behind her again, so close she could feel the heat of their torches. She muttered as she ran, frantic to get her message through to its intended target. �Protect the boy, protect the boy, protect the boy.� Audibly her words were garbled, but in her mind the message reverberated, �protect the boy, protect him.�

She had lived many lives in her time, and though she was not afraid of dying, the moments leading up to death always terrified her. Her love for life was so intense that she despaired leaving it, even for a moment. It was an inevitable part of her existence and this time around it had been so good. She would not find a love like Teague in a hundred lifetimes, and the joy and pain that came with such love was equally rare. For the divine, such experiences were cherished, and just as fervently mourned when lost.

And her son� her boy. She could drown an entire fleet in the love she felt for him. He was her first, and only child. In all her lives, she had only chosen to have him, and he was living proof that gods could love something beyond themselves. She could never have kept Teague � her mother could not tolerate rivals for Savarna�s affection � but Mpanjaka would always be hers, no matter how far away he traveled. He was her life, and her blood, and not even mother Calypso could sunder that.

She knew it before it happened � Savarna�s foot caught on something in the dark, and her stumble gave those in pursuit just enough opportunity to catch her. The leader of the Caplatas was a titan of a man, and one of his hands easily closed around Savarna�s neck making it nearly impossible for her to breathe.

When the head Caplata spoke, his heavily accented voice made the Malagasy language difficult to understand. �Do not fight us longer, Mami Wata� you will do us a great service.�

�This is not your land,� Savarna answered the man in his native Fongbe. �Is there not enough turmoil in Dahomey to satisfy your decadent souls, that you must come here to create more?�

The Caplatas laughed, and the head man inclined his head. �You�ll forgive our humor, Mami Wata. You see - it is our turmoil that sent us to find you. The Portuguese would be our overlords. While they glut themselves on our country�s lifeblood, King Akaba grows in power.� The man grinned, his teeth gleaming white in the darkness. �With your soul under his command, the Aja will rid themselves of the invaders, and wipe out the Nago swine in the west with one blow.� He bowed a little deeper. �Thanks to you, goddess, we will become the most powerful force in this world, and the Loa will be at our command.�

Savarna spat at his feet. �The Rada cannot be subjugated � and the Petro shriek from the afterlife in despair for their brothers and sisters whom your people have sold to your enemies. You will find no friendship from them � nor with me.�

The Caplata�s smile faded. �Indeed, it is not your friendship we seek, Mami Wata, but your flesh. Your power will be our king�s, whether you will it or not.�

�No,� Savarna said calmly with a beatific smile. �No sooner will my blood stain your soil, than a sparrow will sweep down upon the warthog and ravage his destiny.�

With an angry curse, the Caplata dragged Savarna away towards the shore. Their schemes would fail, but Savarna would lose her life in the bargain. She refused to let her sorrow show � they would not have that satisfaction. She thought of Teague, knowing he would sense her death, silently praying that it would not ruin him. She thought of Mpanjaka, her heart filling with a love so pure that not even these most evil of men could tap it. All of her power lay there, and it would be safe from their mischief.

Lastly, she thought of the woman with the sun in her hair, to whom she was entrusting her most valuable possession. Later, in the moments before her head was separated from her body in front of a roaring crowd, Savarna would see this woman�s future. She would see the kiss that would temporarily end her son�s life, and she would laugh. She would see the death and rebirth of the woman�s husband, and cry for her loss. But the vision that she had seen almost from the first concerned the one thing that could destroy the woman, and Mpanjaka in the process.

As the blade came down upon her exposed and untrembling throat, Savarna would call out one last time, �Protect him�.�
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Elizabeth was becoming accustomed to waking with a start, but that did not stop her heart from pounding or her mouth from getting dry. Her hand flew to her throat and massaged it. Savarna had died a horrible death, but knowing it and seeing it were very different things. She still did not understand why she was receiving these visions from Jack�s mother, and she understood even less how she felt about them. Elizabeth liked to think that her destiny was within her own control, just as much as anyone else. The idea that Savarna had maneuvered her and Jack together�.�

But had she? That was something Elizabeth had been considering carefully. If her dreams were accurate � and Elizabeth was certain they were � then Savarna had only given her the charge of looking after Jack, on the day of her aborted marriage to Will. She had not interfered with her wedding to �save� her for Jack, but had seemed to know how things would fall out in the end. Savarna had sensed Elizabeth�s affection for Jack before she herself had even acknowledged it, but did that mean that she would have had no choice but to be with Jack?

That didn�t seem to be the case � they had, after all, spent ten years apart. So what exactly did it mean that she was to protect him? What power did she have to shield him from Calypso?

Beside her in bed, Jack gave a strangled cry and sat upright, looking around with wild eyes. When he saw Elizabeth and realized where he was, Jack began to calm down, though his breath was still ragged. Looking to make sure he hadn�t woken up William, he wiped one hand across his face to dry the sweat beading there.

�I had one too,� Elizabeth said in a quiet voice.

Jack gave a half-hearted chuckle and said, �When I said we were peas in a pod, love, I didn�t mean the same damn pea.�

Elizabeth smiled. �I saw your mother again � it was nearly the same dream as the last one, but more detailed.� Closing her eyes, Elizabeth told him everything she could remember.

Jack shook his head. �Can�t say that I remember anything about mine in particular, only that it was Mum. I could feel what she was feeling - fear, love� and then there was a flash of steel�.� His voice died in his throat and Jack swallowed hard. �You�d think with all this business about keeping �her boy� safe, Mum could at least be more forthcoming with the details.�

Elizabeth sighed. She felt as though she were missing something. Cuba was only a day away from Tortuga and later today Jack, Teague and she would begin formulating a plan of attack for their confrontation with El Lobo. At the moment though, she couldn�t shake the irksome feeling that something had been overlooked.

Jack watched the concern play across Elizabeth�s features. �Scowling does nothing for you, love � although if you were naked, I could forgive anything.�

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to cheer her up, but her mind was troubled. When Jack quirked an expectant eyebrow at her, she asked, �do you think your mother� arranged all this?� She indicated to the two of them.

Jack�s eyes widened in surprise and he pretended to consider it seriously. �Did she arrange for you to fall madly in love with the greatest pirate on the Spanish Main? I think you�re underestimating my appeal, love. Although it would explain my unquenchable fascination with you.� He nodded. �A bit of Mum�s mojo and suddenly, you�re all I can think about.�

Elizabeth frowned. �Seriously, Jack� when did you first� that is� when did you begin to feel that��

Jack grinned. She was floundering, and it was so unusual for someone normally so self-assured, that he couldn�t help prolonging her suffering. �Oh, I wanted you the first time I saw you. I�d just ripped open your dress and torn off your corset� you were soaked to the bone. Noticed the goods right off, but our dear friend the Commodore and his sword prevented me from doing anything about it.�

Elizabeth blushed. �That�s not quite what I was�� she saw the teasing glint in his eye and growled, hitting him with her pillow. �Jack Sparrow, I�m trying to be serious here.�

Jack pulled the pillow out of her hands, grinning as he placed it behind his head. Closing his eyes he sighed thoughtfully. �It started on Rum Runner�s Island, although I didn�t know it until much later. I�ve known a lot of strong, beautiful women love, but none of them captivated me as did you. Twas only after I�d left you with the eunuch that I realized the reason my bloody compass wouldn�t work was because it only keep pointing back to you.� Seeing the doubt lingering in her eyes, Jack asked, �And what about you, love? When did you realize that Captain Jack Sparrow had burrowed his way into your heart?�

She thought. �It began when you said to me, �it would never have worked between us, darling�. I thought it was just a silly girl�s fantasy � and then there was Will, and I loved him�� she trailed off, eyes painful and distant. Finally, she looked at him. �But I knew that what I felt for you was more than a fantasy when� when I kissed you. I�d spent six months with Will, six happy months as his fianc�e, but I�d thought of you so often, and from the moment I saw you in the Faithful Bride that night in Tortuga�.�

Elizabeth sighed in frustration. �I was so exasperated with myself for having such infantile fancies regarding you, but I couldn�t help it. When I kissed you� I realized that as much as I loved Will, there was a portion of my heart that he could never have.�

Jack remained quiet, seeing that she was thinking it over.

Softly, Elizabeth asked, �How do I know it wasn�t just a castle in the sky that your mother built upon to serve her purposes?�

It was Jack�s turn to frown. He didn�t like where this was going. �Seems to me you already knew � you were just afraid to admit it. Mum chose you to� protect me, or whatever it is she wants you to do, because you already cared. I can�t see her manipulating anyone like that, especially me.�

�But how do we know she didn�t sense your true feelings and-�

�Love,� Jack interrupted her, sitting up. �You�re worrying about things that aren�t really that important in the long run, are they? Does it matter how we got here, as long as we�re here? I know I don�t regret it, and I�m not about to give you up, even if my mother did pull my strings in your direction.�

�No,� Elizabeth said finally. �I suppose not.� The uncertainty did not leave her face though, and absently she said. �Will�s out there somewhere. That�s what Calypso said � he�s out there looking for his heart. What kind of agony have I put him through?�

Quietly, Jack got out of bed and began putting on his effects. He kept his back to Elizabeth as he dressed, trying to keep his frustration in check. It wasn�t fair of him to expect her not to care what her husband was going through but Jack was a jealous man, and where his competitor was concerned, it was not without reason.

Elizabeth knew she�d hurt him, but she didn�t know what to do. �Jack�� she began, but he stopped her.

�When William wakes, send him to the galley and join the old man and I at the helm. We�ve got a great deal of planning to do if we�re going to get your husband�s heart back, and little time to come up with a strategy.� Knowing he was leaving her with her guilt, Jack nonetheless shut the door behind him without looking back at her, and without letting her speak. He needed time to cool down and think, and he already knew what she would say.

Elizabeth felt like crying, but she took a calming breath and got out of bed. Slipping into some of her new clothing � a fine white shirt, linen breaches and a deep plum vest � and by the time she had finished she felt more in control of herself. Putting on her hat and her boots, Elizabeth sat at Jack�s desk and swung her feet up onto it, watching her son sleep. Jack was right. There was too much to do to worry about her relationship with him just now. Whatever it meant � whatever Savarna�s intent was � Elizabeth had a duty to perform, and she still had no idea how to go about it.

Pushing aside the lingering notion that something was wrong, Elizabeth turned her attention to the tasks at hand.
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El Lobo�s hiding place was not on the main island of Cuba, but the country�s second largest land mass� a place colloquially known as Treasure Island. Since the discovery of the enormous riches to be had in the New World, pirates had been using Treasure Island as a point from which to hijack the heavily laden chains of Spanish ships returning to their native land. There were rumored to be hidden caches of untold wealth hidden under every rock. So rampant were these tales that those pirates who called Treasure Island their home were fiercely protective of its borders.

Strangely, the nearby Havana port had become all but untouched by piracy in the last hundred or so years. Ships filled to their limits with booty from the Americas stopped here on their way to Europe, and in times past there, were countless raids on the city by pirates and thieves of every other ilk. To guard the city, the Spanish had enlarged the harbor and built forts at the entrance to Havana Bay � two castles that effectively shut it down to undesirables. A copper chain stretched from Castillo de Morro to a smaller fort, at the eastern entry point, called Castillo San Salvador de la Punta. It was impossible for a ship to get in uninvited, and for the most part, the pirates stayed out.

That meant that Treasure Island was the only place left from which one could even hope to try and hijack the silver ships, and this was no easy task. In order to circumvent losing their precious cargo, the Spanish had discontinued their practice of receiving their galleons one by one into the country. On their own, weighted down with treasure, the galleons were easy prey to the smaller, lighter, pirate vessels. Instead, the King of Spain declared that all ships from the New World would gather in Havana Bay until September, when they would sail together under the protection of the Spanish Armada.

While this decree had been an enormous boon to the young town of Havana, it meant that pirates had to be craftier if they wanted the booty, and most were not patient enough to wait for the opportune moment.
El Lobo was not one of these men. He was not the sole pirate stationed on Treasure Island in the hopes of getting his hands on the American riches, but he was the most persistent, and the most feared.
Jack knew enough about El Lobo�s reputation to know that getting the heart back from him would not be easy. The man had an uncanny ability � not unlike Jack�s � for getting out of a bad situation with hardly a scratch. His fame was almost mythic, spawning legends about bargains with the devil or other such things that Jack mostly considered nonsense. Still, he would need and awfully good strategy to pull off this caper, and planning was not something Jack was accustomed to doing.
He was more of a seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, but for the first time, Jack was not feeling confident enough to play it by ear on this one. Unconsciously stroking the mermaid-shaped bead between his thumb and forefinger, he stared into space off the starboard side of his father�s ship, searching endlessly for a foolproof plan.
�Worried, boy?� Captain Teague gave Jack the barest of glances, but he could almost see the tension emanating from him.
Jack stiffened, but refused to rise to the bait. �Just thinking,� he said casually.
Teague grunted. �That explains the smell,� he muttered. Jack whirled around but before he could speak, Teague said, �How do you plan on getting the heart away from El Lobo? He�s not your average pirate, Jackie.�
Jack studied his father�s face. �You�ve met?�
Nodding, Teague said, �Aye� in Dahomey, matter of fact. Just after your mother��
Teague trailed off for a moment and Jack quickly asked, �What was he doing in Africa?�
�Slave trading,� Teague growled. �Buying free men off of the lowly slime who�d kidnap people from their own or neighboring tribes and sell them to the Portuguese to take to the Americas.�
Jack didn�t answer, only frowned. His father knew how he�d become a pirate, and the story was told to impress upon Jack the character of El Lobo.
Teague�s already low voice quieted so much that Jack had to step closer to hear him. �They were in the middle of their sacrifices, the Caplatas, when I arrived. I ran every last one of those cockroaches through. Most of the villagers were wise enough to stay out of the way, but a few tried to protect their priests and one of them got cut down alongside them. I stood there, covered in the blood of my enemies, and I looked down at the boy at my feet and howled. Not for him� for Savarna.�
Clearing his throat, Teague continued, �When I looked up, El Lobo was standing not further away from me than you are now. I recognized him from the wolf�s tail hanging down in back, tied to his belt, and I stood up, ready to fight him too.
�The devil chuckled, as if I weren�t worth the trouble, and before I knew it he�d plunged his hand into the boy�s chest and pulled his heart from his ribcage. He walked away from me eating the thing like an apple.�
�You know, for someone not normally known for his garrulousness, you�ve been awfully chatty on this voyage,� Jack said. �You�re telling me that El Lobo appeared in the same place as you, watched you slay a dozen or so men single-handedly, and then just walked away, eating one of your victims hearts?� Jack shook his head. �I�m seen some pretty unbelievable things in my day, old man, but that strains even my credulity.�
Teague ignored him. �I followed him at a hundred paces to see where he was going, and saw the slaves boarding his ship in chains. He knew I was watching� like he wanted to show me that no matter how fierce I was, he was infinitely worse.�
�I don�t know,� Jack said. �Seems if he�s so inclined to engage in a pissing contest whilst there�s business to be done, he might not be so tough to defeat after all. I�ll just distract him � whip out the little Admiral and show him it�s twice the size of his, and then ask him to turn over the heart as payment.�
Finally looking at his son, Teague said, �don�t take this lightly, boy� remember whom your talking to. I�ve seen nearly every pirate that�s dared to sail the seven seas, and El Lobo may not be the worst of them, but he�s tricky, arrogant, and he ripped the heart out of a young man�s chest and ate it without a second thought.�

Jack made a disgusted face, sticking out his tongue. �On the bright side, if he ate dear Will�s heart, that would solve all of our problems, wouldn�t it?�
Teague stared at Jack blankly.
�I don�t know what my plan is,� Jack said in exasperation. �I usually leave the thinking to those more suited to it.� Teague snorted. �Just as soon as Elizabeth gets here, the three of us can circle around and try and come up with something clever� all right? She�s a woman � they�re much more tricky that way.�
�Is that so?� Elizabeth asked dryly as she climbed the stairs to join the two Sparrows. �I�ll be sure to remind you of that after I�ve saved your life� again.�
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Savarna