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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.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
A/N: Oh, man this chapter was hard! I wanted to write a LiveJournal entry about it, but it's 3:00am and I should be getting off to bed. I'll try and do that this weekend if all goes smoothly with the next chapter. Teague is an awefully hard character to write - especially when you need him to say a lot of stuff. I hope I did him justice. We're getting closer to reuniting our little family, and I really appreciate everyone who's been commenting. It's such a huge help for me, and I kinda wish I had you guys to motivate me into writing the book I'm working on! I've had a couple petitions to form the Church of Jack, since he is a god (lite) in this fic. Any takers? Anyway, it's lovely to hear from you all, and I'll get to work on the next chapter right away! - Love, Kimberlee

Chapter Six

With a deceptively easy-going smile pasted firmly in place, Jack spun around to face his father. �Now what kind of greeting is that for your favorite son?�

Teague came further into the room, and William saw that despite the darkness of his hair, the man was in his early 70�s. His face was heavily worn with time and weather, and he held his right leg rather stiffly when he walked.

The old Captain ignored William for the moment as he took the decanter from Jack and poured some of the dark liquid into a second crystal goblet. �You�re my only son, Jackie� least as far as I know.�
�Then, even more reason why you should be glad to see me.� Jack was fidgeting even more than usual and his eyes never settled on any one thing.
Teague took his glass of rum to an ornately carved Carolean chair with a tall narrow back and rounded top. Setting his drink on the table beside him, Teague slouched in his seat and lifted a hand-worked guitar onto his lap. Closing his eyes, his fingers absently began picking out notes of their own accord. �So what can I do for you, boy?� he asked after a few moments of silence.
Jack hesitated, but a glance a William prompted him to take a seat in the chair facing his father�s and say calmly, �I need your help.�
Captain Teague�s fingers froze over the guitar strings, and for a moment, Jack and William both held their breaths. Slowly opening one eye and then the other, he finally set the guitar to one side. He pulled himself upright and crossed his hands in his lap expectantly.
Jack was immediately on edge. �What?� he asked. Teague raised an eyebrow at the question. �Why�d you� stop playing?�
�Your whole life, you�ve only ever asked me for one thing, Jackie,� Teague said seriously. �I can only guess at what would be important enough for you to drag yourself to my doorstep � and for help, no less.� He nodded. �You have my attention; speak your piece.�
Jack floundered uncertainly � again it was a look towards William that recalled his focus. �We need to rescue someone from the Locker,� he told his father.
Teague glanced at William for the briefest second before searching his son�s face once more. �Who?�
�The boy�s mother.�
He paused thoughtfully. �I see.� Teague examined his son. �What�d you do?� he asked.
Jack frowned. �Who says I had anything to do with it?�
Teague merely stared at Jack, who looked very uncomfortable. Finally the younger pirate sighed and said, �Well � I may have�� but the rest of the sentence was an inaudible mumble. At Teague�s raised eyebrow, Jack said exasperatedly, �I may have kissed her, making her husband think she was unfaithful, causing her to sacrifice herself to the fathomous deep, calyx meus inebrians, charta pardonationis se defendendo.�
William watched the two pirates stare at one another in silent expectation. Finally he asked, �What did that mean?�
�It means he�s a drunken fool who wants to be forgiven for his idiocy,� Teague answered to William�s surprise. He was now staring at the boy, and William withstood the scrutiny calmly; the old man was far less intimidating than the sea goddess had been. �What�s your name, son?� Teague asked him.
�William Turner.�
Teague nodded and looked back at Jack. �The boy yours or Turner�s?� he asked.
Jack scowled and sunk lower in his chair, folding his arms. He grumbled, �It was only a kiss.�
To William, Teague said, �That would make your mother Captain Elizabeth Swann� fine strong woman. Never did meet your father, but your mother was the damndest thing I�ve ever seen.�
Wrinkling his nose William asked, �is that a good thing?�
For the first time, Teague grinned. Easing back in his seat he looked back at his son, who had glanced at William with an expression of fond humor. When Jack noticed Teague�s stare, he stopped smiling.
�So how can you be certain Captain Swann is in the Locker?� Teague asked.

�She sacrificed herself in order to spare Captain Turner an eternity of servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman; that�s fairly mystical � �body and soul� and all that,� Jack said easily. �And it worked. The ship sank, all the little souls went free; Q.E.D. � curse lifted; one numinous ticket to the afterlife of heroes, martyrs and fools.�
Teague nodded. �Still � the Locker? It was quite the noble act.�
Jack nodded, but said, �Pirate.� Then, looking aside, he added, �and she may have killed me once.�
A sly, knowing grin crept over Teague�s face, but he didn�t comment on that bit of information. �So you�ve been to the Locker � you can get there, and obviously know how to get back. What exactly is it you�re looking for from me, Jackie?�
�Any ship we take to World�s End will be destroyed,� Jack explained, � and without a ship, there�s no way back.�
�There is, �s just not easy,� Teague said. �No, you�re right. You�d best have a ship that�ll get you there and back in one piece.�
Jack frowned. �Therein lies the problem� there�s no such ship as could survive such a journey.�
�There is,� Teague contradicted him again. Then said, �Follow me.�
William followed with Jack as Teague rose from his chair and grabbed a nearby lantern before leading them through the great wooden structure that was his home. The boy couldn�t help letting his eyes roam over everything as they passed from one room to another.
From the outside, William had thought that the house had been formed from the collision of at least four ships. From the inside, it appeared to be more. Although one could see where the various ships had crashed together, the ends had been smoothed and rounded, and openings had been widened to allow one vessel to flow naturally into another.

Additions had been made to secure certain parts of the mergers, especially in the upper portions of the ships. Though they did not go up any of the flights of stairs to what had once been the upper decks of the vessels, William could see the work done from beneath to level off strange angles and support the weakened structures. The house was a masterpiece in its ingenuity, and he couldn�t help wondering if Teague had done the work himself.
The old pirate led the two younger ones down the length of three ships through winding corridors until he reached the far back of the dwelling. A rear door had been cleanly cut here which opened onto a dock just outside the barrier of Shipwreck City. They were surrounded on all sides by the piling debris from the graveyard of ships that composed the cove, and when Teague gestured in one particular direction, it took a moment for Jack and William to realize what they were looking at.
It was another ship, of course, but unlike its neighbors, this one was completely intact. Camouflaged by the surrounding wreckage, the ship appeared to be just as old and well used as the others. It was only through careful examination that her true majesty became plain.

She was a brigantine, and smaller than the Black Pearl at 80-feet. There were square-rigged sails on both of her masts and ten cannons on her deck. The figurehead was of a beautiful woman with piercing eyes and long, wild hair. A snake wrapped around her body, with its head resting between her wooden breasts.
�The Savarna,� Teague told them with a hint of pride in his voice.
Jack took a step towards the ship, awe on his face. �Your ship?� he asked. �But � she can make it?�
Teague walked up to the vessel and put a loving hand against her hull. �This here is the only ship in the world who could make the kind of trip you�ve got in mind and survive the journey. She was a gift from your mother � and she was heavily protected by Savarna as well.� He looked at his son. �She�ll take you to get your woman back, Jackie boy, and she�ll fly you there on the wings of hell itself.�
Jack didn�t know what to say. �Thank-you, Captain,� he said with a stutter. �I�ll leave the Pearl here with you as insurance; I�ll bring her back,� he promised solemnly.
�Aye, you will � on both counts,� Teague agreed. �But I�m not giving you my ship, boy; I�m coming with you.�
�What?� Jack became very pale.
�You�ll need a helmsman � someone who can handle her in any weather, and more importantly - who can steer her off the face of the map.� He nodded. �On my ship, that�s me.�
�Yes, but�� Jack struggled to voice his objections. �I�m perfectly capable- �
�Besides,� Teague interrupted. �You�re going up against Calypso � which means there�s one other asset I have that you�ll need in order to succeed at this venture.�
Uncertainly, Jack asked, �What�s that?�
�I�m the only one who�s ever gone up against the sea goddess and lived,� he said grimly.

�Does this have to do with how you and Mum met?� Jack asked with thinly veiled curiosity once they�d all returned to the sitting room.

Teague nodded, but he cast a stray look at William before asking his son, �How much does the boy know?�

�Everything,� Jack said without hesitation.
Teague nodded and stared at Jack speculatively, but began his story without comment. �I was 27 at the time, Captain of a schooner called the Ceylon Raider. We were trading our plunder with the natives out of Saint Augustine�s Bay for cattle and food, and we heard tell of a goddess in Toamasina � �Mami Wata�, they called her.

�Mami Wata is a water deity worshiped in many countries, and this was not the first time I�d heard of her. But it was the first time I�d heard tell of an actual physical goddess, and I took it into my head to go see her for myself.�

Teague�s eyes became distant as he continued. �I was curious � was she really a goddess, or just a local imposter? Some men describe Mami Wata as a mermaid, others as an inhumanly beautiful woman�� he shook his head. �No description I ever heard came close to describing your mother.

�I left the men in the port of Toamasina, where they were more than happy to visit with the Island women while I went and paid tribute to a god. I prepared a small offering and followed the harbormaster�s directions to a small temple in the village. It was an open-air pavilion surrounded by the most beautiful flowers I�ve ever seen. There were people everywhere and until I got right up to the white marble steps, I could see nothing.

�She could have been made of marble herself, she was so still,� Teague told them. �She smiled like the painting by that Italian fellow, but there was nothing beyond it � no emotion. She was beautiful, no denying it, but what froze me in my boots was the energy about her; the spirit.� He met Jack�s eyes. �I�d never been a man to believe in such things until that moment, and I�ll own that she stole the breath from my body. Then her eyes met mine�.�

Jack held very still as he remembered the scene from his dream; the young man that had been his father, clutching a wooden box for dear life as he fell under the scrutiny of the goddess.

Teague closed his eyes in memory. �It was like lighting a lantern in the dark of a moonless night. She suddenly came to life before my eyes, and although I knew better than to approach a goddess, I felt myself climbing those marble steps. She stood to greet me, but I had no voice to speak. I held out the box I�d brought for her and opened to lid to reveal two perfect pomegranates.

�I took one of the pieces of fruit out and she took the box from me, setting it on the ground beside us. Breaking it open with my hands, I offered her some of the seeds, and she took a section. I stared at her lips as she slowly placed a few pearls between them, and then followed her hand with my eyes as she took a few more seeds and raised them to place between my own; like Eve for Adam��

Teague trailed off into a whisper and it took a moment to recover his composure. �I fell in love � I admit it. I would have given my soul for a single moment in her company, but I knew I was born under a lucky star when I saw that she loved me back. I released my crew, sold my ship, and set about beseeching the chief - and the gods � to allow me to stay with her.

�I endured many trials to win that right, but I won�t waste time on the details just now. When all was said and done, I had Savarna for one year. I never regretted giving up the sea for her; not once until the day we discovered that she was pregnant.� He looked at Jack with a wry smile. �The Islander�s had allowed me to stay with your mother because a hurricane nearly destroyed us all when they denied her. But no force on Earth would allow us to have a normal life once you were born, Jackie, and so I became determined to steal her away from Madagascar.

�I would take us to India, and as I�ve said, it was Savarna who provided the means by which to do it. She never told me how she got the ship and I never asked. It was enough to know she wanted to leave with me. There were several men in the tribe I trusted enough to recruit for a crew, and we set sail about one month before you were expected to be born.�

Jack had leaned forward in his chair, and though he stared at the floor, it was clear he was listening intently. �What stopped you?� he asked, though his voice did not betray his interest.

�It was the curse,� Teague said sadly. �Although it was only a curse for us, I suppose. When Savarna came to the island as a child, the shaman had given her a tattoo, which bound her to them � and by extension, Madagascar. No sooner had we reached open water than we were beset by a typhoon.� To Jack he said, �You were born that night, nearly a month early, and if I hadn�t turned the ship around the sea would have claimed us all.� He shook his head. �Nothing was ever the same after that night.

�The minute we returned to Madagascar, the natives took me captive for the theft of their goddess. Savarna pleaded for my life, but she was weakened from childbirth, and it was all she could do to protect you, Jackie. It was only a twist of fate that allowed me to escape with my life.

�Calypso,� Jack guessed softly.

�Calypso,� Teague confirmed with a nod. �In a hellacious fury. Seems she sent her daughter away from India to protect her, and didn�t take kindly to my kidnapping Savarna and trying to take her back. I believe she would have struck me dead right there if not for her daughter�s influence. Instead she cursed me � said that I would never be able to spend more than 24 hours at a time on land in any one month. It may not seem too terrible, but as time went by, it became harder and harder to return for just those few short hours, and I stayed away longer.�

Teague was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Finally he pulled himself up in his chair and looked at his audience intently. �The point of this story,� he said tightly, �is what happened after I left you and your mother on Madagascar that first night.� He waited until Jack met his eyes before continuing. �I returned to my ship and set sail, grateful to have my life, worthless though it was, without Savarna. I knew that Calypso would take my life the moment I was beyond her daughter�s grasp, but when I entered my cabin, I noticed a series of symbols painted in blood on the wall.

�Your mother suspected what would happen, and she used her power to protect my ship against anything that would seek to destroy it. From that day on, there was no force � either natural or supernatural � that could do her any harm. It was a lucky thing too, for Calypso did try everything in her power � limited though it was due to being trapped in mortal form � to scuttle my ship. She followed me for years, searching for the opportunity to put an end to my life, until I found a way to hide myself from her gaze.�

Jack frowned. �What do you mean?� he asked.

�Met a man in New Zealand,� Teague said. �A shaman of sorts. He gave me this.� Teague stood and removed his coat, and after unbuttoning the cuff, rolled his sleeve up to the elbow. On the soft skin of his forearm was the tattoo of mermaid. It was not the same style of artwork that Jack was used to seeing on his fellow sailors, but something more tribal and raw in design.

Teague explained, �She can�t see me as long as I don�t want her to. I�m still bound by her curse; I can return to land only once in a month, which is why my home is on the sea. But so long as I don�t draw any unnecessary attention to myself, Calypso has no idea where I am.�

Teague fell silent again, and Jack stared at him with undisguised astonishment. After a few moments he said, �I�m positive that that�s the largest amount of words I�ve ever heard you use in the entirety of my life� and all together� he elaborated. �In order, and at the same time.�

The old Captain looked amused. �So when do we leave?� Teague asked.

After a moment�s pause, Jack smiled wearily. �Well, since you asked so nicely�� Teague stood up, and William followed, but Jack stumbled to his feet and held up one hand to stop them. �Before we rush off anywhere, there�re some things that need to be taken care of first. Foremost among them�� he turned to William and said, �Show the nice pirate your back, mate.�

William began taking off his shirt, and Teague raised an eyebrow at his son in silence. When he saw the tattoo on the boy�s back, his face grew dark. With a sigh that sounded more like a growl, he sank back into his chair. Finally he said, �There�s a man in Shipwreck City� an inker; Maori. He can help.�

As Teague could not accompany them on land, Jack settled for written directions and a message for the inker. After sending Lawrence with instructions for Gibbs and the rest of his crew, telling them where to find the Savarna, he and William headed off into Shipwreck City to find the Maori tattooist.

William said nothing as they walked, and Jack glanced at him every so often, until finally he stopped just outside the shop Teague�s directions had led them to. Dropping to one knee in front of the boy, he asked, �Are you ready for this, mate?�

William nodded, but looked very worried.

Jack searched his eyes. �There�s something you could take� it would prevent you from feeling any pain. I don�t recommend it, but if you think you�d rather be unconscious I�m sure I could find some opium or the like��

William considered it, but taking a deep breath, he shook his head. �No... you never took anything when you got your tattoos� right?�

Jack shook his head. �No, but I was a bit older� and often drunk� after the first one, anyway. You�re sure?� When William nodded firmly that he was, Jack stood up again and looked at the door in front of them. �All right then � let�s get you taken care of, shall we?�

The shop was small, and would have been very dark except the owner had installed windows all along the front. A lowered table was the main feature in the room and at the moment, there was a woman lying on it. A large man with tattoos covering his body was bent over the woman, carefully inking a series of small dots onto her face. She did not flinch away from the needle, but her left fist was clenched tightly against her thigh.

Jack blanched and turned away from the sight, trying to appear nonchalant. William continued to watch, though a fine film of sweat appeared on his upper lip. After a few more minutes, the inker helped his client to her feet. As soon as she paid him, he turned his attention to Jack.

�What can I do for you?� The large man asked in a surprisingly gentle voice. Jack pulled out the note from his father out of his coat pocket and handed it to the man, who nodded when he read it. �Captain Teague says you need something very particular,� he said.

Jack looked at William, who was already prepared. Pulling off his shirt once more, he turned to show the man the markings on his back. The Maori�s eyes widened briefly and he knelt to examine the tattoo up close. �Where did he get this?� he asked.

�Madagascar,� Jack said. �Malagasy ombiasy in Toamasina.�

�But how did you get him to Shipwreck Cove?� he asked in amazement.

Jack grinned. �Sea turtles, mate.�

To William�s surprise, the tattooist didn�t look confused, but instead chuckled softly. �You must be Captain Teague�s son� only a Sparrow would use that excuse.� Standing, he offered Jack his hand and shook firmly. �I am Moana.�

�Jack,� the pirate said. �And the lad is William.� Formalities completed, Jack said, �We�re in need of something to counteract the subjugating malevolence of William�s tattoo. The Captain says you�re the man to help us.�

Moana nodded. �Aye, I can help. You�re in a hurry, I assume?� At Jack�s nod, he looked to William. �I�ll need a moment to prepare� will you be ready in ten minutes?� William nodded nervously. �Lie on your stomach on the table when you�re ready, and I�ll join you soon.�

Alone again with Jack, William handed the pirate his shirt and hopped onto the table. Swinging his legs absently for a moment, he was quiet as he watched the pirate wander around, examining the artwork hung on the walls. He didn�t seem to actually be looking at anything, and finally William asked, �Are you mad?�

Jack looked a William in surprise.

�About your father coming with us.� When Jack didn�t immediately answer, William said, �It was really hard when my father came back, but at least yours didn�t really leave on his own, did he? Not like mine�� his face grew sad, and Jack came and sat beside him on the table.

�You�re father was a git, mate. For all of his good qualities, of which I�m sure there were many,� he didn�t seemed convinced of this though, �he was an insufferable git.� He leaned forward to get a clear view of William�s face. �All right, mate?�

William grinned and said softly, �Yeah� you forget.�

�What�s that?�

�I�m William Turner.�

Jack laughed loudly, just as Moana returned to the room. William sobered immediately and after a moment lay flat on his stomach, with his head hanging over the edge.

Moana produced a piece a wood that appeared to be a small branch from a tree and handed it to William. �Bite into this,� he said. William took the branch carefully, and placed it into his mouth with a glance to Jack for approval.

Moana sat beside the table. �This will hurt, but I will be a gentle as I can. I will make a series of three crescents, enclosing the disk that binds you to Madagascar. I will need to concentrate on the spell that will make the enchantment effective protection for you, so be as silent as you possibly can.�

William took a deep breath and nodded without a word, and Jack went around the table to stand at its head where the boy could see him if he looked up. The pirate�s face was calm, and as he leaned back against the wall, folding his arms and crossing his legs, he appeared so at ease that it gave William courage. He bit a little deeper into the hunk of wood in his mouth.

There was a moment of anticipation, and then the needle made its first stab. William�s eyes closed tightly, and his body tensed, but when he inhaled he forced himself to meet Jack�s eyes. The pirate was not smiling, but his gaze was so intense that William could not look away.

For an hour, not a word was spoken. Whenever the pain became too intense, William closed his eyes, but he did not succumb to the darkness that had enveloped in the ombiasy�s hut in Toamasina. Jack�s gaze never wavered, and at times William felt as though he could read the message his friend was sending; �be strong, be brave�. Moana worked with silent intensity, though at times his client thought he heard a low chant coming from the Maori inker.

Finally Moana sat upright with a sigh. He looked drained of all energy, but his voice was strong with satisfaction. �It is done.�

William felt his entire body relax, and he took the branch from his mouth, examining the deep teeth-marks before handing it to the tattoo artist.

�Just a moment,� Jack said. Pulling a knife from his belt, he cut about an inch of wood off the bottom of the of the branch and ignoring the questioning looks, he put it into his pocket.

As Jack discussed payment with Moana, William gingerly got off the table and went to the full-length mirror propped against one of the walls. Looking over his shoulder, he saw exactly what the inker had explained. Three crescent circles surrounded the disk in the center, each facing inward with the points touching. The crescents were solid black, but as the muscle and tissue in his back flexed with his movements, William thought he could make out a certain pattern to the way the ink had been laid into the skin. The flesh all around the area was puffy and bright red, and he remembered the ointment Jack had used on him before. He�d have to ask to use it again to help reduce the sting.

�All right, mate. Let�s finish up and head back to the ship. There are distressing damsels in need of our services.�

William grinned. For once, he got the joke.

Jack separated the crew in half, generously giving the men a choice as to which ship they�d like to remain with. A surprising amount of them desired to continue on to World�s End, and at last Jack elected to take Marty, Noah, Pintel, Ragetti, Mullroy, Murtogg and after a brief argument, Latoniaina. Gibbs would remain behind with the rest of the crew to guard the Pearl, as he was the only man Jack trusted with the job.

As Teague and Jack gave simultaneous orders to the crew, William put away the clothing Jack had bought him on the way back to the Savarna. Though Jack had initially protested his father�s right to the Captain�s cabin, even though it was his ship, the younger man had been quelled by the knowledge that the Brigantine bore two private cabins, both of adequate size. William willingly agreed to Jack�s proposal that they share it � he did not like being alone at night, and would only end up in Jack�s bunk by morning anyway.

It took three days for all the preparations to be completed, and on the day they bid goodbye to the remaining crewmembers as they set sail on the morning tide, William couldn�t help feeling excited. Not only were they finally going to find his mother, he was at last embarking on an actual pirate adventure. Sailing with Jack and the Pearl till that point had been like a dimly viewed scene from a dream. As the headed east into the rising red sun, William quietly whistled a few notes of his mother�s favorite pirate song.

Jack came and with a fake grunt at his weight, lifted William onto a barrel so that they were eye-level. From his pocket he produced a small wooden bead with a tooth-mark in it. Without comment, he used a small length of cord and quickly braided it into the boy�s hair, tying off the bead on the end. The charm dangled evenly on the left side of William�s face, the cord blending perfectly with the golden brown of his hair.

As a finishing touch, Jack reached into his back pocket and withdrew a bright blue bandana decorated with white paisley. He handed it to William, saying, �Today you showed all the makings of a fine pirate. Welcome to the crew, mate.�

William grinned, and Jack helped tie the bandana around his head. As the Captain turned around, he noticed his father watching them closely, and Jack drew himself upright. Their eyes met, and for a moment he could have swore he saw regret in the old man�s eyes before the light of the sun hid Teague�s face from view.
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Savarna