Adult-FanFiction.org : Movies

A Gilded Cage	By : SaMe Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > General Views: 1949 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
A Gilded Cage: Sequel to Broken Wings, Part II of the Fallen
Sparrows Trilogy

A Pirates of the Caribbean
story by Merrie

Disclaimer: They�re still not mine. Although if they
were�they�d probably all hate me for what I do to , so, so I suppose it�s just
as well.

Summary: Lorelac is seemingly
gone, Jack remains as one of the most wanted men in the known world,
Elizabeth�s still pregnant, Will still doesn�t know, Norrington�s still without
a job, and Jack�s still got more of his grisly past to share.

Characters: Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth
Swann, Chief James Norrington, Captain Zachariah Kruler

Author�s Note: How about that? I got this chapter up just
when I said I would for a change. Kudos to me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
It was fun to write.

Rating: R for violence and language.

Chapter 6: Ravaging and Running

Jack didn�t know how much time had passed while he had been
telling his story. He knew he probably wasn�t safe here-he was the most wanted
pirate in the ocean at present-but he couldn�t make himself leave, and even if
he did, he didn�t know where to go.

�I�ve heard that Captain Kruler
was renowned for his cruelty, but dear God, I never imagined. Did he really
tell everyone that you betrayed your ship?� Norrington asked with a deep frown.p>
p>

Jack nodded. �In every way he could. He made me out to be
some kind of ruthless criminal. Said I�d killed Sebastian
myself out of pure spite.�

�But�that wasn�t true. Why would he do something like that?
Why wouldn�t he and his crew just take the credit?� Elizabeth
asked slowly.

Jack fidgeted at the question, an indefinable emotion
passing across his face before he answered. �They did it to hurt me; to make be
come to believe what wasn�t true. They were trying to break me. And it was
working.�

�Why you? I mean, why didn�t they
just kill you?� Will asked tentatively. �Not that I�m
not glad they didn�t, but why didn�t they?�

Jack shrugged. �I don�t know why they sought me out at
first. Perhaps it was the way I was dressed; I was clearly better off than
anyone else on board. Maybe is ths the way I looked. I didn�t know then, and I
still don�t really know now.�

�What did they do with you?� Norrington was almost afraid to
ask.

Jack hesitated a long time before speaking, long enough that
Norrington thought he wasn�t going to answer. Just when he had been about to
tell him to forget he�d asked anything, Jack spoke up. �It wasn�t enough that
they broke my mind. That was important, but they had to break my body to before
I�d fully be theirs.�

WWW

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean,
pirate ship The Hangman�s Knuckles, Captain Zachariah Kruler,
1674

�How long have you been with us now, Jack? Quite a few months by my count. And still you insist on
trying to escape. You�re going to havebe pbe punished for that you know. It�s
not right that our little sparrow fly off now is it boys? You�d think he didn�t
want to be here with us, wouldn�t you?� The pirates surrounding Captain Kruler and Jack made appropriate comments to appease their
captain.

�Why won�t you just let me go?� Jacanedaned wearily, not
bothering to wipe the blood off of his chin from the split lip he�d just been
given. There was no point when the rest of your face was bloodied to match.

The smile Captain Kruler sent him
at the question was nothing short of chilling, but Jack had become used to it
over time. �We�ve gone over this, little sparrow,� Kruler
said in an almost kind voice that chilled Jack even more than the smile did.
�You�re ours now. Your wings are clipped and you�ll never be let go. And truly
if you did go, where would you run? Your family has turned their back on you
for your betrayal. They know you sold out your family and crew, that you got
your friend killed. This ship is your home now. There is no where else.�

Jdidndidn�t bother arguing with such dogma. He had once, but
the argument had been beaten out of him until there was nothing left but grim
acceptance. A part of him still screamed out his innocence-that he hadn�t
betrayed anyone-but that part was slowly being drowned out by despair. What was
the use of fighting anymore? Kruler was right. Wasn�t
he? �Yes, Captain,� Jack said despondently.

Captain Kruler�s eyes narrowed and
the gathered crew surrounding him collectively held their breath. �Yes what,
little sparrow?�

Little
sparrow. How he hated that
name now. What had once been a kind pet name from his mother�s lips was turned
into a hateful moniker Cap Captain Kruler�s. The
crew had even started to call him little Jack Sparrow, laughing raucously as
they did so. Something black crawled along his spine as he thought of ways to
make them stop calling him that. Unfortunately, some of this hateful spite he
was feeling made its way to his face where Kruler saw
it and interpreted it as rebellion.

Jack�s world spun and darkened as he fell to the deck from Kruler�s blow. At first he didn�t know what had happened,
and it was in a daze that he reached up a roughly calloused hand to his mouth
and extracted a bloodied tooth into his palm. I just lost a tooth. Jack thought numbly, staring down at the
bloodied thing. He let it fall to the deck out of a limp hand and rose to his
feet. He had learned through much prior experience that if he cowered, cried,
or complained about the harsh treatment in any way, he would just earn himself
an even worse beating than he had already suffered.

�I asked you a question, little sparrow,� Kruler hissed through clenched teeth. His right arm was
tense; preparing to hit Jack again if it was deemed �necessary.�

Jack�s mind raced as he tried to remember what Kruler had asked him and to think up an answer that
wouldn�t get him hit again. �I won�t try and run away again. This is my home.�

Kruler nodded, seemingly appeased.
�Good, my little sparrow.� He turned to two of the pirates at Jack�s side-the
belled one that Jack had discovered was named Xavier, and a truly vicious son
of a French pox ridden whore named Alexander. �See that he gets ten lashes for
disobedience.�
o:p>
Jack�s world shifted as the men grabbed his arms and began
to pull him to the midmast where he would be bound
with his back bared to the whip to receive his �punishment�. �What? No! I did
what you told me to do! I didn�t disobey! Please!� Jack pleaded, desperate not
to feel the sting of the whip again. It was one of Captain Kruler�s
most favored past times. Jack had been lashed more times than he could count
over the course of his �stay� onboard. Kruler himself
wasn�t the bearer of the whip, but Jack knew he watched the proceedings av.
last crew mutinied. He killed them all in Tortuga when they tried to take himdown. He was forced to pick up a skeleton crew in order
to make his way here. There aren�t a lot of them, and each one�d
be more likely to piss himself than stand up to anyone I say is under my
protection,� he said softly. �A reputation�s a funny thing, init?�

�One minute you�re cursing it for the trouble it�s brought
you, and the next you�re relying on it to get you out of that same trouble. I
sympathise, Jack,� Norrington said with a small smile.

Jack let out a wry snort of amusement at that and shook his
head slowly.

�What? Was it somethingaid?aid?� Norrington asked with a perplexed
look on his face that just made Jack laugh.

�Whoever would have thought that you, Commodore James
Christopher Michael Norrington III, the world�s most
well-known and successful pirate hunter would sympathise with me; the most
dreaded pirate in the known world. It boggles the mind, mate,� Jack said with a
short laugh again.

�Yeah, well I�m not a Commodore anymore, and perhaps your
insanity is catching,� Norrington returned dryly but with a hint of humor in
his blue eyes.

�Dear god, I hope not. There is enough of my special brand
of madness going around already for you to be adding to it now,� Jack said with
mock severity. �Just look around. I�ve turned you all into accomplices to a
known fugitive fleeing the law. Not to mention you commandeered a ship to come
rescue me on our last little �adventure,� Father Norrington.� Jack�s grin was
practically splitting his face now. It hurt-his missing tooth was crying out to
be recognized-but he had had worse, and he couldn�t pass up this opportunity to
smile. With the way things were going, he might not have another for quite a
long time.

�You heard about that?� Norrington asked in a small voice,
his face going red again as he looked side to side surreptitiously to as if to
ward off other listeners.

�Bloodiest funny thing I�ve heard in my life, mate. Wish I
could have been there to see it.� Jack laughed again before pausing. ��Course,
if I had been there, there wouldn�t have been need for such dramatics, so it�s
probably best for humour�s sake that I wasn�t.�

�Indeed,� Norrington said dryly.

Jack just grinned at him again and rowed in silence the rest
of the way. His grin faded away into nothingness when they approached The
Pearl�s hull. �We�re here.�

WWW

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, pirate
ship The Hangman�s Knuckles, Captain Zachariah Kruler,
1674

The sound of gunfire was deafening above him, so Jack
covered his ears and prayed that a well aimed cannon blast would sink this
godforsaken ship he was imprisoned on. He was currently locked within the cell
he had come to know as home, left alone to his musings while the pirate crew
above him warred with whoever they set their greedy sights on now. He had been
about to offer up a brief prayer for their souls but stopped himself. Why should
he care if the pirates killed them all? It wasn�t his problem. Such a thought
might have troubled him once, but whatever caused the ache in his chest that
made him care for the lives of the crew�s victims-whether it be God or his
conscience-had faded with each ship they sacked and each man that didn�t
survive to come rescue the captive held within The Hangman�s Knuckles� bowels.

Damn them all. Jack
thought to himself bitterly. No one is coming
to rescue me. Not my family, not anyone. I�m on my own. Like always. He was
a bit taken aback at how bitter his own thoughts sounded, but he had a right to
be bitter, didn�t he? His family had turned their backs on him for his
betrayal-No, you didn�t do it! Remember!
It wasn�t you!-and now he was on his own. And what was more, with each man
that was killed above, Kruler and his crew seemed to
take less interest in killing him. And if the swag they took from the ship was
good, that would keep them otherwise occupied even longer. �Kill every last one
of them,� Jack said fervently, thinking about the times he had suffered when
the �Knuckles� Captain and its crew had been in foul moods. Moods they had
taken out on their �little sparrow.� Jack received more near-death beatings in
those thankfully brief periods of time than anytime else he had been here.

Jack was started out of his thoughts by the sound of some
one or some thing falling down the stairs and into the brig with him. He rose
from his dirt-covered cot to his feet and pressed his nose up against the bars
to get a better glimpse of just who or what was coming after him. He didn�t
dare call out in case it was one of the crew, they would punish him for such an
action just because they could, but that didn�t dampen his curiosity.

�Hello? Is anyone down here?� An unfamiliar voice called
out. By reason that each man of the Hangman�s would have known he was down
here, Jack assumed it must have been a man from the victim ship. How had he
managed to make his way down here?

�I am here,� Jack called out softly, moving to stand away
from his cell door.

�Speak up, lad! I can�t bloody hear you!� The man called
out, rubbing his ears. Jack assumed they must have been ringing from all the
gunfire on deck. �Prisoner or pirate?� the man asked, standing in front of
Jack�s cell with a ring of keys that Jack heard the sound of and recognized
before he saw them. �And if you lie to me in any way, I�ll slit your throat,
savvy?�

Jack nodded. �Savvy,� he said after a moment�s hesitation.
�I�m a prisoner, sir.�

�I thought as much,� the man said, unlocking Jack�s cell
without pause. �You�ve just been freed by a member of the British Royal Navy.
What is your name, son?�

Jack clearly saw the man�s red coat for the first time and
nodded. �Little Spar�� Jack paused and frowned.

�Little Spar�s not a name I�ve ever heard, but to each his
own I say,� the man said wryly.

�My name is Edward John Corentin Alexandre Sperling sir, and I beg
your thanks,� Jack said quickly. �Most people call me John or Jack, sir.�

�Well-met�Jack,� the man said with a grin, offering his hand
to shake. Before Jack could grab it to shake it however, the military man
pulled it back and used it to pull out the sword he had just sheathed. �What did
you say your name was, lad?� the man asked with narrowed eyes.

�Edward John Corentin Alexandre Sperling, sir. I don�t
understand�� Jack was cut off by a blade pressed against his windpipe.

�Traitor! I know who you are, you
bloody Judas! Everyone in England
does! You�re the one who betrayed his family and crew to pirates! I ought to
kill you where you stand!� The man spat hatefully. �I think I bloody will! Do
the world and your disgraced mother a favour! Die,
you dog!�

By all rights, Jack should have been killed then and there.
As the military man fell, clutching at his bloodied chest, Jack could only
stare in confusion and try to discern what had happened. The man had been
lunging for him, about to run him through, and then what? Had he really grabbed
at the knife on the man�s belt or had that been a dream? Was that the same
knife in his hand right now?! Dear god,
it�s got blood on it still. Jack dropped kni knife to the ground as it were
hot to the touch and backed away from the man he had just killed.

�No, I didn�t do it. This isn�t happening. I�m not a killer.
I�m not!� Jack muttered to himself as he pressed his body against the curve of
the ship behind him and sank to the ground. He stayed in that position, still shaking his head and denying what he had
done until a voice interrupted his thoughts once more.

�My little sparrow, what have you done? I told you that you
were a killer. You believe me now, don�t you? Welcome to the family, sparrow.�
Captain Kruler�s laughter drowned out the sound of Jack�s
cell door once more. Jack didn�t even notice it over the sound of his own
denial. He wasn�t a killer. Kruler was wrong. He
hadn�t killed anyone. He wasn�t a killer. He wasn�t! The dead
man that Kruler had left to rot just outside his cell
spoke otherwise.

TBC

A/N: Ok, I�m evil yes, but hey I got my chapter up on time!
That�s got to count for something, right? Right? Heh, heh. See you in a week.

Reviewer Response

FalconWing: Sorry Author Alert
didn�t work. But I�m glad you found the chapter anyway! No, the Hangman�s is
definitely not a good place to be. But Jack doesn�t really have a choice at the
moment. :-) And see? I actually updated within a week! Go me!

Holliday1081: Thankfully, you didn�t have to wait near as
long for this chapter. :-D Thanks so much for the review! Yes, I love
Norrington and truly believe that there�s more to the man than the uniform. I
figured that if anyone could understand Jack best, it would be him. And Norry and Jack do seem to be getting along, which is always
nice. ;-) Ahh Liz. Well, Liz is definitely
conflicted. She didn�t seem as much this chapter, but believe me, it�s there.
Just wait til she can�t hide her pregnancy anymore
and then see what kind of �fun� we get! ;-)

Ellenar: An update again! *Merrie
rejoices* And when I said I was going to, too! :-D I
really do owe the gang something after this fic�s
done, don�t I? Hmm, maybe I�ll write a piece of fun fluff in between this fic and the next one. That could be fun. I could get the
boys drunk and Norry tattooed. :-D

OpraNoodlemantra: I updated again!
Double yay! :-D Yes indeed, poor poor
Jack. I�ve really been rather mean to him, haven�t I? In
Broken Wings too. Hmm, I make no apologies. ;-) Yes, I�m not sure
whether to slap or console Liz these days either. She�s being difficult.
Understandable, but she needs to cut it out. :-) She probably won�t, but I
guess that�s just as well. I hope you liked this part of Jack�s past. It�s
going to get much darker soon�.

iLuVrAiNeYdaYz:
Goodness, that was hard to type out. Lol. Thank you for the review! Feel free to hug Jack any time
you like. I know I have. ;-)

Neon Daises: *takes a bow* I�m very glad you like it. Thanks
for betaing this chapter by the way! :-D Yes, I do
find myself missing Halia�s angst. (I didn�t almost
call her Aida, that seems to be your problem. ;-)) She had a way of inspiring
me to do my worst. Ah well. There�s plenty of angst in store, I assure you.
*insert evil laugh here*

To anyone I might have missed, thank you for your reviews!
See you in about a week or so with the next chapter! :-D

-Merrie
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Gilded Cage