Ring and Goddess post AWE parts 26-28

[soleilpirate]

Title: Ring and Goddess 
Author: Soleil Compeau 
Pairing: Jack/OFC
Spoilers: Set after AWE, a sequel to Life After Loss. It's helpful to have read the first one to better understand Sarah's character and the subsequent events of this story. 
Rating: PG to NC17 
Disclaimer: These stunt doubles have just reenacted what takes place after the final cut. No profit or wages are being made. I do this out of deep love for the characters.  
 
Summary: Jack and Sarah have settled down into a life of frequent voyages, tending a home, and raising children. But their idyllic life is threatened by an evil man bent on destroying them. Can they call on supernatural forces to save their family and help their friends? 


 

Chapter Twenty Six - A New Beginning

Freedom. It was what Jack Sparrow prized above all other treasures. Many called him selfish for it, shallow, even evil. The world is not kind to those who are passionate, strong, and loving. It will always press down and try to crush such people until they are deemed drunk, drugged, insane, or criminal.

Usually, such people navigate through life alone. It is very rare for such a soul to find a mate that will match his great spirit. For a man named Sparrow, it was wonderfully apt that he had experienced such fortune as to find one to fly freely by his side all his life.

"I hardly feel myself a pirate anymore," he confessed to his wife one night. They were lying on the upper deck star gazing, while Cotton steered. "I raid ships like I always have, I store up swag, but I'm so content and lazy and happy. I'm afraid to say it, something may go wrong."

Little changes came over Jack slowly. One day the reindeer shinbone disappeared from his hair, only to reappear next day in his son's hair, in nearly the same place. He set aside time each day to sit with Teague at his table, and began teaching him Latin.

On the other side of the cabin, Sarah worked with Mary at recognizing her letters and saying her alphabet accurately. Frequently Jack would glance at her, and smile. He remembered his surprise when he'd learned Sarah could read. She'd received an education rather unlike that given to most girl children. Her only explanation, when he'd asked her about it, was to shrug and reply that her parents were eccentric and chose to indulge their only child.

Sarah spend a fair bit of her time subtly adding feminine touches to the lives of the pirates. She cared for the animals, increasing the egg laying of the hens and fattening up choice ones for meals. Jack often stole spices from the ships he raided, which she used to flavour the stews and biscuits. And in the evenings, the musicians would play sprightly tunes while she danced and the men shouted snatches of sea chanties and clapped to keep time for her.

Time went by. The children celebrated another birthday aboard the Black Pearl. When Mary turned four, Jack removed one of his favorite baubles, a blue jewel that rested by his right cheek, and carefully strung it through his daughter's shiny black hair. To complement it, he added a small braid on either side, similar to the tiny braids Sarah wove through her own hair.

"Am I pretty now, Papa?" she asked artfully, smiling and batting her brown eyes at him.

"You're always pretty, my darling. But now you look like the Caribbean princess you are!" Gravely Jack tilted his head back and gave a look of love to the tiny female who held part of his heart.

They'd returned to Florida only once in all this time. Sarah had looked forward to it eagerly, but the time spent with Elizabeth was strained. It seemed as though the happy carefree days, when both their men were at sea while they waited at home, was over. Elizabeth found it much harder to hide her jealousy that Sarah was free to sail with Jack when Elizabeth was unable to go with Will.

And yet, when it came time for the Black Pearl to leave again, Elizabeth clung to Sarah, making her promise to return again soon.

"That boy climbs like a monkey!" She muttered to herself. Shading her eyes from the sunshine, Sarah peered up and spotted her son clambering in the rigging.

"Teague! Come down here at once, before you fall!"

"Aww mama! I'm not harming anything!"

Jack suddenly spoke up. He'd crept up quietly behind her when he noticed her seeking Teague. His voice rang out steadily, clear but not loud. "Mind your mother, boy."

Instantly Teague began coming down. "Yes Daddy. I'm sorry Mama."

He'd continued his tradition of slinging a hammock below decks with the men. Mary was content with her space in the corner of the spacious cabin. A curtain could be drawn, granting both herself and her parents privacy.

In the early morning, before the sun rose, Jack woke before everyone else in his family. He woke randy, which was quite normal for him. Sarah lay on her side away from him, curled into a ball. He leaned over her, tenderly brushing hair away from her face and watching her. At his touch, she moaned softly, and he suddenly got a very wicked idea.

Very lightly, he brushed his fingertips from her cheek down her neck. He wanted to touch her as much as possible before she woke, erotic touches. He wanted to see how much he could arouse her before lust woke her. Would his touches inspire sexual dreams?

Carefully he scooted lower in the bed and began the task of lifting her nightgown up her legs. He started by kissing her calves, and using his teeth to inch the silky material up. Jack moved with agonizing slowness, taking care not to make any sudden moves. She sighed, moved restlessly, straightened her legs a bit more as if inviting more of his feathery kisses.

When he reached the backs of her knees, he lingered there. This was a tender place that both aroused and tickled Sarah immensely. He used his tongue, carefully sweeping it alternately on the back of each knee. His reward was a lustful whimper. Glancing at her face, he saw that her lips were open and her eyes were roving back and forth under her closed eyelids.

Encouraged, he began kissing and nibbling at her thighs while attempting to get her on her back. This was the tricky part and she could easily wake. But he wanted to go much farther with her before her pretty eyes opened. He pushed the material of her nightie up past her round tush, and pressed on her hip. She murmured his name, and rolled onto her back, reaching for him.

Swiftly, Jack moved up until his body covered hers completely. He took her lips with his own, a slow tender kiss, brushing his mustache over her upper lip. It soothed her, reassured her that he was near, and raised her arousal even more. He moved on her neck, still kissing with slow tenderness, tongue tasting her skin.

Sarah dozed lightly now, body responding to his erotic assault. Her breathing quickened, her eyes flickered in dreams of him. Jack worked his way down her body, pausing to suckle her nipples through her nightie, leaving wet patches. Gently he eased it up higher. Kissing her inner thighs now, he tenderly pressed her legs open. Now she could wake, in fact he very much looked forward to her doing so.

His hot mouth closed over her damp sex, his tongue opened her up and he leisurely tasted. Sarah gasped, jerked awake fully, and looked down to see him between her legs.

Jack's eyes were turned up to her face. He lifted his mouth for a moment. "Morning sweetheart!" he greeted her cheerfully.

"Oh God Jack!" she gasped in response as he dove back to his pleasurable task. Her head slammed back in the pillow. Her body arched under him, raising herself higher and offering herself more completely to his ministrations.

He growled and slid his hands under her bottom, trapping her between his hands and mouth. His tongue fully extended, he slithered it strongly back and forth between her swollen and soaking lips. Very deliberately, he angled his mouth until the hairs of his mustache rubbed against her clitoris. Within seconds, she was shaking beneath him, thighs rigid, high pitched whimpers telling him he was imminently successful.

Jack's need was very strong. He loved to pleasure her so much. After she came, he continued to taste and tease her with his tongue, building up her desire again. Just when she began to breathe heavily and move against his mouth, he stopped. Rising up on his knees he stretched indulgently. Sarah's eyes wandered over his body and she grinned, licking her lips.

Getting up on her own knees, she slipped the nightie up over her head and tossed it to the floor. "Dunno why you bother even putting it on in the first place Sarah," he chuckled.

"It adds to my mystery," she replied saucily, and practically attacked him, ravenously suckling at the pulse in his neck.

Her hands wandered over him. Jack closed his eyes and tilted his head back, breathing in her scent as she adored his body. His erection eagerly demanded attention. Sarah moved down his chest, and in her own eagerness began to bite him. Shoulders, nipples, sides, and even hips all received a sharp nip of her teeth, leaving Jack gasping.

His head swam with desire and heat. He took hold of her shoulders and pressed her back on the bed. Lying on top of her, his stiff penis found her folds of it's own volition and slipped an inch or so within her. He held still, anticipating Sarah's response.

He grinned with delight when she wiggled brazenly beneath him, pushing her hips so that he slid in deeper. Jack pulled back until only his head was encased within her, and she gave a frustrated cry of disappointment. "Shhh Sarah. We must be quiet, or we'll wake Mary."

"She sleeps like a rock, you know she does! You're just trying to torture me!" she groaned back. Jack pushed deeper within her, closing his eyes at the feel. There was almost nothing else in the world he loved so much as being inside of her, moving with her to that glorious release. Except possibly the words she was speaking now. "Harder Jack. Push harder!"

He complied eagerly. Pleasure blurred his mind, turning him into a wild animal. She was so hungry, so demanding! He pumped against her, thrusting as hard as he could. Sweat dripped off his body onto hers, her own skin gleamed as she moved in counterpart to him.

Despite the warning to keep quiet, grunts and soft cries flowed between them. She came several times. He could feel it in the rippling of her muscles around him, see it in her contorted face, hear it in the frantic way she vocalized. Suddenly it was all too much, waves of bliss rushed at him, and he crashed into her, letting those waves envelop them both.

"Wake me up like that any morning you like, Jack."

Chapter Twenty Seven - One Day

The Black Pearl did encounter other pirates at times. Due to her speed and imposing appearance, not to mention the reputation of her and her illustrious master's careers, the encounters were brief. Twice, there was a token exchange of cannon.

Both those times, Jack sent his wife and children to his cabin with the firm injunction not to come out. The first time, Sarah nearly rebelled against his order, shouting that she would fight by his side. Jack took her by the elbow and practically shoved her into his quarters, angrily retorting that he would be damned if he lost his family again.

That deadly reputation also smoothed the way in Jack's raiding parties. Sarah began to see what he meant by feeling lazy and hardly like a pirate anymore. Life was full of pleasures, the sweeter for the taste of danger they had experienced.

Four times they saw the Flying Dutchman, all of those times in the far distance. She did not have need to come for any of the crew of the Pearl. The last time they saw her, she submerged, only to reappear a half hour later beside them. Captain Turner hailed them.

The man seemed exhausted when he spoke with Jack. Sarah stayed quiet nearby. Will questioned him about Elizabeth, but it had been several months since they were anywhere near her.

"I long for her so deeply. The time for my shore leave is fast coming, but though I want it with everything in me, I dread it as well. There's no hope for us. One day in ten years...." he mournfully shook his head. Lines of strain deepened around his mouth.

That night, Jack slept terribly. He had always had the ability to sleep anywhere, deeply and instantly, and wake alert just as fast. Also, he always mumbled in his sleep at night. That night though, he didn't just murmur, he cried out wildly and tossed back and forth. Sarah rubbed his back and chest alternately, talking to him, and trying to soothe him. Nothing worked. He was haggard and snappish all the next day.

Teague's ninth birthday was coming. Looking at the tall boy that reminded him so sharply of his own face in the mirror at that age, Jack marveled that the years had slipped by so quickly. Had he really been married nearly a decade? Was he truly a father?

Perhaps he was still in the Locker, dreaming of a perfect life, and would 'wake' soon to discover hell again. No, he decided. If that were so, the incident with the second Beckett would not have occurred. Or it would have, with a very different and horrible ending. Satisfied with his logic, Jack turned to pondering what birthday celebration would be appropriate.

That evening Sarah danced merrily for the crew again. This time she was accompanied by her daughter, who had achieved enough grace and stability on the rolling deck to begin mimicking her mother's motions. Suddenly Sarah staggered, her face turned the color of curdled milk, and she rushed to the rail, throwing up over the side.

Jack was shocked and disturbed. He had never seen Sarah miss a step, nor had she ever been seasick. Fetching a skin of water, he offered it to her and watched her drink. Color returned to her face, and she thanked him, smoothing her hair behind her ears with shaking hands. "Are you ill, bit o'Sarah?" he asked fearfully.

"No darling. But I think perhaps I could do with a bit of time on land."

Jack thought over the last few weeks and his eyes narrowed. There had no interruption in sexual pleasures for a fair bit of time. Sarah had not had her monthly courses. "Sarah!" he asked wondrously. "Are you pregnant?"

She met his eyes shyly. "It seems that I am, Jack. I'd like to return to Spain, to my childhood home. But first," she added, "Can we go to Florida? Will's day of leave....she may need me....after."

So they spent time in the Keys, as if on holiday. Elizabeth was delighted to see them, but she wore an air of barely retrained excited terror. Having the Sparrows about help[ed her hide that mounting anxiety from her son as his birthday approacved. They all decided to celebrate the boys' birthday on the same day, though they were a few montvs apart. 

Finding a respectable tavern, Teague and Willy were treated to a dinner of fine seafood. Teague's mother even allowed his father to pour him a small amount of rum, watered down so it wouldn't knock him completely unconscious. Teague grinned with delighted happiness as Jack raised a toast to him. Willy beamed even more when Jack did the same for him, and Elizabeth broke down and indulged her son in some watered down wine, drawing a forbidding line at rum.

Sarah had long ago learned from Elizabeth the exact day of Will's shore leave. It was exactly three months after Willy's ninth birthday. It would be marked from sunset to sunset. That particular night and next morning, Sarah felt as if the very air were charged, as if a terrible lightning storm were coming.

As the sunset approached, marking the end of the One Day, Sarah felt a deep uneasiness. She urged everyone aboard the Pearl anchored just offshore, and she and Jack lingered near the beach, waiting for the opportune moment to go to Elizabeth, in case they were needed.

Sarah suddenly took off ahead of everyone, walking as quickly as she could. The sun dipped lower and lower. Sarah stopped short and watched the sunset with very little fanfare, considering the emotional weight of what may have happened. Was William free of his burden, his curse? The beach was just ahead. "He's gone! Oh, poor Elizabeth!"

She ran faster. There was Elizabeth on the beach, staring out over the calm water. Not even a ripple showed that the Dutchman had been there only moments before. "Elizabeth!" Sarah cried.

The woman didn't even hear her. She waded out into the water, stretching her arms pathetically. Sarah heard a noise, glanced back, and saw Jack just behind her. Teague was a bit behind him, unable to keep up, urging his sister to move faster.

"Nooo!" Elizabeth cried. Her body was shaking. "No! I can't do it. I can't!" Sarah was close enough now to see her face, just. Elizabeth's eyes rolled up in her head and she pitched forward bonelessly. Sarah managed to catch her before her face went into the water, and pulled her onto the sand.

She was muttering frantically. "Come back Will. Come back!" Sarah just held her, knowing nothing she said or did would help.

After a few minutes Elizabeth calmed and sat up. She addressed Sarah but looked out to sea still. "We had such a beautiful day! We slept like husband and wife all night, and he played with Willy and little Jack while we walked around town."

A quiet despairing sob broke through. Jack hovered behind them. Even Mary did not interrupt her grieving Aunt Elizabeth. "We had such hope. There was a hint, a possibility that if I were true to him, waiting for him on his day of leave, that he could stay. But when the sun began to set, we knew it was false." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He was compelled. He had to go. For another ten years."

Bleakly she wept, silently. Suddenly she threw off Sarah's hold and scrambled to her feet. "No one should ever have to pay such a price!

Jack spoke harshly. "Would it have been better if I had let him die then? If I took the heart, and immortality, for myself as I had intended?"

Elizabeth whirled and looked shocked. Jack would not look at her, only out to sea. "Better if he had died and been dragged down to the bottom of the maelstrom? Better that you never saw him again, never loved him as a wife?"

Now he did look at her, a quick sideways glance, and she reeled from the emotion in those dark eyes. This was hard for Jack as well, and he was the man who'd gifted Will with eternity. "Compared to never, one day in ten years is a gift." Jack finished.

Her head lowered until her chin nearly touched her chest. She concentrated on breathing, in and out, in and out. In a small voice she said, "Maybe so Jack. But it is also a torment."

"Come aboard the Pearl. Live there with us, for all I care. See Will whenever we see him, between runs to the Shore of the Dead. Because it's killing William as well Lizzie." His voice was harsh.

Elizabeth looked away. Sarah tried to take her hand and she jerked away. "Leave me!" Her voice rose in a sharp cry.

Chapter Twenty Eight - Cadiz, Spain

The Black Pearl reached the harbor of Cadiz, Spain before Sarah grew big. Only a bit of a waddle and loosened clothing revealed her gravid state. The voyage had been uneventful but for her sadness at the way she and Elizabeth Turner had parted. The woman had run nearly mad with grief, and refused to see her at all.

Jack settled into life on land. His crew was given freedom to wander as they wished, only to maintain the Pearl at anchor as was usual during an extended shore leave. The children insisted that 'Grandpa Gibbs' come live with them.

The house was spacious enough for all of them, plus one more on the way. It was a snug home, built in the popular Baroque style. Sparse of furniture, so they immediately began decorating it as they liked. Jack's style was for comfort and very eclectic. Sarah went for beautiful and functional.

Jack felt fairly free there, similarly to the way he felt during the early days of Florida. The Spanish government cared little for English pirates. So he wandered everywhere, fully exploring this land new to him and his family. Often he took Teague with him, which the boy called 'adventuring.'

Living with Jack Sparrow, whether aboard ship or on land, had never ceased to be interesting in all these years. He was meticulous about his surroundings, insisting that there be a place for everything and everything in it's place. A habit learned long ago as a sailor, where things not stowed or battened down would go overboard in rough weather. Or worse, become projectiles aimed at one's head.

His well worn books lined every shelf. Washing his clothes was a struggle, simply because he was unhealthily attached to one set of it and wanted to wear only one particular pair of breeches and shirt and no other. He adored her flower garden but lifted no finger to help her grow anything. When she tried to explain the principles of flora to him, his eyes would glaze and wander elsewhere.

With the children he was amazing. Once, seeking her young for a bath, Sarah found Jack having a tea party in the garden with Mary. She had arranged her stuffed bear and three china dolls in a circle, using a rock as a table. Jack sat cross legged on the ground between two of the dolls, sipping lemonade out of a tiny cup and saucer. It must have been sour, for a slight pucker graced his manly lips. Both himself and his daughter were adorned with outlandish daisy chains of flowers.

One of his favorite activities was feeding Sarah. Literally so, he would pile a plate full of fruits and cheeses, arrange her on the sofa with her feet in his lap, and dangle the bites of food above her lips until she opened them. Sometimes, he would talk in a low voice to her of sultry, sexual indulgences and promise to reward her compliance with his feeding.

Equally often, he would rub her feet after she ate. His hands were wonderful and soothing, but since he sometimes tickled her feet mercilessly just when she let down her guard, she didn't always let him give foot massages.

The Turners were often on their minds. Sarah wrote to Elizabeth hopefully, but got little back that was not merely a polite note. Joshua and Esther, on the other hand, wrote pages and pages, chronicling their lives and telling hints of Elizabeth's as well.

'She speaks longingly of you and Jack at times, forcing chuckles over the escapades and good times even while wiping away a longing tear. When will you come to visit us? More, when will you summon us to your side?

Rebecca grows bigger and more winsome each day. I think little Jack has set his young heart on marrying her someday. She hears stories of her Aunt Sarah and her Uncle Jack. But she does not remember your faces. When will you correct such lack in her life? Yours, Esther.'

Joshamee Gibbs met a middle aged Spanish widow who took him in under pretense of teaching him Spanish. She taught him much more than that, for he came home smelling like fine whiskey and finer perfume, at later and later hours. Finally the night came when he did not return at all, and this happened more and more often.

Though he looked out the window at it often, Jack did not go to sea. The time for Sarah came, and she gave birth to another little girl. Jack was present at this birth, at first to his delight, then to his dismay. He barely could stand the sight of Sarah in pain, and stayed by her head, not much good to anyone, biting his lip and allowing Sarah to squeeze his hands hard enough to dent his flesh.

They christened her Jacqueline Pearl.

After she was born, Jack took up the skill of cartography with renewed interest. He had once apprenticed to it, long years ago before he helmed the Wicked Wench. It was still a skill he used as a captain who must have intimate knowledge of navigation. His maps were of such quality that he found a market for them, in fact.

Sarah frequently watched him work. She loved to see his beautiful hands as he delicately stroked the parchment with different colored inks. She loved the little pucker his lips made as he concentrated.

He seemed utterly content on land, in that house with her. His scarf now appeared on his head only randomly, and his fierce demeanor relaxed into a softer mien. But she knew he was a man of the sea, a pirate, and that he would go back to it one day. The sea and the Black Pearl were his first ladies, and Sarah harbored no jealousy over that. It was who he was, and she would not change it, or him.

Then one day, when Jackie was still small, a letter arrived from Florida that filled them with alarm.

  Chapters 29 -30, epilogue