tadpole — Jack Sparrow & Daughter!OC
summary: A young Captain Jack Sparrow finds out he has a daughter and needs to figure out a way to keep her safe.
cw: none
word count: 2.7k
Gently drifting through the versatile seas of the Caribbean always proved easier at night. Once that tropical heat actually managed to cool off a little it left behind a toasty blanket of air one could comfortably wrap around theirself.
Such as was Jack doing at the moment. His boat, which had bygonely been used to fish near shore, was barely long enough so he could fully stretch out his legs. He crossed them at the ankles and his arms behind his head, ready to be rocked to a peaceful slumber for once.
Besides his own breath there was only the faraway squall of the seagulls and soft ripples of the water to lull him to sleep but it was enough.
Even when the ripples grew louder and the boat swung from side to side more heavily he refused to open his eyes. He readjusted his position and tried to find another wave of sleep that way when a real one found him first. The splatter of saltwater startled him into sitting upright. He inspected the waters and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The moon and the stars, a beautiful woman-
His eyes widened and he jumped in his skin.
Her face was a flawless one, with perfectly smooth skin and eyes that captured all the baubles the nightskies' had to offer. But Jack knew of this deception. He knew her true form was one of unimaginable horrors, with barnacle covered skin and teeth so sharp they could easily scar you for life. Jack's hand was living proof for that. He cradled it as memories from that day flooded his mind for just a second. A horrendous song, hair the colour of the sea and all of his crew-mates completely and utterly ruined. Because that's what the presence of a mermaid did to a regular sailor. Not Captain Jack Sparrow though, no.
Nonchalantly he leaned his arms on the boat's edge and rested his head on top as if her presence did not disturb or surprise him in the slightest.
"Thought it be forbidden for ye and I to see one another?"
The mermaid nodded. Her diamond blue eyes gleamed under the stars. More so even than they probably would in the sunlight. But Jack had no way of knowing for sure since their relationship was one of the night only. The night sky was to these creatures what the sea was to Jack.
She swam closer. If he were to lean down now she'd be right there, perfectly in place for a kiss.
"I have come because we are forbidden."
He quirked an eyebrow and then smirked with a touch of smarmy overconfidence.
"Breakin' the rules for me, love? How very tempting..."
Her body raised out of the water a bit more so they were now on eye level. Jack's eyes flickered down to her lips. How he's missed the kiss of a mermaid. They tasted of freedom and the sea and came with the neat little side effect of protecting one from drowning. He could use a refresher for that and seductively leaned closer, eyes hooded and one hand caressing her face.
"Marina..."
"Jack," she whispered and just when their lips were about to meet she pushed a foul-smelling bundle of seaweed into his face. Jack jerked back and he spit out the bit of seawater that had landed in his opened mouth.
He raised his eyebrows at the strange gift when she raised the bundle up to him.
Though the night was deep and dark, the light of the full-moon above him helped him make out bits of the package. In contrast to earlier believes it wasn't just seaweed. There was something wrapped up inside it. Something alive. Something eerily human.
He raised his finger, lazily pointing at the creature.
"What's tha'?"
Marina's face changed. Anger flared high and for a moment Jack remembered her true form. It was something he had never quite seen, only ever in his peripheral, and yet he knew it to be real. Barnacles and all. He put on a smile and tried again, this time with some more conviction.
"Goody, what might that be?"
Marina rolled her eyes and shoved the bundle into his chest and where he was meant to take it he only leaned back and held his arms from his body as if its touch were poisonous.
"She's yours, Jack."
He chuckled and moved further to the back of the boat to avoid this...present.
"And there I thought it were ye sharp-as-daggers teeth that oughta scare a sailor," he quipped when a splash sounded and she was behind him again. He fell back and the little boat rocked vehemently.
Her strong tail carried her above the water easily and once again she held the child out to him.
That tune started. Albeit tune was already an embellishment of those terrible mermaid noises that never seemed to affect him.
But to make her stop he knew he had to take it. Sloth-like, Jack reached for the bundle and held it at an arm's length. He wondered if the dripping seaweed was drenched only in ocean water or if other more babe-produced condiments were currently flooding his boat as well. If so, he couldn't smell it beyond the stink of fish anyhow. Or maybe that was the babe.
Jolly...
He looked it over. The child's sleeping face was covered in a strange opaque film but he could clearly make out its hair beneath that shimmered such a dark colour it looked unreal. The song had stopped now but somehow Jack felt no relief anyways.
"N' what now?"
"You take care of her, that's what," Marina ordered with a strain in her voice. She stared at the child with a certain wistfulness that made Jack almost certain she didn't actually want to give him her daughter.
"N' not to sound like a deadbeat father 'ere but...why can't she live with ye?"
Marina lowered her gaze. It was safe to say mermaid tears weren't meant for measly human eyes.
"Davy Jones..."
At that Jack was suddenly clairaudient. He leaned forward, finally allowing the child to come somewhat close to him as he cradled her into his chest. "Pardon?"
Marina's breath trembled and he was surprised to even hear her snivel.
"The chairwomen on Isla Sirena...You know them..." And how he did. Jack's face darkened at the breathless feeling and suffocation of their faces.
Meanwhile Marina continued, "They report back all abnormalities of the sea to the sirens and they in turn to Jones. She is an abnormality, Jack."
She rested her arms on the side of his boat and softly caressed the babe's cheek with her slender finger before pressing a most tender kiss on her forehead. She retreated back into the water.
"I fear she isn't safe with me once they learn of her paternity."
He looked down. The layer of strange goo was melting away and her eyelids twitched in her sleep. Then, like a newborn bird she painstakingly opened her eyes to reveal a strange set of colours.
One was blue, crystalline and fair. A colour that surely felt cold to the touch. Clearly, from her mother's side.
The other, however, dark like coal, was definitely his doing. He swallowed hard as she stared up at him, blinking away the blear of sleep. She held the whole night-sky in her eyes with a fascinating sparkle. When she yawned her whole little face scrunched up and he almost smiled.
He turned to Marina. "But I'm a..."
Panicked, his eyes roamed the surface of the ocean for a sight of her but she was gone. The sea was calm and smooth like it had been earlier, no signs of beautifully dangerous women anywhere. He was alone once again. Well- Not truly alone at that. He looked back down to the child - his child - and frowned,
"But I'm a pirate..." he voiced in defeat.
"Ain't even know yer name, lass," Jack addressed the child who had freed her arms and was now tugging on his beard.
"Pirates and names, aye?" He stated matter-of-factly and squinted his eyes.
"A name for ye mother? Mer...Mermaid...A?" He tried out the name. How it felt to say but then quickly shook his head at the idea.
"Mermaids ain't that great anyhow. They're all just glorified frogs, if y'think about it. With the whole breath'n above and below water, I mean...That'd make ye a tadpole."
She pulled on the bead of his beard and Jack smiled lightly. Who was to see him doing so anyways?
"Tadpole? S'a bit primitive though, don't'ya think? How 'bout some dignified French...Têtard," he tried but just as quickly threw it out again with a scowl. "You'd definitely get teased for tha'...How 'bout...Mormoloc?" He wrinkled his nose. "...Sounds like'a grand ol' beastie, aight."
He huffed out. Be clever, Jackie, he thought.
Y'could easily trick out cursed captains and battle sea beasts but this is where y'were stumped? Pirates and naming things were never a good combination. But maybe this needed something simple for once. Not too clever, not too boring.
"Renacuajo? Rena...Reina?"
He looked down with raised eyebrows.
"Y'like that?"
And when the babe's mouth hinted a smile Jack repeated it with newfound confidence.
"Reina, the Queen of Tadpoles, Sparrow." He nodded in satisfaction.
"Got quite the name there, lassie."
He raised his hand to her small face and she grabbed his finger. He grinned, full on this time.
"Welcome home."
Pantano River. It's where his compass had led him after days at sea and he was glad for it. The last of the goat milk he had bartered for one of his rings was running dry and at the prospect of receiving a little help from the Bayou Witch, Tia Dalma, he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.
Figuring out what to feed a half-breed mermaid baby had proved rather difficult for he had no idea what merfolk ate other than sailors as hisself. So he had opted for what he did know which was; Babes drink milk.
But that was nearing its end now too. Little Reina was sickly pale and Jack did not know whether that was normal or not.
Maybe the Voodoo Queen would be able to help him in that regard seen as she somehow always had the right solution for every problem at hand.
As Jack rowed through the swamp Reina was soundly asleep, curled into the nest he had made for her out of his coat and vest.
He mockingly bowed at the figures that guarded the river and wrinkled his nose when he bumped into the leathery back of a gator with his oar.
"Pardon."
When he arrived at Tia Dalma's shack he made an effort not too rock the boat too feverishly and gently picked the babe up into his arms. Without his coat and vest the mosquitos were even more irritating than usual and he swatted at them with one hand while cradling Reina into his chest with the other.
"Begone, y'filthy buggers," he cursed.
"Jack Sparrow," Tia Dalma's velvety voice mused behind him and and he swiftly turned around, staggering up the steps.
"Greetings, love."
She closed the door behind him and though mosquitoes still buzzed inside the room Jack was relieved to find them all gathered inside a specific jar that, despite it having no lid, they couldn't escape from. He grinned impishly and turned to the witch.
"Dunno if ye've heard yet but as of late I've become the proud caretaker of this wee sprog ‘ere."
Jack revealed Reina who yawned as she awoke and Tia Dalma smiled as warmly as ever at her. Expectantly she held her hands out for the babe and, though warily, Jack allowed it. Tia Dalma rocked the child in her arms, coddling it like a precious doll.
"Aye, what a gem you are, little half-caste. A mermaid?" she asked Jack who nodded mindlessly while looking around the room. She traced over the child’s sickly skin.
"I understand...Very rare for a mermaid to give up her young, even if they be half-breds."
"She said the kid wouldn't be safe with 'er."
Tia Dalma nodded wisely.
"For whomever seeks to get their revenge on the notoriously self-absorbed pirate captain, Jack Sparrow, might and try and use her for that."
"Self-absorbed?" Jack protested. "Calumny, says I. Have I or have I not voyaged here on mission to help my spawn?"
"Aye, that be true but it be 'cus she is your own." She turned sharply, sending him an accusatory look.
"Would ye do it for another?"
Jack looked aside in thought. There were few people he cared for in this life. Especially ever since his former crew had marooned him to die a deadly death he found himself rather unwilling to consider anyone a friend. Going to strenuous lengths to help them was even less likely.
He opened his mouth as if to say something and raised his finger at Tia Dalma but then stayed quiet as a mouse. She tilted her head in victory and Jack grunted.
"Takin' her here already proved she be the best leverage against ye, Jack."
"What do I do then?"
Carefully she handed Reina back to her father and started rummaging through shelves and baskets till she hummed in satisfaction. Jack eyed what hung there from her raised hand skeptically.
“A necklace?”
"An amulet," Tia Dalma corrected.
She lifted Reina's head up gently and placed the slender silver chain around her neck. The pendant was a dainty round sun with wiggly lines for rays. Jack watched in awe as the blue of her one eye slowly darkened. The brown colour ate up the previous as if drenched with ink. Then she whispered something into her hands.
"Mala nos non invenient. Viventes protege et bene eos protege." And when she pressed her enchanted hands on the amulet it slowly melted away, leaving not a burn, but a tattoo-like mark behind on the babe's delicate skin.
"It will block that what calls the threatening and threaten what it calls."
Jack traced the lines softly.
"What do I owe ye?"
She turned away, fingers tracing over all the knickknacks that lined the shelves.
"Your payment is not yet mine to collect, Jack Sparrow. For now I ask ye to keep her from danger and out of the grasps of Davy Jones."
He pulled her in, a queasy feeling building up in his stomach. Tia Dalma always demanded settlement.
"And how am I to do so at sea?" He mused sarcastically. "That be exactly inside of Davy Jones's grasp, if I recall correctly."
She turned slowly and the sorrow that plagued her frame let Jack's mind run wild.
"She must remain at land, then."
"But...I'm a pirate."
"Aye..."
Jack looked down at the little girl who now had his eyes exactly and a destined tragedy upon her.
"Give up the sea?" he wondered aloud and his heart clenched painfully at the thought alone.
"I...I dunno if I could."
Tia Dalma pulled her lips into a straight line. She already knew the answer to his own inner question.
"Aye. It is not in ye nature. It won't ever be even if you'd want it."
"Yer saying...I have to give'er up then, is that what?"
"She won't ever be safe with ye around, Jack."
Fate was a cruel thing wasn't it?
Bringing him along the only thing he would ever care for so deeply and then telling him he's the worst possible person for her to be around in the same breath.
And despite his intention to stay with her in that merchants' port town, he had, at the end, managed no more than three days and three nights.
Woefully, he looked back at the harbour where his old friend Arabella held his child in her arms, bearing him goodbye and growing smaller and smaller in the distance.
And despite his intention to return shortly after to that merchants' port town, he had, at the end, never set foot in it again.
