Triple Drabble: 'Inheritance' (Jack Sparrow, Tom Sparrow (OC) - PG)
When I saw that this week's drabble challenge prompt was 'Inherit' I had to write this little prologue to Harry & the Pirate VI: Blood and Treasure. I'm up to chapter sixteen in writing it, and I intend to post a chapter a day beginning on 1-1-11, which is the 7th anniversary of the series.
Harry & the Pirate is an A/U sequel to Curse of the Black Pearl, and the first 200,000 words or so (four chaptered stories and many associated shorter works) were written before Dead Man's Chest came out to thoroughly "Joss" both my plot and character development. If you are a first time reader you might bear that in mind, and also note that this drabble is spoilery for the series as a whole (though I'll probably put a synopsis of the series at the front of the first chapter of B&T for new readers that prefer to skip wading through the preceding stories).
Many thanks to hereswith for taking the time to look this over.
~ Inheritance ~
The solicitor’s letter had taken months to reach him in exotic Singaraja, addressed as it was to The Right Honorable Lord Wainfleet, though at least they’d got The Black Pearl bit right. Jack gave a snort at the absurd error, but then sobered, realizing what the missive might contain, error or no. Word of a father’s death was a rite of passage for any son, even a bastard estranged these many years.
He broke the seal, spread out the pages and scanned it through. Then frowned and started over, reading more carefully and with increasing consternation. “What the devil?” he finally said aloud.
And then there was a scratch at the cabin door and Tom walked in.
Jack’s mood lightened at the sight of his son, so like himself at nineteen. Clever, capable; a couple of inches taller, perhaps, but still lithe and quick, and blessed with his parents’ beauty.
“Is that the letter?” Tom asked. “Gibbs told me.”
“Here. You read it,” Jack said, handing it over.
Tom read, his expressive countenance mirroring much the same emotions Jack had experienced minutes before. When he was finished, he looked up. “You’ve inherited! But how? I thought-”
“It’s a mistake.”
Tom’s brows rose. “Is it?”
“Of course it is. It has to be. Damnation. Where’s your mother?”
“At the palace with Day - dance practice again.”
“Go fetch ‘em, will you?”
“Aye. Are we off to England, then?”
“I suppose you’d like that,” Jack said bitterly.
Tom grinned. “Bring me that horizon!”
Jack scowled. “You dare to bait your father?”
“My lord, I’d never!” Tom said, bowing dramatically, then gave an impudent wink as he straightened and ducked out before Jack could throw something at him.
TBC
Harry & the Pirate is an A/U sequel to Curse of the Black Pearl, and the first 200,000 words or so (four chaptered stories and many associated shorter works) were written before Dead Man's Chest came out to thoroughly "Joss" both my plot and character development. If you are a first time reader you might bear that in mind, and also note that this drabble is spoilery for the series as a whole (though I'll probably put a synopsis of the series at the front of the first chapter of B&T for new readers that prefer to skip wading through the preceding stories).
Many thanks to hereswith for taking the time to look this over.
~ Inheritance ~
The solicitor’s letter had taken months to reach him in exotic Singaraja, addressed as it was to The Right Honorable Lord Wainfleet, though at least they’d got The Black Pearl bit right. Jack gave a snort at the absurd error, but then sobered, realizing what the missive might contain, error or no. Word of a father’s death was a rite of passage for any son, even a bastard estranged these many years.
He broke the seal, spread out the pages and scanned it through. Then frowned and started over, reading more carefully and with increasing consternation. “What the devil?” he finally said aloud.
And then there was a scratch at the cabin door and Tom walked in.
Jack’s mood lightened at the sight of his son, so like himself at nineteen. Clever, capable; a couple of inches taller, perhaps, but still lithe and quick, and blessed with his parents’ beauty.
“Is that the letter?” Tom asked. “Gibbs told me.”
“Here. You read it,” Jack said, handing it over.
Tom read, his expressive countenance mirroring much the same emotions Jack had experienced minutes before. When he was finished, he looked up. “You’ve inherited! But how? I thought-”
“It’s a mistake.”
Tom’s brows rose. “Is it?”
“Of course it is. It has to be. Damnation. Where’s your mother?”
“At the palace with Day - dance practice again.”
“Go fetch ‘em, will you?”
“Aye. Are we off to England, then?”
“I suppose you’d like that,” Jack said bitterly.
Tom grinned. “Bring me that horizon!”
Jack scowled. “You dare to bait your father?”
“My lord, I’d never!” Tom said, bowing dramatically, then gave an impudent wink as he straightened and ducked out before Jack could throw something at him.
TBC