Thieves and Beggars

8: How's Grandma?

Standing there i looked at Barbossa and he looked at me before standing on the table and fireing his gun everything went silence. "It was the first court what imprisoned Calypso, and we will be the ones to set her free, and in her gratitude she will see fit to grant us boons." Barbossa said "Whose boons? Your boons? Utterly deceptive twaddlespeak, says I." I said looking up at him as he got down.

"If you have a better alternative, please, share."

"Cuttlefish. Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish. Flippant glorious little sausages. Pen 'em up together and they'll devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, isn't it?...or....or fish nature. So yes, we could hole up here well provisioned and well armed and half of us would be dead within the month, which seems grim to me any way you slice it." my dad said walking around doing what he does best.

"Or, as my learned colleague so naively suggests, we could release Calypso, and we can pray that she will be merciful and as her daughter i know for a fact that she won't be but can we in fact pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury hell hath no? We cannot. Res ipso loquitur tabula in naufragio we are left with but one option. I agree with, and I cannot believe the words are comin' out of me mouth, Captain Swann. We must fight."

"You've only ever run from a fight you're just like your father" Barbossa said

"I have not!"

"You have too!

"Have not!"

"You have too!"

"Have not!"

"You have too, and you know it!"

"Have not, slander and calumny! I have only ever embraced that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. I submit here and now, that is what we all must do, we must fight... to run away."

"Aye!" Gibbs said and everyone started cheering and agreeing. "As per the code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the pirate king." Barbossa said "You made that up." my dad said now standing next to me as i sat back down in my chair.

"Did I now? I call on Captain Teague, keeper of the code." as he said that i felt my dad's body go stiff. " SeSumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly! Hang the code! Who cares-" SeSumbhajee assistant said and we all heard a shot before he fell, looking to where the shot went it was Captain Teague " Code is the law." he said walking down the stairs and walking up Jack "You're in my way, boy." he said and dad move before Captain Teague stood next to me he motion and two old men carry up the code and set it on the table sitting it in front of me.

"Marilyn" Captian Teague said and i whistled and the dog comes up to me with the key dropping it in front of me and i unlocked the book. "Sea turtles, mate. Barbossa is right."

"Hang on a minute.It shall be the duty of the king to declare war, parlay with said adversaries... fancy that." i said looking at the code.

"There's not been a king since the first court, and that's not likely to change." Chevalle said

"Not likely" Captain Teague whispered to me and went to sit down. "Why not?" Elizabeth said i sighed and began to speak "Because the king is elected by popular vote and each pirate only ever votes for himself. "I call for a vote." dad said and everyone sighed.

"I vote for Ammand, the corsair." Ammand said

"Capitan Chevalle, the penniless French man." Chevalle said. "SeSumbhajee votes for SeSumbhajee." SeSumbhajee's other assistant said. "Mistress Cheng." Mistress Cheng said

"Gentleman Jocard." Jocard said "Elizabeth Swann." Elizabeth said "Marilyn Sparrow" i said voting "Barbossa."

"Villanueva."

"Marilyn Sparrow" i heard my dad said. "What?" i replied. "I know, curious isn't it?" he said smiling at me. "Why didn't you vote for me?" Jocard said as everyone started arguing.

"Am I to understand that you lot will not be keeping to the code, then?" Dad asked and i heard Captian Teague break a guitar string and the room goes silent while everyone sat down slowly.

"Very well, what say you Captain Sparrow, king of the Brethren Court?" Mistress Cheng said and i stood up. "Prepare every vessel that floats. At dawn, we're at war." i said looking at my father and he nodded. "And so, we shall go to war." SeSumbhajee said standing up i never heard him talk now i know why. Turning toward Captian Tague i looked at him "What? You've seen it all, done it all, you survived.  That's the trick, isn't it? To survive." i said walking towards him.

"It's not just about living forever, Mellie. The trick is, living with yourself, forever."

"How's grandma?" i asked and grandpa held up a shrunken head. "She looks great and trust me i'll make sure dad stay out of trouble as much as i can" i said and he nodded and i walked towards dad. "This is going to be one hell of a time i just know it" i said to myself.