Pirates of the Caribbean Oneshots

Grandparents and Sea Serpents

The fire crackled softly in the grate, casting a warm, flickering light over a midnight-blue sofa and the two bodies snuggled together upon it.

Rain was hammering against the dark windows, and the wind rattled the glass panes as a storm raged around Shipwreck Cove.

"What're the chances of Jackie disturbing us cause he wants me to cook?" Edward Teague murmured idly to his wife.

"Hopefully very small. If he really needs someone, Sahara and Soracha are here. He can annoy them," Roxanne replied softly, snuggling closer to him as he twitched the fluffy emerald-green blanket up to cover them both better.

Teague hummed in agreement, then looked up as the door was tentatively pushed open.

"Are you two decent in there?"

Roxanne laughed, recognising her elder granddaughters voice. "Completely covered by a blanket so you'll never know the answer to that question," she replied mischievously.

Diana stepped into the study, her sister Skye following.
"Mum and Dad told us to leave them alone. Can we stay here for a while?"

"Couldn't ye find someone else to annoy?" Teague asked playfully. "Of course," he added quickly, seeing Skye's face fall. "Come an' snuggle."

Diana claimed the spot beside them, while Skye curled near their feet.
After a few minutes silence, Skye spoke. "Dad was telling us about the Kraken. Have you ever seen a Kraken?"

"No. We've seen a sea serpent though," Roxanne said casually.

Her granddaughters stared at her, both wide-eyed. "You've seen a what? Are you being serious? Do they really exist? Do they try and destroy ships?"
Questions bubbled rapidly out of the two astonished girls.

"Completely serious." Teague said. "Your gran and me saw one, years and years ago."

"Where?" Diana asked eagerly.

"Just before the entrance to the Devil's Throat. We were just gettin' ready to come through it when the serpent's head broke the surface of the water, not ten yards from the ship's bow. Head was huge, probably a fair bit longer than the Lady. Stared at the ship for ages, close enough for us to see all it's very, very sharp teeth, which could very easily destroy the ship if it didn't just wrap itself around it and crush it, or overturn it. "

Skye hugged Roxanne's knees through the blanket. "Were you scared?"

"No-"

"You were shitting yourself. Absolutely shitting yourself." Roxanne grinned at her husband. "We all were, but I'll never forget the expression on your face as you stood at the wheel that day."

"Shut up," Teague grumbled playfully, kicking her lightly under the blanket.

"Grandads not scared of anything," Skye said.

Roxanne smiled slightly but stayed quiet, though her eyes glimmered with humor.

"Did you only see it once?"

"Once out of the water. We saw it swimming under the ship a few times after that. And to answer the question about destroying ships, it never tried to touch ours, nor have I ever heard of a sea serpent sinking a ship anywhere else," Roxanne said, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Dad said some of them are magical."

"Hmm. They're all widely hunted, because their skin is really easy to work, makes lovely clothing and furniture and it's usually prettily coloured. As well as expensive."

"How do you hunt something with a head bigger than a ship?" Diana asked, looking confused.

Teague shifted his legs and Skye pushed back in protest as he invaded the space where she was sitting. "Stop it Skye, or you'll sit on the floor," he said calmly before turning his attention to Diana's question.
"Well to start with, you need more than one ship, usually anywhere between five to twelve, depending on how big the serpent is and how far away from a port you're going. Big ships too, Troubadour sized or bigger, fully crewed."

Diana, who was now resting her head on Roxanne's chest, nodded, wide eyed as she tried to imagine a ship bigger than her grandfather's.

"The ships have harpoon guns at their bows instead of cannons, and they shoot harpoons into the serpent, aiming for its head or neck. A properly placed harpoon should kill one, though it takes several harpoons for bigger ones and a lot of the time, they're hit wrong and flee before being killed. Once the serpent is dead, they bring it onto the ship for butchering."

"How? How do you get something that big onto a ship?" Skye asked. "And what's a harpoon?"

"I don't know, I've never seen a hunt. I could be wrong about that. I do know that they strip the whole carcass. Everything is used, nothing goes to waste."

"A harpoon is basically a stick with a sharp point at the end," Roxanne said to her, noticing the question hadn't been answered.

"What do they use it for? Can you eat sea serpent?" Diana looked between her grandparents, eyes full of curiosity.

"Well you can, though it's not usually good quality. Used in soups or stews, or salted and dried for ship's stores. Fed to dogs too. Sold very cheaply, usually almost as soon as it's butchered, unless it's going for salting, which most of it usually does," replied Teague.

Predictably enough, Skye's next question was, "Have you ever tried it?"

Roxanne snorted slightly, her eyes glimmering playfully. "Skye, you're talking to the man who drinks vintage port wine. Lowering himself to eat crappy quality meat? Unlikely."

He stuck his tongue out at her before nodding slightly. "I've tried it dried and salted, which made it just taste like any other meat done that way. I have no idea what it'd taste like fresh, and no real desire to find out."

Diana tilted her head slightly. "Is it meat or like a fish?"

"Depends on the type of serpent. Bigger one are generally meat. Smaller ones tend to be fish. The bigger ones usually breathe air and swin closer to the surface. They're what most people want to catch, because their carcasses are bigger and therefore more valuable. But obviously, they're more dangerous to hunt cause they could wreck a ship easily if they wanted."

The door opened just as Skye was evidently about to ask another question. Mouth still open, she looked over as her father entered.

"Come and do the table for dinner you two," Jack said, gesturing to his daughters.

Skye pouted. "Gran and grandad are telling us a really good story," she protested, curling tighter against her grandmother's legs.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Better than my one about the Kraken?"

"Much better. We know how to kill sea serpents now," Diana said with a slight smile.

Jack grinned slightly. "If I fancy sea serpent, I'll be sure to tell you. Come and set the table or you can kill one for yourself cause you won't get any dinner."

"Go on," Roxanne prompted, nudging Skye off her legs. "Throw a few sticks in the fire before you go."

Once the study was quiet again, Roxanne snuggled in against Teague, who gently kissed her head.

"God, that was trip down memory lane. Before marriage and Jackie. Such a long time ago, and here we are all this time later, happily married and with two grandchildren."

"And still very much in love."

"Very much so. I'll always love ye, Asthore."

She smiled softly, head resting on his chest. He kept her close as he drifted off, lulled by the fire crackling while the storm raged outside.

JasonMurray29 This one's for you <3