THE PIRATE CAPTAIN

Author: PirateArwen
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: You/Jack
Categories: Action/Adventure, Romance

Disclaimer: As you like to rub it in that much then all right! I admit it: I do not own Jack Sparrow or any other character and place that were quoted in the POTC movie. They all belong to Disney, Jerry B., the screenwriters, etc. Instead, I do own your character (sadistic laughter) and some that I actually came up with myself.

Author's Note: This is my first time on as a writer so please feel free to share complaints or compliments. Hope you have fun reading it!

Summary: You have started practicing the “oldest profession” in Tortuga, since being a barmaid doesn’t bring enough. Obviously, you wish for more than this in your life. Let’s see what will happen when a pirate Captain passes your way...

* * * * *

CHAPTER 1 - Another Morning...

You fall out of bed at the sound of the world’s most annoying rooster waking you up. Each blasted morning you promised yourself to kill that damn thing, but the thought of his owner made you change your ideas quickly. Burton Mouser was a big, strong man, who was letting you kindly sleep in his stable. Lucky for you there weren’t any pigs or animals in it, but the strong humid smell said a lot about its previous landlords.

There was just a small window on its left side and you have placed your bed at that same spot because sleeping seven hours in this place without any fresh air wasn’t something you could manage to do, even after hours of practice. You had tried your best to make it look cozy. The bed was a real one, and, once again, you were thankful about that to Burton, who was actually a really nice fellow and maybe the only person you’ve ever known who looked out for your survival. There was a big wooden box in a corner, where you kept your clothes and precious work uniforms: dresses and another smaller one with some makeup. You had to look very good for your just two-week new job.

When your mother had died at your birth, or so you were told, your father raised you in Tortuga by himself for twelve long years. He was a thief and, sometimes, he would join in with a pirate crew and come with some money months after, leaving you during this time at your aunt’s: Mrs. Mouser. One day, he got killed for stealing a few coins from two pirates. It was actually Burton who announced it to you and had also promised to watch over you from now on.

Your aunt abandoned both of you when her husband had announced her that you were going to live with them for good this time. She was so furious by the fact that she was force to feed another hungry mouth, that she packed her little bags and took off only God knows where. Burton still continued taking care of you and didn’t once remember you of the fact that it was your fault his wife had left him. After ten more years of living in Tortuga, in the company of Burton Mouser, you had finally grown into a fine young lady. At the ages from twelve to fifteen, you had helped with the animals and the house. When you hit sixteen, you were given a job as a barmaid in the Faithful Bride and had, ever since, worked there. One month ago, you realized that if you wanted to actually do something with your life, you had better start gaining more money or else your home would always be a stable.

So, you got hired as pleasurable company, not two weeks from now, at the same place you worked as a barmaid before. And you always did for a matter of fact. The pay was good and plus, there were even some tips. You were glad that your first weeks have been turning only around sitting on some men’s laps or maybe even receiving a few slaps on the buttocks. No a-key-to-a-room had been done with your company and you were fine with that. You hated being a prostitute. It was the worst way to live a life and you didn’t plan on it to last long. You wished for a ship and maybe for a crew. Of course, having a Captain wouldn’t be too bad also. You would gladly settle for first mate and you didn’t care about those stupid superstitious about women on ships being bad luck.

Getting up, you crawled on all fours towards your box and opened it completely. You carefully looked around. Wearing the same dress two days in a row wasn’t allowed in the Faithful Bride. The owner insisted on giving the drunken men the impression that there were different girls everyday. So, you decide that today was a great day for your dark blue one with black ribbons. You didn’t even grunt when you picked up a corset as you usually did. You had gotten pretty used to it, even though you couldn’t laugh for a long time or run or walk fast, without fainting. At least you had become admiringly good at putting it on by yourself. The last thing that you had in mind was to go and ask Mr. Mouser to do it!

When the corset was squeeze rightly, so that your breasts looked greatly bigger than what they actually were, you put on your dress, which was incredibly low cut, and grabbed your makeup box. All your things must of cost a fortune but happily for you, they were all gifts by more advanced prostitutes in sign of a good welcome. They weren’t all that bad, expect for Susan, the most popular one with the men and the prettiest one at that. She was your age but had had seven years of experience. You didn’t envy her one bit...she just got on your nerves a lot.

You put on some red for your cheeks and a little blue and black eye shadow for your eyes to match the dress, but for the lipstick...

“I already fell like a whore so no need to push it to the extreme.” You think, placing the tube of black lipstick back in the box, forgetting to close it.

Before opening the door to the stable, you glance behind the window to see if there was anybody around. You hated it when Burton saw you all dressed up. Usually, he was in the house when you left home, but he always waited for you when it got dark. No matter how much you had asked him to stop doing that, telling him that maybe someday you’d be lent for the night, he always refused, saying that he’d feel bad if he wouldn’t.

“Why me missy, you look mighty dashing today!” yelled a voice out loud the first instant you set foot out of the stable with your black high heels.

Burton was there, feeding the chickens, a big wide smile on his face. You had always thought he looked like a pirate: his golden earring, red bandana and some golden teeth let you in on that possibility. Of course, you had already asked him of his previous “jobs”, but, every time, he chuckled and patted your back, saying something about curiosity not always being good.

“Good morning Mr. Mouser! Didn’t think you’d be out of the house at this hour,” you yelled cheerfully, but keeping that last sentence in a mutter.

“So kiddo, you’re off to your job?” he asked after coughing uncomfortably.

“Yes,” you answer, trying to sound normal, while your insides were melting of shame.

“Good...that’s good,” he continues, more to himself, while you speed your steps towards the real, noisy Tortuga.

“You be careful, savvy?” he shouts as you jump over the fence, clearly used at this, seeing that when Burton built it he had forgot the door. “And if a man wants ya for the night, you invite him ‘ere. I’d lend ya the bed for the night...” he shouts again, this time it sounding more like an order than a suggestion.

Why did he say that? You wonder hopelessly as you walk away, wishing deeply that no man would ask you for the night. Because, if somebody did, you would have no other choice that to do what Mr. Mouser had said and invite him over. You were deeply serious about listening to every single one’s of his orders, giving the fact that he had helped you so much and nearly raised you for ten years!

After a short walk of about a half an hour, you finally see the Faithful Bride, shortly away. You stop and sigh, knowing this is going to be just like all the other nights: creepy, disgusting and unpleasant. What you didn’t know was that this night was going to change your dry path to a pretty wet one.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 2 - Anything For Money...

You walk slowly towards the Faithful Bride, not exactly excited about yet another long day of work. Tortuga was an awfully quite place in the morning though. Most of the drunks were sound asleep on the floors, ground or, rarely, in lent rooms. The inside of the bar was filled with drunken pirates and thieves, all snoring loudly, still a bottle of rum in one hand. Most of the barmaids and women working there overnight were passing each other make-up, dresses and even wigs.

You make your way behind the counter, smiling at the your co-workers, some that you knew even for more than five years, jugging that you had worked a long time as a barmaid. They were all nice people, just trying to make a living in the craziest and most wild town in the whole Caribbean. Unfortunately, not every girl who had become a prostitute thought of the money as a course to a better life. Mostly, they did it because it was the easiest and the most moneyed job for the women of Tortuga.

Someday, things would have to change around here. Maybe when you’d get old, you’d open up a bar where the pleasurable company would be just men!

“Hey there, honey, what ya smiling about?” asks an old female voice.

You look up and grin at lady in front of you. “Ahoy Corinne! Nice dress.”

The woman smiles, seeming very glad your brought it in the conversation. Playing with the pearled cordon that was attached to the neck of her clothing, she smirked and pointed with her other finger at a drunken man sleeping on a chair.

“That man over there paid the biggest amount of money for the most boring night I ever had.” she says, a big smirk on her face, revealing her huge front teeth.

You take a more closer at the guy she was pointing to. He was snoring loudly, the left side of his face glued to the table. A blue bandana was placed around his short hair, with a symbol on it that looked oddly like the Jolly Rogers. Without no doubt, this man was a pirate and mostly a successful one, if he had paid as much as Corinne was whispering in your ear right now.

“Don’t tell the other girls though,” she adds quickly. “I want him to be opened for you this night.”

You grimace and glance again at the sleeping pirate. He didn’t seem at all charming or, even less, attractive. You could even smell his disgusting morning breath from over here and could already tell that having that big guy on you in a bed wasn’t going to be easy to suffer.

“Thanks Corinne, I appreciate it, but my second job only starts when the sun goes down so you sure...”

“Oh Tish! Tosh! You were never meant to be pleasurable company for men, honey. Besides, if Susan knows about him, he won’t be free for the whole week!” she adds, rolling her eyes and then glancing towards a red-haired girl with maroon eyes, trying to change into a pink dress.

“Aye.” you agree and let Corinne give you a little kiss on the cheek before sliding away on her high heals.

Looking around at the mess caused by yesterday, you quickly try to tide it up a bit so that it would be easier to find the bottles of rum. If a grown up pirate didn’t have his liquid-cherie when he asked for it, you didn’t even want to imagine what would happen to you.

The sun was apparently going down and it wasn’t just the light that filled you in on the detail. The Faithful Bride was starting to fill up rather quickly and it seemed like this was really one of the most promising nights you’d ever saw. There were new pirates, some that came here only once every two months and some that you had actually never saw before. Quietly, you passed the bottles or filled up the mugs with alcohol while glancing around, searching for that amazingly rich guy.

You weren’t yet sure what you were going to do about him. Flirting him wouldn’t be so bad and, as you had learned from the best, quite easy. It was simply the idea of being alone with him in room that kept sending a chill down your spines every two seconds. The worst thing was that you knew you were going to do it, no matter how much time you would think about it. Getting out of here was the most important thing and you were capable, and ready, of fighting off everything that lay in your way.

Even if in the precise moment, it was fighting off a big, fat scum with money. Money. That word sure didn’t send a chill down your spine! You just felt free, relaxed, feeling the sea air blowing in your face, only realizing short after that it was Susan screaming at you:

“Blimey, are you daft or something?” she asks and then takes her, very practiced, furious and cute face: her both lips sealed one to the other so that it would resemble a heart. For you, it oddly looked like she had just ate something sour.

“What do ye want, Susan?” you grunt, rolling your eyes.

“Finally! It’s about time!” she exclaims, placing her both hands on her tiny waist.

“Are you going to order or not, you blasted sea-witch?” you yell at her, not wanting this to take more than an hour.

“Yeah. Two pints of rum for my dear old and filthy rich Harry, right there.” she says smoothly as she waves lovingly to the man that Corinne had talked about previously. Your eyes get big as you see the man waving back.

“Damn it!” you curse under your breath. “How come she knows everything that goes on around here?”

Then, quickly turning towards the owner, you ask: “Mark, is it okay if I start right now?”

He looks at you, obviously surprised. You didn’t usually ask that. “Yeah, of course.” He says as you look at yourself in a mirror to make everything was perfect. “We have too many clients and not enough girls.”

“But what about my pints?” asks Susan childishly as you jump over the counter with one hand like you did with your home fence.

“What about filling them yourself?” you turn to tell her, only to make you feel better at Susan’s obviously mad, un-practice, face.

Jugging that the night was just beginning, you thought yourself capable of finishing and getting paid before Burton could worry.

You push the dress down off your both shoulders so that some more skin is seen and start walking slowly towards this “Harry”. Your inner thoughts cramp up with joy when you see that almost the entire party of men, including him, is looking at you mouth-dropped. Placing a delicate hand on your chest, you look at him straight in his eyes, now standing right in front of him.

“Oh my, it’s so rare that I see a great specimen of a man like yourself, sitting in front of me.” You say on your most fragile and seductive voice. The man grunts and chuckles, looking very pleased at what you had just said. He didn’t seem to have a clue that you did this for the money. As he was sitting on a sofa, legs opened so that his big stomach would fall freely.

You decided to sit on his laps, this position that men could not often resist when a woman insisted. So, ever-so-unhurriedly, you grab your dress with both hands, so it wouldn’t bother you during your work and, placing one leg at each side of his, you sit down on his lap. Then, letting go of your dress, you take his both hands and place them delicately on your back waist, as you bend down to murmur in his ear: “I’ve always dreamed about strong arms like yours holding me tightly in the feverish, hot night.”

You smile as you feel the pirate’s arms grab you more strongly: you were getting his money for sure. Suddenly, as you were about to kiss him, a high-pinched voice is heard, yelling your name.

“What in the blazes are you doing?” you hear Susan ask, as you turn your head around to see if this crazy person was talking to you. She obviously was... “I’m sorry, Suzy darling, but the fate of the night united me and Harry.” You say dramatically as you turn around to face him, cupping his face with your both hands and looking at him straight in the eyes.

“How come you know my name?” he asks, mesmerized.

“You see, Harry honey? I felt it! We were meant to consume each other on this night!” you say, your voice breaking and you bend down to kiss him when you suddenly shriek with pain as you fall down on your ass, somebody holding your hair.

“I told her your name, stupid!” yells Susan, who finally lets your poor hair free. “Plus, she’s just in it for the money!”

“Oh! How dare you insult me? I simply listen to what the stars tell me,” you say even more dramatically than previously, looking at Harry with your most innocent eyes. “I’m not in it for the money, she is!” you add, pointing at gasping Susan.

Before she could defend herself, Harry raises both arms to stop the men’s laughter, all very excited and humored about this. “I know you’re both in it for the money, whores!” he yells and everybody, expect you and Susan, starts laughing again. “I’ll spend the night gladly with only one of you, though,” he continues with a smirk and you feel your entire muscles contract with disgust. “You’re cute,” he says and points at Susan, who glances sideway at you with a triumphal smile. “But you on the other hand,” he continues, this time looking at you. “You...seem just like my wild type.”

All creepy feelings fly away immediately. He was choosing you, wasn’t he? You grin broadly as you look at Susan, who has her cute and furious face on again. You glance happily at Harry grabbing a room key and then yelling at you to get upstairs. You run towards him, after having waved at the whole bar, which was cheering. Unfortunately, all your previous emotions make surface once more, when you find yourself alone with big, strong Harry in a room.

As you sit on the bed, waiting for him to close the door, your breathing stops as you realize how incredibly dark is the room without it opened. You hear a loud click and then the noise of someone running towards you. Clearly too soon before you calm down, a huge amount of weight jumps on you and you can feel some lips kissing your neck while two hands are getting rid of your dress.

In about one minute, maybe the worst one of your entire life till now, your blue dress with black ribbons is on the floor. When you feel the hands again, this time aiming for your corset, you suddenly realize you don’t want to do this anymore. Knowing there is no way out of this nicely, you push him hard on both shoulders and he jumps out of bed, confused.

“What the bloody hell are ye doing, woman?” he asks, clearly not pleased about stopping.

“I’ve changed my mind,” you say timidly as you pick up your dress from the ground. You would of sworn you’d heard a noise right then, in the room, coming from the door, but Harry’s chuckles are so loud that you can’t make your mind up about the sound.

“You’re staying ‘ere,” he says grabbing your dress and pushing you on the bed violently. This was getting dangerous.

"I ain’t following any orders!” you say, getting up, but you are as soon pushed again on the bed. Your panic starts to rise as you see him approaching and, out of defense reflexes, you kick him straight in the knee with your high heal. He screams in pain and curses loudly.

Suddenly, you see that he is going to grab his cutlass and you immediately jump for it, grabbing it out of his belt. Right before you can aim it on him, you feel a sharp pain on your left cheek. That idiot had slapped you! It wouldn’t of done much, but today wasn’t your lucky day: the cutlass flew away, right at the other end of the room. You curse and try to go and get it, but you feel one hand grabbing your neck as you see Harry unbuttoning his pants with the other.

You try to kick with your legs, but realize that they were glued between Harry’s and the bed. You close your eyes, thinking for a way out, but all that you were feeling was panic, fright and maybe soon, crying.

“Get off me, you bastard!” you yell as you try to get the hand holding your neck, off.

“I’m going to get my fair share, whore!” yells the pirate and you gasp as you see that he has almost finished getting his pants off.

Suddenly, a loud noise is heard and Harry’s eyes look forward, as his face falls right between your two legs. You yelp and crawl away, getting out of the bed and trying your best to see how in the blazes did he lose conscious like that. You raise your eyes and see a man figure standing behind Harry, a smug grin on his face and a broken bottle in his hand. You walk towards the door and open it, so that you have more light to see.

When you turn around to, the man has moved, clearly looking for something in Harry’s jacket. His clothing is composed out of a pair of trousers, a white shirt, clearly discolored by the time, which reveals a glance of his tanned, muscular chest, a stripped sash around his waist, where there also is a belt with both his gun and sword attached to it. His cutlass, however, is carefully placed in his right brown boot. He was also wearing a long jacket, that had golden buttons and was colored in purple.

He unexpectedly exclaims with triumph, as he seems to have found two little brown bags, awfully rounded by their belongings. He turns to look at you with his chocolate brown eyes and you see that his hair is entirely maid of dreadlocks, also colored with some beads, braids and a piece of long bone. It was all held up by a red bandana. It was a pirate.

“Ye’re all right, luv?” he suddenly starts speaking with a low and scruffy voice, his eyebrows forming a frown.

“Yeah. Thank you for doing me that little service,” you say, suddenly recovering your senses as you point towards Harry’s body.

“My pleasure, luv,” he says grinning and you can’t help but feeling slightly proud that a pirate as attractive as this one had risked saving you from an unpleasant night. “But I didn’t do it for you.”

You, somehow, don’t feel so proud anymore, but more ashamed actually. He could of just stopped at the first sentence!

“You could still repay me, if ye want, pet.” he says with a broad grin.

“Humph. Took you a bloody long time if you were the noise I heard,” you say with an elegant pout as you place both hands on your hips.

“Bloody women!” exclaims the man rolling his eyes. “It’s not enough if you save them, it has to be for her or else it doesn’t count.”

You bit your lower lip, ashamed at how you had just acted like Susan. Even though you realized your bad, your honor wouldn’t let you admit it. “Whatever. I just want my promised cash,” you say as you start to go trough Harry’s jacket. After having searched twice each pocket, you realized it was empty. Alarmed, you point at the pirate with an accusing finger: “You stole it! Give me those little bags!” you exclaim and you try to get a hold of his jacket, but he stops you by placing a finger on your mouth. You look up at him and see that his eyes are the most mysterious ones you had ever looked into.

“Captain Jack Sparrow never steals, luv,” he says quietly and your eyes widen at the name.

The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow? The pirate who had killed the cursed Barbossa to recover his true love: the Black Pearl? He kept coming at the Faithful Bride for years, but, each time, you were in the bar and couldn’t see what was going on in, what they called: the fun room. You back away, caught of guard by this piece of information. Jack seems awfully pleased about your reaction.

“That’s right, lass: Captain Jack Sparrow,” he continues as he backs away towards the opened door. “That guy there stole my money three days ago. We had a bargain, he didn’t keep it. That’s all.”

You realize he will flew with the money through the door. Your only chance for a better life so close and now gone? Not while you lived, that was for sure!

“Wow...the famous Captain of the Black Pearl just saved my life?” you ask with your previous smooth and seductive voice.

“Ye’re right, luv” he says, grinning and showing off three golden teeth. You slide towards him, now only apart from his face by almost four inches. “My gosh, I’m incredibly lucky aren’t I?” you say smoothly and, right before Jack Sparrow could answer anything, your hand jumps in one pocket of his jacket and takes out a bag. It was filled with coins, you could tell so by the touch. As soon as you grabbed it, you started running towards the only window in the room, which was rather far away from the bed and, closing your eyes, you jumped right trough it.

You hear the loud crash as you make impact with the glass. Pieces of the window fly everywhere and you protect your face with both forearms, the bag still in one hand. You didn’t care about leaving your dress over there, you could buy millions more jugging by what awaited you in this little life-changing bag. Suddenly, you yelp as you feel a piece of glass cut your calf and heel. As soon as you touch the ground with your now bear feet, because you had lost your shoes during the jump, a sharp pain travels trough your entire right leg.

“Bloody hell. That’ll make running slightly difficult,” you mutter as you look up, seeing Jack at the window, yelling you don’t know what, seeming oddly surprised you just did what you did.

All of a sudden, he disappears from the window and you know he’s coming after you. “It’s Captain Jack Sparrow for God’s sake!” This thought suddenly screams in your head and you realize what a stupid thing you just did. Finally, you start running towards your house, sighing deeply as you realize it’s almost thirty minutes away. You loosing blood from a leg wasn’t going to help with the speed.

Still, the thought of holding so much money in one hand gives you courage and you begin walking away quickly in your incredibly tight corset, that you have no choice, but to keep it or run around naked in Tortuga. Anyhow, the corset wasn’t a big problem next to your leg. After only two minutes of running, you stop and try to catch your breath.

“This ain’t my bloody night.”

* * * * *

CHAPTER 3 - The Chase

The warm air of the Caribbean wasn't calming you as it usually did at most nights. You were trying your best to pick up your under-garment dress and prevent from falling by its cause. Finally, you stop behind a bar and rip off the lower bottom of your dress, so it only goes up to your knees. Taking the piece of fabric that you now had in your hand, you roll it around your calf and make a good, strong knot. You do all this while standing, because, if you had taken a seat on the ground, you knew you wouldn't be able to get up. The deepest wound had been made on your heel and you decided to stop wishing the pain would go away, because it wouldn't, no matter how much time you'd pray to the heavens to release you of it.

Back at the wall, you turned your head and examined to see if Jack was near. After looking in all the directions, you realize he's nowhere to be seen. You couldn't help but feel slightly proud for the fact that you ripped of the famous Captain Jack Sparrow. This money was apparently already changing your life! Finally, you decided it would be best to move along quickly so that no pirate could come up to you and steal your money.

Walking towards your home takes lots of time. You haven't stopped, but the pain and the corset makes things from bad to worse. You try not to grunt at each step you take, trying to take this time as practice for your new life. If you wanted to sail a ship and become a female Captain, you better start getting used to wounds. You wouldn't want your crew to think of you as a little chicken or something awful like that. You should also start taking some sword lessons. From whom? You didn't know anybody who'd be able to show you how to fight properly, expect Burton, but you had never seen him hold a sword. You chuckle to yourself as you imagine him dressed as a pirate and fighting off millions of guards with two swords.

Thinking about it, Mr. Mouser actually was your uncle of some sort. You've always found yourself slipping an "uncle" in some sentences and he seemed to be fine with it, really. Actually, he seemed quite glad about it. Maybe this way, he knew that you appreciated him raising you. Quietly in your head, you decide to call him uncle more often. You wouldn't feel uncomfortable if you did, so that was settled. As you see the little farm house from afar, millions of questions start springing up in your mind: "Should I tell him where I got the money?" "Would he let me leave?" "Would he want to come?" "Should I invite him to come?" "How much does a ship cost?" "Or do I have to steal it?" ...Your head is now getting worst than your whole two wounds put together. Maybe you should of stayed with Jack and ask him some questions before leaving with the bag.

"Did I actually jump out of that window?" you suddenly ask yourself out-loud, remembering the previous escape. If it was one thing you were proud most proud of, it was your jumping abilities. You always used to jump over the balcony and over the counter at work, over the fence at home...you suddenly gulp as you realize, now just three feet away from the precious no-door fence, that you would have to jump over it. How in the bloody hell where you going to do that with a wounded leg?

"Oh come now!" you encourage yourself. "Imagine that the entire navy is after you, because you stole this," you add, holding up the bag of coins up to your face. "And there is this fence in front of you, and you're wounded. Now you have to jump over it, if not, you die by their hand!" you continue, getting quite caught up with the story. You couldn't wait for this to actually happen to you.

So, without taking any other second to think about it, with the bag in your left hand, you jump easily over the fence with the help of your right one. Getting off the ground and flying threw the air wasn't hard. It was actually a great feeling and you didn't feel so much pain anymore. But, seeing the ground approaching, a knife of horror struck you threw your chest. This was going to hurt! You close your eyes, your whole body still in the air, approaching rather quickly to the ground. Suddenly, you didn't even feel the touch of the soft mud as your right, wounded leg landed first. It was the most horrible pain you had ever felt. Like a big, pointy sword, slicing threw your entire leg, beginning from your heel and making it's way up. Your heart started beating faster and you felt it tighten up as you landed the ground.

Your right hand was still holding the fence, while your other, the money. For almost three seconds, you stood still, your head immediately spurning back as you made impact with the ground. You had tried your best to hold your scream, not wanting Burton to hear it. It had started up like a grunt and finished with your voice breaking, as tears started blurring your vision. What the bloody hell were you thinking anyway? Man, even with money, your dream was going to be hard to realize...

"So, jumping through windows twelve feet high is easy compared to jumping over a small fence? Why isn't there a bloody door here?" You suddenly hear a smooth voice behind you say. Not one sound comes out of your mouth as you observe Jack sitting on the fence, looking down at you, a smug grin on his face.

You panic. This man was a pirate damn it! He had a cutlass, a sword and a gun, all waiting for the stupid hellcat that had just stole his money! You start crawling away with the help of your both hands, still looking straight at Jack. As he sees you starting to do this, he jumps off the fence and you feel a imaginary sharp pain as he touches the ground. You weren't going to get over that thing easily.

"A glorious escape you did back there. And no wound! Well...bravo! Now, where's my money, luv?" he asked, approaching you slowly.

No wound? The night obviously made your blood disappear and you were happy about that. You didn't want to look more stupid than you already did. I mean, who would jump over a bloody fence, with a horrible wound, when there is nobody after them? You! Of course! Only you, huh?

"This money's mine! That man owned me..." you start, but are immediately cut off by Jack.

"You were promised the money for a thing that you didn't do," he says, a finger in the air.

"Then he can just re-pay my troubles!" you exclaim, not wanting to think that you had done all this for nothing.

"Aye, that he can...but not with my coins!" he says and he tries to bend and take the bag away from you, but you hide it behind you back. Jack sighs. "Give it, luv, you don't want to mess with Captain Jack Sparrow."

Why does he always have to remind you who he is? You get so damn nervous every time he says his name.

"No," you respond, eyes looking straight into his. "I don't even know if it really is your money. Maybe you just knew he was rich so you came to rob him."

Jack stops dead in his tracks. "Are you calling me a liar?" he asks, fire in his eyes. You knew it was just a way to get you into a corner, but you had no idea how to respond to it.

You despise the fact that you don't have enough courage to yell for help. Burton would come right away and fight this pirate away from you! He was bigger and stronger than Jack. But the fact that you would have to explain to him the whole story was way too humiliating. If Burton knew you hadn't brought the man home like you were supposed to, he would think that you didn't gave a rat's ass what he thought or said. Also, he was always against living in Tortuga, pirates and thieves, so he was basically against your whole little get-away plan, to become a Captain and nonsense like that. You had no clue why, but it was that. So, if he found out that you had stole some money in order to finally realize your dream, he would give it to Jack immediately. You would die protecting this bag, even if you would be bloody terrorized!

Suddenly, you see Jack bend towards you and you take a good grip of your bag with both hands and all your strength. Jack's hands grabs your arm and you realize that he can move it away easily. You turn around, to land on your stomach, your bag now between the ground and your corset. Obviously, Jack wasn't ready for this and he loses balance, falling on you.

"Oh please no!" you start crying out but your voice breaks suddenly, as Jack's weight falls on your two legs, especially your wounded one. The pain is so terrible and, as you are doing your best to not scream, you start crying softly, still holding your bag tight.

Jack had obviously not yet realized you were hurt, he was maybe thinking that you were just scared of him or something like that. You continue crying while feeling Jack's body turn around and a hand trying desperately to take your money. Suddenly, you hear him mutter a "Bloody hell" and get up, off of you in one silent jump. Why did he stop when he was so close? You turn around to see him walking in circles, both hands on his head, muttering curses. He turns his head and looks at you, a look of guilt and annoyance in his eyes:

"I can't do this! Look at you: you're a bloody woman! Who's crying for God's sakes! I can't do this! Why can't I do this? Other pirates could you know...but not me! Bloody stupid soft spot!" he continues grumbling.

Your eyes are as wide as two coins. Why was the fact that you were a woman crying so hard for him? Your honor immediately makes surfaces, pushing you to defend yourself: "You don't scare me, I'm just wounded, that's all," you say, showing off your two cuts.

He bends down, keeping his entire balance on the his toes, both arms casually resting on his knees as he takes a look at your cuts, seeming desperate.

"Why didn't you say you were wounded? You know, this one's pretty bad," he says pointing to your bleeding heel. "The skin has been almost cut off, look," he adds and he pushes slightly the bit of free flesh.

"Yuck!" is all you manage to say. All of a sudden, he grabs your bag and places it on the fence.

"Hey! That's not fair!" you exclaim. "Give it back!" You try your best to reach towards it, but it is definitely too high up for you to even touch it with the tip of your finger. You can't believe it's all over.

"Now you, luv, are going into your house," says Jack pointing at you and he bends down, slowly picking you up from the ground with his two strong arms wrapped around your body. You take a closer look at him as he begins to walk. He is really the most attractive man you had ever seen. His eyes were rimmed with black coal, giving them even more mystery and life. His skin was tanned but it seemed so soft you had to do your best not to reach out and touch it.

"You lost some blood, pet, but it ain't so bad. The healing is going to be long though." he speaks up, as he continues walking.

Not knowing what to say, you prefer to let it at that. You have completely lost all hope of getting a better life or being part of a crew for that matter. You look at the poor, lonely bag of money, sitting there still on the fence. Bloody money! Oh well, you could always get a Captain to accept you and become a simple crewmember. Maybe Jack?

"You wouldn't mind if I came to your ship?" you ask, your head slightly dizzy. Jack looks at you with a smirk. "All this action has gotten you excited?" he asks, grinning and you mentally slap yourself for having asked that question.

"No!" you exclaim. "I meant as a crewmember," you continue, looking very serious.

Jack frowns as he looks at you. "You lost more blood than I thought, luv."

"What is that supposed to mean? I can be a great pirate, even a Captain!" you continue, really furious he laughed at you like that.

You hear Jack's chuckles and you are about to add something when he says: "Very well, luv. You can be a pirate if ye want. But you can't begin on me ship. The Black Pearl ain't for beginners. Here we are: home sweet home."

He stops and you turn your head to look at the door. You had completely forgotten to tell him to go at the stable! You heart stops pounding as you hear footsteps approaching the door from inside. Your grip on Jack's clothes get tight and he looks at you, with a confused look. Before he can ask any question, the door opens from the inside and Burton appears, a happy look on his old, but still strong shaped face.

"Where have ye been, lass? I've been worried sick..." he suddenly stops as he sees your leg. His glance then turns towards Jack and you can guess that it's far from being a friendly look. "What the hell happened to ye?" he asks, yelling.

Jack is about to say something when Burton suddenly grabs you from his arms and places you on a sofa in the house. Then, he walks at the entrance, where a confused Jack is waiting.

"I think I'll leave you two alone," he says with a small smile and then tries to walk away.

"You ain't going anywhere!" says Burton with a small smirk as he grabs Jack's shirt and makes him enter the house, locking the door behind him.

So, here you were: in your corset and undergarments in front of two men, both of them people you never expected to be show like this to: Burton and Jack Sparrow. The pirate Captain had already taken a seat at one of the kitchen's chairs and he was looking straight at your "uncle", with a waiting and patienced figure. Burton, on the other hand, seemed ready to explode with anger. It was the first time you had ever saw him like this. He was usually so laid-back, humorous and content. Now, the man before you looked too strong to be true, too tall to enter this house, he had this amazing glow and presence...he looked dangerous. You turn your look at Jack and you are surprised to see his two eyes widen in surprise as he looks at Burton. You immediately turn your glance towards your uncle, but, seeing that he hasn't even moved, you look back at Jack.

Why was he looking at Burton like that? His eyes were twinkling devilishly and he had the most triumphant grin on his face. What the bloody hell was happening with Captain Jack Sparrow?

* * * * *

CHAPTER 4 - The Legendary Captain John Buckle

Who would have thought it possible? There, on a normal kitchen chair stood the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. The man who had become Captain so young and who was the most popular one in the bars of Tortuga, those were dwelled the older pirates, those who told stories and where you absolutely loved going late at night, when Burton was asleep. You had heard millions of his adventures. He had impersonated a priest, a count, he had killed the un-killing Captain Barbossa, he had saved the daughter of a governor, he was the king of legends and, at this precise moment, he was sitting right in front of you… doing the most idiotic thing a person could do!

Why was he looking at Burton with that proud grin on his face? You had the feeling, that, if he continued, he, without any doubt, would be punched in the face any second. Your uncle was standing tall in front of the door, both his hands formed into fists, his teeth clenched together, his anger rising…till, suddenly, unexpectedly, his eyes seemed to soften up as he looked at Jack. This was getting rather confusing and your head was starting to hurt from the pain, the inability to breath because of this stupid corset and the situation.

Slowly, you observed Burton as he approached the kitchen table one pace at a time, one of his fingers pointing at Jack. His eyes were beginning to show anything but anger. What the hell was happening in this madhouse? You almost fainted when you saw him take a seat at the table, in front of the pirate and stay there, saying nothing. You burned with the desire to ask one of these two a question, any question that would be able to resolve the mystery, but it wasn’t your place. It never was your place. Come to think of it, you never had had a place except in your father’s heart and now that he was gone you had the feeling your soul was running all around the world to find its new home. And since nobody answered at its calls, it gave you an un-tiring depression.

"Jack Sparrow…"

You looked up. You hadn’t realized you had started looking at the floor. Burton had just talked. Obviously, he knew with whom he was dealing with. All of a sudden, all your previous confusions lifted away. Of course his finger was pointing towards Jack! He was so famous, even Burton knew about him! Burton Mouser who was so usually bored with all the pirate stories nowadays. Curiously enough, he had a small soft spot for the stories relating with this particular pirate. But why was that? Was it because Jack was indeed, the greatest pirate of the decade?

"Captain Jack Sparrow…"

That, of course, had been said by the pirate, but it hadn’t been in the usual tone we heard about in his stories. He usually said it in an annoyed manner, because the people in question had forgotten to add that particular detail, but, this time, it was different. It had been said on a completely different tone. It had been spoke like a warning, like news and, this time, his grin had appeared and his eyes had lit up.

"Well, I’ll be," said Burton on a calm voice, as he started rubbing his chin.

What was the big deal? This was by far the weirdest of conversations you had ever heard! And jugging by the fact you lived in Tortuga, the island of strange, mysterious and secret conversations, this was getting troubling!

"You haven’t changed," he added on a loud tone, opening his arms like in defeat and he started to chuckle.

Both of them seemed to have forgotten your presence and you didn’t know if that should annoy you or not. For the moment, it was important that they did, because, maybe if they remembered your presence they wouldn’t act like they did.

"You have... in a way," murmurs Jack Sparrow in a curiously low voice. His eyes have darkened.

"Lad," sighed Burton. "I’m old and out of the business."

You managed to catch a quick small smile from Jack, but it stays so less time on his face that you start to think you daydreamed. Burton was starting to de-tense. He was sitting comfortably on his chair, his strong muscle arms not contracted anymore. On the other hand, the pirate Captain sitting opposite to him, had his back straight, one elegant hand on the table, while the other one was carefully placed in his purple jacket pocket. You were cautiously looking at it. If he even had the slightest idea of hurting Burton with some kind of weapon, wounded or not wounded, Jack Sparrow or Unknown Pirate, you were going to hurt him so bad!

"I’m here to put you back in business, if you accept that is," suggested the captain of the Black Pearl with a small grin.

That sentence seemed to come as quite a surprise to your uncle. His eyebrows mounted upwards slowly, like his face was asking for more information. He got it:

"I don’t know if you’re aware, but Captain John Buckle’s treasure map has been found," said Jack with a smile.

A glow appeared in Burton’s eyes: longing, but also confusion. He frowned.

"There never was a map," he replied.

That’s where Jack Sparrow got out what was in his pocket. You were sadly too far to see what it was, but, from the look of it, it seemed like a very old piece of paper. Thank God it wasn’t a weapon. You were starting to ask yourself how you would hit such a famous pirate Captain anyway!

Burton looked at the map lying on the table. A deep fear seemed to be brewing inside him, like something was stopping him from touching that piece of parchment. Suddenly, Jack started talking. His voice was calm and clear, like he was telling a story.

"After my adventure with the curse of the Black Pearl, I decided to visit my old house. The one on that little unknown island where only a certain captain knew, apart from me, its exact location. My only home on land. As I was walking through the long entrance corridor, my ship crew awaiting me further off in the ocean, I fell through a hole that immediately transmitted me in the dungeon of the house. After a few swears which I shall not repeat in front of a lady," he said, gracefully lowering his head as he looked at you, "I managed to get used to the darkness and see the room around me. Nothing new: old chairs, old sofas, old books and a huge, round table. Suddenly, my gaze fell on a particular object that was positioned in the middle of that table. When I got close enough, I saw that it was a small box. It was open and this little parchment of paper laid in it."

You stay silent and so does Burton, who is still looking cautiously at the piece of paper. What was this story about? You slowly permit yourself to get up from the sofa and advance towards the table, where you take seat at the last available chair. While doing so, you manage to see Burton taking a small glimpse at you. At least he didn’t ignore you. He was maybe the one person who never did. Standing tall on your chair, your leg still hurting immensely from the pain (but you weren’t going to let it show), you try to get a look at the paper.

"A home. A home in the land of orphans. What is its appearance? A unique personality lies in the most unlikely place, waiting to be unleashed. Small, Medium, Big: The only family in the land of strangers."

Jack Sparrow recited, what, apparently, was written on the paper. But it made no sense whatsoever. What was he playing at? You knew you shouldn’t feel this dangerous excitement boiling up inside you. You were feeling like you were getting into one of those strange and excited adventures where only people like this odd Jack Sparrow got the chance to participate.

"So, you figured it out by yourself?" chuckled Burton as he looked at Jack.

"Yes. A home in the land of orphans was the one that led me to Tortuga. But from here, I got to admit, I found nothing else. That was until I met Harry."

You couldn’t help, but shudder at the name and Jack looks at you, however, it’s Burton that asks a question:

"You met Harry the Hook? I haven’t seen him from years. How possibly could that idiot help you with something?"

"I had forgotten about your secret side. Obviously, as Harry was part of your crew, he had to know something about this piece of paper. At first, when he started telling me he didn’t know anything about it, I thought it was because you had told them to never hush a word. I offered him money and he came up with a bullshit story about a family with three daughters living at the end of Tortuga. Three daughters: small, medium, big and a family. I didn’t question and went to see. I was obviously blinded by the fact that I was going to see you again."

At that last sentence, Jack looked affectionately at Burton, but it lasted as long as his previous small smile. He continued:

"When I realized he had lied and that he had never known, I went back and tried to find him. It didn’t take long: pirate plus money equals a tavern. Luv, you can easily tell the story from here."

You blushed furiously when he turned to look at you. Burton was doing the same with that look that he gave you when you were little and you had just done something bad. Now you were older and still felt horrible when he looked at you like that.

"What does he mean?" he suddenly asks you and you almost fall out of your chair at the sound of his voice addressing you.

You really wanted to murmur a small “I don’t know” and then complain about the awful pain that was almost killing your leg, but you survived to those desires. If you wanted to get in on the rest of the story, if you wanted to know about what crew Sparrow was talking about, if you wanted to know about this treasure map, if you wanted to know about this Captain John Buckle, you knew you couldn’t stay mute too long. And since you wanted to know so badly, you started telling your story.

You described in every detail the sun going down, Corinne telling you about Harry, Susan coming to talk to you, Susan almost ripping your hair off (where you saw a small smile from Jack’s part), Harry choosing you and... You suddenly stopped at that sentence. You had described everything that had happened that night looking straight into Burton’s eyes, but now that you were getting to the worst part, you didn’t know if you should continue.

"I saw what happened from there, suddenly said Jack. He dragged her up the stairs. I realized it was Harry, so I followed them. I opened their bedroom door slowly and entered the room. My plan was to pass unseen and simply get my money from that devil’s pocket. Of course, when I saw that the lady here was trying to fight off Harry the Hook…"

You looked at Burton to see his reaction and couldn’t help but mentally smile seeing his eyes on fire at the last sentence pronounced by Jack. You were really grateful to Sparrow for having used the word “dragged” and not “she led him” like it had actually happened.

"…I knew I had to do something. At first, I thought I could easily slice him with my sword but, not knowing my own strength, could have sliced the lady as well and that would have been most unfortunate seeing that she played such an important part in this story. When I saw an empty bottle lying on the floor, I grabbed it quickly and, without waiting another second, hit Harry right on the head. I have to thank a particular man for giving me that idea…"

He stops and starts chuckling, more to himself, Burton and I obviously confused.

"Good lad."

You look at Burton and see a glint of pride in his eyes. You suddenly felt the sudden urge to ask a question, but, of course, Jack beat you this time too. He continued explaining the following events and when he got to the window scene, Burton couldn’t help but look at you, eyes wide.

"You jumped through a window?" he exclaimed.

You nodded, a little bit of pride finally making surface. The way he had said it made it look so courageous, so adventurous, so...

"That is the most stupid thing I ever heard of!" he suddenly yelled.

Damn it! All previous emotions sunk to the ground.

"You could have gotten yourself killed! Where did you get this attitude from? Your father wasn’t like this: he was mature and responsible. He never did impossible things, he knew where to put his limits, he…"

This was maybe the first time in five years that you were getting yelled at by your uncle. You didn’t pay much attention at what he was saying. You were mesmerized by the way he suddenly looked so angry, so dangerous, so strong when he spoke. It wasn’t the Burton Mouser you knew. It was somebody else.

"Well, then, she got it from you, didn’t she mate?"

Both you and Burton glance at Jack curiously. Jack continued:

"I mean, you used to jump higher than that, remember? And I’m giving you the opportunity to jump again! I know you put clues everywhere for the day you decided to go back. You even placed a note for me at your old house in case I wanted to join in, didn’t you? And I do, mate. It’ll be like old times. Think about it. The famous captain Jack Sparrow and the legendary captain John Buckle sailing together. It will stay in history forever!"

Sparrow’s eyes were even more sparkling that the stars outside. He was on fire and you couldn’t help but drink his words, even if they didn’t make sense whatsoever. You still had managed to put some things together, even though nobody seemed to want to explain them to you. Your uncle was actually John Buckle? The legendary captain John Buckle? He was the most known pirate in his times till he suddenly disappeared ten years ago.

"It can’t be," you blurt out before you can stop yourself.

"And why is that miss?" asks Jack on a casual tone.

"My aunt married Burton before I was born. I used to meet him when I went to sleep here, while father was on a voyage. I remember it perfectly."

Jack suddenly turns his look towards Burton.

"You haven’t told her John? You’ve always been secretive, but even with family?"

"I needed to protect her. She’s a really wild child you know. She would have gotten ideas. She already wants to become a Captain and that dream of hers started at an awfully young age," answers Burton.

"I noticed she was a wild thing," says Jack and he winks at you. "I knew Big meant you, I knew Medium meant Martha, but I needed a Small. When she jumped out the window, the sentence of: A unique personality lies in the most unlikely place, waiting to be unleashed made sense. I had obviously found it."

Wow. You had been used in a pirate riddle? That was something to be proud of, wasn’t it? Anyhow, you would congratulate yourself about that later, but right now, Jack Sparrow was giving more interesting information:

"So, I followed her slowly, giving her the time to get to her home. Then, I would recover my money and see if a certain older, strong man was living with her. All I can say is that when you grabbed me by the shirt and pushed me on that chair, hurting my arse like hell…I recognized you."

Burton chuckled.

"Sorry about that, kiddo. Got a little carried away."

Jack didn’t particularly seem to like being called that in front of you, but, still, he didn’t say anything.

"It’s already pardoned mate, that’s what old friends are for! Exclaimed Sparrow heartily. By the way, I was surprised of not finding the Medium. Did Martha take off?"

"Yeah. Poor woman, she was starting to get bored of her aunt role, so she went back to only being a thief. Since the crew was history and I had retired, she saw no use in staying."

"You mean Martha wasn’t my real aunt?" you ask, shocked but not sad, since you never quite got intimate with her.

"Sorry lass. Martha the Quick, our little pick-pocket expertise never was related to you by blood. On the other hand, your father was actually my brother, so I am the one related to you by family blood."

Burton had answered the question on such a cool and calm tone; you were starting to feel confused. Should you overreact at the news? It wouldn’t really chance anything, except maybe for the fact that you could yell to everyone that your uncle is John Buckle. But you didn’t know this John Buckle. You had heard of him in a million of tales, possibly more than you have heard of Jack, but you didn’t personally know him. You knew Burton Mouser, the kind, strange farmer that sells chickens to the bars. What was to become of him? Where would he go?

"I must say John; she’s taking all the news pretty well."

You ignore Jack Sparrow’s comment. Well? You’re devastated! You’re in pieces! The only person you thought you actually knew is ending up being a complete stranger.

"I’m sorry I never told you any of this information," he says as he looks you straight in the eyes. He still had Burton’s eyes, at least it was that.

"Where did you two meet?" You ask, crossing your wounded leg on the other. It was a more comfortable position for the long story that was coming.

Burton chuckled as he looked at Jack.

"I encountered this little buccaneer when he was seven years old. You weren’t yet born at the time. Those were the days where I was just at my thirty years of glory. He had heard of me, so, when I arrived at his city, he immediately hid in my ship. God and himself only know how, because he never told me how in the hell he passed all of my best guards. Anyhow, I found the miniature stowaway two days later, burning of hunger and thirst in me own quarters. After giving him some food and water, he sat up proudly in front of me and offered his services, telling me that he’ll, one day, become Captain Jack Sparrow. I accepted. He was maybe the only damn great scallywag I ever met. Two months later, you were born."

Your uncle knew Jack Sparrow at seven years? Oh you would have given anything to be in his place. That must be a crazy sight to see! So Burton… euh… John had thought Jack everything he knew? And he and you were related? Wow!

"I arrived three days after you entered the world. Your mother had died at your birth and your father was desperate, not knowing how he’ll manage to take care of you. I asked him to join me crew, but he refused, saying that he wasn’t in on family business. I understood. He had always been too proud to accept any help."

You smile. Yes, that was the perfect picture of your dear father.

"Still, I offered to baby-sit you when he’d go away with other pirate crews. Then, I realized it would be impossible, seeing my heavy schedule. So I asked a female member of my crew, Martha, to pass as your aunt and me for her husband as long as I would ask her to. She wasn’t delighted about it, but I was her captain and she had to obey. So, from then on, everything your father needed some help, he’d call Martha and, even though it was quite rare, I would sometimes join in too."

Your babysitter had been a world famous pirate captain? This was getting better and better. Or was it getting worse and worse?

"When you hit age seven, Jack left my crew to go and conquer a ship he’d fell in love with at first sight. Its name was the Black Pearl and its owner was nothing but an unworthy pig. From then on, we had separate ways. When you were nine years old, I got mixed up in this wild treasure story. Almost seven pirate crews were after the same map. I managed to find it and invited Jack in on the game. He refused, telling me he had a little treasure of his own to deal with. Long story short, after the crew and I brought the gold to our ship, I realized they didn’t deserve it. They were all starting to become money-obsessed pigs that drank rum all day. They were a disgrace to the legend we were representing. So, late at night, I transferred all the treasure to another place in the island and marked the spot only in my memory."

Your uncle really was fearless. He might be just the greatest pirate Captain ever.

"Of course, I knew the crew would probably throw me to David Jones’ locker if I hadn’t forbidden them not to enter the treasure chamber till we got to Tortuga. They didn’t like it, but they obeyed, so we set off towards Tortuga, leaving the treasure in the opposite direction."

"Splendid!" Exclaimed Jack clapping his hands, excited. Burton ignored the comment.

"The night we were about to arrive at Tortuga was the day of your eleventh birthday. I hadn’t seen Jack for three years, but had heard of him a great deal more than all the other pirates those days."

You couldn’t help but smile when you saw Jack grinning.

"I grabbed one of the boats and arrived at Tortuga before them. Martha came with me. She was my most loyal crew member. We ran at your father’s house and explained the situation. You didn’t give us much time, because you arrived ten minutes later and hugged me."

You remembered. You were admiring your new cutlass, because your father thought it was time you could defend yourself, when, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Your dad went to answer and, when you heard the familiar voice of Burton, immediately ran to see him. You had thought they had come for your birthday. Obviously, they hadn’t. You never could go see them when you were little, apart when your father went away. Every other of your moments was too busy to think about walking to the opposite end of Tortuga to say a simple hello to your aunt and uncle.

"Anyhow, I had to do things fast. While you went in the kitchen to prepare the supper, I explained to Martha and your father the situation. Thankfully, they both agreed to help me, even though Martha was hell angry about the lost loot. Seeing that I had never mentioned neither you nor your father to the rest of the crew, they never found me. Some even started thinking I jumped to the bottom of the ocean. It was fine with me. If they ignored I still existed, nobody would be in danger. They stopped looking and searching after one week, the lazy buggers."

So, the famous John Buckle disappeared after forty-one years of being the most known pirate Captain in the world? That is where the story finished? In the house of your father on your eleventh birthday? Who would have thought it possible?

"I realized that week that I was getting tired of my life. I was too known, too famous, too rich, too bloody too! That was when I met Jack for the last time. I didn’t explain you the whole story then and I’m grateful that you didn’t ask any questions. I made my last ship travel. It lasted six months. I traveled everywhere I had previously been. And, while doing so, I created a series of clues that I placed in different countries, places and islands, in case that one day, I would get bored of the normal life and want to reborn again. The last trip was to my house. You remember Jack?"

"Yes," sighs the other pirate captain. "I remember you telling me to bring you back to Tortuga after it. You looked awfully old that day. It was maybe the third and last time you entered your home on land. I waited for you for about one hour outside, along with my crew. Barbossa wasn’t happy about it. Still, that is the last time I saw Captain John Buckle. You got out of that house as Burton Mouser."

"Yes I did. And I think you know what I did in that house, don’t you?"

"You left me this. How kind," answered Jack pointing to the piece of paper staying on the table. In case you would be too late, I’d come to wake you up.

Silence fell at the table. You knew everybody was thinking about different things. The atmosphere was agitated but the people around you were calm and relaxed. And also were you. You finally knew the reason of his six-month absence when you were a kid. After that, you remember him coming back and staying for good. Then, your father’s death passed, Martha took off and you and Burton, ex-captain John Buckle, left your childhood house and went to live in your uncle’s. That is where a legend ended and another story began.

"So, are you ready, mate? Is your hat still in place?" Jack Sparrow asks suddenly.

"My hat’s still in place."

"I know you’ve put the first clue somewhere in this house. You’ve always liked an adventure with an easy start, confusing middle and shocking end."

"I see you haven’t forgotten the ways of your old captain."

You watch the two pirates as they talk.

"I’m coming too you know. There is no bloody way I’m staying!"

If there was an action music playing in the background, this was the moment where it would stop. Both of the legendary pirate Captains were looking at you, mouth opened.

"Lass…"

"Luv…"

Oh no! They were so not leaving you behind. Even if they said no, you would get on their bloody ship, wound or not!

"Uncle, do you prefer knowing me on a ship alongside you and your friend or here, in Tortuga, continuing my present job?"

Where did that came from? That hit him right in the soft spot, it did! His mouth dropped and your insides were melting with happiness when you heard him nod in agreement and start enumerating all sorts of rules:

"All right! But you can’t use a sword. When there will be fights you’ll have to hide! If I’m in danger you won’t save me! If…"

Yeah, you were nodding at everything he was saying, but never in your life were you actually going to obey them! Did he know you or not? You were taking off on the Black Pearl with two famous pirates towards the greatest adventure of your life. It was a dream come true. It was impossible, but it was happening!

"By the way Jack, you said the little box was opened?"

"That’s right mate," answered Jack, seeming as excited as you were feeling right now.

"That’s not possible."

Both you and Jack’s excitement fell down. This wasn’t good news.

"I closed that box ten years ago. I remember that detail perfectly. Did you find your old ring in it?"

"The one you asked me when you entered the house that day?" Asked Jack. "I was wondering where that little thing was, it was my favorite."

"Was it inside the box?"

"No, I’m sure of it."

The room fell silent once more, but, this time, the people in it were as agitated as the atmosphere.

"The box was opened, but it was supposed to be found closed. The ring was supposed to be in it, but you did not find it. Well, obviously all this ends up to one point."

"What is that? Both you and Jack ask at the same time."

"We’re not the only ones after the treasure."

TBC...

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