Disclaimer: I own no POTC characters. It's all Disney's and their writers...you know. There are a few original characters (the ones you don't recognize!)

Chapter 1- Swaggering

I walked through Tortuga Island with a slight swagger. I wasn't drunk, after all I'm not that old. Truthfully, I've only had one glass of rum in my life, and it was disgusting. You won't catch me telling that to anyone though.

My mother decided to stay in Haiti for a while, and I hated that island, so I left. I knew that she would be worried, but I also know that I can take care of myself. She knows that too.

I hoped to find one person, one man, one pirate while I was here. He's fairly famous among the buccaneers and infamous among the East India Trading Company. I knew that at least someone would have heard of him here in Tortuga.

I saw the Faithful Bride up ahead. You could find every low life, scallywag, buccaneer, or just plain drunkard in this tavern. I had only been here once before, when I was eight. My mother and I had been passing through, on the way to Bermuda.

I knew I would stick out in this rough tavern. Young people like me weren't exactly safe in places like this. But I had to look the part. So my swagger wasn't a drunken one, but a haughty, self important one. I strode through the front door of the tavern with my hand on my sword.

My clothes definitely did not stand out. I wore a dirt sodden tunic with dirty brown breeches. My belt on my waist held up my breeches which were way too big. My shoes were beaten-to-a-pulp leather, but comfortable all the same. I wore a hat on my head. It was dark black and had three points to it. It was way too big, but I would never take it off because of the man who gave it to me. My hair was well hidden under my hat.

There was a fight going on to my left. I heard something about a six pence and a thief. I avoided that at all costs. I walked up to the bar and sat on a stool. The bartender was talking with someone to my right. He was a fat man, with a small knife at his side.

He walked over to peer at me. "'ow old are you laddy?" He asked me, his breath not alcoholic.

"I'm ten," I said, peering back courageously.

He laughed. "What brings you to the Faithful Bride?"

"I'm searchin' for some'un," I said.

"I'm thinkin' that yer mother isn't here."

"I'm thinkin' that I left my mother back in Haiti."

The bartender looked thoroughly amused by my attempt.

"Who're you searchin' fer?" He asked.

"Cap'n Jack Sparrow," I said.

The bartender's eyes widened before he laughed, long and hard. I sat and watched the hideous sight of the man laughing. Spit flew everywhere. I just stared. He was soiling my hat with spit, I guessed.

The laughing attracted the attention of another scallywag in the bar. He meandered over and sat next to me. "What's the hubbub, Al?"

"This lil' laddy wants to find Jack."

"Jack who?" the scallywag asked.

"Sparrow, mate."

The bartender continued to laugh. The other man, the scallywag, just glared at me. "What're you wantin' with Jack, boy?"

"I just wanna meet him, mostly. I'd like to be a pirate, actually," I said, looking down.

The bartender laughed more. I was embarrassed now, and a pirate should never be embarrassed. I didn't feel worthy of the name pirate, a rare thing for me. I was ripped out of my misery as I was suddenly jerked out of my chair.

I saw grubby hands around my waist and I felt a cold metal object against my neck. My heart involuntarily sped up. I saw my hat fall from my head to the ground. "Hand over me money, you scoundrel, or I'll kill your young lad here!" The grubby man yelled to the scallywag.

"He's not my lad, kill 'im for all I care," the scallywag said, impassively.

"Wait a minute. It ain't a lad," the grubby man said, releasing me like I was toxic.

I knew that as soon as my hat fell I was in deep trouble. My long, dark hair was French braided and pulled up into my hat. Now, it most certainly wasn't. "It's a lady!" A skinny idiot yelled from my left.

"It's a young lady. Who wants to find Sparrow? What's yer name, lass?" The scallywag asked me.

"It's Jacqueline. I go by Jackie," I said, glaring.

"Surname, child?" the scallywag asked.

"My mother's a pirate. That's all'at matters," I said, avoiding the question.

"Unlikely," the bartender coughed.

"There are some woman pirates and you know it!" I yelled, grabbing my hat and pulling my hair back into it.

"Ye don't dress like a lady. Or act like one."

"You bastards can just shove it, alright. If you don' know where Jack is then I'm gone," I said, turning to leave.

I heard one of the men behind me whisper, "She don't talk like a lady either."

I left the Faithful Bride, certainly unhappy. Not one of those men were about to tell me where Jack was. As I left, I saw a younger woman in the corner staring at me. I nodded kindly at her. Woman to woman.

She smiled and I felt a little better.

I walked out of the good for nothing tavern. I realized how horrible it smelled when I finally was out of it. I began swaggering through Tortuga, thinking about what to do next. I was about to turn when an arm turned me.

It was the scallywag. He was of a larger weight, with a beard and soiled clothing. "Eh, lass, what you be wantin' with my mate Jack?"

"You know him?" I asked.

"Aye, I know 'im. Known 'im fer years. It's no' exactly common for young lasses to seek him. At least, ones as young as you. Normally older lasses're seeking him in hopes of slapping him a good 'un. Normally, 'e deserves it, too…"

"I just wann'er meet 'im. Like I said, me mum's a pirate. She knew 'im once. She said that 'e was a good man but tricky. That 'e was a good pirate but placed his trust in bad places. Yet, he weren't trustworthy 'imself," I told the man.

The scallywag nodded. "Jack is an in'eresting character. I'd trust 'im with me life though. Bu' tell me, whose yer mother?"

I shook my head. I wasn't going to tell him. "It don' matter."

"Well, lets just say I know where Jack is. How're you plannin' on gettin' to 'im?"

"I…I don' know."

"And what'll you do when you get there?"

"I dunno," I said, dejected. I really had no clue what I was doing. I just really wanted to meet Jack. I had to find him. So I set out to find where he was. I didn't really think about what I would do afterwards.

"Ah lass, what'd'ya want with Jack, of all pirates?" The man asked me kindly.

This was an easy question. "He's a pirate lord! Who else would I wanna meet?!"

"You really wanna be a pirate, don't you?" The man said smiling.

"Aye, sir!"

"Well, I'll tell you wha'. I'm going to Port Royal on some business. Why don' you sail with my crew? It's a short sailing and a small crew. Perfect for a young pirate. From there on out, we'll see."

Why was he doing this? I didn't know pirates to be kind or helpful. I eyed him. "Why're you offerin' this? I'm only ten."

"All pirates start somewhere, don't they? Plus, I think there's more to yer story than yer leadin' on. I'd like to find out what it is."

I nodded. He was nosey, a pirate's trait. "Wha' about the myth that sailin' with a woman is ba' luck?"

The man tapped my hat with his hand. "Just keep that hat there. You look like a lad that way. Actually, you remind me a lot of Jack when he was young."

I grinned. I would be a pirate. If it was the last thing I did, I would be a pirate. Just like my parents.