Pirates of the Caribbean: Place of Fears
Chapter 1: The Sparrow Makes Port

After he had tied his dinghy to the dock he kicked it to make sure it was secure. As soon as he did he regretted it, he hearing voices and cracking branches from the inlet a couple hundred yards away. He turned quickly enough to spot a bobbing lantern not too far off. Without a second thought he slid into the water in attempt to hide. Bits and pieces of the two men's conversation floated towards him, but he couldn't catch all their words.

"…she's not happy, not at all. She can't stand it…"

"All she ever does is stare at that damned watch, she does. Even stopped…"

His voice floated off.

There was a pause as two sets of feet stepped onto the creaky dock.

"Poor cap'n……oi!"

Suddenly he was lifted out of the water by his armpits and forced off the dock at gunpoint. By the light of the lantern he saw one man was Chinese and the other dark-skinned.

"Jack Sparrow," said the Chinese. "I think you'd better come along with us." He cocked the pistol. "Now."

Jack smiled nervously. "Now, gents, is it really necessary to –"

The other pressed his gun to the pirate's forehead. "No more talking. Walk."

He had no choice.

She stood with her back facing the three that were just entering the room. The room was a hexagon in shape; each side but the far left one was a broad window that looked out over the sea. Five linked barrels stood under the right wall and were framed by coral hibiscus. A pink umbrella tree peeked in from the left side of the far window, gently waving and sending its scent through the night. What caught Jack's attention most, though, was the blood flower that the young woman was looking at so intently.

The dark man cleared his throat. "Cap'n?" he asked meekly.

"Kibwe," she said coolly. "Is there a reason you're interrupting me?"

He swallowed. "We brought him." He paused. "Him."

Hidden from the gazes of her crew and Jack, she frowned and took a sword from the vase by the barrel. She swung around, resting the tip of the sword against Jack's neck.

As Jack's face assumed a look of slight horror, her features twisted into a look of confusion.

"Jack – I mean, Captain Jack Sparrow." She quickly tossed the sword to the Chinese. He caught it and stood patiently next to Kibwe. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she snapped. "Bring the man some rum!"

Both bowed sharply and ran out of the room. Jack blinked and smiled.

"I take it you're the captain your charming friends were mumbling about."

"'tis me. I thought you were Barbossa."

"You have something against my first mate, then." He walked over to the window and looked out. "Don't blame you there."

She took a step back and looked him up and down. Crossing her arms, she asked, "What have my men done to you?"

Jack looked down at the plain blue shirt and cut pants he was now sporting. "Oh," he said, "well, I was forced into these clothes at gunpoint and then brought to you. And, look at that, we match."

She looked down at herself and managed a smile. They both had Asian-influenced nightclothes that were the same (aside from the colour). "Yes, I suppose we do."

Suddenly the Chinese ran back inside with an armful of rum bottles. "Cap'n," he said, setting them down on the floor in front of the mats to the left.

She nodded. "Jiang." He ran out again and she offered Jack a seat on one of the mats. "Rum? I happen to know you quite like rum."

Jack smiled and waltzed by her. "You know me well, then." He took a bottle and bit the cork off then spit it out. It flew across the room and landed by the door. He drank deeply.

She sat down on the sill of the window, hanging one foot out. It dangled uselessly while she stared out at the water. An unopened bottle of rum sat in her lap.

Jack felt the awkward silence settle in between them. In an attempt to break it, he said, "So, this is your island."

She nodded without turning her head. "No doubt Masters Kibwe and Jiang showed you around."

"Not so much showed around as dragged through," Jack countered.

Before she could answer, Jiang and Kibwe ran in looking nervous. A loud explosion signalled their entrance. The captain swung her leg over to the inside of the room and stood her ground. "Let him in," she said fiercely. They bowed, but before they left again, she made a small motion towards Jack. The two crew members nodded and ran out in opposite directions.

Jack had had the rum bottle at his lips, but slowly put it down. "Who? Barbossa?"
He was met with silence.

"Let who in?"

Once again there was silence. Kibwe ran back in carrying Jack's clothes and effects in one arm and what looked like armour on the other. He dropped the armour on the ground. He handed Jack his things and bowed.

"Quickly, quickly!" She pulled two swords from the vase and threw one to Jack. "Are you willing to fight with us?" she asked.

Jack caught the sword with ease and waved his arm. "I tend to try to avoid any physical contact with –"

"Great let's go!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the hut, down the stone steps and through a tight crevice in a cliff side. A village lay beyond it which was in the process of being stormed by the East India Trading Company.

"I can never seem to escape them," Jack commented. He ducked as a cannonball went flying over his head, crashing into a house a few metres away and causing it to collapse.

She narrowed her eyes and ran over the bridge just ahead. One of the soldiers was in the process of beating up an unarmed man. Grabbing Kibwe's pistol from his hilt, she aimed it directly at the man and fired. He fell, dead.

The overwhelming bang of the shot caused silence to fall upon the town on stilts. Muskets were aimed at her from every side. Jiang appeared from inside a general store, ready to fight, but she put her hand up to stop him.

"Thomas Helling, you coward!" she shouted to the air. "Show yourself!"

With a secretive smile, the good Admiral stepped out of the loft of a nearby house. "Why, hello again, Captain." He glided down the steps with his hands tightly folded behind his back. His men followed.

She side-stepped to cover Jack. Kibwe and Jiang followed suit and stood on both her sides. Jack instinctively shrank down.

"You have no business here, Helling," she said tightly. "I have done nothing to make you attack my home and the people who live here."

Jack, who had been staring up at the sky, noticed something glinting in her dark hair as she shook her head. His eyes widened slightly.

"You know what you've done to make me do this," he said, unsheathing his sword. "I only hoped it would be over with quickly."

"The Jade Knot," Jack whispered to himself, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Her top lip lifted off her teeth in anger. "You don't know who I am."

He smiled like a little boy with a brand new toy. "Oh? I don't?" He took a step closer, now less than a foot away from where she stood. "Who are you, then?"

"The Jade Knot," Jack repeated, this time a bit louder. He turned and pushed Jiang out of the way. "You're wearing the Jade Pirate's Knot!"

Her lip twitched. "Yes, I am." She unsheathed her sword. "Farai." She held it to Helling's neck. "The newest Pirate Lord of Singapore."

At least twenty of Farai's men surrounded all of Helling's men and had them surrendering with their hands in the air.

"Now," said Farai, taking a step towards the man."I suggest you get off my island before I really get angry."