AN: For anyone reader All For You, don't fret, I'm not abandoning that story. However, inspiration came for this story, and I absolutely had to start it.

I ought to note that this story is throwing out the whole COTBP story line and beyond. In other words, the only characters I am using are Jack and his crew, with maybe some references to Norrington and the Turners and such. Maybe. We will see what happens

Disclaimer: I do not own POTC, any characters, themes, or objects and otherwise. If I did, I would be publishing these stories and getting more money.

As always, enjoy the story

Lynn. That was the name she had always gone by, though in all honesty, her real name was Lillian. But it was a mutual agreement between her parents and all whom she knew that 'Lynn' much better suited her. So, unofficially, she was Lynn Ramsey.

Ethereal Heights, home of the Price family, was the only home Lynn had ever known. Her family, though in truth merchants by trade, was under the service of this wealthy goliath of a family. The circumstances which had caused such a thing to be were well before her birth, and were rarely spoken of, but Lynn did manage to scrape up most of the story by the time she was ten.

Her grandfather was a very successful merchant, constantly going between the West Indies, the Colonies, and England. Much of his trade involved the late Mr. Price, now dead and replaced by his son. The two became rather close acquaintances, and when Lynn's father took over the business, he was on excellent terms with both Mr. Price senior and Mr. Price junior.

It was two years after the elder past away that the business ran into bankruptcy, due mostly to the villainous pirates that roamed the Caribbean. Soon, the debt and financial trouble had become so great, Mr. Ramsey was on the brink of being thrown into the debtor's prison. It was the divine intervention of the younger Mr. Price that saved the family, but the amount necessary to pay off such debt was impossible for the Ramsey family at that time.

So there was an agreement arranged. As Mr. Ramsey continued his marketing from coast to coast, Mrs. Ramsey would remain at Ethereal Heights with the remainder of the family to work in the house as a maid, therefore paying off the debt by labor. Of all the earnings Mr. Ramsey earned, half went straight to the Price family to help pay off the debt in that fashion.

It was not a bad position to be in, all things considered. Food was always available, there was always a comfortable roof and bed to be in, and an excellent education was possible. Lynn, along with her two older sisters, grew up in nothing short of moderate bliss.

The bliss was different for each. Annabelle, the eldest from Lynn by eight years, was the average Prima Donna who wanted nothing more than pretty clothes, jewelry, balls, and boys. She, by far, was the favorite of Mrs. Price, and was often treated to such things, for Mrs. Price had no daughters of her own. Delilah, younger than Annabelle by three years, was a flighty, adventurous girl who enjoyed spending her time acting as princesses, princes, pirates, queens, or whatever caught her fancy. She was a favorite of the town boys, for she was easy to talk to, always wore a bright smile, and was just as eager to get in trouble as any of them.

For Lynn, the happiness was different. She did not find joy in dressing up or pretending; though, she was not opposed to it either, and rather enjoyed doing such activities with her sisters. No, what Lynn enjoyed most was the large library that the Prices owned. Story after story she could read to her heart's delight. Map after map she could pour over, discovering new places. In all respects, Lynn was a dreamer, a thinker, a wonderer. Naturally, out of all the sisters, she was the more quiet of the three, however, she was also the most stubborn of them all. Where she sisters were whimsical and flirtatious, she was practical and witty, if she desired to be such. She was the observer, the one who saw but did not say.

At a very young age, it was clear who the beauties of the family were. Both Annabelle and Delilah had luscious blonde hair that grew to the nape of their backs, though Delilah was obviously the prettier of the two. Both were medium height and slender, with extremely fair skin. Clear complexions and round eyes, both resembled fairytale princesses, much like their mother.

Lynn took after her father. He was tall, and she was tall, though in comparison to many other girls, she wasn't noticeable. Like him, her skin freckled easily, leaving faint traces of them across her otherwise clear, white skin. Like her sisters, she was slender, but with much more muscle, and a much more angular jaw that could make her look absolutely vicious when angry. All in all, she did give the appearance of a rather plain girl at first sight, and if one was to take the time, she could become somewhat pretty in appearance. Her only redeeming attribute was her gorgeous black hair, which she commonly held in a tight bun to keep it under control.

But this paradise that the girls lived in indeed had to be shared but none other than the Price's only child, Jacob Price. He was a devilish one, with raven black hair and playful brown eyes, and a smile that could melt one's heart. Ten years older than Lynn herself, he was often found teasing Annabelle, or chasing after Delilah, for whom he had a deep admiration for. He commonly ignored Lynn, unless to bug her when neither sister was at home. He wasn't cruel, just dismissive, and truthfully, Lynn didn't mind it. The relationship between them was where any girl of her age wanted it to be with any boy of his age, which was more or less aloof of each other.

This was the circumstance that showed itself three days after Lynn's eighth birthday, and two months before Jacobs seventeenth. Lynn was, as usual, burying herself in books and maps in the library, extraordinary for a child of her age, and to Jacob, rather peculiar. So, seeing as she was alone, and that Delilah was not at home, he decide to come in and have a look at what she was doing.

Lynn was dressed in a rather plain cream dress, she had never been one for lovely things, though she was rather picky at whether something was clean or not, and had a habit of looking rather prim, as her mother put it, "a miniature adult." This behavior also said quite a bit about her character, for out of the three sisters, she the by far the more mature, though there still was a lively and careless side of her that was commonly shone about the house, but one that was rarely seen by others outside of the family.

"Well, well, if it isn't Lillian Ramsey, messing up my father's maps again? What are you doing, luv?"

This little pet name was something Jacob had picked up recently, and now could not seem to stop using. More often than not, it was in reference to Delilah, though it was beginning to encompass most of the female population of Ethereal Heights.

Lynn sniffed in annoyance, pursing her lips into a thin line, but otherwise remained unchanged. Instead, she continued looking avidly at the map in front of her, tracing the lines with her nimble fingers. Jacob laughed heartily and patted her on the shoulder, rather roughly in fact, though he probably believed he was being friendly. "Silent as usual, I see. Yet this is the same girl I saw yesterday running around like a savage by the coast, yelling and screaming like a banshee."

"That was hardly a banshee," Lynn muttered softly. Even for eight years old, the way she talked was stately and purposeful. Jacob raised an eyebrow. The child that was in Lynn gave out, and she rolled her eyes and huffed slightly. "Well, I am allowed to play. I'm eight. Just turned it three days ago, after all."

"You know, I remember the day you were born," began Jacob playfully, and Lynn swatted him on the arm, puckering her lips in defiance. In the few conversation the two ever held, this topic had been a favorite of his to bring up, mostly for the such predictable reaction it invoked from poor Lynn. The fact that this boy could remember her own birth was a bit embarressing for her, especially when Jacob would go into detail.

"I already know. The first thing you asked when you saw me was why the midwife was holding a lobster. Stupid story, if you ask me."

"But I didn't."

Lynn stared at Jacob stonily, her jaw set and dangerous. Jacob, who was quite accustomed to this glare, reclined back in the chair he had plopped himself down in and smiled. It was a perfect smile, white, warm, and inviting, one that would later lure many women to him, a gift he was quickly becoming aware of. It had little affect on the young Lynn though, and soon she was bored and turned back to the maps.

"What are you doing? Can you read them?"

"I'm learning."

Jacob seemed genuinely impressed, making Lynn smile inside of herself. Jacob never seemed to care about her doings, and for him to suddenly take interest was nice. "Do you want to learn because of your father?" Lynn nodded slightly as he pulled the map toward him. "This is of the Caribbean, where your father is right now. Do you know where he is?" She pointed toward St. Kitts silently. Jacob nodded, a small grin on his face.

"I was trying to figure out how much longer he was going to be gone."

"Ah. Do you want help?" The question was more to be polite than truthful, and Lynn shook her head.

"I would have already asked. I almost have it figure out, anyway."

Jacob laughed. "If you were my age and a man, I would hire you for my crew to navigate."

"Your crew? But your only seventeen!"

"But you see, Lillian, I am going to sail away on my eighteenth birthday. Get away from this place. I've been oppressed and stuffed up in this house long enough. All I want now is freedom. Time to feel the wind on my face, smell the salt in the air, be attached to nothing and no one."

Lynn studied him skeptically. "You don't want to be a merchant though, not when my father offered you a job."

"I'm doing something much more respectable. I'm going to be a privateer."

"You can't captain a ship. And I don't think much of pirates."

"Pirates and privateers are two very different things, and you have never thought much of me anyways. And for your information, I am quite capable of sailing a ship. I can certainly captain one."

"How are you going to get a ship?"

"I already have one. Built her myself."

Lynn was about to ask how he could possibly build a boat, but kept her mouth shut, remembering that he had been gone recently, and Delilah had seen him down by the docks more often than not. "What's her name?"

"The Black Pearl. She is going to be absolutely gorgeous when I'm done with her." Jacob suddenly sat up straight in his chair, as if he had just waken from a terrible dream. "Why am I telling you this? You could give it all away and ruin everything."

It was as if a dark cloud had descended on his countenance, and Lynn shrunk back as he glared at her. "You must be absolutely silent, or I will personally skin you alive. Do you understand?"

Lynn was never sure whether Jacob had meant the threat or not, but she kept silent all the same. Indeed, as he had said, on his eighteenth birthday, Jacob Price was gone, and as far as Lynn was concerned, never to be seen again.