"Jack!" I screamed as I lost my footing even though he was too far ahead to save me.

I tried to keep my balance, waved my arms around and tried to tip myself back to being upright instead of half over the huge drop but nothing seemed to be working and everyone knew there were huge splinters of old masts down there to put an abrupt end your fall. I lifted my head and caught Jack's eye as I fell. His were round and huge.

I didn't scream as I fell. I didn't want to be afraid when I died. I wanted to go peacefully and calmly. But then I saw a rope my by cheek. Quickly I grabbed onto it. Suddenly I was flying back upwards and Jack was falling downwards tied to the rope. I tried to scream then, but there was no sound. I looked up trying think, but then I stopped moving. Looking back down I saw Jack hanging in mid air. Somehow we'd balanced out, but now we were stuck and we really weren't supposed to be up here. Our mothers had forbidden it.

"Millie, climb!" Jack called up to me.

I looked down and saw that he was sorting himself out and waiting to climb the rope too. I caught onto what he was doing and with calls of 'Left! Right! Left! Right!' we climbed the rope at the same time keeping our balance. Just.

When I got onto the log that served as a bridge I tied my end of the rope to it and began to pull the rest of the rope to help Jack up. After what felt like a long time his head appeared. He grinned at me. I grinned back and ran off.

"You're still it!" I called over my shoulder.

"I just saved your life!" he called.

"And why would Jackie have to save your life?" a deep voice asked from in front of me.

I skidded to a halt just in time and slowly looked up the wall of red that was in front of me. It was Captain Teague, Jack's Da'. Jack called him The-Man-Who-Might-Be-Father instead of 'Dad' because Teague wasn't around much. I gulped and looked into his eyes which were looking down at me. I gulped again.

"I fell off the… the bridge… sir," I said.

"Did you?"

I nodded.

"Jackie?" he asked.

Jack stood next to me and looked to the floor.

"What happened, boy?" Teague asked.

Jack told him what happened but never looked up from the floor. I looked at the floor too.

Teague sighed and said, "Get going with ye. Don't be coming back up again." He ruffled Jack's hair and then walked off.

Jack stomped in the opposite direction with his hands clenched to his sides in tight fists. I went after him calling his name, but he didn't answer me and went even faster. I had to run to keep up with him.

"Jack, come on," I sighed. "He's only looking out for you," I tried to soothe.

"No he's not," he snapped.

"He didn't tell you off though did he?"

"No," he snapped.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked and ran in front of him. I rooted my feet and put my hands on my hips.

"You don't know what it's like!" he yelled at me. "You have a perfect family and a perfect life and a perfect house. I have a grandmamma who hits me, a mother who don't stop her and a father who says its her way of showin' she cares when he is here and then ignores me for a few weeks before going back to sea!" He ran off.

"Jack!" I called and stepped forward to go after him.

Someone held me in place.

"Let him go, Millicent," Teague said.

I looked up at him feeling like I hated him. "Are you going to go after him?" I asked.

He didn't say anything. I tried to move run again but he was still holding onto my shoulder. I saw a rum bottle swinging from his belt and slammed it between his legs. He cried out and let me go. I didn't wait another moment but ran after my best friend.

I ran down the hill and over the river to the little ship we sometimes pretended to have adventures on. It was an old thing and I found Jack in the captain's cabin. He was sitting in the corner with his knees drawn up and had wrapped his arms around them. I sat next to him.

"I hit him in the balls with a rum bottle," I said.

He chuckled. Then he looked up and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

I shrugged. "I yell at people all the time when I'm mad."

He wiped his nose again.

"Come on we'll be ten soon and then we can do whatever we want," I smiled and nudged him in the ribs with my elbow.

"I won't be allowed to," he muttered and put his head back in his knees.

I sighed, bored already and walked around the cabin. Suddenly I fell through the floor and did scream this time. Then I yelped again when I looked into a skeleton's face.

"Mil?" Jack called over the edge of the hole I'd fallen through.

The head fell off the skeleton making me scream again.

"Look!" Jack exclaimed.

I looked up at him. He was pointing to the floor. I looked down and saw that I was on top of a huge pile of treasure! There was gold everywhere as well as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topaz and pearls and guns and swords.

"Wow!" I exclaimed and ran my hand through some of the gold.

"Put some in a chest, Millie!" he excitedly said. "Then we'll take it home and I'll be able to show him that I'm a pirate too!"

"Yeah!" I agreed and stood up.

There was an empty chest in the corner which I dragged under the hole and then filled with coins and jewels. Jack threw a rope down and draped it over a timber which didn't look like it was going to break. I tied the chest to it and then heaved.

"It's too heavy!" I complained as I pulled.

"Try harder!" Jack told me.

I pulled on the rope and even tried jumping but nothing worked. I fell to the floor out of breath. Then something hit me in the head. It was another rope.

"Tie the chest with that too and I'll pull from up here," Jack suggested.

I did and then we both tried pulling the chest. It took a while to move, but when it was in the air it got a little easier and soon we had it on the floor up there.

"Jack!" I called. "There's a cart outside, shall we fill it?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed.

We filled another three chests and then had a break. I was worn out from all the heaving and my hands hurt. We sat down for a while and then pushed the chests out of the boat and managed to get them in the cart. Then we grinned at each other, went to the front of the cart where there was a wooden bar to push against. We were just about to push when Jack stood up straight.

"We didn't get any swords or guns," he said.

"Or crowns or necklaces and goblets."

With that we both went back to the boat and picked out the things we wanted. I had a golden pistol, a shiny sword and lots of jewels, a crown, a couple of goblets which I tied to my belt with ropes of pearls and I found a hat which I put under the crown. Jack had more of the same.

We climbed back out and back to the cart.

"Ready this time?" I asked.

"Yes," he said and began to push.

I pushed to and although it took us a while to get going but we did it. Luckily it was a flat rout all the way home, we lived next door to each other which was another good thing. When we got there our mother's were stood outside looking worried and Jack's dad looked the same.

Teague saw us first and rushed over. He pulled Jack out from behind the bar, making me drop the cart so that the front rested on the floor.

"Where have you been, Jack?" Teague asked and shook his son a little.

I didn't think he'd even noticed all the gold and jewels that Jack was wearing. Before Jack could answer Teague pulled him into his arms and fiercely hugged him.

"Millicent May!" my mother snapped.

I flinched and looked at her.

"Haven't you heard a thing I've said?" Ma demanded. "I've been worried sick about you, your father is searching everywhere for you and… What on earth are you wearing?"

"We found treasure," Jack happily announced.

He pulled on Teague's hand and pulled him to the back of the cart. I went round the other side and Ma followed me. Together Jack and I climbed onto the cart and opened the four treasure chests. Ma and Teague gasped.

"This is what you've been doing all afternoon?" Teague asked and looked at Jack.

Jack nodded with a proud smile. Teague smiled back which made Jack smile even more. Teague then clapped Jack on the shoulder and gave him a one armed hug.

"Two chests each," Teague decided.

"But I found it!" Jack protested.

"Wouldn't have if I didn't fall through the floor!" I protested.

"You didn't even realised you were sat on top of all the treasure until I told you!"

"The head fell off the skeleton!" I snapped. "Anyway, the code says that each pirate gets an equal share of the treasure," I said triumphantly and crossed my arms.

"You're not old enough to be a pirate," he said back just as triumphantly.

"I'm two days older than you," I growled.

"Now just stop it the pair of you!" Ma snapped. "Neither of you will be getting any at this rate because you don't deserve it!"

"Now, Jane," Teague interrupted in a soft voice. Then he turned back to us. "Is there any more?"

"Edward!" Ma snapped and threw her hands up in surrender.

"There's lots more!" Jack exclaimed. "I'll show you!"

"Millie!" my Da called.

I turned round to see him running up the street. I ginned because I knew he wasn't going to tell me off.

"Where have you been?" he asked before hugging me.

"I think it's perfectly obvious, Jeremy," Teague said. "On an adventure."

"We found treasure, Da!" I jumped off the cart and pulled on his hand. "This way!"

I don't normally post stories for PotC so please be nice. Feel free to leave reviews/criticism :D

As ever: I own NOTHING other than my OCs.