Disclaimer: I do not own POTC. **sigh**. I wish I do though.
This is an AU story. Dead Man's Chest and At World's End never happened.
Chapter 1- Girl in the Water
The dark clouds began to part and the light rain ceased. The bright sun emerged out of the shadows and shone its brightest. The once merciless ocean calmed down into soft waves and sparkled under the bright light. The lone, black ship swayed with the light breeze. Its passengers peeked out from below deck, some from underneath boats and wet-unused sails. They hesitated then emerged fully out of their hiding places to assess the damage of last night's storm.
One of the men began to bark orders at the crew. He wore a three-cornered pirate's hat over a red bandana on his head and a matching coat. Beads were woven into this hair and beard. He wore black kohl around his brown eyes and rings on each of his fingers.
"We checked every inch of the Pearl, Captain," a short, pudgy man announced. "Except for a few scrapes her and there, she's all right. But, I think, we should dock at the nearest port and fix her up, just in case."
Jack nodded. "Alright. I'll set the course. The rest of you, fix what needs to be fixed and do what needs to be done. Savvy?"
"Aye, sir."
After Gibbs left him, Jack headed towards the helm of the ship, stroking the black wood of his special Black Pearl along the way. Last night's storm was unexpected. Though the Pearl has gone through worse than what it experienced last night, it still took its toll on Jack's precious.
Don't worry my darling, he thought, as he steered. We'll have you fixed up in no time.
Not long after, there came a shout from one of his crew.
"Captain! There's a lad on the water!" he called.
"A lad?" Jack removed his spyglass from his belt and looked into it.
There it was; a small wet body lying on a piece of wood. He could be dead. Now, Captain Jack Sparrow would never admit that he was a good man. Heck, he'll be damned if anyone ever calls him a good man! But if the poor lad was still alive, he couldn't leave the him out there to die and get eaten by sharks. That was just downright evil.
"Haul him in!" he ordered. "Mr. Cotton, take the helm, for now, if you please."
Jack watched as a few of his men lowered themselves on a boat. They hauled the unconscious body into the boat. The boat was then pulled in by their crewmates and the boy was placed on the deck of the ship. Jack made his way towards him and took his wrist, feeling for a pulse. There it was, faint but pulsing. When he looked at the boy's face, Jack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. The lad looked much too… Feminine. He reached out to pull the boy's hat off and lo and behold! Out tumbled a braid of dark hair. This wasn't a lad, it was a lass!
His men began murmuring about bad luck.
"Enough of that!" he barked. He placed a hand on her forehead and cursed when he realized she was burning up. "Annamaria!"
"Aye captain?" The sole femal crewmember looked ready for the order.
"Get the girl some proper clothes! The rest of ye, prepare a room and boil some water!"
The crew scurried to fulfill their captain's orders. Jack turned back to lass. She was young, no more than twenty-five. And no wonder they mistook her for a boy. She wore men's clothes: a white, long-sleeved shirt and brown breeches tucked into brown boots. A wet brown bag was slung across her body. She was soaked to the skin. If not for the brown vest over her shirt, it was certain that the men would have seen something that they were not supposed to without her permission. When one of the crew announced that the room was ready along with some clothes, he lifted her up into his arms.
Gibbs intercepted him, looking nervous. "Uh, Captain, do you think it be wise that she stay here? One woman is enough and-"
"Gibbs, you're not intending to leave a poor young lady out there in the water, all alone now are ye?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Then it's best that you prepare some grub for our guest. Once she wakes up, she'll be hungry. Savvy?"
His first-mate sighed. "Aye."
With a tilt of his head, Jack headed below deck, the unconscious girl in his arms.
_ _ _
She felt something warm on her forehead. It was soothing. Very soothing. How come her body hurt like she had been tossed back and forth? Where was she?
Groaning, she opened her eyes to see a black ceiling above her. Light came in through a small porthole above her right side. She was lying in a comfortable cot. She turned her head to the left and saw a kindly-old man with a parrot on his shoulder. Seeing that she was awake, he smiled and patted her on the arm.
"W-Who…" her voice cracked and she blushed in embarrassment.
The man chuckled and picked up a pitcher beside the cot and poured out water in a small glass before tilting her head. He brought the glass to her lips and she drank, greedily. When she had her fill, the man laid her head back on the pillow. She cleared her throat.
"W-Who are you?" she asked, quietly. "Where am I?"
He just shook his head and stood up.
"W-Wait…" she called.
"Good-bye!" the parrot squawked as they left the room.
She watched in amazement as the silent man and his parrot left her alone. She stared back at the ceiling. Based on the swaying, she concluded she was on a ship. A black ship. But, how did she get here? Where exactly was here? And were the people here good people?
The door opened and she turned her head to see a man. He wore a red bandana on his head and beads on his hair and beard. She blushed, realizing that despite the unusual get-up, he was very handsome. He smiled, kindly and took the seat that the other man left a while ago.
"Hello, luv. How are you feeling? You had a nasty fever for a while but good thing it went down. The whole day's rest have done you some good."
She moved to rise and he helped her sit up. She simply looked at him and nodded in thanks.
"One of my men will be down in a minute with some food for ye. Why don't we get acquainted while we wait, eh? The name's Captain Jack Sparrow. And you, my lady?"
She opened her mouth but stopped. She pondered for a minute. Her name… She looked up at him, fear in her eyes.
"I… I don't know. Who am I?"
To be Continued…