Chapter One -

"The black pearl". It was impossible to confuse that ship with another; the black hull and sails were hard to forget. The one thing that always stole my attention was the winged maiden, so much like my mother, on the bow of the ship releasing a bird form her hands.

I stood in the dock of Tortuga hands on my hips gazing up and down the port side of the Pearl. I shook my head; Jack wasn't taking as good a care as he once had of his precious ship. I could plainly see damage to the wood all along the main body of the hull. Patchy work, were chunks of the wood had been replaced, showed the immense lack of skill that the famous Pearls crew had when it came to repairs, not to mention the countless amount of scratches and I was only seeing one side of the ship.

And there he was, the all famous captain of "The Black Pearl", striding down the plank like it was a catwalk, in his usual drunken state. Gibbs followed in close pursuit, and might I add walking normally.

'Still drinking at this time in the morning I see,' I said as casually as I could without raging at him.

Jack frowned, scrunching his nose as if a bad smell was present. 'You have an unusual gift of turning up at the most unpredictable times,' he said as a edged slowly around me. I was tempted to push him off the dock, but I held that thought for future preferences. 'Now, if you don't mind I have things to attend to.'

Jack took a few quick steps away from me before returning to his normal pace towards the town.

I rolled my eyes. 'Bloody coward.' I muttered under my breath. 'SPARROW!' I shouted, smiling with joy as he winced.

Jack turned slowly to feel the sudden pain in his left cheek as I forced all of my anger at the pirate into a slap, completely satisfied with the red hand mark that was already forming there. 'You coward,' I shouted. Other members were disembarking form the Pearl at the sound of my shouting. 'You ran away, when you could have spared us, you left me and all of your crew for dead. Because of you only four of us survived, four out of nearly fifty. Because of you they are lying somewhere on the bottom of the ocean.'

'Ahh,' said as he lifted a finger. 'But you don't know that for sure do you. They could be serving the Dutchmen right now as we speak.'

As if that's any better. 'Watch your words Sparrow,' I growled through gritted teeth, my eyes narrowing in rage. 'Under the service of Davy Jones is not where any man would want to spend his last years.'

Jack raised an eyebrow. 'So you haven't heard.' He said almost to himself, stroking his braided beard.

'Don't try and change the subject Sparrow.' I snapped

He glanced over at Gibbs, ignoring my comment. 'Any "real" pirate would know about the death of Jones, wouldn't you say so Gibbs.'

Gibbs glanced warily at me before he answered. 'It would be unusual for someone to miss the news, especially if they be at Tortuga.'

I frowned. Jack Sparrow was the most frustrating pirate on earth to talk with. His twisted words and useless babbling were never to the point and set my mind in circles. 'What do you mean Jones is dead? Who took his place, who stabbed the heart?'

Jack waved a hand in the air. 'Just some whelp that was on the verge of death. It's not important the fact is the whelp will do the job and we don't have to worry about attack from the Dutchmen anymore.'

I rolled my eyes and muttered to myself, 'Unless he's got some Goddess as a lover who has a unpredictable nature and tempramtic rage.'

'Actually,' Jack said in quirky voice as if re-living a bad memory. 'He's married to a high born murderess that had guilt issues.' Then his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face, 'She's mortal though so no worries there then.'

'Excellent,' I said with a sarcastic note. 'I'll invite her over for a magnificent tea party and will discuss the uselessness of men.'

Jack frowned at me and I smiled half heartedly, as much as Jack loved his rum, he also had a secret love for tea and better yet tea parties. 'Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be, as you put "as far away from Jack Sparrow as the waters of the world will let permit"?

I sighed, as much as I hated what I was about to ask, I didn't sail all the way back to the Caribbean for nothing. 'I need your help,' I said simply.

Jack made an over-exaduratd attempt at laughter, stomping his feet and patting his chest. 'Ha-ha, that's a good one. No, why are you really here in the

Caribbean when last I heard, you were looking for some trinket or other in the Mediterranean.'

'Aye, I was and I found what I was looking for. Which is why I'm here. Sparrow, I had a proposition to make to you. But now that I finaly located you, I'm not so sure that neither you nor your ship and crew are up to it.' I glanced up at the black sails, patched with an assortment of white and coloured canvas.

Jack blinked several times, 'Are you insulting my intelligence?'

'No, I'm merely just pointing out the differences between the way a fellow captain looks after his ship and crew,' I answered absentmindedly studying my finger nails.

'Fellow captain,' Jack glanced at me warily. 'Clearly we both have a lot to catch up on. Since when did you become a captain?'

I put my arm around Jack s shoulder and stared him down to the end of the dock. 'That's not important Jackie. What is important is, are you willing to come on an adventure with me, perhaps stumble upon your grand wish for immortality and if what I have found is what I believe it to be, become as rich as Cortez himself.'

Jack's eyes lit up, I had him hooked at immortality.

'Or,' I continued. 'Are you just go on spending the rest of your days chasing some hopeful opportunity of fortune, sailing between ports, rum, women and just the usual raiding that us pirates are so magnificntly good at...well most of us are... throughout the Caribbean.'

'Immortal you say,' I could see him imagining the prospect. Jack, off in his day dream failed to notice me release his shoulders and stop leading him down the dock beside another ship. 'I have had a thought in this little adventure of yours.'

I raised an eyebrow a grin creeping across my face. 'Aye.'

'If you already know where this object is, whatever it is, then why do you need my...'

Jack stared in amazement, -his jaw draping - at the vessel before him.

I placed a hand proudly on the side of hull, a lot smaller then Jacks Pearl, my ship was a fast and agile. With only two masts the boat was easy to crew and extremely sea worthy. 'Everyone knows of the famous Black Peal,' I said glancing behind me to the large black ship. 'And hopefully, soon sailors and pirates form all over will be talking of this beauty.'

'Where on the high seas did you steal such a boat?' Gibbs asked.

'Well Mister Gibbs,' I said stepping onto the gang plank. 'If your captain decides to meet me at Shipwreck Cove in let's say, a week's time, then I shall tell you how I became the captain of the "Raging Mare".' At the end of the plank I turned back to the captain and his crew. 'Oh and Jack, I know you took my pistol. I expect you to return it to me when next we meet.'

A tall weather beaten man, older then Gibbs appeared beside me. 'Captain we are ready to make sail.' He said in a thick highlandish accent

'Aye then Ice, raise the anchor,' I said still watching Jack. 'And Sparrow,' I called down to him. 'Do you remember the ring that our mother gave me before she died, the silver one with the skull and emerald?'

'Yes,' Jack answered warily.

'It's been missing for some time; perhaps if you hear of it, you could maybe let me know.'

'Of course. Anything for my beloved baby sister.'

I grinned, noticing his crew whisper between each other. 'Cast of,' I called loudly as I raised my hand in farewell to my bewilder brother.

'Do you think he will come?' Ice asked beside me, glaring at the disappearing Jack.

My grin disappeared. Tormenting Jack had always been a favourite past time of mine, but oh how I hated him for what he had done. I said simply 'He will come.'