Chapter One: The Location of the Black Pearl

"I love you, Jack."

"As do I, love. Always have, always will."

That was the last conversation that Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica Teach had before he abandoned her on a deserted island. He had been replaying the scene in his head for months, ever since it had happened. Jack smiled slightly at the memory before frowning deeply, swigging from his bottle of rum. Stirrings, he said to himself, that's all they were. Not feelings, stirrings. Captain Jack Sparrow does NOT have feelings for anyone. He thought about it some more. Well, maybe they were feelings. No, they couldn't be. Shaking off the idea, he finished off the bottle and tossed it onto the beach and stood, stumbling drunkenly. Joshamee Gibbs, his first mate, and himself, were staying on an island together, trying to come up with a plan to get their ship back; The Black Pearl. Forcibly taken from them, stealing back the Black Pearl was their only priority whilst being stranded on the island. Jack surveyed the small island looking for Gibbs. Soon after, as if on cue, the white-bearded, rotund man came running toward him, waving his arms in the air.

"Jack! Jack, come quick!" he yelled, circling back to the place he had just come from. What the… thought Jack, running after him. Minutes later, he was near a rocky shore a far way down the part of the island where he and Gibbs had been living; down at the part they had deemed much too dangerous to go to.

"Gibbs you 'ol bat, what are you yelling abo-"Jack stopped, looking at the scene in front of him. There was broken, splintered wood all over the large, jagged rocks that lined the shoreline, as well as two ores that were now broken in half. The source of the wood was a medium sized row boat that was in terribly bad shape. Jack peered into the boat and was shocked at what he saw: there were two girls in the boat: unconscious, covered in seaweed and caked in mud. One of the girls was a petite blonde girl who was dressed in dreadfully tattered pants with a ripped corset-like top. The other, however, was a fuller figured brunette who was wearing a black halter top that exposed her stomach, and her pierced belly button, and a long black skirt that reached her ankles. Jack turned to Gibbs.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Gibbs shook his head.

"I dunno. I was lookin' down here for some firewood and found 'em just like this. It must've happened last night when we were sleepin'."

Jack frowned and furrowed his brow. "You get one of 'um, and I'll get the other." He picked up the brunette carefully and moved her up to the beach, laying her down in the sand. His eyes looked the unconscious girl over, frowning a bit: She slightly resembled Angelica. The blonde girl was soon placed beside her. Gibbs went back to the broken ship and looked around, taking all the things he could find out of it.

"Three bot'les of rum, a chain 'o a necklace, a compass, a water logged 'ol map, a deck 'o cards, pistol, and a sword." said Gibbs, throwing the items on the ground. Jack observed them curiously, picking up the pistol and flipping it over in his hand, examining it.

"This one's pretty nice…wonder what they're doing with it?" Jack asked aloud, looking up at Gibbs, who shrugged.

"No idea." Gibbs looked over at the two girls that were now lying in the sand. He gently moved the blonde's leg with his foot, and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Who are they…?"

"The better question is, mate, why are they here?"

Jack and Gibbs left the two girls lying in the sand, side by side, and waited for them to wake up from the comfort and the safety of their small shelter that they had been sleeping in, a small ways from the girls. Jack had the pistol that he had found in his hand, and Gibbs was drinking one of the bottles of the rum that they had found. The rest of the things that the men had taken from the small, broken boat were in a small pile just outside the shelter, near their feet. It wasn't until an hour later that one of the girls began to move.

The eyes of the blonde girl opened, and then blinked a few times trying to adjust to the bright sun that was above her. She then sat up and looked around, not knowing where she was. An island…but I don't remember ever arriving at an island… she thought to herself. The brunette beside her was still asleep, and upon seeing this, the blonde panicked.

"Gitana! Gitana, wake up!" yelled the blonde, shaking her by the shoulders, trying to wake the brunette up. She looked around frantically and saw the ocean then ran to it, cupping water into her hands, then ran back with the water and poured it on her friend's face, hoping it would wake her.

The brunette called Gitana grunted lightly, scrunching her face up. Mumbling something under her breath, she turned and lied on her side, trying to sleep. "Arabella, shh…let me sleep." commanded Gitana in a very groggy voice that had a hint of a foreign accent.. The blonde named Arabella shook her again.

"We're on an island! We…we must have shipwrecked!" To that, Gitana sat up quickly, sand covering her hair and the back of her body.

"What?" There was a small cough heard from behind them, and the two girls turned around quickly and saw Jack. He was standing, the pistol still in his hand. Smiling he waved slightly.

"Good morning sleepy heads."

The girls looked at each other then at Jack, eyes slightly wide.

"Where are we? And WHY do you have MY pistol?" demanded Arabella, her deep blue eyes narrowed at the man in front of her.

"Your pistol?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "You know how to use a pi-"he was then cut off by Arabella grabbing the gun out of his hand and pointing it at him, her eyes still very narrowed.

"You have exactly thirty seconds to explain to me and Gitana why we're here, where we are, and who the Hell you and your friend are." She looked over at Gibbs, who was standing as well, hands up in an 'I surrender' fashion. Jack sighed quietly and began to explain.

"We found your…little row boat smashed in the rocks and you two lovely ladies were in the boat, unconscious. So, myself," he looked from Arabella to Gitana, flashing a charming smile "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, and Gibbs," he pointed at the other man who smiled a bit "Got you out and set you in the sand to dry and to make sure you woke up." At the end of his story, he nodded as if to reassure not only the girls but himself as well. The blondes eyes unnarrowed and her lips pursed. "Oh." She then lowered the pistol and looked over at her brunette friend who nodded slightly then walked over, shaking the sand out of her wild, dark brown hair.

Jack watched the dark haired girl closely, seeing small similarities between her and Angelica. The hair was about the same shade, as were the eyes: deep brown that seemed fathomless. Jack frowned, thoughts of Angelica flooding his mind. He shook the thoughts out of his mind as the brunette stood by her blonde friend. She looked at Jack Sparrow with mild curiosity showing in her brown eyes.

"If you are a Captain, where is your ship?" her voice was very smooth, unlike the other girl's harsh voice, and her accent was very prevalent as she spoke. Gibbs spoke up, walking over, still holding one of the bottles of rum that he and Jack had taken out of the demolished row boat earlier that day.

"Our ship wa'stolen. Bes' ship in the sea, she was." He grinned, speaking drunkenly. "The Black Pearl."

The two girl's eyes widened slightly and they looked at each other, seeming to share a secret without speaking. Arabella spoke first, her words slow.

"Do you know who stole it? Or where it is?" Gibbs shook his head, and then Jack spoke, his eyes slightly narrowed as he watched the girls.

"Blackbeard stole 'er, but we have no idea where she could be." He hesitated. "What do you know?"

Arabella looked at Jack, frowning. "Blackbeard doesn't have your ship anymore. We know where it is."

Jack's eyes widened to the size of walnuts, and he walked over to the blonde, grabbing her shoulders and shook them harshly. "Where? Where's my ship?" Arabella irratatedly wrenched his hands off her and backed up a bit, glaring again.

"I don't trust you enough to tell you just yet." She looked at Gitana who was running fingers through her terribly knotted hair, then looked back at Jack. "Gitana and I are going to go get cleaned up. Then, I –might- tell you where the Black Pearl is. But you and your friend have to gain my trust, got it?"

Desperately, Jack nodded. "Of course, of course. Gibbs and I will get you two sleeping quarters ready for tonight while you get washed up." He tossed the two of them a small towel and a bar of unused soap that he grabbed out of a trunk that he had in his little shelter. Arabella nodded and took Gitana's wrist, and pulled her along with her to a small secluded, lagoon-like pool of water, obscured to the men by trees.

Gitana looked at Arabella thoughtfully then spoke. "We should tell them, Arabella. If we go with them, we could go back home. And…and maybe-"

Arabella cut her off, her words harsh. "We aren't welcomed back home, Gitana. Or do you not remember that we were exiled?"

Gitana shrugged, used to her friend's harsh tone. "I remember, but it's been a year. Maybe they have forgotten by now. Besides, if we have to, maybe we could just join Captain Jack Sparrow's crew and travel with him." she took off her halter top and dipped it in the water and washed it, hanging it on a tree branch, and then doing the same with her long skirt. Arabella sighed and stripped as well.

"Maybe. But…can we really trust these men? It's obvious that they're pirates."

Gitana smiled at Arabella and got in the water, looking up at her. "Pirates can be trusted. After all, I trust you."

The girls emerged from the forest area wearing their now wet clothes, wringing out their hair simultaneously. They talked quietly to each other as they walked back over to Jack and Gibbs, smiling and giggling quietly also. Gitana was holding both towels, they neatly folded in her arms with the bar of soap on top of them. Jack was in the shelter, making two spots in the small space for the girls to sleep. Arabella walked to the rocks where their boat was, leaving Gitana alone with Jack. She walked in the shelter, bowing her head to get through.

"Excuse me." she said, smiling lightly. Jack jumped, her voice surprising him. He looked up at saw Gitana and smiled lightly.

"Yes?" she set the towels down on the trunk gently.

"I brought back your things, thank you for letting us use them. My name is Gitana, and my friend is Arabella, by the way." She smiled warmly at Jack, and then extended her hand for him to shake. Instead of shaking her hand, he brought it to his lips and planted a soft kiss, murmuring "Pleasure to meet you, Gitana."

Blush slowly crept on the girl's cheeks, and then faded as quickly as it came. Her smile stayed on her lips as she spoke again. "Thank you for letting us stay with you. I…apologize for Arabella's harshness. She really is a nice girl, she's just been through a lot." She frowned slightly. "We both have."

Jack nodded slightly, a smile playing at his lips "Everyone's been through something. But for a girl your age…" he trailed off, implying that it was unfortunate that we've been through so much in such a short span of time. I nodded, understanding. "How old –are- you…if I may ask. I know that it's…improper to ask a woman her age…but…" he trailed off again and she smiled again.

"Almost 18. Arabella, though, is 20." He nodded.

"You both look much younger." She grinned lightly.

"So I've been told."

After a moments silence, he started talking again, choosing his words carefully. "So…the Black Pearl…where is it, exactly?"her smile vanished and she looked down.

"I am not to tell you, Arabella's orders. She will tell you when she is ready." Gitana recited the words that the blonde had told her to say if she was asked that question. Jack sighed and shook his head.

"Of course she did." He looked at her and offered a small smile. "It's fine; don't worry about it, love."

Gitana nodded and smiled. "Alright, I will not worry about it."

Arabella walked in, Gibbs in tow. "Okay, Jack Sparrow. I have a deal with you." Jack nodded, not bothering to correct her on saying 'Captain Jack Sparrow.' "I will tell you where your ship is, and Gitana and I will go with you to retrieve it. On the way, however, we will stop at Tortuga. I have something to take care of there."

Jack thought for a moment then nodded slowly. "Is that it, then?" Arabella nodded. Jack clasped his hands together loudly, grinning. "Perfect! We'll just be needin' a ship and we can set sail! Now, where is my ship?"

Arabella looked at Gitana and the both of them said "Jayco Island."