Becoming a Pirate

Author's Note: Just a little Anamaria POV. Nothing fancy. Oh, and by the way, I personally don't find Cotton's parrot annoying. I like Cotton's Parrot. Any irritation with the bird is completely Ana's.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Did you think I did? Ha.

You know, I didn't start out to be a pirate. I was doing quite well on my own, thank you very much. I had a fishing boat, and was making a nice little living. Tortuga's not such a bad place to live -- I mostly stuck to the quiet parts. (There are quiet parts in Tortuga -- you just have to know where to find them.) So, yes, I was doing fine. Then Jack Sparrow walked--or rather--staggered into my life.

I actually grew up on ship. A small one, not as small as my fishing boat, but not as big as the Black Pearl. My father was a merchant sailor. Well, maybe a merchant sailor, verging on 'pirate'. Here in the Caribbean, you do what you have to do to survive. If that means smuggling a few contraband crates of illegal brandy from one of the French colonies to one of the British colonies, well, who does that harm? So, you see, I've never been one to hold with stickin' to all those laws the British are so keen on trying to enforce.

So, I grew up aboard our little ship, with just my pa and me brothers for company. I learned how to steer a ship, navigate with a compass, climb the riggings, splice a line, and all that sailing stuff. I've always liked being on the ocean better than being on land. Not that I didn't love making port now and then. The opportunity to travel and see different places is a rare one for a young girl, and one that I embraced fully.

Well, when I was about eighteen, there was a terrible storm. Our ship sank, and somehow I was the only survivor. I've been on my own ever since. Well, not always. I was the cook on a whaling vessel for a few years, and once I signed onto the crew of a fishing ship. And then when I was about 24, I met this lad, he was a treasure hunter. We were going to get married and sail the seven seas, looking for hidden gold, but well.....it didn't work out. He ran off to Boston to be a baker.

Well, so there I was, finally got my own little boat, all settled on Tortuga, spending my days fishing enough to make a living, and feeling that life was pretty good.

Then I met Jack Sparrow and he stole my boat. Don't even get me started on that! My boat! He stole it! Well, I guess I should have seen it coming. I mean, I knew he was a pirate, from the beginning. But, well, he charmed me -- he is Captain Jack Sparrow. And, anyway, don't they say love is blind?

Aye, I love him. At first, when Gibbs told me he was back in town, and looking for a crew, I was just plain mad. So, I showed up down at the dock, just to throw him for a loop. And I got him to promise to get me a new ship! The Interceptor, no less! Near broke my heart when Barbossa blew it up.

But sitting down there in the brig of the Black Pearl, surrounded by a bunch of stinky pirates, and one very annoying bird, I started to realize that more than anything, what broke my heart was losing Jack, seeing him left to die on that island. Somehow, despite the fact that the man was a daft boat-thief, I had fallen in love with him.

So, you might ask, why did I leave him behind at the Isla de Muerta? Well, look what we were up against. The Black Pearl wasn't in the best shape. With Barbossa's crew fighting the Navy men, it was the perfect time to sneak away unseen.

I wasn't happy about it. Elizabeth was pleading with us to help her go save Will. Then she threw in the part about Jack. "What about Jack? Are you just going to leave him there?" If it had just been up to me, I probably would have caved in and agreed to go help. But then that little man spoke up, "Jack owes us a ship." And Gibbs, his voice heavy with regret, said, "And there's the Code to consider." Well, what could I do? Without the support of the whole crew........ I could have gone with Elizabeth to help Jack, but without the Pearl to come back to, to make a getaway with, what help could I possibly be? So I chose discretion as being the better part of valor, and took command of the Pearl and sailed away.

But I didn't give up on Jack. No, believe you me, I kept my ears open, and when I heard that he was scheduled to be hanged at Port Royal, I made sure we were there for him. Watching through the spyglass, I must admit his escape wasn't the most graceful I've ever seen, but he got away. And we were there to haul him aboard.

"Captain, the Black Pearl is yours."

Yes, he still owes me a ship. And I'm not gonna let him forget it, either. But for now, I'm happy here on the Black Pearl, being a pirate, and being in love with Jack Sparrow.

Author's Note: PLEASE review. I LOVE getting reviews. Just tell me if you liked it or not. It doesn't have to be long. Please give me feedback!