Disclaimer: Still remains the same...Mariah is mine, don't own anything else so don't sue.

A/N: Hello Loves. A bring with me today another POTC story. Why so soon? I need multiple outlets to entertain all of my ideas and this one just happened to spill out in the last half hour. Do enjoy...it will be multi-chapter so look out for it in the future.

If you like it, how will I know unless you review...

McFadden-

Chapter One

It was late in the afternoon. I had been up in the attic of my town home trying desperately to straighten it up through the cobwebs and old junk I'd collected. The young boy scampering about my feet belonged to my brother. He insisted on helping me, but it seemed like all we were doing was making an even bigger mess. His golden blond curly lock shook when he sneezed, dust scattering like glitter from the old book he was holding.

"Moira, who's Black Mariah?"

I stiffened at hearing that name. Michael was tugging at my skirts and looking at me. It took me a while to realize that the book he was holding was indeed a Captain's Log...A very familiar one. I watched as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion over the gold-leaf inlayed letters on the cover. My Fearless Black Mariah...

"Is that you?"

I sat down slowly on a piece of furniture which was covered with a white linen sheet. My heart was pumping so fast. I nodded, speaking off into space.

"That's what he called me..."

I sighed, dreading the thoughts that were now resurfacing.

"It was his nickname for me."

Mikey raised a blonde tanned brow at me. He looked so much like my brother then. Lucien and I didn't even look related. We were two of the complete opposites. He was tanned, muscled, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I took after our mother. My skin was as white as marble now, and I had dark unruly brown hair and hazel eyes. Side by side, we were a stark contrast. Mikey looked at me expectantly.

"Who Aunt Moira?"

My brother, who had been shifting things from one area to the next, smiled and crossed the room, resting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it in passing. He looked at his son and spoke in a low and secretive voice, reaching his hands out dramatically. As if to emphasize what he was about to reveal was dangerous and not to be said again unless you wanted trouble.

"The infamous Jack Sparrow..."

I smile a bit at Lucien's flare for theatrics and immediately saw the effect on my 5 year old nephew, Michael. He had heard the tales of the famous and notorious Sparrow. His eyes widened in awe and his mouth formed into a little 'o.' He looked ready to explode with excitement.

"You mean Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Lucien nodded and Michael's eyes flew to mine, fully alert and hoping for an explanation of how the two of us came to know eachother.

"You knew, Captain Jack!"

I laughed softly and nodded, speaking in a pirates tone that I hadn't spoken in a long time, but it was not lost on me.

"Aye young swab, that I did..."

He eyes went back and forth between his father and me to confirm that I had been telling the truth. When Lucien nodded, Michael lunged at me pulling himself into me lap and grabbing my face in both hands making sure I had all of my attention on him and nothing else.

"Tell me, Aunt Moira, tell me!"

I laughed at his enthusiasm and ruffled his curls. Shaking my head lightly.

"That's a long story Love, fit for another night..."

All I received in return was a sour scowl that Lucien and I tried not to laugh at while I chided him for it.

"Ohh..that's not a pretty face..."

Cocking my head to the side I gave my best apologetic face while sticking out my bottom lip a little farther.

"I'm sorry Baby. I just can't bring myself to tell it just yet. But, you're Daddy knows it, maybe he'll tell you."

Mikey looked hopefully at his father who came and swooped him up. My brother offered me a sympathetic look.

"C'mon Monkey, it's past your bedtime anyway. It'll make good for a nice story to fill you dreams. Give Aunt Moira a kiss goodnight."

Lucien hung Mikey's body upside down infront of me and he grabbed my face and kissed it.

"Night Aunt Moira..."

He paused a thought forming in his mind.

"I mean... Black Mariah..."

He smiled brightly. I kissed him and smiled back. From the corner of my eye I could see Lucien smiling softly at the scene we made. I tickled Mikey on the stomach.

"G'night Love...sweet dreams."

My brother collected the rambunctious boy, who giggled all the way down the stairs. Lucien turned to shut the door behind him and caught my eye, winking at me before disappearing from view.

I sat there for nearly an hour and listened to my tales being told through the cracks in the floor. It was sad to hear them while being in here, surrounded by all the things that brought me back to that time. I picked up the Captain's Log that had been forgotten by my nephew at the mere mention of Jack's name. Opening up it's golden clasp, I moved my fingers lightly across the pages, memorizing the words written there in the airy scrawl of Jack's hand.

"Captain's Log #1...well not really. This isn't a book of ports. It's about the lovely lass that I'm currently staring at through the porthole of my cabin. My beautiful Black Mariah. She's the only one who has been fearless enough to challenge your dear ole Caps. heart...I sorry to report that she's currently winning. Oh I'm damned to the depths of Davy Jones' Locker for this one.

She looks particularly beautiful at the moment. Fuming around in only her shift. She's all flushed on her pale skin, and her hair is wild and raging in the breeze. She's pacing my beloved decks of the Black Pearl, talking to herself and madder than all Hell. smiles That's my fault actually. I told her that we were going to spend a week or more on land at the next port. She hates being off the ocean. That would be the equivalent of spending an eternity with the devil. Although, she would argue that, that is exactly what she was doing now. That Devil she named...being yours truly. Laughs Let me go now before she starts destroying my ship. She's got that evil gleam in her eye. Perhaps I can persuade her to take that anger out and put it to other more recreational uses...Savvy?

Cpt. J. Sparrow

I laughed to myself. I definitely remember that. Let's just say that he was successful in his attempts to calm me down. He always used his charm. We spent the rest of the day in his cabin, undisturbed. I turned the page to see the handwriting in quick and urgent pen strokes. Jack had been aggravated this time.

Captain's Log #2...Blast it all! Remember when I said Mariah hated being off the ocean? Well we've been in port for almost two days and she has refused to leave the ship! Damn woman! She said that even though it's tied to the dock, it's still on water and that she wasn't going anywhere. That was the last thing she said to me. She has not spoken to me since. She's even refused my advances while I've come onboard to coax her off. If she doesn't grant me at least a kiss soon, I'll surely go mad!

Cpt. J. Sparrow

Poor Jack. I had given him a good bout of the silent treatment that time. But, he got the better of me on the fifth night and eventually, I caved in.My back started to hurt from siting there so I moved to crack it.

"I think you have a new fan..."

I turned at the sound of my brother's voice and laughed. I hadn't realized how quiet the house had been up until that point. He pulled a footstool over by me and sat down. Looking around the room at all the things that were now in an organized mess, he sighed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

I nodded my head slowly. My brother could tell it was hard for me to admit but he understood. That was the beauty about having an older brother. No matter how many years I lived, or how strong I had proved to be in the past, he'd always protect me. We kept the real reason why we had been in the attic all day a secret from Mikey. I would be moving out, leaving my home to them and only taking a few of my possessions with me.

"I have to Luce...I have to get out of Tortuga. There's nothing keeping me here anymore."

I immediately looked up at him, sorry to have said it that way. I loved my family, they weren't the reason I was leaving. I didn't want him to think that he and Mikey couldn't keep me here. Honestly though, I felt I would go crazy if I didn't get back on the ocean, so I took a small amount from the treasure that I had stowed and fixed up my ship. I was going to set sail and let the waves take me wherever they wanted. The only difference was, I'd be alone, no piracy included. But I tried to make it clear to my brother that I wasn't abandoning him forever.

"I didn't mean..."

He patted my hand reassuringly and smiled.

"I knew what you meant."

He looked about the room and sighed.

"Too many memories in a big empty house..."

Thank God he understood!I picked up an old compass and held it gingerly in my hands. It was Jack's. It never pointed in the right direction. But who's to say that's the direction we're going... That's what he'd always say when I would point it out. My brother's steps on the aged wooded floor made creaking sound as he came up to me. He looked at the compass and hummed the pirate's lullaby. I smiled briefly before I felt the sting of tears in my eyes. He knew the story behind it. It was always one he left off when telling his son about Jack's adventures. It was simply too dark for Michael to handle at such a young age. To Mikey, Captain Jack Sparrow always sailed off into the horizon, never to return again. Lucien ruffled my hair and kissed my temple as he left me alone to the wills of my mind. He knew I hated to let anyone see me cry and had he stood there a minute more, he would have. Turning the compass slowly in my hands, I began to remember.

It was the only thing that Jack had on him when he died. I should've been there... But leave it up to Jack to forbid it. He knew how dangerous it was. He went alone with a handful of his best crew to the Graveyard Of Ships. We had passed through there hundreds of times before. Only this time, it was in danger of discovery by the East India Company. Oh how Jack hated them. They had branded him years before, but he'd managed to give them the slip. And now, they threatened to take away the only guarded secret he had left and Jack, being the pirate he was, wasn't going to stand for it.

He had fought them off for three whole days, eliminating over 90 percent of their legions. But the ones who were left proved to be the most dangerous of all. Finally it proved to be too much for an overzealous pirate. It was left up to him and one other soldier. His name was Edward Shaw. How would I know all this happened? Because he told me while he was begging for his life at the end of my cutlass. Unbeknownst to Jack, I had followed him, staying a day out of reach so that I didn't come into the view of his ship. I didn't see his body. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I just didn't want to imagine Jack being dead. It would mean he'd have to be still...and the man was never still. I just stayed with my ship while my crew confirmed that he was indeed left to Davy Jones' Locker. They returned with only one thing, this compass. It had always told Jack where the island was. He had told me once that, If ever you lose your way Love, and I'm not there, use this and it will bring you to me. I smiled softly. Jack could be romantic when he wanted. He was a great lover. He would've been furious had he found out that I came after him. In the end, it proved to be the worst error I'd ever made. Had I chanced the possibility of discovery and traveled closer to Jack's ship, maybe he'd still be alive. Maybe I would've gotten there in time to save him, instead of arriving hours too late but close enough to see the smoke still raging from their battle. Of course the gold had been taken by that point and Lt. Shaw escaped. The golden age of piracy died that day along with Jack.

I, on the other hand, had his unfinished business to take care of. I followed Lt. Shaw's trail for a year until I found him. He was caught unawares and without protection. So, being the true last Pirate of the Caribbean, I offered him a sword and fought him until he was at my mercy. On the edges of death, I questioned him about the stolen gold. It pleased me to find that his ship had capsized before he could reach the Isle of India, Taking all the gold with it down to the depths of the sea. I smiled at this, it seems as though Jack did get his final revenge. If the gold belonged anywhere, it was down there with Jack. The only thing that made it out of the shipwreck was Jack's emerald skull ring, which Lt. Shaw had been wearing on his middle finger. Rather than stealing it back, I humiliated the Lieutenant and made him give it to me himself before I killed him.

It was done. No more pirate ships sailed the high seas any longer. Much to their loathing, the remaining swabs of both Jack's and mine became law-abiding sea merchants dispersing through the many harbors of the Caribbean, taking up jobs. Their knowledge of the sea outrivaled anyone who dared to challenge it. They weren't happy about leaving, but, they were alive.

I had taken myself to Tortuga. It wasn't all dodgy areas like it seemed to an outsider. My brother lived there with his son, and if I had a choice of anything but the sea, it would be to stay close to my family. I went by my brother's name for me, Moira. I just wanted to disappear into obscurity That was 4 years ago. It doesn't seem like a long time, but to a pirate deprived of open ocean air, it was a lifetime. Surprisingly, stories of Jack survived him and were told as tales to young children so that they would fall asleep and dream of a time when pirates ruled the seven seas.

My nephew was no exception. It took me forever just to tell Lucien what had happened but he sensed my pain. I knew it when he looked at me. My eyes foretold so much that I was trying to hide from him. He just knew that whenever I'd stare off into the horizon that I wasn't there anymore. In my mind I wasn't even on land. I was at see with my Captain. My brother kept the memory alive in his house. Michael knew of Jack Sparrow through those stories. He was merely a year old when I came in to port for good. I had tales of my own that were known throughout these parts but For the sake of my sanity, my brother Lucien left my tales untold until today. Michael didn't even know of my ties with Jack til now. I was known as the Last Pirate of the Caribbean. The beautiful, fearless Black Mariah. The one woman who tamed Jack Sparrow's wild heart.

Those days were gone. All I had to look forward to was being a nameless figure on the sea where anything was possible now...