My Name is Barbossa

By WriterfromWarDrobe

"You're not like other girls on Tortuga!"

Rose kept the pistol trained on the pirate's face. "Then go find another girl." Her voice was steady. The pistol never trembled.

The pirate turned away. "An' you be the daughter of Scarlett!" he grumbled.

Rose's mother had wiles, and they had made her rich. But Scarlett would have to give up something to earn the coins. Rose gave up nothing and went straight for the gold.

She remained perched on the table and did not lower her gun until the customer had departed from the tavern. A few other pirates, sucking on pints of rum, had been eyeing her from the moment they had entered, but after watching her scare off a couple of tough brutes, they thought better of introducing themselves to the redhead. "So, that's Rose," they whispered; they had heard of her. And with their own eyes they saw that the rumors about her were true: she would bring a pirate no pleasure.

The weapon vanished into the folds of her skirts, and she strutted across the tavern floor. Pirates moved out of the way for her. She had a love for gold and pistols, and everyone checked their pockets when she walked by to be certain she had not robbed them blind.

She had robbed a ship; everyone knew, but none knew where she had hidden her portion of the loot. Rose knew exactly where it was: Captain Redbeard had run off with her share. She had killed men for Redbeard, covered his retreat, and he had not come through with what he had promised her. That was well over a year ago. With that loot, Rose could have gotten out of Tortuga, sailed the seas, seen the world, lived the life she pleased for over a year.

Scarlett had tried to teach her daughter how to be charming; Rose had learned weaponry instead. Scarlett loved the attention her job brought her, but Rose doubted if her mother loved the job. She knew the truth about why her mother was even in Tortuga: falsely promised marriage by Captain Jack Sparrow and tricked into being sold at a bride auction to a pirate lord. Rose had known the name Jack Sparrow from infancy, known that he had visited Tortuga several times during her lifetime, but she had not known how to shoot a pistol then. The next time Jack visited Tortuga would be his last.

From behind the counter, Rose served rum without the giddy laughter and jokes the other women participated in. She was cold but her hair was like fire, and every pirate wanted her to give him a drink so that he could shyly look upon her. She would offer them nothing else.

The tavern-owner slipped quietly over to her. He was a big man with a soft voice. "There's a gentlemen upstairs, and I've promised him some company."

Rose fumed. "You know I will not see him."

"I think you'll see him." The tavernkeeper's voice was smooth and all-knowing. "His ship is leaving in the morning. You could get passage. He owes you that much."

Rose put a hand on her hip. "Who is he?"

"Redbeard. Third room on the left."

With a hand already inching toward her concealed weapon, Rose turned on her heel and marched up the stairs.

Over a year.

Over a year that she could have spent anywhere but here. With enough money to live like a queen.

Redbeard would pay for the year he had robbed her.

She knocked on the door and called in a demure voice. "Red?"

There was no answer from within. Rose tried the doorknob and the door slid open. The small chamber within was dim, with only some faint blue, evening light spilling in from behind the fluttering, white curtains. The bedclothes were disheveled, the rug askew, the washstand overturned. Rose withdrew the gun. These were signs of a struggle.

"Red?"

She saw the toe of a black boot poking up from behind the bed. She moved over to it quickly, almost unsurprised by the sight that met her: Redbeard on his back, lifeless eyes facing the ceiling, a dagger in his heart.

"Lovely," Rose hissed. "Apparently, I wasn't the only one you owed." She kicked his boot.

No way off Tortuga. No way of knowing where her gold was hidden.

She stared down at him. Slowly, she bent and removed his captain's hat. It fit perfectly over her red tangles. She unbelted his sword and wrapped it around her waist. She faced the cracked mirror. "Shame," she grumbled, running her finger over the feather in the hat. She looked like a pirate captain - she knew as much about ships as any captain. But everyone on Tortuga knew she was Rose, daughter of Scarlett; they knew she was no captain.

Knock. The door creaked inward because Rose had not latched it. A cabin boy in a cloak peeked into the room. "Excuse me, is this Captain Redbeard's room?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm looking for someone to captain my ship."

"Your ship?" Rose eyed the boy. "Have you ever met Captain Red before?"

"No, ma'am." The hood of the cloak was up and it shook.

Rose moved back around the side of the bed to keep the boy from coming toward her and discovering the body. "I am Captain Red."

"You? You haven't a beard."

"Merely an alias, my boy." Her voice was steady. Her lies were as smooth as silk. "Tell me more about your ship."

"It's my father's ship." He came into the room. "I've a crew, but no knowledge to run them and the ship myself. I heard Redbea-er...um...Red, that you are a decent pirate."

Rose scoffed.

"Are you not?"

Rose quickly recovered. "As honest as any pirate, I should say."

"Yes...well, this is a delicate mission."

"Go on."

The boy fidgeted. "It involves the supernatural." There was a long pause. The boy looked out in the hall and closed the door. "You must swear to captain my ship before I explain."

"I swear." Was she really that desperate to leave that she would not ask questions first? Yes. Rose was a little taller than the boy. She could overtake his ship and do as she pleased.

"It must be in writing." A sheet of parchment appeared from behind the cloak. "This is our contract. You serve me and I will pay you 1,000 gold coins."

"You have that kind of money?"

"My father was a wealthy pirate."

Rose glanced over the contract. She could only read a few words. The boy indicated where her signature should go. She knew how to write 'Captain' and 'Red.'

Redd.

She liked it with two d's better.

She squinted again at the contract. "And what be our mission?"

"To find my father."

"And the supernatural part?"

"He was killed at sea, but a witch told me he could be rescued and brought back to life."

Rose crossed her arms. The boy would be pushed overboard first chance she got. "And how do you propose we find your father?"

"We will have to confiscate The Flying Dutchman."

Rose had heard of the ship that collected the souls of dead seamen and carried them over to the Other Side. "Once the Dutchman takes 'em, they don't come back," Rose repeated the folklore; she did not believe in the story herself. She almost felt sorry for this imaginative child.

"The Dutchmen hasn't a captain; it has not been able to do it's duty since all the curses of the sea were broken."

Poor boy. She should just shoot him now.

"I know it sounds crazy, but you'll have to trust me. And I promise, you will be paid handsomely whatever happens."

Ship. Treasure. Live the life she pleased.

"The supernatural doesn't bother me," Rose smirked. All these kinds of stories came from delusional pirates filled with rum.

She was leaving Tortuga.

She glanced at the contract again. Contracts could be broken. She stared at the other signature, but she could not read it.

"I don't believe I got your name."

Slowly, pale hands unused to sailing rose and pushed back the hood. A feminine face shone in the wan light and black curls tumbled over her shoulders. Her voice lost its husky tone. "Barbossa. My name is Barbossa."

I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. While I doubt the rumors about Captain Jack Sparrow not returning for another Pirates film, I wanted to play around with the idea of Captain Redd joining the cast and see how she might fit into the existing storylines.