Rebecca Waters sat at the edge of her windowsill, her brown locks blowing softly in the warm breeze. She was still dressed in her nightgown, and a loose ribbon was nested in her curly hair. She looked out at the town as it slowly woke up, old hawkers pulling their rickety carts and women dressed in worn aprons feeding the chickens, or opening a window to let in the early morning sunshine. Rebecca often enjoyed watching the people go about their daily lives, bickering among themselves or skipping in the warm sun. She would make up stories about each person, and knew all their names and characters. Well, what she imagined their names were.

Today, however, a new figure walked through the streets. Or lurked, more like it. Slinking through shadows and dodging through carts, a small boy darted between the villagers. Rebecca narrowed her eyes to get a better look, but her gaze was torn away as a strong gust of wind ruffled her hair.

"My ribbon!"

Her soft red ribbon blew in the wind, floating dangerously close to the branches. It snagged on a lower arm of a nearby tree, too far away for her to climb down and grab it before her mother came in. As if on cue, the door swung open.

"Rebecca! Get away from that window! You could fall down!"

A sharp woman with an even sharper voice stood sternly in the doorway. Her hair was piled on her head in the most fashionable matter, or that's what the woman's friends told her. Rebecca didn't quite see what was so fashionable about it. It looked rather similar to a poodle.

Nonetheless, the woman was pretty in her own way. Soft grey eyes paired with a slightly upturned nose and rosy cheeks. Not much was similar between Rebecca and her mother except for the neat brown curls they both shared.

Rebecca had a narrower face and big brown eyes. She liked to wear her hair down and free, despite her mother's protests. Although, Rebecca was quite used to her mother's strict ways.

"Yes mum."

With one last look outside, Rebecca pulled away from the windowsill and stood facing her mother. She could've sworn she saw the same young figure looking up at her from the shadows before she turned away.

"We have company for supper today, so I expect you to be home and ready by that time. Your father's good friend Commodore Beckett is going to be joining us." Her mother paused as if debating something, and stoutly said, "Once you finish your lessons, you may play outside."

"Oh, thank you!" Rebecca replied enthusiastically. It was a rare treat when her mother let her play with the other girls.

The woman's lips upturned a bit, her only sign of a smile. She began to walk out the door before turning back around.

"Oh, one more thing. I want you to wear that red ribbon tonight with your floral dress. We want to impress these guests."

Rebecca fought the urge to look back out the window, swallowing a gulp. "Yes mum."

Another half smile, and the woman was out the door.

Rebecca hurriedly brushed through her hair, worried about the ribbon she had lost. All thoughts of that mysterious boy had disappeared as she pulled on a simple yellow dress. A maid walked in right as Rebecca had finished the last touches on her outfit.

"Good morning, Rebecca. I'm here to help- ah. I see you've already managed by yourself, once again," sighed the maid.

"Sorry," Rebecca shrugged, taking a second to admire her appearance. "I'm in a rush today. I will need your help later, before the guests arrive. I can never get the last button of that floral dress."

The maid dipped her head. "Of course, miss," and walked out the door.

Rebecca paused and checked to make sure the door had fully closed, then skipped back to the window. A large tree grew right outside, the branches close enough for her to jump to. With a wary glance towards her closed bedroom door, she braced herself against the window. She pursed her lips, a habit she had gotten into while she thinks, and gauged the distance.

Rebecca pushed off, springing into the air. For a split second, she was flying. Her curls twisted behind her and she stuck out her arms, savoring the moment.

Rebecca nimbly landed on a thick branch, gently placing her hands down to brace herself. When she was steady enough, she swung down to the next branch, and the next, until her feet brushed the cobblestones.

Rebecca glanced back at her window, to make sure no one had seen her. To her satisfaction, the room was still empty. She hadn't been caught yet. With a quick dust of her dress, Rebecca half ran, half walked over to the tree where her ribbon had been caught. She shielded her eyes from the sun and peered at the branches, none holding her ribbon.

The town bells rang out seven times, and Rebecca hesitantly pulled herself away from the edge of the tree, throwing one last look over her shoulder in hopes to see her ribbon, running off to her lessons. She hardly noticed the boy in the shadows watching her every move, a soft red ribbon in his dirty hands.

The young boy leaned against the edge of a large ship, watching the sailors. Every once in awhile he would pat his pant pocket, as if assuring himself something was still there. His father's crew busied themselves with barrels and supplies, preparations for the next voyage. The plan was to lie low until they had stocked up on enough supplies to head sail to the next land, and give the crew a chance to regain their land legs.

Such was the life of young Jack Teague, son of a pirate, and he often got bored during these occasional stops. Being the youngest on the crew, Jack didn't have any friends to play with, despite the crew's best attempts to entertain him. Nor was he able to help out much with the crew, being as small as he was.

So Jack often resorted to climbing trees, causing mischief or pick-pocketing an unlucky lad. Today however, he found himself rather interested in a young girl. No, not in that way. But he saw the way she leaped from her window to the tree, and instantly decided that she would be his friend. He didn't know her name yet, but he figured he could find that out after he returned the ribbon. For now, however, Jack had to wait until she returned.

A short while later, a stream of young girls soon skipped back to their homes, returning from their lessons on who knows what. Probably some boring girl things. Jack scanned for a familiar face, finding the same young girl walking behind the other girls, scanning the trees for a glimpse of red. Jack smiled to himself, and waltzed up to the girl.

"Hello."

The girl jumped. "Oh! You startled me." The girl pursed her lips and thought out loud, "Hey, have I seen you before?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I'm pretty new around here. But, uh-" Jack fished in his pocket, pulling out a slightly disheveled ribbon. "I found this, and I think it's yours."

The girl gasped and beamed happily. "Oh, thank you! My mother would've killed me!" She reached out, taking the ribbon. "My name is Rebecca, by the way. Rebecca Waters."

Jack smiled back, "My name is Jack."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, saying, "Don't you have a last name?"

Jack opened his mouth, about to say something, but thought better of it. He still had to lie low.

To his surprise, Rebecca laughed. "Alright then! Just Jack it is. We'll think of a good last name for you later. Say," she started, "I'm allowed to play for a bit today. Would you like me to show you around, since you're new? It'll be my way of repaying you for finding my ribbon."

"That would be great," Jack smiled.

"And last of all, this is the forest. It's pretty big, and has the best climbing trees!" Rebecca said with admiration. She had just finished showing him all the best places in town, like where to get the best pies, the best milk, where the sailors hang out (Jack tried to avoid the staring eyes of the crew), and the best way to get to her fairly large house.

Jack started walking towards the small gap in the trees. "Come on then, let's go!"

"Well," Rebecca hesitated, looking over her shoulder as if she expected her mother to be standing behind her. "I guess so."

"Alright!"

The new friends walked casually through the forest, sometimes in silence, sometimes with laughter. Deeper and deeper into the forest they went, until they no longer could hear the voices of the town.

Suddenly, Rebecca stopped at the edge of a large tree, with a sly grin on her face.

"Last one up the tree is a rotten pirate!" she screamed, howling with laughter as she pulled herself onto the lowest branch.

Jack yelled up at her, "Hey! No fair!"

But young Rebecca had already climbed up halfway. Jack bolted after her, hastily skipping branches in order to catch up.

At last, Jack had met Rebecca at one of the highest branches. He pulled himself upwards and sat next to her, swinging his legs. Rebecca was already sitting, playing with a few curls.

"I guess you're a rotten pirate," she said, giggling.

Jack smiled, thinking if only she knew how close she was to the truth.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the wind as they swung their legs to its rhythm.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rebecca asked.

Jack nodded, taking in the view. They could see buildings for miles, flickering fires burning as it got later in the day. Jack suddenly felt very small, sitting on that tree with the broad sky above and land all around them.

Rebecca decided the most breathtaking sight was not the town, but the ocean that lay beyond it. Large ships docked at ports on crystal water that shined a brilliant blue. Rebecca gave a sigh of contempt. With the two sitting so quietly, they hardly noticed that a little bird hopped nervously up the tree, inching closer.

"Look!" Rebecca pointed, and Jack looked at the branch beside him. "I think he likes you!"

The little bird continued to hop closer. Jack stretched out his hand, urging the bird forwards.

"I think it's a sparrow," Jack murmured.

A call came from another tree, and the bird hopped just out of reach, flying away so soon. Before Jack had time to pout, the sparrow came back, but this time with a friend. A beautiful, red-chested robin flew alongside the sparrow. They swooped through the trees, twisting against the blue sky as they called to one another. Rebecca and Jack enjoyed watching the birds fly together. Eventually the birds parted ways, but not before giving affectionate calls to each other.

Rebecca let out a little laugh, "Looks like you're now Jack the Bird Lover."

Jack snorted at this remark. "So first I'm Jack the Rotten Pirate, and now I'm Jack the Bird Lover?"

Rebecca shrugged, "Hey, it was your fault for not telling me your last name." Rebecca considered this a moment, tightening her lips. "That's it!"

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Jack Sparrow!" she exclaimed.

"Jack...Sparrow? I don't understand," he said.

"That's your new last name! I told you I would come up with one."

Jack said the strange name out loud.

"Jack Sparrow…"

Somehow, the name felt comfortable and natural on his lips, as if it were the one he were born with. He repeated the name a couple times, with Rebecca waiting expectantly for his approval.

"I like it a lot," Jack Sparrow said.

Rebecca beamed with joy, "Oh good! I think it suits you very well."

"But if you're going to give me a name, I need to give you one," Jack insisted.

Rebecca nodded her head, and let him continue.

"Rebecca...Robin!" he exclaimed.

"Just like the second bird! Oh Jack, I love it!" Rebecca said. "It makes me feel like a pirate with names like these."

Jack laughed, and couldn't have agreed more. "I can assure you any pirate would approve."

Rebecca seemed very satisfied with that answer.

And so the new friends, Rebecca Robin and Jack Sparrow, remained on the tree, forming a stronger bond between their new names.