More first ever Victorious fic ever, and therefore my first Jori fic, so please be patient with me. Thanks and enjoy.

"…They bade your hearts with ageless wisdom,

Breathe, she whispers 'yes' again.

And with nothing but the salty air,

A new world to discover.

A world with care, not to bare,

And now she's found a lover…" – Once Upon A Pirate Night from the musical Spring Awakening

Jade sighed. The full moon shone down on the deep, dark ocean water. She wished she were anywhere but here – on the shore, actually, would be nice. She wished she were down their on the beach, where she could quietly slip her torn, black shoes off of her feet. She would have liked to feel the soft sand on her bare feet; liked to feel the night-shaded waters lap at her waiting toes. She had tried to tell herself it was all some kind of dream. That she had not had the most perfect, perfect experience of her life this morning, when their ship docked on this island nation – but it didn't even matter if she had. Born to two pirate parents, Jade knew the rules of pirate life well, and one that is pretty high up there goes like this: 'we see, we come, we conquer, we repeat.' That's just it – once they secured this little nation as their own, they who set out to sea again, forever seeking more and more land, more and more treasures – so, no matter what, a life of stability was out of the question.

"So…" the princess started again. "You're just – I mean, you're going to…stay here? All night?"

"Yes," Jade snarled quickly. "I am supposed to be guarding you."

There was where the predicament lied – the most perfect experience of her life, the very one she tired to tell herself was just some kind of dream, was when she first saw the princess this morning. And now, here she was, locked in a room with her.

"What's happening out there?" She asked, gesturing toward the door of her chambers.

"Well…" she smacked her lips together and the girl recoiled. "My father is going to kill your father, and my crew is going to take your nation under siege. We take all your gold, kidnap some of your people to make new crew workers, and either drown or hold at knife point the ones who try to stop us. Get it?"

"No!" She yowled, and started to try to undo the heavy-duty locks on her door. "You can't do this! I won't let you!"

"That's why I'm here, Princess," Jade snarly yet again, pulling out her small sword. She yanked the girl by the arm until she had a hold on her, and finally got her to stop wriggling by holding her sword up to her throat. "Now," she purred manically. "I'll tell you again: we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Don't make me slit your throat, because I will." In another quick motion, Jade released the royal from her grasp and into a chair. Once seat she let out a 'hmph' sort of noise, and smoothed her the frilly pink bottom of her gown.

"Why would you do this to us?" She asked in a sort of pout.

"I don't know," the pirate shrugged. "It's what we do. We see new islands, we take them over. Then we move onto the next one. It's that simple."

"Sounds pretty miserable to me…" the princess mumbled, mostly to herself. Then, louder: "Don't you ever feel…I don't know…homeless?"

"Homeless?"

"Like you have no real place to go, no real place to call your own. Always sailing and conquering new places all the time, I mean, don't you stop and go home?"

"That is my home," Jade answered. "I mean…I guess it is, Princess."

"My name's Tori."

"What?"

"Tori," she repeated. "My name is Tori."

Tori, Jade thought. A perfect name for a perfect girl.

The princess really was quite beautiful, with long, mocha-brown hair, big almond eyes, and glowing tan. Jade studied herself in the princess's mirror and sighed: the only tan she had that wasn't sun burn was from dirt, and her eyes, which were greenish-blue, looked like nothing compared to the gems that Tori had. Now, in the same chair Jade had left her in, the girl started to quietly cry. At first, the pirate tried to ignore it, but something – perhaps the same something that had earlier created the most perfect experience of her life – made her slump over to her aid.

"Hey…don't – don't do that…" She should be screaming at her or threatening her life again, but the words came out in a sort of comforting tone – that is, as comforting as Jade could be. "C'mon. Stop that."

"Stop? How can I stop?" She was sobbing now. "My father is probably dead by now! My family…" she trailed off into little, heartbreaking sobs.

"Hey, hey…" Jade whispered. "Shhh, shhh – don't cry. Don't cry…" She didn't knew why she was being so comforting, but as she whipped away Tori's tears she figured she didn't mind it too much. She sat down next to her, and held the girl tightly without saying another word. Tori cried still, into the pirate's embrace, too afraid of all that was happening around her. It wasn't much, being the shoulder to cry on – Jade had hoped, secretly, for much more before the night was done. But for now, holding onto her, petting her hair softly, and sneaking a kiss or two on her forehead was all she could really ask for.

"…Once upon a pirate night,

A murmur of something, oh, so fair –

Adore her, yearning –

There, just there.

A tide alone,

Bring her close.

Wind and water

Everywhere…

And now she's found a lover."