Disclaimer:

As much as I hate to say it, I do not own Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Gibbs, The Black Pearl or any other Pirates of the Caribbean articles. These belong to the Walt Disney Company © and I am using them without permission. I can do this legally because I do not profit from it. As for what I do own, I claim to own only those characters and articles not mentioned above.

Author's Notes:

Concerning Historical References:

I am perfectly aware that this story is anything but historically correct. It is so inaccurate because one I am to lazy to do much research and two the real history of Spain grossly conflicts with my story. So, on a sharper note, this is a work of fiction. Although it has mentions of the country of Spain, almost all political characters, events, structures, and details have been altered in the interests of the story.

Concerning Prequels, Sequels, and Everything In Between:

This is a sequel to Swordplay, which was in turn a sequel to The Diary of Morgan Land, which had a prequel called A Profitable Affair, but don't be scared! All of my stories were written to stand alone, as an independent unit, not as a series or a volume in a series. So in other words, you can understand this without reading the others!

All you need to know is that Aletté fell in love with Will, but he told her (very gently) that he had an obligation to his wife (Elizabeth) and son (a baby named after Jack). So, Aletté left and was bitter towards Will. Another thing- Aletté wants to kill her father for leaving her mother. Also, Jack has a girl called Morgan, and they are very much in love, though Jack is still his same old cheating self.

Concerning This Prologue:

If you hate boring prologues, I'll summarise it for you. Basically, Aletté is the heir to a throne she doesn't intend on claiming, and people who want her inheritance are trying to kill her by putting a bounty on her head. That is the catalyst for the story. Other than a bunch of complex-sounding names and places, that's this prologue in a nutshell.

Enjoy! On with the show!

Prologue:

Aletté Malycho could not sleep. She could never sleep nowadays, after hearing the whispers and mutterings that she had. Her hair rustled, wedged between her head and pillow, stiff with the juices she used that caused it to turn an auburn brown. Her only disguise. Outside her window, the Singaporean nightlife was dying down. Her bar was closed, her door was locked, her window bolted shut.

And yet she felt unsafe.

But the source of her night time fears was more tangible than one might expect. She was not simply jumping at shadows. She really did have something to fear…

It all began with King Rico of Spain. Rico was a kind, loving man, a gentleman to all who knew him. But even gentlemen have their fair share of enemies. Rico was getting on in his years, but he clung to the belief that the daughter of the house of Malycho would someday come to claim her throne. And so he refused to sign the king and queenship over to his nephew and niece-in-law, Devante and Madeira. This angered the couple, and so they took to drastic measures.

In secret, they sent out word that anyone to find the long-lost Lady Malycho and bring her to them (dead or alive) would be given six Spanish Galleons, a position in the Spanish Armada, and three hundred pieces of silver. Quite a reward for any lowlife pirate or smuggler.

But what Devante and Madeira feared- that is to say, the return of the heir to the house of Malycho- was something they should not have bothered with. Aletté, the true heiress, was living alone as a Singaporean barmaid, barely caring about her high-ranked lineage. The only thing she cared about was getting through another day, trying to bury her heartbreak deep down inside her and move on. She didn't want queenship, wealth, power or authority. She only wanted closure, the one thing she couldn't get.

Devante and Madeira thought there plan was foolproof- what heiress would have anything to do with the lowlifes, the scum of society?

Aletté, however, was working as a barmaid amongst those very characters, trying her hardest to earn a decent living. And because of this, whispers passed her ears, whispers of a plot that was never intended to reach her. A plot to kidnap her. A plot that would ultimately kill her.

That was why she had disguised herself, dyeing her hair a dark shade with juices and cutting it to shoulder-length. She spoke in a fake Irish accent, and called herself Aletté Turner.

And for a while, this seemed to work. Nobody recognized her. Until one rainy day in Singapore, when a strange, dark-eyed pirate ventured into her bar looking for a friend of a friend…