A/N: Welcome to my first ever PotC fanfic! It has been a lot of work so far (I'm on chapter 15 right now) so it's going great. This is my first fanfic I'm putting up on fanfiction.net. Jack, Will, and others will come into the story later on, chapter 4 or some whereabouts. Please R/R, I'll be eternally grateful!

~Chapter 1~

It was a hot September day in the bustling port city of Brookvul. Ships were preparing to set sail. Sailors were setting their ships to sail. And one half-grown boy was slipping in and out of the docks, watching the ships in wonder.

Brian Cochran was what most people of the time would have called a scamp: an orphan boy, both parents dead from some sort of disease only inflicting the poor, had escaped from the orphanage (although no one approved of his actions, most agreed that the streets were far more hospitable than that place), and lived on the generosity of strangers and his own cunning. And he was only fifteen years old.

Brian gazed up at the ships, wishing he were on one, about to set off on a lovely adventure, full of pirates and stowaways, and plenty of mutinous sailors to throw in the brig. He'd become friends with the seadogs, for he had but one of his own. He'd find a lost treasure, some unfortunate corsair's booty, and then come back to Brookvul to set up a navigation school, and spend all his days living in the lap of luxury, with everything the gold and doubloons could buy.

Brian looked up at a man's chest. He barely had time to blink before the man, moving at a dangerously rapid pace, knocked him over. He hit his head sharply on the ground.

"Sorry, lad. Would you, by any chance, happen to know of a lad by the name of Brian Cochran?"

Stars winking before his eyes, Brian nodded.

"Aye," said a man following the first. "And where might he be?"

"I'm him," Brian said thickly, getting to his feet.

The first man's eyes lit up, as though he had found the treasure Brian had been fantasizing about. Only then did Brian realize his mistake. These could be robbers, plunderers, or murderers. He should have taken off as soon as the men had uttered his name.

"We've found yeh," said the second man.

Brian didn't hesitate. He sped away from the docks and down a dark street. The two men gave chase, following him down the dodgy road. "Lad, we don't want ter harm yeh!" the second man called after the agile boy.

Down the dim streets and twisting alleys Brian ran and the two men pursued. Brian was just about to lose them when he found himself up against a brick wall.

"S-stay away," he warned feebly as the two men advanced on him, a hungry look in their eyes.

"Why, lad, we don't want to harm you," the first man said. He had a mass of brown, tangled hair that fell just beyond his shoulders.

"Then what do you want with me?"

"We hear you're an expert at all sorts of legends," the first man said.

Brian nodded warily. "So, what's it to you?"

"Aye, Captain, we've got ourselves a smart mouth here," the second man said.

"Captain?" Brian repeated. "Captain of what?"

"I'm forgetting my manners. I am Captain John Erif, of the Gold Flame."

The Gold Flame? Brian had seen that ship before, at the harbor in the prime spot. It was twice as tall as some of the ships at Brookvul, and it was magnificently decorated. There was also a legend by the name of the Gold Flame, and Brian presumed that had something to do with it.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Erif," Brian responded, shaking hands.

"No, lad, call me John. And this is Tibbon Scagley, my first mate."

"Scaggs, if ye please, Master Cochran," the man with scraggly gray hair said, bowing his head slightly.

No one had ever called him Master Cochran before. It was mostly "Brian" or "that street lad." "All right, then, gents, what is it you want to know?"

"Do you know of the legend of the Gold Flame?" the captain inquired.

Brian's suspicions were proved correct. "Yes, I do."

"Aye, lad, what'll ye be wantin' in return?" Scaggs asked.

"Nothing that we can give, Tibbon," Captain Erif sighed. "Except.everything your heart desires, lad."

Brian's breath caught in his throat. A seafaring adventure, maybe? Gold, diamonds, treasure? Or the.no, but no man could give him that.

Captain Erif grinned, a gold tooth glinting in the dim sunlight of the alley. "The Gold Flame."

"The-the Gold Flame?" Brian could barely contain his excitement.

"Aye, lad, the Gold Flame. And a voyage to find it, to boot," Scaggs added in his husky whisper.

"Tell us what you know of the legend of the Gold Flame, lad," the captain urged.

Brian took a deep breath. "Well, it resides on Mirage Island, somewhere in the Caribbean. Mirage Island has only ever been sighted by one person, the infamous pirate Pegleg Pete, and he went mad. The Gold Flame turns anything put into it to gold. It is said to be guarded by-"

"Yes, laddie, we get the picture," John said. "The scullery maid at the Dayton house was right in saying you know legends forwards and backwards, sideways and-well, you get the picture."

"What else do I need to do?" Brian inquired.

"You'll need to accompany us on a voyage to Mirage Island. We know, it's never been seen, but I possess a map that'll lead us right there."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I assumed you have little or no possessions. True?"

"Yessir."

"John, call me John. Then we'll set sail tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you, sir-John!"

"Come on, boy, you'll sleep on the ship tonight."

"Follow us, lad," Scaggs said merrily.

"Now? Wait-can I say farewell to someone?"

"All right, then, lad, but hurry up. You'll need to familiarize yourself with the ship," said John.

Brian nodded and hurried off. He had to tell Elanor.

Elanor Dayton sat in her bedroom, stroking her cat, Augusta. The silver- furred creature purred contentedly up at its mistress, but she was distracted. Brian usually visited at this time of day, and she quite enjoyed talking with him, even if it was only from her window balcony.

Her father was meeting with some important people for very business-like matters, and Diane, the scullery maid, was downstairs helping Cook with dinner. Diane was her only friend (besides Augusta) in the manor, and Brian the only one outside of it. She sighed, wishing for him to hurry.

"Elanor! Hello, Elanor!"

She dashed to the window. "Hello, Brian!"

"Elanor, I can't stay long. I'm going on a ship."

"Don't get yourself caught, now, Brian."

He stared up at her for a moment, and then he laughed. "I'm not stowing away; I'm going on a voyage!"

"Really? To where? And with whom?"

"To Mirage Island, with Captain John Erif and Tibbon Scagley, on the Gold Flame ship, to find its namesake."

"Brian Cochran, are you fooling with me?" Elanor scolded.

"No, Elanor, I'm dead serious! I just wanted to tell you so you'd know where I am until our return. Goodbye, Elanor." He looked up at her. "Say bye to Augusta and Diane for me. It was her what got me the place on board, you know."

She didn't answer.

"Bye, then."

"G-goodbye, Brian."

He waved jovially up at her and then sped off down the cobblestone streets, leaving Elanor to soak in what she had just heard. And she realized something.

It had been true from the moment they had met in the market, the reason she so looked forward to their midday meetings. She hadn't seen it for five years, since she was ten and he was eleven.

She loved him.

It is a scary, surprising thing to realize that you love someone at fourteen. But the mere threat of his absence had brought that emotion (was emotion the word?) to the surface. She didn't think too far in the future, like getting married or anything, she just realized that she could not bear to have Brian leave.

"Miss Elanor?" came a voice from her door. It was Diane.

"Diane," Elanor thundered, striding over to the maid and taking hold of her shoulders, "tell me you had nothing to do with Brian Cochran's sudden and quite unexpected departure."

"Sorry, Miss, but I'm afraid I did. The owner of that splendid ship, the Gold Flame, came around asking for a teller of legendary tales, and I immediately mentioned Master Brian. The tales he's told you when he's down on the street, with you up on your balcony-"

"Diane!" Elanor shrieked. She sat back in her chair and began to sob.

"Why, whatever is the matter, Elanor?" the unfortunate scullery maid questioned, quite bewildered.

"Luffim," Elanor mumbled through the cascade of tears.

"Pardon me?"

"I LOVE HIM!" Elanor roared. "And he'll be gone an eternity, and you know how dreadfully dangerous these sea ventures can be! He might get himself killed and never come back!" And dissolved into tears again.

"There's no point in crying about it, Elanor," Diane soothed in vain. "It's not like you can go with him."

Elanor's sobs halted. "G-go with him?"

"N-now, Elanor, you know they won't let you-"

"They don't need to know, Diane! I'll stow away on that ship!"

"You said it yourself, those ocean trips are terribly dangerous. What if you came to some harm? And what of your father?"

"I don't care about physical pain on his behalf, Diane. And I'll leave Father a note. Now, pretend you know nothing of my expedition or you'll lose your position. Oh, and Diane? Be sure to take care of Augusta for me."

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Diane said disbelievingly.

"Absolutely. No, I must pack and go. Farewell, Diane."

"F-farewell, Elanor."

The two embraced each other like sisters. Then Diane gave Elanor a faint smile and left the room.