Chapter One: Payback

Sarah hugged and kissed her parents as they boarded her father's ship, the Hurricane, bound for Ireland. "Enjoy your trip, both of you."

A few yards away, her mother's younger brother, Jonathan waited. He had a dusky dark complexion, and towered over the rest of the people who stood at the docks.

"Jonathan will take good care of you, Sarah," her mother whispered in her ear. "You can go ahead and start planning your birthday party if you would like. We'll be back long before that."

Sarah smiled and waved them off as she went back to meet Jonathan. He held the carriage waiting and helped her up into the coach. This was going to be boring, she thought. Dismally boring.

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Later on that evening, Sarah wandered into her father's office. Normally his office was off-limits simply because it held all of his financial records for his shipping companies.

Boredom had led her in there, that and sheer curiosity, as her uncle had been invited to a party by a childhood acquaintance. She had declined respectfully to accompany him due to a throbbing headache. The headache had evaporated nearly an hour before and she was alone in the house, save the servants. The office was dark because the candles had not been lit. She carried her own candle that cast deep shadows in the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

On his desk sat a withered old piece of parchment, a map that looked like it had been through a war. Sarah picked it up, studying it with interest. The language was unrecognizable to her, although she assumed it could've been any number of languages as she was only fluent in English and French. Her tutor had tried to help her learn Latin but had given up, much more weary than when they had begun and pronounced her insufferable.

She jumped when a servant pushed open the door with a creak, her starched uniform stiff.

"Miss?" she said, her voice soft. "Master Hughes will be very angry if he finds that you were in his office."

"Oh, of course," Sarah said, hiding the map behind her back. "I thought I saw the cat run in here and I came in to get her."

"Of course, miss," the maid said, knowing better than to question the young lady. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you." Sarah smiled and moved past the woman, heading back to her room. She would simply return it to the office when she was done perusing it.

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Jonathan whistled as he walked home from after his visit with the lovely Ms. Bridget Thomkins. It had been a refreshing evening, full of enchanting conversation with a beautiful woman. He slipped into the home of his sister through the pantry side door. Surely Sarah was already asleep. He thought to go and check on her, and see how she was feeling. He heard a creaking floorboard and spun around, checking for intruders. Feeling certain that he was simply hearing things, he turned around again, but was met with a fist to the nose. The blow wouldn't have knocked him out if he hadn't caught his head on a pantry door with a sickening smack and slid bonelessly to the floor.

Jack smiled and moved on, glancing over his shoulder at the young man sprawled on the floor. He had more important business to attend to than a relative who'd only get in the way.

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Sarah gasped and dropped the glass of water on her bedside table. It crashed to the floor, shattering as she caught the glint of metal shining just inches from her face. Before she could scream, strong arms surrounded her and dragged her out of the bed.

She was only able to let out a muted squeak as a hand covered her mouth. She bit at it, but couldn't seem to make her attacker loosen his hold. The hand reeked of sweat and oil, dirt and filth.

Squirming in her attacker's grasp, she attempted to break free but the hands just tightened around her. She was carried through her bedroom door, pressed against a man's chest, as her mind whirled uncontrollably, her heart pounded in her ears, blotting out all sound. Another man was waiting just outside the door and her eyes widened as she saw that he carried a sword and a pistol strapped to his belt.

Where's Thomas? she thought. What'll he think when he finds I'm gone?

She squealed as she was jerked forward, and her hands twisted roughly behind her and tied quickly. Then the hand that was covering her mouth was removed and cloth was jammed between her teeth, muffling all sound. She heard the man with graying hair say; "we best get a move on cap'n, before her parents get back home."

"Aye," the man growled.

He hefted her over his shoulder, despite her squeaking, and headed towards the front door. When they passed through the doorway leading through the kitchen, she stuck her head up to look at the man following them, and banged it hard against the doorframe, knocking herself out.

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Jack smirked as he hauled the girl through the streets. The only daughter of James Hughes was his prime opportunity for a little bit of blackmail. James had made quite a name for himself in Port Royal, getting in with society, and raising such a nice, respectable family. He had come a long way from his rum-running days of his youth, when Jack had sailed under him.

As they reached the dock, the moon was filtering through the misty clouds. He climbed on deck, his heart pounding from his brisk walk through Port Royal.

Now, for a little payback, he thought with a smile. "Gibbs, set sail, we'll leave right away," he said in a low voice. Gibbs nodded and disappeared silently in the dark.

He laid the girl down on the deck, her eyes fluttering open. They were a clear blue bordering on gray and lined with reddish lashes. Jack smiled down at her, a mixture of kindness and pure arrogance. He reached around to loosen the gag and tossed it down on the deck.

He started to speak when her eyes opened again. He smiled at her and bent to her eye level, but a foot plowing into his stomach knocked the air out of him. The only sound he could make was a high-pitched hiss through his teeth.

"Well," he growled after a moment, "you're more like your father than I figured on."

Sarah scrambled up with remarkable dexterity, which was impressive considering her hands were behind her, glaring at the man who was clutching his stomach.

"Bloody woman," he growled. "I'm not goin' to hurt you."

The girl looked angry as he stood, straightening to his full height as her eyes widened.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The name's Captain Jack Sparrow," he said, giving a mock bow. "And your name would be?" Jack asked, cocking his head at her, his breath finally coming back.

"Sarah." She glanced around, feeling the air blowing her loose hair off the base of her neck. She looked for an escape route, but there was none, unless she wanted to dive off of the ship, which was suicide, considering her current situation.

"You're not going anywhere, love," he said, watching as her eyes darted everywhere, searching. She started to step to the right, but he countered her movements. The ship had already moved out into the sea silently.

"If you fight me you're only going to make things more difficult for yerself."

"Oh really?" Sarah asked, her temper flaring at the man who grinned cockily at her. "And what will you do with me if I do fight you? Toss me overboard? You wouldn't go to so much trouble kidnapping me if you just intended to kill me." She shifted to the side and saw him mirror her movement exactly.

"Well, that's a tempting idea, but no. I could, however, just take you down into the brig," he said, considering, as he scratched his head thoughtfully. "How does that sound? Or," he said, raising a finger, "I could chain you to the bed in me cabin, do you like that idea better?"

Sarah glared at him as if considering his question and then tried to race past him, letting out a hopeless scream when she felt his arm circle her waist.

"What did you expect love?" he asked, his breath grazing her cheek and she rolled her eyes, annoyed. "I can't just let you go. I've got to have me ransom."

"But why kidnap me?" she asked, trying to squirm out of his grasp, but he held her tight, one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, keeping her plastered to his chest.

"You're parents will pay a good sum to see that you're returned safely. They've got something that I want." He released her, and she stumbled away from him, unable to catch herself, a chill erupting up her spine as the air turned cold.

"So you have two choices," he said, the gold teeth glinting in the moonlight as he held up one finger. "The first choice we discussed previously, or you can be a good little girl and bide your time until I get me ransom and you can go home."

She considered her options for a moment, weighing carefully, and then nodded.

"Fine," she said, "I'll do as you ask," she said. She turned around, her back to him and waited for his hands to brush over her wrist, but there was complete silence. "Well, untie me," she said. She didn't see Jack raise his eyebrow suspiciously, and then take a tentative step, his fingers loosening the simple knot effortlessly, and she wiggled her hands out, rubbing her wrists.

"Thank you," she said. Before he'd had a chance to blink she'd already raced at the side of the deck and dove into the black water below. Port Royal was still close. Maybe she could make it back. However, as she tried to swim in her thin nightdress, she felt a hand grasp at her waist and she was dragged backwards. "Let go of me!" she screamed, twisting to beat at him with her fists.

"Bloody woman," he said, pulling back towards the ship. "You'd drown yerself before you made it back to shore."

"I'd rather drown you," she said, trying to force his head underwater, however he'd already made it back to the rigging and was pulling her up, his hand around her waist. When they reached the deck, she crawled on her hands and knees for a moment, spitting salt water which she'd partially inhaled.

He knelt next to her and kindly said, "Take a deep breath. Get it all out."

She was starting to feel better, but she wanted to do everything she could to injure this man in her anger. She flung her arm out at him and her fist connected with his face. He recoiled, a muffled groan escaping his lips. Before he'd had a chance to recover, she was up and climbing into the rigging, her feet wet as she tried to keep her balance.

"Stupid woman," he said, standing finally and looking up at her. "You'll have to come down eventually."

"Not likely," she said. "You try to get me and I'll kill you."

"Oh will you?" he asked, moving towards the ropes and began to climb steadily upwards. Quickly enough, Sarah realized that she'd backed herself into a corner, so to speak. There was nowhere to go. Damn. She tried to kick him, but his hand flew out and caught her around the ankle. She almost stumbled, but caught a rope to steady herself. "Let go of me!"

"Woman," he said, "I'm not going to hurt you. You're going to end up hurting yourself if you don't come down now." She jerked and tried to get him to release her foot, but he held tight. When she looked down and met his gaze, he looked irritated. Good.

"I'm giving you to the count of three," he said slowly. "Or I'm coming up there and throwing you down. I'm not playing with you anymore."

"Fine," Sarah said, crossing her arms with one threaded through the rope. She'd rather stay there than return the deck with that captain.

Jack sighed. Why not just leave her up there? She'd have to come down eventually. Because his crew would laugh at him. The girl had made a fool of him. She was only a girl. Grinding his teeth he looked up at her. She was coming down whether she wanted to or not. Without giving her the chance to fight he simply climbed up and caught her wrist and pulled her arm from around the rope she'd threaded it through. He started to drag her down and then felt her lose her balance. He still had a good grasp on her arm and let her fall, dangling upside down. She screamed as she dangled precariously.

"Listen," he called, over her screaming. "I could drop you now for all the trouble you've caused. If you swear that you'll behave, I'll see that you make it back to deck safely. Make your choice now because my hold is getting slippery."

"Fine," she called. She reached for the rigging, trying to stabilize herself, but Jack caught her other hand, holding himself steady. He helped her catch on to the rigging and gain her own footing again.

"Go on down," he said, tired of chasing her.

She was standing on the deck waiting for him once he'd jumped down. She was cold and shivering from her wet clothing.

"Now," he said, drawing his sword and holding it on her, "I'm tired of chasing you. Don't try anything foolish again. I've no patience for it."

"I don't want to be here," she said. "I didn't ask to be kidnapped."

"Fair enough, love," he said, "but circumstances change. Live with it."

She glowered at him for another few moments and then said, finally, "thank you for keeping me from falling."

"Yer welcome," Jack growled, stepping towards her, but she recoiled automatically, on guard. "You're going to have to sleep somewhere," he said. "So follow me."