Author's Note: Well, hey there! Insert usual disclaimer here, it would be great if I owned Jack Sparrow, but in the meantime I can dream! All characters not mentioned in the movie are figments of my overactive imagination. The name Siddons is used to honour famous British actress Sarah Siddons, who I think is/was really cool. I'm really trying to keep this story from being viewed as a typical Mary/Sue, so if you have questions or concerns about my heroine, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm no history buff, so this isn't going to be particularly accurate, unless I'm talking about something I actually know about/have researched. For instance, in the old days, sailors on shore leave would get odd jobs like working at theatres operating the sets, which is how Arthur Graves met Joanna's parents. I really hope you enjoy the story, and reviews and constructive criticism will always be more than welcome!
Joanna Siddons rowed the small boat packed with her luggage and some foodstuffs away from the merchant ship she'd taken from England and toward the beach of a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean. The Captain of Celeste, Arthur Graves, waved to her from the deck in the predawn light. He had been a friend of her parents, who were both actors and managed a theatre in London, and had been known to her as Uncle Arthur for as long as she could remember. Two years ago after her father had followed her mother to the grave, Uncle Arthur had repeated his promise that she could count on him for anything. Just over a month ago she'd arrived at his doorstep begging for passage on his next voyage, and to Joanna's great relief she'd been watching the receding shoreline of her homeland from the aft of the ship three days later.
Joanna's arms ached a little as she pulled the oars toward her. Celeste was becoming smaller on the horizon, she could barely see Uncle Arthur at the helm steering her onward. He'd promised to send someone back for her once they'd reached the next port, where he'd been instructed at their last stop that he was to pick up the King's cousin and take him back to England without stopping in America first. The King. He was the reason she'd fled England. Many actresses-nay, many women-would have jumped at the chance to be the mistress of one of the most powerful men in the world, but Joanna didn't fall into that category. When first he'd started paying attention to her the year before, she'd brushed it off as a phase he was going through. She was quite popular with the people and didn't play the ingénue roles that men in power typically fell for. With her long legs and somewhat gangly figure, she'd always been cast in the britches parts; and recently when her body betrayed her by developing into a figure that rivaled her beautiful mother's, she'd done her best to hide it, and had continued as she had before. She realized with a snort that it was probably the britches roles that had done her in; the costumes showed off the shape of a woman's lower half without offending propriety, and the plays Joanna performed in almost always sold out. So much for avoiding attention, Joanna thought, before she forcefully pushed the King out of her mind. She was on the other side of the globe now, he would forget about her, and she could meet her relatives and perform with them in America.
She looked behind her and was pleased to see she was only a few yards from shore. Wanting to save her dress from the saltwater as much as she could, she struggled with the oars until she could climb out of the boat with as little splashing as possible. Joanna pulled the boat over the sparkling white sand and into the shade of the various trees and bushes further inland. Already feeling the day's heat from her long row to the island, Joanna pulled off her dress, shoes, and stockings, and unlaced her corset, taking a deep breath as she felt the cool breeze off the water hit her in only her pantalets and sleeveless chemise top. She laughed gaily as she pulled her luggage from the small craft and opened it to find her makeup kit. On the boat Uncle Arthur had told her about the Egyptians who outlined their eyes in kohl to help reduce the glare of the sun. Joanna, born and raised in London, was unused to the brightness as it bounced off the waves and had been dying to try the kohl for herself since Uncle Arthur had mentioned it. Finding the stick, her expert fingers quickly swiped the black around her eyes before replacing it in her small kit and closing her trunk.
For the first time in her life, she felt truly free. No one was around for her to answer to. She could do whatever she wanted on this island and nobody would know. Joanna looked at this as her personal paradise, a dream before she found her relatives and went on with her life. The sand was cool from the previous night as she walked down and waist deep into to the clear blue water. Joanna pulled her long dark blonde curls and waves from their restrictive bun and fell backwards smiling into an oncoming wave.
The rest of the day passed like a dream. Joanna had never had so much fun. After playing in the waves until the sun was high overhead, she'd come back to her little camp and realized how hungry she was. Biting into a pasty she looked up and spotted what she assumed were coconuts. She finished her lunch and then managed to climb to the top of the coconut tree within minutes (several years of working the sets in her parents' theatre gave her an unnatural skill at climbing things, added onto by her experience climbing the mast and nets of Uncle Arthur's ship when he wasn't looking) and toss down a few coconuts. She broke her first one open on a rock and was rewarded with the sweet milk and flesh inside. Contented, Joanna braided most of her still wet hair into small braids, and left the rest to curl and wave naturally into tendrils. She'd never been very feminine, and hadn't any skills to speak of when it came to fixing her looks except those she had learnt for the stage. She'd explored the perimeter of the island for the rest of the day and then settled down to make a proper camp. She'd laid out a makeshift bed, built a fire, and finished her second coconut as the stars came out before weariness overtook her. She added a few more small branches to the flames and then laid back and watched the stars as her eyes closed of their own accord.
Jack Sparrow closed his spyglass and tilted his head to one side, beads in his hair clinking together as he squinted in deep thought. Someone was on his special island, and he hadn't been expecting it. In the year since he'd met Will and Elizabeth Turner (they were now married) and regained the Pearl from Barbosa, Jack had led a rather quiet existence. He was wealthy enough to buy Port Royal if he so chose, but instead he'd cut a deal with the Commodore. Jack got to raid, pillage, and plunder as many ships as he wanted, so long as he didn't attack any English settlements or vessels. That was easy enough, although he had to admit he missed being chased by all the Caribbean had to offer of the King's Navy. Instead, Commodore Norrington and himself had developed what might be called a friendship, although to outside eyes it appeared to be more of a business relationship, and a very strained one at that. Jack and the Commodore had been using the island as a communication point for the past year. Jack would drop off maps and captain's logs, anything that might be of interest to the Crown from those ships he attacked, and in exchange, Jack would be pointed in directions where he could find more ships and was always given a few barrels of the best rum in the Caribbean. They used the hidden cache where Jack's rum pre-Elizabeth had been stored, and occasionally Jack or the Commodore would play some sort of prank on the other man. Jack was curious about this fire on the beach and ordered Gibbs to lower one of the boats before heading below deck to retrieve Will.
Will opened the door of his cabin a few minutes later to Jack's incessant knocking with his shirt open and his breaches barely pulled up to his waist. Jack entered his first mate's cabin with his usual swagger and was just about to open his mouth when Elizabeth cut into his thoughts.
"Jack, you'd better have a bloody good reason for interrupting us like this. Didn't you see the kerchief on the door?" she half growled from the bunk where the sheets were pulled up almost to her chin.
"I do have a bloody good reason, luv. And I apologize for interrupting your," his hands waved in circles as he gave the couple a smirk, "sleep. But I need Will since there appears to be a campfire on the island."
"Can't this wait until morning!" Elizabeth's voice faded as the two men made their way back to the deck and into the boat waiting for them.
"What do you suppose it means? Do you think Norrington wants us to hide someone?" Will asked as he pulled on one of the oars.
"Not sure, mate. But it seems strange, we haven't seen any sign of him for two weeks, you'd think he would have left us a message last time we were here." Jack answered, keeping the rhythm as he pulled on the other oar.
"Maybe he was too shocked or offended by your . . . gift," Will's voice hinted at the laughter bubbling under the surface. Jack had trained a parrot to sing a rather bawdy song anytime his name was mentioned.
"I can't imagine why," Jack slurred softly as they felt the sand scrape the bottom of the boat and jumped out to pull it ashore and out of reach of the tide. Both men drew their swords and advanced on the fire, only noticing when they reached it that the sleeping form it cast its' glow upon was a young woman. He pulled at his beard as he turned to Will, "Well, this is interesting."
Joanna woke with a start at a sound she couldn't place and looked across the fire to see two dark shapes standing not ten feet away. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that the two men had their swords drawn. Exuding an outward calm that had only come from years of practice, she stood up, backed away from the fire slowly with her eyes shifting between the two men, and found her father's sword in her boat. Only then did she speak.
"Who are you? Who sent you?" Joanna was relieved that her voice held the same power now that she had exerted onstage. She realized she was in a very precarious position, alone on this island with two armed men, and who knew how many others where they had come from.
"Well now, luv," the shorter one wearing a hat swaggered around the fire moving his arms like a fop as he spoke, "this is my island. I think it would be wise if you answered those questions for us first, savvy?" His eyes glinted mischievously as he looked at her and Joanna remembered with a slight blush that she was only wearing her undergarments.
She raised her sword arm until it was almost level with her shoulder, and even though he was still a few feet out of her reach, it still made her feel safer. "Or I could disarm you and cut away your clothing until you answer me," she spoke with more confidence than she felt, although she'd had plenty of experience sword fighting onstage and roughhousing with the men of the theatre before she got too old for it.
"Trying to even the playing field, are we, luv?" Jack laughed before raising his sword to meet hers. He saw her look out of the corner of her eye where Will was still standing by the fire. Seeming satisfied that he wasn't going to join in, she raised her sword in salute and Jack mimicked her.
Will watched the duel unfold, impressed at the young woman's skill. She looked to be about Elizabeth's age, perhaps a year or two older, and he was curious to learn what had brought her to this island. He could tell that Jack had started out trying to go easy on her, but quickly learned that she was quite a match for him. In less than two minutes, he saw her disarm Jack and kick him to the ground. Will, who had sheathed his sword watching them, let out a laugh and ran over to where the two had ended up.
"Pleased to meet you," he bowed and smiled up at her as she turned from glaring at Jack to face him. When she saw that he wasn't going to attack her, she stuck her sword into the sand and held out her hand to him. "I'm Will Turner, and that's Jack—"
"Captain!" interrupted Jack as he rose from the ground, dusting the sand off of himself with his hat before returning it to his head, "Captain Jack Sparrow. And now who be you, missy?"
Joanna sighed and went out on a limb. "I'm Joanna Siddons, from London. I was dropped here this morning by the captain of Celeste on his way to Port Royal." She noticed the look that passed between the two men and continued, "I'd rather not say more until you've answered some of my questions, if you don't mind."
"We came upon the Celeste this afternoon, or what was left of her. She'd been attacked by Juan Federico of La Dulcinea, he's a Spanish pirate we've been following. We caught up with him and be assured he'll pay for his crime, but as far as we know there weren't any survivors," Will spoke quietly and watched as Joanna's eyes widened and filled with tears that refused to fall. She nodded at them, hands on her hips, then turned and walked a few feet further down the beach before the contents of her stomach couldn't wait any longer to free themselves and she bent over the sand, heaving. She walked back to where Jack and Will were waiting, picked up her sword as she passed them and indicated that they should follow her back to the fire.
Joanna pulled out a water sack and poured some of it into her mouth, swishing and then spitting it out behind her before offering it to the men. "I don't suppose either of you have anything stronger than this, do you? I could use a drink right about now!" Without speaking, Jack pulled a flask from the inside pocket of his coat and tossed it to her. Joanna caught it one-handed and thanked him quietly before taking a long swig and tossing it back.
"Feel like expounding on your story, luv? Will and I have got all night and we'd love to know why you're on this island." Joanna appeared to be weighing her options as she wrapped a blanket around herself, her eyes shifting from Jack's to Will's and then back to Jack's again.
"I'm an actress," she said finally, "I left London to find and join some of my family touring America. I left to avoid the attentions of His Majesty, I have no desire to be his mistress, and if I'd stayed it would have been that or greater trouble than I care to imagine. Arthur dropped me here to wait for another ship he would send to pick me up and take me the rest of the way. He was ordered at our last port of call to proceed straight to Port Royal and retrieve His Majesty's cousin and take him back to England. I have suspicions that His Majesty expects me to return on Celeste. But, if she's been sunk," Joanna's voice caught as she thought of the crew she'd become friends with and Uncle Arthur, "that leaves me stranded on your island."
"Well," slurred Jack, making Joanna wonder if he hadn't been drunk this whole time, "looks like you've two options. You can stay here and be found by the King's Navy, or you can come with us and we'll drop you where you see fit. I can't promise when, and you'll have to pay for passage or earn your keep, but it's a lot more fun than this island or a bunch of redcoats, right Will?"
"Right." Will turned to Joanna, "Would you like to join us? My wife travels with me most of the time and I know she'd enjoy some female company."
Joanna hesitated only a second. In just over a month, her life had changed drastically several times. She looked at the two men across from her, unlike anyone she'd ever met, and thought she'd like to have an adventure, the type of adventure she'd only ever acted out onstage. She nodded and watched as Jack jumped quickly to his feet before swaying, his arms swinging in circles, and she was sure he was about to fall when he pulled Will up with him.
"Go to the ship and let them know we have taken on a passenger. We're having a celebration to welcome her to the Pearl, and don't forget the Rum!" Jack nodded, satisfied with himself, and then looked down at Joanna, "Hungry, luv?"
Joanna shook her head, "No, I've got plenty to share."
They watched as Will jogged down to the boat and pushed it into the surf before hopping in and rowing away. Jack turned to Joanna and looked at her for a moment before speaking. "You've piqued my curiosity, as it were, Miss Siddons, fleeing from the King of England and disarming the famous Captain Jack Sparrow. Anything else I should know?"
Joanna stood up and walked over to where he was standing, one hand resting on his hip while the other tugged at his beard as he looked down at her with his chin lifted. "Only that you may call me Joanna, and that I don't usually run around in my skivvies."
Jack looked down at her in the firelight and thought to himself that it was a shame. "Well, then, Joanna, on this fortuitous occasion," his fingers danced as his arms danced in the air around him, "I must insist that you call me Jack, and appreciate it because not many people are allowed to. Do we have an accord?"
Deep and dark, his brown kohl-lined eyes looked down at her stormy gray kohl-lined eyes and waited for an answer. Joanna nodded slowly, unable to break the spell until she remembered that she was about to meet several new people who would be part of her life for a while and she was still just in her skivvies. "Shall I get some coconuts before I put my things back on?"
"And now how're you goin' to do that?"
Joanna looked back over her shoulder as she made her way to a coconut tree, "Easy, just climb up and get them. But the dressing I might need some help with."
Jack let out a low whistle as he watched her climb nimbly to the top of the tree. If she could climb like that and match him with a sword, there was no doubt in his mind that she'd take to life on the Pearl like a duck to water. He grinned, his mind wandering to other talents she might possess before a coconut hit him on the head and brought him flying onto his back with a surprised yelp. Joanna turned and looked down for the source of the noise. When she spotted him flat on the sand she could barely suppress a laugh before throwing down more coconuts, barely missing him as he yelped with each projectile that approached.
"Don't do anything else that might make me change my mind, savvy?" he growled at her after she'd climbed back down and he'd found himself on his feet again. To his dismay, Joanna pulled on his beard until their eyes were level and only inches apart before pulling off an even better impression of him than Will could do.
"I think you just might like the fact that I can keep you on your toes, savvy?" Joanna and Jack looked at one another for a long moment before she released him and gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'll try." She made her way over to her things and turned back to see him watching her, "Help me dress before I meet your crew?"
"Now that's an interesting prospect, darlin'. You could just stay as you are and impress them as much as you've impressed me, or you could hide all of that loveliness under a dress." His hands gestured as he half stumbled toward her and came within inches of her face, his fingers dancing for a quick moment across her shoulders before returning to his sides. He was pleased to see her blush before he grabbed the corset from her and turned her around so he could lace it. Having another lass onboard would be interesting. Jack's smirk grew to a huge grin as he thought of succeeding where the King of England had failed. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, after all, and not one to pass up such a delicious challenge. The thought of her possible ransom wasn't lost on him, either. He sighed as she slipped a dress of rich dark brown silk brocade over her shoulders, taking her legs in their almost sheer pantalets from his view.
The two of them were throwing knives and sharing Jack's flask of rum when Will and Elizabeth-followed by the rest of the crew excluding Gibbs, who said it was bad luck to leave the ship unattended-arrived in boats on the beach, bringing with them a veritable feast. Elizabeth noted Joanna's wild hair half braided and half falling in curls and waves almost to her waist, the young woman's eyes still lined in kohl, and the fact that she was sharing Jack's flask and yet still able to hit the makeshift target twenty feet away, and turned to Will, "Is it just me or does she bear a striking resemblance to someone we know?"
Will laughed, "I swear she was like that when we got here! Well, minus the dress," he ducked as Elizabeth feigned shock and went to punch him, instead throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes while the crew laughed. He jogged up to where Jack and Joanna were standing, unaware of the fact that their stances were identical, and indicated Elizabeth's backend with a light slap from his free hand, "Joanna, I'd like to introduce my beautiful wife, Elizabeth Swann Turner."
Joanna circled Will until she could face Elizabeth. "My pleasure, Mrs. Turner," she smiled and with a wink gave Will a firm kick in the buttocks. The two young women fell into giggles together, and Jack pretended not to have noticed anything out of the ordinary before calling attention to himself.
"Oy! We've got a new face to welcome to The Pearl, lads! She's goin' ter be joinin' us for a bit, so don't cross 'er unless ye want her pointy end in you!"
"I didn't reckon she had a pointy end under that fancy dress," shouted Roberts, a rakish young man with a naughty sense of humor that got him in trouble with the ladies before his baby face and doe eyes brought him back in good graces. Elizabeth, who was used to the way the crew talked, started to turn and reassure her new friend, but Joanna swaggered closer to Roberts in a manner very much like Jack's and said so everyone could hear, "If I did have a pointy end under my dress, you can be sure it'd be bigger than yours!" Roberts let out a guffaw and then started to laugh and clap, followed by the rest of the crew, as Joanna took a bow and introduced herself.
It wasn't long until the fire had gotten bigger, the rum and wine passed around, and the food dug into. The stars and moon reflected in the waves as Plunkett, a quiet older man who said profound things when he did choose to speak, pulled out his fiddle and started a lively tune. Will and Elizabeth were the first to get up and dance. Roberts convinced Joanna to leave her place by the fire, and her rum, to dance a jig with him. She danced with all the men except Plunkett, who continued to play his fiddle, and Jack, who sat by the fire with a bottle of rum in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, watching them all. Eventually they all tired of the dancing and were sitting around the flames once more. Plunkett placed his fiddle lovingly in its case as Jack looked over at Joanna and cocked an eyebrow, "D'ye sing, lass?"
Joanna noted with a little gulp that the rest of the crew had stopped chattering and were looking at her expectantly. Elizabeth, sitting across the fire wrapped in her husband's arms smiled at her, "They're always asking me to sing them lullabies, but beg me to stop squawking the moment I open my mouth! If you can sing better than I can, I'm sure they'll appreciate having a talented singer onboard. They're all a bunch of softies." This got a few good-natured murmurs from the crew and Will whispered something in his wife's ear that made her blush as Joanna racked her brain for something appropriate to sing. She settled upon an old favorite her mother had sung to her when she was young and waited for their attention to settle before starting into a lilting melody.
"Oh, there once was a girl fell in love with the wind,
And begged for to be taken along with him.
She asked and she pleaded,
And though her words were heeded,
The wind sighed to her softly it could not be.
'Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Your soul is too heavy for me to carry.
Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
I canna take you with me, you and I we canna be.'
Have I told you her story?
The girl who fell in love with the sea?
She opened her arms to his salty embrace,
And prayed to the waves to take her in,
But the sea whispered to her that it could not be.
'Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Your soul is far too light to wonder in my depths.
Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
We canna be together, your soul and my deep.'
Do you know of the girl who fell in love with the
stones?
She'd sing her love to them softly in sun and in rain,
But their answer to her love was always the same.
'Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Your soul is much too young for our love to be true.
Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Time will tear us apart, you and I we canna be.'
Oh, there was a girl fell in love with the flowers.
She'd sit in the fields and sing her love for hours.
But their answer to her songs was ever the same.
'Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Your soul is far to old for our love to be true.
Darling, though you love me, and though I love you,
Time will tear us apart, you and I we canna be.'
Now, listen lads and lasses to the story of the girl,
Who fell in love with a boy and felt she'd conquered
the world.
He sang to her sweetly of his love both night and day,
And they made the solemn promise that neither one
would stray.
Now, listen lads and lasses, for what I say is true,
Never underestimate what the power of love can do!"
Joanna let the last note fade and wondered in the silence that followed if she had made a mistake. All of a sudden, Jack was clapping her on the back and handing her his bottle of wine in congratulations. She looked over at Elizabeth who smiled at her before turning to kiss Will.
"Oy!" Roberts cried out, nudging his shipmate Carlyle, a weathered man in his thirties with beady eyes but a bright, warm smile. "You two," he continued, "don't need to be showin' us all what we're missin' when we're at sea and don't have a woman around. Save it for the cabin, and keep it quiet-like!" Elizabeth gasped and threw a handy apple straight for Roberts' head, but he caught it and took a big bite before smiling around at his shipmates, "Thanks, luv. Now, it's fortunate that we'll have another lass onboard for those cold lonely nights when Will and Elizabeth are keepin' us all awake. Whaddaya say, Joanna, want to be my sweetheart?"
She was about to open her mouth to protest when Jack stood up, pulling her with him and broke in, "I'm afraid that's impossible, my little whelp. You forget yourself. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy? The lass'll be with me onboard."
A stream of words started flying out of Joanna's mouth in outrage. She was about to mention turning down the King and how she certainly wouldn't give herself to a Pirate if she hadn't wanted a King when Jack scooped her up into his arms and cradled her face against his in a kiss. She was vaguely aware of the crew's catcalls and good-humored laughter, and of the fact that she was quickly being carried away, but mostly she was surprised at the strange turn of events. Before she could even think to fight back or kiss back, she felt herself pressed against a tree trunk and opened her eyes. Jack was looking up at her and she realized her feet were still off of the ground. Out of her peripheral vision she could just see the campfire and some of the crew taking glances at them while they talked. Plunkett pulled out his fiddle again and they started a rowdy drinking song. "Care to set me down?" she asked Jack, noting that despite her effort at control, her voice was a little higher than normal.
"Just when I've got you where I want?" he asked, his deep brown eyes glinting in the darkness as he ever so slowly closed the tiny gap between them. "Not just yet, luv, we've got some talking to do." His face got closer to hers and Joanna's breath hitched in her throat when his lips brushed softly against her own before he continued, "The men, they don't know about you and the King." Again, his lips brushed her own before he continued speaking, this time not even pulling far enough away so that he didn't tickle her with his beard. "And, luv, I don't even think you know everything about you and the King." She felt his hot breath along her jaw as he went to whisper in her ear, his lips just brushing the lobe and she shivered, though she couldn't tell if it was from what he was saying or how he was saying it. "We've got Federico in the brig on The Pearl and he was only too happy to talk after a little persuasion. Seems the Spanish King wants to get on His Highness' good side and sent ole Juan to find a little actress who ran away from his advances." Joanna gasped, and, reeling, she threw her arms around Jack's shoulders and clutched as tight as she could. "It would be in everyone's best interest if we kept the King a secret, savvy?"
Joanna placed her mouth next to Jack's ear and whispered so softly she thought he mightn't have heard, "Savvy. Jack, what do I do?"
"You're an actress, luv, just play along."