I opened my eyes to find myself in the arms of a strange man, he smelled of sour bitter things and smoke. His hands were gritty and calloused. I squirmed gently, half asleep. "Lemme go." I protested weakly he looked down at me for a moment. His eyes were very dark with purple rings underneath them, hinting at many sleepless nights.
"Hush now," he whispered.
"Where's Jasp? Where's mum?" I demanded, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Fear was kicking in; I knew not where I was going.
"I said shut yer mouth." He said harshly. I fell silent, but turned my head to observe my surroundings. We were outside, the stars were being replaced by the rising sun. The strange man was walking down the steps to the beach, the cliff that my house rested on was behind us.
A woman I recognized as my mother was up ahead, my brother grasped in her arms. This soothed me a little; at least I wasn't being stolen like all those stories of pirates stealing small children in the night went along.
I inspected the man further, his clothes were dirty and tattered, he had on a three cornered hat and his hair was matted into well-cared for dreadlocks.
"Oi!" I heard that familiar antagonistic voice. I turned my head and glared at my brother, perched in the ropes like a lanky, sun-tanned monkey. "Breakfast time sis." He said.
"Give me a few minutes," I replied. He shrugged, dropping his bare feet onto the well-scrubbed deck.
"More for me." He said, turning and ducking below into the belly of the ship. I turned my attention back to the sea and watched the water lap up against the side of the Pearl. It was a cool, clean day and I was admiring the way the sun made the ocean glitter like liquid sapphires.
I had been living on this ship for nine years and I was growing weary of it. The pirate lifestyle had grown boring. I thought idly of my mother, tucked away in her little cottage with my half-brother. The way she had given Jasper and I away to our father without a moment's hesitation.
Us, the bastard pirate children, but our older sibling was given an education and the finer things. He would never know of a life at sea, I remembered even how Will had made a fuss over getting in the water. He hated the ocean with a passion, he would never accompany Jasper and I to the beach when we were little, preferring to stay in the cabin and read his stupid books.
I pushed myself off the edge of the ship and ducked below deck, following the sounds of the crew into the dining area. My father was positioned at the head of the table, munching on an apple. He looked up and me and raised an eyebrow. I nodded my head respectfully.
"Captain,"
"Miss Sparrow," he replied, a smile twitching below his mustache. Jasper was stuffing his face with bacon and he looked up at me, a piece of pig fat hanging from his mouth.
"Hullo Amythest." He said dutifully, bowing his head again to overindulge.
Mister Gibbs put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. "Take a seat won't ya?" he asked. I nodded and took a spot away from the table, but not before plucking a pear from the fruit basket.
"Mum, don't go!" Jasper cried reaching for her as the strange man struggled to keep him seated in the boat. Our mother smiled at us as she stepped forward to kiss her son on the cheek.
"I have to love." She said. "You need to stay with your father for now sweetie, we'll see each other again I promise." I looked, dumfounded, at the man who was seated behind us. He met my eyes apologetically.
"You're our dad?" I asked. He shrugged.
"More or less." He replied. My mother then turned to me.
"Amy, you need to keep watch out for your brother and Jasper keep your sister out of trouble." I nodded, tearfully, embracing her and burying my face into her neck. I spotted Will standing on the beach a ways away, watching this exchange with interest.
"Why does Will get to stay!" Jasper accused, pointing a malicious finger at the ten year-old. The boy narrowed his eyes.
"Because I'm not a problem!" he called back. Jasper spat in his direction and my mother looked pained but didn't defend us at all.
"Sit back on the bench my dear." She said gently. Jasper did as he was told, glaring fiercely at his sibling on the beach. Then she pushed the boat out into the water and the man began to row.
My brother and I sat, frozen as we watched my mother grow smaller. "I love you both!" she yelled out across the sea so we would hear. Will walked forward and stood by our mother, and I swore I saw a pronounced smirk on his face.
I turned the other way to face the stranger who was rowing us out towards the big ship in the distance. He looked at me for a long time before speaking.
"Erm, you can call me Jack." He said.
"I'm Amythest," I replied shyly. He nodded and I squinted against the rising sun. "Is that where we're going?" I asked, pointing to the looming boat on the water. Jack nodded.
"That's the Black Pearl, my ship. I'm captain of it. You'll be staying there with me." The apparent captain said.
Jasper turned now and frowned at the man. "You're not our dad, why is mum lying to us? I've seen pictures of our dad." He said. Jack looked uncomfortable and did not respond.
Marty looked at me from his spot at the table. "You don't look so good Amy, is somethin' wrong?" he asked. I shook my head and took another large bite of my pear.
"No, nothing's wrong." I replied. He nodded, popping a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. Jasper now turned in his seat and gave me the that's bullshit and you know it look. I frowned at him and he shrugged and went back to his meal.
"That's your brother's dad." Jack said to him after a while. "You have different dads but the same mum if that makes any sense."
Jasper shook his head. "You're lying. My dad is a sea trader and he's gonna come an' find us." I nodded in agreement.
The captain sighed. "If you say so mates, if you say so…"