And It All Begins

Tortuga was a very revolting island to look at. The inhibitors felt right at home there which made the place an even bigger waste of space on a map.

But not all of Tortuga was trash. There was a dirt road that leads up into the mountains. The road will lead you to a mansion. It was always quiet, that house. Drunken sailors, whores and pillaging pirates don't bother to go up there because it's like a ghost town up there and because they don't think there is anything interesting in that mansion anyway.

The only person they see taking that road is a rather large man with a bushy beard named Joshua Sanford. He stood at 6'5"and looked rather intimidating. He came down during the day every once in a while to trade with pirates for basic things like eggs, bread, poultry, fish and animal feed. No one ever bothered him because of his size. But for anyone that's made small talk with him, they'll know that he has three daughters and he loves them very much.

His oldest daughter, Andranique (AN-DRUH-NEEK), sometimes they call her Ani, is 11 years old. She had long black hair, tan skin and stood at 5'0". He bragged about her being extremely intelligent and how she loved animals and how she was so adventurous.

His second oldest daughter, Jasmine, is 8 years old. She also had black hair but was only shoulder length and stood at 4'7". She strives to be like her older sister but she sometimes tries too hard and becomes short-tempered.

Then there was Sasha, the youngest. Being only 4 years old, she doesn't have many qualities yet. But she is a very curious child. She like playing around with the animals and following her two older sisters around.

"Daddy! Daddy! Can I help you pick grapes today?" asked Andranique, tugging on her father's pants.

"Of course you can sweetie." He said with a smile.

Andranique smiled very big then ran upstairs to her room with excitement to get ready to go out into the vineyard.

Their family owned a vineyard in their back yard. There were acres and acres of trees lines all in perfect order. Joshua owned a wine business where he picked the grapes, mashed them for the liquid and added alcohol. That's how he came to such a large estate. He sold his wine to the Faithful Bride is Tortuga and also to the bars in Port Royal. So you can say that Joshua was a very well-known man when it came to bars and their owners.

Andranique ran outside to the barn. There, they kept chickens, pigs and horses. They only had four horses, one for each family member. Since Jasmine and Sasha were still too small for their horses, they have to wait until they are as big as Andranique.

Andranique's horse, Fair-Weather, was a black beauty, except for the white sock on his left hind ankle and a white diamond on his forehead. She suited him up for the ride and went immediately out to the vineyards with a basket in hand.

She started to pick groupings for grapes and tossed them in her basket. She even ate a few while she worked. Since she basically grew up in a vineyard, she has grown to be obsessed with grapes. Sometimes that's the only thing she eats a day.

As the day grew hotter, she stopped by the big old tree at the top of a hill. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and started to doze off.

It was only 10 minutes that she was there until she heard a noise in the branches above her. He woke up, startled and ready to defend herself.

"Who's there?" she asked, actually expecting an answer. "Come down or…" she found a rock lying on the ground. Thinking this was a brilliant idea, she picked it up and yelled, "Or I'll throw this rock at you!"

Still no answer… Andranique became very impatient. "Fine! Have it your way!" She chucked the rock up as high as she could. She heard a thump and more rustling.

"Ow…" said a voice. It sounded like a boy.

"Who's up there?" screamed Andranique.

"Wha… whoa, whoa, WHOA!" the person that was up there came tumbling down the tree and landed pretty hard to the ground.

Andranique was in shock that it was a boy about her age with dark brown hair, a red bandana around his forehead and wore what looked like pirate clothing. The boy didn't move. Andranique approached him cautiously.

"Hey kids… are you okay?" she knelt down beside him and saw that he still had a pulse. He was unconscious. She panicked and didn't know what to do. She picked him up and laid him over Fair-Weather. Then she mounted on him and rode back home.

"Where did he come from?" asked Jasmine. "Did you ask him what is name was?"

"No. He was in the tree up on that hill then he fell down." Explained Andranique.

They laid him on their father's bed. He has a nasty bruise on his forehead. Andranique got a cold cloth and pressed it against the bruise. Andranique didn't know this boy but she had to admit he was cute.

Joshua entered his room to see the boy lying on his bed. "Now, what do we have here?" He smiled big.

"This boy was in our tree on that hill and he fell off it." Said Andranique.

Sasha came in and wanted to see the commotion. "I wanna see! I wanna see!" she cried. Joshua picked her up and sat her on the bed. Sasha crawled closer to the boy. "Who's he?" she asked.

"Well, why don't we let the boy rest for a while now?" suggested Joshua. "He'll wake up eventually. Now run along, you three."

A few hours have passed and the boy hasn't woken up yet. Andranique and Jasmine were in Andranique's room debating if they should check on him.

"It's almost dinner time and he still isn't a wake…" said Andranique, starting to worry.

"We should go check on him then." Suggested Jasmine.

"Well… daddy is down stairs busy with dinner… and Sasha is asleep… so maybe we should." Andranique was skeptical about the whole situation but she was curious about the mysterious boy. He was rather cute. The thought of seeing his peaceful face made Andranique blush.

Jasmine and Andranique tip toed to their father's room. They cracked the door open and saw the boy was still lying on the bed peacefully. They crept in more, moving to the side of the bed. Andranique gazed at his cuteness, blushing slightly. She looked at his hair and went to move it from his face. Before she could, his hand grabbed her wrist and both Andranique and Jasmine screamed. They covered their mouths at how loud they were.

"Who are you?" asked the boy, defensively and still holding Andranique's wrist. Andranique snatched her wrist, just as defensively. She toughened up and hardened her face.

"The more important question is who are YOU?" she got annoyed.

"I asked you first!" snapped the boy.

"Hey! I brought you here into our home. Our house, our rules!" Andranique was quite the negotiator.

The boy was silent and stared at Andranique with distaste and annoyance. He rolled his eyes and said, "My name is Jack Sparrow. I was strolling away from town and I found you're lovely garden and decided to take a nap. I'm guessing it was you who woke me?" Jack glared at Andranique again.

"Yeah it was me! That's my daddy's vineyard out there. We don't want people stealing our grapes so I had to wake you." She said crossing her arms. It seemed a wall was put up between the two now.

"Well, who are you people anyway?" asked Jack, still defensively. "For all I know, you people could be preparing me for your dinner." He mumbled.

"I'm Andranique Sanford. This is my sister Jasmine. Our younger sister, Sasha, is sleeping so you have to be quiet." She said, with attitude.

The door creaked open behind them. The two girls turned quickly around, hoping it's not their father, but to see that it was Sasha, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and holding her favorite toy bunny.

"Hey," she yawned. "What's with all the noise?"

"Mr. Blue jay here scared the crap outta me." Said Andranique, turning her back to Jack and pointing her thumb over her should and rolling her eyes.

"It's Sparrow! Jack Sparrow!" he said annoyed.

"Whatever…" Andranique said, caring less. She then turned back to him and asked, "Where are you from anyway?"

"I'm a stow-away. So I can't exactly tell you where exactly I'm from." He said.

"You have to know where you are from. It's the place where you were born." Jasmine said.

"Well… if you MUST know. I was born in Shipwreck Cove. My dad, or so he claims to be, is a captain of the Misty Lady and sails here for trade and to restock goods." Jack explained.

"Why are you all the way up in the mountains then and not with your father?" asked Andranique.

"Because I'm not a child! I don't need to hold my dad's hand everywhere I go. Also, he's staying here for three days. I have time to catch up with him." Jack said.

"What if he leaves you?" asked Jasmine.

"He told me," Jack straightened his back, stuck his scrawny chest out and deepened his voice to what they assumed to be imitating his dad, and said, "if you get left behind, aw well. You're stuck here until I come back."

Sasha's jaw dropped. "That's terrible…" her face saddened and she began to cry. Andranique picked her up and calmed her down.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Jack.

"She's empathetic for you. Plus, she's only 4." Andranique said.

Jack nodded his head in understanding. "Hey kid," he said, calling to Sasha. Sasha rubbed her eyes and looked at him. "Come here." Andranique put her down and Sasha ran to the bedside. Jack proceeded to say, "It's alright if I miss the boat. I can stay here in Tortuga and I'll be safe."

Sasha's brightened. "Then you can stay here and play with me!" she cheered.

"Oh no, you can't just claim that you're staying here just because. You have to get through my dad first… besides; you don't seem old enough to take care of yourself." Andranique protested.

"I'm 11." A smirk grew on Jack's face.

"So am I." Andranique smirked back.

Jack frowned and rolled his eyes.

"I'll get daddy!" volunteered Sasha. She immediately ran out the door.

It was only a few minutes later, Sasha ran back into the room and Joshua came in. Jack's eyes widened at the site of the large man.

Joshua smiled. "Why, of course he can stay!" he said, generously. I can set up the cot in Ani's room."

Andranique's eyes widened. "No! No! No, no, no! He is NOT sleeping in the same room as me!" She ran to her father's feet and got on her knees. "Please, daddy, please! Be a responsible dad and don't let that… that… PIRATEsleep in my room!" she said the word 'pirate' so hatefully and harshly, Sasha and Jasmine began to feel intimidated.

Jack jumped up immediately. "Hey! I'm not a pirate! There are specific things you have to do to become one!"

"It doesn't matter! You're the son of a pirate so you have pirate blood in you!" Andranique got close to his face and said with much hatred, "And that's more than enough reason for me to hate you."