"I Hate Pirates!"

"Now Ani, I raised you better than that! You know how to treat guests."

"But he has pirate blood in him and you know how I feel about pirates!"

This argument has gone one since earlier that evening. Jack leaned against the wall, opposite of the bedroom door. Sasha sat on the floor crying and Jasmine was there to comfort her.

"Why must you be so stubborn all of a sudden? He seems like a nice boy."

Jack smiled at this.

"His hair is gross, his clothes are tattered and his overall hygiene stinks."

His smile disappeared. Jack rolled his eyes. "What's the big deal about pirates anyway?" His questions received no answer. Jasmine was silent and not looking at Jack.

"You're acting like a spoiled brat! You need to be setting an example for your sisters!"

The bedroom got quiet.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I SAID I WISH MOTHER WAS HERE INSTEAD OF YOU!"

There was a loud smack…

Silence.

Sasha started to cry even harder now.

The door opened. Joshua stepped out and wasn't look at anyone in the eye. He did, however, glance over at Jasmine and Sasha. Sasha looked back at him, tears flowing down her eyes. He crouched down and held his arms out. Sasha got up and ran to him. He picked her up and walked to her room.

"So… I guess I'm sleeping in there then?" asked Jack, trying to make the situation less awkward… but failing.

Jasmine nodded her head.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and went up to the door and knocked lightly.

No answer.

He looked at Jasmine for reassurance. She signaled for him to go in anyway. And Jack did rightfully so.

He entered the princess-like room and scents of candles hit his nose gracefully. He looked around the room and it was very spacious. It had a vanity mirror and everything you would expect a royal family would have.

Through his observations of the room, he saw a lump on the queen sized bed. He smiled mischievously. He walked over the cot that was conveniently next to her bed. It had a nice fluffy pillow and a soft blanket.

"Well, looks like we're roommates!" he said, cheerfully. He plopped down on the cot and lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

He then sighed, "We're going to have LOTS of fun together for the next three days." He smiled and looked over at her.

She still didn't respond to him.

Jack frowned. "You know…" he paused. "I don't understand what the big deal is with you and pirates. I mean, I'm not even a pirate. My dad is though. That doesn't automatically make me one."

There was a moment of silence. Jack wasn't expecting a response anyway. But then he heard a shift on the bed and popped his head up to see Andranique was sitting up, staring at at him with a blank expression.

"Seems I've hit a nerve since I've been here…" Jack looked away.

"You don't understand… you will never understand." She finally said.

Jack was listening, but not looking at her.

"Since you do have pirate blood in you, I guess you should know why I despise you people so much." Andranique pulled her knees to her chest. Her whole body language changed from hostile to vulnerable.

"I was only 8 years old. I was too young to go out into the town. My parents were always very protective of me and my sisters. Jasmine was 5 and poor little Sasha was 1. She was just a sweet innocent little baby…" Andranique started to choke. Her voice began cracking. Jack noticed this but kept his attention and tried not to show a reaction.

"My dad always said I looked like her. Every day until the incident, he would wake me up every morning and say that I'm looking more like her as I grow." Tears rolled down her face.

Who is 'her', thought Jack.

"That night was like no other. My father had sent me to bed early that night so I didn't get to say good night to her. I had a feeling in my stomach that something bad was going to happen. I ignored it and went to sleep." She wiped the tears from her face and tried to keep her composure before she loses it. Jack could see where the story was going.

"That morning… my dad didn't wake me up. I didn't smell any breakfast being made. I didn't hear Jasmine playing or Sasha speaking her baby talk. They were both still asleep…" Andranique stopped. Her lips quivered. Her hands shaking like there was a violent eruption about to happen.

"Dad, I asked. What's wrong? He didn't say anything. Where's mommy, I asked. I looked at him for a while. He didn't respond. All he could say was, you're mother… got caught in a fight between pirates…, I couldn't understand what he meant until I noticed his eyes watering. I then understood. I began to throw a fit and say that he's lying. But… he then proceeded to explain that the owner of the Faithful Bride found her body in the back. I couldn't believe what I was hearing… my mother… my OWN mother… taken from me. All because of you stupid pirates… Sasha doesn't have a mother to raise her… my father and I raised her. I'm like her mother now. My dad and I had to raise both of my sisters because we lost our mom to careless, drunk pirates!" She began to sob. She laid down and slammed her face into her pillow.

Jack was speechless.

Being the son of a pirate, he thought he should speak on behalf of almost all of them.

"Well, I'm sorry for your lost. But in reality, I had nothing to do with your mother's death. So why take your anger out on poor me?" he asked.

This was an excellent point. And Andranique knew.

"Also, not all pirates are bad. My dad's not a bad guy, at least not to me. He's an honest pirate." He tried to add.

Andranique was still silent.

"How about we… start over?" Jack got on his knees and perched his elbows on her bed. "Hi, I'm Jack Sparrow."

Andranique turned over to see Jack with his hand out, smiling and ready for a hand shake. Andranique looked at it for a while and then shook his hand.

They both laid back down and hoped that tomorrow was a new day.