Chapter One: A Pirate's Life for Me
Thirteen years later
Sparrow ducked behind a barrel, scowling. Damn those Navy officers! Her mother would have a cow and a half when she saw the gash on her cheek. The blood stood out startlingly against her chocolate-colored skin as it crept down her face. She wiped it away with her hand. "Where the hell is Uncle Thom?" she whispered angrily to herself.
Suddenly, the barrel was knocked away, and a tall, scary man wearing a Navy uniform glared down at her. "Ready or not, young Sparrow," he taunted, "you're coming with me."
She simply spat on his shoe. "The hell I am!" She quickly drew the small dagger she kept strapped to her hip and slashed at his legs, making him cry out and fall. "That's from the Sirius crew!" she proclaimed.
"Sparrow!" She whipped her head around to see her Uncle Thomas, cabin boy of the ship Sirius. He had almost orange colored hair and eyes to match, and he was the second youngest on board, just after Sparrow herself. "Come quickly! The port's crawling with Navy ships! Your mother's going mad with worry!"
"Coming!" she called. She spat on the officer once more for good measure when she was sure Thom wasn't looking and sprinted to her uncle.
Prince Robert stared longingly out the window of his room in the palace. His parents locked him in his room when it was reported that the Sirius had docked in the port. Captain Morgan, the most feared pirate in the world, ran said ship, and it was rumored to have a woman and a child on board as well.
Suddenly, he saw what looked to be a young girl with dark skin and hair running alongside a man with pale skin and honey-colored hair. They were running towards the port, where Naval officers were fighting some pirates of the Sirius. The man who could only be the Captain gathered the girl up as soon as they were close enough and hauled her onto the ship, the other man following suit, just before the ship left the dock. Was she being kidnapped? He didn't think so, since she was running alongside the first man…
Still, this interested him. He rang the bell for a maid and went back to his window perch, watching as the Sirius disappeared from sight.
Sparrow let her father tend to her cheek, feeling safe in the sick bay. "I'm sorry, Papa," she said quietly, looking at her lap. "I should've been more careful."
"It's not your fault, love," he assured. He taped the bandage to her face, kissed her uninjured cheek, and helped her from the stool. "Even your Uncle Russ got a bit bruised today. I'm treating him next." He then pushed her shoulders playfully in the direction of the door. "Now, out with you. You know how Russ gets in here."
Sparrow giggled at the memory of Uncle Russ screaming as her father set his bone once. "Yessir!" She blew Christopher a kiss and went back to the deck of the ship, where her mother was waiting. "Hullo, Momma."
"Did you have fun in town, Sparrow?" Riemi asked, her loose, light brown hair blowing in the sea breeze. "Until the Navy showed up, that is."
"Eh, you know, pick-pocketed a rich aristocrat that was too fat for the whorehouse he was going into." Sparrow tossed the coin purse of the fat, sweaty man onto one of the wooden benches carved into the sides of the ship, making Captain Morgan's eyes bulge.
He laughed loudly and clapped her on the back soundly. "Good job, Sparrow! If it weren't fer yer skin color, I'd swear you were mine!" With that, he began to sort through the assorted coins in the purse. "Good God, this man had over ten gold coins! We're celebratin' tonight!"
"We were going to, anyway," Eduardo reminded him, rolling his good eye. "Full moon, remember? Good job, kid," he tossed Sparrow's way.
"Thanks, Uncle Ed."
Her mother kissed the top of her head affectionately. "Why don't you go help Thom and Nate cook? We're running a bit behind schedule tonight."
"Yes'm."
"Here's to young Sparrow," boomed Morgan that night, under the full moon, "who managed to pickpocket over twenty gold coins worth of money from one man today!"
"Cheers!" everyone shouted. In an almost synchronized manner, each member of the Sirius, Sparrow included, took a big swig of their booze. Nathan's food smelled delicious, as always, and they all dug in like true pirates.
As Sparrow looked around at her family, she knew that this was the only life for her. Watching Uncle Ed and Uncle Russ tease her mother and father, laughing at how easily Uncle Thom got drunk while she herself was still sober enough to do so, watching Uncle Nate badger her mother to eat more, and listening to Uncle Morgan's booming laughter. She wouldn't be anywhere else, doing anything else.
A pirate's life for me, she thought, giggling, as she downed another swig of beer.
For the record, that was not a "women belong in the kitchen" statement. I am a feminist and I was only implying that since Sparrow doesn't have an official job on board the Sirius, she helps out with things that need an extra hand or two. Also, I am not saying that Morgan and Riemi have ever had a sexual relationship. Morgan is just saying that Sparrow has a lot of his mannerisms, which is because she's spent her entire life around him and the other pirates.
I am also looking for someone to draw a cover for this. If anyone does, in fact, do so, please send me the link in a PM. Please drop a review so I know that people are actually reading this.
