Hey everyone and welcome the chapter 2! I hope you enjoy and I do have a small request for those who would like to be of any help. I like to put song lyrics as the title chapters but I can't find a song that would work well for this story. If any of you can think of one please post the song and artist name either in reviews or message me.

Thanks to PureAngelEyes for reviewing and I'll try my best to work more on this story. Check out my deviantart for a picture of our wonderful Captain Claire.

Enjoy!

~Mekana


"Captain," Jim, Claire's first mate, stood at her side watching the dreadlocked pirate lounge around as if he owned the ship when he should have for sure been doing some sort of work, "Where shall Mister Sparrow be sleeping?"

"Hmm, I haven't the slightest idea. Haven't put much thought to it."

"How about the brig? We can't trust he isn't planning anything."

"Aye, but he's the only one who knows the way to De Muerta. Locking him up may make him less than cooperative. How about the chef's quarters? Thomas has an extra bunk, aye?"

"Aye, Captain. Though, I don't believe Mister Sparrow would get along well with Thomas."

"We won't give him a choice or he will be staying in the brig. Make Thomas aware and have him empty the bunk for Sparrow."

"Aye, aye," Jim turned to leave, "And Captain. Do we have a heading?"

"I'll have Sparrow take control of the helm. He's the only one who knows how to reach De Muerta."

"Aye, I hope he leads us where he says he will."

"Jim, he wants his ship. It's his prized possession." Claire gripped the railing of her own ship, "Without it, a captain is nothing."

Jim shook a hand through his shaggy black hair, "I don't know, Captain. He could be trouble for us."

Sparrow was currently occupied in admiring Captain Russell's ship, or perhaps despising it. The Royal Mermada was spotless Jack's filthy wretch of a boat. Claire must have a crew member swab it until it sparkled every day! The only thing cleaner than the deck were the brass features including the railings and mermaid lanterns that he'd watched a crewmember polish until the poor lad's fingers bled. "I'm glad I'm not her scrub boy. That man better earn a quarter of all her fortune to himself!" He then overheard the captain conversing with a boy no taller than her own short form.

"We have eyes on him, don't worry. You're not the only one watching over our guest." He then realized quite a few members were keeping their distance from him and others would toss his a glare as they passed by. He merely thought they envied him, though, being the ever-so-great captain he was.

He stood from his spot at the bow and turned to a group of men who snarled at him while they carried a barrels of what smelled to be pickles passed him, "What are you looking at me like that for? Are you jealous of me because you have to clean this ship? If so go snarl and whine to yer captain instead!"

"What are you yelling about, you ninny? You're causing a scene." Jack spun around. The goldie-locked captain had her leather captain's hat on and brushed the blue feathers in the brim down with her fingers. "Never mind. Sparrow, I need our heading. The helmsman isn't going to lead this boat aimlessly forever."

"Aye, of course." Jack fished through his brown coat and threw a small box to Claire. She caught it and furrowed her eyebrows.

"I don't need a compass, Sparrow. I have my own." She opened the compass to see the needle laying dimly in the wrong direction, "And besides, this thing doesn't even work. The needle doesn't point north."

"Yes, Love. It doesn't point north. It points to what you want most."

"Don't feed me those daft stories, Sparrow. I want to know the direction for De Muerta."

"I'm not lying. F you want the directions to De Muerta, follow the compass."

"Useless," She muttered and walked off but didn't remove her eyes from the compass, "Christopher, mate." she handed the compass to the man at the helm, "This sounds insane but follow the direction of the compass."

Christopher furrowed his eyebrows and took a moment before nodding and saying an unsure, "Aye, Captain."

Jack chuckled and returned to his spot at the bow singing lightly to himself.

Dinner arrived at sundown and the crew gathered in the galley to receive their helping of rice and steak. Many drunk off rum and even some who were sober laughed and yelled raising the volume to echo over the deack. The breeze outside was gentle and the smell of rain was growing stronger.

"Christopher, I'll take the wheel. Go down to the galley and get yourself some dinner." Claire pulled her cap on to keep her hair out of her face and grabbed the wheel from Christopher.

"are you sure, Cap'n? You need to eat, yerself."

"No, no. I'm fine, I'll eat when the crew's done. Go enjoy your meal."

"Aye, aye." He ran off and left Claire to steer. She watched the horizon at the last glimpse of daylight. The sky was studded with stars and ahead laid a thick, dark clouds. Lightening cracked erupting the clouds with light.

She counted off "One, two, three, four, five, six" Thunder erupted, "less than two miles away." That's going to be one hell of a storm." The captain sighed and savored the moment of silence she had to herself.

Meanwhile, Jack found himself amidst the commotion in the gallery. He'd currently been telling a crowd of the crew stories of De Muerta and his run-in with Barbossa and his crew of cursed pirates. The crew drank his stories more than they did their rum. They'd all gasp and cheer at his show as he animatedly reenacted each scene.

"And as I shot Barbossa in the heart, Will dropped the coin of Aztec gold into the chest. The curse was lifted and Barbossa fell to the floor dead." They all cheered and applauded with the roar of a lion.

"Tim, lad." Sparrow drunkenly called to the young scruff-haired boy who was currently eating bloody steak and keeping several men from starting a fist fight.

"It's Jim, Captain Sparrow."

"Aye, Jim. Where is our dashing captain, Claire?" He flipped his dreads over his shoulder, "I'd expect her to be dining with her crew."

"No, Captain. Ms. Russel enjoys eating on her own. She's probably at the helm, right now."

"I see. Thank you, boy. You are quite a smart lad to keep an eye on your captain's whereabouts. I see why you're her first mate." Jim nodded and returned to his meal.

Jack shuffled his way through a crowd of rowdy crewmembers who patted him on his back and cheered his name.

The noise seized when he reached the deck. The rolling waves crashed about causing the ship to sway and a bitter howl of wind chilled Jack through his coat. He pulled his hat lower on top his head to stop rain from pelting his face.

Sparrow spotted Claire at the help, one small hand on the wheel, the other clenching to her feathered cap. Her golden locks stuck to her coat drenched in a mixture of rain and seawater.

"Good evening, Sparrow!" She called over the patter of rain, "Quite a storm we're facing."

"Aye, it is." He joined her at the helm.

"Why aren't you in the galley?"

"I was concerned that such a frail young lady as yourself wouldn't be capable of handling this storm on your own." She gasped and frowned deeply at his less than complimentary observation. Perhaps he was right, she was shivering to the bone and her lips were no doubt purple from the bitter weather but that shouldn't give him permission to tell her if she's good enough to captain her ship.

"How sweet of you to care," She snarled, "I'm perfectly capable of steering my ship through this weather."

"Perhaps I could take over for you and you could go dry off inside." He reached for the wheel.

"No, Sparrow." She swatted his hands away, "I've got it."

"You're shivering, Love. Go inside and get yourself some dinner-"

"Jack, I am captain of the Royal Mermada and you will obey what I tell you. You are not captain of any vessel until you step foot back onto your own ship."

"But I have control over your half of the gold on De Muerta."

"Well, I could easily make you walk the plank and leave you stranded in the middle of a storm-struck ocean with little to no chance of you to return to your beloved Pearl ever again."

Jack was silenced. He looked at the girl. He knew he was right, she needed a break. She was drenched and shaking more than a maraca at an Italian ball but Claire's dignity was on the line. Did she feel she needed to prove to Jack that she was as good a captain as himself? She couldn't possibly care what he thought of her that much! She felt if she couldn't show Jack she was a good captain, she wasn't fit to be captain at all. "Fine, suit yourself. When you pass out of hypothermia, I won't be the one to help you." Jack turned and walked back to the galley.

"Good! I wouldn't want your help anyway." Claire glared at his back and focused on keeping the ship straight in the storm.

Jack returned to the galleys, ringing out his hat in frustration. "Women," he muttered with his eyes focused on the falling drops of water, "No, not women. No woman would ever argue with me, only Claire would. She's a feisty one." He chuckled. She was pretty cute when she was angry, like she thought she controlled the very way the Earth turned and on her demand, she could make it turn the other way. A small force ran into him and fell to the ground. Sparrow looked to see the young lad, Jim, frantically pulling himself to his feet. "Oh John, boy. I didn't see you there."

"Jim, Captain Sparrow."

"Aye Jim, John they both start with J. What's with the rush? You nearly hurt yourself."

"I-I'm sorry, sir. It's Captain Claire. She's passed out on the deck, as pale as the moon!"

"Calm down, boy. We can handle this." Jack turned his attention to the crowd of rough-housing pirates. "Thomas, we need you at the helm. You two," He pointed to of the few men who were still sober enough to think, "I need you men to help me get Ms. Russel into her cabin."

"Aye, Captain!" The men ran off.

"And Jim. Fetch me a bowl of hot water and a rag."

"Yes, sir."

Jack bolted to the deck to help the men carry Claire to her room. They placed her on the bed and immediately dismissed themselves. Jack pulled off Claire's boots and coat before placing a thick wool blanket atop her. Claire was freezing and her skin had no life left in it.

"Great, this is all my fault. I had to tease her and get in the way of her captaining." He grabbed a bottle of rum and chugged a third of it in one gulp.


Thanks for reading! Please review, comment, rate, anything! Flames are put on blast and laughed at :D Please leave a message if you have a song for this fic. Love you all