Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Jack Sparrow or the Black Pearl. Someday, when Disney's poor and needs cash, I'll buy him, but until then, he's not mine.

AN: Wow, these chapters are beginning to become a habit of mine! I hope that you enjoy it and will review when you're done reading. Thanks!

Chapter 8: A Whole Different World:

I woke to strange surroundings, and nearly cried out in alarm before remembering what had happened the day before. Instead of the black wood of the Pearl, I was in a room made of a deep brown, the walls bearing portraits of people and animals, and there were red-and-gold coverings over the small window on the other side of the room.

Behind me, I could hear Jack shifting around, obviously still asleep. Turning my head, I nearly laughed at the sight of Jack cuddling a pillow as he snorted in his sleep. It was quite amusing, but I managed to keep silent so as not to wake him. He deserved his rest, and as tempting as it was to go back to the realm of dreams, I decided to get up and explore the room.

Quietly, I slid out of the bed, doing my best not to wake Jack as I did so. The sheets were red, which I gathered was one of the tavern's signature colors, and gold threads trimmed many of the furnishings as well, including the curious objects scattered around the room. My curiosity pulling me onwards, I quietly began to inspect the place.

On a large table with a mirror attached to it, I found a silver tray etched with gold, and on top were several little glass creations with delicate gold designs on them. Kneeling down to eye-level, I saw that some had liquid in them. What could the liquids be for?

Reaching out, I stood up and picked up one of the bottles, turning it so that lovely rainbows glittered from the mixture of sunlight and the liquid within. I gently pulled on the little top that sealed the bottle shut, and was astonished to smell something that resembled the soap Elizabeth had used to wash my hair with.

'She said they were 'flowers,' and that they came in many colors and scents,' I thought, remembering what my friend had explained to me.

I sniffed the liquid again and found it pleasant, though it made me sneeze rather loudly. Behind me, Jack stirred, which caused me to put the top back on the bottle and set it back down on the tray while I silently prayed that I hadn't woken him up. I had no idea what Jack was like after waking up in the morning, and if he was angry that I'd woken him, I would never forgive myself.

"Morning, luv." He was awake.

"Good morning, Jack," I replied, turning to look at him.

To my relief, he looked amused and rather rumpled from sleep. "Inspecting the pretties left for fair lady's use?" he asked while stretching his arms and legs. "They should have perfume in them."

"Per-fume?" I asked, confused.

"Perfume is something made from flowers, fruits, and plants," Jack explained, the amused look on his face even more pronounced as he slid off the bed and made his way towards me.

He picked up a bottle, different than the one I had chosen, and pulled the tiny lid off. "They're supposed to make ladies smell nice. Each woman usually has a preferred scent that she likes, or a scent that suits her."

"Oh," was all I could say while Jack sniffed the bottle's contents.

"Jasmine," he said, scrunching up his nose as he set the bottle back down. "Never did like that smell."

I grinned as he picked up another bottle and sniffed. "Blah," he said, right before sneezing. "Don't know what that is, but it's not for a girl like you."

Finally, he picked up the bottle that I had looked at, the scent of which I had found rather pleasant. He sniffed once, paused, then sniffed again. "That's interesting," he muttered. "What do you think?"

Blushing, I pushed his hand aside. "Oh, I've already smelled it," I said. "It's nice."

A thoughtful look crossed Jack's face for a moment, and then it was gone. "What do you say to my showing you the rest of Tortuga?" he asked, glancing up at me.

Memories of pistols firing, men yelling, women screeching, and horrible laughter from the night before made me shiver. "No, thank you, Jack, I think I've had enough of that for a while," I hastily replied. "Really, that's alright."

Jack merely smiled and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I could feel the thick gold bands of his rings through the thin material of my white shirt, and even though they should have hurt, it only made me feel comforted.

"Kaia, I promise that nothing will harm you while you're with me," he said, his voice soft but firm as he spoke. "Tortuga isn't so bad during the day, since everyone will still be sleeping off the previous night. I'd like to show you the town, and you can see a bit more of humanity while you're at it, savvy?"

'Well, as long as Jack was going, nothing bad could happen, could it?' I reasoned. 'He's a feared pirate, and knows how to fight, so it should be fine.'

I nodded my agreement. "Alright," I said. "But you promise nothing bad will happen?"

He raised a hand and smiled. "You've got my word on it."


Walking down the empty streets of Tortuga, Jack almost regretted having made that vow. True, the place was quiet during the day, but danger always lurked just around the corner. Some people actually worked during the day, such as the shop merchants and the food markets off of the main streets, so Jack was certain to keep his sword close and his pistol closer.

After he had Kaia had left their room and gone down for breakfast, Jack had immediately begun having second thoughts about showing her around. She was a sweet girl, innocent and naïve of the human world and its faults, so why was he so eager to show them to her?

'Because you aren't really showing her its faults,' Jack told himself for the tenth time that morning. 'You're just showing her a human town, that's all. She's only seen towns from a distance, and her contact with humans was limited to seeing them at sea.'

Besides, it was time for her to see how people on land interacted with one another, though there were better places for that to occur. Still, it was all there was at the present time, and who knew when or where the Pearl would dock again? The next port might be as bad, if not worse, than this, though there were few places worse than Tortuga. And if the next town were better, then Kaia would have something to compare it to.

Well, now that all of his reasoning skills had been put to work today, it was time to show the young lady holding his arm a good time. With all the drunks and such off the streets at this early hour, they should be able to have a decent day without any encounters.

"I wish William and Elizabeth were here," Kaia muttered, her eyes looking around nervously.

Jack couldn't help but feel insulted a little. She couldn't feel safer with the Whelp than with him, could she? It did nothing for his image, if Kaia preferred to be guarded by the Whelp and his rum-burning wife!

"Now, luv, remember what I told you over breakfast: they haven't had much time together as a married couple, and leaving them alone together is my wedding gift to them," he gently reminded her as they made their way towards the morning food markets.

Kaia sighed and clutched his arm tighter. "I know," she said, "I just wish Elizabeth were here. She's my only friend, and I want her to be here to show me things and tell me what they are."

"Is that all?" Jack was surprised. "Aren't I your friend?"

Her eyes were troubled as she looked up at him. "I…I don't know," Kaia admitted, blushing a bright pink. "I've rarely seen you aboard the Pearl, though it was very kind of you to give me those clothes and everything."

She suddenly laughed. "I suppose you are my friend, then."

"Of course I am," Jack declared, grinning widely. "Now, let me show you where humans get their food from."

He then proceeded explain all about farms, farmers, and marketplaces which sold fresh food to everyone.


The farmer's market was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Jack said that it was a poor excuse of one, nothing like the large cities or the nicer port-towns of Port Royal (wherever that was), but I was still impressed with all of the food being sold and offered. There were men and women everywhere, some calling out for people to come look at their goods, and my eyes were so busy looking around that it was a good thing Jack was there, otherwise I would have walked straight into a wall.

"Easy there, try and keep your eyes inside your head," Jack muttered into my ear as he guided me through the crowds. "You look funny, gawking at everything like that."

I gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just…it all looks so wonderful and fascinating!" I spotted a rather odd fruit and tried to politely point at it. "What's that thing called?"

He looked over and smiled. "It's a coconut," Jack explained, pushing past another stall that sold some sort of star-shaped fruit. "Hard as rock on the outside, though the inside has a refreshing milk-like drink. You can also eat its white insides, even if it doesn't taste like much."

And so it went for another half hour: me pointing at random objects, and Jack explaining what they were and what they were used for. I was able to sample a few fruits (both sweet and sour) and vegetables before Jack decided to buy me a cluster of a purple fruit called 'grapes.' I thought it odd that they were so small, but he insisted that they tasted very good and all I had to do was pluck it off of their green branches and put them in my mouth. Not wanting to insult his generosity, I accepted the purchase, and began to eat while looking around the market.

While exploring the market, I began to think Jack had purchased the grapes to keep me occupied with eating them, instead of bothering him with questions. However, the grapes were good and very easy to eat, so I continued enjoying them until they were gone. At that point, we had reached the end of the market and were now in a section of town that appeared to sell other things.

"Shops," Jack explained. "People who make clothing, jewelry, and hundreds of other things sell it in shops, where customers come to purchase whatever it is they need."

We passed by a clothing store where, hanging behind the clear glass, was a garment that made my breath catch. It was long, and would probably hang down to my feet, if I were to put it on. The material was a shimmering sea-green in the sunlight, and the neck and edges were trimmed in frothy lengths of beautiful white that looked like sea foam. What was that?

Behind me, Jack chuckled. "It's a dress, Kaia," he said. "Almost all women wear them, though the wealthy ladies have more than their fair share of gowns to choose from in their wardrobes."

"So a dress is what human women wear? Then should I not have one, as well?" I asked, suddenly concerned about not wearing what I ought to be.

Jack merely shook his head. "Dresses aren't a good thing to wear on a ship, luv, so there's no need to worry about not having one," he assured me. "As pretty as they look, walking around in breeches and boots is much more comfortable."

"But it's so lovely," I softly commented. "I would like one, preferably this one. The color reminds me of the sea, and that white material is like foam on the sea…"

A gentle but firm hand tugged on my arm. "Come on, time to go," Jack urged. "We need to get back before Elizabeth decides to come looking for us, and the last thing I need is the dear Mrs. Turner ripping the town apart in a fit of anger."

I giggled as he escorted me back to the tavern. I doubted that Elizabeth would be upset, since we'd left a message for her about what we were doing. How angry could she possibly be?


"Where have you two been?" was the greeting that awaited when Jack bowed Kaia into their shared room.

Taking Kaia out without telling Elizabeth had been risky, but one he was willing to take. Besides, he'd left a note, so what was she yelling about? It wasn't as if he were showing the girl the worst places to go, like the brothels or the drinking holes down by the docks!

As Jack attempted to keep his annoyance hidden, the newest member of his crew was trying to placate the fuming Mrs. Turner.

"Elizabeth, please calm down," Kaia pleaded with her friend. "Jack was merely showing me the food market and local shops, that's all. I was curious, and he was kind enough to explain so many of your foods to me. Please don't be angry."

Jack watched as Elizabeth took a deep breath to calm down. Behind her stood William, who was looking somewhere between amused, angry, and understanding, though whether these emotions were directed towards his wife or the situation was beyond Jack.

"Really, Lizzie, can't you trust me to look after the lass in broad daylight?" he huffed, very much offended that she had so little faith in his pirate abilities. "I am more than capable of defending a damsel in distress."

William clapped a hand over his wife's mouth before she could reply. "That's not the point, Jack, and you know it," he replied, keeping his hand over Elizabeth's mouth as he spoke. "The danger of Kaia falling into another pirate's hands is a very real one, and we were both afraid that something might happen to her with only one person for protection."

Once he was sure that Elizabeth wouldn't burst out on a rampage, Will removed his hand. "Tortuga isn't a safe place for a single woman to be, Kaia, so the next time you want to go out, please ask both Elizabeth and I to go out with you, alright?"

With that said, the Turners left the room, though it was clear that Elizabeth was doing so in order to cool her temper. This left Jack alone with Kaia, which wasn't an unwelcome opportunity.

Jack instantly felt a stab of unease at seeing the guilty look on Kaia's face. "No worries, luv," he whispered while placing a soothing hand on her shoulder. "They're just looking out for you. They really care about you, and want to be sure that you come to no harm while you're here, savvy?"

Kaia nodded. "I know, but I can't be sheltered forever. I'm part of this world now, and I want to know everything about it. Surely that isn't wrong?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, it's not. I'll tell you what. Once Lizzie calms down, we'll all have lunch, and the four of us can go out and enjoy a bit of exploring before dark. How does that sound?"

The bright smile on her face told him her answer.


To my relief, Elizabeth calmed down relatively quickly, and two hours later, the four of us were walking through the deserted streets of Tortuga. Walking through the market was much more fun with Elizabeth there, because she loved to stop and look at things as much as I did. William and Jack looked both bored and annoyed after a while, but I could see that they were also amused whenever we females stopped and exclaimed over one thing or another.

Elizabeth was also good to have when it came to looking at clothes. Apparently she had once owned dozens and dozens of gowns, and so knew good quality in materials and colors when she saw them. The sea-green gown that I had seen in the shop caught my eye again, and Elizabeth declared that it would be a 'nice color' on me. William agreed, but I told them it was not to be, for it would not be practical on a pirate ship like the Pearl.

"That's true," Elizabeth had grudgingly admitted as we walked away from the shop. "Although, every woman should own at least one pretty gown in her wardrobe, don't you think so?"

Of course I did, but I also had to consider the fact that I had no idea how to wear a gown in the first place. How did a woman put it on, and how could they move with so much material hanging off of them? I much rather preferred to wear the breeches, shirt, and boots I currently had on, for shirts came in as many colors as dresses did, so what was the harm in wearing what I was comfortable in?

When we were tired, Jack took us back to the tavern we were staying at and left me and the Turners there, claiming that he had a few things to do before our stay in Tortuga ended. My cheeks flushed as Jack bent forward and pressed his lips to the back of my hand. I gathered that it was a human custom, so I didn't say anything, though I longed to ask about it. With a tilt of his hat, Jack vanished out the door, leaving me, William and Elizabeth on our own for supper.

William managed to obtain a private room for the three of us to eat in, which I welcomed with relief. The tavern was beginning to fill with people, much more than the previous evening, and since I was used to eating with no more than a few others, the private room was a haven for me.

The food was as good as it was last night, though tonight the meat was 'chicken,' which, Elizabeth told me was a creature that flew called a bird. There was also bread and vegetables, and more lemonade to drink. When the meal was finished and the dishes cleaned away, we settled back and enjoyed the quiet…at least until it was broken by my curious friends.

"Kaia, what is it like living under the sea?" Elizabeth asked, her head tilting to the side as she spoke.

I smiled and placed my hand upon the crystal hanging about my neck.


In the quiet hallway leading to the private eating rooms, Jack sat before the last door in the hall, his ear pressed against the keyhole as he blinked his way back to the human world.

Drunk on several bottles of rum, he had returned to the Crystal Tankard to search for his friends and learned that William had (somehow) managed to procure one of the spaces reserved for those who disliked the noise of the main building. So, following the serving wench's directions, Jack headed down the hallway and found the room assigned to the Turners and Kaia.

His keen hearing picked up the sounds of conversation, and, not wanting to interrupt them, he sat down and put his ear to the keyhole, hoping to find the right moment to enter. Instead, Jack had found himself transported to a world he never imagined.


Water, light, and darkness flowed together, but were also separate. Colors of blue mingled with the bright pink, green, yellow and rainbow colors of fish and stones, the joyful parade of color sometimes cut with the dangerous silvery-grey of the sharks that hunted in the warm waters around the world. Whales the color of pure white clouds swam in northern waters that felt like ice, and yet they moved so gracefully it was hard to imagine if they even felt the cold.

Then, he was in a city hidden in the ocean's depths, glistening with a thousand lights as the water surrounding it sparkled like sapphires and silver. Mermaids swam by, some serious and calm, others smiling and laughing as they passed, their hair floating dreamily about their faces and nude forms as they moved. With a graceful and powerful flick of their tails, they were gone, swimming off into the city or out into the wide space of the sea.

To his surprise, there were even men there who bore the same fish-like tails that the mermaids did. Jack hadn't thought that there were any males of Kaia's kind in the sea, but apparently he was wrong. These mermen swam bare-chested, as did their female counterparts, and appeared quite strong. If he encountered any of them in the sea or on land, Jack knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against one of Kaia's male sea-folk.

His mind drifted into the underwater city, passing by tall buildings of stone and coral decorated with shimmering shells and the glittering treasures of shipwrecks. He followed what looked like a street leading up to an immense palace which shone as if the sun itself was hidden within its walls. Inside, Jack's mind's-eye led him through the palace and into a throne room, where, seated upon a gold throne encrusted with pearls of a dozen hues, sat the one being that all pirates knew and worshipped.

It was a brief glimpse, merely that of a crown of rainbow coral atop a mass of tangled, green, kelp-like hair above a pair of piercing eyes as blue as the Caribbean on a clear day, but it was enough to tell Jack who he was looking at. Those eyes held the wisdom of the ages, and behind them lay a mind that could make the currants and tides change in an instant. Poseidon, Lord of the Seas, and creator of all that lay within his realm.


And then Jack was back again, inside his own mind and skin and sitting in a dark, dirty hallway at a tavern in Tortuga.

'What was that?' he thought to himself as he shook his head to clear it.

Inside the room, two people gasped. Lurching to his feet, Jack threw the door open and saw William and Elizabeth hunched in their seats, expressions of wonder and awe on their faces. Kaia, on the other hand, merely sat there, her chair facing the door across the round table. Her eyes were closed and there was a smile on her face as her hands clasped the crystal that sat around her neck, indicating that all he had seen had come from her.

Kaia then opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Oh, hello, Jack," she said calmly, her eyes studying him. "Did you see it, too?"

Jack carefully shut the door behind him and sat down in the fourth chair, opposite Kaia. "Aye, I did. It was…interesting…but I would like to know what it is I saw," he slowly drawled out.

She shrugged. "Just some of my memories," Kaia explained in a nonchalant way. "Elizabeth wanted to know what life was like under the sea, and when I put my hand to the crystal, hoping to think of the best way to describe my world, the crystal showed them a few of my fondest memories."

Kaia frowned. "I'm not sure why you saw the memories, Jack. I suppose it's because you are a man of the sea yourself, and so the crystal deemed you worthy of seeing them."

By now Elizabeth had recovered, though she still appeared dazed. "Oh, my," she whispered, one hand clapped over her forehead. "That was…incredible!"

William, too, was beginning to come around. "What was that city we saw?" he asked while attempting to focus his eyes. "It looked like it was underwater."

"No, wait, don't tell me!" Jack said, holding up a hand with his forefinger pointing upwards. "It was your home, right?"

"Well, yes and no," Kaia replied, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "It was where I was born, but I never spent much time there. I was always off exploring other oceans, though mostly around the country called China."

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, clearly puzzled. "Why? What is so fascinating about China?"

Kaia shrugged. "Their water spirits are wise, so I visited there as much as possible to learn from them," she said casually. "And their dolphins are fun to play with, so I was never lonely or bored."

"What about the cold water I saw?" Jack asked. "It's up north, I know, but why would you go there?"

"The beautiful white whales breed there, as do several other kinds of whales, and I like going there to observe. I played with the little ones while their parents hunted for food, or talked with those who were not able to find mates," Kaia explained, gazing dreamily into nothing.

"But the city," Will pressed. "What about the city?"

Snapping back to the present, Kaia sat up in her chair, obviously remembering where she now was.

"Oh, that is the city of Atlantis," she said. The others gaped at her. "Poseidon used his powers to sink the city into the ocean when he felt mankind becoming too greedy for the knowledge and treasures that it held. He then moved it to the deepest part of the sea and cloaked it with his power so that man could never find it again."

Jack sighed in disappointment. "Well, there goes one dream of mine," he muttered. "I've always wanted to see if Atlantis was real, but now that I know that it is, I can't prove it. At least, not without dying…again."

His three friends smiled and shook their heads, the room growing quiet as Jack, Will, and Elizabeth sat and thought about what had just happened. It was hard to believe that they had experienced the memories of a real, living mermaid, and that she was sitting right there with them, sipping on lemonade as though nothing incredible had just happened.

'Then again, she knows Poseidon, so this might be small beans to a girl like her,' Jack thought while sitting back in his chair.

"Was that Poseidon we saw?" Elizabeth asked, eerily following Jack's train of thought.

Putting her drink down on the table, Kaia nodded. "He is always with me, even if I am here and human," she softly said. "He is my King and always will be."

At that moment, Jack's keen intuition concerning females kicked into play, and he could see that Kaia was turning a bit upset about remembering her home. Emotional, weeping women are the stuff of horror for men, and once they started to cry, he knew it was hard for them to stop.

"Time for bed, I think," he quickly said, offering a hand to Kaia. "Come on, luv, let's go."

The gratitude in Kaia's eyes told him that, once again, he had perfect timing.


It was hard reliving old memories, but Jack's quick thinking had spared me from tears. As we walked upstairs to our room, I was able to push all thoughts of home out of my mind as Jack told me about his own adventures, which distracted me and made me laugh. By the time I was curling up under the sheets in the large bed, I was able to fall into dreams, no tint of sadness anywhere in my heart.


AN: Please review! Thanks!