"Miss Sparrow?" The captain knocked on the door to her cabin. "We're arriving in Tortuga."
"Thank you," she yelled. She finished putting her things in her bag and opened the door.
"Are you sure you want to get off here, miss? It's not safe for a young lady on her own."
"I am certain. Thank you, Captain. And thank you for your discretion toward the governor."
"It is an honor to serve." He bowed and led her out to the gangplank. There was a foul smell on the air; burning paper mixed with rum and vomit. Amelia hadn't seen Tortuga in over fifteen years. The last time she was here, she was five years old, and her mother had said goodbye to Jack for good. But that was a memory for another day. Right now, she was on the search for a man named Gus, whom she was told would be more than willing to help the daughter of Jack Sparrow. She needed a place to stay. She knew that searching the seven seas would do her no good; Jack could be anywhere on them. But if she stayed here, on this port of pirates, he would show up eventually. And she was willing to wait.
"Excuse me?" She asked a passing man. "Do you know where I could find a man named Gus Grayson?"
"He's over there, in that dress shop. Knock on the door if you're there for a dress. Ring twice if you're there on other business." The woman wiped her nose on her sleeve and walked away.
Amelia went to the shop and rang the bell twice. A man appeared; he had one leg and used a crutch to support the other side of his body. His mean snarl went away when he saw that it was a woman at the door.
"Dress customers knock, dearie. You'll be wanting to talk to my wife."
"No, sir. I want to talk to you."
"Oh? And what about?" The snarl was back.
"I'm Amelia Sparrow."
"Sparrow, eh? You wouldn't be kin to Captain Jack, would you?"
"I would. I'm his daughter."
"His daughter? That little skinny thing? No, couldn't be. Jack Sparrow's daughter went to Port Royal with the new governor and that Navy rat, Norrison."
"Norrington."
"Yeah, that's right. That foul git who hangs around here acting like a sultan, ordering people around like he's still in the Navy."
Amelia's stomach dropped. James was here! He had been here the whole time. Gus took another look at her. "Well, I guess you could be Jack's daughter. A might prettier than him, though. Like your mother. What can I do for you, lass?"
"I need a place to stay."
"What? No. Go back to your governor's mansion. Tortuga is…"
"I know. Tortuga is no place for a lady. But I've got to have a place…"
"I said no. Go away." Gus slammed the door in her face. She looked at her feet. That was her only hope in Tortuga. She knew what she had to do. She rang the bell again.
"What?"
"Do you know where I can find Commo…Mr. Norrington?"
"He's usually over at the tavern by now. Right down this street, make a left. And don't ring my bell again!"
Amelia walked down the street. It seemed to take forever, though she was going as fast as her feet would carry her. James was here. She wondered what he would look like. She imagined it would be something like how he looked when he had left. How she had always known him.
When she was almost at the tavern, a drunken man ran into her and she fell in the street. She was covered in mud and something else. When she lifted her arm to smell, she discovered it was vomit. She almost threw up.
"Would you stay out of my damn way?" The man slurred. "I'm trying to go and get drunk."
"I think you're too…" She stopped. It must have been fate. Or something. Because when she looked past the dirt and the tattered clothes, she found her sailor. Her James.
"James Norrington, what's happened to you?"
"Do I know you?" He said it two seconds before he passed out into the street.