Disclaimer: All Disney characters are copy write and I only have them in my dreams *sigh* Well I hope every one had a Happy Holiday and a Non-Hung Over New Year. As for me, well now I can actually write on my own time when I want and where I want and never again will I have to share the computer with my brother or father. You see, dear reader…I got a lap top for X-Mas ^_^ So awesome, I've never had one before…just have to get use to those annoyingly flat keys…my nails keep getting stuck in them. Enough about that, point is I can now write my customary few pages a day like I used to before my old comp died as I was re-writing the previous fic. Please R & R and enjoy!

The Black Pearl

Jack entered his cabin when he deemed his duties on deck were well fulfilled, leaving the helm in the hands of Mr. Cotton (and parrot) and the ship under the careful watch of Mr. Gibbs. It was late in the afternoon, the sun low in the sky as it's color slowly turned from bright gold to a burnt orange as the waves slapped lazily along the hull of the vessel. With practiced expertise he flung his precious hat across the room where it landed by it's brim precisely on it's brass hook. He was tired, to say the least, the crew had been particularly difficult for some reason when it came to...well whatever it was they were supposed to be doing. Marty had taken his own pleasant time in cleaning the guns, Cook hadn't felt it was necessary to double check the oats for breakfast this morning which resulted in a rather disgusting tasting porridge and Jack could have sworn he saw a worm in there.

The boatswain had informed him very early that the men were not feeling entirely optimistic about the quarry they were setting out after. Captain Sparrow recalled what had transpired earlier that day, how he had called his crew to the main deck and prodded out of them the reasoning for their ill behavior and other nonsense. The had replied, in shouts and over all choppy English, that word had gotten out about what exactly the formerly cowardly Daniel Sparrow had in his hands.

Jack had teased them over be frightened over setting guns against his foppish brother.

The men in turn relied on their superstitions and tales they had heard over their lives and recently in the pubs, that Thetis was who Daniel had on his side and that she could do terrible things that made Davey Jones look tame. To put things lightly, the crew was scared beyond their wits. Not that this had any affect on what the Captain intended, he told them point blank that they were going to continue the course they were on and nothing was going to stop it. Some more protest ensued and so Jack had to fall back on his last resort, his wit. So, after very quickly and very effectively befuddling his crew with his famous dizzying intellect he left them standing on the deck mulling over their leader's argument for going on and finding themselves oddly agreeing with him. And that was where they still were fifteen minuets later as he helped himself to a tempting vintage of rum from his private store in between shifts .

Jack took a cup from the cabinet along with a large, dusty bottle and sat himself down at the large table which dominated the cabin. At first he went to pour himself his drink but stopped, looked at the cup then looked at the bottle...he raised an eyebrow before drinking right from the jug. Normally his lady would berate him, forcing him to have some semblance of manners and use a mug like every one else, but it wouldn't hurt just this once to revert to his bachelor ways. Besides, what she did not know would not hurt her.

He sat back in his chair, lifting the front legs from the floor to balance on the rear and set his feet on the table top. Just thinking about being scolded for his laid back behavior made him smile a little. True most of the time his dear lady love let him go about his less then refined manners, hers were not perfect either but still she had spent her childhood with Miss Swan so something was bound to rub off.

'Perhaps,' he thought, 'I'll surprise her with my best behavior at the wedding. That would make a pretty wedding present.'

He took another long drink from the old, green glass bottle, enjoying the strong taste of Jamaican spices and the familiar burn down his throat. It provided him a comfort he had relied on for years, most of his life really, and never did he tire of his old liquidy friend. When the buzz of too much drink began in his limbs, making his head tingle and thoughts run into one another he tipped the remaining rum past his lips and chucked the empty container to the floor. On unsteady legs he stood up, sending the chair clattering down and swaggered over to the wash basin on the far side of the room. Tipsy he may be, but he was still clear enough in the head to realize that in his haste to finish off his friend that some had missed his lips and fell instead down his chin and on his shirt. He made it to the table just in time to catch himself as the ship lurched over a particularly large wave that sent him falling forward, though he still hit his forehead on the basin's rim.

"Bloody hell," he held his forehead in pain. He had hit the basin right on the scar which remained from the first night he met his beloved, and it down right smarted being smacked like that. "Why does this always happen to me?" he winced as he checked for fresh bleeding, luckily there was none,

"Maybe 'cause ye never learned to put down de bottle, Jack Sparrow."

"Now the bloody basin's talking," he mumbled to himself, "musta been a bad batch."

"Not the basin ye fool," the voice, now quite agitated sounding spoke again. "Look down."

"No, I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Looking down always means somethin' not so nice will happen, savvy, so I won't," this conjured up images of hazardous rope bridges or very, very high cliffs. If he could have shuddered he would have but that would have most likely ended with him on the floor.

"Just look down ye rum addled halfwit!"

Jack yelped when the basin yelled at him louder than needed causing him to fall back two steps and involuntarily look in the dreaded direction of down. The water in the porcelain bowl was dark and ripping like mad from his earlier falling about and at first nothing seemed out of the ordinary. So the first thought that came to him was the rum had indeed been a bad batch because wash basins were not able to speak, so he must have been having an audible hallucination. Then the liquid began to still and something seemed to be there, so he leaned in closer even if his common sense told him be was being unbelievably stupid.

"Witty Jack does not seem so witty now," the voice teased, it's anger suddenly gone now that it had his undivided attention.

"I do not appreciate bein' insulted by a bowl," slowly he began to sober up. This only made him more upset with said bowl, after all he had worked hard to achieve the state of slight tipsiness he had been at only moments ago and now it seemed all for naught.

"I will insult ye wheneva I feel like it," an even darker shape appeared in the bottom of the bowl and came to the near surface of the eerily calm water.

"Wait a minute," Jack cocked his head to the side, "I know that voice." Now he peered closer down totally unafraid, well not totally but much braver then he was at the start of this strange occurrence.

"I should hope so, I'd hate tae think ye'd forget an old friend so quickly." By now the image was like looking through a liquid window, and a oddly attractive dark skinned woman looked up from the other side.

"Tia Dalma, to what do I owe this auspicious yet weird visit?"

"Tae bring ye news, Jack Sparrow," the woman tossed her long dread locks behind her shoulder.

"I take it this news is not good news? Would be a nice change."

"Ye know better than tae think dat," she tsked him.

"Ah, go one then, might as well get it done with," he leaned both of his long arms against the table.

"Yer brother is loosin' his power over the Crown," she said in a serious voice. "It's too much for him weak mind to control and it's quickly drivin' him insane."

"Well can't be too much longer then, he always was a nutter," he said offhandedly.

"Do not joke 'bout this," she hissed, "it not be a laughin' matter."

"Sorry, I apologize...your....Goddessness," he thought it a great comeback but his guest apparently did not.

"I will neva understand mortals," the disguised Calypso muttered to herself. "Just listen tae me then. That Crown will take over yer brother's mind and destroy it but not before he destroys everyting' 'round him first."

"What if I just let him destroy his own foppy self? What happens then?"

"Not a good ting', Jack, not a good ting'." She aimed her black eyes at him, locking on his own so he felt a cold chill rake up his spine.

"So, point is I can't just let the bugger sleep in 'is own bed then?" he said in a not so confident voice.

She only nodded.

"I'm gonna run that blighter through when I get my hands on him, I don't clean up other people's bloody messes," his confidence was not quite back to it's usual level yet but at least the frigid feeling had melted away.

"Da power over the waves was not meant for mortals," she looked off to the side with a hard look on her face. "Stop that foolhardy brother o' yers before he makes disaster on us all." And just like that she was gone.

"Well that's just like her, not so much as a 'goodbye' or 'good luck Jack," he shook his head. The news though was till not lost on him, what Tia wanted was a quick and final solution to their shared problem. He knew better then to think that she would out right tell him what made her so nervous about this whole ordeal but obviously she would not do well should things not go....well anything less then absolute victory. Whatever lived in that bloody crown Daniel had gotten his greasy fingers on was more trouble then he wanted to deal with.

In all honesty he would rather be turning aft side on the whole thing and make a course straight to some place nice….Bora Bora was pleasant this time of year. He was sure his dearly beloved would take to the desert island like two drops of water.

"What am I thinking?" he mumbled to himself. "She wants Danny dead just as much as anyone else," point being there wouldn't even be a point in trying to turn tail unless he wanted to sleep alone for a next four months. Speaking of which, Jack let out a long and dramatic yawn, long day it had been and now that sleep entered his mind his body was loudly agreeing to follow through. He looked over, his dark eyes settling on the very tempting, very cozy looking bed.....to hell with all this thinking that was what morning was for. Jack plopped down on the mattress of the ornate four poster bed and began to pull his boots off, once off he simply let them stay where they fell again that was where morning came in handy. Most of his effects were checked on the nearby nightstand, his sash over one of the posts and vest somewhere he did not see nor care. In a matter of moments he was comfortably laid sprawling between the cotton sheets but choose to keep his shirt and breeches.

"Woman rubs off on me much more soon I'll be wearing dresses," he chuckled. But even as the room was covered in darkness and the only light became the pale glow of the crescent moon Jack still lay awake, tired very much so, but still awake. The bed had warmed finally but only just around him, should be move even a few inches to either side the cold sheets would brush right up against his bare skin. This though was not so very bothersome to him, the reason for the cold sheets was the actual cause of his tossing and turning.

Jack Sparrow hadn't slept alone for some time, and he found he did not like it.

With one arm he pulled his pillow from beneath his head and promptly covered his face with it as he groaned rather loudly and pitifully into it's fluffy self. He hated sleeping alone, he hated chilly sheets and he hated not having the person responsible for his misfortune to not be there when he so wanted to just curl up and go to blissful sleep.

Deep in his mind a little voice was teasing him, taunting him about how much of a softie he had become, he choose to ignore it. But he did agree with one thing his conscience was saying, the night was just not the same without her to share it with.

"When this is done she's gettin' tied to the bed, I can't do this," he grumbled.

India

Any one who sailed on the Demon knew there was something a bit fishy about Daniel Sparrow, how could they not? But the ship was a gem, truly she was, with record speeds and more guns then most vessels out there so any sailor would love to be on board. The Captain had not been much to speak of for quite some time, some men who signed on hoped that the reputation of his father and brothers would eventually come out in him or maybe they could jump ship to join any said family members should they appear.

But after Daniel stole a crown made of coral and pearls from a tiny shrine on one of the many Greek islands there had been a swift change in his crew's thinking.

He was a changed man, all his skills improved almost over night so that the ship now ran with military precision. Then the powers began to show, the Captain seemed to be commanding not only the Demon but the very waters she sailed on, at first some of the men did not believe it. In fact some even joined just to see if the rumors they heard could even possibly be true, while others after seeing such sights left as quickly as they could to save themselves from what they deemed a curse in the making. But the stories they told were quickly spreading to those who choose to accept them, how Daniel Sparrow could cause typhoons with a thoughts and sink ships with waves from nowhere.

And so his crew grew, and now only those brave or foolish enough to stay observed their Captain's latest enterprise, and pitied her.

Daniel was in his quarters pacing in front of a small, stone pedestal stolen from one of the ancient shrines that dotted the surrounding area. Atop this carved podium of chipping red rock was a polished wooden box, so bright that it seemed to shine with the sun's light. Shiny brass fastenings glittered along the latch and corners, it was obvious that the man kept good care of it, or rather he took care of it to house something much more precious. The lid was open to reveal a red velvet lining and cushion set slightly above the rest of the interior and upon that sat the infamous crown. It too glistened in the light which streamed through the dirty windows with a glow that seemed almost unnatural as though it was trying to gain his attention.

Of course he noticed this right away.

"Do not even try it, she-devil," he growled at the offending object. "I know what you are up to, but you will not lure me in, oh no not me."

The crown just lay there, it's pearls catching the light and twinkling at him.

"Your wiles do not work on this man. Do you hear me?" he stopped his pacing and stared down at the piece with wild dark eyes. "I took your crown, your priests could not even defend you so they were slaughtered!"

Still the beautiful tiara lay there, doing what tiaras do best-look lovely.

"Leave me be! Your power is mine, you must obey me," he pulled at his long black hair in frustration. "Do you hear me, Thetis? Do you?!"

Crowns of course do not talk, silence was his reply.

His energy dissipating, Daniel collapsed into a near by chair, laying his head between his knees and groaning. Arms hung at his sides over the arms of the threadbare seat as his legs stretched out their long length before him in a rather ungentlemanly like way that normally would cause him to scoff. But this one sided conversation has been going on for some time now, and he had tiered of trying to illicit a response and receiving none.

"Guard," he called in a bemoaning voice.

A man came in, there was always some one to guard his door at all times.

"Aye, Captin'?" the huge man answered.

"Bring me the girl," he said still in his rather pathetic stance.

"Sir," the gruff sailor nodded and left, closing the door behind him. The room was once again as silent as the grave, even the strange man in his old chair could barely even hear his own raspy breathing. It would take at least ten minutes for the brute at the door to find the prisoner as she had taken to finding new hiding places, five to gather her up and another ten to bring her back. So the exhausted man gave himself that as encouragement to think and relax.

'Rest will never be something I let you have, wretch.' the angry voice came not to his ears but in his head.

"So now you choose to speak," he let out a nervous laugh as he lifted his head.

'Do not be cocky, mortal,' the voice was harsh and thin as it hissed at him. The light from the crown became slightly more pronounced and from it's glow the pirate could just barely make out a face inside it.

"And now you show yourself, nymph, this is a first."

' Human filth!' a woman's face glared at him through the light. Her aqua eyes were burning with insane fury, blond hair wild and untamed as she cursed him in her native tongue. 'You take my soul from it's resting place to achieve your own hopeless ambitions and think there will be no consequences?!'

"Be silent you ancient wench! You were forgotten long ago by man and abandoned by your heathen gods! You should thank me for giving you a purpose!" his fingers clenched into painfully tight fists.

'Heathen?! I'll show you heathen, the Nereid's are not to be used as tools or toys!' Aqua eyes blazed with green fire as she stared him down and Daniel began to tremble in his chair but could not pull his gaze away from hers. Images blazed past his vision and sounds rampaged through his mind, horrible things that only existed in legends and old sailor's tales. Things with sharp teeth and fins, bloody red eyes and long tentacles that could choke the life out of a man. Sea creatures that seemed as ethereal as heaven and beautiful as a goddess until you strayed too close and their clawed hands pulled you down to a dark watery grave. All this assailed his senses both at once and one at a time, he could see them before his eyes, hear their shrieks in his ears, smell the salt air and taste the blood of their victims in his mouth. It seemed to last an eternity.

Then as suddenly as it began it was gone, the sights and sounds, even the glowing about the crown and Thetis herself had disappeared.

Daniel was left shaking in a cold sweat, his eyes bugging out, mouth gaping open and shut seemingly without any control over it. So in shock was he that he did not notice his man had returned, announced the prisoner arrived and left the girl behind the closed door not ten feet away from him. And that was how he stayed for a good five minutes before some form of consciousness began to return to him.

His prisoner however, was eyeing him warily from her post in the doorway. Emma had seen many strange and frightening sides to her captor in the weeks of her imprisonment but never had she seen him in a state like this, it was as though his body was here but his mind was completely gone. Carefully she started to walk around him, looking him over, her long legs taking careful steps so as not to startle the man into something she would regret. But he did not even seem to know she was there, actually he probably didn't know he was there in the room let alone with another person. When she finally reached his front she held back a gasp and had to hold a hand over her mouth to keep from alarming him or alerting the brute outside. The look on his face was one of absolute horror, his lips pulled back as far as possible in a silent scream, his flesh an ashen grey color. She had never seen such a face and slowly she started to back away toward the bay window. Once there she sat down and pulled her feet up on the cushion, it was flat and really could serve no purpose but it was better then nothing.

Whatever had happened to him Emma did not want to happen to her, so she thought it best to stay as far away from him as she could given the fact she was trapped in the room. But what had her on edge more then anything was trying to imagine what could have done that to him, strange and stupid though he was the man was brave and it would take something horrendous to put him in a state like this. And so she waited, what for she wasn't too sure, but it was all she could do at the moment. The men would dare not to let her out even in the Captain's condition for fear of what he might do when he came to. And unfortunately she did not have the time to bring her pins with her, the messenger had all but shoved her out of her room while she was trimming her hair, so she could not pry the windows open.

While she sat and thought over the current situation she turned her attention from the statue of a man on the other side of the room, this was a mistake. Behind her Daniel had finally begun to rejoin the world of the living, but his mind was still not quite all there. Shaking his head, the slightly trembling man rose on his unsteady feet by bracing his hands against his chair. The nightmarish images had faded away but the memory of them was sure to stay with him until his final days. Slowly he walked forward, his legs near falling our from beneath him several times before he reached the stone pedestal to slam the lid shut on the crown's box. It's loud crack echoed sharply throughout the almost room, it shocked the girl in the window and made her gasp.

Daniel spun around and his eyes widened. Light shimmered in beams through the glass panes making her hair glow gold and made the sheer white of her oversized shirt resemble a tunic draped about her.

"How...?" he said in voice barely above a whisper.

"How what?" Emma asked, a little nervous.

"You can't be here," his face took on a crazed look as he walked a wide circle around where she sat.

"Remember you wanted me here," now she was truly starting to become frightened. Inch by inch she pushed herself off the seat so as not to startle him, she eyed the door and wondered is she sprinted for it could she beat him to it.

"I never said that!" his voice rose now. "Get back where you belong, now!" he pointed to the box. Emma followed his finger and was only more confused, now as she stood he moved in closer and she readied herself to run.

"You can't expect me to fit in there," her voice was soft as she tried to calm the clearly crazed man.

"Do it!"

She made her move, running as quickly as her long legs would carry her and in seconds she was half way across the room. But he was faster and had longer legs to run with, longer arms to reach out and pull her back by her already short locks of hair. Roughly he yanked her back, ignoring her pained cries as he pulled her head back as far as it could go, until she was flush against him.

"Let me go!" with one hand she tried to hold her aching scalp while the other elbowed her attacker in the gut. He did hurt when she rammed her boney arm into his middle but quite frankly he could not care about pain so when she attempted to slam her heel into his toes all he did was grunt.

"Ye will learn yer place, nymph," he growled, his practiced posh accent slipping. With that he threw her to the floor at his feet, she landed hard on her side making her cry out in pain and hold her hip which was sure to be bruised soon enough. "I will not be made a fool of, Thetis!"

"You're insane!"

"Water witch!" he dropped to his knees beside her and slapped her hard across the face. Then his hands came out and seemed to be every where on her, roughly grabbing her thighs and pulling hard trying to hold down her arms. She only realized he was no longer hitting her when part of her shirt was ripped from collar to shoulder exposing her right breast-then she screamed.

"No!" one of her fists caught him right in the middle of his face and his nose erupted with blood. This at least gave him pause to fall back and hold his broken face, all the time cursing her by a name she didn't know and words best left unrepeated. Emma pulled herself to her feet, her breathing was erratic and she did not want to think about what had just happened. With one hand she held her torn shirt up to her chest and backed up towards the door one step at a time all the time keeping her eyes on the man on the floor.

"Captain, is everythin' all right in there?" the man at the door looked inside, his captain looked up.

"The nymph! Take her!" his voice was nasally and his man was shocked to see his face dripping in blood down his chin.

"Sir?" He looked to the girl who looked worse for wear, begging with her large brown eyes to be taken away from the man who was clearly not thinking straight.

"The nymph, the one from the crown! Moron can't ye see her standin' right in front of you?!" Daniel stumbled as he rose to his feet and spat a mouthful of blood to the floor. By now several other crewmen had wandered up to the Captain's room to see what all the commotion was, many were not surprised that he had tried to have his way with the girl.

Among them was one red headed girl who looked on with confused eyes and an aching heart. As some crew member called the ship's surgeon to tend to the broken nose of their leader, others attempted to calm him down enough to place him in his bed. From within the room she could hear Daniel weakly calling out for who he believed was the spirit from the crown and she realized for the first time just how far gone he truly was. Brandy saw some of the men lead Emma from the room to bring her to hers, partly to lock her back inside as their prisoner and part to keep her from the Captain who was clearly not himself in her presence. As the blond girl walked by, face bruising, holding her bloodied hand to her chest to keep her decency, Brandy felt a pang of pity for her that had not been there before.

The Misty Lady

Captain Edward Teague was carefully watching his men from the helm as they made the final preparations before the sails were unfurled and he followed where his eldest son had started. The crew had been working diligently since the night before and he expected to sail within the hour, quite frankly it had been too long since the thrill of a voyage had rushed through his veins. Unconsciously his hand found the crown of the tiny head tied to his waist, his fingers running through the brittle hair, the reminder of his last adventure. The memories were not pleasant, but a feeling of calm had come over him lately, one he was sure his dear Parvati would have approved of.

"Well my sweet," he spoke in a quiet voice as he continued to the pet the strange memento, "I think it's past time I set sail again, bein' the Keeper is all well an' good but I've been ashore far too long ." The aged pirate sighed and closed his eyes and relished a soft breeze as it blew across his weathered face and pulled at his long black hair. None of the crew would interrupt their Captain in what they knew was a sort of ritual for him, something he did before he set out, his time to be alone. "I wish ye could see yer boys, Para, our Jackie brought a girl home," a chuckle escaped him at his own words. "Here's the interestin' part, she has a sister and Alex's smitten wit' her too. Pirate or not they're good for them, like ye to me." Teague paused a moment, his dark eyes looking out to sea but not really taking in the sight before him, his thoughts were far off some where else and his face turned grim. "I'm worried 'bout Zack though, he's not the same an' I know why, one of our future daughters-in-law told me. Seems there was a third girl, he was turning soft for her....but she was lost at sea....can't say I blame him. Watch over him, precious."

He took the steps down from his perch slowly, his men taking it as a cue that Teague was ready to cast off and they needed to step up their progress to fulfill his unsaid command. As he walked he handed off the keys to his home on the island to a trusted associate and watched as several strong men hefted a large rectangular parcel wrapped in thick brown paper and twine into his cabin. Those who transported the package had no idea what it was they so carefully carried or else most would have attempted to make off with it to auction it off for a very hefty price. As soon as the hired hands were gone the old pirate ran idly his hands over the heavily wrapped piece, his burden, his responsibility. Only the crew of a Pirate Lord, or in his case former Lord, knew who the other members of the Brethren Court were and only they knew who the current keeper was.

Where ever he went so to did the Pirate Code, he would be a fool to leave it unguarded.

Just as he was double checking the route he intended to take on one of his many maps spread our on his huge mahogany desk he heard the strangest sound, one not heard on his ship years. From the cabin next door he distinctly heard the unmistakable sound of female laughter and a small smile came across his face. No doubt the sailors on board would be shouting 'bad luck' by morning but Edward Teague was never one much for that particular superstition having broken it in his past more often then not.

He spared a moment from his charts to peak out into the hallway just in time to see one of the Collins sisters leaving her borrowed cabin, telling the one remaining she'd return in a moment.

"Enjoyin' yerself I take it?"

Amanda turned, her red curls spinning around her shoulders, hand over her chest. "Ah! Oh, Papa Sparrow you startled me."

"Not my intention, I swear," he smirked at her as she calmed her speeding heart.

"Understood," she grinned a little once her pulse was safely returned to its original pace. "I was actually going out to find you."

"What can I do for ye?"

"Me and Lucy were getting a bit thirsty, do you have anything that won't put us under the table?"

"It just happens I do, follow me," he gallantly led the way down the hall and into the galley a floor below. Several of the men watched with a weary eye as the odd pair made their way down stairs to the galley while others looked on towards the buxom red haired girl with obviously a not so innocent intent. At first it seemed that Amanda had not noticed the lecherous gazes that followed her, that is until her heel found itself embedded into the big toe of one sailor too stupid as to come too close.

"Bugger off!" Said sailors did not expect such a harpy like reaction and backed off by several steps, as the victim clutched his throbbing foot and many bumping into one another comically, one even fell bum end into a barrel. The Captain did nothing, just chuckle under his breath as his men had second thoughts about making any move on the wench.

Soon enough the pair had reached the galley where along with the vast amounts of rum were tied down in storage there were just as many barrels of fresh water. Teague ladled two spoonfuls into a tin cup then handed it off to Amanda, who took it and basked in the feeling of the chilled liquid down her throat as her host began on the second for her sister.

"Tell me, where do ye plan to go when this whole mess is over?" he asked.

"Where ever Alex goes," she answered with out pause and he nodded sitting the full second cup down.

"Would you tell me something' truthfully?" She looked at him, her head cocked slightly to the side then slowly placed her drink on the table along with it's companion and held her hands behind her back.

"Of course."

"Do you think Zack will be wit' ye? He seemed to be back to his normal self just 'fore we left…then I noticed he was beginin' to go into himself again."

"So you saw it too," she looked to the ground, one hand to her mouth as she bit slightly down on a finger.

"It's not all that hard to miss," he said in his gruff voice. "Now, to what I asked, not to be hasty but I think I 'ave a right to know what might become of my son."

"You mean will he still be on the Diamond after Daniel is out of the picture," she turned her gray blue eyes at him, they were stormy with emotion.

"He's young, reckless," Teague now took a seat. "He could easily get hisself killed with his mind in other places and angry at the world. I've seen it 'appen many times, the passion a young person feels makes them dangerous to themselves." Amanda took a cup in each hand, that knowing look she was so famous for on her round face.

"You're right, people do feel stronger when they're new to everything but that's what makes teenagers who they are. You think he'll get himself killed out there, maybe even on purpose," her voice seemed older than she, her thoughts were far beyond her years. It made the old captain wonder what had gone on in the sisters lives that could have made them grow up so quickly, to become so knowledgeable to the world that she could speak such a dark thought out loud when even a seasoned pirate could not.

"Ye're a perceptive girl, Amanda Collins," he tipped his head to her.

"Thank you, but as for Zack," she sighed and gripped her hands tightly around each other . "I can't say what is going to become of him…it hurts to see him in pain…not only because of what he's going through but every time it reminds of…" the young woman trailed off.

"It reminds ye of your sister, tell me about her."

"Curious?"

"Of course, but only if ye don't mind," he always did have a questioning nature, this was no different. "I only know how she…passed on." Amanda thought a moment, taking another drink from her cup then a tiny smile graced her face.

"Emma was young and impulsive too, but lately she had been starting to grow up. Lucy saw it first, then me but I think it was Zack that brought it out in her first. She laughed a lot and was very clumsy," she giggled a little under her breath.

"What did she look like?"

"Tall and thin with blond hair and big brown eyes, it's funny. the three of us look nothing alike yet were sister barely a year between us," it was her attempt to lighten the mood.

Teague nodded, imagining the girl in his mind and thought that she was very much like his youngest, shame the way things had turned out the way they did or else they were sure to have made as well a couple as his siblings had.

"It helps to know," he began slowly after several minutes of silence then said in an understanding voice, "now I can see why he's changed. She sounds like she was a good girl."

"She was," she took a deep breath. "Well, I think I should get going, Lucy will be wondering why I'm taking so long just to get a cup of water." A smile was on her face again and she seemed lighter then before, he knew it was a sign that she wanted to talk just as much as he wanted to know.

"Tell her I apologize for takin' up precious time," he gave her a small grin.

"I will," she started to walk through the door way but turned around at the last moment. "Oh, and Papa Sparrow?"

"Aye, girl?"

"Thank you," then she was gone.