Chapter 12

A/N- I re-wrote this chappy due to a few problems caught in reviews. I totally agree with them, and the mistakes I made were because I was tired and started ignoring my initial ideas and copying my source directly. Well, here's the chapter.

I love Shipwreck Cove. Other than the fact that the nine pirate lords gather there, seven of which I hate with all my weasly black heart. Then again, I only know two of them, and I'm one myself.

The main reason why I love Shipwreck Cove, is because of Gramps. He also slips me the odd stolen shilling or two. Or even a blood red apple if I'm lucky. Plus, I get to see Gran. (We don't talk about her much)

"Look at them all!" Pintel's mouth dropped to the deck as we looked over at all the shipwrecks.

"There's not been a gatherin' like this in our lifetime." Barbossa looked on dreamily.

"And I owe them all money" Dad sighed. After that nothing important happened. So I'll just skip to the court.

The Brethren Court is probably the biggest mob of squabbling pirates I'd ever seen in my life. They came from all different cultures and regions, by the looks of thing. Barbossa stood at the end of the table, banging a cannonball rather viciously on its surface.

Every one went silent.

Looking pleased with himself, Barbossa showed all his yellow teeth as he cracked a smile. "As he who issued summons, I convene this, the fourth Brethren Court. To confirm your lordship and right to be heard, present now your pieces of eight, my fellow cap'ns"

On queue, Ragetti walked round the table as the seven other pirate lords put a random piece of cr*p into it. I saw dad pretend to, but he didn't really. I mimicked his action.

"Those aren't pieces of eight, they're just pieces of junk!" exclaimed Pintel in disgust. I suppose he was looking for something worth while to steal.

"Well noticed, you should get a medal" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. Gold medal. Then give it to me, I'll melt it, run off pocket full of cash" Charlie agreed.

"Aye, the original plan was to use nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso, but when the first court met, the brethren were to a one, skint broke" Gibbs exclaimed to Pintel, ignoring my comment.

"So change the name" Pintel stated as it were obvious.

Gibbs scowled. "To what? 'Nine Pieces of Whatever We Happened to Have in Our Pockets at the Time'? Oh yes, that sounds very piratey"

"Or NPWWHHOPT. I'm hungry" I complained. I fancied a nice big juicy red apple...

Barbossa cleared his voice to be heard. "Mr. Ragetti, if you will"

"I kept it safe for you, just like you said when you gave it to me"

Horrified, I realised they were talking about his eye. "Aye, ya have" agreed Barbossa. "But now I need it back" with a whack on the back of Ragetti's head, his (or Barbossa's) wooden eye popped out and fell into the bowl. I lost my appetite.

"Sparrow!" exclaimed out a random pirate. I later learned, from Gibbs, his name was Villanueva. And Villanueva was an old man.

Dad touched the small coin than hung from his bandana as he heard his name be called. "Might I point out that we are still short one pirate lord, and I'm content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us."

"Um, dad, I told you earlier. Sao Feng died and.." I was interrupted as I showed him Sao Feng's necklace, which Barbossa gave a dirty look towards. Then again, I was supposed to hand it in to prove my identity. I swear, people these days.

"And made you captain? They're just giving the bloody title away now" Dad sighed.

"What, just 'cause I'm eleven years..." then I remembered something. Today was my birthday. I was twelve. "...Twelve years old"

"Luv, your eleven.. oh" he seemed to remember for the first time.

"Listen, dad. We've been betrayed. Jones is controlled by that dude in charge with the wig... Beckett, that's it, and they're on their way. Here. Shipwreck Cove."

"Who is this betrayer?" A big buff dark skinned man boomed, Jocard. He had a plaited beard, like dad's, but with four plaits, instead of two.

"Not likely among us" Barbossa pointed out.

Elizabeth, please don't ask how she got here because I don't know, suddenly joined the conversation. "Where's Will?"

Dad frowned. He looked almost guilty. "Not among us"

"And it matters not how they found us. The question is, what will we do now that they have?" Barbossa asked.

"We fight!" Charlie said, smacking her knife into the table. Only now did I realize the blade was incredibly detailed. With the initials 'CME' etched in gold on the handle, and trimmed in silver, the blade was beautiful.

A Chinese woman named Mistress Cheng piped up. "Shipwreck Cove is a fortress, a well supplied fortress. There is no need to fight if they cannot get to us."

"There is a third course. In another age, at this very spot, the first court captured the sea goddess, and bound her in her bones. That was a mistake. Oh, we tamed the seas ourselves, aye, but opened the door to Beckett and his ilk. Better were the days when mastery of the seas came not from bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but from the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back alone. Y'all know this to be true. Gentlemen, ladies. We must free Calypso!" Strategized Barbossa.

"The crazy woman who loved Jones?" I gulped.

"Aye"

"Shoot him!" rang out another random sailor.

"Cut out his tongue!" said another. I didn't know if he meant Barbossa, or the man who had called out.

Dad saw an opportunity. "Shoot him and cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue. And trim that scraggly beard"

I saw an opportunity. "Shoot him then cut out his tongue, then hang his tongue and shoot it, and set his beard alight!"

Tai Hung stepped forward, pushing me out the way. "Sao Feng would have agreed with Barbossa"

Jocard tried to argue. "Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now"

"And it's not likely her moods improved"

"I would still agree with Sao Feng, we release Calypso!"

"You threaten me?"

"I silence you!"

Then hell broke loose. One pirate started fighting with me, so I stabbed him with Charlie's dagger, which I didn't steal but was left in the middle of the table.

"This is madness!" Elizabeth cringed.

Dad shrugged. "This is politics"

"Meanwhile our enemies are bearing down upon is"

"If they not be here already" said Barbossa gloomily.

As I turned from the conversation I sighed. Now or never.

I searched for Charlie, and found her giving Mistress Cheng two panda eyes. And that's not a good thing. She saw me then smiled. "'Ello Ronny. How may I help you?" without turning around, she grabbed her knife off me and stabbed the pirate behind.

"Um, how do you, uh, know Jamie?"

"Long story cut short. He saved me from drowning. We became friends, and..." she looked around herself, whispering. "...He fancies you...!"

My mouth dropped. That skank was dead meat. I would string him up. I would...

"For more information, read this." She passed me a worn leather bound book.

"I can't read" I confessed. Sighing, Charlie rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Just get someone to read it for you. The title is Life Before The Pearl. It's about a little bit of my life before I hitched a ride on the pearl a year or two back. Here I'll read you the first bit. I wrote it myself, y'know.

Small world.

Chapter one- what a loving family

"Charlotte my sweet get me another pint will you doll?" rang my mothers voice for the 3rd time tonight I looked at her drunk as a... to be honest I have never seen anything as drunk as mum. I looked into her eyes like mine a chocolate brown, Great sadly I took most my appearance from my mother the eyes the pale skin and more I stood off my mother frowned upon my baggy 'man clothes' as she says to be honest I would never wear one of those dresses making you unable to breath I've heard accidents from Port Royal that a woman fell off a cliff or something because she couldn't breath. I went to the bar drunken men looked at me as if I was a prized boat "Isn't she just a beaut" I heard one whisper "Can't really tell with her in all those clothes" the other one laughed I pulled a silver blade from my belt "Looks like her mothers' heart like her farther" One choked I raised the sword to his neck "If you value life I'd shut up do you hear me?"..."

Suddenly a gunshot sounded louder than the rest. Barbossa. In case your wondering, this is back to Brethren Court land. Everyone fell silent.

"It was the first court what imprisoned Calypso, and we will be the ones to set her free, and in her gratitude she will see fit to grant us boons." Barbossa cheered.

"Whose boons? Your boons? Utterly deceptive twaddlespeak, says I" dad was alert, and confused.

"What's boons?" me and Charlie asked.

"If you have a better alternative, please, share" Barbossa's eyes looked as though they were piercing through dad.

"Cuttlefish. Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish. Flippant glorious little sausages. Pan 'em up together and they'll devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, isn't it? ... or...or... fish nature." What the freakin' hell was he on about Cuttlefish for crying out loud?

Placing a hand on Mistress Cheng's shoulder, he continued. "So yes, we could hole up here well provisioned and well armed and half of us would be dead within the month, which seems grim to me any way you slice it. Or, as my learned colleague so naively suggests, we could release Calypso, and we can pray that she will be merciful. I rather doubt it. Can we in fact pretend that she is anything other than a woman scourned, like which fury hell hath no? We cannot. Res ipso loguitur tabula in naufragio, we are left with but one option. I agree with Captain V. Jack Sparrow. We must fight."

I looked at him gratefully. "How about Captain Veronica? Not Captain V. Jack Sparrow. People may get confused."

"You've only ever run from a fight" Barbossa spat at dad.

"I have not!"

"You have too!"

"Have not!"

"You have too!"

"Have not!"

"You have too, and you know it!"

"Have not, slander and calumny! I have only ever embraced the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. I submit here and now, that is what we all must do, we must fight... to run away"

"Nice speech. Though you have only ran away..." I complemented him.

"Why, thank you" he nodded.

"Aye!" agreed Gibbs, full of spirit.

"As per the code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the pirate king" Barbossa contradicted.

"Show off" Charlie poked out her tongue.

"You made that up." Dad pointed.

"Did I know?" Questioned rival Barbossa. "I call on Captain Teague, keeper of the code."

"And my Granddad. WHOOOOOOOO!" every one looked at me. "What?"

A pirate named SeSumbhajee's assistant stepped up. "SeSumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly! Hang the code! Who cares..." BANG! He was dead.

"Code is the law" Said Teague, my granddad. He walked up behind dad, and declared: "You're in my way, boy"

As he stood in front of the table, two old wrinkled men walked up and dumped the pirate code onto the table. To be honest with you, Teague didn't look too good either. His face was wrinkled, and he looked like that myth I'd heard Charlie talk about. Captain Hook, except he had a hook and gramps didn't.

"The code" whimpered Ragetti. I guessed he'd broken it before.

"As set forth by Morgan and Bartholomew" Ragetti barely breathed. I thought he was dumb, but over the course of this voyage, I guess Ragetti really was quite smart.

Teague whistled and the dog with the keys from Port Royal who had been dumped on Cannibal Island run to granddad, dropping the keys into his hands.

"How did...?" stuttered Ragetti.

"Sea turtles, mate." Gramps glanced at the code, then averted his eyes. "Barbossa is right."

"Hang on a minute" Dad stood next to his father, and I stood on the other side. Teague slipped some coins into my hand. "Buy a puppy or sumin'" he muttered. I grinned.

"Thanks gramps."

Dad raised his eyes from the code. "It shall be the duty of the king to declare war, parlay with said adversaries...fancy that"

"There's not been a king since the first court, and that's not likely to change."

"Not likely" agreed Captain Teague.

"Why not?" enquired Elizabeth.

"Because the king is elected by popular vote" Gibbs explained as if he had many times before... and will do many times again.

"And each pirate only ever votes for hisself" Barbossa prompted.

"I call for a vote!" Dad declared.

"I vote for Ammand, the corsair"

"Captain Chevalle, the penniless French man"

"SeSumbhajee votes for Sesumbhajee"

"Mistress Cheng"

"Gentlemant Jocard"

"Elizabeth Swann" Elizabeth slyly mimicked some high pitched voice. With a shock, I realised it was me she was trying to impersonate.

"Now, now, Miss Sparrow, ye can't go voting for sum' one who ain't a pirate lord." Barbossa shook his head.

"He's right, girl." Gramps raised his head. "Lets just go with 'Veronica Sparrow' for you"

"I didn't say anything..."

"Barbossa"

"Villanueva"

"Veronica Sparrow" Said dad.

"WHAT!" I roared. Dad was many things, but he wasn't one to stand up for his daughter often.

"What?" Elizabeth mimicked. HA! She had failed on her mission to become Pirate King.

"I know, curious isn't it?" Dad acted as if nothing new had been said. "Birthday present?"

"Why didn't you vote for me?" Jocard sounded hurt. Everyone then started arguing.

"Am I to understand that you lot will not be keeping to the code then?" Dad plainly asked, looking at Captain Teague, as if to show off. Then when his father broke a guitar string to get attention, his gift was granted. Quicker than Barbossa's efforts were, anyway.

"Very well, what say you Captain Sparrow, King of the Brethren Court?" Mistress Cheng said, looking down her nose at me. In a split second, I realized I disliked Mistress Cheng.

"Prepare every vessel that floats. At dawn, we're at war" I ordered. She

"And so, we shall go to war"

Barbossa signalled to Ragetti to make off with the pieces of whatever they had in their pockets at the time, thinking no one saw. But I did, 'cause there was nothing better to do.

Dad turned to Teague who was looking at him expectantly. "What? You've seen it all, done it all, you survived. That's the trick, isn't it? To survive."

"It's not just about living forever, Jackie" I stifled a laugh as I heard my grandfather call dad 'Jackie', "The trick is, living with yourself, forever"

"How's Nan?" I asked.

Captain Teague held up a shrunken head.

"She looks great!" Smiled dad.