Disclaimer: I forgot to note this in my last chapter, but anyone whose name you recognize from the movie in this story, I DO NOT own. I wouldn't mind owning Jack, though! lol. *wink wink* Please R & R!

Author's Note: I also forgot to add this in the epilogue. I mean for this to take place perhaps a year after POTC: TCBP. Please read and review, even if it is criticism (hopefully constructive criticism!). Also, I need to learn more about the ships and all, so if any of you know of any websites or books that could help me out, please let me know! I'm not having much luck. R & R and thanks for reading!!!

Chapter 1: A Mysterious Meeting

The girl sighed as she looked at the horizon. The day was spent, the sun was setting behind her, once again painting the sky with vibrant hues. Not a single ship had passed by all day. Hope was beginning to fade in the girl's heart, every day she spent on the island was one day closer to death. The single shot in her pistol was starting to look mighty tempting.

She stood up and stretched as the final rays of sun disappeared behind the leafy palms in the center of the island to her back. She turned and began walking toward the shelter of the palm trees, hoping against hope that she might be able to find something to eat, even if it was just a handful of berries or leaves. Reaching out, she ran her palm over the trunk of one of the huge trees. The rough bark was somehow a comfort, and a faint glimmer of hope returned to her heart. If the trees could make it here, so could she. Near the foot of the tree there was a bush, mostly leaves, but there were a few sprigs of berries scattered throughout the bush as well. She knelt and picked out as many berries as she could hold, then walked back to her fire.

She gasped and dropped her dinner of berries into the fire as her eyes wandered to the horizon. A sail had appeared at the edge of her vision. It was hard to believe. Her eyes had to be lying, but the ship was still there. A triumphant yell exploded from her mouth and she fell on her knees, still screaming. Tears rolled down her face as she laughed. She ran around the beach, gathering more driftwood and dry sea-grass, ignoring the searing pain in her leg as the gash in her thigh ripped open farther. When her arms were full of dry tinder, she dashed back to her fire, and added the wood and grass to the blaze, making it glow brighter than ever. Sparks flew into the air along with the smoke, the fire was cracking and spitting as the tinder burst into flame. There was no way that the crew on the approaching ship could miss the fire signal.

"Please… Please God…" the girl whispered. She sank down beside her fire again and watched the ship approach as the stars appeared in the sky. Soon it was almost too dark to see the ship. If the moon had been hidden behind a cloud, it would have been pitch black. As it was, the moon, half full, was shining down, sparkling on the ocean like a thousand diamonds. Watching the ship sail towards the island through a sea of sparkling jewels was completely surreal. After four days and three nights spent on an island with barely anything to eat and only salt water to drink the idea of any human companionship, especially if food and drink were involved, was tantalizing.

It was near midnight when the ship dropped anchor off the shore of the island. Not long after the ship had made anchor, a small boat was lowered from the deck into the ocean with several people onboard. It seemed to take hours for the men in the boat to row to the island, though in reality it only took around fifteen minutes. The girl stood up beside her fire, sword in hand. Two men and one woman approached her, two other men sat in the boat, waiting.

The man walking in front of the other two was dark haired with a beard, it was hard for the girl to make out his face in the dark. All she could tell about the woman was that she was dark-skinned, and the other man was rather portly with facial hair.

"'Ello, mates," the girl called from beside the fire, and sheathed her sword, but left her bandaged hand resting on the hilt. "And who might ye be?"

The man who walked in front, who was obviously their captain, stopped in front of her, and smiled, revealing several gold teeth. "I think we might be askin' ye the same question, missie. What're ye doin' on this island, all by your lonesome?"

"That's my business, not yours if I may say so." The girl answered, tightening her grip on her sword hilt.

"Now calm down, missie," the bearded man said. His husky voice was almost musical, and had a bit of a drunken tilt to it. "Just tell me your name, and we'll go from there."

"Aye, that we shall, cap'n," the dark-skinned woman agreed.

"And why should I be tellin' ye my name? I don't know who you are, and I'm not one to be trusting someone simply because they saw my fire signal and responded to it," the girl replied, becoming more tense. The captain's banter made her nervous, it reminded of one of the men on her previous crew.

"Point taken, young miss. Beggin' your pardon, an' all that. Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service," the bearded man said with a bow. As he bent down to bow, several strands of his hair spilled into his face, and when he stood back up he pushed them away absently, his hand brushing several brightly beaded strands back as well. "Me first mate here is Anamaria, and this lump to me right is Gibbs."

The girl nodded, more comfortable now that she knew whom she was dealing with. She had heard of Jack Sparrow, had heard he was a good man and a great pirate. "Right, then. My name's Turner, Rosemarie Turner."

A strange look flashed on Jack's face, his kohl-ringed eyes widening for a moment, but he quickly returned to his former facial expression, the disarming smile. "Turner, did you say, miss?"

"Aye, Rosemarie Turner. What's it to ye?" The girl snapped, obviously suspicious.