"So you know my name…but do I just call you captain?" Sarah was following Miss Frost by instruction as she gave the newcomer a brief tour of the ship. They were now below deck and in front of the crew members' quarters

"Well…yes, ye'd be callin' me Captain Frost, or just Captain…but me name is Talia Frost." She scowled as she said this, as if she regretted releasing her name to the public. "Firstly, do NOT go in there." She pointed to one door, sort of off by itself, which Sarah figured was Talia's quarters. "Secondly, ye'll be sleeping…eh…somewhere. In one of these three rooms," She motioned to three doors that were directly in front of them. "I'd tell ye which one, as I'd like to, but the damn crew occupying two of 'em keep switching. Perhaps that's stop once ye have a place." Though the wording itself may have sounded nice…or rather, nice enough, her tone was harsh and blunt. Sarah lengthened the corners of her mouth, then relaxed again. "Just start opening doors." The blonde frowned. The captain certainly was specific, she noted. "As for work…" Talia began to walk away, but didn't get very far before she turned around again. "do what needs to be done. Load, unload, rig sails, fire cannons, whatever is needed." She, yet again, began to walk away, then turned once more. "Go make yourself useful."

As she walked away, Sarah reflected again. She felt very odd taking orders from a woman who was eight years younger than she was, but she reasoned that, if the younger was more qualified to be the captain, then the captain the younger would be. After a short silence, Sarah went to look for a room, which went quickly since she found an empty one on her second try.

Later that night, Sarah realized with growing dread that she still had to meet Jack at the Flintlock Pub. Why did it seem like he messed up even the most trivial of dealings? She felt almost scared to ask Talia if she could leave for a little while, though logically, it shouldn't have been a problem--she didn't have anything to do. Sick with fright that the captain would sever the connection between her head and the rest of her body, she approached Talia at the back of the ship.

"Er…captain?"

"…What?"

"…I just remember that I had a previous engagement scheduled for tonight that I must attend."

"Oh. Do you?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Go on."

She frowned. "Ah--what else is there to say?"

Talia had seemed somewhat calm, if not suspicious, compared to her previous blunt…meanness, but now the serenity was replaced with sarcasm.

"Well, ye could tell me what you're going to do."

"Ah--meet…someone?"

"Hm. Meet someone. Well, in that case, you may go," She paused, and Sarah turned to leave, but she continued. "but I'll have to go with you."

"What?" Sarah spun back around. Talia smirked. "B-but…" This is insane, I'm being taken advantage of by a girl eight years younger than me! In the end, she couldn't argue--Talia wouldn't let her leave unless she came along, and Sarah had said she would meet him. Sure, she didn't mind lying, not in the least bit, but her curiosity was propelling her. So she and her captain set off for the Flintlock Pub.

Sarah stuck her head in and looked around, hoping either she had the wrong place, Jack forgot, or he was too drunk to notice if she didn't arrive. Unfortunately, he was there, sitting at a table, and he looked sober. Okay, not really, but sober enough to notice if she wasn't there. Talia was standing about a foot behind her, but in her unconscious mind, it felt like she was poking her in the back to get her going. Somewhat regretting her agreement to meet him, she stepped inside and slowly trudged toward the table, Talia following close behind.

She sat down and Jack looked up from his gaze at the table.

"Sarah!" He said, smiling, then, clearly remembering what happened the last time he saw her and said 'Sarah' enthusiastically, he cringed and blocked his face.

"Jack. Firstly, call-me-Pandora, and secondly--"

"Sarah?" Talia put in, leaning down. "Your name is Sarah?"

Jack looked up, surprised to see someone besides Sarah, but then he replied, "Sarah Warren, to be precise." Sarah glared at him. Talia sat down next to her.

"Really. You told me your name was Pandora."

"It is Sarah, but I prefer Pandora," She explained, still glaring at Jack, who shrugged. "In any case, why exactly did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Ah, me first. Age before beauty." He grinned. A loud smack polluted the air around the table, and Jack nodded, grimacing. "Right, okay. I'll knock it off. First, on my half, why's she here?" He motioned to Talia, who looked a bit insulted, probably because someone as ragged and drunk-looking (and rightfully so) as Jack was referring to her as if she was a piece of furniture.

"I got a job on a ship. This is the captain, who insisted on coming." At this statement, he looked a bit disappointed, then he turned to Talia.

"And what is your name?" He asked. Talia stared for the longest time, perhaps contemplating which name to give him. Blinking, she replied,

"Talia Frost. Miss Frost to you."

"Mm," He began, stroking his beard--or what there was of it. "you look familiar. Have we met?" Talia cocked an eyebrow, a doubtful expression gracing her pale face. "Well, that answers me question. Now. Sarah. You wanted to know why I called you here--"

"After you left me on an island to die and then came groveling back to ask if I would work on your ship, right?" Sarah interrupted him, leaving him with his mouth slightly ajar. She wasn't exactly sure why she was lashing out--she just was.

"…Yes."

At this point, Talia stood up and pointed at Jack, knocking over her chair in the process.

"You!" She shouted. "You! Jack Sparrow!"

"…Captain Jack Sparrow, actually." He replied. Then he frowned and pointed at her, as well. "And you…you're that girl from the trading company!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

There was a long silence. Talia sat down and Jack lowered his finger. Sarah's eyes moved from one to the other, confused. "So you two know each other?" Talia turned to her and gave her yet another gee-so-obvious-handicapped-genius look, which answered her question quite neatly.

"Well, after our many interruptions--" He paused, as if waiting for someone else to begin talking, as that had become very popular in the last five minutes, then he continued. "I'll tell Sarah--ah, Pandora--why I've called her here, and it is very nice that you have come, Miss Frost. You see, I'm trying to get Sarah here on my ship. Now that she's on yours…why don't we make a deal?"

Talia paused. "What kind of deal…"

Sarah felt left out. She had been called here and now he wasn't even talking to her, instead, talking to her boss. She wondered if he had been planning this from the beginning.

"What are you up to at the moment? Any quests…journeys…perhaps a quest for a journey?" He squinted, trying to think of something clever to say.

"…Looking for a ship."

"Ah!!" He cried. "I see, a ship, and what ship might this be?"

Talia was not enthused. She did not want to tell this man anything about what she was up to--he seemed too untrustworthy, too spirited to be serious about what he was saying. She told him anyway.

"The Nosferatu."

"What?"

"Nos-fer-ah-too." She said blankly. He made an odd face, then sighed.

"…Alright. Okay. So you're looking for this…Nosfer-whatsit. Well, what do you say I come with you--on my own ship, of course."

"Come with me…why? What's in it for you?"

He grinned, showing off his magnificently multicolored teeth. "Why, to be in the pleasure of good company, of course."

Sarah but in. "Oh, you filthy liar." He looked at here, not to astonished.

"And you're not?" She didn't reply, nor did she speak for the most part of the end of the deal.

Talia decided. "I don't need your help. Find some hapless, cold-hearted bilge rat to spin your tales to."

"Well, that's why I came to you." Sarah choked on air. Perhaps someone should have warned him about Talia's short fuse (Sarah had only known her for a short time, but she already knew about her explosive personality.). Talia stood up and whipped out four knives.

As much as she would have liked to see Jack as a pin-cushion, Sarah stood. "Captain--you must remember--this is Jack you're about to impale. He has tendencies," She said. Talia turned to her and she was deathly afraid that she would kill her instead, but she merely sat back down and slammed the edges of the knives into the table. Jack glanced at Sarah and mouthed "Thank you." Sarah shrugged and looked away.

"Ah--anyway…"

"Yes, anyway, why would I want to travel with you? What evidence do I have that you can be trusted?"

"To be completely honest, which I'm not, none. But…if I go with and assist you to your satisfaction…well….I get Sarah and you'll ne'er see me again." He held out his hand to Talia.

"WHAT!?" This time, it was Sarah's turn to stand and knock over her chair. Talia grasped his hand.

"Agreed."

Instead of slapping Jack, Sarah just stared at him, rage building, then stormed out of the building.

Talia crossed her arms. "I'm not getting her."

"Oops." Jack scratched his head and removed his hat. "'Suppose I shouldn't have done that." He slowly pulled out his compass and toyed with it for a while, then replaced it and put his hat back on. "Ah well. She'll get over it. She always does."

Sarah, outside, walked as fast and far away from the tavern as she could. She was furious. Jack and Talia had just bartered her off like property. She sat down at the side of the street, a familiar habit of hers. Luck never had been on her side. There were so many jumbled thoughts in her head, she couldn't concentrate on any one thing. It was very dark out, but the sky was clear of clouds.

After a few minutes, she heard footsteps behind her. Since she was ninety-nine percent sure of who it was, she stood, turned around, and slapped him. Jack touched his face, squinting.

"Right. That one I deserved."

"Yes, you did." As if I don't have enough reason to hate him. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Uh--could I expl--"

"No. Good night, Captain Jack." She turned and left him in the dark. He sighed, frustrated.

When she returned to the Death Lily, Talia was already there, at the helm of the ship, humming and singing something about a "breath-taking, hair-raising bed." Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't. Talia closed her eyes. "We're setting sail tomorrow," She said as Sarah stalked off.