Chapter 2

Marking Her Territory

It was early morning and the waters were clear and calm.  Across the deck of the Black Pearl, Miranda came running and headed down the stairs into the galley.  She spotted Jack at one of the benches, leaning against the wall, asleep.  Miranda came over and grabbed his sleeve.

"Come on Jack! Wake up! Come on! You're lazy!"

Jack's eyes opened slowly, his nose turned up and he shoved Miranda away from him.

"Git away! A man needs his forty winks!"

"But you promised that you would teach me how to swordfight today!"

Jack opened one eye and lifted his head to look at her.

"I lied," He snuffed, before dropping his head and closing his eyes once more.

"Fine.  I'll do it myself." She explained, leaning over and taking two swords from the rack.

She examined them and gazed down at Jack, a cheeky grin on her face.  Turning and leaving, with a sword in each hand, she trudged up the steps, occasionally looking back to see if Jack was watching.

There was a dead silence.  Jack took a calm, deep breath when there was a very loud 'THUD' from the deck.  He leapt up and pulled himself upstairs to find Miranda standing there staring up at a black sail that was falling on top of her.  Jack came over, yanked the sword out of the wood of the mast, and checked the five ropes, originally wound tightly around it that had been chopped.  Miranda struggled her way out from underneath the giant black sheet, as some more of the crew now stood at the entrance to the stateroom.  Jack tossed the sword across the deck behind him and stormed over to her.

"BLOODY WOMAN! YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME!" He barked, snatching the other sword from her hands.

Miranda smiled, and Jack looked at her oddly.

"What? Luv, you have to learn to be less… ungainly!"

"Whoever said I was ungainly? I got you up here didn't I?"

Jack cocked his head at what she just said.  She smiled, leaning forward and taking her sword back.  Jack grinned and cleared his throat.  He glanced up to see the crew standing there watching them.

"Well done pirate! You passed the examination! You managed to wake me up!"

Miranda nodded to total agreement.  The crew looked around each other, wondering what was going on.

Jack turned around and retrieved the sword on the floor behind him.  He pointed it at Miranda.

"Alright, pirate! Let's see how worthy you are!  Remember luv; don't bawl when you lose, like you did last time…"

"I never bawled" Miranda demanded out loud.

"Listen, don't make it harder for yourself, and I'll pass you as an endorsed member of the crew, savvy?" He whispered over to her.

Miranda nodded and raised her sword too.

"Understood Captain Sparrow, sir!"

Jack stepped back, and scratched his chin.

"I like that.  I certainly like the sound of that.  Coming from a woman" He explained, Miranda just glared at him, "I mean, because I'm not accustomed to having…"

He cleared his throat again, straightened himself out as if he said nothing and pointed the sword at her once more.

"If you really are the pirate you say you are then you'll want to see…"  Miranda started, and looked around herself, "…Look! Monkey!"

Jack jumped up and gazed around at the deck.

"Where!? Where!? A monkey!? How can there be a monkey out at…"

At that moment, Miranda took up the courage and smacked Jack in the head with the hilt of her sword, causing him to fall backwards to the deck.  She sighed and glanced up at the crew.

"Miranda Sparrow: One… Jack Sparrow: ZERO!"

She turned in circles, looking down at the destruction that she had caused earlier and smiling.

"Pilfering from those Rogues was a virtuoso plan!" Jack cried, rubbing his hands happily at the wheel of the Black Pearl.

"Don't you think that goin' back to Tortuga will make it worse, capt'n?" Gibbs explained, approaching him.

Jack laughed.

"Listen mate.  This 'ere is the Black Pearl! No man nor pirate dare threatnin' us, savvy?"

"As you wish, capt'n"

The Pearl sailed leisurely into the port at Tortuga, and as the plank came down, Jack waddled down onto the docks followed by his crew.

"Meet up with you in the mornin' mates.  Discharged!"

They split up and went their own ways.  Gibbs stayed by Jack's side, as they looked up the street into the dark town.

"Drink?" Jack asked, looking down at him.

They walked into the town, and Jack scratched his head.

"That's strange," He started, wondering why it was so quiet and empty, "I don' remember Tortuga bein' this boring"

It was so quiet that crickets could be heard chirping in the bushes.  Jack and Gibbs looked at each other.

"Maybe those rogues arrived here before us," Gibbs explained, Jack snuffed a laugh, "Maybe they've planned waylay for us.   You never know with a mob of rogues, sir"

Jack shook his head and tapped the pistol in his belt.

"We'll see then, won't we?"

Both of them came up to the pub and pushed the sliding doors to enter.  They were shocked to see only a few people seated around the tables and at the bar very quietly.  Jack cleared his throat and the people looked up.  There was no noise, but Jack and Gibbs stalked their way over to the bar.  Jack pulled out the stool with a loud squeak.  Not even wanting to realise what it was, Jack took his seat and faced the rear of the bar.  He looked at Gibbs and raised his eyebrows.  He took a deep breath and waved his hand at the bartender, as the bartender nodded back.  Jack leant over to Gibbs who had just sat down and whispered.

"Does it look like they're mad?" He asked and Gibbs glanced over the tables carefully.

"Not really" He replied and Jack nodded.

The bartender slammed the mug of alcohol down in front of him and walked away.  Jack glared at him before taking a large swig.  Another man entered the bar and sat down near him to order.  Jack leant over the man and held his hand over his mouth to whisper.

"Mate, what's goin' round?  Why is everyone so monotonous?"

The man glared back and looked him up and down as if he'd done something wrong.

"Because that'd be our code"

"Code? What do you mean code? I don' remember the pirate code to consist of such stony silence"

"Well it is now!"

Jack edged away from the man as he snapped.

"You're not mad at me are you?" Jack inquired, and the man shook his head quickly.

"What's goin' on?" Gibbs asked carefully, "What happened to the code?"

"Our Governor changed it"

"A Governor?" Jack uttered, squinting at the man, "Of Tortuga?  How long have we been at sea?"

Gibbs brushed his beard with his palm.

"I believe about seven years"

Jack's eyes widened.  He slammed his mug down onto the table, some of the alcohol spattering the man. 

"Seven years! Seven bloody years! No wonder that barrel of rum in the galley tasted amiss!"

"Who's Governor?" Gibbs continued.

"Sparrow"

Jack glared at the man intuitively.

"What!? How can that be!? I've been at sea for SEVEN BLOODY YEARS!.... Apparently!"

"Now Jack, I doubt he meant you"

Jack stared down at Gibbs angrily, but turned back, knowing that he was right.

"Who's this… Sparrow then?" Jack pushed.

"Some Miranda woman"

Jack slapped his hands down on Gibbs and the man's shoulders at once.  He raised his finger and pointed it in the man's face.  Without saying a word, Jack left his seat and crept out of the bar nervously.  Gibbs ran after him and seized him by the back of his jacket.

"Jack! What's the trouble?"

He waved his hands in front of Gibbs angrily.

"MIRANDA!? MIRANDA SPARROW!?" He growled, "YOU DON' HAPPEN TO RECALL THAT WOMAN!?"

"Ahhh, yes.  That very gifted female pirate you taught"

Jack bit his fist, his eyes wide.

"Seven years ago I left for Staunton.  I may have made a very big howler by leavin' Miranda at the port… not grammatically, you know… physically?"

Gibbs stood there with his hands on his hips.

"Why I knew I had the feelin' we left somethin' behind!"
Jack bit his fist harder and turned to look down the street.

"We cannot stay here! I don't want the Pearl to be plundered!"

He threw his hands aside to let Gibbs go.

"Not good! Not good! Go get the crew! We're departing!"

He stormed off back to the docks, and Gibbs ran down the street to find the others.

Jack waddled as fast as he could to the shoreline and gasped, grasping his chest in terror.

"THE PEARL!" He yelled, "THE PEARL IS GONE!"

He started making odd terrified gestured with his hands when he finally realised that no one was watching.  He ran to the very end of the pier and got down onto his hands and knees to look into the water.  He waved his hand in the water, hoping to find the ship there.  Brushing his forehead and getting up he turned to walk away, when something stopped him.  Running directly toward him in a terrible hurry was Miranda.

"JACK! JACK!"

Jack's eyes widened.  He turned around quickly, ran off the end of the pier and into the water with a loud splash.  Miranda skidded to a halt at the end, and watched as Jack's head popped to the surface of the water very slowly.

"Jack! It's me! Miranda!"

He glanced up at her, smiled and nodded, the water reaching his chin.

"I remember…" He said cautiously.

"Why'd you jump into that filthy water?  Are you afraid of me?"

He shook his head stupidly and swam to let himself out.  As he flopped up onto the shore, Miranda was there, her arms crossed at him.

"Now listen, luv.  I didn' intend to do it"

"Do what? Jump into the water?"

Jack approached her, now face to face.

"Are you tellin' me you don' remember… me…"

"What Jack?" She smiled happily, "Have something to tell me?"

He eyed her suspiciously.

"…No.  Not that I want to essentially… tell you"

Miranda brushed his sleeve innocently, and Jack stared at her.

"I think I know what this is" She began, and Jack pushed her hand away from his shoulder, "But, I don't honestly care"

"You don' care that I left you here…" He replied, gesturing to the town, "…Seven years ago?"

Miranda shook her head,

"By your onsies?"

"Nope," She snuffed, "But that's not what I was speaking of…"

Jack stepped backwards, his hands held out in front of him.  Miranda followed him, giving him the evil eye.

"Right, before you detain me to the gallows, Governor Sparrow… however that came about… just hear me out"

He pushed her out of the way, knowing that she was angry and stood on the dock, ready to jump back into the water.

"Where were you for seven whole years, JACK!?" She barked, as Jack tiered on his right leg, almost falling back into the water, before fixing himself up.

"We set sail for Staunton that mornin'.  You were still sleepin' luv!  I didn' want to wake you!  So when the crew was up for it, we… left… It was only 'bout … now that I dredged what I'd done"

Jack smiled cheekily, hoping that somehow, Miranda would forgive him, but she shook her head differently.

"You remembered me now? …Well at least you remembered me" She sighed, and Jack stared at her oddly.

"Now. Seven years later!…"

Miranda shrugged and Jack waved his hands.

"I guess I forgive you, pirate"

Jack smiled, very surprised and pleased at her final decision.  He clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

"So…Governor?" He chirped, "How'd it come about? What the heck is wrong with Tortuga?"
"I as Governor of Tortuga altered the Pirate Code, permanently and respectively"

"To the nomad code?" Jack replied sarcastically.

"No, were still dirty pirates.  We no longer ruin this town.  Anyone not following this strict code is shot, hung and drowned"

Jack squirmed with the thought of his own fate and death.

"So you deal with the problems around here?"

Miranda nodded,

"Then just one question, luv… WHERE'S MY DAMN SHIP!"

"Oh yes, the Black Pearl…" She continued, now beginning to sound more and more sarcastic, "…That was your ship?"

Jack held out his arms, finally going to hear some answers.

"YES! Where is it!?"

Miranda turned around and pointed across the bay at the humongous black ship, anchored at the very edge of the docks, against the rock scale cliff wall.

Jack's eyes darted over, and he bounded past Miranda and across the shore toward his ship.  Miranda just smiled cheerfully and followed at her own pace.  Jack ran out onto the dock and leant over the gap in the water and kissed the boat's hull. 

Gibbs and the rest of the crew came running up behind them both.

"Capt'n! I think I might've heard you yellin'! What's wrong!?"

"Is it that quiet here?" Jack demanded, glaring at Miranda coming toward him.

"There's nothing wrong Mr. Gibbs, Jack was just frightened that I would kill him for leaving me here"

"Governor Sparrow! Terribly sorry bout' Jack.  I hope we have your total forgiveness on this matter"

Jack cocked his head curiously.  Gibbs and the rest of the crew scrambled over past Miranda to the spot behind Jack.  Jack wondered in silence for a second, his finger to his lips.  He stepped forward to Miranda and pointed past her to the town.

"I have another query.  How can a commune of a thousand or so pirates, dirty, smutty, mangy, traitorous, drunken pirates be utterly silenced by one woman with no kin or pirate upbringing whatsoever,… without question or remorse?"
Miranda pushed his arm back down beside him and put her own arm around his shoulders to lead him back up the shore.

"Funny, Sparrow, how you believe my family never had piratish roots, because if you haven't happened to notice, my last name is Sparrow" She explained, stopping and turning to face him, "My father was James Silver, or to you… 'Stinky Silver'?"

Jack gasped and froze.  He pointed at Miranda in shock.

"Stinky?"
"Twelve years ago, my father left the isle of Staunton as Captain James Silver.  My mother tried to locate him, but in order for that to never happen he stole the family name from one of his more competent friends.  CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!"

Jack shoved his fist into his mouth and bit it hard.  Miranda went through her black felt jacket and pulled out a brown tanned piece of paper, ripped from another bigger piece.

"That was pinned up on a wall in town" She told him, and he unwrapped it and flattened it out to read.

He read it out loud.

"Captain Miranda Sparrow…… MOST DANGEROUS PIRATE IN THE SPANISH MAINE!? All must FOLLOW HER COMMAND!?  Failure to comply will result in immediate execution!?"  

He looked up finally, a sad look on his face.

"Why can't I be the most dangerous pirate in the Spanish Maine?! That was my dream! YOU STOLE IT!"

"I never stole it, simply because you never had it in the first place!"

"But I was doin' my thing and everythin' was goin' accordin' to the plan!" He ordered, waving his hands about angrily.

He glimpsed at the piece of paper in his fingers and poked it into Miranda's face.

"Ah, just cause this poster says that you're precarious don't mean you actually are!"

Miranda smiled and grabbed his arm tightly.  She dragged him down into town followed eagerly by the other members of the crew.

"ALRIGHT! I GET THE POINT!" Jack screamed, standing at the gallows, his hands bound and a freshly tied hangman's noose around his neck, "…IT'S CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW, DAMN IT! GET IT RIGHT!" He finished, by yelling at the executioner reading a list of Jack's wrong doings.

Miranda stepped up to face him.  She unhooked the noose from around his neck, pulled his hands up to his chest and untied them, occasionally glancing into his eyes.

"Now, we could forget about you shouting at me, or I'll make the noose smaller so it's harder to breathe" She whispered, leaning in closer to him, "I'm sure that your crewmates would be grateful for that"

Jack gulped and nodded slightly.

"When did I ever doubt you, luv?"
She threw the rope away and waved the executioner to leave.  She poked him hard in the chest.

"I could count a few times, but that would eliminate my reason for pardoning you"

Jack smiled and nodded.  He leapt backwards and drew his sword out to point at her.  She walked forward, much closer to the tip of the blade.  With her right hand, she pushed the sword down to aim into the floor.

"Your… Sword doesn't amaze me any more, Jack"

He looked around himself nervously, hoping that no one had heard that, but Mr. Gibbs and the others let out a chuckle.  Jack's sword flew back up, pointing directly at Miranda's nose, but she didn't budge.  Instead she reached around and drew her own sword out of her belt, slamming Jack's blade away from her and circling him.

"I must enlighten you.  I've improved Jack!  They don't label me the most dangerous pirate just because I can sentence a man to the gallows!" 
"Fine weapon though!" Jack claimed, now circling her.

"Thank you! I had it made prioritised by a blacksmith in Port Royal! Very fine boy he was!"

"Ah! So you met Will then!? That was…"

"William Turner! Very fine to be sure!" She butt in.

Jack darted forward, Miranda's sword blocking his blows to the left and right side of her neck.  Miranda spun on her heel, ducking a swipe to her head again, jumping to the ground and disappearing under the gallows platform.  Jack peered down around himself at the slits in the boarding of the platform.  He stepped backwards, the crew at the edge watched, still very anxious.

There were a few minutes of silence.  He held out his arms, and flicked his sword triumphantly, smiling away.  Without warning, a sword tip was poked up through the boards between Jack's legs.  He looked down and leapt out of its way.  He tried hard to keep moving, looking as if he was dancing, as Miranda continued to poke the sword up to get him.  Side to side Jack leapt, but Miranda, who was one step ahead of him, stopped him in his tracks, poking the sword up before the steps.  Jack looked around, and the sword fell below the platform again.  He crept backwards, to the trapdoor under the noose, without realising.  Miranda ran up from underneath, wielding her weapon.  Jack stopped when he hit the hangman's pole and glanced up to see it.  He spotted Miranda at the edge, her hand on the trapdoor leaver.  She yanked it back and Jack grabbed onto the noose rope as the trapdoor fell out below him.  He used all his might to hold onto his sword, and the rope at the same time.  Miranda swiped her sword before the rope and smiled at him.

"Admit it, Jack Sparrow! You're second greatest now!"

He looked difficultly up to her blade ready to cut his rope, then at Miranda herself.

"I don' mind second best" He replied, stretching his leg out to step back onto the safe platform.

Miranda took his sword and his hand to help him, and she replaced hers to her belt.  Jack took his weapon back and slipped it into his belt too, turning and looking down to see Mr. Gibbs coming up to meet them.

He slapped his hand down on Jack's shoulder.

"She's a woman, sir! How do you feel?"

"Really? Truthfully? I feel like a damn hoodwink!"

Miranda laughed and Jack eyed her, quite annoyed.