A/N: Back again with chapter three! Well, the chapter you've been waiting for is here! (Well I was waiting for it anyway, lol!) I know I can't do Jack Sparrow justice, but I did my best. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

My first day on the ship was relatively exciting. Though I was assigned simple chores such as cleaning the cabins and such, exploring the ship was worth the chores. I wandered the area of ship for hours, avoiding glares from the pirates. Thinking back to hiding in the storage room, it was a good thing I had remembered to tie my hair back once again. The thought of what the pirates would do with a seventeen-year-old girl on board terrified me. I pushed the thought out of my mind and continued my exploring.

Days went by, then weeks. I soon became bored with making the pirates' beds, mopping the floors, and kitchen duty. The first day I slacked off on my duties was the last. I was standing on the starboard side of the ship, gazing out into the seemingly eternal blue of the ocean, when a calloused hand spun me around, then harshly came into contact with my face. I fell to the deck, a sharp pain searing through my knee as it took the entire impact of my fall. The captain kicked his black leather boot into my stomach once, twice, three times. I rolled over in complete agony, blood trickling out of the corner of my mouth. "This be a warning to ye, lad. Slackers are not tolerated on me ship." and I heard his footsteps disappear into the distance. Willing myself not to cry, I clutched my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as possible. I'm not entirely sure how long I was on the ground. Finally, I rose slowly, supporting myself on the railing, and limped over to the miniscule cabin I had been staying in. I threw myself onto the cot covered by the ragged blanket and massaged the side of my face. It was as though Banks' hand had been burned into the side of my face. Sitting up agonizingly, I rolled up my breeches cautiously to reveal my knee, badly-bruised, but nothing serious. I rose unsteadily, then limped down to the kitchen to begin dinner for the pirates.

After a month or so more of this, I had received only a few beatings. Nothing as serious as the first. One pleasant morning, I got the courage to go find the captain. "Captain Banks…may I inquire as to where exactly we are headed?" I made a mental note to stop with the proper talk. Banks grunted, then replied,

"Tortuga, lad. Lost meself quite a few crewmembers at the last plunder. Need to find meself a few replacements." he muttered, half-drunk on rum, as always.

"And how long will it be until we arrive at…Tortuga?" I questioned. The captain glared at me.

"Stop asking so many damn questions, lad! I can jus' see land, so it'll be a day or so. Get back to work!" he barked at me, and I ran back down to the deck.

Another few days of mopping the decks and kitchen duty, and Tortuga was very close. That evening, we docked. I went to the captain, not entirely sure what I was to do. He pushed me out of the way gruffly, and stepped onto the dock. "You've got the night off lad. Do as you please," he grunted, spun around, and was gone. I was anxious to explore Tortuga.

It didn't take me long to realize that Tortuga was simply a place where a pirate came to get drunk, among other things. There were countless whores ready to throw themselves at any of the drunken pirates who stumbled across their paths. So much for the romance of a pirate's life I thought begrudgingly. I wandered into one of the many bars to find the same scene as outside…except more violent. There were about ten different fights going on in one small bar. A few drunken pirates were passed out in their seats. I wandered cautiously over to the bar.

"What'll it be, lad?" an old man with no teeth asked me. I hadn't planned on drinking. But I figured what the hell? Might as well get the full experience. I grabbed the rather dirty-looking mug and brought it slowly to my lips. I took a miniscule sip, not expecting to like it. I expected wrong. Surprisingly, for someone who had only ever had wine with dinner, I downed it quickly. I downed the next one even more quickly, and so on for another mug or two. A few hours later, I stumbled toward the exit. Unfortunately I came too close to one of the many fights going on, and a bottle was smashed over my head. I fell to the ground in an unconscious sleep.

Groaning miserably, I awoke the next morning to a quieter scene. The fights were done, and only a few pirates remained, passed out like myself. Rubbing my head, I felt that my bandana was stiff with dried blood. I couldn't exactly recall how that had happened, but I did know that I had what must have been the worst hangover in history. I ran (I use the term loosely) out of the bar and crouched behind a bush and discovered the downside of drinking. I made a mental agreement with myself to drink very sparingly from that moment on. I went back into the bar for some water to get the vile taste out of my mouth. I figured I should probably get back to the ship now anyway.

Walking unsteadily towards the dock, I began to worry. I had not seen anyone from Banks' crew since I had woken up. I began to walk more quickly towards the docks. To my horror, when I arrived, The Navigator was nowhere to be seen. They had abandoned me.

"BLOODY PIRATES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hot tears stinging at the corners of my eye. I tore my bandana off my blood-stained hair as it once again fell around my shoulders. I felt dizzy, partially from the hangover, partially from loss of blood in my head. I dropped to my knees, silent tears streaming down my face.

"Now, now…tha's not very nice, love," a vaguely familiar, slurred voice chided from behind me. Jumping to my feet and spinning around, I found myself face-to-face with Captain Jack Sparrow.

"You're…You're Captain Jack Sparrow!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. This seemed to please him as a grin formed it's way across his handsome face.

"Aye love, but how does one such as yourself become aware of this fact?" he questioned. I was smiling too at this point.

"I was there the day you escaped from Port Royal last year. Both times, for that matter. I used to live there until…recently," I explained, trying very hard to contain my excitement. He laughed reminiscently.

"Well, that explains that. But what brings you to Tortuga then, love?" I then figured I might as well tell him the story. I had nothing to lose at this point.

"Then I came out here not ten minutes ago, and the ship was gone," I finished angrily. To my surprise, he had actually been listening.

"Quite a story you got there, love. As fun as this has been, I've got to get back to my ship," he told me, swaggering away. For a stunned moment, I was silent.

"Wait! Please, Captain Sparrow!" I called after him. He stopped in his tracks, spinning around.

"Aye, love?"

"Please…take me with you! I swear I won't be a burden! I've got no one, nothing! Please?" I begged him. He seemed surprised and unconvinced.

"A'right, so say I take you with me…wha's in it for me, love?" he asked.

"Another crew member! I can pull the weight of any man on your ship, so long as you teach me the basics," I assured him. A single tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it away furiously. "Please. You're my only hope at this point," I told him seriously. He gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes.

"ALRIGHT…alright. But you shall pull your weight on the ship. You seem like a tough lass, so let's see you prove it," he agreed. "Do we have an accord?" he asked me, holding out his hand. I beamed a grin at him.

"We have an accord!" I agreed, taking his hand.

"I suppose I can't just leave you 'ere having such a vile opinion of pirates anyway," he commented, then I followed him around the island to where The Black Pearl was waiting. "I don't tie 'er up in Tortuga, too risky. So half the crew stays with 'er," he explained as he swaggered toward the fast-approaching ship, me following unsteadily.

"Captain Sparrow, I-"

"Please, jus' Jack will do, m'lady," he cut me off.

"Oh, alright. Well, Jack, I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to let me sail with you and your crew. I don't know what I would have done," I told him, my gratitude apparent.

"Well love, despite what you might 'ave 'eard, I'm not actually all that fierce and merciless, as the stories tell. Best be keepin' that to yourself though love, don't want to be losing my reputation," he told me. I smiled. "Love, I'm not sure I caught your name…"

"Oh! Forgive me…It's Hallie. Hallie O'Conner."

"Hallie, 'eh? Well Hallie, if I may call you Hallie, welcome aboard The Black Pearl!"

A/N: Well, hope you enjoyed that chapter…reviews would be greatly appreciated. Have nice night! (or day I suppose, depending on when you're reading this!)

Oh yea, once again, I do not own any of these characters except Hallie and the few I've made up…unfortunately (~cough cough JACK cough cough~) lol. Chapter four coming soon!