"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

Chapter 6

Governor Swann: Elizabeth, how's it coming?
Elizabeth Swann: It's hard to say.
Governor Swann: I'm told it's the latest fashion in London.
Elizabeth Swann: Well, women in London must have learned not to breathe!

Author's Note: Egad! How did it take me so long? *ponders* Well…I don't know. But here's a new chapter! And…it may be odd, but oh well, huh? Unfortunately, I still can't guarantee how often I'll get them out. But now that I'm starting to get back into the swing of things here at college (and it's half way through…go figure) chances are good that they'll be more often. Though…I'm gonna need more ideas of what exactly is supposed to happen…Hmm…

Disclaimer: *picks up phone* Moshi moshi! Nope, nope, owner, creator, and mastermind behind PotC? Me? Sorry… wrong number.

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Amy was tense as she sat next to Jack in the longboat. Tortuga got closer and closer…and her anxiety grew and grew. Sparrow noticed this, but was in the presence of his crew. He would deal with it later. But for now, he set a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing to worry about, love. I'll be keeping an eye out for you."

"Thank you, Captain." Amy numbly replied, staring at the town with an expression unmistakably nervous.

Jack bade his crew a good day and put his arm over Amy's shoulders, strolling down the street in his usual fashion. This forced Amy to have an uneven gait, but she didn't mind. Jack was there, his arm over his shoulder, and he had guaranteed that he'd keep her safe. She could handle a little flirting if it meant not being harassed or worse by the other pirates here. Especially if it was Jack.

The first order of business was getting a room. Amy got anxious as Jack only got one room, but tucked away the worry as a meal was mentioned. She'd been wanting to keep something in her stomach and not have it return ever since losing her first meal.

As the food was laid out before, Amy looked at it for a moment before glancing up at Jack who was already starting in on his. Taking a deep breath, she tentatively grabbed what she presumed was the leg of some bird and bit into it. The flavor's not what I'm used to…but it's food. She gradually became more comfortable and enjoyed most of her meal. The bread was rock solid so she left it be after giving it a few taps on her plate. At which Jack smirked and even let out a chuckle.

While allowing her stomach to revel in it's renewed purpose she watched the customers that could be observed without her gaze being noticed. She was no pirate, but knew when not to attract attention to herself. Which was hard not to do with her clothing. Luckily she was wearing Jack's coat again so most of her strange attire was covered. Fights occurred here and there - which Amy's eyes widened at -, strumpets and serving girls mingled amongst the customers. And she did her best to not return the gazes that fell on her. A pair of particularly loud customers barged in the inn/tavern and she looked to them with wide eyes. They were obviously two female pirates, apparently straight out of some fanfic. Complete with scanty attire and armed to the teeth. Jack looked up and followed her gaze.

"Female pirates…I thought they were rare."

He sighed and slumped a bit more. "All too common, unfortunately."

Amy raised an eyebrow and leaned down a bit, lowering her voice. "Did you have a bad run-in with any?"

Sparrow rubbed his temple. "Royal pains, they are…" He grumbled under her breath and Amy blushed as she heard the continuation of his sentence.

Okay…it's confirmed that he doesn't like them. Check. "So…" Amy tapped her fingers on the table. "What else should we do, Captain Sparrow?"

He looked her up and down, which made her blush again. "You'll need some proper attire. Especially if you want to fit in here."

She looked to the table. "I don't have any money…but I don't want to use yours…"

"Nay, lass. You'll just repay me in chores aboard the Pearl later on."

"All right." She smiled weakly. "Did you want to go now?"

Sparrow snuck a glance at one of the female pirates and nodded. "Best to get out quietly." Dropping a couple coins on the table, he headed for the door, Amy hurrying to his side and grabbing his arm as she almost got caught up in a few fist fights on the way there.

As they reached the outside air, Amy let herself reflect back on the female pirates. That's crazy…I guess all those rpger's I mock really are basing them off someone real… weird.

"You, Sparrow!"

She felt him tense and looked back as he did. It was the female pirates from the inn…

"Charity!" he called out, forcing a smile and turning all the way around, Amy moving with him. She wasn't about to let go in a place like Tortuga.

One - who had long blonde hair that Amy would have died for - put her hands on her hips and her other companion - a gorgeous redhead - crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. Amy looked to them curiously.

"Who's that?" the redhead asked, pointing at Amy, a scowl quickly forming.

She looked to Sparrow and bit her lip. He was about to answer but was interrupted by the blonde.

"You didn't desert me for that scrawny brat, now did you Sparrow?"

"Of course not, love," he began nervously.

"Scrawny?" Amy growled. She didn't like the scowls and mockery the two women wore. I might be short, but that's a bit much.

All three pirates looked to her in surprise. The women were surprised the girl had a voice, and Jack was shocked to hear so much authority in it. Truth be told, she hadn't expected to be so loud nor forceful.

"What was that, brat?" the blonde sneered at Amy.

"Charity right?"

Jack and the women nodded.

Amy let go of Sparrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm glad to see you living up to your name. Lettin' the whole world see your assets. Sure you're willing to accommodate those poor men in any way possible."

The woman narrowed her eyes dangerously, the redhead gaining the same expression. "You little-"

"Now, now, Amy love," Sparrow put his arm over Amy's shoulders and pulled her next to him. "That's no way to talk to Charity…In fact, it's best not to talk to her at all."

"What is she to you anyway, Sparrow?" Charity growled at the pirate captain.

"Just…"

"He's mine." Amy pulled out of Sparrow's grip and slid easily into a self-defense stance. A friend of hers had taught her some martial arts, so she knew at least how to look like she knew what she was doing. She smirked and seemed to beckon them, her fists waiting to block or punch. "And if you think you can claim him so easily you'll have me to answer to."

This resulted in…staring. Sparrow couldn't comprehend the sudden transformation the small girl had undertaken and the two female pirates couldn't believe their eyes. They were actually being challenged by the girl who had been practically quivering at Jack's side. Charity and the redhead began to chuckle to themselves.

"Is that so?" Charity asked, watching for Amy to waver. When she didn't, she looked to her companion. "Gwen, shall we see just how good she is?"

"Aye, Charity. Let's see just daring the squiffy is."

"Squiffy?" Amy growled, and fought back tensing as the two women advanced. "I may not be the strongest person here, but I can guarantee you'll die of some nasty disease at the rate of men you're bedding."

Gwen laughed. "Oh really? And why is that?"

Amy's smirk broadened. Perhaps that STD section of health really is helpful… "You ever been itchy or had a discoloration of your urine or feces?"

"What?" Charity asked, bewildered.

All three pirates were caught off guard.

"Answer the question. Either of you had any symptoms like that?"

Gwen scoffed. "We wouldn't tell you even if we did."

Amy sighed and shrugged, being careful not to lose her footing as she did so. "All right, but it's your own fault for ignoring the symptoms predicting your death."

"Prove it," Charity growled.

"I happen to be a virgin, so I'm not in threat of any of those kinds of diseases. You could have anything ranging from Gonorrhea to Crabs."

"C-crabs?" Gwen stuttered, blushing. "W-what's that?"

"Just what it sounds like. Tiny crabs crawling around on your body. Leave rashes and worse. That's not even one of the worst. There still isn't a cure for Herpes. Come to think of it, I don't think there are any cures for that… yet."

"He-herpes?" Charity played idly with her sword hilt, a look of concern coming onto her face as well.

Jack watched this all in awe. What is the world is she talking about? At least Gwen and Charity aren't threatening her life anymore. He let the confusion come onto his face as the two pirates leaned down to listen to Amy whisper and then gasped, fleeing in a mad dash immediately afterwards.

"What was that?" Sparrow asked.

Amy grinned at him. "Just a show of my schooling."

"You learn about diseases from sex?"

Nodding dismally she slung his arm over her shoulders again and turned him around, continuing along their walk to the store Sparrow had planned on taking her to. "Part of it, yeah. I always hated that section. I swear we got it every three years or so…disgusting stuff, really."

"So you weren't making that up?"

Amy shook her head. "Nope. I may have mixed up some facts, but they wouldn't know the difference anyway. But…what about those clothes?"

"Aye…" he forced a grin and let his mind wander. It was best not to ponder what Amy had told Charity and Gwen.

She grinned to herself and spoke under her breath. "Man…didn't think that I'd remember that much…"

"Remember what, love?"

"Well…" Amy smiled nervously up at Sparrow. "I was in a starting position for a fighting style. A martial art, per say. I uh…have only had a few lessons."

Sparrow raised his eyebrows. "So you were bluffing?"

"Mostly." She shrugged. "I might have gotten a punch on them or something…but I doubt I could hit very hard. Nor have accuracy."

"Ah," he nodded. "Where did you learn this…'martial art'?"

"My friend Sean. He's pretty good. And…as you can tell, I look vulnerable. And mostly am." She sighed. "So I asked him how to defend myself. He would have shown me more, but we've both gotten busy."

Sparrow nodded again. This girl just keeps getting more and more interesting…

Once they reached the dress shop, Amy's eyes only got wider. She'd seen pictures of reenactments and such, but never seen so many dresses that just…fit the time period. Then again…it would make sense in this situation.

"Let's see…" Sparrow stopped next to a stack of dresses and began to sift through them. "What color would you prefer, love?"

"Um…not pink. And I think yellow would stand out horribly. But I like green a lot."

He nodded and pulled out a green dress, shaking it out and looking between the dress and her. It would have to be hemmed an awful lot…and likely taken in. Amy was rather petite and well…wasn't truly a buxom beauty. "We'll keep this one in mind."

"Um…Captain?"

"Aye?" he started on a second pile.

"Could I wear breeches and a shirt instead? I've never really been fond of dresses…" She began to speak faster as he looked over at her with wide eyes. "And I would be able to get around easier. No skirt to trip on, I could do chores and such much easier. A dress would just make things harder."

"I suppose you have a point. But if you ever want to be seen in respectable society, you'll need a dress."

"What about this one, then?" She reached up and lightly grabbed the skirt of a dark emerald green dress. It wasn't fancy by any means, but had a subtle elegance to it. "If it's too much, that's fine. But I like it."

He nodded and managed to get the dress off the wall, then held it beside her. It appeared to be far closer to her size, and wouldn't even require much hemming. "Let's see about the price then, shall we?"

"Aye, aye!" She beamed and took the dress when he handed it to her, folding it gently. It's so beautiful…I'm gonna have to work really hard to make up for this.

Sparrow then sorted through some shirts and breeches, coming out with a few pairs.

"Um…what about shoes?" Amy asked softly. Her tennis shoes were going to be filthy if she didn't find something else. Even if she wearing other period clothing, all hope of fitting in would be gone if she still had them on.

Sparrow glanced down at her feet. "Aye. Back here then."

Amy let him pile the other clothing into her arms, and didn't mind a bit. Besides, he would be paying for it. The least she could do was carry it in the store. Reaching the back wall, Sparrow scanned the assorted pairs of boots. Her eyes went wide. Wow…if I could even just have a pair of boots…wow…

"How big are your feet?"

"Uh…size seven or eight, but I don't know what you call it here."

Sparrow looked to her and waved his head at the counter the boots sat on. "Up there then. We'll need them to fit well."

Amy nodded and set the other clothing on the floor, then pulled herself up on the counter. "Want me to try them on, then?"

He nodded and handed her a boot. Slipping off her shoe, she set it next to her and tried to slip it on. This happened without any trouble and she sighed, pulling it off.

"Much too big."

So she tried another. And another. And yet another. Sparrow was getting tired of this, she could tell. There were only a few more pairs and Amy pointed to the one on the end. "That one looks like the right size. Let's try it."

"All right," Sparrow mumbled, handing it to her.

It took a bit of work, but she managed to slip it on. Wiggling her toes and waving her foot a bit, she grinned.

"Perfect!"

He nodded and helped her pull it off, then grabbed the other. Amy slipped her other shoe on, hopped off the counter and followed Sparrow to the desk where a woman stood, clothes piled in her arms once more.

Sparrow cringed as he handed out the coins, but despite Amy's assurance that she didn't need that many he paid for them all. They then headed back to the inn and Amy beamed all the way there.

While Jack looked after finding a bath, Amy locked the door to the room he had rented and slipped into her new attire. She tried on the dress, but decided to stick to breeches and a shirt. Smiling as she looked at herself, a knock came on the door that made her jump.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Your captain, now open up."

Amy hurried to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open wide in one swift motion. Sparrow blinked at her for a moment.

"It fits then?"

She nodded. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"Just follow me downstairs. You said you wanted to bathe, right?"

Amy grinned. "You found one? That's great!"

"Grab the key, and lock it on the way out," he mumbled, turning and going back out.

She did so exuberantly.

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Reviewers! Sorry I leave you hanging so much…

Aerial: Thanks! Hope you didn't go insane…that would be a definite misfortune…

Kristin: Thanks! Yeah…I tried to make it realistic, but nobody's perfect, huh? Plus…I just blame her not flipping out more/earlier on shock. Plus she's been obsessed with the place…dream come true, right?

KawaiiRyu: Wow! You're here too! And you can relate? *grins* So can I! *pause* Wait…I'm writing a self-insertion…of course I can! *slaps forehead* Anyhoo… sorry about the no-kissy thing. But…before I'd been kissed…it was a major hesitation. But there's no guarantee it won't happen sometime…*smirk*