The Makings of a Pirate, by Hellborne

Pirates of the Caribbean - PG-13

Copyright: Characters, not mine, See the Mouse. Story, mine, but I make no money. He does, but not on this.

Typing convention. / is used for thoughts.

Summary: Jack Sparrow seems to be waging a personal war on slavery. Elizabeth and Will want to know WHY.

BETA: Pendragginink I love you! You are the greatest!!!!! I really can't say enough wonderful things about you!

A/N: Feed the plot ferrets or they'll bite you in the arse...and I won't write anything else.

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Chapter 4 - The Taming of the Commodore

On the second day, the wind changed, and the Pearl made much better time. The bay of Nevis opened up before them just before sunset. Her sails trimmed to ease into the bay, the Black Pearl docked at the British port. As they were sailing into port, the pirates quickly freed the soldiers, sailors and the officers and brought them all on deck. Norrington was nowhere in sight, though they had been told by Gillette that he was alive and well.

The gangplank was run out and lashed in place, and as the soldiers from the nearby fort came down, the prisoners poured out of the ship, warning the fort soldiers to stay back; that the pirates had their Commodore and that they were not there to sack Nevis. The instant that the last man stepped off the ship, the gangplank was pulled up and the Pearl tacked out of the bay, unhindered.

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Pintel entered the cabin without knocking. "Well chum, everyone's gone but you, and the Commodore wants you. He's at the helm." With that, he ushered Norrington out of the door and up the steps to the bridge. Jack was at the wheel, watching the horizon. Norrington could see that they were heading almost due west.

"Jimboy! Get up here now! When I call you I expect you to come immediately!"

Jack stood there with what appeared to be a paintbrush and a bottle of ink in one hand, the other in his jacket pocket. Norrington stood there, not knowing what the pirate had in store for him, watching him warily.

Jack's face was unreadable. He was not smiling, which worried Norrington, and his eyes were hard. There was something about his stance, however that didn't agree with his face. He sounded tired when he spoke. "Jimboy, you are about to start your training. Lesson 1, slaves do not look like commodores." He signaled to Pintel, who produced some rags that almost resembled breeches that had seen MUCH better days. "So, strip completely and put this on."

Norrington fumed, blushing. "Get moving, Jimboy. Slaves are not allowed the luxury of being embarrassed. Now strip before I have you stripped forcibly!"

Norrington changed into the rags as quickly as possible. When he finished, he looked at Jack and waited.

"Lesson 2. Your name is Jimboy, my name is master. You speak only under orders and when answering questions, and all answers end with my name. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes. You call me Jimboy and I call you master." CRACK! Norrington yelped in surprise and pain as the whip hit his back.

Jack's face was an impassive mask. "Lesson 3. Less is more. A simple 'Yes, master' was all that was required or wanted. Lesson 4. Punishment for slaves STARTS with the whip and progresses from there. Do you understand?"

Norrington had never seen the pirate like this. Even on the gallows, Jack had been able to smile. He couldn't fathom the change that had taken place, and even Sparrow's men seemed edgy. The only person that seemed to understand anything about what was happening was Pintel, who had the whip in his hand.. "Yes, master."

Jack smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Lesson 5. Slaves are branded." Norrington's eyes widened. "However, since this is hopefully a temporary condition, we shall use a temporary mark." He held up a small, flat, open, silk covered box with a brush, ink tray, inkstick and brush in it. "This ink is from China, as is the brush. The Chinese people use them together to write. The ink is permanent on paper, so it will come off of skin with enough time. Now then, come up here, sit on the ledge, and let's see your right leg. This won't hurt a bit, unlike a real slave branding."

Norrington did as he was told, realizing that he was DEFINITELY getting off easy on this part. Jack dipped the brush into the bottle of black ink, and deftly brushed a strange looking drawing on his leg. It was about two inches square and looked exotic.

Jack stepped back and admired his work. "That, Jimboy is 'Sparrow' as written in Chinese. Pretty little word, isn't it?"

Norrington looked at it. "Yes, master." He looked back at Jack.

"Next lesson. Slaves do not look at anyone straight in the eye. Further, when walking with their master, they stay one and a half paces behind, and run forward to open doors. So Jimboy, why are you looking at me, eh?" Norrington quickly looked down at Jack's feet.

"Good, Jimboy, you're learning quickly. Now, I'm afraid we do have one other problem. You are just plain too bloody tall. A slave's head must be lower than his master's at all times, so you are going to be bending in my presence. When I sit down, you kneel. Savvy?"

Norrington wanted to get this whole ordeal behind him quickly, so he stooped till his 6'1" height was brought down to a little under the pirate's mere 5'10". "Yes, Master." He could tell that this was going to be harder than he expected. His back already ached from it!

"Tha's bettah. Now, Jimboy, your first orders are to go to the galley, take my dinner to me cabin, and then go back to the galley for more duties there till I call for you. You shall follow all of these lessons at all times and refer to anyone you must talk to as 'master.' Do you understand?"

"Yes, master." Norrington left, looking for Ragetti.

During the next two days, the wind held steady, the Pearl running on the starboard tack. Norrington was kept chained in his original shackles whenever he wasn't working, and required to stand whenever he was not sleeping. The only times he found that he was not required to keep to the rules that Jack had given him was when he was alone in the galley with Ragetti, who he would swear was doting on him like a mother! The one eyed pirate made sure that Norrington had enough to eat by having him "taste" all of the food to be sure that it was good enough for Jack. He made sure he rested, handing him a knife and potato for appearances, having him sit down and relax, while he peeled and chopped the potatoes himself. He taught the commodore the recipes for all of the oriental food he could make, and was quite proud when the navy man made a complete meal for Jack that tasted almost as good as his own cooking. Norrington noticed that food sent to Sparrow was coming back half eaten or less.

During the third day, nobody came to the Captain's Cabin to unchain him.

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TBC

A/N: Hey! Let's not forget to hit the REVIEW button on the way out!