Um, yes, to the one and only person who has given me a reiew, Thank you. And about your comment that Jack had probably impregnated many others, Rose was the only one he knew about. Remember? Or maybe you dont know that, well, you do now!! ;)

Also, he will find out a few other dark family secrets later on. hehe.

CHAPTER EIGHT

When the light came in and shone directly on y face, I awoke peacefully and sat up. I stretched my arms above my head and sighed. From the bed I could see the window and it looked like a beautiful morning. I pulled the covers slowly off myself and stretched again, letting all of my muscles regain their blood flow. I then stood up and walked into the bathroom. The mirror was still somewhat fogged from the previous night, as my father had shut the bathroom door after carrying me to my bed. I remembered the previous night with a pang of sorrow. What I had dreamt had seemed so real. I felt my head hit the wall, but I concluded that it must have just been me hitting my head on the bathtub. I cleaned the mirror with the other towel, the one that was not on the floor. I then went back to my bed, picked up the towel, and hung it on the bathroom door. I then went to my bag and saw that there was nothing in it. No clothes even. My father had taken everything out and put it in its place already. He was such a good father. Which was interesting, because he had really never been a father until two days ago. This was only his third day being a father, and he was really very good at it already.

I walked over to the closet, which, to my surprise was quite roomy. My clothes were all pushed to the left side, except for one item, which I did not recognize. All I could make of it from the way it was hanging was that it was the most beautiful color of deep midnight blue that I had ever seen. It looked rather large, and it reached from the hanger, which was at my shoulder length, all the way to the floor. When I saw this, I knew for certain that it had not belonged to me. I took it out of the closet, laid it on the table that had been placed in the center of the room, and looked at it. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was a deep, midnight blue, with white and silver lining. It reminded me of the night sky. I studied the intricate stitch-work and wondered how anyone here could have acquired such an exquisite dress. Then it dawned on me: his was a ship full of pirates. How could I have forgotten? Then I spied a letter pinned to the dress with a beautiful hair comb attached to it. The comb was encrusted with deep blue gems and white, pure gems in it. It matched the dress perfectly. I put the comb down and read the letter.

"My dearest daughter,

This dress has been made especially for you. I did not steal it, for it was to be special. Though the money I had paid with was not originally mine, but the dress is yours and was never anyone else's. I love you with all of my black heart and I want you to know that you are welcome on the Pearl until you choose to leave. The comb was made especially to match the dress, with sea emerald and diamonds encrusted in it. If yo go to the desk and look in the top drawer you will find a necklace and a pair of earrings. These are made of pearl I myself found in the sea. None of this gift is stolen. It is all made just for you, my little flower. There will be a celebration on the ship tonight, and I would much appreciate it if you would wear the dress and all that goes with it to attend."

I was a bit confused by this, as I had assumed I was supposed to be a man, but I resolved to ask later and kept reading.

"The party is to celebrate the coming of two new crewmembers. We will celebrate promptly at 7:00; however, I hope to see you before then. Today you will meet the crew. You will be sleepin' in my quarters for the remainder of the journey, so you don't need to worry about being a lad, that plan is spoiled, thanks to Chaman and his mouth. Anyway, get ready and I will see you when you come out on deck.

See you soon,

Captain Jack Sparrow.

Father."

I hung the dress back in the closet with a smile on my face, a smile bigger than I had ever smiled. I knew he really, really cared...

I went into the bathroom and bathed, washing and drying my hair, then, out of sheer randomness, I decided to brush my hair. When it was all brushed, I looked in the mirror. I looked so... feminine. I actually liked it. After I was all dry, I made my way over to the closet with an air of contentment. I opened the door lazily and peered at all of my clothes. I decided upon a pair of black pants, leather knee-high boots, an off-white shirt, a dark brown leather vest (which was actually made for a small man, but fit well), and a deep, deep red-brown piece of cloth to keep my hair back. I got dressed and fixed my outfit and tweaked random parts of it until I was satisfied with my newfound femininity, and stepped out onto the deck.

"'Ello, love," I turned around to see my father looking at my outfit with a small smirk on his dark face, "do ye insist on looking that nice even just to learn to fight?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." I said, mocking his mockery of my feminine side finally showing through.

"Alright then," he said, "shall we begin?"

"Yes," I replied, confident in the swordsman skills I had acquired thus far in life as a woman of Tortuga.

"Good," he said plainly. And with that, he picked up his sword, I drew my sword, and my learning began.