Disclaimer: Mari is mine. In fact, in many ways, she is me. I own nothing else, b/c of those pesky restraining orders. I didn't know that pirates could file those....



"It all started, really, long before young Mari was born," Jack began. They sat in the Turners' parlor. Jack sprawled in a chair with his favorite beverage, Mari had donned clean clothes and was sitting similarly on the other side of the room. She also held her own portion of alcohol, and had already drained half of the cup.

Will and Elizabeth had settled on a couch between them, both wondering dimly if this was strictly a safe position. Clearly, the two pirates had no qualms about hurling things at one another, and with rum inside they might not have the best aim.

"That was also long before Barbossa; then the Pearl's first mate was a Scottish lass named Ruthie." Jack smiled a bit here. "They called her Ruthie the Ruthless, or Ruth the Black. Depended on the ocean we happened to be plundering. Your dad, Will, was on board then, too, and the three of us was thick as thieves." He gulped some rum. "Well, actually we were thieves, so that makes a lot of sense. Anyway, we were all young and thought ourselves unstoppable. I, of course, have long proven myself to be unstoppable, as I'm Captain Jack Sparrow..."

"Come to the point, Jack," Will said, as the pirate seemed willing to go on in that vein for a while.

"Keep your britches buttoned, young William, I'm on my way. Every story needs a bit of color. At any rate, we all do rather stupid things when we're in our twenties," Jack looked about at the others in the room. All of whom were in their twenties. He coughed lightly. "One of the stupid things the three of us happened to do was cross a man named Captain Samuel Sangre. He's the fiercest pirate in the sea-"

"I thought that was you?" Mari said dryly. Her father gave her an exasperated look.

"I'm the most cunning, my lass. There's quite a bit of difference. So, Sangre is the fiercest, most bloodthirsty pirate in the waters. I watched him rip a man's intestines out and hang him –still alive- by his ankles from the yardarm. Took him three days to die."

Elizabeth gasped at this; Will swallowed and took her hand.

"We came upon his ship, the Kraken, near Madagascar. We didn't think anyone was aboard, so Bootstrap, Ruthie, and myself decided to take a bit of plunder from his vessel. Y'know, make a name for ourselves. What we didn't know was that the treasure we stole was cursed. Sangre had taken from the Sirens themselves. And the Sirens don't take kindly to being stolen from. They come into a man's mind and drive him mad, until he finally ends his own life, thus paying the debt that the Sirens demand." Jack drained his mug and set it down, leaning forward in his seat. Will and Elizabeth did the same. Mari, having heard the story before, didn't move, but her eyes were fixed on Jack, nonetheless.

"But, Sangre's debt was changed a bit, because his situation was rather unique. He didn't have all the treasure with him for the Sirens to claim when they forced him to suicide. So, the she-devils drove him to claim the blood of those who had taken their treasure. They demanded four souls, our three in addition to his. Well, ruddy bad for him, Ruthie died in fever and Bootstrap sent to the depths before he could claim either of them. So, for years, I was Sangre's only target. Until the Sirens discovered some of our secrets."

Here Mari shifted slightly as all eyes fixed on her.

"They found that both Bootstrap and Ruthie had progeny," she said softly. "It only made the situation sweeter that I was Sparrow's daughter as well. Sangre was told, then, not only to kill the thieves, but their blood as well." Mari gestured absently as she told the tale. "Jack and Bootstrap had taken me aboard the Pearl, when I was three, after Mum died. Seven years we ran from Sangre. By then, the crew had changed so much that it was no longer common knowledge that Jack and Bootstrap were being hunted, and neither did most of them know whose whelp I was.

"At any rate," Mari continued, "when I was twelve, the whole incident wi' Barbossa screwed the devil out o' everything. Jack was marooned; Bootstrap more'n likely dead, and me on Tortuga, carvin' my own reputation as the pirate Mari Cutlass."

"We think," Jack put in, "that Sangre lost the trail when we all split up. And I've heard that one curse confuses another. Handy little thing, that."

"Didn't work for long," Mari retorted. "Accordin' to you, he caught up to us in England, where he gave you a gift in lead. Two of 'em to be precise. I should know; I'm the one that carved them out of you before you handed me over to the British Royal Navy."

"It's easier to get away from the Navy than from Sangre. The Navy goes by rules. And with you in jail, I was the only one for Sangre to chase."

"You must have lost him eventually, though, because I just ran into him not long ago on me own vessel," Mari smiled a bit. "The Crimson Cutlass. Beautiful boat- I mean, ship. That's what happened to me leg. Twisted bloody son of a devil; he turned me hand so that I would impale meself, then came on me with a mace. He tossed me overboard, and I washed up on the shore. I managed my way into town unseen, and the rest...well, the rest you know."

"So, presumably, Sangre would be after me, as well?" Will asked quietly.

"Aye, mate. Sorry about that; I truly didn't know you were Bootstrap's boy. Should have guessed, though. You're just like him."

Will tossed Mari a weak smile.

"What happened to your ship?" Elizabeth asked the female pirate. "After you...left it, I mean."

Mari shrugged. "I imagine if Sangre didn't take it over, they kept to the code. No matter; I'll find them in any case. Determination is in me blood."

"Hereditary, that," Jack murmured proudly. Mari stretched languidly, fixing her gaze on the ceiling.

"Learned, that," she corrected. "From necessity." Jack opened his mouth to say something that undoubtedly would have begun another argument. Before he could, however, Will jumped in with a change of subject.

"The paper that Mari handed you earlier," he said quickly, "what was on it?"

Jack dug into his jacket to find the crumpled parchment and handed it to Will. Drawn precisely in the center was a black spot, exactly like those given to pirates marked for death. But, this spot was ever so carefully rimmed in dark red; it was not a red that could be made with ink. Will swallowed carefully.

"It's a blood promise," Mari explained, seeing the blacksmith's face. "A geas that Sangre must pay the whole of his debt before the Sirens end his madness. All of us would have been marked before long, and no doubt."

Will frowned. "Not all of us. Elizabeth isn't related to any of the thieves by blood. Why would Sangre want her?"

Here, Jack and Mari sent Elizabeth slightly amused looks.

"Waiting for the opportune moment, love?" Jack asked lightly. Elizabeth blushed.

"Now's as opportune as they get," Mari told her. Elizabeth clasped her husband's hand, and looked deeply into his eyes.

"I came into this family by marriage," she whispered, "but I still carry your blood." Elizabeth placed Will's hand on her abdomen.

"Will...I'm pregnant."



A/N: Am I good, or am I just gooood? Heh, heh, how do you like my new lil plot twist? There's more to come, I assure you! Please, review me, :P

Thank yous and hugs to my current reviewers: freak and proud, BlackJack, Takada Saiko, and SonofAnthronis and Samluvsbanana. I love to hear what you think!