Redberry Greenleaf : Thank you! We're so glad you enjoy our little story! Don't we all have those embarrassing situations from time to time:D

Orlandoschick08: He he, maybe you'll find out soon?

I want to be a pirate
A pirate's life for me
All my friends are pirates
And sail the B. B. sea
I've got a Jolly Roger
It's black and white and vast
Get out of your Skull and Crossbones
And I'll run it up your mast

- George Harrison

The full moon clearly outlined the four figures moving across the beach. They disappeared under an outcrop without being spotted by the Port Royal Guard.

Jack swore. "Bloody moon, can't get a boat in now!"

"Those clouds look like they'll cover it soon," Doll pointed out, eager to help – and to make Jack relax. Despite her fascination she was still a little afraid. He was bound to turn into a blood-thirsty monster at any moment.

Minutes passed in silence; sound carried too well to have any conversation. Doll was deadly afraid that her father would have time to change his mind. She looked down at her clothes, carefully chosen for the occasion with help from Lijah. A dark green dress in a thick material that would keep her warm and hide her when they moved around in the night. She glanced nervously at her bag to check that nothing peeked out. She had noticed the way Lijah had put the white dress back with great reluctance, and it wasn't as if she used it all that often… She'd just have to wait for the right time when they got onto the…

"Boat!" Delila whispered loudly. Doll and Will looked up. Far out, a small rowing boat was approaching the shore. Doll's heart raced faster as it approached. There was only one man in it, with his back turned as he moved with fast, silent and steady strokes. Soon the boat scratched the sand of the beach, and he jumped out and looked around, his features clearly visible in the light.

Doll gasped and gaped, barely aware that someone pulled her towards the figure. He was tall, at least as tall as Jack, but with dark blond, curly hair that reached his shoulders. He was broad-shouldered and muscular, that much was visible under his short-sleeved shirt, which was wet with salt ocean water. His face and arms were tanned, and his eyes a sparkling, mesmerizing blue. Doll realised that she was standing right in front of him, barely aware that she had moved at all.

"Doll, Will," Delila said, "this is my first mate, Rolf Doersechs."

The handsome young man gazed upon the party, taking in both familiar and new faces. His eyes finally settled on Doll, noticing her pale complexion and delicate features. He looked at Delila, grinning.

"Well Ebony, seems you finally found your Ivory."

Delila rolled her eyes and swatted her first-mate playfully on the shoulder. "Don't mind him, he fancies himself a poet." She said to Doll, laughing softly. "And just so you know it, handsome," she looked straight into Rolf's bright blue eyes, "these nice people will be our guest for this trip. I take you remember my father?" At this Rolf turned slightly red, mumbling something like 'how could I forget?', and coughed. Delila smiled at his obvious discomfort, and turned towards her guests. "This is Mister Will Turner, and your Ivory is his daughter, Dolores Turner. I expect her to be treated with the same respect and courtesy as you show your captain." She smirked, winking at Doll. "As a matter of fact, you might refer to her as 'Captain Turner' from now on."

Doll was dumbstruck from all of this, and it hardly got better when Rolf gentlemanly helped her into the boat. Luckily, another cloud passed the moon and hid her blush in the darkness. And as she thought she had started to catch up with everything, Rolf's steady oar strokes had taken them around a tall, ragged rock in the waters outside Port Royal, and two ships came into view.

Doll looked at her father, who was looking at one of the ships with a sort of grim determination Jack, too, was paying close attention to his reaction. But then Doll turned towards the ships again, unable to keep her eyes off of them. One was easy to recognise, even if she had never seen it in real life before. Only read and heard the stories, and a faint memory of her mother's voice rang through her mind:

"A ship with black sails, that was crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out…"

The clouds had left the moon, and in a dark silhouette against the Caribbean sky were the sails of the Black Pearl.

Someone nudged her arm, and a hand pointed past her and towards the other ship.

"That one's mine!"

"Ain't she a beauty?" Delila said in a proud voice, waving her hand excitedly. "She may not be a match for 'The Pearl' when it comes to size and speed, but she's got it where it counts!"

Rolf, who had stopped rowing to let everyone take in the sights, chuckled. "Much like her captain." He said with a sly wink, starting to row again with slow, even strokes.

Delila gave him a sidewise glance, as if checking to see if he was making fun of her. It was hard to tell with Rolf, his face was always smiling and open, but no matter how close she got to him she had never been able to fully understand him. It had often amazed her how such a simple man could be so deep. She shrugged. "That's right, and you better not forget it!"

After what seemed like an eternity they finally reached their destination. The ship was full-rigged like 'The Pearl', but here the similarities ended. It wasn't heavily decorated like 'Pearl', but was instead made of lines and curves that accented the boat, and made it seem elegant and light. She did not appear to be a warship, there were a lack of canons, and the general feel of the vessel was that it was not made for destruction. It was surprisingly not sailing under a black flag; instead it seemed to be red, with a pattern of gold interlaced. Delila looked at the ship's figurehead; a woman with her arms stretched towards the sky, and felt her heart bursting with joy. She beamed at the others. "Welcome to my 'Freedom'."

Will was barely aware of the girls talking in the other end of the small boat. The sight of the Pearl had filled him with a deep calm that he couldn't quite explain. Jack watched as his tense muscles seemed to relax, and he settled into a more comfortable position. He no longer looked out of place in the old, solid clothes he had brought, which weren't anywhere near the elegant clothes he had worn earlier that day. The years seemed to flow off him as the guarded mask of a man of nobility seemed to melt into a small smile. An arm flung over his shoulders shook Will out of whatever daydream – or nightdream, as it were – he had been in.

"It's all coming back, eh?" Jack said with a soft grin. Will shrugged, but his smile widened a bit. "Tell you what, let the giglet take care of yer lass. No one will lay a hand on the good captain Turner, lest Rolf and my girl rip'em a new one. Then ye can meet some new people, some old ones, get to know the feel of the ship, you know."

Will nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the ship. "Yes. I'd like that."

Jack smacked Rolf's broad back to get the man's attention. "Hear that, boy? Get me and the whelp over to the Pearl, then I'll leave the ladies to ye."

Rolf smiled broadly and nodded. "Trust me, cap'n, I'll take care of them."

A few minutes later, when they were safely aboard the ship, Will barely had time to see his daughter climb onto 'Freedom' before people demanded his and Jack's attention. He saw familiar and unfamiliar faces, some friendly and some hostile. Finally, one that was both familiar and somewhat friendly pulled him aside as Jack started shouting orders. Anamaria winked and pulled him towards the door to the captain's cabin.

"I won't say that my captain isn't an idiot for bringing aboard a landlubber, young Turner," she said sternly, but her eyes glittered with humour. "But I knew you'd come back one day." She leaned in a bit and added: "but if you try to utter a single order on this ship, I'll introduce you to the fine old tradition of keelhauling, savvy?"

Will nodded quickly; someone knew how to carry a grudge… Then she pushed him into the capin and closed the door behind him, and he was alone.

When Delila finally sat foot on the familiar deck of 'Freedom', it felt as she had come home. She had been away from her precious ship for only a few weeks, visiting her father and helping him out with his 'trading'. But there was no place like home. Jack had 'commandeered' the ship for her 14th birthday, and in the four years she's owned it she'd gradually spent more and more time on it. It was truly becoming her home. And now she had someone else to share it with. She turned towards Doll, who seemed captivated by all the new sights and impressions, and smiled. She knew the feeling. She felt the same way all those years ago, when she first sat her foot on 'The Pearl'. It was an amazing thing, seeing something as magnificent for the first time. But there was no time for dilly-dallying. Tonight there was going to be a party. She glanced over at Rolf, but he was busy with the ropes.

"Hey, Doll, ready to get a taste of the life of a pirate?"

Oh my, two young girls and a bottle of rum! How in the world will this end?