AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this story out of boredom, so I don't know if I'll be able to finish it. I submitted a plot very similiar to this a long time ago, so some of you might have seen this before. Umm, original POTC don't belong to me. The others do. Well, enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

The sun was beginning to sink, casting a warm pink and orange spell into the sky. The sound of crickets began to echo across the deserted beach, mixing with the calm waves of the ocean. All around her the world was getting ready for sleep, her favorite time of the day. Some of the stars were even shining through.

She looked away from the sun and watched as her little toy boat bobbed up and down on the water, the tiny wooden doll sitting near the mast smiling up at her. She bent down, being careful not to get the hem of her dress wet, and pushed the toy away from her. On its own as if it were a real boat, it slowly made its way through the water, destination aimed directly for the horizon.

The little girl sighed sadly, wishing that she too was small enough to ride that boat to the unknown. She began to imagine the adventures she would go on, the fish that would guide her and talk to her, the dolphins that would entertain her and play with her. And the ocean that would stretch out as far as the eye could see all around her; a world that she is free to explore.

"Lilian!"

The little girl turned around. She saw her father standing at the beach.

"Lilian, get back here!"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Come back, girl!" her father called again.

The little girl, Lilian, gave up. She quickly splashed through the water to retrieve her boat and began walking back to shore. Now she regretted not going farther out into the ocean where her father won't be able to call for her.

----

"What are you doing all the way out there?" Michael Bonham said as he held out his hand for his little daughter to take. "Do you want the sharks to nibble at your toes?"

"I was just testing out the boat," Lilian replied. The two began walking across the sandy beach, the sun throwing its last golden rays upon them.

"Well, next time you do that be sure to let me know, love. You know it upsets me when you run off like that."

"Sorry," Lilian apologized.

Michael squeezed her tiny hand. "So how did the boat go?"

The little girl's bright blue eyes lit up. "It floated like a real one, Daddy! It didn't sink like the last one!"

"Ah, see I told you your dad can build boats better than any man on the Atlantic! You should've came to me first instead of buying that old rusted one from that shop."

Lilian was skipping excitedly now, still clutching her father's palm. "You're the best boat builder in the world, Daddy! But I want you to build a bigger boat, one where I can sail in it!"

Michael laughed his big hearty laugh. "But where you gonna sail to if I do?"

Lilian stopped skipping and seemed to have lost herself in thought. "Anywhere," she replied after a while. "... Everywhere."

Michael looked down at his daughter. She was clutching her toy boat rather closely to her heart, her big eyes clouded over in imagination. A feeling of happiness welled up inside him. A few months ago, he would never have thought his little girl would be the one to share the same love for the ocean as much as he did. He had expected his son Liam, who is Lilian's twin brother, to be the one, but he only likes to sail for fish. A sporty young lad he is, and Michael can tell that he's going to grow up to be a strong dependable man. Michael couldn't be more proud. But he felt closer to his daughter now that he knows that she's meant for sea-faring.

Lately, he hasn't been spending much time with her as he does with Liam but he plans to make up for it by taking her on little adventures on the ocean. He can show her how to use a compass, where the eastern shoals are, and everywhere else that he knows she'll enjoy exploring on the sea.

"Sure, love." Michael let go of her hand to ruffle her long black hair. "I'll build you a boat that can take you to the farthest stars in heaven if you'd like."

Lilian looked up at him hopefully. "Really? You will?"

Michael smiled. "I will."

"Dad! Dad!"

The two of them looked up. A little boy, the splitting image of Lilian except with shorter hair, came running up to them, holding an oar in his hands.

"Look!" said the boy, Liam, excitedly. "I think I fixed it!"

He handed the oar to his father, who examined it carefully. The oar had broken almost in half on a coral reef when they were out sailing for fish a while ago. They had to stop on this deserted island in order to fix it. Now it looks like the problem is solved. Liam seemed to have found some very strong banana leaves among the lush vegetation surrounding the cliffs and had tied the oar up in many thick layers. It held it together very firmly.

"Well, look at that," Michael said, impressed. "The work of a professional handy man, that is! Good job Liam, my boy!"

Liam swelled up his chest in pride.

Lilian just glared at him. He always gets all the praise, she thought angrily of her twin.

"But just in case," Michael continued, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a brown jar with white powder in it. "We need to cover it in waterproof plaster. C'mon, Liam! I'll show you how to mix this stuff and put it to the oar!"

"Right!" Liam said happily.

The two men ran off back towards the row boat, which was parked a good ways off, leaving Lilian by herself. Again. It isn't the first time that Liam always grabs the attention away from her. It's been happening ever since they turned ten-years-old over two years ago. Her parents describe that as an age "that ends a boy and makes a man." Ever since then, Lilian's mother and father have been doting on him, talking about him and spending time with him more than they do with her. Lilian, understandably, felt left out. She doesn't understand why her twin brother is praised like a god when she doesn't see anything special in him. She can do amazing things as much as he can. Like, she can climb to the highest tree to pick the sweetest apples. She can fix a bird's broken wing using medicines the lady at the apothacary had taught her to do. And... well, that's pretty much it.

Lilian felt saddened. Those things won't be enough to impress her parents. Liam does seem to have far more better qualities than her, qualities that can benefit the family in the future. But what can she do to make them realize that she is as special as him? Does she have to save a whole town to make them recognize her?

The little girl sighed. She has always thought about this over and over again but always seemed to be getting nowhere. She gave up and began to walk towards her brother and father, who were now applying thick white paste to the oar with a twig.

Tomorrow, she thought as her little toes dug into the sand, I'll help mother around the kitchen and gather the water all by myself. I'll also feed the horses. Yes, that should make them quite proud.

She was almost near them when she stopped suddenly in her tracks. Something had caught her eye. The little girl looked. At a little corner hiding behind some shrubs was a circle of warm yellow light. Lilian watched it closely. It was flickering on and off like a candle, winking at her and begging her to come forth. It reminded her of a fairy that her mother used to read to her about at night! Maybe it is a fairy! Fairies do dwell in places that humans barely visit, and this island is the perfect place!

Lilian looked back at the boys. Her father and brother were still occupied with the oar, talking amongst themselves, not even noticing that she wasn't with them. Gathering up her skirts, Lilian began to jog excitedly across the sand, hoping the fairy won't fly away. But the yellow light never faded; it stayed in its place and kept on flickering with life. She slowed down as she finally reached the thicket of shrubs and bushes and carefully made her way through them, still being careful of her dress. Once she neared the light, her heart still pounding in anticipation, she stopped again.

She can see the yellow orb of light but no fairy. It wasn't a fairy at all. Lilian's heart sank yet again. But where is the light coming from? She inched closer and saw that it was from... inside an opening of the cliff! The opening was big enough for a well-grown person to fit through. It seemed to have been man-made since it formed a perfect arch and the edges were so smooth. Yet a person can easily miss it if they were just strolling across the beach, the opening was that well-hidden.

Now she was very curious. What would this opening be doing here? And the warm light. She wasn't going to turn away unless she found out where it came from. Maybe there's a whole group of fairies inside the cliff!

Lilian glanced back at her father and brother again to make sure they weren't looking. She set down her toy boat near a palm tree and took a deep breath. Then, she slowly walked into the opening.

The little girl was now making her way through a low tunnel, following the glow, her small feet cushioned on the soft sand. The tunnel then turned downwards where the atmosphere was much warmer. A weird stench filled the air. Lilian sniffed, trying to point out the smell. A memory suddenly came back to her. Over a month ago, her mother had sent her and Liam into a pub to go fetch their father, who has a weakness for the pint. She remembered the strong bitter aroma of alcohol and cigar smoke that had made her head spin. That's what this smell reminded her of except it was mixed with something else. She sniffed again and almost gagged. It stunk of somebody who hasn't bathed in months! Lilian covered her nose and stopped walking.

I don't think fairies smell like that, she thought. Maybe I should turn back. Liam and Dad might be looking for me by now.

But she saw how far into the tunnel she had gone. She couldn't even hear the ocean and calming breeze from outside anymore so she decided to keep on going. If it wasn't fairies, then she at least has to find out what the light was, even though she wasn't enjoying the aroma that filled her nostrils right now. As she walked deeper and deeper into the cliff, the ceiling of the tunnel was getting higher and higher. A faint noise reached her ears. It was the voice of men!

This must be another pub. But why would it be hidden in a cliff on an island like this?

The noise grew louder and louder until Lilian couldn't even hear herself think. Before she knew it, the tunnel suddenly opened up into a cave. Lilian stopped. She slowly took her hand away from her nose to gawk in awe. The cave was as big as their whole house back in Portreath. The black jagged walls lead up into a ceiling so high it disappeared into darkness. A huge rock sat in the middle of the cave, about twenty lanterns piled high on top of it. So that's where the light came from!

Around the rock, three large wooden tables were set where guns, knives, swords and huge bottles of alcohol were resting upon. Hundreds of loud and filthy men, some of color that Lilian has never even seen before, were standing around them. All of their attention was focused on a single man standing near the light.

This man looked the most cleanest and put-together of the lot, not to mention the most intimidating. Lilian knelt at the cave opening for fear that he might spot her. The man had a straight posture and had his arms crossed over his chest. He showed no reaction on his pale, wrinkled face as the other men were yelling at him; rather, he looked bored. Lilian was taken with the man's long brown curly hair that spilled onto his shoulders. His jacket was of a beautiful deep sea green, lined with gold, tiny green jewels encrusted into the buttons. His hat was of the same color but had a large peacock feather sticking out. His shoes were the shiniest things she has ever seen with golden buckles glinting in the lantern light. He must be someone of great importance to be dressed like that. But why was he among these men who were so mad at him? And why wasn't he scared? They looked about ready to kill him!

"The second time already!" one of the men yelled. Lilian cringed at his yellow, rotting teeth. "The second time that the yellow-bellied scoundrel wasn't there!"

The others hollered their agreement.

"You gave us the wrong village again!" a balding one said.

"We've had enough of your misleadings!" a very dark one said next. "We should just rip out yer insides and hang you right now!"

Everyone was so loud in their agreement, Lilian covered her ears.

"We should jus' find this Sparrow ourselves instead of following ye orders!"

"He's makin' fools of us! Enough of this talk, let's gut him, men!"

But before they could all reach for their weapons, another man stepped up and stood in front of their target. This one was more round with wavy black hair, small beady black eyes and a mustache that curled at the ends. At this man, Lilian guessed they all respect more, for they quieted down and stared at him in bewilderment.

"Cease your fire!" he bellowed angrily at them. "If there be but one cut on this man, I'll have ye keeled and thrown to the sharks!"

"But Captain," said the rotting-teeth man, "Governer Drake has us going in circles around the Atlantic for nothin'!"

Captain? Lilian thought.

"Damn you to the depths, Samuel!" the Captain snarled angrily. "Sparrow is a man with many tricks up his sleeve. Governer Drake knows all his whereabouts, it's Sparrow that escapes at the last minute. Don't you dare start blamin' Governer Drake ever again!"

Rotten-Tooth Samuel scowled and slid his pistol back into its holster that was strapped around his waist. The others around him slowly did the same.

Governer Drake smiled evily. "Thank you for your advocacy, Captain Mallock. I can take it from here."

But the fat man, Captain Mallock, looked a bit uncomfortable. It seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to gut this man along with his men, but he kept his composure and just glared at him.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Governer Drake began in a smooth even voice. "Your frustrations and ambitions to slice my throat are very understandable. It seems to me that this Jack Sparrow is even smarter than I expected... and for that I owe you all my deepest apologies. But... and men, please be kind enough to hear me out, I have found through very reliable sources of Sparrow's current whereabouts. He is residing in a little village of Portreath in Cornwall."

Lilian's heart jumped. Portreath? Portreath is where her and her family lives!

"And how do we know that we'll catch him this time, Governer?" Captain Mallock asked in a threatening voice.

"Because the foolish young lad is searching for buried treasure said to be in that location. It'll take him weeks until he finds out that there is no treasure, and then he'll take off. But besides that, another positive factor is on our side, men." He took a dramatic pause. "Jack is without his crew."

Everyone including the Captain looked surprised.

"What!" someone exclaimed that Lilian could not see. "Why is that!"

Governer Drake smiled again. "Because as you all know, Portreath has a great dislike for pirates. Any man who is even suspected of piracy will suffer the most severe disciplinary actions. So, not to draw attention to themselves, Sparrow will be searching by himself or, if he is smart enough, he'll have one or two persons with him. Nonetheless, that will not be a problem for you all. You will outnumber Sparrow no matter what the circumstances."

The men all looked at each other and began talking, excitement in their voices and murder blaring in their eyes.

"If the village won't allow pirates, then how are we going to search for him without being caught?" Captain Mallock questioned, still not convinced. "Portreath is a very small village, somebody will definitely spot us!"

"My dear Captain, do use your head," Governer Drake replied calmly.

Captain Mallock thought for a while and suddenly his tiny eyes lit up. " ...Raid the village."

The Governer nodded without saying another word.

Captain Mallock was as excited as his men now. He turned to them and yelled out, "We're doing a raid, men! No more sneakin' about! Portreath is ours!"

The cheers that went around was so deafening, bits of rock began to chip away from the walls. The men picked up their swords and waved them in the air, glad that they're low-key search will now be a full-out raid.

They're pirates! And they're going to my village! Lilian thought in horror. I have to tell someone! Anyone! I have to alert the authorities that pirates are coming into town!

"Tonight, gents!" Captain Mallock continued among the noise. "Tonight we will storm the village! Leave no stone unturned until we find Sparrow and give him what he deserves; a nice little grave at the bottom of Davy Jones's locker! And anyone who gets in your way... kill 'em!"

They all cheered again.

Captain Mallock then pulled out a sword and aimed the sharp tip directly for Governer Drake's neck. The Governer jumped back a little in surprise, his eyes wide with fear. He didn't look like a man of great importance now.

"And this better not be another a false search, Governer," the pirate captain growled, "or we really will have to slit yer throat!"

The rest of the pirates laughed as Governer Drake swallowed nervously.

Lilian heard enough. She got up from her hiding spot and ran back through the tunnel, as fast her legs can carry her. She was completely panic-stricken, hoping to God that her brother would have the row boat ready to go by the time she reaches them. They have no more time to waste if the pirates said they were raiding tonight!

Once she was out through the opening, she found Liam and their father still loading their fishing supplies into the boat. The sun had already gone down and was replaced with the moon. The sky was inky black with tiny stars dotted across it like salt. Though it looked beautiful, it was absolutely terrible for Lilian.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she yelled out as she caught up to them.

"Lilian, there you are!" Michael said angrily. "I thought I told you not to--"

"Daddy, I just saw something awful!" she interrupted.

"What?"

Liam put down the basket of their catch to turn around and look at her.

"I just saw pirates!" the little girl yelled. "Pirates in the cave over there!" She pointed towards the cliff, but from where they were standing it was useless. They were too far away to see the yellow glow of the lanterns. The thicket of bushes blocking it from view didn't help much either.

"Pirates?" Liam asked, clearly not buying it.

"What are you talking about?" Michael said next.

"Why would there be pirates on this island?" continued Liam.

"I don't know, but they're here! And they're going to come to our village tonight to--"

"Lilian, stop it," Michael said in a clipped tone, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "I'm very tired and I don't have the patience for this right now."

"But I'm not making this up! There were loads of them, sitting around a huge pile of lanterns, and there was a governer, Governer Drake, he was telling them what to do--"

"Enough, Lilian!" Michael said more angrily.

Lilian's frustration grew. "Daddy, why won't you believe me? Just come with me and let me show you where the cave is!"

"Lilian, this island is completely deserted, no one ever comes here, especially... pirates," Liam explained to her as if she were stupid.

"But--"

"If there are pirates, where is their ship then?" Liam crossed his arms, challenging her. "Don't you think we would have seen their ship by now? Hmm?"

He was absolutely right. Lilian looked around the beach and saw no ship. Not even another row boat. She was beatened. "But... but there really was... I swear on me life there were--"

"You're going mad," Liam mumbled, turning away to set the basket of fish in the boat. Lilian looked at him. Her face grew red in fury and she balled her hands into fists. She was about ready to hit him straight in the head when her father put a hand on her shoulder.

"C'mon, love," he said consolingly. "We're all pretty beat. Let's just head on home and enjoy a nice dinner, aye? Your mother is waiting for us."

It seems like it was useless to argue more with them. Trying to keep her temper, Lilian climbed into the boat. Their father pushed the boat into the water, hopping in beside her as Liam picked up the oars and began to row them away from the island. They lit a lantern and kept track of their path with the compass. While her twin brother began bragging about how he caught some good fish to their father, Lilian wished that he would shut up and row a bit faster.

If they're not going to believe me, then somebody will, she thought, looking out over the black water. I have to save everyone before the pirates come!

----

Two days later, the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow was enjoying a drink in a small rowdy tavern in Tortuga. Some of his crewmates were sitting at the large wooden table around him, drinking and laughing along with him. The rest of the crew were with Barbossa back on The Black Pearl. Their reason being, "too tired for the rum." Kind of an odd thing since Barbossa usually joins Jack for drinks.

But the pirate captain was having too much of a good time to be thinking any more of it. A young pretty lady with blonde hair was sitting on his lap, arms around his neck, laughing at his jokes and complimenting him. He was drinking the best rum Tortuga has to offer and he escaped not one, but two times from his sworn enemy Captain Mallock and his crew. So who the hell cares what his first mate is up to?

"Oh Jack, I'm so happy you've decided to come back to Tortuga!" the blonde woman said, planting a big kiss on his cheek and leaving a red lip print.

"Giselle love, you know you're the reason I always come back!" Jack slurred. "Well, to be honest, for the rum too. But you, my love, I always think about when I'm out sailing on me ship. And when I think of your lovely face, it brightens up me days."

Giselle shrieks with laughter. "Don't be so modest, darling!"

"It's all truth, love!" Jack replied, taking another swig from his mug.

"Oh, you just know what to say to a lady, don'tcha?" Giselle pulled Jack's face to her, causing him to spill his rum and was going to lean in to kiss him on the lips when one of Jack's crewmates interrupted.

"Captain!"

It was Pintel, who had burst through the tavern doors, Ragetti following closely behind. "Captain, we have to speak with you!"

Jack turned his face away to look angrily at the fat balding pirate. "Tha's nice, Pintel," he told him sharply, "but as you can see, I'm in the middle of something very, very important." And he turned his face back to Giselle, waiting for that kiss.

"It's Portreath, Captain!" Pintel continued. Jack turned away from Giselle again and looked at him. "Seems as if Mallock raided Portreath two days ago... in searches for you. The whole village was destroyed. Every cottage burnt down to a crisp. No survivors, or so it was said."

"No survivors," Ragetti echoed.

The drink seemed to have completely left Jack's system, for a look of concern crossed his face.

"We found out from a lad on the docks," Ragetti said next, his wooden eye twitching and rolling around in his big head in excitement. "Looks like Mallock knew ahead of time of your plans to be in Portreath."

So many questions began going through Jack's mind. How did Mallock know that he was going to be there by tonight? Who had told him? Everyone at the table was looking at him now, expecting him to say something. So, in order to keep his reputation as the fierce and strong pirate that he is, he smiled in a cocky manner and held up his mug of rum.

"Well, gents," he said triumphantly. "Seems as if Mallock has made another mistake. Serves him right for ever daring to go against Captain Jack Sparrow! A toast for another, but very narrow, miss! Good luck to him next time, I say!"

The pirates all around him said, "Aye!" in agreement and they took a long swig from their mugs, including Giselle. But Jack's mind was somewhere else. Not only did the thought of Mallock knowing where he was going to be troubled him, but Mallock and his crew also murdered a whole village of people. All because of him. How badly did this man want him dead? Guilt washed over Jack and he put his mug down, suddenly not in the mood anymore.

"So Mallock really does have a black heart."

Jack turned to look at his fellow pirate and good friend, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, who was sitting next to him. He was the only one at the table who didn't join in on the toast.

"A village of people, aye?" Bill continued in a grave tone. His deep brown eyes were filled with concern. "Black Heart Mallock. He is definitely resorting to more drastic actions. I wonder... how many more lives will he take before he has you?"

Jack said nothing.

"Whatever you did to him in the past, he obviously hasn't forgotten."

Jack sighed. "Listen--"

"You must stop him, Jack," Bill said more seriously, "or other innocent people are going to have to pay for what you have done."

Again, Jack said nothing. Bill wasn't happy with that lack of response so he stood up from his seat. Everyone stopped talking to watch him as he slowly walked pass Pintel and Ragetti and out the tavern doors, not saying a word to anyone.

Jack looked down at the last remaining rum at the bottom of his mug. He brought the mug to his lips and tipped his head back, the burning alcohol running through his mouth and down his throat, all the while trying to push away the thought that Bill is absolutely right.

----

"Bloody fool!" Pintel cursed madly as he exited the pub in a rage. "He don't seem the least bit fazed by the news! And curse that bloody Mallock for attacking too soon! He shoulda waited until Jack arrived! Two more bloody days!"

Pintel was so angry he grabbed a bottle of rum from a passing drunken man's hand and took a swig of it, throwing it over his shoulder after he was done.

"So what we going to do now?" Ragetti asked him as they made their way through the rowdy streets towards the dock where The Black Pearl was waiting.

"Barbossa," Pintel replied, an evil smile curling his lips. Ragetti giggled mischieviously. "He'll know what to do. It won't be long 'til Captain Jack Sparrow gets what he deserves."