Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own PotC, but I do own this story and the girl ;)'

Chapter 3- Strangers

The pain in her left eye startled her as she awoke, the memory of the past few hours coming back to haunt her as she looked quickly around the small tent she had been brought to. Her hands tied gently to a post behind her, she found her attempts to free herself were useless due to the complicated knot that bound her. Hearing footsteps approaching, she put her head down, hoping to avoid any eye contact with the pirates who had done this.

Will pulled back the flap of the tent and went inside. He looked towards the girl who sat quietly in the corner, her head hung low, and took a few tentative steps towards her. "I'm so sorry" he began, "I...I would never have hit a girl. I didn't know..." Will stopped as she looked at him, her face a mixture of anger and surprise. Hoping he hadn't said the wrong thing, he held out a metal cup filled with water and a damp cloth. "I thought this might help prevent the bruising."

"Why?" She asked softly, a tinge of anger in her voice. He looked at her quizzically. "Your a pirate. Why would you want to help me?" Will felt taken aback. The word 'pirate' rolled off her tongue as though it was a disease. He kneeled down near her and said, "Look, nobody here is planning to hurt you. Jack, our Captain, had no choice but to take you back here with us. You attacked us." She stared back at him, saying nothing. He took a deep breath then said, "I'm Will, Will Turner. What's your name?"

Her name? She felt emotions in her heart, gone unchecked for so long, reel up inside her. Unprepared for these feelings she had, she tried hard to ignore them. Such a simple question, and yet, she felt that she had no answer. She thought back to the last time anyone had used her name, or when she had said it. So long ago. Too long ago she realised.

Still reflecting on these memories, she didn't notice Will still waiting for her reply, or a pirate with a greying beard walk into the tent. Interrupting her thoughts, the pirate said, "I know your not gonna be happy 'bout this Will, but the Capt'n wants to see 'er." He flashed Will a wry grin, then walked towards the girl and untied her from the post. She was glad to have free movement in her arms again, but the way the pirate had spoken about his Captain, made that feeling of freedom short-lived.

Will stood suddenly, and in a soft, determined tone said, "Mr. Gibbs, I'm coming too."

The sky had begun to darken as she entered a much larger tent to the one she had come from. Mr Gibbs had not been rough with her, so she had not tried to escape, although eyeing the sword that hung at his side, she was not willing to take the chance. Standing stiffly halfway inside the room as she was tied to yet another post, she looked around. The tent was quite empty besides a pile of sheets at the opposite end and rolled up parchments that lay on the ground under a small wooden table. A tri-pointed hat sat on one end of the table, and that's when she noticed the man lounging on a chair. His legs stretched out before him resting on the table, Jack turned to look at them. "Ah, Will, I thought you were going to join us" he smiled innocently.

Swinging his legs off the table and onto the floor, he strolled slowly towards them. She looked at him curiously. Although she had not seen many people, let alone pirates before, she sensed Jack was different. His black hair was a mass of braids and beads, with strange objects that hung from it. A red bandana was tied around his forehead, and he wore a ragged white shirt, dark, navy pants and muddyblack boots. He had a tanned complexion, dark eyes and moved as though it was very difficult to keep any kind of balance without a bizarre wave of his arms.

"Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to have a conversation with the young lady?" Jack questioned Will with a playful grin.

"You've never wanted just that before" Will replied flatly.

Jack frowned, then turned his attention to the girl. She wore a white button-up blouse, long black skirt that reached the ground and a wide, red belt around her waist. He studied her a moment, his eyes squinting as though she was difficult to see, and then said ,"You're not afraid of me are ye?" She stared at him, the anger she felt towards these men rekindled as he addressed her.

"I have no reason to be" she replied defiantly.

"Well, there ya go!" he said triumphantly to Will, "That settles the matter then."

From the look on Will's face, she could tell it most certainly did not settle anything, but giving Jack a warning glance, he left reluctantly with Mr Gibbs following. He returned his attention to her once more and said proudly, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Perhaps you've heard of me?" She shook her head and noticed Jack looked quite disheartened. "Well, what be your name young missy?" he asked.

"And what does it matter to you Mr.Sparrow?" she asked him.

"Someone so pretty must have a name?" he replied with a mischievous grin. She glared at him with disgust realizing too late what Will's comment had meant. Jack seemed to take note of her attitude towards him, and decided to change tactics. "What was the purpose of your attack?" he asked her instead.

"This is my island" she said angrily, "You and your men have no right to be here."

Jack placed a finger on his chin as if in thought. "Oh, I see. Apologies then, we didn't know." She could hear the sarcasm in his voice but chose to ignore it. Nodding to himself he continued, "You have the courage of your parents."

This was the last thing she had expected him to say. "How could you possibly know...?" she said her eyes wide with astonishment. Jack stared at her a moment appearing frustrated with himself, then turned away as though he was preoccupied with the flap of the tent that had begun to blow as the wind picked up.

With an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders he finally replied with a grin, "Where else would you get such an attitude from?" Searching his face for a different answer, she was relieved to feel he was telling the truth. There was no way he could have known her parents she realised.

"Will!" Jack called out. Within a moment of his call, Will appeared at the entrance to the tent. Looking slightly uncomfortable with the comprehension Jack had known the whole time he was standing just metres away, he waited for him to speak. Jack sauntered over to Will, and leaning in close, whispered something she couldn't hear. Will indicated agreement with a nod of his head, and then proceeded to untie her and lead her out of the tent. Inclining his head towards her Jack said enigmatically, "Until next time." Taking a last curious glance back at the odd Captain, she left.

Will led her to the edge of their campsite and handing back the sword that had been taken from her, told her quietly, "Your free to go."

Unsure how to react to this, she replied awkwardly, "Thankyou." As she began to leave, she remembered something she hadn't done. Saying it once over in her head she turned back to Will who still stood watching her. "Alexis", she said to him, "My name is Alexis."

Author's Note: A big thankyou to my 'beta reader' Antonette for giving me feedback on my chapters before I put them up. Your the bestest:)

SpectralLady: Hehe, sorry you had to wait till the end to find out her name! Hopefully you'll have a better time reading it now you have it! ;)'
Countess Jackman: Thankyou very much for your review! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Flute Damioh: Hehe, of course you can make a suggestion! That's what reviews are all about! ;) And I hope this chapter was long enough for you!
Cap'n of the Deep: Hehehe, glad you liked the part where Jack was hanging upside down and hope you continue to enjoy reading my story too!