Author's Note: This is an experiment to see how people respond to my writing. I'm not sure if
I'm going to complete this story, but I know I have at least a few more chapters coming. Tell me
if you like it, and any improvements and plot bunnies are always appreciated. Oh, and I don't
own Pirates, but I do own Jack's daughter. Like most of the other authors on this site, I wish I
owned Jack...ehm, Captain Jack....but, alas, I don't. And I don't have a beta-reader, 'cause this
is the first story I've posted, so if you spot any mistakes, feel free to point them out and laugh at
them.
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E.P.S.:
The ship was swaying gently in the harbour water. Most of the crew had already left, taking
advantage of their time on the shore by getting stone drunk and spending their wages on wine
and women. There were only three sober men patrolling the deck, but their shift would be over
soon, and they'd soon join the others.
There was nothing remarkable about this ship. The sails were white, the crew well groomed
and seemingly respectable to an observers eye, and the captain a remarkable gentleman who
was getting along in years. She was flying merchant colours, but must have already sold her
cargo for the crew had not unloaded anything.
But the name! The stories about a ship with that name still made the townspeople shiver in
fright years after the most of the pirates in the Caribbean had been wiped out. No sane man
would willingly name his ship that, not with the rumours of the curse on the original.
The Black Pearl. A ship of legends. The tale of mutineers and ghost pirates had long haunted
this area. And it had been almost twenty years since the infamous escape of Jack Sparrow from
the fort at Port Royal.
Ahh...Jack Sparrow. Simultaneously the best and worst pirate anyone had ever heard of.
Since his escape he'd been raiding merchant ships along the coast with his cutthroat crew
and techniques that put other pirates to shame. They say that in all of his raids, and they have
been numerous, not one sailor has been killed. The Black Pearl, the ship rumoured to leave no
survivors, now had a captain who made sure that everyone was healthy before leaving with his
loot.
Pirates and the Royal Navy alike knew him as a good man.
But at the moment, that good man was banging on his daughter's cabin door and not looking
the part of a notorious pirate captain at all, but that of an irate father whose daughter was taking
too long to get ready.
"C'mon, love, it can't take ye that long to get dressed." His voice was muffled by the thick
wood door, and his daughter giggled a little at the frustration she could hear.
"Just a minute, Da. I can't find my shoes."
Elizabeth Sparrow, named after one of her father's best and most respectable female friend,
was currently trying to reach one of her shoes, which just happened to be all the way under her
bunk.
The simple muslin dress, which was well made and a birthday present from her father was
altogether too voluminous and prevented her from manoeuvring her way towards her shoe. The
corset, which had to be worn with dresses like these, was at the height of fashion, but prevented
her from bending at the waist to retrieve her shoe.
The only way to get at the shoe seemed to be if she lay flat on the floor, covering her new
dress with dust dirt and other ship-floor grime,... or to have her father get it.
Jack raised his hand to knock on the door once again, but it was not necessary for his
daughter swung it open just in time. He stood back and admired her, pride swelling up inside
him. Contrary to popular belief, Jack was a good father, and cared very deeply for his only
child.
"Well, look at you. It seems like just yesterday you were swinging from the foremast like a
proper pirate. But ye look like a well bred young lady now."
"I am a well bred young lady, despite your influence," she replied with a good-natured smile.
"And that wasn't yesterday, it was this morning."
Her hair was piled atop her head in what looked to be a very complicated sort of bun, with
tiny braids and plaits and curls making pretty patterns. The dress was a nice navy, which brought
out her bright blue eyes, and was trimmed with delicate lace at the neckline and cuffs.
He'd picked the dress out himself last week, along with three others, when he'd decided to
add to her wardrobe as a birthday present. He'd always known he had a wonderful sense of
style, after all he is Captain Jack Sparrow, but it really made itself manifest in his presents for his
daughter.
Her face was a little flushed, probably from trying to find her shoes, and a few strands of her
curly black hair had escaped from their elaborate prison and floated gently onto her face. She
could have passed for a noblewoman (and often had to in some of his insane schemes), but one
who was a little more tanned than normal...and missing one shoe.
He grinned and said, "'Tis nice to know my little girl's not all grown up, and still needs her Da
for some things..."
She smiled back and said, "Just get the shoe, Da."
He walked into her cabin and easily reached under the bunk to pull out her not-so-white-
anymore shoe. His powdered wig slipped slightly askew in the process, and she was still smiling
as she slipped her shoe on and tugged his wig back into place.
"Thank you. Could you tie my bonnet on too?"
As Jack fastened the matching bonnet under her chin, his daughter grabbed her lace fan and
tucked her pistol into a hidden holster at her waist.
He held out his arm and she tucked her hand at his elbow and allowed him to lead her out of
the cabin. As they walked on deck, she had to walk slowly and swish her skirt from side to side
to prevent it from snagging on the veritable maze of objects on deck that would ruin her new
gown or make her fall flat onto her face.
"Da? Won't you tell me where we're going?" He had refused to give her their coordinates this
entire journey and she had no idea where they were.
Jack shook his head and the trinkets that were still woven into his dreadlocks, although
hidden by the fancy wig, jingled slightly.
"It wouldn't be a very good surprise it I told ye, now would it? You'll see in a few moments,
Pearl, don't worry."
They walked down the gangplank and he helped her into the waiting carriage. As they were
driven through the town up a hill, their surroundings gradually got more and more sophisticated,
and they left the sea behind.
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Author's Note cont.: Well? What did you think? Should I continue or should I run back under
my bed and hide there for the rest of eternity? Review, or something.