Chapter 9 (Make a Good Pirate)

The sun's glare blinded Melody for a moment as she walked onto the busy deck looking for Jack. Everyone was running around, busy with something or other. Finally you spotted him, he was standing by some circular thing, staring at some little box in his hand.

'How am I suppose to be a pirate if I hardly now what any of this stuff is.' She thought with a frown. Though she did now ships inside out, from everything to the sails to the rigging she would defiantly have to learn there purposes. 'I'm sure Jack will explain everything.' She told herself.

'It can't be that difficult.' She took a deep breath as she began to walk up to Jack. His back was turned so he didn't notice her coming. She tapped on his shoulder making him jump and quickly turn to see who was interrupting his train of thought.

"Melody!" He said, surprised to see that she was up. "Yes… well I have come to a decision." She said taking a deep breath. She hoped that she was making the right choice. "I… I'll do it." She said with a sigh. His face brightened as he smiled. "Ye wont regret it luv." He said as he took her hand in his. "I want to introduce ye to me crew."

He walked around introducing she to the crew. They all seemed very friendly. Jack's first mate Gibbs seemed to be a bit reluctant to shake her hand though. "He'll grow to like ye luv… he just has these superstitions about women being bad luck aboard a ship." Jack said apologizing for Gibbs' rude behavior.

Then he introduced her to Ana Maria. She seemed friendly enough. Melody was glad that she was onboard, it would be nice to not be the only female. Last but not least Jack introduced her to Will. He was the man that she had seen the other day, the man who was looking out towards the ocean.

He smiled kindly but you could see that something was unsettling him. "Is there something wrong Will?" She asked with a small smile, preparing herself for his question. Was she suppose to tell him, that she was a Siren or just keep it between her and Jack and if she did tell him what if it spread around the crew, they'd probably decide to kill her for what she was.

Will saw her smile falter as well as Jack. "No… nothing's wrong." He said with another smile before walking away. She released a sigh before smiling at Jack. Turning away from him she made her way to the rail of the ship. "What's wrong luv?" Asked Jack. She sighed as she answered. "Jack… you found out my secret… you know that I'm a Siren… what am I suppose to say to the crew? I don't believe that they'll be as excepting as you were."

"Don't worry luv we'll break it to them gently but for now I want ye to relax, enjoy the open sea." He said touching her shoulder lightly before walking away towards the helm. She gave another sigh. She wished it were that easy. She closed her eyes and let the wind caress her cheeks. You felt so… free… as you stood there. All the worries that you had just slipped away as the spray of the sea tickled her face.

She didn't know how long she stood there but when she opened her eyes she noticed something different. Jack was shouting out orders to the crew she turned her attention back to the sea noticing that there was another ship approaching. The ship was magnificent although it's sails were a dingy white. Compared to the Pearl it wasn't as enchanting but if there were to be a contest held it could possibly win second to third place.

"Jack what's going on?" She yelled to him. Still in her dress she ran towards him as fast as she could. "It's The Burning Horizon." He said simply but the way he said it send sharp chills down her spine. He walked passed her shouting orders as he went. She looked back towards the oncoming ship.

It's flag was in view now. It was a pirate ship. Melody could sense the tension in the air. Something was defiantly wrong. The crew was running faster then they usually did. "Jack…" She started to say but he turned around quickly. His eyes darkened as if he realized something. "Lass I want you to go below…" He said quickly but didn't quite finish what he was saying as Gibbs ran up to him with news.

Melody turned to do as Jack had bid but instead decided that if she was going to be a pirate she wanted to be treated like one and if that meant for her to stay and observe what happened then so be it.

She moved to the side where she knew she wouldn't be in the way and watched. The ship just came closer and closer until it was practically bumping next to the Pearl. "Jack it's so good to see ye again." Said a tall man. He had leathery tan skin and sharp dull gray eyes. He had a scar that ran from his left cheek down to his jaw marring his somewhat charming face.

"Wish I could say the same." Said Jack bitterly. "I heard that ye were marooned on some island by yer crew… how is it that ye got off that island?" "It's a long story and one I wouldn't be sharing with ye so stop with the pleasantries." "So be it." He said with a shrug. "I've been dying to repay ye for the lovely scar ye left me during our last meeting."

He said with an evil smirk before he gave the signal for his crew to begin to board the ship. Jack's crew was prepared for the arrival of the enemy, armed with cutlasses and pistols. As they swung over to the ship Jack's crew attacked. You sunk to a sitting position as you watched the scene around you.

Next thing you knew you saw Jack fighting with a rather tall woman with black hair and sky blue eyes and from your position she was laughing all the while she was fighting with him.

"It's nice to see ye again Raven." Said Jack as he blocked a blow from the dark haired women. "Ha! Wish I could say the same Jack." Said the woman with a short laugh.

"Are ye still angry about all that 'appened between us?" Asked Jack as he jumped away from her sword. "Mad?! Me?! Now Jack why would I be angry, you just left me on a god forsaken island…" "But luv I kept to the code, you fell behind." He said with a small hurt expression on his face.

"Really? I never knew ye to be a man to follow rules." She said striking his sword with hers. "True Raven but the code is different…" "What's done is done Jack." She said pushing against him, making Jack stammer back.

Melody sat crouched on the ground looking on in amazement. At the moment the way she killed seemed so small compared to this. She half jumped when a body fell by her feet. The man's cold glazed over eyes scared her some what but she quickly sucked it up and moved over to his side.

She started to pry the sword from the man's cold hands. The sails were blowing wildly as the cries from the battle seemed to grow louder around her. She stood, almost tripping on the hem of her dress. She stopped and tore at it, making the dress that flooded to her feet come just up past her knees. She then quickly walked behind an unexpected pirate and drove the sword through his chest without hesitation.

She pulled the sword out just as his body fell limply to the ground. She turned around, ready for action. The danger seemed to shoot adrenalin through her veins making she want to fight more. 'I guess being a pirate isn't so bad.' She thought to herself.

After killing a few men she turned to see a frightening looking man staring at her intently. He had long stringy hair and a pale complexion. His eyes were the most frightening of all, the whites of them were a darker shade off of eggshell making the blacks of his eyes stand out eerily.

"Ello girlie." She didn't hesitate as she charged at him about to strike but he quickly moved out of the way. She moved just as quickly but when she turned around she was surprised as he moved swiftly enough to wound her arm, leaving a gash. The man stood in horror as he watched the cut on her arm slowly disappear.

"What the…" He said in confused shock. She took this chance to take him off guard and stab him in the gut. Just as she did this the Captain of the Burning Horizon called the rest of his crew back. "Well Jack this was fun but I have a lot of business to attend to before the day is out so I'll let ye be getting on with your merry ways… perhaps we will meet again." He said with a smirk as he called across to Jack.

Raven had backed away from Jack and was now returning to the ship. Jack stood in confusion. Richard was retreating? That was so very unlike him. Though it might have had something to do with half of Richard's crew lying dead on the deck of the Pearl that influenced him into making that decision.

Jack watched on in silence as the men still standing walked back to there ship. Melody leaned on her sword for support. She was out of breath and tired. 'What the hell was going on? How could this man just pick a fight and then leave like that?' She thought. She had the urge to approach Jack but didn't noticing the pure look of hatred written on his face.

She saw Gibbs standing not too far away and walked over to him. He was surprised when he noticed her walking towards him, sword in hand. "Lass! I thought Jack told ye to go down below." "He did but I didn't listen." You said with a shrug. Gibbs gave a small chuckle. 'Foolish girl…' but from the looks of it she was definitely going to make a good pirate.

"Gibbs why are they… retreating?" She asked looking in the direction of the pirates swinging back to their ship. "I don't know… the man doesn't have any morals… ye might want to ask Jack when you get the chance." He said. She sighed as she threw down her sword. The metal clanging loudly as it hit the wooden deck.

Glancing around her saw that some of Jack's crew was injured. Ana Maria was leaning against the rail as Will tended to her wounds, You looked back at Gibbs, a trickle of blood ran down his cheek. She sighed before placing her hand on Gibbs cheek healing the cut on his face. He stared at her in shock somewhat like the look the man had given her before she ran him through with her sword.

Then she realized what she had done. 'Well that was smart Melody look what you've done.' Gibbs moved his hand to his now healed cheek. "What are you?" He said his voice just above a whisper. "Um… I think I hear Jack calling me I'll get back to you on that." Said Melody quickly walking away towards Jack. She couldn't believe that she exposed herself like that again and not just once now but twice. She was sure to be dead before the day was out.

"Hello Jack…" "What are ye doin' here luv I thought I told ye to stay below." He said turning his attention to her. "Well actually I never went below." She said looking down at her now ruined dress. He followed her gaze. Her hair was disheveled and her dress was torn and covered in blood. "Oh my God! Lass are ye alright?" He asked grabbing a hold of her shoulders. "I'm fine Jack just got a little carried away." She said with a small laugh as she pushed some hair back.. "What do ye mean by that?" He asked slowly.

"Well I sort of fought with the crew…" He looked stunned for a moment and then he smiled a little. "It's nice that you got some experience luv but I'm the captain and when I give ye an order ye have to follow it." "Oh…but Jack, you wanted me to become a pirate so I wanted to be treated like one." "Still luv I would have liked it more if you stayed somewhere safe." She nodded slowly. "Good." he said smiling.

He was just about to walk away when she stopped him by taking a hold of his hand. "Um… Jack we have a bit of a… predicament." Melody said biting her lip. He raised a brow and turned back to you. "Well… you see… I." "Out with it luv." "I might have blown my secret again." "What did ye do?" He asked. "I sort of healed… Gibbs, I did it with out thinking though."

"Gibbs is somewhat of an understanding man… somewhat…" He sighed. "I guess we'll be breaking the news to the crew earlier then I expected." "Right after we do some cleaning." He added before gently kicking a dead body near his foot.

Chapter 10 (Breaking the News to the Crew All Before Dinner)

All of the bodies had been taken care of and by now were most likely in the company of ol' Davy Jones himself. Jack had gathered his crew ready to break the news to them. He hadn't quite expected to tell them so soon on their voyage but he assumed now was better then later.

"Men." He called out loudly to his crew, walking by each of them as he said this but then stopped as he was passing Ana Maria. "And Lady." He added. "I have some important news that I must tell ye." "As ye know we have a new member of our humble crew." He said glancing towards her. You smiled weakly as she looked nervously at the crew. "And well Melody has a rather large secret that she has been keeping from ye…" Loud whispers broke out amongst the crew.

What was Jack getting at? What kind of secret was this quite little lass keeping from them? "This 'ere lass is not what she seems… she is in fact a mythical creature… a Siren." As the words escaped his lips everyone but Will and Gibbs burst into laughter. Will was too shocked to make a sound and Gibbs was steaming from the fact that they had not only let another woman on board but a creature that was known for killing pirates and seafarers.

Jack didn't say anything he just stood there glaring at them all. Once the crew had calmed down Ana Maria spoke up. "Cap'n you expect us to believe that this 'ere lass is a creature that doesn't even exist?" "Oh but they do exist, I've seen them with me very eyes and Gibbs here has witnessed Mel's… powers… himself as has Will." He said placing his hand on his hip as he looked at Gibbs.

"Aye, Jack be tellin' the truth, This here lass is something and if Jack says she's a Siren then that's what she be." Said Gibbs stepping forward. Everyone had gone silent and were now looking at her as if you had just sprouted two heads. She quickly looked down at her feet before saying. "What Jack says is true… I am a Siren but I don't plan to kill you if that's what you fear… I mean… well I gave up my old life and I want to start anew." "You can't be serious you can't change what ye are!" Yelled someone from the crew. "Aye! How do we know we could trust ye?!" "Because…" What was she suppose to say to them? All they would have was her word.

"Because I trust the lass and it be smart for ye to do the same." Said Jack stepping up next to her. "And if she does try to betray us we'll kill 'er." He added coolly. The crew began to talk amongst themselves for a few moments before turning back to Jack. They shouted out their agreements to keep her alive and apart of the crew. She let out a sigh of relief.

The crew stood as they seemed to watch her uncomfortably. Jack seeing this shouted out orders to them. The crew dispersed into their standard tasks and surprisingly acted pretty normally.

Then Jack fixed his gaze on her. "What is it Jack?" "I think it be best if we get ye out of those clothes." He said with a smirk. And before she could protest or ask what he meant he was pulling her towards his chambers. Once inside he went straight towards an armoire. He flung it open and then started to fumble through it. Finally he pulled out a lose white shirt and a pair of pants similar to the ones he wore.

He then handed them to her. "Sorry I don't have any dresses for ye luv but I got rid of all the ones aboard after Barbossa was Captain of me ship." She didn't bother asking who Barbossa was and why he would have dresses on board in the first place but thanked Jack anyway. And as she was about to undress she noticed that he hadn't turned around. She would have changed in front of him to if she weren't for the uncomfortable feeling she got from his heavy gaze. "Um… Jack do you mind." She said twirling her finger. He gave a look of disappointment but since he was a gentlemen he slowly turned around. "Thank you Jack." "Ye're welcome." He said barely above a whisper in a mocking sort of way.

Melody pulled what was left of the blood stained dress over her head and threw it to the ground. She then took the pants and put them on before grabbing his shirt and slipping it over her head. She then pulled back her hair and let it fall leisurely on her back before quickly examining what she wore. She was shocked to see that the shirt practically showed off… well it showed off way too much.

"Do ye need any help there luv?" Asked Jack, his back still turned and an unseen smirk playing across his handsome bronzed face. "No thank you Jack I think I can manage." She said pulling the shirt loosely off and turning it around so that the front was now in the back. She practically stomped her foot in frustration as she felt a chill breeze brush against her back.

What was she suppose to do? None of this was working for her. She didn't exactly want to show off her chest, she had shown enough of what wasn't covered in seaweed already. She almost jumped as she felt a warm hand press against the opening in the back of the shirt. Jack easily corrected the shirt for her and then placed his jacket over her shoulders to cover her up. She held onto the jacket and slowly turned around. "Thank y-" She was about to say but Jack placed a finger over her lips. "No need luv." The two of she stood unmoving just staring into each others eyes. 'His deep hazel eyes…' She thought hypnotized for the first time in her life. But then all too quickly Jack was the one to break the awkward silence by stepping away from her.

"Well I better get back to me crew." He said before quickly turning and striding out.

'What was I thinking?' He wasn't suppose to get close to her. She was just suppose to help find treasure. 'But I can't blame me self she is pretty… and what's the wrong in having a little fun? It's never stopped me before.' He thought but shook his head. She was different, he didn't no how but he felt different somehow… when he was with her… he didn't know… when he was around her it was like when he accompanied himself with rum. The cool liquid burning down his throat leaving his head pounding for mere seconds before disappearing only leaving a lingering thirst for more.

The same feeling that he got when he was around she would just somehow end when she weren't in his presence. 'Jack get e'hold of ye're self man… at the rate ye're going ye're going to land up as crazy as Barbossa.' He scolded himself. He gracefully marched straight to the helm and took over from Ana Maria.

He stared off into the horizon as he guided his ship. He couldn't help it as his mind slowly drifted off to thoughts of you. "Am I goin' crazy?" He asked himself out loud and as if in answer Mr. Cotton's parrot squawked 'Wind in his sails, wind in his sails.' "Oh so ye think I'm crazy aye?" He asked the parrot with a small laugh. "I guess I must be since I'm talking to a god damned parrot." He said more to himself then to the parrot.

He turned his head not taking his hands off of the helm. "Will!" He called out to the young man as he was busing himself with tying some rigging. He looked up and slowly put down what he was doing. He quickly walked towards Jack. "What is it Jack?" He asked, his brows knitted together in a line between worry and curiosity. "I want ye to do me a favor, go keep Melody company, and show her around the ship."

"But wouldn't you want Gibbs to do it or maybe even Ana Maria." "No, I don't exactly think that Gibbs is in a hospitable mood and Ana well she may be a woman but she's not exactly what I call a keep a girl company all day kind of woman… she ain't got the patience for it." "But…" Jack gave him a somewhat stern look. "Alright I'll do it." He said his shoulders sagging a bit. "That's a good man."

Will sighed and walked towards Jack's quarters. He knew that it was going to be difficult and awkward spending the day with Melody. A Siren… he still couldn't believe it. He hesitated before knocking on the door. "Come in." Came a sweet voice. Will slowly pushed the door open and popped his head inside. "Oh Will it's you." Said Melody with a small smile. "Jack wanted me to show you around the ship." "Oh… well I guess that would be fun." She said with a bright smile.

She put down a book that you had found amongst Jack's belongings and walked over to Will. He held out his arm as any gentleman would do and led her out of Jack's quarters to the deck.

She sat somewhat awkwardly around a large table. Every crew member sat talking amongst themselves happily. Jack had thought that maybe she would have liked to sit and enjoy a meal with the crew probably get to now them better but it wasn't as easy as she thought seemingly as they avoided her like a plague. 'How exactly am I suppose to prove myself to them?' She asked herself. She sighed deeply as she slowly took a bite into the food that was on her plate.

Will walked towards her and took the empty seat that was next to her. "I didn't feel right leaving you to sit all alone." He said rather quietly. "That's ok they're all probably feeling a little strange having me on board." "Yeah… Melody I'm quite curious…" "What is it?" She asked looking at him. "Well I've heard stories about Sirens and well from what I heard… well what the legend says is that Sirens had bodies of birds and well…" "I don't exactly have wings to fly around with." She filled in for him. "Yes."

"Well I don't have wings but I do have a tail, I'm not actually a full Siren." Will looked confused for a second before you continued. "Because years and years before there was what she would call a crossbreeding which just lead to half breeds of Mermaids and Sirens in my family, it's only a small few of the females in my family." "Oh so you live with Mermaids." He said his eyebrows rising as he took a sip of his ale. "Not exactly." "Why not?" Asked Will. Bringing his drink to his lips again.

"Because, since there are so few of us they want us to live out or lives carrying out the tradition that the old Sirens left." "Ok this is confusing me even more because I thought the original Sirens were immortal." "Yes they were but they just disappeared leaving us with their legacy." Will just nodded before asking, "So if there are so few of you how do they know if your Sirens?" "They usually just test each female that's born… I really don't know how to describe it but only can Sirens turn their tails into mortal legs."

"But how is that possible?" He asked. "From what I was told it was a gift from the gods considering that it wasn't necessarily our fault for what the original Sirens did."

He nodded before smiling. "It's interesting how you decided to repent from your old life." "Yes well I was given a legacy that I never really wanted." "I'm somewhat glad that you gave up that life but if you really did want to give up killing I don't think that you should have become a pirate." He said standing with a small smile before walking away.

Melody sighed. He was right about that but the weird thing is that even though she did give up killing before she couldn't describe the pleasure that she had taken into ramming her sword into those unsuspecting pirates.

……………………….

A/N: I'm sorry for making you all wait for these chapters. I hope I didn't loseany of you.

I do, kinda, have a good excuse for not updating until now.

I didn't have access to a computer for awhile and Ijust recently got my 'new' one comp.set up. So know when I'm not completely swamped with homework I'll be able to update regularly. Oh and just to add I'm sorry for any little mistakes because I didn't really look it over but if there are a lot please let me know and I'll fix it.

Pleeeaaaase review.