Chapter One

-Fish and Followed-

Jade's mind wandered back to the day that William had told her of her unexpected heritage, one year ago, as she often did. She had never minded being a Pirate's daughter, but she still did not want some specific people to know, so she hadn't told anyone. She thought it was neat, in truth. But she hadn't told anyone that she had always and still wanted to be a pirate, either.

It was a cool day down at the beach, and that was where Jade had decided to spend her day's time. She sat down against a small palm and let her fair skin soak up some sun. Maybe she'd get a better tan. Jade heard someone walk up beside her and opened her eyes. She instantly regretted that movement as mercilessly bright sunlight invaded her eyes.

"Ahh!" She cried. The figure she could not yet identify due to lack of proper vision, laughed knowingly.

"Hello, Marie." Jade groaned as she blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden bust of sunlight.

"Hi Belle. Thanks for sounding so delightfully happy to see me." Marie laughed cheerfully.

"Sorry, but it feels like someone just put a lit match to my eyes."

"Ouch."

"I agree. What have you been up to?" Jade asked, her eyes finally adjusted to the light. Marie's afternoon sky coloured eyes smiled down at Jade. Marie tucked a stray light blonde ringlet back into her elaborate up-do. Marie looked perfect. Marie always looked perfect, with her perfect hair, light eyes, small pointed nose dusted with light freckles, and her figure. That sickeningly perfect figure that Robyn had often wished was her own. Then again, how much of that figure was Marie, and how much of it was a corset? Jade didn't know. She noticed that Marie had a new dress. It was beautiful. It had a puffy pale blue skirt with an off-white beaded bodice that dipped in the middle a bit to show a hint of cleavage.

"Oh, not much, Belle. I haven't done much of anything since I saw you last, the other day. I sketched a new picture. it's a mermaid, actually. I like it, but I will never be as good at drawing as Elizabeth. She's amazing at drawing." Marie rambled in reply.

"Neat. I'd like to see it sometime. And stop calling me Belle." Robyn commented.

"No. Its your nickname."

Robyn sighed and rolled her eyes. "My name is Robyn. My nickname is Jade. Belle is a French word that has nothing in common with either name."

"It means pretty, though." Marie offered. She giggled. Jade stared at her. "What? I didn't give it to you. He did." Marie protested. Jade continued to stare blankly at her. Then she rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

"I love your dress." She said truthfully, even though she herself would never wear it on a casual occasion. Unless she felt like feeling pretty.

"Oh, thank you. Father brought it back from England. He came back yesterday. I love it." Marie said, looking down to study the beautiful article of clothing. She flipped the skirt a little.

"Sorry, I must be going. I'm expected home for lunch." Marie said before scurrying off.

Robyn sat for a long while, watching the docks from the beach, and the people on them that scurried on and off with the wind. They were busy that day, she noticed. The docks were almost full with moored merchant ships, tall white-sailed schooners, small fishing skiffs and catboats, bobbing sloops, and other ships and boats, small and large. The bustle continued, merchant sailors dropping off passengers and supplies, people walking down gangplanks from a pleasant morning sailing, mostly unpleasant looking fisherman shoving their best slimy catches in the faces of passers-by, without too much luck at that sales approach. Robyn sighed deeply. She was feeling rather depressed. She was mourning the loss of her diseased pet fish, Ernie. Well, that, and she was just really, really bored. She saw a man, fast approaching down the beach. Oh god. Don't tell me he's going to try to sell me a bloody fish or something. She thought to herself. He was in his twenties, had blonde hair and was not unattractive. He came closer, holding a basket in his arms. When he was close enough, he proudly showed her the contents of the basket. He smiled brightly. "Would you like to buy a fish?" He asked hopefully and continued to smile.

"Hello. I'm sor--" Robyn was cut off as a cold, wet, slimy pile of fish landed in her lap. She groaned, slapped her hand over her eyes and shook her head. She just about laughed, but managed not to.

"I'm so sorry, Miss!" The boy was horrified. Robyn didn't laugh, for his benefit.

"It's alright, really. But I'm sorry, I have to go." She replied politely as she used both hands to scoop up the pile of large fish from her lap as she got up. She handed them to the man.

"Sorry!" He called again. He was still mortified.

"It's okay, really." She called back. When he was a safe distance at her rudder, she laughed. She was kind of irritated that she had to go change, but it was just too funny not to laugh at, she decided. She hadn't seen that one coming.

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Jade began the walk home up the grassy hill wielding her slimy, newly acquired fish. Yes, her newly acquired fish. She still felt bad, so she had gone back and bought one. Her long, thin mango-coloured skirt blew in the humid, Caribbean summer air, as did the matching scarf she wore tied around the top of her head of glossy golden ringlets. The Governor hated that she did not always want to wear hot, floor length, itchy dresses and painfully tight corsets. Especially not during a Caribbean summer. That was not a position that she wanted to be in. Jade strongly preferred pants, but that was certainly not 'proper' at all for a woman. Jade did not care about looking 'proper', but she didn't always feel like getting yelled at, so she tried to compromise and wear light skirts. Even though the Governor made it clear that he thought she looked "cheaper than a commoner". He seemed to forget that technically, she was a commoner. She didn't have the blood that he did. Again, she didn't care about what he had said. Jade wasn't a listener. Especially when the information was useless.

Jade finally made it to the door. She was almost surprised that the guards and butler let her inside. But then, she guessed that they were used to things like out of her. But, then again, she'd never come with her clothes wreaking, and a fish in hand. That definitely had never happened before. First time for everything. She thought laughingly. No questions were asked as she walked inside dressed casually, outfit slimy and dishevelled, reeking of dead sea life that glistened in the morning sunlight that seeped through the foyer's large window and drenched the room with it's rays. The foyer was a large room with a light blue marble floor, and a couple of clean, crisp looking white chairs sat on either side of it, beside each of them a small side table that held a vase of beautiful pink, orange, blue and yellow flowers purchased at the marketplace. The walls were white and held a few painted portraits of the family. One was of the Governor, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's mother, and was painted when Elizabeth was young, one was of the Governor and Elizabeth more recently, another was of Elizabeth, Will, and Jade when they were younger. The last portrait was the focal point of the room on the wall opposite the doorway, above one of the tables, and it was a very recent portrait of the Governor, Elizabeth, Will, Jade and Gretchen. It may have been a very adoptive, mixed up (and very broken) family, but it was a family none the less. Even Gretchen smiled in the picture.

To the right of the room was the entrance to the parlour, a few studies, the library that held a very impressive collection of books from all over the world, another sitting room, one of the bathrooms, and the hall to the kitchen and dining hall. To the left of the room was the staircase that lead to the second floor, and the entrance to a large waiting-type room that had inside it, another entrance to the kitchen, dining hall, and the help's rooms.

The Governor walked in from the parlour to see who it was that had come home. The Governor stood facing her, mouth agape. It took all of Jade's might not to burst out laughing hysterically , or at least grin until her face hurt at the look of absolute shock on his face.

"Robyn…" The Governor said, not even knowing where to start with this one. In truth he just wanted to pretend that he hadn't seen her and go about his business. He wore a look of thought for a moment and pondered on just what else to say. Robyn snickered into her shoulder, pretending she was coughing. When she could manage a (fairly) straight face, she excused herself and continued to look back at the Governor.

"A fish?…I'm not even going to say anything about this one. If anyone asks, I did not see you standing in the foyer holding a fish. I'm not touching this one with a twenty-five foot pole," He shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, girl." He said before beginning to putter away, back into the parlour.

"Wait." His eyes nearly popped out of his curly -wigged head and rolled onto the cold marble floor as Robyn plopped the fish into his hands and headed upstairs to change. When she was pretty sure that the Governor was out of earshot, she literally fell over laughing. When she recovered, she continued though the hallway towards her room. On the way, she passed Gretchen's open door. Gretchen was Elizabeth's cousin, and had just moved into the house a few months ago after her mother died. Her mother had gotten sick, and It was all a very awful, and very sad ordeal. Jade knew what it was like to loose a parent, so she did her best to give Gretchen her space.

"What is that retched smell!" Gretchen inquired, emerging from her bedroom, light reddish curls bouncing, as Jade passed. "Oh, that's just me. I got a basket of fish dumped on me." Jade explained nonchalantly.

"Are…are you alright?" Gretchen asked in a high-pitched voice. Jade laughed.

"Yes, I'm fine. It was just some fish. I'm not dying or anything. From a horribly contagious fish disea--" Jade gaped at her own carelessness and stupidity. To her dismay, she watched Gretchen's face fall. Gretchen nodded and turned to go back into her room. Jade cursed herself for mentioning death. And disease. And in the same sentence. Gretchen's wounds were still very much fresh to the touch and Robyn didn't want to infect them before they even had a chance to heal. "Oh, Gretchen. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--" Gretchen sighed, quietly.

"Oh, Jade. It's certainly not your fault. It is but my own that I am not over it…" She continued walking back inside of her room and she slowly and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Its not your fault Gretchen. It will never be your fault. You've never done anything wrong to the world…" Robyn said quietly, almost in a whisper as she leaned her back against the closed door. "I'm so sorry…" She knew she had to leave Gretchen be, so she continued down the hall and opened the door to her room. Jade felt extremely bad for the words that had passed between her and Gretchen, and was close to tears from making Gretchen feel badly, but she managed to suck it up, just like every other time something went wrong. Jade came close once in awhile, but she hadn't actually shed any tears for a year. Jade didn't cry. Not since she was…well, not for a long time. Jade had a strong sense for empathy and sympathy, and often felt the pain of those around her.

She went inside, closing the door carefully behind her, and beginning the difficult task of finding a new outfit. Jade searched through her large wooden wardrobe, sifting quickly through elaborate dresses, most of which Elizabeth, the Governor, and even Will had gotten her on different occasions as gifts, light, long skirts that she had purchased herself, an array of colourful bandanas, billowy blouses and v-neck shirts, tossing unwanted articles aside, not caring at all where they landed. She searched until she came across one of her few treasured pairs of pants, and a tight black v-neck shirt. Jade herself had made the pants from some stretchy material that she had bought last summer. It had been too hot for puffy, layered dresses, so she had used her few sewing abilities to make the pants. She never was, in her mind, very good at sewing, but she had taken her time on these, and they were her masterpiece. She'd never seen anything like them before. Women wore tight dresses, but very rarely even wore loose pants. It was 'improper'. And men did not wear tight pants either. So they were a unique creation. The Governor reviled them and forbid her to wear them, but she wasn't exactly a listener, and she was even less of a follower of directions. She took pride in her insubordination.

She did get looked at on the street when she wore the pants, but she didn't care. She didn't mind if people were scared of her. Maybe that was what she wanted. She wasn't sure. But she did enjoy the look of fear that she could instil in someone's eyes, without doing any work at all. Maybe it was because she normally did her best to be sweet to people. And she was genuinely sweet. As long as you didn't cross her. She did nothing to scare anyone, she didn't carry weapons, or injure people, or kill people, or even glare at people. She usually smiled. The people were never proved any of these things, they had just assumed them from the way she was dressed. Assumed that she was dangerous, and assumed that she was not to be trusted. After all, they could not recognize her as Robyn Turner, sister of William Turner, who is the fiancé of Elizabeth Swann. Not while she was dressed like this. All she had to do was put on a pair of clothes and she was the definition of what is to be feared. She wasn't sure why, but she was pretty sure she liked it, if not just a little bit. Jade did want to prove that she was strong, and as capable as a male. And she was. So maybe that was it. She just wanted people to know that she was an equal to the other gender.

Robyn dumped her fishy clothes into the laundry basket untidily and pulled on her pants, shirt, her black belt with the big intricately designed silver buckle that Will had said belonged to their father, and tied a black bandana around the top of her head, covering the top of her flowing golden ringlets. Robyn looked in the mirror and added a light, neat rim of kohl around her dark eyes, and brushed some golden-brown eye shadow, that was not unlike the colour of her hair onto her eyelids. Robyn had seen some foreign women, she guessed they were perhaps from India, with kohl lined eyes, and she liked it, so decided to give it a try. She'd purchased some kohl, and brought it home with all intentions of creating the same look she'd seen the women wearing, but, as always, ended up making it completely her own. She had never seen anyone with their make up done quite like she had hers, and that's how she liked it. She checked the make up job over again, and satisfied, pulled on a pair of black boots with folded over tops that looked almost like pirate boots, and headed out her bedroom door, closing it behind her. She didn't feel like ladylike today. She didn't have the energy to be a lady, so she decided that everyone else would just have to settle for her being herself.

She descended the staircase, grabbed her long black coat and put it over her shirt, leaving it unbuttoned. She received an incredulous look from one of the butlers (he was a fairly new employee and wasn't used to Jade yet), that she ignored, and headed briskly out the door.

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It wasn't just the docks that were busy that day. The streets of Port Royal were a bustle with upper class, well put-together women in expensive dresses, respectable looking men in billowy shirts, some men and women in slightly less formal wear (the more working class), and children laughing and playing in the streets. And they could. Port Royal was a pretty safe, well manicured town with law-biding citizens for the most part. You never know about people, but Port Royal was certainly a more classy town to live in. That could have been what made it so horribly boring. It was not a place with many pubs, teenagers, or much gambling. And, Port Royal was certainly not a place that you could witness drunken men fighting in the streets, or whores walking through town square. It was a place of seriousness, and respect, "lower class" people to be intimidated by those richer and more powerful than them, and lawful conduct. It was a place with laws, and punishments for those who brake them. This was mainly the reason why was is rare to spot a Pirate in Port Royal. They steered clear for the most part, wanting to avoid a dance with Jack Ketch. Who wouldn't? He's a terrible dancer. Jade laughed to herself at her own mind's silent comments.

This would be the reason that Jade didn't notice anyone dressed like her. Like a Pirate…or at least very informal. Jade didn't see the need to dress up so much for everyday life. It was pointless. A little make up here, some pants and a shirt here, and you have a tasteful outfit. You're not ready to go to the Governor's ball, obviously, but you're certainly dressed well enough to go into town. That was her opinion. It made her wish she knew someone that shared it. To her surprise, today not many people seemed to notice that she stood out, because the streets were so full. People scurrying about in a hurry, trying to get the day's errands done. She did manage to get a few dirty looks from people that passed opposite her on the street. One brunette mother in a puffy red dress actually pulled her two young children closer to her as she passed. Jade just smiled sweetly as the children gawked and stared at her curiously, their brows furrowed, evidently concentrating very hard on wondering what to make of this strangely dressed woman. "Charming little ones." Jade commented. The woman let out a 'humph', and pulled her children even closer as she quickened her stride. Well, it wasn't a completely sarcastic statement. She had managed to say it rather un sarcastically, and they probably were very cute kids when not in a state of complete bewilderment, shock and awe.

Jade knew clothing definitely had an effect on people (in Port Royal, at least), bust she didn't know it was that much. The woman's look, however frightened, or careful of Jade, had just seemed over the top. It was that expressive. Not just frightened…but mindful of the children, and just in a hurry to get away. Jade knew that that was sort of what she had wanted, 'but its not like I have a cutlass and pistol tied at my belt, have a blood-covered dagger in my mouth that I am absentmindedly licking at, and holding someone's decapitated head by the hair as it drips a trail of crimson from the neck as I walk.' She thought, amused at the wording in her head. Maybe she was the only one who could be amused at that. But that was Jade, and she didn't care. She half-grinned at herself. She'd have to remember to write that one down. She would like to see what the reaction would be if she actually did fit that description. But…no. She admitted herself that she was a little weird, but she wasn't asylum material. Not by a far. Nor was she a murderer. Then, she did have a pistol holster at her belt, but it was clearly empty. The belt had a cutlass sheath too, but that was detachable, so she left it at home for obvious reasons.Then, Jade spotted something in the corner of her eye. Or was it a someone? A flash of dark brown hair dashed into an alleyway as she passed. It was definitely a someone. And it looked like that someone was following her.

And thats gasp! Chapter One. Please review. Thanks for reading!