thank you to my reviewers. so, there is some eriky goodness in this chapter (can't you jusy imagine him in jack sparrow's ofit and hair? my erik is beardless by the way), but this chappie mostly establihes who christine is. and one of my favortie invented characters and i own her completly!

disclaimer: i own nothing. wish i did. mmmm, jack and erik!

Chapter One

Christine gasped and shot straight up in bed as she awoke. The dream had been so vivid this time. Ever since that day at sea, she had occasionally seen the haunting ship with the black, ragged sails in her dreams. Now, the ship was appearing more frequently, to the point where it would visit her nightly. She didn't dare tell Aunt Margaret about her dreams; she would forbid Christine from going down to the docks and listening to the stories the sailors told.

Shaking herself, Christine rose from the bed and dressed herself for the day in a simple, pale green work dress. She skipped putting on a corset today; she was so thin no one would notice and they were dreadfully painful. The best torture device ever made, the corset is, Christine thought to herself, chuckling.

Tying her chocolate brown curls up and tucking the gold medallion she still wore underneath her dress, Christine headed downstairs to the small kitchen from which the most delicious smells were wafting. Mmm, flapjacks.

Waiting for her in the kitchen was the most beautiful sight on earth: Aunt Margaret in all her matronly, double chinned, plump glory. She had a homely face that was always cheerful, round apple cheeks and a smile that could light up a room. Everyone in Port Royal loved her, she was the best midwife anyone had ever seen and was the most pleasant person to be with. She was also a tremendous pillar of strength. Christine remembered when she first stepped off the ship and into Port Royal. Aunt Margaret was there and took Christine in her arms, welcoming her to her new home. She comforted Christine as she nursed the fresh pain of her mother's death, holding when she cried, shushing away the nightmares. While she never tried to replace Christine's mother, she had become a mother to her more than Isabel Daae, an overpriced whore with a runaway husband, ever had.

She also had the ears of a fox and Christine's light footsteps could not escape Aunt Margaret's keen ears. She smiled her sunny smile and immediately forced Christine to sit down and eat her breakfast. She never liked how skinny Christine was, said it was unhealthy and bad for carrying and birthing babies. Christine didn't mind though, the food that Aunt Margaret cooked was wonderful, ambrosia that wasn't even fit for the king himself. Today however, Christine didn't have her usual ravenous appetite; her dreams were really starting to disturb her.

Aunt Margaret noticed Christine picking at her food and her paler than usual complexion. "Something wrong dearie?"

"Hmm," Christine said, startled out of her musings as to the mystery of the haunted ship. "Oh, no. I'm fine." She took a bite of her breakfast as if to prove her point. "Really, I am."

That satisfied Aunt Margaret for now, but Christine had an inkling that there would be a discussion tonight. Christine abruptly noticed something was missing.

"Where are Uncle James and Will?"

They were usually here in the morning, eating breakfast before heading to the smithy. Why weren't they? Christine was slightly disappointed; she enjoyed talking with her cousin in the morning.

"Oh, they left already." She laughed at Christine's incredulous look. "My dear, it's nearly nine o'clock. You've been sleeping for awhile."

Christine's disappointment over the absence of her cousin turned into shame and embarrassment of her laziness. She had never slept that late before, unless she was sick. "I'm so sorry, Auntie. I honestly didn't mean to, I, I hardly know what came over me, and-"

"Oh tis' nothing to worry about. You were up late anyway, best to let you sleep," Aunt Margaret said, winking in Christine's direction. "Walking out late with a laddie can take the energy out of you." Aunt Margaret chuckled and went back to her work.

Christine felt her face burn, sure that she looked like the usual tomato when she blushed. It was late when she got back from walking with Raoul. She really didn't want to go for that moonlight stroll, as she was completely uninterested in Raoul. And he had tried to kiss her. Without permission! The nerve of that man! It was too bad that Aunt Margaret was determined to see the pair of them married, seeing that she only wanted the best for Christine.

Well, not to sound ungrateful, but Christine wanted to find love and adventure all in one. A man who's unpredictable, strong, like the swashbuckling heroes in the stories the sailors tell. In other words, Christine wanted someone the complete opposite of Raoul.

She finished her breakfast and picked up her basket to fetch fish for dinner. Well, at least she might be able to hear some new stories.

Heading out, Christine wondered if she would ever find the man she wanted.

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Erik stood atop the mast of his humble ship, the wind blowing his unruly dreadlocked hair behind him. Well, humble was a very good word to describe his "ship" which was actually a boat. And the bloody thing had a leak.

At least Port Royal was near.

What a nice little town, with nice little ladies and nice ships. Very nice ships. Erik longed to commandeer one of the. Would be a lovely change from this rotting carcass.

As he tossed water out of his boat, Erik noticed three skeletons, all strung up and rotting. With them was the warning, "PIRATES, YE BE WARNED." Erik saluted his brave comrades and took the message to heart, Port Royal was a town he would have to be careful in. Hopefully his appearance wouldn't rouse suspicion. Erik looked like a pirate and he knew it. His hair, beat up tri-corner hat, well worn clothes branded him a pirate just as well as the "P" shaped burn on his arm. His dark brown leather mask was only a nuisance.

Sighing, Erik climbed back on top of the mast of his sinking boat. Bloody thing! Proudly, he sailed into Port Royal and into whatever it had to offer.