Disclaimer: Don't own.

A/N: Yay for writing again! Yay for Detective Stabler on Law and Order: SVU! He's such a babe. I'm gonna marry him one day. Moving on…yay for Chapter 25!

- Took some liberties on the island that they land on. So sue me. If there could be walking skeletons, my island can look however I want it to. I'm kind of winging it from here, so there probably will be some inconsistencies…

I followed Jack up to the deck quickly, confused and heart-sore and needing to be away from Will before I did do something I might regret. I heard Will following close behind and tried to ignore the rush in my veins and the rebellious flutter in my stomach. Blinking upon entering the bright sunlight, I gasped as I stared at the island that we were less than half a league away from.

To tell the truth, I'd never see anything more beautiful. It made Port Royal seem like a town worse than Tortuga, and Tortuga like the very pits of existence. It wasn't large, in fact, I'm willing to wager that I could walk its edge in less than half a day, but it was the most beautiful island I've ever seen, and I'd seen my share. Between the Crossing from England when Elizabeth and I were twelve and the adventure I went on with Will a few scant months ago, to the month spent at sea with Jack - was it really a month already? - I was no stranger to the sea.

"What are we doing, Jack?" I asked, watching as the crew unload the lifeboats and prepare to row ashore. Jack grinned broadly, not taking his eyes off the island. It seems that we shared a mutual respect for its glory. "It just so happens that I know the good folk who live on this island, Christina, and they'll be happy to here from me," he said.

1

"Jack Sparrow! What you be doin' back here?" the squat woman shouted, and I found myself wincing along with Mary and Will as she smacked him hard across his face. It seems that the good folk of the island were not as he thought they would be. The woman, dressed in coarse cloth and no shoes, had long dark hair braided down to her waist and dark, deep-set eyes. She had thick eyebrows and, though her height would have seemingly denied any authority, she had the crew on edge as she stood with her hands on her wide hips. Her skin, brown from the sun, made me seem pale and right now her lips were quivering with fury.

Our journey ashore had been a short one, and I had been in a boat with Will and Mary; Will insisting on having his arm around my waist, peering suspiciously at the island and at Jack. Jack, however, had seemed to be in a fine mood, whistling and thoroughly ignoring all the nasty looks that Anamaria had been sending his way. I leaned on Will tiredly, exhausted by the fighting and also from the weeks spent at sea - it would feel good to be on land once again. I almost missed the smile that Mary aimed at me; she seemed happy that Will and I were no longer at odds. To be honest, I was more than happy myself.

"I can explain, Maurya, believe me, I can," Jack said hastily, holding his hands up to fend off another attack. Maurya simply crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Five years my Taeryn do be waiting for you, and you do ignore her. She was to be your wife, Jack Sparrow, in return for the shelter you did receive here. What have you got to say for yourself?" Jack hesitated and Maurya pulled back her fist again.

"Wait, Maurya," another woman said softly. Anamaria had gone to stand next to her and I hadn't realized her until now, she also short but so slender that had it not been for the white of her hair I would have thought her a child. Her face was smooth and nearly immaculate, and she too wore her hair in a braid down her back. Upon her head was threaded flowers nearly as white as her hair, resembling a crown. She looked at Mary and I with interest, a glint appearing in her eyes as she looked at Will. I stiffened, and could swear I saw her grin.

"What, Naneth? This man did lie to us - he does not have a right to claim shelter here again!" Maurya burst out. I looked at Mary, who was staring with wide eyes and the rest of the island folk - tall shirtless men who stood with their arms crossed over their chests, brown from the sun and with dark hair; others were shorter and a bit paler, if not by much, their skin more copper than brown and their hair with glints of red, and pale eyes. I stared too, at the women who stood in various states of dishevelment, in coarse cloth of neutral tones to fine silks that looked worn and dirtied. Women, most of them short with a few here and there that were nearly as tall as the men, all with dark skin and dark eyes, looking like they could wrestle the tallest of the men and come off the better. There were children, too, standing and staring at Mary and myself with equal interest. I felt my face grow hot when I realized I hadn't had a chance to change out of the infernal dress that the crew had made me wear.

"You, of all of us, Maurya, should know that there do be some men who can never be tamed, just like there do be some fish in the lagoon never to be caught," the woman called Naneth said, staring levelly at Maurya. Maurya looked positively furious, her face growing darker as her brows furrowed. Jack rubbed the back of his neck, agitated.

"What's going on?" Mary whispered. Naneth looked over to us, and Mary paled. Naneth, however, smiled, first at Mary and then at me and Will. "I do know your mind, Jack Sparrow, and you shall stay with us. Maurya will be a prickly thorn in your side, but you do deserve that at least. And you will speak with Taeryn, soon. When she is ready." Jack nodded and half bowed to Naneth, and stepped back to stand among the crew. One of the men, a tall sinewy man probably about my father's age, stepped forward.

"The crew will follow me," he said, nodding solemnly at Naneth. I turned to go, but Anamaria grabbed my arm. "She does want to follow her man," Maurya said snidely, and received an admonishing glare from Naneth, who was looking at me. "When we stay here, Princess, the women are kept separate from the men. They only interact during the feasts at night and that -" a grin crept onto Anamaria's facing, making her look nearly identical to the native women " - that is reserved for the brides."

We were led farther away from shore, in the opposite direction from where Jack and Will had been taken. "H-how much farther is it?" Mary panted. The island was larger than I had expected it to be, though still not as large as Port Royal, and it was filled with a considerable area of thick trees steeping uphill. Towards the center of the island was a mountain which Maurya explained almost gleefully was a volcano. Mary whimpered under her breath and I set about cursing Jack Sparrow for his foolishness in having brought us here - and my foolishness in having followed! In having come to him in the first place!

"Here were are," Naneth said, not out of breath at all even for a woman her age. She put Mary and myself to shame. "Excuse me…lady…Naneth?" I said cautiously, raising my chin at the glare that Maurya sent my way, "But…where exactly are we?" I asked.

"What she does mean, Naneth, is when Will she see that fine man of hers," Maurya said, reminding me sharply of Anamaria when she was in a foul mood. Naneth smiled and Anamaria snorted. She had gone to stand with the rest of the women, and Naneth came to stand before Mary and I.

"First you should know that I am no lady. Second, you will see that boy of yours when you do be ready - and only you will decide that."

"How did you -" I blurted out without thinking. Naneth smiled again. "There do be many things that can not be explained in this world, Princess," she said gently, chuckling as my eyes must have widened to the seize of the coconuts that hung from the palm trees. "But this do not be one of them. Anamaria told me who you are, and what you do be with Jack for." I glanced at Anamaria, who was standing stonily now with her arms crossed.

"Tomorrow morning you will come with me and I will teach you something - all tree of you, perhaps," Naneth said, taking in Mary, Anamaria, and myself. Maurya tutted loudly and the other women tittered. Mary sighed under her breath and muttered about how she never should have left the mansion in the first place. Anamaria uncrossed her arms and stared hard at Naneth, then did something I never thought possible for her - she dropped her gaze and nodded submissively.

"What is going on?" I said loudly, rubbing my head tiredly and wishing for nothing more than a nice bed to lay down and sleep in. Having been at sea for a month, being on solid ground was strange, and I found myself not quite walking straight. It increased the headache that I felt emerging slowly but steadily. Naneth smiled. "You townsfolk do be so impatient. Jack do be like that too, and perhaps he still is, according to Maurya."

"Aye, he is," Anamaria said darkly. I sighed. "I can see you wont take a moments rest until you know, so here it is," Naneth said, nodding at Maurya. Maurya stared back sullenly.

"We'll start with Jack, then?" she asked, and Naneth nodded again. Maurya scowled. "Five years ago, Jack Sparrow did come to us, haggard and starving and we offered him shelter on our island. He was on the run from pirates - the demon pirates who had stolen his ship and left him to die. We did know Jack Sparrow from years before, Jack Sparrow and his best friend before they were such big pirates, thinking they did own the seas. They did visit often, Jack and Bill."

"W-what? Bill? Bootstrap Bill?" I sputtered, and Mary gasped. Maurya smiled, almost sadly. "Aye. Bootstrap - your man does look just like him, Princess," she said. "Pity, how he did die. I wanted him for my Taeryn, but old Bill never did love another, except for Isabelle. And so my Taeryn would have married Jack. He did stay here for tree months, he did, and Taeryn was besotted with him. But Jack never could leave the sea," Maurya frowned and pursed her lips. Naneth sighed.

"Maurya does still feel the soreness of pride for her daughter. Taeryn did marry another, and there are happy, Maurya. Jack Sparrow does have only one lover, and she is the Pearl. Jack did leave after his tree months, and we did not hear from him since until now. He did know of our practices, how we live -"

"And it do be this here woman who left us for him!" Maurya spat, glaring at Anamaria. "For him and his Pearl, you betrayed your island. Your sister! Taeryn!" she snapped. Anamaria's eyes flashed dangerously. I blinked. "Anamaria - Maurya is your mother?" Mary said softly. Anamaria scowled. "Maurya is the woman who gave birth to me. I have no mother but the sea," she said nastily, stalking away. The other women let her pass unhindered, staring at her the way one might stare at a stray dog. Maurya ground her teeth. "This island do be that girl's mother, but she did chose to run off after that man, that Jack Sparrow. Naneth, how can you let him stay here?" she wailed, wringing her hands.

"Jack Sparrow is a good man, Maurya, whether or not he and Taeryn were meant to be. He would have brought your daughter nothing but sadness had you tied him to this island. Now, we must talk about the Princess among us," Naneth said sternly, "And her fire haired friend," Maurya bit her lip. She was obviously fuming.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked warily. Naneth smiled, leading me to a clearing where there were huts set up of all sizes, some small and clearly made for one or two women, and one large one in the center. "You must learn that you do have nothing to fear here, child. You will live with our maidens until you do find the time when you are ready to leave - I do trust Jack Sparrow and Anamaria's judgment and if they do say you are strong of heart then you both will be made initiates of our people. There is much I can teach you, and much your young William does need to learn. Jack did say he tried to teach you but it seems you have the will of a mule. And so you will learn from us, little Princess," Naneth said.

"I do not understand," Mary said quietly. Naneth laughed. "The first part to understanding is to never underestimate Jack Sparrow. He did plan this all along, you know. It seems he cares a great deal about you, Princess. But where does the flame-haired women come into all this, I do wonder?" she said to herself. Mary fidgeted nervously.

"No matter," Naneth said, clapping her hands suddenly and leading us over to yet another group of women. "Tonight, we will talk. Tomorrow, I will teach. And now - you must bathe. You do smell something awful."

1

A/N: Doesn't make sense, I know, but eventually it will. I hope. I'm kind of…exploring the boundaries of this story. Weaving past, present, and future "it's a small world after all," that kind of thing. Short again, because its 10:57 and I still have to study for an English quiz. You'll have to pardon the inconsistencies - there are bound to be at least a few - because I am not a professional writer and I can't be bothered to make story outlines.