Chapter two: Negotiations

"I see you got a new wench. Quite ugly too." Captain Jack Sparrow glanced up at his companion.

"She saw me with the item. I couldn't risk her turning me in." He said shortly, looking down at his compass. He shut it quickly, then looked back to his companion, Gibbs.

"Why do you care? More bad luck?" He sneered. Mr. Gibbs was coming along in age. His peppered beard was more white then black, and he wheezed in the damp mornings. His left leg pained him on occasion...old wound.

"Don' go bitin' me head off Cap'n. I was jus' wonderin' is all. I saw 'er down thar' an' thought perha's she was a whore."

"Where is "down thar'"? Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. Thats one thing he didn't like about most pirates...the way they talked. It seemed to be an accent all sailors took on, and he avoided it whenever possible. However, when drunk, he would admit that he did slur his words.

"I meant below, Cap'n...you know tha'." Jack strode away from his old friend, and into his own cabin. He sat down at his desk, and put his feet up.

He was tired.

He was dead tired.

For some reason, he just couldn't get any energy. It seemed after everything that had happened in the...

"Hello?" There was a knock at the door, and Katerina stood there, frowning.

"Yes?" Jack slowly got to his feet, drinking in the bag. She looked a little better with different clothes on. She wore a pair of breeches and a regular black tunic. They seemed to indicate that she did indeed have a figure. A nice one, even. Her hair was still up in its knot, only this time a bit tighter, and not as sloppy.

"Yes?" Jack asked again.

"Your staring, Captain." Katerina said wryly. "I was wondering just where exactly I was to sleep?" Jack folded his arms across his chest, and tucked in his left cheek.

"With the rest of the crew, of course. Just because you're a woman, doesn't mean you are special." Jack was irritated now. He knew women on board were a nuisance. He had a few, and he grimaced at the mere thought of it. Always whining about their dresses, and the sea, and the stupid smelly pirates. He was glad when they were left in some port. The only woman he knew not to do that was Anamaria. She was tough...she wasn't too bad in bed either...

"Oh."

"Does that surprise you?" Jack's eyebrow was raised.

"No. I just wondered." She said cooly, and turned on her heel, leaving. Jack scowled after her, damning ever going into that shop.

Anamaria looked up at the clear sky, then down at the ocean.

"Its gonna storm Cap'n!" She called over the helm. Jack looked back at her, and gave a small nod. She noticed the newest crew member. A woman. An ugly woman. She was leaning on the railing, talking to Gibbs.

"Probably whoring around, no doubt." Anamaria mumbled to her self. She spun the helm a bit harder then intended, and the woman lurched, almost falling overboard. Anamaria tried hard not to laugh, at the sight of it.

"Thats not nice." She heard a voice in her ear.

"How did you get back there?" She demanded, turning around and facing Jack.

"While you were busy trying to drown someone, I walked over." Then he strode off. She shook her head, and went back to the helm.

Will looked down at the piece of parchment in his hands.

"Liz! We have a letter from Jack...in need of funds no doubt." He mumbled to himself. Elizabeth Turner quickly came down the steps of their small and humble home. She was smiling, and holding their youngest child, Matthew, in her arms.

"What does it say?" She asked, standing besides her husband.

"Oh my God." Will cursed after scanning the letter briefly.

"What?" Elizabeth's eyes were wide, and scared looking. Will put an arm around her shoulders, and crumbled the parchment in his hands.

"Its happening again."

"You mean?"

"The chest." Elizabeth closed her eyes in anger.

Katerina laid in her small hammock, wondering exactly why she took on piracy. She was told shortly that she would have to take the oath and the crew members would all have to agree to her coming on the account. It was set for the next day.

But she knew why she was there. She was in it for the money. She could build a million shops with that much money! She would never have to depend on someone else for as long as she lived. She laughed, because the only thing the men could do was try to marry her.

That got her mind going on how she wasn't married already. When her mother died, she hadn't even thought about marriage, or the fact of finding a prospect.

She rolled over, and slammed her eyes shut. She had no clue where she was going, and if she would even see the money promised to her. After a few minutes of moping, she heard a noise.

"You're the new one, right?" Katerina looked up and saw the only other female on the crew. Her name was Anamaria, and instantly Katerina knew she wasn't liked by this hard looking woman.

"Yes."

"You had better watch yourself around here. Strange things can happen." And with that, she was gone again. Katerina snorted, thinking that in its self was strange.

"So tell me, Jack." Will was slowly pacing in the large captain's cabin. Jack stood in front of him, his arms behind his back, a look of cool disinterest on his face.

"How in the hell did someone find that damn chest!"

"Pirates, Will, pirates. Its not hard. Most people end up roaming around, but these people haven't. Stupid blighters in my island."

"Jack." Will put his hands on his hips in a very old lady like fashion. "Its not exactly your island."

"Is too! It says right there in the entrance: 'This be my Island, go away!' I think that sends the message across."

"Jack Sparrow," Jack made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "You are one of the strangest men I have ever seen."

"Be that as it may, I need your help...again."

"Are you going to tell me this time?" Will smiled wryly.

"No. Never tell your whole plan. Learned that the hard way. Now get out! Shoo!" Will walked out shaking his head

"Send that new girl in too!" Jack called after him. He stood there twiddling his little braids.

"You wanted to see me?" Katerina walked in.

"Captain."

"There is no need to call me Captain, sir." Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Smart little mouth. Hmm." He gazed at her, frowning slightly.

"You wanted to see me?" Katerina asked again.

"Ginger, would you like weekly pay?" Her mouth dropped open.

"Are you kidding me? Just how much money do you have?" She advanced a bit on him. He sat down on his bed, and gestured to the large man and a dog chair by his desk.

"A bit. But, because you saw me in the shop, and I was in possession of something, I seem to have to buy you off. Lets say...five shillings a week? That seem fair?" Katerina felt like she was going to pass out.

"Er..."'

"Do you know what 'rapine' means by any chance, Ginger?" He kept saying her name with a slight emphasis, and he knew it was fake.

"Not really. Is it like a lake or something?" Jack laughed.

"Not a lot of schooling I take it." He stood back up and paced the length of the large cabin. The sun was slowly slinking into the ocean, and the sky was afire. The seagulls of England circled ahead, looking for their supper.

"It means pretty much the violent taking of another person's property. Like pillaging and marauding, but more mean, and evil."

"Sounds...piratish." Katerina snorted. She leaned back on the back of the chair, and folded her arms across her chest.