Pirates of the Caribbean Lafayette's Gold
By: moonybabe
Dis. I do not own PotC it is Disney's. Any new characters are of my own imagination and the legend of Lafayette's gold is mine. Also I do not know much about sailing only what I have read in books and seen in the movies so if I make a mistake about parts of the ship or what the crew is called that's why.
NOTE:I did write this before DMC.
Please read and review. I would like to know what you think. Constructive Criticism welcome.
A cold and mysterious fog drifted over the waters of Tortuga Port. In the midst of the fog sailed a rickety old ship. Its tall mast was crooked and bent and its sails were blackened with cannon residue and they had large holes in them. The Dreamer was about done for. It had seen its last battle for it put the great ship beyond repair.
The Captain a young woman in her mid twenties stood at the helm. She was dressed in a tattered gray men's uniform. She had to pretend she was a man to captain a ship. The young woman was a pirate. She was one of the few who had not been branded by the East India Trading Company. She had not been branded for two reasons. One she would never get caught and two because she and her crew would never harm anyone except in self defense.
She was known around the world as Captain Jon Doe but to her crew she was known as Captain "Swift" Sarah. Sarah could run her ship by herself if need be. She was quick and smart with a knack for finding new ways to improve her ship but the last battle it was in had wrecked it beyond repair.
As a pirate Sarah knew that there would be battles where death could not be avoided but the thrill of finding treasure and sailing her own ship would out rank that. She had always dreamed of being a pirate. Ever since she was little she had visions of sailing the high seas and searching for treasure as she ordered her crew around.
Sarah now stood at the helm of her ship downtrodden. She and the Dreamer had been together as long as she had been a pirate and that was going on fifteen years now.
At the age of fifteen Sarah's mother died and never having a father Sarah was left to fend for herself. She stowed away on a ship bound for Tortuga Port. If one was going to make it as a pirate Tortuga was the place to go. Once there she found a crew that would follow a young woman out to sea for simple treasure hunting quests then they commandeered a ship: The Dreamer.
Sarah sighed and patted the helm. She hated giving up her beloved ship. It could be a long time before she was able to get another ship.
"Cap'n." cried the pirate in the crows nest. "We are approaching port."
Sarah began shouting out orders to her crew then she watched with a slight smile as her crew scurried around her getting the ship ready for its last stop before ending up in a burn pile.
"Well ol' girl." Sarah sighed. "We've had some good times. I'm gonna miss ya."
Sarah patted the ship again but she did not cry pirates don't cry.
Soon they were docked and Sarah and a select number of her crew set out for the bar at the center of the island. They sat down at a table in the center of a great hub of people so that they could listen in on their conversations. They wanted to hear if anyone was selling a ship or trading one.
As Sarah drank her drink she noticed a haggard looking man in the corner of the room. He was grimy and his clothes were torn. He wore a uniform like one that the captain of a royal navy ship would wear. He even had the wig and hat that went with it. Sarah being a pirate and a commoner all her life could never understand the importance of wearing the wig.
She stood up slowly and swaggered over to the gentleman.
"'Lo!" she said in a deep grunting voice.
The man looked up and gave a half hearted sneer. "Hello."
He spoke with a crisp English accent. One that just dripped with military training and years of experience in the upper class parts of England and Europe.
"You don' look like ye belong here matey." Sarah continued pulling a chair up across the table from the man.
"I don't." the man said stiffly. "I was abandoned here when my crew left me and my ship."
Sarah leaned forward at the mention of a ship. "Ye don't say. And why would they be doin' that now then?"
The man looked up at Sarah from his drink. "They left because they were smart enough to not listen to Jack Sparrow."
"Jack Sparrow?"
"I followed Jack Sparrow here on a rescue mission and when the mission was done my crew abandoned me. They found another ship and sailed off without me. Jack Sparrow did the same or so I would assume because I have not seen him in this bar in a week."
"There are other bars on this island…"
"Norrington. Commodore James Norrington."
"The name is Jon Doe. I am the Captain of The Dreamer. It's nothing but a wreck now and I'm looking for a new ship."
"In the market?" muttered Norrington.
"Eh? I suppose." Sarah replied.
"Well you can have my ship. It's no good to me. I can't sail it on my own."
"Well that's right nice of you Commodore. I think I must, accept you offer and in return me and my crew will get you off this island and take you anywhere your heart desires. Upon my honor." She held up her left hand and put her right hand over her heart.
The Commodore looked up again. "You, a pirate, would do that for me."
"Not all pirates are criminals. I have never murdered someone in cold blood and I have only stolen one thing in my life."
"And what was that."
Sarah laughed. "The very ship that I have just replaced is what I stole." Sarah stood up. "Let's get a move on then. I have things I have to do before we leave this island."
The Commodore stood up. "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.
"You don't." said Sarah. "It's your choice. Either way I'm taking your ship."
Norrington stared at her for a moment before nodding and following her and her crew out the door of the bar. Captain Jon led him to the blackened old ship and then on board the rickety old thing.
The Commodore could barely make out the name of the ship as he climbed the ramp up the ship. "The Dreamer" was written in pink chipped and faded paint on the side of the great black ship. As he continued to look around he noticed that the ship was very clean. Everything had its place and the pirates were very careful to put everything back where it belonged. This was a strange new concept for Commodore Norrington.
Captain Jon stepped up to the helm and addressed her crew.
"We have found a ship." She said.
Loud cheers rang out through the crowd. Some pirates threw up their hats and stomped the deck. Their captain stood silent for a moment. She stood with her hands on her hips scowling a little at their behavior. Once the cheering had died down she motioned for Commodore Norrington to stand beside her.
"This is Commodore Norrington of the Royal Navy. He had been kind enough to give us the new ship…"
She was cut off as once again as her crew shouted its thanks with loud cheers and more stomping. This time she held up a hand to silence them.
"The Commodore needs a ride to wherever it is he wants to go so I am allowing him to join us. You will treat him with the respect he is entitled and follow any orders he may give in my absence."
"Where are you going cap'n" a crew member asked.
"I have some unfinished business on shore. I may be gone for two or three days. You will obey the Commodore and my second in command." She nodded to her First Mate. "I will see you in my cabin." She said to him. "Carry on with you work." She said to the crew and then motioned for Norrington to follow them to her cabin.
As Norrington entered the cabin he noticed that it was very pink and feminine. The captain and the first mate had a quick whispered conversation before the captain addressed him.
"There is something very important that you must know and I am telling you this only because you will be with us for many days and you are bound to find out anyway."
Norrington narrowed his eyes. "Just what exactly do you mean?"
"Commodore, I am neither your normal pirate nor a normal sailor for I am in fact a woman."
Sarah removed the baggy bulk of clothing she was wearing to reveal a closer fitting shirt. Norrington stared for a moment before catching himself, blushing, and looking away.
Sarah laughed. "Don't be embarrassed. The whole of my crew did the same thing when I told them. I am use to it. My real name is Sarah. You can call me that from now on."
Norrington cleared his throat. "But why turn to a life of piracy?" he asked.
"That tale is for another time as it is quite too long to tell here. I promise I will tell it to you before you leave this ship. Right now I have to go out for a few days… that is something that I will explain along with everything else."
Norrington made to say something more but Sarah put up a hand and began to pack a bag with food and clothing and other supplies that she would need over the next few days. She filled the bag quickly and turned back to Norrington and the first mate.
"I should be back in a few days. Until then the two of you are in charge." She turned toward the first mate. "Evens," she put her hand on his shoulder. "You can do this."
The first mate nodded and left the room.
"Commodore," Sarah said with a nod. "Until I return you may use my cabin after that we'll be moving on board your old ship and… well we'll get to that when we get there. Until then."
She nodded to him again and left the cabin. Norrington and stood in the cabin for a moment before hurrying upon deck. He stood at the side of ship and watched the tiny form of the captain swaggering in a very manly way down the road and out of sight.
"Well this is the start of another great adventure." Norrington said sarcastically he looked at the town once more before returning to Captain Sarah's cabin.
Sarah wondered down the main street of Tortuga. She walked for a very long time and then suddenly took a left down a dark and what looked like a dangerous alleyways. She then ventured down it until it came out into the edge of a dreary forest. She looked around making sure that nobody was around and stopped.
Lying down in the mud was a drunken man slowly waking up from a drunken stupor. She approached the man slowly. He sat up and stared at her.
"What are you doin' here?" he said slowly with a slight slur.
"I could ask you the same question." She retorted in the same manly voice she used around new people. She suddenly recognized the man. "You're Jack Sparrow!" She said surprised.
"Yes. Do I know you?"
"No. I know you. You shouldn't be here."
"An' who says I can be here?" Sparrows said drunkenly.
"I do you drunken idiot!" Sarah said slapping him.
Jack Sparrow staggered back. "I don't think I deserved that."
Sarah sighed and stepped away from the man. "You know what I don't have time for this. Well Jack Sparrow I can't say it was a pleasure to meet you but…" Sarah continued backing away form the man and hurried off into the awful looking forest.
Jack stared after her for a moment. He hated it when he could not focus after a drinking for a week. He shook his head and then hit it with his hand a few times.
"I need to lay off the drink for a day or so."
Jack shook his head once more. He looked once more at the figure running off.
"What's he up to?" Jack muttered.
He stood up and slowly and again stared after the disappearing figure. He made a quick decision and made to follow him. Jack slowly made his way through the bramble and followed the trail that the strange man had just made in his rush to get away from Sparrow.
Jack easily followed the trail which led him to a small clearing where the man knelt in front of a mound of dirt with a stone at the head of it. It was a grave.
Sarah had brought her mother, Sky Porter's, body from where she was originally buried and brought it to Tortuga some years after she became a pirate. She brought the casket the clearing in the middle of a forest and reburied her there along with some of her mother's most prized possessions. One possession was a special dress that her mother kept very clean and would never allow anyone to touch it for any reason.
Sky had once told Sarah that within the folds of this beautiful dress was a secret and that secret would one day be hers. Sarah had often asked her mother what was in the dress and when could she have the secret.
As her mother lay dying on her bed she told Sarah once more that the dress was very important. Sky insisted she be buried in the dress and that in several years that Sarah should dig it up and find what was hidden in the magnificent dress.
Today Sarah thought would be that day. She had waited fifteen years to find this special secret and she could wait no longer. Sarah slowly began to dig with her hands. It would take quite a while to uncover the casket this way but she did not want to rouse the suspicion of her crew if she carried a shovel off of the ship. Of course she could have bought one in a shop and no one would question her but that used up some of her gold and she may need that later for her crew.
Meanwhile somewhere behind Sarah, Jack sat and watched this strange person work steadily digging in the ground. There was something compelling about this man. Jack had felt he had met him somewhere before a very long time ago. The man began to speak in a higher voice than Jack had heard him use earlier. Jack crept forward to hear what the man was saying. He figured the man was crying.
"Mum, please let this be worth all my time and effort digging your grave up again. My crew is unsettled by my going off for a few days by myself. Oh I met dad a few minutes ago. Really nice fellow." The man said sarcastically. "So that's what the great Jack Sparrow is like. No wonder he ran from you."
Jack made a face and looked himself over. He didn't understand what this man could have against him except the fact that he had called him his father. Jack thought long and hard. Who could it have been? He had been with so many women it could be anyone.
He looked the man over. He looked young. In his early or mid twenties Jack suspected. He shook his head he could barely remember what he did yesterday much less something that had happened over twenty years ago.
Something suddenly occurred to Jack. He had a child. He had a son no less. He had to tell Will Turner about this. Then Jack remembered he had left Will and Elizabeth Turner back at the inn back in the town. He jumped off and ran quickly back to the inn.
Sarah jumped up when she heard the noise of Jack thundering through the woods. She looked around where the sound had come from. She looked carefully but could not find and signs of anyone being there. Jack had been very careful in following her and when he ran off his feet barely touched the ground.
Once she was convinced that she was once again alone she began digging again. She dug for hours on end vary rarely stopping to rest and take a swallow of water from the flask that she had. When she did drink she had very little because the small flask had to last her the rest of her journey.
Late that night she stopped and lay down to sleep for a few hours. She leaned up against the back of the gravestone marking her mother's grave. As a pirate she learned to sleep light for when something went wrong on the ship the captain was the first to be notified and it was usually the captain who must make the decision of what must be done.
The next morning Sarah got up and began the process of digging again. She did the same thing for two days before she finally reached the wooden box below. Once she had the coffin uncovered she had to pull the box up to reach the latch and open it. This took longer than she expected.
Once the coffin was lifted up she used a rock to smash the lock she had placed on it when she brought it to Tortuga. She could already smell the horrendous odor of death seeping out through the cracks in the wood so she pulled the collar of the coat she was wearing over her nose and mouth and one handedly opened the door of the coffin.
The smell was too much. She was forced to step away and get some fresh air away from the rotted corpse. She had practiced taking deep breaths and holding them for a long time but to keep doing that would take her even longer and she had already been away for more than she had expected. So she would just have to deal with the smell.
Sarah returned slowly to the grave. The corpse was not much more than dried bones with maggots and other disgusting creatures crawling over it. Flies had begun to swarm over the body. Sarah knelt down on the ground and slowly reached out for her mother's corpse and quickly removed the now dirty and torn dress. As she removed the dress it snagged on bones causing the brittle bones to break.
Sarah winced every time she broke another bone.
"It's your fault mother." She said. "You were the one who asked me to do this."
Finally the dress was off. Sarah carefully laid it out on the ground and examined it thoroughly. She patted it and ran her hands over it as she did she noticed that in the middle of the dress was a place where the material was thicker and it was mostly in tact. Sarah turned the dress inside out and found a place in the dress where it had been sewn differently.
There was a thick line of stitches in the left hand side of the dress where Sarah knew that the material did not go together. She closely examined the stitches before taking out her knife and slowly cutting the thread. She was surprised to find that a pocket had been sewn into the dress.
Sarah almost laughed. Her mother was serious. The secret was literally within the folds of the dress. Slowly she reached in and pulled out a pouch made of soft material. She opened this too with care. Her eyes widened when she saw the objects in the pouch.
Sarah quickly put them back in the pouch and put the pouch in her bag. Then she hurriedly reburied her mother before hurrying back to her ship.
Meanwhile Jack Sparrow had found Will and Elizabeth who had been loyal enough to stay at the inn. (Or at least too busy to barter passage off the island.) Jack quickly told his tale leaving out the part about being drunk most of the time.
"I think we should find his ship and get on board to see if it is really true."
"So you want us to stowaway on this man's ship just because he says he's your son?" Will asked slowly.
"Yes." Jack said simply.
"You're crazy. He could have us killed if we did that." Elizabeth said loudly. "I have heard of some pirates shooting stowaways on sight and some tie a cannonball to the stowaway's feet and make them walk the plank!"
"He my son he wouldn't do that. He probably will welcome us and give us some of the best crew quarters in the whole ship."
Will and Elizabeth looked at each other skeptically and then at Jack. They knew that when Jack got something on his mind he could not be stopped.
Will turned back to Elizabeth. "We'll just have to hope for the best. When has Jack been wrong?"
Elizabeth frowned at him. "Shall I answer that for you?"
"Er… no."
"It's settled then? We find the ship and get on board!"
Jack, grinning with pride, went around the room getting things ready for their long voyage.
"I will go and tell the crew of the Black Pearl that they need to stay here until we return." Said Jack before he left the room in search of his first mate.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Said Will.
"You have a bad feeling!" said Elizabeth exasperatedly. "We could die!"
Will stared at the door Jack had just gone out. "Jack, what have you gotten us into this time?"
Sarah's crew welcomed her back warmly when she finally returned. She immediately began giving orders. She had her first mate and some of her best crewmen to sail Commodore Norrigton's ship closer to make it easier to transfer their things. Once her crew was moving she led Norrington to her cabin.
"Well Commodore," she began. "I see you are still with us and you are looking much better than when I left you."
"Er… Thank you. So are you going to explain everything to me now?"
"Not yet, but I will tell you what I found while I was gone."
Sarah opened up her bag and took out the pouch that she found in her mother's dress. She then opened the pouch and pulled out a large heavy key, a map and a letter. She read the letter silently and then looked up at the Commodore.
"My mother left me this when she died. I just dug it up from where I buried her here."
Norrington made a face but Sarah took no notice of it.
"She says in her letter that her parents came from France and one of her ancestors was a man named Jean Lafayette. Lafayette was one of the most famous of the French pirates. He pillaged and plundered most of England and France and then disappeared without a trace." Sarah leaned forward and locked eyes with Norrington. "This is a map to the great treasure of Jean Lafayette."
"So what is the key for?"
"No idea." She said with a sigh. "I can only hope to find out when we get to the place on the map." She looked Norrington in the eye again. "Would you like to come along?" she asked seriously.
"Me? Why?"
"I don't know. I find you very… intriguing, I suppose, and I am not ready for you to leave us just yet. It is a request not an order." Sarah said. "I promised to take you to wherever you wanted to go and I will. If you want to go with us on this adventure fine, if you want to go straight home that's fine too. It's whatever you decide. Trouble is you only have a few days to decide."
Without another word she stood up and left the cabin taking the map and key with her. Norrington stayed where he sat. She had said she found him intriguing. He thought things over carefully. He had been gone from duty for a long time now what could it hurt to be gone a little longer. Besides he found Captain Sarah equally intriguing.
When Norrington stepped up on deck he saw that his ship had been docked right next to the dreamer. Sarah was going down the ramp of The Dreamer. He watched from the side of the ship as she boarded his ship. Sarah looked over the side of her new ship and pointed at the name printed on the side. She spoke to one of her crew, passed him a few coins and sent him to shore.
Norrington watched and stayed out of the way as Captain "Swift" Sarah's crew moved all of their supplies from The Dreamer to the new ship. He followed Sarah's movements from one end of the ship to the other as she, her first mate, and her helmsman examined it. Sarah directed her crew telling them where to put things, what to keep and what to throw away.
Then entire captain's quarters of the new ship was taken out and replaced with Sarah's old quarters. All of the food was replaced and Sarah ordered more of her crew to buy more food and bring it on board.
Soon after she sent this party out the man she sent away earlier returned with a couple of buckets of paint and some brushes. Norrington watched as some more members lowered the man on a plank of wood. Carefully he painted over the old name of the ship and then paint the new name over it. The Commodore leaned over the side of The Dreamer to read the new name.
"The Sky Sparrow" was now written in large black letters on the side of the ship.
As all this was happening Jack Sparrow and Will and Elizabeth Turner waited in the shadows on shore.
"And how to you propose we get on board?" Will asked Jack.
"We wait until night and then seek past the guard."
"You make it sound so simple." Elizabeth said with a sigh.
"Well it is that simple." Said Jack. "His crew isn't very bright."
Jack pointed out a pirate who was trying to figure out how the door to the lower decks opened. Will looked at Elizabeth and shrugged. She only glared back at him. Jack was right. That night they crept past the guard who was asleep from all the work he had to do that day. Jack led them down into the storage rooms deep in the middle of the ship.
"This is crazy." Elizabeth said settling down between two boxes.
Will refused to say anything as he settled down to sleep.
"Well, Love, you should be use to doing crazy things around me." Jack said lowering his hat down over his head.
The next morning Sarah was ready to set sail. She gathered her crew up on deck and gave them a speech before opening a cask of wine and setting sail into the horizon. She gave her helmsman the orders to sail straight for and hour's time then she would give him further orders. She asked her first mate and Commodore Norrington to join her in her cabin.
"Well, Evens what do you think of this ship?" Sarah asked after passing out glasses of wine.
"She's ship shape and will be one of the fastest in the world. Once we make the modifications she will be better than The Dreamer, Cap'n."
Sarah frowned a bit.
"Cap'n, I know you loved The Dreamer but a ship can't last forever. This one is better and larger. We could add more crew…"
"No!" Sarah said sharply. "We're fine with the crew we have. This ship is not too big for us to handle. We're fine." She looked up at Commodore Norrington. "Have you made your decision yet? Would you like to stay with us a little longer?"
"Yes I would actually." Norrington said.
"Really?" Sarah asked. "That is good to here. And will you do your part to keep the ship in top condition?"
"Of course." Norrington said. He spoke as if Sarah was an outranking officer.
"Relax," Sarah said with a smile. "Just keep your space clean and fill in for ill crew members and you'll do fine."
Evens laughed. "The crew is going to get spoiled having a replacement for them when they are sick."
"No they won't." Sarah said with a smile. "You know I won't let them."
Evens looked between his captain and the Commodore.
"Now Evens. I am trusting only you and the Commodore with this right now. I don't want the crew to get excited but I found this."
Sarah took the map and key carefully out of a pocket in the center of her coat. She handed them over to her first mate for him to examine. As Evens looked it over his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"This is fantastic. How did you get this?"
Sarah retold the tale of her exciting adventure in the woods. She left out the part about meeting Jack Sparrow. Evens found the whole story fascinating.
"And you had to actually pull the dress off her bones?" he said.
Sarah curled her lip. "I don't really want to relive that experience again right now okay."
Evens nodded, he handed her the map and key back then went up on deck to tell the helmsman the co ordinance.
"I must once again thank you for giving us your ship. By then time we get you back home no one will recognize it except for you, me and my crew."
Norrington sighed. "I probably won't have a job when I get home." He said sadly. "If they find out what I have done I will surely be dismissed."
"Why?"
Norrington explained everything that had happened since he had met Jack Sparrow. Sarah sat in silence until he finished his long and frightening tale.
"Wow," she said in awe. "Jack did all that?"
"Have you met him?"
"I saw him once, on my way to my mother's grave." Sarah said. "None of my crew know this but…"
Sarah was interrupted. A pirate who's name Norrington did not know entered the cabin.
"Cap'n, we found stowaways in the galley's storage shall I send them in?"
"Stowaways on my ship! Yes send them in."
The man along with three others entered pushing in the three stowaways. Each of them had their hands bound behind them and their mouths gagged. Sarah stared at who had been aboard her ship.
"You four go." Sarah barked at the men who brought the prisoners in.
Norrington looked at her in surprise. He had gotten use to her light feminine voice that this new gruffer voice startled him more than the presence of Jack Sparrow and Will and Elizabeth Turner.
The men left and Sarah stepped from behind her desk. "Captain Jack Sparrow. We meet again. I trust you are sober this time." She said removing the gag.
"As sober as I come."
"Why are you here?"
"Because of what you said in the woods, Son."
Sarah's eyes lit up with realization. "What I said in…! You followed me! You were what made that thundering noise in the woods. Why you…"
She made to punch him in the nose but Norrington stopped her. Sarah looked at him she could tell he wanted to know what this was all about. Instead of punching Jack she removed the gags and the bonds on Will and Elizabeth.
"You are Mr. and Mrs. Turner I suppose. Commodore Norrington has told me all about you."
She motioned for them to have a seat and then she spoke to the guards outside for a moment. "Take Mr. Sparrow to the brig. Leave him there until further notice." She turned to Evans who was coming down the stairs. "Make sure no one enters my cabin until I say so. And be sure that there is a guard at Mr. Sparrows "room" Tell them to keep a sharp eye on him and to not listen to a word he says."
Evans nodded and he and the four men led a stuttering Jack away. Sarah returned to her cabin and sat down behind her desk. She put her head in her hands for a moment before looking up at her guests.
"Commodore, please sit down I have a lot of explaining to do."
Once the Commodore was seated Sarah began.
"First of all." She said removing the layers of clothing. "I am not a boy." She paused and waited for it to sink in for Will and Elizabeth. She noted that they were not that surprised. "My name is Sarah. Sarah Porter Sparrow."
"So it is true you are Jack's daughter?" asked Elizabeth.
Sarah nodded. "He was with my mother twenty six years ago. They were young. It was a fling my mother knew. At the time Jack was a rogue gentleman. Everyone knew he would turn out to be a… "Well a ladies man. They never dreamed of him turning pirate but they didn't think I would either. Anyway… he was with my mother for a long time and just before she found out that I was on the way Jack vanished. He had met a pirate and went with him on some treasure hunt.
"I knew very little of my father growing up. Mother only spoke praises of him only mentioning that he turned pirate once. Ever since that moment I had always wanted to be a pirate and find my father. Kind of the opposite of you Will." Sarah said smiling at him. "I met your father once. I almost had him as my first mate but he said he didn't want all the responsibility."
"Figures." Said Will darkly.
Sarah nodded to him in understanding. "My mother died when I was fifteen I stowed away on a ship bound for Tortuga. Once there I, under the guise of Jon Doe managed to procure a ship and then convenes a bunch of good men to follow a young "boy" out treasure hunting." Sarah laughed at the memories. "They're still with me." She said rather proudly. "Even when I told them I was a fifteen year old girl."
"Impressive." Said Norrington.
"Thank you."
Sarah continued to tell about finding about what her father was really like and how she had obtained the map to Lafayette's gold. Will, Elizabeth and the Commodore sat quietly as Sarah told them things she had never told anyone before. She laughed again when she told them this.
"I suppose it is because I am comfortable around Will and The Commodore." Sarah turned to Elizabeth and said: "Do you know how long it has been since I have been this close to another female? It has been almost ten years! We must have a long chat just me and you."
Elizabeth nodded and agreed.
"Well, that's my story. Take it or leave it." Sarah said with a sigh. "I suppose I should let Jack out of his cell."
"Or you could let him rot there for a few days." Elizabeth said.
Sarah gave a girlish laugh. "I could but that would make it even harder for me to tell him the truth. He looked so happy to have a son I'm going to hate to have to tell him I'm a woman."
"You are all he has talked about since he came back from his drunken stupor." Said Will.
"I'm sure he will love you no matter what." Said Elizabeth.
Sarah looked at The Commodore but he was looking out the portal with a far off look in his eyes so she left him alone. She put all of her layers back on and then directed Will and Elizabeth to sleeping quarters where they could get some rest.
"It must have been terrible for you to sleep on the floor" Sarah said before descending the stairs to speak to her father.
When Sarah arrived she dismissed the guard at Jack cell door. He was one of her biggest and strongest men.
"He tried to convince me you were his son." He muttered to her.
Sarah gave him a slight nod letting him know that it was true. "Don't go telling everyone just yet." She said in a whisper. "Tell Evens and no one else." Sarah knew that by the time she had told Jack and released him that the entire ship would know. Whenever she told a member of her crew to keep a secret it usually spread faster than her orders.
The guard nodded and left. Sarah looked at Jack who was pressed up against the bars of his cell trying to hear the conversation she had just had with the guard.
"Why did you follow me?" she asked Jack simply.
"I don't know. I did it on a whim."
"Do you know my name?" Sarah asked stepping closer to the man who was her father.
"No. I never quite caught it. Your crew seem to just call you Captain or "Swift" Why is that?"
"Because it's better than Jon Doe."
"Doe?" Sparrow said thoughtfully. "I don't know anyone by that name."
"That's because Doe is not my last name. My mother gave me your last name." Sarah said irritably. "My name is Sarah Porter Sparrow. My mother was Sky Porter. Do you remember her?"
"Ahhh yes. That was just before I turned pirate. Lovely old girl. How is she?"
"She dead."
"Oh," said Jack flatly. "Why in the world would she name you Sarah?" he said outraged.
"Because," Sarah said evenly as she once again removed the layers of clothing. "I am a girl."
"A…a….a…girl?"
"Yes. A girl and a pirate."
Jack was too astonished to speak. He just stared at her. She sighed and got the keys hanging on the wall across from the cell. She unlocked the door and let him out.
"So now you know." She said. "It was wrong of you to follow me into the forest and it was wrong of you to stowaway on my ship and I'm probably too good of a person to be a pirate because I am not going to flog you nor Will and Elizabeth but…" she trailed off as she went upstairs.
Jack jumped and followed her up into the sunlight. When he emerged on deck all of the crew stared at him. Sarah had evidently told all of them. Jack smiled and waved a little. Some of the crew bared their teeth at him. Jack sank back a little. It was evident that these men were very protective of their captain and they had heard stories of Jack.
"Nice to meet you." Jack said with a smile. None of the crew responded to his greeting.
One of the crew members finally approached Jack. "My name is Evens First Mate on this ship. Captain Sarah is dining in her cabin with Mr. and Mrs. Turner and The Commodore. She would like for you to join them when you are ready. She is just giving some more orders to the helmsman and then she will be down there. If you like I can take you now."
"Commodore?" Jack asked as he nodded for the First Mate to take him to the cabin.
"Yes, Commodore Norrington is our benefactor on this voyage. He is the one who gave us his ship."
"No it can't be the Commodore. He would never give a ship away besides; he sailed off with his crew after our last excursion."
Evens did not reply until they reached the cabin door. "Here it is." Evens hurried back up the stairs without another word.
Jack opened the door and looked around the clean cabin. He saw Will and Elizabeth sitting on the side of a long table chatting and on the end of the table sat Commodore Norrington. Norrington sat stiffly pretending that Jack was not there.
"So Jack," Will began "Did you get time off for good behavior?"
Jack gave a mock laugh and sat down opposite of Will. He was about to say something when a loud shriek cut him off.
Sarah had entered the room and was looking at him with horror.
"What?" he said innocently.
"You are filthy! Go wash up!" Sarah shrieked again.
Jack moved his hands away from the table. "Okay okay! Where do I wash at?"
Sarah pointed to a door and watched him as he fled through it. Sarah sighed and sat down at the table opposite of Norrington. "Sorry." She said. "But he was filthy!"
Elizabeth and the Commodore nodded eagerly.
"I have never seen him clean." Norrington said. "I assumed that all pirates were that way. Please pardon my assumption Miss. Sparrow."
"I'm not offended. It is true. Why do you think none of my crew dine with me? And please, Commodore, call me Sarah."
Jack came back out the door. "I'm clean." He said irritably."
Sarah looked at him. "Good! Now you may eat."
"Thank you." Jack began eating hungrily. "So where are we headed?" he asked.
"We're not sure exactly." Said Sarah. "We are just following the co-ordinance. Lafayette was very vague about where the island was exactly. You see it is on an island and the island is uncharted and not on the map. I'm actually not sure if the island is even uncharted still. We just go for the fun of sailing."
"You must be a poor bunch of pirates." Said Jack rudely.
"We are rich in more ways than one, Daddy!" Sarah snapped.
Jack looked up quickly at her then he looked back at his plate in shame. He said nothing through the rest of their meal.
"I like your take on life." Said Elizabeth as she smiled at Sarah.
"It has its perks." Sarah said. "I want to show you something after dinner. I think you're going to like it."
Elizabeth and Sarah began to talk about feminine things and Jack was unusually quiet. So Will tried to strike up a conversation with Norrington but the Commodore seemed to not be interested in talking.
"Daddy, you've been awfully quiet." Sarah said as she stacked dishes up for the cook to collect them and wash them. It was after dinner and they were alone in her cabin.
Jack looked at her. "I've never had a daughter before. I don't know what to do."
"I guess it's just the same for me." Sarah said sitting by him. "I have never had a father before. I know some of my crew think of me as a daughter but… I guess you just have to love me. We'll learn together on this journey." She hugged Jack. "I love you." She whispered to him before kissing him and leaving the room to look for Elizabeth.
"This is our horde." Sarah said to Elizabeth pulling out a large ring of keys. "We don't have it split really because we share all of what we have and we're going to split it when we give up piracy. A couple of men have found ladies and given up their jobs so when they do that we agreed to let them fill a sack up with anything they want and go. We do have a certain amount of gold set aside for food and supplies. We agreed to only use a certain amount for that. I was so afraid we would have to use some of this gold to purchase a ship. I was relieved when the Commodore offered us his ship." Sarah smiled at Elizabeth.
"Wow, do you follow the code?"
Sarah laughed as she stuck a key in the keyhole. "We don't steal. No we don't follow the code. We do have a contract and whenever we get a new member they are given a copy of the contract and they have a week to read, understand, agree and sign it."
Elizabeth was impressed. "So it's like a floating business."
"I suppose it is." Sarah pushed open the door and motioned Elizabeth in..
Once they were both inside Sarah used her lamp to light the other lamps lining the walls. She was not use to the ship so this took some time. As Sarah lit the lamps Elizabeth looked around the room. It was filled with ordinary crates that looked as if they held dried food stuffs.
"Don't be deceived." Sarah said as she lit the final lamp. "Each of these crates are filled to the brim with gold coins, priceless furniture and…" Sarah opened a crate marked with an "S" on the front. "…jewelry."
Elizabeth looked on in awe of the beautiful gold necklaces, bracelets and tiaras packed in the crate. "Oh my goodness! These are beautiful!"
"Go ahead pick one out." Said Sarah. "I can't wear them much right now and they are collecting dust." Sarah lifted a grand tiara out of the box. It had rows of sparkling diamonds. "Just not this one." Sarah was very careful with it as she put it back in the crate. "I got this one when we were thrown off course by a great storm and we found a little island ruled by women.
"Oh it was great. The men followed the Queen's every order and every hut was run by the women. This tiara was given to me by the island's Princess. I traded it for a sword. She had made it herself. She just thought the diamonds were just pretty, shiny rocks and the gold was something all of the women had. It's easy to bend and shape. The people of the island were very creative."
"I would love to go there."
"You can't now." Sarah said sadly. "We went back there once. It was full of Spanish conquistadors who overthrew the island. Many of the people were slaves and the Queen and Princess had died of sickness."
"That's awful." Said Elizabeth.
"Yes but what's done is done. Go on and pick something out."
Elizabeth quickly picked out a necklace and then Sarah locked the crate up once more. "Thank you so much!" Elizabeth said. She closely examined the necklace now hanging around her neck.
"You're welcome."
Sarah began to tell Elizabeth about how she came across that necklace just digging in the sand on an island they had stopped at to repair The Dreamer.
A few nights later a great sea storm bore down upon them. Will and Elizabeth were very ill from all of the rocking. Most of the crew had been ordered to secure all of the loose objects below deck the others were on stand by for emergencies; Jack and Norrington were among them.
Sarah was the only one on deck. She clung to the helm as waves washed over her. She had refused to let her ship go too far off course. Evens had pleaded several times for her to just let the ship go with the storm and wait for it to blow itself out but she would not even listen to Jack much less Evens.
Commodore Norrington stood at the door of her cabin where he, Jack and Evens had stationed themselves in case their captain should get injured.
"Couldn't you do something?" Jack snapped at Evens for the hundredth time.
"No sir Mr. Sparrow." Evens said again. He thought himself a very patient man but Jack Sparrow was trying him.
"What about you Commodore?"
Norrington turned to him. So far this voyage he had not said a word to Sparrow and Sparrow had returned the favor by not speaking to him. "What could I do that her father cannot?" he asked sharply.
"She'll listen to you." Said Sparrow.
"She would listen to you." Evens urged.
Norrington looked between them. It was true that Sarah tended to do things he asked more than anyone on the ship except for maybe Elizabeth and he assumed that has something with them being the only women on board. He sighed and opened the door just wide enough for him to fit through.
Slowly and carefully he made his way up to Sarah who was struggling to turn the ship's giant helm. She was wearing nothing more than a man's dress shirt, slacks and her boots. Sarah finally got the ship back where she wanted it and was wiping her face when Norrington arrived.
"Sarah," he shouted to her over the gale. "Please give up and come to the cabin where it is dryer."
"No!" she shouted back at him. "This is what I live for. This is what I love about sailing."
She looked up at him and smiled. It was clear that she was having a great time sailing the ship through this storm. Norrington sighed even he could not get her to come back in.
"At least," he said pulling of his coat. "Take my coat so you don't get sick. It's pretty dry and considerably warmer than what you have on."
Sarah looked at him and finally nodded. Norrington took off the coat and helped Sarah put it on.
"Is there anything else?" She asked him.
"Just be careful okay?" Norrington said. "It's getting worse."
"If it's worse, it's a sign it's nearly over."
Norrington looked up at the sky and got a face full of rain. Sarah laughed at him. "Go on back into the cabin. The storm will be over within the hour."
Sarah was right less than an hour later she came into the cabin soaked to the bone. She also brought in a severe cold. She was coughing, sneezing and her eyes were bloodshot.
"I told you so." Said Jack.
Sarah glared at him. She ordered Evens to take command of the ship and then allowed the Commodore to lift her up into bed. She had been so weak that she could not lift he legs.
Over the next week Jack and The Commodore spent most of their time caring for the sick Sarah. Jack would take the day and Norrington would take the night. On one such night Sarah's fever reached its peak.
Sarah groaned and tossed about. Almost all of the blankets on the ship covered her and she was soaked with her sweat. Norrington sat by her bed with a cold wet cloth constantly wiping her face and neck.
"It's so cold." Sarah groaned.
"I know." Norrington said soothingly. "I am trying to keep you warm."
He switched to the warmer water Evens had just brought from the kitchen. He began to dab her face with it.
"James?" she muttered. She had never called him by his first name before. "James. Don't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere." Norrington said.
"I don't want you to leave."
Norrington could only assume that she was so hot that she did not know what she was talking about. Sarah twisted on the bed again.
"James, don't go away. I want you to stay with me." She said. Then she began to whisper something that Norrington could not understand at first but finally: "I've got to tell you…got to…got to tell you something."
"What?" he asked. He didn't know is she meant anything she said but he decided to humor her. "What do you need to tell me?"
"I…I…" she began but broke into a coughing fit.
By the time she was done coughing she was to horse to speak. Norrington tried to understand what she was mouthing but he couldn't. From that moment on he never left her side while she was ill. He spent days sitting asleep in a chair as Jack tended to her. He only left when Sarah was fully recovered.
Though not ill anymore Evens insisted that Sarah stayed in her cabin as much as possible until they reached land which was not long by his calculations. So Sarah stayed in her cabin. Most of her time in the cabin was spent chatting with the Commodore. She had not said anything to him about that night so he did the same. Other time was spent playing cards with Will and Elizabeth or with Jack.
When it was just The Captain and The Commodore she often asked him about his time as a sailor. She also wanted to know what he was planning to do when he was taken back home. Not once did she ever call him James.
Weeks past and the ship sailed onward. The crew had finally been told about the gold and they anxiously awaited the sight of land. One day Evens came to Sarah in her cabin. Jack, Norrington, Will and Elizabeth were with her.
"This is the end of the instructions." Evens said. "All we do now is sail straight."
"You have been following our course with a map. Are we anywhere near civilizations?" the captain asked.
"Not any that we know of." Evens said. "Not many sailors go this far south. The sea gets to rough."
"If Lafayette could do it we can." Sarah said. "Inform us immediately if land is spotted."
"Yes Cap'n" Evens said and turned around and marched out the door.
"He's odd." Said Jack. "He obeys your every command without question." Jack turned to Norrington. "So do you." He said. "My crew never does that."
"That's because you're not a woman, Jack." Said Elizabeth lowering the book she was reading.
Jack mocked her remark and then said: "Why is that?"
Elizabeth was about to answer but was interrupted by Evens storming into the cabin. "Land! There is land!"
Sarah jumped up. "Have the crew get the boats ready. Get cook to pack up satchels of food and fill up the flasks with fresh water. Pull as close as you can to shore and make sure you drop that anchor this time!" she barked at Evens. "Well what are you waiting for!" she said to the others as Evens hurried out the door. "Get up on deck. Let's see where we're going!"
The four of them jumped up and hurried after Evens. Sarah followed them out and made her way up to the crows nest.
"Come on up Cap'n and take a look." Said the pirate in the crows nest as he waved his telescope. "Tis the prettiest thing I ever did see."
Sarah was up in the nest with him in seconds. "Did you see it first Carver?" she asked as she took the glass from him and looked through it
"Yep cap'n. Was a small speck at firs' and I thought that it was a smudge on me glass." Carver pretended to wipe the glass. "I waited a little while longer and then I saw it with me own eyes. I lifts up the glass and looks and there she is. Fresh and green and beautiful."
He was right. There was fresh green trees and light foliage lining a beautiful white sandy beach. Dotting the beautiful greenery were bright patches of red, purple, blue, yellow, orange and pink. Sarah's breath was taken away by the sheer beauty of this island paradise.
"You know Carver I think I could stay on that island forever." Sarah said with a sigh.
"You may think that right now Cap'n, but there could be natives on that island and they won't want us there."
"True Carver, that is so true." Sarah said. "We need to keep our heads while on that island. We need something to protect ourselves with. Go tell Evens to fetch everyone who is going on shore a pistol and plenty of ammo. I want you to go with us. You have sharp eyes, Carver."
"That's why I'm a look out." Carver said proudly as he lowered himself from the crows nest.
Sarah stood alone with her eye on the island as they approached. There was no wonder why Lafayette chose this as the location of his treasure. It was beautiful, remote and no sailor would ever think to come this far. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Jack had been standing by her.
"You know a look out does more than look out for land." He said.
Sarah jumped and almost dropped the glass. "Wh… I know that! They also look out for ships that may be following them." She looked behind them. "There is no one."
"Of course not!" Jack said. "No one but a Sparrow would be crazy enough to try and sail this far."
"You know I'm going to have to kill you now that you have found out where Lafayette's gold is." Sarah joked.
Jack laughed. "Let's go. Evens looks about ready to faint."
Sarah and Jack jumped out of the boat an hour later and pulled it onto the beach. Will climbed out and helped Elizabeth then Norrington followed them. Sarah and Jack were looking over the map. Once again Lafayette had used co-ordinance to find his treasure.
"It's a good thing you understand this map Sarah." Jack said. "I would have never guessed those numbers were the directions to the treasure."
"Of course you would never go looking for treasure you would be the one hiding it."
Jack refrained from saying anything.
Sarah began to lead them though to dark jungle. She used her sword, which was always by her side, to slash through the thick undergrowth. She, Jack, Norrington, Will, Elizabeth and a good number of her crew trudged on for hours. Sarah followed the map and checked their location frequently. Some of the crew thought she may have gotten lost a time or two but they knew that their captain would always get them through.
Soon the jungle began to thin out and Sarah could see a large cave with a bolder in front of it to seal whatever was inside. Excited she pushed through and ran up to the giant rock.
"This is it!" she cried! "This is where Lafayette buried his gold! Carver is there any rope?"
"I've got it her Cap'n! What shall we do with it?"
"Will it go around this boulder?" she asked.
"I don't doubt it. Two or three times I would say."
"Then let's get it around it. I want that treasure today! I've been waiting twenty six years and I have grown impatient."
The strongest of the crew members tied the rope tight around the part of the boulder sticking out of the cave. Once it was secure they began to pull with all of their might. The boulder wouldn't budge.
"Okay! Okay!" said Sarah pacing the ground in front of the boulder. "Let's think this through. What can get us through solid stone?"
"Cannon fire?" said Carver helpfully.
"But how would we get a cannon all the way out here?" asked Jack.
"What if we had an explosive." Said Will.
"That's it Will!" said Sarah.
"But we don't have explosives." Said Jack.
"No." Norrington put in. "But we do have gun powder."
"Exactly!" said Sarah. "We'll put down a load of gun powder around the boulder then we'll leave a trail of it into the woods. Once everyone is safe behind the trees I will fire at the line of powder which will ignite and blow up that stupid boulder. Then we are free to grab up the gold!"
Norrington looked at Sarah as if she were mad. "Sarah calm down." He said calmly to her.
"Sorry," I get a little over excited when it comes to finding gold. "Let's get to it then."
Soon the group had everything ready and Sarah stood with a pistol in hand. "Is everyone ready?"
She waited for the cries of her crew and their guests before firing the pistol and ducking for cover behind a large tree with Commodore Norrington. Instinctively he pulled Sarah into his arms as the boulder exploded showering them with pebbles of debris.
They waited like that until the cloud of dust and rubble cleared. Sarah swiftly made her way to the mouth of the now open cave avoiding stepping on the mess they had created. She motioned for everyone to follow her.
Sarah took a torch from Carver and led the way into the dark, damp cave. Thankfully the treasure had not been hidden near the mouth of the cave if there was any treasure at all. Sarah moved deeper into the cave.
As the group walked through they noticed French inscriptions carved into the walls.
"Anyone know French?" Jack asked.
"I speak French." Shouted a crew member from the back.
"You can't read it though Price." Sarah said. "You don't even read English." She muttered.
"I…I…can read it." Said Elizabeth.
"What does it say, Elizabeth?" asked Will.
"There's a curse." She said.
Sarah scoffed. "And what does this curse do?"
"It doesn't say." Elizabeth said. "It just says for "Seekers beware." And then something about the ghost of Lafayette. My French is poor." She admitted.
Sarah paused holding the torch farther out in front of her. She took the first hand she could find. It belonged to Commodore Norrington.
"I won't leave you." He whispered to her.
"Okay." She whispered back.
Sarah ventured on further and further into the cave as she did the path became narrower and narrower. Suddenly she stopped. The cave was now so narrow that only she and the Commodore could see what was inside.
A huge cavern lay before them. It was pitch dark except where the light of the torches flames touched but that was enough to tell the two of them that they were standing before a mountain of gold. Gold pieces were littered at their feet along with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious jewels.
"What is it?" someone asked.
"Is it the treasure?"
"Have we found a dead end?"
"Lads," Sarah said slowly. "Prepare yourselves."
Sarah stepped carefully into the cavern and lit a torch hanging to her left and then the one to the right. She turned back to Norrington. "Keep them back until I have lit all of the torches."
He nodded and reported the news to the others as Sarah made her way around the circular cavern. This place was huge. She was not sure if her ship could hold all of the gold they had found. As she arrived back at the entrance she noticed that a throne stood on a platform in the center of the room. Upon it sat the skeleton of a French pirate.
"Lafayette." Sarah whispered. She tapped Norrington on the shoulder and he turned to look at the throne. "It's Lafayette."
Norrington's hands dropped to his side. "You don't think he'll come to life if we touch his gold do you." He said in an uncharacteristic nervous voice.
"Don't know." Sarah stated plainly. "Let them in now."
As Norrington allowed the crew in Sarah walked boldly up to the late Captain Lafayette. Nervously and almost girlishly she poked the coat that he was still wearing. Very girlishly she giggled as it did nothing.
"How silly of me to think that he could come back."
She was about to make her way down the platform when she noticed a chest lined with gold plating beneath the throne. She carefully reached beneath the royal seat and pulled it out.
It was locked tight. Sarah looked it over. The key she had found with the map fit the lock perfectly. It was very light and so she held it up as she sat cross legged on the platform in front of the body of Lafayette. She looked like a child examining something very carefully before deciding what to do with it. There were more inscriptions in French but Sarah was so curious that she just unlocked and opened the box with childlike curiosity.
The last things Sarah saw were an empty box and the skeleton of Lafayette rising from his throne as she fell backwards in a faint. A faint mist lay in the air where she lay.
"Who dares to take the treasure of Lafayette." Boomed the deep voice of Captain Lafayette.
The crew who were gathering gold pieces greedily into their pockets stopped and dropped their gold. They stood frozen with fear as they stared at the bones of the late French Captain. Norrington was the only one to move. He ran up to Sarah and pulled her into his arms.
"Here we go again." Said Will. "Got any good plans, Jack?"
"No." Jack said flatly.
"What's happened to her?" Norrington demanded.
"Anyone who opens the chest holding my rotting heart will die instantly." Boomed Lafayette. "Only a true descendent of mine will survive its poisonous odor."
"She's still breathing." Said Norrington. "She is alive."
"Then a relative of mine she is but for only for a short while. If her true love does not wake her she will die."
"It sounds like something out of a fairy tale!" shouted Jack. "What are you playing at?"
"At one time I had a heart and I did so love fairy tales." Said Lafayette. "Oh well! Enjoy the gold."
Lafayette laughed a cruel laugh and his bones settled back down in his throne.
Jack stood before the throne shouting curses at the corpse. He also said how stupid it was to base a curse on a fairy tale and how feminine it was.
Norrington sat holding Sarah in his arms weeping. She was limp and hung loosely in his arms.
"Commodore!" said Elizabeth softly putting a hand on his shoulder. "We won't let her die."
"Commodore," Jack cried. "It's you! You're the true love. You must kiss her."
"What?" He looked down at her. "I…I…"
"Commodore, if you don't she will die." Elizabeth said pleading with him. "I know how she talks about you and how she looks at you and you are the same."
"But…"
"We'll all look away!" said Jack trying to help.
As one the whole crew looked away. Norrington looked down at Sarah. He gently removed her hat and brushed her hair from her face.
"Better do it quick," whispered the skull of Lafayette. He almost seemed to mock Norrington with a grin. "You're running out of time."
Norrington set Sarah down and kicked the throne over. Captain Lafayette's bones broke apart and spilled across the floor of the cave. Norrington then lifted Sarah into his arms and gently kissed her soft lips.
He held his breath for a moment and closed his eyes.
"James?" Sarah whispered.
James opened his eyes and looked down at the woman in his arms. Her dark eyes looked up at him in confusion. "Sarah?"
"What happened?"
"Nothing we couldn't take care of right Commodore?" Jack said grinning down at them.
James rolled his eyes. "Why me?" he asked himself.
"Nothing too awful happened." Said Will. "You fainted that's all."
Sarah sat up. "Well then let's get this gold packed up and taken to the ship." She reached out for the small chest.
James grabbed her arm and pulled her away from it. "No." he said. "We'll leave that here."
"What happened to me?" Sarah inquired of him.
"The curse was real and you almost died."
"What did you do?" she asked in a manner that reminded James of her father.
James pulled her into his arms and placed her hat back on her head. "Lafayette came to life and said that only loves first kiss could wake you. He mocked me. That's why his bones are scattered everywhere."
"So you kissed me?" Sarah asked.
"Er…yes." Said James.
Sarah smiled at him. "You kissed me?" she said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
"Hey!" Jack called from across the cave. "None of that here."
Sarah released James. "That's what I wanted to tell you." She said. "That's what I have always wanted to tell you."
"I have always wanted to tell you that I…I love you."
Sarah's smile could not get any bigger. "Let's go."
Sarah proudly led the way back to the ship hand in hand with James Norrington. She had her crew take shifts guarding the boat and hauling the treasure from the cave. Sarah, James, Jack, Will and Elizabeth remained with the ship always.
From that moment in the cave Sarah and James were inseperable. Whenever Sarah gave orders the Commodore was by her side. Even when they set sail he was with her as she sailed the ship home.
"We are nearly home." Sarah said to James one night. "What will we do?"
"What do you mean?" he asked holding her hand.
"One of us has to make a decision. One of us must give up our way of life." Sarah looked down at Jack who was sitting at her feet. "I am willing to give up piracy for you. It will be hard but…"
"I am also willing to give up my way of life for what is life without you in it?"
"That is sweet but can you stay with me on this ship forever?"
"Anything." He said.
"I can't ask you to do it." Sarah said. She stood up and walked out of the cabin and onto the deck. She looked over the side of her ship and watched as the blue green water swept past. She couldn't allow the Commodore to leave his position for her. She supposed that a life as a rich lady couldn't be so bad.
Sarah sighed.
"Something wrong?" asked Elizabeth.
"Oh Elizabeth I don't want to be a rich lady and die of old age in a fancy house with tons of servants waiting on me hand and foot."
Elizabeth laughed. "Why would you do that?"
"Well I don't want James to give up his way of life so I must give up mine."
"I suppose that's the price one pays for love." Said Elizabeth as she watched Jack explain to Will how different parts of the ship work.
"What's wrong with Will?" asked Sarah. "He's just a blacksmith."
"Yes and old habits are hard to break. He is constantly working on his swordplay."
"Not only would I have to give up swordplay but sailing and treasure hunting and…I will so miss the sea."
"I'm sure you will work something out."
"You're right, Elizabeth." Sarah said before walking away.
"Cap'n, we will be arriving in Port Royal within the hour." Said Evens sadly.
"Thank you, Evens." She replied softly.
Once he left Sarah walked about her empty cabin, she had made her decision to leave piracy and live the calm life of a Commodore's wife. She swept over the room touching treasures and other things that had made her life as a pirate worth living alone all of these years.
One part of her was telling her that she had found her treasure and all she needed was James. Another part of her said that she was born into the life of a sailor and she would never be truly happy except when she was on the high seas.
James had also made his decision. He knew that he would probably be sacked form the Royal Navy when he got back anyway so why not settle for a life at sea. He was fully ready to give up his life on land.
(This part was written after seeing DMC)
Sarah stood at the helm once again dressed as a man in her captain's suit as they pulled into Port Royal. She gave her crew orders to dock but did not give the command to go on shore to restock the ship. Below her James was saying farewell to Will and Elizabeth.
"So you are staying Commodore?" Elizabeth asked.
"I couldn't go back now Sarah loves the sea so much and I love her."
"It's a good thing you love the sea as well." Said Will.
James laughed. "Yes."
"What are you three chatting about?" Sarah asked as she approached them.
"I was just saying goodbye." James said.
"We're going to miss you two." Will said. "And Jack."
Sarah looked at James and smiled at him. "We'll miss you too, but we will stop by here and port ever so often."
"Maybe we can join you on another adventure." Will said.
Elizabeth seemed to force a smile and nod. "Sure."
"Or James and I can just stop by for tea." Said Sarah. "It would be nice to go out as a lady ever so often."
Sarah gave Will and Elizabeth a hug.
"We've already said good-bye to Jack." Will said. "He was into your supply of rum when we left him."
James groaned.
"We'll be rid of him soon." Said Sarah. "I'm sure the crew of the Black Pearl will want their Captain back."
"Don't forget to pick us up for the wedding." Elizabeth said with a giggle.
Sarah and James could only smile at one another. They stood on the gang plank as Will and Elizabeth descended. They kept waving until the Turners disappeared down the street. Sarah snapped around and addressed the crew standing behind her.
"Well get to work!" she yelled. "I want some of you to go into town and get more supplies. The rest of you I want this ship in ship shape."
The crew jumped to work and in a few hours the Sky Sparrow was shrinking into the distance with Sarah and James standing hand in hand at the helm. Jack stood behind them and turned his head to the side.
"Have you ever thought of having a fleet of ships?" he asked Sarah. "We could be great. The Pearl and The Sparrow side by side on thrilling adventures."
"What do you think?" James asked.
"We could do that." Sarah said to her father.
"Good!" Jack said holding out his hand.
Sarah shook it and then Jack pulled them both into a big hug. "Welcome to the family, Mate." He said to James.
The End
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