Disclaimer: The characters and concepts in this story pertaining to the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl are the property of the Walt Disney Corporation. This in an amateur writing effort meant for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Twenty: The Woman Who Looks Like a Man

Morgan had given William one simple task: making sure Jack Sparrow and his crew stayed on board.

It was the simplest request she could have made. All it required him doing was waiting on board to ensure Jack's cooperation, and knowing the Bateman had it in for Jack only gave him more incentive to comply. He didn't want anything happening to the pirate captain if he was there to stop it. So he armed himself with a rifle and kept a close eye on the vacated decks of the Wayfarer's Redemption, keeping a shrewd eye on the docks for any potential assailants.

The quietness of the night only made his guard duty more chilling. He paced back and forth across the deck, trying to calm his pounding heart, but only managed in scaring himself more. The clouds were starting to disperse and soft moonlight trickled down from the heavens. Images of undead pirates danced slowly across his mind, sending shivers throughout his body.

"You're scaring yourself, Will," he said quietly to himself, taking a deep breath of a night air as he moved closer to the bow of the ship. He gazed into the inky waters sloshing against the hull, eyes slowly drifting upwards to the ship's figurehead. What had Morgan told him? The mermaid was carved for his mother? Narrowing his eyes in the low light, he waited until the clouds shifted above him to show, quite clearly, a beautifully carved mermaid. His heart skipped a beat for the second time that night as his mother's beautiful face appeared in his memory. Unlike reality, however, the mermaid's face was safe from time's deadly taint. It didn't have the bruises his real mother had or the scars from life in a workhouse. She was immortalized for eternity as the beautiful woman Bootstrap would have remembered her being.

He looked away from her, unable to meet the melancholic gaze the fantastical version of his mother bore on her sullen face. The images of her face in his mind were fleeting, and as soon as they appeared, they disappeared once more into the shadows of his memory. A strange sort of rigidity crashed upon him and his muscles all tensed in unison. All his fear, anguish, pain, and hatred for the father he'd never known filled him so completely he could scarcely breathe.

The strange attack filtered through him, rising upwards to the darkened sky above him. The clouds billowed overhead and shut out the moon, sealing the harbour in darkness again. He turned back and found the mermaid's face had disappeared in the shadow, vanishing from sight.

Behind him, the cabin door was thrown open so suddenly and fiercely that Will jumped, about facing to ascertain the nature of the disturbance. Shadows passed through the doorway and waltzed out onto the deck, figures William couldn't quite make out.

"Jack?" he whispered, just in case anyone was listening.

The figure in the lead stopped short, waving their arms about in distress. Will rolled his eyes. Jack, he thought, and walked towards the group of people making their way off the ship. His eyes narrowed through the darkness, taking note of the odd silhouettes in front of him. Jack looked narrower and wider around the bottom along with the figure behind him. In fact, if Will didn't know any better, he would have thought the captain to be wearing a dress.

"Where do you think you're going, Jack?" he asked casually, lowering the rifle. The captain let out an uneasy grunt, and the clouds parted again overhead, cascading moonlight down onto the ship.

Will did a double take when he took note of Jack's current state. The captain was wearing a dress. And a corset and a petticoat and by the looks of it, high heeled shoes as well. The gown had been borrowed my Morgan's collection and was as old as the hills. The tattered indigo fabric shown slightly turquoise in the moonlight, like peacock feathers. His mess of dreadlocks was ruffled over his shoulders, pinned up slightly with some ornate jeweled ornaments the pirate was probably going to sell for rum money. A piece of ripped fabric tied around his head provided a necessary veil to hide his facial hair.

"Jack…?" he asked, stunned.

"This isn't what it looks like," Jack said defensively, backing away from Will with his skirts raised slightly over his feet. Will noticed that he was, in fact, wearing a pair of Morgan's heels.

"Alright, Jack, then what is it?" he asked, still staring at the captain, cocking a brow in both confusion and disgust. Jack's mannish appearance made him a very ugly woman.

A pause. Jack cast a glance over his shoulder to the person behind him, revealed in the moonlight to be none other than his first mate Ana Maria. She was dressed in her usual loose fitting garb along with that massive hat she always wore to hide her face. From the look on her face, she didn't have any more answers than Jack did.

"Alright, this is exactly what it looks like," Jack said with a sigh.

"Are you planning to go out in public like that?"

"Of course," the captain replied without even a semblance on shame.

William knew he was going to regret asking the next question. "Have you gone completely mad?"

"He's been completely mad," Ana stated before Jack could utter a word.

"Ah, but there is method to this madness. Bateman would never think to look from me in a disguise like this," he looked very proud of himself indeed. Even beneath the veil, William could still make out that gold-toothed grin the captain was so famous for. "I wouldn't even think to look for me in a disguise like this."

"I should hope not," Will said under his breath.

"Well…" Jack said, hesitating a moment to think if there was anything else to say. He then came to the right word. "Bye!"

"Wait! Jack!" the blacksmith whispered. "You shouldn't do this."

"But I am doing it," he said, and mounted the gang plank.

"What happens if this disguise of yours doesn't work?"

"I'm going with him," Ana said, following Jack down the gang plank.

"I can't believe you're supporting this."

"I'm armed with two pistols and I could pick Robert Bateman out of a crowded tavern just by smelling him."

"That's comforting," Will said sarcastically.

"Would you relax, whelp? I'm not going to be gone long."

"You really shouldn't be doing this…"

"Look, if you're so keen on protecting me, why don't you just come with me?"

Jack was looking him right in the eye, daring him to make a move. From beneath the veil, Will knew a coy smirk was spreading over the pirate's taught features. He could stay behind on the ship, but then he'd have to square with the idea of letting Jack wander off with only Ana Maria as protection. Yet, if he left the ship, he'd have to explain both his absence and Jack's to Morgan. Plus, Jack's expression was egging him on, playing into that boyish sense of superiority Will strove to accomplish but failed to manage on a daily basis. If he stayed back at the ship after Jack had given him an offer like that, he was impugning on his own fragile sense of manhood.

Without another word, he set down the rifle. Morgan had given him a belt with a sword and pistol before leaving, and he took nothing else with him. He just followed Jack.

Morgan had wandered about every street and alley in the port and found no sign of any naval office every existing. Any structure resembling it was overrun with drunks and whores, many of which mistook her for a man of similar interests. She wasn't foreign to sexual propositions, but that didn't make them any less awkward. If only they knew, she mused, bypassing yet another circle of prostitutes on the street corner.

She stopped for a moment, sighing with exasperation. Trust Jack to bring us to a town where the only commodities are sex and rum, she groaned.

Turning on a heel, she headed back for the harbour. However, just as she passed by the next alley, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm. Morgan let out a small scream, lashing out angrily at her assailant as she was pulled into the alley.

"LET ME GO!" she shouted, just as a hand was clapped over her mouth. A rush of panic ran through her as she thought about the whores on the street corner. She forgot all about looking like a man and feared for the sake of her womanhood. Thrusting her foot downward, she left him leaping around on one foot from the pain. She elbowed him in the stomach, whipped around, and drew her sword in one smooth movement. In just a few seconds, she had the blade's tip against her attacker's throat, and pushed him up against the wall, bringing him into the light.

"Jared McCreedy," she snarled, recognizing the man's face immediately. The dark haired Scotsman laughed, his brown eyes gleaming happily, even in the shadows. He was much taller than she, more muscular, and his broad shoulders were nearly twice her narrow width. He could have clobbered her without much effort.

"Andrew Morgan," he smiled back at her. "And here I was thinking the captain was just joking about the Wayfarer's Redemption."

She didn't remove her sword. "What the hell do you want, McCreedy?"

"The Captain wanted to see you. Poor guy missed his little Andrew."

"What does he really want?"

"Pull the sword away," he said with a smile.

"I'll pull the sword away when you tell me what he wants."

McCreedy yanked a pistol from his belt and aimed it at her head. Morgan didn't have time to react. "How's about you give me the sword, Andrew?"

She hesitated, lips pursed in a thin line. Shaking with rage, she lowered her weapon and handed it to him.

"There's a good boy," he said with a crooked grin, holding her sword down at his side. "Pistol too." She relinquished it without complaint. "Now, how's about we go meet up with Captain Bateman, eh?"

Author's Notes

Chapter's a little short, but the next few should be longer. Also, within the next week I'll be studying for my finals, so I might not be updating as often as I am now. I have no intention of abandoning this piece though, so don't worry! I will be back as soon as I don't have to write exams anymore.

I've now got both the Sparrow siblings dressing up the opposite sex. I'm sorry – I couldn't resist. But I think the most frightening thing is that if it came down to it, Jack would dress up as a woman to get his hands on some rum.

And just a little note here: I know from experience that writing from the point of view a female interest is a good way to lose readers. I swear that the majority of the story will be told from Will and Jack's perspectives, but Morgan's POV was necessary for the cliffhanger. Thanks for reading!

Reviews

Jack-Fan2: No worries about the reviews! Whenever you can, I always love some feedback. I am so happy you enjoyed the 'Jack Logic'! I was watching The Curse of the Black Pearl yesterday and listening to the soundtrack to get into the mood. Every time that jovial little violin solo comes on all I can hear is Jack's infamous lines like, "The man who did the waking buy the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks while listening to a proposition by the man who did the waking," and, everyone's favourite, "But where's the rum gone!"

I really had no intention of alluding to Jack's lines to Will, but I suppose it just worked out better that way. Naturally, the one thing anyone tells Jack Sparrow not to do is the one thing he's sure to accomplish.

And there will most definitely be some of Jack's protective nature coming out over the course of this voyage. Also, while I cannot divulge in any of my secrets, things are not always as they appear. There's a very good chance that there are many more players in Bateman's game that Jack doesn't even know exist yet, maybe some close to home (shifty eyes).

Looks like you're just going to have to keep wondering for now. CHEERS!

Sands-Agent: Thanks for the review! Anytime you can, just drop a little comment. I appreciate it!

Lyn: Thanks so much!

Alexwacrap: Oh, it's definitely going to turn out for the better, just wait and see! As for my life, I've got exams coming up in a week and then I'm home for the summer. So next week, updates might be rare, but the week after I'll be back to my usual self and update every few days.

How's the school year looking for you? Are you enjoying your classes?

Thanks so much to the reviewers! You are the reason that I keep writing as fast as I do, so don't stop!