Author's Note: Haven't updated in a while, sorry! Hope you enjoy this chapter; it's mainly dialouge, but it helps set up some characters. Please review!

Chapter Four: The Cellar

Down in the cellar, Lainey sat on a crate, embracing the dark. She wasn't sure why, but she disliked pirates, and the clearly drunken one who had approached her at the counter had scared her. There was something creepy about him, especially the fact he had his eyes hidden behind a hat.

Lainey liked eyes. Perhaps it was because her own were so large and revealing, but she always looked to someone's eyes to see inside of their soul.

She thought of the man in her dreams. He was too dark to make out, and she only saw his eyes- chocolate brown, with lots of smudged kohl; eyes more soulful than her own.

In her dreams, he lifted her into his arms, and she was safe. If only there was somebody like that in her life.

She heard footsteps on the steps, with frenzied sobbing. Lainey looked up, making out in the darkness the form of Coral coming down, hearing her heartbroken wailing. Lainey was quiet, wondering what was wrong, watching as Coral sat down on a barrel close by, apparently not noticing Lainey.

"Coral." Lainey spoke quietly, watching the figure of Coral jump in shock.

"Oh, it's you," Coral sobbed. "What are you doing down here, Lainey?"

Lainey blinked. Should she admit her fear of the pirate at the bar? Well, it was best to be honest. She sighed, "Well, a pirate- Jack Sparrow, I think- he talked to me at the bar, but he was insane. He... he scared me..."

"At least he wanted you!" Coral cried, wiping her face. "I mean- I offered myself, practically on a plate, Lainey, and then he came over and- and asked for y-you!" Coral took a deep, shuddering breath, then continued. "After you disappeared, I went back over to his table, but he's definately not interested in me, he kept asking me where you were."

Lainey didn't like this idea. She didn't want to be wanted by the scary pirate. "He's not all there, Coral. Don't spare too much thought on it."

"Are you insane?" Coral sighed, her sobbing calming. "Captain Jack Sparrow, Lainey. Women would kill for the honour of spending a night with him, and the thought of being the one who tamed his heart... I wish he wanted me, Lainey."

Lainey's lips fell into a thoughtful pout. "He didn't seem to be anything special," she said comfortingly. "One pirate is much the same as another, really."

Silence fell between the two young women, both so different. Lainey was quietly considering the possibility that this Jack Sparrow did want her, and what she should do. Lainey was a proud virgin, but how could she deter a desperate, filthy pirate? She longed for the certainty of her dream-man.

"Coral?" she asked quietly. "How do you make a man stop wanting you?"

Coral's voice was stinging. "I have a simple way, Lainey; I simply show him to you."

Lainey was indeed stung. The silence was more tense this time as they sat, Lainey hurt. Coral couldn't blame her, after all, it was only one scruffy pirate. It wasn't like Coral's bed was often empty, but Lainey didn't often fight back. She was a peaceful woman.

"You should go back out there," Coral said suddenly. Her voice was free of emotion. "Mrs Swaine won't let anything happen to you."

Lainey blinked. Coral was right. She had a duty to work, as Mrs Swaine was paying her. "Yes, yes, you're right, Coral."

She walked back into the tavern slowly, tense. But Jack Sparrow and his handsome companion had gone. Lainey breathed a sigh of relief. She soon settled back into her routine, but couldn't shake away the feeling that Jack Sparrow was completely gone.

"Lainey!" Lainey looked up from the counter to see a familiar, smiling, dark man standing there.

She smiled back. "Edward, it is good to see you." She leaned across to peck his cheek fondly. Edward Poelle was her best friend, the son of the woman who had raised her.

"You look stressed, dear Lainey," he said, seating himself, a handsome figure with a black ponytail of hair and vivid green eyes.

She sighed. "Long story, old friend. Rum, is it?"