Chapter Two

Nightfall fell on Tortuga as the city came alive with infidelity and beer. On the Black Pearl, all was quiet. Jack had insisted on making everyone turn in early, as they were planning to leave the next morning at dawn. It was one of the captains many quirks; nobody but he could be drunk upon leaving port.

Sheila Sparrow stood, leaning against the side of the ship, looking off over the bustling city. Her shoulder, no bandaged cleanly and bleeding terribly, had swelled slightly after the make shift operation. Jack came up beside her, sharing in the awe inspiring view of the night goers.

"It's beautiful, eh?" He asked suddenly. Sheila shook her head in wonder.

"It's been so long since I've seen it, mate. It's a might bit odd to be looking from the outside at what I would've taken part of a long time ago."

Jack nodded. "I know what you mean. Jus' last year I 'd be there…drinkin with the best of them." He sighed in remembrance of better days, and then turned to face her.

"We're two peas in a pod you and I. Stuck together till the end."

Sheila laughed half heartedly. "I swear, Jack. You sound positively sober."

"Well, then we'll just have to take care of that won't we?" The fiery glint was in his eyes as he poured brandy down his throat. Taking the bottle from his lips with a flourish, he swayed in his place and belched loudly. The two laughed, full heartedly this time and jack brought out another bottle for Sheila. They clinked the bottles together and raised them to their lips.

"Rink up me hearties, yo ho." Jack said softly before drinking deep.

"What was that?"

"Oh…just a son I leaned from a lady in Port Royal. Well, I say Port Royal, but really it was this nice little island in hidden off in the middle of no where where I was stranded before being arrested and hung…"

Sheila's eyes had grown wide with amazement and confusion. "Jack…tell me what happened."

"What? What happened? Did I miss something?"

Her brown head shook solemnly.

"Jack, don't stall darling. Tell me what happened to the ship over the past decade…what happened to you?" Her face grew serious, the pink scar over her right eye twitching slightly with the sorrows and stress of forty years as a pirate. She took another swig of rum to settle her nerves, and then spoke again. "What happened to Barbosa?"

Jack stared off into the distance, avoiding his sister's pained gaze.

"It's a long story really. Really, quite boring. Wouldn't you like to here something more exciting? I could get Gibbs up here-"

"Your life? Boring? Jack, really I thought you knew me better. I can see straight through your lies, love. Tell me the truth."

Jack shrugged, and began to recount the past ten years of his life. The two stayed up long past dawn, sharing stories, laughter and rum. At times they were silent in sorrowful remembrance; other times doubled over in belly aching laughter. At last, as the sun began to come up over the horizon and the noises coming from Tortuga died down, the two siblings finished recounting what had happened to them.

"I's been 'ard for bo' of us, there's no doubt 'bout tha'." Sheila said, her words slightly slurred by rum.

"Oh aye, surprised I'm still alive!" Jack aid drunkenly, rubbing two deep scars left by bullets beneath the coarse linen of his shirt.

Off in the distance a gunshot sounded and both flinched unwillingly. They were silent for some time as they were enveloped each in their own detached thoughts. At last, Sheila sighed and stood; arching her back to stretch out the uncomfortable kinks that had knotted themselves into her flesh.

"Well lass, what'll it be?"

"What's that?"

"Where are we goin' to shove off to? It's your choice as guest…" They smiled, the reality of their renewed partnership as last bringing a sense of happiness to them both.

Sheila considered for a moment before smiling brightly.

"I heard tell of a rumor, that a group of ships is shovin' off from Britain to search us scalywags out. The Britt're taken most of their navy with them…just think of all o' that glory unguarded."

Jack grinned deviously. "I catch your drift perfectly. There's only one thing though…"

Sheila eyed him curiously.

"The British, however idiotic they may seem, will have thought of the possibility of vile sea dogs comin' to raid and plunder them whilst their away."

Sheila grinned. "Ah yes, but you're forgetting one thing, darling. The Britts would never expect those sea dogs to be the notorious Captain Jack Sparrow, and his faithful and not to mention beautiful sister, Sheila. After all, as far as I know they think I'm dead, and from what you've told me…they'll be expectin' you to stay clear of anything that resembles a powdered wig and smells of tea and cakes."

Jack considered her humorously for a moment, and then winked at her knowingly, and took her hand in mockery of British politeness.

"Britain it is then. And lets hope they've left their big guns out to welcome us! I'm in need of a bit of a laugh."

The two old friends laughed aloud as the sun rose over the horizon. They raised their third bottles of brandy to the scarlet sun and cried with the passion of drunken pirates with nothing to loose…

"To Britain!"

The thud of a door behind them warned that the crew had awakened. Swaggering on the spot, Jack turned around to see Mr. Gibbs walk out of the sailor's hall.

"Good morning!" Sheila called brightly as she trounced over to Gibbs, who was rubbing the effects of the night from his eyes.

"Ah! Sheila. Yer up mighty early…"

Sheila shook her head, surpressing a sudden yawn.

"Havna slept a wink! Me'n Jack've been up all night long…catchin' up…and planning." At this, Mr. Gibbs pushed aside all his grogginess for a more excited manner.

"Ho! Sounds like Sparrow mischief to me. I look forward to what'ere deviousness you've concocted m'lady." He winked at her, and began going about his morning duties.

Just then, Marie Claudie waltzed out onto the deak and stopped in front of the two Sparrows. Sheila had to admit, the young woman was quite pretty. Rail then and with a fiery disposition that matched her bright red hair; she made an ideal pirate.

Jack, who was now preoccupied with checking the ship and making mental notes at what preparations needed to be made, left the two females alone for better or for worse.

"Alo." Marie said politely to Sheila. As women they were still weary of eachother, but as pirate they had learned that duty came before relationship at any cost. There would be plenty of time for bonding on the high seas. Sheila returned the greeting while she ran scarred hands through her coarse brown hair, revealing more clearly her scarred right eye.

"So, Sheila," Gibbs said from the his place securing the sails. "What plans did jack say? I'm itchin' to get away from here I am…"

Marie nodded and sighed, a saddened look on her pretty face as she looked out over Tortuga.

It was a look Sheila knew all too well, but chose not to recognize. Something's were better left unnoticed, for privacy's sake.

"Actually, it's not all Jack's planning." She walked towards Gibbs and began helping him with unfurling the newly made sails. She leaned close to the older man in typical Sparrow manner, quite aware of the noticeable shiver Gibbs received as her arm brushed against his. She was used to men reacting that way to her; it didn't really bother her, it simply meant that meaningful relationships with the opposite sex were difficult to achieve.

"Jack's left it up to me to choose out destination." She informed her old friend happily as they tied off the thick ropes and moved onto the next ones. Sheila grinned at Gibbs, a twinkle in her golden flecked eyes.

"I know that look, young miss. That's the Sparrow eye that is. What're you planning in that pretty head of yorn?"

"Let's just say the Britts won't know what hit them." Gibbs laughed triumphantly and turned to his daughter, who was swabbing the deck with a passion nearby, and making a terribly job of concealing her evesdropping.

"Sheila here is known for her…reckless plans. Ne'er had a one fail, though, when she and Jack were partners. Except not until…"

Gibbs stopped abruptly, glancing momentarily at Sheila's scared right eye. The beautiful pirate shook her head.

"Not until what?" Marie asked.

"Somethin' split us up." Sheila replied abruptly, taking a mop to help clean the smooth wood of the Pearl. Marie eyed her for a moment and nodded. She also knew the importance of privacy in a world where one's life was almost always laid out for the world to see.

Jack called from the front of the ship and Sheila turned.

"What was that, love?"

"Make ready to shove off!" Jack cried joyfully. Sheila nodded an affirmation and turned back around to issue orders to the approaching crew. The other pirates eyed her skeptically, but on a warning glance from Jack they jumped to meet their new mistress's commands. Once everyone was to work, Sheila swaggered over to the ship's wheel and took a map from a box Jack kept nearby.

"Still keep your things in the most obvious of places." She mused.

"Well actually that was Barbosa's doing. I still haven't found everything. I suppose some of the things he took can't be replaced…" Jack was walking on the blade of a knife.

"Watch it mate. Just because the man's dead doesn't mean I've forgotten the trouble he caused."

"Trouble? Surely you don mean you never enjoyed it…" Jack glanced at a place much further from Sheila's face then was necessary.

"Jack…I'm warning you." Sheila said menacingly, glancing at a point on her brother she had grown quite used to inflicting pain on.

"Alright." Jack said, raising his hands in defeat. "No need to get catty, love."

"If you don't leave me to the map you'll feel this cat's wrath." Sheila warned and Jack obligingly swaggered away to inspect the crew's work. Upon seeing Marie struggling to pull free a rather difficult rope tangled around the mast, Jack headed to her aid. Slowly her put his arms around her in a suggestive manner, allowing his body to touch the curve of her slender back. He smiled as she stopped still in surprise, and he placed his hands over her, adding his strength to pull the rope free.

Marie turned to face him, opening her mouth to reprimand him, but thought the better of it.

"How do you like having so many women on your crew captain?" Marie, due to certain events in her past, was quite weary of men…men like Jack especially.

Jack looked around himself in mock confusion. "I see no women here, love, 'cept for the one standing right in front of me." He smiled innocently as Marie glared. When her father had met up with her six months ago and invited her to join him on the Black Pearl, she had taken the offer happily. But now as realized more and more how Jack was focusing his attention on her, she was beginning to wonder just how good of an idea it was to be out on the open seas with a crew of lusty men.

"Are you calling your sister a man?"

"No. You see, in my world I've always thought it wrong to consider your sister as more than…family. Saavy?"

"In this world of yours…I suppose women like me are nothing more than a moment's pleasure then, as you've obviously forgotten that Anna Maria is neither sister nor mistress."

Jack seemed taken aback, but only for a moment. "Ah…yes. Well. I believe there is little or no understanding between us. Besides, I think she had a transfer of affections after having had enough of the scallywag type. You, on the other hand are neither sister, mistress or…that way. Though I sometimes wonder what category those who don't fall into the other three belong in, I must content myself to daydream of your womanhood, and imagine myself living in another world where feisty young redheads flock to scurvy scallywags."

Marie looked at him in disgust as his eyes slowly moved from her face downward, towards the low neckline of her blouse.

"Watch yourself, Captain Sparrow, or you'll be graced with a new hole and aches in places you didn't even know you had."

Jack looked up abruptly, apparently not having heard Marie's threat.

"Sorry, I was just wondering…do you deliberately wear your shirt open like that…or is it just because your on my ship?"

"You're despicable." Marie said disgustedly before kneeing her captain in the groin. Jack limped painfully away, muttering something untranslatable about women.

Shortly after he had taken over the wheel and the ship was making way out of the port of Tortuga, Sheila came swaggering towards Marie in typical Sparrow fashion. Their morning duties having been completed, Marie was now leaning against the side of the ship, staring off into the wide ocean.

"Was Jack giving you a hard time, dove?" She asked, slight humor in her voice.

Marie smiled sardonically. "No offense, but your brother is positively vulgar."

"Oh, none taken!" You did precisely what I regretted not doing." The two laughed, finally at ease with eachother. For several moments they both watched the passing waves, lost in their own thoughts.

"Sheila…" Marie said after awhile.

"Aye?"

"My father said something interesting to me. He told me…you knew Captain Barbosa." Marie side glanced Sheila, wondering if she had done right to ask.

Sheila took her time before answering.

"Marie, before Jack and I became partners, I worked in a house in Tortuga."

"You were a servant?" Marie questioned, confused.

Sheila sighed, and smiled good naturedly. "Not that sort of house, love."

Marie's green eyes widened. "A brothel?"

"Aye. A brothel. And it's a think I've always regretted, but sometimes a girl's got no other choice. Anyways, once night this man came to see us. Me, actually."

"Barbosa."

"Yes. And you can imagine how that night was…no…don't try. Needless to say, I was not exactly thrilled…until he began to talk about piracy. Now, mind you, I had seen plenty of pirates come and go, but none that showed such an interest in me as a person rather than a woman. I left with him that night, after he told me about his plans. Eventually we met up with Jack and the Pearl, and then the rest is history."

Marie thought on this for several moments before speaking again."But I thought you and Jack were partners.

"We were. You see…I met Barbosa when I was 16, 2 years after Jack and I left Sydney. Jack and I were foolish then. We both wanted to be pirates, like our adoptive mother, Mary. But Jack and Mary wanted better for me. They wanted me to be…a lady." Sheila said the word lady with disgust. "So, Jack left with Mary on a mission, leaving me with a house full of servants and nothing but embroidery. Fed up, I bartered passage on a cargo ship bound for Tortuga. Unfortunately, none of the pirates there wanted a 14 year old girl on their ship, so I ended up at the Sisterhood of the Blood Rose Brothel. When Barbosa came, I was desperate to leave. We sailed for a year before I persuaded him to have his crew join Jack's on the Pearl. Jack didn't trust Barbosa at first, so I ended up leaving without him. That was our partnership." Sheila wiped sweat from her brow and adjusted her corset as she gazed off into nothingness.

"So…Barbosa met up with you eventually…"

"Wanting me more than he should've. He thought we were lovers or something like gross like that. I left the ship, and 12 bloody years later I'm back, swabbing decks I once co-captained."

Marie watched the pirate for a moment, her sun bleached red-gold hair glinting in the afternoon rays. At last she let the conversation go, saddened by the things Sheila had told her, but nonetheless feeling closer to the woman. Friends were hard to come by on the open seas of smuggling and lies...but for the first time in her life Marie felt she had found someone she could actually trust. Smiling softly to herself, she turned from the rolling ocean and took up a mop to clean the deck once more.