A/N: Oh gracious, this is my first attempts at a fanfic, so I hope it goes well... no promises to be made, I really do not know how good of a writer I am. So... read on if you like, if not, no worries.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Pirates of the Caribbean, nor do I own the lyrics or song titles from Celtic Woman (which will be used throughout the story)

"There was a time when I sat here across from him," the wizened pirate sighed, staring into his dirty mug, "and I said to myself, 'Joe, that man is indestructible.' "

"Amen to that," his companion, a younger ship hand nodded, downing his glass. He rubbed his forehead with stubby fingers before signaling a waitress for more rum.

It was strange how the crowded bar, filled with shouts and fists and plagued with lust and drink, could seem so quiet and so cold. Joe patted his fraying vest down for his pipe and a match. After sticking the filled tip between his teeth he glanced wearily at his friend. "Do ye happen to have a match, Fife?"

Fife searched his pockets and shook his head 'no'. "Sorry mate... I must've used the last one on that candle." The two men exchanged a mournful glance before bowing their heads again. The empty silence filled their minds just as a woman leaned over to their table. She fingered a match and struck it on Fife's coat, startling him from his blunder. Her hand delicately flew over and dipped the flame into Joe's pipe bed.

Joe glanced up at the woman and smiled sadly. "Why thank you, young miss."
"Don't mention it," she smiled back. "You look like you could use it."
"Truer words never spoken, missy," Joe raised his half-empty glass to her.

She leaned back in her chair and watched them intently, the dull firelight playing against her fair tinted skin. Her eyes moved between the two before she spoke. "It's not my right to intrude, but I must ask: what is bothering you two gentlemen?"

A drunkard stumbled by with a bar maid at his side and he sloshed ale over Fife. The young man shook out his blonde dreadlocks and paid no heed. "It's been a long evening, s'all. There's... someone's passed on."
"I know how those are," she crossed her arms over her chest, peering at them with sympathy. "Was this someone close to you?"
Joe nodded, leaning his head into his hands. "The best damn captain those seas have ever seen. And a damn good brother..."
"Second cousin," Fife murmured, taking a cold swig from the refreshed bottle a waitress dropped to him. "But all the same... a good man he was."
"I am sorry for your loss," the woman bowed her head to both of them in respect. "I lost somone close to me a while back."
"Yeah?" Joe grunted. "Life's not always that easy, I suppose."
She nodded, her cat-like stare bearing into Joe's broken face. "But there is always hope, gentlemen."
"Nice try, madame. I am grateful, but no..." Joe whispered. A crystallic tear trickled down his leathery cheek and he didn't even try to wipe it back. It didn't matter much to him anymore if others saw him cry.

But Fife turned his eyes to her, looking her up and down softly. "Death is natural, but it doesn't make anything easier..."

The woman leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She smiled at Fife, calmly, and yet almost darkly.

"If you believe that someone as great as Hector Barbossa could die so easily, you're mad as hell."

Joe started up at the name. Fife's jaw dropped. The two men stared at her dumbstruck.

Joe was the first to notice the spidery scar crossing from her forehead down her right cheek.

"...how did you know--"
"You said it yourself, Joe. He is indestructible..."
"...what's your name, lass?"

Once Upon a Time

It was a warm evening in mid-autumn when the black-sailed ship anchored off the coast of Ireland. A sturdy longboat was slowly lowered into the crystallic waters and began to make its way to the nearby harbour.

The man with the amber-brown eyes peered into the starlit sky, watching the mists swirl off the shallow waters into the pitch darkness. He smiled softly as he stroked his nut coloured beard. "I've always loved Ireland," he murmured, leaning back. A squat man with stringy hair glanced at him. "It smells like sheep," the comrade grumbled.

"Pintel, mate, you certainly need to get out more," the pirate chuckled.

Pintel rolled his eyes as he continued rowing. "I'm just angry that we've been thrown into this again. D'ya think the captain will ever give up looking?"
"Mate, Captain Sparrow never gives up," the amber-eyed man smiled at his friend's aggravation. "Especially not with this."
"What is it we're looking for anyways, Hector?" A bony young man with a wooden eye glanced up from his rowing to butt in.

Hector Barbossa returned his glimmering eyes to the stars. "That, Ragetti, is between Captain Jack Sparrow and his own heart."

The boat finally drifted into the dark sands and the pirates filtered out slowly and silently.

Thus ends chapter one. Um... more of the story in chapter two? Yes, this sounds about right, we're getting there!