Chapter 1
Captain Jack Sparrow stood at the rail of his ship, The Black Pearl, looking out into the smooth waters of the Pacific Ocean. He turned around when he heard footsteps behind him. Elizabeth walked up to the rail next to him. "Hello," She said cheerfully. "Hello," Jack answered. "Why have you been acting so odd lately?" she asked resting her hands on the rail. He raised his eyebrows, "Have I?" He asked. She nodded her head and breathed in deeply. "The crew asked me to find out what was bothering you," she confessed. Jack looked into her eyes sadly and didn't answer. "Jack, please tell," Elizabeth begged. "I'm just trying to make a very hard decision," I all he said as he walked toward the captain quarters.
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A chorus of questions greeted Elizabeth as she entered the dining hall. "Did he tell you?" Will asked her when she sat down beside him. "All he said was 'I'm just trying to make a very hard decision' and I don't know what that means," Elizabeth answered grabbing an apple off a bowl in the middle of a crudely made wooden table.
"Gather 'round!" Yelled Jacob, the storyteller/cook of The Black Pearl as he pulled a chair from under the table and sat on it facing the crowd of pirates, "I have a story to tell," Jacob yelled wile the crew fought to get closer to him; all wanting to be able to hear the cooks monthly stories. "I'm going to tell a story about somebody we know and we love," Jacob said with a grin, "Capin' Jack Sparrow," There was a boom of laughter from the crew, and the cook moved on. "15 years ago, our beloved Capin' made one of the biggest mistakes a pirate could make," He paused, for emphasis, and continued, "The mistake he made was: he fell in love." A gasp rose out from the audience, and Will and Elizabeth looked at each other. "I know hard to believe," the cook chuckled. "Jack was young, and new at being Capin'. He attacked a small merchant ship that carried the treasure of his life, a girl, named Cheri Ana. He took her hostage, and she became my assistant cook. Why he didn't kill her? Only Jack knows the answer to that. Well Not long after she came on the ship, you could tell that they were deeply in love. The way he looked at her and the way she looked at him could not ever be mistaken for anything but. It didn't last long though. It was 2 months after fair Cheri Ana had come aboard the Black Pearl when…" The cook stopped suddenly and looked up to the door.
Captain Jack stood there leaning up against the door frame. "Capin'!" Jacob yelled getting up to his feet. Jack walked over to him. "Go on with the story mate, it was just getting interesting," Jack said talking a seat next to Will. Jacob looked at Jack, as if making sure continuing the story was really what he wished, and continued, "It was 5 mounts after fair Cheri Ana had come aboard The Black Pearl when she started to get homesick. She was often found at the rail of the ship looking out into the sea. Well it just about broke Captin' Jack's heart seeing the sadness in her eyes. He didn't want to let her go, but knew that a pirate's life was not what for her. On the 3rd month Cheri Ana had been on The Black Pearl Capin'Jack decided to bring her back to were she was from. He turned this mighty ship around and started heading toward Cheri Ana's home, Port David. Their parting would have made any man's heart melt, but Capin' Jack went through it without a single tear, and he hasn't seen fair Cheri Ana since." Jacob finished, and the pirates gave a thunderous applause. Will looked at Jack's face and saw a small smile on his lips. He watched as Jack stood up and hushed his crew. "The reason I came in here was to tell you we're going to land in Port David tomorrow; the plan is for you to take anything that we can find that's valuable in the governor's household." Jack said. "Doesn't you're girl, Cheri Ana live there, are you going to see her?" asked a bald pirate, who had seemed especially moved by Jacob's story. Captain Jack smiled, "I'm going to do more then just see her, I'm going to take her." The crew looked at each other, wondering if having another woman aboard was a good thing or bad.
"Will I need to talk to you," Jack whispered quietly as he headed for the door.
They left the room and Will sat down next to Jack. "What do you say if I tell you that I need you to find and take Cheri Ana?" Jack asked. "Jack I can't take her! I don't steal. I told you, I sail under the flag of a pirate ship, but I'm not a pirate." Will said. Jack sighed "Well stealing is worth it if the one doing the stealing is being told by a pirate to do the stealing and the pirate pays the stealer a great sum of money, savy?" He asked. Will rolled his eyes, "No, but I understood the money thing. And I know it's for love" Will said teasingly, "And how much is a 'great sum of money?' he asked leaning forward in his chair. "10,000 pounds," Jack said with a grin. Wills eyes lit up, "Deal," He whispered, so only Jack could hear.
Jack smiled, "We sail at dawn."