Chapter 2: Just a Harmless Pirate

Disclaimer: Well, as much as I wished I owned POTC, I do not, and if I did… well, I wouldn't be putting this little disclaimer thingy here, obviously.

A/N: Thanks again to La Flamingo, my sis, and my friends. You guys (and Captain Jack Sparrow, of course) rock!

I would really appreciate any reviews, too :)

Everyone knew exactly what this meant. Jack was to be executed.

Jane nearly lost her breath at the Admiral's threatening words. This could not be happening! She stared hopelessly through the jagged peep hole, awaiting the worst.

---

Those coal-streaked eyes stared at him in wry amusement. It took all of Norrington's self-control not to start cursing or acting too gleeful. He assumed a straight, cold demeanor.

"Good day, Mr. Sparrow."

Sparrow blinked slowly, and opened his mouth, again.

"I'd say the same to you, Mr. Norrington, but being that you are, with the Royal

Navy an' all, not every day would be good, would it?"

Norrington refused to rise to the bait, instead giving a prim smile and motioning for the pirate to be brought below deck. Wordlessly the crew men began to drag the infamous Jack Sparrow down the stairs. Norrington continued to stand, perched above, until he realized there was one more thing he needed taken care of.

He took stiff steps towards that boy in ratted clothing; whose gleaming eyes seemed to be looking nowhere in particular. But while John's face was utterly emotionless, his mind was swirling with questions for the confined pirate.

The Admiral took this quiet moment to speak up. "And as for you, young Mr. Turner… what are you to say for yourself? Your parents never made me aware of your coming, so I suppose you took the liberty to come here on your own—am I correct?" Norrington frowned, glaring. He had met with this boy before, and for some reason this little runaway scheme of John's didn't seem all too surprising.

"...Mr. Turner!" As the boy's head shot towards the man, James prompted, "Am I

correct?"

His face finally registered. But when he realized who had been yelling at him, John's words turned into chopped up sentences. "Y-yes, sir?" he sputtered, shaking his head slightly to regain his senses. He dared not stare into the judging eyes of the Admiral.

Norrington sighed through his nose, "Very well, then." He growled. "It is about a two week's journey back to Port Royale, and I plan to bring you back with us. You are to obey my commands without question…. And you are not to be taking any visits with our new prisoner. He is a horrible man. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir."

"And may I ask why you came aboard here all by yourself in the first place?" the Admiral stared even deeper this time, watching John's every flinch.

"I-I-I-I wanted to see…" Did he dare tell him? No, not since there was one on board… "I wanted to see what it was like to live on a ship, sir."

To live on a ship? Why would he have to sneak aboard? He practically lived in Port Royale, for goodness sake! Norrington found this excuse rather odd, indeed. No doubt the boy was lying through his teeth, but at the moment the Admiral had no time to dwell on it.

The Navy ship proudly began to sail off with its captive, leaving its captive's young daughter to fend for herself on the legendary Black Pearl.

---

Jane stared despairingly as the ship went farther and farther into the orange horizon line. Her heart sunk deep into her chest, her mouth becoming dry from gaping. Alright, Jane. You're on your own. What would father do...? She second thought that one over. What would father do? That was a rather good question. Before she realized it, warm tears were running down her filthy cheeks, forming dull lines down them. Jane curled up, hugging her legs and burying her face into her knees. She began to sob loudly, muttering and spitting out random phrases.

Maybe… maybe there's hope. Jane drew in a large breath then quickly exhaled it, wiping away the water from her red eyes. She stared at her rapier for a moment and then picked it up gently. I must get him back… Oh, no! Her hopes were instantly crushed again.

She could not possibly run this ship on her own! It was beyond unachievable.

There had to be some way out of this incredible mess!

---

The quill scratched against the parchment as he wrote, creating the only noise within the dimly lit cabin. Norrington halted and sighed in annoyance.

"C'mon, mate. I'm just a harmless pirate. Never killed anyone but the ugly." A familiar, muffled voice came from behind the thick cabin door. You could almost see the smile that lay on its owner's face. The Admiral half ignored it and continued to write with a sense of excitement and complete irritation.

Then there was a rapid knocking at the door. Norrington once again stopped writing and in exasperation threw the quill violently back into the ink bottle.

"What is it?" he snapped.

From behind the hard oak a voice spoke meekly. "Admiral Norrington, sir, he's here."

From behind the door the second mate gave a fearful whimper as the portal in front of him swung open and he found himself face to face with his furious superior.

"I know, you fool, that he's here. I hear him." Norrington gave one flickered glance of annoyance before motioning the men to bring his captive further in.

A jolt of anger rushed through James' veins as his crew fulfilled his commands. He remembered how he hated this man. How he wished to watch Jack die. And as much as he wished to get it over with sooner, he thought it best to humiliate the pirate in Port Royale as best as he could. But that was easier said than done. Norrington was ready to strangle Sparrow for every single step he had made. He gave a small, fake smile as his arch-nemesis entered his quarters.

"Hello again, Mr. Sparrow."

---

The young pirate found her way back up to deck after stomping up the dreadfully squeaky stairs in anguish; the rapier, which was strapped onto her, bonking against them. When she got to the top, she simply gazed into the crystal sea. Where to begin? "Oh, it's hopeless." She breathed, trying to fight back the tears that were trying to form once again. Father had been unjustly marooned before and he got out of it in only three days! She figured. Then the girl realized that he was also on an island, not a boat, and he was able to rope a couple of sea turtles. Jane walked over to the side of the ship and fell on her knees. In complete silence she folded her arms and placed them on the barrier, nestling her face in them. The sun was already set by now, and this would be her first night alone.

"I'm going to find him. I must."

---

"Captain Sparrow... he's on board! I must be daydreaming again." That phrase was becoming a familiar one after spending hours of nothing but paying attention to his thoughts. John was supposed to be sleeping now that it was dark, but his mind would not allow it. The eerie silence of the rocking ship was now completely ignored as John stared up at the wooden ceiling. But his curiosity got the better of him. He carefully pulled off his covers and inched his way to the door, opening it cautiously. The moonlight added a sense of adventure to this undertaking of his. Quickly he ducked behind a large barrel, hearing a loud, sudden noise. Once he noticed the source of the sound he rolled his eyes and faintly grunted at the ridiculousness of it all.

Two new recruits in their clean uniforms and polished shoes were standing guard right outside Norrington's cabin—at least, that's what they were supposed to be doing. The two of them had fallen asleep, and now one of them was beginning to snore.

"Who was she?" A yelling came from inside Norrington's quarters. "Answer me, Jack!"

John crept closer to hear the conversation a little easier; adjusting his dark blue hat his father had given him to completely hide his peering eyes.

"No one, as I've told you before. I have absolutely no idea who you're talking about." Captain Sparrow said coolly in reply.

That… girl? They must be talking about her. John figured. Again he walked nearer, trying his best not to awake the guards. He stepped onto a large bucket, trying not to fall over as he inched his head just far up to see through the paned windows. There Captain Jack and the Admiral were; Norrington standing behind his oak desk threateningly, looking as if the only thing missing was steam coming off his face, and there was Jack, sitting down, chomping on an apple which he had taken the liberty of eating, a faint, cunning smile plastered on his face.

"And for some reason, I don't believe you." Norrington growled sarcastically. There had to be some way to get this man to talk! "If you don't tell me who she is, then I'll--"

"'Ey! Boy! You're supposed to be sleepin'!" Oh no. The guards had woken from their slumber all too soon.

In fright John lost his balance and fell onto the deck ground, the bucket going along with him, creating a deafening bang as it hit the floor.

Norrington frowned and rolled his eyes. "Turner." He muttered angrily.

Jack's ears perked. Turner? What's he doing here?

"Ugh. Leave him to me, gentlemen! You both go and take Mr. Sparrow back, now." The Admiral began making his way to go take care of the mischief maker. "I'm going to get that name out of you, if it's the last thing I do." He glared at the pirate, who simply grinned.

"Mr. Turner!" Norrington's patience was dangling by a thread. But he dare not do anything harmful to the boy, for fear of what the boy's grandfather –the former governor of Port Royale- might do to him. He scowled down at John, ready to shout his off his head in complete frustration. "You were to stay in bed, and not go running off in the middle of the night. You deliberately disobeyed my commands."

While the furious Admiral was waiting for "mischief maker" to say anything, Jack Sparrow was being taken across deck to his holding. Of course, that clever pirate had even more to say. "Turner, eh? You don't happen to be the son of a William Turner, do you?"

"Oh, be quiet, Sparrow." Norrington snapped, scowling even harder.

The guards dragged the talkative prisoner down the stairs for the second time that day, trying to keep their eyes open at the same time. Once they were out of earshot, Norrington came back to John. "Never mind him, he's an idiotic man—he has no sense left in that mind of his." There was a moment of silence. "John, you've barely spoken three words to me in a whole sentence today."

John simply held his straight face, keeping his mouth tightly closed. But there was one question he wanted to know the answer of. "Is that really Captain Jack Sparrow? My parents told me that he was real -but of course warned me to stay away from any pirate, no matter whom- and yet…"

The Admiral frowned. Releasing a heavy sigh, he decided to reply. "I'm afraid your parents were right. That is Jack Sparrow, as irritating as always. Now it's off to your bed—and you're to stay put."

---

Sure, like John was about to stay in bed while an infamous pirate was aboard.

Again the rebellious boy made his way out of his sleeping chambers and back to the deck. Those two foolish guards were asleep once more, and hopefully they'd stay that way a little longer this time.

"We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho…" a faint singing came from below. The boy cautiously made his way down below, desperately hoping not to awake anyone who may still be down in the horribly lit room. John's heart raced as he took small steps towards the pirate's cell. Alright, just be careful. You're simply going to ask him some questions-that's all.

"An' really bad e--…Boy?" Darn it. The pirate heard him first.

John peeked his head out from behind the wall. There Jack sat, in his pitiful little cell, wondering who exactly was peering about. "A-Aye?" the boy whispered, hardly creating a sound. He cleared the lump in his throat and re-answered. "Aye, sir?"

The captive tried to get a better look at him, cocking his head slightly. "C'me 'ere, son."

What exactly did this pirate have in mind? John asked himself, frightened. Hesitantly he took meek steps towards the cell. "Yes?"

"You hadn't answered me before, so I'll ask you again. Are you the son of a William Turner?" Jack asked.

"I-" The boy second thought his answer. "I may be. Why?"

"Well, you see, I knew a William Turner… he was a good friend of mine… then he got married to Elizabeth and I didn't see 'im much after that… And mostly because I'm just a horribly curious pirate." Sparrow grinned.

Nothing.

"By the way, how did you get to be aboard a ship like this, if you don't mind me asking?" Jack questioned.

"I...I wanted to see pirates... My parents have always warned me not to associate with them… but… I was 'horribly curious', as it seems." John replied earnestly.

"Ah! Well, you've come to the right place!" Jack opened his arms wide, smiling his golden tooth smile. For some reason this didn't make John feel any more relaxed or comforted.

"…Norrington was asking you about a girl. I saw one earlier today—is that who he was asking about? Who is she? I mean, I thought woman were 'bad luck' on a ship?"

"Heh. Just an ol' myth, boy." The pirate inched closer, his trinkets clanging together, beady eyes staring into John's. "Can you keep a secret?"

John nodded, eagerly waiting for Jack to continue.

"That girl… that girl is my daughter."

Okie dokie, there it is! I hoped you enjoyed it. –Ancient Egyptian Dreams