Dying was not the most pleasant experience she ever went through. But it wasn´t even in the top ten of her worst experience, so she wasn´t complaining. Besides, being given a second chance at life was a nice experience. She even managed to get a loving, although crazy family out of the deal!

True, it wasn´t all sunshine and roses, given the period and place into which she was reborn, but she wasn't complaining. In fact, the Girl Who Lived, later known as the Woman Who Survived, could say that she was happy with her life. She had more freedom than before and she could be herself, without having to cater to the expectations of others.

It was very a very liberating feeling…

She watched as the ship sailed to the Port Royal´s docks, feeling how the wind ran through her hair and lifted the long strands and braids over her shoulders. Her dark eyes took note of the ships that could only belong to the navy, counting how many there are, and she had to hold back a grimace. There were more than she anticipated when they decided to come to this place. Not by much, but still more, which meant more marine soldiers. Though the woman knew that everything would run smoothly if everyone on the ship played according to the plan and kept up the ruse.

Her eyes lingered on a familiar marine ship.

Hopefully, things would go smoothly…

"Captain, the preparations are ready," the voice of her first mate cut through her musings. She turned around to see the man come up and join her at the forecast deck. "Once we make port, we can start with our tasks and, hopefully, get things done by tomorrow." The older man tried to sound optimistic, but there was a frown appeared on his face.

"Lighten up, Gibbs," she told him, with a small smile. "We had to get out of a worse situation than this one. Hardly our first time going incognito into a marine town, and hardly the last. We´ll be fine."

"Aye, we´ll be…maybe," muttered the man as he frowned at the port.

She paused, then looked at her first mate. "Something bothering you, buddy?"

Gibbs hesitated for a moment before he replied "Coraline says there are ships, that belong to the British marines. The infamous Dauntless among them."

"Yeah. I noticed," she sighed. "Worried old Norrington will be there? That he might recognize and try to chase me?"

"Aye. Aren´t you worried about it too, captain?" the older man looked at her, curiously.

"Nya. The old bastard has long since stopped sailing on that ship," she said with certainty. "From what I heard, he hurt himself too much, on his last journey. No. This is probably his son."

"His son?"

"Aye. He followed his daddy dearest´s footsteps and became a marine himself. A pirate hunter to boot. If anybody would sail that ship, it would be him."

That did not seem to calm her companion. "And you are not worried, Jackie?"

"Worried? Constantly, dear Gibbs," she replied with a laugh. "For the weather, for the ship, for my crew. But for one man? Nya, he has no idea what I look like, after all. Besides, I trust our crew to have my back. Even if he had an entire fleet at his call, he would be no match for our cunning and deviousness. After all, those Brits are mostly stuck-up boring men, that can´t see left from right, even if it slapped them," she finished with their private joke, causing the man to chuckle.

"You put too much faith into us, captain," reminded her Gibbs, but the frown has already disappeared from his face, a small smile replacing it.

She smiled back at him. "But you live up the faith."

"We must because you are just too good for us, Jackie," the man told her with a headshake. "We must prove ourselves to be worthy of such a great captain. You are, after all, the envy of all pirate crews that sail the seas – Captain Jacqueline Sparrow!"

"You flatter me, Gibbs, you old dog! I´m hardly that special, mate," she told him with a soft laugh, knowing that this will spark a familiar old debate.

"I beg to differ," Gibbs opposed her. "Honestly, you could ask anybody on this ship, and they would tell you the same: We´re proud to sail under you, and we have no trouble telling it to everybody!"

"My previous crew would disagree, though," Jacqueline pointed out and she couldn´t hide her wince at the memory. She had to admit, that treacherous crew was a mistake so bad she just couldn´t describe it with words and a lot of her worst memories for this life connected to it.

Naturally, Gibbs scowled the moment the crew was brought up. "They were idiots with brain damage so bad, it is a wonder they aren´t vegetables! If they had even a lick of common sense or an actual working brain, they would have never done something so stupid as organizing a mutiny against you. Especially my predecessor," the last bit was said with a growl, as always, when Gibbs criticised the shortcomings of her ex-first mate.

"Meow."

"Glad you agree with me, Caspian," Gibbs smirked as a familiar black tomcat joined them and jumped up on the railing closest to Jacqueline.

Said tomcat throwing the man a look as if to say ´Like those fools are anything better than dirty trash´ before he turned and gave the female captain a challenging one, daring her to disagree with them.

"Don´t worry," she said, rolling her eyes. "There is no love lost between me and that crew. Besides, part of the guilt of that mess falls on me because I put my trust in the wrong hands. But!" she raised her hand when the tomcat hissed, and Gibbs opened his mouth to say something. "I know they are at fault too and that they need to pay for what they did. And pay they will if I have any say in it! Savvy?"

That seemed to calm down the duo…although Caspian had an interesting expression on his face. He looked like was both feeling smug and bloodthirsty at the same time, betraying his thoughts about plotting the demise of the traitors. Which, she had to admit, might seem like a scary thing to see on a cat´s face. Combining it with the human intelligence that shone through those orange eyes of his, just added fuel to the feeling. But for Jacqueline and her crew, who knew the truth behind Caspian, it was pretty normal to see the cat being this expressive. After all, he wasn´t an ordinary cat…

"Anyway, I better go. I must get ready to play my part. So, see you later, gentlemen." With that she turned around, completely missing the fond smiles and looks exchanged between Caspian and Gibbs, as they watched the retreating looks of their captain.

Jacqueline got down to the main deck and started making her way to captain quarters to get changed before they anchored in the port. She walked beside the railing, occasionally looking at the sea when something caught her attention. She whipped her head around to see, what was no doubt a noblewoman falling into the water.

The captain didn´t even hesitate, throwing her coat to the side, she shouted: "Coraline, after me!" and dove into the water.

Underwater she didn´t try to fight her shift, as her legs turned into a long black tail. Said tail carried her forward, far faster than human legs ever would, and she made it to the sinking noble before she could sink too deep. She caught her from one side and quickly cast a bubble head charm over the woman. She looked around until she saw Coraline arriving from the other side, her blue tail almost invisible in the sea waters.

"Quick, help me get her from this dress, or she will only drag us down," she ordered and the two of them proceeded to undo the fastening holding the heavy clothes on the woman. With two pairs of hands, the work was done quickly, and the clothes discharged into the depths. However, when the female captain saw what the noblewoman was wearing underneath, she nearly cursed. It was a corset! A British one to boot! The captain didn´t know whether to pity the woman or shake her head at such stupidity, subjecting oneself to suffocating clothes, all for the sake of keeping up with fashion. But instead, she led the three of them to the surface and once the unconscious woman´s head ended above water, they started swimming back towards their ship.

There, they were already waiting for them.

"Captain, what´s da situation?" asked Anamaria, as she and Akira helped them get the woman aboard their ship.

"Same as in Singapore, mates – A too-tight corset," she replied, climbing abroad, with Coraline in tow.

"Undastood, captain," replied Um-Baku, the ship´s doctor, and proceeded to make quick work of removing the troublesome piece of fabric. That action resulted in a deeply relieved gasp, from the woman, though she reminded unconscious. To check her, the African man waved a hand over her body, his palm glowing slightly green as he muttered to himself. When he finished, he pulled back his hand with a satisfied nod. "She fainted fom a combination of lack of ai and shock when she hit the wata. She should be alight with some est."

"Good. In that case, Akira, Um-Baku, please take her to my quarters. She should be comfortable there and I will watch over here until we dock in," Jacqueline firmly decided, and the two men were quick to obey. Then she turned towards the rest of her crew. "The rest of you, please, make sure we dock in safely and be on the watch out if someone comes looking for this woman. But don´t forget our plan. Just because we ran into a complication, it doesn´t mean we will let it ruin our strategy. We will just adapt it accordingly. Savvy?"

Elizabeth came to herself in a cabin of some sort, at the sound of rustling fabrics and someone´s muttering. She blinked in surprise, trying to figure out what happened and where was she. She knew she was not on any of the ships under her father´s command. For one, it looked nothing like a cabin belonging to someone from the English navy. It was decorated with exotic-looking trinkets, some of which she recognized as Asian, while the rest she didn´t dare to guess the origins of. And the fabrics, be it on the furniture, or just arranged around like decorative curtains. The governor´s daughter never saw fabrics like these, but nonetheless, they were beautiful, in bright but well-matched colours. She fell in love with them at first glance… but now she was more concerned with how she got there. So, she had, reluctantly, cut her admiration short and tried to figure out her situation.

The last thing she remembered was talking to commodore Norrington and then…

She quickly sat up, hands roaming all over her torso, searching for the damned corset that caused her fall. But to her great relief, she found it gone.

"Ah, I see that our sleeping beauty has awakened. Good, I was getting worried, darling," came a melodious voice, which caused her to look to the side, for its owner. What, or rather, who she saw there, caused her eyes to widen.

The person was a woman and even from her place, Elizabeth could see that she was beautiful. Her hair was brown in colour, the long strands falling nearly to her waist like some sort of a veil, with small, decorated braids peeking out here and there. A red scarf kept the hair back, save for a few richly decorated braids that fell alongside it, giving an unobscured of the woman´s flawless, sun-kissed face. She possessed a pair of well-shaped lips, high cheekbones and eyes so dark they seemed almost black, with the thick eyelashes and kohl making them stand out more, highlighting the breath-taking effect they naturally possessed.

She was clad in a black form-hugging dress with a golden pattern, wide sleeves, and a skirt, made from fabrics like those decorating the cabin. The neckline hinted at the woman´s well-shaped breasts but kept itself decent enough to satisfy even the most conservative nobles and around her thin waist was tied a red scarf matching the one around her head. A very unusual attire, compared to what was Elizabeth used to, but it worked well to highlight the woman´s beauty and the aura of mystery surrounding her.

The blonde female came out of her stupor when the mysterious woman moved, revealing that the skirt was cut up to her mid-thigh and that underneath, she was wearing white pants and black boots.

"Well, hello there, love. How are you feeling?" asked the woman, when she came to her and sat down on the bed beside Elizabeth.

"I´m well…if a bit confused," admitted Elizabeth. "Could you tell me, where I am? And how did I get there?"

"Well, love, our ship was sailing towards the docks, when I saw your fall and since we were the closest to you, we saved you. Unfortunately, your dress was too heavy to swim with it to the ship, so it had to be discharged into the waters before we could safely get you to the ship. We are currently in my quarters since it is the most private area on the ship and I thought, you might welcome the privacy of nobody seeing your…underdressed state," the woman gestured to Elizabeth´s undergarment.

"I see. Thank you. For the help and the given courtesy, madam," the blonde female thanked her sincerely.

"You´re welcome, dearie. Though I must ask – corset? Really? I knew that fashion is important in the circles of the nobles, but I never understood the need to suffer for it. Particularly in a corset tied so tightly as that one," admitted the woman, looking curiously at her.

The governor´s daughters blushed and looked away, as she admitted "It was a gift from my father…and the first time I wore one."

"Ah, say no more," the woman nodded her head in understanding. Then she sighed. "Far be the day, when a man can understand his way in the female fashion and in what is the best for the body." Here she paused before she leaned towards her and winked while whispering in a conspiring voice "That´s why we, women, should do the actual shopping and the men should just provide the money. We have better taste, after all."

The blonde woman couldn´t help but giggle at these words. It was an unfortunate truth, but it was funny, nonetheless. Her father, while meaning well, had trouble deciding when it came to clothes that might be good for a woman like her and seeing him getting flustered, because of it, was entraining. But at least he knew his limits and usually chose what other noble women recommended him. Even though those recommendations might not end well, the latest accident with the corset being an example.

"Apropos, talking about clothes, you will need something to wear," the unknown woman said, then she got up and walked to an open chest, next to a big table with various maps and books. "I got word that we just docked in Port Royal and no doubt soon someone will appear looking for you. In that case, we need to make sure you will look presentable. I think some of my clothes should fit you." She knelt beside the chest and started looking through it.

"Oh, thank you. But you don´t have to do this!" Elizabeth said quickly. "Really, what you did is already enough, madam."

"Please, no madam. Call me Jacqueline or Jackie, love," the beauty requested, while still searching. "And I may not have to, but I want to. So lean back love and let me get you something presentable." She looked for a while before she turned to Elizabeth. "Do you have anything against yellow?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Good. Then this should look good on you." Jacqueline then pulled out a dress that the younger woman´s eyes widened.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth couldn´t help but admire herself as she looked at her reflection in Jacqueline´s mirror. The borrowed dress looked more luxurious than anything she had ever worn before. Also more conservative, because it completely covered her chest, but reminded form-fitting from the waist up. It was light yellow in colour and a floral pattern was embroidered in darker, almost golden shades. In fact, the dress itself shimmered in a way that resembled liquid gold, broken only by a tasteful white hem and a white under-skirt visible under the wide skirt, thanks to two thigh-high cuts on both sides. And to complete the exotic look, Jacqueline did her hair up, using several hair needles.

"I was right, it suits you, love," smirked Jacqueline, making Elizabeth blush at the compliment.

A knock on the doors halted any further conversation.

"Enter!" Jacqueline called loudly.

An older man, dressed in well-worn, but good-quality clothes, entered. The moment he caught sight of Elizabeth, he bowed to her with a simple "My Lady", before he turned to Jacqueline. "Captain."

"Captain?" Elizabeth mouthed, wide-eyed as she looked towards the other woman.

"What´s the matter, Gibbs?" Jacqueline asked, while she reached down and pick up a black cat that entered the cabin alongside the man.

"Some men wearing military uniforms came to our ship, looking for this young lady," the man gestured to still-shocked Elizabeth. "Apparently, they saw us pulling her abroad, then proceeded to track down our ship. They arrived with several other gentlemen, one of which seems to be the lady´s father, a certain Governor Swann if I caught the name right. They wanted to know if the young lady is alright, so I asked them to wait, while I went to retrieve you and check, whether the young lady woke up." Gibbs reported dutifully.

"I see. Thank you, for informing us," she nodded at him while petting the black cat nestled in her arms. "Where are those men now?"

"They´re abroad, captain. Waiting on the main deck, with the rest of the crew, as we speak."

"Good, good," Jacqueline hummed thoughtfully before she turned towards Elizabeth, who finally managed to warp her head around the amazement of being in the presence of a female captain.

"Well, then, let´s not make them wait for us." The dark-haired beauty gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

What a day, James thought as he stood beside Governor Swann on the ship that supposedly saved Elizabeth. It started out so well, but then things took such a sharp turn for worse. Particularly, after he went to talk privately with the Governor´s daughter. He wanted to kick himself for not noticing something was wrong sooner, too focused on his nerves and the proposal he wanted to make. If he was paying more attention to his surroundings and especially to his female companion…

The commodore forced himself to stop thinking about this and instead focused on the ship crew that waited with them. He had to admit it was a very diverse group of people:

Among the men, first, there was an older man, clearly a native to the Caribbean, considering his attire. He looked like someone well experienced with sailing, though James based his judgement on the fact that man fulfilled his duties on the ship with practised ease. This man also possessed an unusual pet in the form of a big parrot, which occasionally said a phrase or two, even though its owner remained silent.

Helping him was another male who was this time way smaller in stature than anybody Norrington ever saw. He too must have been native to the Caribbean, based on his choice of clothes, though the bald head and the braided goatee were throwing the commodore off a bit. But the two of them were still rather normal looking, all things considered.

The other two males, however, were what threw him off the most: One was clearly a very tall, bald African person, with strange spike-like markings decorating his face. Because he was shirtless, it could also be clearly seen that the marking continued down his body, symmetrically adoring his chest and shoulders, creating some sort of a pattern. He was standing right across them, arms folded across his chest and his dark eyes were watching Norrington and his companions, without blinking, even once. The second was an Asian, though, of all people present, he was the scariest looking, with a long scar running vertically across his cheeks and nose, and another running from the left side of his forehead, through his nose and to the right side of his chin. He was dressed in a one-sleeved robe, so his right arm was revealed, showing off a tattoo that covered every inch of the skin. It looked like black clouds and some creature with a snake-like body that ended in a monstrous horned head. The Asian was standing under the quarter deck, right next to the doors leading towards the captain´s cabin, with one hand resting loosely on the hilt of his sword. That, combined with the African man´s posture made it clear that they were both standing on guard, ready to defend their comrades if necessary.

The commodore held no illusion about these men´s capabilities, should things go sought. He just hoped it would not be the case, while he had to hold back a shudder when he thought he saw the creature on the tattoo looking straight at him. Instead, he focused on the female crew members, who, by far, were the most normal-looking ones.

First, there was an African woman, dressed in clothes typical for Caribbean sailors. She held herself calmly and her expression betrayed no emotion besides boredom. The only time it changed was when she surveyed their group before she seemed to come to some sort of a silent conclusion and mostly decided to ignore them. Instead, her dark eyes were observing the activity in the port.

Then there was a young female, clearly of Asian heritage, though, unlike her male counterpart, she did not appear to be intimidating. She was petite in stature, but she held herself with silent confidence and something about her posture told James that she was no push-over. Her hair was held up and she was clad in blue clothes typical for her place of origin, though apparently adjusted for the Caribbean weather, since the top was from fitting.

She was quietly talking with another woman, who was at least a head taller from her and clearly of European descent if her red hair and fair skin were any indications. She was clearly the cold beauty type one would imagine somewhere in the noble society, not as someone living on a ship like this one. What however caused Norrington to twitch, when looking at her, were the clothes the redhead was wearing – it was an outfit made from some navy-blue warp cloth that she fashioned into a very short dress, showing off the woman´s WELL developed body. Thankfully, she saw it necessary to wear grey pants under the dress and add a short grey coat, to keep her decency, otherwise, James was sure the men would have trouble focusing.

All three women were remarkably good-looking, which caused James to privately wonder if there was ever trouble in the crew because of this. It also raised the question of what sort of captain can keep control over such a mixed group of people…

His mussing was interrupted, when an older gentleman, who introduced himself as Joshamee Gibbs, walked out from the doors leading to the captain´s cabin. The man then proceeded to step aside, revealing…

"Elizabeth!" governor Weatherby Swann called out in relief.

"Father!" the unharmed daughter smiled at him and hurried to greet her father, while James found himself unable to look away from her, both because of relief and awe. He was relieved that she was alright and clearly unharmed, but also in awe because her new appearance made her look unbelievably beautiful. A sentiment that other military men clearly shared with him if their expression was any indication.

"My dear, I´m so glad to see you´re alright!" Governor Swann declared once he got the chance to hug his daughter. "You gave us all quiet the scare, there, my dear. Fortunately, nothing bad happened to you."

"I´m glad too, father," Elizabeth agreed with him. "And it is all thanks to the captain and the crew, for without them…" the noblewoman shuddered, clearly shaken at the memory of what happened.

"Now, now, my dear. Everything is alright now," the governor tried to soothe his daughter. "You´re safe."

"Yes, I am," Elizabeth sighed softly before she looked back over her shoulder. "Thank you, captain. Thank you and your crew."

"You´re welcome, Miss Swann. It was, honestly, our pleasure," a soft cultivated voice spoke up, reminding them all, of the presence of a third person. But when they turned to face the "captain", they were all left taken aback at what they saw. However, the unknown person didn´t seem to notice this, as they addressed Elizabeth´s father "Please, don´t worry, Governor Swann. I had our ship doctor examine your daughter after we rescued her, so I can assure you that she is as fit as a fiddle, so you don´t have to worry about her health."

"I…see. Thank you very much. For everything," the man nodded. "May I inquire about your name…captain?"

"Naturally, sir. My name is Jacqueline Lemoineau and I´m the captain of Red Dawn. It is a pleasure to meet you," the woman said with a small smile, making Norrington´s breath catch in his throat. Because if he had previously thought that Elizabeth and the other three women were beautiful, then this woman was outright gorgeous.