Disclaimer: I do not own POTC.

Origins of a Pirate

Chapter 8

Cut wearily collapsed into his new hammock at the end of his second hard day aboard ship. He had never worked harder in his life than he had today, and his already beaten body showed signs of overwork and exhaustion. His eyes were encircled by huge purple circles and his hands were bloody and covered with painful pus filled blisters. Why had he had been so stupid as to think that pirating would be a good life for him? Sure his stomach was full and he had a bed but the pain was almost too much to bear.

The day had started out at dawn with a morning bell. Cut and his fellow pirates met on deck and were each assigned morning duties by the first mate, Mr. Martin. Cut was assigned to clean the bilge- or prison of the ship; the least desirable of jobs which was often given out to unlucky rookies. After he had spent a good two hours scraping mold off of the walls, Cut was handed a small ration of hardtack and salted pork- the most common rations for any sailor- honest or not. Many other housekeeping chores later, Cut was handed a small bowl of gruel- supper. Then came several more chores and Cut was finally permitted to find himself an empty hammock- which he was presently laying in.

Cut looked up at the ceiling and began to happily close his eyes when a sharp noise permeated his slumber.

"Mr. Beckett!" A voice called from above, "Get up here! We ain't feeding you to lay around!"

"Whaa??"

"Stupid boy! Ye have the night watch."

Captain Jones tapped his heels impatiently on the hardwood floor and waited for his new deckhand.

"Get up here now or suffer the consequences."

Cut groaned and pulled his body out of bed. He would have a long night ahead of him.

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Jack and Ginny avoided his father's study for many days, during which time many strange sounds echoed from the room. When Jack finally got up the nerve and courage to check on his father once again, he was greeted with the sight of a much smaller version of his mother's head. Teague had somehow managed to shrink it.

"Dad… what… are you doing to that… thing?"

"Jackie, haven't you heard of the Jívaros in your studies?"

Jack shook his head, confused.

"Well the Jívaros area tribe in the Americas. I came across them while trading in the area many years back, much before you were born. They traded me the secrets of head shrinking for just 70 Pounds."

"Why would you want to learn that?"

"Knowledge is the greatest wealth of all. Now I'll share with you the head shrinking process as they shared it with me because you seem to be an interested soul."

"I would rather not…"

"Never deny yourself knowledge son. It's the key to power and freedom. Freedom is a valuable gift and true freedom can only be attained by knowing everything, even the things you don't want to know. So I will proceed to explain the process to you so that someday you may know everything there is to know and have true freedom. I first removed your mother's skull from her head, which was quite a challenge I might admit, but I managed. I then sewed her eyes shut and mouth shut using reeds from the garden. I boiled the head several times and Delanie's good as new- and much less fragrant I must admit. She's very happy right now, Jackie, but she still wants to know why you won't come near her."

Jack sighed and decided to play along with is less than stable father. "I'm just so incredibly… amazed to behold her… beauty again. So um… mum. What's for dinner?"

Teague held the head up to his ear and laughed, "She says that anything's fine by her. Why don't you go prepare something nice for your mother. Some steak perhaps?"

"Dad we ran out of steak."

"Mutton?"

"None."

"Well what do we have?"

"Not much. Just some oatmeal. But it will have to do."

Teague scratched his head in confusion, "What do you mean Jackie, can't you just go down to the market and buy a chicken?"

"Dad, there's no more money in the safe for me to use. We're broke."

"But I…"

"I'm sorry I kept it from you but… you lost your job three months ago. Mister Mercer said that until you steadied yourself and started actively trading again, he would not give you anymore of his profits. All we have is this house and your ship. We need money."

Teague stared at the wall, stroking his "wife". "Jackie, what do you know of pirates?"

Thanks to everyone that is reading my story and especially thanks to everyone reviewing. The reviews keep me going so if you want more Origins of a Pirate then please review!!!

PS: If anyone is interested, I actually looked up the steps of shrinking a head so that should be pretty accurate.

Enjoy!