Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews everyone! It took me a little longer to update but I have been really busy and stuff and I have this TERRIBLE writer's block.

So anyways, sorry! Enjoy!

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Tortugan Beginnings

If You're a Pirate, I'm a Pirate

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Audrina slept for many hours, turning fitfully in her sleep with tears glistening on her drawn cheeks. Her nervous muttering and pleading first worried Jack when he had first walked into the small cabin, but now he was indifferent. It was this muttering and pleading that had urged Jack to stay and watch and listen. He was a terribly curious man and her muttering stirred up this curiosity. He should have left with the spyglass he was looking for, but instead he stayed and watched over her protectively.

As she slept, he had time to study her features and the damage the bastards had inflicted upon her body. She seemed thinner and her face gaunter than normal with her jaw line and cheek bones more prominent. Contusions were painted onto her face, mostly around her cheeks and eyes, giving Jack the idea that she been clouted often. His gaze moved upward. He noticed that her loose curls were now matted with sweat and her own blood. She had not washed in weeks; dirt stained her face and her body. Her hair was dull and her skin shiny with sweat and grease. Audrina looked unclean and damaged. A stale stench emitted from her body, she smelled strongly of sweat and smoke and filth.

Even Jack had to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Still in the nude, he peeled a bit of the blanket back to take a look at the scars and bruises riddling her pallid skin. The contusions were most evident around her abdomen and breasts. Her wrists were red and chaffed as well as bruised from her ties of bondage earlier that evening.

As he pulled the blanket further down, he furrowed his brow as he saw bruises on the very inside of her thighs. A frown creased at his mouth corners as he noticed cuts from a blade, perhaps a dagger or knife, on the inside of her thighs as well. Her skin was discolored there as well as was the lower part of her stomach right above her female parts. Anger surged through him as he realized what exactly these injuries implied. They had, in fact, stolen her honor and spirit. Jack slowly and gently pulled the covers back over her nude body.

As Audrina began to stir from her much needed slumber, Jack withdrew his eyes from her form and turned them towards the window overlooking the sea. As she sat up, her face contorted with pain and agony. She murmured inaudible phrases that Jack could not understand. He turned back towards her and saw that she was clutching the covers to desperately cover her nakedness.

She was the first one to speak and, with a quivering lip, she said, "I was almost sure it was a dream."

"It's not a dream, luv." Jack assured her. "If it was, there would certainly be rum."

Audrina forced a tight smile. "I had myself convinced you would save me from that hell. But then I kept thinking, 'maybe they can't find me.'"

He shook his head at her. "We rescued ya, didn't we? Never figured ya fer a distressing damsel."

"I'm not damsel in distress, Jack. Maybe I was just caught in an unfortunate situation." she said quietly.

Jack studied her for a moment. "Ya never let yer guard down, do ya?"

"Why do you think you know me so well, anyway?" she retorted quietly without any malevolence intended.

"Because, luv, I do. Yer little miss pirate. Yer the girl that steals the whelps' hearts then shoots 'em clean between the eyes. Ya won't let yerself get close to anyone and ya won't let anyone even suggest yer not all as tough as you make yerself out to be."

He paused and searched her face. She was skeptical at best.

"We're peas in a pod, darlin'. Save the female part, me being male and what not. Ya do what ya can to survive. And everyone else can just sod off, eh?"

Audrina nodded absentmindedly and averted her attention to the setting sun outside the window. This wasn't exactly the reaction Jack had been expecting. He tenderly went to reach out and touch her arm but she recoiled immediately.

With fire in her eyes, she turned to him. "Don't touch me!" she shouted, her body shaking violently.

He was shocked at her reaction. "Audrina?" he managed. He really was at a lost for words.

"Just go, Jack. Just go. I really need to be alone right now," she said meekly.

The pirate was surprised. Audrina was not a meek, timid mouse. She had spirit and fire. And it was that spirit that fueled any type of affection he had for her. He stared at her and she looked right back with that forlorn sadness and loneliness reflected on her face. Jack caressed his beard thoughtfully and knitted his brows together in thought. With her eyes, she pleaded with him to just leave and forget about her.

Jack got up to depart and frowned at her. "What did they do to ya?" he asked more to himself than her.

"More then you will ever know," Audrina replied with contempt and hatred. "Please go," she begged.

Jack nodded unsurely and proceeded towards the door to leave. He turned to take a last look of her. She was curled up in a ball, gazing at the sea without tears gracing her face. She was just sitting there and he had no doubt that she was reliving the trauma over and over again. And again Jack felt that hatred and revulsion for any souls upon the Abaddon, save Napoleon, and never in his life did he ever want more to murder someone in cold blood as much as he did at that moment.

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Jack stepped onto the deck of his ship. The setting sun painted the sky a whirlwind of colors that entranced Jack with its splendor. The vibrant hues of red, orange and pink reflected upon the violent and thrashing sea. The black ship cut through the waves with speed, elegance, and grace. He caressed the rail with affection, smiling to himself. It had been a little less than three years he had possession of the legend itself. And since his reunion with it, he never believed a genuine frown or tears would grace his face. He never believed that he could feel sadness while standing upon the black ship that was, and still is, a legend.

Contrary to those former beliefs, a sorrow raged throughout Jack Sparrow. It was not exactly heart wrenching sadness or melancholy, but rather, a numb, vague sorrow that Jack could not seem to understand.

He strolled towards the helm and relieved the African pirate that was currently commanding it. As he took the spokes in his hands, he felt authority over the ship. However, he couldn't get the sullen face of Audrina Hart out of his mind.

Jack Sparrow usually could not be swayed by a woman. But the way she cried and was so utterly terrified of him had played with his heartstrings. He never got involved. He never did something unless it ultimately benefited him in the end, yet he could not pass the need to find Marcus Addison and murder him.

Murder.

It was a powerful word, in Jack's opinion, and he never murdered. Jack killed but never without reason or purpose and he never killed to make himself feel better about the world around him. However, as the seconds ticked by, he felt such a need to do that. To kill to make himself feel better.

Jack stroked his beard in thought and drummed his fingers on the top of the helm absentmindedly. "Where are ya, Marcus, ya beastie?" he murmured to himself.

"Ye be takin' this to heart, Jack." Gibbs said behind him. "Never seen ye like this. Somethin' got ye vexed, and I don't see what. It ain't, dare I speak it, a woman? Miss Hart, to be more precise."

Jack frowned and looked over his shoulder at his portly first mate. "Miss Hart?" he mused out loud. "Miss Hart? No, Mister Gibbs, she does not have me vexed."

"Then what be it, Jack?" Gibbs walked around to the front of the helm to face Jack. "What is ye purpose fer that woman on this ship? It be bad luck, ya know that. Mother's love, every sailor, pirate, and sea dog knows that! And, Jack, there's two of 'em! Double the wicked luck."

Jack clutched the spokes in irritation. "Mister Gibbs, she is a pirate. Why should 'er femaley parts be any difference? And the other girl, whats-'er-face, she is not to leave this ship until that beastie, Addison, is havin' a good ol' time with Davy Jones himself. Are ya tryin' to insinuate that ya don't care about ol' whats-'er-face's safety, are ya? My, my, I am disappointed in ya."

In surprise, Gibbs's eyebrows rose in wonder at the Captain's sharp tone. He seemed as if he was avoiding the question. "No, Jack, I ain't be insinuating no such thing. All I'm asking is: what exactly are ye feelings for Miss Hart?"

"There are no feelings, mate." Jack said, obviously irritated. "She's a woman, Mister Gibbs, and I happen to have sympathies with said woman. No feelings. None, whatsoever. She'd be a good bunk warmer, though."

"Aye, that's a relief! Thought ye finally went soft!" Gibbs grinned and clapped his captain on the back causing Jack to lurch forward suddenly.

"Cap'n Jack Sparrow, soft? Ya must have me confused with that whelp William Turner or perhaps Barbossa!" Jack joked and turned serious for a moment. "God rest his soul."

Gibbs laughed briefly and turned his eyes back to Jack's cabin. "Uh….Jack….what be ye plans fer the bastard, Addison?"

Jack, again, stroked his double braided beard in thought. "Well," he started. "I plan to find 'im, obviously. Plunder and pilfer my weasely black guts out -- from 'is ship, of course. And then I plan to kill him."

"Was this all inspired by our newly rescued Miss Hart?" Gibbs tenderly asked.

Jack smirked. "Of course not! He happens to be on the top of my Ten Most Want to Kill list."

Gibbs simply smiled and turned to leave. He didn't believe him even in the slightest. As he departed, he sighed and turned his gaze towards the departing shore in the distance. Further down, he spotted a ship that was previously beached and was now being pushed out to the open sea.

"Mother's love," he murmured, and descended down into the bowels of the ship. For some reason, he felt a battle coming on and he had every intention of readying the pirates.

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Lucas sat on the edge of the bunk and caressed his sister's arm with love and patience. She turned to him and smiled softly. Audrina had missed him so, even more so than Jack. It was now the evening and the sweet aroma of food enticed her from the dining part of the cabin.

"Are you hungry, Audrina?" he asked affectionately. "The galley prepared that whole meal for you."

She faintly nodded and pursued her lips. Her stomach rumbled and she placed an elegant hand upon her stomach. "I'm hungry, I suppose," she stated uncertainly.

"Let's eat, then." he urged. "No point in delaying it."

Audrina shook her head. "Let's wait a few moments. Time to catch up on things, y'know?"

Lucas nodded in agreement. "I missed you, Aud," he confessed. "You have no idea how glad I am to have you back."

"The Pearl was all I thought about when I was their…..prisoner," she spat with malice and contempt. "I also thought of Addison continually. I was fixed on him, Luc; he was all I thought about. I wanted to….I want to murder him. I'm not going to stop until his black heart stops beating, Luc!"

Her voice wavered for a moment and, in a delicate, fragile voice, she added, "There's a secret, Lucas. I don't even know how to tell you."

Lucas's eyes grew wide for a moment. A secret? He wondered briefly. Why in the world would Audrina be keeping secrets from him? Immediately, he thought the worst.

"A secret?" he said quietly, his heart palpitating within his chest.

"Do you remember how Reginald Hart had believed we were not his children?" she started.

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "We aren't, though."

"We now know for sure we aren't." she continued and sharply inhaled, her heart in a frenzy now. Audrina licked her lips uncertainly, as if she was preparing to say the secret but couldn't quite find the words.

Lucas, out of instinct, clutched his sister's hand in worry. "Tell me, Audrina. Tell me who our father is."

"Marcus Addison," Audrina spat out and clutched his hand so tight, she might have even left a bruise.

She said it. It felt like a burden had been lifted from her frail shoulders. The weight of the terrible secret had finally been lifted. Audrina felt free for a moment. For a moment, she felt as if she could carry on with her life as if the memory of her own father violating her had suddenly disappeared. She breathed hard and clenched her jaw in fear of the uproar her brother might cause.

But he simply sat there with that blank expression on his sharp features. His father? He couldn't believe it. His father? A black hearted, pilfering, plundering, bloody pirate! A rapist, an abuser, a murderer. Lucas simply could not believe that he came from the loins of Marcus Addison. He was cold hearted with no soul, he sailed the seven seas with malevolence, and wreaking destruction everywhere he set foot. This was the man that had impregnated their mother?

Lucas blinked with the shock still obviously present. "Are you sure?" he managed and ran his hand through his thick, black hair nervously.

Audrina nodded. "Positive."

"How do you know?" he asked in a small, quiet voice. "Did he…..were they…." he couldn't seem to format the question.

Did Marcus Addison rape their mother? Or, rather, did they have this sick, twisted love? Lucas, oddly and selfishly, begged for the first of the options.

Audrina pursued her lips nervously. "He….raped her." she answered, understanding the question Lucas was asking. "I know because….he tried to rape me. Actually….he didn't try."

She became very quiet and closed her eyes. She pictured him, his bulky mass on top of her, violating her. She remembered the way he tugged at her hair violently, causing contusions and cuts upon her scalp. Audrina recalled the way he took the small dagger across her thighs, obviously thrilled at seeing the crimson blood run down her legs. His eyes brightened as she cried for mercy, even when she pretended to be indifferent and defiant. His hot breath upon her neck and his rough, grotesque voice in her ear, taunting her and humiliating her. She remembered the way he touched her, the way he hit her again, and again, and again, and again…..

Audrina Hart hardly noticed the rogue tear drip down her cheek. As she felt it fall off her chin and onto the bunk, the sound of the drop seemed exaggerated. It seemed as if she could hear it but then she just figured she was finally losing her mind. She quickly wiped away any evidence of her tears.

She finally found the courage to gaze into her brother's face. Audrina hadn't noticed the tears on her brother's cheeks until now. "Say something," she begged.

"What happened?" he asked, horrified. "What did he say to you to suggest that he's our father?"

Audrina, embarrassed, looked away from Lucas's face. "He recognized Commodore's Hart last name. And….he went on to describe how he raped her," she croaked.

Lucas embraced her tightly. "Shh….forget him. Forget it. Just close your eyes and forget it all."

"It's not that easy, Lucas," she responded. "Could you forget your own father raping you?"

Lucas withdrew from their embrace and shook his head with much regret. "But you were always so much stronger than I was."

"I can't always be strong. It's gotten too hard," she replied. "But I'll try. I'm a pirate, remember?"

However, her brother shook his head at her. "You're not a pirate, Audrina. You are a women succumbed to this lifestyle of murdering and thieving. You are neither a murderer nor a thief. You are not a pirate. You are a woman too stubborn to be a whore so you chose the alternative. Any time, any time you want, snap your fingers and tell me you want to leave this life. And we can live somewhere and we can work honorably."

Angrily, Audrina rolled up her sleeve to show him the 'P' swell that had branded her a pirate so many years ago. "This -- this is what binds me here. I can't become an honorable person while this black mark plagues me. It's never going to end, Lucas. It's apart of me. I'll always be a pirate."

"If you're a pirate, I'm a pirate," Lucas grinned to reassure her.

"It's that I'm afraid of."