Chapter 1: A Pirate In Jail

The putrid smells of the dingy jail rudely assailed the senses of the late night visitor. Small shafts of moonlight stabbed their way through every possible crack as if to offer what comfort it could to alleviate the shadowy corners from darkness. As bad luck would have it, the cell desired was the very last in the darkest corner. Most of the other prisoners kept quiet, no doubt asleep. Yet some whispered insanely to themselves, another growled menacingly like a caged animal as the visitor hurried past and drew the lapels of their bulky coat closer together to ward off the increasing chills.

As the last cell came into view, a sharp intake of breath echoed from behind the bars. A scuttling figure emerged, fury in every line of his wrinkled, brown face.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered angrily. "Go home this instant."

"I will not," came the angry huff. "Dad, listen, I—"

"No, I will not listen. This is a dangerous place, sweetheart. The guards are just as unsavory as the vermin in these cages."

"Present company included?"

"I am not amused, girl," he said roughly. "Listen here, you little beast, I am not worth you getting yourself thrown into the cell next to me…or worse."

"You call me a beast?" she hissed. "You're the pirate!"

His hand shot through the bars and covered her mouth. "Lower your voice, Evy."

She pried his hand off. "Please don't call me that. It's Evelyn."

"Bratty wench," he muttered. "What has your mother done to you?"

"I'm not here to talk about her. I'm here to get you out. Look." She pulled a pin from her hair. "Your occupation being what it is, I assume you can pick a lock."

"Easily, but I won't do that. How did you get in here anyway?"

"The guard up front is passed out and the second one left with a barfly." She shoved the hairpin at him, but he refused to accept the thin silver shaft.

"If I escape tonight, your mother will be interrogated and so will you if you stay on the mainland. I won't tell you where I'm going, but they'd keep a close watch on both of you and it would be too risky for me to return in the future."

"Then what do you suggest?" she said, annoyed, shoving the pin back into her hair and wincing as the point pricked her scalp.

Her father looked torn suddenly between telling her something and keeping his mouth shut. But instead of words, he dug around inside the pocket of his breeches and extracted a worn piece of parchment.

"You haven't by any chance got a quill and an ink well have you?"

"Of course, I always bring both every time I visit my father in jail," she said acidly.

He ignored her sharp tongue and said, "There's a small fireplace back there, did you see it?"

"Yes, I did," she confirmed, recalling it was on the left side.

"See if you can find some coal. I can use that just as well."

Evy hurried back the way she came and stopped at the corner. No one was coming so she darted to the left and grabbed a coal lying in a haphazard pile on the floor. After handing the coal over to her father, he borrowed the small knife Evy kept hidden in her boot and began hacking a corner of the black mineral into a fine point.

"You've got some sense at least, seeing as you came armed. Maybe I imparted some wisdom after all."

"Yes, and maybe I'll end up behind bars one day too."

"It appears you've learned a lot from your mother too," he replied idly, sitting down on the dirty floor and using it as a table to write on the parchment.

Evy only felt mildly abashed at her behavior. Her dad hadn't been around much when she was younger. She felt he deserved some of her snappish comments, but only some of them. Even though she didn't want to admit it, part of her admired his bravery and even though he was a pirate, he was a still a good man at heart no matter how much he protested that fact.

"How'd you get caught anyway?"

He paused briefly as he wrote. "Kind of a long story, luv, but suffice it to say, I was double crossed by a retired Royal Navy officer. Though he's not the gentleman he pretends to be either. He's a nasty piece of work."

"Why'd he double cross you?" she asked, interested beyond her control.

"During a none-too friendly game of poker in Tortuga, I acquired a treasure map purposely and relieved the dimwitted gentleman of his possession." At the look on her face, he hastily said, "He had no idea what it was in the first place. Why shouldn't an expert handle such a delicate matter?"

"Continue please," she said through gritted teeth.

'An acquaintance of mine was there too and I let him in on the map. We decided to go halvsies on the loot and then parted ways, determined to meet up in one week to search for the treasure. Unfortunately, I'd been too friendly with the bottle and the Royal Navy prat was able to coerce me into letting him in on it as well. He picked my pocket and had me thrown into jail. They transported me here, to Port Nassau. Two days from now is the day that I was to meet my partner."

Evy watched her father bemusedly. "A treasure map? Do you really believe that?"

"That depends on the situation in question. However, any normal pirate will chase after whatever treasure comes his way."

"All right," she said, "But why won't you let me help you escape tonight?"

"Because, as I already said, a picked lock will look fishy and the authorities may question my family. Don't you think it would be safer for this pirate's partner—" he pointed to himself—"to spring him from jail, therefore, clearing his family of all suspicion?"

"I suppose," she agreed reluctantly, as he finished with the letter and began rolling it up. "But how will this pirate know to spring you from jail?"

"Because, darling daughter, you're going to deliver the message. He's on his way to Port Nassau as we speak. He knew I was coming here to visit my family anyway, but the Royal Navy stuck their business in mine first."

He shoved the letter through the bars right under her nose.

"Me?" she said aghast. "Deliver a letter to a-a…pirate?"

"Come now, you're not afraid of pirates," he said cheekily, "I've been one since before you were born."

"Y-yes, but…well, you're my father. That's different."

He rolled his eyes. "Hardly. I'm as wretched as the next pirate. Being your father doesn't clear me of all ill deeds."

"Maybe not, but still—"

"Evy, do this one thing for me. Have I ever asked you for anything?"

"No, you haven't," she said resigned. His hand was still reaching at her through the bars. She took the letter, but as she did so, he grasped her hand.

"Evy—Evelyn, I mean. Thank you for doing this. I don't why you even bothered coming to see me, frankly."

"Neither do I," she mumbled. "Considering you're in and out of our lives faster than a plague."

He winced. "Ouch. Guess I deserved that. Evy—"

"Never mind," she said brusquely, pulling her hand away. "So, will he believe me…that I'm your daughter?"

"He will. That letter is proof." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "I almost forgot. You'd better give him this as a peace offering." From the confines of his jacket, he pulled out a bottle with an amber liquid inside and pressed it into her hands.

"What is this?"

"Rum of course."

"Rum? I give him rum and he'll listen to me?" she asked in disbelief.

"You give him rum and he'll follow you around like a puppy."

"I think I hate him already," she said with disgust. "What's this poor-excuse-for-a-person's name anyway?"

"Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow."