Will's POV:

Nothing but the open sea ahead of us now. That was one of the main things I enjoyed about sailing on the Black Pearl. Just having the sea and my fellow crew members at my side. And, of course, our own good man, Captain Jack Sparrow. Yes, he was rather eccentric, but he was good at being the captain that way. Plus, he'd saved my life and the crew's more than once.

I was just thinking about coming out on deck later tonight to enjoy the quiet breeze when Joshamee started shouting. "Oi! Bits of a ship ahead! Doesn't look to be any survivors! No, wait! There's someone! A young lass!" Joshamee shouted. I vaulted to my feet and followed the rest of the crew to the front and sides of the ship. All around, floating in the water, was strange debris from a completely destroyed ship.

Suddenly, I followed Joshamee's pointing finger. There was indeed a young woman lying on top of a large chunk of floating debris in the water. She didn't appear to be conscious. And, in fact, she almost looked quite dead from where I was standing as her limp body just laid there.

Nevertheless, my instincts took over and I jumped overboard. Collected shouts followed me as I swam over to the woman. I was correct in my assumptions that she wasn't breathing. Still, I would try my best. Acting fast, I expertly wrapped an arm around her waist and paddled over to the side of the Black Pearl. Once there, Joshamee and Marty threw down a rope for me to grab. I quickly fastened it around the both of us and the lads worked to hoist us back up onto the deck.

Carefully, I lowered the young woman on her back on the wooden deck. Only for a few seconds did I truly get to take her in. She was absolutely beautiful. Fair creamy skin, light brown hair that came down past her shoulders, and a petite figure. The only thing I couldn't see was the color of her eyes.

Quickly, I put my fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. It took me a moment, but I found a very faint one there that seemed to be getting weaker. However, that was when I realized once again that she wasn't breathing. I didn't know what came over me. Maybe it was the same thing that made me jump off the Black Pearl for this young woman.

I began to apply pressure to her chest, pumping over and over again to get her to breathe. I ignored the men around me and bent down to her fair face, pinching her nose closed and pressing my lips down on her soft lips to breathe air into her lungs. After what seemed a lifetime, but apparently had only been minutes, the woman jerked under the pressure of my hands on her chest. She lifted her head ever so slightly, gasping and choking the water out of her lungs.

I leaned back as I kneeled before her gasping form. And, just like that, her eyes opened. They searched the sky above her and finally, they found me kneeling above her at her side. She was truly the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. And her eyes were as blue as the clear sky. I glimpsed those enchanting eyes only for that one moment before they shut to me once more in complete exhaustion.

Worried, I hovered over her unconscious form as the lads burst out talking. "What the hell happened to her?" "She's a sight for sore eyes!" "What do we do now, Captain?" That last question came from my own mouth. Jack looked up from his thoughts. He gave me one of his signature half smiles. "Well, ye did save the lass after all. Here are my terms. No one is to lay a hand on the young lady at all until we know who she is. The whelp here will take care of her and Anamaria, you will find some suitable clothes for her. Something different from these odd garments she has on. Savvy?" Jack asked us all.

There were disappointed mumbles of agreement and a less disappointed one from Anamaria. I suppose she had been waiting for another woman to be on board. And the men, well, they were disappointed because this was the first woman they'd seen in almost a month who wasn't shut up for business like Anamaria. Plus, this young woman was by far probably the most beautiful any of us had ever seen in our entire lives.

Anamaria moved forward and bent down next to me by the woman. "She's shivering, Will. I suggest we take her inside to the cabins for fresh clothes and a warm bed. Don't want her dying before we even know what happened to her," Anamaria said. I nodded and looked back down at the woman. So beautiful, so pure, I thought.

Quietly, I lifted her petite body into my arms, finding her to be surprisingly light, even for her size. The woman whimpered slightly in my arms, shivering as she instinctively moved closer to my body in search of warmth. "We'll take her to my cabin. I have room in there," I said. Anamaria nodded and I noticed the slight disappointment there. She would've liked to have another female in her company in her cabin, but she didn't have the room. And, not only that, I did sort of call dibs on her first.

"Whatever you say. She's under your care, whelp," Anamaria muttered. I rolled my eyes, following her below deck to my cabin. I'd really hoped that everyone would stop calling me that when I officially joined the crew, but apparently not. I was stuck with that demeaning nickname. I only wished the young woman in my arms would never have to hear it.

Going to the back of the ship where my cabin was located, I gently set the woman down on my bed. She shivered even more when she wasn't leaning against me. I watched her with concern as Anamaria quickly went and got some clothes for the girl. When she returned, I was forced to wait outside the door as Anamaria worked on getting the girl into fresh, warm clothes.

Finally, the door opened and Anamaria's dark face popped out. "I got her into an old sleeping gown of mine. I left some old clothes that I outgrew for her. They should fit just fine judging by the size of her," she said. Anamaria finally moved completely out of my cabin. I was just about to head in to see the girl when Anamaria's arm snaked out and blocked my path from getting inside. I looked down at Anamaria, seeing her shooting daggers at me.

"Now, to business, whelp. My gut tells me this young girl is just some innocent who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She probably won't have a clue as to how she got here and will be scared to death when she realizes she's on a pirate ship with a whole bunch of men who haven't seen a fresh woman in almost a month. I want to have one decent female person on this ship who isn't me. If I find out that you did something to her against her will or someone else did under your care, I'll castrate you in your sleep. Know what I mean, whelp?" Anamaria asked, venom slightly leaking into her threat.

I nodded quickly. Anamaria may have been a woman, but she'd been a pirate longer than I and could certainly catch me by surprise now and then. Seeing my agreement to her terms, Anamaria leaned back and let her hand fall from my path. "Good. Now, go make sure the young lass survives the night," she said.

Once Anamaria had gone above deck, I let out the breath I'd been holding and opened the door to my cabin and shut it behind me. When I looked up, I saw that Anamaria had indeed gotten the girl into a nice white nightgown and had tucked her under the covers of my bed.

Ever so silently, I walked over to the bedside and looked down at the girl. She was getting a little more color back in her cheeks as she got a bit warmer, but she was still shivering a bit. And her hair was still damp from being in the sea.

Quietly, I grabbed a warm cloth with water and lightly dabbed the girl's forehead with it. She immediately stiffened, but then relaxed seconds later as the wet cloth did its job to sooth her nerves. I smiled a bit to myself, liking the way she looked in sleep. Beautiful and peaceful. I decided then that I had to know who she was.