Disclaimer: If I owned pirates I would not be writing fan fiction... don't sue me, I have no money anyway

Author's Note: Not very long, but to the point. The next chapter is done, so it will be up soon, but for now I torture you with a cliff-hanger, mwahaha

A ship on the horizon. The young Jack Sparrow prepared his gun as they neared their enemy. At the age of 20 he was a strapping fellow, quite accustomed to the jeers of his elders around women. But it was not the whores who held his heart, though they held the souls of so many other pirates. His one human love was the 15-year-old girl standing at his side. She had grown into quite a lady, and she'd even begun to wear a corset under her shirt and pants. Her father always made certain she had proper clothing, a sad attempt to turn her into a woman of class. Today she had black pants and a black corset tied together with a gold sash that matched her shirt. Her knee length jacket was black as well, with gold trim. She might have looked half civilized, had she worn boots. Her bare ankles jingled with jewels from past raids. Her long hair was braided down her back, though a few strands escaped. Her full lips might have been too much to resist had her father not been nearby.

The ship was nearer now. It appeared to be a merchant ship. The red wood it was made of was brightened in the sun. The order was given quietly to load and ready starboard cannons.

Josey placed the dagger she'd just sharpened in the strap on her thigh. She had become quite handy with weapons as an apprentice of Jack, though her father could not have been more displeased. She was to become a lady of society later in life and never need to protect herself. For now however she chose to stay by her friend's side, ready to do as much damage as possible without killing her enemy. Somehow she managed to keep most of her victims alive.

Suddenly she jumped, tense from a touch. A hand rested heavily on her shoulder. Jack glanced over his shoulder with a sneer curling his lip. Behind them was First Mate Barbossa. The cruel man always had his eyes on the girl. Waiting until she was of age to marry was beginning to try his patience.

"You're father asked me to convince you to stay behind," he lied. Jack saw the lust in the man's eyes and tightened his jaw, forcing himself to swallow the anger that building up.

"Someone has to stop tu from murdering everyone, Senor Barbossa." Her Spanish accent was not as thick as it had been, but the words still slipped out at random.

The middle-aged man gave a quick twitchy smirk before leaving to prepare the others. He did not take well to her jokes and Jack knew it would come back to haunt her in the end, but now was not the time for such a discussion.

The first cannon went off, then the next, and then the rest. Soon the men were preparing to board and raid. It was a stampede, chaotic, with no order. There was no way Jack and Josey to stay together safely as of yet. There were too many enemies and not enough room for them to stand back to back with mobility.

And so the pair was uncharacteristically split apart. Josey kept to her part of the plan, making her way to the unknown captain's cabin. A formidable enemy backed her against the door, pressing her sword up over her head, trying to disarm her. Suddenly his back arched and he sunk down paralyzed. In his place stood Jack Sparrow, bloody sword in hand. He remained only long enough to smile encouragingly, and then hurried on.

The door at her back was locked she discovered. Quickly she pulled out her pistol and blasted the handle. The door swung in, and Josey entered the dark, muggy room. Cowering in the corner was who she presumed to be the captain. Slowly she walked toward him, letting him recognize her womanly figure. She had flung the gun aside and sheathed her sword.

The man stood and stepped closer to her. It was dark and she could not see his face. He began to circle her, his hands touching parts of her no one else had been allowed to touch. She flinched a little but would not let herself pull away. It was for the good of the attack, it was necessary.

Suddenly, a loud crack reverberated in the cabin. The young girl's face filled with shock, and then, as that faded, pain. Immense agony filled her body and she struggled to face her attacker. It was not until that moment she realized who she had been seducing. Her voice was less than a whisper as she spoke his name, but he struck her face with the smoking gun. She was flung across the room; both her side and face continued bleeding. Her head hit the desk, leaving her unconscious and the man's identity safe for the moment.

...

The aftermath was always Jack's least favorite part of a fight. Blood and bodies everywhere... a sight, smell and silence that sometimes gave him nightmares.

He looked for Josey, hoping to find some comfort in her gaze. He had not seen her since they had parted at the beginning of the battle. He needed her there in order to cope with this. He glanced quickly through the crowd, and then back again. She wasn't there.

"Bill," he called to his friend, "Where's Josey?"

The older man glanced around frantically before they both heard a chuckle. Barbossa shook his head at the men as he walked toward them.

"Good man you are Jack. Make the girl follow you into battle and then forget all about her when she disappears."

With a glare and a growl Jack suddenly lunged for the first mate, but Bill held him back.

"What did you do to her?" The boy continued to pull away from his friend.

Barbossa looked amused at the accusation. "You can't possibly think I'd do anything to a GIRL!"

Jack backed off, though he was certain it was the mate who was to blame for the girl's disappearance. Without further ado he grabbed a loose rope and swung over to the newly captured ship.

The last time he'd seen the girl was as she entered the captain's cabin. He kicked through the broken door and looked about franticly, though his eyes were ill accustomed to the darkness. Still he saw the limp figure on the floor. Lying on her side, the girl looked to be asleep, but for the small puddle of liquid beneath her.

"Josey!" Jack rushed to her, laying a hand on her side to turn her over. To his surprise she cried out in pain at his touch. Lifting his hand he found it bloody, though not greatly so. Where his hand had been there was a bullet wound. The shot was far enough to the side that it had caught only skin, but Jack knew from his years aboard pirate ships that any wound could be deadly.

"No," he whispered as he slowly he moved closer to her face. That too dripped with blood. There was a gash along her cheekbone, and though it did not appear too deep it had hardly begun to scab over.

The girl's eyes were hazy with pain and loss of blood. Jack wiped his hand on his pants before laying it on her head. He lifted her head up, though again she hissed in agony.

She choked out his name, and he tried to lift her to her feet. She resisted with a whimper as the pain increased, but he continued to move her. Eventually he got her up, desperate to get her some help. Cradling her in his arms he moved as quickly as he could out of the cabin. Bill met them at the end of a plank set between the ships. The man desperately wanted a look at his injured daughter, but Jack was in too much of a hurry to get her help. He hurried across the plank and down to the room the "doctor" used for surgeries. He shoved numerous other pirates out of the way in order to lay her on the table. As he stepped back he didn't quite know what to do. The doctor had come over to assess the wounds. Bill stood by his young friend, a hand on his shoulder, as they anxiously awaited the verdict.

"She seems to have lost a lot of blood lads," the man said. "I can sew her up, but that leaves a lot for her to do afterwards."

"Then you do your bit," Bill growled, "so she can get to hers."