Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney does. I only own the characters who weren't in the movies. You know, the ones I made up. I also do not own Ambassador Alexander Swann, Isabella Swann, or Count Philip Rochester, who belong to Vilofied.

My morning had been unusually slow. I'd eaten breakfast, which consisted of two biscuits, a large slice of ham, and a fresh glass of milk. I then tended to little Melody when she woke and began crying for care. I bottle-fed the precious little buggar, saving Chrissy the job of having to breast feed as soon as she woke, and changed her before handing her over to her mother who'd woken shortly after. I then spent the better part of an hour chopping up part of a fallen tree for fire-wood. A simple but slow morning indeed.

So I sat on the shore having done all of my chores, a bamboo fishing pole in my hands. I'd caught several fish already, and put my catches in a wicker basket that rested in the sand beside me. Chrissy would be proud of me, and I believe the cooking staff would be pleased as well, for I'd saved them a trip to the market.

As I stood and pulled in another fish I felt something small, and round pelt me in the back. An irritated grunt passed my lips, and I didn't even have to turn around to know who was throwing things at me. I ignored them as I dug around in the fish's mouth and pulled the hook out before placing the fish in the basket. Once the lid was closed I turned and faced the source of the flying pebble, only to be pelted in the chest with another.

"Oye!" I shouted in annoyance at the two other teenage boys. "Watch it!"

"Oh, has little Ollie gotten his knickers in a knot?" The taller of the two, Clarence, asked in an annoyingly taunting voice.

Clarence was a bit taller than me with cropped black hair and brown eyes. His voice wasn't very deep, but wasn't annoyingly light either. His usual style of dress was a yellowish cloth shirt and dark brown breeches. No stockings, no shoes: nothing fancy, really.

The other boy was short than me, with cropped red hair and blue eyes, and went by the name John. His style of dress was similar to that of Clarence's, with the exception of gray breeches.

"Buggar off." I growled irritably as I gathered my things.

"Aww! Is Mr. Beckett to busy playing 'man of the house' to play with the big boys?" John laughed. "Too busy trying to be Admiral Norrington? What, do you think she's your woman now? Aw, come on Mr. Beckett!"

My things fell to the sand as I whirled around and grabbed John around the throat, jerking him so that his nose was nearly touching mine. "Call me Beckett again, and see what I'll do." I growled in a low tone.

I could feel John swallow hard beneath my hand. It looked like he wasn't going to do it, and I was going to release him when all of a sudden his eyes narrowed. "Beckett." he said loud and clearly.

A growl formed in the back of my throat as my fist connected with John's face. He'd pushed me over the edge, and he was going to pay for it. I hit him over and over in the face with a strength and anger I'd forgotten I had. The pirate side of me was taking over my mind, and I was doing nothing to stop it. In all honesty, it felt great.

I managed to hit John in the stomach before I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. They whirled me around and shoved me back against Clarence, who locked me against him so I couldn't move; couldn't defend myself. John came up to me and released the fury in his fists. He started with my face first, hitting my cheeks and jaw. When those places were bruised and bleeding, he moved to my chest and stomach until he was certain I was bruised there was well.

"Bloody bastard." Clarence sneered as he shoved me in the sea water that had come up on the shore. "Not even fit to kiss my boots. You're worthless, just like your father was."

Just to get his point across, Clarence kicked me in the face before walking away with a staggering John.

They left me there alone to die, not giving a care that I really could bleed to death, or be taken out to sea by the current. To be honest, I didn't care either. I didn't make any attempt to move, or save myself from the ever strengthening current. And since I was blind in my left eye, and the right side of my face was shoved down in the sand, I couldn't see Ambassador Swann, Rochester, or the maid Jane coming quickly toward me.

"Good Lord!" Swann mumbled beneath his breath. "What happened here?"

"Two boys, Sir." Jane answered. "When I came out of the stables I saw them. Acted like they wanted to beat the life out of him!"

"could you tell who the two boys were?" Philip asked as he gently turned me over.

I winced when the two men began examining my wounds. Perhaps Clarence and John had hurt me more than I'd wagered?

"Yes, Sir." Jane told him softly as she dabbed at my sand-covered face with a damp cloth. "Their names are John and Clarence. They come every now and then and pick on Oliver, but, they've never harmed him physically." she said slowly.

"Can you hear me, lad?" Alexander asked as he finished examining my wounds.

I groaned, and tried to turn my face from his touch. His fingers had barely touched my skin, yet it had hurt like all get-out.

A sigh passed Alexander's lips, and he grabbed my upper arms. "Get his legs, Philip, we need to get him inside."

As they lifted me I couldn't help but embrace the pain. How could I be so stupid? I could only imagine what the expression on Chrissy's face would be. With a sick feeling, I could only imagine how disappointed my new father would be in me when he got back...

My dearest James,

I received your letter four weeks after you sent it. I know it has been half a month since I got it, and I am terribly sorry for not writing sooner. Little Melody has been quite demanding, and I jest not when I say I've only had time to eat and sleep. She is a very energetic little thing! She takes after me more than we thought. Though, she does look a lot more like you, darling. Her hair had darkened a bit to more of a brownish color, and her smile looks more and more like yours every day.

Have no worries, darling, Oliver is doing a fine job of being the temporary "Man of the House". he has been getting up in the early mornings to bottle feed our little girl, and has provided us plenty with food by fishing and hunting each afternoon. You should be proud of him, my darling.

I hope you have resolved the arguing among your crew. I know how you like to keep a tight ship. By the way, how is your voyage coming along? I feel odd saying this, but I hope you find that pirate threat soon. The faster you find them, the faster you can return home to me and the baby.

I shouldn't tell you this, but you have a right to know. I am quite afraid. Lately, I have been feeling quite weak, and tired...all through the day, to be honest. The doctors and midwives can find nothing wrong with me. They say I'm still weak from childbirth, but, I can't bring myself to believe them.

Be safe, be cautious, but please hurry back. I am afraid for my health, and I fear for your safety. You know I love you with all of my being, my darling. You are in my prayers, love, and God is with you, and angels are watching over you. Still, please be careful.

Forever yours,

Chrissy.

I folded the letter with care and placed it in the pocket on the inside of my officer's coat. That way, it was lying right atop my heart.

"Have you memorized it yet?"

I jumped up out of my chair and reached for my sword, only to realize it was Sparrow. "Oh. It's just you." I mumbled. "What do you want, Mr. Sparrow?"

"Just me?" Sparrow pouted. "I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow, mate!"

"Yes, I'm very much aware of who you are, Mr. Sparrow." I snapped as I sat back down at my desk. "I'm a very busy man, Mr. Sparrow. What do you need, Mr. Sparrow?"

"It's Captain, mate. Captain Jack Sparrow. And I don't need anythin'."

"Then why are you in here, Mr. Sparrow?" I sighed.

I didn't get a response. When I didn't get a response, I didn't really care that I didn't get a response. I only continued to stare at the map that took up the entire top of my desk, and even hung over a bit.

"Why so glum, mate?"

I was surprised when this question came up, which caused me to look up at the pirate. He was standing in front of my desk with his hands behind his back, just staring at me.

"Glum, Mr. Sparrow?" I said with my brows furrowed.

"Glum. Not walking about with yer head up, acting all stuffy, like you have a stick up yer arse. You know, glum." he said, making motions with his hands.

I looked back down at my map. "I don't know what you mean, Mr. Sparrow. By the way, you said we would be at this point by tomorrow." I said, pointing to a place on the map. "The day is nearly over, and we're only here. Why are we only here, when we should be there?" I grumbled.

"Theeeere was a storm a few days ago, Admiral. Have you forgotten?" Sparrow said slowly as though I was a young child that hadn't understood something he'd said.

I furrowed my brows for a moment in thought. "Ah. Yes. Apologies, Mr. Sparrow."

Apologies? Perhaps I wasn't being my usual self, as Mr. Sparrow had told me. We needed to find this pirate threat, and we needed to find it fast, or I would soon have a mutiny on my hands.

SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO GET THIS POSTED! To be honest, I lost my muse and interest in the story, and just didn't touch it for a while. School has gotten very stressful, and I'm basically hanging on by my fingernails trying to get my grades up or to keep them up. Again, I'm sorry, and I apologize if this chapter was awful! Please review even if it is and tell me so! Thank you!