*Trigger warning for violence/fighting and some spooky moments.

Chapter 3: A Ship with Black Sails

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot, Drink up me hearties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." A twelve-year-old boy stopped singing and whistled the rest of the tune.

Above him the Caribbean sun beat down on the top of his brown head of hair, glinting off the buttons of his new vest. The beach was surprisingly empty today, save for the occasional seabird squawking above his head and the officers running through their patrols nearby.

Still whistling he bent down to pick up a seashell from the golden sand and pocketed it for later. He knew it was silly to collect shells at his age, but his friend liked collecting them and he missed her. Usually, on days like today, she would have been right by his side, barefoot in her dress, fishing for shells in the shallows or the sand.

That was until a month ago when her father had informed her it was time to engage in much more advanced lessons befitting of a young lady. This meant, less time playing by the beach and more time with a strict governess who kept a beady eye on her at nearly all hours of the day.

The boy on the beach pouted.

He had been in Port Royal for nearly four whole months after being found in that horrible shipwreck. four months in which he and his friend had been playing and spending nearly every moment of freedom side by side. And now, poof it was gone. Now he could only see his friend on Sunday for an hour after Church if he behaved well in the week. All because of a mean old woman who frowned upon her pupil spending so much time with a boy below her station.

What was it the old bat had said? Oh yes, that with his breeding he was bound to be a "bad influence".

Well, the joke was going to be on her, because the boy was going to show her he could be just as good as any gentleman out there. If he could prove himself, maybe he could be with his friend again.

The boy almost jumped out of his skin when his bare foot bumped into something on the ground. Instinctively he drew his limb back for fear of broken glass or a sharp rock or shell, only to cry out in alarm at the sight that met him.

It was a girl younger and smaller than him. Her skin was waterlogged and pale making the freckles on it stand out starkly against her already pale complexion, and her coppery red hair was damp, tangled and stringy. All she wore was an oversized white undershirt and an improvised skirt made from a large damp, raggedy red shawl that swallowed her legs. She had a nasty bruise on the side of her head and her lips were tinged lightly blue.

"Uh…hello? A-are you awake?" the boy gulped nervously as he prodded the girl with his toe. Though her body was cold, it was not cold enough to be dead.

Carefully, the boy knelt beside the strange girl, leaning his head against her chest.

Thump-Thump! Thump-Thump!

She's alive. He sighed in relief, and from the way his head kept bobbing shallowly up and down on her chest she seemed to be breathing.

He pulled away and turned her face towards his, slapping gently at her cheeks as he cried out.

"Come on! come on! Wake up! Please wake up!"

Another small tap and he was rewarded with a tiny groan.

"That's it. You got it. Just open your eyes."

Another small groan and a pair of light blue-grey eyes opened.

Peggy Blake sighed as she trudged through the town square back towards Mister Brown's Smithy, running her hand through her loose coppery locks as she carried a basket of fresh loaves she had just bought from the bakers. Gods she needed to get a new bonnet and fast if only to stop her damned mop from getting so tangled by the wind.

Night had just fallen on Port Royal, and after all the drama of catching the infamous Jack Sparrow, she had been given leave by Commodore Norrington to take the rest of the day off to in his words "calm her nerves".

It was a surprisingly kind gesture from a man who usually ignored her or her fellow washerwoman's presence at the Fort Charles Washhouse. Then again, perhaps Elizabeth had put in a good word for her back at the docks. After all, she had offered Peggy a ride home in her carriage in front of everyone, including the Commodore.

Peggy had refused her old friend's kind gesture, much to the not-so-hidden belief of Governor Swann. Generous and kindly man though he was, the older nobleman was not comfortable with breaking societal conventions.

However, Elizabeth was not quite so rigid in her values, especially regarding her childhood friends. Oh, she'd stand by social conventions in public, but if given the chance Port Royal's beautiful English Rose was only too keen to bend the rules.

Peggy smirked to herself as she remembered the day she had met Elizabeth.

It had been a month since she had arrived in Port Royal, on that beach with naught but a name and the clothes on her back. Will had taken her in, rather forcibly she thought, as he had never really asked Mister Brown for his permission to let her stay. She had spent the first week or so on bed rest until she had fully recovered from her ordeal. That storm that had blown her into Port Royal had been violent and rough even for her. Then if that was not bad enough, she had no idea what to do with herself once she was given a clean bill of health.

She could not go back to the ocean, nor did she want to. Perhaps here on solid land, she could get away from that damned devil. After all, he could not step on land so he could not follow her here. But if she was going to stay on land, what was she going to do with herself? She was an orphan with no prospects.

So, she had settled for despondently following Will around like a lost duckling, listening to him prattle on and on about his best friend Elizabeth Swann, and how nice and perfect she was. Peggy would not deny she was annoyed at first and had fully prepared herself to come face to face with an annoying, pampered brat. However, when Will took her to meet with Elizabeth just after morning church on the next Sunday she had been pleasantly surprised.

Elizabeth was perhaps a little haughty, prim and proper, but she was not unkind. Indeed, once she and Peggy had broken the ice, the two of them got along exceptionally well. Though Peggy was rather more outspoken and snarkier than other girls her age should have been, Elizabeth had a calmer and cooler countenance that balanced her off quite nicely. They had particularly enjoyed ganging up together and affectionately teasing Will, much to his annoyance, and in their later adolescence enjoyed taking walks alone together around the Governor's estate during Peggy's breaks when she got employed at the Governor's washhouse.

But alas, time pressed on. Peggy got a better-paying job with better hours at the Fort Charles washhouse, and Elizabeth…well Elizabeth belonged to a different world altogether. Yet despite all that distance, Peggy still felt warm affection for her friend. Perhaps not quite the same level of fondness Will possessed, but still…

Peggy chewed her lip as she stepped out of the way of an oncoming grocer's cart, her mind filled with images of her female friend lying half-drowned on the pier, a gold skull medallion around her neck.

Just how had Elizabeth found that token? Was it flotsam or jetsam from the beach? Somehow Peggy doubted Governor Swann would ever buy such an item for his daughter even if she begged.

Peggy shivered as a strong gust of wind blew hard at her back, and she turned to face the source of it.

Behind her the sky was darkening, the bloody red of the sunset disappearing beneath the horizon to be replaced by an inky black as an uncommonly thick fog. Mist and fog were not an uncommon occurrence on the island, but Peggy had never seen it this dense before.

It was making it almost hard for her to see the door to her home, and it was only thanks to the familiar outline of Will opening the downstairs door to the forge that she was able to make out where home was.

"Peggy? Is that you?" He called as she came close.

"It's me. I got the bread" She nodded, her shivers growing in intensity as yet another gust of wind blew hard at her back, almost knocking her into her friend. It was hard for him to see her as well in this mess. "Is the stew almost done?" She asked as they ascended the stairs and entered the front of their shared home.

"I don't know." Will scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just about to check. I would have done so before, but I lost track of time," he added as if expecting to be scolded.

Peggy turned her head to tease him, only for her smirk to fall as she saw her friend's furrowed brow and slightly glazy eyes. He'd been disturbed ever since Jack had been arrested that morning, even as he had done his best to engage himself with work.

He was so distracted that even when they went upstairs to eat their dinner he merely played with his food much to Peggy's worry. Will usually could out-eat a horse after a long hard day's work and with that extra sword fight he had participated in today she would have thought he would be starving. The fact that Mister Brown was also out eating and drinking at the local pub to celebrate his great "victory" today also meant they would have enough for second helpings as well as leftovers.

She also would have thought he'd be proud. Will was not a boastful person, but he occasionally liked to preen at his achievements quietly. And holding his own in a duel against a pirate like Jack Sparrow was no mean feat.

"Will?" Peggy peered at his troubled face.

"It's…it's nothing. I'm fine." Will muttered, his eyes fixed on the wood of the dining table.

Nonetheless, Peggy still reached out to carefully press her knuckles against his forehead just in case. His body was not overheated in any way, and he did not appear to look sickly.

"Don't worry." Will managed a small smirk, though it seemed somewhat forced "I don't think I picked anything up from that filthy pirate."

"Hmm, he was quite grubby." Peggy agreed as she quickly moved her hand to gently ruffle his dark brown locks. "As were you when he got captured."

Will's smirk fell into a dark scowl.

"That's because he cheated." He spat, still not looking her in the eye. "Threw the sawdust to blind me. Then he drew his gun on me."

"But he didn't kill you," Peggy murmured, more to herself than to Will who sighed.

"No. He didn't."

Of course, Jack would not kill unless necessary. He would lie, trick and manipulate, he may even put others in harm's way to save himself. He may kill to survive a fight, but he is not naturally a bloodthirsty man. That wasn't to say he wasn't dangerous if backed into a corner, but Peggy knew if Jack wanted Will dead he would not have wasted so much time engaging Will in single combat.

As infuriating as his presence was in her life, it was oddly comforting to know that at least Jack had not changed in that way even after all these years.

"You don't seem so surprised."

Peggy glanced up from her musings. Will was watching her carefully, those usually warm and welcoming brown eyes of his oddly cold in their assessment. Did he know she knew Jack? Or could he guess she knew more than she was letting on? Either way, she felt her gut broil uncomfortably as she coughed.

"When he got apprehended at the docks he said he only had one shot left in that pistol. I doubt he'd want to let that go to waste on a blacksmith when he could point it at someone like the Commodore or the Governor."

"I guess." Will nodded in agreement. "He did say that the shot was not meant for me."

It most certainly is not. Peggy had to bite her tongue to stop the comment from flying past her lips. But if she thought her problems were over she was sorely mistaken.

"You seemed very calm when you walked in on us fighting." Will probed his gaze now fixed on her face even as she did her best to school it into a blank mask.

"Was I?"

"You facepalmed and walked out the door as if we both were grating on your last nerves."

"And so you both were." Peggy folded her arms with a mulish frown of her own. "You just engaged in combat with a dangerous criminal after promising me you'd be careful, and that said criminal had just held my other friend hostage and broke into my home both in one day. I think I'm allowed to be a bit angry at my sore luck."

"Perhaps, but that still does not explain why that Sparrow spoke to you the way he did. Like you were old friends." Will persisted doggedly.

"He's a pirate. He probably thought I would be flattered by his attentions like any other wench he pays for a good time." Peggy shrugged, shuddering with revulsion at the very thought as she stood to her feet and took his bowl.

Will watched her closely as she made her way to the small sink and began to scrub their bowls clean, her movements stiff and awkward.

She had been rigid ever since that Jack Sparrow had attacked her and Elizabeth at the docks.

Normally Will would have understood her jumpy state. It would not have been unnatural for any young woman to feel shaken by being up close and personal with a pirate. In many ways, Peggy was certainly rattled by the situation but not in the way Will had expected.

She did not look like a person who feared a deadly unknown threat. No. She had the haunted look of someone who had just seen a ghost that had returned from beyond the grave.

"Peg." He tried again in tones far gentler than before as he stood up to pull her away from the sink by the shoulders, doing his best to look her in the eye even as she avoided his. "Is this Jack Sparrow…is he the reason you got stranded at Port Royal ten years ago? Was he the one who hurt you?"

Gods he was so close to figuring it out. It almost ached to think about it. For the umpteenth time that day, Peggy wondered if she should just come clean to her friend. Surely he would understand…or would he?

Even now as the desire just to spill the beans on everything welled up within her gut so did her terror. She loved Will and had practically grown up with him side by side like a brother. They had looked out for one another and protected each other as if they were bonded by blood. What if she told him the truth and he despised her for it? She could lose him forever. She had already lost so much; she was not sure whether she was ready to lose the only family she had left. But he also deserved to hear the truth from her before anyone else like Jack could tell him and twist it around like a knife.

Peggy bit her lip, the lump in her throat thickening as she felt her eyes burn. By the Sea Gods, she hated it when she cried, but today had been too much of an emotional hurricane even for her. She could only count herself lucky that Will assumed the sight of her watery eyes was an affirmation of his statement and quickly pulled her into his chest in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, chin resting at the top of her head as he smoothed a rough hand over her wild mane of copper curls. "I know you don't like speaking of your life from before. You don't even have to say anything if you don't want to. I just…I-"

"I know." Peggy mumbled hoarsely as she returned the embrace tight "I'll tell you all about it…one day…I just…I don't know how to…" she trailed off, burying her face into the crook of his neck. The smell of sweat, coal and musk was a comforting distraction against the storm raging within.

"Whenever you're ready. I'll listen." Will rubbed a soothing hand on her back, shutting his eyes and squeezing her tighter to him as a small sob escaped her.

There was silence on the harbour of Port Royal.

Not a soul stirred, nor a bird squawked in the night air. The fog that had blown in at sunset was now thicker than ever before, floating low to the ground and limiting visibility to only a few feet before the eyes.

Only the water was disturbed as an immense ship drifted across its inky surface, half hidden by the fog and the dark of night.

It was a beautiful ship. Her hull was as black as the moonless night with equally dark tattered sails and jib rigged upon three tall masts. Upon her bow was the black-painted wooden figurehead of a beautiful, winged woman with a seahawk taking flight off her arm that pointed towards her destination.

And yet for all the ship's beauty and majestic grace, all who saw her trembled with panic.

Those who did not, well, they would learn to fear her name soon enough.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

I'm such a coward.

Peggy sighed as she curled her feet up beneath her. She was in the forge, sitting in Mister Brown's usual chair and reading while Will hammered away at a sword at his anvil. It was, in fact, the very sword he had thrown at the door during his earlier duel with Jack Sparrow. It had gotten bent out of shape when he and an officer had tried to pull it out of the wood and now he was doing his best to fix it before it got further damaged.

Many would have thought the constant clanging and hammering away would have been annoying, but to Peggy, it was immensely comforting, a welcome return to normalcy after all the drama of the day.

And what a day it was, she mused as she quickly flicked through the many pages before her.

It was an old tome, bound in blue dyed leather that had greyed with age.

She had found it lost and abandoned at the Port Royal Harbour years ago, no doubt fallen out of a sailor or an officer's satchel. Peggy had never known who it had belonged to for it had no name inside the cover, save that of the author. Peggy assumed he could not be that famous an author since not anyone she knew had even heard of the book and she had yet to find any other copies of it or indeed any other work he might have published.

On its front written in faded gold letters "Tales of the Deep: A Compendium of Sea Myths, Legends, and Lore Through the Ages. By Percival Stafford". From famous heroes like Odysseus and Jason to rotten scoundrels like Davy Jones and Sir Frances Drake. From pirates to mermaids, to curses and old heathen gods. Peggy had no idea where the man had gotten all his information from, but he had done his research she would give him that.

"There you are." She whispered as she finally found what she was looking for. A chapter titled "The Cursed Treasure of Cortés" and there, above the words a printed sketch of a familiar skull on an ornate geometric patterned coin.

Peggy bit her lip as she looked at the illustration. Some of the details in the pattern behind the skull were wrongly shaped, but the overall design was just like the one she had seen on Elizabeth's person that morning.

Perhaps what she had seen had been a replica? Many sailors and merchants who sailed into Port Royal tried to create fake magical totems and sell them to ignorant customers who lived in the town. Elizabeth might have bought one during one of her many outings with her lady's maids or Commodore Norrington in his attempts to court her.

But no…if it was a replica, then how on earth had Jack recognised the medallion?

The creaking of wood roused her from her grim thoughts and Peggy looked up in time to see Will poking his head out the window and into the alleyway.

"Everything alright?" She called.

"Just a cat…I think…" Will trailed off uncertainly, his head still outside.

Frowning, Peggy shut her book and walked over to join him at the window.

All was still and quiet. On their side of the path crates and broken barrels were stacked against the walls of the buildings and a tabby cat darted down the dirty ground. Far off on the side opposite them, the shadow of the usual homeless vagrant that called the alleyway home was asleep and snoring on his favourite stoop. Peggy almost did not see him at first. Then again she could not see much given how thick the fog had gotten.

Gods it was even thicker than it had been when she'd come home and that was saying a lot.

Then she felt it, a strange throbbing feeling through the floor.

She froze, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end and her heart hammering in her chest.

She had felt that pulsing before.

No sooner had she registered the sensation, another gust of wind blew in both their faces, so powerful that when it streamed into the forge it blew out some of the candles and nearly blew out the forge's fire itself.

With a soft curse, Will scrambled back into his workspace to inspect for any damage.

Peggy, meanwhile, stayed at the window and looked up at the night sky. What had once been a clear night full of stars was now overcast and full of ominous dark clouds that shrouded the moon.

"What on earth?" she muttered, shivering once more as a strong gust of wind hit her full in the face.

Weather could be unpredictable in Port Royal it was true, but never had it invoked such an eerie chill throughout her body. It was as if someone had just walked right over her grave.

BOOM!

Though it was distant, the sound of it almost made Peggy jump out of her skin.

Then another BOOM, and another. And another.

Peggy's eyes widened as she saw flashes of yellow and red illuminate the rooftops of nearby homes accompanied by black plumes of smoke.

Then came the clanging of the bells…and the screams.

At the sound of them, Will stopped in his tracks, all the colour draining from his face as he and Peggy both looked at one another in horror.

"Shut the window." He barked and Peggy wasted no time arguing, barely shutting the window in time for loud shouts to ring through the air outside in the alleyway.

Snatching a sword from the nearby rack he thrust it into Peggy's hand before taking one for himself as well as a small hand axe that he holstered onto his belt.

"Quick, this way." He dragged Peggy to the back door, only to draw back as they heard loud shouting just outside it, accompanied by vicious laughter and the sharp cracking sound of a gun being fired.

"Front door!" Peggy called out rushing for said exit before Will could stop her.

They both ran outside and were met with a scene of abject chaos.

Men, women and children were running about in terror and panic, screaming or hollering for help or loved ones. Houses were burning and carts were broken and smashed all over the street. Amidst all the anarchy, many men all grubby and garbed in strange, tattered clothes ran about brandishing swords and guns, their faces alive with gleeful malice as they chased down people to hew down with their weapons and tore through their homes, pillaging and plundering as they went.

"Pirates" Peggy breathed in shock as she watched one of the attackers chase down a poor woman in only her shift and bonnet.

On instinct Will threw his small axe at the pursuer before he could pounce, the weapon hitting him square in the back and allowing his would-be prey to escape into a nearby building.

As the man crumpled to the ground, it attracted the attention of one of his fellow crewmen who turned to snarl at Will and Peggy with vicious delight.

Before Peggy could object Will shoved her behind his back, shielding her from the view of the pirate as he rushed headlong in their direction.

There was a clash of metal as both Will's and the pirate's swords met, but Peggy did not have time to appreciate the save as she saw another pirate rush at her from the side with his sword waving in the air.

She was swift to catch the oncoming blow with her weapon. She took the pirate by such surprise that she was able to aim a vicious swipe at his jugular, and though the man did manage to leap back and avoid being decapitated it was still enough for her sharp edge to slice the front of his oesophagus.

The man spluttered and grasped at his throat to stem the waterfall of crimson that bled down his front, his distraction allowing Peggy to push him backwards into a nearby water trough.

Peggy had no time to celebrate her victory or throw up at the viscera as she felt a hand grab at her arm. With a shriek she swung her sword around, only to stop it just in time from cutting off Will's ear.

"This way! Come on!" he grabbed her hand and began rushing down the street and towards the town square. If they could just make it across and past the stables on the edge of town they might just be able to make it safely to Fort Charles.

However, as with everything today, fate was not on either Will's or Peggy's side.

They had barely made it past the well in the middle of the town square when suddenly the rickety wooden scaffolding of a nearby building under construction burst into flame so violently that the ground shook and they fell to the ground hard.

"Will!" Peggy cried out as she felt their hands detach.

"Look out Peg!" Will's voice shouted.

Peg looked up and gaped as the scaffolding above her began to sway ominously in her direction.

"MAMA!"

Even through all the cacophony of destruction around her, the child's screams pierced through Peggy's ears like a dagger. She was quick to find the source, a toddler screeching and wailing as he padded around in shock and distress a few feet away from her, his round face drenched with tears and sweat, completely unaware of the structure about to flatten them both.

With a speed she had never known she possessed Peggy scrambled to her feet and lunged towards the little urchin, sweeping him up in her arms tight just as the wood began to fall behind them.

"Go-go-go! Get to the fort now!" Will shouted at Peggy, pushing her and her new charge towards a group of civilians who were also fleeing in the direction of their haven.

"Will-Will come with us!" Peggy called, but too late, her friend was swept into a bout with another pirate.

"Come on dear this way! Quick!" a woman shouted in her ears as a pair of hands urged her onwards.

Peggy wanted to go back but steeled herself as she felt the little boy begin to sob into her body.

No…no matter what happened to Will she could not forgive herself if she let a child get hurt either.

Chest stinging she turned her back on the town square, holding the little head of fair curls close to her bosom as she quietly whispered:

"It's okay love, it's okay. We're going to be safe. I won't let anything happen to you!"

The child just sobbed harder into her chest, wailing in fright as a loud gunshot cracked above their heads.

Peggy ducked quickly jaw dropping as one of the women in front of her suddenly dropped to the ground, smoke rising from a black burning spot on her back.

At once the group screamed and scattered in every which way to escape the oncoming pistol shots. Peggy herself was quick to duck her head and start weaving side to side in a zig-zag, the child still held tight in her arms.

There was another loud crack and Peggy cried out as something hot slid past her left arm, burning through her sleeve and grazing her arm. She could feel something warm oozing down her skin but she did not stop running.

She could see the fort's Outer Gates right in front of her, two red-coated officers on the other side, and they could see her. If she could just get inside she would be safe.

"Quick Miss! Quick!" one of them yelled as he pushed open the gates to usher her inside, while his fellow officer raised his musket to fire at her pursuers. However, he was not fast enough.

BANG! BANG!

"No-no!" Peggy yelled but it was no use, both men were on the ground dead as a doornail the gate to the Fort swinging wide open.

Heart now pounding in her chest Peggy forced her now burning legs to keep running, the child in her arms feeling heavier and heavier by the minute.

Gotta find somewhere to find. The officers will catch them soon enough if I lead them closer.

"It's alright love, it's alright!" she puffed into the boy's ear as she sped deeper and deeper into the fort. "everything's going to be alright!"

Will watched in horror as he saw Peggy's group suddenly split apart, a couple of them falling to their deaths as guns fired off at their backs.

But Peggy was still running and weaving side to side to give their hunters a harder target, the little boy held tight in her arms even as a bullet came hurtling her way from a rifle.

"NO!" he yelled, rushing forward to come to her aid, only to lurch backward as a pirate leapt before him, teeth bared.

Fuelled by pure adrenaline Will did not care for technique as he hewed the man down before him, leaping over his body and doing his best to see where his friend was.

He spotted her at a distance, her red hair an easy mark as it flickered in the lights of the lit torches she passed. She was still fleeing fast, her feet carrying her swiftly towards the Fort.

Despite his panic, he was surprised and a little impressed that she could run with the added weight. Then again she had spent years hauling heavy loads of heavy laundry up and down from the Fort so perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised. She even sometimes had to lift his weight around if ever he was feeling sickly, and she somehow managed that on her own.

She's nearly at the fort. She'll be safe there. He assured himself though even he was not sure he could believe his own words. Fort Charles was also under immensely heavy cannon fire, so much so it was very hard for the military to spare some men to aid in the chaos of the town.

Will had to give the filthy pirates some credit. It was a good strategy, dirty and unfair it was true but effective. Much like their way of fighting. Most of the men he faced barely had any technique, most of them relying on brute strength or trickery to kill or maim their victims. They were nothing like Jack Sparrow, who for all his cheating, at least had the finesse that came with hours, upon hours of swordsmanship practice. These men, no, these animals, were just all over the place.

Will cursed loudly as another pirate, this time a very strong man with a mane of dark greasy hair, lunged at him from beside the window of a looked shopfront. In his hands were a grappling pike and a small hatchet, both sharp and gnarly looking things, possibly more suited to prolonged torture than for a swift death.

Will dodged side to side to avoid the hatchet, only to get hooked around the neck by the grapple and drawn into stabbing range.

"Say goodbye!" his attacker growled as he leaned Will's head back to expose the veins on his neck to the blade of his hatchet.

Will winced as a cannonball smashed into an upstairs window above him and his would-be killer, igniting something explosive in the room beyond. The explosion was so powerful that it untethered a sign from the roof, which swung down hard like a pendulum at the two men.

Will fortunately had noticed the damn thing as his neck was craned back and so was able to leap out of the way just in time to avoid the impact.

His attacker, however, was not so lucky, and with a resounding thud and a crash, he smashed through the front of the ruined shop like a tennis ball being hit by a racket.

"Goodbye," Will grinned smugly, turning back to the warzone that had once been a peaceful neighbourhood.

He could no longer see a speck of Peggy on the path up to the fort, but he was sure she must have reached safely by now. If he was quick he could join her and make sure she and that boy were okay.

Will barely took more than three steps before he saw something that made his heart sink like a stone.

A group of pirates were walking across the crowded streets around someone in the middle. It was a woman, a woman with blonde curls, big brown eyes and pale skin.

"Elizabeth?" he breathed. Oh god. what was going on? How on Earth was she captured by the pirates? And why was no one trying to help her?

Shaking his head he tightened his grip on his sword.

No, he couldn't let these filthy scum take her, he had to do something!

He jerked forward raising his sword ready to rush at her captors from the side in a surprise attack, but before he had even taken a couple of steps he found himself face to face with a grubby short man with a long beard and a red hat.

Wait hang on?! Will thought wildly as he looked the man up and down. Grubby face, short, red hat. But hadn't he…hadn't he cut this man down earlier? How was he alive? Did he have a twin? Just what on earth was going on?!

"Well hello!" the disgusting little vermin grinned wickedly up at him, his dark eyes glancing down at Will's feet.

Will looked down and jumped back in alarm as he beheld a small gunpowder bomb with a brightly lit and burning fuse.

But his scare was short-lived for the tiny explosive was quick to fizzle out of fire well before its wick was ended.

Will looked up at the grubby pirate, readjusting his grip on his sword as the man nervously began to back away from him.

"OY! Outta my way scum!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind.

There was a blinding flash as something heavy collided with the back of Will's head.

Then all he saw was darkness.

Jack Sparrow's dark brown eyes narrowed as he gazed out through the bars of the high window of his cell, his eyes transfixed on the speck of black that sat on the dark waters of the harbour below Fort Charles.

He could not believe it; he had found her. His beloved Black Pearl. After all these years of searching, she just sailed into the very port he was in. And yet, here he was stuck behind the bars of his cell unable to reach her.

To add sea salt to the wound, his beloved ship had managed to blow apart the hole in the cell beside him, allowing his other fellow prisoners the chance to escape, all while leaving him stuck in the lurch.

If there was a god of Fate it must be a woman, Jack thought bitterly to himself, for only a goddess would be able to cook up a punishment this cruel for a man like him to endure.

But he would endure, and he would get out one way or another.

Clambering down from his perch, he made his way to the bars at the front of his cell, reaching through towards a bone discarded on the cold stone floor.

Just his luck those buffoons had left this for him in their excitement.

"Hey! Hey dog come 'ere!" He paused to whistle, wagging the bone invitingly before the bars, his eyes fixed on a scraggly mutt sitting anxiously under a nearby bench, a ring of keys held tight in his jowls. "Come here doggy! Come on! It's just you and me now. It's just you and ol' Jack." He smiled invitingly as he continued to shake the bone at the canine.

The dog looked at him for a moment, then uncertainly, crawled on his belly from his spot, keys still in his mouth.

"Come on. That's a boy. Come on. Good boy." Jack called his grin growing wider as the mutt cautiously raised himself onto all four paws and sniffed the air hopefully. "Come get your bone. That's a good boy. Come on, a bit closer, a bit closer." A few slow padded footsteps more. Gods, this animal was taking forever "That's it doggy. Come on, you filthy, slimy, mangy cur!"

BANG! CRASH!

The dog whimpered and promptly began to trot away down the length of the cells and a nearby set of stairs.

"Don't do that! No-no-no I didn't mean it!" Jack yelled after the animal as its tail disappeared down and out of sight.

Bloody mutt. Jack cursed, only to wince as yet another loud BANG rent the air, followed by a small feminine scream and the rushing of footsteps.

"What the?" his kohl-lined eyes darted to another stairwell nearby from which a woman in a brown dress descended, her coppery red hair flying about her sweaty tear-stained face. In her arms, one of which was scratched and bleeding, a child no more than a few years old was sniffling as he clung to her tight for safety. The upset tyke wailed loudly as two heavy figures fell down the steps after him and his caretaker.

It was two red-coated officers, both pale and both very, very dead.

"Peggy?!" Jack called and Peggy Blake wheeled around to face him. For the first time since they'd reunited, she was not looking at him with wrath, though her fearful expression did little to soothe Jack's frayed nerves.

The source of her anxiety became apparent when another two pairs of footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs.

"Where is she? Where is that brat?" a man's voice snarled

"Who cares, we got inside and that's what counts." Another man's much deeper more heavily accented voice sneered. "Come on let's see what we can loot. Those flashy soldiers must 'ave an armoury down 'ere."

"Quick lass, my sword!" Jack nodded to his effects that hung on a nearby hook on the wall just above the bench the ruddy mongrel had been sitting before.

Trembling but silent, Peggy fetched the weapon from its sheath, quickly putting the small child on the ground behind her.

"Stay close love." She whispered to the frightened child, who nodded and clung tight to the back of her skirts as the footsteps grew louder and louder and a pair of men stumbled down the stairs over the dead bodies.

"Damn, this ain't the armoury!"

Peggy and Jack stared at the pair of men that had just entered the prison.

One was dark-skinned with dreadlocks and wearing a long coat, and the other was fair-skinned with a scruffy beard and bandanna wrapped around his head.

Peggy froze in shock as she finally got a good look at their faces in the torchlight, shock taking over as the two pirates caught sight of her first and leered.

"Twigg? Koehler?"

The men paused and tilted their heads in confusion. They had not expected her to recognise them so readily.

"I see our reputation precedes us." The bearded man with the bandanna, Twigg, leered at Peggy, licking his lips as he readjusted his grip on his sword.

"Indeed it does." Koehler frowned as his dark gaze roved over Peggy's coppery curls. Then he started to chuckle, a heavy deep sound that rattled her right down to her core as he took a step towards her. "Or perhaps she just has very fond memories of us. Don't ya, little witch?"

"Whatcha talkin' about mate? How do you know she's a witch?" Twigg quirked a brow at his friend in confusion.

"Look at her Twigg!" Koehler snapped rolling his eyes. "Look and tell me you don' recognise them curls?"

Twigg frowned as he squinted at Peggy's face in the dim light. Upon catching sight of said curls his eyes widened, almost comically.

"No, but that can't be possible. We tied 'er up and tossed 'er over the side an' everythin'! She ought to be dead!"

"Am I? Well, that's strange. I'm pretty sure I was scheduled to hang next week." Peggy snorted as she raised the point of her sword at the two pirate's faces, but Jack could see she was only trying to sound brave for the poor little lad huddled behind her. "Funny how you thought ropes and water would be enough to kill a witch, huh lads? I guess that's the kind of quality you expect from a crew of a subpar captain"

"Why you little-" Koehler's lip curled as he took a step towards the young woman, but Twigg was quick to grab him and pull him back.

"Are yer mad?" he hissed under his breath. "It's bad enough she cursed us once without temptin' fate again!"

"Oh is that what you've been up to all these years love?" Jack called out from his cell as he clumsily rose to his feet. "Studying witchcraft. What about all that fencing I taught you, ey? Don't tell me that has gone to waste."

Peggy did not answer, she just held her sword tighter in her hands as the two men's eyes snapped towards Jack.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here Twigg." Koehler sneered with twisted delight. "Captain Jack Sparrow." He spat on the ground at Jack's feet.

"Hehehe last time I saw you, you were all alone on that godforsaken island. Shrinking into the distance." Twigg chuckled. "His fortunes haven't improved much."

"Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen." Jack sneered. "The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers, especially those who mess with witches." He added delighting in the way Twigg's nervous gaze flickered between his small smirk and Peggy's snarling face for a moment.

Koehler however, was not so frightened. With a shocking speed, his arm slid through the bars of Jack's cell, grabbing his old crewmate in a vice.

The little boy who had been peering out at the exchange behind Peggy's skirts, squealed and shrank back as the beam of moonlight streaming through the window of Jack's cell illuminated the man's arm as it transformed under its glow.

Peggy could not blame the child for being so scared. The sight that met her eyes almost made her want to throw up herself.

She had seen many gruesome things over the years, but nothing held a candle to the rotted hand clenched around Jack's neck. It looked like the hand of a corpse that had been left to decay at the bottom of the ocean for years. Only the bones remained along with some of the tendons stretching and twitching along the fingers. The sleeve of the pirate's blue coat was also transformed as well. The cuff of what had once been a worn but relatively wearable garment was now all mouldy and in filthy tatters.

She was not quite sure how Jack managed to maintain his calm in the face of such horrific images before his eyes. Then again, he was Jack Sparrow, who knew what the man's limit was?

"So there is a curse…that's interesting." He murmured carefully.

"You know nothing of hell." Koehler growled as he slowly uncurled his fingers from Jack's throat, each one slowly reforming the skin and muscles even as he slid it out of the range of the moonlight.

"That's very interesting," Jack murmured again as he watched the alteration with intrigue.

"Come on," Koehler grunted at Twigg, turning one last contemptuous sneer at Peggy.

"We'll be back for you soon Witch! I'm sure Captain Barbossa will be very interested in seeing you again.."

"I'm sure he would if he doesn't mind getting himself and you lot all cursed yet again." Peggy shot back. "What is that they say? Third time's the charm, hmm?"

Now that did make Jack chuckle as Twigg took a step back from Peggy, his face a mask of fear.

Some pirates could be utterly fearless in the face of guns and cannon fire, but heaven forbid a woman with even a vaguely forbidding countenance make a threat of magic and misfortune and a whole lot of them would crumple and wither.

Even Koehler, one of the smarter, less foolish pirates was not immune to the power of such superstitions, for though he wanted to end the back-chatting woman, he made no move to attack her. Instead, he shot a venomous glower as he stalked back up the stairs with Twigg, who was only too eager to escape her presence.

There was the slamming of a door, then silence.

"I think they're gone now, sweetheart." Peggy sighed as she dropped down to her knees to inspect the infant boy who had begun whimpering once more. He had been silent in terror while the two pirates had been present, but now the threat was gone so too did his tears return in full force as he flung himself at Peggy once more.

Jack watched in silence as Peggy comforted the little tyke, scooping him back up into her arms before taking a seat on the nearby bench.

Whatever courage she had gathered seemed to drain out of her as she held the child close to her, bouncing him soothingly in her arms as she murmured soft words of comfort into his blonde head.

Now that Jack thought about it, this was the second time he had found her wrapped up with the wellbeing of another young lad. She had developed a disgusting taste for whelps.

Ugh! All those months of hard work all gone to waste.

"Impressive work I must say," he said, keeping his tone light and casual so as not to frighten the runt in her arms.

"What?" she clipped, her eyes snapping coldly upon his face.

"That thing with the bones on 'is hand." Jack shrugged, holding up the bone he had tried to use to lure the key dog. "That was your work, wasn't it? What with you cursing them and all."

"I didn't curse anyone! Besides I don't have magic, you know that!" Peggy rolled her eyes, her hand absentmindedly rubbing soothing circles into the relaxing bub's back. "I just shouted at them for a bit before they gave me the heave-ho! Honestly, I don't even remember what I said it was so long ago…" Her voice trailed away as her eyes grew misty with recollection. She was quick to shake it off when she heard Jack snort under his breath.

"Well, you must have done something magical to survive the plunge. I mean I saw you get bound and gagged meself before the great heave-ho."

"Yes, you did see that didn't you?" Peggy spat, and Jack was alarmed to see tears welling in her grey eyes. "You saw it and did nothing."

"Yes, well you weren't the only one with your hands tied at the time, if you recall." Jack pointed the bone at her, and she scowled.

"Maybe we wouldn't have been tied up if you'd just listened to me in the first place! I warned you about the mutiny! I warned you about Hector's plans!"

"I know you did," Jack muttered, unable to meet her eyes as the tears spilled fresh on her cheeks.

"Then why didn't you listen to me?! I thought you said you trusted me?! Or was that just one of your many bloody lies like everything else?"

"Look Pegsy-"

"Don't call me that Sparrow!" Peggy snapped and though she kept her voice soft, the bite in it was so fierce Jack blinked in surprise. "You of all people, don't get to call me that after everything that's happened!"

"And why not Pegsy?" Jack sneered and was not disappointed when her nostrils flared at him like an angry bull.

"Because…Because…" She sucked in a deep breath to prevent herself from exploding. "Look, I'm not talking about this with you. Not now." She looked down at the now tired boy in her arms as he shifted to curl closer against her shoulder.

"Alright love, alright." Jack raised both his hands in mocking surrender as Peggy turned her tear-stained face away from him. "But it's good to see you again. Civilised life does suit you sooo well."

"I thought I said we were done talking," Peggy growled and Jack grinned cheekily.

"Ah yes, we were done talking about the past. You never said anything about the present. So about this little setup you've made for yourself here, how's that going? Please don't tell me you're courting that tall eunuch. He surely can't be that satisfying without any of the goods."

"I don't know, he's a blacksmith so he's pretty good with his hands." Peggy sneered with pleasure as Jack gagged with revulsion.

"Ugh! That's disgusting lass."

"Why? You're the one who started this topic."

"Yes, but I'm a man." Jack looked at her affronted.

"You're a bloody hypocrite!" Peggy shot back. "I'm a woman now Jack. With a job, responsibilities, my own life. I'm not that same little girl who used to fetch you rum in the morning."

"You certainly are not." Jack agreed, his offence melting to sombreness as he looked her up and down. It was oddly sobering to see little Peggy acting all grown up and serious. Well, more seriously than before. She had always been a bit grim even as a younger lass.

"No…we're not courting." She finally answered after a pause. "We spent the last ten years under the same roof, so we're just friends."

"I see." Jack eyed her curiously. "Foolish really. For him." He added at her questioning glance "You could do a lot better."

"Thanks, but if I wanted courting advice I'd ask a fish wife and not you," she muttered, and Jack snorted, eyes drifting to the blonde head of the child in her lap. The little lad's eyes had drifted shut during their conversation, though his hands were still curled tight into his guardian's dress.

"Speaking of whelps, how's that one holdin' up? He hasn't moved for a while.".

Peggy looked down and sighed.

"I think he's finally asleep."

"Lucky little bastard, got a nice pair of soft breasts to sleep on after an evening of excitement."

"Good god!" Peggy groaned softly in exasperation. "Now who's the one being disgusting?"

"Just making an observation love, and a compliment. Like you said, you're a woman now."

"And that gives you licence to lech at me?"

"Pirate," Jack smirked as if that simple word explained everything. And in a way it did.

After all what else could you call a man like Captain Jack Sparrow?

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but at that exact moment, several shouts blasted from the floor up above.

Both Peggy and Jack tensed at once as several pairs of footsteps thundered down the stairs once more, only this time accompanied by the familiar cry of:

"Guns at ready men! Those rats could be anywhere!"

"Well if it isn't our good friend Commodore what's-his-face. Come to save the day and win the heart of the fair maiden too." Jack snorted bitterly as he slumped back to sit on the floor of his cell, just as Peggy stood to her own feet, resettling the dozing child in her arms as she returned Jack's sword to its scabbard on the wall.

"For what it's worth Pegs, it is good to see you again," Jack murmured as she spared a glance at his cell. Her grey eyes were no longer streaming, but the tears had not left them even as she murmured.

"Goodbye Jack."

And with that she walked back up the stairs, child in arms, leaving Captain Jack Sparrow alone in the dark.

There was chaos aboard the Black Pearl as its crew scurried all over the deck and rigging, desperate to get out of the now-ruined harbour before those British dogs could run down to their little ships and chase them out.

Captain Hector Barbossa was particularly pleased with this latest business venture. Not only had his men managed to ravage the pathetic settlement of some valuable loot, but now they also had gotten him the final piece of their puzzle and the blood that could free them from their curse.

Oh, how many years they had searched and searched for Turner's brat and the last piece of Aztec gold? Too many to even think about.

But against all odds they had done it.

Now they were finally, finally going to be free.

And yet something bothersome needled at the back of Barbossa's mind.

Something bothersome by the name of little Peggy Blake.

That little runt! How is she alive after all this time? he grunted as he gripped the wheel of the Pearl so tight his knuckles turned white.

Of all the people his men had to bump into in this landing it had to be Jack Sparrow's little stooge. How she had survived their last encounter he did not know. He was certain he had given the order for his men to bind her up good and tight before tossing her overboard.

He was sure she was not a witch, despite what many in his crew believed. Barbossa had met witches before, and the girl was not one of their ilk. That still didn't mean she couldn't cause trouble.

Damn, those stupid superstitious fools below on the deck and damn that little red-haired demoness. Barely a few hours out of the grave and already she was up to mischief.

If she had settled down in this British Port she might be more than willing to spill everything she knew about the ship and the crew to all those pesky officers.

Of course, the Black Pearl could deal with the Royal Navy, though that didn't make the task less tedious or troublesome.

Who knows…Barbossa allowed himself a sneer of mirth. Perhaps once we're free of our curse we might return here again for another raid, and I'll pay dear little "Pegsy" a long overdue visit and remind her just what happens to those who cross me and me crew.

Oh, what a fun little reunion that would be.

There we have it, Chapter 3 the attack of the Black Pearl.

Peggy's backstory with Jack is finally starting to unravel a little bit more and Lizzy has finally been kidnapped which means we can get onto the juicy stuff.

Anyways hope you enjoyed and if you did please fave and review.

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FuzzyBeta