Chapter 5: A Pirate's Musk

It was that easy huh?

Peggy Blake sighed as she pulled her head up from where it hung over the edge of a wooden rail.

The HMS Interceptor had been sailing for an hour now, the Dauntless and the British Officers of Port Royal long behind them. The sun had since passed the midday point above her and drifted in and out behind the few clouds that littered the bright blue Caribbean sky. Around her, the winds billowed strong and sure, carrying their vessel speedily onwards and smoothly through the water.

But Peggy was in no mood to admire the beautiful sights, not when her stomach was busy trying to empty itself of all its contents no matter how little there were.

She was not the only one. Will was a couple of feet away from her, his head fully slumped over the side and heaving as Jack Sparrow grimaced with disgust behind him, not offering him any help.

Of course, being the experienced seaman he was, Jack was not unsettled by the ship rocking as he meandered around the deck and checked the rigging. While it was mostly done, some of those British Naval Officers had left a little bit of a mess behind in the wake of their excitement to capture the Dauntless much to the pirate's annoyance.

Wow. I guess, some things don't change.

Peggy thought as she straightened up and turned her back on the water, keeping a close eye on Jack, who looked up as he felt her gaze on him. When he caught sight of her woozy expression his eyebrows rose in astonishment.

"Oh come on don't tell me you got seasick too Pegsy?" He sounded disappointed. "Really? You?"

"It's been ten years Jack." Peggy groaned wiping her mouth with her sleeve, cheeks burning with embarrassment despite herself "Guess I am a bit rusty."

"That you are love." Jack snorted as he tugged on a sheet to test the knot that held it. "So much so that you've completely forgotten rule number one-"

"Remind me what that was again? It's been a while." Peggy smirked.

"Captain," He clipped. "Rule number one. Always call me Captain. Remember?"

"Eh, I'll try to" She shrugged oh-so-innocently as she strode over to Will's side, enjoying her Captain's eyebrow twitching irritably in her direction.

"No, you will call me captain and you will get this one something for his stomach. I'll not have him vomiting all over my nice new ship. Savvy?"

"Of course."

"Of course…?" Jack prompted; eyebrows raised.

Peggy sighed.

"Of course, Captain."

"There that was not so hard now was it?" Jack smiled with satisfaction at the glower he received. "Now of with you both! And no hammering away at one another while I'm not looking ey!" he added and chuckled as he saw Peggy's cheeks flush a deep crimson.

"Bloody pirate." She muttered as she reached Will's side. Thankfully he had not heard the comment for he had been too busy gagging up the last bits of bile from his system.

"I'm fine, I think that's the last of it." the young blacksmith grunted as she rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"Still, we should go get some food down the hatch. Can't sail on an empty stomach." Peggy petted her aching belly.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Will grumbled as he allowed her to pull him back up to his feet and steer him below deck. "What if I throw it up again?"

"You won't." Peggy patted his arm consolingly. "Just a smidge of ginger root and you'll be right as rain."

"Ginger?" Will frowned at her blearily as she carefully led him down the stairs.

"Trust me, Will. You'll be fine."

They quickly descended to the galley a large space with a small kitchen at the bow where Peggy put together a small platter of bread, cheese, meat jerky and apple slices while she waited for the kettle to boil over the small oven.

Will watched her as she worked, his brow furrowed as he observed the strange calm that had descended on her. She looked just about as at home on the ship as she had back in their tiny apartment above the forge, it was eerie.

He would never forget how she had hung off the shroud earlier when waving goodbye to the Dauntless. It was as if clambering the ship's rigging like a cat were the most natural thing in the world.

He numbly accepted the hot tin cup of ginger tea she placed into his hands, her reassuring smile doing little to soothe his racing confused mind.

She looked like Peggy Blake and spoke like Peggy Blake, but Peggy Blake was just a young washerwoman who tended to her house with pride and occasionally wielded a sword to defend herself. She was not supposed to be a pirate who had sailed under the colours of Jack Sparrow, who was so adept at disguising herself in men's clothes and moving about on a ship.

Just who was this person he had been living with all these years? What was she?

"Better?" Peggy asked as she took a massive swig from her tin cup.

"Hmm." Will sighed as the warm liquid slid down his gullet. He was not too fond of the flavour, but his gut did not feel as unsettled as before so he supposed he could put up with it "How did you know it would work?"

"Oh, it's just something I picked up from old Bootstrap. Sweet fellow he was." Peggy smiled tossing water on the oven's fire to douse it. "On a pirate's ship where it's usually every man for himself, he was one of the few who looked out for me whenever Jack wasn't around. He taught me a few tricks here and there while we were at sea. He was a good man; you would have liked him."

I doubt that. Will said in his mind but he took another sip to disguise his disgust. It was one thing to accept Peggy's past but that still did not mean it was uncomfortable with the idea of her friendships with other pirates…even if they were kind to her.

Still, he could not deny his curiosity was peaked.

"So what were you?" He nodded at Peggy as she looked at him questioningly. "What was your job on Jack's ship?"

"Cabin boy. Well, Cabin girl" Peggy shrugged. "Not much for a little girl to do on a ship without getting in the way of everyone. And I daresay it amused Jack to make me run up and down the ship for his rum. Speaking of," she picked up a bottle of rum and tucked it under her arm before taking the platter of food in the other. "We should eat up on deck. The fresh air will do us good."

Will nodded silently and followed her back up above deck. They briefly stopped by the weapons bay where he picked up a cutlass and a whetstone.

"Why do you need those? You already have a sword." Peggy frowned as they ascended to the deck.

"Yes I do have a sword, but you don't." Will pointed to her belt. "You can't just stab people with your scissors all the time. Besides, this is one of my good ones." He added showing her the end of the pommel where he had engraved his maker's mark, a small W and T on either side of an anchor. "It needs a little sharpening, but it will serve you well."

"Then I'll leave it in your capable hands Master Turner" Peggy smiled as she admired the blade, it was a good one. Not as fine as the one he had made for Norrington's promotion, and it had seen some wear and tear. But if Will thought it was good she trusted his judgement.

Jack was at the Helm wheel, gently turning the boat a few degrees starboard so that the sails filled, and the luffing stopped.

"Ah! There you are Pegsy, I was beginning to think you'd jumped overboard. Oh, and you've brought some grub too? Excellent." He grinned as he saw the platter in Peggy's grip.

"Can't have the captain starve to death before we reach Tortuga." She shook her head dismissively as she set the tray on a barrel that Will had rolled across the deck to use as a makeshift table.

Jack sauntered down to join them, brown eyes lighting up with glee as she thrust a bottle of rum into his arms.

"Hmm, I knew you still loved me." He tried to lean in to kiss Peggy's cheek, but she leaned away and gagged.

"Nope! Nuh-uh! Sorry Captain, but you need to do something about that breath of yours. It's foul."

"My breath is not foul!" Jack scoffed and she rolled her eyes.

"Jack you could kill a seagull at long range."

Will couldn't help but smirk as Jack's nostrils flared at the insult only to quickly turn away and breathe into his own hands.

There was a pause as the pirate winced and then deflated in defeat.

"I guess it is a little ripe." He muttered with a small pout, uncorking his bottle of rum and downing a consolatory swig from it.

Peggy sighed, and Will was astonished to see the pity in her eyes as she looked the pirate up and down.

"Just eat up first then you can wash up, alright?"

"Right. Then I can kiss ye?" Jack smirked cheekily and was not disappointed by the withering look he incurred.

"No."

"And why not? I am the captain of this ship." Jack opened his arms wide. "I could order you to obey."

Will stiffened midway through a bite of apple, his other hand twitching on the handle of his sword. The man was incorrigible, but not even he would dare order Peggy into selling her body and dignity to him. Would he?

No, this had to be banter right? If it weren't, Will did not think Peggy would be so relaxed even as she tore a chunk of bread off with her teeth.

"Yes, you could order me." She smirked as she chewed "Just as much as I could take my scissors and cut your manhood off."

"Oh-ho-you say that lass you say that. But methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"No. This lady thinks that the rake in front of her hasn't laid with a woman in weeks, and she does not want to end up another notch on his bedpost."

Will relaxed as he saw the lack of licentiousness or anger in the pirate's eyes as he snorted in response. Instead, he saw only mirth as Jack looked Peggy up and down.

"Speaking of tongues young missy, that one in your head has gotten sharper."

"Or has yours just gotten duller?"

"Bah! It just needs a little rum and I'll be back in top form." Jack waved her off as he took a bite of cheese for himself. "That pal Norrington of yours runs a pretty dry establishment."

"Excuses, excuses." Peggy yawned wide. "Sorry."

"You should go get some sleep," Will murmured, cursing himself as he noticed the bags under her eyes and the darkening circles. How long had those been there? And how had he not noticed them before? "You didn't get any sleep at all last night did you?"

"What? And miss out on all the fun?" Peggy snorted sarcastically as she stood up, rubbing her temple as she forced herself to shove the last piece of bread with a small chunk of cheese into her mouth. "Don't worry about me I'll just take a nap in the captain's quarters."

"Hold up love, I thought you said you didn't want to be in my bed?" Jack quirked a brow and Peggy groaned.

"I won't be in your bed. I'll sleep in the cabin boy's nook."

"Ahh! That's my girl."

"Your girl?" Will's eyes hardened on the pirate, but that only amused him further.

"Aye, my cabin girl. Knew she was still in there somewhere." He added fondly as he watched her back disappear into the captain's quarters. His smirk widened as he caught sight of Will's mounting anger. "What? You thought just because little Pegsy was with you on land for ten years it'd strip the pirate right outta her? Nah mate! Once a pirate, always a pirate. And don't let those big blue eyes fool you. That girl is as ruthless as they come."

"That I already knew," Will admitted.

"Ey? You did?" Jack blinked in surprise and Will nodded and raised the sword he had taken from the armoury below to start scraping at it with the whetstone.

"We've been sparring with one another for years. She's the only one in town who's been able to knock me down in a fight."

"You don't say." Jack stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stood up and checked some of the shrouds behind him.

The blighter, and here he was worrying she hadn't kept up her practice. No wonder the whelp was good with a sword. She must have taught him some of her tricks.

Little brat, pretending to be all sweet and law-abiding but you were keeping your head down and biding your time ey?

"So how'd you two end up meeting anyway?" Jack asked, not turning to look at the lad behind him.

"I found her." Will grimaced as he remembered the little girl's pale face against the wet sand. "She had gotten caught in a hurricane and was washed up there on the beach at Port Royal. At first, I thought she was dead." Will shuddered at the memory "Thank goodness she wasn't"

"And you just took her in, did you? How charitable." Jack snorted sardonically. "And what about you? How'd you end up here in the Caribbean?"

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself." Will grunted as he finished a stroke with the whetstone. "After she died I came out here. Looking for my father."

"Issat so?" Jack mumbled as he tugged a knot tighter to secure it before wandering back up the helm, but Will was not done yet.

"My father, Bill Turner?" He stood to his feet to doggedly follow the pirate's steps. "At the jail, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton Jack. You knew my father."

Ah…here it was. Jack had wondered if the lad would notice, but he didn't think he'd be facing this conversation so soon.

"Aye, I knew him." Jack stood up to look the young man in the face, a face set in an all too familiar scowl "Probably one of the few that knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap-Bill."

"Bootstrap?" Will's eyes widened. But no, wait…hang on…wasn't that the name Peggy had mentioned before? But no, it couldn't be…she would have told him. Or would she?

"Good man, good pirate. I swear you look just like 'im." Jack hopped over to the helm and turned it a few more degrees to the port as the wind shifted behind them.

"That's not true." Will snapped, staring at the back of the pirate's head in horror. "He was a merchant sailor. A good respectable man who obeyed the law-"

"He was a bloody pirate! A scallywag!"

"My father was NOT a pirate."

Jack rolled his eyes irritably as he heard metal slide against leather. God, how stupid was this boy to draw a sword on him while he had full control of the ship?

"Put it away son." He sighed in exasperation. "It's not worth you getting beat again."

"You didn't beat me." Will snarled. "You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you."

"That's not much incentive for me to fight fair, is it?" Jack turned back to the lad. The fool. He thought he could kill the Jack Sparrow in a fair fight?

"What's going on?!"

Both men turned to see Peggy rushing towards them, brow furrowed in concern.

When she saw the drawn sword in Will's hand she stopped short.

"Whoa-whoa! What are you doing Will?!" she blinked as Will's eyes hardened dangerously at her.

"You knew this all along didn't you?"

"Will, what are you talking about?"

"Don't toy with me Peggy!" Will growled at her "You knew about my father!"

"What? Jack, what the hell have you been telling him?" She glared at Jack who shrugged irritably.

"Just the truth love."

"What truth?"

"You remember ol' Boostrap Bill?"

"Yeah, I remember Bootstrap. We were just talking about him down in the galley."

"So you did know about him!" William turned his sword and his snarl on Peggy who leapt back in alarm.

"William?!"

There was the rattle of wood as Jack quickly spun the helm wheel around, the boom behind Peggy's back swinging violently forward.

"Duck!" he called.

Peggy on instinct hit the deck on her stomach, clapping her hands over her head as she felt the whoosh of air above her.

Will was not so lucky.

The boom hit him square in the chest, as it swung out over the side and would have knocked him overboard had he not let go of his sword and clung onto it for dear life.

"Jack! What the hell are you doing?" Peggy shouted at him as she leapt to her feet.

"Teaching the whelp a lesson," Jack grunted as he picked up Will's fallen sword, pointing it at the lad as if he were a professor at a lecture.

"Now so long as you're just hanging there, pay attention." His voice was calm but there was a sharp edge to it that made Peggy shut her mouth to stop herself from interrupting "The only rules that really matter are these. What a man can do, and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept your father and your friend here are both pirates and good people, or you can't. But pirate is in your blood boy so you'll have to square with that someday. Now me for example, I could let you drown," Will was able to spare Jack a startled look even as he continued gripping the boom for dear life much to Jack's derisive pleasure. "But I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, Savvy? So…"

Jack made to wheel the boom back in just in time for Will's burning arms to give way. He landed hard on his back; the wind almost completely knocked out of him yet again. However, he did not have much time to appreciate the solid ground beneath his head as the point of a sword, his sword found itself pointed at his chest by a very serious Jack Sparrow.

"Can you sail under the command of a pirate-" Jack flipped the sword so that the hilt now faced William "- or can you not?"

There was a pause as Will looked at the hilt of his sword, and the pirate that held the blade.

"Tortuga?" he asked.

"Tortuga." Jack grinned looking up from the lad. "Ain't that right Pe-Pegs?" he blinked.

Will followed his gaze but to his surprise, Peggy was no longer standing in her spot. She was storming off down the stairs, her copper hair flying behind her and her nostrils flared.

"Oy! Where are you going, lass?" Jack called after her.

Will felt his gut sink as she spared one last contemptuous look over her shoulder at the pair of them, and spat:

"I'm going to sleep! If either of you disturbs me or tries to play the bloody fool again I'll gut you like a fish."

And with that she stomped off into the captain's cabin, leaving both pirate and blacksmith staring in silence at the empty deck.

The room was dark and damp as a large hulking figure paced the floor.

One of his legs was booted, the other a pincer-shaped claw foot like a crab that struck against the damp wood beneath his feet with a distinctive piercing thud every time it made contact.

Behind him, a massive pipe organ half moulded into the walls lay dormant, the sound waves of the figures' footsteps resonating within each pipe and making them ring in his ears.

But he did not care.

His wrath was too great.

For ten bloody years, she had ignored his summons. Ten long years.

If she had died, he would have understood her not returning to his ship at his call. At least then all he had to do was drag her back from the shores of the dead to collect her soul.

But no.

He gave her an inch and she took it and ran back to the safety of the shore where he could not set foot for another few years. Not only was she on shore, but she had kept herself so far on the dry inland that neither he nor his ship could sense her presence and track her down.

Until now.

Something had made her return to his waters after all these long years.

The figure sucked in a deep breath as he unfurled his right hand where a tentacle coiled and uncoiled from the place a human index finger should have been.

No…she may have tried running, but she still had his mark on her that was certain. Try as hard as she might to run, she could never escape his mark.

He had made certain of that.

Her arm burned.

Rat-tat-tat

Her right arm burned like a fire had been lit under her skin.

Rat-tat-tat

A spiral of dark brown rings seared in her flesh even as she gripped it, hoping her tight hold would numb the pain.

Rat-tat-tat

But nothing she did could rid herself of the overwhelming dread that coursed through her veins.

After all these years of hiding, he finally knew where she was.

Rat-tat-tat

And he would come for her…she knew he would…

"Rise and shine Pegsy!"

Something prodded her shoulder.

Eyes flying open, Peggy sat up, her hand snatched at the scissors she had stowed under her pillow. She pulled it out of its sheath with such swiftness that the blade sang in the air, only to stop as a large warm human hand grabbed it deftly. Peggy's heart almost stilled in her chest in terror as the blade's tip stopped dangerously close to a dark bearded neck.

"J-Jack!" She gasped as she caught sight of twin beaded braids and a pair of kohl-smudged dark eyes staring down at her intensly.

With frantic eyes, she looked around herself. She was lying on a tiny cot with a thin mattress and pillow, tucked away with her back pressed against the large window. The room was so tiny and bare that it might as well have been a glorified cupboard.

On the edge of her bed by her waist Jack sat, one hand on her shoulder, the other holding her wrist away from slicing at his jugular. His expression was difficult to read as he examined her frightened face closely. It could have been concern; it could have been suspicion. However, Peggy would never be able to tell. The man was weirdly indecipherable even after all these years.

"Still havin' them nightmares huh? Even after all this time," he murmured as he gently pried the scissors from her grip.

"It's been a while since the last one. But I don't think they'll ever go away." Peggy shut her eyes, wiping a hand over her face as she sat up gingerly, hoping he could not make out how much she was trembling. "How far to Tortuga?"

"Already docked love. Just waiting on you to finish your beauty nap." He grunted as he clambered to his feet.

"Already? Why didn't you wake me earlier?" She frowned at him.

"I was going to, but I did not want to risk you following through on your promise. As you well know I am fond of my innards staying inside me where they belong," Jack smirked as he leaned against the doorframe "Besides, I needed to drill a few more lessons into that whelp boy's head before you could get in me way again."

"Oh because nearly tossing him overboard was not enough?" Peggy mumbled as she stretched her arms behind her head. Gods she really should not have slept with her stays on.

"Would not have needed to toss him overboard if he did not wave that sword around willy-nilly!" Jack rolled his eyes. "That stupid lad's temper is going to get us all in trouble."

"Not if one of your hair-brained schemes gets us in trouble first," Peggy grumbled as she swung her legs over the side and began tucking them back into her boots.

"Hairbrained?" Jack scoffed in mock outrage. "My schemes are brilliant"

"Yes, they are brilliant. Brilliantly crazy." Peggy shook her head as she hopped to her feet.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of crazy, love. A little bit of crazy keeps the world turning." Jack smirked, though it fell slightly as he watched her dust herself off and sheathed her sword at her hip.

Despite her attempts to carry on her face was pale and sweaty, and her eyes darted like a frightened mouse as her fingers fumbled in their simple task.

"Speaking of crazy, we should get a move on before that whelp of yours starts trying to hunt me down for disgracing your honour or whatever dishonourable bullshit he believes I do." He gestured to her to follow him, and Peggy acquiesced, though slower as she tried to resettle her shirt and tighten her belts.

"He's not my whelp."

"Right, and I'm a giant squid."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peggy narrowed her eyes at Jack who shrugged as he led her into the captain's spacious and luxurious quarters.

"Oh please love, that lad's been fretting over you for the past two hours."

"You're exaggerating."

"No, I ain't. Seriously, he's been so annoying, I don't know what you see in him. If I didn't need the lad I would have tossed him long ago."

"And why do you need Will so badly? What does him being Bootstrap's son got to do with anything?" Peggy folded her arms as she watched her old captain totter over to spin a globe in the corner of the room.

"The same reason I need you so badly lass. I need a crew to take back my ship. Who better than my old cabin girl and ol' faithful Bootstrap's lad?"

He began to swagger to the door to leave but Peggy quickly caught him by the arm.

"Look here Captain," She hissed quietly as she got right up into his face. "Will might trust you to save Lizzy and play the hero but I know who you are. I know how you scheme. If whatever plot you're cooking in that rum-soaked brain of yours gets one hair on their heads harmed in any way I'll-wait…what are you doing?" she blinked in surprise at a pair of ringed hands that had suddenly manifested just above her chest holding the laces that kept the front of the shirt together. They had somehow come undone during her sleep, making the already deep neckline of the oversized garment expose even more of her under-corsetry than ever.

"Just a moment. There ya go!" Jack's tongue poked out between his teeth as he tied the front knot securely, bringing the two halves together so that she was mostly covered once more. "Go on love. What will you do to ol' Jackie if I hurt a hair on your precious William's head?"

Peggy took a wary step back from the pirate. Obeying his orders on the ship and bantering was one thing. But for him to think he had the right to fuss over her like he used to when she was small, after everything he did. How dare he pretend to care?!

"You hurt Will and I'll make Barbossa and his lot look like a bunch of baby pussy cats!"

"Now that would be a sight to see." Jack smiled, but Peggy could see it was only his mouth. His brown eyes watched her with that same curious expression she had seen in her cabin only a few moments ago.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked nervously.

"Your hair…" he hummed reaching out to curl a coppery lock around his finger. "You need to do something about this hair of yours."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Peggy reached up to check her head. Yes, she did have bed hair but it was not so bad…was it?

"You need to cover it up, lass." Jack folded his arms and Peggy rolled her eyes.

"What? Cover it up? Wait this isn't because of that old wives tale is it?!"

"Aye!"

"Seriously? But you don't believe in any of that garbage!"

"No I do not, but other men do! How do you expect me to get a crew if they think my ship is cursed?!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Peggy facepalmed as the door to the captain's cabin opened and Will's head poked through anxiously.

"Is everything alright? Peg?" he frowned at the look of pure annoyance on his friend's face as she shoved moodily past him.

"Everything's fine. I just need another bloody hat!" she grumbled as she stomped below deck. "Ruddy pirates and their stupid superstitions!"

Tortuga the last free port in the Caribbean. A haven for debauchery, sin and inhibition. A place for pirates to hang their hats and relish in a good drink, fresh supplies and the body of a welcoming woman (provided you could pay for her affections).

"Duck!"

By all the sea gods this place has not changed one bit.

Peggy winced as several guns blasted above her head from the balcony of one of the inns nearest the pier. She ducked a shot narrowly missing the top of her head and blasting off the hat she had tried to use to cover her long fishtail braid.

She had forgotten how loud this place could be, or how much it stunk. It made even the poorest section of Port Royal look like Elysium. But she had to admit, there was an odd charm to all the chaos and hectic drama around them.

While hygiene may have been too lax for her tastes, at least everyone was free and unincumbered by some of the sillier rules of "civilised" society.

"Is that the Snapdragon next to the Painted Lady?" She pointed at the pier near the interceptor. Will squinted as he followed her finger to where two ships were docked side by side. One ship was green with white trimmings and dark blue sails, and the other had a red-painted hull with a black-painted deck and white sails.

"You know these ships?" He tilted his head.

"Only a few. Though it has been a while." Peggy murmured as she watched the crews of both ships pass one another by with a few respectful nods and civil acknowledgements. "Well, would you look at that? I thought Labelle and Clayton would never bury the hatchet."

"They didn't!" Jack called out over all the hubbub as they approached a nearby merchant's stall where several sashes and bolts of materials were being sold and traded along with a vast array of trinkets. Will was surprised to see many vendors along the pier still selling their wares despite the lateness of the hour.

"So, what happened then?" Peggy asked curiously.

"Clayton got too big for his breeches." Jack pulled her to stand before him, holding a bolt of purple cloth against her braided hair for comparison. "Tried attacking two ships at once and got himself blasted straight to the locker! O'Brian is captain now. Nope! Too dark." He tossed the purple cloth aside and picked up one that was red.

"O'Brian? That little titch? Really?" Peggy rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing? I thought we were looking for a crew." Will folded his arms irritably. Somewhere out there on the sea, Elizabeth was being held captive by bloodthirsty pirates and here they were shopping and gossiping about other ships?!

"And we will mate! But first things first, can't have a prospective crew running away at the sight of this one!" he jerked his thumb at Peggy who said:

"It's my hair, Will."

"Your hair?"

"It's the colour. Pirates think it's bad luck for a sailor to have red hair."

"That's just silly!" Will laughed incredulously.

"You're telling me" Peggy pouted as Jack held up an abhorred bright yellow scarf against her face. "Jack, can't you just pick one and be done with it?"

"Patience Pegsy. Patience. Can't have my cabin girl running around lookin' like shit, can I?" Jack mumbled distractedly, as he fumbled around the merchant's table, his smile brightening as he caught sight of something beneath an orange scarf. "Aha! Perfect."

He pulled out an ocean blue bandanna with a white wave print.

"Marvelous choice there mate!" the merchant behind the stall gave a toothy grin, revealing several gold teeth "That's part of a set that is, see 'ere." He pulled out a much larger waist sash from where Jack had fished the bandanna. It was made from the same material and had a metal buckle to fasten it shaped like a scallop shell.

Will examined the metalwork, admiring the surprisingly good craftsmanship as Jack paid for the items with money. Neither Will nor Peggy knew the origin of the coins nor were they going to ask. In a place like Tortuga, a little bit of theft seemed like the least of their worries.

"Now that's sorted, let's go ey! Lots to do, places to see." Jack grinned as Peggy finished tucking her hair beneath its new covering.

"Gods it is good to be back!" the pirate smiled as led Will and Peggy through a side alleyway and towards the centre of the disordered town, inhaling the rich array of cacophonic sounds and clashing odours around them. "More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga. Savvy? What do you think?" he snatched a silver-headed cane off a drunk that stumbled across their path as they meandered past a group of men drenched in liquor from head to toe as they guzzled even more drink from a cup in each hand.

"It'll linger," Will replied diplomatically as another drunk pirate stumbled past them, licking his lips ravenously as his gaze wandered from Peggy's face down to her rear.

Will pulled her closer to him, lacing his fingers with hers before she could protest.

Despite wearing men's clothes and covering her hair, many men who passed their little group were eying her hungrily like wolves around a lamb for slaughter.

"I'll tell you mate, if every town in the world were like this one" Jack smiled, seemingly unaware of his companion's discomfort. "No man would ever feel unwanted."

"Speaking of wanted men- ahem!" Peggy gulped as a woman with dark red hair and a dark red dress exited from a nearby doorway. Her face was pale and her painted lips were pursed in a thin angry line as she stormed right up to Jack who smiled upon seeing her face, not noticing a long-nailed hand rearing back and ready to strike.

"Scarlet!"

Kathwack!

Will and Peggy winced as Jack's face was slapped with such force he almost spun back around to face them.

"Nice hit," Will smirked to Peggy as the woman angrily stalked away with her nose in the air.

"Not sure I deserved that," Jack mumbled rubbing his cheek as he straightened up only to find another painted woman standing in front of him in a pale green dress and messy blonde hair.

"Giselle." Jack smiled admiringly at the pretty blonde, but she was having none of his charm.

"Who was she?"

"What?"

Again, another slap, this one just as powerful as the last if not slightly more for it almost made the pirate stumble back a little much to his younger companion's amusement.

"I may have deserved that." He admitted rubbing his cheek as Peggy smirked.

"If you'd like I can slap you once more. Make it an even three." She giggled as Jack glowered at her and gently cuffed her on the top of the head.

"Cheeky brat! Come on. This way." He pointed across the street where a large ramshackle tavern stood brightly lit, filled with music and shouting. A wooden sign above the door read, "The Faithful Bride" beneath a carving of a smiling bride holding a bouquet in her manacled hands.

To Will's great surprise, Peggy smiled fondly up at the establishment. It was the first time he had seen her look so calm and content since they set out from Port Royal.

"You seem happy to be here," he muttered as they passed under the sign and past the front door.

"I am…sort of." she coughed doing her best to settle her face into a more neutral expression as she addressed Jack. "Are old Bobby and Maeve still running the place?"

"Aye, they are." Jack nodded as he led them around the back of the tavern towards a filthy stye. "Getting' on in years of course but that Maeve is still a battleaxe."

"Only with you," Peggy smirked as Jack pointed to a few large buckets nearby filled with water.

"Quick fetch those and follow me."

Will and Peggy followed his lead, each taking a bucket and following Jack to one of the pens where two pigs and a man lay in the muck.

Peggy and Will had to swallow down hard on the bile that threatened to rise in their throats. Somehow this pen had managed to be smellier than the street outside and that was saying something.

The man was middle-aged, with short grey hair, long sideburns and a short beard. He wore a British navy sailor's uniform not unlike the one Peggy wore, but his clothes were old and stained from years of rough living and mud from the pen. He was fast asleep and snoring almost as loudly as the pigs and barely heard them approach or Jack's order for Peggy to tip the contents of her bucket over him.

SPLASH!

"GHA!" The man cried out as the cold clean water hit him square in the face, waking him up with a jolt "Curse you for breathing you slack-jawed idiot!" he roared in fury and Peggy leapt back, hands raised in surrender as Will stepped in front of her defensively.

But they needn't have worried, for the man's anger melted away at the sight of Jack standing above him.

"Mother's love! Jack!" he grinned in relief and leaned back against the snorting pig he had been using as a pillow. "You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleepin'. It's bad luck."

"Ah! Fortunately, I know how to counter it." Jack grinned down at his old friend as he knelt by his side "The man who did the waking buys the man that was sleeping a drink. And the man that was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man that did the waking."

It took a second for the man on the floor to compute what Jack was saying, but when he did, his smile only grew wider.

"Aye, that'll about do it!" He took Jack's proffered hand and let himself be tugged back up to standing, only to choke and splutter as Will tossed his bucket of water all over him, soaking him right down to the bone.

"BLAST! I'm already awake!" he shouted.

"That was for the smell," Will explained with a small shrug.

There was a pause as the drenched man looked at Jack who nodded in agreement to Will's earlier statement.

"Eh…I suppose that's fair." The man's shoulders sagged as he wiped some wet hair from his face. "Apologies. The name's Joshamee Gibbs." He held out a friendly hand to Will who shook it firmly.

"William Turner."

"And you lad-lass?" Gibbs frowned in confusion as he caught sight of Peggy's distinctly feminine face.

"Peggy, Peggy Blake. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mister Gibbs" Peggy shook the shocked man's hand.

"Blake, Blake…hey ain't that the name of your old Cabin Girl Jack?" Gibbs frowned at Jack who grinned and clapped him on a wet shoulder.

"The very same mate. Come let's get those drinks ey! I'll explain everything inside."

The Faithful Bride was a lively place, Will thought as Gibbs and Jack led the way inside the tavern.

A small band of musicians played shanties in a corner while several drunk sailors swayed and sang along to the tune, more than half slurring the wrong words and laughing. Various small scuffles and punch-ups were popping up all over the floor between men and even some women. Wenches of all shapes and sizes sat on the laps of paying johns exchanging their affections for coin and whispering sweet nothings in their patron's ears. A few tables tucked away behind some beams were relatively peaceful, their occupants quietly talking and joking amongst themselves as they took hearty swigs from tankards of ale or rum.

It was towards one of these back tables that Gibbs and Jack swaggered over to sit at, the latter shaking his head at Will to stop him and Peggy from joining them.

"Keep a sharp eye. And don't let this one out of your sight." the pirate added with a jerk of his head to Peggy who groaned in annoyance but stayed put by Will's side.

"Every bloody time. I can look after myself." She muttered mutinously as she and Will leaned back against a nearby wooden pillar together.

"He's just trying to keep you safe." Will grunted as he sidled over so that their sides touched, glaring at a man who was trying to leer at Peggy from over his tankard "And for once I agree wholeheartedly with him."

"I know. Neptune's soggy beard!" Peggy hissed, her leg pulling back sharp as two brawling men almost fell on top of her boot.

Will quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled around to the side of the beam to avoid the scuffling pirates, who continued their fight without noticing their presence. According to the snippets of swear words and curses being flung between the two opponents between blows, they were either fighting over a prostitute or a mule.

"Thanks," Peggy muttered as she tried to step away, but Will wrapped his arms around her middle and held her tight against him. They were hardly the only man and woman in the tavern in such proximity, but still, Peggy could not help but flush a little at the feel of her friend's firm body plastered so close against her back "Will-"

"Shh." He put a finger to his lips and jerked his head at Jack and Gibbs who had settled at a small table and were leaning over a pair of tankards conspiratorially.

It was hard to hear what they were saying, but Peggy could read their lips in the light of the candles on the table.

"Jack, it's a fool's errand!" Gibbs hissed concernedly "You know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl."

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to. All I need is a crew."

"What I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one."

"Well, I'd say it's a good thing I'm not a fool then?"

Peggy and Will exchanged confused glances. For all his bumbling about earlier, Jack seemed confident in his idea despite Gibbs' contrary attitude.

"Prove me wrong." The older sailor scoffed. "What makes you think Barbossa will give up his ship to you?"

"Let's just say it's a matter of leverage eh?" Jack smirked like the cat that ate the canary as he turned to look over at the pillar where Peggy and Will quickly looked away, pretending not to have been eavesdropping.

"Will!" Peggy gasped as she felt Will's grip around her waist tighten in suspense as Jack tried pointing them out to Gibbs who squinted at them in confusion.

"The girl? Didn't Barbossa try to kill her?" the old sailor muttered.

"No-no mate not her." Jack nodded once more, directing his gaze towards the young blacksmith who oh-so-casually leaned back against the beam behind him, holding Peggy so close she was beginning to struggle for breath.

"The kid?" Gibbs's brow furrowed deeper, and Jack's grin widened.

"That is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner. His only child. Savvy?"

"Is he now?" Gibbs's eyebrows rose very high as a smile spread over his face. "Leverage says you. I think I feel a change in the wind says I. I'll find us a crew! There's bound to be some sailors on this rock as crazy as you!"

"One can only hope." Jack raised his tankard in a toast. "Take what you can!"

"Give nothing back!" Gibbs finished and they clanged their mugs together merrily and took a hearty swig.

"Will! Will! Too tight."

"Sorry Peg," Will muttered, loosening his grip but not letting her go from her spot even as she tried to escape again. It seemed from the way Jack and Gibbs were now leaning back and chuckling that their serious business was over. But Will still could not be sure…

"Come on. You're not going to keep me prisoner here all night are you?" Peggy wheezed as she tried and failed to pry Will's arms from their loop around her waist.

Damn, blacksmiths and their strong hands. She thought.

"If it keeps you safe from all these degenerates staring at you then yes. I am." Will muttered mulishly as he leaned to rest his chin atop her head. "This place is so different from home."

"You think this is rowdy you should see the Twelve Daggers across the street." Peggy snorted as she gave up struggling and leaned back into his grip. In Port Royal, it was not considered appropriate for a man and woman not related by blood to be so openly caring towards one another unless they were romantically involved. Of course, she and Will were not shy about being affectionate towards one another in the privacy of their own home. Blood-related or not, they were family, and they shared a bond they were not ashamed of. However, ever since he came of age Will had become so keen to follow protocol and appear respectable in public so as not to embarrass Peggy or ruin her prospects.

Perhaps being in such a lawless place like Tortuga he did not feel so pressured to be as prim and proper. Or perhaps he was so overwhelmed by their situation that he yearned for a familiar comfort.

Peggy felt like it was the latter, for she could feel his heart hammering in his chest and his jaw grinding side-to-side above her as it often did when he was nervous.

She could not blame him. That conversation between Jack and Gibbs had set her teeth on edge too. She knew Jack had plans for Will, but why was the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner so important to someone like Hector Barbossa? Did it have something to do with that accursed treasure?

Peggy shivered as she remembered Koehler's arm under the bright moonlight, all rotten and bony like a corpse from a shipwreck.

The curse of Cortez's gold…who would have thought it would be so gruesome. She would have to re-read Percival Stafford's account of the curse when they returned to the ship.

"We'll find her Will." She squeezed both his hands in hers reassuringly "We'll find Lizzy and we'll get her back safe and sound. Whatever Jack's plans for you are."

"I hope so." He murmured into her head, his voice bitter and tired. "So…You knew my father?"

"It appears so." Peggy craned her head back to look up at him. "But believe me when I said that I didn't know Bootstrap's real name."

"But how could you sail with a man for years and not uncover his name?" Will frowned down at her and she shrugged.

"Many pirates often go by nicknames rather than their birth names. It's a good way to keep the Navy, the EITC or even other rival pirates from tracking their whereabouts or hunting down their families…"

She trailed off as Will's grip tightened slightly, bracing herself for the vice hold. But it never came. It just stayed firm as his eyes glazed over in sad contemplation.

"You're saying he was trying to protect me and my mother?"

"I don't know, but it's possible." Peggy smoothed a thumb over the back of his hand. "Bootstrap never told me your names but spoke of the two of you often, even read some of your mother's letters to me."

"I wonder what he'd think of us living together and being friends"

"He'd probably be over the moon." Peggy snorted "He always kept on harping on about you. I won't lie, I was a little jealous of how proud he was of you."

"God after all this time…I spent so long searching for my father after my mother died. And you were right there under my roof and could have told me where he was." Will sighed, gulping down on the small lump in his throat.

Peggy turned around in his grip to face him, her hands grasping his firmly and securely.

"Trust me, Will. If I had known Bootstrap was your father I would have told you about him. Truly, I would have."

"Would you have told me about his being a pirate?" Will narrowed his eyes down at her.

"Yes." She answered instantly. "Yes, I would. He's your father. Your only blood family. Whatever my past you deserved to know the truth about him."

"Even if it meant revealing your truth?" He asked softly. "You've hidden so much from me already…Is Peggy Blake even your real name?"

"Well… Yes. Sort of. It's complicated." Peggy mumbled folding her arms as she took her spot beside him once more. "My full name on paper is Margaret Delphine Blake. It's not the name I was born with, but it was the name I chose. Even if it wasn't who I was in the past, it is who I am now. It is real and it is who I am. If that makes sense?"

"I guess." Will shifted and folded his arms to match her stance. "So, what was your birth name? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I…I don't know."

Will blinked at her astonished. Her face was turned down to the floor, and her eyes were clouded with the sombreness he had been accustomed to seeing since the attack on Port Royal.

"When I first fell from my father's ship, I…I hit my head on the hull." Peggy reached up to trace a curve just above her hairline. "I don't remember much of what happened before that. My father was a merchant and I remember the sound of his voice, but I don't remember his face. I know my mother is dead, but I don't remember how it happened. I don't remember my stepmother but I know I hated her and she despised me. I know how to read, write, and do basic arithmetic, but I cannot remember who taught me. It's all just so…fragmented."

"And you never searched for answers?" Will frowned in confusion. If he had lost his memories, he would have searched all seven seas for the answers.

Peggy shook her head sadly. "No. I mean sort of…" She ran a hand over her head, accidentally pushing off her bandanna wrap and uncovering her copper-coloured braid. "Sometimes I'll smell or hear something somewhere and something small will come back to me. Remember when you first took me to church, and I could follow along to the hymns even though I said I didn't know any?"

"I remember." Will nodded, remembering the day clearly and how surprised he was when he heard her little voice singing sweetly beside him. "I thought you were being modest."

Peggy chuckled, shaking her head sadly.

"No, no. I really did not think I knew the hymns till I heard you singing them beside me. And then it all just clicked."

"But you still aren't curious to know where you come from? Wouldn't you like to know the whole story?" Will persisted doggedly "What if your family is out there looking for you? What if your father-"

"I know he isn't." Peggy cut across Will sharply. "I may not remember much about my life Will but I have a rough picture of what it must have been like, and I don't think I was very happy. Not like when I am at home with you or when I was-" She stopped and coughed, but Will spotted the pain in her eyes even as she shook herself off. "Forgive me. The smell in here."

"It is rather rank isn't it?" Will agreed solemnly.

There was a silence as Peggy gazed out at the tavern around them. The chaos had not stopped while they'd been talking, indeed some of the fights had only gotten rowdier and the flirtations with wenches had only gotten raunchier. The musicians were now ducking to avoid rum bottles and tankards from getting thrown in their direction as the now completely inebriated patrons jeered at them loudly for more songs.

Will meanwhile was staring at her face his eyes travelling up to her bandanna-covered head. She was telling the truth there was no doubt about that, for he had seen the scar on her scalp before. She had only been living with him for a year and a half and Mister Brown's profligacy had gotten out of hand. He had offered Peggy's bright copper-coloured curls to the local wigmaker in exchange for paying off his gambling debt. Poor Peggy had been humiliated to tears when Will had first seen the awful scar. It was a gnarly curved mark, ugly and distinctive against her pale scalp.

The thought her life would have been even more miserable before that incident was nothing short of disturbing. The idea that life as a pirate was preferable to life with her father was even more concerning. Just how despicable could someone be to be that hated by their own child?

"So…" he reached and traced his fingers along a stray curl that had escaped from her head wrap, tucking the lock behind her ear gently. "Delphine?"

"It means Dolphin in French" Peggy's ears flushed a deep pink. "I always liked the way it sounded. As for Peggy-"

"It's short for Margaret?" Will nodded in understanding. "And Blake?"

"I don't know. It just felt right." She shrugged.

"Margaret Delphine Blake." Will smiled softly. "Sounds rather nice."

"Eugh! Don't call me Margaret." Peggy choked and Will chuckled.

"And why not?"

"Because it sounds weird. I don't like it."

"Why?"

"I just don't. Makes my skin crawl whenever someone calls me that."

"Then why is it your name."

"It wasn't. That damned priest put it on my certificate of baptism when I settled in Port Royal. Apparently, Peggy was not a respectable enough name on its own." She shivered, elbowing Will in the side as he let loose a slightly louder laugh at her childish pout. "Seriously Will, I hate it. I mean if someone else is called Margaret then good that's what suits them. I'm happy being just Peggy."

"Or Pegsy?" Will chortled and she chuckled.

"Mmn, I have no idea where Jack came up with that one. He might have been drunk."

"You mean he's not…" Will trailed off with a pointed glance at Jack who had a very attractive raven-haired beauty in a very low-cut dark green dress perched on his lap while Gibbs drained the last of his drink and scuttled away.

"Nah he's not drunk yet. Trust me when he is drunk you'll notice. Ugh ye gods, I'm not going to get any peace when we go to bed am I?" Peggy grunted in disgust as they noticed Jack's hand slip up the lady's skirt as she nibbled on his ear. "One downside of being the captain's cabin boy. You hear everything the captain is doing in his bed."

"You poor thing." Will patted her shoulder as the two of them burst into giggles, the sound of which caught Jack's attention.

The pirate stood up, wench still plastered to his side like a barnacle as he swaggered over to his cabin girl and the blacksmith swaying slightly as he often did.

"I see you two are enjoying yourselves. Though how you're achieving that without any rum in either of you is beyond me."

"It's a gift." Peggy chuckled not missing the way Jack's lady friend assessed Will's handsome boyish face and strapping form like a wolf would look at raw meat. "I see you've found some new company?"

"And a place to sleep. Lovely Gabrielle 'ere has very kindly offered to share her nice warm bed with me. Ain't that right dearie?"

"Hmm. O-oh yes haha!" Gabrielle tittered as she tore her batting eyelashes back onto Jack's tipsy grin. "Though I am sure I can manage one more in my room in a pinch." She added with a small wink to a very bewildered and blushing Will.

"T-thank you for the uh-kind offer miss but I already have lodgings for tonight with my friend here," he muttered, cheeks burning as he felt the other beautiful woman's hungry eyes roving all over his body. While the attention of such a beautiful woman was flattering, he already had a lady he loved. What kind of man would he be if he dumped his morals for a meaningless fling halfway through his mission to save her?

Jack quickly snagged an ale from a bartender that was not his, not knowing whether to roll his eyes or laugh as the whelp carefully sidled behind Peggy, looping an arm around her waist again trying to look possessive and casual like a lover should and failing miserably.

"Oh forgive me. I did not see you there. I thought you were one of the men in those breeches" Gabrielle looked Peggy up and down critically, and though she smiled, her eyes were calculating and irate.

Peggy almost felt sorry for the woman. Poor Gabrielle had not been expecting any competition for her business tonight and was peeved to have lost the chance with a handsome fresh-faced youth, a rarity in this dismal establishment.

But that was where Peggy's pity ended. Will was too ill-equipped to handle this situation and Jack was enjoying the drama too much to bother helping him, leaving her to clean up the mess as usual.

Well, if it's a show he wants, he'll get it. She smirked viciously as, to Jack and Will's great surprise, she reached up and unlaced the front of her shirt exposing her corsetry underneath.

The effect was instant. Both men's eyes were drawn like magnets to the suddenly exposed cleavage in shock. Gabrielle's expression soured in defeat as Peggy reached out to trail a lone finger slowly down the open front of Will's shirt and purred:

"That's alright. An honest mistake. You can blame my sweet William here; he lo~ves it when I wear his clothes."

Will's cheeks flushed beet red, and Jack almost spat out his drink.

No…No…this was too bizarre. This was not how it was supposed to be. Peggy was his cabin girl. She was the little smart-arse, short-fused chit who used to trail after him like a lost puppy with her two pigtails bouncing behind her. She was NOT a sensual fiery-haired siren who seduced whelps in taverns. Nope, Jack did not like this. No-ugh-no-no-no! He could deal with anything but this on a sober mind.

The little brat. She's enjoying watching me suffer like this. He scowled, draining his ale in three large gulps as she smugly leaned back into her sweet William's arms. The poor bewildered lad was struggling not to stare down his friend's cleavage over her shoulder as he held her in front of him like a human shield before Gabrielle's seething form.

"Aye, he does." Jack intervened before his paid wench could open her mouth again "Darling Pegsy does very well catering to sweet William's every need no matter how big or small. So much so that she cruelly neglects my own." The pirate sighed oh-so-dramatically "Now you see my dear, how much I am neglected upon my ship?"

"Oh, you poor man." The prostitute simpered, eyes solely fixed on Jack, but it was clear to anyone sober who listened that the words were more like a rehearsed script "All those weeks at sea and no one to look after you. And after all the great things you do for them too."

"Yes, exactly what I've been saying love," Jack exclaimed in great relief. "I knew you'd understand you lovely, clever thing. You're so understanding and caring."

"Well, for what it's worth I am glad to see you are in good hands, Captain. We'll meet you back on the ship in the morning then?" Peggy smirked, pleased that the standoff was over. She could feel the stares of many men on her exposed chest and it was making her skin crawl something fierce.

"Aye, lass! You shall. And don't you two stay up too late hammering away at one another. I need you both up bright and early to meet Gibbs and the crew, savvy?" Jack waved them off with a dirty look before wrapping an arm around his female companion and swaying off with her towards a nearby set of stairs.

As soon as they were a safe distance away, Peggy and Will turned to look at one another and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Will! Hahahaha!" Peggy almost doubled over.

"Don't be. That was brilliant. The look on his face-" Will pulled her up to almost choke on her shoulder.

"Like he'd throw up seawater!" Peggy finished, wiping at her eyes as she reached down to retie the front of her shirt closed. "Ye gods serves him right. All those nights I had to listen to him hammer away at his women through the bloody wall! He can deal with me showing off some skin."

"Speaking of beds, we should head back to the ship soon." Will chuckled as he took her hand to pull her into a quick duck as a bottle flew for their heads.

"Aye, we should. I don't think I have much strength left to defend your honour from another woman, Sweet William." Peggy grunted as she led them speedily back to the pig pens outside. "Would you like me to stay close to you tonight? For your protection?" She asked playfully.

"Where would we go? I don't trust the inns here. We might get knifed in our sleep." Will quirked a brow as he gathered her arm in his as they had so often done when taking a stroll back home together after church.

"The ship should do fine for tonight I think." Peggy nudged him with her elbow. "Jack will spend the night in lovely Gabrielle's bed so he won't be using the captain's quarters. And I'll be in my nook with the door open in case."

"Sounds perfect." Will nodded approvingly, glad he would have at least one night's rest in an actual bed.

They fell into companionable silence as they walked arm in arm out the back of the Faithful Bride and into the street. Though still busy, it was a lot quieter than before. Many pirates were now indoors seeking refreshments, beds or other people's beds for the night.

As they strolled back down to the pier, Peggy sighed and looked at the sky above.

It was inky black and dotted with twinkling stars. She could spot the constellations Draco and Ursa Major and Minor in the north to the northwest.

Then there was the moon.

It was waning but still rather large and luminous. Its pale light shone and shimmered on the muddy grounds and the dilapidated rooftops of the pirate town, making it look almost ghostly.

Peggy shivered and drew closer to Will's side.

"Peg?"

"I'm fine. Just cold." She mumbled though she did not turn her face to the sky again.

Somewhere, out there, cursed pirates sailed dark waters with a captive young woman.

But worse than that, somewhere out there, the devil was waiting for her with open arms.

There it is, chapter 5 up and running.

A little bit more information about Peggy and her backstory as Jack's old cabin girl. I figured she would have known Bootstrap as a person but not know his real name because people only ever used his nickname around her. As for her amnesia, she doesn't have a complete blank on her past but she does have bits and pieces collected over time. Will she have the full picture eventually? Who knows. Will it all come magically back to her? Again who knows. I'm just going along with the flow of what I write for the moment.

Hope you all enjoyed and please keep reading, reviewing and faving if you want more.

Thanks,

FuzzyBeta