I awoke in the governor's mansion, my head pounding. I groaned and turned over, shutting my eyes tight.

Ten more minutes, I pleaded silently. Wait. Then I opened my eyes, wincing immediately at the harsh light.

After a minute of nursing my migraine I stood, swaying slightly and leaning on the wall. I brushed off my clothes and tottered out of the mansion, earning several suspicious glances from the maids, who were bustling about, picking up the mess from the previous night's adventures.

I wandered the town, watching numbly as the civilians cleaned up the mess the Black Pearl had left.

"Miss? 'Scuse me, miss," A man came up behind me, tipping his hat. "Have ye any information concerning Miss Swann?"

My heart stuttered. "Miss--Miss Swann?" I stuttered.

He nodded patiently. "Have ye not heard? Miss Swann was kidnapped by pirates!" He looked slightly awed. "Pirates! 'Magin that!"

I shook myself. "No, I apologize, but have you seen William Turner?"

He smiled, revealing a gaping hole where his front tooth should be. "Yes, miss, he was aheadin' in the direction of the prison!"

I groaned inwardly. He's gone to see Jack... "Thank you for your help, sir." I nodded at him and he gave me another broken smile before turning and walking off to question some other person.

I rushed to the fort, for under the fort was the prison. I hurried down the crumbling stone steps, my feet echoing, and stopped at the bottom, my eyes sweeping the small jail.

Will spun around and Jack tilted his handsome head lazily, gazing around Will to look at me.

"Adeena!" Will exclaimed, and then looked wary. "This isn't what it looks like..."

I shook my head and stalked up to them, resting my head against the bars and studying Jack. "It is exactly what it looks like, Will, so shut up. You. Sparrow."

The pirate grinned. "It's Jack to a pretty thing like you, love."

I couldn't keep the amusement off my face, and the heat that flooded my cheeks. "Right then, Jack. The Black Pearl. Tell us about it."

He studied his dirty fingernails. "Your friend here wanted to know the same thing. But why ask me?"

Will exclaimed, "Because you're a pirate!"

Jack dropped his hand and his eyes sparkled mischievously. "And you want to become pirate yourself, is that it?"

Will clutched the bars, rattling them. "Never."

Will's mission is to offend as many pirates as possible until they shrivel up from depression, I thought.

"Then what do you want?" Jack asked leisurely, propping himself up on his elbows.

Will sighed, looking defeated, and backed away from the cell, his cheeks flushed. "They took Miss Swann."

Jack grinned. "So you have found a girl!"

"Jack," I said exasperatedly. "Can you please just tell us?" I knew about the Black Pearl, but only that it sailed at night, had black, tattered sails, and was said to be crewed by the damned and a captain 'so evil Hell itself spit him back out' -- according to legend. But everyone with a brain knew not all stories were true.

Jack laid back down, gesturing with one hand in the air. "Have you not heard the stories?" He smiled to himself, then frowned, and began quite bitterly. "Captain Barboussa," He said sarcastically, "And his crew of miscreants sail from the fabled Isla de Muerta." He smiled and raised his head. "Isla de Muerta is an island that cannot be found, save for those who already know where it is."

Will shook his head, frustrated. "The ship's real enough, therefore its anchorage must be a real place!"

I studied Jack. His gaze flickered to me, and then he laid back down. He seemed to be telling the truth.

"Jack," I asked. He raised his head. "Can you please tell us where it is?"

Jack shook his head at me and then addressed Will, sitting up and crossing his legs. "If you wish to embark on a thrilling adventure as to win a fair ladies heart, you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."

Will straightened up and gazed at Jack, a challenge in his brown eyes. "I can get you out of here."

Jack looked skeptical and tilted his head, gesturing down the hallway toward the exit. "How, the key's run off?"

My lips were tugged upwards at his terminology as Will continued. "I helped build these cells; these are half-pin barrel hinges."

Jack and I watched as Will picked up a bench from behind us and stuck the legs into the bars. "With the right leverage, and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free."

Jack gazed at Will with his deep and intelligent eyes. "What's your name, boy?"

Will straightened up. "Will Turner." He said proudly, though a bit warily.

I glanced from him to Jack, who appeared to be in deep thought. "I see..." He murmured. "Will. That would be short for William, I imagine? Good, strong name...no doubt named for your father, eh?"

Will considered him curiously. "Yes," He said slowly.

"Right then! I've changed me mind!" Jack stated suddenly, hopping up and swaying slightly. "I solemnly swear on pain of death that I will come with you and risk it all to rescue your dear bonnie lace. Do we have an accord?" He stuck his hand out, toward Will, inviting him to shake it.

Will stared at his hand for a moment, then took it. "Agreed."

Jack rocked back on his feet. "Agreed." He repeated, then gestured at the bars. "Now, get me out!"

Will grunted and pushed upwards on the bench, and, true to his word, the wall of bars fell away with a clatter. "Hurry!" I said. "Someone would've heard that."

Jack skipped over to the nails on the stone wall where his weapons and compass were hung. "Not without me effect!"

"Why bother?" Will asked him, his tone challenging. "You could've killed me before if you'd been willing to use it."

I drew my sword and shoved the tip in Jack's face as he cocked the pistol and pointed it at Will, ignoring me. "Are you advising me that that was a mistake?"

Will stared at the pistol in silence.

"When you've only got one shot," Jack continued, "It's best to wait for the opportune moment. That wasn't it." He pocketed his gun and began to ascend the staircase, swaying drunkenly. "Nor is this."

Jack gave me a teasing glance as we left, cocking an eyebrow. "Did you think you could stab faster than I could shoot?"

I scowled. "I thought if you shot I could spill your brains on the floor afterwards, actually."

"Cute and feisty," He retorted. I was tempted to trip him on the stairs, but I thought a broken nose wouldn't profit our mission. Instead I glared daggers at the back of his stupid, handsome face.

Ducking out of the way of guards and civilians, Jack led us across Port Royal and under a bridge. We splashed through ankle-deep water and I cursed as my left boot filled; there was a hole in the sole that I had never bothered to fix.

"We're going to steal a ship?" Will asked bluntly, sounding dumbfounded. "That ship?" He said, and pointed toward the Dauntless, the Royal Navy flagship, which was anchored not far from the Interceptor.

"Commandeer," Jack corrected, pointing at the Interceptor, rather than the large, intimidating Dauntless.. "Nautical term. We are going to commandeer that ship."

I stared at him, and he spun around, his gaze finding Will. "One question about your business, boy," He asked Will. "This girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?"

Will drew himself up. "I'd die for her." I didn't doubt him one bit.

Jack nodded. "Oh, good, no worries then." Then he glanced at me. "You, love. Are you coming?"

I nodded, a tad offended. "If Will's going, then so am I."

Jack nodded, flashing me a small smile, and then turned back around.

"How are we going to steal the ship, Jack?" I asked slowly.

He grinned.

I needn't have worried. Soon, we were beneath the water's surface, holding a flipped boat over our heads, creating a pocket of air. Jack seemed pleased with himself, studying the ocean floor, admiring the patterns on the sand from the waves.

"This is either madness," Will marveled from behind me, "Or brilliance."

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack said dryly.

Just when I thought we had run out of air, we arrived at the Dauntless. Jack signaled for us to let go of the boat, and it shot up to the surface, us following as quick as we could.

The three of us resurfaced, gasping as we refilled our lungs. Jack motioned for us to be quiet and gestured up the back of the ship to me.

I narrowed my eyes and hissed, "Why must I go first?"

Jack grinned and shrugged the best one could while treading water. "Because you are a good deal lighter than the both of us, darling." He whispered back, his eyes glittering with amusement.

I growled but ascended, alert for the slightest abnormal sound or sight. "What will we do at the top?" I asked them quietly.

Jack shushed me but said, "Leave it to me, love."

We pulled ourselves up over the railings and Jack waved his hand at us, signaling us to follow.

"Gentlemen, please stay calm, we are taking over the ship!" He cried, waving his pistol around above his head. I stifled a groan.

He hopped down the poop deck's stairs and Will and I followed. Will pulled out his cutlass and pointed it over Jack's shoulder, at the Navy officers who were gaping at us. "Aye! Avast!" He shouted.

Jack and I gave him matching incredulous glances as the sailors laughed at us before turning back around. Gillette happened to be commanding the troupe of sailors, and he smiled smugly at Jack.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men," He said snidely. "You'll never make it out of the bay."

I pushed past Will, my sword out of its sheath. "And what am I, Gillette?" I practically could feel the fury simmering beneath my skin; women were as capable as men, in my opinion, and as most know I am always right.

He turned to me, that small, cocky smile ever present. "You are a woman, Miss Cole." He said smoothly. "And women cannot crew ships. What are you going to do, sit and look beautiful?"

I growled and Will quickly latched onto me as I struggled to get to Gillette so I could strangle him. Will was stronger than me, and I stopped, defeated, settling for a few choice cuss words in German.

Jack widened his eyes a bit at my language, amused, but then turned back to Gillette. I realized he knew exactly what I had said; I also suspected he had known earlier while we were fighting in the blacksmith's. Perhaps Jack was even smarter than I thought. "Son," He began, cocking his pistol and touching it to Gillette's nose. He went slightly cross-eyed attempting to keep it in his vision. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack said simply, challenging Gillette with his hard stare. "Savvy?"

Soon, Jack had the group of Navy officers piled into a small dingy, floating on the water beneath the looming hull of the Dauntless. Will and I had watched, impressed, as he had herded the soldiers together using only his pistol, pointed at Gillette's head.

"Sparrow! Turner! Cole! They've taken the Dauntless! Sparrow, Turner, and Cole! The Dauntless!" He yelled desperately toward Commodore Norrington, who was supervising some task up at the docks.

I was watching Jack expertly steer the ship, his sharp gaze missing nothing as Will followed orders.

Suddenly, Will ran up to us. "Here they come..." He said, watching over Jack's shoulder as the Interceptor floated away from the docks and began to rapidly gain on us.

Jack leaned closer to me. "Fastest ship in the Caribbean, hmm?"

I shrugged. "That's what they say." The Black Pearl is said to be faster, I didn't say.

The Interceptor hove-to beside the Dauntless and the Navy men Norrington had collected began to swing over to our ship, Norrington barking out orders.

"Check everywhere, down to the bilges!" He yelled, pacing the deck.

What the Navy didn't notice was as they were frantically searching the Dauntless, we were swinging across the gap between the ships, landing silently on the Interceptor.

Will walked along the railing, chopping the ropes tethering the two ships together as Jack ran for the helm. I scampered up the rat lines, amazed at how easy it was, and released the lines holding the sails. The canvas flowed down and the wind took immediately, filling the sails and propelling us away from the Dauntless.

The plank that stretched between the ships clattered into the ocean, and I watched, amused, from the railing as the Commodore spun around at the noise. His eyes widened in fury and he screamed, "Sailors! Back to the Interceptor, NOW!"

A single sailor attempted to swing the gap, but missed by about a mile. Perhaps he wanted to go swimming.

"Thank you, Commodore, for helping us to make way! Would've had a hard time by ourselves!" Jack laughed from the helm, waving his hat at the Dauntless as they opened fire. Will and I ducked, but Jack seemed unfazed.

We sailed away, out of firing range, and I zipped to the helm. "Won't they follow?" I asked Jack, twirling my cutlass.

Jack smirked. "I had Turner disable the rudder chain."

I grinned back at him, then leaned against the railing, gazing out over the turquoise waves. "Have you ever sailed, love?" He asked me.

I turned and shrugged. "I've been on ships before, once with my mother, before she passed. But I've never been a part of a crew."

He nodded and squinted his eyes at Will, who was busily working on the deck below us. "Hmm."

I turned half-turned around. "I love the ocean, though. Especially the Caribbean. The colors are beautiful."

Jack nodded out over the deck, a small smile on his lips, as Will came up the stairs. He collapsed onto a crate next to me and pulled out his sword to sharpen it. We all stood in silence for a while, as the sun continued to sink in the sky. The horizon was already splashed with blots of Caribbean color.

Will began to talk. I suspected, by the careful casualness of his voice, that he was building up to something. "My mother raised me alone. When she died I came here, to search for my father." He gave Jack a pointed look.

Jack left the wheel, signaling for me to hold her steady. I grasped a spoke as he tied a knot over to our left. "Is that so," He commented absentmindedly.

Will continued, ignoring Jack's flippancy. "It was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. I'm not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father."

Jack sighed and took the wheel from me again, acknowledging me with a nod. "I knew 'im," Jack said, shaking his hair out of his face. "One of the few who knew 'im as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill."

Will looked confused, and a foreboding feeling grew in my stomach. "Bootstrap." He repeated.

"Yep. Good man. Good pirate." Jack said matter-of-factly, staring into the horizon, his body tense.

Pirate? Oh, this wouldn't bode well with Will at all.

"My father wasn't a pirate." Will protested, standing erect behind Jack. "He was a merchant sailor, a respectable man who obeyed the law!"

Jack sighed again and half turned, sending an exasperated glance in my direction. "He was a bloody pirate, a scalawag." He waved a hand at Will. "I swear, you look just like him."

Will drew his sword, his body trembling with anger. "My father was not a pirate."

Jack blew his air out slowly, obviously attempting to control himself. "Put it away, son. It's no use for you to get beat again."

Will tapped Jack's shoulder with his cutlass tip, fury radiating from him like he was the sun. "You didn't beat me," He spat. "You ignored the rules of fair play. In a fair fight I would've beat you."

Jack mouthed duck at me. "Then that's no reason for me to fight fair, then, is it?" He spun the wheel suddenly and violently.

The yard arm swung through the air and would have nearly taken my head off, had I not listened to Jack. Will was not so lucky. It caught him in the stomach, and he grasped it as it pushed him off the deck, his sword clattering to the ground. He clutched the yard arm, his face red with hostility, as his legs dangled over the ocean.

I spat out a few cuss words and drew my sword at Jack. "Let him down!" I hissed.

He glanced at me. "You should find a soap bar, love. You're much too pretty to swear so much." He turned back to Will as my face flushed. "Now, as long as you're just hanging there, listen. The only two rules that matter are these: What a man can do, and what a man can't do. You can accept that your father is a pirate, or you can't. But pirate's in your blood, boy, and you'll have to swear with that some day. Now, me, for instance, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into to Tortuga all by me one-see, savvy?"

My mouth dropped open as Jack heaved on the wheel again, depositing Will on the deck. "What about me?" I demanded.

Jack rolled his head toward me. "I, personally, appreciate women more when they sit around and look pretty." I opened and closed my mouth a few times and he turned again. "So," He asked Will, Will's own cutlass at his neck. "Can you sail under the command of a pirate?" He flipped Will's sword in his hand so the hilt was facing Will and he was holding the blade. "Or can you not?"

Will glared at him but took his cutlass back. I helped him stand, and he sheathed his blade. "Tortuga?" I questioned.

Jack grinned, his gold teeth winking at me. "Tortuga."