Almost Familiar Faces.

Warning: No real new warnings.
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Well, maybe I own Jade. Disney doesn’t own Jade. MINE! I’ll trade her to them for Jack or Will though. Eh.

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“MAGGOTS! FILTHY VERMIN! FERMENTED DONKEY FECES!” The screams came from below the deck of the Golden Arrow. Jade had returned to the ship to gather her belongings before boarding the Black Pearl. She had been escorted by Jack and Will while the others had been sent back to the Pearl to prepare the crew for the demeanor of its new member. Though Jack and Will had been allowed to set foot on the ship, the captain had requested that they stay on deck while waiting for Jade.

The two members of the crew of the Pearl reached for their swords at the sound of the woman’s screeches. Prepared to aid her, they began to make their way towards the door leading downwards into the ship. With a little struggling from the Arrow’s crew, they reached the door and readied themselves for a fight, but before they could enter the door had swung open and a female figure’s silhouette could be seen making her way out holding a satchel and a large pack, both filled with personal belongings.

Jack and Will both looked her over to make sure she was unharmed, both men confused at the commotion they had heard. Will’s eyes darted around making sure that there was no immediate threat. Jack, however, seemed to insist using the more direct way of finding out what was going on. “Wha’ was the yellin’ fer, love?”

“Just sayin’ me good byes to the crew.” Jade explained as a man stumbled out of the door behind her, clearly having just been hit in the groin not too long before.

“Ah, I knew a lass that said her fair wells like that. However, she was about to be hung so that might have had sumthin’ to do with it.” Jack took a long swig out of the bottle of rum that he had brought back from the tavern. Will hadn’t noticed the bottle until now, figuring that the Captain must have rum on him at all times anyway. Even when stranded on a deserted island he had found rum.

“Yes, that would pro’lly do it. Of course, it doesn’t make things better when yer tryin’ to pack and there be a man tryin’ to get yer pants off of ye.” Quickly turning around towards the limping man, Jade asked him “Right?”

The man seemed to back up at the sudden attention and answered in what seemed to be a very painful agreement, “Yeah…” he pushed out.

“Well then, I guess we should be off?” Jack nodded at Jade’s suggestion, leading the way towards the Black Pearl.


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“I don’t trust her, Jack,” Elizabeth spoke softly, calmed down from the earlier debate. “I know it’s your ship but she just doesn’t seem… well… safe.”

Jack’s brow rose at the last remark. “If yer looking for a safe place to stay, you shouldn’t have run off with a ship full of pirates, love. Besides, there’s more to her then she has told us. I’m aimin’ to find out more when we eat.” Seeming satisfied with what hld Eld Elizabeth, Jack sauntered off to take care of some captain type job. Though, he didn’t quite know what it was and figured it would probably end up with him drinking rum.

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“Tree frogs.”

“That’s your answer?” Gibbs seemed frustrated at the lack of information he was getting from the new crewmember.

“Well, no. If I had to really choose, I would pro’lly pick raspberries.”

“Wha?!” Gibbs almost fell of off of the stool he was sitting on. He had tried to make simple conversation by asking the girl ‘How many ships have ye crewed with?’ but the answers he was getting obviously had nothing to do with the question.

“I’m sorry old fella, I was thinking of somethin’ else. How many ships? I’d say ‘bout six or seven since I was fourteen. Wait, come close for a second.” Jade seemed to want to tell Gibbs something very important. Gibbs leaned in, hoping to get something interesting out of the girl. She leaned in closer to him putting her face close to his ear and then whispered, “Just checkin’ to see where the smell was comin’ from. I was right, it was ye.”

Gibbs was about to give the girl some angry words for that comment but saw Jack come over to where they were sitting and made himself comfortable in preparation for his meal. A few moments later the rest of the group that had been at the tavern when Jade was ‘discovered’, as Jack liked to put it, came to the table and sat down. The whole crew was within hearing range of the conversation that was about to take place and everyone at the table was aware of this, including Jade.

“So love, if ye don’t mind me asking, what’s yer real name?” Jack wasted no time with skirting around the intended questioning.

“Well when I was a wee lass I was known as Jade, same as now. Except I had a last name, which I don’t remember. I was too young at the time my parents passed on to learn it. After that, it was forgotten.”

This brought Jack to the next question, the one that Gibbs was about to ask before Jade had made the comment about him smelling. “And if it’s all right, may I ask how old ye are?”

Jade took no time to contemplate whether or not to divulge such information, “Twenty-two.”

“Hmm, I’m starting to see something here. What other names have ye gone by?” Jack was formulating something in that borderline insane noggin of his.

“I’ve come by many names, but rarely go by them.” The crew had at first expected this as some sort of defense but quickly noticed that the girl’s eyes seemed a little glazed, bored with the questioning but allowing it to continue.

“Ah, well then could ye tell me what some of those names are?” Jack pushed the bottle of rum in front of him just out of Elizabeth’s grasp. She had been eyeing it up and no doubt had every intention of grabbing it and throwing it over the side of the ship. A small growl came from her direction but Jack remained focused on the task at hand.

Thinking for a moment, Jade responded by asking “Which ones? The ones I come by or tnes nes I rarely go by?”

Jack realized that it was like he was holding a conversation with himself. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t getting any real responses from the other person, it was that he was getting the responses that he would have given if he had been in her place.

“Er, any of them.” Jack didn’t know which one to pick.

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

Gibbs stood up quickly, nearly knocking over his stool “The capt’n asked ye a question.”

“Ah, my dear Mr. GibbWoulWould you be so kind as to sit down please?” Jack had made the request seem very formal, but it was obvious by the way he was glaring at the older man that he didn’t appreciate the interruption.

Gibbs did as he was told as Jack began to speak again, “The reason I ask it that there have been stories about a girl yer age. She is a feared pirate. Some even say that she is more mad that the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow himself.” He watched closely as Jade’s face remained expressionless. Her next comment gave her away.

“Oh? And what else are they sayin’ ‘bout ‘er?”

“Aha! I knew it! Yer a pirate at heart girl, and it’s a well know fact that we like to be hearing about ourselves.” Jack seemed very pleased with this turn in the interrogation and grabbed his rum to take a swig in approval of himself.

“Ah, so it be a fact then? Ye’ve never been curious about stories ye’ve ‘eard about other pirates?” Jack continued his drinking before placing the bottle down and smiling. It wasn’t like he expected her to throw up her hands and say ’You’ve got me figured out’.

“You know it’s true and I know it’s true. A ‘xcept that being more mad then me. That would mean that I’m mad in the first place and I’m not mad, I’m eccentric.” Jack scowled at Ana’s scoffing next to him. “Well, I’m not. And you, Jade are one and the same as the infamous ‘Anne Black’.”

Jade stood up as if to leave, then suddenly reached across the table. Jack covered his face with his arms, expecting a slap and was confused when none came. Jade began to walk away and Jack uncovered his eyes in time to notice that she had taken his bottle of rum off of the table and was now departing for her cot with it. “That’s me rum!”

Turning around slowly, Jade smiled and replied “Why captain, you just bought rum in Tortuga. You can get another bottle. Just think, you’ll have a full one instead of this half empty one.” Jack was pleased with the thought at first until he realized what had happened.

“But if ye give me my bottle back, I’ll have one and a half bottles of rum!” Jack tried to get Jade’s attention before she moved below deck.

“Yes, but that would mean that I would have to get a whole other bottle of rum for me self. That would leave ye with a half a bottle less then you have now.” Jack remained silent as the thought settled into his mind. Technically, she was right. There really wasn’t much he could do to argue with her.

“Whelp!” Jack yelled for Will, failing to notice that the boy was sitting within half a *meter of him. “Get me a bottle of rum!”

Rolling his eyes, Will got up from his seat and ventured off to find the captain what he asked for. Now that he was part of the crew, he couldn’t expect Jack to treat him special. Friends or not, there was still a certain order to things that must be maintained. ~I just wish he would stop yelling in my ear. I think he does it just to annoy me. I guess it’s better then that damned parrot. Or not.~

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A/N: The story got over 150 hits and yet no one has reviewed it (around 20 are probably my own doing). I really would like some feed back. I noticed that at least one person rated it though.

Plans for next chapter:
-What happened after Jack fell over the wall back in Port Royal.
-About Anne Black and her relationship to Jade.

Not in that particular order though.