[ kind of a boring first chapter that didn't take long to write, but she'll meet Will next time ]

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PRIDES OF THE KING'S NAVY, YOU ARE.

MALAYSHA SPARROW HAD A SMILE ON HER FACE. How could she not with how ridiculous her father, the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, looked as he sailed closer and closer to the port?

As soon as the boat had begun sinking, she jumped ship and swam toward Port Royal, where they were heading anyway in search of a better ship. After nabbing some proper pants — because her tail always ripped the ones she was wearing if she jumped in the water — she waited for him at the docks.

Her bare feet were dipped in the water without a care. She'd only transform and sprout her golden tail if her whole body was submerged. She waited patiently as her father got closer and closer, holding his head high as if the crow's nest wasn't the only thing left of his crew-less ship.

Jack nonchalantly stepped directly onto the dock just as the boat, which Malaysha had dubbed the Jolly Mon, sunk.

With a smirk on her face, Mal got to her feet and slipped her boots back on. "You looked stupid getting here," she informed him.

Her father rolled his eyes and shoved her to the edge of the dock as if he was going to push her into the water. She just laughed and followed after him down the dock, strolling past the harbormaster without a care in the world who had a young boy following after him.

"What? Hold up there, you!" the harbormaster called, a frustrated look on his face. "It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock."

Though Malaysha looked more like her dark-skinned mother, she truly proved herself as Jack's daughter as she looked dubiously at the remains of the Jolly Mon, Jack's expression mirroring hers.

The harbormaster ignored their looks though. "And I shall need to know your names," he said while opening his ledger and holding it out to him.

Jack just looked at his daughter, who pulled out a few coins from the sack tied around her belt. She was the one in charge of their money, what with her affinity for it. She tossed three of them on top of the ledger.

"What d'ye say to three shillings and we forget the names?" Jack asked, raising a bushy eyebrow.

The harbormaster thought it over before shutting the ledger. "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith."

As the harbormaster quickly moved off, Jack moved past the desk set up. And Mal smiled when she saw him swipe a small bag full of money. He shook it to make sure it was full and then pocketed it, moving on.

As the pair walked, Jack looked over the bay with a curious look, taking in the far off fleet of ships. He was eyeing a large one tied up below Fort Charles.

"That's the Interceptor," Malaysha whispered. "Word's that it's the fastest ship in the fleet."

"Not for long," Jack smirked. "Ge' a move on, Sunfish."

It was fairly easy to find the docks for the Royal Fleet, and even easier to walk freely around the area. At first a least.

Two marines on sentry duty, who'd been lounging lazily in the shade, were immediately alert when they saw Jack and Mal.

"This dock is off-limits to civilians," one said.

"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately," Jack said, making his daughter smile. He tried to move around them, but they blocked his path.

"I'm so sorry about him," Mal said, stepping up. She had a kind and disarming smile on her face, purposefully charming the men, knowing the effect her half-mermaid side had on men. "What are your names?"

"I, um, I'm Murtogg, m'lady," one said nervously.

"And I'm Mullroy."

"Well, Murtogg, Mullroy, there's some sort of high-toned and fancy to do up at the fort, right? How could it be that two upstanding, handsome gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?" she asked, seeing how their cheeks reddened.

"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to civilians," Murtogg said, puffing his chest up.

"Very brave of you," Mal said, her smile more of a smirk than anything.

"It's a fine goal to be sure. But it seems to me that a ship like that—" he said while gesturing to a larger ship called the Dauntless that was further from the Interceptor. "—makes this one here a bit superfluous, really."

"Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough," Murtogg bragged, "but there's no ship that can match the Interceptor for speed."

"I've heard of one, supposed to be very fast, nigh uncatchable... the Black Pearl."

Mal almost sighed longingly for the ship that was meant to be home. Mullroy was less impressed though as he scoffed. "Well, there's no real ship as can match the Interceptor."

Before Jack or Malaysha could defend the ship, Murtogg was doing it for them. "The Black Pearl is a real ship."

His partner looked at him like he was daft. "No, no it's not."

"Yes, it is. I've seen it."

"You've seen it?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yes."

"You haven't seen it."

"Yes, I have."

Mullroy rolled his eyes. "You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned, and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out?"

Mal bit her lip and looked at her father, not thinking he was that evil. Barbossa, however? Definitely.

"...No," Murtogg said hesitantly.

"No," he said smugly.

"But I have seen a ship with black sails," he insisted.

"Oh, and no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails, therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than the Black Pearl.  Is that what you're saying?"

Jack caught his daughter's eye and silently nodded toward the ship, thinking it was a perfect time to steal it. So, they crept away, unnoticed by the two useless marines.

They climbed aboard, and Jack went straight to the wheel, playfully spinning it while Mal looked around at the mechanism that would raise the anchor.

"Hey!" Mullroy shouted, finally noticing that they were gone. "You!"

Both Jack and Mal looked over in exaggeratedly innocent surprise as the sailors hurried toward the gangplank and boarded the ship. They raised their guns as they approached, and Malaysha put up her hands, meaning no harm. She knew it was better to play along.

"Get away from there!" Mullroy ordered. "You don't have permission to be aboard there, mate!"

"I'm sorry, it's just, it's such a pretty boat – ship," Jack told him. "My daughter really does have a fascination with them."

Malaysha nodded along. "I think being a sailor is one of the most noble positions you could have."

Murtogg wasn't as easily swayed by her charming nature this time. "What's your name?"

"Smith. Or Smithy, if you like," Jack lied.

"What's your business in Port Royal, 'Mr. Smith'?" Mullroy asked, clearly not believing him.

"Yeah, And no lies!" Murtogg shouted.

Mal couldn't help but scoff. All her father did was lie to pathetic strangers.

"Well, then. I confess: It is my  intention to commandeer one of these  ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out!" he admitted, making Malaysha smile.

Murtogg glared at him. "I said, no lies."

"I think he's telling the truth."

"If he were telling the truth he wouldn't have told us."

Jack shrugged casually. "Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't believe the truth even if he told it to you."

Clearly confused, the two shared a look, considering that point. But all too soon, Jack and Mal were ushered off the boat with guns pointed at their backs. But that wasn't the end of it.

Murtogg and Mullroy were so easy to distract, and Jack was sure he'd get the ship eventually. Malaysha was getting a bit bored though as he told some story she'd heard a hundred times about the time he was made chief of a tribe. The two idiots listened attentively like Jack was their best friend.

The sound of a splash broke Mal's lack of concentration. All of them saw as a body disappeared beneath the still water, narrowly missing the jagged, nearby rocks. Mal looked up, realizing she'd fallen all the way from the top of the fort, where people were looking over in horror.

"Will you be saving her, then?" Jack asked the two men, who seemed to be in shock still. No way was Mal going to risk exposing herself as a mermaid — they were being hunted for sport all along the coast.

"I can't swim," Mullroy admitted as Murtogg shook his head — neither could he.

Neither Jack nor Mal was surprised, but Mal was annoyed. What kind of sailor didn't know how to swim?

"Prides of the King's Navy, you are," Jack said sarcastically before pulling off his hat and coat. He handed his pistol, sword, and belt to Malaysha, who held them dutifully.

"Do not lose these, Sunfish," he ordered even though she knew how important they were to him.

Jack then dived heroically into the water, which was quite out of character for him. Mal leaned forward a bit, watching as he disappeared, diving deeper and deeper to save the girl.

"Sunfish?" Mullroy asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Nickname," Malaysha shrugged. Jack had been calling her that since she was a toddler, running around the deck of the Black Pearl. "It's just—"

Malaysha cut herself off as something reverberated out across the sea, originating from the spot Jack and the girl had gone down through. She frowned and leaned down, dropping Jack's hat so that she could stick her hand in the water, seeing if something felt wrong. And it did. It felt charged and disturbed in some way.

"What was that?" Murtogg asked her.

"Something bad," she murmured, standing back at her full height as the wind picked up speed, which was another bad sign.

Soon, Jack broke the surface with an unconscious girl in his arms. He swam toward the dock, clearly struggling with the weight of the fancy gown the woman was wearing. So, he tore it off of her, leaving it in her underdress as the garment floated away.

By the time Murtogg and Mullroy began to help Jack haul the girl out of the water, Mal could hear shouts as more and more soldiers came toward them, arriving from the fort above.

"Not breathing," Mullroy said, panicking a bit. It was Elizabeth Swann, after all.

"Oh, I know why," Malaysha muttered. She grabbed Murtogg's knife from its sheath and knelt over the girl as Jack caught his breath.

She cut the torturous corset down the middle and yanked it away, not caring how improper it was. She'd heard about corsets but never had the displeasure of wearing one herself.

A moment passed before she began to cough up water, choking on her first full breath. Mal helped turn her on her side so she could cough up more water, then the girl leaned weakly against her, thanking her weakly.

Mullroy looked down at them with wide eyes. "I never would have thought of that."

"Clearly, you've never been to Singapore," Jack muttered, glancing at the girl. It was then that he spotted the medallion around Elizabeth's neck. When he grabbed it, Mal noticed it as well and found that she recognized it as the same one she'd found on a boy back in her youth. "Where did you get that?"

Before the girl could answer, the blade of a sword was at Jack's throat. It was a shiny and new ceremonial sword, and on the other end was Commodore James Norrington.

"On your feet," he ordered.

Malaysha knew it looked bad, standing over a half-dressed Elizabeth as the rest her rescuers arrived, including her father.

"Elizabeth! Are you all right?" Governor Swann asked, helping her stand while ripping her away from Mal. He stripped off his jacket and draped it around her for her modesty.

"Yes - yes, I'm fine," she stuttered out.

Governor Swann then noticed the corset Murtogg is holding. Murtogg points at Malaysha, who's looking rather sheepish. So, she instead, pointed to her father, blaming him.

"Shoot him!" Swann ordered.

"Father!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"

After a moment, Norrington looked at Elizabeth before nodding to his men. Jack nodded in thanks to Elizabeth as their weapons were lowered. Then he helped his daughter stand.

Norrington sheathed his sword, and
extended his hand. "I believe thanks are in order."

Glad to be shown some proper respect for once in his life, Jack took his hand gingerly. Only for Norrington to tighten his grip and yank Jack toward him. He tore back his sleeve, revealing the large P branded into his skin that signified him as a pirate.

Malaysha subtly moved her hands behind her back, hiding her own brand.

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we — pirate?" Norrington asked, unimpressed.

In an instant, half a dozen sailors had their guns aimed at him, which made Jack wince.

"Hang him," Swann ordered.

"Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons," he said before noticing a tattoo above the brand that told him who Jack was. "Well, well... Jack Sparrow, isn't
it?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow. If you please,
sir," he specified.

Norrington nodded before sliding his gaze to Mal, who was avoiding eye contact. Now all of Port Royal would know what and who she was.

"And that makes you the famed Malaysha Sparrow. What's a mermaid have business in Port Royal for?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just doing some sight seeing," she said innocently.

"Lock her up," Swann ordered, knowing how dangerous mermaids were.

She huffed as both Mullroy and Murtogg grabbed each of her wrists. She could easily overpower him with her enhanced strength but opted to let them be.

"Well, I don't see your ship, Captain," Norrington said, adding the last bit sarcastically.

Jack just smiled casually. "I'm in the market, as it were."

"He said he'd come to commandeer one," Murtogg tattled.

Mullroy turned to his partner. "I told you he was telling the truth." Then he nodded to the pile of effects on the dock that Mal had dropped. "These are his, sir."

Norrington stored the other things while checking the pistol. "No additional shot nor powder." Jack just shrugged as he moved on to the compass. "A compass that doesn't point north."

Malaysha stifled a snicker when she saw it pointing toward Elizabeth.

Norrington half-drew the sword from the scabbard. "And I half expected it to be made of  wood. You are, without doubt, the worst  Pirate I've ever heard of."

"But you have heard of me," Jack said cockily.

Gillette then returned with the two sets of shackles, and Norrington dragged Jack over to him. Murtogg gently pushed Mal toward him as well.

"Commodore, I really must protest!" Elizabeth exclaimed, looking apologetically at Malaysha.

"Carefully, lieutenant," Norrington said, ignoring her.

Elizabeth stepped forward, the jacket sliding off her. She didn't much care, but her father rushed to fix it back on her shoulders.

"Pirates or not, these two saved my life," she reminded him.

"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness or a beast of go devours the flesh of men," Norrington said as the manacles were closed on Jack's wrists, Malaysha's next.

Mal sneered at Norrington, baring her teeth even though they were blunt when not transformed.

"Though it seems enough to condemn them," Jack muttered.

Norrington smiled smugly. "Indeed."

Now that they were safely chained, Norrington nodded to his men, who stowed their weapons. Jack sighed in relieve.

"Finally," he muttered before moving with lightning-quick speed. In an instant, the manacle chain was wrapped around Elizabeth's throat, putting everyone on high alert. Guns were drawn, but now Elizabeth was a human shield.

"No! No! Don't shoot!" Swann shouted.

"Fine," Norrington said stiffly. "Shoot the girl."

Guns were aimed at Malaysha, who was just smiling. Then she took a single step back off the dock, sinking into the water. In an instant, her tail manifested and she swam off, dodging the bullets that were shot into the water blindly. Breaking the chains around her wrists was effortless for someone like her.

She knew her father would find a way to free himself. Somehow. He always did.

✵︎

Malaysha had been content to swim around the bay, waiting until morning, when she'd try to come up with a scheme to find her father. But then the sound of cannon-fire, dulled by the depths of the sea, reached her ears.

Slowly and warily, she swam toward the noise, realizing very quickly that Port Royal was being raided by pirates. And as her head broke the surface, she took in the familiar ship with wide eyes.

There it sat, the Black Pearl, in all her glory.

But what was it doing here, of all places?

Rather than find out, she sunk back below the water and swam to the other side of the town, not wanting to risk any familiar faces seeing her. And it wasn't until the sounds of cannons and screaming stopped that she dared to go on land.

She stole a pair of trousers off a clothes line and began her trek, exploring Port Royal that was full of looted homes and unconscious and dead bodies. Soldiers were running all around, no one bothering to give her a second look. It wasn't difficult at all to figure out what happened, as it was all anyone was talking about.

Pirates had abducted Elizabeth Swann, and Mal knew it was because of the medallion around her neck. Somehow, the sea had sensed it and called out to the others.

Malaysha didn't know much about the curse that accompanied the gold pieces, but she knew that her father wouldn't give up now that he'd been so close to the Pearl. It didn't matter if this Elizabeth Swann was saved or not.

Captain Jack Sparrow was getting his ship back.