WE'LL MAKE A PIRATE OUT OF YOU JUST YET.

THE SUN WAS JUST RISING by the time Malaysha located the place where her father was locked up. She moved silently, thankful for the raid. Every man was out searching for Elizabeth, meaning the cells were unguarded.

But Jack wasn't completely alone, she realized, as she stumbled into a conversation with a strange man who was standing outside his cell. He clearly wasn't a guard.

"Where does it make berth?" he was asking.

But he was cut off when Malaysha put her sword to his neck, a cocky smirk on her lips. Slowly, the man turned his head to the side, spotting her. Her arm didn't waver, and though she was a woman, he didn't doubt for a moment that she wouldn't use the blade.

"Can I kill him, Father?" Mal asked with a pretty smile.

"Not yet, Sunfish," Jack said, waving his hand.

With a huff, Mal lowered her blade but still kept a careful eye on the man. He was quite handsome, she hated to admit. In fact, she couldn't recall ever meeting a man so pretty. It put a bad taste in her mouth.

"Now, where does it make berth? Have you
not heard the stories?" Jack asked, lying back comfortably in the cell. "Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found."

"Except by those who already know where it is," Mal said, realizing they were talking about the Black Pearl.

"The ship's real enough," Will said, glancing between the two. "Therefore, its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?"

"Why ask me?" Jack questioned as Mal looked at her fingernails out of boredom.

"Because you're a pirate," he accused.

"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?"

"Never!" he said angrily.

"Really?" Mal asked. "You'd make quite a handsome one."

He blinked at her almost dumbly before shaking his head. "They took Miss Swann."

Malaysha couldn't help but grin, it matching her father's as they both realized what was going on now.

"Oh, so it is that you've found a girl. I see. Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart, you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me," he shrugged.

"I can get you out of here," he offered.

"So can she once the key runs back," Jack said, nodding to his daughter.

"I helped build these cells. These are half pin-barrel hinges. I can get you out before she finds the dog," he said before picking up a bench. He placed it at the bottom of the cell door. "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free."

Jack and Mal eyed him suspiciously. Not many people knew how to just break open prison cells.

"What's your name?" Jack finally asked.

"Will Turner."

Mal's eyes went wide, which wasn't unnoticed by her father. But she also noticed her father recognized the name as well. Now wasn't the time to question each other with Will listening in.

"That will be short for William, I imagine," Jack said, casually while standing up. "Good, strong name. No doubt named for your father, eh?"

"Yes," he confirmed, though Mal didn't care much about his father. She was just studying him more carefully, taking in his tan skin and shortly trimmed facial hair. His sharp jawline and deep brown eyes that she'd seen once before.

"Ah hah. Well, Mr. Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death, my daughter and I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass," Jack said, sticking his hand through the bars for a handshake. "Do we have an accord?"

Will eyed him suspiciously before glancing at Mal. She smiled encouragingly, and he then shook Jack's hand. "Agreed."

"Agreed! Get me out," Jack said excitedly.

Will took a moment to make sure Malaysha was out of the way, which she appreciated. Then he wedged the bench beneath the cell door and put his eight on it. The cell door rose and fell forward, narrowly missing Mal as it crashed to the ground.

"Hurry, someone will have heard that," Will said nervously.

"Not without my effects," Jack said quickly, going to find his things that were set to the side. He strapped on his belt and then checked the pistol to make sure it still had a shot in it.

"Why bother with that? You could have escaped if you killed me, but you weren't willing to use it," Will said, making Mal raise an eyebrow. Clearly, they'd met before, though she wasn't sure how.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Are you advising me that was a mistake?" he asked before leveling the pistol at Will, who looked rather unafraid. "When you've only got one shot, it's  best to wait for the opportune moment. That wasn't it."

After a beat, Mal rolled her eyes and pushed her dad's arm down. "Nor is this," she said. "Now, c'mon. Last I checked, there wasn't much water in these cells. I don't fancy one of my own."

✵︎

Surprisingly, they made it all the way to the beach without being spotted. All three were peeking out from beneath a bridge, near where dozens of fishing boats were resting upside down on the sand. Beyond the busy docks, in the harbor, the Dauntless was waiting.

"We're going to steal a ship?" Will asked in disbelief. "That ship?"

"Commandeer. We're going to commandeer
that ship," Jack corrected while Malaysha pointed to the Interceptor. "Nautical term."

Jack then looked at Will critically. "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going. This girl? How far are you willing to go to save her?"

Malaysha tilted her head, wanting to know as well. There was no hesitation as he said, "I'd die for her."

"Oh, good. No worries, then," Jack said, clearly relieved.

Then began the plan, which Will couldn't believe for a moment. But there he was, crawling beneath one of the fishing boats with Jack as Malaysha, whose name he didn't even know, was holding it up. But he was quite confused when she didn't join them.

"Wait," he whispered, holding it up when she dropped it. He reached for her wrist before she could wander off. "You're not joining us?"

Mal raised an eyebrow and eyed his hand on her wrist until he removed it. "I've got my own way," she told him.

Then, much to Will's horror, she began shimmying out of the trousers she was wearing, leaving her in nothing more than a billowing white shirt that hit her mid-thigh, exposing far too much skin for his comfort.

"What are you—"

"Hold onto these for me, yeah?" she asked while tossing him the pants. Then she ran off to the water, diving in before any soldiers could spot her.

And she was right there waiting when Jack and Will walked the boat into the water to lead them. It took Will a moment to notice her, but he nearly jumped in fright when he saw something slither past his legs.

"Something's down here," he hissed.

Jack rolled his eyes, wishing for once that someone had a normal reaction to mermaids. "That's just Malaysha. Calm down, boy."

Will drew his eyebrows in, the name all too familiar. It'd haunted his dreams since he was a child. Haunted in a good way.

"Malaysha," he whispered, realization washing over him. He looked back down at the water, catching a glimpse of the sun bouncing off a golden tail as she led them in the direction of the Dauntless. "How is that possible?"

"Well, when a mother and father love each other very much — or are drunk enough in a tavern and she hasn't told him of her scaley problem—"

"Not what I meant," Will said, rolling his eyes.

Then his foot came down on a crab trap, funnily enough, getting stuck in it. As he tried to kick it off, Mal swam up. In the dim lighting, he could make out an amused smile. And bubbles rose to the surface as she giggled before freeing his foot.

When they reached the Dauntless, Mal was the only one to stay in the water. But she stuck her head above water to listen, quite amused by Will's first commandeering of a ship.

"Everybody stay calm. We're taking over the ship!" Jack informed them calmly.

"Aye! Avast!"

Malaysha had to duck her mouth below water and laugh loudly, thinking he sounded ridiculous. And clearly, the soldiers were just as amused as they laughed at him, no doubt embarrassing Jack.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men. You'll never make it out of the bay," Gillette told them.

But then Jack pointed his pistol at his nose. "Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"

As the soldiers all left the ship, Malaysha now moved on to her real target. She reached the Interceptor, which was filled with officers that were preparing for a routine launch. Just as she was sneaking onto one of the life boats tied to the side, her tail morphing to legs as soon as she pulled herself up, someone was yelling.

"Commodore!"

It was then that he saw the longboat full of officers coming from the Dauntless.

"Sir, they've taken the Dauntless Commodore! They've taken the ship! Sparrow and Turner, they've taken the Dauntless!" Gillette was yelling while waving his arms.

As the Interceptor chased the Dauntless, Malaysha stayed hiding beneath the tarp that was at the bottom of the boat she was on. She listened as grappling hooks were thrown, drawing the two ships together. Every single soldier stupidly climbed and swung over, leaving the ship empty. And as they were searching the Dauntless, Jack and Will swung over on ropes, completely unseen.

They both cut the ropes to the grappling hooks that were binding the two ships together, causing them to drift apart. When the plank fell between them, Norrington realized what was happening, watching as the fastest ship in the fleet moved further and further away.

"Sailors! Back to the Interceptor! Now!"

Mal poked her head out and smiled when she saw a brave sailor try to swing across on a rope, only to miss horribly, splashing into the water.

Jack waved brightly at Norrington from behind the wheel. "Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way! We'd've had a hard time of it by ourselves!"

Some of the soldiers fired fruitlessly at them, missing each shot. And knowing that her father would've disabled some of the mechanics that would make the Dauntless unsalable, Malaysha smiled.

And once they were far enough away, Jack looked expectantly at Will.

"Get Malaysha," he ordered.

Will looked around in confusion. "Where is she?"

"Down here," she called, already standing up in the boat.

Will rushed to the side and spotted her right away. He leaned over the side of the ship and grabbed her, effortlessly hauling her over the side.

"Look at you," she said, grinning brightly. "We'll make a pirate out of you just yet. Now, where are my trousers?"

Will flushed, evidently empty handed. "On the Dauntless."

Mal scoffed and stormed past him, seeking out the Captain's quarters. Thankfully, there was a spare uniform inside. The pants accompanying it were a bit big, but they fit with a belt. Once she came out, her father was tightening the lines while Will sharpened his sword. He seemed to be in the middle of telling Jack about his life.

"When I was a lad living in England,
my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here... looking for my father," Will told them. He glanced at Mal, vulnerability shining in his eyes. He hadn't found his father, but he'd found her. And it seemed he'd found her again.

"Is that so?" Jack asked, not really caring as he moved down the ship. Will followed.

"My father. Bill Turner?" he asked, earning nothing from Jack, who was playing dumb. "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."

Jack considered his reply before settling on a half-truth. "I knew him. Probably one the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him 'Bootstrap' or 'Bootstrap' Bill."

"Bootstrap?" he questioned as Jack stood behind the wheel. The name was unfamiliar to him.

"Good man, good pirate. Mal is too young to remember him. I swear you look just like him."

"It's not true!" Will said harshly. "He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

Jack, who was clearly losing patience, sighed. "He was a bloody pirate. A scallywag."

Will drew his sword, leveling it at Jack. "My father - was not - a pirate!"

But Jack didn't even turn around, knowing Mal would have Will on his back and dead in seconds before he could even swing the blade. "Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again."

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

Jack finally turned to him. "Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?"

Then Jack turned the wheel hard. The sail boom whipped around, and Mal ducked just in time. But it hit Will in the chest, sweeping him off the ship as he dropped his sword on the deck. Malaysha grinned and picked it up, swinging it playfully — it was quite well-made.

As Will dangled above the water, Jack continued to let Mal play with the weapon. "Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. 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 that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that some day. Now me, for example, I can let you drown—"

Will looked at him in alarm before glancing at Malaysha behind him, who just shook her head playfully, letting him know Jack was all talk.

"But Malaysha and I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by our twosies, savvy?"

Then Jack turned the wheel back so that Will fell back on the deck.

"So, can you sail under the command
of a pirate or can you not?" Jack asked him.

Still on his back, Will looked between Mal and Jack warily. Then his eyes fell on his sword, which Mal threw up in the air before catching it, clearly showing off. Finally, she turned it around and held the handle out to him, an offering of peace.

"Tortuga?" Will questioned.

Jack and Malaysha both grinned in excitement for the port. "Tortuga."

✵︎

That night, Will found himself alone on the deck. Jack was far too concerned with navigating, and Mal was nowhere to be seen. But she could be heard.

Malaysha was floating on her back beside the ship, lazily holding onto a rope so that she wouldn't drift away from the vessel should she fall asleep. She sang softly beneath her breath, the same song she'd hummed to Will that day she saved him from drowning. She supposed he didn't remember her as he'd given no indication. And if he didn't remember her, she wasn't going to remind him.

Her moment of peace was soon interrupted though, as one of the lifeboats was lowered. She tilted her head but didn't bother to move until the boat was sitting in the water. Will had been the one to lower it with the pulley system, and now he was sitting in it.

Mal didn't greet him, she just observed him as he did the same, taking in her legless form.

Will was certain he'd never seen anything or anyone more beautiful, though that was a scary thing to admit to himself. Her tail glittered in the moonlight, the scales looking as if they were made of solid gold. Her darkened skin was glimmering, and her brown curls sat undisturbed on her chest that was covered in a smattering of those same scales, though they looked thinner now. There were various golden rings braided into her hair, making sure she was just as adorned as her tail.

Yes, very beautiful. So beautiful that he couldn't let himself look at her for too long.

"What were you singing?" Will finally asked, leaning on the edge of the boat. He reached his hand down, drawing shapes in the water to distract from the girl before him.

But she made it quite hard as she swam up to the side of the boat and leaned her elbows on the side, propping herself up right beside him.

"My Jolly Sailor Bold," she told him with a soft smile. "Have you heard it?"

He frowned a bit. "I must've at some point. It's familiar."

"You should probably be resting, Will Turner," she said. "Tortuga isn't made for men like you."

"Men like me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's that to mean?"

She smirked and leaned closer, noting that he didn't lean back. "It's for pirates, not for lovesick boys."

"I do not care where this takes me so long as Miss Swann comes home safely," he declared.

Malaysha's smirk turned to a sad smile, wishing she could have someone care about her in that way. "You care about this Elizabeth very much, don't you?" she questioned softly.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. But still, there was a glimmer of confusion in his eyes as he looked away from Mal again. "I think I must love her."

"You think?" she asked flatly. Someone declaring that they 'think' they love someone wasn't very romantic. Elizabeth wouldn't be very impressed. "You don't sound so certain."

"I suppose I'll know for sure at the end of this excursion," he murmured. "Whether she wants me or not."

"Why wouldn't she want you? You seem to be everything a young, upstanding lady would like."

He raised a teasing eyebrow. "And what would you know about being an upstanding lady?"

Malaysha laughed and then splashed water on him, which made him chuckle as he splashed her as well. Each liked the sound of the other's laugh.

"So, tell me about this great sword fight you had with my father," she then requested with a smile.

Will scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "As I said, he cheated, as if breaking into my smith wasn't crime enough."

"Pirate," she reminded him.

"He's quite gifted with a sword, but I'll never tell him to his face. But why weren't you with him? I had heard that another had been there when Miss Swann was held captive by him."

"I escaped via ocean," she explained. "Knew Father would be alright on his own. He always is."

"And are you as handy in a bind as he is?" he asked, wanting to know more about her. "Say you were there for the sword fight. What would you have done?"

Mal practically leered at him as she leaned closer. "I prefer my teeth to a blade," she said, flashing her fangs. His eyes went wide and he leaned back in alarm, making her laugh again. "Relax, Sailor Boy. If I wanted to eat you, I'd have done it by now."

"Do you really? Eat people?" he asked nervously.

"No," she chuckled. "I'm only half mermaid. But I'm perfectly capable of it should I change my mind. Just don't get on my bad side."

"Good to know," he said, still wary of her.

"So, what's it like being a blacksmith's apprentice?" she asked, repaying the favor of showing interest.

"Honestly?" he asked, earning a nod of encouragement from her. "A lot of work for little pay and little praise."

"Hmm, sounds just like pirating," she said teasingly, making him shake his head in amusement.

"You know, you're nothing like I would've expected," he admitted.

"What? A pirate or a mermaid?"

"Both," Will replied honestly. "I thought all pirates were disgusting, filthy pigs."

"I do pride myself on my personal hygiene," she said, twirling some of her hair around her finger.

He spotted a small, pink shell on the end of a short, golden chain that fell on her forehead. Carefully, Will reached for his and tucked the strand of way hair behind her ear, not knowing what came over him.

Twin pairs of brown eyes met under the moonlight for a moment, and Will felt himself being drawn closer, like she was the center of the universe instead of the sun and he was being pulled into her orbit.

It must've been her siren charms. It must've been, he thought.

After a moment, Will cleared his throat and pulled back, looking back at the water. He missed how Mal's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, who didn't understand why she missed his touch on the side of her face.

"So, um, is Tortuga as bad as the horror stories?" Will asked her, wanting to know what he was getting into while also moving the conversation along.

"Worse," Malaysha promised. "I suspect you'll either leave with a scar, a disease, or an enemy for life — all three if you're lucky."