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She's a Pirate
Based on Pirates of The Caribbean

Chapter 1- Blood of a Pirate

Note- This takes place over 10 years before potc, even before what we see in Elizabeth's dream.


A little girl no older than seven stood on the dock of a small Caribbean island. She watched the grey perilous ocean and its enormous waves that splashed up on the beach at the end of the dock. The girl shivered as the frigid wind picked up, making her thick dark brown hair fly around wildly. She turned around and walked toward the beach her shoes clunking on the wood. At the edge of the beach she came to an opening, a valley in between two vast lush canyon walls. At the top of them mist hung, slowly drifting to the west.
In that valley was the town she lived just outside of. She paced through the cobblestone streets passing many stands and booths, everyone nagging her to buy something from them, just as every other day. But her family did not have enough money, not even for food. The ally was extremely busy as it always was and the girl pushed and shoved her way through the crowd. She came to a fruit stand and an old man came from behind a curtain, “Well hello Akria (Uh-key-err-uh) how are ye doing on this gloomy afternoon,” The old timer requested.
“I’m fine Lorn,” The girl replied.
Lorn was one of the few people that Akria trusted. “How about ye come back into me tent to get warm before ye start to head back home,” Lorn insisted rubbing his snarled beard.
“I would love to, but I really should be getting home to me mother, she’s probably worried sick,” Akria informed.
“Are ye sure ye don’t have enough time to listen to just one of me interesting tales?” Lorn said hobbling his way behind the silky red curtain.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt if you told me one story,” She mentioned following the man into the tent.
He sat down on an old rickety chair and Akria plopped down on a mound of an entwined rope pile in the corner of the cluttered tent. It looked as though everything anyone ever gave him was in this diminutive space; there was not much room to move around. From the ceiling hung many exotic trinkets that Akria never thought would exist. From the ceiling also hung several lanterns that illuminated the room just enough where you could see. The tent all together was eerie. “Tell me were ye down at the dock again, Akria?” Lorn questioned.
“Aye, the ocean comforts me…even on days like this!” The girl replied.
“Ye know yer mother is not happy with ye going down there by yer self, especial on stormy days,” Lorn reminded to the girl.
“I know, but I love the ocean,” Akria mentioned.
“Enough about your passion for the sea,” The old man said changing the subject, “Would ye like to hear one of me tales?”
“Of course, as always!” Akria leaned forward to listen in.
Lorn drummed his long, boney, fingers on his knee and asked in a whisper, “Ah, yes, ye know of me days as a pirate, right?”
“Aye, ye told me many stories of your younger life, this is how you got all your bizarre trinkets, no?” Akria answered.
Lorn nodded his head indicating that indeed he did get everything in the tent by plundering it, “But have ye heard of the Kraken, a fearsome creature? The beast that the legendary Davy Jones commands”
“Kraken? I never heard of such a thing,” Akria informed.
“Most do not believe in this legend-” Lorn started.
“It’s a legend it’s not real then, just like Davy Jones,” Akria interrupted.
“Ye didn’t let me finish, but I’ll let ye decide. Most do not believe in this legend, but it’s all too real to me. Sailors say it is all too horrible to be nonfiction but in fact it is!” The old man explained.
“Have you ever seen this…gruesome beastie?”
“Aye!” Lorn confirmed.
“Tell me the story Lorn, please!” Akria begged.
“We were sailing along the ocean when we spotted a merchants ship ahead, we were about to attack them and pilfer anything onboard, but something wasn’t right. I kept me eye on the vessel, then something truly unexpected happened. Their ship came to a violent halt and the water around their vessel began to bubble almost as though it was boiling. The crew and I stopped what we were doing and watched their defenseless ship. It was in stories that the Kraken takes it’s prey by holding it in a position where it can’t move. All of us knew what was happening to them but none of us could believe our eyes. Along the side of the ship slithered up slimy, enormous, tentacles that started demolishing their boat, the Kraken had no trouble at all ripping the boards off of it.” He paused trying to remember what happen next.
Akria did not take her eyes off the old man for she was interested in the story. “Ah yes, I could hear screams and yells that echoed over the ocean as men scurried around their deck trying to find away to destroy the unwelcome beast. On ours time seemed to stand still as we stared astonished and stunned all at once,” He informed.
Akria glared at the ground wondering what it would have been like to watch that ship. “That is not all,” Lorn continued, “The tentacles then wrapped around the entire ship and the creature snapped it in two with a mighty crack. It then dragged the ship beneath the surface and there was no evidence it was ever there. The deck was quiet and no one dared to speak. It was an outlandish feeling, we had watched as the ship we were about to attack became no more than a pile of wood at the sea bottom.”
The tent was still as Akria thought of her being on that ship, “…That would be horrible. Even seeing it once in your existence would drive you crazy, just knowing for a fact it was out there!” She whispered.
“Ye would remember for the rest of yer life what it sounded like, a terrible deep roar bellowing in yer ears. And what it smelt like…its breath…” Lorn shuddered, “it’s breath I have heard has the rank smell of a thousand corpses. But the only way ye could remember that, is if ye survived which few have,” Lorn explained.
“How do you get by without remembering the terrible beastie, Lorn? Doesn’t the thought haunt you day after day?” The girl questioned.
“I don’t, I still remember that day and I’ll probably never forget,” He sighed.
There was a long silence then Akria spoke up, “Well, of coarse it’s just a story nothing to be afraid of!” Lorn looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “I really should be going now me mom is worried sick, I would imagine!”
“Here,” Lorn said handing her a basket full of assorted fruits, “Tell her that Lorn wanted to speak with ye!”
“Thank you,” Akria whispered.
“That should get ye by for a week,” He replied.
Akria then started toward the silky red curtain when she noticed a large blue sapphire setting on a table by the entrance. She picked it up and ran her fingers over the smooth surfaces and pointed edges. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at the shining gem. Lorn grinned slightly then limped over to Akria, “Do ye know?” He questioned.
“Know what?” She asked back.
“Would ye be willing to steal that from an old man like myself…Be honest?”
“… From an old man, Aye! From you, never!” Akria admitted.
“Do ye know yer a pirate?” He asked this time finishing his comment.
“What! No I’m not a pirate!” She protested.
“Ah, but ye are, ye have pirate blood in ye girl,” Lorn informed.
“Me mother is not a pirate!” Akria snapped.
“But yer father is!” He revealed.
“What, no, he’s a part of the Royal Navy!” She stuttered.
“Oh, yes of course, silly me?” he said hastily.
Akria sighed, “Lorn?”
“That is not your father, I thought ye knew. That is most likely why ye don’t get along with him. Yer real father is indeed a pirate,” He whispered.
Akria paused she had no idea who her father really was then, was Lorn lying of telling the truth, after all he was a buckneer. But then again that would explain why he knew her father. “I’ve already said too much,” He whispered.
“I want to know more!” She demanded.
“If I tell ye more yer mother will skin me, I suggest ye seek more information from her… and don’t mention anything about me!” Lorn suggested as he walked the girl outside.
It was now raining but the villagers didn’t seem to care, they just continued with their shopping. “Look over there,” Lorn said pointing to a booth, “Don’t ye think that is some fine jewelry?”
She saw where he was pointing. It was a stand with a tan canopy over top of it to protect the items from getting wet. The table seemed to be overwhelmed with all the gold, silver, and gems. “If ye were a pirate ye would pilfer some of that jewelry,” He said, nodding his head toward a line of rings at the edge of the stand.
“But I’m not, I’m not a pirate, I’ve never plundered anything in me life why should I start now?” The girl protested.
Lorn grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the tent his green robe flaring with the catch of the wind. “Let go of me!” She screamed alarmed.
He pulled up her sleeve and revealed a “P” burn on her right forearm, “That girl, that is yer proof!”
“What does that have to do with anything? I’ve had that scar as long as I can remember!” Akria said refusing to listen.
He then revealed his own “P” burn on his forearm, “Yer like me, yer a bloody pirate!”
Akria glanced at her arm where the burn was, above that was a tattoo she had as long as she could remember as well. The tattoo had a sparrow in flight, and the ocean with the setting sun in the background. “What is the tattoo for?” Akria requested.
“That should be left unknown,” Lorn mentioned calming down, “Ye should be on yer way now.”
“But first, I have a ring to plunder! If I am a pirate I have to live up to my brand, no sense having this scar if I’ve never stole anything!” Akria explained finally accepting that she was a pirate after all.
Lorn smiled then stepped outside with the girl. Akria then looked around; this was going to be an easy task, with all the people crammed into the ally like sardines no one would notice a small girl. She snuck through the crowd and disappeared from Lorn’s sight in the sea of humans. Bumping into several men and women made it difficult for Akria to get to the other side of the street. She had no clue to where the stand even was now, everyone around her was five to six feet tall and she was only three, therefore she couldn’t see exactly where she was going. At last, in between people walking by, she could see the stand with the jewelry. Sitting closest to her was a silver ring with a skull on either side of a deep green emerald that was mounted in the center. It sparkled like fresh dewy grass on a sunny morning. She reached for the ring then hesitated, “Should I really be doing this”, she whispered to herself.
Akria glanced at the skulls that seemed to guard the emerald in the middle they reminded her that she was a pirate and that she should plunder that ring, “Just grab it before someone notices,” She murmured, “Just grab it!”
She snatched the ring and held it tight in her fist then walked away, “That was easy and kind of fun too!”
But what Akria didn’t know was that somebody did notice, the owner of the stand, she emerged from the shadows and yelled out, “Stop her, stop her! That girl is a thief!”
Akria spun around in time to see a group of Royal Navy soldiers shoving their way through the crowd and toward her with the woman she stole from close behind. The fun and easy pilfering turned to a hard to pull off crime. Akria started running as fast as she could darting past several people while carrying the basket of fruit in one hand and the ring held tight in the opposite fist. She could hear the soldiers in fast pursuit behind her yelling for to stop, but why would she do that? With every step they seemed to fall a bit behind. She was almost out of town, running through the cobblestone streets, she could see the grassy slope that led to her home. She looked over her shoulder, and just as Akria thought she was going to make it, she tripped. The basket of fruit flew out of her hand and scattered every where. Quickly she tried to pick it up, but once she got to her feet she was surrounded by six rifles with bayonets at the end pointing at her. The owner of the stand caught up, “Arrest that girl!”
“Akria what are you doing, I though your dad taught you better than that! Is it true that you stole from this woman?” one of the Royal Navy soldiers asked.
Akria looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes, “I’m sorry sir, I only plundered this ring to sell, we run low on money when father’s away. It was to buy food. I’m sorry, truly I am!” she whimpered.
The men lowered their weapons unable to resist her eyes. Lorn stepped out of the crowd of people and looked at Akria pitifully, but stood back to give her a chance to get away. “Well how about we just forget all this, once you give the nice lady her ring back,” Another soldier suggested, the others nodded with agreement.
“What! No, no! She stole that ring, surly she will steal again!” The woman yelled angrily. Her eyes were blood shot and her hair was frizzed, Akria could tell she was not happy.
Akria looked at the solider again, “Give the woman her jewelry back and we’ll forget all about this,” He said to Akria he then turned his attention toward the lady, “She doesn’t know right from wrong yet, we have to give her a chance.”
“A chance to what, a chance to steal!” The woman shrieked.
Akria revealed the ring in the palm of her hand. A soldier then mentioned, “See, she’s a good little girl!”
The woman reached for the ring but instead grabbed her arm and violently pulled up her sleeve to expose her scar, “See! See! I told you she’s a thief, a PIRATE!!! She’ll never no the difference between right and wrong!”
Akria closed her fist and wrinkled her nose. The men raised their weapons once more, but Akria refused to be arrested. The stand keeper struggled to get the ring out of Akria’s fist. Distracted on retrieving the ring Akria broke free from the ladies grip and began to sprint away from the woman and six men. When she finally lost sight of them she leaned against a house and panted, sweat poured down her face. Akria closed her eyes thankful she got away, she could hear Lorn’s laughter echoing off the canyon walls then heard him say, “Good job girl, good job!”
From the comment, she received a smile still with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and continued walking until she came to the other side of the grassy slope. She laid down in the tall, wet, grass. Rain plummeted from the sky dotting her face. She then lifted her head to see a small house about twenty meters down from where she was. It was her home, and she was safe, for now.
The girl stepped inside the rather small house and placed the basket by the doorway. She noticed her mother and who she used to think was her father standing in the middle of the room, with their arms wrapped around each other. When Clair, her mom, noticed her she winked, communicating that Akria should try and act happy while he was there. The man was not married to the girl’s mother yet, after all he was often gone.
“Well look whose here!” He smiled.
“Aren’t you excited to see dad again?” Clair then turned her attention to the man, “She’s just a little shy, James.”
She gently placed the ring in her pocket then tried to smile but was incapable of doing so, therefore walked up to him giving the man a slight hug.
“What have you been up-” But James was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
Clair rushed to answer it, her gown flowing with the air’s current. Clair stepped back and let the visitors in; it was the soldiers from earlier. Akria quickly ran to her mother. “Oh, Commander Norrington?” One of them said shocked, “I didn’t know you were going to be here!”
“Good afternoon men, may I ask, why you are here?” James questioned properly.
“Well you see, little Akria has just plundered a ring from one of the markets down the hill!”
“Akria? Well I know she wouldn’t do anything like that, now would she?” He mumbled looking down at her with a stern face, “Please, if I could have some time away from my work.”
“Yes, Commander Norrington,” they then slipped through the door and Akria watched as they continued down the slope.
“Akria?” He motioned her to step forward, then signaled Clair to go to the other room.
“Yes, James,” Akria murmured.
“James? You’ve never called me that before, it’s usually father or dad,” he mentioned, “But that is not why I asked you over here. Did you steal a ring?”
“No, of course not. Why would you think that?” She said calmly.
“You do know the consequences if you did, right? If you continue to steal you will be sent to Port Royal, and have to face the gallows!” He informed, “And please no more visits with Lorn, he’s putting bad examples in your head. No lying either.”
“But I didn’t steal the ring, and Lorn is my best friend.” She confirmed.
“He’s just an old man with horrible stories!” Norrington said.
“They’re not horrible, they’re interesting,” She protested.
“Piracy is an awful thing Akria. Vile and Dissolute creatures the lot of them, I intend that any being that sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what they deserve, a short drop and a sudden stop,” He explained.
Akria winced at the thought of the noose, and then realized he was speaking of her. At this point he walked away toward the room he had told Clair to go off to, and Akria followed half heartedly. She came to her mother’s room and found Clair sitting on her bed knitting, James sat down next to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Upset with the man, Akria plopped herself in between him and her mother, then wrapped her arms a round Clair giving her a big hug. James sighed with a bit on frustration. “Akria, can I please have a moment alone with your mother, I would like to speak with her,” He said glaring at the child.
Clair looked up slightly shocked but switched her glance to Akria who wasn’t moving a muscle, “Akria would you mind,” Clair asked softly.
She scooted on the edge on the bed then left the room closing the door behind her. As she walked away to put the fruit where it belonged but she stopped, went back to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen to what they were speaking of. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with that girl but every time I come home it seems our friendship fades a little more each time,” He explained.
“Nothing is wrong with her. Maybe if you spent more time at home you would bond more and have that father daughter relationship that never seemed to be there,” She whispered, “Akria has never had that true father to look up to, play with, and learn from, just because she’s your daughter doesn’t make you her father, a father is a man who is always a round to comfort his child. A father is a man who is there to play and make his child feel better.”
“You always have great advice, my dear, that is why I want to marry you,” James sighed.
“When do think that day might be?” Clair questioned.
“Soon, I promise,” He confirmed.
Akria turned to fetch the fruit now disgusted with the conversation.
After about another fifteen minutes of talking and catching up, the couple came from the room and found Akria sitting in a wooden rocking chair by the fireplace. She was inspecting a doll that she never really took a liking to; it was a gift from James. “Do you like it?” He questioned.
She looked up and responded in a quiet voice, “Well actually, no, no I don’t.”
“Akria! What has gotten into you, you’ve been acting awful weird since you got home,” Clair said shocked with the girl’s attitude.
“James told me not to lie, so I’m not, I will speak the truth,” Akria explained.
“I’m so sorry James I have no idea what has gotten in to her,” Clair sighed, now looking at her daughter she continued, “And since when have you started calling him James?”
“It’s quite alright, I can tell I’m not welcome here,” he said trying to sound hurt, Akria just rolled her eyes, “I’ll leave now if you want me to Akria, I have to go by tonight anyways, but if I should go now I can.”
“No James, please stay!” Clair begged.
“Alright, I will,” He answered.
They evening continued on into the night, with disgusted looks and glares. After dinner, Norrington gave his goodbyes. Although Akria did not take a liking to James, she always felt pain when he left, just having a father figure in the house, was a bit nice. The man kneeled beside Akria to give her a last hug before he left. At first she was reluctant, but gave in. This was the man she always knew as father. And the words that she hadn’t spoke since she was a small infant escaped her lips, “I’ll miss you dad, please be safe!”
He looked at her a slight bit shock, then smiled, “I will to! I promise, I’ll see you soon!”
James stood up, then walked over to Clair, gave her his goodbyes and then down the hill he went to the docks. Akria stood by her mother the whole time they watched. They shut the door and the girl sat in front of the fire place quietly, as she observed the flames as they danced. “Akria, I think it’s about time for you to head off to bed,” Clair whispered.
Akria agreed and to her bed she went. A few moments later Clair stepped into the room, and kissed her on the cheek as she tucked her in, “I’m proud of you Akria, I was very happy to hear that you are finally taking a liking to your father,” The lady said softly.
“He isn’t my true father though, is he,” Akria whispered have asleep, “My true father is a pirate, right?”
“What? Akria, of coarse James is your father!” She said shocked.
“Your lying to me mom, I know you are, I look nothing like him, and why would a have a “P” burn on my arm and a tattoo?” the small girl questioned.
“I’ll explain it all to you tomorrow, right now you need to get some sleep,” Clair sighed leaving the room, “Goodnight.”