I walked in confidently, my crew trailing behind me, an even mixture of women and men, black and white. We were all equal on my ship.

I didn't recognize anyone. Not surprising, but it would have been nice to have someone to speak with.

The entirety of the ocean's scum had gathered to observe the Fifth Brethren Court. That meant me too, obviously -- Jacqueline Sparrow was a pirate. Once a pirate, always a pirate, something like that. And I was certainly qualified to be here. Anyone that argued would receive a verbal beating worthy of my mother.

I could close my eyes and hear her voice. She had a rather smooth, lovely tone, but when she yelled it turned a tad shrieky.

"Jacqueline --  you filthy, waterlogged, cockroach -- I will not rest until you've been hung with a pink ribbon! Get your stinking ass back here --"

"Eric?" I asked my first mate, blinking away the memory. "Stand with me, will you?"

"Certainly." He nodded, gazing around at the assembly with his large blue eyes. His shoulder-length blond locks were held back with a green bandana. "Do you know anyone?"

"No. Which I why I need my faithful and exceedingly handsome first mate at my side!" I threw an arm around his shoulders and grinned, gesturing at the crowd. "I wouldn't trust these hooligans to empty a chamber pot!"

He raised his eyebrows at my theatrics. I wondered for a fleeting moment why he still found me odd after sailing with me for some five years. "Should you...speak with someone?"

I nodded. "Probably." I paused. "Why not?" Making my way further into the Pirate Hall, I kept an eye for anyone looking remotely friendly.

A man, looking about forty, was sitting in a chair on the right side of the table. He was smiling, his teeth bright against the ebony of his skin. Men of similar color surrounded him.

"Excuse me, Captain?" I stopped in front of him, holding my hand out. "Wonderful to meet you, I am Jacqueline Sparrow."

He sat up and shook. His grip was firm, his palms calloused. A working captain, then. "Kaptaan Mani Abaelard. I assume you are Pirate Lord of the Caribbean?"

I smiled, liking him immediately. Not all pirates were cold and ruthless. "Haan. Did you know Jack?"

"Jack Sparrow? No, but I have heard many stories." His dark eyes gleamed with amusement. "Gentleman Jocard spoke well of him. I am Pirate Lord of the Atlantic Ocean."

Gentleman Jocard. So he is dead, then? Shame...mom wouldn't be too disappointed, I mused. "Congrats on your title. I hope I'm taken seriously..."

He laughed, a deep chuckle. "For what it is worth, mitr, I take you seriously. That woman, behind you, she has been eyeing you for the past few minutes."

I grinned back, getting the jist. I could feel a pair of eyes burning a hole in my skull now that he pointed it out. "I'll just go check that out, then. Bidadee!"

"Goodbye, Jacqueline." He said, waving me off with a small smile.

I turned, to Eric. He fell into step beside me as I weaved my way to make the acquaintance of the woman Mani had spoke of. "There's an ally. He was a good choice of conversational companion, Eric, I commend you."

"I didn't..."

"Just take the credit, o fîlos mou," I spoke in Siren, grinning. "Let's see. She looks Chinese, don't you think?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't--"

"I know, she looks exceptionally friendly! Come along, Eric!" I grabbed his hand, yanking him with me. He made a quiet noise of amusement.

"Allow me to introduce myself." She was already glaring at me with sharp black eyes. A horrific scar ran from her left eye to the corner of her mouth; she wore an eyepatch and her stiff black hair hung over it. "I am Jacqueline Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. Would you permit me to know your name?"

"Ai Fan." She snapped, crossing her arms. Two male pirates, twice her size and armed to the teeth, flanked her.

I refused to be dissuaded. "Pirate Lord of..."

"The Caspian Sea." She looked down her nose. She had a few inches on me, but Eric towered over her by a foot. I had always been small. "Hector Barboussa was my predecessor. He is now dead."

I nodded slowly. "Really? I knew him, briefly." I paused. "Would it be too much for me to ask how he died?"

She didn't say anything, but turned and walked away.

I stared after her, a sinking feeling in my chest. "Hector Barboussa. Dead." I contemplated the thought. "I hope he went down fighting."

Eric squeezed my hand; our fingers remained interlaced. "From what I've heard, I bet he did."

I turned my back on Ai Fan and faced the table again. The pirates seemed to be gathering around it. "Let's go, Eric."

I sat in a chair before someone else could claim it, putting my feet up and ignoring the dirty looks from the man beside me. Oh, shove it, rat face.

"As he who issues summons, I declare this the Fifth Brethren Court!" A young man, looking about my age, probably older, knocked the cannon ball against the table. His stained shirt hung open, exposing his lean chest. Not complaining. He was a looker, if slightly feminine. Frazzled red hair hung down his back, tied with a black ribbon. A frightening grin consumed his features. "To start off, why don't we all introduce ourselves?"

"I do not object, your honor!" I called, tipping the chair back slightly, then letting it fall back into place.

He gave me a glance, as did the entirety of the table. "I am Taylor Sutcliff, Pirate Lord of the Red Sea." His voice was different, rising and falling in pitch. I found myself liking him.

Red Sea? I blinked, realizing the abnormal title. How did he become Lord of the Red Sea?

"Pirate Lord of the Black Sea, Leopoldo the Corsair." He smirked, nodding his head at Taylor. A gold tooth winked from his smile. He seemed a bit arrogant, even with only nine words.

The man next to him spoke in a bored tone, cleaning his nails with a knife. "Captain Wallace, Lord of the Mediterranean." His accent was not one I recognized, which was odd. His dark hair hid his face, although his build was strong.

Ai Fan introduced herself. I snickered about her name, translating it mentally.

"Lord of the Pacific, Elizabeth Meyers." Her English accent was thicker than butter, and very proper. I was painfully reminded of Elizabeth Turner, whom I hadn't seen in years. Her ragged dreadlocks, paired with her many piercings, contrasted with the polished speech. "Pleasure to meet you all."

The next was an older man with one hell of a white beard. "I am Aali Haidar." He said, his voice marred with age. "Pirate Lord of the Indian Ocean."

Mani introduced himself with a smile and a nod of acknowledgement.

"Raul Isabelleth." The man beside me, who had scorned at my ill manners, had a hard voice. He sat straight and stiff as a board. "Adriatic Sea." His Spanish accent was just there.

Finally! My turn!

"Jacqueline Sparrow." I grinned, waving. "Pirate Lord of the Caribbean." I paused for effect. "And the South China Sea."

As expected, the room erupted. Politics.

"How is she two?" Ai was screeching, pointing at me and looking terrifying as her stiff locks whipped around her face. She reminded me of Medusa, a Greek legend who had the power to turn you to stone if you stared her dead in the eyes. "She cannot be two!"

Mani Abaelard was smiling at me from his seat a ways down the table, tipping an invisible hat. I saluted back.

A crack echoed about the room, and we all started, turning toward the head of the table. Taylor Sutcliff, who had been silent, held a smoking pistol.

"That's enough, wouldn't you say, darlings?" He smiled at us, twirling the handgun. The glint in his eyes reminded me of Jack's when we would practice fencing together. Teasing. "Perhaps our friend Jacqueline could explain before we shoot her."

"How kind of you." I said politely. "My father was Lord of the Caribbean, my mother Lord of the South China Sea." I searched my brain for a way I could say this without sounding completely mad. "They entrusted their Pieces of Eight to me the day before their death. How they predicted it I have no bloody idea, but I have the Pieces here." I lifted my mother's locket, and my father's blue bead was strung into my hair. "There's my proof. Now, I believe there are no rules in the Code declaring that one of my titles is illegal, am I correct?"

Raul shifted beside me. "Si, chica."

"Muy bien, señor," I said back. "Now that I have pointed out my Pieces, perhaps you all should do the same?"

There were reluctant nods.

"I'll go first!" Taylor exclaimed. He tugged at the silver hoop in his left ear. "Here we are. Admire me, admire me," He grinned and winked.

I eyed his blood red coat. All in all, he stood out like a zebra in a herd of elephants.

Leopoldo brandished a golden coin. "I won't tell you where I received this," He snickered.

Wallace pulled a knife from his belt, flipping it before sliding it back into its holster.

Ai Fan pressed her lips into a thin line before tearing off her eyepatch. A wooden eyeball swiveled in her nearly destroyed socket, staring blankly. Without a word she tied the strap around her ears, obscuring the monstrosity from view. I had already averted my eyes.

Elizabeth Meyers held up a small golden ring. "My late husband's," She said. "Mistress Ching's second Piece was regretfully destroyed."

Aali Haidar presented a worn out pipe. I cringed, I could not stand the smell of smoke.

A matchbox was Mani Abaelard's Piece of Eight.

Raul Isabelleth waved a handkerchief before shoving it back into his pocket.

"Is that everyone?" I asked, sitting up. "I came here for five minutes of this?"

Ai Fan snapped at me. "You probably only traveled leagues, Sparrow, I traveled halfway across the world."

I narrowed my eyes. "Isn't my fault you're afraid of my cannons, Fan."

She growled indignantly.

"Break it up, ladies, ya both know you're beautiful," Leopoldo the Corsair said with a wink. I curled my lip at him.

Elizabeth Meyers spoke up. "I did have something which I wanted to discuss, but if my fellow captains deem it unimportant we can, of course, ignore the threat hanging over my domain."

"Go on, child," Aadi Haidar said, waving a hand.

Meyers frowned. "Firstly, I am not a child. Secondly..." She hesitated. "My fleet's number has been decreasing slowly but surely over the past year, and drastically so in the previous month."

"Hardly my fault," Leopoldo scoffed. I shot him a glare.

"I don't recall blaming you, Leopoldo." She continued smoothly. "Each ship was discovered in general area of the Ring of Fire, and all of them were utterly destroyed."

"Destroyed how, señorita?" Isabelleth questioned.

"They were either burnt or torn to bits." Meyers answered.

I spoke up. "How does one tear a ship, one of your standard, to bits?"

She met my gaze. "I don't know. But the level of destruction, and the torn wood, was not something that could be dealt by any guns."

I raised an eyebrow. "Dunno...I've seen a few wrecks..."

She shook her head. "Have you seen one which is quite literally a pile of slivers? It's unnatural."

Hm. I ran through my mental encyclopedia of eldritch creatures.

"Have you considered the possibilities of mermaids?" I thought aloud. "Or Sirens?"

Hundreds of shocked eyes were turned on me.

"Well? What became of your crews, Commodore Meyers?" I asked.

She considered me thoughtfully. "I assume they perished. I have lost so many men."

I could sympathize with the feeling of loss.

"There isn't such a thing as mermaids, or Sirens." Wallace said quietly, the blade of his knife glinting.

How about I sing for you, Wallace? I thought venomously.

"I beg to differ," I said instead. "Whether or not you trust any words passed on to me by my father, I believe firmly in mermaids and Sirens. My father and mother visited White Cap Bay."

There was a heavy silence, and Ai Fan snorted. My dislike of her was growing faster than my ego.

"Your father was Jack Sparrow." Isabelleth said slowly to me, as if I was stupid.

I stood angrily, glaring at him. "My father and my mother were wonderful to me and I'm sorry if they weren't to you. I doubt you've met either of them, anyway, they didn't deal with pests like you, sir."

He stood as well, narrowing his eyes. "You..."

"Me," I said fiercely. "Jacqueline. You leave my parents alone --"

"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Sutcliff cut in quickly. Eric shoved me down by my shoulder. Someone did the same to Isabelleth.

"I don't see how we can help." The corsair drawled, studying his nails. "I don't care for your fleet, Meyers, and I don't wish to involve myself."

Elizabeth Meyers growled softly, tensing.

"Oh, shut up, Leo, we all know she's prettier than you." Sutcliff grinned, mimicking his tone from earlier and leaning on the table. Leopoldo sneered.

Haidar opened his mouth again. "Is that all we have to discuss?"

I raised my hand. "Actually, I'd like to hear from Captain Sutcliff how he became Lord of the Red Sea. Last I heard, there was no Lord of the Red Sea."

Everyone blinked, seeming to suddenly realize this. Taylor himself looked a bit pensive.

The red head sighed, straightening. "I'll put it simply, darlings. I knew Adeena Sparrow, and she appointed my predecessor. She was King, you know," He added, at the confusion. "And my predecessor happened to be an arse, who abused the crew and made terrible decisions. As first mate I lead the mutiny, and we saw fit to maroon him like he had many of us." He shrugged. "He tossed me this --" He tapped the metal earring, "-- as he fell overboard. No, I do not see why the late King wanted another Lord, nor do I care."

"That satisfies me," Isabelleth said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Now is that all?" Wallace asked in a sarcastic tone.

There was no answer.

All nine of us soundlessly stood, and we joined our crews. Eric stood at my side as we wove our way back into the crowd, my shipmates following, echoes of laughter and roistering in their wake. The volume in the room grew as the many pirates began discussing what had just occurred.

"That was a waste of my time." I said bitterly. "All I learned from that was to not enter the Ring of Fire, what idiots are currently purging the sea, and that my mother was psychic."

"I wouldn't call it a waste." Eric said, taking my elbow and guiding me away from the crowd, through the maze that was Shipwreck City.

"Well I would," I snapped back, hooking my arm through his as if we were a couple. "I suppose I gained a friend, or two. I took a fancy Mani Abaelard, and I would like to get closer to Sutcliff. They seemed like two men that could benefit me. And Elizabeth Meyers, I liked her."

He fanned away a cloud of tobacco smoke. I smiled gratefully. "What did you think of Ai Fan?" He asked.

"Bitch." I swore with distaste. "I just wanted to know how Jack's dearest enemy died, and she walked away, she sauntered away, Eric!"

"She seemed as if she'd been through a lot."

I rolled my eyes. "I have also been through quite a bit, Eric, love, and I am not a bitch."

"Whatever you say."

"My, aren't you a bleeding ear infection today," I muttered. I didn't miss his smile.

"Captain! Captain!"

Naturally, I turned, Eric dropping my arm. My second mate, Nina Holmes, bounded over to meet me. She had the tendency to bounce when she walked. "Are we staying in port, captain?" Her white hair, unique to her twenty seven years, swished around her pink eyes. Albino was the term, wasn't it?

"Why not, let the crew have a few drinks. We'll set off in a day or so, I'll get back to you."

She smirked, probably thinking of the men and the rum. "Aye aye, captain." Without another word she trotted off. I trusted she'd pass it along; her mouth was bigger than the entirety of the Caribbean.

"Hopefully you'll be responsible..." Eric cautioned me in a soft tone.

I laced our fingers together again, smiling. "I don't drink, you know that."

"You don't need liqueur to become drunk, Jacqueline."

I tugged him along, yearning for my cabin and the collection of books I stored inside of it. "You silly boy, come on."