Charley's Curse.

Chapter 5 - A Happy Family Reunion

A HAPPY FAMILY REUNIONS.

I stood there holding Lizzie and glaring at James there was no need for violence and considering uncle Jack had just saved Lizzie, he should be grateful. "Elizabeth! Charlotte! Are you alright?" Dad asked quickly taking his jacket off and draping it over Lizzie's shoulders. Lizzie wasn't having any of it though.

"Yes – yes, I'm fine – Commodore Norrington, do you intend to kill my rescuer?" She asked glaring at James. James looked at uncle Jack, who nodded the best he could with the blade under his chin. James sighed looking at Lizzie and me before sheathing his sword and extends his hand.

"I believe thanks are in order." He said reluctantly, "To you as well Charlotte." He said looking over to me I nodded my head in recognition and we all looked at uncle Jack, who gingerly shakes James' hand but James spots the bloody branding and tears his sleeve up. "Had a brush-up with the East India Company, did you ... pirate?" A collective gasp came from the crowd that had now given I pulled myself away from Lizzie and my father and stood beside uncle Jack and showed my own branding which created another set of gasps. "Keep your guns on them, men. Gillette, fetch some irons." A dozen or some pistol and muskets are now levelled at me and uncle Jack, James noticed something else, something unique to my family, a Sparrow and a Swann respectively. "Well, well ... Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow. If you please." I rolled my eyes.

"Uncle Jack, now is really not the time." He always had an issue when he wasn't called Captain and it was honestly petty. James looked to the bay and I knew what his retort would be.

"I don't see your ship – Captain." Causing the crowd to laugh.

"He said he'd come to commandeer one." A marine piped up.

"So much for staying out of trouble, all you had to do was wait until night fall, honestly." I said chastising him. He didn't say anything but shrugged.

"These are his sir." Another Marine said hurrying forward and presenting uncle Jack's affects. James took the pistol and examined it along with the powder horn.

"Extra shot, but no additional shot." uncle Jack shrugged, to many that would be completely insane but to me and the very small who knew his past, we knew the symbolism of that single shot. James then took the compass, which was as I learnt a gift from my mother when he took to the seas it was ordinarily passed from oldest to oldest but mum gave it to uncle Jack because she didn't want to take to the sea. James spun round and looked confused and then looked at me and back at the compass. "It doesn't bear true." He finally stated shutting the compass, uncle Jack looked at me a smirk on his face, if James kept looking at me and that meant the compass was pointing at me which meant I was the thing he truly desired, I felt blood rush to my face and I quickly looked down to hide my blush. I hear him draw uncle Jacks sword and snarkily say, "I was half-expected it to be made of wood." Causing the crowd to laugh. He turned to us and said in his stern officer voice "Taking stock: you've got a pistol with only one shot, a compass that doesn't point north ... and no ship. You are without the doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of."

"Ah, but you have heard of me." uncle Jack said looking smug, of course he had they had met admittedly we had two mutes back then that probably wasn't the best light either. Still at least we had a ship then. Gillette returned and yanked my arm back causing me to yelp in pain.

"Carefully Lieutenant." James chastised, Lizzie stepped forward causing fathers jacket to fall off her shoulders but she didn't care, the look on her face was fuming.

"Commodore, I must protest. Pirate or not, this man did save my life. And Charley is my sister and while in Port Royal exonerated from her piracy crimes, you know that." I looked up shocked, I looked over to my father who gave a small nod in conformation, the crowd gasped again, honestly that was getting boring now.