Something Better

Hey there! This is my first POTC fic, so I hope it's enjoyed. This first chapter picks up nearly ten years after the after-credits scene (so basically twenty years after the events of the movie). Any future chapters will take place more or less another 8-10 years after that. So yes, Elizabeth will be old in this story. I've read a lot of conflicting theories on the terms of Will's captaining of the Flying Dutchman. For my purposes, I'm assuming that the deal is more or less permanent, with Will only getting that one day each ten years. I'm also going to tell you right now that Norrington is my favourite character in the movies, so if you don't like him, you probably won't be all that fond of this story. hint hint

Now… onto the story.

Chapter 1: Beginnings

"Mother," an alert little voice chirped from the ship's bunk. "Can I hear a story?" Brown eyes shone in the warm light of the small cabin.

A small sigh escaped the Pirate King's red lips. "Of course," Elizabeth replied. "Which one do you want to hear tonight?" She smiled at her youngest child, treasuring the thought that in just a few weeks Will would finally get to meet his daughter. "Maybe one about Captain Jack Sparrow?" she offered, her voice taking on the passionate tones she reserved for relating the adventures of her youth. "Or about your father when we got married…"

"I want to hear about Norrington!" Her daughter interrupted eagerly, her earnest young face bright with a smile.

A certain fleeting sadness flashed through Elizabeth's eyes, even as she smiled and shook her head. "Always Norrington." She said fondly. "Why do you always want to hear about him, Annalise?"

The young girl frowned for a moment, thinking intently. "Because he's the most romantic." She said after a long moment.

A smile tugged at the corner of Elizabeth's mouth as she remembered the often stiff and awkward manner Norrington had possessed. She didn't think romantic had ever been one of the words she'd have chosen to describe him, though he probably had been a romantic, in his own way. "You don't think your father was romantic?" She asked her daughter with a playful pout.

The young girl shook her head adamantly. "You and daddy got married in the middle of a battle on a pirate ship, by Captain Barbossa. That's not romantic." She crossed her arms resolutely. "Not romantic at all."

Elizabeth smiled. "If you say so." She murmured softly, silently disagreeing with her daughter. She settled herself down onto the corner of her daughter's bunk. She watched Annalise squirm into a sitting position under her heavy blankets.

"And I'll never get to meet him," Annalise continued softly. "I know Captain Jack, and we're meeting daddy soon…" she let the sentence trail off. With the Pirate King for a mother, death wasn't an unknown concept – merely one she preferred to avoid.

Elizabeth didn't meet her daughter's eyes, choosing that moment to instead begin her story. It was well known to Annalise, as all her mother's stories were, but her eyes betrayed her emotions, and when Elizabeth recalled the kiss on the deck of the Flying Dutchman, her daughter gave a slight, fluttering sigh. And when the story concluded with James' collapse onto the deck, mortally wounded, Annalise's eyes were bright with the potential of tears.

At that moment, a warning bell rang and a frantic crewman burst through the door of the cabin. "Captain!" The man cried, desperation in his eyes. "There's a vessel approaching from the starboard. Their guns are out!"

With that, the motherly storyteller disappeared, leaving the well-tested and fierce king of the pirates in her place. "All hands to stations!" She cried in reply, her voice taking on a harsher tone. She turned back to her daughter. "Stay here. If we're boarded, hide. Understand?"

Annalise nodded her head in reply to her mother's clipped sentences. This was a well-known drill to her. Her mother was one of the most respected pirate captains on the seas, but there were still those foolish enough to challenge her on occasion. She waited for her mother to leave the snug cabin, already barking orders to the lucky enough to have joined her crew.

With keen, sharp eyes, Annalise slipped out of the cabin, her white nightdress standing out in the dark hold of the ship. She scrambled up little-used stair and tucked herself between several large crates bound to the deck. From here she could see everything that happened, even if she couldn't be part of it.

"Mother!" She heard her older brother, William, cry, tossing a pistol their mother's way. Being nineteen, he was fully expected to fight as part of the crew. Annalise watched her brother tighten the bandana wrapped around his head, a cutlass between his teeth, a sword and several pistols strapped to his side. To her young mind, she wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Her brother was a gentle soul to her, fond of nature in a way their mother could only shake her head at.

As the opposing side neared, Annalise tucked her self low to the deck. It was dangerous for her to be up here when cannons were firing, but for the past several years she'd secretly refused to remain below while the rest of her family fought for their lives. It didn't seem right to her. The boom of cannon fire and the flashes of exploding gunpowder filled the inky night. Annalise held her breathe as she watched several pirates from the other side attempt to swing across to their ship.

Her mother moved with the deadly grace of a tiger. Those who came up against her, if they lived, spent the rest of their lives in a reverent fear of her. She was the king of pirates, and she lived up to the name. Annalise watched her mother cut down those who threatened her family and her crew. Her brother's swordsmanship was possibly even better than their mother's, but he lacked their mother's catlike grace.

The battle was over soon enough. Her mother walked slowly among those who had surrendered to her crew. They stood with hunched shoulders and fearful eyes, their feet shuffling slightly. "You're free to go." She said finally. "But load whatever cargo you are carrying onto my ship first, and then remember never to cross Captain Turner again!" The men looked up at her with expressions of bewilderment. "Well what are you waiting for?" She snapped. "Get to work!" With a watchful eye, she observed the men from the other crew scurry to follow her orders. A hint of a smile spread across her lips as she watched the dark horizon with satisfaction as the offending ship limped into the distance.

Annalise allowed a small sigh to escape her lips, slinking quickly back down the small stairs to her tiny cabin. She tucked herself into her bed and shuffled the covers until it looked like she'd been tossing and turning. Swiftly blowing out her lantern, she stilled as footsteps sounded outside her door. It creaked open slowly. "You were on deck again, weren't you?" William's warm tone washed over her. A faint smirk danced across his lips in the faint light from outside her room.

"Shhh." She hissed back from under the covers. "Mother will hear you!"

He brother leaned casually against the doorframe. "Do you really want to be part of the fight so badly?" He asked casually, inspecting the doorframe.

"I just don't want to leave you guys alone." She whispered softly. "I don't want to be left alone."

"But that's the Code." Her brother replied equally softly. "Whoever falls behind…"

"The Code is wrong!" Annalise cried, furiously interrupting her brother. She sat bolt upright now. "It's not right and it's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Anna." William said softly. "If it was don't you think our father would be here now?"

Annalise stared at her brother, a few tears running down her cheeks. "I just don't want to be alone." She whispered hoarsely.

Her brother sighed softly, shaking his head as he walked over to her bunk. "No one does." He said softly, sitting on the corner of her bunk and pulling his little sister into his arms. "But we're pirates," he murmured. "And its too dangerous for you to be up on deck when you're still just little and don't know how to fight.

"I don't want to be a pirate." Annalise whispered brokenly, her voice raspy. "I wish I could just have a normal life with a father and tea parties and pretty dresses…" Her brother's laughter interrupted her.

"Oh Anna," he said, still laughing. "You'd be so bored with a normal life. You love the adventure. You know you do." Annalise pouted up at her older brother. Standing, he tousled her brown hair. "Just be careful, alright?" He stood still for a moment. "And I want to start teaching how to use a sword. Mother's been putting it off."

Annalise watched her brother leave the small cabin, quietly shutting the door behind himself. She felt suddenly very small, and a mess of conflicting emotions. Part of her was eager to learn how to use a sword. She could then fight with her family, and be a… a pirate. She chewed her lip in the silent darkness. But part of her was quietly longing for a tamer life. One where she didn't need to know how to use a sword, simply because there was some great hero willing to risk his life for her's, only he'd be so good with a sword he wouldn't really be risking his life.

A single tear ran down the cheek of the young girl as she wrestled with troubling thoughts. Her mother was so sure. So beautiful, despite the tiny lines that were slowly forming around her eyes; so confident, despite the strange life she lived. Could she ever measure up to that? But her mother was also deadly. She was rough and temperamental, impatient, unsympathetic, and anything but ladylike. She blinked softly, unsure of whether she wanted to be like her mother at all.

Well, let me know what you think! The story really begins next chapter...