a woman taken by the wind (jack sparrow)

one: brother, where art thou?

There was one rule aboard the Damned Duchess. 

Never wake the captain before 8AM. 

There weren't any actual clocks aboard the ship. Just the stars at night and the sun in the morning - and when the stars were in the sky, it could be said with certainty that it was either too late or too early for the captain. That was the only reason that Legs - who had been named ironically, as he had two peg legs - had initially refrained from waking Rhiannon Mercier up. The sky was pitch black, and the ocean too. There was nothing but darkness and uncertainty for miles and miles, a telling sign to the fact she had little certainty of where they were going next. Still, that hadn't stopped William Turner from finding The Duchess. 

"Cap'n!" Legs banged on the door twice. Once to wake her, and once to really wake her. 

It was only a matter of moments before the door had swung open and Legs found himself with a sword in his face. Rhi didn't look too pleased to be awake: her blonde hair was in a tangled braid and her usually-neat shirt hung off of her tiny frame. 

"Legs!" she demanded. "Why the fuck are you waking me up?"

"There's a man here to see you."

She scowled. "A visitor? In the middle of the ocean? What is he, Legs? A mermaid?"

"Technically, he would be a merman - my apologies, miss. Not important," he gulped. "It seemed he had little issue finding us. He insists that he knows you well, miss. That you're family, even."

"Family?" Rhi thinned her eyes at him. "Fine. Keep him on the deck. I'll be two minutes."

It didn't take her long to find her usual ensemble: long black jacket, tight belt, sword and boots. It was simple, but it worked. She could keep three weapons (a sword, knife, and gun, for those who were curious) on her at all times and move with ease. All essential things for a pirate who was perpetually on the run. 

It was raining outside - that only added to Rhi's foul mood. Nothing too stormy, but it was gusty enough for the wind to leave a howl behind as it whistled through the sails. She'd sensed the bad weather earlier and anchored them for the night. It had been a good decision.

Legs was the only other person up on the deck: everyone else was asleep, snoring away in their hammocks. It had been a long few days, jumping from island to island in an attempt to secure their next adventure. Despite Rhi's insistence that she knew their charts, the ship felt a little lost. It had just been...floating. It was very rare that the Duchess was without aim. 

"The Captain is on her way. She said she'll be a few minutes, but-"

"- I need to see my sister. Now." 

Rhiannon froze when she heard William Turner's voice. It had been two years since she'd last seen him - of course, there had been rumours. Whispers of him getting involved with pirates and misadventures. Hell, he'd even dragged Elizabeth Swann away from her comfortable life. She'd been happy to hear of the latter - he'd always been in love the Swann girl, after all. It had been painful to watch as a child. 

"Will!" Rhi called. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

"Rhiannon!" Will's face broke into a grin, despite sounding worried just seconds earlier. He took the girl in his arms, wrapping them tightly around her waist. "My goodness, you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Likewise," she thinned her eyes at him, examining his face. "Now that you're shacked up with pirates, I was half expecting to bump into you in Tortuga."

"No, not quite," he murmured. "I'm not a pirate."

"You sail with pirates..." Rhi trailed off, running a hand over his jagged jacket and rusty sword. "You are a pirate."