A Raven and a Sparrow

"Help wanted” the crude wooden sign read. Twenty-one year old Annabeth Raven pulled a wisp of her dark brown hair from her face and continued to read the sign. “Water boy needed to crew the Black Pearl; Captain: Jack Sparrow, First Mate: Joshamee Gibbs” Her shining brown eyes searched the Tortuga bay slowly for the ship known as the Black Pearl. She fiddled with her silver locket, which had been in her possession for as long as she could remember. It a cursive letter engraved on it, but she couldn’t make out which letter it was. Inside was a picture of her and someone she supposed to be her mother. The locket was shaped as a half-heart, and she knew that there must be another half. “Hey! You sailor!” she called out suddenly to a sailor loading boxes onto the dock. The man set the boxes down and swung around carelessly to see who had called him. He strolled over to her, a nonchalant expression on his face. In the heat of the day, his large frame over-shadowed her petite one, and his stringy, wet hair hung loosely around his face. Although his tattered red uniform indicated he might have once been part of the British Navy, his eyes were much deeper than that of a soldier’s. He stared at Annabeth for no more than a moment or two, and then asked impatiently, “What do you want?” Annabeth quickly broke free from his forceful stare and stated, “I need to find the Black Pearl.” The man gave Annabeth an inquisitive look and asked, “What business does a young women such as yourself have on the Black Pearl?”
“I’d like to apply to be the water boy, if you must know.” Annabeth retorted. The man pondered this for a bit, then, in a deep voice, asked, “Do you have a name?”
Annabeth put her hands on her hips, growing impatient, but then answered, “Annabeth. Annabeth Raven.”
The man gave her a smart look and said, “James Norrington.”
“So will you be showing me to the Black Pearl or not, Mr. Norrington?” Annabeth returned the look.
He smirked at her, and then replied, “A little ways down the beach from here, a ship with black sails. That’s the Black Pearl.”
“Thanks.” Annabeth responded confidently, and then headed down the beach, hoping to get the job. As she walked, she recollected her childhood. Being orphaned as a baby and thought to be an only child, she had been raised by a generous Port Royal family who had been willing to take her in. Her foster family had been killed in a fire when she was five, and she had been forced to live on her own. That was when she traveled to Tortuga, and it had been her home ever since.
Annabeth was quickly torn from her thoughts when she came upon the Black Pearl. The large ship with torn sails and worn wood was hardly what she had expected. As she looked around for the captain, here eyes fixed on one particular pirate.