Chapter One: Can I Have a Dog?!

"Yo, ho, yo, ho

a pirate's life for me

Yo, ho, yo, ho

it's a pirate's life for me

drink up me hearties, yo, ho…"

Two young girls sing softly while looking out to sea from the large royal navy ship they're travelling on. Suddenly a man pops up beside the girls, making them jump, the smaller one with brunette hair holds onto the hand of the bigger girl with dirty blond hair. "Quiet, missy's! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You want to call them down on us?"

"Mr. Gibbs, that will do!" Norrington says sharply.

"They were singing about pirates. Bad luck to be singing about pirates, with us mired in this unnatural fog… mark my words!" Mr Gibbs says gravely.
"Consider them marked." Norrington quips.

"'Aye, Lieutenant." Mr. Gibbs replies, "Bad luck to have women on board, too. Even miniature ones." He remarks as he walks away.
"Pirates?" Elizabeth, the older of the two girls, asks.

"You really think that song would bring them here? Oh that would be so exciting!" The smaller girl called Korinna exclaims softly as she squeezes her big sisters hand with excitement. Norrington scowls. "I think not!" He barks sharply. "Vile creatures the lot of them! Do not speak so fondly of them Little Swann." He says harshly, Little Swann, as was what people called her, her sister being Miss Swann, so as not to confuse them, jumps and hugs Elizabeth tightly. Elizabeth scowls at Norrington and opens her mouth to shout at him for scaring her baby sister when he interrupts her by carrying on, "I see to it that any man that sails under a pirates flag get what they deserve, a short drop and a sudden stop." Elizabeth and Korinna look at each other confused when they see Mr. Gibbs mimicking being hung. Both girls gasp and Mr. Swann steps in. "I think that's enough Captain, I'm afraid of the effect this subject will have on my daughters."

"Actually we find it quite fascinating." Both Elizabeth and Korinna chime in at the same time, Governor Swann gives them a troubled look.

"Yes, that's what frightens me." Elizabeth feels Korinna leave her side and watches as she tries to look over the side rails at the sea, Elizabeth giggles as her sister pouts and then sits down on the edge with her legs dangling over the edge watching the stormy sea from through the railings. Elizabeth turns back around to look for Gibbs so he could tell her a pirate story, but before she can, "Elizabeth," Korinna exclaims softly, "look!" Elizabeth's eyes look to where her little sister's pointing, an umbrella, in the middle of the sea? Both girls gasp as a fiery ship wreck comes into view. Korinna jumps up and Elizabeth grabs her hand as everyone on the navy ship jumps about shouting.

"Lizzie?" Korinna asks softly as the grownups converse about what could have happened. "You don't think that when we sung that song about pirates, we really called them like that Mr. Gibbs said do you?" She asked her soft eight year old voice full of worry and guilt. Elizabeth shakes her head. "No of course not Kori that's absurd!"

"Pirates!" Gibbs whisper yells, everyone looks at him and he shrugs. "I'm jus' sayin' what every ones thinkin'." Governor Swann comes over and scoops up his youngest daughter whose eyes are watery. "That's ridiculous, there's no proof that pirates did this. Maybe there was an accident." He says as he goes back to the grown-ups holding Korinna as she watches Elizabeth over his shoulder, who seems pre-occupied gazing out to sea. "Lizzie?" she asks softly. The adults turn a little, that's when Elizabeth saw it, a boy floating on some wood in the water. Gasping she shouts. "A boy! There's a boy in the water!" Pointing out at the sea. Norrington climbs onto the side of the boat quickly as do the rest of the sailors and see said boy. "Man over board, haul him in!" As he shouts orders Korinna jumps down from her father's arms and runs to Elizabeth. "Do you think he's ok?" Elizabeth shakes her head,

"I don't know Kori let's see." Once the boy was on deck everyone got back to work and Korinna and Elizabeth wonder over to check on the boy who had wet brown hair. Something gold around his neck caught the sisters eyes. "Lizzie, what's that?" Elizabeth picks the medallion up from the boy's chest.

"He's a pirate!" She whispers, Korinna's blue eyes widen. Elizabeth gasps suddenly as the boy takes in a deep breath and grabs the wrist holding the medallion. Elizabeth quickly tries to compose herself. "What's your name?"

"Will, Will Turner." He gasps out.

"Don't worry Will, I'll watch over you." Elizabeth soothes, 'Will' then promptly fell unconscious causing his hand to fall from Elizabeth's wrist, she quickly pulls the gold from his neck and looks at her little sister urgently. "Say nothing about the necklace, we don't know what they'll do if they find out." Korinna nods vigorously and makes a button up motion on her lips. Elizabeth smiles but it was wiped from her face as Norrington suddenly surprises the girls. "Has he said anything?" Elizabeth turns to the Captain and hides the trinket behind her back. "Only that his names William Turner. He's fallen asleep again." Norrington nods. Governor Swann kneels in front of his daughters. "Elizabeth he's under you care until we reach port. Korinna can help you."
Both girls nod hurriedly as a sailor picks Will up and carries him off, Elizabeth holds up the medallion to the moonlight. Both sisters study the gold when they suddenly see a ship in the distance with black sails, they gasp as their eyes widen.

- - -

Elizabeth's eyes snap open as she wakes up from her dream, well memory. She leans over from her bed and opens her bottom draw, after taking out a fake bottom she picked up the same golden medallion from her dream and gently rubs the thick coat of dust off; after it's clean she latches it around her neck. Suddenly a knock sounds at the door and her fathers' voice comes through. "Elizabeth?" Elizabeth gasps and rushes to grab her dressing gown to cover up the pirate medallion knocking over a chair in the process. Another knock comes this time slightly more urgently. "Elizabeth? Are you alright?" He asks worriedly through the door.

"Come in. Come in!" She half gasps half yells, getting the gown on just as the door opens. "Still at bed at this hour?" Governor Swann asks. Elizabeth smiles slightly in reply as one of the maids that came in with her father opens the curtains wide, blinding her momentarily. "Your sisters not been up long either, took me a while to stir her. You know what Korinna's like in the mornings." Elizabeth couldn't hold in her laugh. Yes her younger sister Korinna was known to be amusingly out of it in the mornings and getting her out of bed is endlessly amusing, shove some food under her nose and she'll practically float out of bed. Try it un-armed then you're in for a rude awakening, most maids come out with black eyes due to Korinna lashing out in a sleepy daze, sleepy daze or no she packs a mean punch for such a petite young woman, though Korinna feels awful about it once she's compus mentus. Needless to say the maids won't go in to wake her up anymore so it's usually up to Elizabeth or sometimes the Governor. Her father's voice snaps her out of her revere. "…have a present for you." Elizabeth smiles happily and snatches the dress out of the box her father opened to her. "Oh it's beautiful." She gasps, and then looks at her father suspiciously. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, can't a father dote upon his daughters." Elizabeth smiles and examines the beautiful creamy dress. Her study of the dress is cut short as a knock interrupts her.

"Elizabeth?" Korinna's soft voice floats through the door. Elizabeth notes she sounds breather than usual and slightly strained.

"Hmm, come in." Korinna opened the door and steps in gracefully. Elizabeth gasps and smiles brightly. "Oh Korinna, you look amazing." Korinna's dress is a beautiful baby blue, her favourite colour, with light pink trim and embroidery, compared to Elizabeth's slender 5'7 frame Korinna has a curvy figure, fairly large bosom that V's into a trim waist and flairs out to rounded hips all packed into short 5'3" of sixteen year old girl. "Why thank you, although I think fathers trying to kill us Lizzie." She says jokingly while fanning herself. Elizabeth steps behind the curtain and the maids start lacing the corset. "What do you-? Uh." She starts but gets cut of as the maids sharply tug and tighten the corset. "Oh, I see." She gasps.

"Oh don't be silly darling, no need to exaggerate, Elizabeth how's it coming?"

"It's difficult to say." She wheezes out.

"I'm told it's the latest fashion in London." Governor Swann comments.
"Well, women in London must have learned not to breathe."

Korinna giggles, "See, I can't breathe, but I'm fashionable at least I'll die in style." she quipped.

Governor Swann scowls at his youngest. "Don't be cheeky young lady its very un-lady like-" Korinna smiles apologetically as a knock comes at the door all the while thinking 'saved by the bell.' "Yes?" Governor Swann asks. The door opens to admit a servant. "There's someone downstairs to see you sir."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Governor Swann excuses himself and leaves the sisters alone with the maids. Elizabeth steps from behind the curtains a second later covering her mouth with her hand as she laughs. "Why do you insist on winding father up Kori." Korinna smiles and admires the dress.

"Oh wow, you look amazing Lizzie. And it's not my fault fathers' sense of humour ran off with the dog."

"We've never had a dog." Elizabeth says. Korinna gives her a look as the maids motion the sisters to sit so they can do their hair, they comply quickly.

"It's an expression although-" Elizabeth cuts her off.

"No! You can't have a dog or horse or cat or anything, so don't even ask again. You can't even take care of yourself, so how do you expect to take care of an animal." Korinna pouts prettily, although she doesn't realize it, that pout has many a suitor bowing at her feet. "Oh fine, I'll leave it… for now." The sisters talk… Ok gossip… quietly while the maids finish up. Once done –Elizabeth's long blonde curly hair is up in a twist with a cream and gold hat that matches her dress and Korinna's long wavy chocolate brown hair is in a simple French plait with a blue, pink and white flower slide above her right ear– they stand as quickly and un-fall-flat on-our-arses-un-gracefully as possible which is quite the feat with the corsets on. "Let's see if father's guest is still here." Korinna exclaims as she shoots out the door almost tripping as the corset restricts her movement. Elizabeth laughs and precedes her energetic younger sister out as Korinna straitens herself up and blushes slightly.