Soundtrack : Vanessa Carlton - Ordinary Day
Lyrics fit ;)
The Art Of Pleonasm
Pleonasm - the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea
ΓΈ1
Inchoate
...
Inchoate - just begun, not fully developed
...
Her forehead was bleeding. Of that she was absolutely certain, but she kept running. Her chest throbbed with a pounding pain and her vision was blurred by tears of pain and sorrow. But she kept going. Blundering through the streets littered with bodies and engulfed with the scent of charcoal from the burning buildings. She couldn't find anybody, no uncle or cousins and no Will to help her find them either. She rounded a corner, somehow evading a murderous grip and stumbled into another chaotic scene. Her breathe hitched.
She saw him lying face first and motionless on the ground. Her heart missed a beat. He couldn't be dead. She told herself, tripping over her own feet in her haste to reach him. She'd only spoke to him that afternoon, after the appearance of that damned pirate - Captain Jack Sparrow. She swallowed with some difficultly. Did he have something to do with all this? The ransacking of Port Royal? She cursed him all the way to Will, ducking to avoid flying debris when a bomb exploded in a nearby shop. When the blacksmith remained unresponsive after she'd called his name and shook him she made a snap decision.
Hooking an arm around her shoulder she dragged him off the ground. She staggered under his weight before catching herself and hurried to the nearest shelter - behind several empty crates; stacked ready for disposal. She set him down and pulled the nearest wooden lids to them, hiding them from view. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited. Her fear pulsing adrenaline around her body kept her awake for most of the night until quiet fell and, too exhausted to resist, she fell asleep. The next thing she knew she was being clawed out of a rather bizarre dream, where the sea whispered her name and she stood on the edge of an unrecognisable pier. Her bleary eyes opened to squint at the stressed face of William Turner.
"Thank god you're alright.."
"S'matter?" She asked, stifling a yawn.
"They've taken Elizabeth." The previous nights events came rushing back. She sat up so fast she felt dizzy and her limbs throbbed with a bone deep ache. Suddenly wide awake, she watched him pace in front of her.
"Swan?" Her gaze grew as round as saucers when he nodded and she struggled to process thoughts.
"She could be anywhere by now."
"I know." He snapped, running a hand through his hair. She frowned but didn't pass comment.
"Have you told-." He jerked before she'd even finished her sentence.
"No!" He groaned, shaking his head in self scorn before turning and sprinting through the carnage that had once been a street. Her eyebrows pulled downwards into another frown as her hands rubbed her upper arms. What kind of pirates had the nerve (and ability) to wreck havoc on such a fortress as Port Royal? Surrounded by soldiers and sailors...
She shuddered, remembering the malicious and lustful gazes of the pirates she'd encountered and somehow, through immense luck, escaped. She saw again the dead bodies of her family. The men that stood over their bodies with a twisted glee and laughed when the set the house alight. She stood swiftly. The very same pirates that Elizabeth Swan was now a captive of. Her stomach churned. She had to do something.
It took her a moment to realise she'd already started walking in the direction of the prison cells. With a bitter taste in her mouth, she actually let out a strangled laugh. How could her perfectly ordinary life have been turned completely on it's head? Smiling sourly to herself, she descended the stone stairs. She evaded the guards with little difficulty - they being very obviously preoccupied with various other things. A voice grumbled and she poked her head round the corner to see a man hanging through the bars, attempting to pick the lock with an old bone. He met her gaze and a wan smile broke out on his face. It didn't escape her that he was handsome.
"And who do we have here, then? What's y'name, lass?" She hesitated. He matched Will's description.
"Phillipa. Phillipa Lefevre. Who are you?" She took a tentative step closer but remained at a cautious distance.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Phillipa. The name's Captain-"
"Jack Sparrow." She finished, taking a hurried step forward. "I require your help." Rather than become more serious his grin broadened, she blinked taken aback.
"Lefevre. That's a French name, yes?" She stared as he nodded to himself.
"Yes. My great grandfather was French..."
"Aye. Well, cherie, how can ol' Jack help a bonnie lass such as yourself?" She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by none other than Will barging in. He froze in his tracks when his eyes fell on her.
"Pippa, what are you doing here?" Naturally, he was more than a little shocked to see her standing beside an infamous criminal.
"I could ask you the same thing." She countered, her face reddening. He had no logical retaliation so resigned himself to a jerky nod before sharply turning to the curious, listening pirate.
"You are familiar with that ship the Black Pearl?"
"I've heard of it."
"How much have you heard?" Phillipa asked, taking another step closer so that her fingers rested gingerly on the metallic bars. Jack smiled widely again at her.
"Plenty. You're both interested?"
"Where does it make birth?" Will demanded.
"Planning to turn pirate?"
"No. They've taken... a friend." She corrected, a frown pulling her eyebrows sharply down.
"Miss Swan."
"Ah, so you've found a girl!" He flashed a grin at a fuming Will before turning back to the blonde woman with a mock sorrowful glance. "The only thing is, Pips, I see nothing in it for me."
"Phillipa." She snappishly corrected with a terse scowl, standing abruptly when his hand landed on her shoulder. He didn't look even slightly put off as she withdrew and began to search for a key. She felt his eyes follow her as she disappeared down the stone passage. Once out of sight she paused and let out the breath she'd held in. Bloody pirate. She shook herself, steadying her resolve and began to rummage around.
She'd almost cornered the mongrel she'd spotted carrying a set of keys when she heard a crash. Spinning on her heel she bolted back up to the holding cells and discovered Will had broken the door off.
"So he's agreed to help us?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as they ran out of the prison and onto the street.
"Me." Will corrected. "He's agreed to help me."
"I'm all for her coming along, mate." Jack offered.
"You have to stay here." Will took no notice. Her jaw dropped.
"Why?" She hissed incredulously.
"Because it's too dangerous. Besides you have your uncle and-."
"They're dead Will." She told him, her tone inscrutably flat.
Pause.
Even Jack looked solemn.
"I'm sorry." He murmured eventually. She forced herself to swallow, not trusting herself to speak and fell into close step with the pirate to avoid her friend's probing gaze. She blinked several times to clear the moisture stinging her eyes and pressed forward. Now was not the time, she told herself.
An arm round her waist snapped her out of her lapse in concentration and she was hauled sideways into an alcove. A handful of soldiers marched past them. She let out the breath she'd inhaled sharply and glanced upwards at Jack. She didn't have time to decipher his expression for he was pulling her down the alley again.
"How are we going to get a ship?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder to check they weren't being followed.
"Ah, you'll see cherie." His smirk made her stomach flip.
.|.+.|.
Her dress was soaking wet and clung to her body as she crawled up the side of the ship after Jack. He reached down and pulled her up the rest of the way, his hands warm against her chilled skin. Her sword Will had picked up from the workshop weighed heavily against her hip and reminded her that all the practice she'd helped him with would now work in her own favour.
"Ready, cherie?" Jack shot her that sinful smile again. It was contagious, she felt her lips twitch and nodded weakly. "Follow my lead." He told them both, stepping into view of the crew. "Everybody stay calm, we are taking over this ship!" Will took his role a bit too far.
"Aye avast!"
"I don't think that's quite what he meant, Will." Nonetheless, with a little gun-to-the-forehead threatening from Jack they managed to claim the Dauntless and waited for the 'opportune' moment. They didn't have to wait long. With a bubbling anticipation Phillipa crouched behind a barrel on the decking, Jack's hand on her back ready to swing onto the Interceptor. She heard the footfalls of landing sailors and stood, wrapping her arms around the dark haired man and pressing her frame against his.
Oh, if only she could see his devilish smile.
He looped his free arm around her and swung. She felt a whoosh of air and watched the water pass under her feet. They seemed to hover mid air before he let go of the rope and they landed on the decking. His hand grasped her's tightly and they made for the wheel as Will sliced the ship free.
"Thank you, Commodore." Jack called cheerily to the watching officers, their hands still linked. "We would have had a hard time doing it ourselves!" She couldn't help but grin with him and once they'd left the harbour laughed outloud. Much to his amusement.
"I can't believe we actually pulled that off!" She admitted, fully exhilarated from the entire experience.
"Feels good, don' it?" He grinned, twirling her once before releasing his hold to check the ropes of the ship. "I leave you in charge of the wheel, Miss Lefevre." He called over his shoulder, disappearing down the stairs. She was left grinning at the helm like a fascinated child. It was like she'd been brought into a new world. Her lungs were full of the free air and she felt entirely at peace. Pleasantly satisfied even. Her uncle and cousin were gone, but suddenly it felt... better. There was still pain in her heart but the stabbing had reduced to a tolerable ache.
She took a deep breathe, enjoying the warm sun seeping into her skin and the lull of the ocean beneath her. Calling, calling for her to explore its depths. She exhaled with relief, as if a burden had been wrenched from her chest and left her feeling lighter. She took steps across the helm, captured by the spell of the sea. Drawing her closer until she was staring into it's bottomless depths. The colour was so inviting, she could just reach down and...
Curt voices dragged her out of her reverie. A hand latched onto her shoulder, pulling her away from the edge. She tore her gaze from the sea to the owner. Once again, she couldn't read his expression.
"Not too close, love." He turned away to the wheel before she could say anything. If Will noticed he didn't show it.
"My father was not a pirate." He seethed. It took Phillipa a few moments to realise what was going on. She mentally cursed herself for being so easily distracted and her foolish behaviour. The blacksmith's sword was drawn and pointed at Jack.
"Wha-?" She couldn't even finish her word let alone sentence before he was knocked off his feet and suspended over the water. With a horrified gasp, she instinctively rushed forward but an arm round her torso clamped her against the pirate. She internally cursed herself again.
"Now as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really matter are these. What a man can do, and what a man can't do. Or woman, Phillipa." He added for her benefit. She rolled her eyes and scowled back at him. His eyes twinkled with amusement much to her chagrin. "You can accept your father was a good man and a pirate or you can't. The pirate is in your blood boy so you'll have to square with that someday. I can let you drown -" Phillipa scoffed, squirming in his grip but he simply held tighter. "but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me whatsy, savvy. So.." He swung the wheel again and Will landed heavily on the deck. Jack let go of Phillipa and she moved to his side.
"Can you sail under the command of a pirate? Or can you not?" They had too.
.|.+.|.
Thoughts? Constructive criticism only please. More?