Times of Gallantry

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Meeting in Singapore

The boat rowed forward as two women dressed in brown, shapeless cloaks with a pointed straw hat shielding their faces rowed through the Singapore harbour. One of them had blonde hair that was pulled back away from her face and brown eyes, giving off a fierce and intelligent look. She gave off an air of command and inner fire that was equal to some of the most fierce and bloodthirsty pirates. Elizabeth Swann, once the high-born daughter of the governor of Port Royal, looked towards her companion.

Sitting next to her and rowing in time with Elizabeth was the sister of her fiancé, Will Turner. Arianna had many of the characteristics of her brother, but her hair was lighter in colour than Will's and her eyes were a deep blue, the colour of the sea, unlike her brother's brown ones. She held herself with a quiet confidence and wisdom, grown old before her time by her gift of the Sight.

Arianna, already worried about the venture that they were attempting, glanced at her friend. "The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed," she whispered softly. She had always sung this song to soothe her nerves; her father, Bootstrap Bill Turner, had taught it to her when she was a girl. "And bound her in her bones. The seas be ours and by the powers. Where we will, we'll roam. Yo ho, all together, hoist the colours high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars. Never shall we die."

"Some have died and some are alive," Elizabeth sang, continuing the song with her. Arianna smiled at her friend as she continued to row the boat along, singing the song that had been forbidden to her back in Port Royal. And being the good girl that she was, Arianna hadn't sung it. But things were different now. She was different. Arianna Turner was a pirate.

"Others sail on the sea. With the keys to the cage and the devil to pay, we lay to Fiddler's Green," the girls sang quietly together, rowing further into the harbour while keeping a look out. "The bell has been raised from its watery grave. Hear its sepulchral tone. A call to all, pay heed the squall, turn your sails to home. Yo ho, haul together. Hoist the colours high. Heave ho—"

"Thieve and beggar," an accented voice finished up for them as Arianna climbed on deck after Elizabeth. "Never shall we die." The man that approached was definitely Chinese and a pirate as he looked at them severely. "A dangerous song to be singing, for anyone who are ignorant of its meaning. Particularly two women. Particularly two women alone," he added with a sneer.

"And what makes you think that they're alone?" Hector Barbossa, their captain, approached from behind them. Once, Arianna might have feared him, especially since he was the one who led the pirate attack against Port Royal over a year ago and then kidnapped Elizabeth, believing she was the child of William Turner, her father.

Arianna and her brother Will rushed to rescue her, relying on the aid of Captain Jack Sparrow, who wanted his ship back, which was under Barbossa's property. After Barbossa's death, the trio went back to Port Royal to get married, where Arianna was reunited with her love, Finn Warren.

Although Will and Elizabeth were blissfully happy with the engagement until their wedding day, Arianna's love life proved melancholic, for Finn's father would not have a pirate for a daughter-in-law and refused to let Finn marry her. Arianna was almost thrilled when she was arrested for piracy and assisting in the escape of a known pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. Right before she left with her brother to find Jack and get his help in order to buy their freedom from Lord Beckett, Finn had found her and told her that he would love her forever, but so long as Beckett had control, they would be forced to stay apart.

But with Jack Sparrow, nothing was ever simple. He agreed to trade his compass if they would help him find the key to the Dead Man's Chest, which contained the still-beating heart of Davy Jones. Whoever had the heart could command Jones to do whatever they wanted. Jack had a debt to pay to Jones, which was why he was so desperate to find the chest.

Unfortunately, no one could escape Jones and Jack went down with his ship. The rest of the crew managed to escape, because Elizabeth had chained Jack to the ship, preventing him from leaving. Both she and Arianna knew that the kraken would never have stopped hunting them, were Jack with them. And now Jack Sparrow was dead and it was up to them to rescue him.

The heart of Davy Jones, which Jack had fought so fiercely to find, was now in the hands of Lord Beckett. He was more powerful than ever, with the Flying Dutchmen at the head of his fleet. Arianna was scared to death that something had happened to Finn, because right before they left to go to Singapore, she had the most horrible feeling that something was going to happen to him. His life was split in two directions and his life could end very shortly very quickly.

She prayed that he was still alive. Arianna couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again. If anything else, she needed to see him one last time.

"You protect them?" Tai Huang asked Barbossa as he walked into view. Elizabeth moved forward so fast that Arianna half-thought that she flew. Before Arianna could so much as stop her, Elizabeth had retrieved the knife from her belt and had the blade on his neck.

"And what makes you think that we need protecting?" she wanted to know as the other men pointed their guns towards Elizabeth. Automatically, Arianna yanked out her sword and pointed it warningly towards them.

"You fire on her and you're going to have me to deal with," she said warningly. They looked at each other, then towards Tai Huang, who seemed to be the leader.

"Your master will be expecting us," Barbossa told them calmly, as though women threatening pirates was a common occurrence for him. "And an unexpected death would put a slight pall on our meeting." He gave both girls a warning look and Elizabeth lifted the knife away from Tai Huang and Arianna lowered her sword.

The sound of East India Trading Company men overhead caused all of them to duck out of sight. Arianna glanced upward, wondering if her brother was all right. They hadn't heard from him since he had left to steal the navigational charts from Sao Feng.

Motioning to them, Tai Huang slipped through a tunnel and they all followed him. Arianna glanced overhead, feeling a slightly familiar presence near her as she slipped inside. But she could have sworn that she felt someone watching her as she did so.

"Have you heard anything from Will?" Elizabeth asked Barbossa quietly as they followed Tai Huang through the sanctuary of Singapore pirates.

"I trust young Turner to acquire the charts," Barbossa replied, not breaking his stride as he followed their guide. "And the two of you to remember your place in the presence of Captain Sao Feng." Arianna couldn't help rolling her eyes; remembering her place was not exactly what she had in mind. And Elizabeth never was one for holding her tongue.

"Is he that terrifying?" she wanted to know, glancing sideways towards Barbossa, who smiled forebodingly.

"He's much like myself," he answered. "But absent my merciful nature and sense of fair play."

Arianna sighed. "So in other words, we just keep our mouths shut and let you do the talking," she replied. Barbossa always got annoyed with her whenever she spoke the truth. And she enjoyed getting a rise out of him, considering he'd almost killed her best friend and her brother once before. "Just so he knows that you have command over the Jack's crew and will actually listen to you."

Barbossa's face darkened as he looked towards her. "Do you enjoy trying my patience, Miss Turner?" he asked her.

"Actually, I just enjoy speaking my mind," Arianna answered with a shrug. "Trying your patience is just a bonus." She ignored his look of cold fury as they were navigated to the gate that led to Sao Feng, where they were forced to give up their weapons.

Knowing that they wouldn't be able to get in the room otherwise, Arianna pulled out all the weapons that she had. Her sword, two guns hidden in her cloak, a couple of explosives. Reaching down, she pulled out the daggers hidden on the inside of her boots and placed them on the table.

They glanced her over and nodded, satisfied that she could have no more weapons hidden on her person, but then they glanced at Elizabeth, who still had her coat on, hiding the pistols that were underneath it. "Did you think because she is a woman, we would not suspect her of treachery?" he asked, directing the question towards Barbossa.

The pirate captain didn't falter, however, and he smiled pleasantly at Tai Huang. "Well, when you put it that way," he remarked. Elizabeth was forced to give up every hidden weapon that she had, even removing some of her clothing so that they could be sure.

Finally, they were given admittance into the room, where they were given cautious and menacing looks from the pirates there. Arianna hated the way that some of them leered at her, but put up with it for the time being. She knew perfectly well how to take care of herself and she had Elizabeth right beside her, along with the rest of the crew somewhere. They were right underneath them, she realised, sensing their presence underneath the floorboard.

When they finally walked up to the captain, he turned around, steam rising up from behind him. The two women next to him she assumed were his concubines. He was a tall and dangerous looking man, one of the most notorious pirates that she had ever met.

"Captain Barbossa," Sao Feng said as he looked towards his guests. "Welcome to Singapore." He walked towards them. "I understand that you have a request to make of me."

"More of a proposal to put to you," Barbossa answered. "I have a venture and I find myself in need of a ship and a crew." Sao Feng nodded slightly as he walked away from him.

"Hmm," he mused, glancing towards them carefully. Arianna had a sense of foreboding and it didn't have anything to do with the mission that they were trying to accomplish. There was something—or someone—nearby. "This is an odd coincidence."

"Because you happen to have a ship and a crew that you don't need?" Elizabeth asked, ignoring the look that Barbossa shot her that clearly told her to stay quiet.

Sao Feng chuckled and shook his head. "No," he told her. "Because earlier this day, not far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple and tried to make off with these." He picked up a set of ancients charts from one of his men. "The navigational charts. The route to the Farthest Gate." He tossed them back to his man. "Wouldn't it be amazing if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one?"

"It would strain credulity at that," Barbossa said, keeping his calm. Arianna had to admit that he was good at staying calm when it was clear that he had found them out. But now she was worried about what had happened to Will.

She didn't have to wonder for long. Sao Feng nodded towards some pirates, who lifted someone held prisoner under the baths. Arianna's blood turned cold in her veins as she stared at the prisoner.

"Will," she murmured, staring in shock at her captured twin brother.