⌠Sparrow┘■ she corrected him shaking the hair from her face, as the rope was placed around her neck by the man behind her.
⌠Maxine┘Sparrow■ the man surprisingly started again. ⌠be it known that┘■
⌠No┘Maxine Anne Norrington Sparrow┘■ she sighed. ⌠Honestly, can▓t you people ever get a name right? How do you even know if you are hanging the right person?■ Before she got an answer, the rope was pulled tighter around her neck and she looked over her shoulder glaring at the man. ⌠It was just a question┘■
⌠┘For your willful commission of crimes against the crown┘■ the man continued.
⌠Wait, I missed part of that┘mind starting over?■ Max asked innocently, but the man carried on without a pause this time. Max smirked.
⌠Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these crimes being stated here: piracy, pilfering, depravity, arson┘■
⌠That was accidental!■ Max exclaimed. ⌠Something scared the donkey in the blacksmith shop and it kicked knocking down the candle I had. So really it wasn▓t my fault┘I was just looking for Will┘■ she explained. The man just paused before continuing.
⌠Depredation, brigandage, kidnapping┘■
⌠I▓ve never kidnapped anyone┘my father, he walked willfully onto my ship┘ask him.■
⌠You▓re father is dead, and it wasn▓t him, a woman instead.■
Max thought a while, of course they didn▓t know about her father, but kidnapping┘■oh, yeah┘that girl I took from here to get him to follow me?■ Max smiled, ⌠I let her go┘■
Once again the man paused to hear what she said, ⌠Smuggling, pilfering┘■
⌠You▓ve said that already┘■ Max interrupted again. The man scanned the list over again and glared at her.
⌠So I have┘■ he sighed and continued to read the list. ⌠Looting, sailing under false colors┘■ he paused to look at Max to see if she had anything else to say.
Max smiled, ⌠Thank you┘as you have suspected, I haven▓t sailed under false colors either. Every flag that I have sailed under, has been true. As you know my father had been the Commodore for quiet some time,■ Max went on telling the story. ⌠And he would often have to get a different flag to sail to different places┘and occasionally, I was allowed to go with him, therefore I wasn▓t under false colors┘■ she nodded.
⌠Impersonating a cleric of the Church of England.■
⌠Now, I say! Never have I ever been close to doing that!■ she told him.
⌠Excuse me, striking a cleric of the Church of England,■ he corrected with a smile.
⌠Now that I can understand, but what you have to understand, is that is was no cleric, but Jack Sparrow.■ she nodded, by this point a few of the people below her have been enjoying the conversation between the two. True or not, it didn▓t matter.
⌠No really, I believe you have all heard his records before? He impersonated the cleric, not I. And I knew that it was him, so therefore I didn▓t strike any cleric at all, just a silly pirate pretending to be one.■
⌠So really, if this is all that you have, best go out looking for a few more, seems you have missed many and that your sources are a bit off┘now┘let me go┘■
⌠I can▓t do that. You have been convicted of countless other crimes against the crown and other general lawlessness┘■ ⌠Like what?■
The man looked at his paper again. ⌠Assisting in the commandeering of a ship of the Royal Navy┘■
⌠Honestly I didn▓t know Jack Sparrow was on that ship, I was merely just trying to stay aboard long enough for my father to set sail on it, me along with it.■ she shrugged.
⌠Falsification of documents┘■
⌠Nope, real papers, just not signed correctly I guess┘■ Max smiled.
⌠Fleeing from arrest and assisting in the evading of capture by other pirates as well, associating one▓s self with pirates, and drunkenness┘■
⌠You see┘those I have done, but it was for a good cause┘then I just got hooked on them, I suppose you caught me there┘but what a horrible crime. I can name many of your officers who have associated themselves with pirates before┘■ she nodded. ⌠And the drunkenness┘how do you figure┘it is not wise to drink so much that you are caught off guard.■
⌠In Tortuga, accompanied by your father and Sparrow.■
⌠Oh┘you mean when my father was brought back here by Beckett and kept in a cell? I wasn▓t drunk┘I was on the verge of unconsciousness┘hit over the head with the hilt of a sword, trying to get myself arrested. But I wouldn▓t expect many of you to believe that┘■
⌠Good, because not many will┘if any.■
⌠But it▓s the truth, ask one of my accomplices┘either would do.■
The man did his best to ignore her as he shook the paper and continued. ⌠Withholding information from a Naval officer,■
⌠He was my father and he wouldn▓t have believed me anyway┘unless you are talking about on more recent accounts┘■
⌠Once again, your father is dead┘you killed him.■
⌠What?■ Max asked really shocked this time. ⌠Why would I do such a thing, I really got along with my father, after a while┘and now it▓s hard to be separated from him.■
⌠He▓s dead, killed by your hand. Which brings us to our final major crime, murder and attempted murder.■
Max couldn▓t believe what she was hearing. ⌠Alright┘if I┘which I didn▓t, but┘if I killed my father┘who did I try to kill then?■
⌠It was witnessed that you nearly killed one of our own┘your fathers friend.■
⌠Gillette,■ Max and the officer said together. Max looked down at the trap door beneath her boots. She nearly did kill him, maybe she did deserve to hang after all. ▒No┘that▓s the hormones talking, Max,▓ she told herself.
⌠So you admit to it then?■
▒Say no, you didn▓t try to kill him, you thought that he was Jones┘▓ A voice told her. In her head, she was saying no, but what came out of her mouth was, ⌠Aye.■
⌠You admit to killing your father and attempted to kill Gillette?■
⌠No┘I didn▓t kill my father┘he▓s still alive┘■
⌠You▓re mad┘he died on the Dutchman, you were covered with his blood.■
⌠I know┘he died on the Dutchman┘and he lives on the Dutchman┘and I didn▓t kill him.■ Max replied sadly. ⌠Not really┘■ she admitted. It was her fault that he died, and then it was partly her fault that he is cursed to a life of unhappiness, surrounded by death.
The courtyard was silent for a while, it had all started out as a joke to Max at first, but now, nothing about it was funny. She was sure even at this point, not even Jack could make her smile. He was right, she did try to kill Gillette, and it was her fault that her father was now the captain of a cursed ship.
Something inside her brought her back to the courtyard and she looked up, a few tears ran down her cheeks but she stood tall. Max felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach for a second thought that she was going to be sick. But then, she wandered how she ever forgot about it.
⌠I have but one question┘■ she told the officer who had read her crimes. The man rolled his eyes but let her continue. ⌠I have grounds to believe that I may be a few month pregnant.■ As she said so, she felt strange, and the crowd let out a few gasps and murmurs. ⌠The only question I have is┘will you spare my life just long enough so that this innocent child can walk the earth and sail the seven seas?■
⌠Do you speak the truth?■
⌠If I didn▓t do you think that I▓d still be standing on this door beneath my feet?■
The man studied her for a while before looking towards his commanding officer. A few men stood on a raised platform across from her talking. It was then that she noticed she knew a few of them. All of them knew her father, and in the middle of them, was Gillette.
Gillette gave the man a nod as they all stopped speaking. ⌠Granted, you may live for the life of the child depends on yours.■ Max nodded in thank you, ⌠But, as the child reaches an age where it can live with another, than you shall be right back here.■
⌠I understand, and for the moment, do not argue.■ Max replied as the rope was removed from her neck and her hands cut loose.
Max sat on the side of the platform where hung the noose above her head, swinging her legs off the side as the courtyard was beginning to empty. People slowly made their way towards the gate and to the other side of the wall. As the voices grew fainter, Max heard a pair of boots walking up behind her.
⌠You should have told the truth┘you saved him.■ a voice told her. Max stood up ignoring the man, she walked passes him and down the steps onto the dirt below. ⌠Max┘■
⌠No! I didn▓t save anyone alright!■ she rounded on the man. ⌠It was my fault that he was on the ship and got mixed up with Jones. Then it was my fault that I was too much of a git looking for Jack and┘it should have been me that got killed there! If he┘he just┘jumped┘he died right in front of me. It was my fault!■
Max turned and sat down again, her face wet with tears, ⌠Then they are right, I did almost kill you! I didn▓t even realize┘at the time┘I could have┘■
⌠But you didn▓t because you didn▓t have it in you┘you didn▓t kill anyone!■
⌠No! I didn▓t do it because I wanted to find Jack and doing so would take time by then I could have lost┘■ Max stopped talking for a while. She looked down at her stomach that now pushed out a way when she sat down. ⌠Can you just lead me to my cell?■ she asked Gillette in a small voice.
⌠I managed to convince them to let you stay in your house, where Rozia can watch over you and you would be more comfortable. I▓ll have to escort you there though┘and you▓ll most likely have to stay. If caught doing any lawlessness, you will be put in a cell. Can I trust you to be on your best behavior?■ he tried to make her feel better.
⌠It▓s not wise to trust a pirate┘we might try to kill you┘■ she replied back with a straight face as she walked towards the house she once lived in leaving him there.
⌠Max┘I have to go with you┘if you are seen without an officer, that takes you back to the noose.■
Max snorted, ⌠Yeah┘because I▓ll get away from the entire Navy with no ship of my own or any other means of getting out of here.■
