Jack's Revenge - Chapter One - Much Ado
He was about to get a headache; he could just feel it.
Of course, it came as no surprise, considering migraines had plagued him for weeks, ever since the first report of sightings of the pirate's fleet.
Come to think of it, it had started just a little before that, when Barbossa's crew had escaped. Someone, probably some of their colleagues who remained unaccounted for had sprung them out of jail the night before their long deserved appointment with the gallows. He just knew those two events were linked. The fact that a fleet of pirates had just appeared merely weeks after the escape couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
And now, that armada of doom was sailing around, unchallenged and unchecked. The Royal Navy was always too late. Whenever it would pop up somewhere, they would race to catch them but to no avail. It was like they knew they were coming. Or rather, it was more like they knew how to avoid them. The fleet kept raiding settlements, ports and boats that were always just out of reach of the Royal Navy.
A knock on the door forced him out of his thoughts and, with a deep breath, he prayed whoever wanted to talk to him was not going to add to his worries. He really wished he could, just for once, get to the end of the day headache-free.
"Enter!" He looked at the new recruit who had entered. He could tell the poor chap was out of breath and scared out of his mind.
"Commodore, I... you really should... the HMS Majestic, it's..."
Sighing, Commodore Norrington strode outside, rubbing his temples. No such luck today, he thought as he headed for the docks.
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Elizabeth was heading for the seamstress to pick up the sheath she had ordered for her new "toy". She smiled, thinking about how Will had threathened to take back the beautifully crafted dagger he had made for her if she kept calling it that. But she knew that although he was doing his best to act like the serious and respectable - and boring, she thought, chuckling - married blacksmith he wanted Port Royal citizens to see, he was proud of her and of how peculiar she was.
He was also more than pleased by the fact she had loved so much what he had intended to be her first year wedding anniversary gift. The only problem was he had started just short of six months after their wedding and hadn't been able to keep himself from giving it to her for more than a couple of months after that. So it was now a eight months wedding anniversary gift...
As she though of it, her hand came to rest on the said gift. Smiling, she thought it might come in handy if they were to go back to Tortuga. She winced as she remembered Will's face last time they had talked about her "little vacation plans"...
"Get that idea out of your pretty head. We are NOT going back to Tortuga. It is way too dangerous. Everytime you convince me to go on one of your little adventures, you find a new way of scaring me to death. Your investigating habbit could get you hurt or killed and I will be left all alone. So no more nosing around for you, Miss Swann!"
"How is it you refer to me as Miss Swann everytime you're angry at me? Are we not married MISTER Turner? Besides, there is no need to get formal with me; you know you want to go as much as I do. You NEED the adventure Will, and don't you dare deny it. I can see you growing restless a little more every day..."
She was almost to the seamstress when she heard some kind of commotion in the direction of the docks. She remembered that the HMS Majestic was supposed to come back a while ago from its trade mission. She knew people were eagerly awaiting its return but... No, something definitely seemed to be wrong. She immediately started running towards the source of the sound.
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It was a good thing that he was always so engrossed in his blacksmithing because, as usual, the streets around his shop had suddenly been overcomed with a loud racket. It was always thus; this part of Port Royal would, from one minute to the next, progress from a calm haven to a buzzing hive and calm down back again as suddenly.
Somehow, that's mostly why he had settled on this location when he had decided to quit Mr. Brown's workshop to open his own; it had inspired him. And now that he did not have to hide anymore behind his former mentor - Will snickered at the mere thought of this wine sponge being anyone's mentor - now, mere months after he had finally decided to leave his former employer, he had enough orders to provide for himself and his wife.
In fact, since the appearance of the mystery pirate fleet, he had way more orders than needed. Truth be told, he had even more than he could manage. And he owed this in part to Commodore Norrington. Will never knew if he had actually went as far as to recommand him to fellow officers, or if he only had answered some questions about the provenance of his sword, but whatever it was, his swords were prized weapons amongst the navy's most respected.
And that made him a happy and proud man - of course, not as happy and proud as Elizabeth made him. But all in all, he was very content with his life now.
Or, at least, he should be.
That's what a little voice inside his mind kept telling him. The only problem was that lately he found himself having episodes of restlessness. And sometimes he was so agitated that nothing seemed to calm him, not even forging or spending time with Elizabeth. When he was younger, he would only have to practice with his swords. But since his first taste of adventure, he found he had no taste for sparring alone as he once did. That's when he had one of his best AND worst idea ever.
He had taught Elizabeth swordplay.
It was a great idea because she loved it and had even shown a lot of talent. But since then, she kept insisting on doing all sorts of things that might warrant her using her newly acquired skill. Knowing there was no way for him to prevent her from getting into trouble, he had decided to provide her with a small knife so she would be able to defend herself.
He smiled with pride as he remembered the way her face had lit up when he had given it to her. Now he had to think of another gift to give her on their anniversary. She had asked for her very own sword - which he had denied her of course - but her mischievous smile had made it clear to him what she thought. She clearly knew he would eventually give in. How could he not? He knew she'd love one and he loved making her happy.
Almost inaudible over the sound of hammer, the noise outside had grown to a full scale clamor. Having uncharacteristically lost his concentration and thinking it was a time as good as any other to get some fresh air, Will considered walking over to the docks to see what was happening.
Suddenly, he cursed out loud and, throwing his tools more than laying them down, Will grabbed his jacket while undoing his apron. In a flash, he was out in the streets, muttering something about women's craving for mischief.
* * * * * * * * * *
So much noise! This was not the way he remembered Port Royal. With a speed and alertness that seemed uncanny for someone that looked perpetually drunk like himself, he barely had time to sidestep a sailor that was about to collide with him. There was definately more action here than since his last two visits! Although, grinning, he had to admit those had been days to be remembered by everyone as the days that...
"Jack Sparrow... How interesting!" a familiar voice said in his ear, as he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
In what seemed like some strange dance move, he whirled around in a wide circle and answered: "Now, now... How many times do I have to say it mate? It's CAP-TAIN, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow... Savvy?"
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So there, you have it a whole chapter. Hope you liked it. As usual, many thanks to Aithne for Beta-ing it, and also for reviewing the prologue. Flash news everyone... Her POTC fic is finished and there is now a SEQUEL!! wooo-hooo! :-D
A big hug to Cierah who reviewed too and has been having a bad time. Hope everything goes better for you dear! For those of you who are LOTR fans, especially if you like the Twins, go read her stories AND REVIEW THEM! ;-p She deserves it! ;-)
And finally, very special thanks to Pirceval and JessieRose for their very nice words. Hope you guys all come back around to read this chapie too!
Thank you!
:-)