Eight years later…
I awoke in my bed, as my twenty two year old self, and slowly pushed myself upright. I saw Elizabeth already awake, sitting at our vanity table, the medallion from my dreams in her hands.
"You dreamed of that day too." I said softly, rather than questioned. The only times we had ever taken the medallion out of the secret compartment in our vanity was when we wanted to look at it, and fantasize what it would be like to be as free as a pirate. Instead we were bound by the expectations of our father and society. We had to dress in the right way, look the right way and carry ourselves in public the right way.
"Yes," She said, standing and moving towards the mirror that hung on one of the walls in our shared bedroom. There were many other rooms in the house, but neither of us ever had the heart to leave the comfort of our childhood room. "Is it all right if I wear it for today?"
"By all means, baby sister, after all you spotted him first." I said, rising to help her with the clasp on the chain. It was old and delicate, and needed a little bit of manipulating before it could be done up.
The necklace had barely settled against Elizabeth's chest when a knock came at the door. We both turned to face the rapping, then exchanged worried looks.
"Elizabeth! Isabel!" Our father's voice called from the other side of the door.
Elizabeth knocked the stool to our vanity table as we both rushed to grab our dressing gowns to cover the thin nightgowns we were wearing, and I winced as our father picked up on the sound.
"Are you all right?" He questioned, as I hastily manoeuvred the dressing gown to sit properly on my frame, and made sure Elizabeth had hidden the medallion. I looked over at her, my eyes widening as she pulled it over her head and tossed it to me in a panic. I quickly unclasped it and clasped it around my neck, hiding the medallion between my cleavage. "Are you decent?"
Feeling a little flustered and full of nervous energy, I said yes, and watched as our father traipsed into our room, eyeing us with slight disapproval. Our maids walked in behind him, two for each of us, and I tried to think of what function we had to attend today.
"Still abed at this hour?" Father questioned, as the maids opened the curtains, forcing Elizabeth and I to blink several times to get used to the sudden light. "It's a beautiful day. I have gifts for you both."
Two of the maids stepped forward with garment boxes in their hands, and waited quietly as Father pulled the lids of the top, revealing two beautiful dresses.
"Father, they're beautiful!" I exclaimed, lifting the dress that I assumed was mine out of the packaging and holding it against my body. It was a deep red, like mulled wine, and I think it suited me well. Then Elizabeth and I exchanged a knowing glance. These gifts came with strings attached.
"May I inquire as to the occasion?" Elizabeth questioned, suspicion clear in her tone and our faces.
"Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his daughters?" He replied, chuckling as we both smiled and headed behind the screen for our maids to help us change.
My maids, Rebecca and Anne, helped me out of my nightgown, draping it across the top of the screen before they helped me into the shift that would go underneath the dress.
"Actually…I had hoped you might wear it for the ceremony today."
"The ceremony?" Elizabeth questioned, as she was stripped of her night clothes too. My maids were just beginning to put the corset around me. I had heard of these types of dresses. I was not looking forward to being unable to breathe properly for the rest of the day.
"Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony." He informed us, and we poked our heads round either end of the changing screen, our eyes narrowed at him.
"I knew it." We said, in synchronization, before we leaned back behind the screen and allowed our maids to continue dressing us.
"Commodore Norrington, as he's about to become," My father rambled, as all the air was forced out of my lungs as Anne pulled the strings on my corset tighter. I gasped quietly at the pain of it all, before I listened to Elizabeth's own pained breathing. "A fine gentleman, don't you think? Elizabeth, he fancies you, you know."
"That is because Isabel…rejected his proposal." Elizabeth managed to say, through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw.
"That doesn't diminish James' good qualities…baby sister. He's still a good man." I said to her. Captain Norrington and I had become quite close over the years, and remained friends even after I rejected his proposal. He felt more like a brother than a romantic interest to me, therefore I couldn't have gone through with it. I went to speak again, but my quiet, controlled gasps burst into a louder, noticeable one as I felt something click sharply in my back.
"Isabel? Elizabeth?" Father questioned, not being able to distinguish who the gasp came from. "How's it coming?"
"It's difficult to say." Elizabeth replied, as her maids tugged and pulled everything into place. My maids had finished with my corset - and I wish the thing had never been invented, it's a torture that is inflicted upon women that shouldn't be tolerated - and were pulling the actual dress over my head.
"I'm told it's the latest fashion in London." Their father informed us, and I tried to control my breathing. I could only manage short, sharp breaths and worked on making them less audible.
"Well, women in London must have learned not to breathe!" I said, a hand on my chest as my maids settled the skirt of the dress around my legs and smoothed it out.
"My Lord, you have a visitor." Our butler, John, announced, though I hadn't heard him walk into the room. John was a very silent man, when it came to moving around the house. It was impossible to know just when he was around.
My father took his leave, and I heard Elizabeth gasp again, so I turned to look at her. They hadn't put the dress on yet, but were almost finished with the corset.
"Maria, could you loosen Elizabeth's corset a little? Only a little. Make it easier for her to breathe." I instructed, and Elizabeth's maid, Maria, nodded, though I knew it was begrudgingly. I felt guilty for even asking, when she was almost finished her job, but I didn't want Elizabeth to faint or hurt herself.
While Elizabeth and her maids finished changing her, Rebecca and Anne pulled me over to the vanity table and worked on pulling my curls into a sophisticated bun, with two tendrils left down to frame my face. They, then, pinned a small black sun hat onto my hair so my fair skin didn't get too badly burned. I stood up, after slipping my feet into my shoes, as Elizabeth came out from behind the screen.
"Oh, Lizzie, you look absolutely beautiful!" I remarked, as I saw her in her dress.
"So do you! Thank you for making Maria loosen the corset. It is a little easier to breathe in now." Elizabeth replied, as she sat down on the stool in front of the vanity table, and frowned as her maids began what she thought was the second greatest torture. They twisted and tucked and pulled Elizabeth's hair into a style similar to mine, and then placed a small cream hat on her hat to match her dress.
Once Elizabeth had her shoes on, she linked arms with me, and we headed downstairs to meet our father and his guest…and to our delighted surprise, it was Will Turner. He spotted us first, and when his eyes lapsed onto Elizabeth, his face became mystified, as though he was a blind man seeing sunlight for the first time.
"Isabel! Elizabeth! You both look absolutely stunning!" Our father said, as we carefully descended the stairs. I was especially careful as my shoes had a higher heel than Elizabeth's and I did not want to fall down the stairs. I definitely did not want to fall in front of Will. He was my only friend, other than Elizabeth. When we were younger, I would sneak out of the house when Elizabeth was busy with her tutors and I had finished my lessons, so I could play in the town with Will. We had so much fun together.
"Will! It's so good to see you!" Elizabeth stated, a smile gracing her face. "We had a dream about you last night."
I gaped at my sister and her lack of propriety, as well as her blunt forwardness. I couldn't believe she would tell Will we had dreamed about him, especially in front of Father. That made it even more inappropriate, I believe.
"About me?" Will questioned, his eyes leaving her face for a moment to settle on mine, curiosity burning in them.
"Elizabeth, is that entirely proper…?" Our father trailed off, embarrassed by Elizabeth's words.
"About the day we met. Remember?" I said, trying to help Elizabeth slightly.
Will's curious look burned out and his eyes drifted back to Lizzie, and I smiled. He could never keep his eyes off of her. It was like she was the sun, and he was just drawn to her.
"How could I forget, Miss Swann?" He said, adding the formality to be proper in front of the Governor of Port Royal. I understood why he behaved so different when we were around father, but Elizabeth didn't. She leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a soft voice to him, like louder speech would frighten the man away.
"Will, how many times must we ask you to call us by our first names?" Elizabeth questioned, with a smile.
"At least once more, Miss Swann. As always." He replied, though it was after a brief hesitation. He didn't want to offend Elizabeth, which, of course, is what he did, but the poor boy didn't mean it.
"There. See? At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going." Father said, taking the case which must hold Norrington's new sword. I wonder who received credit for this sword; Will or Mr Brown, his master, for lack of a better term? Mr Brown was a drunk, and rarely, if ever, made his own swords. Will made everything that man sold.
"Good day, Mr Turner." Elizabeth said, curtly, before quickly following my father out. I saw the crestfallen expression of William's face, and hastily attempted to remove it.
"She'll forgive you, Will. She doesn't understand that she is supposed to behave differently in public than behind closed doors. You'll see, she'll come round." I assured him, before I hurried after my father and Elizabeth, before either could call for me.
Will followed me out, but silently watched as we three climbed into our awaiting carriage and left the grounds of our manor. I caught Elizabeth watching Will as the carriage pulled away, and when father wasn't looking, I gave her a knowing smile that sent her blushing.
Elizabeth and I tried our best to at least pretend that we enjoyed the ceremony, and were pleased for Norrington, but it was all together too boring, too hot and the fact remained that I was struggling to breath a lot more than Elizabeth and was entirely too uncomfortable to really appreciate James' achievement. I spent half my time fanning my face with the black fan that my father had bought to match my hat last year, or squirming. Elizabeth, I knew, pitied me. She was faring a lot better than I, after I had her maids loosen her corset and not my own. In hindsight, it was a silly idea to not have Rebecca and Anne loosen mine as well, but now I must live with my actions.
After the ceremony ended, I was stood talking with some other of the society women, listening to them titter on about my dress and Elizabeth's, the new Commodore, and various unimportant and uninteresting things, but, thankfully, James came to save me. Or I should say, Commodore James Norrington came to my rescue.
"May I have a moment, Miss Swann?" He questioned, still insisting, like Will, on using formalities. I nodded and we moved away from the inquisitive ears, moving to stand near the walls of the fort, overlooking the sea.
I stepped up onto the wall, relishing the warm breeze, though I didn't feel better for it. The truth is I was feeling rather ill now. Breathing was becoming more difficult as time stretched onwards, and I fanned myself with a fury.
"You look lovely, Isabel."
I simply smiled at him, and he continued speaking, as though he hadn't noticed the slight pain with which I had looked at him. He turned slightly away from me, and faced the sea.
"I apologise if I seem forward, but I must speak my mind. This promotion throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved. A marriage to a fine woman." He said, turning his head back to glanced at me.
I stared at him in confusion and he seemed to pick up on it and quickly explained himself.
"I wish to marry Elizabeth, Isabel. I have already asked the Governor's permission and have been granted it, but as the eldest Swann woman, and someone I admire and respect greatly, I thought it only courtesy to ask your permission also."
I nodded, not being able to force words from my lungs. James smiled and looked back out at the ocean, glad to have my approval.
"She has become a fine woman."
"I can't breathe!" I managed to exclaim, though James took my words to mean something else entirely.
"Yes, I'm a bit nervous myself. She is your younger sister, and it is well within your rights to-" James continued, until he was interrupted by a loud splash. He had only just noticed that I had fainted and fallen from the battlements into the ocean below. "Isabel? Isabel!"
I was unconscious, but I could still feel the warm, Jamaican waters surrounding me, despite the internal darkness I was in.
"Will you be saving her, then?" One Captain Jack Sparrow questioned the two navy men, who had followed him onto the Dauntless when he tried to commandeer it. Not that they believed he actually wanted to.
Captain Jack Sparrow was a pirate. Most would say he was a terrible pirate. Especially since he had been mutinied against ten years ago, and had been left stranded on an island by his first mate and crew. He fancied himself a rather good pirate. He pilfered, he looted, he pillaged and ransacked. He stole, swore, fought and drank like any good pirate. He also had an unending, unbreakable, unchangeable love for treasure and the sea.
"I can't swim!" The soldier exclaimed, panicking. A woman had fallen from the fort into the ocean. She was clearly important as he saw the new Commodore attempt to dive in, before he was stopped by his Lieutenant.
Captain Jack stared at the two men, before he removed his hat, slamming it against the fatter man's chest.
"Pride of the King's Navy, you are!" He remarked, sarcastically. He removed his effects and coat and handed them to the soldiers. "Do not lose these."
Then the pirate climbed up onto the railing of the ship and dived into the water, swimming to the rescue of the hopefully beautiful damsel in distress.
A pulse emitted through the water, which struck Jack as odd, but he carried on swimming, until he reached the bottom where the young woman's body had rested.
She was beautiful, he thought, as he lifted her into his arms and kicked to the surface.
He managed to swim a couple of strokes forward, before the weight of her dress pulled them under again. He had no choice, but to rip the dress off her body, no matter how good it looked on her. Once she was free from the excess weight, he kicked and kicked until they broke through the surface of the water, and then he pulled her body back to the marina's deck. He pulled the girl onto his shoulder and climbed back up onto the marina, gently lowering her body to the wooden planks.
"She's not breathing!" One of the soldiers exclaimed, clearly still panicking.
"Move!" Jack ordered, a knife at the ready, which he promptly used to cut through the woman's corset and ripped it off her body, tossing it to the soldier standing beside him. As soon as the pressure was gone, she spluttered into life, coughing up sea water.
"I never would have thought of that." The soldier said.
"Clearly, you've never been to Singapore." Jack replied, before he noticed a familiar looking medallion around the woman's neck. He reached towards it, and lifted it slightly to get a better look, then his eyes flickered away from it to her face, as she looked up at him with nervousness in her eyes. "Where did you get that?"
I couldn't speak. The man who had saved my life had found the medallion. I had completely forgotten I was wearing it, in all honesty. And now it had been seen.
Before I could answer his question, I was interrupted by an all too late rescue party, which included James, Elizabeth and my father.
The sound of a sword being drawn sounded in my ear, and I looked up to see the Commodore's new blade over my face, and pointed at my rescuer.
"On your feet." James ordered and the man did as he was told.
"Isabel!" I heard my sister gasp, as she and my father rushed to me and helped me to my feet.
"Are you all right?" My father questioned, pulling off his coat and wrapping it around my shoulders to keep me warm.
"I'm fine." I replied, watching as my father gave an angry look towards one of the soldiers who was still holding my corset in his hands. He could keep it. The damned thing had almost killed me. He quickly dropped it, and pointed at the unnamed man accusingly.
"Shoot him!" Father ordered, but the man had rescued me. I couldn't allow him to die, so I intervened.
"Father! Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?" I questioned, holding my father's coat closed with one hand, and holding Elizabeth's with the other.
James looked at me, hesitating on whether to listen to my words or not, but he seemed to come round to my side, and sheathed his sword once more, and his men followed suit with their guns. The man gave me a grateful nod, and a smile, and I just looked at him. He certainly wasn't from Port Royal, or any kind of civilised place. His clothing suggested a sailor or merchant, but the mischief in his eyes screamed 'pirate' at me.
"I believe thanks are in order." James said, holding a hand out for the man to shake. I smiled. This was how I imagined this would go. James was a gentleman after all.
The man looked at James' hand, hesitating, before he took it. James gripped it roughly, pulling the sleeve of my rescuer's shirt up and revealing a white 'P' scar above a black cotton cuff on his wrist. My fears - and hopes, but I wouldn't ever voice those - were confirmed. He was a pirate.
"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?" James questioned, still holding on to the man's arm.
"Hang him!" My father ordered, and I was surprised by his words. The man had just saved my life.
"Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons," James instructed, before he lifted the man's sleeve a little further, revealing a sparrow tattoo. It was flying over a sun and the ocean. It was actually quite pretty. Well, I thought so, at least. "Well, well. Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"
James dropped the Sparrow's hand, somewhat disgusted by the man. I had heard of Jack Sparrow. He was mentioned in a couple of the books I had read on pirates. He had all these wild adventures, so much excitement in his life, and I have had virtually none.
"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir." Sparrow requested, being oddly formal for a pirate.
"I don't see your ship…'Captain'." James taunted him.
"I'm in the market, as it were." The pirate replied. He seemed to have an answer for every question thrown at him.
"He said he'd come to commandeer one." One of James' men said, the one standing on the left of Sparrow. I internally winced. Why would he tell them his plans?
"I told you he was telling the truth. These are his, sir." Another soldier remarked, holding Sparrow's effects out towards James. James grabbed Sparrow's pistol and evaluated it quickly. I had started to shiver by now. While the sun was out and the water was warm, the wetness of my clothes was uncomfortable and cold now.
"No additional shot nor powder. A compass that doesn't point north," James tugged on the hilt of Sparrow's sword, only revealing the bottom of the blade, before he turned and smirked at the pirate. "And I half expected it to be made from wood. You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of!"
"But you have heard of me." Sparrow pointed out, and I had to hide my smirk. James didn't look pleased at the pirate having bested him, and grabbed Sparrow by the arm and proceeded to storm off with the man in tow.
"Commodore, I really must protest!" I said, shrugging off my father's coat, and following James, standing in front of him as his Lieutenant Gillette clapped the irons on Sparrow's wrists.
"Carefully, Lieutenant."
"Pirate or not, this man saved my life!" I protested, standing between James and Sparrow.
"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man for a lifetime of wickedness." James replied, seeming determined to make me see things his way. But I couldn't. All I could see was a man who had saved my life and now, because of his poor life choices previous to this instance, he was going to be killed.
"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Sparrow remarked, as Gillette locked the irons tight. I turned to look at Sparrow with an eyebrow raised. I was trying to help him, and it was probably in his best interests to stay quiet.
"Indeed." James snarled at the pirate and I turned back to give my friend a stern look.
Gillette moved away from Sparrow, finally finished with his job and within seconds I felt the cold metal links of the irons around my throat. Sparrow didn't have them tightly wrapped around my neck, only tight enough that I couldn't escape easily. I stayed quiet, after my initial gasp of surprise, though Elizabeth was gasping in fear for my life.
"No! No! Don't shoot!" Father ordered the Commodore's men, holding onto Elizabeth as though he couldn't bear the thought of losing both his daughters.
"Isabel!" Elizabeth cried.
"I knew you'd warm up to me," He whispered in my ear, his hot breath tickling the side of my face. He then turned his face to look at James and spoke louder to address him. "Commodore Norrington, my effects, please. And my hat."
When James hesitated, Sparrow repeated his title louder, and James glared at him, but turned to grab the pirate's belongings.
"Isabel…it is Isabel?"
"Yes."
"Isabel, if you'd be so kind," I hesitated in taking his effects, and I gave James a look. He seemed to understand that I was apologising for my brash behaviour earlier. "Come, dear, we don't have all day."
I grabbed them from James' hands, twisting around in Sparrow's hold so I was facing him. Now he had his pistol aimed at my temple, though I had a feeling he wouldn't shoot me even if I gave him reason to. He may be a pirate, but I felt that very deep underneath that exterior lay a good man. Or at the very least, a man with a skewed sense of right and wrong.
"Now if you'll be very kind," He said, smirking at me and our close proximity. I scowled at him, as I quickly dressed him with his effects, plonking his tri-corn hat on his head, then tightening his belt around his waist with his sword. "Easy with the goods, love."
I simply glared at him, and said nothing. There was nothing to say. I had tried to save him from the gallows, and in turn he used me as a hostage. There really was no honour among pirates. I wondered for a brief, random moment, if pirates even kept to the pirate code. It seemed highly unlikely.
"You're despicable." Elizabeth said, from my father's side. Though when Sparrow retorted to her insult, he was looking at me still. As though I had been the one to say it.
"Sticks and stones, love. I saved her life, she saved mine. We're square," He said, twirling me back around so his body was plastered against my back. I am ashamed to even admit to myself that I, in that adrenaline fuelled moment, had thought that it wasn't so bad with the pirate flush against me. He started to walk us back and I did it slowly so I wouldn't trip. "Gentlemen, my ladies, you will always remember this as the day you almost caught…Captain Jack Sparrow!"
With his name announced, he unwrapped the irons from my neck and shoved me forward into Norrington and my father. James' arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from falling, but didn't let go when I was fully upright. We watched as some of James' men tried to grab at Sparrow as the man flew up into the air, gripping a rope that had been holding up a cannon. The cannon itself fell, crashing through the wooden planks of the dock, causing two of the red coats to topple in after it.
I watched with both amusement and intrigue as Sparrow flew around in a circle on the rope, but then my father spoke and sent my stomach to my feet.
"Now will you shoot him?" He demanded, sandwiching me between him and James, with Elizabeth standing by Gillette for safety.
"Open fire!" James ordered, and his men only too willingly obliged him. As the first shots rang out, I winced and leaned further into James and as though he thought I was frightened for myself, he held me tighter against him.
Sparrow landed on a wooden beam, which unfortunately for James and his men, had a long rope attached to it that stretched across the dock and led to his escape.
"On his heels!" James shouted, turning me into my father's embrace as he let me go to chase after the pirate that was making him and his men look like fools.
"Isabel? Are you alright?" Elizabeth questioned, after all of the Commodore's men had gone, taking the excitement with them.
I nodded, and Father wrapped his coat around me again, and this time I pushed my arms through the sleeves so I didn't have to hold it up.
"Come on. The Commodore will deal with the pirate. Let's get you home." My father said, as he nudged me forward, with him holding my right hand and Elizabeth clasping my left.
I stayed silent as my father led us to our carriage. Today I had met a pirate, who saved and then threatened my life and all I could feel was…excitement. The man was dangerous but I hadn't felt fear even when he was pointing his gun at me. What could that possibly mean?