Authors Note: This chapter was edited and re-posted 06/15/2012.
A Blacksmiths Help
Before Nettie could even blink she found herself sinking into the ocean, and her instincts on what to do started up immediately. Holding in what little air she had left, she swam downward until her ears popped from the pressure and she could figure out where to hide.
Damn. He had forced her to escape without him. Nettie gritted her teeth as she swam forward to hide behind the nearby ship. She was going to kill Jack when she found him again.
Even though her chest started to burn and needed for air was getting more and more desperate, Nettie forced herself not to panic as she glanced around for a place to hide. If it was the only thing she learned from those damnable seven years, it was not to panic. So forcing herself to be calm, she swam towards a nearby ship so she could hide behind it.
Breaking through the surface of the water, Nettie gasped deeply and let her lungs gulped down air. Pushing aside the hair that had fallen in front of her face and glaring at the chains that dangled between her wrists, she glanced around and wondered what happened to Jack. He couldn't have gotten that far, could he?
That question was answered a moment later when the sound of gunshots filled the air, her ears ringing. Frowning, Nettie swam forward and leaned around the front of the ship, trying to see what was going on. Gasping, Nettie groaned softly, "I'm gonna kill him if he stays alive."
Her captain was flying through the air with only a long piece of rope to hold him up, swinging around a large crane white being shot at by Commodore Norrington's soldiers. Thankfully none of them seemed to be hitting him, but then the rope broke and Nettie held back a strangle yell as Jack started to fall.
Not even a moment later Nettie breathed a sigh of relief when Jack landed on a beam by seemingly good luck, staying on it long enough to wrap his chains around another piece of rope and slide down until he leaped to the ground with the ease of a cat before racing off.
He was still at shot for a few more moment before she heard Norrington barked out, "Don't bother. Rally the towns people, go after him!"
"Yes sir!" The soldiers raced off, but one stayed behind, and Nettie saw Gillette stepped forward to his commodore.
"What about the girl? She somewhere in the water," said the man as he glanced around, looking for her with narrowed eyes even though he couldn't see her when she was hidden in the shadow of the ship. Though suddenly Nettie was glad that she was still so close to the docks, with the chance to still be able to hear what they said without being seen.
"We'll worry about her later, Lieutenant. Right now, we focus on Sparrow. He has a dawning appointment with the gallows." Norrington smirked. "I would hate for him to miss it."
Shivering, Nettie shook her head to clear her mind of Jack hanging from a rope necklace, with no ground under his feet to hold him up.
"Elizabeth, are you alright?" the man in the white wig turned to ask Elizabeth as Gillette made his way out. "Did Sparrow hurt you?"
"I'm alright, Father," Elizabeth replied. "Really, I am. I would like to go home and get into some dry clothes though."
"Of course," her father said with a nod. "You must be freezing." He paused and turned to Norrington. "Commodore Norrington, can I count on you to catch the pirate and his partner?"
"Absolutely, Governor Swann," said Norrington with a small bow. "I won't let you down."
As soon as she heard the man's title, Nettie felt herself pale drastically. "Oh, damn it all," she muttered. The idiot! Her idiotic captain had taken the Governor's daughter hostage! This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all! It mean every able solider would be out and about looking for her and Jack. They were both dead unless they found a good place to hide. Or better yet, found a ship to steal and got the hell out of Port Royal.
Waiting until everyone was gone, Nettie started to swim for shore since she knew it was best to get out of the water before she started to freeze. The chains definitely weren't helping though, making each stroke harder then the last, until she was close to gasping for breathe, and was very glad when she reached the shore that was a good distance from town after a half hour of slow swimming.
Stumbling up the beach, Nettie immediately hide behind a pile of old barrels before anyone could spot her. After making sure that no one was around, she sank to the ground with a sigh, pushing aside her heavy hair. She had the tools to pick the locks on her shackles, but they were in her bag that had been taken away from her. That was just her luck, wasn't it?
Shivering, Nettie leaned against the barrels and let hands drop heavily into her lap. The best place to find the tools she need to get out of these chains was a blacksmiths shop. The problem though wasn't finding one, since she was sure that she had passed by one earlier - the problem was that it was still daytime and the soldiers were still out and about, looking for her and Jack. Right now was the worst time fore her to venture out in public.
Glancing up at the sky, Nettie did some mental calculations. It would probably still be another two hours till it was dark enough for her to move without being seen. So her only option was to sit and wait, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. But her instincts told her to stay, and they'd never proven her wrong before. So with another sigh, she resigned herself to wait for the sun to set.
'I just hope Jack got away,' Nettie thought faintly as her eyes fell closed. 'I want him to still be alive when I beat the living tar out of him.'
"Oi, are ya alright, lass?"
Waking with a groan, Nettie opened her eyes to meet dark brown eyes only a few inches away from her. Yelping, she raised her hands to defend herself, barely noticing the blanket that fell back to her lap. "Wha - Who -"
"Relax, missy," chuckled the dark-skinned old woman that pulled away from her, her wide grin showing off her stained teeth. "I ain't gonna hurt ya. Just checkin' up on ya, make sure ye didn't get sick or nothin' from swimmin' in the cold." She 'tsked' in a strangely motherly way while shaking her finger. "What possessed ya ta do that, deary? I'm sure there be better ways to escape the Navy goons that shackled ya besides almost drownin'."
"You saw that?"
"I see everythin', child," cackled the woman. "Its always best ta keep an eye on things, never know when its gonna come in handy. So what'ca do to make 'em angry, mm?"
"Oh just the usual thing about being associated with a pirate," muttered Nettie with a roll of her shoulders. "Um, you wouldn't happen to something I could use to get these chains off, would you?"
"Nope, but I do have some food if yer hungry," said the woman cheerfully, holding out a bowl of stew that actually smelled very good. "Eat up, I can't eat it all by me self."
Giving her thanks, Nettie quickly ate what she was given, not realizing how hungry she was until she had eaten the only thing in a matter of minutes. "That was very good, and thank you again," she said when she finished and looked up. "Do happen to hear anything about a pirate named..."
The woman was gone, no trace of her left save for the bowl in hand and the blanket on her lap.
"Strange," Nettie said in a mummer as she stood, ignoring her aches and pains as she bent over to set down the dish and the thin blanket. She had just there. And for some reason, she had the strangest feeling she'd meet her before. But despite how much she wanted to go and look for the mysterious woman that had helped her out, she knew it was better to get moving and find a blacksmith shop. It certainly was dark enough to do that now. So after taking a deep breathe, Nettie went up the sandy beach and up to Port Royal.
Using what she had learned from her days of stealing on street, Nettie swiftly moved through the darkened city, wishing that her chains didn't rattle so loudly with every move she made.
It took some time to get towards the area where Nettie was sure that she had seen the blacksmith's work shop, the sun setting just as she reached the street. Peering into the open road, she sighed with relief when she saw that it was empty. She stayed in the shadows of the buildings as she moved along, only stopping when she noticed someone leaving a shop with a stumble. Cursing, she hid behind a crate before he could see her.
As Nettie listened to him go passed her, she could immediately tell that he was drunk - she recognized the slurred mumbled and the staggering in his steps. Not to mention that the reeked of alcohol, so strongly that she wrinkled her nose in protest.
"Can't wait to tell the fellers," the drunk man muttered as he passed. "Won't believe it."
Once the man was out of sight, Nettie moved forward again. She was puzzled though when she found the front door to the shop barely there, as if someone had smashed it down. Maybe the soldiers had been passed her, looking for Jack?
Shrugging, Nettie went in.
Glancing around, Nettie was glad to see that no one was there, save for a donkey attacked to some kind of mill. She frozen, wondering if it would bray and betray that she was there, but it just blinked and nickered. Smiling, she went up to it and gently patted its head. "That's a good..." she glanced down, "ah, girl. You won't make a sound and tell anyone I'm here, aye?"
The jenny just blinked, and Nettie took that as a yes.
Giving it one more pat on the head, Nettie walked around shop and glanced around with narrow eyes. If she could find a pick, or maybe a saw, she could get the cuffs off well enough so that she could defend herself. And the faster she could get these cuffs off, the faster she could find Jack and they could get the hell out of Port Royal. She didn't want to stay in this place any longer then she had to. Of course, that didn't mean she wanted to head off to Tortuga either.
Suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound, and Nettie hissed in pain as she took a step back. Looking down, she couldn't help but curse under her breathe. A pile of amber glass was right where she had just stepped, and due to the fact that her shoes were still at the docks she now had a bleeding foot. Cursing again and wondering where all her luck had gone, she hoped back and sat on a nearby stool so she could get a good look at her foot.
Bring up her injured foot in her hands, she stared at in the dim light. Thankfully there wasn't any glass in the wound, but it was still bleeding badly enough that it had rolled off her foot and created a small poll on the floor. And it was her blood, and her heart and head felt...
Nettie shook that feeling away and took a few deep breathes. Now wasn't the time for that. "But now what am I suppose to do? she muttered. Maybe she could tear off some of her scarf and use it to wrap the wound up. But she would still need to clean it out soon.
She was really having the worse luck today.
"Who's there?"
Snapping her head up, Nettie's eyes went wide. Someone must have heard her! Profanities running through her head, she glanced around the room, looking for a place to hide. But it was too late, and someone with a lantern entered the room.
"Who are you?" said a man's voice, the face hidden by the bright light in his hand. "Show yourself!"
For a long moment she considered running, even though the man had obviously seen her and she had an injured foot to boot. But then Nettie blinked as she realized that the voice sounded familiar. "Will Turner?" she called out. "Is that you?"
The light was lowered, and the face of the young man she ran into earlier was revealed, clearly confused. "It you, from earlier," Will Turner said. "What are you doing in here?"
"Ah..." Glancing down, she realized she had not explanation as to why she had on a pair of shackles, and it wasn't as if she could hide them. "Well..."
"Why do you have cuffs?" Will asked as he came closer. He studied them for a moment before his eyes widened and he stepped back, his hand automatically going for the sword that wasn't at his side. "You're a pirate!"
"Huh? Why would you even think that?" Nettie asked, cocking her head to the side in natural confusion. Sure, she traveled with Jack, and he was a pirate, but she never called herself one. If anything, she was a run of the mill thief.
"You're the one they're looking for, the partner of that Sparrow man." Before she could even blinked, Will had found a sword and was pointing closer to her neck then she would have liked. "You threatened Miss Swann," he said angrily, his once warm eyes now hard and narrowed.
"Wait, no I didn't!" Nettie said, holding up her hands in surrender, the chains clanging loudly with the sudden movement. "I didn't hurt the Swann girl. I saved her life! And I'm most definitely not a pirate. I swear it on me father's grave!" Of course, she didn't even know if her dad was still alive or not, but it seemed to work for Will.
A confused looked filled Will's face. "What? You saved Miss Swann's life?"
Nodding rapidly in answer, Nettie explained. "She fell from the fort near the docks, so Jack and I dove in and got her out before she drowned. And I'm not a pirate, I'm just happen to be traveling with one."
'For the next six years.' But Nettie decided not to add that aloud.
"But he admitted that he held her hostage," Will told her with more confusion. "He told me."
"Wait, you talked to Jack?" Nettie said in complete surprise. So Jack came here! "Is he okay? What happened?"
Will frowned. "He came in, to do the same thing as you apparently. He broke his cuffs somehow, and when I found him, he fought me. Mr. Brown knocked him out when he held me at gunpoint, and he was taken to prison by Commodore Norrington."
Horror. That was the only thing Nettie could feel. "He'll be hanged," she whispered, shaking her head. "No."
"So you didn't hurt Miss Swann?" Will asked, not hearing her whisper.
Again Nettie nodded, swallowing hard as she tried to hid her horror. "Right. Some Commodore came for Miss Swann, and when he found out that Jack was a pirate, placed him in cuffs and said they'd hang him. Jack wanted to escape, so he used her as a shield. I didn't know he was going to do it, and I wished I could have stopped him."
"But if you're not a pirate, why are you in cuffs?" Will said, pointing to said cuffs with the tip of his sword.
"Because I was with Jack," Nettie said with a shrug, "and when some Commodore revealed he was a pirate, they just assumed I was one too. They didn't ask, check for a brand, nothing. I'd show you, but these are kind of covering my wrist..."
For a long moment Will was silent. "Why should I believe you?" he finally asked.
"I...I don't know," Nettie said softly. "Maybe you shouldn't. I would understand if you don't. But please, I gotta get these cuffs off and rescue Jack. Could you please help me?"
"Why do you want to rescue him?" Will asked. "He's a pirate."
"I can't leave him to die," Nettie cried out. "Even if he is a pirate. Its... its not something I can't explain, its just something I have to do. So please take these off me and you'll never have to see me again, I swear. I'll leave you alone and never come back."
For a long minute, the two stared at one another, silver-blue clashing with chocolate brown. Then Will sighed and lowered his sword. "I don't know why I'm doing this," he said with a shake of his head. "But I'll help you."
A smile spread across Nettie's face. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
"We'll have to get you some new clothes," Will said as he set the sword down and started looking for a tool. "People will recognize you in those, you look too much like a pirate."
Nettie shrugged, the smile still on her face.. "Its what happens when a pirate is the one to get your clothes."
"Mr. Brown has a daughter who left a long time ago, maybe I can get some clothes from old trunk for you to wear. You might be her size." Picking up a tool, Will came over to her and was about to kneel down in front of her when he saw her foot. "You're bleeding!"
"Oh. I stepped in some glass over there," Nettie said, nodding over to it. "I took off my shoes when I dove it, and I couldn't get them back."
"We'll have to take care of that. First things first though." Kneeling down, Will took something that looked a pick and started to unlock her cuffs. It took a long minute of trying, but that Nettie heard a click, followed by the first cuff falling off.
"Finally," she sighed as Will started on the other one. "I hate those things." And another long minute later, the other was off, and Nettie sighed again as she rubbed her sore wrists.
"Let me get something for that cut," Will said as he stood, placing the pick back in its spot before going back to the door he came through.
There was a few minutes of silence, and Nettie continued to rub her wrists, even though they weren't as sore anymore. Why was he helping? Not that she didn't appreciate it, but she thought that she would have to knock him out and take what she needed.
Her suspicion continued to rise when after after a few minutes, Will still didn't return. Nettie was just about to stand up and get out while she still could when Will finally returned, supplies in hand. "Sorry I took so long. Took me awhile to find the bandages."
"Oh..." Now she felt a bit bad.
Nettie watched as Will knelt in front of her again, placing his items down. "I should clean it up before I bandage it," Will said as he dipped a cloth in a bowl water.
Even though she knew it was coming, Nettie still couldn't help but hissed when Will wiped away the blood. He glanced up at her, silently asking if was okay to go on, and she nodded. She winced every time he touched, but still he was surprisingly gently while did it, making sure not to hurt her much.
"What are you even doing here in Port Royal?" Will asked, setting the blood stained cloth down and picking up the bandages. "Didn't you know that pirates aren't liked here?"
"First of all, pirates aren't liked by anyone. Even other pirates don't like 'em," Nettie pointed out as he started to wrap her foot. "Second, I already said that I'm not a pirate. And third, well... we were here to get a ship," she said carefully, not mention that they were instead going to steal one. "And then we're going to head to Tortuga."
Will sputtered. "Wait, isn't it-"
"Completely lawless? Filled with drunks? Prostitutes? Pirates who will do anything from robbery to slavery to murder?" Nettie hoped he didn't notice her hands clench together. "That's the place alright."
"Why in the world would you head out there?"
"Actually, I'm not really sure," Nettie admitted. "Jack's looking for something, that's all I know. He's never told me what, and I've never tried to pry it out of him."
Tying the knot with surprisingly nimble fingers, Will looked up at her. "If you're not a pirate, then why do you travel with him?"
For a long moment, Nettie didn't know how to answer. She didn't want to lie to him, but how could she tell him the truth? She opened her mouth to say something, anything-
A loud boom filled the air, followed by the sound of something being smashed that made both Will and Nettie jump in surprise. "That was a canon," Will said as he jumped up, running to the nearby window. "It came from the harbor." Then he paled. "Its a pirate ship! They're attacking the town."
"Pirates?" Nettie whispered, her head spinning and her vision darkening as she remembered the last time a pirate shop attacked a town. No, no, no, no, no, no, no-
"Stay here!" Will yell at her, but it sounded like it was far away, or maybe yelled through a thick door. When Nettie finally understood what he said, she blinked and he was gone.
"Will!" cried out Nettie, standing up but leaning on her good foot. "Dammit, he's going to get himself killed!" Normally, she would leave him alone and run, it was his fault that he ran into trouble. But he had saved her life earlier, and had helped her just moments ago. She owed him.
With a resigned sigh, Nettie glanced around for some kind of weapon. When she saw a row of knives hanging on a nearby wall, she didn't hesitate to go get them. She was wincing each time her injured foot hit the ground, but mostly ignored it as it dulled with each step. Snatching up three knives and stuffing two of them in her sash with her other knife, she grabbed a sword from a barrel of them and raced out the door.
Screams filled the air, and the street was filled with people running from their lives as pirates stayed their heels, breaking whatever was in their reach. Horrible images flashes through her mind, something that happened years ago, but with a shudder Nettie shook it off, just in time to see a pirate grab a young woman who screamed again as he got ready to bring down a a knife.
In a single move, Nettie flung the knife in her hand, and smirked in triumph when it hit its target straight in the heart. The pirate glancing at his chest in surprise before crumpling to the ground, letting the woman go, who didn't even pause as she ran with another scream. Stepping forward and taking the knife back, Nettie whirled around and stabbed it into another pirate's heart, pulling it out and watching the man fall to the ground.
Her heart started pounding, and her blood starting singing, but Nettie pushed the intoxicating emotion away. She didn't need that at the moment.
"Will!" Nettie called out. But before she could call out for him again, someone came up behind her. Cursing, she dodged a sword that was thrust at her, whirling around at the same time. She blinked. "Didn't I just kill you?"
The pirate simple grinned before attacking her. Blocking the sword with her own, Nettie sliced at his hand with her knife, and blood splattered her shirt when she hit his hand. But he didn't seem to care, still attacking. Growling, Nettie forced his sword down and thrust the knife into his arm, making sure to hit the muscle. The man cried out, and Nettie didn't waist time taking her knife out and hitting the man in the temple with the handle, and watched as he fell again.
"Tough old sod," Nettie muttered as she started moving again. More canon fire and screams filled her ears, and it was had to focus on looking for Will when all she wanted to do was cover her ears and hide. "Will!" she called out again. "Will, where are you?"
But apparently he wasn't easy to find, and soon enough Nettie had to defend herself from one pirate after another. Eventually she couldn't even think about looking for Will, having too much trouble just keeping herself alive. It seemed no matter how many times she was sure that she's killed one, sometimes that same pirate seemed to come back, looking like nothing had happened to him.
Unfortunately for Nettie she wasn't as resilient, and received a few injures of her own; a cut on her arm that was bleeding slowly and shallow stab to her leg. Slowly she was wearing down from fighting some many on her own. If she just let it go...
No, Nettie swore to herself she wouldn't do that unless she had no choice.
Just when it seemed she couldn't fight anymore, the pirate suddenly turned and ran. Nettie could only watch, stunned, as all the other pirates ran past her with clearly no interested in fighting or pillaging anymore. "What in the world?" she muttered.
The moment they pirates were out of sight, Nettie stashed her knife into her sash - she's lost the three she'd borrowed during the long fight - and looked around. "Will, where are you?" she called out, hoping that he hadn't been killed in the fight. "Will! Damn it, don't tell me you're dead, you bloody wanker."
Turning, the corner, Nettie came to a sudden halt as she took in the sights. "Will!" she yell as she started running towards his body, which was lying in the street. She fell to her knees the moment she reached him and leaned over, pressing her ear to his chest and praying to whatever god was out there that he was still alive.
'...Thump. Thump. Thump.'
Sighing in relief, Nettie looked him over, checking for any wounds that would need immediate attention. Nothing was bleeding, and nothing looked broken. It looked like he was just knocked out. She would just have to get him out of the street and wait for him to wake up.
With a groan, Nettie grabbed him under his arms, hoisting him over her shoulders, and felt her knee's buckle under the larger man's weight. "Come on, big boy. Lets get you a bed."
