Chapter 3

Ok, I found the smithy and went inside. I almost had a heart attack when I saw a man there. But then I noticed he was asleep, a bottle of something alcoholic in his hand. I went up and took a swig, and it tasted like brandy. I put the bottle back in the man's hand. I'm surprised he didn't wake up. A donkey stood there, harnessed to a machine. I'd seen this before. When the donkey walked round in a circle, he/she would power twp turning wheels in the machinery used for some blacksmith work. I walked over and patted the donkey on the head. I found a sugar lump and gave it to the donkey. Then I heard the 'creeeeeak!' of the door. Some body was coming.

"DAD!" I ran up to him and saluted. "You where quick" he grinned and patted me on the back, well, as good as he could as his hands where still chained. "huzzah darling, now to... who's that?" he gestured to the guy asleep. I shrugged. Then dad did the obvious.

He walked up to the man and poked him.

I waited to hear shouting from the man, to be turned in. But the man just snorted. Dad turned, as if to walk away, then shot around and shouted at the top of his lungs: "WOAH!"

Still nothing.

"Time to get out of these..." Dad took off his hat and put it on the table. he got a hammer and started attacking the iron's, and I just watched. It failed. Then he eyed the donkey. "Dad, you can't do that that's animal cruel-" he prodded the donkey with red hot iron, and it started alright, with a mournful bray. The two wheels started, and dad the chains on them then SNAP! The chains where broken. "Finally.." but then we heard the door, and this time, it wasn't dad.

A man came in, with a brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He looked troubled when he saw the donkey, and calmed it down. He looked over to the drunken guy and smiled. "Right where I left you"

Then he seemed to notice that the hammer has mysteriously moved it's place from its place to next to the anvil..

"Not where I left you. " He looked at the hammer for a moment then noticed dads hat. He reached out for it, as if to pick it up, but dad unsheathed his sword and tapped his hand with it. "You're the one they're hunting. The pirate." Said pony tail man, saying the word pirate as if it was the worst thing any one could be in the world. He was wrong. A pirate is the best thing any one could be in the world.

"yes, were the one's there hunting, and if we don't leave right now, dad'll be in chains and I will be in a dress. If ye wish to still be alive before we leave, then you'll smile, say you haven't seen anything and let us go." I was pretty pleased with my speech. But dad just stared intently at the boy, as if he'd seen him some where before. I knew I hadn't.

"You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?" asked dad, turning his head slightly.

"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates" spat pony tail dude.

"Well we pirates tend to remember faces, so if we've threatened some one before, we can continue when we see them again" I said, taking a seat.

"Ah, well, then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So, if you'll excuse me?" I knew what was coming. That's why I sat down. I could sense a fight... YAY!

Dad turned away to leave, not noticing I wasn't following. The other bloke grabbed a sword and jumped in front of Dad. I would've helped dad kill him, but dad seemed to think that I needed to learn from him while he was in combat, by watching.

"Do you think this is wise, boy, crossing blades with a pirate?" taunted dad.

"You threatened Miss Swann!" yelled boy.

"It was more of a balance in the scales actually, dad saved her life, she saved his" I spoke the truth. I think. The boy looked at me then Dad, trying to see the resemblance.

"As the girl said, it was only a little." He paraded with his opponent, "You know what you're doing. I'll give you that. Excellent form, Ronny you could learn from this. But how's your footwork? If I step here." He stepped, only to be blocked by the black smith. "Very good. Now I step again. Ta." He sheathed his sword and beckoned to me to follow. "Come on, we got a ship to commandeer darling"

I stood and followed him to the door, pushed the hair out of my face and whispered to the smithy. "Nice try. No one can beat dad in combat though." As I turned, he must've got on angry, a sword whizzed past our heads. SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

It got stuck in the door. Great. Once again, some idiot was in-between dad and me from escaping. Absolutely wonderful. Dad tried pulling it out, but to no avail. I tried, and I almost got it out. Ok, by that I mean it wobbled a little.

"That is a wonderful trick, except once again you are between me and my way out. And now you have no weapon." Smithy, as I had grown to call the boy now, grabbed a piece of metal out of the hot coals, the tip red with the heat. And then the fight began.

I kinda lost interest, so I began looking at the different swords hanging up. "My type of style..." I picked one up, it was perfectly balanced. The hilt was encrusted with sapphires and rubies. I put it into my now empty scabbard, which the red coat had emptied earlier. I found a few other things too. (all of which I kept) a beautiful knife, completely silver except the hilt, which had a golden skull with a emerald in its mouth. I also collected: 3 bombs, a few more shilling's to the pouch I had stolen off Norrington, a pitch black bandana (I had to take it) and a leather journal. (hey, might be interesting.)

By the time I had scavenged all of this, I saw smithy looking down the barrel of dad's pistol, and covered in what had to be sand.

"Move away" said dad. Men where banging on the door. Well, it was either men, or a very, very angry milk maid.

"No" stubbornly said smithy.

"Please move"

"No! I cannot just step aside and let you escape."

"IF YOU DON'T MOVE I'LL BRAIN YOU" I yelled, my new sword pointing at his head, I had literally just found out the importance of this situation.

"This shot is not meant for you" sighed dad. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the drunken guy who had been asleep hit him on the head with his bottle. Dad fell to the floor, unconscious.

Then the redcoats came in. Four tackled me, and another one cried out: "There he is! Over here!"

"Excellent work , Mr. Brown. You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive, and Miss Swan's new maid." He grinned at me, flashing his pearly white's.

"I SWEAR I WILL KNOCK THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE YOU BAS..." everything went black.