Chapter 10
Annie was almost too absorbed in her sister being safe that she forgot about leaving her Captain knocked out and alone on the island.
"But Will we have to go back!" Annie yelled. They had already rowed a good distance away that Annie felt it was safe enough to raise her voice.
"No." He replied.
"Don't you even feel a tiny shred of guilt that you basically sentenced a man to death because of that filthy oar of yours!" Annie had been arguing with Will about Jacks safe return for the past 5 minutes.
"You heard him before Annalise, when a man falls behind he is left behind." Will continued to row as if the guilt wasn't grating on his conscious.
"Well what does it say in the code about when a man if forced to fall behind?!"
"What's done is done, okay?" Will insisted. All Annie could do was huff while Elizabeth observed in confusion. "The important thing is that you and Elizabeth are safe."
"The important thing is blah blah…" Annie mocked William while he continued to row. Just who does he think he is? How could he leave Jack like that?
Annie couldn't understand how Will could do thing but also did not realize why she felt so indignant that Will made her leave, as well as guilty for leaving. When had Jack become so important to me? Annie thought to herself wondering how she'd come to care for the pirate.
The longboat was sentenced to silence due to its passenger's equal frustration, no one spoke until they reached the deck of the Pearl. "Not more pirates." Lizzie sighed.
"Welcome aboard Elizabeth"
"Mr. Gibbs?"
"Aye boy, where be Jack?" Mr. Gibbs asked. Annie only smirked smugly waiting to see how Will explained himself.
"Jack! Jack Sparrow?!" Elizabeth questioned and then turned to face Annie. "That's who you've been wondering about this whole way?"
Annie shrugged thinking it was much too complicated to explain how she went from being held hostage by a man, to joining him on a rescue mission to save her own sister.
"He fell behind." Was all Will said before shuffling Elizabeth below deck and leaving Annie with the saddened crew.
"Keep to the code!" Shouted Gibbs even though he looked as if he was regretting it.
"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails!" Ordered Annamarie.
The crew scattered, choosing to focus on something other than Jack not returning.
"Miss Swann" Mr. Gibbs addressed her where she had been standing since they arrived.
"Are you alright Miss?"
"I'm fine Mr. Gibbs, thank you for asking." Annie sighed, not really meaning it.
"It's what Jack would've wanted, ye know." He tried to comfort.
"Yeah right" Annie snorted. "No one wants to be left behind, Pearl or no Pearl I think he'd much rather be free." Annie refused to believe he was dead, for as long as she had known Jack he had always found a way to cheat death and she hoped he wouldn't stop now.
"Aye, maybe yer right" Gibbs amended. "But he'd want ye to be safe as well, Miss"
"Why do you say that?" Annie was confused.
"All hands on deck!" Annamarie suddenly shouted. "They're gaining on us!"
Both Mr. Gibbs and Annie were pulled from their conversation. Annie turned around to see the Black Pearl quickly catching up with them. Barbossa must have been chasing them for the medallion Elizabeth decided to take again. Even though she should have been scared, Annie was only hopeful that maybe Jack was on that ship.
Gibbs quickly started giving orders while Annie was left to follow behind. "What's happening?" Elizabeth asked finally returning above deck.
"The Black Pearl, she's gaining on us!" Annamarie answered from the helm.
"But this is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" Elizabeth insisted while surveying the situation. Annie rolled her eyes, thinking that her sister spent far too much time with Commodore Norrington.
"You can tell them that after they've caught us." Was Annamarie's reply.
"We're shallow on the draft right?" Lizzie asked her.
"Aye"
"Then we lose them on the shallows" Annie said catching on to her sister's idea.
"We don't have to outrun them long" Mr. Gibbs agreed. "Just long enough!"
Annamarie agreed and started shouting orders to the crew.
"Anything we can afford to lose, see that it's lost!" Mr. Gibbs ordered. The crew seemed confused until they all started throwing things overboard. Annie decided to join the fray and took whatever was handed to her and threw it into the ocean.
All of a sudden Will arrived above deck and paused some of the crew right before they were unloading more cargo into the water. "We're going to need that." He said.
Annie looked to see the other ship much closer than before and preparing their cannons. She stopped what she was doing and approached the helm with Will.
"It was a good plan, until now." She heard Annamarie say to Elizabeth.
"Gibbs!" Will shouted. "We have to make a stand, we must fight."
"Load the guns!" He tried to order. "With what?" Annamarie questioned. They had thrown all the available ammo overboard in hopes of outrunning the Pearl.
"Anything" Will said "Everything, anything we have left."
There was a moment of silence until Mr. Gibbs spoke "Load the Guns! Nails! Crushed Glass!" He ran across deck.
"Cutlery!" Annie added before grabbing the load of forks and knives they were about to sacrifice overboard and stuffing it into the nearest cannon. The crew watched on until actually grasping the situation and following in Annie's footsteps.
When they approached the shallows Gibbs ordered they drop anchor on the starboard side after Elizabeth's suggestion. The ship took the full weight of it and tilted harshly to one side.
"Let go!" Elizabeth shouted, indicating at the wheel.
Annamarie lifted both her hands causing the ship to take a hard turn and face directly across from the Pearl.
Once steady cannons were readied. "Fire!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Fire!" Mr. Gibbs agreed.
"We could do with a few more ideas lass" He said as they were all crouched below firing their guns across ships.
"Your turn!" Elizabeth answered. Annie was honestly impressed with how much her sister had already done. She's better at this than I am Annie thought. It must have been all that time Elizabeth spent obsessing over pirates.
"What we need is a devil's dowry!" Gibbs said.
"We'll give him her." Annamarie growled pressing a gun to Elizabeth's head.
"Like hell you will." Annie was quick to pull the dagger she had taken from the Captain's quarters from her boot and press it harshly to Annamarie's throat.
"Easy now, lasses" Mr. Gibbs tried to intervene. "We just spent all this time rescuing the damsel, we don't want to be giving her up too easily."
Both girls slowly lowered their weapons and Annie went one step further and pulled her sister to her side.
"She's not even what they're after." Will said making Elizabeth look at her chest.
"The medallion" She said noticing it was missing.
Will escaped below deck to go look for it while the battle continued. Annie had tried to stay by her sister's side as cannon balls were continuously shot at them but had lost her in the fray. Eventually the ship was in such bad shape that the mass collapsed across deck, giving the other pirates the opportunity to board. All of a sudden Annie was surrounded. Elizabeth did her best to fight with the shotgun she had, and was knocking people out. Annie pulled out the sword strapped to her waist, finally getting the chance to use it.
One pirate rushed up to her swinging madly. Annie had to duck before his blade could catch her. She pulled out of her crouched position by swinging harshly upwards at the pirate, catching him under the ribcage. The pirate barely looked bothered by the sword poking from his chest. Annie decided to use the momentum of her swing to throw the pirate with the weight of her sword. She jerked him firmly to the side, pulling her sword out at the last second and sending the pirate screaming overboard.
Annie had to find several different tactics to battle against a crew of undead pirates, even the ones she casted into the sea came crawling back. The pirate she was currently fighting was a lot bigger than she could handle. His swings came down rougher and rougher on her sore arms and soon she found herself fighting a losing battle, until suddenly the pirate was knocked off his feet.
"Jack!" Annie shouted in surprise rushing forward to hug the astonished man. Jack had come flying in on a rope from the other ship.
"Hello love" He greeted curiously. Annie in her happiness was not aware of how odd the situation was for Jack. He was surprised by her reaction, because he had thought she wasn't very fond of him since he had been knocked unconscious and left alone.
He chose not to question it since he enjoyed the feel of her warm body wrapped tightly around him. After all it was not every day he enjoyed the company of a young governess.
"I'm so happy you're okay" Annie said giving him one final squeeze.
"Mmm and how happy would that be, love?" Jack asked trying to see where this was going.
"I felt so bad that we hadn't been able to get back to you." She continued not bothering with Jack's question.
"Well I'm here now, love" He said. "I've got to go retrieve the medallion, if you are in need of any assistance feel free to shout."
He left Annie alone again after giving her arm a gentle reassuring squeeze. Weird Annie thought about her interaction with Jack before jumping back into battle.
She fought until they were overpowered. "Gents our hope is restored!" Barbossa yelled causing the other pirates to cheer.
Annie turned to see him holding the missing medallion high above his head. What was left of her crew was gathered up and brought onto the deck of the Pearl. Annie found herself tied loosely to the mass next to her sister. They watched the Interceptor burn. Elizabeth was softly crying next to her, making Annie confused. Sure she felt bad about the whole burning of the ship and being captured situation. Although she couldn't understand why Elizabeth was so upset, it's not like she wasn't already captured by pirates before.
Annie rested comfortably seeing that with a little wiggle she could slip under the poorly tied knots. "Anyone of you so much as thinks the word parley I'll have your guts for garters." One of the other pirates threatened.
"cough Parley cough" Annie joked.
The crew laughed quietly around her, making the pirate jerk his pistol at them threateningly.
While he was distracted Elizabeth freed herself from the ropes and rushed forward, only to be stopped at the sight of the Interceptor blowing into pieces.
"Will!" She shouted, making Annie realize that he was in fact missing. "You've got to stop it!" Lizzie screamed attacking Barbossa in her grief. Annie watched on in shock, some from the act of her sister trying to fight an undead pirate captain and the rest from the realization that Will did not make it off the ship.
"Welcome back Miss" Barbossa growled grabbing onto Elizabeth's wrists "You took advantage of our hospitality last time it's only fair now that you return the favor."
He thrust her into the group of hungrily awaiting pirates causing Elizabeth to shriek. The sound of her sister's scream snapped Annie out of her shock. She wiggled quickly out of her ropes intending to rush to her sister's aid.
Halfway there she felt her wrist being tugged to the side, coming face to face with Jack as he restrained her. She was about to fight against him when everyone was stopped by Will's sudden return.
"Barbossa!" He shouted. "She goes free!" He pointed his gun in the captain's direction.
"What's in yer head, boy?" Barbossa questioned.
"She goes free" He insisted.
"Only got one shot, and we can't die." Barbossa laughed in Will's face.
"Don't do anything stupid." Annie heard Jack whisper as she was still grasped lightly in his arms.
Will thought for a moment before getting an idea and jumping away from the group. "You can't die, but I can" He pointed the gun towards his head.
"Who are you?" Barbossa asked.
"No one!" Jack intercepted, finally freeing Annie from his hold. "A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew… twice removed, lovely singing voice though" Jack lent in and whispered "Eunuch."
Even in the dire situation Annie found it in her to laugh.
"My name is Will Turner!" He declared with the gun still pointed towards him. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner, his blood runs in my veins!"
"He's the spitting image!" Someone from the crowd yelled.
"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones locker." Will threatened.
"Name your terms Mister Turner." Barbossa agreed.
"Elizabeth goes free!" He insisted for the third time.
"Yes we know that one, anything else?"
Jack began pointing frantically towards himself and Annie who was next to him.
"Annie!" Will realized. "She goes free as well."
Jack dropped his hands exasperated while Barbossa turned and looked towards her, noticing her for the first time. "Such a shame loosing such beauties, are ye sure we can't keep one?" He smirked.
"She goes free!" Will asserted. "And the crew are not to be harmed." He finished.
"Agreed" Barbossa growled, a little too happy with their deal.