By the time I reached the fort, it was nearing mid-morning and my tattered
dress and face wet with sweat from rowing went unnoticed in the bustle of
market day. The prison was easy to find – a heavy squat building built of
hewn grey rocks and guarded by attentive looking Navy men in their red
uniforms. I realised a daylight breakout would be impossible and I
sauntered away, resolving to wait until nightfall.
The day passed quickly, thought I had no coin with me by midday my belly gnawed at me so, that I traded in the silver pendant that had hung at my neck since birth for a hearty meal and a tankard of ale in one of the least shabby taverns. I believe the drink may have given me the courage I needed and as it warmed me I fancied myself a hero, no noblewoman or piratewoman but a loner calling for justice. And so my afternoon was spent in the alehouse, clasping the tankard tightly and planning.
I set off at dusk, at first I was lost in the narrow, dusty streets but as the moon rose I found my way back to the main square and from there to the prison at the fort. The guards were still outside, but I watched from a secluded spot as they passed a bottle back and forth then gradually lent against the wall, eyes closed. I waited until their snores could be heard fully across the width of the square then I scuttled out and slipped past them, my bare feet made no sound on the smooth stones.
I crept down some steps, which led me to a long room, a barred wall dividing one half into cells. I was grateful for my luck and crept along in the shadows, trying to see which cell Jack occupied.
"Oi, oi Darlin'!" called a rough voice. I jumped, afearing it might be another guard, but it was simply a criminal in the nearest cell. They, at least, had spotted me.
"Let us out, would yer luv!"
"Come on poppet, make it wurth yer while!"
The jeers and catcalls were too much, even pirates treated a lady better than this.
"Shut your filthy mouths, you villainous pigs!" I hissed, stamping my foot on the straw-covered floor.
"Cath?" Asked a timid, but lurching voice I had come to know so well. My heart gave a thump.
"Jack!" I ran towards the sound of his voice.
He was in the second cell from the end, alone. He sat in the corner, on a raised stone bench, hat in hand. I could see clean streaks down his filthy face where tears had fallen, but I mentioned them not.
"Captain, I've come to get you out! Quickly."
"Thought yer'd all given up on me" I stood and wiped his face briskly, before flashing me a wide grin. I began to shake the bars while he was talking, they were much sturdier than the cells on the Black Pearl and I could not see them giving way.
"I can't shift them Jack." I said, unable to disguise the rising panic in my voice
"Simmer down luv, I'm 'aving a thought." He raised his hand as if he was a priest giving mass. "Wot we need 'ere is sum leverage." I gave the man a strange look, had his short imprisonment driven him mad already?
****
Sparrow jumped out of the cell as the door toppled over with an almighty crash, sending up a roar from the other prisoners.
"Buggery" Sparrow muttered under his breath as he grabbed his pistols, knife and coat from a peg opposite his cell "Step lively love, now we're up fer it." With another grin he cocked his pistol and sprinted up the stairs. Blocking my ears to the prisoners' calls, I followed. We met the guards at the top of the stairwell, Sparrow held his pistol steadily and I, moved by the knot of fear and excitement in my stomach picked up an empty brandy bottle and brandished it wildly.
"Not so fast, my boy." Spoke up one guard, though his face was pink and he looked at least twenty years younger than Sparrow. "You've only got one gun and we've got two, so you'll be going back quietly."
"Ahhh," Sparrow replied smoothly. "But which one of you fine men would like to wager on which one of yer I'll be aimin' for?" The dim pair glanced at each other and in their moment of hesitation Sparrow was off across the square. I was fast on his heels, throwing down the bottle with a satisfying smash at the guards' feet.
The dash to the harbour soon dampened my spirits however; the guards gave chase – their shots fell short in the darkness, but I could hear the thud of their heavy boots in the empty streets. My lungs burnt and my feet bled, cut by the sharp gravel of the harbour paths. We reached the boat none to soon and Sparrow had me cowering down in the bilge water as he rowed swiftly away, couched low against the firing of the guards' rifles.
When we got out of range of the guns Sparrow leaned back, relaxed and the knot in my stomach loosened, to be replaced by embarrassment.
"Well, my lass" Sparrow drawled easily, as he lent back into a stroke of the oars. "Seems a bit o' yer prim an' properness washed off in that bath o' yers."
"I just couldn't leave you to die – that is all, Captain. Although I have been forced to live among pirates I haven't yet begun to act like one."
"Oh?" He replied mockingly "You noble ladies often steal boats and spring men from prisons do yer?" My cheeks burned despite the chill of the night, and I clasped my hands in the folds of my dress, unwilling to reply.
Sparrow was rowing steadily towards the bay where the Black Pearl had been docked, but in the darkness we were having some trouble locating it.
"I'm sure it was right by that rock." I spoke helplessly, squinting out into the inky night.
"Yeah?" Sparrow's reply was sharp "Well gainin' a Capt'n ain't no good if yer loose the ship!"
We searched for hours and as the sun rose, what I had been dreading became at once crystal clear – the Pearl was gone. I was left on a leaky boat, with no food and a pirate Captain, between the wide ocean and a town baying for our blood. I screwed up my eyes in the bright sunlight, but it was no good – a tear dripped miserably down my cheek.
"Hey Cath, t'ain't yer fault." Sparrow spoke with a softer tone as he turned the boat about.
"Where are we going?" I sniffed
****
"We're going to steal a ship?"
"We're gonna commander a cutter. A cutter is not a ship – it is a miserable one-masted toy, but it won't be easily missed, or heavily manned and it's fast." I eyed the shabby boat with suspicion; huddled between two large Navy Galleys it looked tiny, dirty and pathetic. I crept along beside Sparrow, who had hastily disguised himself by washing off his kohl, tying his hair under his bandanna and pulling his hat down low. It was not effective, but it didn't have to be as the Navy thought he'd already left the town.
"Stop footpaddin'." He hissed to me "The trick to this is to act like yer've a right to step aboard." And so he sauntered up the gangplank with me closely behind, kicked the plank down and removed the rope that held the cutter to the harbour with a swift swipe of his folding gully knife. Once aboard we encountered one frightened local fisherman with his young son. Sparrow held his knife open and ordered them quickly and quietly ashore, with a gold ring from his own finger as compensation.
I raised an eyebrow at his humanity as we carefully manoeuvred out of the busy harbour.
"Well," he muttered, rubbing the bare place on his finger "T'ain't no 'arm in playin' fair when yer can."
An hour later I was desperately pulling on the rigging of the tiny fore and aft mainsails, finally putting my limited knowledge of sailing to use. Sparrow shouted orders briskly and I struggled to keep up, sweating under the midday sun.
"How do you even know where they're going?"
"With a chest of gold and a need for new crew members – there's only one place, love." Sparrow grinned as he leaned lazily over the helm.
The day passed quickly, thought I had no coin with me by midday my belly gnawed at me so, that I traded in the silver pendant that had hung at my neck since birth for a hearty meal and a tankard of ale in one of the least shabby taverns. I believe the drink may have given me the courage I needed and as it warmed me I fancied myself a hero, no noblewoman or piratewoman but a loner calling for justice. And so my afternoon was spent in the alehouse, clasping the tankard tightly and planning.
I set off at dusk, at first I was lost in the narrow, dusty streets but as the moon rose I found my way back to the main square and from there to the prison at the fort. The guards were still outside, but I watched from a secluded spot as they passed a bottle back and forth then gradually lent against the wall, eyes closed. I waited until their snores could be heard fully across the width of the square then I scuttled out and slipped past them, my bare feet made no sound on the smooth stones.
I crept down some steps, which led me to a long room, a barred wall dividing one half into cells. I was grateful for my luck and crept along in the shadows, trying to see which cell Jack occupied.
"Oi, oi Darlin'!" called a rough voice. I jumped, afearing it might be another guard, but it was simply a criminal in the nearest cell. They, at least, had spotted me.
"Let us out, would yer luv!"
"Come on poppet, make it wurth yer while!"
The jeers and catcalls were too much, even pirates treated a lady better than this.
"Shut your filthy mouths, you villainous pigs!" I hissed, stamping my foot on the straw-covered floor.
"Cath?" Asked a timid, but lurching voice I had come to know so well. My heart gave a thump.
"Jack!" I ran towards the sound of his voice.
He was in the second cell from the end, alone. He sat in the corner, on a raised stone bench, hat in hand. I could see clean streaks down his filthy face where tears had fallen, but I mentioned them not.
"Captain, I've come to get you out! Quickly."
"Thought yer'd all given up on me" I stood and wiped his face briskly, before flashing me a wide grin. I began to shake the bars while he was talking, they were much sturdier than the cells on the Black Pearl and I could not see them giving way.
"I can't shift them Jack." I said, unable to disguise the rising panic in my voice
"Simmer down luv, I'm 'aving a thought." He raised his hand as if he was a priest giving mass. "Wot we need 'ere is sum leverage." I gave the man a strange look, had his short imprisonment driven him mad already?
****
Sparrow jumped out of the cell as the door toppled over with an almighty crash, sending up a roar from the other prisoners.
"Buggery" Sparrow muttered under his breath as he grabbed his pistols, knife and coat from a peg opposite his cell "Step lively love, now we're up fer it." With another grin he cocked his pistol and sprinted up the stairs. Blocking my ears to the prisoners' calls, I followed. We met the guards at the top of the stairwell, Sparrow held his pistol steadily and I, moved by the knot of fear and excitement in my stomach picked up an empty brandy bottle and brandished it wildly.
"Not so fast, my boy." Spoke up one guard, though his face was pink and he looked at least twenty years younger than Sparrow. "You've only got one gun and we've got two, so you'll be going back quietly."
"Ahhh," Sparrow replied smoothly. "But which one of you fine men would like to wager on which one of yer I'll be aimin' for?" The dim pair glanced at each other and in their moment of hesitation Sparrow was off across the square. I was fast on his heels, throwing down the bottle with a satisfying smash at the guards' feet.
The dash to the harbour soon dampened my spirits however; the guards gave chase – their shots fell short in the darkness, but I could hear the thud of their heavy boots in the empty streets. My lungs burnt and my feet bled, cut by the sharp gravel of the harbour paths. We reached the boat none to soon and Sparrow had me cowering down in the bilge water as he rowed swiftly away, couched low against the firing of the guards' rifles.
When we got out of range of the guns Sparrow leaned back, relaxed and the knot in my stomach loosened, to be replaced by embarrassment.
"Well, my lass" Sparrow drawled easily, as he lent back into a stroke of the oars. "Seems a bit o' yer prim an' properness washed off in that bath o' yers."
"I just couldn't leave you to die – that is all, Captain. Although I have been forced to live among pirates I haven't yet begun to act like one."
"Oh?" He replied mockingly "You noble ladies often steal boats and spring men from prisons do yer?" My cheeks burned despite the chill of the night, and I clasped my hands in the folds of my dress, unwilling to reply.
Sparrow was rowing steadily towards the bay where the Black Pearl had been docked, but in the darkness we were having some trouble locating it.
"I'm sure it was right by that rock." I spoke helplessly, squinting out into the inky night.
"Yeah?" Sparrow's reply was sharp "Well gainin' a Capt'n ain't no good if yer loose the ship!"
We searched for hours and as the sun rose, what I had been dreading became at once crystal clear – the Pearl was gone. I was left on a leaky boat, with no food and a pirate Captain, between the wide ocean and a town baying for our blood. I screwed up my eyes in the bright sunlight, but it was no good – a tear dripped miserably down my cheek.
"Hey Cath, t'ain't yer fault." Sparrow spoke with a softer tone as he turned the boat about.
"Where are we going?" I sniffed
****
"We're going to steal a ship?"
"We're gonna commander a cutter. A cutter is not a ship – it is a miserable one-masted toy, but it won't be easily missed, or heavily manned and it's fast." I eyed the shabby boat with suspicion; huddled between two large Navy Galleys it looked tiny, dirty and pathetic. I crept along beside Sparrow, who had hastily disguised himself by washing off his kohl, tying his hair under his bandanna and pulling his hat down low. It was not effective, but it didn't have to be as the Navy thought he'd already left the town.
"Stop footpaddin'." He hissed to me "The trick to this is to act like yer've a right to step aboard." And so he sauntered up the gangplank with me closely behind, kicked the plank down and removed the rope that held the cutter to the harbour with a swift swipe of his folding gully knife. Once aboard we encountered one frightened local fisherman with his young son. Sparrow held his knife open and ordered them quickly and quietly ashore, with a gold ring from his own finger as compensation.
I raised an eyebrow at his humanity as we carefully manoeuvred out of the busy harbour.
"Well," he muttered, rubbing the bare place on his finger "T'ain't no 'arm in playin' fair when yer can."
An hour later I was desperately pulling on the rigging of the tiny fore and aft mainsails, finally putting my limited knowledge of sailing to use. Sparrow shouted orders briskly and I struggled to keep up, sweating under the midday sun.
"How do you even know where they're going?"
"With a chest of gold and a need for new crew members – there's only one place, love." Sparrow grinned as he leaned lazily over the helm.