Elizabeth knew the Commodore fancied her, but she did not expect him to propose. Thinking back she supposed she should have seen the event approaching, as the match was a smart one and almost blatant to the eyes of the Port Royal gentry. At the time, however, the only thing Elizabeth Swann could think about was how short of breath she was and how terribly lightheaded she was. Norrington obliviously took her breathlessness for surprise, his voice boring into her skull like one of Will's hammers.
The rapid movements of her fan increased, she was so dizzy.... Did I fall? She wondered, suddenly cradled in the warm Caribbean waters, her dress dragging her to the sandy bottom. The gold medallion came from its place tucked in the front of her dress, causing an odd ripple to bounce through the water. In the harbor, the winds shifted, raising the attention of one Jack Sparrow, who had been using his drunken swagger and slurred, yet clever, speech to confuse two blockhead redcoats.
Elizabeth felt strong arms around her, ripping the heavy dress from her body and pulling her to the docks. Her mind was becoming waterlogged, focusing on one desperate thought: she needed air. Faintly, she felt her body slosh onto the hard wood of the dock, hands groping, then pausing, then a ripping sound and suddenly she could breathe freely.
The girl rolled onto her stomach as her lungs consumed large quantities of oxygen greedily, hair dripping in her face, she noticed many pairs of boots surrounding her and her rescuer as she regained awareness. Norrington's soft coat finding its way about her shoulders, Norrington himself addressing her rescuer with deep displeasure.
Elizabeth concentrated at last on the man, whose dark, beaded hair and colorful, rogue clothes fulfilling her description of a pirate. Indeed, Norrington discovered the telltale tattoos on his arm with relish.
"Jack Sparrow.... You are possibly the worst pirate I've ever heard of." Norrington barked, tightening the shackles about his wrists.
Jack smirked, revealing several gold-capped teeth. "But you have heard of me."
Norrington gave a curt order to the guards, and Jack was led from the dock.
"Commodore, do you really intend to hang my rescuer?" Elizabeth interjected at last, moving to stand between Norrington and the rogue.
Will Turner stood behind the Commodore's guard, having followed them when they rushed to the docks to retrieve Elizabeth from the man who had dived in after her. He admired her bravery for defending the pirate, but he also felt a sudden twinge of jealousy he felt irrational to the situation.
"One good deed does not redeem a man of a lifetime of sin." Norrington reprimanded Elizabeth, like a parent would a child. She added it to her mental list of reasons why the Commodore affronted her. She tried again to defend her rescuer when suddenly he leapt from the guards' clutches to wrap his chain about her neck.
All goodwill Elizabeth held for Jack Sparrow vanished as he used her to ease the guards' weapons from his chest. He instructed her to strap his saber and gun about his waist, then place his hat upon his head. She did so, hissing "You are despicable," through her teeth, but the pirate just smirked triumphantly.
"Now you are all going to remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow." And with that, he released her and proceeded to swing and leap about the rigging of the ships docked near the city, escaping down the street. Elizabeth observed his retreat with distaste until Norrington and her father swept her away to the carriage.
Will would have followed the guards after Jack had he not been so concerned for Elizabeth. When he finally arrived at the mansion and knocked on the door, the maid greeted him with a knowing smile, but shooed him away. "The mistress needs her rest, good sir. I shall send her your regards, though." She shut the door briskly, and the boy sadly started off for the blacksmith shop.
When he entered the dusty building, he found nothing seriously amiss. The donkey was running in circles, turning the great gears that pumped the billows. Will calmed it, thinking it had merely been frightened by a particularly loud snore from his 'master' Mr. Brown. He gave a kindly smile the old man's way, then glanced at the anvil, noticing that his hammer was not in its usual place by the other tools. His eyes shifted from the anvil to a jaunty leather captain's hat resting nearby. Perplexed, he began to thoroughly inspect the shop, only to have a blade pointed at his neck.
He followed the line of the rusty sword to its owner, the very pirate who had rescued and threatened his dear Elizabeth. He made a move to leave, so Will quickly fetched a sword from its rack and met the pirate's.
"Let me pass, lad, this does not concern you." Will only jabbed the point of his sword angrily.
"You threatened Miss Swann."
The pirate shrugged and ran to the door, preparing to lift the latch. Will hurled the sword to spear the latch and door beyond, deeming it impassable. The blade had also landed inches from the pirate's face.
He grabbed another sword and he and the pirate engaged in a fierce battle of words and swordplay, which went up into the rafters and near the fire and finally to the billows, where the pirate ripped a hole in the great airbag that poured dust all over the boy, who had been doing quite well up until that point. "You cheated," Will muttered, standing before the pirate and the back exit. Sounds of forced entry wracked the front door.
The pirate now had a panicked gleam in his eyes. He pointed his pistol at him, only to fall over backwards as Mr. Brown finally awoke and bashed him over the head with his rum bottle. Norrington and his guards burst into the shop, congratulating Mr. Brown for his defeat of Jack Sparrow. Will did not say, anything, but his eyes gleamed angrily at the fact that his lazy master had again received the credit for his deeds.
Norrington disdainfully gave the unconscious body of Jack a nudge with his foot. "I suppose I will always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped."
