Chapter Four-Elizabeth
Catherine ran through the streets of Port Royal as dawn was breaking, looking for her sister. She found Will lying in the road, unconscious, and immediately began shaking him. He awoke slowly and began rubbing the back of his neck; after a few seconds he looked around him and up at Catherine.
"Elizabeth!! They've taken her!!"
"I know, Will, I know!! Come on, we've got to go find my father."
When Will and Elizabeth reached the fort and Governor Swann, they found him and many of his officers trying to survey the damage to the city.
"Father! The pirates have taken Elizabeth! We've got to go rescue her, you must send out a ship!" Governor Swann, tired and grieved, pulled his eldest daughter to him.
"I know she's been taken. I thought you had as well when no one could find you at the house. Commodore Norrington is in charge of the fleet, he must make the decision." The Commodore, looking quite calm and composed as he casually studied the map laid out before him, glanced towards Catherine and Will as he spoke.
"I am afraid we cannot send a ship after the Black Pearl. We have no idea where it has gone and we have much more pressing matters to take care of before we just send troops out after one woman."
"What do you mean we cannot send a ship out? What about Jack Sparrow, he's a pirate, he'll be able to find them, make a deal with him!" Will cried in exasperation. "We've got to get her back!"
"Please Commodore, you want to marry my sister and you're just going to let her go? Talk to the pirate! Don't hang him today, we need his help!" Hot tears filled Catherine's eyes as she pleaded with the naval officer, while Will stared angrily at the man.
"I am sorry Catherine, but we must not act rashly. Turner, you forget your place. A blacksmith is in no position to order a commodore to do anything." Norrington glared at Will as he spoke. It was easy to sense the feelings Will had for Elizabeth, and the commodore was not keen on competition. Catherine continued to cry as she screamed at everyone, and Will swung his arm over his head and lodged his axe in the center of the large map. Norrington removed it calmly. "No ship will be sent out, and the pirate will be hanged as planned. Good day." Catherine gave one last desperate look at her father who turned away from her in anguish.
"Go home, Catherine, there is naught you can do." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will walked Catherine back to the mansion, leaving her at the gates.
"Stay here. I'm going to go get Sparrow out of the prison and we shall go get Elizabeth."
"Not without me you won't. I'm not going to leave my baby sister in the hands of vicious pirates while I sit on my ass fanning myself. I'm coming with you." Catherine began to walk back towards town.
"I thought you'd say that." Will grabbed Catherine about the waist, hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her into the mansion kicking and screaming. He deposited her in the parlor, walked out and forced the door shut with a chair. "I'm sorry, but you are going to stay here. This is not a task for a woman."
Minutes later Will Turner was facing Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Who're you?" said the pirate, cocking his head to one side and staring puzzledly at the blacksmith. "Come to make a mockery of me, eh?"
"I've come to strike a bargain with you. The pirates who attacked Port Royal have taken a woman, Elizabeth Swann. I have heard that you know of the Black Pearl, and I will get you out if you will take me to it." Will looked determinedly at Jack, who raised an eyebrow and ran his tongue over his teeth. He was quite amused by this serious faced boy who stared at him so coolly.
"Yeah, I know o' the Pearl, but there's no way to track 'er down. Sorry, mate, 'fraid ye're on ye're own." Jack turned away from the cell door to continue pondering his escape, when he twisted his head around for another look at Will. "Who in hell are ye, anyways?"
"Will Turner. I'm a blacksmith." At this Jack raised his eyebrow yet again and stared at Will, his eyes squinted as if in concentration.
"Will Turner, eh? S'pose its William, hmm?" Will nodded. "Named for yer father, I'd imagine."
"That's right." Jack stared at the boy again, arms crossed, thinking.
"Very well, Will Turner. Spring me from this cell and I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonnie lass. I don' know 'ow ye're planning on opening this cell, though." Will started at hearing Sparrow refer to Elizabeth as his bonnie lass. He would willingly die for her, but as far as he knew Elizabeth thought of him as a good friend and nothing more, even if she did sneak out to see him alone all the time. Will did not think very highly of himself when it came to Elizabeth. He snapped back to reality at Jack's inquiry about the cell.
"I built these doors." Will slid a bench under one hinge of the door, pushed against it, and the entire door popped out of its frame.
"Well me boy," said Jack as he grabbed his gun, compass, cutlass and hat off of the jailer's table, "Let's go get a ship." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine finally managed to get out of the parlor by climbing through an open window. She ran back inside and up to her room, pulled off her robe and threw on a dress over the nightgown she had been running around in all night and sprinted out of the door to the jail. When she arrived, she found the dislodged door and the empty cell. She immediately started off for the harbor. When she arrived, men were running about shouting to each other that the pirate and another man had taken the HMS Dauntless. She followed the soldiers who were climbing onto the Interceptor in pursuit, led by Commodore Norrington, and easily got aboard herself without being noticed. As they pulled up next to the Dauntless, throwing ropes across to bind the two ships together, every man on the Interceptor swung themselves onto the adjoining ship. As soon as all the men were on the Dauntless, Catherine looked up to see Will and the dashing Captain Sparrow swing themselves aboard the Interceptor and sever the ropes connecting it to the Dauntless. The two men landed right in front of her.
"Oh no, Catherine."
Will and Jack stood there staring at the woman who just seemed to pop up in front of them, Will with a look of almost pain, and Jack with curious shock.
"Catherine, what are you doing!?! I told you to stay in the Mansion, do you have any idea." Will was suddenly stopped by Catherine's hand being placed roughly across his mouth.
"Oh do be quiet, Will. If you haven't forgotten, it was MY sister who was taken, and I daresay she is quite as important to me as she is to you. And secondly, how DARE you order me to do anything!! You've known me for ten years, since when have I ever taken orders from somebody without force? I don't do what my father tells me to, why should I listen to you? I told you I was coming, and I am, and if you say this is no task for a woman one more time I'll knock you off this ship with my bare hands!" Will stood silent. Catherine was quite a picture standing there yelling at him, hands on her hips defiantly and her hair disheveled by the recent chaos and sea breeze. If nothing else, Will knew not to mess with her when she had that crazed look in her eye. A man could get killed trying to control a woman like that. Jack, on the other hand, was quite amused by the whole situation.
"I like her. Sounds to me like the lass will be joining us on our little cruise, eh?" he said as he mockingly tipped his hat. "Milady. Captain Jack Sparrow at your service." Catherine, being far from stupid, glared at the pirate.
"Don't you 'milady' me. I won't take any impertinence off of you, either. I don't care if you are an infamous pirate; you've never had to face the likes of me." With that she stormed off deck to go find something to get her wild hair out of her face. Jack played with his beard as his eyes followed Catherine until she disappeared below deck.
"Feisty, that one. Oh yes, I do like her."
Catherine ran through the streets of Port Royal as dawn was breaking, looking for her sister. She found Will lying in the road, unconscious, and immediately began shaking him. He awoke slowly and began rubbing the back of his neck; after a few seconds he looked around him and up at Catherine.
"Elizabeth!! They've taken her!!"
"I know, Will, I know!! Come on, we've got to go find my father."
When Will and Elizabeth reached the fort and Governor Swann, they found him and many of his officers trying to survey the damage to the city.
"Father! The pirates have taken Elizabeth! We've got to go rescue her, you must send out a ship!" Governor Swann, tired and grieved, pulled his eldest daughter to him.
"I know she's been taken. I thought you had as well when no one could find you at the house. Commodore Norrington is in charge of the fleet, he must make the decision." The Commodore, looking quite calm and composed as he casually studied the map laid out before him, glanced towards Catherine and Will as he spoke.
"I am afraid we cannot send a ship after the Black Pearl. We have no idea where it has gone and we have much more pressing matters to take care of before we just send troops out after one woman."
"What do you mean we cannot send a ship out? What about Jack Sparrow, he's a pirate, he'll be able to find them, make a deal with him!" Will cried in exasperation. "We've got to get her back!"
"Please Commodore, you want to marry my sister and you're just going to let her go? Talk to the pirate! Don't hang him today, we need his help!" Hot tears filled Catherine's eyes as she pleaded with the naval officer, while Will stared angrily at the man.
"I am sorry Catherine, but we must not act rashly. Turner, you forget your place. A blacksmith is in no position to order a commodore to do anything." Norrington glared at Will as he spoke. It was easy to sense the feelings Will had for Elizabeth, and the commodore was not keen on competition. Catherine continued to cry as she screamed at everyone, and Will swung his arm over his head and lodged his axe in the center of the large map. Norrington removed it calmly. "No ship will be sent out, and the pirate will be hanged as planned. Good day." Catherine gave one last desperate look at her father who turned away from her in anguish.
"Go home, Catherine, there is naught you can do." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will walked Catherine back to the mansion, leaving her at the gates.
"Stay here. I'm going to go get Sparrow out of the prison and we shall go get Elizabeth."
"Not without me you won't. I'm not going to leave my baby sister in the hands of vicious pirates while I sit on my ass fanning myself. I'm coming with you." Catherine began to walk back towards town.
"I thought you'd say that." Will grabbed Catherine about the waist, hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her into the mansion kicking and screaming. He deposited her in the parlor, walked out and forced the door shut with a chair. "I'm sorry, but you are going to stay here. This is not a task for a woman."
Minutes later Will Turner was facing Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Who're you?" said the pirate, cocking his head to one side and staring puzzledly at the blacksmith. "Come to make a mockery of me, eh?"
"I've come to strike a bargain with you. The pirates who attacked Port Royal have taken a woman, Elizabeth Swann. I have heard that you know of the Black Pearl, and I will get you out if you will take me to it." Will looked determinedly at Jack, who raised an eyebrow and ran his tongue over his teeth. He was quite amused by this serious faced boy who stared at him so coolly.
"Yeah, I know o' the Pearl, but there's no way to track 'er down. Sorry, mate, 'fraid ye're on ye're own." Jack turned away from the cell door to continue pondering his escape, when he twisted his head around for another look at Will. "Who in hell are ye, anyways?"
"Will Turner. I'm a blacksmith." At this Jack raised his eyebrow yet again and stared at Will, his eyes squinted as if in concentration.
"Will Turner, eh? S'pose its William, hmm?" Will nodded. "Named for yer father, I'd imagine."
"That's right." Jack stared at the boy again, arms crossed, thinking.
"Very well, Will Turner. Spring me from this cell and I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonnie lass. I don' know 'ow ye're planning on opening this cell, though." Will started at hearing Sparrow refer to Elizabeth as his bonnie lass. He would willingly die for her, but as far as he knew Elizabeth thought of him as a good friend and nothing more, even if she did sneak out to see him alone all the time. Will did not think very highly of himself when it came to Elizabeth. He snapped back to reality at Jack's inquiry about the cell.
"I built these doors." Will slid a bench under one hinge of the door, pushed against it, and the entire door popped out of its frame.
"Well me boy," said Jack as he grabbed his gun, compass, cutlass and hat off of the jailer's table, "Let's go get a ship." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine finally managed to get out of the parlor by climbing through an open window. She ran back inside and up to her room, pulled off her robe and threw on a dress over the nightgown she had been running around in all night and sprinted out of the door to the jail. When she arrived, she found the dislodged door and the empty cell. She immediately started off for the harbor. When she arrived, men were running about shouting to each other that the pirate and another man had taken the HMS Dauntless. She followed the soldiers who were climbing onto the Interceptor in pursuit, led by Commodore Norrington, and easily got aboard herself without being noticed. As they pulled up next to the Dauntless, throwing ropes across to bind the two ships together, every man on the Interceptor swung themselves onto the adjoining ship. As soon as all the men were on the Dauntless, Catherine looked up to see Will and the dashing Captain Sparrow swing themselves aboard the Interceptor and sever the ropes connecting it to the Dauntless. The two men landed right in front of her.
"Oh no, Catherine."
Will and Jack stood there staring at the woman who just seemed to pop up in front of them, Will with a look of almost pain, and Jack with curious shock.
"Catherine, what are you doing!?! I told you to stay in the Mansion, do you have any idea." Will was suddenly stopped by Catherine's hand being placed roughly across his mouth.
"Oh do be quiet, Will. If you haven't forgotten, it was MY sister who was taken, and I daresay she is quite as important to me as she is to you. And secondly, how DARE you order me to do anything!! You've known me for ten years, since when have I ever taken orders from somebody without force? I don't do what my father tells me to, why should I listen to you? I told you I was coming, and I am, and if you say this is no task for a woman one more time I'll knock you off this ship with my bare hands!" Will stood silent. Catherine was quite a picture standing there yelling at him, hands on her hips defiantly and her hair disheveled by the recent chaos and sea breeze. If nothing else, Will knew not to mess with her when she had that crazed look in her eye. A man could get killed trying to control a woman like that. Jack, on the other hand, was quite amused by the whole situation.
"I like her. Sounds to me like the lass will be joining us on our little cruise, eh?" he said as he mockingly tipped his hat. "Milady. Captain Jack Sparrow at your service." Catherine, being far from stupid, glared at the pirate.
"Don't you 'milady' me. I won't take any impertinence off of you, either. I don't care if you are an infamous pirate; you've never had to face the likes of me." With that she stormed off deck to go find something to get her wild hair out of her face. Jack played with his beard as his eyes followed Catherine until she disappeared below deck.
"Feisty, that one. Oh yes, I do like her."