Sorry it took so long to get this posted. This isn't the best-written
chapter. I know I made a few mistakes, but I needed to get this posted so
I could continue with the rest of the story.
The Pearl comes to town and brings with it a recognizable face. How is
this man connected with Judith and her daughter, Rebecca?
Disclaimer at the beginning of the Prologue still applies.
Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Montgomery is running through the streets of Port Royal, dodging raindrops on her way back to her home: The Montgomery Mercantile. Strange looks are shot her way by the "ladies" as she runs in her dress, water and mud soaking it to the waist. Her wet hair plasters itself to her face, making it hard to see as she attempts to avoid the other pedestrians who are trying to stay out of the storm.
She reaches her front door and pauses to catch her breath. Looking down at her dress, she grimaces. //Mom's going to strangle me.// Her wet hands fumble with the latch as she tries to enter her home while making as little noise as possible. The door finally opens with a loud wooden creak. //So much for that idea.// She grins to herself.
Avoiding the apprentice's eyes, she makes her way up the old, worn staircase and to her room. She pulls aside the curtain that she put up to allow herself some privacy, and her eyes meet the very sight that she had been trying to avoid: Her mother.
"Where in God's name have you been? You should have been back from that delivery well before now. Did it ever occur to you that I just may need you help around here?" Rebecca rolls her eyes, irritated. What did her mother think she was doing, delivering the clothes for fun?
"I went down to the docks to watch the ships." She knew her mother was going to make a big deal out of it, but what's the point of lying to her.
"How many times have I tol--. Why can't you just be normal, like all the other girls? Why can't you wear a dress without destroying it?" Judith yells at her daughter. //Curse you father and his free spirit.//
"Mother, you know I'm not like the other women. If I was, I'd be beautiful and have a hundred suitors. I'm sorry if I'm not as pretty as Miss Elizabeth Swann. She has men, young and old, falling at her feet. Besides, I quite enjoy not worrying about my appearance. The only people I have to impress are you and the few customers that we have." Rebecca pauses before she loses her temper. She always seems to when her mother mentions other females, or how she should try to find a man to call on her so she can be happy.
"I'm sorry, Bec. I didn't mean to upset you. I just want you to be happy."
"You don't understand. I am happy. I don't need a man in my life to tie down my freedom. Married women don't have their own lives, the have the lives that their husbands want them to have. Cooking, cleaning, children: that's not for me. I want to experience more while I still have the chance, and by being who I am now, I can. I want to see the world before I become a man's slave." Her voice is distressed and sincere.
"And how do you presume you see the world? By joining the Royal Navy?" Judith scoffs slightly, not wanting her daughter to think that she doesn't believe in her, but also trying to get the girl to understand that women can't do such things.
"No." Rebecca has no intentions of joining the Navy, even if she could. " I can go with Daddy. He's a sailor."
Judith pales and stares at her daughter. //My daughter wants to be a pirate?!// The idea sinks into her head, and she chuckles. The sight of her daughter climbing the riggings in skirts is actually quite humorous.
"You think you can make it on a pirate's ship? I don't mean to doubt you as a person, or sound pessimistic, but a pirate's ship is no cruise." As if to confirm her last thought, a cannon fires three shots into Port Royal.
"I know those guns." Judith says as she slowly makes her way to the window. "It's the P...your father."
Rebecca runs to the window. On the horizon, she sees a ship with holes in the sails, black as night, guns blazing at the Fort.
"The Black Pearl." She says breathlessly. She peeks her head out the window farther, but the view from the second floor wasn't appealing. Pulling her head back in the window, she notices that the rain has stopped. Rebecca bolts downstairs and toward the back of the house to get a better view as her mother latches all the windows and barricades the doors. Opening the shutters slowly, she peers toward the docks. Chaos was evident even from this distance. She could very faintly hear crying of the other townsfolk in that area. //Why am I so excited? I should be terrified. Pirates are thieves and kidnappers.// Her thoughts drift to her father. Even though she's never met him, she knows in her heart that he's a good man. She watches the Fort as it begins to return fire on the Pearl.
The guns are loud, and shake the ground. Plates rattle, and threaten to fall off the shelf. Clanking swords can be heard just around the corner of the very window Rebecca is looking out of. Pistols are fired throughout the town. And, yet, she's still not afraid. Sometimes she worries herself. A voice frightens her.
"Have you seen any scallywags come this way miss?" A member of the Navy asks. It's hard to find her voice after being scared so thoroughly.
"No, sir." After a long pause, her voice finally cooperates.
"Good. Close the window. It's not safe out here for a woman such as yourself." The lieutenant continues.
"It doesn't seem safe out for anyone. Man or Woman." She rebuts and closes the shutters before he was able to respond. The fading of his footsteps alerts her to his leaving. She opens the shutters once again, slowly enough to make very little or no noise a pokes her head out once more. A movement to her right catches her eye. //Hm. Nothing there.//
"Hello, luv."
Rebecca gasps and looks to her left. //A pirate! A real live Pirate!// Terror soon replaces her excitement as he pulls his pistol and points it to her temple. She backs away from the window slowly.
"Step aside, woman. I wish to take advantage of your hospitality." The pirate smiles, gold glinting on his surprisingly white teeth.
"No." //What am I doing? He's going to kill me!//
"Look, I mean you no harm. I swear on pain of death that I will not harm your family or belongings. Please, just let me in."
"No." //That's it, I'm dead.// The gun at her temple is cocked.
"Move, luv. I don't want a woman's blood on my hands, but if that's what it takes, I will shoot you and think no more of it." The tone of his voice sends goose bumps running down her spine. Rebecca wisely steps aside to allow the man in through the window. The gun remains cocked as he climbs through the window. Not two seconds after his feet hit the floor and he shuts the window, the Royal Navy marches past outside.
"Rebecca! Is everything all right?" Her mother's voice sounds frantic coming from the store. She thinks about screaming, but the pirate's eyes change her mind.
"Yes mother. I'm fine." She begins walking toward the store, but the pistol cocking stops her.
"Go on, luv. But I'm coming with you."
She continues into the store, the shadows behind her hiding the visitor from her mother's view as she steps into the light. The fear in her daughter's eyes tells Judith that someone is behind her.
"You can step out, pirate. I know you're there." The man pushes the gun into Rebecca's back and steps forward with her. He recognizes the woman standing, ready to defend her daughter's life with her own. A flash of recognition in the woman's eyes tells him he's right.
"Jack Sparrow?" Judith asks, tentatively.
Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Montgomery is running through the streets of Port Royal, dodging raindrops on her way back to her home: The Montgomery Mercantile. Strange looks are shot her way by the "ladies" as she runs in her dress, water and mud soaking it to the waist. Her wet hair plasters itself to her face, making it hard to see as she attempts to avoid the other pedestrians who are trying to stay out of the storm.
She reaches her front door and pauses to catch her breath. Looking down at her dress, she grimaces. //Mom's going to strangle me.// Her wet hands fumble with the latch as she tries to enter her home while making as little noise as possible. The door finally opens with a loud wooden creak. //So much for that idea.// She grins to herself.
Avoiding the apprentice's eyes, she makes her way up the old, worn staircase and to her room. She pulls aside the curtain that she put up to allow herself some privacy, and her eyes meet the very sight that she had been trying to avoid: Her mother.
"Where in God's name have you been? You should have been back from that delivery well before now. Did it ever occur to you that I just may need you help around here?" Rebecca rolls her eyes, irritated. What did her mother think she was doing, delivering the clothes for fun?
"I went down to the docks to watch the ships." She knew her mother was going to make a big deal out of it, but what's the point of lying to her.
"How many times have I tol--. Why can't you just be normal, like all the other girls? Why can't you wear a dress without destroying it?" Judith yells at her daughter. //Curse you father and his free spirit.//
"Mother, you know I'm not like the other women. If I was, I'd be beautiful and have a hundred suitors. I'm sorry if I'm not as pretty as Miss Elizabeth Swann. She has men, young and old, falling at her feet. Besides, I quite enjoy not worrying about my appearance. The only people I have to impress are you and the few customers that we have." Rebecca pauses before she loses her temper. She always seems to when her mother mentions other females, or how she should try to find a man to call on her so she can be happy.
"I'm sorry, Bec. I didn't mean to upset you. I just want you to be happy."
"You don't understand. I am happy. I don't need a man in my life to tie down my freedom. Married women don't have their own lives, the have the lives that their husbands want them to have. Cooking, cleaning, children: that's not for me. I want to experience more while I still have the chance, and by being who I am now, I can. I want to see the world before I become a man's slave." Her voice is distressed and sincere.
"And how do you presume you see the world? By joining the Royal Navy?" Judith scoffs slightly, not wanting her daughter to think that she doesn't believe in her, but also trying to get the girl to understand that women can't do such things.
"No." Rebecca has no intentions of joining the Navy, even if she could. " I can go with Daddy. He's a sailor."
Judith pales and stares at her daughter. //My daughter wants to be a pirate?!// The idea sinks into her head, and she chuckles. The sight of her daughter climbing the riggings in skirts is actually quite humorous.
"You think you can make it on a pirate's ship? I don't mean to doubt you as a person, or sound pessimistic, but a pirate's ship is no cruise." As if to confirm her last thought, a cannon fires three shots into Port Royal.
"I know those guns." Judith says as she slowly makes her way to the window. "It's the P...your father."
Rebecca runs to the window. On the horizon, she sees a ship with holes in the sails, black as night, guns blazing at the Fort.
"The Black Pearl." She says breathlessly. She peeks her head out the window farther, but the view from the second floor wasn't appealing. Pulling her head back in the window, she notices that the rain has stopped. Rebecca bolts downstairs and toward the back of the house to get a better view as her mother latches all the windows and barricades the doors. Opening the shutters slowly, she peers toward the docks. Chaos was evident even from this distance. She could very faintly hear crying of the other townsfolk in that area. //Why am I so excited? I should be terrified. Pirates are thieves and kidnappers.// Her thoughts drift to her father. Even though she's never met him, she knows in her heart that he's a good man. She watches the Fort as it begins to return fire on the Pearl.
The guns are loud, and shake the ground. Plates rattle, and threaten to fall off the shelf. Clanking swords can be heard just around the corner of the very window Rebecca is looking out of. Pistols are fired throughout the town. And, yet, she's still not afraid. Sometimes she worries herself. A voice frightens her.
"Have you seen any scallywags come this way miss?" A member of the Navy asks. It's hard to find her voice after being scared so thoroughly.
"No, sir." After a long pause, her voice finally cooperates.
"Good. Close the window. It's not safe out here for a woman such as yourself." The lieutenant continues.
"It doesn't seem safe out for anyone. Man or Woman." She rebuts and closes the shutters before he was able to respond. The fading of his footsteps alerts her to his leaving. She opens the shutters once again, slowly enough to make very little or no noise a pokes her head out once more. A movement to her right catches her eye. //Hm. Nothing there.//
"Hello, luv."
Rebecca gasps and looks to her left. //A pirate! A real live Pirate!// Terror soon replaces her excitement as he pulls his pistol and points it to her temple. She backs away from the window slowly.
"Step aside, woman. I wish to take advantage of your hospitality." The pirate smiles, gold glinting on his surprisingly white teeth.
"No." //What am I doing? He's going to kill me!//
"Look, I mean you no harm. I swear on pain of death that I will not harm your family or belongings. Please, just let me in."
"No." //That's it, I'm dead.// The gun at her temple is cocked.
"Move, luv. I don't want a woman's blood on my hands, but if that's what it takes, I will shoot you and think no more of it." The tone of his voice sends goose bumps running down her spine. Rebecca wisely steps aside to allow the man in through the window. The gun remains cocked as he climbs through the window. Not two seconds after his feet hit the floor and he shuts the window, the Royal Navy marches past outside.
"Rebecca! Is everything all right?" Her mother's voice sounds frantic coming from the store. She thinks about screaming, but the pirate's eyes change her mind.
"Yes mother. I'm fine." She begins walking toward the store, but the pistol cocking stops her.
"Go on, luv. But I'm coming with you."
She continues into the store, the shadows behind her hiding the visitor from her mother's view as she steps into the light. The fear in her daughter's eyes tells Judith that someone is behind her.
"You can step out, pirate. I know you're there." The man pushes the gun into Rebecca's back and steps forward with her. He recognizes the woman standing, ready to defend her daughter's life with her own. A flash of recognition in the woman's eyes tells him he's right.
"Jack Sparrow?" Judith asks, tentatively.