Before The Dawn
Chapter XVI: Of Skirmishes and Pistols
By FalconWing
Norrington ran his hands through his hair, freed from the confines of his wig. He shifted where he was sitting and allowed his head drop backwards against the bars, letting out a defeated sigh.
He had long since given up his endeavors to make out what was happening up on deck. There was a fight occurring, that much was certain, and yet there had been a fair number of fights in the past few months or however long it had been – abandoned also were any attempts to keep track of the time.
But this one felt different. Before, the battles had all begun with the thundering roar of cannon fire, prior to the distinctive jeers and war cries and the pirates boarded the other vessel. This time there had been nothing but an unearthly quiet before the sudden outcries, clashing of blades and sounds of pistol fire. What's more, the fighting was definitely taking place on this ship, not the other. As if the other ship had attacked first. As if the other ship was winning, or, at the very least, had the upper hand for the time being.
That worried him. Who was this mystery ship? What would happen if they won?
If they were of the navy, then all would be well. He and the other captives would be returned to Port Royal and their lives would continue on. The fact that he was very reluctant to admit even to himself was that this wasn't likely. The very fact that the fighting had not commenced until the two ships were close enough for boarding to happen indicating that they were more likely fellow pirates.
Norrington found himself hoping rather fervently that this was not the case. At least they knew what they were in for with the current bunch of kidnappers. Any other crew may well decide to be rid of them as soon as look at them.
He noticed that he had been jiggling his leg and forced it to stop. Recently he had begun to develop all manner of bad habits. His body's lack of co-operation with his mind's orders was the least of it and it just would not do. While there was no one to comment of such things, if – when – he got back to civilization, he would need to be completely calm and in control. After all, it would hardly do to be caught drumming his fingers or worrying at his bottom lip in the middle of a social occasion, would it?
To distract himself, he stood and began pacing the confines of his cell – or at least, he tried to pace. In actual fact, it was more of a stiff hobble. His strength really wasn't what it used to be. His attempts to keep himself on form notwithstanding, the lack of quality food and dismal living conditions were getting to him. He had lost an inordinate amount of weight and all in all felt perpetually tired and weak.
He was just glad he hadn't yet been reduced to the state of his cellmate.
She lay as still as the dead and indeed one may have thought her so, if not for the occasional shiver that racked her body and intermittent moans that escaped her lips. As though she hadn't been thin enough as it was, she was now almost skeletal in her figure, her cheeks had sunken deep and Norrington was positive that the sallow tinge to her skin was not his imagination.
She had suddenly stopped eating about a fortnight back, though perhaps it hadn't been as sudden as the term implied. Indeed, throughout the recent months, the amount of food she would spoon mechanically into her mouth had grown gradually less and less, until at last the bowl was ignored when he placed it into her hands and she sat staring straight ahead, no comprehension on her face whatsoever. It had been more the finality of her vacant gaze that brought with it such a sense of abruptness.
Despite his efforts to tempt her with food and drink, she had lost even the strength needed to sit straight and collapsed into much the same position she was in now, sprawled on her side. Frankly, Norrington had not a clue of what to do. He was a military man, a man of action, not a doctor or healer of any kind. This was anything but his area of expertise.
So he settled for trickling water in her mouth and trying not to feel too much like a fool when it dribbled back out her mouth. He didn't think she would last much longer and so, unable to do much else, he sat and hoped that against all odds, the attacking vessel was their salvation.
For her and for himself.
– – – – –
The Pearl's crew set the example and Will was happy to follow along with it, opting to disable the opposition rather than kill. He didn't know their reasons for this policy but followed along with it anyway, regardless of his private wish to personally cut down any man who dared harm his wife. Watching her out the corner of his eye and they stood back to back, he couldn't help but notice that she did so too.
He also couldn't help but take note of the natural ease with which she held her sword. Since when had she learned to fight?
Often she had sat and watched him as he practiced at the smithy and once she had picked up a sword and asked if she was holding it correctly. He had corrected her grip and taught her a few different thrusts and swings.
Granted she had seemed to pick it up as though it were second nature and yes, pirate crew or not, their opponents were hardly masters of the blade, but those factors alone could not account for the grace she displayed as she neatly sliced her challenger's leg and proceeded to clock him one, with the flat of her blade meeting his head with a sickening crack.
The man fell to the deck out cold and Elizabeth turned to flash him a quick reassuring smile before moving forward to meet her next adversary. This brought Will back to reality and he shook his head to clear it of all his queries and uncertainties. He gripped his sword tighter and waited for the next man to attack him.
He didn't have to wait long for the moment he got back into his defensive crouch he had to duck to the side to avoid a heavy swing aimed at his head. Recovering his balance, he came back at the man with a quick feint to the right. The other man bought it, leaving himself wide open and Will stepped smartly to the right dealing him a deep cut to his thigh. When the bloke faltered and made a move to have another go at Will's head, Will switched his own sword to his left side and caught the man's arm neatly with his right hand, using the man's hesitation to his advantage as he slammed the other man's own sword back until it collided solidly with his head.
Looking around the deck Will could see people lying motionless and wondered what on earth Jack and the Pearl would do with a whole crew of unconscious sailors with goose eggs on their heads once they were done. Then he glanced behind him and his heart stopped.
Elizabeth had vanished.
Will could feel himself panicking and forced himself to calm down – well to calm down as much as was possible when he in the middle of a sea-battle and his wife and gone missing in the very thick of it.
He scanned the ship from bow to stern and then back again searching for any sign of her golden brown hair.
There!
Relief flooded him at the sight of her still well and fighting up near the foremast but he still struggled to make his way over to where she was, stumbling over the many comatose bodies strewn between him and her. He used his shoulders to shove people out of his way regardless of what side they were on and those who attempted to engage him in swordplay were dispatched easily with the hilt of his blade. However much he trusted her ability to take care of herself, he would still breathe a hell of a lot easier knowing he had her back.
He reached her side finally and not a moment to soon either. Approaching them both warily was the biggest man Will had ever seen and even with his sword lowered as it was, the giant looked ready to raise it at the least provocation.
He walked in a circle of calm as though no one was prepared to infringe on his personal space even in the midst of such chaos. He stopped a distance from them and the expression on his face was almost concerned.
"Lassie, ye shouldn' be out 'ere in th' fightin'. 'S dangerous."
Will nearly gaped at him, for if not so much on his face, there most certainly had been concern evident in his voice. Elizabeth didn't seem to notice though and she raised her sword threateningly. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. And now, I would advise you to take a step back and find someone else caution."
Despite her civil words, there was nothing courteous in the way she clipped her words irritably and her eyes flashed with anger. If there was one thing Elizabeth didn't take kindly to hearing, it was people slandering her capability to defend herself and Will could almost pity the man who got on the wrong side of her tongue if not for the fact that he was the enemy.
Then to Will's further surprise, he nodded politely and stepped back, blending into the mêlée. Not that a man that large could ever completely vanish in the multitudes, no matter how large. His head and shoulders would always stand above the rest of the company.
Will shook his head in confusion and the moment of quiet dissipated. His senses returned to him full force and he had to suppress a wince as the sound overwhelmed his ears, drumming into his brain. But he forced himself to ignore it and returned his attention to his surroundings.
Elizabeth was already occupied with a small weasely looking fellow and taking a leaf out of her book he turned and engaged the man nearest him. The man was pretty good – Will had to give him that – and fought with just enough strength and skill that he managed to keep Will from getting an easy go at his head.
He was actually getting quite frustrated by the time a pistol butt appeared out of nowhere and the man collapsed gracelessly to the deck at Will's feet. Will glanced up and Gibbs winked conspiringly at him before whirling and disappearing back to wherever he had come from.
He shook his head again, this time in slight amusement but it soon turned into a frown as he looked over at the Pearl.
Where had Jack vanished to?
– – – – –
The Pearl's holds were literally bursting with swag and Jack smirked at Clavell's expression as he struggled to take it all in. The man had probably never seen this much loot in his life, let alone all together in one place and Jack could feel the greed and avarice fairly rolling off him in waves.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Jack used the opportunity to step in and give Clavell a clean slice down his side, dancing back out of his reach before he could recollect himself enough to return the swing. The other man curled his lip in pain and irritation and circled to the right a few paces feinting a high swing and coming in for the low.
Jack read him easily and deflecting the blow aimed at his legs and made his own swing to the left, which Clavell in turn blocked and parried. He had to admit that he had no trouble defending himself against the man, attacking was quite another story. Except when he was distracted, Clavell seemed to know instinctively where Jack was going to attack him and while Jack himself certainly sported no more cuts that the other man he was really quite unpleased with the few major scores he had landed.
In fact, he had been so occupied in the ongoing combat, that he couldn't even tell for sure exactly how long they had been down below decks or even how they had gotten here.
He ducked under the next hack to come his way and turned as he came back up, so that Clavell's back was now facing the stairs back up to the decks. He warded off the next few swings and then moved so that he was on the offensive. A few slashes and he changed tack again. This time he aimed his strikes, not to cut, but to land where they did with impact.
He swung, slashed and thrust without pause, forcing Clavell to move backwards as Jack's blows rained down on him again and again.
One more step and his heels hit the first step. Jack paused in his next swing and Clavell did as expected, clambering up the steps backwards until halfway where he turned and completed the climb moving forwards.
Jack followed at a more leisurely pace, meeting Clavell at the top where the other man had stopped and waited. If he had been hoping to make use of the higher ground he had, with Jack being a few steps below, he was sorely disappointed. Jack employed the same tactics as before, herding him first out onto the deck and then up the stairs again, to the quarterdeck.
He could see a few people look over at them, but the majority of them were busily involved in their own personal scuffles. He tried not to think about the fact that many of the men facing his own crew were people that he had, if not befriended, certainly respected in their own right.
But Clavell paid his surroundings no mind and was still there waiting for an opening. Jack sidestepped a chop that was only a hair short of being what he would call wild. While the man was still regaining his balance, Jack finally decided to call it quits. He rearranged his position completely, so that to everyone else, he appeared to leaving himself wide open. This was a strategy he had used many a time and found it worked nearly every time.
Clavell was no exception. Seeing his adversary so exposed he took the bait, making a feint to the left and at the same time, making ready to thrust his sword into Jack's unprotected chest. Instead of slicing through Jack's flesh it was stopped by his sword, which had appeared from nowhere to intercept the blow.
Having fully committed himself to the strike, he had only enough time to catch Jack's glittering smirk before, with a flick and a twist, the sword went flying from his grasp and he was sent stumbling backwards.
Jack lowered hi own sword somewhat, though it was still at the ready and made to swagger over to the now unarmed man.
He certainly hadn't planned on being greeted by fully loaded and cocked pistol pointing directly at his head.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hey guys. Sorry it took so long. And I thought a fortnight on holiday would leave me more writing time. Pfft! Boy, was I mistaken. I ended up being out all day almost everyday, which left very little time to write. So I offer you all my most profound apologies and hope that this made up for it – I don't think it's my longest chapter to date, but it's certainly getting close if it isn't.
To everyone who was confused by the last chapter's title - Of Bafflement and Dropped Pennies – I was referring to the saying "and the penny dropped" which people say when someone has a sudden epiphany or realization of some sort. Sorry about that.
So anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Any feedback is, of course, most welcome, no matter the content (though it is much appreciated if any criticism is constructive). Reviewers will be cherished for eternity.
Reviewer's Thanks
Oneiriad: (accepts rum) Well, here's a bit more Norrington for you and I hope you enjoy. (toasts to a hopefully quicker update next time)
Ellenar: Love the comparison between Jack and Bugs Bunny. Lol! And I think Norrington is a bit past having open fits – all that horrible food isn't good for the strength. We'll just have to wait and see who the lucky person is that gets to set free.
Ivy Crane: Clavell certainly isn't the best offensive mover, is he? But he does seem to be pretty good at defense.
Beregond'sGirl: Really, it was only two days that you delayed it and when added to the two weeks that it took, it doesn't really make that much difference, eh? And I look forward to reading this fic of yours that I seem to have inspired. I'll have to keep an eye out. And, eeek. I guess I really need to double check the parts I change, eh? I'll make sure to do so in future. Oh and let me know in a review or something when you get back, k?
OpraNoodlemantra: Yeah, maybe just a subtle hint to grandma will do the job and you'll some of it for birthday. I'll cross my fingers on you behalf, shall I?
Kanoloas Wrath: Well, if that cliffhanger was getting to you, what d'you think of this one? Lol. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can, I promise – though of course it all depends on how soon I can and I always do put it up as soon a I can so that just leaves us in t he same position anyway…never mind me. I'm confusing myself.
Crazydominodragongirl: As I said above, holidays don't always mean more writing time but I'll continue to try my best. And I've explained the title above as well. I'm sorry if it was confusing. And I don't know if they think they can beat the Black Pearl – Clavell and Brock certainly do but the rest of the crew are just trying to keep the Pearl's crew at bay 'cause the Pearl attacked first when they saw Clavell fighting Jack.
Raiden-sama: Awww, that's so nice. And I have to admit that before Pirates of the Caribbean I didn't pay sailing ships any mind – now however I have pictures of the Interceptor on one of my school books and I love them.
BM Originally: No, I didn't get the first one – I only got one. But that was such a nice review! I think that's the nicest review I've ever had! Thank you so much! wipes eyes with a tissue And I'll never give up with this story – not that there's much left – and I'm certainly planning on continuing writing (mostly thanks to wonderful reviews like yours). huge hug accompanies heartfelt thanks
Savvyness: It wasn't much sooner was it? Sorry. And you're right about the Jolly's crew not having much choice, but Clavell sure is a stuck up bastard sometimes isn't he?
Gaze: Sorry about the wait. That really was a bit more than the one-day tradition wasn't it? My sincerest apologies. "Does that dumb brute, Brock, really he think he can take Anamaria?" Well I guess the operative word there is "dumb". Let's just say he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
JackFan2: "Any chance for some Jack/Ana action during this story? lol.. I'm a bit of a shipper on that relationship." I know. I've read a few of your stories and really enjoyed them. I think I reviewed. Did I review? If I didn't let me know, 'cause this was a while ago – back when I didn't know how marvelously wonderful reviews are. I'm not planning any romance at all in this story, sorry. :(
Heldin: Don't worry; rambling reviews are a great source of amusement for me, lol. And no, I didn't kidnap anybody. casts shifty look around self Lol. Thank you for your review and all your nice comments. They are truly a great help.
Williz: I'm sorry if this wasn't as soon as hoped. My apologies. Hope this ending isn't too suspenseful for you.
MiRoRmInX: I've already told you but I'll tell you again. My reasons;a) you always take ages to update your own story and I'm looking forward to the next chapter and you should be writing that, not beta-reading mine b) I wasn't planning on having one but Beregond'sGirl was nice enough to offer. Now I think you should apologize to her for being mean! Remember most of the mistakes are ones I made after she went over it for me.
Shie1dmaidenofrohan: Don't worry about getting behind. You went back and reviewed them all and that is greatly appreciated.
PirateShy: Thanks for the review. And I guess Jack wasn't so fond of his old clothes, was he? And he has no compunctions about changing in the middle of a conversation obviously, lol. The exams went okay, yeah. Not excellent, but good, I'm pretty happy.
Katla: The update wasn't very fast and I'm sorry about that. And I don't mind overly that you didn't review last chapter – you did this one and any reviews are adored.
Peachfreak: Ummm, I'd say there are about three chapters to go after this one, so about nineteen over all. Can't believe it. And I don't your bruises beat my knees from hockey last week, lol.
Quiet Infinity: Yup, more high seas action. More frays and fights and a bit of a cliffhanger this time.
Scarlett Burns: Oh yay, a new reader. It's always nice to get a new reader, especially when they review, lol. I know I haven't updated in a while this time – and last time for that matter – but I do try to be relatively fast. I used to get a chapter up every three days and now I can't imagine how I ever managed it. Thanks heaps for the review.
Love y'all…
FalconWing.
