Daring Rescue, Daring Escape Ch. 5: He Should Have Let Her Drown
By Honorat Selonnet
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Excuse me while I go set my mousetrap.
Summary: Jack's POV—insert laugh track. Jack and Norrington face off. What's not to love? Another movie novelization—Jack's first rescue of Elizabeth.
He Should Have Let Her Drown
by Honorat Selonnet
Jack raised his head slowly and met the fierce gaze of a gold-braided, feather-hatted, white-periwigged naval officer. The ruffles and gilt were belied by the ice-cold steel of the man's eyes and his firm, skilled grip on the hilt of his sword.
The little pirate with the abacus in Jack's head was enthusing, That is a magnificent sword! and wondering about the feasibility of somehow accidentally acquiring it on his way out. But the majority of his brain was chanting a familiar litany: Oh damndamndamndamndamn! For this, unless he missed his guess, was the newly minted Commodore Norrington, not-so-fondly known among the Brethren as the Scourge of Piracy in the Caribbean. The commodore was backed up by a passel of unfriendly looking navy toffs and entirely too many bayonets at the ends of entirely too many redcoats.
Blast that damnable streak of honour that led him to rescue fair maidens when he should have been commandeering a ship and hightailing it out of Port Royal. Clearly, he must have lost his mind. He should have let her drown. In the ensuing uproar, he could probably have walked off with any ship he pleased.
Carefully, so as not to startle the commodore into doing anything rash, Jack let the medallion drop and eased to his feet, hands half raised and limply non-threatening. The fine steel point followed him up, not budging from his throat. Why did these kinds of things always happen to him?
The staccato tap of a gentleman's heels drummed down the boards of the dock. "Elizabeth!" cried a distraught voice.
Jack spared a small amount of attention to evaluate this new player in the deadly game he had suddenly found himself playing. The man rushing up past Norrington was even more elaborately dressed, with an absolutely amazing long curly gray wig. Apparently, he was someone overly important. He dragged off his blue and gold coat and swooped down on the girl still lying on the dock.
"Are you alright?" Curly-wig's voice shook as he pulled the girl to her feet and began wrapping her in his coat.
That would be the lass's father most likely. Whether he was worried more about her catching a chill or being seen in her undergarments was up for grabs. But he was obviously shaken from a severe fright—a fact which made him dangerous. He had, however, claimed some of the overdose of military attention flooding the dock. Jack dared to wipe some of the water from his face during this distraction.
"Yes, I'm fine." The girl, Elizabeth, reassured her upset parent. Then she returned to staring at Jack.
Like what you see, love? He raised an eyebrow at her. Now would be a very good time to call off these Navy dogs.
Papa was looking a little belligerent, too—although his focus was on the bemused Mr. Murtogg who was still gripping the ripped corset Jack had tossed to him. The flustered man opened his mouth, shut it and hurriedly dropped the corset. Desperate to absolve himself of any responsibility for insulting the man's daughter, the marine pointed to Jack, opening and closing his mouth again rather like a clown fish.
Thanks a lot, mate. Jack eyed him disgustedly. I thought we were getting to be friends.
Transferring his unwelcome attention to Jack, the lass's father took in the pirate's disreputable appearance with glowering disapproval.
Jack stared back at him. Yes, I did remove that corset from your precious daughter. She wasn't breathing, mate. What sort of a parent lets his daughter fall off a cliff anyway?
"Shoot him!" the man ordered in a shrill, angry voice.
Wait just a bloody minute! Jack started. Wasn't that just a bit extreme? He had, after all, just fished the man's daughter out of Davy Jones' locker. He didn't expect the man would sympathize with just how completely that little unnecessary act of charity had messed up Jack's plans, but a bit of gratitude would not be amiss here. His body tensed with the urge to flee. He bloody hated people who shot first and asked questions later. No scope for creative negotiation at all. He really should have let the girl drown.
"Father!" Elizabeth snapped impatiently, glaring at her parent.
Her father stared at her in confusion. "What?" he asked.
The girl turned to Norrington. "Commodore," she spoke earnestly. Shooting a quick look at Jack, she turned back to his captors. "Do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"
Norrington, whose eyes had never strayed from Jack, now glanced over at Elizabeth. He had the grace to drop his gaze as if he was perhaps a little ashamed of the conclusions he'd jumped to. A slight nod of his head and the bayonets fell away from Jack.
Elizabeth was looking back at Jack with those large brown eyes. Grateful.
Alright, perhaps he was glad he hadn't let the girl drown. Jack pressed his palms together and nodded a small bow to Elizabeth. "Thank you," he mouthed the words with the barest of smiles.
TBC