All Evidence
A/N: This is a work in-progress but I will continue it. I, by the way, do not own anything that is related to Pirates of the Caribbean. No names, places, etc. This also takes place in between the 1st and 2nd movie.
I: Broken Fear
Thunder roared throughout the blackening sky. A storm was brewing. Captain Jack Sparrow stood high atop the Black Pearl as he watched the waves climb in height. The captain has never been frightened of the sea, it has continually been his companion and ally, but today the sea was lashing up against the Pearl's sides, threatening to drown it. Jack looked down upon his crew. His second-in-command, Mr. Gibbs, had continously been loyal to Jack and had kept everyone in line while Jack had to do other things and couldn't mind the ship as well as he'd like. Jack's other crew members followed Gibbs blindly and Gibbs followed Jack with barely any hesitation. Jack had a good crew, a beautiful ship, and a good life. He was a pirate. A notorious, smooth-talking pirate.
"Captain!" Gibbs yelled over the wind, breaking Jack from his reverie.
Jack hopped down from his perch and came face-to-face with Gibbs, who looked nervous. Gibbs motioned for Jack to follow him and, of course, he did. The two went to the edge of the Pearl and gazed out behind them. A ship, catching the right side of the wind, was gaining on them.
"Put as many leagues between us and them," Jack ordered, "and hurry!"
Gibbs ran off to alert the entire crew and Jack returned to his perch, staring out at the oncoming ship. It looked old and deteriorated but Jack knew, from years of experience, never to judge a captain by his boat.
After all, he thought, anybody can say the Pearl is odd-looking but they can never take me on by such judgement.
He smirked at this thought and then realized the ship that was coming was really catching the wind. The Pearl would need the right side of the wind in order to outrun it. He jumped down from his perch in search of Gibbs. He found Gibbs trying to haul a man back onboard.
"Mr. Gibbs," Jack said. Gibbs turned. "We need to raise these sails a bit higher in order to catch a good wind. Otherwise, we'll never outrun them."
"Why outrun them, Cap'n?" Gibbs asked as Jack made his way to the wheel.
Jack turned and faced Gibbs. "Because it could be a number of people that I don't care to see." And with that, Jack went to the wheel, telling the sailor who'd been monitoring it to move aside while he took control. He spun the wheel quickly and yelled at Gibbs to raise the sails higher. Gibbs yelled at the men to raise the sails.
Jack looked back at the ship and saw it was breaking for land. Curiousity overwhelmed him and he told Gibbs to turn the ship around. Gibbs looked questionably at Jack but yelled orders at the men. Jack went to the edge of the Pearl, rain and sea water splattering on his face, and realized the ship was headed to Port Royal.
Meanwhile, in Port Royal, Elizabeth Swann Turner sat in her bedroom, brushing her honey-colored hair. She was still in her nightgown, she'd only awoken a few minutes ago by the loud thunder that was raging through the night sky. Her husband, William Turner, was asleep in their bed, snoring quietly. Elizabeth smiled at him as he slept and then put her brush down as she saw something coming ashore. She went to the window and tried to peer at the oncoming ship through the rain but could barely make out anything. She went to the door, opened it silently, and went down the steps. She pulled on her cloak and boots and went out into the pouring rain. Pulling her hood over her head, she went down the path to the gate of the Swann mansion and opened it with ease. Closing it loosely behind her, she went down the path to the fort. From the fort's high view, she could see the ship was docking. The fort was empty, so she would not be questioned by anyone, to her satisfaction. She peered through the foggy rain to see that only one person was getting off the ship and the lamps were doused, so she could not see anyone else onboard. The person walked up to the fort and banged heavily upon the door. Elizabeth went to the other side of the fort to see the guard opening the door. The man that stood there was holding a pistol to the guard's head. Elizabeth covered her mouth so she would not squeal in fright.
"I want to know where the Swann mansion is," the man said in an accent Elizabeth could not recognize. The guard pointed up the path, the exact path where Elizabeth had come from. Frightened and unsure of what to do, Elizabeth went to rush down the steps to follow the man when she knocked a cannon ball over the side of the fort. It landed with a loud thud and distracted the man from proceeding up the path. Instead, he can began to interrogate the guard, who had no idea, of course, of what was going on. Elizabeth, meanwhile, darted up the path in silence and ripped open the gates to the Swann mansion. She locked them securely behind her and ran into the house. She pulled off her boots and cloak and ran up the steps. She woke Will immediately.
"Will," she said breathlessly, "a man is here. He arrived on a ship. He had a pistol to the guard's head. Demanded to know where the Swann mansion was."
Will gripped his wife to hold her steady and then set her down on the bed. She held her chest in fright as Will went to the window. Sure enough, he could see a figure approaching the gate.
"We have to go," he said and grabbed his cloak, sword, and boots. Elizabeth pulled her sword from her closet and ran down the steps after Will. She grabbed her cloak and boots. They went to the back door and opened it soundlessly.
Before leaving, however, Elizabeth woke a servant and told her to put the entire house on high alert but not to make a sound. The servant, shaking with fear, did as she was told and fled to Governor Swann's room. Elizabeth and Will escaped out the back door silently and went to the gate, where the man was standing, his face hidden by shadow.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," he sung, "we pilage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"
"Show yourself," Will said courageously.
The singing stopped. "Why should I?" the voice answered.
Elizabeth scoffed and went to the gate. "Jack? Jack Sparrow?"
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow to you," Jack responded icily.
"Terribly sorry, Captain," Elizabeth responded, matching his tone, "but you sent the entire mansion into a frenzy."
"How so?" Jack asked, coming out of the shadows.
"I was at the fort when you held the pistol to the guard's head," she said, "I didn't know who you were or what you were doing, but when you asked for the location of the mansion, I panicked."
"Aha," said Jack, "so you made the cannon ball fall?"
Elizabeth nodded. "I did."
"You were at the fort?" Will asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, "I was curious."
"Doesn't hurt to be curious," Jack added, "now unlock this gate."
Will went to the gate and unlocked it while Elizabeth went inside to alert everyone everything was fine. She came back out in quite a huff.
"You've really started something now, Captain Sparrow," she said, "the entire house is angry at me, thinking I'm pulling their legs. The stories I'll hear from this."
"It's not my fault you thought I was the devil himself," Jack responded.
"Well you certainly didn't sound like you with the wind howling in my direction and my nerves reacting all over," Elizabeth retorted.
Jack rolled his eyes and took a good look at the Swann mansion. "Nice place," he commented.
"Glad it suits you," said Will, "come on."
The three of them walked into the mansion and went up to the bedroom. Will pulled a chair up for Jack, who shook his head at it. Elizabeth went back to brushing her hair and Will sat on the bed, facing Jack. She angled the mirror so she could see their expressions without turning around.
"So, why are you here?" Will asked.
"A ship's heading to Port Royal, one I've never seen before," responded Jack, "lucky for you, the Pearl caught good wind before the other ship did and made it here earlier."
"Is the ship coming here now?" Elizabeth asked.
"I don't know," said Jack, looking into the mirror at Elizabeth, "I would assume so, unless they saw us and changed their course."
"Did any of your crew know who the ship belonged to?" Will asked.
"No," said Jack, facing Will, "not a soul."
"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow," said Elizabeth, putting down her brush and facing the two of them, "you know everyone in the high seas. How can this be any different? Are they new to the area?"
"Perhaps," Jack said, considering the thought, "however, I have a resolution."
"And what's that?" Will asked.
"I would like to find out who is conducting this ship and why they were high-tailing the Pearl in the first place."
"They were high-tailing the Pearl?" Will asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Jack said.
Jack explained the situation he had to deal with that morning. Will and Elizabeth nodded throughout, seeing how they have been in a boat chase with Jack. Jack finished the story and the two were so lost in thought, that they don't know what to say.
"Could it be... Barbossa?" Elizabeth asked slowly.
"No," Will and Jack responded together.
"He's dead," Will said.
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, letting the thought drift from her mind. The three have begun to discuss theories when suddenly, the rail held up. Jack told them he'd better head back to the Pearl. Before he goes to leave, Will and Elizabeth have packed up their possessions and announced that they are going with him.
"So be it," Jack said.
The three set off in the still early and rainy morning to the Black Pearl. They smiled at the guard that Jack interrogated as they left. They climbed onto the Pearl and were greeted by Gibbs.
"Are you joining on us on our journey?" Gibbs asked.
"We are," Will responded.
Gibbs nodded. "We have a few extra sleeping quarters below deck," he said, motioning.
Will and Elizabeth go down into their cabin and prepare their beds. They go up above deck to find that they are already sailing from Port Royal.
"Another adventure," Elizabeth said.
Will nodded. "Another adventure."
