An enormous amount of pressure is relieved from my chest. I choke. Water shoots out of my lungs immediately and it seems like the first breath I've taken in ages. I lay coughing for a moment, feeling disoriented and weak. I'm soaked and lying on my back, looking up at three gentleman. Two are officers dressed in red. One holds my corset. The third man is unlike any I have ever seen. His complexion is dark, as though he's never had a second out of the sun. His face is covered by a dark mustache and a goatee which runs down his chin, divided into two sections and braided at the ends. His dark hair is separated into thick strands of dreadlocks. A reddish-brown cloth covers part of his forehead. Several strands of beads hang from his messy hair; one is secured with a silver coin at the end. He is also soaking wet. He must have rescued me.
However, his attention is not on me. He seems to be reaching for what lies around my neck.
The medallion.
"Where did you get that?" He says.
"On your feet," the voice of Commodore Norrington says from behind me. I see the tip of a sword, pointed inches from the man's nose. He does as the Commodore says.
"Elizabeth," my father appears and takes hold of my arms, awkwardly helping me up. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I tell him, my eyes still on the man who rescued me. I take a second to stuff the medallion down my bodice as Father wraps a blanket around my shoulders. Bayonets are pointed at the man. I knew it. He's a pirate.
"Shoot him!" Father orders.
"Father!" I protest. "Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"
Commodore hesitates but sees the plea in my eyes. He slowly lowers his sword. I look back at the pirate as the men lower their bayonets as well.
"I believe thanks are in order," Commodore says, extending his hand. For a moment I'm impressed at the commodore's civility. The pirate takes Commodore's hand, who draws back the pirate's sleeve to reveal a vicious-looking brand of the letter "P."
"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we? Pirate!" Norrington accuses.
The pirate winces.
"Hang him!" My father commands.
"Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette! Fetch some irons," Commodore says to his lieutenant. He pulls up more of the pirate's sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a bird in flight.
"Well, well. Jack Sparrow isn't it?" Commodore releases the pirate's arm with a thrust.
"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir," Sparrow corrects in a smooth voice. I'm astonished he's worried about the mentioning of his title, considering the dire situation he's put himself in. He doesn't look ruffled though. This must not be the first time someone has sentenced him to death.
Commodore smirks.
"Well, I don't see your ship . . . Captain."
"I'm in the market, as it were," Sparrow answers hastily. And shiftily.
"He said he'd come to commandeer one," one of the officers in red speaks up.
"Told ya he was telling the truth," mutters the other officer. "These are his sir." He holds up a pile of effects.
Commodore picks up a flintlock lying on top.
"No additional shots nor powder. A compass that doesn't point north," he shuts the compass and unsheathes an inexpensive sword. "And I half expected it to be made of wood. You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of."
"But you have heard of me," replied Sparrow with a smile. Commodore's smile disappears. He grabs Sparrow's arm roughly and pulls him along to put him in chains.
"Commodore, I really must protest," I say, throwing off my blanket and following them.
"Careful Lieutenant," Commodore says as Gillette snaps iron chains around Sparrow's wrists. I stand between Sparrow and Commodore, looking at the latter firmly in the eyes.
"Pirate or not this man saved my life," I say determinedly.
"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness."
"Though it seems enough to condemn him," Sparrow interjects behind me.
"Indeed," Commodore glares.
"Finally," I hear the pirate say and suddenly I feel his chains around my neck. I gasp as he pulls me against him.
The soldiers move in closer to us, bayonets at the ready.
"No. No don't shoot!" Father yells.
"I knew you'd warm up to me," Sparrow's voice whispers in my ear. "Commodore Norrington, my effects, please, and my hat."
I twitch as the chain squeezes a bit tighter around my neck. Any second now Sparrow could tighten it and I will be no better than the three pirate skeletons hanging above the bay.
Commodore glares hatefully at Sparrow but does not move.
"Commodore!" Sparrow's voice rises. The naval commander does as told.
"Elizabeth, it is Elizabeth isn't it?" Sparrow asks me.
"It's Miss Swann," I snap.
"Miss Swann, if you'd be so kind," Sparrow says as Commodore holds out the hat, the compass, the flintlock, and the sword. I don't move.
"Come, come dear. We don't have all day," Sparrow's chains tighten and Commodore drops the pirate's things into my arms.
Sparrow immediately grabs the flintlock and holds its barrel to my head. He spins me around to face him.
"Now if you'd be very kind," he says once more. I glare and slap on his hat, then I reach around him to strap on his sword. I try to adjust it as tight as possible, hoping to injure him in even the slightest way.
"Easy on the goods darling," Sparrow says to me, as I slip his sword into place. If he didn't have his chains around my neck, I would unsheathe his sword and run him through for being a cheating, dirty liar.
"You're despicable," I say venomously.
"Sticks and stones, love. I saved your life, you save mine, we're square." He pivots me around. "Gentlemen! M'lady," he says in my ear, slowly walking me backward. "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"
He releases me and shoves me towards the soldiers. I slam into Father and the Commodore. I look up to see Sparrow take hold of a rope and kick a lever. He's pulled into the air and Commodore gives the order to open fire. Just then the cannon that compensated for Sparrow's weight comes crashing down onto the dock. It smashes through the wood and soldiers fall into the water beneath. Father pulls me away from the falling cannon just in time. The pirate swings around on a rope above us as the officers shoot their rifles. Somehow Sparrow manages to land on a wooden beam across the dock.
"On his heels!" Commodore hands me over to my father and then rushes off with his men.
Sparrow wraps his chains around a rope and slides the length of the dock to the other side. He takes off running as the soldiers kneel and open fire, despite the civilians walking past. And then we watch as Jack Sparrow miraculously escapes.
"Come, Elizabeth. We must get you to safety," Father turns to me. A few soldiers have stayed behind to guard us, but I sense, with Sparrow gone, I am in no further danger.
Father sends for a carriage and I wrap the blanket around me once more. I had not even noticed that I am in my undergarments.
"Elizabeth, are you sure you're all right?" He asks me again as we climb the carriage. "It's a miracle you didn't hit the rocks below the fort, let alone drown!"
"Yes Father, I'm fine," I repeat. "It was the corset. I couldn't breathe."
"Oh my dear girl—"
"Father," I smile. "It's alright. I believe that corset is the least of our worries."
I almost died today, I think, looking out the window and relishing the freedom of my breathing again. What a very odd thought. I hadn't felt anything when I fell into the ocean. I hadn't felt myself drowning. I only felt the pressure on my chest from the corset.
"We need to get you out of those wet clothes before you fall ill," Father says as the carriage pulls through town. "Especially with this ghastly weather." I look outside to see that he is right. The beautiful day is long gone and it seems the wind has picked up.
"How long before Sparrow is caught do you think?" I ask.
"Not long, I'm sure. Practically the entire Royal Navy is searching for him. Until he is caught, however, you are not to leave the mansion, Elizabeth." I agree. I'm hardly in the mood for any more encounters with a pirate, who did not turn out at all like I imagined.
"Besides, Commodore Norrington is an experienced commander. Yes, I'm sure it will not be long before they catch Sparrow." Commodore. The Fort. The proposal.
I sigh deeply and tuck my head into my blanket as the carriage rattles along the dirt road.
"Elizabeth? Is something wrong?" Father asks, full of unnecessary concern.
The carriage comes to a sudden stop.
"Oh, here we are Elizabeth! Quickly. Let's get you inside." Father helps me out and leads me inside. Coralyn and Estrella stand in the doorway and each of them gasp in horror.
"Milady, are you alright?" Coralyn asks as we step inside the mansion.
"She fell off the battlement of the fort," Father explains. "Elizabeth, I have to run back to town but I'll be back in time for supper. Do not leave the mansion. I will bring you news of the pirate." I nod and then Coralyn and Estrella lead me away to get changed. Once inside my room, the maids run the bath for me and then step out while I undress. I ease into the water and lay my head against the ridge of the bathtub.
Commodore proposed.
I am marriage age, but only just. Any number of women would pay a mighty sum to be in my position.
Mrs. Commodore, I think. It does not sound that unpleasant. The man himself is indeed a gentleman, well attuned to the ways of society . . . But it is the ways of society that have me confined.
I suppose I never expected to marry someone of such wealth and refinement. Or maybe I just didn't dare believe it would happen so soon. Today has been full of surprises, most of them unpleasant.
I have have finally encountered a pirate. A real pirate. Suddenly my thoughts flicker to my dream I had the night before. The day I we rescued Will from the shipwreck.
I shudder. The thought that he could have been a pirate . . . What would have been done to him if the medallion was discovered by another other than myself?
I absentmindedly finger the medallion. The pirate skull appears to be laughing at me.
How many nights I have dreamt of meeting a pirate. How many books have I read on piracy behind Father's back. Readings of Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, Don Rafael, and Boris Palachnik. Tales of skirmishes, battles, and wars. Swords clash, cannons boom, flags wave. Fighting for silver and gold, for land, for sea. For freedom. That's what I thought it meant to be a pirate. But my admiration for piracy immediately dissipated the second Sparrow threw his chains around my neck. He used me as his leverage to escape.
So that's what it means to be a pirate.