Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Pirates of the Caribbean characters I refer to in this story. They belong to Disney. If they belonged to me, there would have been some changes in the first movie. I do own Charlotte, Sarah, Abigail, and anyone else whom you don't recognize.
Author's Note- Well, seeing advertisements for the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie inspired me to write even though I only got two reviews. If you hate it, I would like to know why so I can make changes. Happy reading.
CrimsonCrome- Thanks for reviewing. Worry no longer. Hmmm…you may be on to something there. I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out.
TeenTitanTerraLover- Thank you for the review. Only you would notice something like that. I guess it keeps me on my toes. Sarah's sister was just a baby when her father left. I think you're the only person I know who likes cliffhangers.
On With the Story,
Will glanced up in alarm as a second blast rocked the church. He had to know what was going on and, most importantly, he had to protect his future wife.
"Elizabeth, stay here. I'll be back."
Will kissed Miss Swann once and then followed the quickly forming crowd attempting to leave the church.
The smell of gunpowder was thick in the air, indicating that the cannon ball had hit close by. The residents of Port Royal were quickly slipping into a state of panic, running around and screaming many insensible phrases.
Will pushed past person after person in an attempt to get closer to the wharf, where he was sure the cannon balls were coming from. The sulfur polluting the atmosphere stung his eyes and a fine dust was covering his wedding attire.
He scanned the water with his brandy brown eyes, searching for something, anything, out of the ordinary.
It didn't take too long to spot the problem; pirates.
A dark wood ship with torn, dirty white sails floated eerily just outside the town's main port. It was, without a doubt, the starting point of the offending cannon balls.
As Will looked closer he noticed that there were several longboats sailing away from the ship. This meant trouble of the highest kind.
Mr. Turner rushed back towards the church, eager to bring Elizabeth to a place where she would be safe.
The pews inside the room of worship were mostly upturned and a feeling of fear lingered in the air. The draperies were torn and a couple of the large windows that lined the walls were broken, leaving a carpet of glass on the marble floor.
Will noticed none of these things, however. He needed to get to the woman he loved, and fast.
Glass crunched under the young man's feet as he made his way to the front of the room; the place where he'd last seen Elizabeth.
His breath caught in his throat when he reached his desired destination. The podium was still there. The red flowers, though scattered on the floor, were still in the area. Elizabeth, though, was not.
For a moment, Will's mind went numb. What if she'd been swept out with the mob of people hurrying to leave? What if the pirates had miraculously arrived before him and carried him off? That had happened once before after all.
Or maybe she had gone to seek shelter.
Will hoped fervently that the latter of the three possibilities was the one that had actually happened.
Turning quickly on his heel, the young blacksmith ran back outside and into the chaos of the streets.
With a short glance out to the sea, he saw that the boats had reached shore. But this was of little consequence to him now. He no longer cared about fighting the pirates off, unless, of course, he was fighting to protect the future Mrs. Turner.
Will knew that he would need a weapon of some sort if he wanted to get anywhere without getting killed. The only place he could think of off the top of his head was his blacksmith shop. Maybe Elizabeth would have gone there to look for him. These thoughts were what led him through the crowd and to his place of business.
The pirates had been relentless with their plundering of the small town. Many houses were lit aflame and debris littered the cobble stone streets. Even more sickening were the few corpses of several unlucky victims that were strewed out over the ground. Mice and cats ran everywhere.
Will noticed the horrors of the attack, but his brain wouldn't process them. The only thing on his mind was getting to his shop and looking for his love.
The blacksmith shop had not been spared in the pillage. The main window was shattered and a fire could be seen smoldering inside. Will only hoped that Elizabeth hadn't been inside when the establishment had been violated.
He pushed the heavy, wooden door opened and forced his way inside the burning building. The heat was almost unbearable and his expensive formal outfit seemed like a prison. His hair clung to his face and huge droplets of sweat formed on his brow.
A falling cinder hit the back of his coat and started burning.
Will shrugged the material off and continued to the back of the shop, where he kept his swords.
The fire hadn't spread to the back yet and the weapons were still intact. Mr. Turner quickly grabbed one and then made haste to look for Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" he cried.
There was no answer.
Will was certain he hadn't seen a body in the area that was currently blazing and naturally assumed she wasn't in the building.
The cool air of the rapidly approaching night was a welcome comfort as Will stepped out of the smoldering shop.
He decided to head towards the Governor's mansion, hoping, once again, that Miss Swann had gone there.
Will's lungs were burning when he arrived outside the mansion's door, but he didn't care.
He was just about to throw the door open when something stirred next to him. Out of instinct, he dropped. A blade smashed into the door where his head had been. Will rolled quickly and jumped up, sword in hand.
The blacksmith found himself face to face with a scruffy, dirty pirate. The ruffian's lips turned up into a wicked smile, revealing a pair of yellow, rotten teeth.
Will didn't stop to think and crossed blades with the man. The pirate easily parried and stuck back. The blow made Will's arms ache, but he held his own.
He was about to defeat the intruder when a second man entered the fight. This one had a scraggly blond beard and piercing gray eyes. He was more muscular than the first pirate and was wearing a slightly tattered officer's uniform, probably stolen. Will decided that the new nemesis must have a higher rank on the ship.
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out as the blacksmith fought the two lawbreakers. He was an exceptional sword fighter, but the earlier run was taking its toll on him and he felt his endurance wear down. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
He thought he wasn't going to make it and began to apologize to his wife to be in his head.
Clang!
The sound brought Will fully into the fight.
A figure stood in front of him. Judging by the figure, dirty hair, and soot covered white dress identified the person as female. She knew what she was doing and slowly began to push the pirates backwards.
Will looked at the woman's face.
"Elizabeth!" he cried, hardly believing it.
Elizabeth smiled and ran the first pirate through with her cutlass.
"Will!"
With renewed energy, Will flipped his sword in his hand and went back to swashbuckling with the remaining man.
Between the two of them, the ruffian was slowly starting to lose the vigor he had fought with earlier. In a desperate move, he lunged out with a sword. A clumsy move, but effective.
Elizabeth felt a searing pain in her stomach region and slowly felt herself falling.
Will watched everything in slow motion as his one true love was impaled with the pirate's blade. His muscles suddenly turned to stone as Elizabeth fell, unable to do anything.
That amazement and disbelief suddenly turned to anger.
Will struck out with his blade and stabbed the pirate in the chest, killing him instantly.
Everything around the blacksmith seemed to vanish as he rushed over to where Elizabeth lay.
A small pool of blood was beginning to form around the young woman's body. Her skin was pale and her usually warm hazel eyes were closed. Her breath was ragged and labored.
Will knelt next to the prone figure and cradled her head in his arms. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch.
"Elizabeth," he whispered, his voice suddenly caught in his throat.
Elizabeth stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Will smiled when he saw the comforting gaze he was familiar with. He also noticed that they were glazed over with pain.
Ms. Swann moaned and took a shuddering breath. Her eyes began to drift shut.
"Elizabeth, stay with me," Will cried, gently shaking his would be bride.
Elizabeth smiled sadly and reached up to touch her fiancé's face.
"Will, I love you."
The words were soft spoken.
She took one final breath and then went still.
A whirlwind of emotions build up in the young blacksmith. She can't be dead. This can't happen. We were meant to be together, forever.
Tears slid freely and unrestrained down his tan cheeks. They landed softly on Elizabeth's pallid face.
"Elizabeth," Will said, giving the motionless body a shake.
The woman didn't move.
"Elizabeth."
Louder this time.
Ms. Swann remained still.
"Elizabeth!"
Will screamed these last words. Sorrow filled his voice with the realization that Elizabeth Swann, his fiancée, was dead.
xxxxx
Things at the Andrews' manor were, to say the least, chaotic.
A week had passed since the news of moving to the Caribbean had been announced, but it had felt more like a month, or so Sarah thought.
She was returning from Charlotte's wardrobe for at least the fifteenth time that day, arms laden with expensive clothing. She knew where all this needed to go and moved swiftly to get her load where it needed to be.
Charlotte's room had been turned upside down. Large trunks lay open and ready to receive their contents. The many trinkets the young mistress owned were hurriedly being packed away. Maids and servants rushed to and fro.
It had been decided that Abigail and Sarah would be accompanying the wealthy family along with about fifteen other helpers.
Sarah glanced over the stack of material and located the trunk she was currently packing. She knelt down and placed the articles in the wooden box. Then, the maid stepped back and sighed. The trunk was full. All that needed to be done now with it was haul it downstairs.
The maid looked for someone who might be able to lend a hand. No such luck.
She closed and locked the lid. This would be difficult.
Sarah eyed the trunk. It was fairly small and had wrought iron handholds on the side. Several splinters stuck out from the wood, but other than that, the trunk was smooth.
The young woman bent down and firmly grabbed the handles. They were cold against her skin.
With a soft grunt, she lifted she container and began to walk towards the door. To her delight and surprise, the trunk wasn't nearly as heavy as she thought it would be.
A couple minutes later, Sarah was ready to take back the though about the box not being heavy. Her arms ached from the strain. The trunk's size and the way it was positioned made it awkward to walk.
She stepped off the last oak stair and began to make her way to the open front doors.
A light breeze assaulted the young woman as she stepped outside.
A luggage carriage stood in front of the mansion's walkway. Hired helpers were arranging the many boxes and containers that already lay in the small front yard.
Sarah placed her load beside the other trunks with a sigh of relief.
That was one more done.
She turned and began to make her way back.
"Sarah," someone said.
The young woman turned to identify the speaker.
"Sarah," the male called again.
Sarah turned the other way. She had never been good with directions.
Finally, her blue eyes settled on her caller.
A young man a couple years older than her strode across the yard. Blond hair tied back in a ponytail hung just past his shoulders and a pair of aqua eyes was focused on where he was going.
Sarah allowed herself a small smile. She knew the man quite well. His name was Benjamin White, the groundkeeper of the large house.
Ben made his way to the maid quickly.
"I need to talk to you."
Sarah glanced at the pile of belongings in front of the mansion.
"Alright, but be quick. There's much to be done."
Ben nodded and motioned the young woman to follow him.
It took only minutes to reach their destination, the shed out back.
Ben opened the rough wood door and stepped inside the dimly lit room. Sarah was right behind him.
Without a word, he reached between two crates and pulled out a sword, his sword.
Sarah didn't know what to say as he handed it to her.
"Why?" was all she could manage.
For the past year and a half, the groundkeeper had been teaching the maid how to use the weapon, claiming that she may need to defend herself or possibly her mistress some day. She was a tad clumsy, but had the overall idea of how to use the blade and didn't do too bad with it.
"You were chosen to travel to the Caribbean with the Andrews' family, were you not?"
"Yes, but I don't see…"
"There are things that can happen at sea. Pirates, vessels that may think you and enemy, and many others. If things go wrong, someone needs to be able to fight them, or at least try.
"The Caribbean can be a frightening place for those who don't know what they're doing. Please, just take it."
Ben smiled at his friend. She was clever about many things, but naïve about some.
Sarah nodded.
"Thank you, Ben."
Benjamin said nothing else. He patted the young woman on the shoulder and left, leaving the door open.
Sarah stared at the sword.
She was beginning to think this whole thing wouldn't be a simple as everyone was claiming it to be.
Author's Note - Please review and give me your thoughts. Reviews are very important to me, as they let me know what the reader thinks. I shall update in a week or so.