Chapter 3: A Daring Escape
Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to PotC nor HP as they remain the properties of their respective owners. I do own the plot though and any additional characters I add. Also, the familiar dialogue is from the PotC films, which belongs Disney and the director Gore Verbinski.
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Hermione stood next to Elizabeth with a crowd of people, watching the ceremony with undisguised boredom. With choreographed precision, Governor Swann took the sword from its scabbard, where it lay in the presentation case. He slid the sword back into the scabbard and held it out to James Norrington who was clad in full Navy uniform. Norrington grasped the scabbard above where Swann was holding it, drawing and flourishing it. He snapped the blade up in front of his face. Hermione stood on her tiptoes to see what was going on, noticing Swann pin a medal on Norrington's jacket before stepping back.
Norrington nodded, before turning smartly to nod at his fellow officers and the audience. They consisted of dignitaries, merchants, plantation owners, and their families. He flourished the sword once more, before replacing it in its scabbard. Loud applause from the audience and the backslapping of the Navy men broke the silence. Hermione clapped along, before noting that Elizabeth wasn't looking too well. She winced, subtly trying to adjust the corset through the material of her dress while trying to hide her discomfort.
They finally announced Norrington as being Commodore, and the crowd disbanded. Hermione grasped this gave her ample opportunity to sneak away from the Fort, and she had no hesitation in doing so either. She checked to see if Elizabeth was okay, for which she received a nod, before walking away towards the gate.
Two soldiers were guarding it, and they halted her as she drew near to them. 'I was just coming over to inform you that my purse is missing. I think it's been stolen!' she lied, adopting a panicked tone. The guards nodded before hurrying off into the Fort to search for the culprit. Hermione watched, feeling a little guilty by this as she hadn't taken a purse with her to begin with. She knew she could get into trouble for wasting the guards' time.
Shrugging, she made her way out of the archway following the road down from the Fort, which led her close to the pier. Her eyes focused on a ship in the distance, a large, beautiful ship that appeared to be significantly important. At a nearby dock, there was another ship with 'Interceptor' slanted across the rear in great bold silver lettering. She looked at the two guards on sentry duty who were taking advantage of what little shade there was on the docks. As she turned to leave, her eyes fell on a strange man sauntering over to the guards and the Interceptor, which was off-limits. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she pursued, hiding behind a pillar as she listened to what was going on.
The two guards immediately became alert as the man got closer, blocking his passage to the ship. 'This port is not accessible to civilians,' the thinner guard told him. He must have considered his tone to be authoritative, but it wasn't.
The man raised his eyebrows at this. 'I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know. If I see one, I will inform you immediately,' he told them. He made to walk past them again but was thwarted in his attempt, which made Hermione smile slightly. The man looked up then, shielding his eyes from the sun as music drifted down from the Fort. He grinned at them. 'Apparently, there's some sort of high toned and fancy to do up at the fort, eh?' he asked and received no response, so he continued. 'How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen, such as yourselves, did not merit an invitation?' he inquired.
The thinner guard frowned. 'Someone has to make sure this port stays barred to civilians,' he countered.
'It's a fine goal to be sure, but it seems to me that a…' the man shifted to his left, motioning to the larger ship further out at sea, "ship like that…" he then turned, gesturing to the Interceptor, "…makes this one here a bit superfluous, really,' he said to them. Hermione smiled at his line of reasoning, which made sense.
The brawnier guard was the one to answer this time. 'Oh, the Dauntless is the authority in these waters, true enough, but there's no ship as can match the Interceptor for speed,' he informed him.
The man grasped his chin thoughtfully as he answered. 'I've heard of one, supposed to be very fast - nigh uncatchable…' he countered before pausing for what seemed like dramatic effect to Hermione. 'The Black Pearl,' he said, glancing between them.
The brawny soldier scoffed at the name, amused. 'Well…, there's no real ship as can match the Interceptor,' he retorted stubbornly.
The other guard turned to him. 'The Black Pearl is a real ship,' he claimed.
The brawny one shook his head. 'No, no it's not, Murtogg,' he disagreed.
'Yes, it is, I've seen it,' the one called Murtogg contended.
'You've seen it?' the brawny one demanded with a sarcastic tone.
'Yes,' Murtogg replied.
'You haven't seen it,' the other retorted.
'Yes, I have, Mullroy,' Murtogg said adamantly.
Mullroy turned to him, giving him a serious look. 'You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned, and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out?' he questioned as if he were telling a ghost story. Hermione frowned at these words but rolled her eyes at their banter.
'No,' Murtogg answered with a smile.
'No,' Mullroy echoed as he looked at the man who smiled back fleetingly.
Murtogg turned back to his associate. 'But I have seen a ship with black sails.'
Hermione saw that the strange man slipped onto the ship as they continued to banter. Mullroy turned back to him. 'Oh, and no ship that's not crewed by the damned, and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails, therefore, couldn't possibly be any other ship than the Black Pearl. Is that what you're saying?' he asked.
Murtogg nodded his head with a smile. 'No,' he answered.
'Like I said, there's no real ship as can match the Interceptor…' he trailed off, turning back to look at the man only to see that he wasn't there. They turned around, spotting the man standing at the wheel of the Interceptor examining the mechanism in awe.
Mullroy and Murtogg ran onto the ship. 'Hey! You! Get away from there,' Murtogg shouted as he aimed his gun at the man. The man glanced at them with exaggerated innocent surprise, as they hurried up onto the gangplank. Hermione moved from her position behind the pillar to another one closer to the Interceptor.
'You don't have permission to be aboard there, mate,' Mullroy stated as he, too, pointed his gun.
The man held up his hands in what seemed like a surrender. 'I'm sorry. It's just - it's such a pretty boat,' he said, and then he hastily corrected himself, 'Ship.'
Murtogg frowned at him, analysing him sceptically. 'What's your name?' he asked.
'Smith or Smithy, if you like,' the man replied, and Hermione frowned at the too common name.
'What's your purpose in Port Royal, Mr "Smith"?' Mullroy asked in a mocking tone. He didn't believe the man's name was "Smith" at all, and Hermione agreed with him, continuing to watch what was going on.
'Yeah and no lies,' Murtogg added.
Hermione eyed the man interestedly as he sighed. 'Well, then, I confess,' he began, moving away from the wheel. For the first time, Hermione could see him properly and thought him to be quite ruggedly handsome. 'It is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out!' he divulged, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
Murtogg frowned. 'I said no lies!' he said in irritation.
Mullroy frowned as well, staring at "Smith" in amazement. 'I think he's telling the truth,' he said to Murtogg.
Murtogg shook his head. 'If he were telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us,' he reasoned, raising his gun again.
"Smith" smiled at this. 'Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't believe the truth even if he told it to you,' he said to them, and they stared back, utterly baffled. Hermione was struggling not to burst into laughter as they began considering his point.
For a while, Murtogg and Mullroy sought to figure out if what "Smith" had told them was the truth or not. Somehow this seemed to lead to conversations about other irrelevant topics. "Smith" started telling them a tale about cannibals or something and Hermione tuned out, scanning the area for something to amuse her. Finding nothing, she opened her fan and began fanning herself.
She gazed around the docks and at the different shaped boats, and lastly saw something rather odd that also amused her at the same time. Down at one of the harbours she could just make out the top of a mast from a boat sticking out of the water. What entertained her the most was that the mast was tied to the harbour like all the other boats and ships.
Hermione snapped back to reality as she caught the end of "Smith's" tale. '…and then they made me their chief,' he said just as a loud splash came from near the walls of the Fort. Something large had fallen in the water. Hermione moved away from her hiding place towards the Interceptor in curiosity. "Smith", Murtogg, and Mullroy looked over to where the splash had come from in interest.
'ELIZABETH!' came the yell from the Fort, and Hermione stiffened where she had almost made it onto the deck of the Interceptor.
"Smith" was the first to react, pushing Murtogg aside, and stared at the struggling figure in the water in shock. Hermione heard "Smith" sigh as he turned to his companions. 'Will you be saving her then?' he questioned Mullroy.
'I can't swim,' came the reply as they saw a group of men picking their way down the cliffs. They were too far away to get to the figure in time.
"Smith" grimaced knowing he had no choice, turning to the stunned Murtogg. 'Pride of the King's Navy you are,' he said sarcastically. He pulled his pistol from his sword belt, thrusting it at Murtogg. He handed his belt and jacket to Mullroy. 'Do not lose these,' he told them before plunging into the water. Hermione ran to the end of the pier to watch, clasping her hands together in the hopes that Elizabeth would be all right. She saw "Smith" vanish from her line of sight.
Just as he went, a huge ripple shot across the surface of the water. Hermione wondered what the hell that could have been just as "Smith" broke the surface swimming with Elizabeth's limp body. As she stood there, an offshore breeze picked up, and Hermione looked up towards the Fort as the chiming of metal from the British flag caught her attention, and then the wind died, and the flag stopped waving. Frowning, Hermione looked towards the ships where the sounds of wood and metal fittings banging against the masts had gone silent. Suddenly, the wind blew in harshly from the sea causing the lines to beat against each other ferociously.
Ignoring this strange occurrence in the wind pattern, Hermione turned her attention back to "Smith" who was still swimming back to the pier. She frowned when thick fog appeared at the water's edge near the cliff face. "Smith" struggled as he pulled Elizabeth to the shore, and Hermione gasped as they submerged for a few minutes. They appeared again, and he appeared to be swimming a lot quicker towards them.
Murtogg and Mullroy were at her side; only they were aiding "Smith" with Elizabeth. "Smith" knelt on the pier exhausted as Hermione shifted closer to them. 'Is she okay?' Hermione asked worriedly. The woman wasn't her sister, but she was a caring person, and seeing things like this hurt her, nonetheless, didn't matter who it was happening to, or whether she knew them or not.
'Step out of the way, miss,' Mullroy said, gently moving Hermione to the side.
Murtogg bent over Elizabeth. 'She's not breathing!" he shouted in panic, looking down at her with a hopeless expression on his face.
'Move!' "Smith" exclaimed, shoving him out of the way. Grabbing his knife, he cut the corset at the bottom before tearing it open and shoved it into Murtogg's hands as Elizabeth began to spit out water and gasp for breath.
'Never would have thought of that,' Mullroy admitted.
"Smith" glanced up at him. 'Clearly, you've never been to Singapore,' he acknowledged. "Smith" flipped the knife, handing it hilt-first back to Murtogg, and turned to look at Elizabeth to see if she was alright, but something caught his eye. He picked up the medallion that was hanging around her neck and glanced at it to her with wide, alarmed eyes. 'Where did you get that?' he asked her slowly.
Before Elizabeth could respond, the blade of a sword appeared at "Smith's" throat. He peered up to see the new Commodore eyeing him angrily. 'On your feet,' Norrington ordered as "Smith" got to his feet.
The position "Smith" was in, bent over Elizabeth who had lost most of her clothes did not look right, nor did it do the man any favours. Hermione just hoped he wouldn't get accused of wrongdoing when he had rescued her.
Governor Swann reached the scene. 'Elizabeth. Are you alright?' He asked his eldest daughter and helped her to her feet while yanking Hermione over to them as well. He gave her a stern look because she had left the Fort.
'Yes, I'm fine,' Elizabeth responded as he stripped off his jacket, covering her with it.
Governor Swann stared over at Murtogg who was still holding Elizabeth's corset. He dropped it at once before pointing at "Smith". Governor Swann glared at him, and he shrugged indifferently. 'Shoot him!' the Governor commanded furiously.
Hermione went to say something like "Why? Isn't he just a regular person that just saved your daughter, and you want him dead?" but she held her tongue knowing that they would all think her odd saying that. Everyone still seemed to think she was also his daughter even if she did have "amnesia".
'Father!' Elizabeth yelled. Hermione let out a breath of relief as her "sister" turned to Norrington. 'Commodore, do you really mean to kill my rescuer?' she asked him.
Norrington stared at "Smith" for a long moment as if studying him. He nodded back deliberately not wanting to slice open his neck from the end of the blade resting under his chin. Norrington glanced back at Elizabeth for a moment before pulling his sword back and signalled for his soldiers to do the same as "Smith" did his "thank you" prayer to Elizabeth. Norrington stepped towards "Smith", holding out his hand. 'I believe thanks are in order,' he said, and "Smith" eyed his hand cautiously for a moment before taking it. Norrington tightened his grip, pulling him towards him, and tore the sleeve exposing a "P" branded on his arm with a hot rod. Hermione stared at it deliberating what it stood for, and Norrington was quick to answer her silent question. 'Had a clash with the East India Trading company, did we, pirate?' Norrington demanded. "Smith" closed his eyes like a kid who was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.
Hermione stared at him in surprise, as the soldiers raised their weapons promptly. Governor Swann looked outraged at these words. 'Hang him,' he said eyeing the pirate with undisguised repulsion.
'Keep your guns on him, men,' Norrington told the soldiers and then turned to one that was next to him. 'Gillette, fetch some irons,' he commanded as the soldier went to do just that. Norrington lifted the sleeve of the pirate's shirt up higher, exposing a tattoo of a sparrow in flight across the water. 'Well, well… Jack Sparrow, isn't it?' he asserted rather than asked though it seemed posed as a question.
Hermione found it difficult to keep an amused smile from her lips as Jack Sparrow answered. 'Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir,' he replied.
Norrington raised his eyebrows, scanning out at the bay. 'Well, I don't see your ship... "Captain",' he said, mocking him.
'I'm in the market, as it were,' Jack countered as if he were telling Norrington a secret.
'He said he'd come to commandeer one,' Murtogg explained from where he stood behind Jack.
'Told you he was telling the truth,' Mullroy told him, picking up Jack's effects. 'These are his, sir,' he said to Norrington, holding out Jack's pistol and belt.
Norrington picked up the gun, examining it before noting the powder horn on the belt. 'No additional shots, nor powder,' he eyed Jack as he said this, and received a small shrug in reply before he picked up the next item which was Jack's compass. Norrington opened it and frowned in bewilderment as he stared at the reading, before trying to move it this way and that, keeping it parallel to the ground. He then peered at Jack with raised eyebrows. 'A compass that doesn't point north,' he said to laughs from a few of the soldiers. Jack averted his eyes while Norrington unsheathed his sword next and sneered at him contemptuously. 'And I half expected it to be made of wood,' he said giving Jack a smirk as the pirate smiled back nervously. Norrington slid the sword back into the scabbard, regarding Jack. 'You are without a doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of,' he said with scorn and a little arrogance.
Jack grinned, raising his hands as if waiting to say something incredible. 'But you have heard of me,' he said, and Hermione couldn't help the small snort that escaped her. Her smile dropped as Governor Swann gave her a stern look just as Gillette strode past them with shackles and approached Jack.
Hermione glanced back as Jack got hauled over to the side and put in the shackles. Elizabeth walked forward, the jacket slipping off her shoulders. She seemed unconcerned, shrugging off her father as he tried to place it back around her. 'Commodore, I really must protest!' Elizabeth shouted from behind her, and Hermione agreed.
'Carefully, Lieutenant,' Norrington said disregarding Elizabeth.
Hermione stalked past him to stand in front of Jack. Her move alarmed the soldiers, the Governor, Elizabeth, the Commodore, and Jack considerably. 'Does it matter if he's a pirate? No matter what he has done, he still saved Elizabeth. I reckon that should earn him at least a pardon for now,' she said a little indignantly.
Norrington regarded her for a moment before sighing. 'One good deed is not enough to convert a man of a lifetime of wickedness,' he said steadily.
Hermione was about to retort, but Jack beat her to it. 'Though it seems enough to condemn him,' he put in.
Norrington glared at him. 'Indeed,' he answered through clenched teeth while Gillette snapped the manacles closed on Jack's wrists, moving away from him.
'Finally,' Hermione heard Jack say, and before she knew what was happening, he had grabbed the hand and wrist of the soldier holding the pistol. He yanked it out of his hands sending it flying into the water. Before anyone could react, he threw the manacle chain around Hermione's neck. He wasn't strangling her, but she felt a little uneasy standing up against him.
The soldiers drew their pistols again. 'No! Don't shoot! You might hit my daughter!' Governor Swann cried.
Norrington understood that Jack was using Hermione as a shield, and one wrong move could lead to her getting shot. He raised a cautionary hand to his men to signal for them not to make any sudden moves.
'I knew you'd warm up to me,' Jack said to the soldiers before staring at Norrington. 'Commodore Norrington, my effects, please,' Jack said to him, before hastily adding, 'And my hat.' When Norrington faltered, his fists balling in frustration, Jack tightened his hold on Hermione. 'Commodore!' he said, and Norrington took Jack's things off Mullroy. Jack spun Hermione around to face him. 'Elizabeth,' he said, and then he paused for a moment. 'It is Elizabeth, isn't it?' Jack questioned her as Hermione frowned, shaking her head.
'No, I'm Callista,' Hermione told him as if she were talking to a child.
Jack grinned. 'Calli,' he breathed, and Hermione couldn't help the unfamiliar feeling she got hearing her alias name from his lips. 'If you'd be so kind,' he said, gazing down at her. Hermione swallowed. 'Come, come, dear. We don't have all day.' Hermione made to grab the pistol first, but Jack was quicker than her, seizing the gun out of her grasp before she could use it against him. She inwardly groaned, seizing his belt, and he jerked her around, so she was facing him again. He smiled at her as he lazily rested his chained hands around her neck. 'Now if you'd be very kind,' he said, his smile widening as she scowled at him. She strapped his sword to his belt, tying it tightly. 'Easy on the goods, darling,' he said to her as she placed his hat on his head.
'You're vile,' Hermione said, but she couldn't help a tiny ghost of a smile from twitching at her lips.
'Sticks and stones, love. I saved your sister's life, you save mine, we're square,' he told her. He spun her back around so that she was facing Norrington, and the soldiers once more. 'Gentlemen, Milady's, you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!' He shouted, shoving Hermione away, and Norrington caught her before she could fall. Jack turned around, kicking the belaying pin that released a cannon, and it pulled him up into the air where he swung around for a few moments before he landed on a gantry above their heads, grabbing another rope.
'Now, will you shoot him?' Governor Swann barked to Norrington.
'Open fire!' Norrington commanded, and the soldiers all started shooting at Jack who let out a yell as the bullets sped past him. Jack twisted his chain around the rope, using it as a rope swing that took him down towards the beach. He ran over a bridge, waving his arms about as the soldiers continued to shoot at him and missed. 'On his heels,' Norrington ordered them, and the soldiers took pursuit. Norrington halted next to Gillette. 'Gillette, Mr Sparrow has a dawn engagement with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it,' he said, and Gillette nodded, leading a group of men in the direction Jack had run in. Norrington turned towards Hermione. 'Miss Swann, are you-' Norrington started to say, but Hermione cut him off.
'Yes, I'm all right, I'm fine! Go! Capture him!' she shouted, and Norrington looked at her, taken aback by her anger before wisely hurrying away.
Elizabeth bolted forward, hugging Hermione and causing the jacket to fall off again. Governor Swann picked it up, placing it around her shoulders again. 'Here, dear…, you should wear this,' he said as Elizabeth and Hermione rolled their eyes.
Elizabeth took the jacket, shivering in the cold air now that the adrenaline had worn off. She glanced out at the bay where a thick fog moved across the top of the water and wrapped the jacket around herself tighter. 'Thank you, father…, and let that be the last of your fashion advice, please,' she whispered to him, and Hermione laughed, but they accepted his comforting embrace.