The rainy season had arrived at Port Royal by now and everything had remained remarkably uneventful, as the strong rains and occasional thunderstorms made it quite dangerous for small vessels to go out to sea. The only vessels arriving at the docks were the occasional merchant ships that came to deliver goods from other islands.
It had been a little more than three months now and there were still no news from The Dauntless, or maybe there had been and her father had neglected to inform her. He was still not making any mention of the Commodore to her and she was unsure of there reason why; whether something had happened between them before he left, she was too uneasy to broach the subject to her father without knowing all the facts. Maybe they had a disagreement before he left? It did not seem to be the case when they were at port, but she did not want to worsen the situation.
Today was the third day in a row she had been stuck in the Mansion, as a persistent thunderstorm continued to roar outside. It was barely midday but one would not be able to guess it by looking outside: the sky was dark and foggy, huge grey clouds covered the sun completely, the constant rain falling made everything feel cold and wet and the strong winds rattled the windows as they clashed against them. The weather was bleak, as if to predict what was about to happen.
She had been alone at the Mansion all morning, save for the servants and it was such an unusually cold day that she had decided against even trying to go outside, instead opting to sequester herself inside the library all morning. Even thought it was barely past noon the chimneys were lit and candles were placed all over the Mansion.
A lot changed within her after she made her decision. Those first few days, after she decided to accept the Commodore´s proposal, she had been full of concerns: that she might had been mistaken on his affections or he might have changed his mind by the time of his return or worse that her feelings would muddle again.
But every time she felt herself falter with uncertainty of the future, her mind would offer her an image of him the day he left port. As he looked down on her while they stood at the pier, right before he departed. The look that had finally made her unable to ignore the depth of his emotions for her.
He had gazed at her as if she was a treasure to be protected and not the woman that had deliberately deceived him. The eyes that promised a life of devotion. The eyes that promised he would give her the world, if only she were to ask for it.
Every time she thought of those eyes, she would instantly relax.
That was all she had to reassure herself, but that was all she needed. As if it was a spell he had put on her.
Another -more banal- preoccupation, invaded her thoughts: Becoming a wife was a daunting concept, she had never been particularly interested in being one before now. As her father´s daughter, she had not had the need to learn dull subject like household management, not a particular interest in them either. She had found her studies in decoration and arts much more interesting.
James and her had known each other for the better part of a decade, she expected him to know her well enough to know that she would not stay put at home all the time like most ladies. If he truly wanted her, he would not restrain her.
However, she also understood that -if they were to be married soon,- it would be expected of her to have knowledge of some things, or at least the basics of it. So now, she found herself hard pressed to cram years of studies in a couple of months. Otherwise her pride as a Lady would suffer, and she would not stand for that.
As a result, she had taken to shutting herself inside the library -books scattered all around,- dedicating a decent amount of the afternoons to learning about the various duties of the lady of the house. Her Father had even commented on the oddity of it, some of the maids as well; which only made her even more adamant about doing it.
Although, household management was important, it was not the only subject she had been studying about, and it was by far the least interesting one.
There were other kinds of duties she was expected to satisfy as his wife, and those piqued her interest a great deal more than all the tasks she was supposed to learn.
Besides, it would be truly damaging to her pride as a woman if he were to discover her too ignorant in that particular area. Even if it was true she did not have any experience yet… James was a handsome man and quite fit, that much had been obvious to her even before he had proposed. And the idea of learning it all with him filled her with nervous energy. She was sure that, that part of their marriage would not be difficult for her to adjust to.
...
She had been resting with a book in hand, curled on top of the big lounge sofa inside the library, as musings about what she would tell the Commodore at his return occupied her mind. When suddenly, she heard loud aggressive banging at the door, the disturbance was so unexpected that she jumped to her feet and ran to the library's entrance in the same motion.
The noise was unsettling, she was not expecting any visitors today, not to mention Who would be rude enough to knock like that on the door of the Governor's residence? And who was outside in this weather? Abruptly, her mind thought of the Commodore Maybe he had finally returned? She felt excitement arise inside her.
She hurried to the main entrance door with her heart pounding a little, but stopped cold at the sight of several armed soldiers dressed in red invading the Parlor of the Mansion. Some of the soldiers were even aiming their guns at the faces of the few employees that had shown up at the commotion.
What she saw in front of her scared her as much as it made her angry. But the latter one won as she exclaimed authoritatively at the men "Who are you and what exactly do you think you are doing!?" the soldiers promptly turned her direction
Ignoring her questions, three of them started coming at her menacingly. Two of them stopped at her sides and another one stood in front of her, effectively trapping her against the wall. The one in front of her demanded coldly "Elizabeth Swann?"
"It's Miss Elizabeth Swann" she corrected arrogantly. The man looked down at her just as she remembered she was wearing nothing else besides a light tunic over a thin camisole, and her hands darted out to close her tunic as best as she could and crossed her arms around her chest.
"You need to come with us" he wasn't even trying to pretend to be respectful.
With an arched eyebrow she replied "I need to do no such thing. You are invading the Governor's Mansion grounds and…" she was not even allowed to finish her sentence before the soldiers on her flanks grabbed her by the arms and started dragging her to the door.
She started struggling in earnest then "What do you.. ugh.. think.. you´re doing!? Unhand me… this instant!" She tried to get loose but the men just tightened their grip painfully. What was happening!? Before being completely pulled outside, she managed to twist her head and order the scared, petrified servants -who were still being held at gunpoint- "Let my father know of this!"
As soon as they got her out of the safety of the Mansion and into the heavy rain, she got completely drenched. It was such a shocking change in temperature that her muscles locked in place. But the soldiers didn't seem to care, the brutes unceremoniously picked her up and tossed her into the back of a big wood wagon with no dome and immediately started moving.
She had tried to demand information, but the rain was loud and they were going so fast the wagon kept jerking up and down. She had to scream to be heard and they were completely ignoring her. She forced herself to stop when she almost bit her tongue off during one of the jerks. It was too cold to be wasting energy like that anyway, so instead of continuing with her tirade, she curled in on herself and waited to see where she was being taken.
After a while and in spite of the heavy rain, she managed to recognize the path that led to the main gates of Fort Charles. She felt utterly confused The Commodore would never… as she was trying to make sense of what was happening they passed in front of the bay. That´s when she saw it, towards the mouth of the bay instead of The Dauntless, what she found was a big unknown Galleon ship anchored on the waters of Port Royal, it seemed to be Navy and by the flag, it was British but…
She still had no idea what was going on. As they arrived at the fort, the soldiers immediately tried to yank her around again. She knew there was no point in resisting but she refused to make it easy for them, so she made them drag her all the way towards the officers quarters. The Commodore's quarters But it was not James Norrington who waited inside.
No, unexpectedly, it was a short, arrogant looking man that she had never seen before. And while he did look to possess some level of status by they way he held himself, he also didn't quite look like a normal Navy officer.
As soon as she was completely dragged inside the room "Who are you!?" she growled at him, as best as she could while her teeth chattered together inside her mouth, anyway.
But like the soldiers, the man seemed unperturbed by her ire. Instead, the wretch greeted her almost jovially "Ah Ms Swann! I have been waiting for you!" he declared.
Then he had the gall to introduce himself as if this was a high society event "My name is Cutler Beckett, pleasure to meet you"
He made a motion with his hand and the soldiers restraining her finally let her go and went to guard the door.
She was wet, cold and underdressed. And as much as he wanted to sound like a gentleman he had yet to offer her a seat or a cloak to cover up with.
"I am here to see you" he continued with the same cordial tone, unlike his forceful actions he was quite polite which made her instantly dislike him, his pleasantries were clearly a façade.
As she made to take a step forward towards the man, she noticed some movement in the corner of her eye. When she turned her head around, she belatedly realized there was another man in the room behind her-he was standing in the very corner almost blending in with the shadows- and was playing around with a small knife. When they made eye contact, he smiled lasciviously at her, which made her whip her head back instantly.
She narrowed her eyes at tiny in front of her "And what exactly does a man I have never even heard of, could possibly want with me?" she hissed at him
"I would imagine that a great many of things Miss Swann" he answered suggestively, making her skin crawl more than the cold outside had.
"But in this instance, I am here to inquire about what I believe is a mutual friend of ours." If he kept looking at her with that arrogant smile, she might just decide to knock him out with the iron poker next to the fireplace. "I believe you remember your recent encounter with a certain pirate…" he raised his eyebrow at her just enough to look like a condescending bastard "One that goes by the name of Jack Sparrow"
Jack…. Of course it's because of him.
That man had definitely caused her nothing but trouble.
"I wouldn't call him a friend of mine Mr. Beckett. And unfortunately I have not seen Captain Sparrow since his departure of Port Royal some months ago. Probably will be a while before he decides to pay us a visit again, but I´ll be sure to let him know" she taunted, just to try to annoy him back.
His eyes slightly narrowed but Beckett just walked towards her leisurely and leaned near her ear as he said "Oh yes, an escape orchestrated by our dear William Turner, as I understand"
She desperately fought her need to turn and fulminate him with her eyes, she knew she shouldn't react to his provocations but couldn't help it when her body tensed at his words. There was no way possible this man actually knew about her affection for Will
"I couldn´t be sure of that, Mr Beckett. Mr. Turner was an acquaintance at best" she answered, feigning indifference "There was never much of a relationship between us" and that at least, was true.
He was still staring at her with a calculating face "But you were present that day, were you not Miss Swann?"
"Yes, but I must confess I suffer from terrible dizzying spells. I was feeling rather faint that day. I can´t say I remember much" she lamented mockingly.
He was behind her now, so she couldn't see him but with much the same tone she had just used he mussed "Curious how a mere 'acquaintance' would steal a Navy galleon and sail it across the Caribbean to go in your rescue, isn't it?" Who was this man!?
She stared straight ahead, biting hard on her lips and clenching her fists. She would not give him any information.
The guy just hummed and circled back around to stand in front of her once more. As he made to continue talking, he opened his mouth at the same moment a commotion was heard at the door.
Then she heard the voice of her father on the other side "How dare you!? Stand down and let me through!" he ordered the soldiers who were blocking his path to her
"Father!" she called out, turning in time to see her father barge into the room, looking quite outraged and out of breath. The servants must have informed him of her kidnapping as he was coming back from the Justice building, otherwise he would not have found her this fast.
Finally someone here to stop this nonsense before she caused tiny here, serious permanent body harm.
Once inside his eyes found her right away "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed once he saw her "What is the meaning of this!?" he hollered turning to look at the man
Beckett acknowledge her father with a calm greeting "Governor Weatherby Swann, it's been too long"
Her father´s expression turned into one of befuddled surprise for a second before he squinted his eyes and seemed to recognize the man "Cutler Beckett?" he asked with a confused expression
"Indeed" Beckett confirmed
"What is going on here? You have no reason nor right to drag my daughter here like some common criminal!" her father declared indignant
"Ah but I do have a reason, Governor. By command of His Majesty and as part of our respected East India Trading Company I am here on business. I have been granted the authority to investigate -by any means necessary- the untimely escape of one of your prisoners, aided by none other than one of your own citizens"
So he is not an Officer of the Navy, then why was he invading James' office? she though with irritation.
He continued confidently "And I do have some arrest warrants to serve as well" the pompous bastard said as he reached inside his breast pocket to retrieve some documents, waved them a little and extend them in her father's direction.
Her father aggressively took the papers out of his hand and read them in a hurry "But these are orders for the arrest of Jack Sparrow and William Turner! Why in the world are you detaining my daughter!?"
"Oh no no, you misunderstood me Governor, Miss Swann here was brought as a material witness. As I´ve been informed, your daughter can give us first hand account of the heinous crimes committed here in Port Royal against the British crown" he said while his face drew in concern. Snake.
"I fear you have been misinformed, Sir. I was kidnapped by a different crew of pirates, which have already been captured and hung, Mr. Beckett. Will and Captain Sparrow merely came to my rescue" she clarified
At her words Beckett smiled shrewdly "I have also been informed that you may be the only person who can tell me the whereabouts of one William Turner, the man charged with the crime of conspiring with a pirate against the crown. I did not believe it at first but your connexion to Mr. Turned does seem to be… intimate in nature, Miss Swann" his implication was clear to everyone in the room
"Your understanding is incorrect. I already have a fiancé and it is not William Turner" she informed him with her disdain for him barely masked "and as I´ve already told you, I have never had any romantic relationship with him" she repeated
That turned out to be what finally managed to take him -and apparently her father- by surprise. How could he know all that and not know she was engaged to the Commodore?
"Your fiancé?" he repeated suspiciously
She lifted her chin in challenge "Commodore James Norrington"
His face relaxed at hearing the name "Ahh and where, pray tell, is our esteemed Commodore?" he asked, looking around the room with a sardonic smile
He thought she was lying she realized furiously "You acted as if you knew exactly what happened during the attack of The Black Pearl on Port Royal and the escape of Jack but you don't actually know much, do you Mr. Beckett?" He did not seem to find it as amusing as she did. "And the Commodore of Port Royal has been out at sea chasing after your so-called 'fugitives' since the day of their escape" she let him know.
His head turned to the side slightly "You don't seem very happy about that" it wasn't a question.
"As I told the Commodore, I find it unnecessary. Those men risked their lives to save mine" How could they all ignore their bravery?
"Those men are pirates, Miss Swann. Who must answer for their crimes"
She could not hold her tongue back any longer "Will is not a pirate! He was just trying to rescue me when the crew of The Black Pearl took me, thinking I had something of theirs, and Jack was the only one who knew where they…"
"Your daughter seems very well-informed of the situation, but not too willing to cooperate with my investigation, Governor" he interrupted her, but he instead he was looking at her father with a raised eyebrow.
Elizabeth was done with this man "I did not know that being kidnapped or prone to fainting had become a reason to be subjected to interrogation, Sir" she said in the most derisive tone she could muster.
Her father stared at her with a reproachful look so she felt compelled to clarify more amiably "I know nothing of their plans. I had never met Jack before he arrived at Port Royal and I barely knew Will" that was not a lie either "I had nothing to do with their escape and I have not seen them since they left Port Royal" she repeated with a huff
Beckett seemed to be losing his patience too "Are you refusing to cooperate then?" Was he deaf? Why was he talking to her if he was not willing to believe her? So she stayed silent and stared him down her nose. "Very well then"
Beckett turned to her father "Governor I find myself starting to have… concerns about your daughter´s role in the escape of two wanted criminals. I apologize, but I see no other option. I have the unfortunate duty of detaining her to be interrogated, as I am now led to believe she might have -even if unwittingly- played a part on said escape" he explained as if he really was sorry, motioning to the guards at the door.
"Wait!" Her father intervened to stand between her and them "Mr Beckett, you have no proof that my daughter aided those two men. I demand you release her immediately!" her father exclaimed
"Unfortunately Governor, what I do have are my orders from the King. I will hold her here, until I am able to verify the veracity of her words" he finished bluntly
"I will not allow my daughter to be kept here!" her father insisted vehemently, but before he could make another move, the creepy man -that until that moment had been standing quietly in the corner- appeared behind him and waved the small dagger in front of her father's face menacingly.
"Calm down Gov'ner, we wouldn't want to have a bad accident in our hands" the bastard threatened her father, who seemed to be completely at a loss at the blatant threat on his person.
"It's alright Father!" she hurried to intervene. Then turned her head to Beckett and continued "I am sure this misunderstanding will be solved quickly" she declared, narrowing her eyes at the bastard.
"Oh most definitely Miss., we would not want for you to have to remain in the cells any more than necessary" his smile was so self-satisfied that, had her father not been in danger, she would have punched him.
"Elizabeth" his father called to her with concern, turning to look him in the eye she shook her head once, warning him against further action.
As she was dragged around, she had seen the increase of soldiers around the docks and inside the fort, Beckett had brought with him a lot of soldiers and the Commodore and most of his men were not in Port Royal at the moment. They had no reinforcements, even if her father managed to convince the remaining soldiers on the fort to act against Beckett, they would not be enough to win.
So when the soldiers grabbed her again and started dragging her towards the cells, she did not fight. Her father tried to follow, but was swiftly stopped by the red guards that had invaded Fort Charles.
This was not the day she had been expecting to have when a Navy ship finally arrived at port.