Shadows, Sails and Pirate Tales

It had been an exciting day, with all the drama having unfolded at Norrington's promotion ceremony, and as Bernadette readied herself for bed, she could think of nothing more than Captain Jack Sparrow. She was pulled out of her thoughts by loud banging noises and screams. She ran to her window and saw what looked like a pirate ship firing on Port Royal. Her first instinct was to be scared, but she was too excited by the prospect of pirates, one pirate in particular. She dove into the back of her wardrobe and took out some men's clothes she used when practising her swordmanship – She'd had to think hard about how to get these items, she'd begged Will, but after he refused she had resorted to bargaining with the servant boy.

After she finished dressing, she sped towards the door and wrenched it open. Flying down the stairs and out of the front door, Dette ran straight to the blacksmith's where she knew there would be an abundance of swords to protect herself with. She spotted Will and began to run towards him, but something caught her eye. Elizabeth was being dragged towards the docks by two pirates.

"Elizabeth!" she yelled, swiftly changing her direction.

She tried to run after her, but caught up in the frenzy, was knocked over by somebody running in the opposite direction. By the time she got back on her feet, Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. She ran over to Will's now unconscious form, shaking his body in vain, attempting to wake him. Eventually, Will's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at Dette shocked.

"Where's Elizabeth?" He asked her, sitting up quickly and scanning the horizon.

"She was taken away, I couldn't find her!" Dette replied, pulling Will onto his feet.

"You should find your father," Will told her.

"No," Bernadette answered decisively. "I am staying with you, I want to save my sister just as much as you do."

Will looked at Dette, and sensing that he was fighting a losing battle, gave up on his attempt to persuade her otherwise. No doubt the governor would take her home if she was spotted.

"Where to?" Bernadette asked him.

"Your father? The Commodore?" Will guessed.

"No," Dette disagreed, "They'll just tell us to stay behind."

"We need to tell them," Will protested.

Deciding not to argue with Will, Dette followed him in search of Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington. In a few minutes they found Governor Swann and Norrington huddled around a map. They were deep in conversation when Dette burst in.

"They've taken Elizabeth!"

"We must save her!" Will continued.

"Bernadette Swann! What are you doing in men's clothing?" The governor said upon looking up at the pair. The distain on his face was clear, but Dette was too worried about her sister's safety to even contemplate any backchat.

"Does it matter? Pirates have Elizabeth!" Dette shouted, making her frustration perfectly clear.

"Yes is does matter! You are a lady!" The governor reprimanded, "Why can you not be more like your sister?"

"You want me to get kidnapped by pirates?" she screamed almost manically.

"No I didn't mean that," Her father said angrily, "Go back to the house, immediately."

"Get Sparrow to help us!" Will said to Norrington.

"No," Norrington answered, calmly studying the map spread out before him, "He is the one who lead them here."

"That's not good enough!" Will said, burying a hatchet into the table the map lay upon. His aggravation could be held in no longer, and Dette felt his pain. Nobody would taje a blacksmith and a lady seriously in such a matter.

"Mr Turner, you are not a military man, you are not a sailor. You are a blacksmith and this is not the moment for rash actions. Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth," Norrington said to Will, handing him his hatchet with an air of superiority.

Bernadette let out a scream of frustration before storming angrily away, Will close on her heels. Nobody was helping, and as they planned their rescue, Elizabeth was getting further and further away.

"What now?" Bernadette asked Will, exasperated.

"To do what we have to do," Will replied, "Get help from a pirate."

"You say pirate as if it is a bad thing," She mumbled, her thoughts once again drifting to the infamous Jack Sparrow.

"It is," Will spat as they moved quickly toward the jailhouse.

After checking the coast was clear, they entered the prison. They found their way to the stairwell which lead to the cells and Will descended halfway down, before stopping and turning to Dette.

"Stay here," He commanded. Dette pouted, but did as she was told, now was not the time to be disobedient.

"You, Sparrow," Will called to Jack as he walked over to the cell.

"Aye," was the only reply.

"You are familiar with that ship? The Black Pearl?" Will asked.

"I've heard of it," Jack said, sounding bored.

"Where does it make berth?" Will pressed, quickly becoming more agitated.

"Where does it make berth?" Jack repeated, "Have you not heard the stories?"

This made Bernadette listen more intently. Pirates were one thing, but pirate tales of adventure and mischief, they were captivating.

"Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla De Muerta," he explained, "It's an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is."

"The ship is real enough, therefore it's anchorage must be a real place," Will was beginning to lose his patience, "Where is it?"

"Why ask me?" Jack shrugged, looking at his nails.

Will let out an exasperated sigh, "Because you're a pirate."

"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?" Jack joked, obviously working to wind up Will.

Bernadette crept down the stairs and peeked around the corner; She was bored of just hearing the muffled conversation.

"Never! They took Miss Swann," Will replied, scowling at the notion of becoming a pirate himself.

"Oh!" Jack grinned, "So it is that you found a girl. Well if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart, you'll have to do it alone mate. I see no profit in it for me."

Bernadette, eager to see more of the mysterious pirate, leaned forward just a little too far, and toppled the floor. The clatter of her body and sword against the floor made both men jump. After a short pause, She appeared slowly from around the corner, red faced and apologetic.

"Sorry Will," she mumbled, looking at her feet.

"Well, Well," Jack said, looking at the other Miss Swann, "Why not have this fair maiden?"

Jack took in the young girl's appearance and saw that she was indeed very different from many other girls who he had come across in his time. She was obviously a well brought up lady who was trying to be something different. He noticed that she had an air of familiarity to her. It was then that he realised that she was the young girl from the dock who had been staring at him.

"This is Miss Bernadette Swann," Will answered, "She has come to assist in saving her sister."

"Aye, thought I recognized her," Jack answered, grinning at the maiden.

"You met him?" Will asked incredulously, stunned at her knowing a pirate. No doubt hundreds of bizarre and frankly inappropriate reasons were flashing through Will's mind.

"He threatened Elizabeth," she told Will quickly in an attempt to clear her name. Will glared at the pirate.

"Only a little," Jack smirked.

"What did you say his name was?" Jack asked Bernadette. His focus on her made Dette self-conscious and she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"W-Will Turner," Bernadette told him, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"That would be short for William, I imagine? Good, strong name. No doubt named for your father, eh?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Will said in reply.

"Uh-huh," Jack began, "Well, Mr Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell I swear on pain of death I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?" Jack stuck his hand through his cell door and wiggled it at Will.

"Agreed," Will said, shaking Jack's hand.

"Agreed," Jack repeated, "Now get me out."

Raising an eyebrow at Jack's impatience, Will picked up a bench and placed it at the bottom of the cell door. He put pressure on the bench and the door lifted from it's hinges with a thud, opening to allow Sparrow to leave.

"Hurry," Will said, glancing up the stairs, "Someone will have heard that."

"Not without my effects," Jack said, grabbing his things.

Will grabbed Dette's wrist and dragged her out of the prison where they knew they would be safe. Will did not pause to wait for Sparrow, who instead clambered out of the prison after the pair, brushing himself down.

"What now?" Dette asked Will, reluctant to speak to Jack.

"Well..." Will began.

"We need a ship," Jack said pointedly, joining them and looking out at the docks.

"We're going to steal a ship?" Will asked, looking at the Dauntless, "That ship?"

"Commandeer," Jack corrected, "We're going to commandeer that ship. Nautical term," he turned to Will, "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going. This girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her," Will immediately replied.

Bernadette held back a gasp. She knew that Will cared for Elizabeth, but she had no idea that he felt that strongly about her. Sure she'd known for years that Will had a particular fondness for Elizabeth but never assumed it was love. How could he still love her after the way she treated him?

"And the lady?" Jack said, pointing at Bernadette.

"What about her?" Will asked.

"She should stay here, should she not?" Jack said.

"I bloody well won't," she protested.

"Right," Jack said, not satisfied but unwilling to argue, "Come on then."

Jack started scurrying down the beach, followed by Bernadette and Will, who were both shooting confused looks at each other. Jack then disappeared under a small boat and Will quickly followed. Bernadette hesitated, but moved quickly as she saw some guards marching in their direction. It seemed absurd pretending to be a boat, but they had to rely on Jack to escape, seeing as he seemed to be an expert at the act. When the guards footsteps had died down, they lifted the boat slightly and started to walk into the sea. Bernadette could feel the floor sloping down and started to worry as the water rose to her shoulders. Her toes barely touched the floor as Jack and Will walked holding the boat up.

"This is either madness or brilliance," Will remarked.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack said.

They allowed themselves to float up to the surface of the water when they reached the ship. Checking that no guards were nearby they began to climb silently up onto the ship, careful not to attract any unwanted attention. When they had all successfully climbed aboard, Jack descended the stairs, holding his pistol to the crew. He told everyone to stay calm, that they were taking over the ship, and that there was nothing they could do about it.

"Aye, avast," Will added, jumping over the railing with his sword drawn.

Bernadette stood silently at the top of the stairs with her own sword drawn.

The crew took in this sight and laughed.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men and a child," Gilette said condescendingly, causing Bernadette to scowl, "You'll never make it out of the bay."

"Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?" Jack said pointing his gun at Gilette's head.