of skylarks and sparrows- a pirates of the caribbean fanfic
*chapter* 1
She was of a slight build. Tall and thin with brown-blonde hair that ran to just about the middle of her back, pale skin, and medium green sparkling eyes. Eyes that many a suitor had sought in vain for. They had all come looking for a meek, obedient, beautiful girl to haul around with them to all their numerous balls and show off, but they had all left in generally the same manner. With their pride bruised and their attempts of wooing beaten. For she was no ordinary high class girl. Although she was indeed a duchess of only twenty-and-four she also had a fire and spirit that the gentlemen were indeed surprised by. And she would not stoop herself to just any man simply to get a comfortable life. No. She spoke her mind whenever she pleased, rode horses the right way, (not with some stupid ‘lady’ sidesaddle contraption) and didn’t even flinch when looked disapprovingly on. Earning herself many names; none which were too good.
And at this moment she was also huddled, wet and annoyed, in the brig of some run down, pathetic excuse of a pirate ship. At last, her parents had finally given up trying to get her to stop out-witting every available, unmarried man who attempted to romance her with fancy words (with which she would simply give them a sweet smile and come back with an absurdly complex statement (which was most of the time an insult to their taste in clothing) and would then leave them scratching their heads whilst she ‘took a visit to the powder room’ (which was most of the time an escape to the stables and her favorite ridding horse.)) and decided to ship her off to Port Royal in the Jamaican Islands in hopes of her somehow finding a suitor that she deemed worthy there. But of course plans didn’t go the way they were meant to (as they never do) and pirates had surprised the royal ship. It was only by luck that they had managed to grab her and stuff her, screaming and saying all sorts of things that young ladies weren’t supposed to know, (let alone say) into their brig and lock her away. For ransom she supposed, since they hadn’t bothered her since. She smirked when she remembered the fight she had put up, causing many of the stupid blokes to swear in pain.
But perhaps this was a good thing. Being captured by pirates. Even of it was probably for ransom. At least she didn’t have to worry about meeting any more rich arrogant dolts who thought that the moment she met them she would swoon and beg for marriage. She always loved the sea anyways. This will almost be like a vacation, she thought. Except in a dreary, dark, smelly hole. Oh, and wet. Very wet. There must be a hole somewhere, she mused. But look as she might she simply couldn’t locate it.
Board, she leaned her head against the cold metal bars, tracing the running lines in the grain of the obviously poor quality wood from the ceiling of her ‘prison’ with her eyes, making shapes and designs. She imagined what it must look like from up on deck. The never ending blue-green sea. At least she could hear the steady beat of the waves hitting the side of the ship. That comforted her.
Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted her thoughts and the steady beat of the water. The ship rocked unnaturally to its side. Great, she thought. More trouble. Just my luck. She could hear shouts on deck. Another noise, which she deduced to be cannon fire, happened. Wonder if its my ship, finally come for me, she thought to herself. No, they’re too frightened to face a bunch of pirates. Even if they’re really bad pirates.
More shouts. The ship stopped moving. She carefully picked herself up off the grimy floor and found a slight hole farther up the wall of the ship. It was just big enough to peer through with one eye. The sight surprised her. She thought that the cannons sounded rather far off when she had heard them, but when she looked out she could see the midnight black hull of another ship pressed against hers, blocking out any sight of ocean or sky. Must be an awful fast ship, she supposed. The sight of the black hull triggered something at the edge of her mind, but no matter how hard she tried she simply couldn’t grasp it.
The shouts became louder and mixed with some cries. Damn it, she didn’t want to be caught down there locked up and helpless by the mystery ship’s crew. Gun fires sounded above, then there was a deafly loud boom. Stupid, she thought just before the sound of splintering wood; we’re too close. She quickly turned away and into the farthest corner of the her cell as the cannon ball came flying through the brig and out the other side. In the silence that followed she could hear an angry male voice shouting at the mystery ship. Whoever he is knows that that was stupid too. If that cannon ball had taken out this ship, the other would have also been sucked down in the current with it. Besides the mass of splintered wood that had come flying at her she was relatively fine. Luckily the hole the cannon ball had made was high up enough so that water wasn’t spilling in. Never mind. A wave, created by the two battling ships, broke against the hole and a good few inches of water reached her feet. The minute this crew manages to make a break for it the waves will get stronger...and the hold will fill. Realization seeped in, she was in the hold.
At that moment she noticed another after affect the cannon ball had made. The lock that had held her prison door closed was gone! She quickly sloshed through the already present water and pushed open the door. Freedom! She laughed at herself but couldn’t help it. She was free and didn’t have to worry about being trapped in that sinking rat-hole after all! But her laugher was cut short when she remembered that the only freedom she would be running to would most likely be another pirate crew. But it has to be better than this place.
Picking up the edges of her previously clean, simple brown dress she trudged through the already knee-length water to the staircase and practically ran up it toward a door and the sound of clashing swords. She yanked open the weathered door with much expectation of clean air and much needed sunshine. But before she could escape into the sunlight she ran straight into...someone.
