My Sparrow 《Jack Sparrow》

I: The Sparrow & The Pearl

I was just hanging out at the dock in Port Royal when the strangest sight caught my eye. It was a man standing on the mast of a ship, it seemed. The problem was, that was all that was visible above the water. The man stepped onto the dock without missing a beat, striding about like he owned the place. "It's a shilling to tie your boat up at the dock," the harbormaster said. In response, the newcomer simply looked behind him at his sunken vessel. "And I should need your name," the harbormaster said. "What do you say to three shilling, and we forget the name?" The strange man asked. "Welcome to Port Royal, Mister Smith," the harbormaster replied, and let the newcomer continue on his way. He seemed different from the other men who came to Port Royal, but I couldn't quite place a reason for it. Maybe it was his somewhat ratty brown coat, or his tricorn hat, or all the miscellaneous beads and things that were worked into his long black hair. I decided to follow him and see where he went. He grabbed an apple from a nearby stand, put it in his pocket, then continued to walk down the docks, almost like he was looking for something. He took notice of some of the ships that were tied up at the docks, but he shook his head after looking at each one for a minute or two.

Eventually, the man stopped in front of the last ship in line, the HMS Interceptor, the fastest ship in the Royal Navy. The ship was guarded by two men that I knew, since I spent a lot of my free time at the docks. "It seems to me like there's some fancy to-do in the town there. I'm surprised a couple of high-profile men such as yourselves didn't receive an invitation," the man said. "Someone has to make sure that this dock stays off-limits to civilians," Murtogg, one of the men guarding Interceptor replied. "Listen, I -" the  man, Mr. Smith, said before Mullroy interrupted him. "What's your name, sir?" He asked, and Mr. Smith paused to think, which led me to believe that Smith was not his real name. "Smith, or Smithy, if you like," he said. "What is your business in Port Royal, Mister Smith?" Mullroy asked, and he sounded like he didn't think Smith was the man's name either. "And no lies," Murtogg added, so I decided to step in and help him out. "He was escorting me around the docks, showing me the different ships," I said, coming up beside Smith, who looked shocked. "I-I was?" He asked, so I stomped on his foot. "Yes! Yes, I was!" He said loudly. "He can be so forgetful sometimes," I said in an attempt to smooth the issue over. "I see. Where were you when he got here, though, Miss Swann?" Mullroy asked me. "I was a few docks over, and when I looked for him, I couldn't find him until a few moments ago," I explained.

"So, could you tell me more about this... er... pretty boat?" Smith asked. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. This is the HMS Interceptor, the fastest ship in the Caribbean," Murtogg said. "Is it really, now?" Smith asked. "Of course it is," Mullroy said. "I've heard of a ship. A ship with black sails," Smith said, suddenly speaking very quietly, as if he didn't want to be overheard. As he finished the sentence, a memory came to my mind.

Flashback

I watched as the crew brought a young man around the same age as me and my sister Elizabeth on board the ship, then my eyes were drawn back to the flaming remnants of the ship that the boy had been sailing on. Through the thick smoke, I saw the outline of another ship sailing away. The smoke began to clear somewhat, and I got my first glimpse of the ship. It was black, as though burned by fire, with black sails, and atop the tallest mast was a flag with the skull and crossbones on it, marking it as a pirate ship.

When I returned to the present, I noticed that Smith, Mullroy and Murtogg were gone. Then, I was surrounded by British soldiers, led by Commodore James Norrington, who had his sword at Smith's throat. "That man saved my life," I heard my sister Elizabeth tell him. "Miss Swann, one good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness," Norrington replied. Smith was in handcuffs, but he managed to drag my sister over to him. "Gentlemen, milady, this is the day that you will always remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" He said, shoving my sister at the soldiers before running away. I followed him with my eyes, and when he ran off of the docks, I managed to escape from the soldiers in the commotion and follow him to Mr. Brown's blacksmith shop.

"So, Mister Sparrow, is it?" I asked him, and he turned on his heel to look at me. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "What do you think? I wanted to speak with you," I said. "I don't believe you," he said, grabbing a sword and pointing it at me. I grabbed another sword and pointed it at him. "You know how to duel?" He asked in mild surprise. "Yes. I took fencing lessons when I was younger. I also used to pretend that I was fighting pirates with a homemade wooden sword," I replied. "Let's see your skills, then," he said, and I went for an overhead slash, which he blocked, then aimed his sword at my legs. I quickly blocked his move and redirected his sword towards him. He responded with an angled cut that I was narrowly able to parry, but then the fight stopped suddenly. "Alice, what do you think you're doing?" Will Turner asked me. "I was fighting this pirate until you showed up," I replied coolly. "You were barely holding him off. I hardly think that's fighting," he retorted. I growled, but threw my sword over to him, since I knew he was more experienced than I was at sword fighting.

That night...

I woke up to the sound of cannon fire coming from the harbor, and I looked out of my window to see a familiar ship in the harbor, occasionally illuminated with each cannon shot. I bolted out of the back door and went running to the prison. I stopped briefly when I heard my sister scream, and I was scared that she had been captured by the pirates. I ran into Will on my way to the prison, and found out that he was also on his way to the prison to talk to Jack Sparrow. When we got there, we found Jack calmly sitting on the ground facing us, apparently oblivious to the giant hole in the prison wall behind him. "Listen, we need your help. My sister Elizabeth was taken by those pirates, and if anyone can help get her back, it's you," I said, unsure of where that notion came from. "Why should I help either of you? Both of you tried to kill me earlier today," he said, giving me an idea. "Well, technically, you owe me one after I covered for you earlier by saying that you were escorting me around the docks and showing me the ships," I said. "Fine, I'll give you that one. Only problem is, where are we going to get a ship fast enough to even attempt to chase after the Pearl?" He asked. "I think we both know the answer to that question," I said.

Under the cover of darkness, we snuck over to the Interceptor by walking on the bottom of the bay using an upside down longboat to create an air pocket. Soaking wet, we climbed onto the Interceptor and began to prepare to go after the Pearl, which was on the outskirts of the bay now. "We're heading for Tortuga to recruit some crew members," Jack said, and I didn't question him. I just focused on keeping the sails unfurled instead.

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Here's my latest idea for a fanfiction. I've been listening to the soundtracks from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, so I thought I'd write a story about it. Alice Swann is played by Emilia Clarke, who I have pictured below in an edited photo to give a sense of her appearance as I pictured it. Until next time!