The League Of Extaordinary Teenagers; A Pirate's Life For Me

Let’s start this story right at the beginning, which, coincidentally, is a good place to start.

Well, we won’t go too far back, let’s start when I’m about 11.

I’m Evangeline, and my best friend in the whole world is Elizabeth Swan.

My father died when I was young, so my mother faced all the odds and raised me alone, with great help from Elizabeth’s father, because Elizabeth’s mother had died as well.

It was out of penance to my mother that I pretended not to see the bag of coins being exchanged between our parents the day that the first boat left for the new East India Trading Company, and I left to live with Elizabeth.

My and Elizabeth had a lot in common, we had a secret fetish for pirates and adventure, and we both hated dresses but knew we had reputations, with Elizabeth’s father being so important, and we had to attend a lot of the events.

But the way I differed from Elizabeth and the other young ladies was in my appearance.

Though we had both been told on many occasions we were the most beautiful pair of girls they’d ever seen, Elizabeth managed to look like a proper lady, even in my best dress, which always had to be the same as Elizabeth’s, only in varying, usually contrasting shades of pastel.

I always had the air of ruggedness and wild grace, with long dark hair that was curly in some places and straight in others, huge dark hazel eyes and tanned, high cheekbones and long lean legs and body, as opposed to being short and delicate, pale and mousey, like the other girls my age, and even Elizabeth.

I stuck out like a sore thumb, but sometimes not in a bad way.

But it did not help me win the affection of Will Turner, which would always lie with Elizabeth since the day we saved him from drowning on the boat to Port Royal in Jamaica.

I grabbed the strange thing from round his neck, and gave it too Elizabeth for us to study later, and so he wasn’t identified as a pirate.

I will never forget that day, even eight years later, at 2o years old. I saw something sailing away from the wreckage of the burning ship, a huge ship sailing away with sails the colour of coal and the pirate flag clearly flowing in the breeze, I nudged Elizabeth, she saw it too, we shared a look, half excitement, half heart stopping fear, then I plucked the medallion from around his pale neck.

I remember earlier on, how the old ship master Mr Gibbs was complaining about us singing a pirate song on the deck, it was so misty and strange, he said it was bad luck to have women on board “even miniature ones” 

Then James snob headed Warrington bears down on him with his nasally annoying voice. He told us that he will makes sure ‘Any person who waves a pirate flag or bears a pirate brand will be hanged, with a short drop and a sudden stop’ he smiled down at Elizabeth and bared his teeth in a grimace at me, because I was the one who thought it would be “A very definitely excellent adventure to be a pirate”

So when we found Will in the water next to the burning wreckage of a British ship, and ‘Father’ told me and Elizabeth he was our charge, we found out his name was William Turner, we said nothing about the necklace, or the ship.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Eight Years Later.

“Oh, and I got you both a gift from London”  Weatherby Price announces, Elizabeth’s father, as our chamber maid carries in two large boxes, my heart quickens, I do sometimes enjoy a new dress.