The Sparrows |{Jack Sparrow x OC}|

Chapter 6

The warm breeze whipped through my hair and filled my lungs with nervous excitement. I looked out at the vast blackened ocean. It was still quiet, as if patiently waiting for our long-awaited reunion. My bare feet touched sand, still hot from the day's sun. I began trekking up to the governor's house, down backways through town where the redcoats rarely walked. I nodded at the familiar faces of bakers, fruit-sellers, and blacksmiths as I made my way through the island town. 

I realized that I may not see these familiar sights for a long time. I pushed this thought away so as not to lose track of time as I hiked up the steep hill to the governor's house.

Crickets chirped as I silently crept through damp grass to the servant's entrance. Suddenly I heard men's voices coming from around the corner of the house where the servant's door was situated. I quickly crouched behind some bushes that were framing the house, holding down my skirt to quiet the coins. Two elongated shadows crept from behind the brick. I arched my neck to get a closer look. It's Admiral Norrington and Governor Swann, strolling past me toward town. I pressed my back against the cool brick and held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed they wouldn't hear it.

"I swear, Sir. I know it was a pirate." Norrington was on the pirate chase as usual, the pole-up-his-ass tone cutting through the silent air. 

Governor Swann waved his hand lazily. "Oh James, please. Just because someone isn't dressed in uniform doesn't make them a lawbreaking treasonous scoundrel."

"He was there," Norrington urged. "Talking with your servant, Floria." 

"Oh shit!" I whispered and quickly covered my mouth. 

Norrington whipped his neck around, eyeing my refuge in the bushes. 

"You remember James, I was there as well and I saw nobody of the sort. Poor girl though, it's a pity. One would think living under my roof would lead her to more honorable professions." Governor Swann grasped Norrington's arm and continued strolling past the corner of the house. 

As their voices faded into the darkness, I slowly inched my way to the servant entrance and slipped inside. Lucky for me, the governor was a lightweight because I was only a few tables away from him this evening. 'Honorable professions, indeed,' I thought, shaking my head, 'wiping up after you is the only thing a woman is allowed to do around here.' 

I eased my way down the hall and quietly opened the door to my room. Inside I glanced past the small bed with the metal frame to the modest dresser. I opened it and began throwing clothes into my costume bag.

'Oh,' I shuddered at my coin skirt and bustier. 'Can't board a pirate ship looking like this, can I.' I slipped the skirt off with a loud clink and replaced it with a tan knee-length skirt. I quickly flung the maroon top over my head and laced a matching tan blouse over my chest. 

As I packed more clothing into the bag that was by now bursting at the seams, I found the black vest my mother had given me at the back of the drawer. I checked its pockets for the contents she had strategically placed inside. A small knife at the upper right, pistol that I regularly kept loaded on the left, and finally, a golden neck chain with a single teardrop diamond as a charm that her great-grandmother had given her when the family was still living in France. The only family heirloom I would have. I carefully unclasped the hook and laced it around my neck. My hair had become wild with the wind and humidity of the night. 

I pat the necklace to my chest and fastened the vest around me. 'Oof,'  it's tight. My mother was quite a smaller woman. The vest pushed my chest up and I laughed, it felt somewhat like a corset. 

I patted the vest when I felt it stiffen under the bottom left pocket. My eyes widened. The crucial piece of my newfound freedom beneath the black fabric had been located. I eased open the pocket to reveal the torn map to Isla de Muerta, my father's final unfinished voyage, held in my hands. I opened it and blew a cloud of dust that fades into the streaked moonlight coming from the window. The half-isle stared at me clear as day. I felt a rush of excitement take hold of me as I realized that nothing else stood in the way of what was to come.

I held the necklace to ground me and nodded, bending to lift my costume bag filled to the brim with clothes. I felt like a fugitive. Good lord, I was already a pirate. I secured the bag across my body and hurried out of the room, easing the door behind me. I started toward the servant door when I heard a small voice echoing behind me.

"Floria?" Young Elizabeth's voice echoed from the hallway. I turned to look at her. She noticed my bag and looked up at my eyes, mouth agape.

"Lizzy," I bended down to look in her eyes and motioned for her to come to me. She warily inched her way towards me, confusion and sadness written across her face. "Promise me you won't tell your daddy about this."

She nodded. "Why are you going? Have I been bad?" 

I smiled at her. "No, Dearest," I stroked her hair tenderly. "You've been nothing but good. But..." I glanced toward the door. "I need to know where I come from. You'll understand when you're older." I gripped the sides of her arms gently but firm. "Listen," her focus was on mine intensely. "Don't let anybody take away your imagination or stifle you in a role you know in your heart you can't fill. Love easily and fully, fall in love with who you become." She nodded, crystal tears brimming her eyes. "Bye now, Lizzy. I hope to see you soon." I stood up, patted her head and found the servant door. I didn't hear a sound as I close it. I was confident she wouldn't tell her father, and even so, I'd be long gone on a ship they don't believe exists so it wouldn't matter.

I hurriedly jogged back down the hill toward the Eastern side. Fire burning in my lungs not from exhaustion, but exhilaration.