The Painter Of Port Royal

Chapter 1

14 years ago

Waves fell onto the beach of Port Royal is slow motions, the sun high up in the sky burning into the Caribbean air. A tint of teal coloured the ocean as sailors and Navy men went about their days at the docs, collecting stock and mingling with the townsman. Kids ran about up and down the beaches, shouting phrases of pirates before being scolded by their parents. Woman dressed in beautiful pastel dresses fanned themselves as the heat of the summer air danced across their skin. All seemed perfect in Port Royal. Until a body washed up onto the beach.

The girl had a petite frame and was dressed in a dishevelled dress hanging loosely from her person. She looked to be 7 with long golden blonde hair and deep brown eyes. As her body was discovered many of the locals rushed to her attention, calling down soldiers as they did. A crowd formed around as a young man reached down and rolled her onto her back. He scanned her face and body for injury however there seemed to be none at all. Leaning down to listen for her breathing, the man heard a gasp and shot back as well as the crowd who began to look to one another for what to do. The girl's eyes fluttered open and settled on the man crouched over her then to the people around him. Her eyes widened and her mouth held agape.

"Hello my name is Lieutenant James Norrington. What is your name girl?" The man asked suddenly.

The girl moved to rest on her elbows and pondered the question before answering.

"My name is Lydia Mahogany," The girl said.

The man helped her so she was standing and quickly made the crowd disperse, taking a blanket that a soldier brought over and draped it over Lydia. He lead her over to a bench at the top of the beach, sitting her down next to him.

"What happened to you Lydia?" He began to question.

"I don't know all I remember is my name. I'm sorry," She said looking down at her lap.

"No it's okay we will find you a place to stay and help you find your parents," James replied rubbing the girls arms.

She was taken to stay with an old lady named Marianne, a painter amungst the locals. There she was looked after, taught how to draw and paint just like her guardian. They never found her parents. Without any information from Lydia herself, the Navy struggled to find anyone under the name Mahogany so they called the search off just under a year after. Although never remembering her life or family, Lydia still dreamt what it could have been like, which always lead her to dream about the sea. She dreamt of sailing and visiting island after island with her parents, who always were faceless in these dreams. Marianne taught her the wonders of the sea through art, never letting the girl venture further than Port Royal. But Lydia began to adore her life here, making friends with the likes of Elizabeth Swann and a boy called William Turner who she discovered had a similar situation to her. Days she spent painting and reading, helping Marianne deliver her work to the locals. All was at peace. Lydia was at peace with this life.

••••••••••

14 years later, Lydia sat in her paint shop working away at a large landscape of Port Royal. Her shop was decorated with different nik naks and art supplies, with a few paintings she had created decorating the pale green walls. Marianne had passed a few years prior, leaving Lydia with her shop to call her own.

Lydia had grown into her beauty. Her blonde hair flowed down her back in long waves, with natural highlights decorating the layers. Her deep brown eyes sat in oval shapes, surrounded by soft freckles made by the sun. She still kept her petite frame, complete with a forest green dress that rested slightly off the shoulder in a simple fashion down to her ankles. Sweeping her hair behind her ears, she dipped her brush into the light blue and stroked it onto the canvas delicately, forming the famous Caribbean sky.