An Eye for an Eye, A Kiss for a Kiss

CHAPTER 13 "The Secret Life of Miss Elizabeth Swann"



"So, will I be getting me story?" asked Jack, eager to learn more about her life.

"I'll start with my early childhood. It was rather unhappy and boring, partially due to the fact that I knew my mum only from portraits... She died soon after I was born."

"Sorry to hear that. Must have been a doleful loss... and fate for a little girl to be brought up by a man..." he frowned.

"My father was the only family I ever had, and he loved me more than life but couldn't devote much attention to me, busy that he was. His endless meetings and journeys occupied most of his time and in the end I felt very lonely... From the balcony of my room on the first floor, I used to watch servants' children playing pirates in the orchard and I envied them so much. I was a daughter of a rich and influential man, and they were kids of humble servants, wearing patched clothes. But unlike me, they were so happy and full of life. They had that freedom of doing whatever they wanted to do just because they wanted it. And they were friends, sharing good and bad moments with one another, playing together from morning till nightfall, appearing at home only when they were starving."

"Sounds a lot like my own childhood!" chuckled Jack.

"I figured that much!" Lizzie giggled in reply. "The biggest of my dreams was to join that group of kids and be like them, but I was not allowed to. According to my father, it was highly unfitting for a governor's daughter to play with simpletons, as he called them. My pleads and cries didn't change much. He said that it was not proper for me to play like them for I could get my skirts dirty or even fall down and hurt myself; and that he would die of shame if any of his high society friends, maybe even my future husband would see his little princess all smeared with mud, a wooden sword in her hand. And therefore my dad tried to occupy my time with things which, to my dismay, he found useful. Not only was I forced to take singing lessons but also to play the piano and the harp, and to learn foreign languages. In addition, I had to do knitting, sewing and embroidering which I hated most."

"I can't imagine you embroider or knit." To Jack, it just didn't sound like Lizzie - the unpredictable pirate lass who had once burnt his rum and had chained him to the mast.

"I wasn't good at it. But if only you could see Will! He once visited me when I was knitting and he learned it so quick that he soon became faster than me! Would you believe that?"

"Then why did he even bother to become a blacksmith? How could he waste such a talent?" he asked clearly making fun of William.

"He didn't waste it. It became his favourite pastime and all his stockings are self made."

"Oh, holy mermaid..." Jack rubbed his temple with his ringed fingers, wondering if there was anything more eunuchy than knitting.

"The day, or rather the night came when I found the monotony of my life absolutely unbearable. When everyone was fast asleep, I stole a set of boy's clothes from our servants' chest. The next day after lunch when I was supposed to have my siesta, I put on the stolen garments, ran down the staircase and disappeared in the garden through the back door. I met the children, but to my dread one of the boys recognized my clothes as his own and nearly beat the hell out of me.When I showed him my golden ring and asked him to keep it, he cooled down though."

"Funny how shiny little things have that magical power to solve nearly every problem, isn't it?"

"Indeed. The boy forgot about the stolen clothes and it was the beginning of a great friendship. Nearly every afternoon I used to sneak out to meet my friends, but at times we also had our secret meetings at night, dancing around the bonfire on an empty beach, singing "Drink up me hearties yo ho!""

"And sipping the vile drink, I imagine?"

"Sipping water and pretending that it was rum. I always coughed, so strong it was." Lizzie chuckled. "We also baked scented pirate bread on sticks over the fire, telling stories until our eyes refused to stay open any longer."

"I like pirate bread!" he exclaimed. "Especially seasoned with basil or marjoram. Delicious... By the way, was William one of your ...hearties?"

"No. I never told him about my double life. He spent most of his time in the smithy and visited me only from time to time. He always hated pirates and saw me as a fragile princess which I never was or strove to be. I saw myself more as the legendary Anne Bonny - tricky and brave. That's how my friends called me, by the way. The other girls were Mistress Ching and Mary Read, and the boys called themselves Calico Jack, Blackbeard and last but not least, Jack Sparrow- my childhood love..." she smiled.

"Oh, I'm deeply flattered to hear that, darlin'. Was it something serious?" he joked amused by her story.

"Well, you can say that. One day we even kissed. We had caught his elder brother smooching with his girlfriend and we decided that it was definitely something worth trying out. We were both ten, and it was our first tongue kiss. That day I swore never ever to try this most disgusting thing in the world again."

"Peas in the pod darlin'. The only difference is that I was eight. Now, as for your nightly escapades...How did you manage to leave the residence unnoticed?"

"I tied a black rope to the fenders of my balcony, partially covered with ivy . That made the line invisible. I could easily slide down or climb up without being spotted."

"I admire your ideas, luv. Still, I wonder how on earth you found time for your mates with all the useless knitting, singing and so forth?"

" I usually deputed knitting, sewing and embroidering to a certain poor old lady who lived in the neighbourhood. She was very fast and discreet. I couldn't offer her schillings, but she was satisfied with something shiny from time to time, and even more with the luxurious food from the governour's table."

"Another smart move here." He raised his right eyebrow.

"I didn't become a pirate overnight, Jack." She looked at him beaming with pride. "In addition, I tried to gain more free time by using my special strategy- singing and playing out of tune. After several months and three changes of teachers, I achieved my goal. My father cancelled all music lessons after hearing from the resigned teacher what a complete duffer I was, bringing disgrace to him and his position with my scary yowling that carried throughout the Port Royal, from the hills to the docks."

"I'm speechless..."

"Of course there was still my tutoress who taught me English, literature, geography and other important things. For my taste however, she was spending far too much time with me and I missed many of my friends' meetings as a consequence. But I solved that problem as well. My father was troubled by my notorious migraines, tiredness and sleepiness. He called for a doctor whom I easily convinced, that the reason for all those abnormalities was too much pressure and stress. All I needed was some more free time for myself. To my father's joy, all the headaches effectively disappeared as soon as he ordered my tutoress only to visit me every morning to bring me new books and to check my homework."

"I must say I'm in awe, my pirate lass. But how come nobody discovered your secret and reported to your dad?"

"Years were passing and with time a few servants indeed discovered the truth about me. There was that one maid who threatened to expose me, if I did not pay her well for her silence. She demanded all my jewelry!"

"Oh,bugger. What did you do?'"

"Luckily, I had accidentally seen her in a very improper situation, so I simply asked her if she wanted her husband to hear what his wife was doing with our gardener on the kitchen table when everyone else was asleep. That made her mum on the subject for good."

"Bra-vo!" applauded Jack. He chuckled recalling Lizzie's story about her servants' nightly trysts in the kitchen.

"As for the rest of the servants, they had no heart to expose me. They were flattered by the fact that I was a good friend of their kids, playing and learning with them. If it was not for me, they wouldn't have learned how to read and write, not to mention the knowledge of foreign languages and so on. Their parents couldn't afford a teacher for any of them. These of course were not the only things that we used to learn together. There were more interesting "subjects" like studying the pirate code, shooting, sword fighting..."

"Didn't you once say that it was Will who had taught you how to handle a sword?"

"He actually thought that he did. After you escaped the hangman's noose and sailed away, Will wished to be spending more time with me, and since he had no clue how to woo me in any other way, he was showing me his sword tricks all the day long. I had to pretend that I had no idea about fencing and that I was highly impressed. It was then that he decided to teach me sword fighting - three hours a day - and he was shocked by how fast I was learning!"

Her last statement made them both giggle. Jack guessed that even if Elizabeth showed Will some of her special two-sword tricks, the whelp still wouldn't suspect a thing.

"In my younger years I often strolled with my friends to taverns, drank real rum and had lots of fun meeting sailors and listening to their tall stories about mermaids, seamonsters, and pirates. In fact, I once had the luck of meeting a real infamous pirate who was on the run, pursued by the Port Royal's Navy. Fortunately for him, the owner of our favourite tavern happened to be his childhood friend and offered him a shelter.Thanks to that said pirate avoided the gallows and we heard some absloutely unforgettables stories from him." she chuckled.

"As you can see Jack, I was enjoying my life with my mates. Until they started answering the calling of the sea, recruiting themselves on merchants ships; two of them in fact becoming pirates..." she smiled. "It all happened too fast... They were leaving one after another, until suddenly no one was left. It was the saddest day of my life. Never will I forget how I cried day and night. I had a chance to follow them, but despite my friends' undying requests, I chose to stay. I couldn't leave my father behind. And Will... Apart from me, they had nobody. I meant the world to them..."

Jack sighed. "Sad indeed..."

"That day I buried my disguise along with my effects at the very bottom of my chest, shedding tears and believing that there would be no occasion to ever put them on again. But one never knows what the future brings. I used them a year later to get to Tortuga, after my dad had freed me from jail. Do you remember those "unflattering" lad's clothes, Jack?"

"How could I forget? "It should be a dress or nothing." I stick to that..." he pointed with his forefinger. "Needless to add, I'm still partial to nothing. "

She returned his warm smile, recalling how many times he's said that.

"Is that how your story ends?"

"Technically yes. Just when I was convinced that life couldn't be more cruel, Commodore Norrington proposed to me at the fort, and all of a sudden I lost my breath and my world turned all black. I thought I was dead... Weightless, I was rising high looking down at my drenched body laying on the pier. Suddenly a figure dripping with water,the man who must have been my rescuer, towered over my figure and tore off my corset with his dagger. Instantly, an indescribable force brutally sucked me back into the lifeless body and I began to cough, trying to catch my breath. When I opened my eyes, I saw you bending over me and I believed you were my guardian angel. I was mesmerized by your gaze, felt paralyzed; unable to move or make a sound. That only reassured me that you were one. Until James Norrington recognized you as the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow." she giggled histerically.

"Your guardian pirate," he sighed.

"Well put, Jack. That is where one story ends and another starts. By freeing me off that maddening corset, you rescued me from the world that was strangling me and gave me the chance to start a new life. The life I always dreamt of."

"My pleasure, luv. Your story is truly unbelievable and deserves standing ovations. But if I said that you shocked me with said revelations, that would be a bald-face lie. What you just told me explains more than a lot and fits your piratey person nothing less but perfectly. Unlike the fake image of an obedient governor's daughter. I'm bloody proud of you, Miss Swann." he stopped in his tracks and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"My father wouldn't have said so..." she replied, her voice reduced to a whisper.

"If I remember correctly, in the Locker your father DID say that he was proud of you 'Lizbeth. And I could tell that he did mean what he was saying."

Elizabeth recalled the moment she saw his boat passing by the Pearl. She was so insanely happy preparing to welcome her father on board, when all of a sudden Jack made her world collapse with those few words. "We're not back, Elizabeth..." She shivered at the memory. Never would she see her father again, and yet she could still see his peaceful face before her, like that fateful night. Did she recall well? Was her father smiling as he said how very proud he was of his daughter?

Jack figured that Lizzie was drifting off to the depressing events of the past and pulled her into a tight embrace. In that moment, he realized that he would do everything to bring her father back if only it was possible. But if Tia Dalma herself had no power enough to bring him back to life, who would?

"I doubt that your father would be happy to see you living in the past, luv. What has happened cannot be changed but life goes on, Lizzie. I'm here with you and we have bright future before us."

She nodded. In his arms it was so easy to believe it. Believe anything he said or promised and forget how merciless life was at times. He was stroking her hair gently, until her breath was even again. Once hating the man who sentenced him to the gallows, he now admired the governor for eventually choosing the right side. Lizzie's father paid the highest price refusing to cooperate with Lord Cutler Beckett.

"You were mum as to which famous pirate you have met, dearie. And I wish to hear the name." he said softly, encouraging her to tell him yet another story and abandon the sad thoughts. She smiled when Jack moved,still holding her waist. The sun was now half submerged in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea and Elizabeth believed it was time for them to be going back. But that could wait a few minutes after all...

"It was William Kidd, showing off with the story about how he snatched rum from under your nose," she giggled. "I'm sorry Jack, but it was one of the most amusing and memorable stories I've ever heard!"

"Did he happen to mention how I paid him back?"

"No, he didn't."

"Ah. That doesn't surprise me in the slightest."

"What did you do?" she asked leaning into him as they walked.

"My revenge was sweet and breathtakingly spectacular. Just as Kidd did, I also snatched his belongings, however far more precious. He who laughs last laughs best, they say..."

"Could you be a bit more specific, Jack? That doesn't tell me much."

"That night in Tortuga, when dear ol' Kidd was laying completely drunk under the table in the Faithful Bride, I directed myself towards his ship. Too bad for the old bastard that his night watch mateys also didn't care to count the cups of the stolen rum they had. To my advantage, they weren't less drunk than their pathetic captain and I had no problem sneaking onto the Bloody Mary and into his cabin, from where I pilfered what he valued most."

"And that was?"

"Were. Two maps with his plunder beautifully marked on them. Just as I was ready to leave Kidd's cabin satisfied with my prey, I was stopped by a lass who apparently taking me for her fiancee, asked me to join her in bed. Although Kidd's beloved was quite a bit tipsy, she soon realized her mistake. And to my surprise, that only increased her appetite..."

"And?" asked Lizzie, trying to keep her voice steady. Her heart was thumping like a mad horse in a gallop and her blood boiling with jealousy.Why was there a woman behind every of his stories? She told herself that it was all in the past, but her doubts now stroke back with double force. What if Jack would continue to take every opportunity without even having second thoughts? Should she trust him? COULD she trust him?

"And so, " Jack decided to skip the details of his night with Kidd's girl, knowing how oversensitive Lizzie was when it came to his past romantic adventures. "...before dawn I set sail rushing to one of the treasure islands, while AnaMaria who was my first mate at the time, joined her brother's ship with the other map in her hand. That was one hell of a plunder. Both vessels heavy with bounty that in my opinion was worthy far more than some humble barrels of liquor Kidd was so childishly bragging about."

"You paid him back in his own coin," she said, suddenly realizing that Jack was putting his coat on her.

"Oh, thank you Jack..." she blushed, taken aback by his gentlemanly gesture. "But it's not that cold yet..."

"And cold is not the reason why I put my coat on you, dearie..." he said huskily, his lips almost touching hers.

"Why then?" she frowned.

Jack pushed her gently until her back hit a huge palm tree. "We do not want your pretty back all scratched and torn by bark, do we now?" he whispered, his sultry orbs boring into hers.

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