FicWad

I could tell from that remark that you didn't mess around with this man. He wouldn't take crap from anyone. I looked down at my feet and made a deep curtsy out of respect. Removing the gape from my lips, I kept my eyes on the ground and introduced myself, "I'm Jenna Cook. My friend, Elizabeth, brought me here. And my father, Mr. Cook, is here as well."

"Very well then," the man said. "You may carry on." He lifted his gaze from me and stared straight ahead of him and something over my head. I probably should've continued on. I mean, it wasn't let I didn't have things to do. I could've gone off to find my father. Or I could have found another girl to make friends with. But there was just something about this man that captured my attention. When I looked at him, everything else surrounding me disappeared. His figure was the only one I could see.

"Who might you be?" I asked, trying to initiate a conversation. I wondered if the man would even bother to respond to me. He looked quite interested in something across the room behind me. And really, why would he even bother talking to a small, worthless girl like me? I would only be a waste of his time. I was starting to wish I hadn't said anything.

The man looked down at me and gave me a speculating glance. He kept his eyes focused on me and replied, "Cutler Beckett." He stiffened, as if he expected me to make fun of him for his name. Sure, it might be a slightly unusual name, but it didn't bother me at all. Besides, to be honest, it kind of fit him.

I nodded and tried to think of something else to say. When nothing came to my lips, I merely stood by him almost awkwardly. What else was there to say? Cutler looked down at me and sighed. He turned away and said stiffly, "I don't pay wenches. If you're looking for business, I would recommend looking some place else."

For a few moments, I was confused. Then I realized that he thought I was a hooker trying to get his attention. God, I had totally messed this one up! I still wasn't sure why he thought I was a hooker though. It wasn't like I was wearing five pounds of makeup and I certainly wasn't revealing anything obscene in my virginal white gown.

"I'm not a wench," I said a little indignantly. I opened my mouth to speak, but he was already looked down at me condescendingly, "Then what else are you? A little girl craving attention? If so, I advise you to look elsewhere." With that, Cutler Beckett turned and stalked away from me, leaving me feeling very insignificant and a bit worthless.

Frowning, I decided to go up to find Elizabeth. I returned to where I had seen her and James left. Surprisingly enough, she was gone. It was like she had vanished or something. Blinking, I looked down at saw there was a commotion going on in the dock. A man with dark hair, a bandanna, and jewels was holding shackles around Lizzy's neck.

"Lizzy!" I gasped in horror. I watched for a hesitant moment and then realized I needed to get down to Lizzy immediately before the man hurt her. Unfortunately, it took a rather long time to get all the way to the dock. There were people in large clusters everywhere, making it rather impossible to hurry. By the time I reached the clearing, it had been at least fifteen minutes since I had seen Lizzy.

Lizzy was huddling against her father with his coat wrapped around her. I ran to her and threw my arms around her as well. Hugging her tightly, I asked, "What happened? What was that horrible man doing to you?" I looked around for the man who had attempted to strangle her, but could not find her. Where was he?

"I...I'll tell you in the carriage," Elizabeth said in a bit of a shaky voice. She took my hand and looked up to her father, who was currently staring bleakly ahead. "Father, can we go back home now? I'm rather wet and..." Elizabeth looked down. For some reason, she was only wearing her dressing gown. Her beautiful dress was gone. Had that vile man tried to rape her? I also noticed that Lizzy was sopping wet. Lizzy couldn't swim. What the hell had gone on?

"Yes, indeed. Come along darling," Governor Swann took Elizabeth's hand and then looked at me and took my hand as well, "You too, Genevieve." I took his hand and the three of us threaded our way through the crowds and back to the carriage. Once we had reached it, Lizzy collapsed across from me and sighed.

I figured I should probably give her a few minutes to calm down and relax, but I had to know what had happened to her! I leaned forward and looked into her eyes searchingly, "What happened? Did that man drag you into the water? Are you okay?" I had a million questions and it was hard to keep them all from popping out.


"No," Elizabeth said shakily. "I fell into the water. I couldn't breathe. My corset was too tight." She shuddered before going on, "You know I can't swim. Anyways, that man saved me. He jumped into the water after me and brought me to the surface." Elizabeth looked thoughtful and I wondered what she was thinking.

When she didn't say anything more, I raised my eyebrows and said, "So...what happened after that?" I was anxious to know the rest of the story and I had to admit that I was a bit curious to where James Norrington currently was. Elizabeth choked up some water and blinked her eyes before continuing her tale.

"James identified the man as a pirate. He was going to have him killed. The pirate threatened to choke me unless they let him go free. So now he's currently running around the city with all Norrington's men after him," Elizabeth explained. There was a curious expression on her face. She wasn't even scared or trembling like I would've been.

"Hm..." I mused aloud, going over to sit on Elizabeth's right. I peered over at her and asked, "What became of the pirate? Where's the commodore?" I couldn't resist asking about James. Even though I had only met him once, I was strangely attracted to him. The heart can work in very weird and certainly unpredictable ways.

"I'm not quite sure," Elizabeth frowned, flipping some damp hair over her shoulder. "Like I said, Norrington's men are currently searching for him. Most likely, they'll send him to the Port Royal Prison until they decide to hang him. And James is the one leading the men after him. Apparently, James is familiar with this certain pirate."

I wanted to hear more about James and the pirate. Leaning forward, I asked curiously, "How does Jaes know him? Who is this certain pirate?" I was kind of sad that James had gone after the pirate. Why couldn't he just have sent his troops after them and then remained here with Lizzy and me? Well, mostly me.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. I raised an eyebrow at her. The way she said "captain" was rather interesting. I'm not sure if it was her tone of voice or what, but something told me that she was more than a little interesting in this captain. I smirked at her and asked, "Captain?"

Governor Swann looked between us nervously and frowned, "My, my, I think that's quite enough talk about pirates for one day, don't you two agree?" From the Governor's expression, I could tell he didn't like Elizabeth and me talking about pirates. Governor Swann was quite protective of his daughter. And I suppose in this case, that might have been a good thing.

Elizabeth and I rode back to the mansion in silence. Whenever we were alone next, I knew Elizabeth would tell me much more about the pirate. Unfortunately, that time would not be today. When we got to the mansion, the governor gave me a regretful look and said, "I think I may have to ask you to go home now, Miss Cook. Lizzy needs to take a warm bath and take a rest."

I nodded. To be honest, I had been expecting him to say something like that. Lizzy didn't want me to leave though. She took hold of her father's hand and pleaded, "Can't Jenna stay, father? I would really like some company right now!" The governor hesitated, looking between Elizabeth and me. For a moment, I thought she had convinced him to let me stay.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. You really do need a bath right now and then some rest. I don't want you getting the chills," Governor Swann told her gently. He thought for another moment and a frown came upon his face, "Besides, I don't really appreciate you two gossiping about the said pirate all afternoon. It isn't an appropriate topic for two fine young ladies."

Elizabeth and I blushed and hung our heads guiltily. Unfortunately, that was exactly what we would have been doing all afternoon. Governor Swann started up to the house to order some of the maids to run Elizabeth a hot bath. Lizzy hurried over to me when he left and whispered in my ear, "I'll tell you everything next time we're alone, okay? Did you meet anyone interesting this afternoon?"

Seeing that Governor Swann was still distracted, I decided it was safe to answer Elizabeth. I nodded and her and smiled, "Yes, I did actually." Lizzy tilted her head at me excitedly and gave me a curious look. I continued on, "He said his name was Cutler Beckett. He looked powerful. There was just something about him..."

"Cutler Beckett?" Elizabeth asked with a small frown. "I think I know him. Was he really short?" I frowned up at that comment and replied almost defensively, "He was a bit short, yes. But look at me! I'm much shorter than him. If he's considered really short in your eyes, than what am I considered? A midget?" I was a bit defensive about my height.

Elizabeth gave me a wet hug, "Of course not! You're my best friend, not a midget. But I'm curious, what do you see in Sir Beckett? He always seems to be rather rude whenever I've spoken to him before. Did you speak to him? Was he kind to you?" I frowned and looked at the ground during that comment. Elizabeth raised a brow at me.

"He...uh...thought I was a wench," I admitting with a blush. Elizabeth gave me an I-told-you-so look as her father motioned to her, "Come now, Elizabeth! Your bath is almost ready!" Elizabeth and I glanced towards her father. Elizabeth sighed and gave me a hug. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "See you soon, Jenna!"

I waved and started heading in the direction of my house. I kicked up dirt as I went. I didn't want to go home. Most likely, my mother would make me eat dinner. I didn't want dinner. No, I was much more interested in Cutler Beckett and James Norrington.