Castaway ♦ Elizabeth Swann

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     Incense swam upwards like silk among the steam in the bathroom. The heavy scent of eucalyptus and jasmine permeated the air, enveloping her exposed skin in an herbal shawl. Bea sat utterly content in the piping hot bath water, skillfully ignoring the pruning of her fingertips. She was deftly aware of how her sensitive skin was rebelling against the heat, but could not bring herself to care. Bea's day had been a series of increasingly frustrating encounters with annoying clientele that left her yearning for a relaxing soak in the bath. She could practically hear her muscles sigh in relief when she submerged herself in the water. The tension she had been carrying like a shield melting into the herbal concoction she laid steeping in. Nothing put her through the ringer like a Saturday night shift at the twenty four mini mart she was so woefully employed at.

     'No, no more work talk' she thought with conviction. 'That shit show already eats up enough of my time'.

     With that thought she resolved to dedicate the rest of her evening to whatever self indulgent distraction caught her fancy. Re-watching Pride and Prejudice and then having a sob session about said re-watching of Pride and Prejudice was her favorite option. Excited at the prospect of swooning over Keira Knightly for two hours brought a giddy smile to her face. Soaking in the last vestiges of heat in the bath, Bea closed her eyes and reclined her head against the lip of the bathtub. The strong perfume of her favorite incense distracted her from the slight creak in the neck this position gave her.

     Bea's brow twitched at the arrival of a new scent; salt. Had she lit another candle and not realized it until now? She couldn't remember ever buying a sea salt candle, not to mention lighting it only twenty minutes before. Another sensation spiraled her confusion further before she could open her eyes. A wave of bathwater had splashed her in the face before receding below her ribs. There were fucking waves in her bathtub.

     "I just can't catch a break today huh?" Bea managed to spit out before another lap of salty water drowned her panic stricken expression. She leaped upwards trying to regain her composure before the strange mini tsunami sent her into hysteria. Rather than the muggy air she was expecting, Bea had thrust herself into the abyss. Her vision was clouded by a stinging blackness that now sheathed her whole surroundings. Nothing about this made sense. Was she drowning in the tub and experiencing oxygen deprived hallucinations? That had to be it.

     Dread was quickly taking a hold of Bea as she tried to rationalize the horror around her. Her first instinct was to call for help.

     'Someone will help me, someone has to help me!' Her thoughts screamed in reassurance.

     'No one will hear you Bea, you know this' a small defeated voice muttered in the back of her mind.

     Bea answered her already defeated consciousness with her best attempt at a scream. Her vocal cords strained against the rush of water that flooded her throat. The last remnants of breath she held rushed out in her foolish desperation. Bea was drowning.

     All rational thought evacuated when she came to this sobering conclusion. There was only one thing left to try when floundering in a pool of eternal black. Time to swim up.

     With the words 'fuck it' taking the forefront of her waterlogged mind, Bea began to kick her legs. The lack of oxygen flowing to her limbs sent a shock of pain with each movement but she did not slow in the slightest. Bea had experienced the shittiest day ever (an opinion she would retract in the following days) and was determined to go out angry and fighting. Because if nothing else she was angry-no angry was too light a word- Bea was absolutely pissed. Imagine finally having twenty minutes to yourself after attending to the world's biggest assholes for hours, only to end up drowning in an inky hell half way through. She was going to have a few words with whatever douchebag of god was responsible for this if she died.

     The recollection of these circumstances as she fought upwards sent another wave of determination through Bea. She was going to get through this just to spite that deplorable deity.

     In the midst of her continued struggle, Bea saw a flash of light that gave her pause. Beams of light hung like streamers in the retreating darkness above her. Hopeful recognition flashed across her mind. It was the ocean's surface, it had to be. As she neared closer, a before imperceptible current grew in strength around her. The sea seemed to have taken mercy on her flailing form, as the current began to aid in her rise to the surface.

     Black rimmed the edges of Bea's vision as she ascended. Sheer force of will kept her conscious long enough to get the gasp of air promised only a few feet away. The few seconds before she breached were agonizing. With one final push, Bea was thrust through a barrier of sea foam on the surface. Her lungs screamed as she wheezed through the water that clogged her lungs. Eventually, the black fog retreated and she could begin to take in her surroundings. Still panting, she whipped her head around. An action that brought to light the excruciating headache she had been too occupied to notice before.

     Bea cursed in pain but continued to scan the horizon for anything she could use to stay afloat; a piece of driftwood, a buoy, any-wait that what she thought it was? Peeking out over the rolling waves behind her was a great harbor, far closer than she had realized. The overwhelming circumstances of her emergence from the water seemed to have dulled her senses considerably, as the harbor was a flurry of noise and activity she should have noticed before. Pure relief lifted the corners of Bea's mouth into a weary smile.

     "I might actually be okay" She whispered, much to the disdain of her poor throat.

     Then came a sudden realization. She was still naked. Bea was alone in the bath only minutes prior, hardly enough time to dress herself for company. A heavy feeling seemed to sink her a bit lower in the water. As bad as her situation was, Bea was by no means willing to crawl up on shore bare as she was. A comparison to a shell-less clam was banished from her mind with a shudder. She felt weighed down by the dread her condition brought.

     Oh wait.

     She was actually sinking.

     Bea peered down frantically at the rushing water beneath her, trying to catch sight of what anchored her. Flashes of white interspersed with the dark swatches of indigo. Her shoulders were no longer bare. Neither was the rest of her. A drenched chemise was cloaking her body, clinging fretfully to her pruning skin. Bea regarded the garment as one does a canceled party; with full body relief.

     'How beautifully convenient,' she thought.

     A rational, and admittedly small, portion of her brain begged her to consider how in the world she may have been dressed by the ocean. Bea steadfastly ignored it, not wanting the fates to take offense to any complaints about her impromptu good fortune. She would much rather confront her impossible circumstances clothed.

     With at least one worry taken off her mind, Bea began to haul her body towards the bustling harbor. It was hard to judge the distance from the shore at her position, but it seemed a doable swim. The added weight of the wet fabric made her little progress doubly difficult, but she struggled on. The image of the land before her and the need to have her feet on stable ground soon occupied all her thoughts. So much so in fact, that Bea failed to notice a large shadow begin to engulf her. It took a shout from above to finally shake her concentration.

     "Need a little help there love?"

     A startled breath caught in Bea's throat at the suave voice.

     That sounded a hell of a lot like Johnny Depp.

     Bea blinked harshly to gather her thoughts enough to engage with the stranger. She let her eyes trail up the battered hull of the vessel that managed to creep up beside her. A face was peering down at her from over a mangled railing. The figure obstructed the sun enough that she could fully inspect his features.

     Jesus Christ.

     It was actually Johnny Depp.