[A/N] - Hello lovely readers, your favourite author is here with another story. This time, we go deep into the world of Pirates. Do not forget to R&R, I accept and appreciate all kinds of comments. From the good ones to the bad ones to those comments who give me ideas and tell me what they wish to see further down the rabbit hole.
Sometimes, I might use some navy terms and words, especially when I describe a ship but there will always be a translation at the bottom.
I own nothing but my OC.
Enjoy!
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Port Royal, Governor's House - Morning
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The House of the famous Governor of Port Royal was a building that few could truly not notice. With its many rooms, expensive design and garden...it stood out against the simplest and often poorest houses of the local island residents. Governor Wetherby Swan was a kind man and was known not only for his good work as Governor but also for his two beautiful daughters; one of whom was adopted but sometimes even he could not truly tell which of the two girls was the wildest.
It was an early morning for a very important day, that his adopted daughter was having trouble sleeping once again.
Dark curtains kept the morning sun rays out and allowed the room to remain as dark as possible when one was living in such tropical climate as they did. The sleep of the resident, however, did not last for long. A few knocks on the closed door made the redhead slowly wake up but she did not attempt to move from the warm covers of her bed.
She could hear the footsteps of her visitor, knowing fully well that it was her main; who had come to wake her up.
She managed to do just that by pulling the curtains to the side and allowing the morning sun right on the sleeping redhead woman. Her reaction...a low hiss and then a groan, before she was forced to turn her body and her head, in hopes of getting back to sleep.
"Lady Artemis, please wake up. It is a special day today and the Governor has already brought you a gift" the maid said, turning her body to face the second 'lady' of the household.
The woman let out a sigh and pushed the covers off before raising her body into a sitting position. Bright red hair was flying almost everywhere and long bangs were covering almost her whole face.
"What gift?" she asked with faint grogginess in her voice, a product of sleep. She started to push her hair out of her way and yawn as her maid brought forward the so-called 'gift'. It was yet another fancy dress in the colours of nice blue with a white accessory she did not recognise but took notice of the endless strings left and right. Knowing too well that she would win something by commenting, she chose to say something else. "Where is he, anyway?" she asked, talking about the man who had taken her in after she lost her original family.
"He said he would check on Miss Swan first and wishes you to meet him at her room"
The redhead let out another sigh before standing up and heading towards the changing curtain at the side of her room. She stretched her body, feeling bones popping and that offered her a small nice relief, while she was mentally preparing herself for the tedious routine that she should have been used to by now.
The maid quickly helped her get rid of her simple white nightgown and then helped her with the dress.
At first, Artemis did not fully focus on what her maid was doing, merely following along to her instructions as she was helped into the fancy prison made of multiple expensive fabrics sewn together. Yet, her trail of thoughts was interrupted when she felt someone pulling her back, followed by a rather sharp pain forming in her chest. Her breathing was reduced out of the blue and her eyes opened wide, while a yelp of surprise escaped her lips.
She held on to a nearby chair for some support, needing a moment to catch her breath; although that was a challenge itself with whatever was restricting it in the first place. She managed to look above her shoulder and focus on her maid, who was holding the strings of some sort of bodice, responsible for this new uncomfortable feeling.
"What... is that thing?" she asked as she tried her best to breathe.
"It is a corset, my lady. The fanciest thing in London; all women of high status wear it"
"Well then, when those high-status women start falling like flies, we will see how many people will fancy it" she replied as the woman finished tying the strings.
The maid didn't reply to her snarky comment, used to them by now. She simply pushed the young woman to sit on the chair as she started making her hair. She would always compliment her about the unique colour and try to push her to take better care of them, saying how many men would love it. However, Artemis never truly cared much about it and she was also not in the mood to spend hours looking after them. If it was up to her, a simple brushing would be more than enough.
However, while she remained under the care of the Governor, she had to give up on her hopes of free hair and allow the assigned maid to style it based on each occasion.
After some time and a lot of patience, she was handed a small mirror. The fierce main was braided and pulled into a bun with a layer of hair falling gracefully on her back, stopping a little after her shoulder in natural curls. Only a bang was let loose framing her face and covering the left eye.
"Thank you Mary" she replied as she stood up, grabbed the white eye patch from her nightstand next to her bed and quickly put it above her left eye, before tying it to the back of her head.
She had done it so many times over the years that she needed no help anymore. The maid never commented on it or offered to help, having been cleared from day one that the eye patch and the story behind it were off-limits.
Once Artemis was finished, she fixed the hair to ensure her little personal accessory was covered by them and no one could truly see it unless they tried hard enough. She did not care about it but the men of higher class and society did and the Governor had advised her to hide it as much as possible, to have a chance to attract a man to be her suitor.
"Of course, Lady Artemis," Mary said and bowed before exiting the room.
Artemis let out another sigh, adjusted the matching small hat on her head, grabbed her blue fan and quickly placed something inside the dress, between her female upper parts, before exiting the room. She tried her best to ignore the pain from the corset and headed towards the door next to hers, which was wide open.4
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"Well, women in London must have learnt how not to breathe!" a voice said from the room and Artemis chuckled slightly before entering.
The room, similar to hers only with white curtains was occupied by three people. A young woman with beautiful blond hair that was curly at the edge and gently brown eyes, her maid who was behind the changing panel and the governor of Port Royal, who was dressed in a fancy outfit accompanied by the white wig many men of his status wore at that era.
"Or they have already died from the lack of it," the redhead said, earning laughter from the woman behind the changing panel.
The Governor hearing her voice, turned to face her and a smile formed on his lips; seeing her all lady-like and proper, "Artemis, you look beautiful"
"Thank you governor" she replied with as much mannerism as she could muster so early in the morning and even bowed her head in respect and gratitude; not truly mattering what she thought of the dress. It was a gift and the man in front of her had already done more than enough.
"Now, now ladies... Come along, we don't want to be late"
"We will be down in a second Father," the blond said and the Governor rolled his eyes before making his way towards the stairs, leaving the two girls alone.
As the man exited the room, the 17-year-old woman walked away from the changing panel, dressed in a similar dress in colours of gold and crème with her brown hair in a high ponytail, covered mostly by the hat.
"Ready Ms Elizabeth Norrington?" Artemis joked only to earn a punch in the forearm from the younger girl.
The maid smiled slightly before exiting the room, leaving the two women alone. Artemis did not even flinch at the hit and kept an amused smirk on her face, her single blue eye passively challenging the younger woman.
"You know it's not funny" Elizabeth replied before grabbing her matching fan and exiting her room, head held high.
Artemis couldn't help but let out a sigh and shake her head. She smiled faintly and quickly joined her before they started to climb down the stairs. Her blue eye quickly connected with the ones of a young, attractive man with brown hair and gentle brown eyes standing at the entrance; the governor standing next to him.
"Will!" Elizabeth exclaimed once she spotted him and raised her speed, not caring what her father had always said about how a lady was supposed to be walking down the stairs gracefully.
Artemis simply smiled and watched her, as she took her time to climb down.
"I had a dream about you... About the day we met," Elizabeth said as she finally stopped in front of the young man.
"I doubt it, Ms Swann"
"How many times must I tell you to call me Elizabeth?"
"One more Ms Swann," Will said, not hesitating even once as her father was standing not so far away from them.
"Now, now Elizabeth... Be thankful that this man has manners. However, our carriage is here and it is time for us to depart" the Governor said before exiting the house and Elizabeth was hot on his trail.
By then, Artemis had reached them and she came to a halt next to Will. "Nicely done" Artemis joked as she slapped the back of his head in a friendly manner, already knowing the boy since both were little kids.
He, of course, did not react either to her sarcasm or to the hit. Of course, that did not mean he would ignore the redhead that he had long befriended all those years ago. "That hurt you know". he exclaimed with a fake hurt expression, which amused the redhead.
Before she could say anything else, someone called her name.
"Artemis!" the Governor's voice was heard and the red-haired rolled her eyes before start walking towards the carriage. "See you later, Will" she bid goodbye to her friend.
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She joined Elizabeth in the carriage and sat next to her while the older man took the seat across from them. The door closed and not even a second later the carriage started to move.
"How many times must tell you to call me Elizabeth?" Artemis whispered and mocked her sister, making sure to keep her voice low and her lips close to her sister's ear.
"What? But is the truth" her adopted sister spoke back, her tone also lowered; to ensure her father would not hear them.
"Yet you expected Will, of all people, to start acting all friendly, especially with your father around?"
"Well..." When Elizabeth had nothing to say and argue, she pouted. "Stop scolding me!" she complained, having no comeback to her words before they both started to giggle.
Their hushed tones and even giggles had drawn the attention of the older man, who had been raising both of them since little kids. "What are you two giggling and talking about?" he dared to ask, although deep down he suspected what answer he would get.
"Oh you know father, women things" Elizabeth replied, causing the old man to roll his eyes.
Being a single father and having a daughter to raise was hard enough, now have two of them and at the most notorious of ages. He simply stayed quiet and focused on his thoughts and his responsibilities, allowing the two women to continue their whispered conversation.
"Not my fault that you are such a fish but you have to admit that I am right," Artemis continued, keeping her voice low.
"Yeah, perhaps... Anyway, what are you going to do about that mysterious suitor? You still haven't told me his name"
At the mention of that man, her mood changed and her smile disappeared. She suppressed a shiver, some rather unpleasant memories flashing into her mind but she hid everything behind the 'mask' she chose to wear. "And I am not going to because he doesn't matter to me"
"He might be the only one though" Elizabeth reminded her, considering her older adopted sister was ending out of options.
She did not want to see her unhappy or with someone that would not appreciate her but she had to pressure her. They did not have the privileges and freedom they wished for, and her father could only do that much; especially for the redhead. She was the proper age of 22 and most of her peers, if not almost all, were already married and with children.
Her options were already limited due to her...background but also her 'disability'. With each passing year, those options kept being reduced and if she dared not to be matched with anyone...she would be the laughing stock of the town, whether she was the adopted daughter of the Governor or not.
"Yeah but my guts are telling me that this man is rotten eggs and nothing more" Artemis said as an excuse, not wishing to go into any more details.
Everything else was personal and she did not wish to burden her little sister with more unnecessary drama and stress. Not when the teenager already had enough on her plate and would have even more, once the proposal would take place.
"I can understand you but don't think that we are going to have much of a choice. We can't stay unmarried forever"
"I know and unless something extraordinary happens; you and I will end up spending our lives as Ladies of the House," Artemis said with disgust before turning her attention outside of the window.
If there was one thing she hated, was her freedom to be taken away from her. Only a little bit of it had been left but not for long. The moment she would agree to the proposal and marry, she would end up trapped in her worst nightmare. Leaving out a sigh, she noticed a sea eagle passing by and her mind returned to her trips and adventures.
Before the accident, before the world that she knew, crumbled into pieces.
Unknown to her though, her adventures were far from over.
All that was required was some faith and of course, rum!
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The ceremony started rather soon after the two sisters arrived and it was not long before the man of honour, James Norrington, was officially; Commodore. However, the celebrations had just begun and our two heroines couldn't be in any worse place. Under the hot sun and with the asphyxiating corsets; they were trying their best to breathe while fanning themselves like crazy.
"I don't think I will be able to stay conscious for long" Artemis complained as bids of sweat were visible on her forehead.
"Me neither" Elizabeth replied, in the same situation as her sister.
"I have an idea!" the redhead suddenly said as she started to look around and when she found the area clear; she put her hand into her bra and pulled out a small dagger!
"Is that a dagger?!" her sister exclaimed surprised, her voice coming a little louder than she expected.
Artemis placed her free hand over the mouth of the younger woman to stop her, before looking around to check if anyone had heard them. "A breast dagger" she corrected her.
She then pulled her hand back and tried her best to find those pestering corset strings, before doing her best to use the little blade and cut them. It took a few tries but after much work, she was successful. She could not cut all of them but a few did help regulate her breathing.
She took a deep breath and a smile formed on her face as she was finally able to breathe properly. She turned her attention to her sister and motioned for her to turn around so she could free her. However, before the two of them could move; they heard footsteps. Panicking, Artemis quickly put the dagger between her breasts and started fanning herself while putting the act of 'nothing is happening here'.
"Elizabeth, may I have a word with you?" a deep voice said the two girls came face to face with none other than James Norrington, who had extended his hand for her to take.
"Of course" the brunette quickly replied and accepted his hand while ignoring the shocked woman, who had a look of disbelief on her face.
As she was gently taken away by her fiance, Elizabeth turned her head and silently mouthed an apology to her sister. Artemis, of course, said nothing but could not help but sense that odd sensation deep within her guts. Ever since she had woken up, something was not right but she had chosen not to focus on it. Having no one else to talk to or anything else to do, left her with no choice but to acknowledge it.
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A few minutes passed and Elizabeth hadn't returned yet. This could be normal any other day but Artemis started to feel uneasy. Her guts were telling her to move and almost out of her control, she started to walk with no specific target in mind. She had a very bad feeling and it only seemed to intensify as she kept walking. Eventually, close to the pier, she took notice of something falling from high and landing straight into the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean.
Then, James' voice was heard and it made Artemis' blood run cold.
"Elizabeth!"
Without losing any second, Artemis picked up her dress and made her way towards the harbour, ignoring the suspicious strong wind that had started or how her stomach had turned to the point she was sure she would puke if she dared to stand still.
EDITED: 05/03/2024