Like wild animals playing with their food, like an incredibly large shark having fun chasing its prey, like a sadistic commodore leading captured pirates to the gallows; That's how you felt as Barbossa's crew tossed you back and forth between them and pushed you harshly towards the plank.
Only you weren't the hunter but clearly the prey in this scenario. You weren't the shark; you were the fish. A tiny little fish. A tiny little fish that was about to find its way into the depths of the sea.
If you had been a fish, you surely would have been fine with that. But you weren't a fish. And you didn't particularly feel like swimming either, let alone jumping off a plank into the sea. The memories of the storm where you had fallen overboard and almost disappeared into the ocean were simply too fresh for that, the moment of shock was still too present in your consciousness.
And as you were pushed through the crowd, you couldn't help but wonder what would await you at the end of your jump. A pack of sharks? Sirens? A kraken? Or the Biblical Leviathan?
It made no difference that you were aware of the unreality of these worries and ideas: The Black Pearl was close to the small island that was about to become your new home, and the water that surrounded the vessel was fairly shallow compared to the rest of the ocean. The only thing that awaited you down there were fish, turtles, and a Caribbean reef shark at worst.
And yet, a small part of you expected you to end up in a throng of sea snakes, Skylla, and Charybdis the moment your feet would leave the plank.
"Oh, don't be scared, young lassie. Your cousin will join you in a minute", insisted Barbossa's malicious, almost demonic, voice behind you.
You reached the plank, trembling, and turned around.
Between the diabolically grinning faces of uninhibited pirates, you searched desperately for a familiar face. Jack, or maybe Will. You didn't want the last face you would maybe ever see to be a ruthless pirate like Barbossa.
Although you were pretty sure he was grinning disgustingly right now too.
"(y/n)! (y/n)!", you heard Will scream and in the crowd of men your eyes met.
They were still holding him, tied up.
Oh, what a terrible fate awaited him!
Maybe this was the last time you would see your newly won friend? Maybe he would be dead in a few hours.
"Please, (y/n), please, you have to promise me, you have to promise me, you will look out for her!"
It was clear who she was. Elizabeth.
"I don't trust him, (y/n). But I trust you!"
And it was clear who him was. Jack.
It was no surprise that he didn't trust him.
But he trusted you. And he had saved your life once, gave his life for yours another time. You owed him. It was out of question that you would take good care of her.
You nodded.
"I will. I promise!", you tried to sooth him.
But he couldn't answer anymore: his mouth was already gagged with a piece of cloth.
You let your gaze wander over the impatiently waiting crew one last time, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jack and his beautiful lips. But when you caught sight of his dark mop of hair and red bandana, his head was bowed.
Disappointed, you turned around.
"It's time, lassie! The kraken's tentacles are already awaiting you", Barbossa's voice boomed behind you and transformed into a malicious laughter that the whole crew joined in.
This is nothing more than malicious sailor yarn, (y/n), you tried to sooth yourself.
Once you took a step on the plank, there was no turning back, you knew that. You wouldn't give them that satisfaction of seeing you trembling in fear, faltering by the end of the plank. You would walk gracefully, not like a frightened animal. They were not your hunters, and you were not their prey. You were strong and you were brave. At least that's what you told yourself.
You took a deep breath and walked the plank.
Don't stop, don't look down. Just walk.
You blocked out the noises behind you. In the distance you saw the island, a Caribbean beauty with white beaches and palm trees. This island was what you needed to reach!
As the end of the plank neared, you wanted to stop, run back. But your pride was too great. You took one step and another. Flashbacks hit you like lightning.
But you went on.
One step.
And then your feet hit the air and you fell into nothingness as the world sped past you.
Patches of blue, white, green, and then your body submerged into the water.
It was as if the gates of the ocean had opened just to let you in and closed again the moment you were fully submerged. Tons of water pooled above your head like a heavy blanket, trapping you completely.
You looked around you, but only for a brief moment, and, with burning eyes, took in the beauty of the underwater world: no sea monster was awaiting you, no snake, no kraken.
Instead, you found yourself in the middle of a blooming coral reef. The water had lost some of its menace, as it appeared much brighter when illuminated by the sun. It was clear and glowed a bright turquoise blue. It was far more beautiful than you had imagined.
Then you felt your lungs long for air.
The enormous weight of the ocean pressed down on you, sucking the air out of your body. With quick strokes you swam back to the surface and when your head broke the line between water and air, you gasped for a breath that would satisfy your lungs.
What had actually been just a few seconds underwater had felt like minutes.
Your hair was stuck to your face and your eyes were burning. But that didn't matter. Now all that mattered was getting to the island. The island, which now seemed far further away than it had looked from the ship.
You weren't a particularly bad swimmer. Ever since you and your family had crossed from England to Nassau by ship, your father had felt it necessary to teach you how to swim. And even though you had enjoyed the view of the sea and the idea of freedom it promised as a child, you hadn't particularly enjoyed swimming. You had been good at it, but you had often lacked motivation.
But not this time.
This time your motivation was pretty clear: not to drown.
For a brief moment you considered waiting for Jack. You could faintly hear the screaming on board of the Black Pearl and when it stopped, you also heard Jack's voice, arguing with Barbossa.
But Jack was a pirate. He had spent his life at sea, which also explained his funny walk on land - he had sea legs. If there was one thing he could do, it was swimming. So, he would catch up with you either way, you thought.
You decided to just start swimming. Elizabeth hadn't waited for you either, she was already far ahead.
But that was understandable. Swimming in one place for a long time could quickly become tiring. And the last thing you wanted was to sink miserably and drown before you even reached the island on which you would probably starve to death.
You shook off this thought and began to fight your way through the water with strong strokes. You only looked behind you once, just as Jack dived gracefully into the water. Gracefully, like an eagle swooping, he broke the surface of the water and he looked like he was made for swimming.
You, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. Your swimming style wasn't particularly elegant and when you finally reached the beach of the island and waded through the knee-deep water, you were panting like there was no tomorrow.
Your clothes stuck to your body: You were still wearing the pants and shirt you had found in your room on Tortuga, and the long black coat with capped sleeves which now sat uncomfortably tight on your body.
Your wet, sticky hair fell over your face and your lips tasted salty and the moment you stood there like a doused poodle, you longed for Nassau and your magnificent bed, your insanely beautiful clothes, and the delicious food.
And yet, you knew that this longing came solely from the fact that your situation now seemed so hopeless, and your future looked so incredibly bleak.
Because until now you hadn't really thought of what it meant to be marooned here: you would starve, die of thirst, succumb to the heat. There was no way to escape from this island. You were alone, without a boat, without food, in the middle of nowhere, and your only salvation was a damn good-looking but terribly bad pirate, it seemed.
But on the other hand, would your future have been brighter in Nassau? With your fiancé? In a golden cage? Was delicious food, good clothes, and a comfortable bed really worth giving up all freedom and flexibility?
Maybe your situation didn't sound so bad after all. Maybe it was your fate to end up here with Jack and Will's girlfriend.
You looked around. Behind you, a rather wet Jack came stomping out of the water onto the beach of the small Caribbean Island. He didn't look too happy: his wet dreadlocks were hanging over his face, his clothes were soaked and in his hand he only carried his pistol, his dearly-guarded compass and his sword.
Elizabeth walked up to the two of you, also completely soaked, wearing only a thin undergarment: before she had walked the plank, Barbossa the barbarian had forced her to give him back the dress he had lent her.
Together you stared into the distance, your eyes fixed on the Black Pearl, which quickly but surely disappeared over the horizon.
"That's the second time I've watched that man sail away with my ship", Jack said sullenly and frustrated.
Abruptly he dropped his belongings, loosened his vest that he was wearing over his white shirt and threw it onto the beach as well. Then he stormed off towards the palm trees of the island with a sudden determination.
Elizabeth and you looked at each other confused for a brief moment, then you stormed off after him.
"But you were marooned on this island before. We can escape in the same way", Elizabeth shouted desperately as the two of you ran after him, barefoot over grass that was slowly drying up in the Caribbean sun.
You were a few steps behind Elizabeth, having quickly taken off your boots on the beach and left them there before following Jack.
"Don't be so sure about this, Elizabeth. According to him, he escaped making a raft out of sea turtles the first time", you said mockingly in a low voice, more to yourself than towards your company.
Unexpectedly, Jack slowed down and turned abruptly.
And as you looked at him, standing there with that furious yet desperate look, with his shirt open and somewhat transparent, revealing his chest, your worries seemed forgotten. Suddenly it didn't matter whether you would starve or die of thirst on this island. There was just this one feeling, the feeling of longing. Desire for Jack and his beautiful lips.
The power this man had over you was incredible. Just weeks ago, your heart would have sunk at the thought of being marooned on an island. But now this thought was irrelevant. What you felt for Jack was much more important: not love, not hate, just this indescribable attraction.
"To what point and purpose, young missy? The Black Pearl is gone", Jack told Elizabeth bitterly, "And unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice..., unlikely", he gestured vaguely to her undergarments, "young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."
He turned around and walked off, again, with a certain determination.
In the meantime, you had caught up and came to a stop next to Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth..." you said and wanted to put a protective arm around her.
Jack's words had been harsh, but not less true. There wasn't much hope for Will, a thought that horrified you as well. But Elizabeth was not deterred.
She shook off your hand while Jack ran around like a madman, tapping trees and trying to measure something with long strides, and started again in a desperate voice:"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow. You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the east India Company. You sacked Nassau port without even firing a shot-"
"I think I'd know that", you interjected, but other than a quick sideways glance from Jack, your comment went unnoticed and ignored.
"Are you the pirate I've read about or not? How did you escape last time?", Elizabeth concluded.
She was now standing directly in front of Jack, just a few inches from his face, looking into his eyes.
Jack did the same, and while you felt jealousy boiling up inside you as you saw the two of them standing so close together, you also noticed that Jack was having a hard time finding an answer to the question. He struggled with himself, unsure what to say next.
And you knew that this time the story he was about to tell wasn't a dubious story about sea turtles. It was the truth.