5; The Blacksmith
Felicity quickened her pace as she tried to get ready in a hurry. Elizabeth had insisted that her confidant warn young Will Turner about the loose pirate running around Port Royal. Although Felicity wasn't surprised that the young woman was worried about the blacksmith's well-being, she was worried about Elizabeth's health as her father confined the young woman to her bed. Felicity donned a practical red dress as Elizabeth watched from behind in boredom.
"I guess today's festivities didn't go according to plan." Felicity commented as she allowed Lucretia to help her into the complicated fabric.
"You mean with James' proposing?" Elizabeth inquired.
"I mean with that pirate taking you hostage, but the Commodore's proposal shouldn't be that much of a shock."
"Well I didn't expect him to ask for my hand in such a public setting."
Felicity moved to her vanity and allowed Lucretia to fix her hair, "Well he had been giving you small hints for months now."
Elizabeth scoffed, "That doesn't give him the right to ask in front of all of Port Royal."
"Does that mean you won't accept?" Felicity asked, turning to face the bedridden girl.
Elizabeth went red, "He's not exactly the man I pictured to be my husband."
Felicity wanted to continue their conversation, but Elizabeth wouldn't elaborate on her reasons for not accepting Commodore Norrington. So instead the woman thanked Lucretia for her help before leaving to visit Will. Part of her felt she shouldn't leave Elizabeth's side, but she also didn't want to make the young women worry about the young women.
Felicity made her way toward Mr. Brown's Blacksmiths with her head held high and her eyes on full alert. As much as she wanted to put her trust in the navy, most were young boys and had not had much if any contact with a real pirate. Even James had been stumped and that told Felicity that this man was not to be trusted. As she rounded the corner she spotted Will looking at a new hammer at one of the stalls.
"Will!"
The man looked around startled as he looked to see Felicity coming towards him, "Miss Smith, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"
"Elizabeth sent me. I'm here to tell you that a pirate is loose in Port Royal." Felicity replied. "And it's Ellie or I'll start calling you William."
Will made a face at his full name before growing concerned, "How do you know this Ellie? What do you mean Elizabeth sent you?"
Felicity debated on whether or not to tell the poor lovesick fool about Elizabeth's encounter with the pirate. Part of her knew this would lead Will on a man hunt, but she also wanted her friend to have all the facts. In the end she ended up telling him the truth, because to her the truth was better than a lie.
"Elizabeth was saved and then held hostage by one."
The look on the blacksmith's faces melted from one of concern to one of pure rage as he asked the girl for the full story. Felicity retold the events of that afternoon to the best of her memory as the two slowly made their way back to his shop. Felicity also tried to calm him down as she explained that Elizabeth was now home resting under the supervision of the maids. Will seemed lost for words as he offered Felicity his arm as they walked.
"Are you alright?"
Felicity shuddered to think of how the pirate smiled at her, "If I see his face again it will be too soon."
"Do you have any clue where he might have gone?" Will asked as they reached the front door of his shop.
"Your guess is as good as mine." She answered as he held the door open for her.
"How reassuring."
The first thing Felicity noticed upon entering the forge was that the Donkey, also known as Herbert, was hard at work cranking the gears with no one at the helm. Felicity quickly made her way over to soothe the animal while Will went to check on Mister Brown. The redhead was not at all surprised to see the man passed out with a bottle of beer next to him. She was rather appalled that he received all the credit when it was Will that did all the hard work.
Once Herbert had settled, Felicity made her way over to Will who was checking inventory as well as his tools on the work table. The women had yet to find anything else out of place, but it seemed weird to find Herbert hard at work when it was not needed. Felicity was wrong when she thought that the only thing out of place. Will had taken notice of one of his hammers being left out of its usual place.
"Not where I left you."
Felicity moved back over to his side and looked where he was focused on to see a familiar hat hanging on one of the hooks where the hammer should have been. It was Jack Sparrow's hat. As Will reached up to take the hat down for inspection the flat side of a sword came into contact with the top of his hand. Felicity's eyes looked up to greet a smirking Jack Sparrow with too much ego for his own good.
Will noticed Felicity's angered gaze and lowered his voice into a dangerous tone as he stated, "You're the one they're hunting.
"Nice to see you again Lass." The pirate acknowledged Felicity with a tip of his head, before frowning at Will. "You look somewhat familiar, have I threatened you before?"
Will angled his body so that his friend was behind him, "I've made a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates."
Jack seemed to accept that answer, "Ah. Then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So if you'll excuse me..."
Felicity stood still in fear and anger as the pirate tried to head towards the door. Felicity took note of how the captain seemed to give off an air of arrogance, but deep down she knew he was more clever than he cared to admit. It was why he was avoiding her like the plague. Before Jack could reach the door and before Felicity could make good on her promise, Will grabbed a sword lying nearby and pointed it at him.
"Do you think this is wise, boy?" Jack asked. "Crossing blades with a pirate?"
Will raised the sword higher, "You threatened Miss Swann."
Jack ran his own blade along Will's, "Only a little."
In a flash Felicity found herself in the middle of a battle of skill as the two men struck with amazing accuracy. The two men stood in one place, trading feints, thrusts and parries with lightning speed, almost impossible to follow. If the girl hadn't been a novice with her swords herself she would have had a hard time following, luckily Will had been training with her for the last six years.
"You know what you're doing, I'll give you that. Excellent form." Jack praised. "But how's your footwork?"
Felicity watched as the pirate put Will's training to the test as he tried many different tricks to throw the young man off. It didn't take long for Jack to see how skilled the blacksmith truly was and after one final flourish he tried to make his daring escape. However he had misinterpreted Felicity's reason for being there as she picked up a nearby dagger and threw it with exact precision at the door. She watched in satisfaction as it lodged itself above the door handle, trapping not only Jack, but Will and her as well.
Felicity couldn't help the small smile as Jack tried to pull on the latch and then the dagger but to no avail. When he realized that he was stuck once again, he turned to see who threw it. It doesn't take him long for his eyes to rest on Felicity, "That's a good trick, Lass. Except, once again, you and the boy are between me and my way out."
"Perhaps you shouldn't underestimate the power of a woman." She replied picking up the sword she used to train with.
Jack smirked, "You've got some guts Lass."
Felicity sent him a wink, throwing him off guard, as Will joined her side, "I made you promise, Jack."
"Yes, but you promised to use a pistol."
Felicity cocked her head to the side, "I could grab one if you like."
"No thanks."
Jack leapt forward in hopes of catching the two off guard, but Felicity and Will had expected it and they had trained for it. The time seemed to pass fast as the two tag teamed against the captain. After a short time, Will lost his sword in an attempt to keep Felicity from harm, bu tto Jack's annoyance he grabbed a new one fairly quickly. This seems to make Jack lose concentration as he became painfully aware that the entire room was filled with bladed weapons: swords, knives, boarding axes in various stages of completion.
"Who makes all these?" Jack shouted as he leapt away from one of Felicity's thrust. "It can't be the wee lass."
"I thought I made it clear not to underestimate a woman." Felicity yelled as Will came at him with an ax.
"I do." Will answers as he misses Jack's head and hits a wooden post. "And I practice with them. At least three hours a day along with Miss Smith."
"You need to find yourself a girl." Jack replied before looking over at Felicity. "Or maybe you already practice three hours a day with her."
"Not in this lifetime." Felicity replied, receiving a confused look from Will. "Your like a little brother!"
"True!" Will answered before declaring, "I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate I can kill him!"
After Will's statement Jack seems to explode with a new found energy, taking over the fight entirely with Will. Felicity watched helplessly as the two men slowly made their way to the rafters up above. She tried to keep up, but in the end she found herself light headed as she tried to breath through the sweat and her corset. She calculated each of their moves as she waited for one to drop down to the ground once more.
After a moment Jack was by the fireplace and Will was at Felicity's side looking at her in concern but before they could redirect their attention to the pirate he had already disarmed them both. He also dumped a bag of dirt over their head for good measure and Felicity found herself dry heaving as she found her vision blurry from the lack of oxygen. When her eyes adjusted back to normal the first thing she saw was a single pistol pointed directly at them.
Will stepped back, directly in front of the back exit, and placed Felicity behind him, "You cheated."
"Pirate." Jack stated as he smiled at them, before making a move towards the door. "Move away."
"No."
Felicity began to cough as she placed her hand on Will's back for stability. In normal circumstances she would have held her ground, but her lungs were on fire. The only relief she found at the front of the pistol was the sound of soldiers trying to break into the shop. Through all the chaos she could hear James' voice among them.
"Move!" Jack yelled
"No." Will howled back. "I can not just step aside and let you escape."
Felicity felt true fear as she hid further behind Will. She found herself leaning heavily on him for support as her vision failed her and her throat seemed to close with sand. She felt Will wrap his arm around her to steady her as they stared back at him. In those brief moments Felicity finally saw who Jack was. He wasn't a fearless man, but one who feared losing the one thing keeping him sane.
His freedom.
Jack cocked the pistol, "This shot's not meant for either of you."
As Will and Felicity exchanged confused glances they had failed to see Mister Brown making his way behind Jack until he smashed his beer bottle against the pirate's skull. Felicity felt a weight come off her chest as her body heaved to the side, causing Will to grab her just in time. Just as Jack's body crumpled to the ground the front and back doors were forced open, and sailors filled the room. In all the chaos, Felicity tried to pinpoint James, but he had failed to notice her as he pushed forward to see Jack's unconscious body on the ground.
"Excellent work, Mister Brown." James praised. "You've aided in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."
"Just doing my civic duty." Brown replied with a nod.
James let out a smile as a groan escaped the pirates lips, "I believe you will always remember this as the day Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped. Take him away."
Will rolled his eyes at the Commodore and focused his attention back on Felicity who was struggling to take deep breaths. Felicity could feel her lungs were on fire with each intake and she felt herself starting to panic as her vision became less and less clear. In a flurry of motion she felt Will lift her up in his arms and settle her on the table with ease. He then proceeded to hand her one of Mister Brown's beers to clear her throat.
"Breathe Felicity."
"What are you doing here?" She heard James' voice and looked to find his eyes locked on hers in alarm. "Are you alright?"
"She's struggling to breathe."
"Move out of the way."
"I'm fine James." Felicity replied after a moment as the man pushed Will out of his way to cup her face in his hands, searching for any external injuries.
The feeling of his closeness was enough to set the girl's heart ablaze as her cheeks flushed a crimson red that rivaled even her hair. She looked up to find his beautiful green eyes were full of fear as breathing went from ragged to more at ease. When she looked back up at him she found his eyes that were once full of worry were now full with relief. She gave him a reassuring look to which he sighed in alleviation.
"You never were good at running away from trouble." He exclaimed as he held out his arm.
"Not one of my finest qualities." Felicity replied while sending Will a small wave goodbye.
Will returned it with one of his own. Glad to see that Felicity would be alright as James escorted her out of the shop. The last thing Felicity heard from inside was Mister Brown stating, "That ratter broke my bottle."