"Out of the way, out of the way!"
Fang Yuan carried Elizabeth up to the dock, set her on the ground, and promptly kissed her delicate lips.
"What are you doing!"
Commodore Norrington arrived with his men and shrieked at the sight.
Elizabeth was the woman he adored.
"Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Surely the Commodore understands that?" Fang Yuan wiped his lips and spoke with perfect conviction.
Then he undid Elizabeth's corset, and she instantly came to.
Fang Yuan planted his hands on his hips. "See? Highly effective!"
Norrington's face cycled through green and White. He itched to order his soldiers to arrest the man who'd dared take liberties with his goddess, but Fang Yuan was respectably dressed as a merchant and had just saved Elizabeth. He knew he had no grounds.
Norrington was too honorable to stoop to such ingratitude.
Fang Yuan's voice rang out: "You still have to thank me, you know."
"Thank you."
Norrington, swallowing his resentment, observed the courtesy expected of him.
No wonder Fang Yuan used to confuse Norrington with the actor who played Captain America; that stern face just screamed righteousness.
Of course, courtesy dispensed, Norrington remained thoroughly displeased.
Right now, for instance, his expression was thunderous. Fortunately Governor Swann arrived in time to help Elizabeth to her feet and out of Fang Yuan's clutches, sparing Norrington an outburst.
Yet while Norrington glowered, Elizabeth gazed at Fang Yuan in delighted surprise.
She recognized him!
If memory served, this was… Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted when Fang Yuan flashed her a brilliant smile and pressed an index finger to his lips.
Elizabeth snapped her mouth shut, terrified of betraying his identity.
Nearly eight years had passed since their last encounter, so Norrington and Swann had forgotten the man they'd met only once.
But a teenage girl in love has uncanny recall. Elizabeth had always yearned for a pirate's freedom, and meeting someone as striking as Fang Yuan—though only once—had let him haunt her dreams countless times.
And now the name of the Black Emperor Pirates and their Captain Fang Yuan thundered across the seas, etching him even deeper into her memory.
Elizabeth's eyes curved into tiny crescents; sharing a secret with her idol felt thrilling.
For a girl forever told to act the lady, such excitement was intoxicating and instantly addictive.
Naval blockhead Norrington noticed none of Elizabeth's change; he remained blissfully unaware that she had never cared for him at all.
Governor Swann, however, sensed something amiss. With so many eyes around, he could only block Elizabeth's view while handing her a blanket.
The governor dearly wished Elizabeth to marry Norrington.
Norrington was Port Royal's highest-ranking officer and had just been promoted to commodore—his future glittered. Whether to secure an ally or because he genuinely admired the man, Swann deemed him ideal son-in-law material.
But Elizabeth shook her head twice, gaze still locked on Fang Yuan, leaving Governor Swann helpless.
A daughter grown is a father's common woe.
"And this gentleman is?" Norrington asked.
Fang Yuan again borrowed Aquaman's name: "Arthur Curry."
"Mr. Curry, thank you most sincerely for rescuing Elizabeth," Norrington repeated, stressing the words "most sincerely" as though to underline his own closeness to her—a declaration of sovereignty.
"Think nothing of it; Elizabeth is rather wonderful," Fang Yuan replied with a smile.
Norrington's frown deepened; something in the man's tone sounded off.
"If there's any reward you desire, I shall do my utmost," Norrington said stiffly.
Fang Yuan waved him off and winked at Elizabeth. "I've already claimed my thanks."
Elizabeth obligingly brushed her fingertips across her lips, souring Norrington's mood even further.
"I insist," Norrington declared resolutely.
Even the emotionally obtuse Norrington now sensed the undercurrent between Fang Yuan and Elizabeth.
He meant to pay whatever reward would send Fang Yuan packing—and make Elizabeth draw a clear line.
Since Norrington was offering, Fang Yuan saw no reason to refuse free benefits.
Taking a reward didn't mean he had to deliver on anything, after all.
He pointed toward the harbor. "We merchants live in dread of pirates, so we hold the navy in special esteem."
His finger aimed straight at Port Royal's largest warship.
"If possible, I'd love a tour of the Dauntless to witness the Royal Navy's might up close."
The admiration in his tone coaxed an involuntary smile even from the skeptical Norrington.
The Dauntless was his flagship, and Fang Yuan's praise delighted him immensely.
"Certainly!" Norrington swept his arm wide. "I'll escort you aboard this instant!"
Elizabeth's hand shot up. "I want to come too!"
Governor Swann quickly intervened. "A proper lady does not belong on a warship."
"You're talking about London ladies," Elizabeth said playfully to her father. "I'm a Port Royal lady."
Seeing Elizabeth insist, Norrington—who had planned to propose today—couldn't very well refuse her, so he generously agreed.
But Elizabeth looked like a drowned rat and had to go back to change; they agreed to meet beside the Dauntless in an hour.
Fang Yuan didn't object; he could use the time to get acquainted with another key player.
He returned to the merchant ship where White was leading a dozen pirates in surrounding a slovenly figure.
Jack Sparrow!
"Captain!"
Spotting Fang Yuan, White hurriedly greeted him.
"Successfully brought him?" Fang Yuan jerked his chin at Jack. "Wasn't easy, was it?"
White wiped sweat that hadn't yet dried: "Just like you said, sir, he can really run."
"A dozen of us almost couldn't stop him; only after using your idea did I get him to agree to the meeting."
"Oh? What did you promise?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Ten bottles of Rum!" Jack cut in. "Top-shelf!"
Jack Sparrow never parts with a bottle and stays half-drunk; lure him with drink and he'll come running.
Fang Yuan nodded to White, who had the pirates carry over a crate. Jack yanked out a bottle and popped the cork.
"Mmm… good stuff." He savored it and gulped a huge swallow.
"Burp!"
Half-sated, Jack finally got to business.
"Who are you lot and what do you want?"
Fang Yuan answered bluntly: "I want you, Jack Sparrow."
"It's Captain—Captain Jack Sparrow!" Jack reflexively corrected.
"Oh?" Fang Yuan teased. "Then where's your ship, Captain?"
Jack froze; the Rum suddenly lost its taste.
The black pearl is Jack's true love, and the deeper the love, the deeper the pain.
"But your bounty at the East India Company could buy us a new vessel," Fang Yuan smiled.
Jack's eyes darted, searching for escape routes.
He bolted without warning, but Fang Yuan was quicker and hauled him back.
"Er… listen, though I'm a legend—"
Jack hurriedly belittled himself.
"These days the navy's blind; my bounty was canceled ages ago."
Look around Port Royal—nobody even recognizes me!"
Jack was right: his pirate heyday was over a decade ago; the Black Pearl had been gone ten years, so the navy forgetting him was natural.
Even Port Royal's top officer, Norrington, hadn't realized the man before him was the Pirate King of the Caribbean from ten years back.
"But Lord Beckett in West Africa remembers you, and he'll pay handsomely." Fang Yuan's words left Jack speechless.
Crap—this guy knows my history.
Jack could only lay his cards on the table.
"Fine—what exactly do you want me to do?"
He took another big swig; quality Rum like this was rare for him.
"I don't see pirates like you walking into the East India Company voluntarily."
White blinked. "How did you—"
"Know you're pirates?" Jack rubbed his nose and wiped snot on the nearest pirate. "Change clothes all you like—I can smell pirate from miles away."
"Good guess," Fang Yuan said, lifting his chin. "Then guess which pirate ship we're from."
At that, White and the crew puffed out their chests, faces proud.
"In Port Royal, only one pirate crew dares dock without a care for the navy…"
Despite his drunkenness, Jack's mind was sharp; seeing their smug looks, he was sure—
"You're the Black Emperor Pirates!"
He pointed at Fang Yuan. "You're Fang Yuan?"
The name sounded Eastern, and Jack knew the Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng, so he pieced it together.
Fang Yuan nodded and stated his real aim: "I invite you to join my crew and take me where I want to go."
I'll give you a ship and make you her Captain."
Jack owns a magical compass pointing to the holder's heart's desire, but giving it up would free a ghost ship, so Fang Yuan decided to keep Jack around.
Jack's like Constantine—enemies everywhere; if danger shows up, toss Jack out and he'll draw their fire.
Jack naturally refused to be anyone's underling, but before he could decline—
"The Black Pearl,"
"Deal!"
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