This idea has been bothering me for a while, so I decided to post it.
I'm finishing Distressin' Damsel, so expect an update sometime at the end of the week or this weekend.
I'm getting a little stuck on that one, so hopefully writing this one will give me a little break.
Anways...
I OWN NOTHING, darn it.
Except the characters you don't recognize.
Those, I probably do own.

I Love Those Moments

Chapter One

When he stabbed that heart, guiding his former first mate's hand to it...
He realized that she was right.

And she knew it when she looked up at him when her fiancee's lifeless had fell from the Captain's
broken sword.

Had she not just months ago said, "...and there will come a moment when you will choose to do the right thing..."

That moment had been now.

He gave up his chance at immortality to save a man that he sometimes hated, sometimes he wanted to kill him..
A man that had risked his life for his for times than he could count.
And man that had betrayed him.
A man that was his friend.
A man that was a pirate.

Moments come and go, but when the captain saw his sometimes best friend rise out of the ocean's
depths alive and immortal, he had known that he had never smiled quite as big as he had at that moment.

When the Dutchman sailed beside the Pearl, the Dutcman's new captain glanced over at him, and smiled.
He returned the immortal captain's smile, knowing it was a silent thank you...

...he had lost his chance at immortality.
He had lost the girl that he had loved.
But he had done the right thing.

His moment had come.

-One Hundred Years Later-

"Your Highness?" She heard a knock at her door. She instantly dropped the locket that she had been holding, and tucked it away into her night gown. Then, as if she wasn't doing anything, she jumped back on to her bed and covered her head up as if she was asleep.

"Your Highness?" Came the voice once more.

"You may come in." She said in a forced sleepy voice. It was apparently enough to fool her maid, since she opened the door and bounced right in. Arabella was only four years older than she was, and the two of them had a sister relationship, though Arabella always called her "Your Highness" instead of her first name.

Arabella walked over to the bed and said, "Your Highness-"

"How many times must I tell you to call me Lila?" Lila asked her maid, smiling as she pulled her golden-brown ringlets up into a bun, allowing some curls to fall into her face. Bella smiled back at her and said, as she stopped herself from bowing, "I'm sorry, You- I mean, Lila. Your father needs to speak with you. He sent me to come for you."

Sighing, Lila sat back up and took her robe that Bella was holding out for her. Standing up, and fastening it, she smiled at Bella, and said to her, "Thank you." And then she walked out of her room, and down the stairs of the palace that sat in the heart of the Caribbeans. Gracefully making her way down the stairs, the young princess finally made it to her father's room.

"Good morning, Miss Parrish." Came a cheerful voice from behind her. She turned to see that it was none other than Andrew Beckett. Forcing, honestly making herself smile, she said to him in an equally pleasant, though entirely fake voice, "Good morning, Admiral. How are you this fine morning?" She took her hand off of the door, and turned to look into the handsome face of Admiral, soon to be Lord, Andrew Beckett. It was such a shame that she completely loathed this man. He was in truth, very handsome.

Maybe it was his powdered wig that made him all the more loathable. Turning her attention briefly away from Beckett, she turned to the ballroom to see servants getting ready for the ball that was to take place that night. She turned back to Beckett, who said to her, "I'm doing wonderful, Your Highness. And yourself?" She met his ocean blue eyes and said in her best princess voice, "Wonderful as well, Admiral."

"Oh, please. Call me Andrew." He said in that same good-natured voice. Looking at a clock, he said beaming at her, "Well, if you will excuse me, Your Highness." He took her hand and gave it a polite, but lingering, kiss. "I guess I shall be seeing you tonight at the ball, my dear? Have a nice day." He bowed once more, before dissappearing into the long hallway.

Rolling her green eyes, she turned back to her father's door. "Allow me-" Said one of the guards that stood in front of his door. She smiled at him, thanking him, as he opened the door and she walked in. He was staring out of the window in the huge room. She made her way to the chair that sat in front of a desk, and waited for him to say something.

"Good morning, darling." He said, turning his gaze from the window, and smiling at his daughter. "I trust that Miss Arabella has informed you that I was in need of talking to you." He sat down at his desk. The future queen of the sea played with the locket, but when her father turned to her, she tucked it away. "Admiral Beckett has asked me for permission in giving your hand to him in marriage."

Lila, for once in her life, was completely at loss for words. She knew that Admiral Beckett fancied her a great deal, but like this? Ignoring, or just not seeing, her shocked expression, her father said, "Now, I don't know how you truly feel about this, but I think he'd make a fine husband for you."

And a great father to our powdered wigged babies, Lila thought as she rolled her green eyes again. That was a habit she and her father knew she had picked up from him. "-and will make a fine prince."

"Daddy-"

"No, sweetheart." Neptune lowered his grey eyes, looking at his daughter. "Calypso has told me that my time as ruler will soon be up. I've served for centuries, darling. It's almost time for me to pass the torch to you. And don't say that you're not ready, because you are, darling. You'll make a fine ruler."

The old king got up from his chair and walked around his room, before staring out the window once more. "Though, I do need to inform you that as one of my final commands as king, I will be declaring war."

"Against who?" Lila asked, almost falling out of her seat. She looked over at her father as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Her father turned to meet her eyes again, and said, "Against the pirates. Calypso, in her nature, has et it out that I shall soon be stepping down as king. They're banding together to destroy this empire altogether. An empire that has been in our family-"

"-since time began, I know." Lila said, in a less than bored voice as Neptune came to stand in front of his daughter. She had heard that story so many times that it was honestly starting to get annoying. Neptune sat in front of her and said, "I'll make my announcment of war tonight at the ball."

"What a way to ruin a ball, Daddy." Lila said, for the first time really looking into her father's eyes. A look of humor entered them as he said, "Hopefully, I will have a wonderful annoucment as well. Announcing your engagement. I'm not going to press you, though I would love for you to consider it."

"Alright, Daddy." Lila said, giving into her father's smile. He smiled bigger, and embraced his daughter in a tight hug, before releasing him and saying, "Alright, darling. You're free to do as you wish today. As long as you have Rupert in near sight-" Rupert was the head of her father's army, and was her protector since her father was so concerned that someone would kill her trying to get the throne.

She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, before walking out of his room and to the grand staircase. "Your Highness." Rupert gave her a bow as he walked from his quarters. "How are you this morning?"

"Good, Rupert. Thank you." She said, smiling at him. Not a forced one like she had for Beckett. "And you?"

He smiled up at her, his brown eyes twinkling as he said, "Very good as well, Miss Parrish." He said that with a slight. Trying to ignore the fact that she was in a robe, she waited for him to say something else. He did, and said, "So, I shall be assuming that you will want to leave the palace today?"

She smiled and said, "And you assumtion would be absolutley correct! Let me go change and get Bella. We'll be down in a minute." He laughed as she ran up to her room, narrowly missing a very expensive statue, and nearly tackled Bella who had been making her bed. "Honestly, Lila, dear. What on earth is it?" Bella asked with slight humor as she pulled Lila to her feet.

"You would not believe what my father just told me." Lila said, as she made her way to go sit on her window seat. When she was sitting on it, she shrieked, "He wants me to marry that idiot Admiral Beckett."

Bella made a dreamy face and said, "What's the problem? He's a fine man."

"Yes, until he opens his mouth." Lila shot back at her. Then, she rested her head against the wall, looking out at the gorgeous view of the sun rise. She was imaging herself on a ship, especially his ship. She smiled at the memory of his ship sailing to meet her-

"Lila, what are you day dreaming about now? More pirates?" Bella asked her as she came to sit across from her. "Dear, you day dream about pirates more than anyone I know! They're your father's enemy! Do you know what your father would do if-"

Lila smiled as she leaned against Bella who was now sitting across from her. Bella wrapped an arm around her and both girls were silent for a minute before Lila said, "Pirate Princess has a nice ring to it."

"Lila Mercedes Parrish, I can't believe you!" Belle said, laughing. Lila pulled up and looked Bella in the eyes as she said, "What? You don't remember the time when I was 6 and you were 10. We played like you were the captain of the Flying Dutchman and I was-"

"-Captian of the Black Pearl." Bella said with a laugh. "Your father hated it because I was playing his brother. But I always was. You would never let me be Captain of the Pearl..."

Lila smiled as she looked back at the sun...

----

"Please help me in welcoming, Her Highness. Miss Lila Parrish." She walked gracefully down the grand staircase as people applauded. She smiled at the hundreds of people that were filling the ballroom. Rupert, in his uniform, smiled (though he wasn't suppossed to) and allowed her to link her arm with his as he led her to the throne beside her father's. He gave her hand a polite kiss, before bowing, and taking his position beside her.

"On behalf of this kingdom, and myself, I welcome you to our palace." Neptune said, getting off of his throne. Lila was already getting bored, and her eyes scanned the room for people she knew. Andrew caught her eye and smiled. Forcing her smile, she looked to a man that was standing by the door to the balcony. Though he was dressed as all the men were in the room, something about him looked out of place. Even then she wasn't thinking that it was his jet black hair that was pulled tightly back revealing it to be in what appeared to be dreadlocks.

"-that we are going to war." That comment got a few gasps. Her father nodded, and said, "Yes. In the coming weeks. But, on a much happier note, it is my pleasure to announce to you that my daughter has accepted the Admiral's proposal." That got ooh's and ahh's and applause, not to mention an eye rolling from Lila. She was only doing it for her father. It made him so proud. Not only for him, but the kingdom, because she knew very deep down that Andrew would make a fine prince.

A fine husband, well, she wasn't so sure.

The dark haired man in the back of the room darted his black eyes to Lila as her father said that, but he was so far back, Lila couldn't get a good glimpse of him. When the dances began, she soon found herself in the arms of Admiral Beckett, twirling around gracefully on the dance floor. When they went in for another twirl, she caught a glimpse of that man. Not sure if it was the corset or just an excuse to leave Beckett for a moment, she said, "Um, darling-" She winced slightly at that. "-I'll just be a moment. I'm going to get some fresh air-"

"-do you want me to come with you?" Beckett asked her. She shook her head and said, "No, I'm fine. I shall return in just a moment." She politley bowed to her...fiancee...and excused herself from the ballroom. Once she was outside, she made a face as she let her hair down, falling into a cascade of golden-brown ringlets, and walked over to the railing, looking down at the sea below her.

That's where she wanted to be.

"Lila Beckett..." She said, with a slight groan. "Has a wonderful ring to it."

She suddenly got a smell of rum, as she heard footsteps come from behind her. A voice rang out a minute later, "Lila Beckett? Darlin', I leave you for just a few years, and you're already resortin' to the likes of him? Love, I'm hurt."

She smiled, before turning around and facing his golden-tooth grin. He walked up to her, mockingly, and said, "Lila, m'lady." He kissed her hand and said, "Wonderful to see you again, darlin'."

Tell me what you think!
-Captain Autumn