Wowee, since I've been having a buffet with the reviews, I decided to update early. Thank you, thank you, thank you, plus infinity everyone. Please review again, and I might donate some reviews to Africa to save the starving children. :)
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I dreamt that day of the hurricane again. That's right, I was dreaming in the day because I got knocked out during the day. That's how nice the King's forces treat me now when I'm not a part of it.
The water drowned my face, as well as the orders to my men. They held their keep for a fair amount of time. There's no way to compare to Davy Jones, no matter how great you think you are. I watched as a clump of the crew was swept off to sea, their ropes slipping out of their knots.
"COMMODORE!" It was Gillette, I was sure of it. I held tight to the railing, making my way down. I could barely see anything, let alone the faces of my crew. Suddenly, Gillette came straight toward me. His face was pearly white, gaunt, and worn. He grabbed me tightly by the shoulders and smiled. Half of his teeth were black, but one was pure gold. His eyes grew mad and his mouth went wide.
"Jamie! Jaamie! Wake up, Jamie!"
My eyes shuddered open. Kind hazel eyes blinked back.
"Adelaide? Wh-When did I get here?" I pushed myself up from the bed, seeing a dark green themed bedroom before me. The walls, curtains, and even my sheets were all in an ugly olive colour. The air was humid, and from what I could see through the window that it was late in the afternoon already.
"Well. I was walking through Port Royal on a peaceful sunny day, and who else do I see than my own brother, sprawled out on the side of the road. And you know me; I couldn't have left those poor carriages to worry about running over some bloke! So, I convinced Edward to take you up to the house. He wasn't sure it was you, at first. But I know my big brother's face anywhere!" She proceeded to pinch my cheek and wag it around, like she always did since we were toddlers. I never knew why she kept on doing it through adulthood as well.
"Enough of that." Her hand suddenly switched over to the tray on my bedside. "Now, you eat. I can tell you haven't been eating well-"
My mouth opened to speak.
"And I can tell you don't want to talk about it. No mind then." Adelaide set down the hearty meal before me so that even if I tried to get up, the soup would spill over my lap, if not into one of the other soggy little vegetables. "You are to eat all of this by the time I get back. That's your order, sir." Her brunette hair fell down her shoulders as she bowed with a smirk and left. Adelaide was always a curious thing. She manages to be a complete opposite of myself, yet we still had got along perfectly as children.
I took my time with the meal. It was a fine one, if a man has an acquired taste to bland food. I thought myself kind enough not to mention the burnt pieces. This was my first chance to actual think about what was going on. My resignation would be kept quiet, only for a bit. Within a few days, everyone in the town would know. That meant I could not go out in daylight anymore. It was too risky. The comments would be bad enough, let alone the face-to-face reaction from my peers. No, it wasn't possible. James Norrington would have to vanish from the Caribbean- or, at least until it smoothed over. God only knew how long that would take.
My sister didn't come up very soon afterward, although I did wait up for her. In the end, I set the tray at the foot of my bed and slipped under the covers. If anyone knew her it was I, and it was most likely she was out chatting with some random stranger.
I'm proud to say that I didn't have horrible dreams that night. I would be lying to say it probably have nothing to do with the food. I woke on my own in the early morning. The dishes I left last night were already taken away. I half expected for Adelaide to be around the corner, carrying a tray of breakfast. When she didn't come and I got my mind set on straight, I started my journey through the house.
The hallway was empty, as were all the other rooms upstairs. I made my way slowly downstairs, seeing no signs of recent human life. The dining room was perfectly untouched. Its walls were decorated with teapots of all sizes, an heirloom from my mother. I noticed that the collections had very few new additions, but I was just feeling a little homesick just standing there around them. They did a jolly good job of looking very dirty though, as I'd doubt if anyone had cleaned them in ages. I took my hand to rub the dust off a large pot made of tin.
"Hands off, thief."
I spun around to find myself with a rifle at my chest. On the other end was a young boy, hardly at the age to be carrying any kind of gun. His hair was outgrown and the colour that most compared to dust... but with a brown tint. He trembled slightly, but made a good effort holding the end and his glare straight at me. I held out my hands in protest.
I began to speak, slightly startled. "Don't shoot! I was... um... just looking. Actually, I-" Just slightly, mind.
"State your name," said the boy, poking me a bit with the rifle.
"Com- James Norrington."
"Don't you lie! James Norrington is my uncle. He specializes in sending men like you to the gallows." He now took on a sour, disgusted face.
I looked down. I was only wearing my under dress, still stained with dirt and splattered mud. My feet were bare, and I was quite sure I lost my wig sometime on the street. To anyone, I'd look like a thief, or perhaps even worse... a pirate.
"Put that gun down, you might hurt someone," spoke a voice that came from behind. As if on cue, Adelaide strode in, eyes fixed upon a large knot of white thread that she was holding.
"But Mum! Can't you see that there's a thief in our house? He was about to steal one of your teapots." He looked back at her and rolled his eyes, but still kept the rifle at me.
"What?" Adelaide looked up, startled, right from the word, 'teapots'. She put on a cheery smile and went up to pinch my cheek. "That's no thief, Edward, that's your uncle!" Her laugh increased while I inched my face away from her fingers. "Didn't I tell you he was here? No? Ah, Jamie, I suppose you were expecting breakfast. It was my bad; I was at the market. Wicked Bethany raised the price on eggs again. There we go!" She pulled a piece of thread that untangled itself completely.
Edward finally lowered his gun down, actually looking quite disappointed. "Sorry," he murmured, casting his eyes away.
"That's alright. I would've done the same thing." Truthfully, I didn't know what I would've done, but probably would have killed the man straight away. I thanked God that this my nephew didn't have my kind of mind. An awkward silence slightly grew for a few minutes.
"My Goodness, you've grown!" I finally let out a breath and put my hands down.
Rolling off his eyes, Edward turned to put the gun back. The silence started off again until Adelaide set up three plates and fidgeted with the silver wear. It took her long enough for her to make it look right enough to have a meal with. I did help with what I could, but the silence took over again. The whole meal was silent. Adelaide was mostly distant, but barely ate anything. Edward tried to avoid my gaze and stuck to his eggs. I concentrated on my food as well, trying to figure out what was so wrong with the both of them. Perhaps, there was something wrong with me? Yes, of course. Maybe. No. I really didn't know. I didn't know a lot of things right then. However, I did know that I wasn't coming out of bed for a very long time.
