I got restless so I thought I'd give you my next chapter. Thanks you so much for the review Little Miss Angel! I'm glad to know you like it. Please keep reading! Again, remember my writing is definitely not the best, but I'd really like to hear what people think of this, so if you read and didn't leave a review, LEAVE ONE PLEASE. Thank you.

Disclaimer: It explains itself.


Ella's hard footsteps echoed through the long hallways of the jail house. She stared straight ahead, ignoring the screams and groans that surrounded her. She had walked these halls so many times that her ears automatically blotted out the sound. She had eaten breakfast the cook had made up for her, smiling as she did since he had cooked it up special for her birthday. After she had finished she thanked her and quickly headed out the door to the carriage, knowing all the while, that she was late. She hoped to God in heaven that he wouldn't get too angry when she got there. It always unnerved her when Beckett was angry. He didn't yell or anything like that, instead he was quiet and calm, but underneath it all Ella could just feel the rage boiling off of him. She reached the door and her footsteps fell to a stop. She gulped, then, taking a deep breath, she knocked twice and waited for the door to be unlocked. She heard the clicking of the many bolts that held the door shut and the final screech as the last bolt was moved from it's place. The door swung open revealing a medium sized room with a large mirror covering a wall on one side. It was furnished in nothing, but two chairs, one facing the mirror and the other facing it's partner and away from the mirror, while on the other side of the room sat a table with two other chairs and a few guards standing behind it. Seated in the chairs by the table was, first, the man known as Mercer, he held the normal scowl that seemed inseparable from his face. Next to him was, seated in a much fancier and comfortable chair, Lord Beckett, or Uncle Beckett as Ella had grown up calling him. When she walked in, he turned to look at her and she felt his eyes take in the dress she was wearing. She mentally sighed, happy that she had worn the dress. Maybe it would help sooth his irritation at her for being late. Then again, she'd been wrong before.

"Ah, my dear Cinderella, you finally decide to join us." Beckett said in his ever so slightly pompous voice, as she walked over to his table. When she curtsied Beckett stood up and waited for her to look back up at him, before he took her offered hand and placed a kiss on it. She inwardly bit her tongue, eating back the snide comment she had been about to give him, instead she smiled warmly and greeted him.

"Good morning, Uncle. I'm sorry I'm late. I had trouble getting going this morning." Ella said as she took back her hand, discreetly wiping it on her dress. "Thank you ever so much for this dress. It's very beautiful."

"Yes, very beautiful indeed." Beckett humored her as he sat back down. "But let us carry on with the day's work. We're a bit behind schedule."

"Yes, sir." Ella said quickly before he had time to say anything else. She didn't want to get scolded in that cold way of his on her birthday. She swiftly walked over to the chair facing the mirror and sat down. She waited patiently for the inevitable sound of the door in the back opening. She heard it, then the sound of Mercer rattling off whatever it was the poor man was accused of. Then the sound of his feet against the floor as the man was dragged to the chair opposite her. She tried not to look at him as she waited for the signal.

"Commence the execution." rang Mercer's voice.

That was her cue. Taking a deep breath, as she always did, Ella looked up at the young man and tried her best not to look directly at him so as not to remember him. It didn't help, all of her victims were etched into her mind forever. She could feel Beckett's eyes on her back and she made a point not to look in the mirror to see if he was watching. She bit her tongue again, lightly as to brace herself, and closed her eyes. Then, in one swift movement, reached up and peeled away her eye-patch. Ella could hear the man's heavy breathing. When she felt ready and braced, she opened her eyes and felt her red curse take control of her. She immediately began to feel cold as she recognized her eye's effect. The young man stared at her in horror as his and her feet started to feel numb, then their lower legs, then their thighs, continuing all the way until there was nothing left to feel. Ella blinked and shivered as the numbness left her and the young man's granite body was hauled off. If there was one thing she hated more then killing all these people for Beckett's own selfish social status, it was the fact that she felt everything they felt. Every time she lifted her eye-patch to look at the poor soul that was about to turn to stone, she too felt the coldness. She too began to tremble and shake. She too began to feel numb as though she were being engulfed in a stoney embrace. She shivered again and waited for her next victim.

"That will be all for today." came Beckett's voice and Ella's head shot up. She glanced in the mirror to look at him and opened her mouth to question why, when Beckett beat her to it. "Why, my dear Cinderella," Ella cringed slightly, she hated that name and much preferred Ella. "you didn't think I would have you work on your birthday, did you?" he asked, knowing very well that he had already had her execute one person that day.

"Well, I-I don't know..." Ella stammered. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a day off that wasn't a holiday. It must have been last year sometime.

"No, you are to go home and continue your studies. Once you're finished you may do whatever you like." Beckett continued as he stood and walked over to stand behind her, placing his hands on her chair. Again, he knew that when Ella was done she'd only be allowed to do a hand full of things.

"But what about the.... the others." Ella continued to stammer as she tried to find a reason as to why Beckett would do this. It surely wasn't for her. They faced each other through the mirror, two piercing blue eyes staring into her velvet red and sea green ones.

"The others will just be taken care of in a slightly less humane manner." he answered, but Ella knew that the way they died through her was anything, but humane. Beckett reached down and took her eye-patch out of her hand to smoothed it out. "I'm afraid not everyone can have the honor of dying by your hand, or, pardon me, eye." he said as he slowly placed her eye-patch on her head latching it in the back. Ella shivered slightly for some reason, unbeknownst to her.

"Yes, Uncle." she said not knowing what else to say. She stood up and turned to give him a quick curtsy, avoiding his eyes. He bowed a little and she was off, the door swinging shut behind her, leaving Beckett standing behind an empty chair. He turned slowly, then walked swiftly toward his men.

"Gentlemen, shall we continue?"


Ella had taken the carriage home and as she stepped out she found her governess waiting for her. Ella immediately became suspicious. She'd never been home this early before. How did Miss Smith know that she'd be home early today?

"You don't seem very surprised that I'm home a bit prematurely." Ella said as her feet hit the dusty ground.

"Don't I?" said Miss Smith with a feigned uncaring tone. She took Ella's arm and began to lead her to the house.

"No, you don't." Ella answered as she followed her governess. Miss Smith glanced over and Ella raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, alright. Yes, I knew you'd be home early, we all knew, but we couldn't tell you. We weren't allowed to." Miss Smith retorted, obviously hating that she had been caught.

"So why?" asked Ella.

"That I don't know." Miss Smith sighed. "I mean it. He never told us why, just to expect you home an hour early."

"Then why in the world did he send me out there? It was only one person." Ella pondered as she and her governess entered the house.

"Maybe it was a very important one person or, maybe perhaps, since it's your birthday, he truly was trying to dote upon his ward?" asked the ever hopeful Miss Smith. The two began walking up the stairs.

"I bet it was just to see how flustered I'd be. I mean, he's never done it before. Why start now?"

"Ella, dear, I'm afraid you're just going to have to leave it at that. If you want to find out the real reason behind all of this your going to have to wait it out. And do your studies." Miss Smith added as she swung open the door to the small den that Ella used for her studies.

Ella sighed a small disappointed breath and entered the room. "It's going to be a long day." she said as the door swung shut.


The clock toned five and Ella looked up from her book. She was reading the present that Margaret had given her that morning and was currently on the part about one of the more infamous pirates: Captain Jack Sparrow. It was really quite interesting and she had just started to read about the time he had sacked Nassau Port without firing a single shot, when the clock had chimed. Time for dinner. She quickly slid off of her bed and hid the book beneath her mattress. As she passed by the mirror, she stopped and straightened her dress out, smoothing out the wrinkles. Nodding with approval, she turned on her heel and headed out the door and down the stairs. Her shoes clacked against the stone floor as she walked towards the dining room. When she stepped softly into the room she saw Beckett sitting down at the end of the table speaking quietly to Mercer, who was standing next to him, bending down. Ella's presence went unnoticed, for half of her was hidden by one of the many curtains that furnished the dining area, and she leaned forward, trying to hear better without giving herself away.

"I want the preparations done a week in advance. Make sure everything goes smoothly-" A floor board creaked under Ella's foot and she winced. Mercer's head shot up and Ella found two pairs of eyes staring intently at her. She shifted on her feet and looked down as her cheeks flushed. She felt Beckett's eyes leave her for a moment, as he spoke to Mercer, then shift back to her, much less intense. "Leave us." he had said.

Mercer nodded stiffly and he walked away, still staring at Ella. He passed her, muttering a quick "Miss." before disappearing behind the door. The room became very still for some reason Ella could only guess at. Finally, after letting her stand in the silence for a moment longer than necessary, Beckett spoke.

"Sit down, Cinderella, you must be hungry." came his uncaring voice. "I had the cook make up your favorite dish for your birthday." Ella looked up, but avoided his eyes, feeling as though he were studying her. He must be trying to figure out how much I heard, she thought to herself. She'd have to reassure him, then. She slowly walked over to her end of the table and sat down, not caring that Beckett hadn't pulled the chair out for her.

"Thank you, sir." Ella muttered before the butler and two maids walked in with their food. They set the plates on the table and poured Beckett some Merlot and, to Ella's surprise, they poured her some champagne. She had tasted it once before, but it had only been a little sip when she had snuck down stairs late at night. She remembered how it had delightfully bubbled on her tongue and left a strange taste in her mouth as the sweet, sparkling liquid had fizzed down her throat in that wonderful way, and seemed to rid her mind of any objections that might have formed about sneaking into her uncle's cellar. She looked up at Beckett and cocked her eyebrow, the awkward silence from before forgotten for the moment.

"I thought it a nice touch to the celebratory atmosphere." Beckett explained to her raised eyebrow. She thought she saw a bit of a smile on his lips, but she couldn't be sure. Muttering a thank you, Ella reached out and took a sip of the golden liquid. She smiled for it was just as wonderful as she remembered it to be. Sensing that things had calmed down a bit since she had first entered the room, Ella thought to try and bring up the earlier subject. She glanced up at Beckett over her glass and she saw him staring at his own as he spun the red liquid inside of it.

"What are the preparations for?" Ella asked suddenly, but Beckett seemed not to be fazed and he continued to spin his glass.

"That is a conversation for later tonight." he answered before taking a sip of his drink.

They continued their dinner in small silences, speaking now and then of their days, but mostly leaving each other to eat quietly. Though she didn't mean them to, Ella's thoughts kept drifting back to Beckett's conversation with Mercer, that she'd interrupted. What were the preparations for? Why did Beckett seem so secretive about it? But she kept her thoughts to herself, trying to bide her time since he had implied that that they would speak of it later. As Beckett slowly took his last bite of desert, Ella's knee shook impatiently. The man was the slowest eater she'd ever seen. Then Beckett rose, surprising her at the movement. He offered her his arm.

"Shall we take a walk?" he asked as he looked at her expectantly. Ella's brow furrowed, but she rose and took his stiff arm all the same. Let him have his little game, she thought irritably.

He led her outside and into the garden. The setting sun painted parting strokes in the sky as it slowly turned from light blue, to red and orange and yellow, to the deep purple blue that was the night sky. Ella smiled and let go of his arm as she walked to the edge of the plot. The garden was placed a few paces away from a cliff that reached out towards the ocean that spread before it. She had always loved this part of the estate and had visited it often as a child. But, as she got older, she began to have more things to take care of and less time for her leisure. She walked as close as she could to the edge of the cliff, without feeling threatened of falling off, and breathed in the wonderful salty scent that brought back so many memories of her one year aboard her grandfather's ship.

"Ella."

She turned around sharply. He never used her nickname. He always enjoyed using Cinderella because he knew how much she hated it. Once she had turned around, she found that Beckett had kept walking with her and was standing ever so slightly behind her. After growing up with him and his never changing facial expressions, Ella had learned the little differences in them and prided herself in knowing when he was mad and when he was merely acting mad to frighten her. And when both took place. Now, however, she found that he wore an almost calculating look and, though she would never say it out loud, she found it rather interesting. The way his eyes glowed with a sardonic intelligence and his mouth held a nigh on constant sneer. Yes, she found him very interesting.

"Yes?" she breathed out, surprising herself with the softness of her tone.

"May, next year."

She blinked twice, looking up at him, for she was an inch or so shorter than he. "Pardon?"

"The wedding is to be in May of next year. The preparations are underway as you already heard." Beckett answered as he elaborated.

Now that she understood, but what was this about a wedding? "Wedding?" she asked speaking her thoughts.

Beckett who had looked away from her, now looked back and smiled his almost smile. "Yes, wedding. You see, Cinderella, now that I've become Lord Beckett and those who would have stunted that rise have been rid of, I am in need of, but one thing."

Curious and noticing that he had reverted back to calling her by her given name, Ella asked "What?"

Beckett's smile widened and Ella felt a strange feeling in her chest. He reached out for her hand and placed a delicate silver band on her ring finger. "A wife." His voice seemed to echo in Ella's ears.

"S-surely you don't mean that..." she half-laughed to him, unable to finish the sentence.

"Yes, that is entirely what I do mean, Miss Cinderella."

Suddenly everything clicked. The dress, the small work-day, Beckett's little conversation with Mercer, even the bloody dinner, was almost all about getting her feeling nice before he produced the good news. The news that she was to marry him by next May! Ella's mouth dropped open and for a moment she couldn't find anything to say. That seemed to work for her advantage and a wonderful idea popped into her head. She raised her hand swiftly and, before Beckett could react, there was a loud smack and a rather large, red mark appeared on his cheek. He turned back to her and she could feel the anger boil off of him. Not caring of the consequences she raised her hand again, but this time as she moved in for the mark Beckett's hand clamped down on her wrist.

He pulled her to him and hissed in her ear, "That was a mistake, my dear." He started dragged her along behind him as he started for the house. His back was as straight as ever as his hand gripped her small wrist tightly.

Ella, realizing the truth in his words, began to break out in a cold sweat. She should not have done that. Now he was mad and God knew how much she hated it when he was mad, as should all creatures. When he was mad he could be fierce and frightening, but could do it all without lifting a finger. Ella began to tremble. They reached the house and Beckett continued to pull Ella through the doors and up the stairs to her room. When they reached her door Beckett stopped and pulled Ella to stand in front of him so that he faced her. He grabbed her by her arms tightly and Ella could swear his eyes were like ice. She definitely didn't want to marry him, but slapping him definitely wasn't the best way to go about saying no.

"You will do as I tell you and there will be a wedding in May, whether you want it or not." Beckett's quiet voice becoming loud on certain words. "Is that clear?"

Ella couldn't answer.

"I said is that clear?" his ever soft voice said a bit too casually.

"Y-yes..." came Ella's voice as it struggled to find a holding.

Without saying another word Beckett threw open her bedroom door and walked into her room, his hand digging into her arm while he dragged her along with him. Stopping short of the bed, he swung her around so that she stumbled and fell against the bed-post.

"See you in the morning." He said before he turned and left the room, locking the door behind him. There was a moment of silence.

Uttering a shaky sigh of pent up anxiety, Ella fell back onto her bed. She stared at the canopy, not really thinking anything. She rolled onto her side and held up her hand to examine the engagement ring on her finger. It was beautiful, the silver band shown in the light and reflected a gleam of it into the two sapphires that were placed on each side of the flawless diamond that sat in the middle of the band. Her small form was slowly racked with heaving, dry sobs as her body searched for tears and, though finding none, continued to bombard her with tearless chokes of despair. She curled up into a little ball, hating her life and the woman that had given it to her. As the night grew on, she slowly fell asleep.


As the fog slowly lifted off the murky water and a black ship edged through it, a seemingly far off voice cawed out "Land ho!". The first mate of the ship happened to be walking underneath the crow's nest at the time and jumped considerably at the sound. He took swig of rum from his flask and began muttering about how it was bad luck to be out and about in a fog. He came up upon the helm where the captain was standing.

"Jack, will you explain to me again why it tis we're headin' to London, of all places, to kidnap Beckett's ward, of all people?" came the scratchy voice of Gibbs as he looked expectantly at the captain.

The captain turned around slightly and looked at his first mate incredulously, the beads in his hair clicking as they hit each other. "Mate, have I lead you astray, yet?" he asked as he held up his finger, before bending it slightly and adding "Er, well, in the past month?".

"No, but..." Gibbs began only to be interrupted by Jack.

"Then have a little trust in me." the captain said as he turned back to the wheel, glancing down at the compass in his hand as he did so. "Besides, Gibbs, I think this girl might have something that will come in handy in the near future."

"What's that, Jack?" said the first mate, who was again ready to place all his trust in his friend of many years.

"I dunno, mate. Just call it a feeling." Jack answered as he spun the wheel slightly to the left after looking at his compass. "A very strong one."


Yay, our favorite pirate. Things jump right into action from here so hang on. Wow, am I corny. Well, I hope you enjoyed. Please R&R. Thanks. -Ebo