Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to get the first chapter up. I have been a little busy. My semester ended last week and some other stuff has been going on. No biggie. Anyway, enough of my rambles. Let's just dive into this chapter. Shall we?

DISCLAIMER: I have a disclaimer-ish thing on the summary page, but just to clarify. I do not own The Patriot or anyone associated with it. However, in the case of this fan fiction, I do own Ava Norrington and Bartleby Norrington.

~Story~

It had been two days. Two long, painful days since her father's death in Connecticut. She was absolutely beside herself. She was heartbroken and could not deal with him being gone. Ava sat in a chair near Lord General Cornwallis' desk with his two great danes, Jupitor and Mars, laying by her feet on either side of her. She sat quietly in the warm room while waiting for the Lord General to come in. Cornwallis had arrived last night in New Jersey from Connecticut with her father's body. Her father and Cornwallis had been very good friends and he felt it was his duty to bring Bartleby's body back to Ava himself. Ava's mind was racing. Where would she go? She had no living family. Perhaps they would send her to England to live in a convent. Suddenly, Ava was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door open.

"Ava?" a soft male voice called.

"Yes," she replied flatly looking in the direction of the older man who entered the room.

It was the Lord General Cornwallis'. He was somewhat of a big man, but carried himself well. He had dark brown eyes that at the moment showed sympathy. The skin on his face was lightly wrinkled and slightly sagged and he had well-defined nose that was somewhat on the big side. His uniform was neat, pressed and crisp and his powdered wig sat snug and proper on his head.

"My dear, I know this is a terrible time you are going through and this may be painful to answer, but I would like to know what you would like to do with your father's remains."

"Cremate him and scatter his ashes over the sea. It was his rquest," she answered soflty as she struggled to keep fresh tears from spilling down her face.

"As you wish my dear, I will make the arrangements," he replied just as a young gentleman entered the room. He was tall and built with light brown-reddish hair that was neatly pulled back out of his face. He had strong features and lovely brown eyes.

"Ah, here we are. Miss Norrington, this is Captain Bordon. He will be escorting you to Fort Carolina where you will remain under my care until you are of age to be on your own should you choose to be. Your father was a very good friend of mine and I most certainly will not send you away," he instructed and gave her a small smile of reassurance. Ava breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do well to keep an eye on her until I arrive at Fort Carolina myself," he said to Bordon.

"Yes, sir," Bordon stated and gave Cornwallis a bow then turned to Ava. "Shall we miss Norrington?" he asked offering his arm to her.

Ava simply nodded and lightly linked her arm with Bordon's.

Bordon opened the carriage door for Ava and helped her in then helped himself in. Bordon began to turn to sit opposite of Ava, but she quickly grabbed his hand.

"Please sit next to me Captain. I need comfort of some sort," she said softly.

"Of course miss Norrington," he replied.

"Please, call me Ava. No need for formalities Capatin."

"Then I insist you call me Pierce," he said giving her a sincere smile.

"I like that name. It suits you."

"Thank you miss-Ava."

"How far to Fort Carolina?"

"I'm afraid we won't arrive until after sundown."

"Oh, well may I rest my head on your shoulder? I am dreadfully tired from today."

"That's quite alright. Of course you may rest your head on my shoulder. I will wake you when we arrive."

"Thank you, Pierce," she whispered as she gently layed her head on his broad shoulder.

"You're most welcome, Ava." he whispered back.

OK so obviously this was short, but I hope you guys liked it!