Nothing much to say but to please read.
"Are you ready?" asked Elizabeth, turning to face Katherine.
She gave her a small smile and chuckled nervously "Not really, but we probably shouldn't stall any longer."
Elizabeth nodded understandingly and offered Katherine her arm. She smoothed down her skirt one last time and gratefully accepted it as they both entered one of largest and most ornate missions in Port Royal.
Even after years of attending gatherings like this one, the first sight still managed to take Katherine's breath away. All the people preened and plucked to look their best, glittering in the light just like all the jewels and gold the adorned themselves with. But something about this scene always struck her as wrong. While these people, herself included, were living in the lap of luxury, others were out here working themselves to the bone and having nothing to show for it.
"Katherine, oh Katherine!" called a nameless and faceless lady of society.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Your parents are waiting for you outside, in the garden."
She thanked her and headed of towards the garden. When she walked through the doors, she spotted her parents talking with a man she had never seen before. He looked like an older man, 40s or 50s, with the customary white wig, showing he was an important member of the upper crust. He was clad in a navels officer's uniform with enough swag on it to signify he was a high-ranking official. Closer up she could see he was tall and broad shouldered, and obviously took pride in his appearance, because there wasn't a speck of dirt anywhere on him and not an article of clothing was out of place.
"Ah, Admiral Langston, may I present our lovely daughter, Katherine." said Katherine's father, his eyes shining with pride.
"Ms. Katherine it is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you." he said bringing her hand up to his lips in a gallant act. Her parents glanced at each other and something unreadable passed between. Remembering her manners she smiled and gracility thanked him.
"Katherine, Admiral Langston is our host this evening. This is his home." said her mother, as if she was hinting something.
"Oh," She faltered at a loss for words "well, it's a beautiful home."
"Yes it is, isn't?" said the Admiral with a small arrogant laugh.
Katherine covered up her grimace with a practiced giggle.
"Now Ms. Katherine, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of dancing with me?" he asked with a smile she believed was supposed to be charming. Really to her it just seemed cheesy.
Looking to her parents for help, she was sorely disappointed when her father answered for her "She would love to." Suppressing her groan, she accepted his arm as he led her back inside, and onto the dance floor. 'This is going to be a long night'
Jack and Will stumbled out of the tavern, laughing and joking a little too loudly. "Jack, I think it's time we head over to Elizabeths house now." said Will after catching his breath.
"My dear boy, I believe you're right." said Jack "So go hail us a carriage and well be on our marry way."
"Right well there's one problem with that."
"And what's that?" asked Jack, turning to look at his partner in crime.
"I don't have any money left." said Will grinning sheepishly.
"What do you mean you don't have any money left!?" roared Jack.
"Well, after you ran out, someone had to pay for the drinks. Plus the waitress wanted a whopping tip, after all the hassle she had to put up with tonight."
"I would have given her a big tip..." mumbled Jack sulkily. He turned back to Will "So how are we supposed to get to Elizabeths now?"
Will shrugged "Well, we could always just walk"
Jack looked at him like he was mad "Do you have any idea how long that will take!?"
Will beamed "As a matter of fact I do. So we should probably get a move on." With that being said, Will started of in the direction of his fiancé's home.
Jack cursed under his breath and wondered why Will never took his advice on not doing anything stupid. Jack trudged after him and thought 'This is going to be a long night.'
Katherine had been dancing on and off with the admiral all night, and she was finding out the more time she spent with him the less she liked him. He was arrogant, pompous, and vain. All he talked about was himself and his accomplishments. And she could live with things like that, a lot of the men she had met over the years were like that, but there was something mean about him. Something she couldn't put her finger on, but it still made him ugly in her perception.
Not even his best feature, his eyes, was redeeming. They were black, like two beetles, and they glittered with a certain controlled coldness, making it so when he smiled or laughed, it never would reach them. It was unnerving to say the least.
"Ms. Katherine?" asked the Admiral "Did you hear what I said?"
"No, I'm sorry, could you repeat it?" she inquired, feeling her face heat up.
He sighed "I was saying that you were such a lovely, well behaved girl, and how I couldn't see why no one had snatched you up and married you yet." he finished, apparently exasperated at the fact he had to repeat his sweet sentiments.
'He's probably used to women hanging on his every word.' she thought with slight disgust.
He looked at her for a few moments, as if he was trying to decide on something, then his face broke out into a smile. "I promised your parents I'd think about this a little longer, but I've come to my decision."
Katherine stared at him confused. 'What the bloody hell is he going on about now?' A vile sensation was growing in the pit of her stomach and she suddenly got the feeling that she didn't want to hear the next words out of his mouth.
"You see dear Katherine," she noticed that he had dropped the Miss "I've achieved a great many things for one so young," she pushed down the urge to roll her eyes "but there is still two things I have yet to accomplish." he paused as if he wanted her to ask what.
Not missing her cue "And what would those two things be?" she asked, dreading his answer.
"I have yet to take a young wife and consummate an heir."
Katherine opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.
He went on "Your parents heard that I was in the market for a bride and they approached me some time ago about taking your hand in marriage. This whole party was put together so we could properly meet." He smiled again "And after encountering you this evening, I believe I'm inclined to accept their offer."
He continued on, but she didn't hear any of it. Her ears were ringing to loudly and it felt like something was constricting around her heart. "Excuse me Admiral, but it's awfully stuffy in here and I'm feeling a little faint. Would you mind terribly if I stepped outside for just a moment?" she managed to get out, and without even waiting for an answer, she took of towards the garden, were she had seen Elizabeth go minutes before. She just hoped Elizabeth was still there. It would look awfully strange if she said she was just stepping out to the garden, but was found wandering around instead.
"Elizabeth!" Katherine called, catching sight of her.
She whirled around and saw you racing toward her, white as a sheet. "Katherine, what's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." she said, taking in her pale and panicky expression with a concerned eye.
"It's worse then that! So much worse..." Katherine wasted no time in telling her what happened. When she was finished Elizabeth almost looked as shocked as her. "Oh, Elizabeth want am I to do? The man is horrid, there's no way I could ever learn to love him." Katherine cried.
"There, there now don't worry, we'll find a way to deal with this in the morning. But for now I think its best if you went home and rested." she said consoling her.
"Elizabeth, I can't go home tonight. I can't face my parents tonight, not after what they did." Katherine said, resentment and betrayal burning hot in her throat. "Please let me stay with you tonight." she pleaded with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was quite for a moment, and then she agreed. After running of to tell her father Katherine would be staying with them for the evening, she rushed back and escorted her out to the carriage that was waiting. It was only when she was well on her way to Elizabeth's house, did Katherine let the hot tears that had been building in the corners of her eyes fall.
'Why the bloody hell did I agree to this again?' thought the pirate captain, watching Will Turner shimmy up and over the iron gate surrounding swan manor. 'And why do I get the feeling young William has done this before?' he thought after seeing the black smith by pass the metal hurdle so easily.
Pushing the thoughts from his head, Jack made his way up and over the gate. His landing would have been cat like, had he not drank so much alcohol earlier. As a result his landing was more like a dead cat. After getting up and brushing the dirt of his chest, Jack made his way over to Will. "What's the hold up lad?" he asked, seeing Will frozen in place.
"Shh, I think hear something." he said, his eyes darting around.
"Like what, one of the servants?" Jack asked, undaunted at the prospect of a maid or a stable boy.
"No, it sounds like something else, like... carriage wheels!" he said, pushing the both of them into a nearby bush. "She wasn't supposed to be home until later..." Will was mumbling to himself.
Spitting some leaves from his mouth, Jack asked hopefully "So what, the plans off?"
Will looked like he was waging an inner battle. Finally he said, "No well go through with this like we intended. You just have to be extra quite now."
"I have to be extra quite? I take it that means you're not coming in with me?" said Jack in a drawling tone.
"No I have to be the look out now" said Will.
'A likely story' thought Jack rolling his eyes.
"It'll be easy after all the things you've been through," said Will, trying to appeal to Jacks pride "You just have to climb up the ivy and go through the second window on the right." Jack was still frowning at him. Will grinned "Just think what a great story this will make for the crew."
Jack smiled at that thought and nodded. Dashing out of the bushes, he made his way up to the house and to the ivy vines. Unfortunately another side effect the rum seemed to be having was memory impairment. On his way there, Jack forgot which window it was he was supposed to go through. Thus he went through the first one on the right, instead of the second. He opened the latch and climbed through it, landing with a loud thump.
'I hope no one heard that.' Jack thought glancing around. Standing up, his gaze swept over the bedroom. 'Now if I was a petticoat, where would I be?' His next opinion made him smirk 'Well wrapped around a warm young strumpets body of course.' He chuckled softly and spotted a petticoat lying on the bed next to a gown. "I guess the gods are smiling down on me right now." he said quietly and tip toed over to the bed.
Jack bent down and picked up the lacey garment. 'It's still warm too.' he thought fingering it.
"Ahh!" someone faintly gasped behind him.
Jack froze and whipped around to came face to face with a young lady he had never clapped eyes on before. 'And that's a damn shame.' he thought taking in the lovely creature standing before him.
She made a pleasant picture with her long dark tresses hanging down and all-around her, and the fresh white night gown that left little to the imagination with its low cut neckline and its snug little waist. He noticed she was a petite little thing
'She'd probably barley come up to my shoulders' His gaze left her body and traveled up to her pretty face.
He noticed with mild surprise that her amber eyes, which where now the size of dinner plates, were outlined in kohl like his. Noting her hair again he was suddenly struck with the urge to run his fingers through it, if only just to see if it was as silky as it looked.
Jack was to busy admiring the girls figure again to notice the absolute look of alarm marring her attractive features. Had the pirate captain been paying attention, he could have prevented the girl from letting lose her earsplitting shriek.
Wow, that could've gone better. Let's hope things turn out all right for our favorite captian.