A Little Chaos
Chapter Four
By the time the run rolled into the bedroom Isabella had become uncomfortably warm, she cursed at the Caribbean climate for waking her at such an early hour. Though, it probably wasn't just the climate making her so feverish. Two strong tanned arms remained wrapped around her like a boa constrictor would do to its prey, which weren't going to let go of her anytime soon.
Gently prying from Billie's arms Isabella was able to draw the curtains closed leaving Billie to sleep off the last day or so drama. She had never seen him sleep before, it was now harder than ever to imagine him as she renegade pirate running around with the likes of her father Charles Vane.
Her father, an infamous pirate lord known even in Britain as a vile and cruel human being. A murderous treasonous son of a bitch, by all accounts. Charles Vane a man who probably was physically incapable of affection and all things relating to family was now the reason she had been sent half way around the world.
Isabella left Billy to softly snore and went to wander around the old and neglected house, as she entered the hallway she looked at all the fine detail in the ceiling covered in a mix of cobwebs and dust hiding the possibility that perhaps this house was more than due to be demolished. The kitchen was large, a room that Isabella knew was going to be her favourite. She had long dreamed the freedom of baking her own bread and cooking for her loved ones, this old and tired kitchen meant that she now had that chance.
But firstly, Isabella would need to learn how to cook. Back in England she was never taught how to do such basic tasks, others like her self-those whose parents were on the wrong side of the law- where never given the opportunity to learn such a skill. Instead, they were put in duty of cleaning, dusting, laundry and if they were lucky they would maintain the grassy courtyard during spring and summer.
It had been so many years of gruel like food, stew and old bread. Those foods Isabella never wanted to see again, even if at the start her food may be a little burnt and tasteless. But that's the thing with cooking, one can only improve.
The old fireplace in the living room, where only last night her father had threatened to kill her or at least not even denied till he died that he was not her father. Isabella could even still smell the rum stench that Charles left behind, opting her to clean out the fireplace to the best of her abilities so that she could light it and remove the horrid stench.
Once lit, Isabella felt better the fire removed the horrid smell of her father. Though she was sure that her fireplace was the only one lit in Nassau in this humid hot weather. That's one thing she wasn't sure how to handle? Isabella had known only London all her life, its coldness, its grey skies and raining every other day. Nassau was apparently sunny and warm for most of the year, till the rainy season came and even then it was warm.
There was a knock at her door, Isabella had hoped it wasn't anyone else to cause any more drama for her. As she opened it, a lady of colour stood in front of the door. But she wasn't like the Slaves Isabella had seen in the streets of London…
"Isabella?" she asked with a french accent. While Isabella could do nothing but nod completely mesmerised by the beauty of the woman.
"I knew it was you, no one could be that beautiful without being related to Eleanor." The woman pulled her into a tight hug, even though Isabella had no idea who this crazy french lady was.
"My name is Max, I grew up with your mother. She and I were extremely close, in between the times when your father didn't dazzle her of course" Max smiled as she gently pushed past the frazzled young woman.
"I recently learnt that Captain Vane is my father, in fact I learnt it just last night"
Max hesitantly sat down on the cushioned nearby chair in the lounge room, it was able to hold her weight so she smiled again at the young woman who looked like the world was crashing around her. "You have to understand, your mother ran this entire island. She answered to no man, any one who defied her met with your father in a dark ally somewhere till her point was proved. Eleanor was not some housewife, that is why your father worshipped her. The two of them together was like a hurricane, but like all storms it left a path of destruction."
"If they were so well suited, how did he not know about me? Why did my mother chose not to tell him. He could've come and got me from the church, I could've had the chance of normality.
"There were difficulties, I was the first to know that you were coming. At that time she found out, Eleanor had ruined your father. I think he spent the next few weeks drunk to the point we thought he was dead. Eventually he won her favour, he got his ship back. But Eleanor being stubborn wouldn't tell him" Max sighed, reliving the memories last few months of Eleanor was something she had promised not to do.
"When Charles wiped out an entire crew for your mother, I thought she would tell him. But as her belly swelled she grew more hesitant. Your father didn't want the Nassau it is today, he loved the roughness of the pirate town-
"-Morning" Billy chimed out of the bedroom, completely dismissing that Max was even there. "You know, I had the strangest dream. I stood next to my father, being defeated in battle in front of this Queen with the fearsome dragon before being burnt to the point i was ash on the ground"
"Dragons? You have quite the imagination. Next you will be telling me about Mermaids and other creatures of the deep" Isabella smiled at him, she felt so warm by Billy being in the same room.
"I see you are already aquatinted with Captain Manderly" Max practically snarled, Captain Manderly was nothing but an obnoxious righteous pain in the ass. He was the golden goose of Nassau in the eyes of the British Royal Navy, nothing like he used to be in his younger years.
"Yes, he is the one who escorted me over-"
"-I'd would find it unusual for you to be so infatuated with the man partly responsible for your mothers death" Max glared at Billie, who scoffed. Even being nearly two decades, Max still held that chip on her shoulder. That annoying chip, where she blamed everyone for the fall of Nassau which led to her brothel turn into nothing more than a boring tavern- not the death of Eleanor.
Isabella took a step away from the both of them, she wanted a morning to contemplate and find her feet. Not have everyone barking at each other about her mother, a woman she has never met. Billie noticed this and wrapped his right arm around her gently pulling Isabella back in to him, his hand caressed the delicate skin of her neck. But Isabella didn't look at him, she looked at the floor instead.
"This woman, is no more a friend of your mothers than the man who sentenced her to death. Max, along with your father never wanted Nassau to be British. When your mother took Abigail from your father, my crew left to give Nassau a good name and to give Abigail to her father, a important political figure. We didn't mean to leave her and we never thought Captain Hornigold to do such a thing than to sell your mother out." His words sounded convincing, but at the same time there was information missing. Isabella needed to sit down and have a heart to heart with Billie, to figure out who on this Island is a friend or foe. A tear ran down her cheek, Billie saw this and his heart broke even more. Max was too soon for her so he did what he knew to be the only thing he could do. He embraced her warmly ignoring Maxs rude comment in French.
Then all of a sudden a man came rushing through the front door, it was Charles… though it looked like he had seen a priest of something. His hair had been neatly trimmed, what used to be a ragged face now looked like he was the Navy officer he was suppose to be. Charles even had some of his uniform on, which was a sight to be seen! it was clean and didn't smell like it had been washed in rum.
Charles came in excited to show Isabella a few things, and perhaps later when they were alone he would tell her everything. But he noticed that god awful woman Max, who for the last decade had become just as volatile as her old friend Anne use to be. The atmosphere was that tense, Charles could cut it with a knife. Then he heard Isabella whimper, and saw Bille embrace her tighter.
Someone made her cry… made his daughter cry…. and it was clear as day to who it was.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"To tell her the truth about you, she should know the man behind your name. If it wasn't for you Eleanor would still be alive-" Max didn't even get the chance to end her sentence she was thrown out on the street by Charles.
"Come near my daughter again, and ill be more creative than last time i tried to kill you"
Ok, so I've been in mourning over the death of Charles for over a year. But since watching the latest Pirates of the caribbean, new muses have appeared.
Its not fantastic writing. But it will do for now!