Chapter Eight: The Opportune Moment
AN: Ack, sorry it's taken me a few days to get this chapter out. My midterms are next week, so I've been studying like crazy! Next week I'm out at noon almost every day, so there shall be more updates, if I can muster the creativity! Thanks SOOO much for all your reviews! They make me smile!! ~Ellie
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Jack watched from the Pearl as the crew packed up their campsite. It had been quite a while---he had never stayed on the island longer than a few days, and now it had been almost a week. The crew was getting restless; they were as eager to be out on the open sea again as he. But where was their destination? He could think of only one place in which to drown his sorrows, in which to hear news, in which to think of a new place to go--- Tortuga.
And so when Gibbs approached him and informed him that all the crew was aboard and stowing the plunder and supplies, it was Tortuga that Jack named as their destination.
"Tortuga?" asked Gibbs. "Again, Cap'n?"
"Aye," Jack said wearily. "For a few days at least. All the crew's to go ashore and find whatever pleasure they like. And when we return to the Pearl, it's a new destination. What say you to Spain?"
"Spain?!" Gibbs cried, out of both shock and delight. "Aye, Cap'n, a fine place it is, Spain. But so far---how long d'ye plan on goin' without a return trip to the isle?"
"We could make it, Gibbs," said the captain, gazing out at the horizon. "We could, and there'll be plunder to be had there. And then we return and restock the caves."
"Aye," Gibbs said, scratching his head. "But Cap'n, there's hoards of towns in the Caribbean that 'ave no fleet at all. Why, it'd be better to raid up and down the coast rather than sail halfway across the world and get nothin' more."
"Indeed it may well be, Gibbs," Jack said, glancing at his first mate for the first time. "But despite the treasures of the Caribbean, these islands seem to be running short of something else, savvy?"
Gibbs gave his captain a puzzled look and grunted. Jack turned and waved his hands erratically at his first mate. "Adventure!" he cried. "Change! You know; yo ho ho and a bottle of rum?"
"Ah," Gibbs said. "Plenty o' rum below decks, Cap'n. No need to go all the way to Spain."
Jack shook his head. "Do me a favor, mate," he said. "Don't ask any more questions. Savvy?"
"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs said, swigging from his ever-present flask. "Set sail for Tortuga, then?"
"Aye," Jack said, and he turned away from his first mate and took the wheel again. This was where he belonged; he was finally starting to remember that. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Trini sat as still as she could at breakfast, with Elizabeth watching her. Over the past few days she had been utterly restless. Neither company nor entertainment could keep her from constantly glancing out the windows. Elizabeth had taken note and informed Will, but he chalked it up to the fact that she was still convalescing. Stillness and bed rest had to be difficult for one who loved to be moving.
But Trini knew the reason. She knew something was coming---she could feel it in her bones. Her legs cried out to run, her hands itched to hold a sword. And her heart was full to bursting with new hopes and old ties. If only whatever it was would come soon, she could feel like a person again, instead of a tingling bag of nerves.
She glanced up from her breakfast plate and gazed out the window that showed the best view of the harbor. Something was different---a ship! There was a ship in the harbor!
"Mother!" Trini cried, unable to keep the edge out of her voice. Elizabeth started and looked over at her daughter. "There's a ship in the harbor. Has the new fleet come early?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No," she said bitterly. "Another pirate ship. They want no plunder, oddly enough. They've come to drink and gamble. Will says they've been at the pubs all night. The owners are glad and afraid at the same time---good for business, they say. But they fear Norrington and the men he has left will try to run them out, and that would result in another battle." She sighed and pulled the curtains closed with a jerk.
"Just wait," she said, taking a seat across from her daughter. "Wait until the fleet arrives. Then all will be well again, and you shall see Port Royal just as you remember it." She smiled, a hopeful smile, and began to eat her own breakfast.
Trini hadn't long to wait. Soon there came an urgent knock on the door. Elizabeth let her fork clatter loudly onto her plate and hurried to open it. Trini rose and ventured into the entrance hall. There stood Captain Henry Norrington, fully uniformed and properly decorated.
His hat was in his hand, and he bowed to Trini. She nodded in return, and Elizabeth, smiling mischievously, made her excuses about clearing the dishes and ducked hurriedly back into the kitchen.
"Trinity," Henry said, taking her hands. "I've come to bid you good- bye."
"What?" Trini asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm taking my men to make a camp on the far side of the island. The Navy fleet is approaching as we speak; they will collect us and be here by this evening, and we shall do away with the pirates who now sit in our harbor."
Trini's mind was working. She always thought fast, something she had learned from watching Jack in action. "This evening?" she said. "What time, approximately?"
"Before nightfall," Henry said, tightening his grip on her hands. "I shall go with them once we have defeated the pirates, and then I do not know when I shall return. You remember the promise you made me, Trinity?"
She nodded, trying to keep her focus on the desperate man in front of her.
He smiled and kissed her hand. "My love," he said. "Until we meet again."
And then he was out the door and striding briskly down the path, leaving Trini alone to her mad, irrational thoughts.
"Mother!" she cried, running back to the kitchen. "Mother, where is father?"
Elizabeth turned from the window and looked at her daughter. "He is working on the new shop, you know that, Trinity," she said, looking puzzled. "What is it, darling?"
"You must run and bring him home!" she cried. "Make haste, for Captain Norrington has just informed me that soon there will be a battle taking place---the new Navy fleet is rounding the island as we speak!"
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Yes," she breathed. "Of course. I'll be back soon, Trinity! Look after your brother---he's in the yard!" She grabbed her bonnet, pulled it roughly over her head and fled out the front door, following the same path as Henry Norrington had taken.
Trini watched her mother go, a pang of guilt rising in her throat. She had not told such a bad lie, she thought. She needed time, just a bit of time! She opened the door and called out for William. He appeared from around the side of the house.
"Come inside!" she said. "Go and stay in your room for an hour---the new fleet is coming, and there's to be a battle."
William's eyes widened excitedly. "I shall watch from my window!" he cried, and he trotted indoors and up the stairs. Trini heard his door click shut, and then she herself made haste up the stairs to her parents' bedchamber.
She closed the door quietly and made for Will's bureau. Opening the drawers, she removed the worn breeches and shirt he had lent her---he had salvaged them, on the third day, from the wreckage of the smithy. She smiled, for now no garb would suit her more. She changed hastily and pulled on his boots as well. The pins she ripped from her hair, letting her long brown curls hang loose again. She tore the sash from the gown she had been wearing and used it to tie her hair securely back, then went in search of her sword.
The sword she had used to practice with Will had been in the shop. But she dared not take one of his, for they were fine swords, and she was not fit to carry such a weapon. It was the short, broad blade that Jack had given her that she sought now. For if she knew her father, she knew that he would never dispose of a sword, no matter how ill made.
After a few minutes of searching, she located the worn leather sheath that held her sword---it was stashed beneath the mattress of the bed, on Will's side. Trini grinned to see it again. She was almost there.
Opening the door quietly, she made sure William's door was still closed. All was silent as she stepped out into the hall and crept down the stairs. She peeked out the window; the path was all clear. It would take Elizabeth a while to make it to the smithy and convince Will to come home. With a pang, she thought of Elizabeth and Will. She couldn't leave them, worry them, and leave no word.
Hurriedly, she grabbed a calling card sitting on the table in the entrance hall. She had no time to write a long note, but she wrote something she felt to be satisfactory, left it face-up on the table, and then headed for the back door. She glanced back only once, to take one last glimpse of the house where she had come to find herself.
Her insides were squirming with nerves and with guilt. Her plan would only work is someone was aboard the ship---anyone. And she felt horrible about leaving Will and Elizabeth, again. But she had made up her mind, the moment had come, and she must seize it or live her life in regret.
She made her way down to the harbor by the same path that Jack had taken the first day he had brought her to Port Royal. The brush kept her hidden from any daring person who might be out and about in the streets with pirates in the port. She emerged on the beach and made her way stealthily to the docks.
The ship stood just in front of her as she gained the docks. It was an unfamiliar ship, but majestic and new, as though it had been built for a wealthy merchant. And stolen, she figured.
She made her way up the gangplank and walked about the deck. Everything was still; it seemed that her plan would fail---no one was aboard.
Just then, she heard the clumsy, heavy footsteps of a drunk coming up the stairs. She whirled around and saw a grey and grizzled pirate entering from below decks. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her, then started and reached for his gun.
But Trini was quicker, thanks to her sword training. She had crossed the deck and had her blade at his neck before he could pull his gun from his hip.
"Parlez," she said coolly. The obviously drunken man looked at her in bewilderment. "Where is your captain?" she snapped. "I need to speak to him."
The man grunted. "'e's in t'cabin," he drawled, nodding at the cabin to her right. Trini edged towards it, keeping her sword pointed at him at all times.
"Go in," she ordered. "And tell your captain that the pirate Trini Sparrow wishes to take counsel with him." When the man looked at her hesitantly, she thrust the blade of her sword against his neck and barked, "Go!" He held up his hands and knocked on the cabin door, entering when the captain called out his permission.
Trini waited impatiently outside. A few moments later, the drunken man emerged, followed by a tall, muscular man in a dark grey coat and a captain's hat.
"Miss Sparrow?" the captain asked her in a low, gravelly voice. "Doyle tells me you have come aboard me ship and drawn sword against him." Off to the side, Doyle nodded.
"Aye," Trini said, sheathing her blade. "That's true. And it's Trini, Captain. I've come to make you a bargain."
The captain laughed. "What bargain can ye make me, lass? I don't suffer women aboard me ship."
Quick as a flash, Trini had her sword out again and held it now at the throat of the captain. "You will suffer me," she growled.
The captain had only to glance at the sword at his neck before he held up his hands. "Aye," he said, and she moved the blade away a bit. "I suppose I shall, for a little while. What is that ye want, Trini Sparrow?"
"I've come to warn you," she said, moving her sword away from the captain. "As we speak, a fleet of the Royal Navy is rounding the tip of the island on the opposite side and picking up an extra crew of men. They will be here before nightfall, and they plan to attack your ship."
Doyle started and looked up sharply at his captain, who was rubbing his chin in contemplation. "That is a problem," he said at last. "And I thank ye for the warning. But what is it that ye'll be wanting in return?"
"Take me aboard your ship as one of the crew," Trini replied. When the captain and Doyle exchanged shocked looks, she continued, "I've spent seven years aboard a pirate ship. I do not belong in Port Royal; I was left accidentally when my ship's captain ordered us out of port a day early. Take me on, and I promise you shall have a faithful member of your crew as well as a skilled swordswoman, taught by the best in the Caribbean." She leveled her gazed and looked coolly at them both, awaiting an answer.
Finally the captain grinned, displaying large, white teeth, a rarity among pirates. "Aye," he said. "Ye're a hard lass to bargain with, but I'll take ye. Welcome aboard the Silver Dragon, lass. Doyle! Take Miss Sparrow to her quarters."
Shaking his head in incredulity, Doyle led Trini below decks and pointed at an empty cot in the corner of the sleeping quarters. The rest of the pirates were sleeping or passed out---she figured they had spent all night drinking and had come back to the ship to sleep it off all day.
That all changed when a bell began clanging loudly from the deck. Everyone awoke, jumped up, and clambered up to the deck. Trini followed along. The captain was shouting orders, and everyone was repeating them and then rushing around to carry them out. They were making way to sail from Port Royal.
Trini grinned and joined in the shouting and the scurrying about. She received many odd looks, but she ignored them, earnestly following orders. It was an amazing feeling, to be back on a ship, and she didn't want to let guilt or doubt penetrate her mind. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elizabeth burst back into the house, followed closely by Will. "Trinity!" she called, removing her bonnet. "We're home, darling!"
William raced down the stairs and hugged his father around the knees. Will grinned and tousled his young son's hair, but when he looked at William's face, there seemed to be something bothering the lad.
"Something wrong, William?" Will asked, kneeling.
Will bit his lip. "I think so, father," he said. "Trini---"
He was cut off by Elizabeth's shriek. Will shot up and flew to her side. She clutched in her hands a calling card. Will looked at his wife, confused. "What is it?" he asked, taking her arm in case she decided to swoon.
With shaking hands, she held out the card. He took it, noticing for the first time that something was scrawled across the back in a broad, firm hand.
"'My dear mother, father, and William,'" Will read aloud. "'I cannot tell you how it pains me to leave you, especially now when our affairs are finally coming to be in the right. I say that I truly loved you, and that I shall continue even after I am gone. But the opportune moment has arisen, and I can no longer deny the person that I am. I have gone back home, though I shall miss you all sorely. Forgive me, and remember that I leave you with my love.'"
He looked up at Elizabeth, who had gone pale. "It's signed 'Trini'," he whispered.
"She's gone back," Elizabeth breathed, her eyes wide with horror. "She's gone to find Jack. Will---she could be in danger! How is---how--- when did she---"
"I saw her go, mother," William piped up, and his parents turned to him. "I was watching out the window for the battle to start, and I saw a man leaving the house. But then I looked again, and the man looked back, and it was Trinity."
Will knelt before his son again. "Which way was she headed?" he asked William quietly.
"Down to the harbor," William said in a small voice. "She went through the jungle and down to the harbor."
"The ship," Elizabeth whispered, and a moment later, she and Will were racing into the kitchen. Elizabeth jerked the curtains aside and glanced out.
"It's moving!" Will cried. "She's gone aboard the ship!"
"They're taking her," Elizabeth said. "Will, we've got to go after her! We can't let her sail away into the open sea with---with pirates!"
Will looked helplessly out the window. "The fleet," he said at last, glancing at Elizabeth. "The Navy's fleet is coming around the island, you said?"
"Captain Norrington has already taken his men to meet them," Elizabeth replied. "We'll never catch them, Will!"
"No," he said, turning and heading out into the hallway, Elizabeth on his heels. "But I will. I'll go after her, Elizabeth."
"Will, no!" she cried, grabbing his arm as he made for the door. "I'll go with you! You cannot leave me here!"
"I can and I must," he replied. "Do you remember the last time we left our child alone?"
Elizabeth froze. She locked eyes with her husband, and she understood. This was something he had to do alone. She let go his arm and nodded.
Will pulled her to him and kissed her furiously. "I will come back," he said. And before Elizabeth could say anything else, Will had left, closing the door with a resounding slam behind him.
AN: Ack, sorry it's taken me a few days to get this chapter out. My midterms are next week, so I've been studying like crazy! Next week I'm out at noon almost every day, so there shall be more updates, if I can muster the creativity! Thanks SOOO much for all your reviews! They make me smile!! ~Ellie
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Jack watched from the Pearl as the crew packed up their campsite. It had been quite a while---he had never stayed on the island longer than a few days, and now it had been almost a week. The crew was getting restless; they were as eager to be out on the open sea again as he. But where was their destination? He could think of only one place in which to drown his sorrows, in which to hear news, in which to think of a new place to go--- Tortuga.
And so when Gibbs approached him and informed him that all the crew was aboard and stowing the plunder and supplies, it was Tortuga that Jack named as their destination.
"Tortuga?" asked Gibbs. "Again, Cap'n?"
"Aye," Jack said wearily. "For a few days at least. All the crew's to go ashore and find whatever pleasure they like. And when we return to the Pearl, it's a new destination. What say you to Spain?"
"Spain?!" Gibbs cried, out of both shock and delight. "Aye, Cap'n, a fine place it is, Spain. But so far---how long d'ye plan on goin' without a return trip to the isle?"
"We could make it, Gibbs," said the captain, gazing out at the horizon. "We could, and there'll be plunder to be had there. And then we return and restock the caves."
"Aye," Gibbs said, scratching his head. "But Cap'n, there's hoards of towns in the Caribbean that 'ave no fleet at all. Why, it'd be better to raid up and down the coast rather than sail halfway across the world and get nothin' more."
"Indeed it may well be, Gibbs," Jack said, glancing at his first mate for the first time. "But despite the treasures of the Caribbean, these islands seem to be running short of something else, savvy?"
Gibbs gave his captain a puzzled look and grunted. Jack turned and waved his hands erratically at his first mate. "Adventure!" he cried. "Change! You know; yo ho ho and a bottle of rum?"
"Ah," Gibbs said. "Plenty o' rum below decks, Cap'n. No need to go all the way to Spain."
Jack shook his head. "Do me a favor, mate," he said. "Don't ask any more questions. Savvy?"
"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs said, swigging from his ever-present flask. "Set sail for Tortuga, then?"
"Aye," Jack said, and he turned away from his first mate and took the wheel again. This was where he belonged; he was finally starting to remember that. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Trini sat as still as she could at breakfast, with Elizabeth watching her. Over the past few days she had been utterly restless. Neither company nor entertainment could keep her from constantly glancing out the windows. Elizabeth had taken note and informed Will, but he chalked it up to the fact that she was still convalescing. Stillness and bed rest had to be difficult for one who loved to be moving.
But Trini knew the reason. She knew something was coming---she could feel it in her bones. Her legs cried out to run, her hands itched to hold a sword. And her heart was full to bursting with new hopes and old ties. If only whatever it was would come soon, she could feel like a person again, instead of a tingling bag of nerves.
She glanced up from her breakfast plate and gazed out the window that showed the best view of the harbor. Something was different---a ship! There was a ship in the harbor!
"Mother!" Trini cried, unable to keep the edge out of her voice. Elizabeth started and looked over at her daughter. "There's a ship in the harbor. Has the new fleet come early?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No," she said bitterly. "Another pirate ship. They want no plunder, oddly enough. They've come to drink and gamble. Will says they've been at the pubs all night. The owners are glad and afraid at the same time---good for business, they say. But they fear Norrington and the men he has left will try to run them out, and that would result in another battle." She sighed and pulled the curtains closed with a jerk.
"Just wait," she said, taking a seat across from her daughter. "Wait until the fleet arrives. Then all will be well again, and you shall see Port Royal just as you remember it." She smiled, a hopeful smile, and began to eat her own breakfast.
Trini hadn't long to wait. Soon there came an urgent knock on the door. Elizabeth let her fork clatter loudly onto her plate and hurried to open it. Trini rose and ventured into the entrance hall. There stood Captain Henry Norrington, fully uniformed and properly decorated.
His hat was in his hand, and he bowed to Trini. She nodded in return, and Elizabeth, smiling mischievously, made her excuses about clearing the dishes and ducked hurriedly back into the kitchen.
"Trinity," Henry said, taking her hands. "I've come to bid you good- bye."
"What?" Trini asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm taking my men to make a camp on the far side of the island. The Navy fleet is approaching as we speak; they will collect us and be here by this evening, and we shall do away with the pirates who now sit in our harbor."
Trini's mind was working. She always thought fast, something she had learned from watching Jack in action. "This evening?" she said. "What time, approximately?"
"Before nightfall," Henry said, tightening his grip on her hands. "I shall go with them once we have defeated the pirates, and then I do not know when I shall return. You remember the promise you made me, Trinity?"
She nodded, trying to keep her focus on the desperate man in front of her.
He smiled and kissed her hand. "My love," he said. "Until we meet again."
And then he was out the door and striding briskly down the path, leaving Trini alone to her mad, irrational thoughts.
"Mother!" she cried, running back to the kitchen. "Mother, where is father?"
Elizabeth turned from the window and looked at her daughter. "He is working on the new shop, you know that, Trinity," she said, looking puzzled. "What is it, darling?"
"You must run and bring him home!" she cried. "Make haste, for Captain Norrington has just informed me that soon there will be a battle taking place---the new Navy fleet is rounding the island as we speak!"
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Yes," she breathed. "Of course. I'll be back soon, Trinity! Look after your brother---he's in the yard!" She grabbed her bonnet, pulled it roughly over her head and fled out the front door, following the same path as Henry Norrington had taken.
Trini watched her mother go, a pang of guilt rising in her throat. She had not told such a bad lie, she thought. She needed time, just a bit of time! She opened the door and called out for William. He appeared from around the side of the house.
"Come inside!" she said. "Go and stay in your room for an hour---the new fleet is coming, and there's to be a battle."
William's eyes widened excitedly. "I shall watch from my window!" he cried, and he trotted indoors and up the stairs. Trini heard his door click shut, and then she herself made haste up the stairs to her parents' bedchamber.
She closed the door quietly and made for Will's bureau. Opening the drawers, she removed the worn breeches and shirt he had lent her---he had salvaged them, on the third day, from the wreckage of the smithy. She smiled, for now no garb would suit her more. She changed hastily and pulled on his boots as well. The pins she ripped from her hair, letting her long brown curls hang loose again. She tore the sash from the gown she had been wearing and used it to tie her hair securely back, then went in search of her sword.
The sword she had used to practice with Will had been in the shop. But she dared not take one of his, for they were fine swords, and she was not fit to carry such a weapon. It was the short, broad blade that Jack had given her that she sought now. For if she knew her father, she knew that he would never dispose of a sword, no matter how ill made.
After a few minutes of searching, she located the worn leather sheath that held her sword---it was stashed beneath the mattress of the bed, on Will's side. Trini grinned to see it again. She was almost there.
Opening the door quietly, she made sure William's door was still closed. All was silent as she stepped out into the hall and crept down the stairs. She peeked out the window; the path was all clear. It would take Elizabeth a while to make it to the smithy and convince Will to come home. With a pang, she thought of Elizabeth and Will. She couldn't leave them, worry them, and leave no word.
Hurriedly, she grabbed a calling card sitting on the table in the entrance hall. She had no time to write a long note, but she wrote something she felt to be satisfactory, left it face-up on the table, and then headed for the back door. She glanced back only once, to take one last glimpse of the house where she had come to find herself.
Her insides were squirming with nerves and with guilt. Her plan would only work is someone was aboard the ship---anyone. And she felt horrible about leaving Will and Elizabeth, again. But she had made up her mind, the moment had come, and she must seize it or live her life in regret.
She made her way down to the harbor by the same path that Jack had taken the first day he had brought her to Port Royal. The brush kept her hidden from any daring person who might be out and about in the streets with pirates in the port. She emerged on the beach and made her way stealthily to the docks.
The ship stood just in front of her as she gained the docks. It was an unfamiliar ship, but majestic and new, as though it had been built for a wealthy merchant. And stolen, she figured.
She made her way up the gangplank and walked about the deck. Everything was still; it seemed that her plan would fail---no one was aboard.
Just then, she heard the clumsy, heavy footsteps of a drunk coming up the stairs. She whirled around and saw a grey and grizzled pirate entering from below decks. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her, then started and reached for his gun.
But Trini was quicker, thanks to her sword training. She had crossed the deck and had her blade at his neck before he could pull his gun from his hip.
"Parlez," she said coolly. The obviously drunken man looked at her in bewilderment. "Where is your captain?" she snapped. "I need to speak to him."
The man grunted. "'e's in t'cabin," he drawled, nodding at the cabin to her right. Trini edged towards it, keeping her sword pointed at him at all times.
"Go in," she ordered. "And tell your captain that the pirate Trini Sparrow wishes to take counsel with him." When the man looked at her hesitantly, she thrust the blade of her sword against his neck and barked, "Go!" He held up his hands and knocked on the cabin door, entering when the captain called out his permission.
Trini waited impatiently outside. A few moments later, the drunken man emerged, followed by a tall, muscular man in a dark grey coat and a captain's hat.
"Miss Sparrow?" the captain asked her in a low, gravelly voice. "Doyle tells me you have come aboard me ship and drawn sword against him." Off to the side, Doyle nodded.
"Aye," Trini said, sheathing her blade. "That's true. And it's Trini, Captain. I've come to make you a bargain."
The captain laughed. "What bargain can ye make me, lass? I don't suffer women aboard me ship."
Quick as a flash, Trini had her sword out again and held it now at the throat of the captain. "You will suffer me," she growled.
The captain had only to glance at the sword at his neck before he held up his hands. "Aye," he said, and she moved the blade away a bit. "I suppose I shall, for a little while. What is that ye want, Trini Sparrow?"
"I've come to warn you," she said, moving her sword away from the captain. "As we speak, a fleet of the Royal Navy is rounding the tip of the island on the opposite side and picking up an extra crew of men. They will be here before nightfall, and they plan to attack your ship."
Doyle started and looked up sharply at his captain, who was rubbing his chin in contemplation. "That is a problem," he said at last. "And I thank ye for the warning. But what is it that ye'll be wanting in return?"
"Take me aboard your ship as one of the crew," Trini replied. When the captain and Doyle exchanged shocked looks, she continued, "I've spent seven years aboard a pirate ship. I do not belong in Port Royal; I was left accidentally when my ship's captain ordered us out of port a day early. Take me on, and I promise you shall have a faithful member of your crew as well as a skilled swordswoman, taught by the best in the Caribbean." She leveled her gazed and looked coolly at them both, awaiting an answer.
Finally the captain grinned, displaying large, white teeth, a rarity among pirates. "Aye," he said. "Ye're a hard lass to bargain with, but I'll take ye. Welcome aboard the Silver Dragon, lass. Doyle! Take Miss Sparrow to her quarters."
Shaking his head in incredulity, Doyle led Trini below decks and pointed at an empty cot in the corner of the sleeping quarters. The rest of the pirates were sleeping or passed out---she figured they had spent all night drinking and had come back to the ship to sleep it off all day.
That all changed when a bell began clanging loudly from the deck. Everyone awoke, jumped up, and clambered up to the deck. Trini followed along. The captain was shouting orders, and everyone was repeating them and then rushing around to carry them out. They were making way to sail from Port Royal.
Trini grinned and joined in the shouting and the scurrying about. She received many odd looks, but she ignored them, earnestly following orders. It was an amazing feeling, to be back on a ship, and she didn't want to let guilt or doubt penetrate her mind. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elizabeth burst back into the house, followed closely by Will. "Trinity!" she called, removing her bonnet. "We're home, darling!"
William raced down the stairs and hugged his father around the knees. Will grinned and tousled his young son's hair, but when he looked at William's face, there seemed to be something bothering the lad.
"Something wrong, William?" Will asked, kneeling.
Will bit his lip. "I think so, father," he said. "Trini---"
He was cut off by Elizabeth's shriek. Will shot up and flew to her side. She clutched in her hands a calling card. Will looked at his wife, confused. "What is it?" he asked, taking her arm in case she decided to swoon.
With shaking hands, she held out the card. He took it, noticing for the first time that something was scrawled across the back in a broad, firm hand.
"'My dear mother, father, and William,'" Will read aloud. "'I cannot tell you how it pains me to leave you, especially now when our affairs are finally coming to be in the right. I say that I truly loved you, and that I shall continue even after I am gone. But the opportune moment has arisen, and I can no longer deny the person that I am. I have gone back home, though I shall miss you all sorely. Forgive me, and remember that I leave you with my love.'"
He looked up at Elizabeth, who had gone pale. "It's signed 'Trini'," he whispered.
"She's gone back," Elizabeth breathed, her eyes wide with horror. "She's gone to find Jack. Will---she could be in danger! How is---how--- when did she---"
"I saw her go, mother," William piped up, and his parents turned to him. "I was watching out the window for the battle to start, and I saw a man leaving the house. But then I looked again, and the man looked back, and it was Trinity."
Will knelt before his son again. "Which way was she headed?" he asked William quietly.
"Down to the harbor," William said in a small voice. "She went through the jungle and down to the harbor."
"The ship," Elizabeth whispered, and a moment later, she and Will were racing into the kitchen. Elizabeth jerked the curtains aside and glanced out.
"It's moving!" Will cried. "She's gone aboard the ship!"
"They're taking her," Elizabeth said. "Will, we've got to go after her! We can't let her sail away into the open sea with---with pirates!"
Will looked helplessly out the window. "The fleet," he said at last, glancing at Elizabeth. "The Navy's fleet is coming around the island, you said?"
"Captain Norrington has already taken his men to meet them," Elizabeth replied. "We'll never catch them, Will!"
"No," he said, turning and heading out into the hallway, Elizabeth on his heels. "But I will. I'll go after her, Elizabeth."
"Will, no!" she cried, grabbing his arm as he made for the door. "I'll go with you! You cannot leave me here!"
"I can and I must," he replied. "Do you remember the last time we left our child alone?"
Elizabeth froze. She locked eyes with her husband, and she understood. This was something he had to do alone. She let go his arm and nodded.
Will pulled her to him and kissed her furiously. "I will come back," he said. And before Elizabeth could say anything else, Will had left, closing the door with a resounding slam behind him.
