Chapter 6: Interesting
Ula rummaged through a small chest at the foot of her bed finding a small bag good for traveling. She began shoving a few items of clothing inside along with an emergency stash of rum. The clothes were suitable for the sea, no dresses this time around. Pausing in her packing Ula spoke, "a new adventure. I hope it will have a different outcome."
"Where are you going?" Ula jumped dropping the shirt. She turned to face Elizabeth who was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. As she tried to find her voice, she turned back to her luggage and finished packing the shirt. Elizabeth marched into the room grabbing Ula's wrist and begged Ula to answer her.
"I'm leaving." It sounded like a question.
"I can see that, where are you going?"
Ula couldn't lie, she wouldn't. She wanted Elizabeth to understand her sudden departure. "You're going to think I'm crazy." Ula braced herself for Elizabeth's reaction as she finally blurted out, "I can't live without Jack and I'm going to bring him back from the dead." Elizabeth's expression was unchanging.
"I see… Well then I'm coming with you."
"Oh." Ula was astonished. She had expected Elizabeth wouldn't believe it was even possible to resurrect any human being.
Elizabeth read the amazement in Ula's eyes. "If there was a curse to make pirates immortal, there has to be a way to revive one."
"May I come in?" Will asked as he stepped into the room. Spotting the baggage he asked, "planning a trip?"
"Actually, I am." Will looked surprised. "I'm going to save Jack."
Will burst out in a series of questions. "Save him? How? Where is he? Is he alright?"
"Slow down. He's still… dead, but I know someone who can help me bring him back."
"Who might that be?"
"She called herself Emma R-"
"Rose?"
"Yes, that's right. Do you know her?"
"I did." Noticing the past tense she waited for him to go on. "About a year ago Port Royale was attacked by pirates, she… was very unlucky."
"You don't mean she died do you?" Will nodded in dismay. "You must be wrong, I just talked to her. Don't try and tell me I imagined it!" Flustered she paused trying to get a hold of her emotions. "You say she died, maybe she did."
"I'm not following you."
"I know I didn't imagine her." Ula rubbed her temples. "What I'm saying is that a year ago, as you said, she died. But someone must have intervened. They must have gone to this place and saved her life."
"How do you know this wont end badly?"
"I don't." Ula had the bad habit of following her heart and ignoring her common sense, which was screaming at her to be more cautious. She had suspicions about Emma but her want for Jack overpowered her ability to reason with herself. If this adventure turned out badly she didn't have anyone to come to her rescue. "Then come with me," Ula looked to Will, "both of you."
"It's not debatable, I already said I would, so I'm going." Elizabeth said firmly, directed more to Will than Ula.
Will thought about it carefully, he knew there was no way of convincing them to stay. "I can't let defenseless ladies travel the sea by themselves now can I?"
"I'm not sure we'll need protecting." Elizabeth challenged raising an eyebrow. "Someone's been teaching these ladies how to handle a sword." She added smiling sweetly. Will grinned, he knew Elizabeth was fully capable of using a sword to her advantage but, Ula was a different story, sword in hand she was more of a danger to herself then to any enemy she would face.
Ula hit Will's shoulder. "William Turner! I know exactly what you're thinking and I can handle a sword just fine!"
"Owe! Alright then, I guess I'll just stay here and wait for you to return." He chuckled.
"No!" Elizabeth and Ula shouted in unison, giving away their true feelings.
"So when are we leaving?" Will asked beaming.
"I was told to be at The Drunken Brawl around sunrise tomorrow morning. I hope Emma wont mind, she told me not to tell anyone where I was going."
"Don't worry about it, we'll work something out."
Ula was nervous about setting out to sea with a stranger, but knowing that Will and Elizabeth were coming made her feel much safer.
Sunset came too slow. Minutes felt more like hours. It was as if the sun just hung in place taunting Ula. She stared at the setting sun for too long causing a short blindness when she turned back to her dimly lit room. Her hands were outstretched as she tried to navigate to her dresser. She bumped into it rather abruptly causing the item she sought to roll to the floor. She bent to the floor to pick it up and as she rose she saw a small figure standing in the corner. "Jack, Is that you?" As she approached him she saw that it was indeed Jack. He had a puzzled look on his face. "Are you alright?"
"Were we not just in an alley of some sort?" He nearly shouted making strange hand gestures near his face.
"Umm, last I saw you, yes. What's wrong?"
"How did we get back here? Wait, what I would really like to know is how did I end up in the washroom with… the whelp?" The end was nearly a whisper.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry Jack."
Jack looked at the rose in Ula's hand. "What's that?"
"It's a special kind of rose. I found someone, or rather they found me, that can help us."
"Special aye?" Jack reached to grab the rose, a bad habit he picked up before death. As soon as he touched the rose it ignited into a blue flame. "I've never seen a flower do that before!" Ula clutched her hand; while the flame had been brief it had burned her badly where the stem touched her hand. Mechanically Jack ripped a piece of cloth off the bottom of her skirt and started bandaging her hand. They froze. After a long pause the two embraced each other, nearly clonking their heads.
Ula gasped. "I… I can't feel you."
"You can't? That's interesting. Maybe it's because there is nothing to feel."
"Why does fate have to be so cruel?" Jack frowned letting her go. She reached out to touch him again but only succeeded in touching the wall.
"This could get interesting." Jack smirked as he reached around and pinched her bum.
A/N: It would be really nice if I could get some comments on this, you know some constructive criticism. I would just like to know how I'm doing, what you think and where I can improve.
