weepingbutterflies: Hehe, virgin hair is always cool! What's your natural hair color if you don't mind me asking? You'll have to let me know what color hair you decide to dye yours! There are a lot of different options out there.
Saints-Fan-12: That's a good prediction! It seems like most of those navy dudes are sticklers, don't you think? :S Thanks so much for reading this!
Villains' Bad Girl: Yeah, I guess that is kind of ironic. I'm not really trying to gain weight though, I'm just trying not to drop anymore, you know?
OnePirateWolf96: Yup, Lizzie was in time to save Jack from the hanging! Three cheers for Lizzie, right? Norrington is a decent guy, I agree. Most men during that day probably would've made her marry them whether or not she loved them. What do you think? And yeah, the Governor needs to realize that not everything is about the law! Hope you like this next chapter. :)
Chapter XXIX
A long, intense silence falls as everyone in the clearing waits for the Commodore to speak. James Norrington, a usually composed, rigid man, is having a hard time keeping up his composure. He glances at me with hurt only slightly masked in the pools of his forest green eyes. I feel an inward twinge of guilt, but cannot feel too badly for my part in this. All along, the only thing that I've tried to do is save the lives of two innocent men. I agreed to marry James Norrington to save Will's life. I cannot be blamed for my actions.
"So this is where your heart truly lies?" the Commodore asks me, a wavering edge to his usually firm voice.
"Yes," I reply quietly, still feeling a bit guilty since I know that I am the reason behind the sorrow etched in the Commodore's face.
"Well, I'm feeling rather good about all of this!" Jack exclaims in his cheerful voice, breaking up the awkward silence. He takes the liberty of walking to the front of our group and nodding at my father, saying, "What do you say, Sir? No answer? I'll let you think on it for a bit." Turning to the Commodore next, Jack gets in his face and points a finger at him, saying, "All you really need to know is that I was rooting for you mate." I start to see Jack's plan as he dances a few steps backward toward the platform behind us. Next, he speaks to me, apologizing gravely, "It would never have worked out between us, dearie. I'm sorry." Taking another step toward the platform, Jack acknowledges the young man to my left and exclaims, "Will! ...Nice hat. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the day that you will remember as the day that you almost caught..."
Now at the edge of the platform, Jack accidentally pitches backward before he can finish his sentence and topples off of the platform and down to the waters below. All of the navy officers immediately rush to the edge of the platform to look down at the pirate now floundering about in the water. Will and I exchange knowing looks, both of us letting out a sigh of relief. Jack will be safe now.
"Sail ho!" a sentry from below the Fort calls up to us as he spots the Black Pearl.
"More pirates," a slightly familiar voice that I recognize as belonging to Gillette sounds from behind me. The freckled face of the Lieutenant turns back to the Commodore as he asks urgently, "What is your plan of action? Sir?"
The Commodore's expression is still strangely contorted. He seems overcome by several different emotions waging inside of him. I know that on the one hand, he would really like to pursue Jack. On the other hand, he wants to take a few moments - or hours - to compose himself. He is clearly upset by how devoted I am to my two friends and could use some time to himself.
Sensing the Commodore's distress and figuring that what is done is done, my father sighs and admits, "Perhaps on the rare occasion - and I do mean the very rare occasion - pursuing the right course of action demands an act of piracy, therefore, piracy in itself can be the right course?"
I never thought that these words would leave my father's lips, yet, he has just suggested that the Commodore give up the chase. James Norrington's expression wavers for another few moments before he reaches a decision. Turning his sword in Will's direction, he says loudly, "Mr. Turner!"
I abruptly bite down on my tongue, not having thought much of what freeing Jack will do to Will. Clasping my cold hands in his warm ones, Will leans down and looks into my eyes, whispering to me before turning to the Commodore, "I will accept whatever punishment is doled out to me. I do not regret my actions. Thank you for your part, Elizabeth."
I want to speak to Will and tell him that I don't regret a single thing either, but he's already turned around and is looking at the Commodore. The two men who have despised each other for quite some time now finally come face-to-face. Taking a deep breath, the Commodore speaks, "I have come to see that you are devoted and diligent in every aspect of your life. I give you and Elizabeth my blessing."
"Thank you," Will says, a small smile lighting up his solemn face.
My eyes widen as sharp, inward shock suddenly hits me like a smack in the face. Does the Commodore mean what I think he means? With a sad sort of smile on his face, James Norrington nods once at Will and me before turning and starting away from the platform.
"Commodore! Wait!" Gillette cries out, his urgency almost comical as he trails the Commodore, adding, "What should we do about Sparrow? Should I assemble the men?"
"There won't be any need for that, Lieutenant. I'm certain that we can afford to give a dilapidated pirate ship one day's head start," the Commodore replies to a disappointed Gillette before disappearing from view. Gillette frowns and purses his lips together at the retreating pirate vessel before taking his own path out of the Fort. The crowd begins to dissemble and Will and I are finally left alone with only my father paying any attention to our interactions.
Father looks helplessly from Will to me before a look of resignation crosses his face. He asks me in a clearly doubtful voice, "So this is the path that you have chosen?" Father gives Will a less than pleased look before directing his gaze back to me, adding, "He is a blacksmith..."
"No," I reply as I turn to Will and smile up into his beaming face. The moment seems perfectly staged like one of those special moments that I've read about in romance novels. Since we are all alone besides for my father, I take the liberty of lifting Will's hat off of his head and taking a step closer to him so that our lips are only inches apart before I whisper, "He's a pirate."
Looking as if he might be feeling a bit dizzy, father raises a hand to his forehead and steps off of the platform to give Will and me some privacy as he points out, "I'll wait for you by the carriage, shall I?"
I nod absentmindedly, never once taking my eyes from Will's face. I've been kissed before, but I still don't know how to initiate a kiss. When I was with Barbossa that fateful night, I purposefully willed my body not to kiss him. I attempted to remain cold and indifferent to his touch. Although he ended up managing to draw a lot of other things out of me that night, he hadn't been able to make me lose all of my control. I hadn't kissed him back and now I'm unsure whether or not I'm glad for that. Forcing yourself on someone and dragging them along for the course of the night is one thing, but a kiss is different. It seems intimate in a way that making love does not.
I tilt my chin upward and part my lips ever so slightly. I have one arm wrapped around Will's neck and can smell a clean scent coming from his body. Unlike the filthy pirates on the Black Pearl, Will actually has standards. Too shy to press my lips against his, I wait for Will to make the final move. After what seems like an eternity of suspense, he does.
Leaning forward, Will gently brushes his lips against mine, his hands tenderly wrapping around my waist and his eyes closing. I mimic his gesture and allow my eyes to fall shut as well. I wait for something magical to happen, perhaps some inward spark or flame of passion to rise up within me. Nothing of that sort happens though. Instead, I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I can't help but wonder what is wrong with me. Only days ago, I was thinking about how much I would much prefer to marry Will than James Norrington. I still feel that same way, but I don't feel anything from out physical contact. Any moment now I should get butterflies in my stomach and my pulse should start racing. Perhaps I'm not reacting to Will's affections because I haven't put my heart into the kiss. Leaning forward, I am the one who initiates our second kiss. I press my lips firmly, maybe even a bit desperately, against Will's soft lips. He looks a bit taken back by the fervor of my kiss, but continues to kiss me back. The tingles of desire are still evading me and no steady thrum of passion pulses through my veins. I always thought that I loved William Turner, but now I'm starting to believe that I love him as a friend and no more.
As soon as this thought passes through my head, I realize how much sense it makes. Will and I have been childhood friends for a very long time. It makes sense that our bond should be strong, but not exceed that of close friendship. Disappointment floods through me. This should have been a happy moment for me. After all, Jack is free and my imminent marriage to the Commodore has been terminated. Instead of feeling content, I feel crestfallen.
Will and I experiment with kissing for a few more moments, but I'm barely aware of his lips traveling over mine like the whisper of butterfly wings. We don't take things any farther than simple, chaste kisses and I have to admit that I am glad for that. I don't want to ever get myself into another situation where I feel forced into giving myself to a man.
When Will and I finally part, I smile up at him with as much effort as I can muster and murmur, "I ought to return to father. He will be waiting for me."
"Yes, you should return to him," Will nods a bit breathlessly, the light shining in his eyes telling me that, unlike me, he felt something from our kiss. I turn and start to take a step away from the platform when Will suddenly catches my wrist and pulls me back around to face him. Smiling affectionately at me, he murmurs, "I love you, Elizabeth."
I open my mouth, try to force out the words that I know that Will wants to hear, but they refuse to leave my lips. Now matter how hard I try, I can't say that I love him aloud. I feel frustrated with myself for this, but Will seems to take my speechlessness as a good sign. He takes his hat from me, adjusts it on his head, and sends me one last bright smile before disappearing through the crowd.
Left all alone, I decide not to return to father right away even though I just said that is what I plan to do next. Truth be told, I want some time alone with my thoughts. Once I return to the carriage, I will find myself surrounded by father and the servants. When I arrive home, Estrella won't leave my side until many hours later tonight and will pry me for information about the hanging no doubt.
Since the Fort has mostly emptied out at this point and the only people who are within eyesight are the figures of unfamiliar navy officers guarding the Fort, I make my way to the platform and sit down at the edge of it. I suppose that I ought to be more careful by the edge of the platform considering what happened to me the last time that I stood here, but I cannot help myself from perching on the edge of the platform and scanning the waters below for the Black Pearl. There it is, a tiny speck floating along on the white foam of the turquoise blue Caribbean waters.
It seems so strange how that warped, ancient vessel changed my life so much. If the Black Pearl had never come to Port Royal, I would still be immersing myself in pirate lore and trying to avoid giving the Commodore an answer to his marriage proposal. I suppose that I am grateful to the Black Pearl in some ways, but in other ways, I am not so grateful to it.
My confusion of what love really is has become a difficult dilemma for me. The love that I thought that I held for Will turns out not to be love at all. The touch of his hand against mine doesn't create goosebumps on my skin and the feel of his lips against mine doesn't even faze me. Why then, had Barbossa's weather-worn, gnarled hands been able to fling me into an entirely different state of mind? If Will had been my first, would I have reacted toward him the way that I reacted toward Barbossa?
A loud screech from somewhere behind me practically causes me to lose my balance and tip forward into the water for the second time in the last three days. I manage to brace myself by grabbing onto the edge of the platform and steady myself just in time to avoid a dreadful fall.
Turning around to seek out the source of the loud cry, I find none other than Jack the monkey sitting behind me, staring up into my face with big, sad eyes. He's clutching something that looks remarkably like one of the cursed medallions between his greedy hands. Wanting nothing to do with cursed treasure, I make sure not to touch it as I return Jack's look, my expression mirroring his.
"I know that you're sad. I am too," I tell the monkey with a sigh. "I wish that there was some way to go back and change the past, but there's not. I'm sorry."
Jack makes a whining sound and I suddenly feel eyes on me. Turning to my right, I notice one of the navy officers standing guard in the Fort sending me a peculiar look. I suppose that for some reason or another, it isn't proper for a Governor's daughter to sit on a platform and talk to a monkey. Sighing wearily, I force myself to my feet, brush the dirt off of my skirts, and start off in the direction of the carriage where father is waiting for me.
I'm barely aware of my walk through the Fort to the carriage. Several fine people of the town recognize me and curtsy or bow in my direction. I absentmindedly nod at them until I reach the carriage. As one of the servants reaches forward to open the carriage door for me, Jack's eyes light up and he makes a wild dash for the carriage. He misses the carriage entrance by about two inches, which is probably a good thing. Father would not react well to having a cursed monkey inside of his carriage. I thank the servant for opening the door for me, send Jack a sorry look, and settle myself next to father for a long ride home.
Do you think that Lizzie's father will try to find her a new husband now that the Commodore has taken back his proposal? Review please? :)
