So by the title of this chapter I think you can tell if goes off slightly ;) This is the one I suspect you've all been waiting for and there are a few surprises in there too! I'll warn you though it's a long one, four times as long as I normally make chapters but it didn't seem right to split it when you've all been waiting so long on it. I didn't have the heart to split it anyway because it should all be together anyway. So yeah, if you've only got five minutes I'd leave it until you've got the snacks in and are curled up somewhere comfortable!
Thanks so much for all the encouraging reviews recently because I know uploads have been slow and few and far between. Hopefully that will change soon! If you've got a spare second when you finish readying please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think! This chapter is where I originally saw the story coming to a close before my mind ran wild and I realised I could do so much more with it! So rest assured there's still a lot more to come as soon as I get my hands on a laptop again. Currently still wiring this on my iPhone.
So...I think it's time I let you read on... enjoy!
Chapter Sixty One - The Georgetown Massacre
I think that last night in jail in Georgetown was one of the most sobering of my life. I began by thinking that I would yet again get to see the friends I had loved so much that they'd become my family once I had departed the world; my family at sea that had loved and protected me without any prompting. When Mick had introduced me to them all they'd accepted me at once, as one of their own. Perhaps it was an Irish thing. Perhaps it was a sea traveller thing. Perhaps they all sensed that I too was running from something in my previous life. They knew I was just like them. It felt wonderful to have people in my life who understood how I felt without my actually having to discuss what I'd been through. It wouldn't be so very long until I'd be with them all again, basking in that warm sunshine as we crested the final wave together.
Perhaps it would be easier for me to lie and say that is how I drifted off to sleep. I'd be lying though. My mind drifted to James who was never far from my thoughts at all. What a time we'd had when we'd sailed together. We'd even hated each other in a spectacular fashion in the beginning. Was that what my impossible future with him might resemble? I was content to imagine it in my head in all of it's beauty even though it caused me physical pain. I allowed myself to give in to the temptations that had plagued me since I'd realised how I truly felt about him. After all, if I only had hours of my sorry life left I was going to spend it dreaming of the one I loved, rather than dwelling on my fate. Thinking of James kept me awake for God knows how long. I didn't really mind. I didn't think I was in need of sleep when eternal rest was something that loomed ever closer.
I think it must have been the early hours of the morning when I finally drifted off into a deep and fitful sleep, unaware that the man I loved was not as far away as I thought him to be. I did not know that as sleep claimed me, two ships were docking in the harbour of Georgetown, one which idled off the coast as if waiting until morning before it docked as town law dictated of all merchant ships. The other much larger ship docked with little concern for retribution given that it was a navy ship and an admiral was at the helm.
James pushed his way along the dock, his cousin's men giving way to him almost immediately. It was the men originally stationed at Fort Matthew who were more reluctant to let him pass but James's new authority as admiral forced them to eventually give way. He had stormed not toward Fort Matthew but to the very house in which my uncle was lodging in the town. Of course a military fort would not be able to provide the luxury and comfort that my uncle expected even so far from home. It took yet another age to rouse my uncle from sleep because his men at the gates had been instructed to be on their guard. To be honest I'm surprised they eventually yielded to James's authority. I supposed I'd never really considered that my uncle cared enough for authority. I thought my uncle would have instructed his men to cut James down as soon as he was spotted. Eventually though one man broke free of the dispute and went to rouse my uncle.
James says he found it strange that my uncle chose to meet with him at the gates of the house instead of welcoming him inside. He had the fleeting suspicion that perhaps I'd been locked up in the house somewhere and that was why he hadn't been invited in. He resolved though that for once in his life he was going to have to take Jack Sparrow at his word. It was too easy after all, for James to bring a contingent large enough to Georgetown and pull down every wall of the house until he found me. No, Fort Matthew with it's feet deep walls of solid rock for protection was a far better place to keep a prisoner deemed as volatile as me. I was a little curious as to James's use of the word volatile to describe little old me, but then I suppose I must have been volatile to a man like my uncle. I could spill secrets, throw his good name into the dust. After all, it wasn't even his name. He'd once shared the same name as me and had cast it off as if it was a mark of his humble Irish connections that would render him rather unfashionable and distasteful to the social elite he was so keen to embed himself in.
My uncle's men continued to stand firm at the gate even as my uncle approached, clad still in a nightshirt and gown with velvet slippers on his feet. Without his regal smart coat and wig James found he looked rather less intimidating. He knew though that he could not let his judgement slip. He had to be on his guard at all times around my uncle. Goodness knows I'd told him enough about the man to install a sense of apprehension but what James had learned only within the last day told him that my uncle was certainly a man you should not take your eyes off.
"Admiral Norrington," my uncle greeted as he tried to stifle a yawn behind his hand. He had clearly been woken from a deep and restful slumber. It riled James that my uncle was sleeping so peacefully after treating me so ill. It was clear then that Malcolm Sidney was not a man who cared for those beneath him or for those he was thought to have wronged. "I must congratulate you on your ascension to a role you were born for. I can think of no one better to join the admiralty than the so called scourge of the seas. Despite all of this I am entirely unaware of the reason for your calling at such an hour. Dawn is but a few hours away. Could this not have waited until then?"
"No it cannot." James's answer was curt and immediate. I think he considered the last few days of his time completely wasted. He was beginning to blame himself for not seeing what he believed had been right under his nose the whole time. "There are urgent matters we must discuss sir and it does not disconcert me to discuss them here at these gates with you. Indeed it might hasten things along. News was brought to me of a young woman previously in my care who has recently found herself under lock and key in Fort Matthew. I am of the understanding that her imprisonment was your doing sir and I am here to see that she is released immediately. So unless you can give good and rightful reason why she has been imprisoned, I shall await your order that Miss Fiona O'Connell be released post haste."
My uncle appeared dumbstruck for the first few seconds after James finished speaking and there was a tense atmosphere as both groups of men waited to hear what their commanders had to say next. Then my uncle schooled his features into a pleasant and slightly unnerving smile and took a deep breath.
"Now admiral, lets consider this grave situation carefully. I understand that you've come all the way here to speak with me and that you believe your intentions are honourable. I would not have encouraged you to think of progressing to the admiralty if I did not think that you possessed certain qualities but I must tell you now that this course of action you seem hell bent upon will ruin your career and your family's reputation if you do not desist. We are men of the law. We are the lawmakers. We may not pick and chose who falls beneath the blade of the guillotine. As such, Miss O'Connell faces charges of piracy and a grievous assault on the king's person-"
"The king's person?" James asked, a careful note of incredulity in his tone.
"My niece assaulted me. Can you believe that a heathen brat from a bogside ditch with no morals or decorum lashed out at the one person in the world with the power to save her from destitution and depravity? Of course you cannot, because you have fallen for her charms. There are women from Ireland who teach young girls who to seduce and beguile before they can walk and talk. You wouldn't be the first who fell for it, like a sailor transfixed by a mermaid. I had hoped you'd bring me back a different kind of treasure boy, but I can see you were not in your right mind. Go home now. Leave here and speak no more of this. I will not report to your superiors that you had such a lacking judgement and in turn you shall forget everything my niece ever told you."
James smirked. "I do believe that you should be careful not to slander the same bogside you were born in, sir. Ireland may be a long way from here but I dare say it can still here you. There are many Irish upon the waters and a fine job they do. They work hard because they appreciate every coin they earn. They've known a hard life. I should rather acquaint myself with those sorts than ever make a man like you any promises. I know what you did to your niece. I know how life in London society twisted and distorted you into a hateful and lecherous creature who would do harm to his brother's own daughter for sport. I have over the last lot of months really delved into my beliefs and aspirations of London and it's peerage. There are times when I question the very foundations it is built upon when we are crushing our own neighbours with taxes and poor treatment. Good, kind and hardworking people are forced into slavery or crime because we are bleeding their county dry so that great men like you may have their finest whiskey and women. I will not judge you as a member of the society I was brought up in, as a future marquis or as a great friend of my king. I instead judge you as a man and find you severely wanting. There can be no truth to your claims that Miss O'Connell is a pirate and I dare say if she did assault you it was in defence of her own person. Release her now and put an end to this farce. Hand her over to me and you shall never see either of us again."
My uncle laughed. He actually laughed in the face of a proud and decent man like James. For all of his faults and misgivings James always did what he thought was right. He stood by the beliefs he'd honed from childhood. I wasn't aware though just how much all of that had begun to change. "No sir I will not release her. You have no authority over me and you certainly cannot override these charges. Beckett told me you'd likely sent for more representation from nearby... probably some duke or earl who owns enough land out here to dignify his role as leader. Let me tell you, your little friend will swing long before they arrive here and you my boy will be scrubbing the decks again, your rank stripped from you and your name sullied for your foolish and outlandish claims. I have no more to say on the matter. Our negotiations are at an end. Call your men off and return home. There is nought more you can do here except cause more trouble for yourself and my niece. Would you really wish that upon her when she has only hours left of her sorry and pitiful life?"
My uncle turned and marched back towards the house. The door was swiftly closed behind him and James seethed with anger, his foot lurching out to launch a harsh kick at the iron gates before him. He knew somehow that I was not inside the house. My uncle would not have allowed them to just remain there before the gates if I were. James had known deep down that he had little chance of persuading my uncle to let me go, but he had resolved to try before he made some of the rashest decisions in his life. Without a word he turned on his heel and marched back the way he had come with four of his officers accompanying him. They did not speak and he was glad of it, but he did begin to wonder then at their undivided loyalty. If he as an admiral and a career navy man could be pulled so low by his rash attempt at a rescue mission, anyone siding with him might face even worse. He resolved to speak with them all once they were back at the docks and Gillette and Holmes had joined them. Not entirely trusting his own crew or that of Jack Sparrow, he agreed to Gillette's idea of leaving two men at the helm of The Surgence just in case. They followed the winding road back out towards the shore in silence, the darkness and the lateness of the hour pressing upon them all just how precarious their situation was. My uncle could have sent men marching after them and they might not know of it until it was far too late. An ambush from the bushes on one side and trees on the other would render them trapped, but no such thing happened. They made it back into the town and immediately James turned his head in the direction of the fort looming above them on the high outcropping. If I was there, he was going to have a damned hard time finding me. But find me he resolved he would.
When they reached The Surgence, it was to find his remaining two officers entirely alone on deck apart from a rather out of place Jack Sparrow, who had somehow managed to get hold of a bottle of rum and was swigging from it nonchalantly. At once Holmes strode forward to meet them. "Admiral sir, I'm sorry but we could not stop them. Two officers against a whole crew... even with our pistols we were no match for them! They've all fled!"
"WHAT?" James roared as he stared around at the empty deck in disbelief. At once in his mind he realised they no longer held the power to storm Fort Matthew.
"I did foresee this happening." It was Gillette who spoke this time. "They were not your men sir. They answered to Sidney so frankly it's a miracle they stayed aboard when they found out you were journeying to act against him. We are now just seven men."
Thompson too stepped forward. "Not enough men to take Fort Matthew by a long shot, even with a pirate crew at our disposal."
"You don't need a crew mate, just one man," Jack supplied from where he was lounging against the mast with his nearly empty bottle of rum.
"And do you suppose Mr. Sparrow that I might leave the fate of a young woman in the hands of one man; one man who is as drunk as he is mad?" James shook his head in frustration. He reached up and tore his hat off his head, not caring that he knocked his wig slightly askew. "Besides, we are too late for any of that now." James nodded out towards the horizon, where the first light of dawn was breaking. "The sun will rise in little over an hour. We have lost the momentum of darkness."
Jack stepped forward then and all of the men surrounding James groaned. Some even grimaced, forcing themselves to stay rooted to the spot even though jack stank to high heaven of rum. "What's light and dark got to do with any of it, mate? Be hours before anyone in this sleepy town is up and about. I say we sneak up to the fort now, and you let me race down to the cells and rescue your bonny lass whilst you pretend to have high tea with your beloved cousin... or whatever it is you fancy folk do in a crisis. Thus your cousin is distracted, not at his post and not directly to blame for his prisoner's whereabouts. Mind you, he'll still get the blame but what does a pirate like me care about that. Then I'll whisk your lass away and we can meet up back in Port Royal."
James's sharp eyes bore into Jacks with a menacing stare. "Need I repeat myself Mr. Sparrow? Do you really think I would let you take into your care a woman who you believe is your fast track to some God forsaken treasure? That is your aim here is it not?"
"Now admiral, lets not forget who it was who first used the pretty Irish lass to find the priceless golden sword in the first place! Who says she isn't entirely safe with Captain Jack Sparrow?"
Gillette chortled. "Because you're the worst pirate we've ever seen."
Jack raised a pointed finger as he leaned in towards Gillette. "Ah but you have seen me though... haven't you? What's more, you know you need me and my crew."
"Regardless of all of that," James continued with a dismissive wave of his hand, I would not drag my cousin into such a disastrous affair. I might risk my own position but I will not risk his."
"That's kind of you cousin!"
They all turned and approached the railings. Down on the quay and about to board were Elizabeth and Will who had been tasked with locating lieutenant Beauchamp. They climbed aboard easily but with grave expressions on their faces. James says he couldn't recall ever feeling such a sensation before, like his heart had plummeted right into his stomach.
"I'm sorry James," Elizabeth began. "I wish we had better news."
Lieutenant Beauchamp stepped forward to address his cousin face to face, as if he felt to blame for the whole predicament. "James your friend was moved not a few hours ago. Sidney's men took her from her cell and I know not where they took her. I did not see it happen. It must have been triggered by your visit to Sidney. He perhaps thought you'd try to break in. I swear I did not know it was her in those cells or I would have brought her to you myself. They told me it was the pirate Kat Devlin."
James's brows rose. "Lieutenant, they are two entirely different entities. I do not comprehend how you could possibly mistake one woman for the other."
Beauchamp stepped even closer, perhaps to ensure his words were heard only by James and Gillette who stood directly behind him. "It's dark down there James."
It appeared everyone else managed to hear anyway. "Oh James it's an easy mistake to make for one who does not know Fiona well!" Elizabeth cried. Both women have abundant red hair and speak something that slightly resembles the King's English in a strange accent. Why on earth would lieutenant Beauchamp look too closely when he has no need to?"
"It's a failing on my part. I know this. You have my aid though, and any man of mine who wishes to mire in the mud with us," Beauchamp announced. "I know you do not like rash movements cousin but I believe now may be the time for an act of piracy if ever there was one. We know your friend will be brought back to Fort Matthew tomorrow. The gallows after all are already built. We wait and strike then. Out in the courtyard in the open like that with your men and mine, and Mr. Sparrow's crew if they will consent to aid us we might make enough of a stand. There will also be nobility there! People who may choose to vouch for your friend and yourself once they bear witness to her uncle's depravity. It is as good a chance as any to strike."
"It's a bloody trap, isn't it?" Will questioned suddenly. "This is what Sidney wants!"
" 'course it's what he wants," came Jack's dulcet tones as he slithered round to James's side. "And we must give him it. He's set a trap and we must play his game because then he thinks he knows the outcome." Jack leaned forward then and James says he really did lean back this time, the stench of rum on Jack's breath too much to handle in that moment. "I'll let you in on a secret mate. The best traps are the ones what we ourselves turn inside out, but we must wait for the opportune moment. We give Sidney what he wants, a last ditch attempt by the love struck admiral to save his bonny lass who is sure to hang. You'll promise Sidney everything, even that fancy gold sword of yours. Your life if need be. He believes you to be an honourable and noble man who is devoted to his occupation. Give him the James Norrington he expects and he'll think he's got this all in his rather expensive velvet bag... show him true desperation and he'll lap it up mate." Jack nodded at Elizabeth and Will. "Why don't you take the whelp for inspiration, when he risked everything to save dear Elizabeth's pretty neck. Admittedly he had a flare for the dramatics but it was his way of showing he cared. He made himself a pirate to save the woman he loved. Perhaps it's time mate that you got off that high horse and slummed it with the rest of us. Your cousin is right, this is going to take an act of piracy. If you can't commit to that, then Fiona doesn't deserve you."
Everyone waited with bated breath, watching the two opponents who not too long ago had wished each other dead. I think it must have only taken the slightest flicker of James's eyes for Jack to smirk, to know he had won over his greatest adversary.
"Heaven forbid anyone outside of this group gathered here now ever discover what I am about to say... but...". There was a flash of pain across James's features just for a second, as if he had realised that he had no other options available to him. "An act of piracy is a grave thing to behold Mr. Sparrow, let alone to take upon oneself. How it pains me to have to allow you to be the one to guide me through it."
The cold steel was biting into my wrists. If I'd been calmer and paying more attention to the finer details I'd have noticed the red welts on my skin beneath the shackles that were growing darker in colour and becoming more painful as I shifted about nervously. I'd been on my feet for hours in what I knew very well was some type of holding cell somewhere still within Fort Matthew but far away from my dingy cell buried within the rock. I'd been shaken roughly awake in the early hours of the morning as the soldiers untethered me from the wall and they'd rushed me out into the dim stairwells of the fort. We climbed for an age before we began to descend again and I was too dazed to really pay attention to our direction of travel. One thing I did know was that I was still inside the fort and that I had not seen daylight. Not until dawn broke whilst I was waiting in the holding cell, once more trying to put from my mind the throbbing pain of my bad knee. There was a small gap up towards the ceiling permeated by iron bars that let in a little of the dawn light. I heard and saw the marching booted feet of soldiers and the hammering as the last touches were put to the scaffold. I was not alone. This time I could see my companions that shared my cell. No one spoke though. No one cared about anyone else but themselves in that moment. We all knew each and every one of us was bound for the same fate. Chained together in a long line, we'd been waiting on our feet for hours before some amongst the group grew weary and swayed where they stood. Some sank to the ground to rest for a while but no one slept. How could we when we knew what awaited us?
We had all been accused and convicted of piracy in some form or other and had been brought together for one mass execution, one after the other. It was quite a terrifying prospect to look around me and see those who had been trodden all over by their peers, so much so that they'd committed some small crime or other to get by. There where older men in rags, clearly destitute and starving who bore a lost and hollow expression. It was almost as if they'd died years ago when they'd lost their home or their family or livelihood. There were fallen women, the lacy red underskirts of their garish dresses a stark contrast to the purple bruising that they'd received at the hands of men who had mistreated them. There were others who appeared a lot more frightened and shaken by their ordeal so far, likely because it was their first offence or because they were in fact innocent altogether. There were also a few women dressed much the same way I was, in fine clothing and with pins still in their hair. They were either fine master thieves in disguise or courtesans who had finally been cast off by their rich patrons. I highly doubted any of them were actually nobility, for surely then they'd have someone to speak for them. There were others though, others who likely deserved to be in the queue to meet their maker. They sank into the shadows and swung the chains that bound them around as if amused by them. To catch a glimpse of their eyes was to look straight at evil. They were the murderers, the rapists and the cut-throats. They had actively chosen their own path of destruction. I saw them all from my place at the back of the line.
It was at dawn that the line began to move and we were all forced to follow those in front of us, the chains pulling us along towards the fate of a pirate. I wondered vaguely if anyone had family or friends who would stand solemnly by the gallows and watch as their dearly beloved would pass on from the world. Or would such solidarity be rare in these parts? It struck me then that anyone who would ever have offered me such solidarity was now lost to me; my parents, Mick and Patrick and James too. All of those ties were severed and never to be mended again. Perhaps to move on was not such a punishment for someone like myself when I'd nought left in the world to live for.
The sound of a shot firing broke my reverie, but I realised it was the signal for the hangman to kick away the stool beneath the condemned and the sound of it clattering to its side on the scaffold followed soon afterwards as the first victim dropped. My mind jarred and I could think only of the first of us at the other end of the line who was now in the throws of death. I had been placed last in the line for my uncle's own enjoyment, so that I might be tormented by the deaths of all of the other lost souls before I'd finally meet my own. On and on the line moved as some began to realise that this really was to be their fate. A younger woman up ahead of me was screaming hysterically, as if she'd thought until the very last moment that some sort of reprieve might come for us all. She didn't quiet even when a soldier marched along the line and thrust the butt of his musket into her face. She fell into the wall, her sobs growing more dramatic as she took great heaving breaths. If I'd been closer to her I might have placed a hand on her shoulder in solidarity but I knew better than to think of approaching her when the soldiers were watching us all. My place was at the back of the line.
I began to believe they might be building another scaffold to expedite the executions as there was no other explanation for the loud din that was just discernible over the sounds of people shouting. It was the sound of splintering wood; of it being hacked at by an as yet unseen force. It wasn't a pleasant sound and I began to curse the very God I might have chosen to pray to. Were we so decrepit that we would not be permitted to die in peace? I closed my eyes and tried to block out the noise, letting the chains that bound me drag me along a few steps as one by one each person ahead of me departed the world. I began to feel the breeze upon my face from the open door up ahead and that's when I knew it was almost my time. I opened my eyes in time to see the hysterical woman dragged to the scaffold by her arms. The rest of her body had gone limp and she had to be held in place by two soldiers at either side as the noose was thrown round her neck and she was shuffled towards the stool and lifted onto it. I stopped cursing God then and started praying for her soul. I wanted so desperately to do something, anything to help her but what was there I could have done? Chained as I was and watched by soldiers, I had no way of attempting to reach her. I thought swiftly of Elizabeth and her fainting fits but not even that would work now. I was no high born lady to be fanned and nursed. If I dropped I'd be dragged to my feet again and likely knocked about by the soldiers for good measure. I kept my attention on the young woman who was now sobbing silently. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she nodded her head to the hangman when he offered her a sack to place over her head. He was not rough when pulling it over her head which surprised me. The woman's limbs were trembling so much that her chains were clattering together, somehow drowning out the sounds of the building work as if my mind had focused on only the sounds that meant something of importance. I shut my eyes as I heard the pistol firing. A few seconds later I heard the sound of the drop, and the sickening sound that told me the young woman had at least suffered a merciful death as her neck had broken.
My own chains rattled then has my hands began to tremble uncontrollably. I shut my eyes again and prayed this time for my own soul even though I knew that there was not much about it that was worth saving. I concentrated on keeping my breaths calm as I waited for the tug on the chain that would tell me to step forward again. Instead what came first was a slight touch of a hand to my arm that had me jumping. Then someone charged into me as if trying to knock me backwards. I side stepped the soldier as I opened my eyes, rushing forward before anyone could tell me off for stepping out of line and realised I was no longer chained to the man in front of me. Too late I glanced back as other soldiers moved into place, having noticed the commotion and blocked my path back towards the doorway I'd been standing in a few seconds before. The Chains had been rattling so much I'd not noticed someone unlocking the link that joined me to the end of the line. I glanced about me furtively, my gaze landing on a face I recognised as it slipped into the shadows of the doorway. The eyes bore an apology that spoke volumes and told me immediately that all was not as it seemed. Somehow lieutenant Beauchamp must have recognised me in the line and released the chain link. He also might have shoved into me to push me back out of sight beyond the doorway in an effort to save my life. Did he not realise why I was in the line in the first place? Did he not know his cousin's life was at stake? I might have been comforted and appreciative of his efforts in what I presumed were my last moments, but such an action also caused me pain. Ambrose Beauchamp like his cousin James was a decent and good man who had sought to attempt a rescue even though he knew not why I was being executed in the first place. For all he knew I had killed a man; a soldier even and was there to meet my well deserved fate. I wondered if James would ever know the truth, that I had loved him enough to give up my own life to ensure his safety and security. I believed that unless the shrewd Elizabeth Turner managed to figure it all out he might remain in the dark forever. Did it bother me that he might live out a full life thinking ill of me? Not really. In truth I did not like to think that he might discover the truth and spend a lifetime nursing his guilt. That was not the life I wanted for him. I had an inkling though that lieutenant Beauchamp would inform James of my execution which I hadn't planned for. James would know of my fate then, instead of thinking me alive and well and a runaway.
When the first droplet of rain landed on my cheek I glanced skyward at the grey and overcast blanket of clouds above that were sure to stick around all day and I was disheartened suddenly and then shocked at my own remorse for the lack of sunlight. It would have been nice to have glanced up and seen the sun in my last moments. I took quick stock of the courtyard then, realising rather hastily that there was no second set of gallows being built. The large wooden gates that separated the fort from the town below were being pommelled and hacked at by what appeared to be angry mob outside. Every so often the old gates would groan and sag inwards as the crowd tried to rush the gates and force them open. I understood this on some level. Either the people of Georgetown were blood thirsty and wanted to bear witness to the executions themselves or they were angered that beyond those gates they knew so well, so much destruction and death had occurred in such a short amount of time.
Dawn had broken, but it was still early morning by my reckoning. I thought it was so strange then, that someone's last day of life is often cut short early in the morning. Why shouldn't people be executed at sundown, when they've lived a full day? Why should they be forced to endure that restless night with no sleep, only to meet their death at dawn before they've had a chance to take stock of their misgivings and give thanks? Isn't the end of the day a much more peaceful and hospitable time to die? Was that what had provoked the early rising mob that were threatening to storm Fort Matthew? Or was there something little more complex going on?
Finally the man who had been in front of me in the line took his final few steps up towards the gallows and rather calmly refused the use of a sack to cover his head. The noose was tightened and he stood resolute, looking out at all of the soldiers present as if standing in judgement of them all as if he wasn't just about to meet his own judgement in a few moments time. The penultimate shot was fired from a pistol and the hangman once again kicked the stool free. Again that horrific sound met my ears, one I'd hear in the dead of night for the weeks and months to come. It haunted the dark hours of my life as if reminding me what I had previously taken for granted and what I served to loose if I really was about to loose my life. It was also the one solidifying memory that forced me to relive those desperate hours in Fort Matthew when I had the lowest and darkest thoughts of my life so far. If I had known in those moments that I might live to let such memories torment me for a very long time indeed, I'm not sure how I'd have handled the situation. The pistol still smoked as I gave in to my weaknesses and looked determinedly away from the scaffold and the sorry scene there. It was the pistol that drew my attention in that moment. On the far side of the courtyard there was a raised dais with an awning above that gave the soldiers there shelter from the rain as they huddled around a table taking accounts of proceedings. Strange isn't it, how belittled and judged the poor of the world are, lined up like cattle to be slaughtered because life had not been kind to them. Not a single one of those who had departed that morning had ever meant a single thing to anyone there because they cared not for the poor and the hungry and the lowly people of the world. All they cared about was gold and power. Yet they were careful to note down each person as they were dispatched with in such a cold manner. My name would soon be on that list too. Just another notch in their tally of condemned souls that would ensure their pockets were lined with more gold. My eyes roamed wide, taking in each face there, even that of my uncle's. He stepped out from the huddle under the awning then, seeing fit to let his heavily powdered wig get wet in the light rain as he observed me with a sick sort of satisfaction.
All too soon it was my turn. I could hear my ragged breaths even though I tried to tell myself I wasn't hyperventilating, my limbs shaking so badly that I feared they might collapse altogether. Despite all of this I kept putting one foot in front of the other, letting a soldier take a firm grip of my shackles to ensure I made it to the scaffold without a scene. He had nothing to worry about on those terms because I'd been ignoring the pain in my knee for so long that it was almost second nature to me. I think I was so terrified and yet so determined to do what I'd given so much up to do that that I had no notion of fighting back at all either.
"Well then," called my uncle to me sharply and I realised he was going to make a spectacle of me and of my death. I wanted desperately to spit at him like some wretch might do but I knew my parents were watching on from afar and they had not brought me up to behave so, even towards a man like my uncle. I was about to meet them again and so I tried for a dignified death as I believed that would be the only way to be true to myself and to refuse to give my uncle the satisfaction of my retaliation. I think it's what he expected you know, for me to behave like some kind of animal. Instead I looked anywhere but at him which I could tell pretty quickly had irritated him. "Regretting your choice now are you Niamh? You could have elevated yourself to the highest peak of society if only you'd agreed to comply with my wishes. I could have made you great, the toast of London society. You'd have been the darling of the ton. Instead you chose vulgarity and wilfulness. It is not becoming in a woman to have such notions. You are altogether far too calculating for your own good. Did you think I would not realise that you were contriving all of this before you even left Port Royal? All to save a sorry lot of friends who neither liked nor cared for you? Where are they now eh? Those friends you tried so desperately to save. You see I was foolish to think I could ever make you into something more than you are. You're from the gutter and as such you were never going to be much more than a petty criminal. That's why you're going to die here today amongst your peers who have already perished. This is the last kindness I will show you in ending your miserable life for you. One less pauper to be fed and clothed by the state."
Somehow my hate and anger that I felt towards my uncle was enough to give me back my voice even if it did shake a little as I spoke. "Look what money has done to you after all," I quipped as I glared at him. "If you are what comes from money I'd rather be a pauper. I'd rather die today amongst those who fought for everything they had. I would never want to be some preened pariah for whom the bell tolls. What a boring existence that would be!"
I knew I'd face trouble for speaking and I did. The soldier behind me thrashed me so hard that I wavered for a few seconds where I stood before I regained my balance. Just as I did so, I felt the noose being slipped over my head and it fell to rest at the base of my neck. I let out an unwilling frightened gasp as I felt them tightening it. I began to pray then, my mutterings somehow just drowning out the sound of the baying crowd still outside. The hangman moved forward then, another hessian sack in his hand but there was something suddenly off about him and he way he stood. He had not wavered as if drunk before, and his clothes had certainly been less shabby. Perhaps there were simply two of them on duty that day. I nodded grimly and he moved towards me but he halted at the sound of my uncle's voice.
"No! I want to watch her pass on. I want to watch the light leave her eyes! You'll leave that off if you know what's good for you!"
"I'm not having you be the last thing I ever see before I die!" I roared suddenly. "Your ugly face would be enough to scare the devil himself! No one in the world deserves that fate!"
Despite my uncle's refusal, the hangman seemed to agree with my words, or perhaps he simply disagreed heartily enough with my uncle's speech that he felt agreeable to disobeying him. After all an executioner would be well paid for the horrific employment he undertook but he would still be a man of the town, a simple man with a family and a trade who lived much like those on the other side of the gates who were trying to break in. As he stepped closer and dropped the hessian sack over my head, the strangest and most familiar scent reached my nostrils. Stale rum. I grimaced as I tried not to breathe it in, wondering if it was the lingering scent of the sack but as I sensed the man moving away from me again the smell dissipated. I supposed that an executioner might need a few drinks to steady his mind and hand before his work but that would have meant he'd been drinking in the early hours of the morning. It somehow made me more nervous, knowing that the man who was about to end my life was not entirely sober.
A hand gripped mine then, warm despite the cool breeze that surrounded us. I knew instantly who it was near me and found myself strangely comforted by Andromeda's presence. I had thought she'd come to stay with me until the end you see. I did not anticipate what she was about to say next. "Hold on! Hold on just a little longer. He is on his way. I will stay with you until he comes. He will be here. He will stop all of this as Perseus once did!"
I wanted to scream at her but in my fear I'd lost my power of speech again. Was she really that much of a fool to think that my life mirrored hers, that I was waiting to be rescued as she had been? I did not believe in fate or destiny in those tense moments but I still clutched her warm hand in mine tightly, silently begging her not to leave me. I began to think then that perhaps my destiny always had been to die for James. Perhaps that was why I kept seeing and talking to a woman who had been dead for thousands of years, if she had ever really been alive. The stark reality was that she was a myth so wild it only spoke of my own madness that I'd been communicating with her, that I'd dreamt up the notion that she and I were somehow connected. Did it mean then that my dying for James was also not foretold and I'd just created that reasoning in my head? I felt myself begin to sway as my face grew incredibly hot beneath the sack.
"Do not banish me Fiona. Not now. Do not loose your faith..."
With her last words to me my whole emotional barrier snapped. "I have no faith any more," I whispered back bluntly. Her hand slipped from mine and she was gone. Was that really all it had taken for her to disappear from my side? Yet again the sounds beyond the gates picked up and I could hear the creaking and splintering of the old gates as they strained against the weight of the mob on the other side. I could sense a change in the air around me, as if everyone in the courtyard had grown tense suddenly. The groaning of the tired old gates grew louder as more people pushed against them from the other side. My uncle had moved off to the side but I could still hear him muttering orders to the soldiers I felt sure he was surrounding himself with in case the mob really did break in. Seconds later the gates gave way with a sickening crunch and the sound of the baying crowd grew louder as they flooded the courtyard. From my position on the scaffold I knew I was out of their reach behind a line of soldiers but something felt rather unsafe and precarious about the whole situation. I felt as likely to be torn apart by a baying crowd as hanged in that moment.
For moments afterward I shuffled my nervous feet, no longer feeling the cuts and blisters that the dainty slippers still on my feet had caused. The chains still rattled as my hands shook and I felt beads of sweat rolling down my forehead onto my cheeks. The tears came as I fought to take even breaths, sure somehow that my life was so close to its end but I can tell you that I was having regrets. I was wishing I'd never met James Norrington, cursing him even as I forced my chin higher so that my uncle might not sense any weakness on my part. I think I can say that part of me wished I'd just told James the truth. I'd be shamed and destitute but at least I'd have my life. If that were the case though, what would James's fate be? I shuddered violently as in my head I pictured the scene I was just then a part of, but with James upon the scaffold instead of me. I can tell you now that I know I couldn't bear that. My resolve didn't return to me exactly because I was still terrified. We are all terrified of death in one form or another. It was more of an anger that I felt for my own self, for everything I'd endured and for how I thought my life was to end.
"What is all this in aid of?" I imagined it was a soldier who called out that question in clipped tones. "Mr. Turgenev, what appears to be the issue? I had thought you a respectable man with decorum, but to lead this rabble here?"
A man with an accent spoke then and even though he spoke barely any English, his word were plain and easy for us all to understand. "Your master stole my daughter's necklace." It wasn't an accent I could place, but the man's name was something I was sure I'd heard before.
"What a preposterous notion," came the clipped tones of the soldier again. "Who gave you such an idea? You and your family are well respected here Mr. Turgenev. I shall forgive this one little indiscretion in light of the stress you are currently under regarding your daughter's imminent nuptials but any repeat of it shall warrant a serious punishment. You cannot and will not interrupt the law. If the necklace truly is missing, then I will dispense a contingent of men to help you search for it and apprehend the thief once business is concluded here at Fort Matthew. I'll ask you once more, who told you that Sir Malcom Sidney took the necklace?"
"That would be me sir." Came a curt reply from down in the crowd. There was the sudden sound of such a flurry of movement and commotion that I thought I could feel the scaffold beneath me vibrating as marching booted feet caused a ruckus. The voice though stole the breath from my lungs because it was instantly familiar and not one I had thought I would hear ever again. It was more than a shock to me. I wobbled where I stood, more tears falling from my eyes as I realised that the plan I had carefully concocted in my mind might be about to fall entirely apart.
"What is the meaning of this Admiral Norrington?" my uncle spluttered. "To barge in upon a military fort that is not under your direct command under such circumstances is tantamount to treason. What is your intention here?"
The baying crowd seemed to have grown silent as if sensing the headiness of what was about to happen. "Sir Sidney, surely even you know that as admiral of the fleet I am authorised to visit any fort currently under the command of the British crown even upon a whim and regardless of the circumstances. I came across this bunch of concerned citizens in the town square and led them here. This gentleman here believes that his daughter's necklace bequeathed to her as a gift for her upcoming wedding has been stolen and I could frankly think of no soul who fits the mould of such a thief more than yourself. You cannot deny sir that you have a certain eye for treasure. The Georgetown Diamond as it is so named is priceless apparently. I did not consider that anyone else here in Georgetown would have the means or motive to procure such an item so heavily guarded. Naturally I thought of you. I thought it best to warn Mr. Turgenev here not to allow his daughter to accompany him this morning as she would be safer at home and away from your prying eyes. After all, that is another treasure that you seem to like acquiring."
My uncle was spluttering again as the solider under his command roared, "Now see here admiral-"
"You make such allegations freely and readily in front of a crowd admiral Norrington with no consideration of your own precarious situation. As I told you last night when we spoke, such acts of defiance and insubordination will not be tolerated. I have put you where you are today and I can strip your title from you just as readily! I will not tolerate any more of your flagrant disregards for my position or the aid which I have so readily given you. Do you not think ever of the consequences admiral? But then I know who your friends are. It seems to be a trait you all have harboured since birth. You think nothing of those around you who you might harm with your rash actions. Lord Beckett has been very informative."
"I do not doubt that he has," James replied stiffly. He spoke as if the whole conversation gave him great pain. If I had not come to know him so well I might have thought he was injured simply by the sound of his voice. "Yourself and Cutler Beckett appear to have taken great pains to get to know those around me in a rather zealous manner. It sickens one, to think how deplorably you have behaved in regards to young women who should have had your protection and respect. Instead you have infiltrated their lives and abused them. Indeed I believe you might have sullied your good name sir in aligning with Lord Beckett. He will tear you down as he is toppled from his pedestal. You will remember then that I once warned you about him. You will recall how it took myself, a man half your age and somewhat below you in rank to remind you how a gentleman should behave in this day and age. Cutler Beckett has waged a destructive war against the Turners and Governor Swann of Port Royal simply because they defied convention and chose to let their heads and hearts be ruled by love. They chose their friends poorly, I'll admit. I will also say that to let love be the compass is a rather terrible notion altogether as well. I must say though, that I should rather keep the company of those ruled by love when compared to those like yourself who let hate bleed into your every word and action. I will not tarry any longer. I am here to make a public request for the release of a prisoner. I did so privately last night in respect for your good name but I can no longer give credence to such nuances. I have not the time nor the inclination. You refused my request last night, so now I am here to request the lease of one Miss Fiona O'Connell. I make this request publicly and before all of these people so that they two will know the true man behind all of these actions and schemes here today. They will come to know how you have abused and disrespected the position afforded to you by our king. You have behaved abominably as a man and as an uncle. You were to serve and protect your niece sir Sidney, which you have failed to do. I am here to take her off your hands and to where her friends might take care of her. I came here believing I would find her at your side perhaps, but no. Instead I see her with a noose around her neck and you in command of the very pistol that might bring about her death. Shall you cut her down or shall I? This is a matter for grave discussion I appreciate, but there will be one less execution today."
My uncle snorted loudly. "Come now admiral. Do you really think I'd acquiesce to such a request? The woman before you on the scaffold has committed acts of piracy that long ago determined her fate. She was always to be presented at the gallows from the very moment she absconded her home eight years ago. Now though there are further charges. She has assaulted a representative of the king-"
"I rather like to think that may have been in self defence," James interrupted.
"Oh my boy I really think we ought to disregard the whole notion of self defence you know. We cannot really say that this young woman had no choice in the matter. But then perhaps you are not speaking of Viscount Townshend as I am. Perhaps we must consider that for some time now you have not been entirely of your own mind. You have been influenced and seduced by this woman and no doubt you are acting solely upon what she has told you herself. For some time now though you have known her true nature. She left you that day in Port Royal. She walked away after she betrayed you. Everything she told you was a lie."
James's tone was severe when he replied. "Sir we can rehash this as many times as you like but I cannot allow you to permit this act of murder purely for your own benefit. I must see Miss O'Connell released back into the care of her friends in Port Royal. Would you really think to fool the world into thinking that your own niece is a pirate; when her circumstances and her life choices since she left her home in Ireland are all a direct effect of the abuse she expected to suffer at your own hands? Can you really expect sir Sidney, to first make a thief and then condemn her for such a life? Perhaps to do so is an act of piracy itself!"
I was still in shock and unable to move or speak I was so terrified. How is it possible I ask you, for me to be so resigned to my fate and prepared to die and yet fear more for James's life than my own? It was him I feared for in that moment and I did not understand why he had come to my aid after I had seemingly betrayed him in such a way. Even if I could have found my voice perhaps I would have stayed silent for fear that I might have made things so much worse for James. My legs were still shaking uncontrollably and I was finally unable to ignore the unbearable pain in my knee any longer.
"Enough of this!" my uncle roared suddenly. "I shall have her dispatched with. Admiral Norrington, you will step down and return to your posting in Port Royal where you will await punishment as a consequence of your actions here today. Just think man of all that work you did to get so far, of all of the people that put your name forward and expedited your promotions. Think of everything you have stood for over the long years. All of that will be in ruins if you do not desist immediately. Think of what others have sacrificed for you. "
"You would knowingly kill your own niece," James countered hotly, "when all that she is guilty of is resisting your unwanted and inappropriate advances? You bring absolute shame upon your own name and that of the British empire. If this is what institution and governance allow in the King's good name then I can no longer stand for it. I hereby resign from the admiralty and from the Royal Navy with immediate affect. Now you cannot threaten others with my position and rank. You cannot use that as a ploy to exact your own sickening revenge. For God's sake, release her."
"You'd give your whole life up for a wretch like her?" my uncle spat incredulously. "I see now the error in my ways. I should never have considered you a rational and ambitious man. You are simply a fool. Lieutenant Baines, fire your pistol man and have done with this."
Its incredible how with one shot the whole world around me changed, and I couldn't even see what was going on. I expected the stool beneath me to fall immediately after the sound of the pistol firing but there was some strange kind of delay. Beyond the scaffold the crowd had erupted into chaos, shouting and jeering as they began to jostle with the soldiers. My uncle was yelling something unintelligible and shots rang out again and again loudly in the courtyard from every direction. If I'd been in any other situation I'd have ducked and covered my head. The rope was still smarting around my neck, seeming to grow tighter as I grew more agitated. Then suddenly the stool was knocked from under my feet at the same time as the strangest sound met my ears. It was as if something was hurtling through the air at great speed, spinning towards me as I felt myself begin to drop. I was panicking then, thinking that my uncle had decided to end my life swiftly by throwing a blade of some kind in my direction.
I never felt the tension of the rope pull against my neck. I kept falling, slamming into the dusty cobbles that the scaffold had been built upon just as the unmistakable sound of splintering wood above me reached my ears. Something had embedded itself into the frame of the gallows above me. I think my shock in those moments severed my senses from reality because even though I knew the crowd must have been causing quite a din, I heard nothing of it for quite a few seconds. I also must have blocked out the jarring pain in my knee as my feet slammed into the cobbles. The Pain quickly made itself known through, tearing up my leg and I almost thought my knee had been ripped from its socket. The foolish high heeled slippers did not help, causing me to stumble over when I made an attempt to stand.
It was the lightest of touches to the small of my back that had me rearing away, trying desperately to make my accursed knee move with me away from what I perceived to be danger. I stopped though as I realised I could hear again what was going on beyond the scaffold and smell the fine wool coat, starched collar and something entirely unique to James. I reached up instantly, the chains clanking once more as I tried frustratingly to tear the sack from my head to be certain of just who was nearby.
"Here, let me help." How could such a sharp and clipped tone sound so like music to my ears? He sounded wonderful, so much more than he'd ever done before. Perhaps it was my heart doing the singing because he was so close once more. I felt one of his steady hands on my shoulder before the other reached up and firmly grasped the sack. The dim rays of light were none the less startling to me even under the scaffold. I glanced up immediately, so aware suddenly of what I had thought my fate was to be that day. Glowing marvellously in the sunlight that had just burst out from behind a cloud yards above my head was the sword we had both found in that cave months ago. It had embedded itself in the wooden frame of the gallows and I knew without even having to look for the tail end of the noose that James had thrown the sword at the exact second I'd dropped. It had sliced straight through the rope and I'd felt no pain at all except my impact with the ground.
I finally lowered my eyes to his to find that they too were glowing, the colour of them likely heightened by the adrenaline coursing through his veins. A part of me wished that they would never loose that lustre. He was everything that I remembered him to be. Starched and stiff collars, great woollen coat with golden buttons the colour of sunshine and the white powdered wig that was still expertly in place despite the fact that he appeared to have lost his hat in the skirmish. His expression seemed to be one of relief even though I was struggling to think of how we were going to get out of that mess at all.
He didn't seem shocked when I began to snarl at him. "What on earth are you doing?" I brushed his hand off my shoulder and reared backwards, trying to put distance between us even though I knew I'd not get far with my knee.
James was shaking his head knowingly. "Trying to save your life."
I let out a groan. "But I was trying to save yours."
"Yes I'm aware of that," James replied curtly with a hesitant glance over his shoulder back towards where we could just glimpse flashes of navy uniforms and townsfolk as they mingled and fought. "And what a foolish notion it was too. We shall discuss it later." He tugged on the chains that still bound my wrists and I saw his slight frown as he realised there was no way for him to loosen them in our current situation. "Are you hurt?" I shook my head warily, still not sure I believed he was really there. "This I am afraid you shall have to contend with a little while longer, just until we can find our way out of town. I'm sure I know someone who could make light work of these shackles."
I followed him then as he moved towards the edge of the scaffold that still hid us from view and stopped just behind him, looking out at the chaos ensuing around us. "This is madness! We're never getting out of here!"
He took my hand suddenly. "Do not let go my hand. We will find a way out of this melee." We watched the townsfolk being beaten back by the soldiers but there were other faces I thought I recognised as they dashed past us, swinging weapons of every degree. Seeing a clear path towards the gates I tugged on the hand that held mine and only managed a single step before his other arm pulled me back. "Wait...Wait."
I glanced up at his face to find him carefully surveying the crowds all around who all appeared oblivious to the two of us. I thought I knew who he was searching for though. He wanted to know exactly where my uncle was and I don't blame him for having such a thought. I too grew quite paranoid in those few seconds as I also began to scan the courtyard. A shout from above us had us turning quickly, James's free hand reaching for his own sword which was still anchored at his hip before realisation dawned for both of us. The executioner tugged the golden sword form the frame of the gallows as we watched on and approached us. Looking down at us from his position on that scaffold, we were at a severe disadvantage. He presented the sword hilt to James with a flourish though and James reached out to take it. The executioner pulled back just slightly then.
"Rule one about being a pirate mate," sneered the executioner, "always have a man on the inside!"
The sword hilt was in James's hand then and the executioner launched himself off of the scaffold and into the crowd with such flare that there was no way he could be mistaken for anyone else. It appeared Jack Sparrow had almost hanged me. If not for James, I might have broken my neck.
"No..." I cried as I turned to James. "You let him almost hang me? Jack Sparrow of all people?"
"Do I look pleased about it?" He asked me as once more he scanned the courtyard which had filled with yet more bodies. "Suffice it to say, I could not have done this without him. The secret trap door was his idea and so was drugging the executioner. Later we can discuss it all. For now I think we shall have to fight our way out." His two hands were upon mine then, pressing the hilt of the golden sword into mine and for a second or two I was encompassed in such a feeling of security and safety as the warm metal began to vibrate in my hands. I tried to shake my head at him slowly whilst pushing the sword back towards him but he was determined I take it. "Do you not feel that? Do not be afraid to use it. It is as much yours as it is mine. It answers your call also. It led me right to you. Do not think me a complete fool miss O'Connell. I know you can likely wield a sword just as well with your hands shackled as you can without. Take it and protect yourself. Stay as close to me as you can. We move towards those gates as one and as quickly as we can. Our friends in this crowd will fall in around you."
His eyes were so alive then that they took my breath away. "How can you be sure they-"
"Strategy miss O'Connell." He was grinning then wildly and I couldn't help but smile back at him. "The very thing I've been schooled in since I learned to count to ten."
We moved as one as he had suggested, our swords clashing with others as we tried to push back those who stood between us and the gates. Every so often we would clash with a familiar face and they fell in around us, moving in a wide circle to ensure that we did not meet much resistance. I had noticed my uncle rather quickly when he reached the scaffold and stood looking out over the crowd. I saw him launch the dagger, saw the sure certainty in his eyes as he realised his aim was true. I was not about to allow it to be though. I was not about to allow the vision Andromeda had showed me to come true. I jumped in front of James swiftly, the golden sword held in both of my hands as it automatically swung through the hair, rising higher than I thought I could ever reach. It was red hot to the touch then and I don't know how I didn't drop it. Not able to look, I glanced down at my feet, not ready for the deafening clang that reverberated around the courtyard when my uncle's blade ricocheted off the golden blade and hurt led back towards the scaffold. Again my breath was stolen from me. The townsfolk appeared to be on our side too, closing in around us so that none of my uncle's men could reach us.
"That was some fast reflexes miss!" Gibbs called over my shoulder. Still, I felt the cold hard slap of reality hitting me in the face abruptly even as Will and Elizabeth met us in the circle.
"I can't do this any more," I said more to myself than to anyone else before I turned to Elizabeth and my eyes met hers. "I can't go on looking over my shoulder all of my life. All of you should go now whilst you can. He wants me. If I stay then you all have a chance to get away!"
"No!" James grabbed my first firmly then. "I cannot allow that. We did not come all this way to leave you behind!"
Elizabeth chimed in then. "James is right Fiona. We didn't all sacrifice our free lives to leave you behind. I know you mean well ... but have you heard yourself? You don't sound much like a pirate at all!"
"I never said I was one!" I quipped but I had been drowned out by the booming voice of Mr. Turgenev who had reached the scaffold and was now facing off with my uncle.
"... my daughter's necklace. I was told you took it because you believe it is cursed! That is a lie! You will return it to me!"
My uncle's face had tuned an angry shade of puce at being addressed so lowly by someone like Mr. Turgenev. "Even if I had it sir, I would not return it. Your lack of respect tells me you cannot possibly be its rightful owner."
"You should search him mate!" Jack cat called as he appeared directly behind us.
More town folk were on the scaffold now, bearing down on my uncle and forcing his men back down onto the cobbles below. Mr. Turgenev looked like he might be agreeable to a search, but my uncle got there first. "There is no need to conduct a search. I shall empty my own pockets before you now Mr. Turgenev and once my innocence is proven, you will repay me by rounding up this pirate rabble before me!" My uncle then emptied one pocket after another of his great coat before he tore it off his shoulders in frustration and glancing around to find none of his men behind him he was forced to drop it onto the dusty cobblestones. Then he plunged his large hands into the pockets of his waistcoat and stopped, a peculiar expression on his face. His hands withdrew as he stared down at something in one of them that I could not see as the tall heads of those in front of me chose that second to block my view. Then we heard an almighty roar from my uncle. "This was you!"
Many faces swung my way and I was left in no doubt that my uncle was speaking of me. He raised one of his hands as he caught sight of me and I saw that he held one of the largest diamonds that I've ever seen in my life. "So that's what an inside man is for, is it?" I threw over my shoulder hastily at Jack Sparrow who had been about to disappear into the throng of bodies around us. "You planted that necklace? You stole it and planted it?"
"I know love. That diamond is priceless and your admiral here has me planting in the sticky hands of one of the most prolific treasure hoarders the world has ever seen!" Jack roared. "If the Pearl weren't on the table then myself and that diamond would be somewhere else entirely!"
I thought that I saw something almost resembling a smug grin ghost across James's face as I turned back around. "Yes I'm sure this new vocation of following orders is entirely painful to you Mr. Sparrow, but can we really dispute the worth of a human life against that of a diamond?"
I heard Jack snort even as James's attention was diverted. "I could dispute it alright mate." I don't know why I was somehow reassured that Jack Sparrow was still entirely himself. It meant we might stand a chance of getting out of that courtyard if he stayed on our side of things.
I heard James's sharp I take of breath and followed his eye line as Mr. Turgenev took his chance and raced forward to try and topple my uncle from the scaffold. The poor man probably thought that as my uncle was such a large man that if he got him down on the ground he would struggle to get back up again. That roll around on the cobbles as they fought for the necklace never did happen. At the last second lieutenant Baines stepped forward and plunged a blade into Mr. Turgenev's side. There were gasps of horror and screams all around as the man crumpled to the ground and did not get back up again.
"No...no..." I mumbled to myself. "This is what I dreaded. This is not meant to happen."
"This back water town and its inhabitants are guilty of treason and I decree that they shall all face the punishment of death!" The pleasure in my uncle's voice as he said those words could have left no one in any doubt of his character then. No one was going to disbelieve my story. "Gentlemen, dispatch with them all!"
What happened next and all of the deaths that had occurred that morning before the chaos would come to be known as the Georgetown Massacre. It would eviscerate my uncle in the history books and ensure his reputation as an evil madman. The town folk that perished and the criminals executed that day were held in the same revere, for it was later discovered that my uncle had no authority whatsoever to carry out any of the executions. He had gone rogue and committed his own act of piracy.
Of course we jumped into the fray. James's cousin Ambrose was pleading with us to leave even has he backed away and disappeared into the chaos. James and I though were unable to stand by and watch more death happen before our eyes. We'd seen enough to last a lifetime. The others were with us, James's men and the crew of The Black Pearl. Even pirates have hearts it appears, when women and children are in such a crowd. We surged forward and flanked the people left standing. They sequestered behind us and were able to make an escape through the gates. That of course left us vulnerable though because we were that much closer to my uncle and his band of murdering soldiers who certainly outnumbered us. Any blade that met the one I held in my two hands though was unable to put up much of a fight. Even with my hands shackled as they were, the sword stayed true to me. It was most as if it had life of its own. At length my uncle's men began to cage us in and I saw the worried frowns on the faces of even the pirates.
"Still two diamonds to secure admiral," Jack quipped with a smirk on his face. "Lesson two of how to be a good pirate mate. Confidence; even when all seems lost."
James turned to stare at me then as if he had just realised something for the first time. He grabbed my wrist again before turning back to Sparrow. "Sparrow, will you marry us?"
I can't believe I'm telling you what I did next, but I tore my wrist from his grip. "What are you saying ... no!"
James turned to me sharply. "Do you not see that for you to have a husband might just save you from your uncle? If you are claimed by another then he cannot touch you. He would have no right."
Hopelessly in love with him as I was, I was not about to agree to some sham marriage because to me it sounded like the most foolish thing in the world. I shook my head sadly. "I can't do that. I won't tie myself to someone and drag them into all of my problems. I won't condemn someone else to my fate. It wouldn't be right. I'd also rather not marry someone who doesn't love me. Perhaps I sounds like the foolish one but..." I shrugged as my words trailed off.
James nodded his understanding then. "Miss O'Connell I do understand everything you have just put to me. We are not however in a situation that affords time to deliberate. I do not offer such a thing as a real and true marriage where a wife must obey her husband and become his possession. I know how much your freedom means to you. I would never strip it from you. I only intend to give you the protection of my name and that of my father's. Your uncle sees you as a possession to be bought and fought over. If you belong to someone else he may relent and focus his attention elsewhere."
I highly doubted any of that but I was still too entirely shocked by that fact that the man I loved was offering me such a thing, to be married to him, to be his wife. Even it were a simple convenience that we would rectify later on, was it not something I should relish in? I couldn't you see, because if I was going to marry James I wanted it to be because he loved me too. But then I did wonder at the lengths he had gone to in order to rescue me. He had given up not just his title, his prospects and his career that he loved but also his freedom. I had to wonder who else he would do such a thing for. He'd have done it for Elizabeth. I have no doubt of that. He'd loved her though hadn't he? Did I dare to dream that him coming all this way and sacrificing so much for me meant that he might just share my feelings?
James was right, there wasn't the time for such nonsense. He took my hand gently then, the one not still clutching the golden sword that was still hot to the touch. "Miss there is not the time. I must push you to make a decision. We can worry and fret and argue later if you wish. But allow me to give you the protection that I promised you so many months ago. Allow me to repay you for the trials you have suffered in trying to save my own life."
He was right, wasn't he? How could I refuse him when he felt obliged to me... and there was no time. "Alright," I answered stiffly as Jack Sparrow grinned.
"Now see here admiral, before we proceed we must first confirm that I am in fact qualified to unite two souls such as yourselves in the eyes of not just God but yourselves also. If I am not considered a captain then the point is moot and we can all go home. I'm afraid you're going to have to admit defeat and acknowledge my status in this old world and that as you've given up your position to save your bonny Irish lass, I outrank you as captain-"
"We do not have time Sparrow!" James snarled.
"Mate all I'm asking is that you call me captain Jack Sparrow. I want my ship back n'all, savvy?"
James was torn. I could see in his eyes that to entertain Jack went against everything that he believed in, but hadn't he crossed that line when he had sailed to Georgetown with the intention of seeing me released. By rights he should have condemned me as everyone else had done and walked away, so why hadn't he? Perhaps his belief system had already begun to change. "And if I don't agree to those terms?" James queried hypothetically.
Jack smirked again. "Then you admiral are on your own mate. I'll take the lass off your hands though. Wouldn't mind having a human treasure map for a wife myself. She does talk back though. I'd have to do something about that."
I snorted even though I found the situation less than funny. In the time we had been talking, my uncle and his men had encircled us all and were waiting for us to make the first move. "You really would be the last man on earth I'd marry Jack!" He'd moved closer to me and I stepped back, the smell of rum altogether too overpowering on my senses and my empty and nervous stomach. "God I pity any woman foolish enough to ever do so!"
"Captain Jack sparrow, will you wed us?" James cried with a nervous glance over his shoulder. "I'll even write to the king himself and ask that you be pardoned if you do this one thing for me now and as quickly as you can!"
James didn't hear Jack's affirmative reply for at that moment my uncle's men broke through our ranks and James swung his own sword, the one that Will had created for him so long ago in the direction of a lieutenant intent on cutting Will and Elizabeth down in one fell swoop. I moved off too and joined in the fray, eager to help and my confidence boosted by the magical sword which never seemed to fail me. I felt movement at my back a few seconds later and jumped. I turned as quickly as I could, ready to swing the sword once more but found James with his back against mine, determined not to loose me in the crowd as we fought on.
I stumbled once or twice but only afterwards did I consider that it might be my knee that caused the issue. It was strange that for those moments in that courtyard with James behind me I felt no pain at all. Perhaps it was the adrenaline as well as his presence that helped me to forget it. I was somehow buoyed by the news that my short life might not be over, that my uncle might not be about to exact his sickening revenge. I also questioned James's motives too. Could he possibly have feelings for me? I dashed that thought as soon as I had it and threw all my weight behind the sword and swung it towards a soldier who was bearing down upon Anamaria. I caught his shoulder and he let out a howl as he pulled back, his hand trying to stem the blood flow. I suppose that it never occurred to me until later on that not once did I strike to kill that day despite all that had happened to me and despite all that I'd seen.
"Dearly bedraggled," Jack began suddenly as he found his way back to James and I through the throng. He was slipping something into his pocket and I stopped for a second to watch the glinting diamond as it disappeared into the folds of his coat. I glanced to where my uncle sat on the steps of the gallows with blood pouring from a bad gash on his forehead. I turned back to Jack then with my eyebrows raised, my distraction enough for a solider to grab hold of the skirts of the tattered dress I still wore and try to extricate me from my group of friends. James moved swiftly as I let out a surprised yelp and his own sword danced through the air. The soldier fell back, clutching his side and I realised James was indeed aiming to kill.
"Sparrow, there is no time for nuances!" James called as he once again gripped my wrist tightly. "Say the words and have done with it man!"
Jack appeared slightly offended. "Not very romantic for the lady though is it?" James simply threw him a withering look. "Do you Fiona O'Connell ... hang on a minute; do you want Fiona or your old name? What was your old name again love?"
"Just get on with it! Fiona is fine!" I growled as I realised for the first time that Mai was amongst the pirates and I brought my sword up to deflect a blow that would have knocked her to the ground. She turned to me with in impassive stare and I couldn't read her eyes.
"Destiny," was all she whispered to me as she swept past me into the crowd once more.
"Do you Fiona O'Connell take Admiral James Norrington to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health-"
"Sparrow!" I heard the urgency in James's voice and turned to follow his gaze. My uncle was on his feet again and advancing towards us accords the courtyard. He threw me a look that told me in no uncertain terms that he wanted me to comply. I nodded once, feeling that there was too much weight behind his intense gaze for me to refuse him. There was far too much at stake for my silly worries to take precedence.
"I do."
"Admiral James Norrington do you take Fiona O'Connell to-"
"I do!" James roared as he left my side for a moment to pull Lieutenant Holmes back onto his feet after a visions blow that had sent him sprawling into all fours.
I was tangled up in a clash between two soldiers, Anamaria and Elizabeth either side of me as we forced the soldiers back against the wall beside the gate which left just enough room for Elizabeth and Will to push themselves through the gap between the gates. So concentrated was I on the tussle that I did not hear Jack until it was too late. All that I heard was his last few words. "...you may now kiss your bonny Irish bride."
Perhaps I had expected that to be an awkward moment between James and myself. I suppose I wasn't thinking that far ahead when James suggested we wed to keep me from harm. I certainly didn't foresee him reaching for my waist and turning me into his arms. All coherent thought fled my mind in that second as he moved towards me, his eyes on mine but at the same time scanning all around us for danger. Then his lips were on mine, my own shock so overpowering that I just stood there limply, not able to find a single shred of thought to try and comprehend what was happening. His lips were soft upon mine, gently caressing my mouth as it remained flat beneath his. The kiss was short but in the seconds after he had drawn back I was so stunned that time seemed to halt altogether. I'd been sure of my feelings for him for such a long time but that kiss had reinforced them. It had somehow changed whatever there had ever been between us. I knew in that instant that I was never going to simply look upon him as a friend. My feelings would not be trapped so far inside myself.
Then his expression was smug, not a look I was used to seeing upon his face. I followed his gaze and understood at once. My uncle was looking on us with something like sheer betrayal written all over his face. I have to say that it gave us both a sense of great satisfaction to see my uncle so disheartened. I became aware rather quickly though that whilst the kiss for me was ground-breaking, wonderful and the single most important moment of my life, to James it appeared to simply be a way to get one over on my uncle. My happiness and sheer disbelief at finding myself married to the man I'd come to love with every fibre of my being was evaporating quicker than deck water under the searing Caribbean sun. I felt my hopes slipping from my grasp, my respect for James going with them as even though he'd saved my life for the right reasons it seemed; in that moment I sorely wished he hadn't. How was I to live knowing that I'd caused his ruin? How was I to live in harmony with James when he did not love me as I did him?
My knee locked suddenly, the pain so sharp that I gritted my teeth against the cry of pain I almost let escape my lips. I trampled it down all the while wondering how I was going to make it out of that gate even as Jack Sparrow stepped forward and bowed; the master of ceremonies taking all of the credit for the sham rushed wedding in which the remaining pirates and soldiers on our side were clamouring to cheer and pat James on the back. I shook my head meekly, suddenly so bone tired that I desperately wanted to just crumple to the ground where I stood and let them all trample over me.
Jack's dramatics though were not all self indulgent though. His movements had distracted my uncle's men. They made a beeline for Jack while the rest of us watched on. I'd not noticed it before, but I realised he held something in one of his hands; the diamond. For a few seconds everyone stood transfixed by it. Then incredibly, jack threw it away. We all watched it soar through the air, reaching higher and higher until it was almost as high as the ramparts around the walls of the courtyard. Then it began to plummet towards the ground and every soldier who had aligned themselves with my uncle dived after it. I think it's a mark of the men my uncle had surrounded himself with. Not one of James's men showed an inkling of interest for it, but everyone else wanted the diamond for themselves.
"Rule three of being a good pirate!" Jack jumped so that he might get a better view of the soldiers grappling for the diamond on the dusty cobblestones. "Always know how to recognise another pirate!"
The distraction was enough. Before I knew what was happening James had almost lifted me off my feet and was half carrying me through the gap between the gates. Elizabeth and Will were waiting for us on the other side with the town folk, all standing to attention and ready to move into place with their long trunks of wood which I immediately knew were to secure the gates on our side. Once every last pirate and navy man was through those gates they were slammed shut and barricaded. A chorus of my uncle's choice expletives rent the morning as we all turned and made a mad dash in God knows what direction. James was still half carrying me, his arm clamped tightly around my waist and his sword held ready in the other. I on the other hand was at risk of dropping the great golden sword that had aided me so well. Perhaps it was because I could no longer hide the expression on my face as white hot pain shot up my leg from my knee that Mai prised the sword from my hands and carried it herself with a single nod of her head to me. She walked on with Anamaria and Jack and I was well aware I was holding us all up.
Out of nowhere then, two people barrelled into the side of our group, causing chaos and bickering to break out until James's arm slipped from around my waist and I thought I was to be free of him and catch my breath again. It was not to be. He took my hand then before he pulled me along behind him, pushing the pirates out of his way to find Gibbs holding a blade out towards lieutenant Beauchamp as if in warning. The lieutenant had reached for his own blade with his free hand, the other clutching at the hand of a very frightened looking young noble woman.
"Ambrose, what is the meaning of this?" James exclaimed. "We cannot just take aboard anyone who wishes to come. We are outside the law now cousin."
I though had realised something James had not. The girl was openly weeping in a way that only grief allows. "She's Turgenev's daughter," I stared mildly from behind James.
Ambrose nodded. "We cannot leave her to the mercy of this town cousin. She has no family here and only a betrothed who will not have her now her dowry will be forfeit. She has no friends here. She will be hunted down by Sidney's men and condemned as a traitor for her father's part in today's proceedings. To leave her behind is to leave her to die."
I struggled to step around James, my knee so tightly locked that I could not unbend my leg. I stumbled slightly and was embarrassed that I had to use James's grip of my hand as a stabiliser. "Of course we can't leave her. There's been too much death today and it's only morning. She can come with us, that's if she wants too. Unfortunately I don't think any of us even know where we are going. Have you explained that to her lieutenant? Because she should know it. Nothing is certain and do any of us even speak her language?" I looked to the girl then. "Do you speak English?"
She was still weeping, no light in her eyes as it took her an age to raise her head and let her eyes meet mine. She nodded slightly, apparently still incapable of speech. I wasn't surprised. It was evident that Ambrose Beauchamp had told her of her father's death. I couldn't imagine she'd have allowed him to lead her to us otherwise.
"She does a little," Ambrose replied for her. "Enough to understand what's going on at least."
Elizabeth stepped up beside me then, her attention on the girl too. "This is all a mess. It's chaos. A mess of pirates and soldiers turned traitors who are now all on the run. We don't have time to deliberate. If you're alright with who we all are and what we are about miss Turgenev, then we're alright with you."
"We need to give this some consideration," James supplied thinly. It was as if a great weight rested upon his shoulders. I suppose it did in a way. I was well aware that great weight was mostly made up by me. "I never did consider you a man with a bleeding heart lieutenant Beauchamp. I understand the risks this young woman faces in staying here but is her place really with us? Surely there must be a family nearby of some means who might take her in and perhaps send her home?"
I saw something change in Ambrose Beauchamp's eyes then, as if he found James's words something of a challenge. "You're one to talk cousin." Ambrose nodded, his eyes flashing down to James's hand which still clutched mine firmly. "You came all this way because you appear to have grown a heart yourself overnight in that cold void of a chest. Mrs. Turner is correct, however. This is not my choice to make."
I caught the Turgenev girl's eyes again. "My friend is right. What we may all get up to may come as a shock to you. We are fighting to stay alive and that may involve some bloodshed and some dangerous dealings. I doubt anyone here would sugar coat it for you. If its not something you wish to be a part of then I'm sure we can try and get you to safety but if you'd like to, you can stay with us. We will try to protect you as best we can."
The girl glanced at Ambrose briefly before she nodded. It was settled then. It was clear to me also that the Turgenev girl was already have in love with James's cousin. I wondered briefly if Ambrose knew. I thought of wriggling my hand free of James's then because essentially, I'd befallen the same kind to trick. Young and vulnerable woman falls in love with her rescuer; albeit over a longer time frame. I certainly wouldn't have admitted to being vulnerable back then either. James only tightened his hold of my hand. I wondered swiftly if he knew what I was thinking.
I heard Gibbs beginning to worry from a few feet away too. "Methinks we ought to get out to sea before the tide turns gentlemen and ladies. There be an ill wind in this town that will not hesitate to turn on us if we dawdle."
"Well good sirs and ladies," Jack exclaimed with a mocking bow. "We're all off on our own courses now. May the horizon bring you all good luck! I'll be having the Pearl back now Admiral, as per agreement. All of you can remember this as the day that you fought alongside Captain Jack Sparrow!"
"I did agree to that Sparrow," James replied. "But your ship is not in Georgetown and I am no longer an admiral or a navy man of any kind. I have no access to your ship at present. You may take it back at your own leisure but for now I'm afraid we must commandeer another ship." I frowned then, wondering how they'd all got to Georgetown in the first place. It took my addles brain a few seconds to realise that as James had resigned his commission in the navy, he would be stealing from the crown if he made use of any navy ship.
We moved off again then, following Jack's lead down into the docks where a sight met me that I was not entirely ready for. Jack nodded in the ship's direction. "What about it then Mrs. Norrington? You ready to see someone else at her wheel?"
The Grace was docked there in all her splendour, as beautiful and as soul destroying as I remembered. I knew instantly I could not step aboard her. I did not have it within me to walk those narrow slopping corridors that my friends had once walked, that I had once walked as a different person. You see I was such a markedly changed woman from the young girl who had first come aboard The Grace and also the girl who had fallen overboard that fateful day all those months ago. That ship had been full of happiness and love. It held the romance of my home and of those friends I had come to treasure so much. Mick and Patrick were both gone and The Grace would forever remind me of them. I was melancholy enough without that. No. The Grace deserved to be full of love and light and laughter and that was not something I was ready to give her. She needed someone at peace to stand at the helm. None of us stood there that day on that dock were at peace.
I felt waves of relief washing over me when James finally spoke up. "No. She is far too small and not fast enough. We need speed on our side and guns. We are well stocked with ammunition aboard The Surgence. What's more, we are a stronger force together. We shall still be crowded but at least there the women may have their own cabins. It is only right. Also, you have forgotten one thing Sparrow." I didn't miss James's sheer reluctance to reference Jack's title of captain. "I am no longer an admiral so the commandeering of this ship shall truly make me a pirate. That does not mean that standards shall slip. You will all adhere to respectability and sensibility whilst aboard. You will also take command from a dual captaincy in the first instance until we can come to some kind of democracy. As my wife Mrs. Norrington may give you orders to follow of which you will be duty bound to do so despite any differing opinions you may have. We shall be a team though, united in a desire to see the world set to rights and as such there will be no rank or position aside from that of captains. Every man and woman aboard shall be equal and I shall welcome each and every rational opinion put forward. We shall all work together, but for now we must away before the tide does turn."
I hadn't missed James's blatant hint about rational opinions. I was still pretty sure none of Jack's thoughts were rational so that had ruled him a silent partner almost instantly. I think everyone was far too nervous to argue with James at that moment even though I saw a few expressions full of consternation. I myself was baffled that James had appointed me his equal in everything and I was even more disturbed at being addressed as Mrs. Norrington. It did not feel right and it did not feel like me but I had not the effort in me to argue.
Up the gangplank we raced, James's and Ambrose's men first who knew the ropes of a navy ship so well to cast off whilst the rest of us traipsed along behind. When I reached the deck, out of breath and struggling with my knee I saw yet again that James was in his element, his eyes alight with adrenaline and his carefully considered orders meeting eager ears as everyone's spirits lifted. The wind had caught the sails. The sea air was all around us. The energy became electric. I and the Turgenev girl were the only ones not moving, too tired and emotionally drained to do more than watch on, we stood a few feet apart both wishing for different things.
"Cousin, perhaps you should take the lady below." James was approaching us where we stood, followed by Ambrose Beauchamp. "Find her a cabin and make her comfortable. Stay with her if you like, or ask one of the other ladies to if she prefers. Fetch her anything she wants or needs."
Ambrose didn't need telling twice for the girl was swaying on her feet. I was somehow heartened by the fact James had not sent me below with the girl. He reached for my hands then, not to hold them as he had done before but to examine the shackles that still held them together. "Mr. Turner," James called out, "I believe I have need of your expertise!"
"I can break those open," Will acquiesced as he rushed across the deck towards us.
James nodded gratefully at him before turning his attention to me. "Once Mr. Turner's work is done, go below and rest. You look dead on your feet. Don't go to your old cabin, take mine. I'm sure the women could share your cabin since there are so few to go around. Most of the men will be happy to share the crew's mess together. Mr. Turner you and your wife must take a cabin also. It seems only fitting. Come and find me when you are done. I may have use of you at the helm."
With that he was gone and I watched his retreating back with trepidation. I had in inkling we were about to meet with some very rough seas and weather, but he was entirely right. I needed to sit down before my legs collapsed form under me. I wasn't about to hide away below deck at the most crucial part of our escape. Deflated as I was, I knew I could at least watch on. I barely noticed Will picking at the lock of my shackles for a few seconds because I was so engrossed in James giving the orders. It was only the soft click of the hairpin unlocking the shackles that brought me back to earth. They fell away from my pale wrists and Will threw them to the side. He patted my shoulder briefly and said something but I was not aware of what he said. Then he was gone. I observed the great red welts around my wrist, not knowing quite what to make of them. At that present moment I did not feel that they were painful but they were certainly ugly and I had no way to hide them as my sleeves were torn. I suppose they must have been well matched by the rest of my appearance.
I approached Mai slowly across the deck, trying with all my might not to let my knee trip me up. I grabbed her arm when I reached her and spun her towards me. I pointed at James. "You're going to keep him safe, do you hear me? I've saved your life twice now Mai. Please return the favour. I've seen what you can do. I know how you may command the air and the sea. I want you right behind him, helping him get us safely away from here. Protect him for me, because I can't right now." I didn't realise we'd been overheard. Gillette was striding towards us across the deck, a peculiar look on his face. I didn't bother to greet him because his eyes appeared to be all for Mai. Later on I came to wonder if there was something in that.
My knee finally gave out just as he reached us but he caught me by the elbow and as much as it crushed my pride I had to lean on him otherwise I'd have been sprawled across the deck. "Come along Miss," he said softly as he turned me about. "Admiral Norrington sent me to see that you made it below deck in one piece. You look like you might blow over with one gust of wind."
"I'm staying put," I announced to him as I shook my head. I sounded a lot stronger than I felt. "Find me somewhere to sit where I can see everything and we'll say no more about it!"
I let him lead me up onto the quarterdeck where he was stationed, turning back just once to glance at James up towards the bow, ensuring that the rigging and the sails were manned as he issued orders to pirates and sailors alike. I knew then that they'd be facing a great storm like no other and I was going to be of no help to them whatsoever. Mai had followed meekly behind us and Gillette kept throwing her suspicious glances as we went, turning to glare at her as he helped me to a seat. I wondered then how much of our conversation he had heard.
"I cannot stay by her side," Gillette said to Mai stiffly with a pointed glance in my direction. Will you?"
When Mai nodded he was gone, leaving us in the best seats in the house and bracing ourselves for the oncoming storm.
I'm almost scared to ask what you think? Did it live up to what you've been waiting for? Who'd have thought they'd end up married and not because of a romantic attachment ... well, at least not yet! ;). As I said there's still lots to come in this story and it's all been methodically planned out but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see let me know and I'll see if I can include it here! Once again thanks for reading, be a dear and leave a review if you've got a sec :)
