Disclaimer: I only own Jack through owning the Pirates DVD.
AN: I'm going to try and finish this story before college classes start on January 5th because I probably won't have time to do it with the homework load and everything. After this story is finished, I might get started on a Will/OC romance, I've always wanted to try it! Anyway, enjoy reading this chapter!
Chapter 9: Tales and Return to the Sea:
The next two days passed slowly for Julia and Kat. They were not allowed out of the house, and most of the manor's rooms were off limits to them, so the two young women were forced to remain in their suites, bored out of their minds until lunch or dinner was served. The two maids from the first evening returned, dressed them in their evening gowns, and escorted the two Sparrow girls to the dinning hall, where there was little conversation, and where Julia and Kat began to eat sparingly in order to put their plan of going to Port Stephens and contacting their parents into motion. After that, both girls were once again escorted to their rooms, where they settled in for the night.
Finally, during lunch on the third day after their arrival, Lord Holloway began to be a bit more curious about the girls' lives aboard the Pearl, and asked one or two questions about how the girls were raised, and what their days were usually like. Julia would primarily answer the questions, with Kat piping up once and a while to add a detail or two, but lunch was still a solemn and quiet affair, and the girls returned to their rooms for another boring afternoon.
At dinner, the two girls got a bit of a surprise when Lord Holloway asked a question that had burned in his mind for over twenty four years.
"How has my daughter's life been aboard the Black Pearl?" he asked, looking at each girl. "I would have asked sooner, but I did not think it appropriate to ask so soon after separating you from her."
Julia spoke first, as always. "Our mother is very happy aboard the Pearl," she said, fiddling with the food on her plate, her appetite gone at the mention of her mother. "She loves the sea almost as much as our father does."
Lord Holloway leaned back in his chair. "Really?" he asked, his voice filled with doubt. He then changed the subject. "Would you mind telling me how your parents met?"
"They met while trying to save Governor Swann's daughter," Julia replied carefully. She didn't think the lord would believe the real story, so she told a more condensed and cleaned up version of the tale. "Mother had been a handmaiden to the Governor's daughter, and she, Will Turner, and our father went to save Miss Swann after she was kidnapped by Captain Barbossa, who had been our father's first mate over ten years before Mother and Father met. Barbossa had mutinied against our father and marooned him, stealing the Black Pearl. He had done some evil deeds in that span of time, and kidnapping the Governor's daughter was one of the last evil things he did. Mother, Father, and Will Turner saved her, defeated Barbossa, and reclaimed the Black Pearl with the help of a crew recruited in Tortuga."
"And then your parents were married," Lord Holloway said, grinding out the word 'married.'
"No, Father left Mother in Port Royal for a while so that he wouldn't be hung as a pirate," Kat said, sipping her water. "After nine months, Father came back for her, and they fell even deeper in love than before. They wed not long afterwards."
"And when were you born, Julia?" the lord asked, sipping his wine.
"Over two years later," Julia replied. "Kat was adopted when I was five years old. She was only three when I found her on a dock and brought her onboard the Pearl, and Mother and Father took her in as one of their own."
"Interesting," the lord replied, again sipping his wine. "But are you sure your mother married your father out of love and not fear? It wouldn't surprise me if he had frightened her into marrying him, after all." Both girls turned to glare at the man who called himself their grandfather.
"Our parents love each other more than anything!" Kat said passionately. "Our father would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him!"
"My dear, pirates are unable to love," Lord Holloway spoke, as though she were naïve to believe such a thing. "I believe your father tricked your mother into marrying him. After all, she was the companion of the Governor's daughter and he would have paid for her return to Port Royal."
"How dare you say such a thing?!" Kat cried out. "Our father married our mother out of love, and never once asked for a single penny from the Governor or anyone else!"
"My dear, I have had dealings with pirates in the past, and all I can say is that they are all the same greedy dogs who care nothing for others and only for themselves," Lord Holloway replied, his tone full of arrogance and authority. "Whatever sort of story your parents have told you about their marriage and so-called 'love' must either be a false tale to cover up the truth, or a fantasy within their own minds." He took another drink from his glass.
Both girls sat and glared at the Lord of Keens before getting up from their chairs. Then, before the lord could blink, both girls stalked out of the dinning hall and upstairs, heading for their rooms. At the last minute, Julia grabbed Kat by the arm and dragged her into her own suite, locking the door and blocking it with a chair to prevent anyone from entering. Once they were safely situated inside, both girls engaged in a signing conversation to throw off anyone spying through the wall.
'Can you believe what he said about our parents?!' Kat signed, anger written all over her face. 'If I'd had a sword in my hand, he'd be dead at this very moment!'
'He'd be dead at your hands only if I hadn't killed him first!' Julia exclaimed, stalking towards the closet and pulling out two nightgowns and robes, tossing a pair to Kat. Both girls helped each other undress and let down their hair before curling up on Julia's bed.
'He has no right to claim that pirates can't love!' Kat signed to her sister. 'I know that Annamaria, Scar, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Cotton love us as much as Mum and Dad do!'
'I know that, too, Kat,' Julia replied. 'I just wish that blind bastard downstairs could see what sort of life we lived on the Pearl. If he knew, he wouldn't have said such things.' She sighed. 'Either way, I refuse to leave this room until he apologizes for insulting our parents and our friends on the Pearl!'
'Jewel, we can't stay in here forever!' Kat exclaimed. 'What will we eat? We'll starve!'
'No, we won't,' Julia replied, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a bunched-up handkerchief. She placed it on the bed and unrolled it, revealing two rolls. 'I've been saving all of the rolls brought up at breakfast, and my afternoon tea has gone into the small flasks that were hidden in my gown when we were kidnapped,' she signed to he sister. 'I'm so glad that mother taught us to hide food and always carry water flasks in our gowns in case something bad happened to us. My maid thinks I've been feeding the bread to the birds outside my window, and that I'm an absolute tea fanatic!' Both girls laughed as Julia returned the handkerchiefs to the drawer she had pulled them from.
'You really are clever, Jewel,' Kat said. 'You're just like Dad in his plotting mode!'
Both girls laughed again before snuggling under the covers of Julia's bed and falling asleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, downstairs in his private office, Lord Holloway was silently fuming as he paced around his office. He couldn't believe that his granddaughters had stalked out of his presence without asking to be excused, and had dared to talk back to him! This totally went beyond the place of a noblewoman. A woman must be silent and obedient in the presence of their elders, especially when their elder is their grandfather. He would not tolerate this sort of insubordination in his house!
He suddenly paused in mid-step, looking up at the wall above his desk. There hung a portrait of his dead wife, Marianna, who had died bringing his beloved daughter into the world. Anne was somewhat named for her late mother, for the resemblance to her mother was uncanny, and the loss of his only child in the Caribbean had ruined him emotionally. Now, with a granddaughter who was nearly the exact image of both his dead wife and long- lost daughter, his mind and heart were in turmoil; it seemed as though both of his lost loved ones had been returned to him in the single form of a granddaughter, and now he had possibly ruined any chance of getting to know her better. Perhaps he had been too harsh on the girls. He would have to apologize to the both of them tomorrow when they joined him at lunch, and try to further investigate their parents and their past aboard the Black Pearl. Hopefully things would be better in the morning.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was after noon the next day, and Lord Holloway was growing impatient. His granddaughters should have been downstairs by now. What on earth was keeping them? Finally, a maid appeared in the dinning room and curtsied.
"My lord, Miss Julia and Miss Katherine have locked themselves inside of Miss Julia's room and refuse to open the door!" she said, panic written all over her face.
The lord frowned at her. "Does the steward not have a key to her door?" he asked slowly, as though the maid were incredibly stupid.
"Um, yes, milord, but the door appears to be blocked somehow, and we can't seem to open it," the maid replied, looking down at the floor.
Lord Holloway sighed. "They must be upset about last night," he said to her. "They will come down or open the door when they are hungry, my dear, don't worry. Have someone keep an eye on the door to see when they open it and ask for food." He waved his hand in dismissal and the maid curtsied and left. He was not worried; his lovely Anne had tried such things when she was younger and had always come out after one day without food. He had no doubt his granddaughters would be joining him for lunch the next day, or dinner at the absolute latest. He turned back to his lunch, planning out his day in his head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lord Holloway did not like being wrong, and this case was no exception. His granddaughters had been upstairs in Julia's room for three days, and hadn't come out for food or water. His servants were beginning to panic, and they weren't the only ones; he could feel panic rising up inside of his own heart. Not being able to take any more, Lord Holloway went upstairs to his granddaughters' room and waved his hands, dismissing the three servants that stood watch outside the door. Once they were gone, he walked over to the door and knocked.
"Julia, Katherine, it's I, your grandfather," he said, hoping the two of them could hear his voice through the door. "I'm sorry that I insulted your family and your friends, and I hope to make it up to you by taking the two of you to Port Stephens for a few weeks. Would you like that?" There was a short pause before a voice answered through the door.
"Do you mean it?" a feminine voice asked.
"Of course, my dear," he said, truly meaning every word. "You must miss the sea a great deal, and I have a small house there where you and your sister may relax for a while. You can leave tomorrow if you wish." There was another slight pause.
"Alright," answered the voice. "We'll be ready then."
"Would you two open the door so that the servants may serve you lunch and dinner in your room?" the lord asked. He truly wanted them to eat with him, but knew that would not be a good idea just yet.
"Yes, and have them knock when they arrive, please," answered the voice inside. After a slight pause, she spoke again. "And thank you for letting us visit the sea, it is very kind of you!"
"Think nothing of it, my dear," Lord Holloway said through the door. "Good day to you both." He went off to summon the servants and to arrange for the meals to be taken upstairs, not realizing that he had played right into Julia and Kat's plans for rescue by the Black Pearl.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Julia and Kat were on their way to Port Stephens in a lovely carriage surrounded by guards, and filled with the hope that they would be able to send a message to their parents.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Wow, their granddad sure is an ass, isn't he? Well, you've read why he's emotionally messed up, what with losing his wife and daughter and all. Anyway, please leave a review! It helps me create wonderful stories for you! Thanks!
AN: I'm going to try and finish this story before college classes start on January 5th because I probably won't have time to do it with the homework load and everything. After this story is finished, I might get started on a Will/OC romance, I've always wanted to try it! Anyway, enjoy reading this chapter!
Chapter 9: Tales and Return to the Sea:
The next two days passed slowly for Julia and Kat. They were not allowed out of the house, and most of the manor's rooms were off limits to them, so the two young women were forced to remain in their suites, bored out of their minds until lunch or dinner was served. The two maids from the first evening returned, dressed them in their evening gowns, and escorted the two Sparrow girls to the dinning hall, where there was little conversation, and where Julia and Kat began to eat sparingly in order to put their plan of going to Port Stephens and contacting their parents into motion. After that, both girls were once again escorted to their rooms, where they settled in for the night.
Finally, during lunch on the third day after their arrival, Lord Holloway began to be a bit more curious about the girls' lives aboard the Pearl, and asked one or two questions about how the girls were raised, and what their days were usually like. Julia would primarily answer the questions, with Kat piping up once and a while to add a detail or two, but lunch was still a solemn and quiet affair, and the girls returned to their rooms for another boring afternoon.
At dinner, the two girls got a bit of a surprise when Lord Holloway asked a question that had burned in his mind for over twenty four years.
"How has my daughter's life been aboard the Black Pearl?" he asked, looking at each girl. "I would have asked sooner, but I did not think it appropriate to ask so soon after separating you from her."
Julia spoke first, as always. "Our mother is very happy aboard the Pearl," she said, fiddling with the food on her plate, her appetite gone at the mention of her mother. "She loves the sea almost as much as our father does."
Lord Holloway leaned back in his chair. "Really?" he asked, his voice filled with doubt. He then changed the subject. "Would you mind telling me how your parents met?"
"They met while trying to save Governor Swann's daughter," Julia replied carefully. She didn't think the lord would believe the real story, so she told a more condensed and cleaned up version of the tale. "Mother had been a handmaiden to the Governor's daughter, and she, Will Turner, and our father went to save Miss Swann after she was kidnapped by Captain Barbossa, who had been our father's first mate over ten years before Mother and Father met. Barbossa had mutinied against our father and marooned him, stealing the Black Pearl. He had done some evil deeds in that span of time, and kidnapping the Governor's daughter was one of the last evil things he did. Mother, Father, and Will Turner saved her, defeated Barbossa, and reclaimed the Black Pearl with the help of a crew recruited in Tortuga."
"And then your parents were married," Lord Holloway said, grinding out the word 'married.'
"No, Father left Mother in Port Royal for a while so that he wouldn't be hung as a pirate," Kat said, sipping her water. "After nine months, Father came back for her, and they fell even deeper in love than before. They wed not long afterwards."
"And when were you born, Julia?" the lord asked, sipping his wine.
"Over two years later," Julia replied. "Kat was adopted when I was five years old. She was only three when I found her on a dock and brought her onboard the Pearl, and Mother and Father took her in as one of their own."
"Interesting," the lord replied, again sipping his wine. "But are you sure your mother married your father out of love and not fear? It wouldn't surprise me if he had frightened her into marrying him, after all." Both girls turned to glare at the man who called himself their grandfather.
"Our parents love each other more than anything!" Kat said passionately. "Our father would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him!"
"My dear, pirates are unable to love," Lord Holloway spoke, as though she were naïve to believe such a thing. "I believe your father tricked your mother into marrying him. After all, she was the companion of the Governor's daughter and he would have paid for her return to Port Royal."
"How dare you say such a thing?!" Kat cried out. "Our father married our mother out of love, and never once asked for a single penny from the Governor or anyone else!"
"My dear, I have had dealings with pirates in the past, and all I can say is that they are all the same greedy dogs who care nothing for others and only for themselves," Lord Holloway replied, his tone full of arrogance and authority. "Whatever sort of story your parents have told you about their marriage and so-called 'love' must either be a false tale to cover up the truth, or a fantasy within their own minds." He took another drink from his glass.
Both girls sat and glared at the Lord of Keens before getting up from their chairs. Then, before the lord could blink, both girls stalked out of the dinning hall and upstairs, heading for their rooms. At the last minute, Julia grabbed Kat by the arm and dragged her into her own suite, locking the door and blocking it with a chair to prevent anyone from entering. Once they were safely situated inside, both girls engaged in a signing conversation to throw off anyone spying through the wall.
'Can you believe what he said about our parents?!' Kat signed, anger written all over her face. 'If I'd had a sword in my hand, he'd be dead at this very moment!'
'He'd be dead at your hands only if I hadn't killed him first!' Julia exclaimed, stalking towards the closet and pulling out two nightgowns and robes, tossing a pair to Kat. Both girls helped each other undress and let down their hair before curling up on Julia's bed.
'He has no right to claim that pirates can't love!' Kat signed to her sister. 'I know that Annamaria, Scar, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Cotton love us as much as Mum and Dad do!'
'I know that, too, Kat,' Julia replied. 'I just wish that blind bastard downstairs could see what sort of life we lived on the Pearl. If he knew, he wouldn't have said such things.' She sighed. 'Either way, I refuse to leave this room until he apologizes for insulting our parents and our friends on the Pearl!'
'Jewel, we can't stay in here forever!' Kat exclaimed. 'What will we eat? We'll starve!'
'No, we won't,' Julia replied, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a bunched-up handkerchief. She placed it on the bed and unrolled it, revealing two rolls. 'I've been saving all of the rolls brought up at breakfast, and my afternoon tea has gone into the small flasks that were hidden in my gown when we were kidnapped,' she signed to he sister. 'I'm so glad that mother taught us to hide food and always carry water flasks in our gowns in case something bad happened to us. My maid thinks I've been feeding the bread to the birds outside my window, and that I'm an absolute tea fanatic!' Both girls laughed as Julia returned the handkerchiefs to the drawer she had pulled them from.
'You really are clever, Jewel,' Kat said. 'You're just like Dad in his plotting mode!'
Both girls laughed again before snuggling under the covers of Julia's bed and falling asleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, downstairs in his private office, Lord Holloway was silently fuming as he paced around his office. He couldn't believe that his granddaughters had stalked out of his presence without asking to be excused, and had dared to talk back to him! This totally went beyond the place of a noblewoman. A woman must be silent and obedient in the presence of their elders, especially when their elder is their grandfather. He would not tolerate this sort of insubordination in his house!
He suddenly paused in mid-step, looking up at the wall above his desk. There hung a portrait of his dead wife, Marianna, who had died bringing his beloved daughter into the world. Anne was somewhat named for her late mother, for the resemblance to her mother was uncanny, and the loss of his only child in the Caribbean had ruined him emotionally. Now, with a granddaughter who was nearly the exact image of both his dead wife and long- lost daughter, his mind and heart were in turmoil; it seemed as though both of his lost loved ones had been returned to him in the single form of a granddaughter, and now he had possibly ruined any chance of getting to know her better. Perhaps he had been too harsh on the girls. He would have to apologize to the both of them tomorrow when they joined him at lunch, and try to further investigate their parents and their past aboard the Black Pearl. Hopefully things would be better in the morning.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was after noon the next day, and Lord Holloway was growing impatient. His granddaughters should have been downstairs by now. What on earth was keeping them? Finally, a maid appeared in the dinning room and curtsied.
"My lord, Miss Julia and Miss Katherine have locked themselves inside of Miss Julia's room and refuse to open the door!" she said, panic written all over her face.
The lord frowned at her. "Does the steward not have a key to her door?" he asked slowly, as though the maid were incredibly stupid.
"Um, yes, milord, but the door appears to be blocked somehow, and we can't seem to open it," the maid replied, looking down at the floor.
Lord Holloway sighed. "They must be upset about last night," he said to her. "They will come down or open the door when they are hungry, my dear, don't worry. Have someone keep an eye on the door to see when they open it and ask for food." He waved his hand in dismissal and the maid curtsied and left. He was not worried; his lovely Anne had tried such things when she was younger and had always come out after one day without food. He had no doubt his granddaughters would be joining him for lunch the next day, or dinner at the absolute latest. He turned back to his lunch, planning out his day in his head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lord Holloway did not like being wrong, and this case was no exception. His granddaughters had been upstairs in Julia's room for three days, and hadn't come out for food or water. His servants were beginning to panic, and they weren't the only ones; he could feel panic rising up inside of his own heart. Not being able to take any more, Lord Holloway went upstairs to his granddaughters' room and waved his hands, dismissing the three servants that stood watch outside the door. Once they were gone, he walked over to the door and knocked.
"Julia, Katherine, it's I, your grandfather," he said, hoping the two of them could hear his voice through the door. "I'm sorry that I insulted your family and your friends, and I hope to make it up to you by taking the two of you to Port Stephens for a few weeks. Would you like that?" There was a short pause before a voice answered through the door.
"Do you mean it?" a feminine voice asked.
"Of course, my dear," he said, truly meaning every word. "You must miss the sea a great deal, and I have a small house there where you and your sister may relax for a while. You can leave tomorrow if you wish." There was another slight pause.
"Alright," answered the voice. "We'll be ready then."
"Would you two open the door so that the servants may serve you lunch and dinner in your room?" the lord asked. He truly wanted them to eat with him, but knew that would not be a good idea just yet.
"Yes, and have them knock when they arrive, please," answered the voice inside. After a slight pause, she spoke again. "And thank you for letting us visit the sea, it is very kind of you!"
"Think nothing of it, my dear," Lord Holloway said through the door. "Good day to you both." He went off to summon the servants and to arrange for the meals to be taken upstairs, not realizing that he had played right into Julia and Kat's plans for rescue by the Black Pearl.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Julia and Kat were on their way to Port Stephens in a lovely carriage surrounded by guards, and filled with the hope that they would be able to send a message to their parents.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Wow, their granddad sure is an ass, isn't he? Well, you've read why he's emotionally messed up, what with losing his wife and daughter and all. Anyway, please leave a review! It helps me create wonderful stories for you! Thanks!