Ok, say it with me now..."I do not own POTC, Disney does. I own Arianne, her family, etc. etc." Goooooooooooood!
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Ok, a little of Elizabeth in this chapter...Hopefully none of you have any fond feelings for her!
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Chapter 5: Amos!!!!!
Holding tightly to her sheet rope, Arianne looked down and wondered just why she was doing this. Now that she thought about it, it was really quite stupid. If she could have, she'd have climbed right back up that rope--she wasn't very far down, only a foot or so from her windowsill. Sadly, however, she couldn't climb a rope to save her life. And that's just what was going to happen, she thought. She was going to fall to her death because she couldn't climb a rope. So, having nowhere else to go, and feeling a bit dizzy (was that from hanging far above the ground or because she couldn't draw a deep breath?), she started to inch her way downward slowly.
For one heartstopping moment, she slid. Luckily, her feet came up against one of the knots, effectively stopping her. Clinging even more tightly to the rope, her face the color of ash, heart beating wildly out of control, breath coming in shallow gasps, she hung there for a moment. After her heart had calmed down a little, she looked down, seeing that she wasn't all that far off the ground--maybe 8 feet--she relaxed a little more, but it was with much reluctance that she slid her feet off of the safety of the knot (relative safety, anyway, her mind screamed at her, what if the knots weren't tight enough? What if it ripped or something?) and started going downward once more.
Finally, what seemed like hours later (but in actuality had only been about fifteen minutes), her feet touched the bottom. Breathing in relief, she ran as well as she could in the dress and with her breath coming so shortly around the back of the house, deciding she would make her way down to the docks and beg to be let aboard the Black Pearl. She slipped behind the cover of some bushes and painfully moved down a few more houses before checking the road and then coming out of cover.
Thankfully, most of the men were at work, and as she was not in the business district, she really didn't have to worry too much about any of them seeing her. She had a brief flash of panic about the women, but then realized they would probably put her disheveled appearance down to her eccentricity and boyishness and think nothing else of it until they were asked if they had seen Arianne, and which way did she go?
Swallowing nervously, she nonetheless tried to keep a placid expression on her face and her pace to a purposeful stroll. She knew she was in some trouble, though, the dizziness had yet to leave, and her bruises were stabbing sharper than ever, making her breaths sharp as well as shallow. She needed to rest, but knew she couldn't, and so struggled onward without noticeable faltering.
Halfway there, her sewing bag seemed to weigh a good fifty pounds, but she did not drop it. Now a few people were passing her by, a few giving her the occasional odd look, but most ignoring her completely. Later, if asked, those people probably wouldn't even remember seeing her. Trying to get a good breath of air into her lungs and failing, she decided she could probably risk a small rest on one of the benches, and sat down, her face now red with heat and lack of air. Dear God, she begged, please please please don't let Amos find me. Please.
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Amos kept walking purposefully on, Jack following a safe distance behind. He need not have worried, however, as Amos was thoroughly involved in his own dark and sadistic thoughts and too busy to even bother noticing something as simple as that "feeling" one gets when being followed. It was odd, though, how he kept turning every so often, then coming eventually back to the same street he had been walking along in the first place. Jack was beginning to find Amos' behavior very peculiar indeed, and wondered if he did this simply to throw people of track or out of sheer absentmindedness. Naturally, people had been throwing him odd--and occasionally hostile--looks as they passed him by, some of the more foolish ones not knowing who he was thinking he was simply an unkempt drunk out to wander the streets. Jack, of course, smiled broadly at and occasionally bowed slightly to the folks that looked at him, enjoying how their facial expressions turned from mild annoyance to utter disgust.
But he never lost track of Amos.
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Earlier that morning, as Arianne, Jack, and Will had stood talking, Elizabeth woke up from the most delicious dream, nearly purring with satisfaction, much as a cat might do after lapping up all the cream. She wasn't surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. Will tended to leave early and come home late. Not that she was terribly disappointed about this, of course, she preferred not seeing him longer than an hour or two a day. It was better than putting on the facade that she still loved him. Well, she DID still love him...just not the way she had before. She still loved him as her childhood friend. It was just that her lust and more wifely love for him had gone winging one morning with the dawn and had yet to decide to come back. She really didn't mind, but ofttimes she wondered if Will knew. He knew her very well, of course, and could almost always tell when she was lying, but she couldn't bring herself to just say, "I don't want to be married to you anymore, Will, I want someone else."
Of course, she didn't want to hurt him. What if he was still in love with her? Although, she had to admit, he hadn't asked for sex in a good three months. Which was fine with her, he didn't quite live up to the man in her dreams. If Will WAS still in love with her...what would he think if she told him who she truly wanted? Even if he wasn't in love with her anymore, what would he think? Not that it really mattered, she hoped to leave Will for him one day, even fantasized that her dream man would come and take her away for good.
Thinking of this fantasy, she smiled dreamily. Oh how she hoped it would happen. As the clock struck ten, she realized that she really did have to get out of bed and start getting ready. She was holding a luncheon here today. She walked over to the window and looked out at the absolutely gorgeous day Monday was turning out to be, and then rang for her maid.
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As Arianne finally got a bit of energy back and the buzz of dizziness had receded somewhat, she got up and moved on once more, making sure to bring her sewing bag with her. It now seemed to weigh only twenty-five pounds, thank the good Lord above. Now in the business district of town, she tried to look more dignified, and still walked purposefully, pretending not to see anyone she passed by. Seeing the mast of the largest ship in the harbor, hope filled her. Almost there. She had made it!
Then Amos turned the corner just ahead of her. Her hopes went up in smoke. Seeing her, he narrowed his eyes. She couldn't pretend she had missed him now, he had seen the expression of recognition and fear on her face, though she had hidden it as quickly as it had come. Her heart began to beat as a bird will beat the bars of its cage, erratically. Her breathing became shallow again, and the buzzing of dizziness once more came to the fore. She stood stock still, staring at him coldly in spite of the fear and nearness to fainting she felt.
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Ok, a little of Elizabeth in this chapter...Hopefully none of you have any fond feelings for her!
***********************************************************************
Chapter 5: Amos!!!!!
Holding tightly to her sheet rope, Arianne looked down and wondered just why she was doing this. Now that she thought about it, it was really quite stupid. If she could have, she'd have climbed right back up that rope--she wasn't very far down, only a foot or so from her windowsill. Sadly, however, she couldn't climb a rope to save her life. And that's just what was going to happen, she thought. She was going to fall to her death because she couldn't climb a rope. So, having nowhere else to go, and feeling a bit dizzy (was that from hanging far above the ground or because she couldn't draw a deep breath?), she started to inch her way downward slowly.
For one heartstopping moment, she slid. Luckily, her feet came up against one of the knots, effectively stopping her. Clinging even more tightly to the rope, her face the color of ash, heart beating wildly out of control, breath coming in shallow gasps, she hung there for a moment. After her heart had calmed down a little, she looked down, seeing that she wasn't all that far off the ground--maybe 8 feet--she relaxed a little more, but it was with much reluctance that she slid her feet off of the safety of the knot (relative safety, anyway, her mind screamed at her, what if the knots weren't tight enough? What if it ripped or something?) and started going downward once more.
Finally, what seemed like hours later (but in actuality had only been about fifteen minutes), her feet touched the bottom. Breathing in relief, she ran as well as she could in the dress and with her breath coming so shortly around the back of the house, deciding she would make her way down to the docks and beg to be let aboard the Black Pearl. She slipped behind the cover of some bushes and painfully moved down a few more houses before checking the road and then coming out of cover.
Thankfully, most of the men were at work, and as she was not in the business district, she really didn't have to worry too much about any of them seeing her. She had a brief flash of panic about the women, but then realized they would probably put her disheveled appearance down to her eccentricity and boyishness and think nothing else of it until they were asked if they had seen Arianne, and which way did she go?
Swallowing nervously, she nonetheless tried to keep a placid expression on her face and her pace to a purposeful stroll. She knew she was in some trouble, though, the dizziness had yet to leave, and her bruises were stabbing sharper than ever, making her breaths sharp as well as shallow. She needed to rest, but knew she couldn't, and so struggled onward without noticeable faltering.
Halfway there, her sewing bag seemed to weigh a good fifty pounds, but she did not drop it. Now a few people were passing her by, a few giving her the occasional odd look, but most ignoring her completely. Later, if asked, those people probably wouldn't even remember seeing her. Trying to get a good breath of air into her lungs and failing, she decided she could probably risk a small rest on one of the benches, and sat down, her face now red with heat and lack of air. Dear God, she begged, please please please don't let Amos find me. Please.
*************************************************
Amos kept walking purposefully on, Jack following a safe distance behind. He need not have worried, however, as Amos was thoroughly involved in his own dark and sadistic thoughts and too busy to even bother noticing something as simple as that "feeling" one gets when being followed. It was odd, though, how he kept turning every so often, then coming eventually back to the same street he had been walking along in the first place. Jack was beginning to find Amos' behavior very peculiar indeed, and wondered if he did this simply to throw people of track or out of sheer absentmindedness. Naturally, people had been throwing him odd--and occasionally hostile--looks as they passed him by, some of the more foolish ones not knowing who he was thinking he was simply an unkempt drunk out to wander the streets. Jack, of course, smiled broadly at and occasionally bowed slightly to the folks that looked at him, enjoying how their facial expressions turned from mild annoyance to utter disgust.
But he never lost track of Amos.
*************************************************
Earlier that morning, as Arianne, Jack, and Will had stood talking, Elizabeth woke up from the most delicious dream, nearly purring with satisfaction, much as a cat might do after lapping up all the cream. She wasn't surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. Will tended to leave early and come home late. Not that she was terribly disappointed about this, of course, she preferred not seeing him longer than an hour or two a day. It was better than putting on the facade that she still loved him. Well, she DID still love him...just not the way she had before. She still loved him as her childhood friend. It was just that her lust and more wifely love for him had gone winging one morning with the dawn and had yet to decide to come back. She really didn't mind, but ofttimes she wondered if Will knew. He knew her very well, of course, and could almost always tell when she was lying, but she couldn't bring herself to just say, "I don't want to be married to you anymore, Will, I want someone else."
Of course, she didn't want to hurt him. What if he was still in love with her? Although, she had to admit, he hadn't asked for sex in a good three months. Which was fine with her, he didn't quite live up to the man in her dreams. If Will WAS still in love with her...what would he think if she told him who she truly wanted? Even if he wasn't in love with her anymore, what would he think? Not that it really mattered, she hoped to leave Will for him one day, even fantasized that her dream man would come and take her away for good.
Thinking of this fantasy, she smiled dreamily. Oh how she hoped it would happen. As the clock struck ten, she realized that she really did have to get out of bed and start getting ready. She was holding a luncheon here today. She walked over to the window and looked out at the absolutely gorgeous day Monday was turning out to be, and then rang for her maid.
*************************************************
As Arianne finally got a bit of energy back and the buzz of dizziness had receded somewhat, she got up and moved on once more, making sure to bring her sewing bag with her. It now seemed to weigh only twenty-five pounds, thank the good Lord above. Now in the business district of town, she tried to look more dignified, and still walked purposefully, pretending not to see anyone she passed by. Seeing the mast of the largest ship in the harbor, hope filled her. Almost there. She had made it!
Then Amos turned the corner just ahead of her. Her hopes went up in smoke. Seeing her, he narrowed his eyes. She couldn't pretend she had missed him now, he had seen the expression of recognition and fear on her face, though she had hidden it as quickly as it had come. Her heart began to beat as a bird will beat the bars of its cage, erratically. Her breathing became shallow again, and the buzzing of dizziness once more came to the fore. She stood stock still, staring at him coldly in spite of the fear and nearness to fainting she felt.