Disclaimer: Still don't own Jack, or the Black Pearl! Disney took my
wonderful Jack from me, so now I can only write about him! (Sobs)
AN: I might change the rating on this story to R, depending on how far I want the romance to go, so be prepared. And Reikon, I refuse to put "that line" in my story! It's a terrible, terrible line, and I never, ever want to use that in my story! "Why my Roger is Jolly," indeed! Where do you get this stuff?! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 4: Ghostly Encounters:
The next day, Lara woke up to another beautiful day in Port Royal. What made this day even better was the fact that Thomas was gone! He was a nice man, but he was as stuffy and as serious as the Commodore, if not more so! Lara shuddered at the thought.
She had barely sat up in bed before something slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her.
"Lara!" exclaimed a chipper voice.
"Amanda, what are you doing?" Lara asked, laughing. "You should be getting dressed!"
Amanda grinned at her nanny and best friend. "I will if you promise to take me to town today! Promise?"
Lara sighed. "Mandy, I can't. At least, not until after your studies, remember?"
Amanda pouted, then smiled. "But you'll take me afterwards, right Lara?"
Lara grinned. "Of course! Now, go on, I have to get dressed, and so do you!" She set the little girl on the floor and watched her leave. Sighing, Lara pulled out a plain ivory dress and got dressed. She opened the door to find a very surprised maid about to knock. The maid blinked several times before speaking.
"Miss Worthington's tutor is ill today, Miss Storm, and the Missus says that it's alright for you to take her into town for a while," the maid informed her.
Lara smiled at the maid and dismissed her before turning toward the nursery. Once she'd reached the double doors, she knocked. She heard several loud 'thumps' before a very disheveled Amanda answered the door.
Lara stared for a moment before slipping into the nursery and closing the door behind her. To put it kindly, it was a mess. Toys were strewn about, and pillows were pilled up on two halves of the room.
"Amanda," Lara said, awe in her voice. "What have you done?"
The little girl shifted uneasily from one foot to another. "I was playing "pirates," Lara, just like you did when you had your adventures with Mr. and Mrs. Turner."
Lara smiled kindly at the little girl before kneeling in front of her. "Mandy, when I went after the Governor's daughter, I didn't 'play' pirates. I met them, I worked with them, and I fought them, and it wasn't all fun and games. It was very frightening."
"Why?" Amanda asked, her eyes wide.
Lara's face grew serious. "Because there was a great deal of sword- fighting and lots of cannon-fire. It was very dangerous," Lara replied, her eyes glazing over as images of 'dead' pirates flashed in her head and Barbossa's pistol pointed at her brought up a not-yet forgotten fear.
She turned back to Amanda. "Always remember that the life of a pirate may be very exciting, but it is also very dangerous, alright?" The little girl nodded, and Lara smiled. "Now, let's clean this up, hmm? After we're done, we can go into town since your instructor is sick."
The little girl cheered, and the two of them got to work. However, it wasn't until that afternoon that the nursery was finally put back into its original condition. By that time, lunch and afternoon tea had been served, and both needed a nap. Lara agreed that a visit to town was to be the first thing they did when they awoke, so, after tucking Amanda into bed, Lara headed to her own room for a quick nap.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Lara awoke an hour later, she quickly leapt out of bed and dressed. As she turned to leave, a small note on her bedside table caught her eye. She walked over, picked it up, and turned it over a few times, trying to find out who it was from. There was only her name on the front, so she broke the wax seal and read it to herself. It was short but sweet:
"I told you I'd be back."
Her heart stopped.
Jack. He'd come back? No, it couldn't be. It was probably Will or Elizabeth playing a joke on her, getting her hopes up for Jack's return. Yes, that was it. That's all it could be.
A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. She quickly opened it, finding a very excited Amanda in the hallway.
"Are you ready Lara?" she asked, bouncing up and down.
Lara smiled. "Of course I am! Now let's go before it gets too dark." She grabbed the little girl's hand and escorted her downstairs and out the door. The letter lay on the table by the window, fluttering in the late afternoon breeze.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was soon late afternoon/early evening, and Lara was laughing and joking with Amanda as they walked along the streets of Port Royal. Once again, Amanda became distracted by the toys in the toymaker's window, and Lara was left to stand behind her, gazing into the window next to it, which belonged to a jeweler. She was admiring the jewels in the fading light when she looked up to see a hooded male figure behind her. That figure stood three feet behind her and, after making sure she was looking, pushed the edge of the hood back enough for her to see his face. Lara's jaw dropped when she caught sight of that familiar face with that cheeky grin on it, and those beads in his hair. It was Jack. Her heart stopped as she saw him wave at her before turning away.
She twirled around, looking behind her, barely catching a glimpse of the hooded figure disappearing in the crowd. She stood on her toes, hoping to see if it was really him, but it was too late. Amanda tugged on her hand.
"Lara? It's getting late, and I'm hungry. Can we go home now?" she asked.
Lara turned toward her charge and forced a smile. "Of course we can. I believe the cook is making your favorite roast tonight."
"Yay!" the little girl cried before tugging her toward home, not knowing they were being watched.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dinner had been torture for Lara. Jack had plagued her every thought, and she had been forced to smile and pay attention to everything everyone else said and/or did that day. Finally, dinner was over, and Lara was so emotionally exhausted from the day that she decided to head to bed early. She was so distracted as she undressed that she didn't notice another note on her table until she was situated in her bed, the covers around her waist.
The note once again had her name on it, as well as a wax seal. She broke it and read it:
"I told you I'd come back for you, my bonny lass. I missed you."
Lara shook her head. She still thought it was Elizabeth trying to keep her hopes of Jack returning alive because she knew Lara was losing hope.
Still shaking her head at the message, Lara blew out the lamp before falling asleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack had woken up that morning determined to see his bonny lass, if only at a distance. Will and Elizabeth had kindly put him up for the night after dismissing their maid for a few days, and now that he was well rested, Jack was going to see his lass after nine months of thinking about her.
After a quick breakfast of bread, cheese and, of course, rum, Jack was careful to stay out of the public eye; after all, it would be a pointless trip if he were caught by the Commodore's men. He left most of his sailor's outfit, such as his hat and coat, at the Turner's, so he grabbed one of Will's cloaks and headed toward the Worthington estate. Once there, he sat outside in the bushes, hoping to see her come out. When hours passed and nothing happened, he decided to take a look in her room to see if she was sick.
Taking a quick peek around to check for anyone watching, he quickly scaled up the latticework outside her window and looked inside. Nothing; the room was empty, the bed made up, and the room was in perfect order.
Confused, Jack slipped over the balcony's edge and carefully followed the latticework to the back of the house and peeked in the open window. There she was, helping a little girl pick up her toys. He smiled at the pretty scene and wondered what it would be like when the two of them had little ones.
He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. First, he had to get her away from here, win her over again if he had to, and *then* get her to marry him. Hopefully she'd forgive him after he took her from Port Royal.
Once again shaking his head, he looked in, only to find the little girl tucked into bed and his lass nowhere to be found! Cursing his lack of attention, he made his way over to her room and found her quietly nestled in her own bed, likely for a quick nap. This could work toward his advantage.
He quietly opened the balcony door, slipped in, closed it behind him, and, using his unique pirate abilities, quickly and quietly made his way over to her desk. Opening it, he found dozens of pens, sheets of paper, and wax sticks. Perfect. He quickly scribbled a note in his best handwriting, sealed it, then left it on her bedside table. To hide any evidence he was there, he pocketed the used pen and wax stick as mementos of his visit.
Before leaving through the window, Jack bent over his sleeping beauty, brushing a dark brown curl out of her face. He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.
"I'll see you later, luv." He then slipped out the window, down the lattice, and back out into the bushes.
Not half an hour afterwards, Lara came out the front door with the little girl attached to her hand. The little girl was cute in a pink and white gown, but his lovely lass was breathtaking in a pale blue gown. Jack slipped further into the bushes as the two of them walked past him and headed into town.
Jack frowned. How was he going to see her if she was in town? Did he want to risk getting seen by the red-coats? He snorted; of course he did! What a stupid question. He grabbed the cloak he borrowed from Will, pulled up the hood, then followed them into town.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Watching his lass laugh and talk with the little girl made him want to snatch her away right then and there. He didn't like seeing her laughing with anyone else except him, but he couldn't do anything about it. Yet.
He watched the two stop by a window and decided to make a small appearance to his lass. Making sure his hood was up, he stepped up behind her and, after making sure she was looking at him, he pulled back his hood just enough to reveal his face to her and no one else. Her expression was priceless. After making sure she had seen that it was him, he pulled up his hood and raced away behind corner. Several minutes later, he saw her lead the girl towards home.
Following far enough behind so that he wasn't spotted, he watched the two enter the house, then go and sit down to dinner. Here was another chance for him to leave a message for his love.
Once again scaling the latticework and slipping into Lara's room, he reused the same pen and wax stick from before, then placed it where she could see it. He then slipped outside into the darkness and made toward Will and Elizabeth's, hoping to get a decent dinner before getting a good nights sleep, for tomorrow he would be taking his bonny lass away from the town and onto the high seas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Well, I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring. I just wanted to get Lara a little bit freaked out, that's all. It makes the whole "meeting Jack for real" thing even better, don't you think? Anyway, please leave a little review, won't you? After all, I'd do the same for you.
AN: I might change the rating on this story to R, depending on how far I want the romance to go, so be prepared. And Reikon, I refuse to put "that line" in my story! It's a terrible, terrible line, and I never, ever want to use that in my story! "Why my Roger is Jolly," indeed! Where do you get this stuff?! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 4: Ghostly Encounters:
The next day, Lara woke up to another beautiful day in Port Royal. What made this day even better was the fact that Thomas was gone! He was a nice man, but he was as stuffy and as serious as the Commodore, if not more so! Lara shuddered at the thought.
She had barely sat up in bed before something slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her.
"Lara!" exclaimed a chipper voice.
"Amanda, what are you doing?" Lara asked, laughing. "You should be getting dressed!"
Amanda grinned at her nanny and best friend. "I will if you promise to take me to town today! Promise?"
Lara sighed. "Mandy, I can't. At least, not until after your studies, remember?"
Amanda pouted, then smiled. "But you'll take me afterwards, right Lara?"
Lara grinned. "Of course! Now, go on, I have to get dressed, and so do you!" She set the little girl on the floor and watched her leave. Sighing, Lara pulled out a plain ivory dress and got dressed. She opened the door to find a very surprised maid about to knock. The maid blinked several times before speaking.
"Miss Worthington's tutor is ill today, Miss Storm, and the Missus says that it's alright for you to take her into town for a while," the maid informed her.
Lara smiled at the maid and dismissed her before turning toward the nursery. Once she'd reached the double doors, she knocked. She heard several loud 'thumps' before a very disheveled Amanda answered the door.
Lara stared for a moment before slipping into the nursery and closing the door behind her. To put it kindly, it was a mess. Toys were strewn about, and pillows were pilled up on two halves of the room.
"Amanda," Lara said, awe in her voice. "What have you done?"
The little girl shifted uneasily from one foot to another. "I was playing "pirates," Lara, just like you did when you had your adventures with Mr. and Mrs. Turner."
Lara smiled kindly at the little girl before kneeling in front of her. "Mandy, when I went after the Governor's daughter, I didn't 'play' pirates. I met them, I worked with them, and I fought them, and it wasn't all fun and games. It was very frightening."
"Why?" Amanda asked, her eyes wide.
Lara's face grew serious. "Because there was a great deal of sword- fighting and lots of cannon-fire. It was very dangerous," Lara replied, her eyes glazing over as images of 'dead' pirates flashed in her head and Barbossa's pistol pointed at her brought up a not-yet forgotten fear.
She turned back to Amanda. "Always remember that the life of a pirate may be very exciting, but it is also very dangerous, alright?" The little girl nodded, and Lara smiled. "Now, let's clean this up, hmm? After we're done, we can go into town since your instructor is sick."
The little girl cheered, and the two of them got to work. However, it wasn't until that afternoon that the nursery was finally put back into its original condition. By that time, lunch and afternoon tea had been served, and both needed a nap. Lara agreed that a visit to town was to be the first thing they did when they awoke, so, after tucking Amanda into bed, Lara headed to her own room for a quick nap.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Lara awoke an hour later, she quickly leapt out of bed and dressed. As she turned to leave, a small note on her bedside table caught her eye. She walked over, picked it up, and turned it over a few times, trying to find out who it was from. There was only her name on the front, so she broke the wax seal and read it to herself. It was short but sweet:
"I told you I'd be back."
Her heart stopped.
Jack. He'd come back? No, it couldn't be. It was probably Will or Elizabeth playing a joke on her, getting her hopes up for Jack's return. Yes, that was it. That's all it could be.
A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. She quickly opened it, finding a very excited Amanda in the hallway.
"Are you ready Lara?" she asked, bouncing up and down.
Lara smiled. "Of course I am! Now let's go before it gets too dark." She grabbed the little girl's hand and escorted her downstairs and out the door. The letter lay on the table by the window, fluttering in the late afternoon breeze.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was soon late afternoon/early evening, and Lara was laughing and joking with Amanda as they walked along the streets of Port Royal. Once again, Amanda became distracted by the toys in the toymaker's window, and Lara was left to stand behind her, gazing into the window next to it, which belonged to a jeweler. She was admiring the jewels in the fading light when she looked up to see a hooded male figure behind her. That figure stood three feet behind her and, after making sure she was looking, pushed the edge of the hood back enough for her to see his face. Lara's jaw dropped when she caught sight of that familiar face with that cheeky grin on it, and those beads in his hair. It was Jack. Her heart stopped as she saw him wave at her before turning away.
She twirled around, looking behind her, barely catching a glimpse of the hooded figure disappearing in the crowd. She stood on her toes, hoping to see if it was really him, but it was too late. Amanda tugged on her hand.
"Lara? It's getting late, and I'm hungry. Can we go home now?" she asked.
Lara turned toward her charge and forced a smile. "Of course we can. I believe the cook is making your favorite roast tonight."
"Yay!" the little girl cried before tugging her toward home, not knowing they were being watched.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dinner had been torture for Lara. Jack had plagued her every thought, and she had been forced to smile and pay attention to everything everyone else said and/or did that day. Finally, dinner was over, and Lara was so emotionally exhausted from the day that she decided to head to bed early. She was so distracted as she undressed that she didn't notice another note on her table until she was situated in her bed, the covers around her waist.
The note once again had her name on it, as well as a wax seal. She broke it and read it:
"I told you I'd come back for you, my bonny lass. I missed you."
Lara shook her head. She still thought it was Elizabeth trying to keep her hopes of Jack returning alive because she knew Lara was losing hope.
Still shaking her head at the message, Lara blew out the lamp before falling asleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack had woken up that morning determined to see his bonny lass, if only at a distance. Will and Elizabeth had kindly put him up for the night after dismissing their maid for a few days, and now that he was well rested, Jack was going to see his lass after nine months of thinking about her.
After a quick breakfast of bread, cheese and, of course, rum, Jack was careful to stay out of the public eye; after all, it would be a pointless trip if he were caught by the Commodore's men. He left most of his sailor's outfit, such as his hat and coat, at the Turner's, so he grabbed one of Will's cloaks and headed toward the Worthington estate. Once there, he sat outside in the bushes, hoping to see her come out. When hours passed and nothing happened, he decided to take a look in her room to see if she was sick.
Taking a quick peek around to check for anyone watching, he quickly scaled up the latticework outside her window and looked inside. Nothing; the room was empty, the bed made up, and the room was in perfect order.
Confused, Jack slipped over the balcony's edge and carefully followed the latticework to the back of the house and peeked in the open window. There she was, helping a little girl pick up her toys. He smiled at the pretty scene and wondered what it would be like when the two of them had little ones.
He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. First, he had to get her away from here, win her over again if he had to, and *then* get her to marry him. Hopefully she'd forgive him after he took her from Port Royal.
Once again shaking his head, he looked in, only to find the little girl tucked into bed and his lass nowhere to be found! Cursing his lack of attention, he made his way over to her room and found her quietly nestled in her own bed, likely for a quick nap. This could work toward his advantage.
He quietly opened the balcony door, slipped in, closed it behind him, and, using his unique pirate abilities, quickly and quietly made his way over to her desk. Opening it, he found dozens of pens, sheets of paper, and wax sticks. Perfect. He quickly scribbled a note in his best handwriting, sealed it, then left it on her bedside table. To hide any evidence he was there, he pocketed the used pen and wax stick as mementos of his visit.
Before leaving through the window, Jack bent over his sleeping beauty, brushing a dark brown curl out of her face. He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.
"I'll see you later, luv." He then slipped out the window, down the lattice, and back out into the bushes.
Not half an hour afterwards, Lara came out the front door with the little girl attached to her hand. The little girl was cute in a pink and white gown, but his lovely lass was breathtaking in a pale blue gown. Jack slipped further into the bushes as the two of them walked past him and headed into town.
Jack frowned. How was he going to see her if she was in town? Did he want to risk getting seen by the red-coats? He snorted; of course he did! What a stupid question. He grabbed the cloak he borrowed from Will, pulled up the hood, then followed them into town.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Watching his lass laugh and talk with the little girl made him want to snatch her away right then and there. He didn't like seeing her laughing with anyone else except him, but he couldn't do anything about it. Yet.
He watched the two stop by a window and decided to make a small appearance to his lass. Making sure his hood was up, he stepped up behind her and, after making sure she was looking at him, he pulled back his hood just enough to reveal his face to her and no one else. Her expression was priceless. After making sure she had seen that it was him, he pulled up his hood and raced away behind corner. Several minutes later, he saw her lead the girl towards home.
Following far enough behind so that he wasn't spotted, he watched the two enter the house, then go and sit down to dinner. Here was another chance for him to leave a message for his love.
Once again scaling the latticework and slipping into Lara's room, he reused the same pen and wax stick from before, then placed it where she could see it. He then slipped outside into the darkness and made toward Will and Elizabeth's, hoping to get a decent dinner before getting a good nights sleep, for tomorrow he would be taking his bonny lass away from the town and onto the high seas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Well, I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring. I just wanted to get Lara a little bit freaked out, that's all. It makes the whole "meeting Jack for real" thing even better, don't you think? Anyway, please leave a little review, won't you? After all, I'd do the same for you.