Chapter 28: Wait Just a Bloody Minute!
Some time after Arianne, Jack, and Amara had left him standing there, he began to rethink his plan. Where would he start looking for her? Though he was still stinging from the insults, Arianne was right, there were entirely too many hiding places to simply look for without having the slightest clue as to where Elizabeth might be. Sighing, he jogged in the direction they had gone, hoping to find them before they had gone inside Arianne's home.
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She stared at the house she had lived in for so long and found herself not thinking of it as "home." The Pearl had become home to her, and she realized that she really did not want to live in a city that expected good and proper behavior, she didn't want to be tied down by all those rules of etiquette. She wanted to be back at sea on the Pearl with Jack and his crew. Freedom.
She didn't know how long she had been standing there when Jack came up and nudged her slightly. "So, are we going to go in or not? Personally I'd like to get off my feet for a bit if that's all right with you, lovey," he said, his old humor back in his voice. She nodded.
When Arianne would have knocked on the door, Amara told her to just go on in, it was her home after all. With a wan smile to her mother and a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach for her thoughts, she walked up to the door and turned the knob, half expecting it to be locked.
It wasn't, and she entered the house for the first time in nearly a month. The second she stepped inside she was engulfed in memories, everything from excitement about going to an event to her fear of her brother. The latter was most prominent in the memories, and it burned her to think that he had had so much control over her for so long.
She came to herself when Jack touched her shoulder and realized that her mother was going up the stairs to get Arthur. "God, Jack, I'm sorry," she started but he shushed her with a finger to her lips and wiped a tear from her face. Of course, this only made the barrier holding the storm back thinner, and she clamped her mouth shut in order not to let the sob escape. More tears did anyway, and Jack folded her gently in his arms and stroked her hair while she fought to regain her composure.
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When he finally came to the house, he noticed that the door was open. As he approached he could see two shapes standing there. He recognized Arianne immediately by the way her golden hair caught the light, and then he realized that the other one must be Jack. When he took her into his arms, Will immediately felt a flare of jealousy. How could she turn to Jack when she knew that Will loved her? The jealousy died as he realized that the thought hadn't quite rung true in his head. Sure, he loved her--but did he love her in the way he had loved Elizabeth?
At the thought of Elizabeth, the need to go to her overwhelmed him again. Did he love Arianne the way that he still loved Elizabeth? Damn it all, he thought, hating himself. He was going to hurt the woman that loved him for another woman who may not even want him back. Elizabeth was, after all, in love with Jack Sparrow. Sighing, he approached the two.
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Jack saw him first, and let go of Arianne immediately. Damn, he had the worst luck. He turned away and began to pace the entryway, cursing to himself. Why on earth was Will so damned attractive to women anyway? And always the ones he wanted! Alright, so that had only happened twice, but damn it all he could not keep doing this.
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She turned as Jack abruptly let go of her and saw Will standing just outside the open door. "Will!" she exclaimed.
He smiled wanly at her. "Can I come in?" he asked meekly.
"Yes, yes of course," she replied, still startled. After he came in, she shut the door behind him.
He took her hands when she turned back to him. "I'm sorry, Arianne. You were right. I'm so very sorry."
When his eyes glistened and he turned his head away she suspected that he was apologizing for more than the incident earlier, and her spirits sunk even lower. Tonight was not a good night, damn it! Why did everything have to happen at once?
"Arianne!" came the shocked exclamation from her father as he came down the stairs. Wryly, she thought of the irony of her last thought.
"Hello, father," she replied coolly.
"Good God, girl, you're dressed like a pirate and you're...you're BROWN for heaven's sake! Just what the bloody hell have you been doing? Do you have any idea what your friends--" and he said this with a sneer at Jack and Will, "did to your brother? By God I'll have them hanged for Amos' injuries and your kidnapping--if kidnapping it really was, you little whore! I worked so hard to convince Sir James that you would be a worthy bride, and this is how you repay me? 'Tis no matter, though, soon enough you will be wed to James and acting like a proper lady."
Anger flooded her as she listened to his tirade. How could the man be so stupid? Amos had beaten her brutally--Will and Jack had only knocked him out for that very reason, they had only thought to save her! The insult to her honor--though she realized she hadn't exactly been celibate, it had only ever been with Will and she loved him. The thought of marrying Sir James sickened her almost as much as "acting like a proper lady" did.
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Will stared at Arthur in disgust. This was Arianne's father? It was no wonder she was always sneaking off to him for sword practices or down to the docks. Between Amos and Arthur her life had to be hell. He knew he should be saying something in Arianne's defense, but he could summon no words to begin.
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"Now you wait just a bloody minute," Jack started, stepping in front of Arianne and drawing his sword. "You didn't give the girl a choice in the matter of marrying this James, now, did you? And I'll not stand by as you call your own little girl a whore! She ran away to get away from her monster of a brother, and, it appears, her idiot of a father. When Will and I knocked Amos out, it was because he was beating her senseless! You should have seen the bruises and the cuts into her flesh from the corset. Your daughter was black and blue from the neck down, do you even care?"
She stared at the back of Jack's head in shock. He was protecting her...he had even drawn his sword on her father! As he continued his berating of her father, she looked to either side of her and saw her mother on one side and Will on the other.
She tapped Jack on the shoulder as she moved up beside him, interrupting him mid-sentence. "It's alright, Jack," she said softly.
"No, it most certainly is not alright! He ne--"
"No, Jack," she said firmly. "It's alright. We don't have time for this right now, we have to find out where Amos has taken Elizabeth."
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Arthur's shock at the pirate yelling at him and drawing a sword on him began to fade as his daughter stopped the man mid-sentence.
"No, Jack," she said firmly, a resolve he had never before seen in her shining forth from her eyes, "It's alright. We don't have time for this right now, we have to find out where Amos has taken Elizabeth."
Now he was confused. Elizabeth? As in Elizabeth Turner? What would Amos have to do with her?
"Arthur," Arianne said, turning to him. It felt as though he had been slapped in the face to hear her call him that. "Amos has kidnapped Elizabeth Turner, we have to find her before he hurts her as badly as he hurt me."
"You can't expect me to believe this fairytale--" he began, and was immediately shushed.
"Believe it or not, damn you, tell me where Amos is!" Her eyes burned and he took an involuntary step back. Who was this woman? "Fine, don't answer me," she snapped and stalked past him up the stairs. He stared blankly at the three in front of him, Jack Sparrow with his sword still drawn and Will Turner staring daggers at him. His own wife gazed at him with disgust written all over her face.
How could this be happening?
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She searched the entire upstairs section, especially her brother's room. Finding nothing out of place but a scrap of cloth on his floor, she nearly shouted curses in frustration. He was gone.
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Alrighty, another chapter completed! More to come soon! Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers for sticking with me!
Some time after Arianne, Jack, and Amara had left him standing there, he began to rethink his plan. Where would he start looking for her? Though he was still stinging from the insults, Arianne was right, there were entirely too many hiding places to simply look for without having the slightest clue as to where Elizabeth might be. Sighing, he jogged in the direction they had gone, hoping to find them before they had gone inside Arianne's home.
********************************
She stared at the house she had lived in for so long and found herself not thinking of it as "home." The Pearl had become home to her, and she realized that she really did not want to live in a city that expected good and proper behavior, she didn't want to be tied down by all those rules of etiquette. She wanted to be back at sea on the Pearl with Jack and his crew. Freedom.
She didn't know how long she had been standing there when Jack came up and nudged her slightly. "So, are we going to go in or not? Personally I'd like to get off my feet for a bit if that's all right with you, lovey," he said, his old humor back in his voice. She nodded.
When Arianne would have knocked on the door, Amara told her to just go on in, it was her home after all. With a wan smile to her mother and a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach for her thoughts, she walked up to the door and turned the knob, half expecting it to be locked.
It wasn't, and she entered the house for the first time in nearly a month. The second she stepped inside she was engulfed in memories, everything from excitement about going to an event to her fear of her brother. The latter was most prominent in the memories, and it burned her to think that he had had so much control over her for so long.
She came to herself when Jack touched her shoulder and realized that her mother was going up the stairs to get Arthur. "God, Jack, I'm sorry," she started but he shushed her with a finger to her lips and wiped a tear from her face. Of course, this only made the barrier holding the storm back thinner, and she clamped her mouth shut in order not to let the sob escape. More tears did anyway, and Jack folded her gently in his arms and stroked her hair while she fought to regain her composure.
********************************
When he finally came to the house, he noticed that the door was open. As he approached he could see two shapes standing there. He recognized Arianne immediately by the way her golden hair caught the light, and then he realized that the other one must be Jack. When he took her into his arms, Will immediately felt a flare of jealousy. How could she turn to Jack when she knew that Will loved her? The jealousy died as he realized that the thought hadn't quite rung true in his head. Sure, he loved her--but did he love her in the way he had loved Elizabeth?
At the thought of Elizabeth, the need to go to her overwhelmed him again. Did he love Arianne the way that he still loved Elizabeth? Damn it all, he thought, hating himself. He was going to hurt the woman that loved him for another woman who may not even want him back. Elizabeth was, after all, in love with Jack Sparrow. Sighing, he approached the two.
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Jack saw him first, and let go of Arianne immediately. Damn, he had the worst luck. He turned away and began to pace the entryway, cursing to himself. Why on earth was Will so damned attractive to women anyway? And always the ones he wanted! Alright, so that had only happened twice, but damn it all he could not keep doing this.
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She turned as Jack abruptly let go of her and saw Will standing just outside the open door. "Will!" she exclaimed.
He smiled wanly at her. "Can I come in?" he asked meekly.
"Yes, yes of course," she replied, still startled. After he came in, she shut the door behind him.
He took her hands when she turned back to him. "I'm sorry, Arianne. You were right. I'm so very sorry."
When his eyes glistened and he turned his head away she suspected that he was apologizing for more than the incident earlier, and her spirits sunk even lower. Tonight was not a good night, damn it! Why did everything have to happen at once?
"Arianne!" came the shocked exclamation from her father as he came down the stairs. Wryly, she thought of the irony of her last thought.
"Hello, father," she replied coolly.
"Good God, girl, you're dressed like a pirate and you're...you're BROWN for heaven's sake! Just what the bloody hell have you been doing? Do you have any idea what your friends--" and he said this with a sneer at Jack and Will, "did to your brother? By God I'll have them hanged for Amos' injuries and your kidnapping--if kidnapping it really was, you little whore! I worked so hard to convince Sir James that you would be a worthy bride, and this is how you repay me? 'Tis no matter, though, soon enough you will be wed to James and acting like a proper lady."
Anger flooded her as she listened to his tirade. How could the man be so stupid? Amos had beaten her brutally--Will and Jack had only knocked him out for that very reason, they had only thought to save her! The insult to her honor--though she realized she hadn't exactly been celibate, it had only ever been with Will and she loved him. The thought of marrying Sir James sickened her almost as much as "acting like a proper lady" did.
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Will stared at Arthur in disgust. This was Arianne's father? It was no wonder she was always sneaking off to him for sword practices or down to the docks. Between Amos and Arthur her life had to be hell. He knew he should be saying something in Arianne's defense, but he could summon no words to begin.
********************************
"Now you wait just a bloody minute," Jack started, stepping in front of Arianne and drawing his sword. "You didn't give the girl a choice in the matter of marrying this James, now, did you? And I'll not stand by as you call your own little girl a whore! She ran away to get away from her monster of a brother, and, it appears, her idiot of a father. When Will and I knocked Amos out, it was because he was beating her senseless! You should have seen the bruises and the cuts into her flesh from the corset. Your daughter was black and blue from the neck down, do you even care?"
She stared at the back of Jack's head in shock. He was protecting her...he had even drawn his sword on her father! As he continued his berating of her father, she looked to either side of her and saw her mother on one side and Will on the other.
She tapped Jack on the shoulder as she moved up beside him, interrupting him mid-sentence. "It's alright, Jack," she said softly.
"No, it most certainly is not alright! He ne--"
"No, Jack," she said firmly. "It's alright. We don't have time for this right now, we have to find out where Amos has taken Elizabeth."
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Arthur's shock at the pirate yelling at him and drawing a sword on him began to fade as his daughter stopped the man mid-sentence.
"No, Jack," she said firmly, a resolve he had never before seen in her shining forth from her eyes, "It's alright. We don't have time for this right now, we have to find out where Amos has taken Elizabeth."
Now he was confused. Elizabeth? As in Elizabeth Turner? What would Amos have to do with her?
"Arthur," Arianne said, turning to him. It felt as though he had been slapped in the face to hear her call him that. "Amos has kidnapped Elizabeth Turner, we have to find her before he hurts her as badly as he hurt me."
"You can't expect me to believe this fairytale--" he began, and was immediately shushed.
"Believe it or not, damn you, tell me where Amos is!" Her eyes burned and he took an involuntary step back. Who was this woman? "Fine, don't answer me," she snapped and stalked past him up the stairs. He stared blankly at the three in front of him, Jack Sparrow with his sword still drawn and Will Turner staring daggers at him. His own wife gazed at him with disgust written all over her face.
How could this be happening?
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She searched the entire upstairs section, especially her brother's room. Finding nothing out of place but a scrap of cloth on his floor, she nearly shouted curses in frustration. He was gone.
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Alrighty, another chapter completed! More to come soon! Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers for sticking with me!