A Pirate's Life For Me

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Chapter 1 - Abducted

"Amelia, please tell me you did not mean what you just said," Commodore Norrington pleaded with me. It hurt me to see him look so unhappy, but I simply could not marry a man I did not love.

"I am truly sorry Edward," I murmured, "I can not live a lie like this anymore." The wind whipped against my face and I turned my head, not to let him see the tears about to escape from my eyes.

"But you said..." he rasped, "But you told me that you felt exactly the same about me, as I felt for you."

"Only because my father was forcing me to," I spoke softly, trying my best not to hurt him. But I knew he was already hurt. His heart was broken beyond repair. Poor Commodore Norrington. I did not mean for any of this to happen. "I'm so sorry Edward, I can not marry a man I do not love, I feel terrible about lying to you, but, my father said that he would," A sob escaped from within my heart as I told him this, "He said he would disown me if I didn't."

"But, Amelia, I love you," Commodore Norrington sighed and said, "What will happen to you now, if you go home and tell your father that you broke off our engagement?" Commodore stepped forward and looked into my eyes, he took my hand in his and asked, "Will he not disown you?" He took a few strands of my jet black curls between his fingers and placed them behind my ear, all the while looking into my eyes longingly.

"He may, but I could not live with myself if I had lied to you," I whispered, "You deserve so much more, Edward. You deserve much better than me. You are the most decent man I have ever met, but my heart does not love you, and I must follow my heart."

"There is no other woman for me Amelia, please reconsider," Commodore Norrington begged me with his eyes. "Will you not change your mind? Will you not tell me that you were jesting with me and give me one of your playful smiles?" He stroked my cheek with his finger.

A rapid torrent of tears escaped my eyes and flowed down my face. "I'm sorry," I whimpered and letting go of his hand, I picked up the skirts of my dress and ran.

I do not know how long I ran for, but I came to a halt, on top of a beautiful medieval bridge. I'd lived here all my childhood and yet I had never noticed the true splendor of this bridge. It was strange that there weren't many people on the bridge that day, but all the same, I felt glad. At least I could let my tears flow freely.

Oh I felt so terrible. How could I have let him believe that I loved him, for six whole months! Oh I didn't mean to hurt him like that. I loathed my father for making me lie to him. My father only cared about money. He wanted me to marry Commodore Norrington for the money and for the good name. But I am not such a person. I can not marry someone I do not love. How could I share a bed with a man I did not feel affection for, for the rest of my life? I have always dreamed of finding my soul mate, and I intend to find him, before I die.

I remember the first time my father had showed me Commodore Norrington, he said to me, "You should marry a man such as that one right over there," he had motioned towards the Commodore. "I'm sure you could manage it Amelia, after all, you have got all the charms." He had chuckled at me and I had thought that he had been jesting with me. But no, indeed he wasn't, he was telling me exactly what he wanted me to do.

Why did my father blackmail me like this? I trembled when I thought about the look on my father's face if he found out that I had broke off the engagement. I can not tell him, I most definitely will not tell him!

Oh but where will I go tonight? With my father is the only shelter I have. I moaned inwardly at my terrible fate. My eyes blurred once again with tears and I placed my hand over my mouth as I leaned against the wall of the bridge, sobbing my heart out. "How can I rid myself of this guilt I'm feeling?," I whispered as I reminisced Edward's face when I told him. More tears cascaded down my cheeks. I sighed and wiped my tears away with my rose embroidered handkerchief.

The sun was setting on the horizon, it was a truly beautiful sight right in front of my eyes. I tried to think of its beauty, to try and forget about the hurt and pain I caused Commodore Norrington. But I couldn't, his face kept haunting me.

All of a sudden, the wind blew hard and lashed against my body. I started to feel quite cold in my off-the-shoulder gown I was wearing. I decided to find shelter, somewhere other than my home. It was getting darker by the minute and I knew very well, that it was not safe for a girl my age to be wandering around at this time.

I ran through the alleyways that I had passed while coming to the bridge that I had been on. However, as I turned the corner, someone gripped me tightly around my waist. I was about to scream when I felt something sharp resting at the nape of my neck. It was a small jeweled dagger and I shuddered in fear. "What's a pretty young lass like ye' self doing out at this time o' the evening? Shouldn't ye' be in ye' house attending to ye' husbands needs? " A man's voice sniggered in my ear. I heard a few other men snorting with laughter in the background.

The man holding me smelled significantly of rum and urine . The tang of these two mixed together was making me feel nauseous. The other men held me while the one with the dagger tied my hands together, behind my back with rope. I struggled, but it was to no avail.

The leader of the group who had threatened me with the dagger, looked exactly like I imagined a pirate would look like. He had long black greasy hair on his head, partially covered with a black piece of cloth tied around his forehead. A gold hoop ear ring was pierced into his left ear while one of his eyes was covered in a black flap. The man's clothes were tattered and dirty, as were the clothes of the other men.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I posed bravely, finding my voice.

"Oh look, the young lass isn't a mute after all!" The man sneered while the other men snorted with laughter around him. The man stepped closer to me, the stench was unbearable, but I bore it with my head held high. "Captain Moragon's me name, and what do I want from you?" the man smirked, "You'll find out tonight!" He cackled like a hyena giving me the urge to slap him, but I dared not, if I valued my life.

I could not speak, for I was so frightened. Indeed, my teeth were chattering partially from the cold and partially because the men were staring at me in such vulgarity that I could scream in fury, but no sound came out of my mouth.

I tried to bite, claw, scrape at the man carrying me but he was so bulky and sturdy that he was not affected at all by my struggle. I lay helplessly, I dared not scream for I was too scared that my throat would be slashed. The string around my neck which I had failed to notice in all my thrashing about, had come out from hiding within my dress and the amulet was displayed for all to see.

Captain Moragon saw my amulet and his eyes widened, or should I say his 'eye' widened. He ordered his men to stop walking and took my amulet between his fingers. He examined the multicolored gems that were fixed on it, with the ancient Sanskrit writing written around the gems, which even I did not understand. His eye widened even more and he stroked his thick ebony beard. "Where did you get this from?" he enquired brusquely.

"M-m-my mother gave it to me before she passed a-away," I answered, finding my voice. One by one, the men noticed the amulet that Captain Moragon was observing and they gasped, in what seemed to be a mix of horror and shock.

"Take her to the ship and lock her in the cabin!" Moragon shouted at the man carrying me, then turning to me, he spoke in a way that chilled me to the bone, "And I'll deal with you, when I get back!"

As the man carried me towards the dock, I screamed and thrashed about but all this got me was a piece of cloth stuffed into my mouth. Tears sprang from my eyes in frustration at my vulnerability. Once the man rowed me towards the ship, he threw me brutally into a cabin and locked the door.

I got up and ran to the door, I started bashing the door with all my strength. I screamed for help, but not a sound was heard. After several feeble tries of breaking down the door, my first instinct was to hide myself. I saw a cupboard at the far side of the cabin and decided to hide in there. Pushing much of the rum bottles in the cupboard to a side, I crawled into it and shut the door. There, in the dark, murky cupboard, I sat, engulfed in the scent of rum, hoping and praying that those crude men....those pirate's would not come and find me.

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A/N: Yes that was the first chapter of my new story. I only watched Pirates Of The Caribbean recently and I've become totally obsessed with it. Please read and review the chapter and I'd be truly grateful! Thank you! Enjoy!

Chandi