A timid knock sounded on Gwyneth's door later in the afternoon. She sighed and turned away from her window. "Come in." She watched as a girl with long, brown hair and blue eyes entered the room. She looked to be about eleven, and was showing the signs of a blossoming young woman. "Yes Caitlin?"
"Will and Elizabeth are down stairs…"
Gwyneth nodded, "Thanks sweetie." She turned back around, expecting to hear a door shut soon, but it never did. She turned around again, "Something bothering you, Cate?"
"What's wrong? Ever since that boy came here with the message…you've been up here."
Gwyneth sighed, should I tell her? She thought to herself, looking into her niece's eyes, "Someone's here."
"Did the Commodore tell you about the person?"
"Caitlin! Caitlin, where are you?" they both heard. Caitlin rolled her eyes and yelled out the door, "Rebecca! I told you I'm talking to Aunt Gwyneth!"
A little girl quickly appeared in the doorway, with brown hair and green eyes. "Why?" This girl looked to be six year old, and with the freckles covering her face- making her look younger.
Gwyneth smiled, glad she could dodge her inquiring young nieces' questions. She sighed and grabbed her money pouch from her vanity and said, "Well girls, I have somewhere to be…"
"With Will and Elizabeth?" Rebecca asked, walking with her aunt.
"Yes!" Caitlin hissed at her sister from the other side of Gwyneth. They walked down the stairs and were met with two couples, one being the Turners. The other being Gwyneth's brother and sister-in-law. "Gwyneth, were they bothering you?" Faith Johnson asked.
She sighed and shook her head, "No Faith- they were fine." She turned her attention to Will and Elizabeth, both looking themselves as usual. Though Will seemed a little more…dressy. "Will! The last time I saw you was your 37th birthday…"
"Which was two weeks ago, Gwyneth."
"I know that…but you seem so much…older now." She said with a smile.
"You're two years older than me…I wouldn't be talking."
"Oh! Use my age against me!"
"Gwyneth…we should get going. James is expecting us soon."
She nodded, "Right, thank you Elizabeth." She looked at her family and waved goodbye and went out the door.
This is bloody perfect. "The Turners and my wife." I can't even remember how I remember him, how am I supposed to know his wife? But I'm just assuming she knows who I am. And the Turners…now that sounds familiar. Dad must've talked about them…but why? I can't remember! She sighed and stared at the bars that were across from her. She was sitting on the dirty floor, against the back wall, with her legs up and her arms on her knees.
Brenda Sparrow had never seen the inside of a jail cell, and now, at the age of seventeen, she'd been branded and sentenced to a week in this hell. And what the blast am I suppose to do when I get out? The Pearl is long gone by now… My stupid mouth… "Oh, let me go over while you make a break for it!" she said, mocking herself. "I can't believe they actually left." I bet stupid Hanks left steering. Like I haven't let him steer enough during these six months!? Who cares if I've known him since I was ten- he's trouble. Cotton was better. She sighed again.
"I can't believe I'm here." She muttered. But before she could complain about her situation more she heard voices and footsteps. Oh, the little wife and the Turners…oh goody. She sighed and stayed put.
"…Down here, Mr. Turner." She heard someone say. Someone she didn't recognize. She looked up to see a tall man, thirties, with a white wig and light blue eyes. Standing next to him was another man, a little older with dark hair and dark eyes. He was slightly attractive. Holding on to his hand was a beautiful woman, with light brown hair, an expensive dress and striking brown eyes. She looked about the same age as the man she was with. Then finally there was another woman, looking around the same age- blond hair and green eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked gruffly, not too excited about meeting these people. Don't let people see how much you know. She sighed under her breath, even when he's gone- he's in my head.
Gwyneth took in the sight of the girl in the jail cell. The last time she had seen Brenda was about fourteen years ago and she came up to her thigh. The girl…woman sitting in front of her must've been around seventeen. She couldn't tell the height because she was sitting down, but there were a lot of things that stuck out.
She had black, long, straight hair- that must've reached down to her lower back. About an inch of her hair was corn-rowed in the front, with a faded, blue bandana covering her forehead. Some beads and braids stuck out in a few spots. She had dark eyes and a little of kohl underneath with long, beautiful eyelashes.
She had sea boots on, dark gray pants, a dirty white shirt with a blue vest over it. The shirt had a low neckline, which showed off what looked like a shark tooth around her neck. She had black, fingerless gloves on and plenty of rings and earrings on. She's a model female pirate…
"This is company, Sparrow," the man with the wig said, "I would suggest you treat them like you would your mother."
"My mother died."
That her mother died in child birth. Gwyneth gasped slightly under her breath. Brenda's eyes darted over to her and then back at the wig, "Can't I know who my 'company' is?"
He sighed, "I am Captain Briscoe. This is Will and Elizabeth Turner and Gwyneth Johnson."
She paused, "I thought Norrington's wife was comin'."
"That's Commodore to you, Sparrow. And she obviously isn't here."
Brenda rolled her eyes, "Well that's wonderful, Captain. But I'm not in the mood for chattin'."
He leaned in, "You're in the mood," he said sternly.
There was a minute of silence until Gwyneth bent down to get at eye level with her and said, "You don't remember us, do you?"
She paused, "I suffer from short-term memory loss, lass- sorry."
Gwyneth ignored the sarcasm and said, "I know you, Brenda. We all do."
"That's nice."
"And we know your father."
She smirked, "So does most of the Caribbean."
"No…we know him." Will said, intervening. Brenda looked at him, then at Elizabeth and then at Gwyneth. Yes, something was definitely familiar about all of them and it was a little odd that they were all here. Why bloody Port Royal? Dad's gunna kill me when he finds out. "How do you know him?"
"He's never told you about us?" Elizabeth asked a little hurt.
Brenda shrugged, "Honestly- I can't remember…"
"Mr. Turner, I thought this might not work…" Briscoe started off.
"Wait!" Gwyneth said, keeping her eyes on Brenda. "It's in there somewhere. You must remember something."
Brenda paused, trying to search her memory. This woman was not going to give up! "Well give me something to work with!"
"We were in a cave! With the pirates! The pirates had no souls…they kidnapped both of us and took us to an under ground cave! There was a woman…she…there was a fountain of youth…" Gwyneth said. She was starting to get desperate. Why she was even trying, she wasn't sure. Why reach out to her? It had been fourteen years. How would she remember everything?
Brenda looked around the cell, like something there would spark a thought, even though nothing Gwyneth was saying was. "Gwyneth…Will…Elizabeth…Turner." Brenda couldn't figure it out. There was something there. A fountain of youth? Maybe not that…but something… "Gwyneth." For some reason that name struck a cord with her. It seemed as familiar as her own father's name, yet no memory came with that. Then, "Gwen...Gweny…?"
Gwyneth's face lit up as Brenda had said her nickname for her. She nodded. Brenda looked up and Will and Elizabeth with a new appreciation as faint memories came into her head. "Liz and Will. Turner. Bootstrap Bill's son…"
Will nodded. Gwyneth stood up as did Brenda, showing her actual height of five feet tall. "Captain, when will she be released?"
"Released?"
"Yes, the Commodore informed the Turners she'd be released but he didn't tell them when."
"Uh…Around the end of this week."
"Wonderful. I will be here to pick her up then."
"Pick her up?" he questioned, looking at Brenda and then back at Gwyneth, "She is a pirate. She deserves a-"
"A warm meal and a bed. And I will give her that, Captain. I do live with my brother and his family- nothing will happen." She said and then started to walk up the steps, seeing a pile of knifes, daggers, guns, a sword and an assortment of weapons. Definitely her father's daughter.
"What did you just say?" Edward asked at dinner that night. Their sons, Trevor and Jonathan, had come back from their apprentices around the same time Gwyneth came home from the battlement. Now as the five children, their mother and father and herself sat down for dinner, she had asked him about Brenda.
She looked around the table at the faces looking at her, "Brenda…I invited her to live with us…"
"Who's Brenda?" Seventeen-year-old Trevor asked.
"How'd you meet her?" Rebecca asked.
"Where will she stay?" Faith's voice blocked out the ones of her children.
Gwyneth swallowed, "We do have an extra bedroom…and I'm sure she would even be comfortable sleeping on a couch…"
Edward stared at her sister, asking his eldest sons question, "Who is this Brenda? And why does she not have a home?"
Gwyneth looked around again, "Well…she uh…is someone's daughter…"
"Whos?" Edward prodded.
"Jack's…"
"Jack Sparrow?!" Fourteen-year old Mark spouted. The table grew quiet. They had all heard of Gwyneth's adventure when Trevor was the only one born. How she had gone to get married but instead gone off to put her fiancé's soul to rest and then being kidnapped- all the while, being saved time and time again by the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Faith was still the only person who knew how attached she had gotten to the pirate.
Gwyneth looked at her brother, the answer written all over her face, "…Maybe…"
Edward groaned while the kids seemed to cheer. A personal look from their mother quickly remedied that. Edwards took in a deep breath and asked, "Why would you be so…convicted to do such a thing?"
Gwyneth sighed and said, "Edward, she's seventeen years old, her father no where insight and she's locked in a cell. If she wanders the street alone then she will surely be killed based on the fact that she's a pirate." She paused, "She has to stay somewhere."
"But why here?"
"Because she knows no one else." Which wasn't exactly the truth- but Elizabeth and Will definitely didn't have any room in their house.
He sighed and looked at his wife who was at the opposite end of the table as him. She shrugged. He sighed again and looked at his sister, "Fine. She can stay in the guest bedroom. But have her be reminded that we have a six year old in the house."
Later that night, while the children were elsewhere, Edward told Gwyneth also to keep Brenda away from the three boys of the house. Mark probably wouldn't be a big deal but Trevor and Jonathan, who was sixteen, would be difficult. "Yes, well tell them to also keep their hormones to themselves, Eddie."
Brenda stared at the food on the floor before her. A lot of thoughts ran through her head as she looked at the bowl of soup, two pieces of bread and a cup of water. Normally, I would be happy to have water and bread…soup isn't anything new…Roberts makes the best bloody soup…but water and bread…The Pearl hasn't been doing anything other than looking for her blasted Captain…no money, no food. She sighed. If usually she would be eating this, what was stopping her now?
The haunting words of her father.
Brenda, you just can't eat something. People out there don't like pirates. You're a pirate. Check your food.
She sighed and thought about how many people in this battlement alone would love to have her head. Not because she was Brenda Sparrow, a pirate- but because she was Brenda Sparrow, daughter of Jack Sparrow. She sighed again and grimaced at the food. I'm hungry though…
And although she had become very good at checking food, all her testing things were in the blasted pouch. Which, of course, was on the table across from the cell, along with her weapons. I feel so naked without my weapons…and I'm also hungry.
Curse you dad, why couldn't you be in this bloody cell with me?
