I realised I haven't said it in a while, so therefore: I don't own Pirates
etc etc etc..Thanks to all my usual people who are still wonderful and
thanks to all my lovely reviewers who are also wonderful!
***
A Hard Man To Predict
It is not until the morning that Faye is found. On of the under-gardeners sees her, still clutching her carved bird, underneath the large oak tree. He takes her up to her room, getting one of the other maids to fetch Susie, who has been frantic since she found out that Miss Elizabeth had been taken by the pirates.
Faye spends the next few weeks raving and delirious with fever, brought on by sleeping out in the open on the damp ground. Susie stays by her side every moment, terrified that she will lose her niece as well as her sister. The rest of the household tried to carry on as normal, hoping against hope for Miss Elizabeth's safe return.
Faye knows nothing of the unfolding drama, until one afternoon when she feels a cool breeze come through the window and tickle her face gently. At first, she doesn't know where she is, or how she got there. But slowly, slowly, she realises she is in her bed, that it is late afternoon, and Susie is dozing in the chair by the window.
She closes her eyes as more memories flood in, and then..she remembers seeing Hendon dead, murdered, and the scream rises unbidden from her throat. Susie starts, and runs to Faye's side, holding her close as the scream subsides into sobs.
Faye recovers over the next few days, and is permanently frustrated by having to stay in bed. Susie tries her best to divert her, and tells her everything that has happened during Faye's fever-induced absence. Faye almost smiles when she hears that her idol did indeed escape his jail, but then she remembers he is a pirate, and evil; just like the man who killed Hendon.
On the fourth morning since Faye regained consciousness properly, she wakes to find Susie not there, occupying her customary chair by the window. Fuzzy- headed, Faye sits up in bed. The shutters are open and down in the bay she can just make out a ship that she seems to recognise. Can it be? The Dauntless? And that means...
Faye's face splits into a giant-sized grin when she thinks that Miss Elizabeth might actually be home. As she goes to get out of bed, the echoing sound of running feet comes along the passage, and a dishevelled Miss Elizabeth bursts into the room.
'Faye!' she cries, and hugs her surrogate little sister furiously.
Faye hugs her back just as hard.
'I'm so sorry - Susie only told me this morning that you'd been so ill..'
'It's alright.' Miss Elizabeth hugs Faye again, and Faye enjoys the feeling of love and warmth that surrounds her.
'Do you forgive me for not coming to see you straight away?'
Faye smirks, a smirk that Elizabeth has never seen on her face, yet feels she recognises.
'I will if you tell me everything that happened to you.'
Elizabeth hesitates.
'I will, but you won't believe me.'
'Try me. Please?'
Elizabeth gives in, and, against her better judgement, tells the story.
By the time it is over, the sun is high in the sky. Faye is left gaping, knowing Miss Elizabeth wouldn't lie to her but also knowing that what she has just heard can't possibly be true.
'And they're really going to hang Jack Sparrow tomorrow?'
Elizabeth nods, her eyes filling with angry tears. 'I hate them for it, he's a good man'-
'He's a pirate.' Faye states.
'And a good man.'
Faye sighs. 'Can I see him?'
'Why?'
'Because..I just want to.'
'No.'
Faye is taken aback.
'Why not?'
'Look, Faye, I just..I just don't think you should. The cells are no place for a little girl.' Miss Elizabeth gets up. 'I should go and get dressed properly. I'll come and see you again later.'
After she has gone, Faye is still sat up in bed, with her arms folded and her face like thunder.
'I am NOT a little girl,' she tells the world at large. In her head she adds, but I am sneaky...
------------------
Faye's day is dull. Miss Elizabeth doesn't come back until the evening, and only then just to tuck Faye in. But Faye does not sleep.
She waits until she can't hear any more noise from downstairs, and whiles away the time by thinking about Miss Elizabeth's adventure. When she feels sure that the house is asleep, she reaches for her tinderbox. Her candle lit, she dresses again complete with her red scarf. Clutching her wooden bird in one hand and her flickering candle in the other, she creeps out of her room, down the many stairs, along passages, and finally out into the night.
Faye refuses to admit that she is afraid, even to herself. Yet when her candle gets caught in a gust of wind and goes out, she clutches her bird tighter. She leaves her burnt out candle by the gate, and continues down into the town.
It is a longer way to the cells than she remembers through the quiet midnight streets, and her ingenuity is exhausted on how to deal with the jail guards. She need not have worried; both men are asleep. Faye sneers at them - the greatest pirate in the Caribbean in their charge, and they fall asleep. Silently, Faye creeps past them, and down the dark steps.
The cells are not a black as Faye had thought they would be. Moonlight is streaming in and there is a torch in a bracket burning on one wall. None of the cells are occupied except for one at the far end, where the torchlight does not reach. She can see Jack Sparrow standing by the window, looking down at the bay. He has the moonlight shining on his face, and she is struck by the sadness in his expression. He is not looking at what is in front of his eyes, but at something in his mind.
She steps forward cautiously, and he is instantly alert. He whips around, calling out, asking who's there. Faye walks up to his cell so she is stood right in front of the bars.
'I told you you'd escape.'
Jack sways across the cell to her, and kneels down so as to be more on her eye height.
'Didn't do me much good though, did it.Say, what are you doing down 'ere so late anyway?'
Faye sits down, as her feet are hurting her from the long walk. It is truth time.
'I wanted to see if everything Miss Elizabeth said was true. About the pirates and about you, Captain.'
'Ah, so you're a maid in the Governor's residence then?'
Faye nods. 'Well, I would never want to tarnish Miss Elizabeth Swann's reputation, so I'll say that yes, whatever she's told you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.'
Jack sits cross-legged on the other side of the bars from Faye, and his gaze shifts accidentally from her face, to the carving in her lap. It's a phoenix, and, more to the point, a dark wood phoenix with a broken tail feather. Jack's heart starts to beat faster.
'Where did you get that?' he asks.
'It was my mother's,' Faye tells him.
'What was 'er name, your mother?'
'Maggie.'
Jack's eyes grow wide.
'Maggie..' he says, almost to himself. He thinks for a moment, counting in his head. 'An' 'ow old might you be?'
Faye is puzzled by Jack's questions, but sees no reason not to answer him with the truth. 'I was seven years old in March.'
Jack looks at this girl whose name he doesn't even know. He sees her black hair, her deep brown eyes, her way of holding her head..he sees himself and he knows that yes, this is his daughter. This is his and Maggie's daughter. He feels a hotness behind his eyes, and tries to distract himself.
'Do you know what it is you're holdin'?'
Faye shrugs. 'It's just a carved bird.'
Jack smiles at her, a genuine smile. 'Story time then, love. What you are holdin' is a phoenix. Before I start, do you know 'ow it came to be broken?'
Faye shakes her head. 'It's always been broken.'
'Oh. Well, no matter. On with the story. The phoenix comes from the east, you see, far far away. There is only ever one phoenix, and when it dies it becomes the ashes where its new egg waits to be 'atched. When a phoenix appears it's a good omen, but when it leaves it means bad news. So just you 'ang onto it, love, it'll bring you luck. Trust me, in this world you need all the luck you can get.'
Faye has been watching Jack avidly throughout his tale, with an attentiveness that flattered him.
'You tell a good story, Captain Sparrow.'
'Why thank you, miss - look, please, just tell me your name.' Faye shakes her head.
'Alright then. I shall give you a name, or I shall 'ave to keep calling you 'miss'. I shall call you Phoenix. It fits you very well, I think.'
Faye smiles. 'Phoenix' she says, tasting the word.
Jack looks out of the window, and sees the moon reaching its zenith.
'Well, Phoenix, you really should be off now. Elizabeth would be worried if she found you were gone.'
There is a pause, while Faye, Phoenix, gets to her feet. She turns to leave, but stops and looks at Jack, still sat in front of the bars.
'I'll be there tomorrow, Captain, to witness your miraculous escape.'
Jack laughs. 'You got some good vocabulary for a seven year old, Phoenix. But 'ad you thought of the fact that there might not be a miraculous escape this time?'
Faye opens her mouth to speak but chokes on unspoken words. She hadn't thought of it, she had just accepted that everything would be alright. She lowers her head, her eyes filling with tears.
'There has to be.'
Whirling round, she runs out of the cells, unable to stay another moment in their hideous atmosphere. She runs every step of the way home, pausing only to pick up her candle. She flings herself onto her bed, and cries until there is no more salt left in her. To think that he could be dead by this time tomorrow..
Listening to her fading footsteps, Jack lets himself fall onto the filthy cell floor.
'You're right love,' he says to his absent daughter. Now I've found you, there 'as to be.'
***
Phew! Long chapter! Please review and tell me if it's too emotional..or just too damn long.
***
A Hard Man To Predict
It is not until the morning that Faye is found. On of the under-gardeners sees her, still clutching her carved bird, underneath the large oak tree. He takes her up to her room, getting one of the other maids to fetch Susie, who has been frantic since she found out that Miss Elizabeth had been taken by the pirates.
Faye spends the next few weeks raving and delirious with fever, brought on by sleeping out in the open on the damp ground. Susie stays by her side every moment, terrified that she will lose her niece as well as her sister. The rest of the household tried to carry on as normal, hoping against hope for Miss Elizabeth's safe return.
Faye knows nothing of the unfolding drama, until one afternoon when she feels a cool breeze come through the window and tickle her face gently. At first, she doesn't know where she is, or how she got there. But slowly, slowly, she realises she is in her bed, that it is late afternoon, and Susie is dozing in the chair by the window.
She closes her eyes as more memories flood in, and then..she remembers seeing Hendon dead, murdered, and the scream rises unbidden from her throat. Susie starts, and runs to Faye's side, holding her close as the scream subsides into sobs.
Faye recovers over the next few days, and is permanently frustrated by having to stay in bed. Susie tries her best to divert her, and tells her everything that has happened during Faye's fever-induced absence. Faye almost smiles when she hears that her idol did indeed escape his jail, but then she remembers he is a pirate, and evil; just like the man who killed Hendon.
On the fourth morning since Faye regained consciousness properly, she wakes to find Susie not there, occupying her customary chair by the window. Fuzzy- headed, Faye sits up in bed. The shutters are open and down in the bay she can just make out a ship that she seems to recognise. Can it be? The Dauntless? And that means...
Faye's face splits into a giant-sized grin when she thinks that Miss Elizabeth might actually be home. As she goes to get out of bed, the echoing sound of running feet comes along the passage, and a dishevelled Miss Elizabeth bursts into the room.
'Faye!' she cries, and hugs her surrogate little sister furiously.
Faye hugs her back just as hard.
'I'm so sorry - Susie only told me this morning that you'd been so ill..'
'It's alright.' Miss Elizabeth hugs Faye again, and Faye enjoys the feeling of love and warmth that surrounds her.
'Do you forgive me for not coming to see you straight away?'
Faye smirks, a smirk that Elizabeth has never seen on her face, yet feels she recognises.
'I will if you tell me everything that happened to you.'
Elizabeth hesitates.
'I will, but you won't believe me.'
'Try me. Please?'
Elizabeth gives in, and, against her better judgement, tells the story.
By the time it is over, the sun is high in the sky. Faye is left gaping, knowing Miss Elizabeth wouldn't lie to her but also knowing that what she has just heard can't possibly be true.
'And they're really going to hang Jack Sparrow tomorrow?'
Elizabeth nods, her eyes filling with angry tears. 'I hate them for it, he's a good man'-
'He's a pirate.' Faye states.
'And a good man.'
Faye sighs. 'Can I see him?'
'Why?'
'Because..I just want to.'
'No.'
Faye is taken aback.
'Why not?'
'Look, Faye, I just..I just don't think you should. The cells are no place for a little girl.' Miss Elizabeth gets up. 'I should go and get dressed properly. I'll come and see you again later.'
After she has gone, Faye is still sat up in bed, with her arms folded and her face like thunder.
'I am NOT a little girl,' she tells the world at large. In her head she adds, but I am sneaky...
------------------
Faye's day is dull. Miss Elizabeth doesn't come back until the evening, and only then just to tuck Faye in. But Faye does not sleep.
She waits until she can't hear any more noise from downstairs, and whiles away the time by thinking about Miss Elizabeth's adventure. When she feels sure that the house is asleep, she reaches for her tinderbox. Her candle lit, she dresses again complete with her red scarf. Clutching her wooden bird in one hand and her flickering candle in the other, she creeps out of her room, down the many stairs, along passages, and finally out into the night.
Faye refuses to admit that she is afraid, even to herself. Yet when her candle gets caught in a gust of wind and goes out, she clutches her bird tighter. She leaves her burnt out candle by the gate, and continues down into the town.
It is a longer way to the cells than she remembers through the quiet midnight streets, and her ingenuity is exhausted on how to deal with the jail guards. She need not have worried; both men are asleep. Faye sneers at them - the greatest pirate in the Caribbean in their charge, and they fall asleep. Silently, Faye creeps past them, and down the dark steps.
The cells are not a black as Faye had thought they would be. Moonlight is streaming in and there is a torch in a bracket burning on one wall. None of the cells are occupied except for one at the far end, where the torchlight does not reach. She can see Jack Sparrow standing by the window, looking down at the bay. He has the moonlight shining on his face, and she is struck by the sadness in his expression. He is not looking at what is in front of his eyes, but at something in his mind.
She steps forward cautiously, and he is instantly alert. He whips around, calling out, asking who's there. Faye walks up to his cell so she is stood right in front of the bars.
'I told you you'd escape.'
Jack sways across the cell to her, and kneels down so as to be more on her eye height.
'Didn't do me much good though, did it.Say, what are you doing down 'ere so late anyway?'
Faye sits down, as her feet are hurting her from the long walk. It is truth time.
'I wanted to see if everything Miss Elizabeth said was true. About the pirates and about you, Captain.'
'Ah, so you're a maid in the Governor's residence then?'
Faye nods. 'Well, I would never want to tarnish Miss Elizabeth Swann's reputation, so I'll say that yes, whatever she's told you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.'
Jack sits cross-legged on the other side of the bars from Faye, and his gaze shifts accidentally from her face, to the carving in her lap. It's a phoenix, and, more to the point, a dark wood phoenix with a broken tail feather. Jack's heart starts to beat faster.
'Where did you get that?' he asks.
'It was my mother's,' Faye tells him.
'What was 'er name, your mother?'
'Maggie.'
Jack's eyes grow wide.
'Maggie..' he says, almost to himself. He thinks for a moment, counting in his head. 'An' 'ow old might you be?'
Faye is puzzled by Jack's questions, but sees no reason not to answer him with the truth. 'I was seven years old in March.'
Jack looks at this girl whose name he doesn't even know. He sees her black hair, her deep brown eyes, her way of holding her head..he sees himself and he knows that yes, this is his daughter. This is his and Maggie's daughter. He feels a hotness behind his eyes, and tries to distract himself.
'Do you know what it is you're holdin'?'
Faye shrugs. 'It's just a carved bird.'
Jack smiles at her, a genuine smile. 'Story time then, love. What you are holdin' is a phoenix. Before I start, do you know 'ow it came to be broken?'
Faye shakes her head. 'It's always been broken.'
'Oh. Well, no matter. On with the story. The phoenix comes from the east, you see, far far away. There is only ever one phoenix, and when it dies it becomes the ashes where its new egg waits to be 'atched. When a phoenix appears it's a good omen, but when it leaves it means bad news. So just you 'ang onto it, love, it'll bring you luck. Trust me, in this world you need all the luck you can get.'
Faye has been watching Jack avidly throughout his tale, with an attentiveness that flattered him.
'You tell a good story, Captain Sparrow.'
'Why thank you, miss - look, please, just tell me your name.' Faye shakes her head.
'Alright then. I shall give you a name, or I shall 'ave to keep calling you 'miss'. I shall call you Phoenix. It fits you very well, I think.'
Faye smiles. 'Phoenix' she says, tasting the word.
Jack looks out of the window, and sees the moon reaching its zenith.
'Well, Phoenix, you really should be off now. Elizabeth would be worried if she found you were gone.'
There is a pause, while Faye, Phoenix, gets to her feet. She turns to leave, but stops and looks at Jack, still sat in front of the bars.
'I'll be there tomorrow, Captain, to witness your miraculous escape.'
Jack laughs. 'You got some good vocabulary for a seven year old, Phoenix. But 'ad you thought of the fact that there might not be a miraculous escape this time?'
Faye opens her mouth to speak but chokes on unspoken words. She hadn't thought of it, she had just accepted that everything would be alright. She lowers her head, her eyes filling with tears.
'There has to be.'
Whirling round, she runs out of the cells, unable to stay another moment in their hideous atmosphere. She runs every step of the way home, pausing only to pick up her candle. She flings herself onto her bed, and cries until there is no more salt left in her. To think that he could be dead by this time tomorrow..
Listening to her fading footsteps, Jack lets himself fall onto the filthy cell floor.
'You're right love,' he says to his absent daughter. Now I've found you, there 'as to be.'
***
Phew! Long chapter! Please review and tell me if it's too emotional..or just too damn long.
