Ahhh, chapter 9... I can't believe I haven't dropped this story yet! I normally get writer's block by now... I hope I haven't rushed these past few chapters, things have been kinda crazy lately, so my writings not exactly my number one priority. It will be eventually, and soon, I hope... but I'm trying to finish out my school year, and we're moving, and like I said, there's just been drama, drama, drama, so just hang in there with me, guys, and I promise that the erratic updates will someday be scheduled and predictable.
I wanted to tie up a few ends from the beginning of the story, and start some new storylines going on, so if it seems a bit off, you know why. I decided to give you a little bit of backstory on Jack and Will, the map, and Nova's father, and if you're smart, you'll pick up some hints on what's going to happen in the future... I think. Enjoy, guys, and thanks so much for the reviews!!!
After taking Nova back to the Pearl, and finding Anamaria to sit with her until he returned, Jack quickly rushed back to the pub in which Will sat, alone. He was a bit angry with him for letting Nova wander out into the streets Tortuga by herself, but decided to ask him about it before he jumped to any conclusions.
He saw from across the room Will shooting glances at Heav, who still sat at the bar, perched on a high stool, toying flirtatiously with a random sailor. The look of disgust on Will's face made Jack's heart ache - although it was a dull one, for he felt that it was Will's fault for what had happened between the two of them. He had been friends with Heav at one point, and she'd told him the whole story, but he wondered if Will would ever talk about it.
He caught a glimpse of the blonde out of the corner of his eye as he approached Will's table, but decided to put the girl, her friend, and Will's relationship problems out of his mind for a moment in time - he had larger fish to fry.
"Will...?"
Will looked up at Jack, his eyes glazed over just a bit from too much rum. Jack sighed heavily, sitting down in front of him. "You know, boy, yer not goin' t'solve any of yer problems sittin' here, drinkin' yerself t'death..." Will nodded slowly, looking up at the pirate whos dark, sympathetic eyes were fixed on him, a sad smile on his face. "I know, I know..." More silence.
"She's Elizabeth's cousin, Jack..."
"Aye, I heard tha'... funny little world, innit?"
Will smirked at that. "Hardly... more like being damned to an eternal, lonely, loveless hell..."
Jack chuckled. "Ye sound like a woman when ye talk like tha'..." Will raised his eyes from the bottom of his mug. "Oh, bugger off, Jack... why are you here, anyway? Where'd your little friend go?"
Jack thought about how he should answer that for a moment or two before doing so. "She wasn' too happy abou' the amount of attention I wos payin' her... Told me I should clear my head and come back t'see her next time I wos in port... an' so I shall." He smiled, but it was a smile of disappointment and guilt, and Will understood the feeling, although he wasn't completely sure he wanted to know any details regarding the attention he had mentioned. "I see..."
After another uncomfortable silence, Jack sighed. "Well, tha' wosn't wot I was here t'talk to ye about, anyway. We're leavin' in an hour." Will's head jumped up, and he looked at him, confusion in his eyes. "What? Why? Did something happen?" Jack nodded slowly. "Ye coul' say tha'... Miss Nova decided t'take herself on a little tour of Tortuga... wen' and got attacked by someone demandin' t' see the map..." Will's eyes went wide for a moment, then he looked down. "So others know that we're after it, then..." Jack shrugged. "Can't ever be sure... old Jennings could've tol' everyone 'bout his daughter and th' map, you yerself heard th' way he rattled on an' on after a few mugs..." Will's head bobbed in dazed agreement, and he sighed. "So this is our last stop before the island?" With a bit of apprehension, Jack replied. "Aye, the very last... at least when we come back this way, we'll be rich men, eh?" With a half-grin, Will looked at him. "I suppose you're right... there'll be more time for drinking once we come back this way... and at least Gibbs won't be so edgy... one less woman on board and all..." Jack smiled, trying to cover up his true feelings on that matter, but Will wouldn't have noticed it anyway - he was too busy downing the last of his drink.
They headed back to the Pearl after Will whispered a quick goodbye into Heav's ear, mostly in silence, until Jack's curiosity got the best of him. "So what happened between th' two of ye, anyway?" Will shrugged. "She left, she and I had been arguing again..." Jack was a bit confused at this, and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Arguin' again? Wot d'ye mean, again?"
"That's all we do, Jack, is argue... are you feeling alright?" The perplexion on Jack's face was enough to send anyone into peals of laughter, but Will was too concerned with the state of his mental health to laugh. "Yes, I'm fine, I jus' don't understand wot ye mean by 'again', I haven't seen ye argue with Heav in ages..."
"Oh... her..." Will said quietly, looking down at his shoes. "Aye, her, wot happened, then?" Will shrugged, his hands behind his back, walking alongside Jack slowly. "I don't think I was ready to try and find someone when I got involved with Heav... too soon after Elizabeth, I suppose... She's too nice a person to lie to, anyway, so I was truthful with her... told her how I felt... I guess trying to court a barmaid was a bad idea anyway, especially her... she always has been a bit violent." Jack chuckled at this, nodding slowly. "Aye, I know jus' wot ye mean, mate."
With a smile, Will continued, and even though Jack assumed it was only because he was full of rum that he was talking about it, he continued to listen. "So, I told her I need a bit of space for a bit... clear my head... maybe have myself a little adventure before I tried to think about women again... she promptly began pummeling me, something terrible, I might add... broke my nose..." Even as he thought about it, he smiled, like it wasn't hurtful to think about - and they both knew it was. Maybe he'd become accustomed to heartbreak, or come to terms with being alone, but Will was indeed a different person nowadays.
"Ahh, so that's what happened... accident at the smithy, indeed..." Jack smirked playfully at Will, who was smiling foolishly. "Honestly, Jack, you think I'd admit to just anyone that a woman broke my nose? I had to think of something to tell the lot of you... hard enough holding my salt on that ruddy ship of yours." Jack nodded slowly, heading up the gangplank of the Pearl, thinking that a change of subject was in order. "I'm headin' in t'check on the girl, care t'join me? She's had a dreadful night..." Jack's impression of a pompous, ignorant fool - much like Governor Swann, whom they both despised - was right on the money, and Will laughed. "Aye, but only for a moment... thinking of trading watch duty with whoever's got it tonight, probably won't be able to sleep anyway..." Jack knocked softly on the girls cabin, and Anamaria opened the door, the room behind her glowing with the light of a latern. "It's bloody about time! Wot took ye tha' long?!" She hissed. Jack gave her a look, and everyone present knew she was out of line by questioning him like that, but he let it slide - they had been docked in Tortuga, and he doubted she was the tiniest bit sober.
"I wos explainin' a few things to Will, is tha' alright with ye, Captain?" Jack quipped, and then mocked a gasp, covering his mouth with both hands. "Oh, wait just a minute... I'm the captain, innit I?" Anamaria glared at him, storming off, and he tried to contain his laughter until she was out of earshot. "Thank ye, luv! It wos appreciated!!" he called after her, and it was then that he and Will burst into snickers, taking a few moments to themselves before heading off inside to check on Novialeigh.
Nova, however, was already up and out of bed, not even bothering to stop and put on slippers before she ran to the railing of the Pearl, emptying her stomach into the sea. She hadn't felt well all day, and the events of the evening hadn't helped her poor stomach any. A pang of sympathy ran through the two men as the watched her, holding tight to the wooden rail as she heaved. They glanced at each other, silently arguing over who would go see if she was alright. "Well, I'm positively beat, mate... I'll be headin' off ter bed now..." Jack faked a yawn, stretching dramatically, and Will rolled his eyes. "Wot? Ye said ye weren' goin' t'sleep now anyway!" Sighing, he nodded. "I know, but that doesn't mean I want to play nanny all night..."
"Well, Will, I s'pose it won' matter come mornin', when ye've been playin' nanny all night an' are crawlin' into bed t' sleep all day." Will groaned, but Jack heard none of it, heading off to his cabin. "G'night, Will!" he called, and closed the door behind him.
Nova was sitting on deck, holding her stomach, her knees pulled up to her chest, her skirts spread out around her. Will watched her for a few moments, contemplating an attempt at conversation, and had almost decided against it when he saw Nova try to push herself up, her legs shaking beneath her. He approached her slowly, clearing his throat before he said anything to her. "Miss Nova...?" he questioned, his voice thick with discomfort. She moaned in response, raising her head to look at him. "What do you want? Come to insult me while I'm too sick to argue back?" she spat at him, and it was obviously taking all of her strength to hold herself up. "Actually, I came to see if you required anything..." he said quietly, deciding to neglect the topic of Jack in this conversation. "No, I'm fine... thank you..." she told him, just as her legs gave out beneath her.
Will's reflexes were faster than he had realized, and he caught her in his arms before she hit the deck. "You should be laying down..." he told her, helping her to stand on her own two feet again. Glancing up at him, taken aback by his sudden act, Nova nodded slowly, and allowed him to help her into bed.
Her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow, but she was too shaken to fall back asleep. The scene in the alleyway kept replaying in her head, scaring her so badly that her eyes snapped open every few moments or so, just to make sure that it was nothing more than a memory. She glanced at Will quickly, who was shifting uneasily on the floor, trying to make himself comfortable leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed, his head tilted up towards the ceiling, one arm resting on one raised knee.
Her voice no higher than a whisper, she tried to get his attention. "Mr. Turner....?" she asked, and one eye popped open, staring at her. "What is it...?" he mumbled, sitting up once more as he rubbed his eyes. She too pushed herself up, sitting back against her thin pillow, and he looked at her. "Did you need something?"
She shook her head, looking down at her hands as she folded them in her lap. "No... I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier on this evening..." Inwardly, she really didn't want to apologize, she didn't see that she had done anything wrong. But the awkward silence was murder for her, and she knew she'd be alone on board if she couldn't talk to him at least. Anamaria and Gibbs, along with the rest of the crew, were entirely displeased with her being on board, for whatever reason. Jack would most surely not wish to be alone with her, afraid he would only encourage her feelings for him, and she didn't think she'd want to be alone with him either, for fear she'd do or say something stupid again.
But Will was different - he knew Elizabeth, how she didn't know, but he knew her - back when she was happy, no doubt. She missed that Elizabeth dearly, and it was comforting to know that maybe this other person knew that girl as she had.
Will stared at her thoughtfully, silent for a moment. "You didn't do anything to require an apology, Miss Nova... it's I who owe you the apology." She looked up at him, her eyes shining with bewilderment. "Yes, I said it, I owe you an apology." he said with a chuckle, and she smiled softly, not having the strength for much more. "It's all right... we'll blame it on the rum." She giggled a bit, and he smiled at her - a smile that faded with her next question. "Mr. Turner, how did you know my cousin...?"
He looked back down to the floor, not totally unwilling to answer the question, but in dire need of a moment to think about what to say to her. "Elizabeth... Mrs. Norrington, I should say..." he said, his voice practically bursting at the seams with bitterness and hatred. "She and I..." he trailed off at this, blinking away fiery tears, refusing to let himself cry in the presence of anyone.
"You were betrothed, weren't you..." came Nova's quiet voice from where she sat, and Will barely moved his head in a nod, but it was enough for her to know the full truth. "She... she never told me... a pirate..." Nova was entirely shocked at what had happened. She'd never been so hurt in her whole life. "I don't understand why she didn't mention that..." Will snorted. "I doubt that is the type of conversation one would merely mention..." Nova shook her head. "No, you don't understand - we've never kept anything from each other... I knew she wasn't exactly estatic about having to marry Norrington, but I thought that was just nerves... and then we got into a fight before I met you that night at the pub, because I told her how stupid she had been for choosing him over the other suitor, but it was you, and you're the other suitor, and you're a pirate!"
She was crying by now, her stream of babble choppy and broken. He watched her with an understanding eye, almost to tears himself as he replayed Nova's words in his head while she tried to compose herself.
'...wasn't exactly estatic about having to marry Norrington...'
He peered into Nova's eyes, a look of hope on his face. "You say she wasn't happy about marrying him...?" Nova shook her head once more, and Will smiled, his eyes brimming with tears. "And all along, I thought she hated me..." he whispered, more to himself than Nova. But she heard him anyway, and looked up at him with her own fair share of tears in her eyes. "How could you think she hated you...? The way she talked about you, she loved you... very much..." Her heart ached for Elizabeth, not understanding why she'd done such a thing - when he talked about her now, it were as though a light was being shone through a dark room. He lit up with happiness and joy, hope and love, and Nova began to think that it was Elizabeth's fault for being so hateful.
Will told her the story, of how she had left him two weeks before the wedding, how he'd drunk himself into a stupor every night that week, how he threw up in the flowerbed at the wedding, and how Jack had offered him a life of piracy as his Quatermaster on board the Pearl. Nova listened to him, smiling softly - she remembered hearing someone complain about the mysterious man who had ruined the flowers, but she'd never known it was Elizabeth's beloved Will.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Turner..." Her voice was dripping with sympathy and confusion, and she prayed he understood that she was sincere. Instead, he looked up at her, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "Would you mind very much if I asked you to call me Will from now on? Not very man people have ever seen me cry..." he said with a chuckle, and Nova smiled sleepily. "I wouldn't mind one bit..." She held her hand out, and shook his as firmly as she could, with the blisters, and the exhaustion. "It's nice to meet you, Will..." He smiled back up at her. "Same to you, Nova."
They chatted for a little bit longer, until it became a struggle for her to keep her eyes open. She lay back in bed after he left, watching the door close softly behind him, and closed her eyes. She couldn't help but muse that maybe it was in her blood to fall for a pirate - Elizabeth had, and despite what Will had said to her, she still couldn't shake her feelings for Jack. He was too kind to have only friendly intentions for her - or was he?
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w00t! Yet another chapter! I feel like I'm on a roll here or something. Yay! go me! Won't someone review, so I don't feel like all this super hard work is in vein? puppy dog face
Always,
Heaven Marquin, The Bonnie Pirate Lass