Author's Note: Uhmmm there's mention of a Spanish King in here- let me just tell you that it's impossible…or for me at least, to find anything on the guy! So I'm changing history to meet my needs. I just wanted to warn everyone about that…
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"Mom, dad, Trevor, Matty, meet Ana Trujillo." The woman had been invited in once Brenda had explained the shriek. She seemed to be around Brenda's age, early twenties, had a thin figure and a flawless face. Brenda was now making introductions. "Ana, meet my dad, Jack Sparrow, my mom, Gwyneth, her nephew, Trevor, and my little brother, Matthew."
She had a pleasant smile and shook all their hands, "Nice to meet all o' ye. But my business is with Brenda really."
Brenda smiled and laughed nervously, "Well, let's have some breakfast before we get into that." She led the way, Ana following her, then Trevor, then Matthew and then Jack and Gwyneth following slowly behind.
"Have you ever heard of her before?" Gwyneth whispered to Jack.
He shook his head, "You?"
"Nope."
"Think this is serious?"
Jack paused, knowing how much trouble his daughter usually got into trouble with other countries, colonies and towns. "Nah."
"So, where are you from?" Jack asked, once Gwyneth had served everyone breakfast, including herself.
Ana looked up from her food. It was evident she hadn't had a homemade meal in quite awhile. She swallowed and said, "Spain."
"So is English your second language?" Trevor asked.
She nodded, "Hard language you have, but I got a 'old of it pretty quickly."
There was a pause before Matthew asked, "Why are you here?"
Ana smiled and looked at Brenda who shook her head slightly and then looked at Matthew, "Your sister made a promise to my -"
She got interrupted by Brenda who said something in Spanish rather quickly. Jack looked at Brenda and then whispered loudly, "Remember who taught you Spanish."
Brenda shook her head, shrugged and muttered, "It's no use."
"Brenda, why can't she just tell us?"
She sighed, "How 'bout she and I talk before we all do? It's a rather…personal matter." Her parents agreed, and for the time being, stopped talking about it.
****
"What the blast are you doin' here?" Brenda said once she cornered Ana in her own room. Ana seemed unaffected by the question and got Brenda to release the grip she had on her shirt. She started walking around the room, stopping in front of the bed, staring at the drawing of Brenda and Gwyneth.
"You got attached t' this landlubber? An' I never would've expected Cap'an Jack Sparrow of all people, t' be 'ere."
Brenda crossed her arms, "Are you gunna stop insultin' me and start answerin' my question?"
Ana turned, "You bloody know why I'm 'ere. You have a promise to fulfill."
"And yer brother sends you as a messenger? If he wanted me so bad, why didn't he come an' get me himself?"
Ana sighed, like she had been over this a million times, "Brenda, you know he just can't leave!"
"And you can?"
"He and I…aren't technically related, you know that!"
"I know that you left the family fortune to go lookin' for fortune on the water." Brenda shook her head, "Fool."
Ana shook her head, "That's not what I'm 'ere for. I'm 'ere for you."
Brenda smiled, "I'm not goin' with you…you must know that."
Ana sighed, "If I thought this was going to be easy, I would've sent my men to do it."
Brenda raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't you?"
"'Cause I can't afford for you to kill my men with poison."
Brenda smirked, "I don't use poison."
"Sure, sure, you'd kill 'em anyhow."
She shrugged, "Well that's because no one's gunna make me go."
"Does a promise mean nothing t' you?"
"Ana, you cannot tell me that you've never made a promise just to save yer skin and then never went through with it."
Ana paused, seeing her point, "Yes, but I never promised marriage."
Brenda rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms across her, "I never told him I would marry him."
Ana laughed, stomping her foot and cursing. "Don't give me that! Of course you did! I was there when you told him you would!"
"You were mistaken then, I said if he let me go I would promise to do whatever he said. Never did the word marriage come out of my mouth."
Ana's jaw dropped, "You said that, then he said, 'Be my wife?' and you said of course!"
Brenda paused, trying to remember if that's what happened. She narrowed her eyes, "Well if he truly knew me, or any pirate for that matter, he would know that if you let them go, you aren't going to see them again."
Ana shook her head and slumped down in a near by chair, "I dunno why my brother even wants you. Mother is no doubt havin' a fit now 'cause he wants to marry a commoner…"
"And yet you still came after me…" Brenda said, thinking this was the worst thing that could've happened to her.
"If you weren't gunna marry him, then why agree to it?"
"So he'd let me go!"
"So you have no interest in him at all?" Ana asked.
Brenda paused, thinking about it, "Not really. Phillip will have to find true love somewhere else."
Ana narrowed her eyes, "I guess he will."
****
Brenda bit her lip and stood in front of her parents, why she was nervous, she wasn't sure. She could face the princes and rulers of all sorts of odd countries and the meanest, ugliest pirates and smugglers all over the Spanish Main, but when it came to the innocent face of her mother and the stern, almost comical face of her father- she was strong as a drop of water.
Ana had left about an hour earlier, saying she would be gone 'til nightfall, in time for Gwyneth's homemade meal. But she had to talk to her crew, make sure they were staying out of trouble and such. Trevor had left after the hub-pub of Ana's arrival had died down to be with his fiancé and Matthew was on the rug in front of Jack and Gwyneth, playing with Suzie and his toys.
"Spit it out, bean." Jack encouraged.
She took in a deep breath and said, "Dad, I promised Ana's brother I would marry him if he let me go. I got captured for…maybe injuring some of his men 'cause maybe I stole somethin'…"
She paused, gauging her parent's looks. Gwyneth had somewhat gotten used to hearing that Brenda was a thief, so this wasn't anything new, but her look said that she wanted to hear if she actually killed a man. Jack's eyes were narrowed. He would need more information before he decided what he was going to do.
"He's a good man…of good upbringing. And the reason he has 'men' is because…well he's Phillip Bourbon the fifth…Ruler of Spain."
Gwyneth gasped and dug her nails into Jack's leg that she had her hand on. He winced and raised an eyebrow. My daughter's engaged to the King of Spain. Wonderful. Before either of them could react, they heard a chorus of voices say, "Surprise!"
****
Edward and his family had dropped in as a surprise for Matthew's birthday. All their children had come along, as well as their newest addition as of four years ago. Jonathan who was twenty-one just (the same age as Brenda), Mark who was nineteen, Cassandra who was well into her teen years as a fifteen-year-old, Rebecca who was ten and Evan, who was four. All of them with presents.
Gwyneth took Faith and the children into a room while Jack took Edward outside to talk to him. "Is something wrong?" Edward asked when the two men got outside.
Jack sighed and looked in through the windows, making sure Brenda didn't follow them, "I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you couldn't have come at a worse time."
"What's wrong?"
"Brenda got herself into a little bit of trouble…got herself engaged to a King…of Spain."
Edward's mouth dropped, "How in the blazes did she manage that?"
"She used it to get away from the country. It didn't work to too well 'cause his sister is here, and I'm assuming- to take her back to her brother."
"I'm sorry Jack, we should've written…"
He shook his head, "That wouldn't have helped…its fine though. We're not goin' to make you leave 'cause of what's goin' on now." He sighed and mustered out a smile, "I'm glad you're here."
Edward smiled, "I am too…now let's go back in and see how my nephew likes his presents."
"You spoil him too much…"
Gwyneth told Faith the situation quickly as well. After the opening of presents, Cassandra, Rebecca and Faith went to go put their things in the spare house and then went off to town, promising to be back by dinner. Edward took Evan and Matthew to the beach on Pearl, to give the parents some alone time with Brenda. Mark and Jonathan stayed behind wanting to talk to Brenda and wait for their brother. Jack and Gwyneth allowed Brenda sometime with her cousins while they brought in the bigger table the kept in storage.
"How long have you guys know?" Brenda asked as she, Jonathan and Mark sat on the railing that surrounded Pearl's run. Both boys had grown much taller than her, so she requested they sit, so they'd be on the same level.
"How long have we known what?" Jonathan asked. He still had his glasses, but they had become a smaller frame through the years.
Brenda sighed, "That Trevor was engaged…"
Mark nodded, "He met Katrina about two years ago and then got engaged about six months ago…we knew before he purposed."
"This hit you hard?" Jonathan asked quietly.
Brenda looked at him and then back to the spot of ground she had focused on, "Why would this hit me hard?"
Mark rolled his eyes, "have you forgotten your first and only trip to Port Royal?"
"Your brother was a jerk to me." She said stubbornly.
Jonathan laughed, "Is that why you two fell asleep on the couch together?"
Her mouth dropped, "You lie! I'd never do such a thing!"
Mark's eyes widened, "We lie? Have you completely blocked the whole memory from your brain?" Mark sighed and shook his head, "If you knew what Trevor felt for you…"
"Well it really doesn't matter anymore, does it? We haven't seen each other in over three years and we're both engaged."
The two boys both paused, "You're engaged?"
"Aye."
"By choice?" Mark asked.
She smiled, "No. I did it to save my skin, thinkin' if I left he'd give up. I was wrong."
"Bummer." Mark replied. Brenda rolled her eyes, this was not the kind of response she need to hear.
"So back to our original question," Jonathan said, not knowing what to say to her engagement, "did this hit you hard?"
She sighed, "It just…surprised me that's all. I would've never pictured him with a Commodore's daughter…savvy?" she said, eyeing both boys.
Jonathan nodded knowingly, "Don't think I don't know the truth…"
She rolled her eyes and jumped off, thinking a talk with her parents would be better than this. "I'm fine, Johnny."
"You know what 'fine' stands for?" he asked while she started to walk away, "Frightened, insecure, neurotic and emotional!"
She paused a minute and then shouted over her shoulder, "Those four things never describe a pirate!"
Mark smiled and said to his brother, "Then she must not be a pirate."
****
"Does this happen often?" Gwyneth asked. Jack frowned and waited until they put the large table on the floor until he answered.
"Referring to your brother coming to stay, our daughter or moving this table?"
She sighed, glad to have the heavy thing on solid ground instead of her weak hands. "Brenda."
"No…no, she usually doesn't get engaged on a regular basis."
Gwyneth let out an exasperated sigh. What else did she expect? Jack used sarcasm when he felt unsure about the current events around him. "Jack, I don't find this funny."
"Neither do I, love, but it's happened."
Gwyneth paused before she said, "Do you think she slept with him?"
Jack looked at her, "I highly doubt it. Yer talkin' about the person who hates to be touched above all else. I don't think she'd be able to stand a whole night with a man…touching her."
Gwyneth sighed and sank down into the nearest chair, running her fingers through her hair that was down and loose around her face at the moment. Jack always liked it down. "What are we going to do? He's the King of Spain! We can't get her out of this jam!"
Jack pursed his lips and starting putting chairs around the long table, "I realize you like taking care of people, love…" he said quietly, "But Brenda's twenty one. She's gettin' close to being an adult."
Gwyneth nodded, replaying once when Matthew fell and she went running to him, wanting to stop the crying. "I just miss not being able to…to be her mother."
Jack smiled, how did I end up with such a caring creature? He thought to himself. He walked over to her and lifted her out of the chair, sat down in it himself and invited her onto his lap. I love you, he thought. "You are her mother. You've been everything that she needed for a mother and she loves you."
Gwyneth nodded, now feeling foolish for being so emotional. Before anything else could be said, Brenda came in through the door and sighed, "I'm ready to talk openly."
Gwyneth got up and Jack frowned. "Go ahead bean."
"Me? I already told you both what I've done. Don't you want to ask me questions?"
Gwyneth certainly did and she didn't hesitate, "Do you want to be married to this man? Do you love him?"
"No! On both counts! I just wanted to leave!"
"How long ago did this happen?" Jack asked.
Brenda paused, "I might've made a little detour when I went to Nassau…" she said, her eye dodging around the room.
Jack cleared his throat and got up, "What do you want to do?"
She looked at him, "There's not much I can do, dad! He's the King of Spain and has his sister to bring me to him!"
"Is she bribable?"
Brenda paused, "Maybe. She's a pirate after all."
"What's his last name again?" Gwyneth asked.
"Uhh…Bourbon."
"And Ana's is?"
"Oh…Trujillo, But I get what yer tryin' to say. Ana's parents disowned her when they were still around… 'cause she wanted to be a pirate. So she took her grandmother's maiden name. Trujillo."
Gwyneth nodded, somewhat understanding. "We'll talk to Ana tomorrow, to see what we can come up with, how does that sound?"
Brenda nodded and smiled, "Thanks for bein' so understandin'…"
****
Dinner that night went smoother than Jack or Gwyneth could've anticipated. Ana was polite and courteous to Edward and his family. She even started flirting with Jonathan. Dobson had dropped by and told Jack and Brenda about the condition of the Black Pearl. It took heavy damage so would take at least three weeks to mend. By then, Jack would leave on her.
Trevor mentioned the condition of his ship to his parents. It would be mended by the next day. Cassandra ended up asking how the two ships got damaged which turned into an argument between Brenda and Trevor and ended with Brenda firing a bullet at Trevor and going up to her room.
"Interestin' exit, Sparrow."
"Go away." Brenda muttered. She had taken up reading when Jack and Gwyneth got married. Then Gwyneth had time to teach Brenda. By now she was an expert reader and read in her free time, finding that she often forgot about her current problems when she read. Now she wanted to forget about Ana, unfortunately she was standing right in front of her.
"Do you often shoot at yer mother's nephews?"
Brenda rolled her eyes and kept reading.
Ana sighed, "Want some rum?"
Brenda's eyes shot up, "You have rum?"
"What? The landlubber don't let you keep rum in the house?"
"Believe me, dad takes it harder than I do. He instructs me to leave the rum cabinet full when it's his time on the Pearl. And if it's not, then I'm ordered to get some before I even land on Cape Clear."
Ana smiled and pulled out two glasses from her pocket and poured rum into each of them and gave one to Brenda who drank it down quickly. She paused after she did and Ana asked, "What's wrong?"
"Is this rum…old enough?" she said, with a sour expression on her face.
Ana paused, "Of course it is! I only get the best…doesn't taste good?"
Brenda shook, "Only faintly though…"
Ana shrugged, "Take another glass, I'm sure the taste will settle in your system soon enough." Brenda took another glass of it, and another and another. After that she took it a little slower. "So ye sure I can't bring you back with me?"
Brenda shook her head, "Just forget it. Go back t' yer home an' tell yer brother he can forget 'bout me an' love someone whose Queen material."
Ana rolled her eyes, "He's pretty set on you, hard to understand I know," she said as Brenda burped. Man, she was feeling sleepy. Oh no, Brenda thought to herself, does Ana know that I get tired when I drink? But I usually don't get so tired so quickly!
"Ana…" Brenda started off, trying to stand up from her current position on the bed, "did I ever tell you me weakness to alcohol?"
Ana smiled devilishly, showing off her incredibly white teeth for a pirate. Brenda got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as soon as Ana did smile. Check your food… her father's advice quickly came into her head. "This isn't the first time we've drank together…I know 'bout how…tired you get. Unfortunately for you, I also slipped laudanum into this bottle."
From where Brenda was sitting, the room seemed like it was spinning. She needed to lie down and quickly, but she knew if she didn't stay awake, Ana was going to take her. "Why am I the…only one…gettin'…knocked out?" Brenda asked quietly, as she started to turn horizontal and Ana started walking towards her.
"'Cause I know laudanum is a common drug…so I built up an immune to it. You use it against yer enemies, correct?"
Brenda nodded, moaning quietly. She didn't want to leave. This was probably one of the first times she actually felt scared. "Dad taught me 'bout it an' gave me some…" she muttered a string of curse words to Ana in Spanish and then said, "Don't touch me you snake."
Ana sighed, the smile gone, replaced with what looked like regret, "I didn't want to do this Brenda…but you left me choice…I promise you won't get hurt." And that was the last thing Brenda heard before she passed out.
****
The next morning Jack and Gwyneth slept in later than usual and Matthew came running into their room to remind them of that. He jumped onto the large bed, waking the sleeping couple quickly and started jumping around.
Jack groaned and put his pillow over his head. Matthew saw it as an invitation to wake up his father more. He climbed up onto his back and started bouncing on it. Which only made Jack groan more. "My backs not as young as it used to be, son." He said, rolling back over.
Gwyneth yawned and opened her arms to her son, "Has Brenda made breakfast yet?"
He shook his head, "She's not in her room."
Jack and Gwyneth didn't process that and nodded, "I'll be down to make breakfast soon, pumpkin. Just let me wake up."
Matthew stared at his parents, "Where's Brenda?"
"In her room." Jack answered.
"Jack, Matt already said she wasn't there."
"Then why'd he ask?" he said, getting cranky.
Gwyneth looked at Matthew, as did Jack, waiting for an answer. "She promised me we'd spend time together… and she's never up this early."
Gwyneth paused, seeing her son's point, looking at Jack she said, "And we were supposed to talk to Ana today too…" She took in a deep breath, "Jack?"
He had only taken a minute longer to stay in bed before he was up, slipping a shirt on and leaving the room. Gwyneth got up as well, putting on her robe and picking up Matthew to follow Jack. She stopped when she saw that Jack had too. The bed hadn't even been slept in. Brenda wasn't here and neither was Ana.
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Author Thanks: I was either going to post today or Monday…so I decided today even though I know not all of you have reviewed--- I had to post.
Dawnie-7: Being sixteen feels STRANGE! Okay- love triangles…well now it's kinda like a rectangle…I'm evil, aren't I? Well she was just saying that as a term of endearment…pirates aren't very nice to each other and in turn don't have very nice language…*sigh*
ThePinkPanther: You like Katrina? Aww…good! I wanted SOMEONE to like her—I wanted her to be a likable person even though she's engaged to Trevor, you know? Thanks for telling me that!
Emma436: You crazy person. I love reading your reviews. Lol anyways- YOUR REVIEW! Friend is a rather strong term…we'll see how close they are when the trip is over and done with. The mustache…no- you'll be pretty surprised as to why it's gone…trust me. I KNOW! I was thinking about the Trevor and Brenda being related thing too- it made me kinda sick but it was in the seventeenth century AND it's only related by marriage. I don't think I'll have anymore talk about that in my story. I don't want people thinking I'm in favor of…well…inbreds. I think we may have the wrong idea of love fests…do you mean like LOVE fests or people kissing and cuddling and …stuff. Because I just don't know. I'll ttyl.