After searching the house and informing Edward and family about the disappearance, Jack and Gwyneth raced to the dicks riding Pearl, not having enough time to take a carriage or walk. There wasn't a boat in the bay that would even remotely resemble a ship Ana would be on. They went to Caroline's house next, asking Dobson and Caroline if they had seen or heard anything. No luck.
They raced Pearl to the Fort, intent on talking to the Commodore, hoping their friendship with him might be able to pull some weight, but they weren't quite sure it would.
"We need to talk to the Commodore…" Jack said patiently, putting aside the way he was feeling.
The guard looked at the two of them, "What is the purpose of the visit?"
Gwyneth walked up to him and invaded his personal space much like Jack did to intimidate people, "Look buddy, you let us in now or you will find yourself a cabin boy by the end of the day!" she said, mustering up all the anger she could manage.
He paused, but let them in quickly. Commodore William Cambridge was a man in his mid forties, with gray hair and brown eyes. He was one of the most understanding and easy-going men that the Sparrows have ever met. Now he sat at his desk, quill in hand, writing something to someone.
He looked up when they entered and smiled, familiar with the couple due to his daughter's relationship with Trevor. "Gwyneth! Jack! What do I owe this pleasant surprise?"
"Brenda's been kidnapped." Gwyneth said bluntly.
He had only met the female pirate a couple of times, but enough to remember who she was and what she looked like. "Any ideas who the kidnapper was?"
"Ana Trujillo." Jack answered, "Heard of her?"
The Commodore paused and then shook her head, "Should I?"
"We didn't even meet her until yesterday morning." Gwyneth said looking from her husband to Commodore Morgan. "She's carrying out an order from the King of Spain."
The Commodore raised an eyebrow, "The King of Spain?" he repeated. He rubbed the back of his neck, "What kind of trouble did your daughter get herself into?"
Gwyneth sighed, trying to hold back the tears, "She promised him marriage. But can't you do anything? They couldn't have gone that far! You can catch up with them, can't you?" she begged.
Commodore Cambridge shifted his eyes to Jack, hoping he'd understand. But this wasn't easy for him to say nonetheless. "The small colonies and ports under the Crown don't usually mess with Spain. England is usually the one to do that if at all. If this was a larger problem…then I would suggest you take it to the Crown, but considering the situation…Jack and her being pirates and all…"
Gwyneth sighed, seeing his point. "So nothing can be done?"
"What about the Pearl?" he said, his eyes showing some hope. "Can't you just take the Black Pearl?"
Gwyneth whimpered and sank into a chair while Jack answered, "Trevor attacked the Pearl while Brenda was in command a couple days ago…she took heavy damage…the ship that is. It'll take three weeks at the most to repair…"
The Commodore grimaced, the answer was obvious. "Then I just suppose…well, just hope for the best."
****
Jack and Gwyneth didn't race home after the news the Commodore had given. As Pearl trotted along Gwyneth held back the tears, she had never experienced anything like this and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. She kept her arms firmly around Jack although there was no danger of her falling off, but since he was one of things that she loved dearly, she didn't want him to suddenly disappear as Brenda had.
When the couple returned home Gwyneth went to find the family and they all sat in the front room, wanting to talk about the female pirate's disappearance and what could be done about it, if anything at all.
Matthew took a permanent spot in his mother's arms, on which she would've insisted anyhow. He had been crying earlier because he realized that Brenda really was gone and wasn't going to spend time with him that day. If he was older he might've understood that she was gone, but right now all he could focus on was today.
"Commodore Cambridge can't do anything…" Jack started off, his arm around his wife, looking exhausted.
"Are we to assume that at this minute she's being taken to Spain?" Faith asked.
Jack sighed, "That's where this King is who wants her…"
"Does she want someone to come after her?" Edward asked, "Or would she rather work through this on her own?"
"We don't care!" Gwyneth said with authority. "We know she doesn't want to be there, so we'll do everything we can to bring her back!"
"And what, exactly, would that entail?" Jonathan asked.
The room grew quiet and then Trevor cleared his throat, "I have a ship…"
It was an open ended statement, one that could be responded to many different ways, one that made everyone pause to think about what he meant by that. Granted, Trevor and Brenda hadn't exactly gotten off to the best start and everyone figured they wouldn't be spending much time together nor would want to. But this wasn't normal circumstances anymore.
"Are you willing to go after her?" Faith asked.
Trevor paused, "Well I was thinking maybe Jack could…I could talk to the Commodore about holding off shipments for the time being and then…Well I don't really know anything about…rescuing people."
Jack smiled, "Not that hard lad."
He shrugged and stood up, "Sorry to leave now, but I've got to meet Katrina…" he said quietly. "But just know I'd be more than willing to lend you my ship…and as for me going…" he paused and took in a deep breath, "well just consider my offer."
****
Brenda woke up with a throbbing headache. Black dots currently clouded her vision and she couldn't remember where she was. She vaguely remembered getting up in the middle of the night and making a mess all over the floor. She remembered someone coming in and cleaning it up and gently guiding her to the cot she was now sleeping on. She sighed and wrapped the blanket tighter around her.
A few minutes later the door opened and she moaned, the bright light from outside coming in. The door shut quickly, with a woman left standing in the dim room. "Mom?" she said quietly, hoping it was Gwyneth. She still couldn't remember where she was, but if it was Gwyneth then she knew she would be able to help Brenda feel better.
The person sighed and said, "Brenda, yer not at home anymore…"
A flood of memories immediately came to Brenda as she recognized the voice. Ana had drugged her, threatened to take her away from her wooden house, and from the last comment it sounded like she succeed. Brenda threw out a number of curses, mostly in Spanish and Ana didn't respond. "I know yer mad but-"
"No! I'm more than mad!" Brenda said, half whimpering, but staying in bed, "I'm sick, puking, furious and home sick! I told you I don't want to go!"
"Brenda, I have my orders! Can't you understand that?"
Brenda growled, she did but she didn't see how it applied now. "Phillip has no power over you."
"He's the bloody king!" Ana said, her voice rising. She sighed, remembering what Brenda had done the day before. "I just wanted to see if you had thrown up again…you haven't. Am I to assume yer feelin' better?"
Brenda grunted and rolled over, her stomach turning and groaning as she did. She had never reacted well with rum the day after and the laudanum had just worsened it. Ana sighed, opening the door, knowing the pirate would want to be alone. "We'll be in Madrid in about two weeks…"
"Just go away." Brenda grumbled, her emotions taking over completely. Tears burned at her eyes as she heard the door shut. Now was one of those times she really wished her mother was here.
****
"Trevor, what's wrong?" Katrina asked, touching his arm with her perfectly sculpted, silky, white hands, but he was too far gone to hear her. He was drowning in his own thoughts. Thoughts about his ship, thoughts about his wife to be, and thoughts about Brenda.
Setting aside his thoughts of his ship, he focused on Katrina and Brenda. That was like thinking about fire and ice. Katrina was sweet, cultured, and proper. She had dark, long, beautiful red hair and freckles dotted her face. Her skin had only seen a few sun rays and even when it did, her complexion wouldn't allow it to go a shade darker than milky white.
Brenda on the other hand was smart-mouthed, sarcastic and a pirate. Her long, black hair had grown back fully and she never bothered to do anything with it but leave it down. And despite the fact that she lived on a ship, her hair always looked clean and silky. She was very tan in comparison to anyone Trevor had ever met, including Jack.
The one thing that linked them together in Trevor's mind was their eyes. Both had deep, rich gray eyes that were large and enticed people to them. Maybe that was the reason that Trevor was having such a hard time. Two pairs of gray eyes were calling him to them.
"Thomas…I can't…"
"It's Trevor."
"Whatever…" she said, fading fast.
Trevor sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Thinking about Brenda was not going to get him anywhere. Back off devil boy.
Whatever you say…my Beautiful Annoyance…
He shook his head, hoping to get rid of not only the thoughts but emotions that came along with them. He was here with Katrina. His fiancé. The woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Right?
He looked at her finally, she smiled slightly, "You alright?"
Trevor nodded, "Brenda got kidnapped."
She gasped, "Oh dear! By whom?"
"Uh…this woman working for the King of Spain." He said dryly. He sighed and looked at her, "Katrina…I might have to go after her."
"Well good! I would insist on it!"
He paused, "What?"
"The Pearl is not in any condition to sail or put up a fight…you're Brenda's last hope. Right?"
Trevor stared at her for a minute, nodded and then said, "Am I hearing you right? I thought you hated being away from me."
"I do, but I can't deny Brenda's safety. And you…you must've been wanting to tell me this. I know how close you are…"
Trevor sighed, he wasn't sure how Katrina came up with these ideas, and he wasn't sure if he liked them or not, but as long as she wasn't mad at him for possibly leaving…he could deal with it.
"Katrina…why do you think Brenda and I are…close?"
She smiled genuinely, "Because I've heard the way you've talked about her."
Trevor immediately felt like killing himself. I'm such a jerk. Why does it have to be so different now? He sighed and nodded, "So it's fine if I go after her?" he said, making sure.
"I'm ordering you to go after her." Katrina said right before drawing him in for a kiss.
****
As it turned out, Gwyneth and Jack were going to ask Trevor to go and even go as far to beg him to leave. Jack had had a tragic accident while playing with Matthew. He was chasing the young boy down the stairs, and Jack found out very quickly he wasn't as young as he used to be. He fell and his ankle quickly swelled to the size of a cocoanut. The doctor said it was a mere 'fracture' and would heal quickly if he stayed off of it. Which meant no gallivanting around the Caribbean looking for Brenda.
Trevor talked to the Commodore and told him about the situation with Jack and how he would need leave from being a quartermaster. Commodore Cambridge obliged happily and told him to take all the time he needed and if shipments need to be made, then Trevor's Captain could do it on a merchant vessel.
Jack instructed his crew to assist Trevor on this mission. They all agreed, considering Brenda as much of a Captain as they did Jack and with that came respect for her and caring almost. They cared about what happened to her and they wanted to protect her because of the respect they had for her. So that's why they agreed to go with Trevor.
So with a fast ship and Jack's crew, Trevor made his way to Spain, hoping that what he was doing wasn't going to be a mistake.
"I swear you're going to be the death of me, Jack Sparrow." Gwyneth commented.
Jack frowned, watching his wife walk into the kitchen, the one place she considered her haven. He hobbled after her, "What?" he said, not sure why she was acting like this.
She turned to him, "You know exactly what, Sparrow."
He winced. Usually when people called him 'Sparrow' it wasn't a term of endearment. Norrington called him that and still did but only because the name never took off. The two weren't the best of friends but weren't enemies either, so Jack's last name seemed appropriate.
But when his wife spoke it, he knew he did something wrong. As she started yanking out dishes and mixing utensils, Jack thought back to when she called him that. He was sure she had called him that when they first met but the image that stuck in his mind was when she was pregnant with Matthew and he had said he didn't want a child, rather angrily. He hadn't meant it, but it had come out anyways and it hurt Gwyneth a lot.
Now he figured with the fact of Brenda being gone and Jack breaking his foot, he had said something to upset her even more. Now the question was what. He paused, not sure how to approach this. He was still getting used to the fact that he was a husband and had someone living with him and depending on him and having someone equal to him. "Love…whatever I said…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence without receiving a glare from her, "It was nothing you said." She sighed, her eyes turning from angry to frustrated, "The doctor told you to stay off that…you're stupid foot!"
"That doc doesn't know anythin'." He said flippantly. She stared at him for a minute and then shook her head, turning back to the carrots she was cutting. She mumbled something and kept shaking her head. He rolled his eyes and said, "Love, just tell me! I'm asking for the truth here!"
She turned around and faced him, the knife still in her hand- pointed at him. He winced a little and then met her eyes, "Jack, I'm going to say this whether you like it or not- You're not as young as you used to be. And I'll admit that you have more lives than a cat, but that doesn't change the fact that…that you're prone to danger!"
He raised an eyebrow, "I fell down the stairs…" he said slowly.
"Exactly! Do you know how many bones you could've broken?! You could've broken your neck and you're telling me that the doctor that I made Mark run to get because I was scared out of my life for you, doesn't know anything? Jack! You're not the only one anymore! Other people are depending on you not to kill yourself! You have a son and a wife. And a family like Will and Elizabeth and their children…" She sighed and turned back around, still angry but making her point known.
He paused a minute, thinking, I have no bloody idea how to handle this… He silently cursed himself and said, "I don't like bein' confined to one spot. That's why I became a pirate."
Gwyneth slowly turned around, her face unreadable. Jack waited for her response, "If you promise me you'll stay in one spot for more than an hour, I promise to let you ride Pearl…that way you'll be moving but not moving your foot."
Jack grimaced slightly. He swore that horse hated him. And Gwyneth knew his feelings about that, he looked at Gwyneth and was about to say something but she put her hand up, "Or you don't move at all."
He sighed, and sat down slowly in a chair, "If you promise to be with me…so that beast won't eat me alive."
Gwyneth smiled which lifted Jack's spirits, "Of course."
****
Irritated. That was the main emotion that Brenda felt for the two weeks that it took to get to Spain. The crew wasted no time getting there either, so by sailing all day and all night, they cut their time in half. Brenda wasn't sure if it was because the sailors were afraid of her or ready to get rid of her.
Brenda was irritated because she obviously didn't want to be here in the first place. She would've been furious if it was under any other circumstances, and she wasn't sure why she wasn't mad because this would've been something to make her temper burst. Maybe it was the fact that the person who kidnapped her was a friend or maybe the place she was going to was going to treat her with care and hospitality rather than violence and hatred.
But she wasn't necessarily looking forward to this visit to Spain. Phillip was the King of Spain and could chop off her head in any minute…like he threatened to do the first time she was there. She sighed as she sat on railing of the Spanish ship. She held on to the ropes tightly, knowing one of the crewmembers would most likely push her off. Is it my fault I know how to speak Spanish? It's not like any of them didn't want to hear my life story. She knew she did it just to bribe them to turn around. It didn't work too well so then she tried by force but someone told Ana, who wasn't very happy when she found out.
Can she really blame me? it's not everyday when I get kidnapped to go marry a Spanish King. She sighed. Probably the number one reason why she was irritated was because she knew that this visit could become perpetually…indefinite.
The next day Ana came into Brenda's cabin and threw something at her while she was reading. "What's this?" she said looking at the piece of fabric that was now covering her completely.
Ana sighed, "My brother asked that you looked semi-presentable when you come into his court." She said crossing her arms across her and leaning against the wall.
Brenda stood up and grabbed the large thing. She held it up to her and her mouth dropped. She looked at Ana, "You seriously think I'm gunna wear this bloody thing?"
She sighed, "It's not that bad…"
"It's a bloody dress!"
"Just be thankful there's no petticoats."
Brenda grimaced and stared down at the dress again, "My head isn't that big…why is the hole so lar-….Oh no! Oh heck no!" She folded up the dress messily and threw it at Ana who barely caught it. "I'm defiantly not wearing that thing."
Ana rolled her eyes, "So it's a little deep…it's not like yer…" she paused, "well endowed."
"Ana! I'm not wearing a dress that shows my whole chest!"
"It doesn't show your whole chest."
Brenda shook her head and cursed, "No."
"He's going to see you naked sooner or later, so why not?"
Brenda's mouth dropped, "Do you think I'm that kind of a girl?!"
"Yer gettin' married to the man!"
"Not if I have anything to say 'bout it."
"That's the thing- you don't. He's the bloody King. Yer a pirate and you should've been killed. My brother is a bigger fool than most and thought yer pretty. Now he wants you as his wife an' if I were you, I'd be lucky that's all you have t' do."
Brenda grunted, "My chest won't even fit into that thing."
Ana grinned evilly, "You know, I found some…interestin' stuff in yer closet…" She went to the trunk she had brought with Brenda and pulled out the corset that Gwyneth had bought her five years ago. "I'm not sure why there's blood stains on it, but I'm sure I don't wanna know."
Brenda grunted again. Now she was starting to get mad.
****
When Brenda Sparrow finally did arrive in the courts of King Phillip Bourbon the fifth, she was surprised to see an audience, which of course made it all the more embarrassing for her. She sighed and kept her head high, determined not to let the unknown blank stares faze her. Then she saw Phillip's mother, the Dowager Queen, not looking happy. Brenda cursed herself for being so foolish.
Ana led the way to the thrown, then Brenda a few paces behind her and then a crewmen of Ana's to make sure Brenda didn't run off. Brenda had indeed worn the dress Ana had gotten and wasn't very happy about it either. But not like it was flashy like the kind of dresses Gwen and Elizabeth wore. It was an off-white color, one layer, silk dress that had thin straps and ended at Brenda's shins. Where the dress ended however, you could clearly see the sea boots she had refused to take off. She had a sword strapped to her side but had taken off the scarf she usually had around her forehead. She kept her cornrows, her earrings, and her shark tooth around her neck. All in all she looked a little…out of place, to say the least.
Ana reached the thrown and bowed. Brenda and the crewman followed the suit and bowed until the King said something. He quietly said a hello in Spanish, and then asked how Ana had gotten Brenda there. Ana stood up and talked back politely in Spanish telling him a full lie about how Brenda put up little fight and they left during the afternoon after much convincing. Brenda almost laughed, understanding all of it, but thought it better to contain her giggles.
Then Phillip called to her. She looked up first and then stood up slowly, not smiling but not frowning either. She popper her knuckles at her side and took in a small breath. Phillip smiled and they carried on this conversation in Spanish,
"I wasn't expecting you to leave,"
Brenda didn't respond.
"I am delighted you are back. You will be staying in the palace until we wed."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Why do you carry a sword? There is no one to fight, madame."
She took in another deep breath, "It's nothing against your court or kingdom, Your Majesty, it's just my guarantee…for me, Your Highness."
He nodded, scratching his chin. He nodded to his servants and told them, "Take this woman to the finest room and give her anything she desires." They nodded and took her away. Brenda helplessly followed them through the large, unknown palace and finally a door was opened to her. She gasped at what she saw, the room was filled with deep reds, greens and tans. There was a large bed that was probably the size of her cabin on the Pearl, large, long windows each with draperies and window seats with a balcony overlooking all of Madrid. The room was large and had little furniture other than the bed, a chifforobe, book case and couches. The bedroom led into a large bathroom with a huge tub. Brenda thought she was going to faint.
The servants quickly left after Brenda told them to go warm some water for a bath and to get some more clothes for her, preferably pants. She sighed and took one more look around the room. Although the bath will be nice… she thought to herself, this doesn't even compare to home.
____________
Author Thanks:
Dragonflygirl: Glad you see you back and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and you think it's good.
Piper8188: Nice to see you back as well! I'm glad you just didn't hate me all of the sudden. The first few chapters do have lots of turns- but I think the whole story is going to end up being like that…But I'm not sure.
ThePinkPanther: Ana is a shady character and I think she's going to be like Sands…have you seen Once Upon A Time In Mexico? If you have then you know how Sands was a good guy, but also bad because he killed people for no good reason? I think that's how Ana is going to be…good and bad. I'm not sure though.
PiratePrincess: Mellow? Is that good or bad?
Dawnie-7: It is a soap. Jeez. I never thought I'd write a soap. But there's a fine line between soaps and chick flicks, you know? Oh well. It'll get worse- trust me.
Emma436: As you found out by reading this chapter- you are a bloody mind-reader! Trevor went after Brenda- just as you predicted…or am I just predictable? You'd think after…how many of my stories have you read? Well at least after three you'd be able to figure me out. But oh well. I smile when I read your predictions. And then I laugh when they're right. The mustache- I have a feeling you're never going to think of a reason for that. It's going to be quite…interesting and I hope I won't get stoned for what I'm going to do. I guess I'll just hope for the best I suppose. I'm glad you too like Katrina.