Author's Note: So Trevor gets a little traumatized in this chapter…oh well! He's mine to control. I just hope all of you won't hate me for what I'm doing to him…
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Brenda did get pants. No doubt about that. Unfortunately, she was hoping for something more along the lines of the baggy, faded pants she was wearing before she was forced into the dress. Yet, what she got made her want the dress instead. The servants had gone to Phillip, asking for clothing. He of course, contacted his tailor who had made enough clothes to last her six months. They were all sent to her room and none of them were what she wanted. They were either dresses or pants that were baggy and sparkly with a matching top that she doubted would even cover her elbow.
The bath was well appreciated though. Her chambermaids cleaned her from head to toe, washing her hair, her skin and face. They covered her in make-up (which she yelled through the whole time), put oils on her skin and perfume in her hair and clothes she had picked out.
Ana had come in to visit her, fearing she would've killed everyone by now. But she found a guard outside her door and a chagrined Brenda inside. But that's not what Ana noticed first.
"What the-?"
Brenda cut her off with a sharp glare that could've killed. Ana suppressed a laugh as Brenda remarked, "I'm goin' t' find the bloody fool who made these clothes and make him wear them."
"It's not that bad…it's not like you have a bad figure…"
Brenda's mouth dropped and she stood up, as if to get another good look at herself in the looking glass. The pants that were baggy, were a deep red and transparent. The fabric was like nothing she had ever seen or felt, but she didn't like them already. The top was red as well with gold outlining it. It had straps that clung to Brenda's skin as the fabric underneath tried to cover what it was supposed to. It ended barely underneath her chest while the pants started underneath her belly-button.
"Do Spaniards have no sense of propriety?"
Ana stared at her, "Are you kiddin' me? Did you not see the crowds of people that were in Phillips' court when we got there? The women 'ere dress the same way as they do in England! Phillip thinks this how you usually…dress."
Brenda's mouth dropped, her arms crossed around her stomach- she felt naked. "First thing, no. Second, where would he get a crazy idea like that? And thirdly- if I did dress like this no one would take me seriously and I would have no where to hide my weapons!"
Ana shrugged, "Don't tell me, tell him."
Brenda paused, sitting back down. "Where do you people get all this junk?"
Ana looked at her, "What junk?"
"On my bloody face! Did you not notice that?"
Ana smiled, "I did in fact, but I wanted to make sure you weren't armed before I said somethin'…"
Brenda rolled her eyes. "If they make me wear heels, I'll kill myself…an' by accident, I'm sure."
The other female pirate laughed, "You'll be fine. I'm sure. Now I'm gunna go- I got some business to attend to with me brother…" Ana smiled and waved slightly before disappearing through the door.
Trevor stared at the enormous palace and shook his head, how am I ever going to accomplish this? Trevor got directions from some commoner as to where the large palace was. That was most likely the hardest part of this trip so far. Jack had taught him some Spanish, but not a lot. So getting directions from the elderly woman was interesting. Trevor was surprised she didn't just give up and leave him.
But as he looked at the huge palace he knew that the Spanish he knew wasn't going to be enough. He had released Jack's crew to wander around but asked them to be on the ship by sundown and they would talk about what they were going to do and how.
Suddenly he felt a rough hand on his shoulder and turned sharply, his hand going directly to the hilt of this sword. As he stared at the person in front of him, he didn't release his grip on the hilt. "Who are you?"
"You speak English!" the stranger said, almost happy, "You have no idea how wonderful that is."
"Who are you?" Trevor repeated.
"Richard Walker." He said with a heavy English accent.
Trevor let go of his sword and stuck out his hand, "Trevor Johnson." Richard shook it and Trevor asked, "Can I help you?"
"Actually I was going to ask you the same thing. I saw you starin' at the Palace, and was wonderin' why and what you need to find out."
Trevor narrowed his eyes, "Why even come up to me?"
"I know it's a little on the odd side. But you looked out of place…and that's something you don't want to be in Spain."
Trevor took another look at the Palace and then looked at Richard, "I need to get up there. Any idea how?"
Richard frowned, "Why would you want to do that?"
"My business is my own."
"Well I can't help you much then. It depends who you want to see- but all in all, you have to have royal business. Do you?"
Trevor paused, looking at the man and then looking around. They were in a crowed market place. Not the best place to reveal his intentions. Can I even trust him? But he didn't have much of a choice. Richard appeared to be the only one who wanted to help and who spoke English and Spanish, most likely.
He sighed, "You have a home?"
Richard nodded, "Follow me."
"Gwyneth I know you think this will help…but it really doesn't. It doesn't help you, who likes wearing corsets, or me, who likes to fit into dresses."
Jack smiled and nodded and even though Gwyneth's head was turned, he knew she knew what he was doing. He and Caroline were in the kitchen with Gwyneth who was making a pie. Like she had been doing for the past week. It'd been about a month since Trevor had left and no word yet. Edward and Faith had left about two weeks ago, wanting to get back home and out of Gwyneth's hair.
The woman had been a wreck since they had left. At least when they were here she had had a reason to keep it together as well as something to keep her busy. Whether it be cleaning up after Jonathan and Mark or talking with Faith- there was something to do. But since they had left she had been baking everything she had ever heard of. Gingerbread, banana bread, cherry pie, apple pie, mincemeat pie, Angel food cake and chocolate cake. But she wasn't just making them every two days or when they got eaten- no. She made something everyday. Jack wasn't too sure what she was working on today, but he knew he was going to die of too much sugar soon.
"And Jack! You want to kill him with all this sugar?" Caroline went on.
Gwyneth rolled her eyes. "Is it alright if I do something to keep myself busy?"
"Gwen love, you have enough sweets to feed my crew for a week. And you know how much they eat."
She turned around, a rolling pin in her hand and shook it for emphasis, "What am I supposed to do? Knowing Brenda's in Spain and possible danger is killing me! And Trevor, who doesn't know a word of Spanish went after her! This was a brilliant plan Jack. Brilliant."
He paused as she turned back around. He leaned forward in his chair, "Are you blaming me for this?"
She sighed, rubbing her forehead with her flour-covered hands, "No." she said, exhaustion showing in her voice. Jack leaned back, he knew the sleep she wasn't getting. She got up during the night and alternated between Trevor and Brenda's room, praying to her god about keeping them safe. Jack knew because he followed her discreetly and hoped that whatever god she was talking to was listening.
He was worried too. Brenda was his only daughter. She kept him alive all those years- kept him fighting. Until he got married to Gwen, of course. Now he had three reasons to keep him going. Gwen, Brenda and Matthew. He couldn't imagine why he was taking this so calmly. Oh yea, I can't do anything 'cause I don't have a bloody ship.
Caroline sighed and stood up and walked over to Gwyneth, "If you need me, come over. In the mean time, I'll bring home a pie or two - just to take them off your hands…" she said and quickly left. But not a moment afterwards, there was a knock on the front door. Jack sighed and hobbled over to it. His foot was still in a small splint but was healing quickly. "Katrina, come in!" Jack said. The woman wore a worn smile, kinda like the smile Gwyneth wore nowadays.
She entered and followed him into the kitchen. She carefully took off her hat and sighed, "Any word from Trevor?" She said, her gray eyes searching Gwyneth's and Jack's.
Gwyneth sighed and wiped her hands on her apron. "No sweetheart."
She nodded, "Well there's a letter that came for you. Daddy wanted me to bring it down to you since I was coming anyways." She sat down and handed the letter to Jack who in turn handed it to Gwyneth. She recognized the handwriting quickly and opened it with her nail. She pulled out a single sheet of paper with perfect cursive on it.
She cleared her throat and read it out loud, "Dear Jack and Gwen, I hope this letter finds you both well. Edward returned home today, with Will, the children and I waiting at the dock for them. They told us about Jack and we hope he's healed by now. Will insists that he's too stubborn to follow the doctor and probably still has a splint on." Gwyneth looked at Jack and he rolled his eyes. Katrina smiled. Gwyneth kept reading, "We also heard about Brenda and how she got herself engaged to a Spanish King. Under normal circumstances I would congratulate you two, but I'm sure neither of you are happy about this and least of all Brenda. Although I can't imagine how the King feels about this. Doesn't he have a mother?
Back to the important subject, I know how you must be feeling and although I don't know what you're feeling- I know it's understandable. Brenda was technically your first daughter. If you haven't cried yourself to sleep every night then this is a plus. Just know that Will and I are only an island over and will come if you write us, and even though our mail system isn't the fastest thing…it's better than nothing. I love you, Elizabeth Turner."
Gwyneth looked up and handed the note to Jack. How she would love to have the Turners come down. She turned back around and went back to her project. "You hungry, Katrina?" she asked.
"No thank you Mrs. Sparrow. I just wanted to see you two and deliver the letter…I'll let myself out. Take care you two."
"Take care." Jack said back as she quickly left the house. Jack looked at his wife who had turned back around. "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
Her eyes darted to him and she said, "I'll go get the quill and paper."
"I'm here to rescue her." Trevor said. He and Richard had gotten to the small home and Trevor had met all four boys and one girl in the Walker family. The wife had made tea and the two men began talking.
"Rescue her? Why would she need rescuing when she only just returned?"
Trevor narrowed his eyes, "Tell me what you've heard."
"Rumor has it that she came seeking the King for something unknown, they fell in love, she had to go to England to tell her parents of the decided marriage and now she's back. What's the truth?"
Trevor sighed, "She was forced here and she's a pirate, not some daughter of a nobleman."
Richard leaned back. "Wow."
He nodded, "So can you get me up there?"
Richard paused, fingering his beard. "Not sure. They won't take you in looking like this. And the fact that you don't speak Spanish won't help much. You speak another language?"
"A little of French. Why?"
Richard narrowing his eyes, "Get up for a sec, would you?" Trevor cautiously got up and Richard looked him over and nodded. "If you had big shoulder's we would've had a problem. But since you don't…this just might work. And since my wife is great with a needle and thread…"
"The plan?"
"How do you feel about dresses?"
Trevor paused, a dead pan look making it's way across his face, "You serious?"
"As a guillotine! If you act like you know this Brenda person and say you need to take care of her for personal reasons and she recognizes you, then you could be through those doors."
"And if she doesn't recognize me?"
Richard sighed, getting up to get his wife, "Well let's just hope the King doesn't own a guillotine."
Trevor met up with the crew later that night and told them he would disguise himself to get into the palace. They didn't ask how and he didn't bother giving up the plan. He couldn't believe that he was seriously going to do this. It's going to be a miracle if all goes okay. He told them he would check in with them two days from now and if he didn't show up then they were to leave him and tell everyone he was found out and killed.
He swallowed hard as he walked back to Richard's house, hoping he wouldn't be discovered and he would live through this. Of course there was no guarantee. The King had to believe his story and Brenda would have to recognize him- of course a million things could go wrong between those.
You'd better be worth it, Brenda. He thought to himself.
The next morning Brenda woke up late. The sun had risen and was fully up by the time her stormy eyes opened themselves to the world. She yawned and looked around. None of her 'groupies' were around, hounding her like they were last night. She had kept insisting she could get undressed by herself, but they were as stubborn as her.
She rolled over and momentarily enjoyed the large bed. Then she remembered her bed at home. Blast. I wanted to talk to Phillip about that last night. She had wanted to know if she could send letters to someone, particularly Gwen and Jack. But she never got a chance to talk to him and she wasn't sure how to get a hold of him. Did he ever get off his throne to do other things? She wasn't sure. But she quickly got up and got dressed to see if she could talk to him now.
As she was leaving her room Ana was coming down the hall. "Brenda, what are you doing?"
"Uh…leaving?"
Ana reached her and looked around, "Where's yer guard?"
"I had a guard?"
"Phillip wanted to make sure you wouldn't escape."
Brenda rolled his eyes, "Can I talk to him?"
Ana looked at her, "Why?"
"I need to."
She sighed, grabbing onto her wrist and pulling her along, "Come on."
"Your Majesty, someone has asked to see you."
Phillip looked up from his large desk, "What?"
"A woman, You Majesty."
He sighed, "Who is she?"
The man before him shrugged, "She's mumbling in what appears to be French and looks to be poor. She says she knows Miss Sparrow."
Phillip's eyes widened, "Bring her in." He stood up as the attendant left and started pacing. He knew no French, but he did know English and hopefully they could communicate that way.
He had heard from her Chambermaids and Ana that Brenda wasn't enjoying her stay and taking it out on the people attending to her. If there was a woman who knew her well and Brenda liked her, then maybe Phillip could afford to take her into his palace and have her live there. At least there would be someone that Brenda liked and would get along with.
The attendant brought the woman in. She was a tall woman, thin and had masculine features. At first glance, Phillip considered ugly. But at second look, he thought she didn't look that bad. She had a little bit of makeup on, giving her face some color and had a cream colored dress on that looked to be many layers and a piece of fabric over her head, hiding her hair.
He said hello and she said hello back in French.
"Do you speak English?" he said with a heavy accent.
Her face brightened, "I do."
Phillip winced, she had a high pitched, scratchy voice.
"I hear you know Brenda Sparrow."
"I do, Your Majesty, and I have business with her."
Phillip raised a brow, "What kind of business."
Trevor swallowed, sweating bullets under all these garments. He was surprised he had gotten this far. "Personal like. I've known her since she was a child an' rumors goin' 'round she's here."
Phillip paused, about to say something, but there was another knock on his door, "Come." He said in Spanish. The attendant entered and said, "Ms. Sparrow and Ms. Trujillo are here to see you, Your Majesty. Should I tell them to wait?"
Phillip sighed and shook his head, "No- bring Ms. Sparrow in only."
He nodded and quickly ushered her in. She bowed gracefully, and then stood up. She was in the same outfit as yesterday and had a protective hand over her exposed belly. She had also strapped a sword to her side. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything, Your Majesty…" she started, eyes on the floor.
He smiled, "You look beautiful."
Trevor itched the back of his leg, feeling uncomfortable as they carried on this conversation in Spanish. Is he saying something about me?
Brenda looked up at Phillip, "Thank you."
"And please, call me Phillip."
Brenda's eyes widened, "Is that okay?" she whispered.
He smiled and nodded, "We are to be husband and wife, are we not?"
She bit her lip and nodded, "We are."
"Good. Now, to this company of mine. She claims she knows you and has personal business with you…do you recognize her?"
Before Trevor or Brenda knew it, they were facing each other, and both mouths dropped. Trevor's because of Brenda's appearance, he had never seen her look so stunning. And Brenda at Trevor's appearance, she hardly recognized him and almost blurted out, "Who the blast is this?" but then noticed his eyes. Personal business... knows me… she thought to herself. She could easily say no, and he could be beheaded in a flash, but she didn't hate him that much. She sighed and nodded. Trevor had come after her to rescue her, obviously.
She turned to Phillip and nodded again, "I do know her."
He smiled, "Wonderful. Then will you accept for her to be your personal chambermaid?"
She paused, considering it, "Certainly, Your-…Phillip."
He nodded, beaming, happy that Brenda wouldn't be picking on anybody anymore. "Please take her up to your room and later my servants will clean her up."
She nodded and grabbed Trevor's hand and led him out the door.
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Author Thanks:
Emma436: The mustache mystery is revealed finally! YESH! But he complains about it in the next chapter. So surprised? It's kinda crossing the lines…he's like a transvestite! Ghastly. Oh well…it works. Kinda. He's not going for his same sex- so it works! HE LIKES WOMEN! sigh I hope people don't get the wrong idea…you know? Anyways- back to your review: Yea- well he had a different plan- but yours would've been nice! Jeez. But oh well. Yea- I sometimes have to remind myself what Brenda looks like…so I figure that I need to remind the readers as well.
Dawnie-7
Piper8188: Yea- Katrina is going to have a hard time about it later. She does love him after all and is engaged to him…but there's going to be a little 'bump in the road' for her later.
ThePinkPanther: Good job with getting Trevor to Brenda? I'm asking you… Yes- being seasick is no fun…especially when you don't want to be there. Sands is the freakin' man. I don't think I could think of funny lines like he has…