Darkness.
Pain.
"Mom?"
Darkness.
Pain.
"Mom?"
Surrounded by inky blackness and agony, Brenda struggled to see where she was, find out anything that would've helped her. A whimper escaped her lips when she found out how hard that was, "Mum?"
Nothing.
Brenda wasn't sure if her eyes were open or closed by how much darkness there was. She sighed and suddenly remembered that she was in Spain. No mom. She had been walking with Trevor somewhere…Trevor! She tried getting up, but yelped in pain. Her arm and ankle were throbbing with pain. She laid back down where she was laying and said, "Trevor?" weakly.
She heard a moan somewhere and her hopes rose. He had followed her somehow. "Trevor?" she repeated, "Are you there?"
"I could answer that if I knew where 'there' was." She heard in the distance.
"Can you see anything?"
"Not really. You?"
"No."
"Are you hurt? You weren't prepared for that fall- I was."
She paused, he voluntarily fell? "I think I may've broken my arm and ankle."
"Can you move them?" She heard him ask, his voice was either becoming clearer, or was coming closer.
"No. They hurt!"
"Calm down." He sighed and then paused. She heard him moving up a wall. "There seems to be a stone wall…if I can find a torch…" he paused again. "Found it." He said and then went searching through his pocket for a match. Once he lit the torch, Brenda saw that he was only twenty feet away. He saw her and ran to her.
They seemed to be in a large empty room- the floor was sand and there were tables and chairs everywhere. Trevor lit some other torches and lit up the whole room. He hung up his and went to her side.
"Anything else hurt?"
"No."
He paused, looking her over and then focusing on her head, "Your head is bleeding…"
She winced when he touched it, "Really?"
He nodded and ripped off part of his sleeve of his cloak. He then tied it around her head, "Hey! Not so tight." She griped.
He rolled his eyes, "I would rather save your blood instead of havin' it run everywhere, how 'bout you?" She sneered but didn't respond. "Now…" he started, looking her over again, "Can I touch you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Pick you up," He said, clarifying his request.
She narrowed her eyes, "I don't like to be touched…if you still remember that."
Trevor rolled his eyes and said, "Do you have a better idea? Can you walk?"
Brenda bit the inside of her lip, too proud to let him know that she couldn't even get up- let alone walk. She sighed and looked at him, "Just pick me up."
He nodded and carefully hooked one arm around her bent legs at the knee, and then around her back. He lifted her with ease but commented, "Don't eat so much," sarcastically.
She hit the back of his head with her uninjured hand and said, "I eat plenty an' you know it. But Pirate ships only have soup and bread."
He agreed, knowing that's usually what they had - if there was any food on the ship, which wasn't always a guarantee. He carried her over to one of the many tables that were set up around the room. She groaned and made herself comfortable on the table with little cushioning. "Now what?"
Trevor looked up, "Who knows how far we fell."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, we wouldn't be able to get a hold of your king."
She growled, "Stop bloody callin' him my King. He's gunna be someone else's King as soon as we get outta here."
He looked at her, "Are you going to tell him you're not going to marry him?"
"Well I actually don't know what I'm going to do…but whatever it is, it's going to be soon. The wedding will come soon enough and then I'll be gone for good."
Trevor smirked and looked around again, "We can't climb these walls…why would the ceiling be so high in the first place?"
She looked around, somewhat ignoring his question. The tables around her had straps on them. There were buckets of coals that looked far too old to have been used lately. In the buckets were branding irons. There were ones for pirates and adulators and many others that Brenda hadn't ever heard of being used before. She looked and saw that there were cages with fire pits underneath them. Also around the room were whips, and irons. Then she saw open cabinets with little jars in them. She could faintly read them, and saw that each and everyone was a poison. She paused, this was no ordinary room. This was a torture chamber.
"..I guess we could-"
"Trevor!"
Trevor's head turned and looked at Brenda who had grabbed onto his arm. "What's wrong?"
"While you were lookin' up, I was lookin' 'round. Now you do the same- notice anything…out of the ordinary?"
Trevor did as he was asked and then a look of shock appeared on his face. "It's a torture chamber…" he seemed amazed by that little fact.
"Aye, an' it's givin' me shivers, now let's go."
"Seriously?"
"Aye!" she said, getting ready to get off the table. "I don't like bein' here knowin' people have been killed an' tortured in here."
"Alright…" he said, sounding unsure. But with Brenda getting ready to sprint when she couldn't even walk, Trevor knew she was serious. She refused to be picked up so she put her good arm around his shoulder as she cradled her broken left arm to her. And slowly she and Trevor made it out of the room with her limping and him holding a torch to light their path.
Wistfully, Ana whistled down the hall. Having breakfast usually didn't make her this happy, but he had told her she was free to go. Now, as she walked to Brenda's room to wake her up she thought about what she was going to tell the other female pirate. She probably wants me gone anyways…Ana thought to herself. After all she had kidnapped her and brought her here against her will, why would Brenda want her here?
She looked around and saw no guard posted at her door. Phillip must've thought that now she has a personal chambermaid, she'll behave... Ana shook her head slightly and opened the door, "Brenda, rise and shine!" She looked around, the room was empty.
Empty?
She ran to the balcony and saw thousands of feet below her and no rope. Brenda wouldn't have tried that. Wait, where was her chambermaid?
"Hello?" Ana said, running through the room.
Nothing.
"They left. But where?" Ana said to herself, thinking out loud. "'Round the palace perhaps?" She knew that Brenda got antsy, but how long have they been gone? They could be anywhere by now. And wouldn't she also get hungry?
No matter what she was doing - this seemed too little to ignore. Ana bolted out of the room and headed for Phillip's personal chamber. She had to tell him.
"Where are you two going?"
Two children turned on their heels, dressed in travel clothing and almost out the door. The thirteen year old boy stood up straight while the fifteen year old girl crossed her arms behind her, giving her best puppy-dog look.
"No where…" they said together.
Beverly raised her eyebrow, "The truth would be nice." She put her hands on her hips, trying to look mean.
"Mom, your gray eyes give you away - you're not mad." said the girl.
"Charity - I want the truth - you two get into too much trouble when you're together. Tell me where you're going."
The brother and sister exchanged looks and then looked at their mother, "We're going to go see Samuel and Amber…" the boy said.
Beverly smirked, "Their not back from their honeymoon yet James…"
They exchanged looks again and were about to throw out another excuse when the doorbell rang. Charity answered the door finding an officer. "Yes?" she said.
"Mrs. Norrington?"
Beverly walked to the door, "Yes?"
"A letter for you, ma'am." He handed her a letter and then left quickly. She took it and studied the handwriting on the front of the envelope. "Shut the door, would you James?"
She heard the door shut but then realized her mistake. She looked up and found both her children gone. She rolled her eyes and went into the parlor, quickly opening the letter. Her eyes found the bottom first, wanting to know who wrote her. Her eyes enlarged and she got up, ran up the stairs and into her husband's study.
"James!"
James Norrington, writing a letter himself looked to his wife, "What is it dear?"
Out of breath she held out the letter, "It's a letter from Gwyneth."
James' eyes narrowed, not seeing the need for running, "The problem with that is…?"
"She never writes unless she and Jack are having a problem…"
He paused, "Well then read it." He knew that she only read letters dealing with Jack to him, instead of by herself. Saving both of them the trouble they had had when he visited four years ago.
She cleared her throat and started reading, "Beverly, I hope this letter finds you all well. I can only imagine what you and James must be going through with Charity and James Jr. entering their teenager years. We received the invitation for Samuel's wedding, and we're both sorry we couldn't attend, but I'm sure you've heard from either my brother or the Turners…that Brenda and Trevor have both gone to Spain to get Brenda out of an engagement to King Phillip Bourbon.
"The thing that brings me to write you is something that Elizabeth mentioned a fortnight ago - Nathan. Surely I've told you about him…well she mentioned him and now he's been in my mind and my thoughts. I think-"
Beverly stopped and looked at her husband, "Sweetie, now that I see it - it's more of a personal matter, would you mind if I read it by myself?"
He smiled, "Of course not."
She nodded and left the room, going back to the parlor before reading the rest. As she did, Gwyneth went over how she was feeling unsure about her feelings towards Jack. That she loved him, but felt as if she still loved Nathan and that she thought she was wronging Jack by feeling that way. "Have you ever felt like this?" Gwyneth asked towards the end. That hit Beverly like a ton of bricks.
When she married Antonio - she never had one thought about Jack. Never. But when she married Norrington- she remembered Antonio and almost mistook James for him.
She leaned back in her chair and wondered if she should write Gwyneth about her experiences. Help her. It didn't take much to convince her and quickly she had out a quill and paper.
"No."
"There's no where else!"
"No!"
"Stubborn fool."
"I come from a long line of stubborn fools."
"Fine! Then you can stay out here."
Brenda frowned, "I'm not goin' in there!"
"You need you're rest! And I preferably like to be sitting without rats."
"Baby."
Trevor rolled his eyes. They had been down there for at least two hours. Walking. Both their stomachs were growling from not eating since the night before and not having breakfast before going on their walk. Brenda's ankle was killing her and after some time, she finally told Trevor. He then went looking for a room for them. All they had seen lately were locked doors, rats and hallways. So they retraced their steps and Trevor blew the lock with his pistol.
Now she was complaining about the room. Of course the room was a jail cell so she had room to be…hesitant.
"We're the only ones down here."
Brenda raised an eyebrow, "You don't know that!"
He paused, "So I'm scared of rats and you're scared of being locked up. Deal. Now get over it and lets go in!"
"Why? We can rest out here as easily as we can rest in there!"
"There's rats out here."
She narrowed her eyes, "Are you tellin' me I have to give in t' yer fears?"
Trevor sighed, he was tired of this. Too bad he couldn't just lock himself in there. "How about this, we'll go into the cell, leave the cell door open, but close the door to the hallway- that way the rats won't keep us company and the cell will be open and you won't be locked in. Savvy?"
She eyed him, a fear of someone else in this hell lingering over her. But she nodded anyways. She was the one whose ankle was killing her. She needed to sit down or lay down. And she did appreciate Trevor finding a room for them.
She hobbled in and sat on the single cot in the cell. Trevor followed her and quickly chased out the rats with his torch that he wasn't willing to leave. He closed the door and put a chair in front of it and turned and looked at Brenda who already had laid down and closed her eyes.
"Tired?" He asked.
She nodded lazily, "I'm beat. I didn't get any sleep last night."
"I know," He said absentmindedly. He sat down on the floor and leaned against her cot.
"What do you mean, you know?"
"I heard you tossing and turning last night. I figured you were having a nightmare." He of course left out the part of her calling his name. His mind had changed about wanting to know what she was dreaming about.
She sighed, "I miss mom."
Trevor nodded, somewhat missing his own parents. "You and Gwen have gotten rather attached haven't you?"
Brenda swallowed, feeling a lump form in her throat. "Aye." She answered simply, remembering everything the two had done for each other in the past five years.
"Remember when she and Jack had that big blow out and she was totally numb to everyone?" Trevor asked. Brenda smiled slightly. She was thinking about the same thing.
"Aye, and I had to shoot her lock off."
"I'm more upset over the stupid lock than you are! Doesn't that seem a tad bit wrong to you?"
"Locks can be fixed, right Brenda?"
"Yes of course bloody locks can be fixed! But can you?!"
Brenda remembered the day with perfect clarity. How calm and controlled and unfeeling Gwyneth had been when Brenda shot off her lock. And how mad Brenda had gotten at her.
"Then you'll be happy to fix it."
"You can fix it yourself."
Brenda shook her head, not knowing what must've been going through her mother's head during that time.
"Why didn't you come with us?"
Brenda turned her head towards Trevor, "What?"
"Gwyneth came out of her shell that day- and you made it happen, yet when she went to go talk to everyone, you didn't come along, why not?"
Brenda paused, "You remember that?"
Trevor nodded.
She sighed, "I dunno…I guess it felt weird 'cause you were family an' I wasn't. Yet in a way I felt like family to her…" she paused a moment, "She made me get close to her…made me open up to her…an' that was the only way I was ever going to. She was a mother before she had to be."
"Gwyneth's always been like that- but she's always liked you. Whenever she talked about Jack- which was little, she mentioned his sweet little daughter. I wonder what happened…"
Brenda rolled her eyes, letting that comment slide. She thought back to the day she had been furious at her dad for lying to her and how Gwyneth had forced a hug on her. The thing she needed most she was running from. Tired from only a couple hours of walking around, Brenda began to slip into sleep land, uttering one word before falling completely into it, "Gwyneth."
"Brenda…Brenda…" Gwyneth's mind floated into consciousness as her dream about Brenda ended. It was probably the first dream she had had all week that wasn't about Nathan.
When she opened her eyes and saw her bed was deserted, she frowned. She had hoped Jack would be around. Just when she was about to call out his name, he came through the doorway and then shut the door. She gave him a confused look and he jumped slightly when he saw her awake.
"Did I wake you, love?"
"No…" she said, stretching and yawning, "where were you?"
He crawled under the covers and immediately wrapped Gwyneth in his arms. She sighed contently and remembered how much she truly missed him. "I went and put Matthew in his own bed. He was still sleeping though…you two must've had a tough week…"
She nodded, not willing to go into detail. "I'm glad you're home."
"Aye."
Gwyneth paused, something pressing in her mind. She wasn't sure if she should tell him, but it couldn't hurt anything. "Jack…"
"Hmm?"
"You don't consider yourself old, do you?"
"If I considered myself old, I'd be dead…" he paused, "Why?"
She bit her lip, thinking it'd be easier to show him. She grabbed one of his hands and moved it down to her stomach, "I think I'm pregnant."
Jack's eyes enlarged and then went back to normal. He swallowed hard, "P-pregnant?" She nodded. "Are you sure, love?"
She nodded again, "Yes. And although there's still a chance I might loose the baby…it's there."
He scratched his chin, removing his hand from her abdomen to do so, "Love, I'm not mad. This is unexpected though."
"I know. Maybe we should start working on getting our 'rhythm' right."
He grinned and nodded, "Or else we'll be having babies when I'm in my seventies."
She smiled, cuddling up next to him, "What do you mean, 'we'?"
Betrayer.
Liar.
Insensitive fiend.
These thoughts shouldn't have entered Katrina's head while she was latched onto Captain John Robinson's arm- but they did. She had said yes because she felt sorry for the man. She had suspected that he had a liking towards her, so when he asked her to this ball- she felt bad and had agreed.
But she hadn't been expecting the questions about Trevor.
Now she felt like she was practically cheating on Trevor…that she was wronging him badly that she would be embarrassed if he ever found out…that she would be uncomfortable to even tell him the truth about.
But why should she be uncomfortable?
John was a good man, and sweet and very…respectable. She wasn't ashamed of him in anyway. But she had put herself in a bad position. She was engaged to be married in four months, her fiancé was in Spain rescuing another woman from danger and she was holding on to the arm of another man. All in all- it didn't look good.
"Stop worrying." John whispered as they walked to a table. Her eyes darted up, how did he know I was worrying? But it was obvious- everyone knew of her and Trevor's engagement. John and Trevor even knew each other, so he must've known as well.
"What makes you think I'm worried?" She whispered back, not wanting to give away her feelings. But she feared if he already she was worried, then this question wouldn't do her any good.
"You cut off the blood flow to my arm." He said as she sat and then he sat. She smiled at him, blushing slightly.
"Are you sure that's not just from you bending it for half and hour?"
He smiled back, "I'm positive. You're grip was tighter than many men's I've met."
She rolled her eyes slightly and sighed, somewhat relaxing. Now that they weren't mingling, she didn't have to answer the question, 'Where's Captain Johnson?' to everyone who they talked to. She watched the people dance, trying to get her mind off the current situation.
John bit his lip, watching her watch everyone dance. "Would you care to join them?" he asked quietly.
She turned and looked at him, a bit surprised. "Dance you mean?"
He nodded.
Katrina looked out on the floor and then back at his green eyes. What can it hurt? She nodded and he took her out onto the floor, and before she knew it she was feeling the exact same way she had when she arrived.
Why do I get this feeling at the pit of my stomach every time I'm with him? She asked herself, not necessarily wanting an answer, but quickly realizing the answer once she thought about it. She sighed and tried to not think about the feelings she was getting towards Captain Robinson and tried to think about the feelings she already had for Captain Johnson.
Author Thanks:
ThePinkPanther: I dunno if you'll get this before you leave on the 25th…because I don't think you're on the same time zone as I am- BUT I HOPE SO. A whole month? I might be done with the story by then! We'll see tho…
Emma436: Short reviews right and left here! JEEZ! No, I'm just kidding. My reviews for your story aren't as long as some of yours have been…speaking of your story…clears my throat with all I have in me Where's an update?
Anyways, to your review! Awesome- because the more I though about it, the engagement thing was really good. Except, it's not going to be used the way you thought…it'll be kinda contorted. You're completely right, the Nathan thing- TOTALLY RANDOM! But oh well. It works with what I wrote…which wasn't what I had planned at all…hmm…Okay- the Brenda falling into the ground…it was kinda like a trap…like the palace used/uses when it gets invaded, you know? And that's why it falls into a torture chamber…get it? But I also used it as a way to get Brenda and Trevor alone together…
PiratePrincess91: "see, there we go, secretly, she wants to marry Trevor, yay!" I cracked up when I read that. That's hilarious…! You're whole review made me smile. A bit of enthusiasm about Brenda and Trevor gettin' together? Oh Katrina…she's having a bit of trouble, as you can see by this chapter. I'm glad I got Jack in character for the last chapter, I was kinda scared about that…
Piper8188: That's amazing! I think your review was longer than Emma's! That's amazing! Predicting…yes! He knows her so well- that's all! (hehe) Pregnancy…yes…men have to be nice to their wives so they won't get clobbered. Like I told Emma, I am going to use her idea for the engagement thing…but it's going to be used differently…so you'll have to wait and see!
Dawnie-7: You're totally right about the Nathan thing…you're the ONLY person who mentioned that Jack might not like that. Good job…you're right…but I'm not going to give TOO much away. smiles