AN: okay, so I have finally been able to update a week after I posted the last chapter. I don't think I have been able to do that since the first story that I wrote. And now, I have a quick favor to ask of all of my loyal readers. I am supposed to write a short story (8-10 pages) for my Creative Writing class and the rough draft is due in two weeks. But, the only problem is, I have come up with a blank slate on what to do. I started one story, but then writers block set in and will not leave. I am asking you to help me if at all possible. I need ideas to help me! Please, help me, and I promise to give you credit if I use your idea! Please!
AN2: P.S. There are only a few rules about my request from above:
1.) The story needs to be about pirates (preferably Jack and the rest!),
2.) It must be an idea that you have not used, or will not use in later stories that you have written or will write.
If you wish, you can either give me the ideas in the reviews or e-mail me at Luvzgoku1@aol.com to give me the information. Thankz in advance!
"It's only in death do we really ever say good-bye."
~William Eden, The Order
Silver and Gold
Chapter Six: Good-byes
Jeremy stood silently in front of Lor, his eyes brilliant with joy. "You have decided to accept? That is wonderful, my dear, I am overjoyed," he said, a small smile breaking over his wrinkled face.
"So you mean," Tyler interrupted suddenly, looking back and forth at Jeremy and Lor, "to tell me that we really do have a pirate in the family?"
"Yes, my dear boy, two of them actually," Jeremy replied. "Although one of them has long since died," he paused, a look of sadness crossing his face, and then turned to Lor. "Lor, my dear, allow me to introduce Tyler Adams, your cousin."
Lor inclined her head slightly at the young man in front of her. "Pleasure."
"Oh, wow," Tyler said, awestruck. "I never once thought-I mean I had hoped-that we would have a pirate. . ."
"Tyler, be quiet," Jeremy interjected, his brown eyes never leaving Lor's golden ones. "We have much to discuss."
Lor's eyebrows rose slightly at his words. "Such as?"
Jeremy sat down slowly, gesturing for them to do the same. He sighed, staring down at his hands as he placed them on his knees. He opened his mouth to reply when a young maid entered the room carrying a large, silver tray full of tea cups and a large pot of tea. The girl set the tray down on the table that sat between them.
She poured a small cup for Jeremy, handing it to the older man and then poured another cup for Tyler. The maid poured one more, handing the small cup and saucer to Lor. She looked down at it and grimaced, a look of disgust crossing her face. The maid left quickly, her head lowered so as not to look anyone in their eyes, as was befitting her station.
Lor sniffed the tea slowly, and then set the cup back on the table, settling back in her seat. Jeremy laughed into his cup as he took a sip, and then placed the cup back on the saucer. "As I was saying, my dear," he said, breaking the silence, "we have much to discuss. For instance, how are we going to disguise you?"
"Disguise me?"
Jeremy nodded. "Yes. You see, Tyler, my son Gregory, and myself are the only people out of our family that know who you are. We cannot allow other people, especially people who would tear our family to shreds if they discover who you are, to find out about you. You will, of course, still be introduced as my niece, the long lost daughter of my dead son.
"We will have to present you as a lady, since that would befit our station in England. We must train you to dress, talk, walk, and dance as a lady."
"Dress like a lady?" Lor asked, her eyebrows rising again. "You mean dress as in corsets, gowns, and lacy hats?"
Jeremy and Tyler laughed. "Yes," Jeremy replied. "I do. I believe the fashion now is a dress hanging slightly off the shoulders with short sleeves," he paused slightly before continuing. "Although most women in England are very pale. It is thought to be attractive. Of course, we can say that you grew up in the Caribbean, which you did, so you were out in the sun much more than a woman of your age should be."
"And what will be your explanation for my scars and my pirate brand?"
"We could always hide them, grandfather," Tyler answered, glancing quickly at Lor. "Perhaps have her wear a dress that covers her shoulders and arms. Or perhaps have her wear long gloves."
Jeremy looked appraisingly at this grandson as he considered his words. "You are right, Tyler. Although long sleeves seem to be out of style now."
Lor sighed, running her fingers through her hair, the small gold ring that she wore catching on one of the disheveled strands. "Oh, no. God forbid you make me wear something that isn't in style," she muttered, tugging at the entangled finger and ring.
Having heard her, Jeremy laughed, watching as she managed to tangle her hair further.
* * * * * * *
Jack walked down the slowly darkening beach, his eyes staring down at the figure that lay on the sandy shores, allowing the salty water to flood over her. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in her slight change in appearance. Her red hair was splayed about her face, looking like dark rays of the sun, although now, her red strands were short instead of long as they had been earlier in the day.
He stepped away from her slightly, deciding if he should bother her. She had avoided him all day which was not hard to do since he was not allowed to go anywhere in Port Royal, lest he cause trouble. At times, he had seen her stand outside of the small house, staring up at it, obviously wondering if she should enter. Every time, though, she would shake her head and walk away.
Now, however, he had found her sleeping on the sand, the last light of the day highlighting her tanned body as the water rushed up to her waist. Jack's lips twitched as he stared down at her. He knew that she had been avoiding him because of her decision to leave. He knew she had decided to leave, not only because Will had already heard the rumor that was circulating around Port Royal, but also because of the way she had acted the night before.
During their coupling, Lor had seemed almost eager to please him as if she believed she had something that she needed to apologize to him for and that this was the only way she could. Afterward, she had refused to let go of him, refusing to pull away. He had been able to feel as her body shuddered in the silent tears that he knew she was trying to hide from him.
Jack knelt down next to her head, continuing to stare down at her. A smirk crossed his face as a thought filtered through to his mind. His fingers ran through her short hair, mixing them in with the sand slightly. His other hand touched her abdomen briefly, tracing small swirls in her wrinkled vest.
A pair of warm, wet fingers gripped his hand, stopping his movements. "You could have just woken me," Lor whispered.
"You had a busy night love," he replied, a small grin crossing his face. "Figured you could use the sleep."
"Jack we need to. . ." Lor started.
"When do you leave?" Jack interjected.
Lor's eyes narrowed as she sat up. "I never said I was going to."
Jack jumped to his feet, stepping back slightly, tearing his hand away from hers, anger evident in his eyes. "Don't lie to me Lor," he said angrily. "I know yer leavin'. Will told me and I could tell by the way you acted last night. I knew you were tryin' ta hide it from me, but it didn't work."
Lor scrambled to her feet, her gold eyes blazing. "Do not blame this all on me Jack! You were the one who told me to go."
"I told you to go if. . ."
"If I thought there was nothing left here for me," Lor finished. "You never told me that there was someplace here I could stay. You never told me that I had a place on the Pearl."
Jack stared down at her for a moment, his face a mask of anger. Without saying a word, he turned and started to walk away. Lor shook her head angrily and ran after him. She caught hold of his arm and turned him around roughly. "Don't you dare walk away from me! You have walked away from me enough to last me for the rest of my life! I'm sick of you doing this to me!"
"What do you want from me Lor? Do you expect me to say that I'm sorry to see you go?" he asked, his hands flailing in the air. "Do you expect me to stop you? To tell you to stay? I don't do that Lor. I don't tie myself down like that."
Lor's eyes narrowed. In one quick movement, she pulled her arm back and let her fist fly. The punch connected with Jack's cheek, the force of the blow throwing him backward. He landed on his back on the sandy beach, his eyes staring up into hers. "You bastard," she said angrily and then turned on her heel and ran quickly away.
"I don't care what you say Jack," a voice behind him said, "you did deserve that one."
Jack sat up slowly, massaging his bruising cheek. "Don't try to tell me what I deserve Will Turner," he replied, standing up and turning around to face the young blacksmith.
Will stood just behind him, carrying Michel in his arms. "When are you going to learn to stop pushing people away? You have pushed her away twice now. Frankly, I'm surprised she even comes back to you."
Jack's eyes darkened. "Don't push me, Turner, not when you've got a child in yer arms," he said and then quickly walked past him, heading away from the small house and its occupants.
* * * * * * *
Three days passed without Lor and Jack glancing at each other. When they did cross each others paths, they wouldn't say a word to each other, each walking their separate ways. When the day finally arrived for Lor to leave, she woke early and said hurried good-byes to Will, Elizabeth, and their three children, promising to write often.
She didn't turn back when she left the small, brick house, her bag slung over her shoulder.
* * * * * * *
Lor walked quickly, her eyes lowered. She jerked her head up when she heard the sound of footsteps coming toward her. Lor stopped at the same moment he did, her eyes meeting his. "Jack," she whispered.
Jack stared over at her, his face and eyes expressionless. With a deep breath, Lor walked slowly up to him, her eyes pleading with him not to walk away. "Jack, I'm. . ."
"Yer gonna miss yer ship," he answered coldly.
Lor reached up and touched his face gently. "I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning up to kiss him.
Jack stopped her, taking hold of the hand that rested on his bruised cheek and kissing the top of it, his blank eyes never leaving hers. Lor pulled her hand away quickly, anger and confusion entering her gaze.
Without another word, Lor pushed past him, heading quickly for the busy port, where she knew her grandfather was waiting.
* * * * * * *
Jack stared out into the calm seas, watching as a ship sailed slowly away from the port, carrying with it something that he could never hold on to. His eyes flicked to his right as he heard footsteps behind him, and then flicked back to the retreating ship.
Will stepped up beside him, his hands crossed lightly behind his back. He stood there quietly for a moment, his eyes following the ship as well. "You let her go again, didn't you?" he asked softly, breaking the silence.
Jack didn't respond. He didn't even spare a glance at the younger man.
Will sighed, shaking his head sadly. "If you keep doing this you're going to keep making it worse, hurting both of you even more."
Jack still didn't respond, merely continued to stare blankly ahead of him at the receding image of a ship.
* * * * * * *
Next: Chapter 7: Travels.
MarsMoonStar: I'm glad that you liked it! I hope you will continue to like it until I finish the story. Which will be much later as I have lots of things I want to do with the characters in the upcoming chapters!
Dawnie-7: Awww! I'm so glad! I can understand a little why that scene almost made you cry, I almost cried while I was writing it!
Silmarwen: Thank you so much for the information. I greatly appreciated it!
Kai_sparrow: I am so sorry that you hate cliffhangers, cuz I love them! I am so glad that you love the story and I hope you continue to read!
Mystic Fish: Thank you for the information as well. I plan to continue writing as it is one of my biggest passions at this point in my life. I hope you will still read this as time goes on as well.