A/N: aremi- Thank you for the review! I always enjoy compliments, lol, so here is the next chapter.
Chapter 2
Before she knew it, Amelia was on the ship in her dream holding Nevado in her arms. She looked back at Port Isabel as the soldiers were putting the last several boxes onto the ship. It was a little past sunset and she was wearing a simple green and ivory dress with a matching hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. She stroked Nevado's head and attempted to capture the picture of her home in her mind exactly the way it looked, for she would not be seeing it for roughly a little over two months.
Even she could not agree that at this particular time Port Isabel looked picturesque. She only wished that she could have had the opportunity to paint it. She looked at the pink and blue sky with few clouds, a sun, and an outline of buildings with hills on the sides. She was still standing in the same spot admiring the beauty when the ship departed. Waving good-bye to her aunt and uncle she sighed.
"So, excited about the journey?" she heard a familiar smooth, and slightly bored, voice asked her.
She turned around to see a tall Commodore Thornton standing over her. He was dressed in his red and white uniform and had the look of curiosity on his face, as if he was trying to read her mind. Inside she laughed, because she knew that no one would ever quite understand the way her mind works, even she didn't. For the first time she had noticed that he was actually rather handsome. Her eyes first laid upon his short curly blonde hair, his strong face structure, crystal blue eyes, and then moved down to his muscular body.
Looking up at him straight in his blue eyes, she replied "Yes, but I'm rather uneasy about being on a ship for a week."
"If you need anything then don't hesitate to tell me. I doubt that we will have any problems and today the wind is moving in the direction we are, so it will move us swiftly and perhaps even cut off a day of traveling."
"That is nice to know." she said, placing Nevado down and holding on to his leash as he walked around a little. He then began barking at Charles.
Ignoring the dog and looking at Amelia, who he could not help but think looked extra radiant that day, he added "Follow me and I will show you to your cabin. Your belongings are already there for you."
She followed him down below deck into a wooden hall. At the end of the hall was her room. They had given her a large room, she had expected getting something smaller than that. It looked like it would have been a captain's cabin, but she guessed since she was the governor's niece they wanted her to receive the very best. Not that she needed a big room; it was just a nice surprise.
Amelia entered the room, pulling Nevado with her and Charles left her alone, closing the door before he went to go back on deck. She took Nevado off his leash and set the leash on a table. She looked around the room. There was a reasonably sized bed with clean white sheets, a divider for her to change behind, a wooden table with four chairs, a bedside table with a basin for washing, a large window, and all of her suitcases in one corner of the room.
It was safe to say that she would be comfortable in her quarters. She went into the far right-hand corner of the room and opened one of the suitcases. Out of it she took her sketchbook and something to draw with. She left Nevado in her cabin and went back on deck.
Looking around she saw the sailors were busy with their jobs and the soldiers were just standing around talking to each other. When she got on deck several turned to look at her, but she did not notice. She picked a good spot to stand at the railing and then she closed her eyes.
Keep in mind that no one there had ever watched her draw before. Actually, no one had ever watched her draw before. They had no idea why she had closed her eyes. Charles saw her and figured that the sun might be too much for her and thought she was going to faint. He went up behind her, and got ready to catch her. When she did not fall, he was surprised.
Amelia still kept her eyes closed. She had no idea that anyone was watching her. At first it was all black, like when anyone closes their eyes, but then it started to change. She pictured a man, but she could not see his face. She saw him sitting comfortably with his feet resting on a table. His face was covered with a brown hat that matched his brown boots. There was something strange about this man and she wondered why she would be picturing him.
How or why she got the visions to draw that she did, she had no idea. Most of the times in the past they had been of people or things that she had seen or was going to see. She did not like to think about it, for predicting the future was one power that she would not want to have, it would be too much responsibility. If anyone knew of her visions, they would most likely think that she had some sort of power, but she liked to think of it as a gift because she only used the visions to make art and everyone that she drew turned out superlative.
At that moment she opened her eyes and began to draw the man. She drew faster and faster, each stroke gracefully drawn. Charles was still standing behind her, watching what she did. He found it peculiar that she was not looking up at something to draw or drawing the sea as he expected. He slowly saw a man being formed on that page and he could not help but be curious (and jealous) of who that man was. He was not dressed as a gentleman or like anyone of high position.
When Amelia was done she looked at the picture. It was not till then that she realized it looked like he was sitting in some sort of captain's cabin. The drawing looked realistic, even the creases in his pants and shirt looked real. Another fine job, she thought. Smiling, from her pride of her work, she turned around to face a not so happy Commodore.
"Oh, I did not know you were here." she said, surprised that he was standing only four inches away from her.
"May I ask who the man is in that picture of yours? It is incredible that you could draw something so life-like straight from your mind." he asked curiously, moving back a little to give her more space.
"No, you cannot. You have no right to stand over me while I am minding my own business and drawing." she replied sternly. She did not enjoy people watching her when she was drawing because it was too personal. "And the answer is I do not know. He is not real; at least he is not like anyone I have ever met. As you well know my family only submerses me with people of high class."
"Sorry." he simply said. He felt foolish for ever thinking that she actually knew a man who looked like that, like a rogue. He should have known that she was just using her imagination, something that he had long lost ever since he turned ten. She was right, after all, and he could see why she would have been offended. Trying to change the subject he added "I will send lunch to your cabin when it is ready."
"Thank you, Charles. I will be returning to my quarters now." she replied, closed her sketchbook, and walked back down below deck. She was no longer mad at him; she could understand why he would be curious for no one else she knew drew like that. She walked back to her cabin and shutting the door behind her she sat on her bed with her back against the wall. The ship slowly rocked back and forth as she looked out the window.
Drawing had not been her only talent. She was getting excellent at the piano and she had always had a lovely soft singing voice. It was perfect for singing the slow love songs that she adored, hoping that one day that the songs would be actually meant for somebody when she sang them. Currently there was no one in her life that they would apply to, and so she decided to sing a lullaby she remembered being sang to her by her aunt.
Lullaby, twilight is spreading
Silver wings over the sky;
Fairy elves are softly treading,
Folding buds as they pass by.
Lullaby, whisper and sigh,
Lullaby, lullaby.
Lullaby, deep under cover
Drone the bees softly to rest;
Close white lids your dear eyes over,
Auntie's arms shall be your rest.
Lullaby, whisper and sigh,
Lullaby, lullaby.
Before she knew it there was a knock on her door. It was lunchtime already. She said that it was alright to come in as she looked towards the door. It opened and a soldier she did not know came in and set down a tray on her table. He did a polite bow and then left he alone with her food. She got up from her bed and walked over to the table.
She sat down on one of the wooden chairs and looked at the tray's contents. There was a cup of tea in a blue china cup, two small sandwiches, a biscuit, some butter, a couple cookies, a bowl of water and a bowl full of something that she supposed was for Nevado. She took the two bowls and set them on the floor, patting his head. He began wolfing down the food and drink.
She sat back down and sipped her tea. Setting the cup down she began to eat her food, slowly and properly. Even though she was not in the presence of anyone's company, she was raised to eat that way and so it was natural to her. Suddenly the thought occurred to her that not everyone on that ship would be eating as good food that she was receiving. She shrugged the thought away and indulged in her meal.
After she was finished, someone did come back to take the tray and she was once again alone. Alone and with nothing to do. So, she took out a book given to her by Uncle Mort and began to read. She discovered that it covered a topic on which she knew nothing... pirates. She wondered why he would give her a book like that. No one had ever talked about pirates around her and assumed that they were really no longer a threat.
After her first day sailing, the following several days went quickly and they were approaching Port Royal two days ahead of schedule. They would be there in time for dinner. Amelia changed into one of her more fancy dresses, that would be suitable for dinner and greeting a governor, and prepared to once again be on land.
She wore a white, pink, and pale blue silk dress with multicolored floral silk brocade and white trim. She put on a pearl necklace and a matching hat over her bun. She wanted to make a good first impression on the person who was so kindly taking her in and be hospitable. After all, this was a fancy and mostly rich town; so fitting in was not so bad an idea.
Grabbing a leather leash and putting it on Nevado, she headed back on deck to watch the ship sail into the harbor. The soldiers tied the ship to the dock and paid a man two shillings. The commodore helped her off the ship and walked her over to where a carriage was waiting for her. Her belongings would be sent to the house behind her. She said good-bye to him and sat down in the carriage with Nevado by her side.
So far the town looked pretty decent. It seemed like a normal busy British town. The carriage went over a bump and for a second she was tossed from her seat. She regained her composure and sat straight, looking out the window to see the town. She noticed the carriage was headed up a hill, where she assumed the governor's mansion would be. On top of a hill looking down on the town and docks, that must be a sight. She was going to like that house.
Finally, the carriage went past a gate and pulled up to the door of a white mansion. The driver opened the door for her and helped her out of the carriage. She walked up to the door and knocked on the knocker. After two knocks she felt the door being pulled inside the house as the butler welcomed her inside.
She entered the manor. It was beautifully decorated, similar to where she lived, but different in some ways. A man soon came from another room to the right wearing a white wig and the usual attire for a gentleman. His suit was slate blue and brown satin. His face looked amicable and she knew that he must be the governor.
"Hello. You must be Amelia." he said, walking up to her.
She nodded. "And you are Governor Swann. I've heard you are a close friend to my uncle."
"Mort, yes." he replied. "Welcome to Port Royal. I was not expecting you so early. How was your trip?"
"Smooth sailing. We had no trouble getting here." she answered, smiling. Nevado was sitting on the ground by her feet obediently.
Swann just now noticed the little pup. He did not look too pleased to have an animal in his home, but he regained his smile and only said "And who is this?"
"His name is Nevado. Mort and Mary gave him to me as a birthday present. Don't worry about him, he is the sweetest little thing." she informed him.
"Yes, yes." he said. "Well, you must be parched. Come now and we can have dinner."
He led her to an even fancier dining room where a good-looking meal was waiting. She ate dinner and had some conversations with Swann about his daughter who he wanted her to meet and about her life in Port Isabel.
She found the information on his daughter most interesting. Her name was Elizabeth. Apparently, she was kidnapped by pirates a year ago and ended up being saved by her new husband William Turner. He was a blacksmith, but she loved him and now they lived together in a small place above his own blacksmith shop. That is the type of love I want for myself, she thought. Envious of a girl she had never met, she decided to meet them sometime in the following week.
A maid showed her to her room after dinner and helped her undress. She changed into her nightgown and was glad to see that all of her possessions had made it safely to her room. She let Nevado off his leash so he could jump on the bed with her. She sat there a minute before blowing out the candle and then soon she was fast asleep.
Before she knew it someone was opening the shades and she was forced to wake up. She saw it was the maid. She tore herself from the bed and allowed the maid to help her get dressed. She made her way downstairs and let the maid take Nevado out for a walk. She had a short breakfast with the governor, he had some urgent business to attend to and he told her that she could take a carriage if she needed one, but she insisted that she preferred to walk around. He left and then she thought about what to do.
She wanted to walk around a bit and get the feel for the town. At home when she would go for walks she wore plain dresses that did not require corsets, much like a poorer woman would wear, because they were more comfortable and when she was alone she had to need to impress anyone. With the help of yet another maid she changed into a white dress, which was light so it did not make her feel uncomfortable in under the hot sun. She put her hair up and stuck her emerald and ruby comb in it.
Now all she needed was her sketchbook, which she tucked in a section of her dress. Her dog was still with one of the maids, and so she decided to leave him at the mansion where he could run around a bit while she went off to draw and see what there was to see.
She walked around a bit and something drew her into the town. She found herself lost in a crowd at some sort of a marketplace. People were everywhere and if she had been claustrophobic then she would have been having panic attacks. Luckily she was not, and so she just went with the flow. She looked around and was paying attention to the people that were around her. She could tell exactly who was rich and who was not, who was most likely a thief and who was most likely going to be the victim of a robbery.
It's not like she hadn't seen thieves before, there were plenty of them in Port Isabel too and that is what the army was there for. To protect the people and punish the wrongdoers, although it was not quite that simple. Some people were just unlucky, born poor, and had no way to make enough money for survival. They break the law to save themselves and their family and then end up getting punished by people who will never know what it is like to suffer. Life is not fair.
Thinking all of this, she had been distracted and did not notice that there was someone being chased down the street by soldiers. Pretty soon people were going every which way and somehow she had gotten trapped in the middle of this chaos. Someone behind her pushed her hard by accident, not noticing that she was there. She fell down hard and her head slammed right into a rock that just happened to be sitting there on the side of the street. Her mind blanked and she was unconscious.
Chapter 2
Before she knew it, Amelia was on the ship in her dream holding Nevado in her arms. She looked back at Port Isabel as the soldiers were putting the last several boxes onto the ship. It was a little past sunset and she was wearing a simple green and ivory dress with a matching hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. She stroked Nevado's head and attempted to capture the picture of her home in her mind exactly the way it looked, for she would not be seeing it for roughly a little over two months.
Even she could not agree that at this particular time Port Isabel looked picturesque. She only wished that she could have had the opportunity to paint it. She looked at the pink and blue sky with few clouds, a sun, and an outline of buildings with hills on the sides. She was still standing in the same spot admiring the beauty when the ship departed. Waving good-bye to her aunt and uncle she sighed.
"So, excited about the journey?" she heard a familiar smooth, and slightly bored, voice asked her.
She turned around to see a tall Commodore Thornton standing over her. He was dressed in his red and white uniform and had the look of curiosity on his face, as if he was trying to read her mind. Inside she laughed, because she knew that no one would ever quite understand the way her mind works, even she didn't. For the first time she had noticed that he was actually rather handsome. Her eyes first laid upon his short curly blonde hair, his strong face structure, crystal blue eyes, and then moved down to his muscular body.
Looking up at him straight in his blue eyes, she replied "Yes, but I'm rather uneasy about being on a ship for a week."
"If you need anything then don't hesitate to tell me. I doubt that we will have any problems and today the wind is moving in the direction we are, so it will move us swiftly and perhaps even cut off a day of traveling."
"That is nice to know." she said, placing Nevado down and holding on to his leash as he walked around a little. He then began barking at Charles.
Ignoring the dog and looking at Amelia, who he could not help but think looked extra radiant that day, he added "Follow me and I will show you to your cabin. Your belongings are already there for you."
She followed him down below deck into a wooden hall. At the end of the hall was her room. They had given her a large room, she had expected getting something smaller than that. It looked like it would have been a captain's cabin, but she guessed since she was the governor's niece they wanted her to receive the very best. Not that she needed a big room; it was just a nice surprise.
Amelia entered the room, pulling Nevado with her and Charles left her alone, closing the door before he went to go back on deck. She took Nevado off his leash and set the leash on a table. She looked around the room. There was a reasonably sized bed with clean white sheets, a divider for her to change behind, a wooden table with four chairs, a bedside table with a basin for washing, a large window, and all of her suitcases in one corner of the room.
It was safe to say that she would be comfortable in her quarters. She went into the far right-hand corner of the room and opened one of the suitcases. Out of it she took her sketchbook and something to draw with. She left Nevado in her cabin and went back on deck.
Looking around she saw the sailors were busy with their jobs and the soldiers were just standing around talking to each other. When she got on deck several turned to look at her, but she did not notice. She picked a good spot to stand at the railing and then she closed her eyes.
Keep in mind that no one there had ever watched her draw before. Actually, no one had ever watched her draw before. They had no idea why she had closed her eyes. Charles saw her and figured that the sun might be too much for her and thought she was going to faint. He went up behind her, and got ready to catch her. When she did not fall, he was surprised.
Amelia still kept her eyes closed. She had no idea that anyone was watching her. At first it was all black, like when anyone closes their eyes, but then it started to change. She pictured a man, but she could not see his face. She saw him sitting comfortably with his feet resting on a table. His face was covered with a brown hat that matched his brown boots. There was something strange about this man and she wondered why she would be picturing him.
How or why she got the visions to draw that she did, she had no idea. Most of the times in the past they had been of people or things that she had seen or was going to see. She did not like to think about it, for predicting the future was one power that she would not want to have, it would be too much responsibility. If anyone knew of her visions, they would most likely think that she had some sort of power, but she liked to think of it as a gift because she only used the visions to make art and everyone that she drew turned out superlative.
At that moment she opened her eyes and began to draw the man. She drew faster and faster, each stroke gracefully drawn. Charles was still standing behind her, watching what she did. He found it peculiar that she was not looking up at something to draw or drawing the sea as he expected. He slowly saw a man being formed on that page and he could not help but be curious (and jealous) of who that man was. He was not dressed as a gentleman or like anyone of high position.
When Amelia was done she looked at the picture. It was not till then that she realized it looked like he was sitting in some sort of captain's cabin. The drawing looked realistic, even the creases in his pants and shirt looked real. Another fine job, she thought. Smiling, from her pride of her work, she turned around to face a not so happy Commodore.
"Oh, I did not know you were here." she said, surprised that he was standing only four inches away from her.
"May I ask who the man is in that picture of yours? It is incredible that you could draw something so life-like straight from your mind." he asked curiously, moving back a little to give her more space.
"No, you cannot. You have no right to stand over me while I am minding my own business and drawing." she replied sternly. She did not enjoy people watching her when she was drawing because it was too personal. "And the answer is I do not know. He is not real; at least he is not like anyone I have ever met. As you well know my family only submerses me with people of high class."
"Sorry." he simply said. He felt foolish for ever thinking that she actually knew a man who looked like that, like a rogue. He should have known that she was just using her imagination, something that he had long lost ever since he turned ten. She was right, after all, and he could see why she would have been offended. Trying to change the subject he added "I will send lunch to your cabin when it is ready."
"Thank you, Charles. I will be returning to my quarters now." she replied, closed her sketchbook, and walked back down below deck. She was no longer mad at him; she could understand why he would be curious for no one else she knew drew like that. She walked back to her cabin and shutting the door behind her she sat on her bed with her back against the wall. The ship slowly rocked back and forth as she looked out the window.
Drawing had not been her only talent. She was getting excellent at the piano and she had always had a lovely soft singing voice. It was perfect for singing the slow love songs that she adored, hoping that one day that the songs would be actually meant for somebody when she sang them. Currently there was no one in her life that they would apply to, and so she decided to sing a lullaby she remembered being sang to her by her aunt.
Lullaby, twilight is spreading
Silver wings over the sky;
Fairy elves are softly treading,
Folding buds as they pass by.
Lullaby, whisper and sigh,
Lullaby, lullaby.
Lullaby, deep under cover
Drone the bees softly to rest;
Close white lids your dear eyes over,
Auntie's arms shall be your rest.
Lullaby, whisper and sigh,
Lullaby, lullaby.
Before she knew it there was a knock on her door. It was lunchtime already. She said that it was alright to come in as she looked towards the door. It opened and a soldier she did not know came in and set down a tray on her table. He did a polite bow and then left he alone with her food. She got up from her bed and walked over to the table.
She sat down on one of the wooden chairs and looked at the tray's contents. There was a cup of tea in a blue china cup, two small sandwiches, a biscuit, some butter, a couple cookies, a bowl of water and a bowl full of something that she supposed was for Nevado. She took the two bowls and set them on the floor, patting his head. He began wolfing down the food and drink.
She sat back down and sipped her tea. Setting the cup down she began to eat her food, slowly and properly. Even though she was not in the presence of anyone's company, she was raised to eat that way and so it was natural to her. Suddenly the thought occurred to her that not everyone on that ship would be eating as good food that she was receiving. She shrugged the thought away and indulged in her meal.
After she was finished, someone did come back to take the tray and she was once again alone. Alone and with nothing to do. So, she took out a book given to her by Uncle Mort and began to read. She discovered that it covered a topic on which she knew nothing... pirates. She wondered why he would give her a book like that. No one had ever talked about pirates around her and assumed that they were really no longer a threat.
After her first day sailing, the following several days went quickly and they were approaching Port Royal two days ahead of schedule. They would be there in time for dinner. Amelia changed into one of her more fancy dresses, that would be suitable for dinner and greeting a governor, and prepared to once again be on land.
She wore a white, pink, and pale blue silk dress with multicolored floral silk brocade and white trim. She put on a pearl necklace and a matching hat over her bun. She wanted to make a good first impression on the person who was so kindly taking her in and be hospitable. After all, this was a fancy and mostly rich town; so fitting in was not so bad an idea.
Grabbing a leather leash and putting it on Nevado, she headed back on deck to watch the ship sail into the harbor. The soldiers tied the ship to the dock and paid a man two shillings. The commodore helped her off the ship and walked her over to where a carriage was waiting for her. Her belongings would be sent to the house behind her. She said good-bye to him and sat down in the carriage with Nevado by her side.
So far the town looked pretty decent. It seemed like a normal busy British town. The carriage went over a bump and for a second she was tossed from her seat. She regained her composure and sat straight, looking out the window to see the town. She noticed the carriage was headed up a hill, where she assumed the governor's mansion would be. On top of a hill looking down on the town and docks, that must be a sight. She was going to like that house.
Finally, the carriage went past a gate and pulled up to the door of a white mansion. The driver opened the door for her and helped her out of the carriage. She walked up to the door and knocked on the knocker. After two knocks she felt the door being pulled inside the house as the butler welcomed her inside.
She entered the manor. It was beautifully decorated, similar to where she lived, but different in some ways. A man soon came from another room to the right wearing a white wig and the usual attire for a gentleman. His suit was slate blue and brown satin. His face looked amicable and she knew that he must be the governor.
"Hello. You must be Amelia." he said, walking up to her.
She nodded. "And you are Governor Swann. I've heard you are a close friend to my uncle."
"Mort, yes." he replied. "Welcome to Port Royal. I was not expecting you so early. How was your trip?"
"Smooth sailing. We had no trouble getting here." she answered, smiling. Nevado was sitting on the ground by her feet obediently.
Swann just now noticed the little pup. He did not look too pleased to have an animal in his home, but he regained his smile and only said "And who is this?"
"His name is Nevado. Mort and Mary gave him to me as a birthday present. Don't worry about him, he is the sweetest little thing." she informed him.
"Yes, yes." he said. "Well, you must be parched. Come now and we can have dinner."
He led her to an even fancier dining room where a good-looking meal was waiting. She ate dinner and had some conversations with Swann about his daughter who he wanted her to meet and about her life in Port Isabel.
She found the information on his daughter most interesting. Her name was Elizabeth. Apparently, she was kidnapped by pirates a year ago and ended up being saved by her new husband William Turner. He was a blacksmith, but she loved him and now they lived together in a small place above his own blacksmith shop. That is the type of love I want for myself, she thought. Envious of a girl she had never met, she decided to meet them sometime in the following week.
A maid showed her to her room after dinner and helped her undress. She changed into her nightgown and was glad to see that all of her possessions had made it safely to her room. She let Nevado off his leash so he could jump on the bed with her. She sat there a minute before blowing out the candle and then soon she was fast asleep.
Before she knew it someone was opening the shades and she was forced to wake up. She saw it was the maid. She tore herself from the bed and allowed the maid to help her get dressed. She made her way downstairs and let the maid take Nevado out for a walk. She had a short breakfast with the governor, he had some urgent business to attend to and he told her that she could take a carriage if she needed one, but she insisted that she preferred to walk around. He left and then she thought about what to do.
She wanted to walk around a bit and get the feel for the town. At home when she would go for walks she wore plain dresses that did not require corsets, much like a poorer woman would wear, because they were more comfortable and when she was alone she had to need to impress anyone. With the help of yet another maid she changed into a white dress, which was light so it did not make her feel uncomfortable in under the hot sun. She put her hair up and stuck her emerald and ruby comb in it.
Now all she needed was her sketchbook, which she tucked in a section of her dress. Her dog was still with one of the maids, and so she decided to leave him at the mansion where he could run around a bit while she went off to draw and see what there was to see.
She walked around a bit and something drew her into the town. She found herself lost in a crowd at some sort of a marketplace. People were everywhere and if she had been claustrophobic then she would have been having panic attacks. Luckily she was not, and so she just went with the flow. She looked around and was paying attention to the people that were around her. She could tell exactly who was rich and who was not, who was most likely a thief and who was most likely going to be the victim of a robbery.
It's not like she hadn't seen thieves before, there were plenty of them in Port Isabel too and that is what the army was there for. To protect the people and punish the wrongdoers, although it was not quite that simple. Some people were just unlucky, born poor, and had no way to make enough money for survival. They break the law to save themselves and their family and then end up getting punished by people who will never know what it is like to suffer. Life is not fair.
Thinking all of this, she had been distracted and did not notice that there was someone being chased down the street by soldiers. Pretty soon people were going every which way and somehow she had gotten trapped in the middle of this chaos. Someone behind her pushed her hard by accident, not noticing that she was there. She fell down hard and her head slammed right into a rock that just happened to be sitting there on the side of the street. Her mind blanked and she was unconscious.