Chapter 11
Once again Amelia was standing in the room alone with Commodore Charles Thornton. She should have been outraged, but she wasn't. Instead she was still in shock of what had just occurred. She was upset and she knew that she had to go with her heart.
She turned to face the commodore. He looked like he was confused. He must have thought that she actually liked him. He couldn't have been more wrong. He was nice, but he wasn't her type. Plus, he was very stuck up and annoying. If she had to spend the rest of her life with him then she would kill herself so she wouldn't have to put up with the torture.
Besides, the fact that her uncle and aunt were not there and were off her mind at the present moment made it so much easier for her to give him the answer that she wanted to, without worrying about their reactions.
It was time to fess up. "No." she said, with defiance and certainty in her voice.
"No what?" Charles asked. He obviously had no idea what she was talking about.
Was she going mad? He didn't understand why she was acting so... so different.
Her voice was not the usual meek and shy one that he was accustomed to. This time she sounded so sure of herself, like it was the most honest answer she had ever uttered.
"No, I will not marry you." she replied, pushing him away from her and walking towards the door. Then she turned around to look at the disgruntled commodore one more time. "I'm sorry, it's just that I don't love you."
She wasn't even really sorry for his sake, she was sorry for hers. She was sorry that people felt the need to control the lives of their family members; in turn forcing their family members to live a life they normally wouldn't choose. All along she had known that she didn't love him and nothing was going to change that. He could have picked up on the signs, but then again he was a man and she wasn't sure that he loved her either.
Perhaps he was doing what everyone else expected and wanted too, just so that he could fit into the high-class society that so many people worked hard to enter. To her none of it seemed worth the trouble. Elizabeth's story had taught her an important lesson that being true to yourself is the only way to be truly happy.
This comment came as a shock for this particular commodore. He had felt so confident; he was also positive that she would say yes. Her uncle had assured him that after this trip she would come around, but he must have miscalculated his niece as well.
Charles also thought that after being around the pirates would make her glad to see a familiar face. He must have been wrong because she didn't seem that happy to see him when he thought about it. Before he thought the reason she looked like that was because she was surprised to see him, but now he knew otherwise.
The truth was when she asked him why he didn't go looking for her was that it was completely illogical. How can he go find her when he didn't even know where she went? He was always taught to think with his head, not his heart.
Amelia's uncle had constantly assured him that after he had a wife, then he would be ready to take his place as governor. People want a family man, someone with attachments, not a single man. By the time he was ready for a promotion from being a commodore, it was way past the time that he should have gotten married, or at least that was what everyone told him. Therefore he was put to work at choosing the lucky woman.
Obviously Amelia would be the perfect choice for him. Many suitors were after her, not for her beauty or charm, but simply because she was the niece to the governor of Port Isabel and the only living heir to their fortune. So not only would the man who marries her get a high rank in society and a close connection with the governor, but they would receive the joy of money. Although most of the men were already rich because of their own family, any extra assets helped.
So Amelia left the room and re-entered the hall where she found Elizabeth, Will and the governor conversing about god knows what. Actually, they were talking about the baby on the way, but Amelia was so strung out right now that she wasn't paying attention. Instead she just stood there looking at them and began to cry.
At this surprising outbreak, all three of them turned from their conversation to see a very upset Amelia. The men took this as a chance to excuse themselves, saying that they 'were going to find something to drink'. Not that they were thirsting, they just wanted to leave the room and not have to be stuck in a room during a much needed 'girl talk'. Who could blame them?
Both women ignored them as they stepped out of the room into the kitchen.
Elizabeth's expression turned from one of happiness quickly into one of concern.
She studied Amelia carefully, and then wondered if this sudden occurrence was due to the commodore or the pirate that left not too long ago.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, taking Amelia into a loose embrace and giving her a shoulder to cry on as they sat down on the stairs.
"I... can't..... Jack left.... commodore.... said no....." she replied between sobs.
After a few minutes, Amelia regained her calm and stopped crying. She wiped off her face and then realized what had just happened. She had managed to, once again, make herself look like a total and complete idiot. She could not believe what was going on inside her head, or at least her heart.
"What happened?" Elizabeth asked again, looking at Amelia's face and noticing that she had calmed down.
"Commodore Thornton wanted to know if I was going to accept his proposal or not." she explained.
"And? What did you say?"
"Well, he didn't wait for an answer and then he kissed me right when Jack... I mean Captain Sparrow... walked in and then he left after he saw us and I couldn't stop him. Then I told Charles no and now I'm here."
"You love Jack, don't you?" Elizabeth questioned, already knowing what the true answer was. You would have to be more then daft to not understand what was going on. That could be the reason that Jack practically bolted towards the front door after an abrupt farewell.
She looked up at the brunette who just asked her a very good question. Did she love him? Well, let's see shall we, she didn't want to leave him, she couldn't stop thinking about him, and she was devastated when he caught Charles kissing her and left. Yeah, that about sums it up in a nice little gift-wrapped package, doesn't it?
She was in love with Jack Sparrow, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. It was time to admit her true feelings that she had been ignoring. How could she have let this happen to herself? A pirate, of all people, and most likely who wouldn't be able to return the feelings. Or would he?
She slowly nodded her head in response to the inquiry. She felt so pathetic.
The only man she had ever fallen in love with was a pirate who was currently sailing his way out of her life, literally. How much worse could this situation get?
"Then what are you doing?" Elizabeth asked, picking her up and making her stand.
"What do you mean what am I doing?" Amelia asked in utter confusion. What did that woman expect her to do? Sing and dance?
"Well you said you loved him..."
"So? Don't you get it? He's gone! Gone for good..." Amelia threw her hands up and exclaimed loud enough for the men in the kitchen to hear her. As far as she was concerned there was nothing that she could do about it.
"Go after him!" Elizabeth responded, as if it was the most obvious thing to do.
Well, maybe it was, but now when you don't exactly have any way of following him.
"I don't have a way to get there. He's headed for Tortuga. I don't exactly own a ship now do I?" she sadly replied, as if someone just gave her false hopes and then crushed them.
"Now, who said that you had to own a ship?" a voice asked.
Both women turned to see Will smiling as if he had a secret plan brewing in his mind. They gave him confused glances and then looked back at each other.
"Are you sure this is a good idea Will?" Amelia asked as her, Will, and
Elizabeth sneaked to the docks. They had their eye on one of the newer ships, but she couldn't make out the name in the darkness of the night. She supposed there were some officers aboard to protect it, but there would probably only be a couple, nothing they couldn't handle.
"Me and Jack did it before. How do you think we were able to save Elizabeth?" he asked rhetorically, jerking his thumb in Elizabeth's direction.
"Indeed, but none of us know what we are doing." Elizabeth sharply retorted.
She was not sure that this was going to work. She told her father that they were going back home, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what they were up to. Somehow he suddenly had become a perceptive understanding father within the past year. Go figure.
Amelia couldn't believe what she had just heard. Did Will's wife know him at all? "I find that highly doubtful." she replied to Elizabeth. "He seemed to know exactly what he was doing aboard the Pearl. He looked like a natural, really."
And that he had. He handled the ship like it was the easiest thing in the world and as if it was working with him, instead of him working the ship as most sailors treated it like. If she hadn't known he was a blacksmith, she would have suspected that he was a sailor.
"Really?" Elizabeth asked. She knew Will worked on a ship with Jack at one point, but Jack was showing him the ropes and telling him what to do. She didn't think that he could handle a ship on his own, or with only two clueless women, or at least women clueless when it came to ships.
"Come on." Will whispered, beckoning them to follow him as he ran over to the ship and peeked over to see who was on it. There were only two soldiers standing guard. Somehow they looked familiar, he just couldn't figure out where he had seen them before.
"Mmm mmm m m mmm mmmmmm." the one to the left hummed loudly.
The soldier next to him elbowed him in the side. "Shut the bloody hell up already!" he bellowed, obviously annoyed. Apparently the other soldier had been humming before too.
"Oww!" the humming soldier said, rubbing his side. "You didn't have to punch me!"
"I didn't punch you." he huffed. "I elbowed you."
The previously humming soldier was quiet and did not respond. He stood there, looked around a bit, and seemed quite bored. He turned again to look back at his companion. "Mullroy, why do you think we are always the ones sent to guard the ships?"
The soldier, Mullroy, looked back at his fellow officer with an expression as if to say 'you are an idiot', but he must have realized that if he replied with that answer it would mean that he was calling himself an idiot as well because all he said was, "What are you getting at, Murtogg?"
'What awful names', Amelia thought to herself as the three listened to the two soldiers conversation.
Will peered over at the ship's entrance yet again. Those two sure did look familiar. He didn't wait to try and remember. He noticed that they where focused on each other, so if they moved quickly they could take over the ship. Both of them had guns, but Will had a sword and, unlike them, he wasn't distracted from his goal.
He looked back at the women for a second in order to inform them that they have to run aboard the ship when he moves. They three of them moved a little closer, and then Will popped out of nowhere and pointed his sword at Mullroy's neck.
The two soldiers looked surprised, as if they hadn't seen it coming, which they probably didn't. They stood there stiff, in shock at what had just happened, as both Elizabeth and Amelia ran onboard the ship.
Will still had the sword at the man's throat. "Throw your guns." he ordered, pointing his head over to the ship. Both of the soldiers threw their guns onto the ship lightly. Will took his sword away from the one soldier's throat and then keep it pointed in the direction of both of them.
Then he smiled, cut the rope that attached the ship to the dock, and jumped onto the ship. He slid his sword back into his belt, and waved back at the soldiers saying, "Have a nice night" as if nothing had just happened. For a second he seemed content with what just took place and then he went about messing with rope, until he returned to the helm.
He was about to order Elizabeth and Amelia to do something, but then a thought came to him. "That's it!" he said.
"What?" Amelia asked him. Maybe Will was going insane...
"Oh, nothing." he replied, realizing that he just said that out loud. "I just remembered where I saw those two soldiers before."
"And where would that be?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"They were in the room when I was yelling at Commodore Norrington to take Jack and go after the pirates who kidnapped you." he explained, content that he finally remembered. Nothing was more annoying then knowing that you know something, but not being able to remember what you know that you know.
Meanwhile, back on the Black Pearl, Jack had let Gibbs take over the helm again. So, he was standing at the railing of the great ship, with one hand holding a bottle of rum and the other caressing the railing. This time it was an actual bottle of rum, not the watered-down stuff that Gibbs would slip him once he had over four bottles. When Jack would notice, Gibbs would blame it on the merchant who they bought it from. That excuse had worked so far.
Jack stood there, drinking his rum faster then usual. He didn't understand what was wrong with him. Why did he have this strange feeling? It was something that he had never experienced before, and that frightened him. He was supposed to be in control of himself every minute, at least when he was sober, and be able to handle every situation thrown his way. What was different this time?
'You fell in love' something inside of him informed him. 'No I didn't!' he thought to himself. 'Captain Jack Sparrow has no room for love', but he knew that his answer was not good enough. Eventually he would have to admit to the truth, or live forever letting some little wig scumbag winning over him. Now that Jack would not allow!
'What am I thinking?' Jack asked himself. He finished the bottle of rum that was in his hand, which was his third one since he left the governor's mansion, and threw it over board. Then he quickly turned around and walked over to the helm where Gibbs was.
"Yes cap'n?" Gibbs asked. He could tell that Jack wanted something.
"I'm taking over from here." Jack informed him, taking the wheel.
"What are ye doing Jack?" Gibbs asked, noticing that Jack was turning the ship around. "Where are ye taking us?"
"Back to Port Royal. I have some unfinished business." he replied, staring straight ahead and shouted out some random orders to the crew, in attempt to get back there as fast as possible. After all, he was on the fastest ship in the Caribbean.
Who was he kidding? He loved Amelia and he was not letting her go that easily, especially to a commodore.
When he finally arrived back to the town, he stormed up to the governor's mansion and banged on the door. He was impatient, and every time he knocked on the door he hit it harder, until he felt the door open underneath his fist.
Standing there was the commodore he had seen kissing Amelia. He seemed agitated about something and his eyes widened at the re-appearance of the pirate.
"What do you want?" the commodore asked, very rudely and not allowing him to enter the house.
"I'm here to see Amelia." Jack replied. He was angry with this man, this pompous man. If he wasn't waiting for an answer about her whereabouts then he would have punched the man right in his jaw.
"You just missed her, pirate. She took off, looking for you as it were." The commodore answered, every word full of hate. If he weren't upset about Amelia's reply to his proposal then he would have attempted to cuff this pirate and take him to jail. Instead he slammed the door in Jack's face and stalked off to go see the governor.
Jack stood there, thinking about what he had just heard. Amelia was looking for him. That meant that she must love him too. But where would she go to look for him? If he were looking for himself where would he start? "Ahah!" Jack shouted, as he made his way back to his ship. "Tortuga it is."
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A/N: Almost done! Only two reviews :-( Thanks to you two for reviewing, and please all of you leave a review. Oh, and so far one person said they would like a sequel, anyone else?
TriGemini- Thanks. Yes, I suppose he is, but it works doesn't it?
captainme- lol!