Okay, this is it. The last chapter! Huzzah! I hope you've enjoyed my fanfic and will stick with me to read the next one and the next and the next!! :-D Thanks to everyone who's inspired and supported me! Thanks to: DAFTLIKESPARROW for encouraging me and supporting me and giving me inspiration, my long lost year apart twin! Short one for always being there for me and being the best! Maria Lorenzo for taking me everywhere because i can't drive and being a great friend in general! Duchessofnothing for being a great pirate loving friend and giving me inspiration! Pisces Rising for reading and reviewing! Devon for all the support and liking my fics! YOU GUYS ALL ROCK AND KEEP ME GOING! THANKS SOOOO MUCH!! Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Happily Ever After
When Jack and Celeste broke the news of the engagement, everyone was thrilled. They were all fairly surprised that Jack would marry at all, but were very happy for them nonetheless.
Over the next month, they prepared the wedding much to Sierra's annoyance. Blake was disappointed due to his feelings for Celeste, but still did not express them. Well, as they say, you can't fence time and you can't stop love.
Celeste stood on deck with Audra and Angelina, talking about the future wedding, all buzzing excitedly.
Celeste sighed. "Nothing about love makes sense, you know?"
"Well, no." Angelina replied. "Never experienced it."
"You just wait until you do." Celeste told them. "It's worth waiting for. I mean... It just doesn't make sense... If you feel so happy, then why do you cry?" she sighed. "Someone so perfect can't be falling for me. I keep thinking that... And you know, everything's made for love... The way that we dance, the reason we dream... How he touches my heart when he's holding my hand... Nothing about love makes sense."
"Guess we'll find out in time, huh?" Audra said.
They had decided to hold the wedding ceremony on the Pearl since both Jack and Celeste loved it so much. Celeste had a dress made that was absolutely exquisite. It was very expensive, but, hey, she could afford it. It was white with lace trim and had a long, beautiful train. Her hair was up with small white flowers in it and several strands of hair hanging down. She'd never been happier than she was at this moment. Her life was going to start coming together, start making sense, start being real.
Jack had dressed more appropriately for a wedding rather than wearing his usual pirate garb -- he wasn't so thrilled about having to dress that way. His hair was a lost cause as far as Elizabeth (who was trying to help him look his best) could tell, so they just left it as is. Celeste loved him regardless of his hair. Jack felt like he was finally completing his life. He had his ship and a crew and he was still the captain; now he had the woman he loved more than anything else. He thought about his past and all the things he did in Tortuga... all the women he did in Tortuga... and he didn't care. He didn't want it anymore. He didn't want to go back to that. To him, there was now only one woman in the world: Celeste. He felt nothing for any other.
Jack went out on deck and waited for the ceremony to begin. Audra, who had been a madwoman about the dresses being just right, was chosen to be the maid of honor since she and Celeste had been friends for such a long time and Will had been chosen by Jack to be the best man. Everyone was in place, they just waited for Celeste to come up on deck.
Celeste finally did come up. She looked like a vision, absolutely stunning. When Jack saw her, he sighed as pieces of his life started to come together. She came down the aisle with tears in her eyes (as usual) and stood next to Jack. The priest started to ceremony, but Celeste only heard bits and pieces. It felt like a dream.
"...Do you, Celeste Wyndham, take..." the priest paused, remembering that he'd never been told the groom's name. Will leaned over and whispered it to him. "Ah. Do you, Celeste Wyndham, take Captain Jack -- woah!"
Celeste laughed and spoke to the priest in attempt to keep him from retreating. "Please, father, he's not the pirate you think he is. He has gotten a reputation beyond his actions. Please -- I love him."
The priest thought for a moment and then continued the ceremony. It was all a blur. Celeste automatically said "I do," being the words she'd wanted to say for an uncountable amount of time. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face and she was kissing Jack. Audra was sobbing loudly into Will's chest and Elizabeth was dabbing tears from the corners of her eyes. Anamaria pretended she had something in her eye and looked away. Sierra watched with a curled lip and Blake was disappointed, but accepted his rejection. Anne was crying -- she was so happy for them and it was just so beautiful. Will was very happy for them, but was a little disgusted because Audra had gotten tears all over him and couldn't stop blowing her nose. Angelina was very happy for them, but was actually more looking forward to having the wedding cake. Jim was there and he congratulated them, though missing his wife the whole time. Afterward, they all went into the dining hall for the reception.
That night, Jack carried Celeste downstairs, hoping for no interruptions.
"So," Jack said, putting his arms around Celeste, "how does it feel to be Mrs. Captain Jack Sparrow?"
"It feels pretty good." she told him, smiling. "How does it feel to be married?"
"Pretty good, an' I'm sue it's goin' to feel a lot better in a few minutes." he said with a smirk.
"Jack! That's awful!" Celeste scolded. "Shame!"
"What?" he asked innocently. "Anyway, it's the truth. An' it does feel good to be married... an' 'ow does this feel?" he kissed her.
"Pretty good." she replied. They laughed.
"I don' think these clothes suit me..." Jack said, a moment later. "I don' like them."
"Well, I like my pirate." Celeste replied.
"Aye. I can't wait to get out of these things... for more reasons than one." he said with a smirk.
"That's terrible." Celeste scolded and he laughed and kissed her.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"WHAT?!" Jack yelled, extremely annoyed.
"Er, Jack? I need to talk to you for a minute!" Will yelled from behind the door.
"Can't it wait?!" Jack yelled.
"Er, not really." Will yelled back.
Jack sighed and looked at Celeste. "One moment. Don' go anywhere." She smiled and he went to the door and flung it open. "What is it?" Jack asked, irritated.
"Er, sorry to disturb you." Will said, fearing Jack's wrath. "Hi, Celeste." Celeste waved at him. "Anyway..."
Will asked Jack about ship stuff which Celeste didn't pay much attention to. She paced over to the window and looked outside; it was raining. She walked over to the bedside table, took the pins and flowers out of her hair, and set them down. She sat down on the bed and leaned up against the headboard. She idly ran her fingers along the sheets where the pillows ended -- she felt something. She slipped her hand under the covers and pulled out an old teddy bear.
Nearly laughing, she got up (carrying the bear behind her back) and went to Jack just as he finished helping Will solve the ship problem
"...and, again, congratulations, both of you." Will said. They thanked him.
"Oh, an' Will..." Jack added, "make sure we don' receive any more interruptions. I've been waitin' for this for a long, long time an' I don' want anythin' ruinin' it!" Celeste bottled her laughter. Will nodded, frightened of Jack's anger and left. Jack shut the door.
"Sorry, love." he told her.
"Oh, it's alright." she replied. "Erm, what's this?" she asked, smiling, and she pulled the bear from behind her back.
His eyes widened and he snatched the bear from her.
"Er, this is jus'... er... it's -- er..." he stuttered. She laughed.
"It's alright." she laughed. "I have one too. What's yours named?"
"...Blackbeard..." he replied and she laughed. "Yours?"
"Shakespeare." she told him, smiling, and he laughed.
He set the bear down on a chair. "Don' need you anymore, mate." he said to it. Celeste laughed and went to the window.
"It's raining." she said, smiling. She looked back at him. "Isn't that just perfect?" He walked over to her and put his arms around her.
"It's not the only thing that's perfect." he told her, pushing her hair out of her face. He picked her up and laid her on the bed -- he laid down as well. "What do you want in life, darling?"
She paused, thinking. "I want to live happily ever after."
"Then, tha's what you'll get." he said. "I promise to do whatever I can to make sure you get everythin' you want."
She smiled. "What about you?" she asked. "What do you want?"
"Living happily ever after sounds pretty good to me." he replied. "But all I've really ever wanted... an' all I'll really ever want... is you." She smiled and he kissed her passionately.
The next morning, Celeste woke up in Jack's arms and nuzzled hear head into his chest. She was so content and wished she cold live forever in that moment. Jack blinked his eyes open and glanced at her. He kissed her head.
"Morning, Jack." she said.
"Mornin', love." he said with a smile on his face. "Sleep well?"
She smiled. "Yes. Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's go get some breakfast."
"Ah, not yet, darling." he moaned tiredly and yawned. "Stay with me a little while longer, savvy?"
"Now, Jack, don't be lazy. Come on, let's go to breakfast." she said.
"Mm, I don' want breakfast, I still want you." he told her, pulling her closer.
"Jack, I'm hungry." she laughed. She got free of his grasp and sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, come on, sweetheart, don' go yet." he coaxed, putting his arms around her waist; he kissed her back.
"Jack!" she scolded, though laughing. "Now, let me go, I'm hungry."
"Fine." he said. He sat up behind her and put his lips to her ear. "Righ' after breakfast, then."
"Jack! You shouldn't speak of such things!"
"So we can do them, jus' not speak of them." he concluded.
"Well... yes."
He laughed and lied back down. "But I got your promise, don' I?"
She looked back at him and smiled. She stood up and put on her dressing gown and proceeded to get dressed.
Celeste headed down to the galley for breakfast. She'd dressed in a pretty, blue dress and wore her hair down. They were to eat in the dining hall with the crew today, rather than the dining room, since no one was sure when they were going to get up (and it was a bit later than usual). She entered the dining hall and greeted the crew cheerfully. She sat down next to Elizabeth, waiting for Jack to come down.
"Isn't it just a glorious day?" Celeste asked. "It's just beautiful!"
All the gossipy women at the table giggled and Celeste curled her lip at them, but blushed.
Just then, Jack came downstairs and he and Celeste made their way to the galley to get some food. Celeste and Jack both piled food on their plates, went back to the dining hall, and sat down.
"I am so hungry." Celeste said. "I don't know why."
Jack put an arm around her and smiled as if to say, "She's naïve, she doesn't know."
Just then, Sierra came in -- she looked very tired.
"Sierra, are you alright?" Elizabeth asked. "You look tired."
Sierra walked up behind Celeste and Jack and pointed at them. "The reason." Celeste's lip curled in annoyance. "Teach me to have the room next to theirs... Yeesh, you guys kept going for hours..."
Celeste's eyes widened. "Sierra, I don't think its entirely proper to speak of such things."
"Well, I don't think it's entirely legal what you guys did last night." Sierra said. "Break the bloody sound barrier, why don't you..." Celeste's jaw dropped in offense. "Don't deny it, Wyndham, it's not like no one knows."
"Hey, it's not Wyndham anymore." Celeste corrected.
"You'll always be Wyndham to me." Sierra said, faking a sweet tone. Celeste sighed, irritated, and Sierra left them and went into the galley.
Eventually, they all finished their breakfast and, as Sierra had predicted, Celeste and Jack slipped away to the captain's quarters.
The next day, Blake told Jack and Celeste that he was going to leave the ship and go back home. They thanked him very much for his help and he departed. Sierra, on the other hand, asked if she could remain a part of the crew. Celeste pulled Jack into another room to speak with him about it.
"Jack, I don't want her on our ship." Celeste said. "She's in love with you -- what is she thinking trying to invade us like this?"
"Now, darling, 'ow would you 'ave felt if I'd jus' left you in Rosalia when we went there?" he asked. "She's got nowhere to go."
Celeste sighed. "But -- but -- you're mine, Jack. She'll never accept that."
"Well, you trust me, don' you, love?" he asked. "I would never do anythin' to betray you -- you know that."
"I do, but... but..."
"Come on, sweetheart, let 'er stay." Jack said. "She's got nowhere to go an' she's a good crewmember, you know. She doesn' mind doin' a lot o' work."
"Oh... alright..." she sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this eventually."
"Well," Jack said as he and Celeste approached Sierra, "we've decided that you're welcome to stay."
"Thank you." Sierra replied. "I'd have no place to go, you know." She looked at Celeste. "I'm surprised you're letting me stay."
"Well, no one should have to be left behind, you know." Celeste told her.
"Well, thanks." Sierra said. "If anyone deserves to stay, it's me. I do more work around here in one day than you've done the whole time I've been here. Well, ship work, anyway. I didn't get the chance to do any work in the--"
"Sierra!!" Celeste exclaimed, cutting her off from saying something terribly inappropriate.
A few days later, they set sail for the Caribbean.
One morning, Celeste woke up and stared at the ceiling. She looked over at Jack, who was still asleep, and moved closer to him. She began thinking about something that had Celeste come up earlier in their adventures together that had never really been resolved. Back when they were going to Ruby Falls to claim Santara's bounty...
It was raining very hard; thunder was sounding, and lightning was flashing. She put an arm around him and he stirred. She didn't really want to wake him, but she did want to get something off her mind. Jack sleepily opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Mornin', love." he said, yawning.
"Oh, did I wake you?" she asked. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"No, it's fine." he told her, smiling. She smiled shortly and then looked off somewhere else. She unknowingly lost her cheerful expression when she began to think about what she had been remembering earlier.
"What's wrong, darling?" he asked. She looked up at him.
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." she replied.
"Wasn' it good?" he asked, smiling.
"Well, of course it -- hey! How awful! You shouldn't speak of such things!" she protested.
He laughed. "Sorry, love. Now, I know you better than you know yourself -- what's wrong?"
She paused, debating on whether to speak it or not. She sighed. "Well... I was just thinking... that since... we're married now... we shouldn't have any secrets or anything to hide, right?"
"Sure." he replied.
"This has really been bothering me, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to..." she said.
"Alrigh'..."
"How did you get these scars, Jack?" she asked, placing a hand on the two round scars on his chest.
His expression faltered. "Well, er..."
"You don't have to tell me, but I just want to know who hurt my husband." she told him, snuggling up to him. "I know you said it was painful for you to think about, but you really might feel better if you told someone. And besides, I'm always here for you."
He sighed. "Well," he began, wrapping his arms around her, "me crew an' I were on this island off the coast o' Tortuga an' we ran into this man who I owed a bit o' money to."
"How many money?" she asked curiously.
"More than I'd like to speak of." he replied. "So, 'e captured us an', well, to make a fairly long an' painful story short, 'e got a lot angrier than I thought 'e would... 'e pulled out 'is pistol an' shot me twice."
Celeste gasped. "How on earth did you survive that?!"
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." he said simply. "...Well, actually, they got me to a surgeon as soon as they could -- lucky we were still close to the mainland."
"That's awful..." she told him. "What cold-blooded actions on his part..."
"Aye." he agreed, squeezing her tighter, fighting off the pain of the incident. "Oh, er, this," he began, holding up his left arm, revealing many scars on his forearm, "I 'ad... sort of... robbed someone who apparently didn' 'ave too much o' a tolerance for pirates... I remember 'e 'ad a really painful whip that 'ad several other pieces at the end of it, an'... 'e got me arm quite a few times."
Celeste stared at him with a furrowed brow.
"The scars on me back are from when we didn' exactly escape the way we'd wanted to. That one's a little fuzzy. It was Anamaria who saved me, though. This man 'ad a whip as well -- I've grown to rather dislike whips -- an' I got a few good lashin's before Anamaria came. She got walloped a few times as well."
"She saved you?" Celeste asked. "How brave of her."
"Aye." he agreed. "Er, oh, an' this," he removed the cloth that was wrapped around his right hand and revealed a deep scar, "I think this was jus' an on deck accident. Aye, I think I gashed it on a big hook."
"Ouch..."
"Aye, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." he said, wrapping up his hand again. "I can take pain. Anythin' else I forgot was prob'ly from fights. Sword cuts an' things. An' the pirate brand is sort of self explanatory -- 'urt, though."
"Thank you for telling me." Celeste told him sincerely.
"O' course, love." he replied. "An', you know, I think I do feel a little better now that I've told someone."
She smiled. "I thought you would." She sighed. "So much violence... so much pain... Well, you'll get none of that from me." She kissed him gently on the cheek and cuddled up to him a little more. "If someone wants to hurt my Jack, they have to come through me."
He laughed. "The great Captain Jack Sparrow 'as to 'ave 'is wife protect 'im."
"Hey, your wife packs quite a punch." she said with a smile.
"O' course she does -- tha's why she's my wife." he told her, smiling as well.
She sighed. "I don't want to get up today... I just want to stay here..."
"Well, then, stay 'ere, Princess." he suggested. "I'm not complainin'."
She smiled. "You're such a scoundrel." she said and kissed him. He pulled her closer to him and slid his hand up her back. Rain fell heavily on the window and thunder sounded.
"Darling, I 'ave to ask you somethin'..." he told her.
"Sure." she replied, kissing his cheek.
"I noticed it the nigh' we got married, but I jus... never said anythin'... This isn' from our adventures..." he said, running his fingers along two horizontal marks on her upper back. "When did this 'appen?"
"Oh... I'd forgotten about that..." she told him, taken off guard.
"These aren't just any scars either... these are from a whip..." he added, continuing to run his fingers along the marks. "An' I certainly know what that looks like."
"Well, er..." she sighed. "My, I'd completely forgotten... Well, a few years ago, I was out at the stables taking care of my horse when Marie decided to go out for a ride. She got on her horse and rode up to me. ...She ordered me to do something that I didn't want to do and didn't have to do (I can't remember what it was). And so I said 'no.' I turned to walk out and she yelled at me to stop. ...I didn't. So, she lost her temper and got me twice on the back."
"An' your dad didn' care?" Jack asked caringly.
"Well, actually, she told him that I was yelling at her for no reason and that I deliberately got in the way of her whip, so that I could make her look bad." she replied.
Jack looked at her for a moment, puzzled. "I can't believe anyone could 'urt you, love..."
"Plenty of people have." she told him.
"Well, I don' know 'ow they do it without killin' themselves in guilt."
"Not everyone thinks like you, Jack." she said. "I wish they did... No one loves me like you do."
"You bet, sweetheart." he replied, and ran his hands up and down her back "You're so soft, love... Such a comfort to my pirate's 'ands... I'm so used to rope an' wood... most everythin' I 'ave to touch is rough... You're such a relief for me..." She smiled. "I wish I didn' 'ave to be so beaten up an' scarred an' all. Can't feel good to you..."
"I love you just the way you are, Jack." she told him. "And you are a comfort to me. You feel... like Jack. And I don't want anything else but that." She placed her hands on his arms and ran them over them. "Besides, I like the way you feel."
He nuzzled her neck and kissed it. Rain fell more heavily outside, beating onto the window. He sighed. "It's pathetic 'ow much I need you, love, you know that?"
"Oh, Jack, it's pathetic how much I need you." she said, kissing the corner of his mouth. She sighed. "How I do love you, Jack."
He sighed. "I love you, too, Princess." He kissed her shoulders and arms. "What on earth would I do without you, Celeste?"
"Probably whatever I would do without you, my Jack." she replied, smiling, and melted into his arms.
Much later that day, Celeste ran into Sierra on her way down to the galley.
"Oh, Sierra, I wanted to talk to you." Celeste said.
"...On purpose?" Sierra asked.
"Well, yes." Celeste replied. "Anyway, I was sort of wondering... why you had such a grudge against Black -- why you wanted to help us catch him."
"Why should I tell you?" Sierra asked.
"...Why should you not?" Celeste asked. "Haven't I told you why we wanted to go after him?"
"Well, yeah, because of Jack's sister." Sierra replied.
"No, not initially." Celeste said. "He kidnapped me and was basically moments away from raping me when Jack saved me -- thank goodness."
"...Oh... I, er, didn't know that." Sierra told her. "Well, I suppose... it's not a big deal if I told you -- like I care or something... Well, I er, sort of used to be... involved with him..."
"Involved?" Celeste asked.
"Well, he and I were sort of... together..." Sierra explained. "But then he went completely crazy and stole all the money I had and left me for dead, basically. Then he went off on all these horrible crime sprees -- like kidnapping and stuff."
"So, it was all over money?" Celeste asked curiously.
"Well, yes, and betrayal." Sierra told her.
"Well, thank you for telling me." Celeste said. Sierra nodded and went off to do some work up on deck.
The journey back to the Caribbean felt so short that everyone was immensely surprised when they arrived back at Port Royal what felt like so soon. They docked in the Port Royal harbor and were greeted promptly by a group of wary guards and Commodore Norrington. Jack and Celeste walked onto the docks.
"You really do make it too easy on us, Sparrow." Norrington said. "There will be no escape this time."
"Please, Commodore -- please hear us out." Celeste pleaded.
"Why?" Norrington asked. "Don't think you can redeem yourselves from all the chaos you've caused."
"We bring no chaos, sir, we bring joy -- I promise you." Celeste assured. "Do you have a niece, Commodore?"
"Er, no, not any longer." he replied.
"Her name was Anne, am I correct?" Celeste asked.
"Yes..." Norrington answered with suspicion. "She was taken an, we suspect, killed by Thomas Black. She's been missing for three years."
"Taken, but not killed." Celeste said. Norrington looked at her questioningly. "Anne!!" she yelled and, a moment later, Anne left the ship and joined Jack and Celeste on the docks.
"Anne?!" Norrington cried.
"Yes, Uncle, it's me!" Anne replied, happily, going to him and hugging him. "Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow saved me from Black."
"We killed him like we killed Santara." Celeste told him.
"Where is your proof?" Norrington asked.
"The constable in London gave us the reward for brining Black's corpse to him." Celeste said. "As to Santara, we really did kill him. Ask the governor of Ruby Falls. He will tell you." Norrington stared at Anne, shocked that she was alive. "Please," Celeste pleaded, "hear us out."
Anne finally convinced Commodore Norrington to listen to Jack and Celeste. Will and Elizabeth left the ship, with all of their things and were determined to help convince Norrington that Jack and Celeste were not criminals. They went to the Commodore's office and talked for quite a while.
After Norrington had learned of all the things Jack and Celeste had done since the death of Santara, he decided (with some persuasion from Anne) to pardon them and grant them clemency in Port Royal. They could now settle in Port Royal for a while and take a little break from the world of adventure -- for now.
That night, Celeste and Jack stood up on deck and stared at the stars.
"Finally, we're accepted somewhere." Celeste sighed. "We can relax for once in our lives. We can just... live."
"Aye, I'm glad." Jack said. "A little break once in a while is a good thing."
"But we're still pirates." Celeste told him. "Always will be."
"O' course." Jack replied.
"Especially now that we're married, our lives have really only begun." Celeste said.
"Aye." Jack agreed. "This is only the beginning." He put an arm around her. "And maybe we'll live happily ever after."
The end! Hope you enjoyed it!! I loved writing it, so I hope you liked reading it! Please review!! The next fanfic is going to be called "The Murder of Port Royal," just to give you a hint. I'll try to write it as fast as I can, but you know me -- I take forever. I love you all! See you later!