A/N: This chapter was definitely a challenge to change and edit for I had a pretty blurry detail of Lia's past but of course being the writer gives me the advantage, lol!
Chapter 5: Emotions Unlocked
Lia's POV: 2 Weeks LaterA cool refreshing breeze blew over me as I stood outside Will's house. My fingers were wrapped around the gate and my head was leaning in-between the bars peeking inside. I saw Will and Elizabeth standing in front of one of the dining room windows. They seemed to be in another heated argument. Elizabeth appeared to be yelling but from where I was standing, I couldn't tell. Will on the other hand looked pretty firm with every word he said. Elizabeth looked away from him in disgust before storming out of the room.
Will ran his hands through his hair. He stood with his hands still in his hair before walking off toward where the front door was. I quickly abandoned my spot and leaned against a nearby tree, concealing my nosiness. Will slammed the door fiercely as he walked out. He quickly put on a smile when he saw me waiting for him.
He waved, "Good day, Lia."
I smiled and waved back, "Good day."
I walked over to him as he opened the gate. My mind quickly went back to that fight. I couldn't help but wonder if they were fighting about me considering we have been spending a lot of time together.
"Is everything all right?" I asked. Although he held a smile, I could feel some kind of tension.
"Oh its nothing. Just having a rough morning."
As much as I wanted to ask him, I knew better. I barely knew this man and it seemed rude to interfere with his personal affairs.
"So are you ready?" He asked clearly avoiding the subject.
I figured it would be best to forget it.
"Yes." I replied.
He put his arm around me as we walked down the path towards the blacksmith shop.
Inside the shop, swords of many shapes and sizes took up the room. Will and I had been hard at work during the last two weeks.
"Only one more sword and we can get to delivering." He said with relief.
"Thank god." I concluded.
Will laughed at my comment as he stuck a piece of metal into the fire.
"Can I do it this time?" I asked.
Will didn't say anything. Apparently contemplating whether I was ready or not. I pushed out my bottom lip and hung my head. I've seen him make swords for a while so I was pretty sure I could handle it.
"Please?" I begged.
Will smiled, trying not to give into my sad pitiful face. I've seen everyone I knew including Jack try to resist but failed.
He tossed me the hammer, "Fine. You win."
I grinned. It had never failed me.
Will handed me the hot metal and I placed it on the anvil and pounded it with the hammer. I was surprised by how easily the metal bent from the impact. I pounded on it a few times more, giving it a good sharp point before dipping it into the water just like I've seen Will do a number of times.
I looked over to Will who was quite impressed as I finished the job. He picked up the newly made sword and examined it.
"Not bad for your first sword." He praised.
"Why thank you, Mr. Turner."
He smiled at the name.
"Oof!"
In the middle of a hold, Jack took his chance at a cheap shot and pushed me down with his foot. I fell backwards onto the sand landing on my arse.
"Why do you always do that?" I said frustratingly as I stood up, immediately pulling my sword out in front of me.
"Pirate." Jack reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. It was around midday and I was out on the beach fencing with Jack. Since we were a bit far from the town, his disguise wasn't necessary. Jack always had me practice with him everyday. I didn't really see the need for it now that I was practically a pro but he insisted.
"So Lia, are ye ready to tell me?" Jack asked as his sword collides with mine.
"About what?" Quickly I pulled away and lunged my sword, which Jack blocked with ease.
"About Will."
My heart began to beat faster. It never really occurred to me that Jack could take notice of such things.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I cursed under my breath as I realized how fake that sounded.
Jack scoffed at my answer, "Oh come off it Lia. Yer not foolin' me."
"What?" I suddenly felt myself swing my sword faster and harder.
"Its not everyday I see you warm up to someone so fast. Trust me lass, I know you better then you think."
"Just get to the damn point, Jack!" I said, the anger and frustration rising in me. It was never an easy task to have a simple conversation with Jack. Or in this case: interrogation.
"All right then," Jack slid his sword along the sand denting the soft whiteness. He finished by pressing it into the sand as he casually leaned on it, "I'm not as daft as one may think, Lia. I have noticed you have taken quite an interest in him. I can see it in your eyes."
Now it was my turn to scoff, "You're bloody mad Jack!"
Jack pointed a finger at me in a warning, "Hey! I'm only sayin' what I saw."
"Well you are wrong. I see him as only a friend."
But the more I denied it, the more it dawned on me. Will had been nothing but good to me since I first met him…well, except for me trying to rob his house and having him almost kill me.
I smiled as I remembered the feeling of his hand in mine. It then dawned on me then that I most certainly liked Will. It sounded crazy for I only knew him for a good two weeks but even that was enough time for feelings to emerge, I guess.
I was so tied up in my thoughts that I lost my focus in my fencing. Jack took one easy swing knocking me to the ground. He pointed his sword directly over my heart.
"Need I say more?" he teased. He knew I was thinking of Will.
I pushed the blade away. I was fed up with Jack's taunts. I wanted to insult him really bad at that point but I couldn't get my mind to think so I blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"Bloody pirate." I said through gritted teeth.
Jack busted out laughing which got me even angrier. I glared at Jack before turning around and trudging back towards the town.
"Hey, where yeh goin'?"
"Away." I spat.
I refused to say I was going to see Will. He was expecting me and I didn't want to keep him waiting.
"Off to see dear William, eh?" he teased.
I ignored him and continued to walk down the coast toward the port.
"Women!" Jack hissed as he swung his sword around madly, fencing with no one.
I opened the door to the blacksmith shop and threw it shut once I got inside.
"Are you alright?"
I whirled around and saw Will busy polishing a sword over an open case. He gazed at me waiting for an answer.
"Uhh yeah…its nothing." I was hoping my answer was satisfying enough and he would not ask why.
I exhaled as he nodded, "Come here."
I hopped off the platform and walked over to him. He put the polished sword in the case and closed it.
"Can you deliver this sword for me?" Will asked as he slid the case towards me.
I picked up the case and tucked it under my arm, "Where to?"
He handed me a slip of paper, "Here is the address. His name is Jacob Price. He has already paid so you don't have to worry about that"
I nodded and headed out the door.
I opened the piece of paper and looked at the address. I walked aimlessly around the streets, asking whoever passed by for directions. After getting lost down alleyways and going in a few circles, I managed to find the place.
I found myself in front of a small house located at the far end of the town. It was rather small but looked cozy. I walked up the few wooden steps to the door and knocked.
A few seconds later the door opened and standing before me was a short chubby man with blonde hair and a thick mustache.
"May I help you?" It seemed clear to him that I wasn't from around here.
"Excuse me sir, but I have a delivery for a Jacob Price."
"Yes, That's me. Who are you?"
"Oh I was sent to deliver this to you." I held out the sword to him.
"By who?" he didn't seem to trust me.
"Will Turner. He said you were expecting this."
His look faded away and quickly replaced with a smile, "Oh yes! Mr. Turner."
He takes the box from me and tucks it under his arm.
"Sorry if I seemed discourteous, miss. I don't trust strangers too much." He laughs, "You can never be too careful."
"No harm done sir." I replied.
"Wait here a moment." He went inside, a few seconds later he returned counting coins in his hand. He held out his hand and dropped three shillings into my palm.
"Give my regards to your master."
I smiled and pocketed the coins, "Will do. Thank you sir."
I walked off as he closed the door. I walked down an alley and found myself back on the main shopping street of Port Royal.
Elizabeth's POV:
"That's not true. Why do you always have to be so jealous?"
I shook my head. Will never took notice of a lot of things, "I can't believe you don't see it! She is always with you. I've seen the way she looks at you!"
"Does that matter?" Will busied himself with his swords, anything to keep a distance and avoid my angry stares.
"There is something about her I don't trust. Everything was fine until she came along." I kept going, "Why are you always with her anyway?"
"She happens to be Jack's daughter. Jack is a good friend of mine and so is she." Will said firmly. I stopped, feeling my lips part from a loss of words.
"Fine. But I'm not going let it go that easily" I blurted suddenly.
I stomped out of there. I knew he wasn't going to do anything. He was just too stubborn. So I was going to have to hear the other side of things. I wandered into a bookstore a couple blocks away from Will's shop.
I browsed through the many books. So much variety, adventures, fantasies, history (my favorite). These books were my escape. I picked one up and flipped through the pages.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a recognizable figure pass by outside the window. It was Lia walking in the direction of where Will was, looking quite pleased.
I saw my chance to tell her off. I put down the book in my hand and walked out to confront her
Lia's POV:
"Ah well look who it is."
I turned around facing the source of the voice. Coming out of the bookstore was Elizabeth and she didn't look too happy.
"And what do you want?" I leaned against a wall crossing my arms.
"You know," she said, "Just because Jack Sparrow is your father and a good friend to Will, doesn't give you the right to court him."
I chuckled; Elizabeth obviously had nothing else to waste her time with. "I don't have time for this."
I begin to walk away when I felt a hand grab at my shirt collar and turn me around. Elizabeth's face was only inches from mine.
"Now listen here…" her voice began to rise. But before she could finish I roughly batted her hand away.
"Don't touch me!" I hissed.
"Will and I have been married for three years." She continued, "And I'm not about to lose him to some despicable little pirate such as yourself!"
"Well did you also forget that your husband is also a "despicable little pirate" as well?"
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak but nothing was said. She was apparently lost for words.
I smirked at her; I couldn't have been more satisfied, "Now if you don't mind I've got better things to do at the moment."
I turned and started to walk away.
"Why didn't you want to talk about your mother?" She unexpectedly blurted out.
I stopped dead in my tracks. I remembered my nervousness that one day at breakfast when she asked. She was crossing a line she wished she didn't.
Elizabeth smiled proudly. She had hit a nerve.
"I wouldn't blame you if you were ashamed of her. Probably another one of them whores from Tortuga. You know Jack fancies them."
I clenched my fists. Her taunts went straight into my heart, piercing right through it. I felt my breathing pick up. Anger and hate erupted in my chest. I felt my hand move down to my sword. I grasped the hilt tightly. Without warning, I threw myself on Elizabeth. She gave out a scream as she went down. Before she could make the slightest bit to fend me off, I pulled out my sword and put it to her throat.
"Don't you EVER mention my mother again!" I growled harshly.
"You wouldn't dare." She said, "What would Will think of you?"
At this point my anger was so great that Will's name meant nothing to me. I forgot Will. I forgot Jack. I forgot about all the risks he told me not to take. All I knew was that I wanted to hurt Elizabeth and REALLY hurt her.
I moved my sword closer to her neck. The blade lightly grazed her skin.
"I will slash your throat with no more thought then slicing a chicken's neck."
I wasn't too sure but I could've sworn I saw fear in Elizabeth's eyes. This made me feel good as I continued to threaten her.
"LIA STOP!"
I felt two pairs of hands grab at me. Pulling me off Elizabeth. I struggled against them. I wasn't going to let Elizabeth get off that easy. But their grips were strong.
"You bitch!"
"Lia! Stop it!"
Mr. Gibbs seized my hand holding the sword while Anamaria kept screaming for me to stop.
Elizabeth slowly stood up. She brushed dirt off her dress, glaring at me.
My breathing was still rapid and I suddenly couldn't stand being there anymore. I tore away from Mr. Gibbs's strong arms and took off running. Going wherever my legs would take me.
Anamaria and Mr. Gibbs called out to me but I didn't hear them. I just wanted to be alone. Whatever alone meant. My chest burned as I kept on running.
After running for what seemed like miles, I began to slow down. I bent forward with my hands on my knees, catching my breath. I noticed the ground wasn't the usual dirt but gray stone. I looked up to see my surroundings. I was in some sort of fort. Huge stonewalls with towers surrounded it. Up ahead were stairs leading to a small tower with a bell on it. I walked up the steps. The view of the ocean quickly came into view.
"Fort Charles…" I whispered as I looked around.
I have never seen it before but I knew it very well. I remember Jack's story of his escape from this very tower. My mind could picture the events as if I was there. I walked up the steps and turned around with my back to the sea, setting the stage.
I smiled as I pictured Jack taking those steps and falling back into the water. I peeked over my shoulder at the water below.
It sure was a miracle he missed the rocks.
I sighed deeply as I stared out at the sun setting over the horizon. I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. I drew up my knees, wrapped my arms around them and laid my head down on them. I took a couple deep breaths.
'Nothing Elizabeth said was true. Just calm down…'
I sat there taking in the silence. I wished I could seep through the stonewall behind me just to get away.
"There you are." A familiar voice came along with the sound of footsteps approaching but I kept my head down and my eyes closed, my mind wallowing in the blackness.
After another deep breath, I looked up to see Will standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"I have to talk to you." His eyes told me he was angry. I didn't have to guess why.
"If you are here to yell at me then just get it over with." I said, "I deserve it but I'm not sorry for what I did."
Will's POV:
I didn't know what to think at that moment. I had every intention of scolding her for what she did to Elizabeth. But when she lifted her head and I saw her eyes something stopped me.
I saw sadness in them. A sadness I couldn't really explain. I felt my anger melting away and was replaced with sympathy. She needed a friend right now.
As I kneeled down in front of her she relaxed. She stretched her leg out keeping the other drawn up but she didn't say anything.
She just stared out at the ocean, not moving.
I decided to make conversation, "So is Lia your real name?"
She looked at me with a bit of confusion at the random question, "No, its Liana. I changed it when I became a pirate."
"What about your mum? Where is she?"
She sighed deeply, "She is gone. She died when I was twelve."
I felt a sudden pang in my heart at her words for I also knew what it was like to lose a mother so young, "I'm sorry."
She shrugged, "Yeah, we lived and worked in this tavern in England…"
"You don't have to tell me about it."
"No, its all right." She insisted, "I grew up at that tavern. My mum owned it out of family heirloom. It was like one big family with everyone we had working for us. One morning I woke up and I went to her room. She was still asleep. So I went downstairs and took over for her in the tavern so she could rest. After about an hour or so, I went upstairs to wake her but she didn't move…"
Her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands, trying not to cry.
Lia's POV:
I was trying so hard not to cry that I started trembling. Will scooted next to me and put his hand on my back, gently stroking it. A shiver went up my spine from his touch.
"How did you end up with Jack?" he asked as he pulled me close.
I laid my head on his shoulder, "I found out he was my father when I was eight but I didn't want to give him the time of day for what he did to my mother. When my mum died, his insane mind told him I needed him, thinking I was alone. So he took me away. The first few months on the Pearl were hell. ."
"What happened to make you warm up to him?"
"It took about a year for that. I knew he was my father because I noticed I had a lot of him in me." Will nodded in agreement, "We were refueling supplies in Tortuga when I got into a brawl with this man who tried to rob me. Jack came out after me and got into a brawl with him. I ran off but I stumbled from a bullet wound. Apparently he had a gun. He got away but not without stealing my necklace, just ripped it right off."
I placed my hand on my chest, the feeling of the necklace still there; "I woke up on The Pearl a week later and the first thing I noticed was Jack sleeping on a chair right by my bed. He was there all week. After that everything changed between us and we just suddenly became friends. There are still barriers needed to be broken."
I looked at Will and he looked at me. I don't know why I poured my heart out to him so quickly. It just seemed right. A feeling I've never had washed over me.
"Thank you Will." I said sincerely.
"Your welcome." he replied, "So how about we head back now?" I nodded as he stood up, pulling me with him. As we left the battlement to get back to the blacksmith shop, I felt a sense of peace. I looked up at Will who remained staring forward, concentrating on the road. His eyes were so sad and kind. A delicacy I could almost feel.
"There you are!" a rugged voice tore through the silence. I looked up to see Jack swaggering toward us, round the corner from the blacksmith shop. He had donned his fancy hat and cape; an impatient look grazed his features. Clearly he had been looking for us with no fortunate success on his part till now. For a moment I could feel a warmth of humorous contentment wash over me. Knowing I had caused him annoyance.
I decided to tease a bit, "Did you remain at the shore this whole time?"
Jack gave me a look, "Do I really come off that unproductive to you?"
I crossed my arms, "Well unproductive would hardly be the word we're looking for here."
Jack decided to sidestep the argument, "Well in case you were wonderin', The Pearl successfully navigated to a safe and more secure location. We shall be departing in two days so tomorrow you will take care of the food with Anamaria and Gibbs while I tend to the other essential supplies. I assume you still have the list?"
At that moment I felt as if a huge hole had opened up under me, sucking me into blackness.
"We're leaving?"
Jack raised an eyebrow in a skeptical manner at my words. "We're pirates, Lia. We never tend to stay in one place." Jack said as if I had never heard that rule in my lifetime.
It was then that Will decided to speak up, "Jack, may I have a word?" Jack looked to Will, "What is it?"
"If its not too much trouble, I would like permission to come along."
A/N: Ha! Cliffhangers rule! Well now you all know about Lia' past now. Chapter 6 should be coming out soon so stay tuned.