Disclaimer: Daddy, Mummy, I want a pirate. And I want one NOW!
The British colours are flying. Port Royal is in a flurry. The wedding of the governor's daughter! After such a fuss with all the pirates, it was good to see the girl settle down. Especially with Will Turner. He was a fine match. A good man, despite his profession. The whole of Port Royal would not miss this wedding.
Squirrel sits quietly, hands folded in her lap, watching as Elizabeth paces back and forth, consumed by last minute nerves. The maids add the finishing touches to Squirrel's makeup, then step back, smiling. Squirrel looks at herself in the mirror, and it takes a moment for her to realise who she's looking at.
"I don't know if I should be doing this…" Elizabeth pauses, wringing her hands, then turns with a rustle of expensive wedding silks. "Do I really want to do this? I love him... but… Oh --" Squirrel raises an eyebrow as Elizabeth swears. She mentally stores some of the words away for later use.
"What should I do, Miss Grey?" Elizabeth pleads. "I don't think I can do this… I really don't…"
Squirrel rises quietly, her own dress barely whispering. "You l-love Will, don't you?"
Elizabeth hesitates. "Yes. Yes, of course I do."
Squirrel smiles and puts a slim hand on Elizabeth's arm. "Then s-stop worrying. If you k-keep worrying, you'll only g-give yourself an ulcer." Squirrel's gentle words have the desired effect. Elizabeth calms down and sits. Squirrel sits next to her. Thank heavens that's over. She thinks with a sigh of relief. She was making me dizzy.
"I'm really nervous, Miss Grey." Elizabeth says, biting her lip, tucking strands of hair behind her ears over and over again. "I mean, saint's blood, I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with him!"
"Isn't th-that a g-good thing?"
Elizabeth bites her lips and wrings her hands. "Well, yes, I guess so… But I…" She turns and looks Squirrel in the eye. "Don't you have anyone? I mean, someone you'd like to get married to?"
Squirrel blanches. "M-m-me?" She blushes and looks down at her hands. An image of a grinning, swaying Jack Sparrow comes to her mind. "Why?"
Elizabeth also looks down. "I don't know. I'm just nervous. Maybe I shouldn't marry him. I love Will so much. I just can't do this." She stands, still wringing her hands. "I'm going to call off the wedding."
Squirrel looks up, pulled suddenly from her dream. "You're n-nervous, Elizabeth. That's all. You l-love him s-so much you're s-scared of l-losing him. If you really l-love Will Turner, you sh-shouldn't let d-doubts separate you two from…" Squirrel stops mid-sentence, realising what she just said. I'm doubting Jack now, aren't I? But I love him, don't I… Oh bugger…She takes a deep breath to steady herself.
Elizabeth looks down at Squirrel's face, then out the window. The sunlight sparkles off the ocean, and clouds wander across the sky like lost sheep.
"I had this dream." Squirrel says softly. "I saw you and Will in the ocean. Dolphins wouldn't go near you. Mister Gibbs says that means that you and Will will never separate. And you being waist-deep in the ocean means coming j-joy…" She tries to smile. "It's just a dream though. I wouldn't put too much stock into it..."
"But I do." Elizabeth pulls Squirrel to her feet and gives her a hug. "Thankyou, Miss Grey. You really are a true friend." She smiles. "I would be honoured if you would be a bridesmaid at my wedding, if it's not too late for me to ask you." Elizabeth explains briefly to a confused Squirrel what a bridesmaid means.
"I'd b-better not." Squirrel says, rubbing her arms where the dress sleeves end, "People will want to know my background. And my name."
"Well," Elizabeth says, looking more at ease and surer of herself now, "What is your name?"
Squirrel looks blankly at the governor's daughter. "I can't remember." I've always been Squirrel. It started as a nickname, I'm sure, but ever since I was little I've always been known as Squirrel. She looks down. Since my parents' deaths, though, I've forgotten a lot of things.
"Really?" Elizabeth looks horrified. "You poor thing!" She bites her lips, thinking for a moment. "Well, what was your mother's name?"
Squirrel's eyes light up. That I can remember. "Rose."
"Very well then," Elizabeth says with a satisfied nod of the head and a smile. "You shall be Miss Rose Grey, a friend of mine from… a… recently established colony on one of the…"
"L-lesser known islands…" Tortuga…It shouldn't be that well known, not here…
"… Of the West Indies… Your father was a…"
"Merchant s-sailor." Squirrel says softly. "My mother was a noblewoman."
Elizabeth nods. "There, see? You have a believable past, and a name. So why won't you become a bridesmaid?"
Squirrel forces a shy smile. "I couldn't. Thankyou, b-but I'd b-be too embarrassed."
"That's your decision." Elizabeth shrugs, smiling. "Come on, let's finish getting made up. I have an idea for your hair."
A/N: Again, I researched the dreams. There's this awesome book in the library. Symbolism in dreamsrocks.