Disclaimer: Don't own.
A/N: You all will have to forgive me for this chapter. I was thinking about it last night, and I know how unbearably typical it'll seem, but it just wouldn't get out of my head and this is the way I want it to go.
"Christina, wake up." I heard Will's voice softy in my ear and I rolled over, trying to get closer to him, not wanting to open my eyes just yet. We had slept on the sand just out of reach of the ocean, but the sun was high and bright now and with a faint sinking feeling I realized that I had just broken a big rule of this island. I wondered what was going to happen to me.
As I rolled over again at Will insistent murmuring, I realized that we had bigger problems to face. The tiny boat on the horizon had grown considerably larger since earlier this morning - for it was well pass midnight that Will and I had stumbled upon each other - and now I saw an even smaller rowboat heading straight towards us.
"Who're they?" I slurred, rubbing the sand from my eyes and sitting up. I noticed Will's eyes pass over my body and I felt my face heat even as I pulled the blanket we'd shared over my shoulders. Will hadn't betrayed my honor last night, though I was sure there were times when we had come awfully close. Thinking that only made me blush deeper, however, and I shoved those thoughts away. They were for after the wedding, provided there was on. I wasn't sure there was a way out of that promise Will had made me. Once again I was cursing myself for my foolishness. Will grinned cheekily at me and pulled me to my feet, taking the blanket from my shoulders. "It is much to hot for you to be wearing this, miss," he said, his eyes twinkling. I snorted. "I'm so sure, Mr. Turner," I retorted. Let him have his fun, then. I owed him that much at least.
I heard a rustling before us that ruined the peaceful romantic mood between Will and myself. To be completely honest, I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, not sure what to say to Will after having been so used to being angry with him. Will and I turned around to see Jack emerging from the outskirts of the forest and ambling on over to us.
"Ye," he said, pointing to me, "are about to have yer arse skinned and roasted."
I sighed. "I figured as much. Where is that old bat, Maurya? I suppose I'll have to hear it from her," I said. Will tensed. "What are you bloody talking about, Jack? She hasn't done anything wrong." I could tell that he had adapted to yet another change in our relationship with apparently no trouble at all. Here he was, back to being my valiant protector.
"Not Maurya, love. Naneth. She's going to have yer hide when she catches up with ye…And William, ye great yuppie, she certainly has done something amiss. She broke an island rule, after agreeing to be sworn in." I blinked. "Sworn in? Sworn in to what? I never agreed to anything!" I objected, standing stiffly and looking around for Maurya. I couldn't possibly see how Naneth could cause any harm to me - she was tiny. Maurya, on the other hand, made up for her short stature with her wide girth, and I'd seen her wield a switch when she had to. I winced and pressed a hand to my rear; I was sure to get a beating. I'd seen another of the girls get caught after sneaking away during dinner to meet her betrothed, and she wasn't able to sit properly for three days after what they'd done to her. And she came back! I, on the other hand, had spent the entire night out.
Jack nodded, smiling sympathetically. I must have been wearing my apprehension on my face. "I've been on the receiving end of one of Maurya's tantrums myself, Christina, it isn't fun. But Naneth…Maurya is nothing compared to her."
"Thank you for the encouragement, Jack," I said sarcastically. He shrugged, "Just warning ye,"
"They can't do anything to her. I wont let them," Will said valiantly. I sighed again. "Couldn't we just leave the island, Jack?" I asked. Jack shook his head. "We can't, and ye know damn well we can't. Ever since you bathed in their lagoon, ye swore to become one of them. They're going to treat you as their own now."
"Yeah, well, they could have told me that being one of them required having my hide tanned before I jumped in the bloody lagoon," I said nastily. Will was still standing tense and looking about for Naneth. I smiled up at him. "Don't worry about it, Will. I've gotten into plenty of trouble before, and Father told Henry to whip me for it on occasion," I said, trying to reassure him. This only served to make him angrier, however, and he opened his mouth to say something scathing about my old butler.
"Ah, hush up, William, the chief'll have something to say to ye too, I'm sure, and neither you nor Christina will be able to sit much on the Pearl as we head back to Port Royal," Jack said, suddenly jovial. I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest.
"They wont be aboard the Pearl back to Port Royal, Mr. Sparrow," came another voice. Jack, Will and I all spun around so fast we almost tumbled over, and before us stood Commodore Norrington, First Mate Gillette and, oddly enough, Richard Millar.
"Speak of the devil," I muttered, glaring at Richard and wondering what in the hell he was doing here. Jack barked a laugh. "Commodore, caught up with me at last, have you?" he asked, inconspicuously putting an arm around me, to Will's chagrin.
"What are you doing here, Norrington?" I said rudely, remembering how he had hurt Mary. The Commodore's lips tightened for a moment, but Gillette looked amused. Richard just looked like a wolf watching his prey, and although he wasn't looking at me in particular, I felt uneasy all the same.
"Believe or not, Miss Swann, this is not about you," Gillette said with a smirk, which I returned nastily. Commodore Norrington's face looked as though he had been carved from a mountainside. "Where is Miss Pearl?" he asked. I blinked. Miss Pearl?
"Where is Mary?" he repeated quietly, seeing my confusion. I scowled and stepped forward, placing myself between him and Jack just incase he intended to throw me off. After all Jack had done for me, I wasn't about to let him get arrested and taken back to Port Royal in irons.
"I don't see why that is any of your concern, Commodore," I snapped. Will put his hand on my shoulder by I shrugged it off, not wanting to be pacified at the current moment. The Commodore sighed. "It definitely is my concern, as I came here to return both you and Miss Pearl to Port Royal. Your little flight was extremely selfish, but what else can be expected of you, Miss Swann? Instead of waiting logically for an explanation as to what transpired between your sister and Mr. Turner, you have opted to run off with pirates and leave your father worried sick for the past months." He sounded as if he had wanted to get that off his chest for a while. I felt like he would have been kinder had he slapped me, and I was not going to be scolded by the likes of him.
"Once again, Commodore, that is not any of your concern."
"No, I suppose you're right, and it isn't," he said tiredly, passing a hand over his eyes. I opened my mouth, at a loss. "I have come, however, to apologize to Miss Pearl," he continued. Jack, Will and I were silent. Jack was, as usual, the first to recover.
"Right! Well, that is a beautiful sentiment, James. D'you mind if I call ye James? Yes? Alright, Commodore, then. If that's all ye came to do, I'll just be on my way to round up my crew and leave ye in peace," he said. Jack wasn't an idiot; he didn't live for daring escapes from the jaws of almost certain death. Or perhaps he did, but he wasn't willing to toss his crew in the balance. Later, I would feel honored to have known Captain Jack Sparrow. Now, however, I was distraught. The Commodore, scrutinizing Jack for a moment, did something I doubt anyone would have expected. He nodded his consent for Jack to leave. Gillette smiled. Richard looked complacent, like the cat who'd eaten the cream. Or the canary. Whichever cats preferred more.
"Oh, Jack, you can't leave! I don't want to go back to Port Royal with him! He must be lying! Where is your crew, Commodore?" I asked. Gillette chuckled. Commodore Norrington looked slightly affronted, but not as if he wasn't expecting it. "Haven't brought one," he said simply.
"Horse dung."
Jack and Gillette roared with laughter. "D'you see that boat over yonder, Miss Swann?" Gillette asked, clutching his sides. "She's not even fit to be called a ship. That's what we sailed here on, and that's what we'll be taking you, and Mr. Turner, and Miss Pearl back on. There's hardly enough room for all of us, and its certainly isn't want you're used to, but you'll have to make do."
"W-what?" I sputtered, trying vainly to make sense of things. If Norrington hadn't brought a crew, then he couldn't have wanted to capture Jack and his crew…it was possible that he was telling the truth, and that apologizing to Mary was all he truly wanted to do…
"What's he doing here, then?" I snapped, gesturing angrily to Richard.
"I have a proposition to make, Miss Swann. A proposition for all of you, as it is, but the decision shall rest with Miss Swann. Christina." I shuddered at the way he said my name, and Will tensed again.
"Christina," he repeated. "Will you marry me?" Everyone was silent, and I instinctively grabbed Will's arm before he could launch himself at Richard and tear his throat out. Which is quite what I felt like doing at the moment.
"Have you bloody lost your mind?" I asked.
"Guess that's a no, mate," Jack put in helpfully, looking a bit angry himself.
"No," Richard said confidently, "I haven't."
"Then do explain yourself," I demanded. He smiled widely. "I shall be happy to oblige you, dearest." I held on tighter to Will's arm.
"You see, I couldn't possibly let Captain Jack Sparrow, the most fearful pirate of the Caribbean, get away unscathed - what upstanding gentleman of Port Royal would I be if I had?"
"You are no upstanding gentleman at all, Mr. Millar," I said harshly. He smiled again. "Of course. But nonetheless, you will have to hear me out. I knew our wonderful Commodore had given up on his detached and emotionless life, all because he met a wonderful red-haired young lady by the name of Mary Pearl. She is a good friend of mine, you know, and standing right there behind you, Christina," he said suddenly. I turned around to see Mary with her hand pressed to her heart, her eyes wide and staring at Commodore Norrington.
"Mary -" he said.
"James? What are you -"
"Hush," said Richard nastily. "I knew the Commodore had gone soft. And so I offer you all this: Should Christina consent to be my wife, I shall not speak a word of Jack Sparrow being allowed to sail free. The Commodore can keep his reputation, his job, and his life, for it is treason to aid the escape of a pirate and you've already got one strike against you, James. Mr. Turner can go on hammering away and making those lovely little weapons, Jack can sail off to pilfer and plunder wherever he wishes, and Christina Swann shall be Christina Millar, the mother of my many sons."
"Never," Will said. "Ah, but that is not your choice to make, Mr. Turner," Richard taunted. "You're mad. My answer is the same as Will's. Who's to say whether I wont gut you right now, you bastard, and leave you here to rot so you wont be able to tell anybody anything at Port Royal?" I snarled, holding up my sword.
"I thought you might say that," he grinned, pulling out his own sword. He addressed Will. "A duel, then? Winner takes Christina as a wife."
"That is preposterous," said Norrington.
"Ye shouldn't have said that, mate," Jack said darkly, watching me. Laurelyn had emerged from the forest and was standing by Jack, looking as outraged as I felt.
"I'll bloody tear you apart!" Will shouted.
"You scoundrel," said Gillette, looking extremely offended on my behalf. Mary had her hands on her hips and was looking sick and angry. Later, she would tell me that I had looked like a harpy in that moment. But now, I was seeing red. Deep, angry, blood red.
"I am no prize to be won! And I don't need you to defend me, William!" I shouted. "If anyone is to fight for the right to marry me, they will fight me, and even then if I lose I will not be claimed as anyone's wife! Do you wish for death, Richard Millar, because in this moment I will grant it to you!"
"Fight you, then?" he said to himself, a smile spreading once again. He looked manic, he looked mad. "His father's death has unhinged him," Mary said fearfully. "Be very careful, miss," she called.
"All right, I accept your proposition, Miss Swann. I will duel you, and you will be my wife."
"No, Millar. I will duel you, and you will die on this island," I said angrily, outraged that anyone even suggest that they duel over me. Over the right to call me wife. Over the right to my body and my children, because they are what come with my promise of a marriage. Will grabbed my arm, and Jack stood in front of me.
"Let me fight him, Christina, it is for me to defend your honor!" Will said urgently. I raised my chin, "Do you doubt me, Will? Do you think I cannot win? I have beaten you before, William, it would be wiser if I fought." He looked unspeakably angry. "Do you think I would give in to this whelp even if I did lose?" I asked gently, touching his face and leaning up to kiss him on the lips. "I shall injure this little bug today, but I will never marry him. I won't marry anyone but you, Will."
"As nice as that is, Christina, he could really hurt ye. Let me fight, ye have not beaten old Jack," Jack looked worried. He was a pirate, he could practically smell tricks and loopholes and later he would tell me that that was exactly what he was worried about right now. I shook my head, and Jack looked as if he were about to beg me. Commodore Norrington and Gillette walked over, making the same requests - that they be allowed to fight instead of me. Gillette even went so far as to forbid me from fighting. At Port Royal, all this would seem strange and even barbaric, a duel of this nature. But here, on this island, so far away from what I called civilization there was nothing strange about it. Richard Millar had accosted my dignity, and I was going to punish him for it.
"Do you give your word that you will uphold the regulations of this duel?" he asked me. I laughed and pulled my hair back, tucking the long ends of my sash up so they would not hinder me. "I do not," I answered. He shrugged. "It matters not. I shall enjoy dueling with you, Miss Swann, and when you marry me you will remember this duel as your last."
"No, Richard, I fear this duel will be your last," I growled, getting into position. "Let go of your rage," Laurelyn called, and that was the last thing I heard before slipping into a void where nothing existed but Richard's blade and my own.
Realistically, he wasn't much of a fighter. He was skinny and he was made more for work as a butler than as a swordsman. I knew this, but I would allow him to think he had the upper hand. He was sloppy, and as he thought he was winning he became sloppier. I could vaguely here Will shouting at me to be careful, at Jack shouting for me to fight better, and somewhere along the way Anamaria had shown up with Naneth and Maurya all of whom where yelling at me along with Laurelyn and even Mary. But individual words were beyond me, beneath me. I could here my heart beating, not nearly has fast as when I had dueled Jack or Anamaria or even Will. I was being careful, and Richard thought he was winning. He swung his sword wide, hoping I suppose to disarm me. I followed his blade in a full circle and beat back with all my strength, all my anger. He dropped his sword and I brought mine level with his neck.
"You will not have me," I said softly. His eyes were wide, but he quickly brought his face under control. "I don't know why you would even ask. I am not my sister."
"But that is why I asked," he said, grinning now even as my sword point pressed into the pulsing vein on his neck, ever so lightly. "I remember when my father was alive, how he used to tell the both of you stories before you went up to your room. I sat with you too, in the den, and I watched your face and your sisters; I watched how yours' seemed to glow in the firelight as you drank in every word my father said, and how Elizabeth seemed as though she would forget each story as soon as her head hit a pillow. And now he has died, killed by pirates, and I am here to save you from them like I couldn't save my father. I would that you would look upon me as if I had told you a story, but I will settle for your such spirited anger. For now," he said. I took a step back, thrown off guard. Mary was right, his father's death had unhinged him, and although it wasn't enough for me to forgive the fact that he'd offered first and ultimatum for me to be his wife and then a game, I knew what it was like to lose a parent.
The only difference was that it hadn't turning me into a raving lunatic.
The rest of Jack's crew had gathered here; Anamaria must have gone off and told them what was happening because they all came with their guns. The island folk were gathering too, I saw Taeryn leading them now, a sling in her hand and a woven bag of stones slung over her shoulder, her free hand pressed protectively on her stomach. She was walking with a tall, dark man with long dark hair by her side. He wore a dark red sash around his head, holding back his unruly hair. He must have been her husband, the way he walked so protectively and possessively, though the possessive air dropped as soon as she looked at him. Glared was more like it, truth be told.
I turned back to Richard and said, "I am truly sorry for your father's death, Richard, he was a good man. I cared for him, as did my father and my sister, and perhaps it is in some way our fault that he died, if that is what you would like to hear. But I cannot help you, and I will never be your wife."
He tilted his head to the side. "I knew you would say that, too." I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk away, but I froze when he called out, "Come out, men." Will and Jack hurried up to me, each with a pistol in his hand. Gillette joined them, and Commodore Norrington, who was holding onto Mary's arm and looking much the way that Taeryn's husband did. Wary and protective, like a male-wolf would look after his consort and her cubs.
A group of twenty men came out from the shadows of the forest, fully armed. I gasped and stood beside Will, even as he tried to push me behind him. I glared at Richard, angrier now than I had been before the duel.
"You would force me to marry you? With these apes as you soldiers, you would force me at gunpoint to say I would be your wife?" I demanded. Richard shrugged, his eyes so wide that the whites could be seen all around the pupil. I shuddered, then, for the first time truly afraid for my fate.
"I would rather die," I spat. Richard's face hardened. "That, my dear, can obviously be arranged. Mercenaries are a wonderful tool, and my father left me just enough inheritance to hire these 'apes.' They aren't much, but they suit my purpose," he explained.
"But would you sacrifice the lives of dear William, and Jack, and the Commodore, just to avoid marrying me? Mary, your precious island folk, the crew, and that buxom blonde who appears to have joined your side?"
"It's Laurelyn," said Laurelyn.
"Laurelyn?" came the voice of one of those apes. She peeked out from behind me. "David?" she gasped, as the least-hairy, least-filthy, least-toothless and least-disgusting of the apes walked over, straight-backed and proud and at least six foot five. At the very least. With David came nine of Richards mercenaries. The other ten, looking like quite the pathetic little group, milled about mumbling.
"Oy! What the bloody hell's the idea?" shouted Richard, his smart plan unraveling before his eyes, and before mine as well. I leaned on Will and felt the breath go out of me, utterly relieved.
"Yeah, what's the idea?" Jack grunted, looking over at Laurelyn, who was talking animatedly with David. She met his eyes and then winked at me. "Well, Jackie, you can't've expected me to stay celibate while you were off plundering or what have you…" she started.
"Laurelyn's been a lover o' mine," said David fondly, touching her hair. "She owns the best pub I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot." He sounded so proud. Laurelyn grinned, obviously watching Jack for his reaction. "Yeah, mate, well so've I," Jack said, grabbing Laurelyn around the waist and pulling her up to him, looking unreasonably jealous for someone who cared for naught but his ship.
"Oh, for the love of God!" shrieked Mary, making us all jump, and then jump again as a huge bang was heard and Will was sent careening into me. Several more bangs were heard, which my mind later registered as shots, but I could see nothing but Will and the awful red color blooming from his arm. I spun around and also saw Richard laying on the beach, bleeding profusely from his chest. I turned back to Will, forgetting Richard entirely.
"Bloody hell," Will groaned, as I helped him sit up. "It's nothing it just grazed you, you're fine, you're alright," I said, unaware that I was shaking and wide-eyed and staring at Will's arm, pulling off my own red sash and tying it there securely as Will clenched his jaw in pain. If I had been paying attention, I would have seen Naneth and Taeryn exchange glances, but I wasn't.
"Oh, I'm going to kill that Richard Millar!" I roared. "Too late," the Commodore commented grimly, walking over from where Richard lay. Gillette looked a bit pale, which was odd as he was a seasoned sailor and soldier, and I felt faint but was too shocked and worried about Will to notice. Mary walked over to the Commodore shakily and hid her face in his neck. "Please, James, I've had enough of adventures, just take me back to Port Royal," she whispered. Laurelyn was still standing with Jack, who was looking worriedly at Will. She pulled a few gold coins from the front of her dress and handed them to David, who winked at her and slipped them into a sack on his hip. "Thanks, mate," she said heartily, and then turned to look at Will with the same worried expression Jack had. I pulled the necklace on which the claddagh ring my father had given me was strung and grabbed Will's hand. He was watching me, confused, as I pushed the ring onto the third finger of his left hand. It was heartening to see that it fit perfectly, and that gave me what I need to say these next words:
"Oh, God, Will, before I get kidnapped or you get killed, just say you'll marry me!"
A/N: I didn't know where to end it, so I figured that'd be a good spot. I'm sorry if parts of this chapter sucked (which I think they did), but this snuck up on me in a dream last night and, well, here it is. Review, please! By the way, I don't know if that's really where the claddagh ring goes…but that's where it went on BtVS, and BtVS is where I get my education…haha!