Chapter 3:
The Commodore's Proposal
Commodore Norrington was having a friendly conversation with Governor Swann. The subject: Rose.
"So, tell me, Commodore, what is Rose like? Is she anything like her father?" The Governor asked.
Commodore looked at Rose who was now talking and laughing with Elizabeth. "She is a fine woman. She's beautiful, intelligent, fearless, bold, and, well, the truth is..."
Governor Swann looked at him somewhat skeptically. "Go on." He said.
Norrington all of the sudden seemed out of touch with the world, which was a strange thing for someone as down-to-earth as he was.
"Commodore, are you feeling all right?" The Governor asked.
Commodore came back from his dream state. "Oh, sorry." He sighed. "The truth is, I love her. I'm going to propose to her. Tonight."
"Commodore...uh...James, Don't you think it's somewhat early?" Governor Swann said. "I mean..."
"Please don't question my timing, Governor. I know this is Elizabeth's wedding reception, but this may be the only time I will be able to ask her with courage."
"But don't you remember what happened last time?!? Eliza-"
"I know I may have my heart broken once, but I can assure you it won't happen again." Norrington said sternly. He swiftly left.
He approached Rose. "Rose, can I speak to you for a moment? Alone?"
Rose gave him a curious look.
"Go with him!" Elizabeth whispered encouragingly.
"Alright." Rose said and allowed Commodore to lead her outside.
Under cover of darkness, Jack sailed the Black Peal to a point just outside the harbor. Jack knew he had to warn Will of the imminent danger. Will, would in turn, tell Norrington, eliminating the need for the Commodore and the Pirate to come face to face.
"Remember what I told ya, Mr. Gibbs. If you are the who finds young Will, tell him what I told you!" Jack called from his rowboat.
"Aye. I won't ferget!" Gibbs called back from his rowboat.
"Good! Now, you look around town! Be careful and don't get caught! I'll look around the fort and the Governor's house!"
The two small boats rowed in opposite directions toward separate sides of the bay.
Elizabeth parted from her group of friends and found Will talking to a local doctor, who was a friend of her father's. She pulled him aside. "Will, Commodore took Rose outside. Do you want to see what he's up to?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Not wanting to argue with her, he agreed and said good-bye to the doctor then sneaked out with Elizabeth.
"I don't believe it!" Josey yelled, slamming her fist down on the wooden table in her cabin.
A captured pirate, who now served Josey as a slave, cowered in the doorway. "Miss, the General wants to speak with ya." He said in a shaky voice.
The General pushed past him. "What happened?!?!?" He roared.
Now it was Josey's turn to cower in fear. "H-he got the better o' me, General Santiago. I got too confident."
General Santiago shook his head. "I thought you had a perfect plan! You said that if you had double the number of crewmembers Sparrow had, you could easily take him! I gave you twenty- five of my soldiers, disguised as pirates, to reach the right number! You told me you wouldn't fail! But you DID!" His heavy Spanish accent was very apparent in his rage.
"Well, I didn't see you out there helpin' me!" Josey spat angrily.
The General lost his temper with her. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted a pirate! If you don't come through next time, I'll have your head!" He shouted.
"There won't be a next time." Josey sighed.
There was a very long pause.
"What?" Santiago asked.
"Sparrow raced off to Port Royal to warn his little friends." Josey said, fearing the wrath of the General.
"You told him about our plans?!?!?!"
Josey looked around the room, hoping to spot one of her spare sabers incase the unpredictable General dared draw his blade against her.
"Josey, you are a fool!" Santiago yelled. "Why did you tell him of our plans before you won? Why did you even tell him at all?!?!"
"I thought I would win!" She said, coming to her own defense.
The general turned to leave. "Tell your crew to sail northward. We will meet the fleet on the way. Then I will join my colleagues and I won't have to put up with this grimy, pathetic excuse for a ship and your disrespecting crew!" He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Josey sat in complete silence. It was now that she made a vow. "I will kill you and everyone you care about, Jack Sparrow!" She set about choosing a saber from her weaponry closet. She selected one and tested it on her finger. The blade had just barely touched her when crimson blood began to drop from her finger. She smiled as she imagined herself cutting Jack Sparrow down with her sword, then gave a cackle akin to that of a raven.
A female pirate-slave had heard the entire conversation. During the attack on the Black Pearl, she had caught a glimpse of Captain Sparrow. She had wanted to help him, but as a slave, she had been in no position to do so. Quietly, she crept back to her bunk with the other slaves. She lifted her mattress and removed a sword she had taken from a dead corsair. The corsair had taken it from another pirate. She knew because, emblazoned in the hilt of the sword was the name Jack Sparrow.
Commodore brought Rose to the edge of the garden. A willow tree cast a large shadow that ended just to their right. Large bushes marked the other side of the path behind them. In front of them was a drop-off guarded only by a two-and-a-half foot black, wrought iron fence.
They stood in silence, watching the moonlight reflecting of the water. Alight breeze ruffled the few locks of hair that hung around her face. The breeze also caught her pearl and diamond earrings that sparkled when they caught the moonlight.
Commodore was the first to break the oppressive silence. "Rose, I know you're probably wondering why I brought you out here."
Rose nodded. "Of course I am, James. You didn't bring me out here just to look at the ocean, did you?" She asked.
Commodore Norrington remained silent.
Rose gasped as a sudden thought hit her. "They haven't called you to help put down the colonies' rebellion, have they?!?!"
"No Rose. I brought you here for a different reason. The effects of which are being celebrated and cherished at this very moment."
Elizabeth and Will ducked behind the bushes. "What's he doing?" Whispered Will. Elizabeth shushed him, then quietly answered, "I'm not sure."
"Rose, for the last few months you have brought a certain happiness into my life. I feel as if my life is no longer meant to be spent commanding a naval fleet. I feel as if that is no longer my only purpose."
Elizabeth noted every nervous movement he made. She had only seen him like this on one other occasion.
"Rose, you're what I've been looking for all my life. You're kind, smart, elegant, and, oh I'm rambling on like an idiot, aren't I?"
Rose smiled sweetly at him. "No you're not!"
For Elizabeth, it finally clicked. "I think he's going to propose to her!" she said.
Will leaned closer to her. "Not if he keeps going on like this."
Commodore continued. "The world is full of many challenges, some of which I cannot face alone."
Elizabeth was getting tired of listening to Commodore Norrington stall. She stepped from behind the bushes. "Oh, get to the point, Commodore!"
I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry I haven't updated in so long! Please R&R this! Chapter 4 may take a while for me to get up, I'm revising it to include a sword fight between Rose and Jack. Jack gets slapped as well.
The Commodore's Proposal
Commodore Norrington was having a friendly conversation with Governor Swann. The subject: Rose.
"So, tell me, Commodore, what is Rose like? Is she anything like her father?" The Governor asked.
Commodore looked at Rose who was now talking and laughing with Elizabeth. "She is a fine woman. She's beautiful, intelligent, fearless, bold, and, well, the truth is..."
Governor Swann looked at him somewhat skeptically. "Go on." He said.
Norrington all of the sudden seemed out of touch with the world, which was a strange thing for someone as down-to-earth as he was.
"Commodore, are you feeling all right?" The Governor asked.
Commodore came back from his dream state. "Oh, sorry." He sighed. "The truth is, I love her. I'm going to propose to her. Tonight."
"Commodore...uh...James, Don't you think it's somewhat early?" Governor Swann said. "I mean..."
"Please don't question my timing, Governor. I know this is Elizabeth's wedding reception, but this may be the only time I will be able to ask her with courage."
"But don't you remember what happened last time?!? Eliza-"
"I know I may have my heart broken once, but I can assure you it won't happen again." Norrington said sternly. He swiftly left.
He approached Rose. "Rose, can I speak to you for a moment? Alone?"
Rose gave him a curious look.
"Go with him!" Elizabeth whispered encouragingly.
"Alright." Rose said and allowed Commodore to lead her outside.
Under cover of darkness, Jack sailed the Black Peal to a point just outside the harbor. Jack knew he had to warn Will of the imminent danger. Will, would in turn, tell Norrington, eliminating the need for the Commodore and the Pirate to come face to face.
"Remember what I told ya, Mr. Gibbs. If you are the who finds young Will, tell him what I told you!" Jack called from his rowboat.
"Aye. I won't ferget!" Gibbs called back from his rowboat.
"Good! Now, you look around town! Be careful and don't get caught! I'll look around the fort and the Governor's house!"
The two small boats rowed in opposite directions toward separate sides of the bay.
Elizabeth parted from her group of friends and found Will talking to a local doctor, who was a friend of her father's. She pulled him aside. "Will, Commodore took Rose outside. Do you want to see what he's up to?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Not wanting to argue with her, he agreed and said good-bye to the doctor then sneaked out with Elizabeth.
"I don't believe it!" Josey yelled, slamming her fist down on the wooden table in her cabin.
A captured pirate, who now served Josey as a slave, cowered in the doorway. "Miss, the General wants to speak with ya." He said in a shaky voice.
The General pushed past him. "What happened?!?!?" He roared.
Now it was Josey's turn to cower in fear. "H-he got the better o' me, General Santiago. I got too confident."
General Santiago shook his head. "I thought you had a perfect plan! You said that if you had double the number of crewmembers Sparrow had, you could easily take him! I gave you twenty- five of my soldiers, disguised as pirates, to reach the right number! You told me you wouldn't fail! But you DID!" His heavy Spanish accent was very apparent in his rage.
"Well, I didn't see you out there helpin' me!" Josey spat angrily.
The General lost his temper with her. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted a pirate! If you don't come through next time, I'll have your head!" He shouted.
"There won't be a next time." Josey sighed.
There was a very long pause.
"What?" Santiago asked.
"Sparrow raced off to Port Royal to warn his little friends." Josey said, fearing the wrath of the General.
"You told him about our plans?!?!?!"
Josey looked around the room, hoping to spot one of her spare sabers incase the unpredictable General dared draw his blade against her.
"Josey, you are a fool!" Santiago yelled. "Why did you tell him of our plans before you won? Why did you even tell him at all?!?!"
"I thought I would win!" She said, coming to her own defense.
The general turned to leave. "Tell your crew to sail northward. We will meet the fleet on the way. Then I will join my colleagues and I won't have to put up with this grimy, pathetic excuse for a ship and your disrespecting crew!" He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Josey sat in complete silence. It was now that she made a vow. "I will kill you and everyone you care about, Jack Sparrow!" She set about choosing a saber from her weaponry closet. She selected one and tested it on her finger. The blade had just barely touched her when crimson blood began to drop from her finger. She smiled as she imagined herself cutting Jack Sparrow down with her sword, then gave a cackle akin to that of a raven.
A female pirate-slave had heard the entire conversation. During the attack on the Black Pearl, she had caught a glimpse of Captain Sparrow. She had wanted to help him, but as a slave, she had been in no position to do so. Quietly, she crept back to her bunk with the other slaves. She lifted her mattress and removed a sword she had taken from a dead corsair. The corsair had taken it from another pirate. She knew because, emblazoned in the hilt of the sword was the name Jack Sparrow.
Commodore brought Rose to the edge of the garden. A willow tree cast a large shadow that ended just to their right. Large bushes marked the other side of the path behind them. In front of them was a drop-off guarded only by a two-and-a-half foot black, wrought iron fence.
They stood in silence, watching the moonlight reflecting of the water. Alight breeze ruffled the few locks of hair that hung around her face. The breeze also caught her pearl and diamond earrings that sparkled when they caught the moonlight.
Commodore was the first to break the oppressive silence. "Rose, I know you're probably wondering why I brought you out here."
Rose nodded. "Of course I am, James. You didn't bring me out here just to look at the ocean, did you?" She asked.
Commodore Norrington remained silent.
Rose gasped as a sudden thought hit her. "They haven't called you to help put down the colonies' rebellion, have they?!?!"
"No Rose. I brought you here for a different reason. The effects of which are being celebrated and cherished at this very moment."
Elizabeth and Will ducked behind the bushes. "What's he doing?" Whispered Will. Elizabeth shushed him, then quietly answered, "I'm not sure."
"Rose, for the last few months you have brought a certain happiness into my life. I feel as if my life is no longer meant to be spent commanding a naval fleet. I feel as if that is no longer my only purpose."
Elizabeth noted every nervous movement he made. She had only seen him like this on one other occasion.
"Rose, you're what I've been looking for all my life. You're kind, smart, elegant, and, oh I'm rambling on like an idiot, aren't I?"
Rose smiled sweetly at him. "No you're not!"
For Elizabeth, it finally clicked. "I think he's going to propose to her!" she said.
Will leaned closer to her. "Not if he keeps going on like this."
Commodore continued. "The world is full of many challenges, some of which I cannot face alone."
Elizabeth was getting tired of listening to Commodore Norrington stall. She stepped from behind the bushes. "Oh, get to the point, Commodore!"
I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry I haven't updated in so long! Please R&R this! Chapter 4 may take a while for me to get up, I'm revising it to include a sword fight between Rose and Jack. Jack gets slapped as well.