Hey guys! Posting chapter 3 made me really get back into the muse of writing, and I'm glad I wasn't too shunned from the lack of updates. :) Writing between shifts is hard, and I hope you can bear with me as I get my words down in somewhat of an orderly fashion! :D I've also happened to forget to mention that over the course of the story, it will tie directly into the movies, with obvious AU. I can't believe that I forgot to put that in the summary, but whatever- I'm just glad that I caught it now! Anyway, onward!

4.

It's been a few weeks now, and working under James has been somewhat of a breeze. As long as my work is done before the end of my night, I don't have to hear him grumbling about it in the morning. I'm simply glad that no one has seen through my façade. Even if they did, they'd say something right?

He's been stopping over a lot more recently. Mostly, he comes to talk, but every time (and I still giggle at this sometimes) he wants to just wander around in my garden. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it. He always has that sense of wonder about his face when he walks in, and he always ends up staring at the bouquet in the square, as if he's trying to figure out what the "missing piece" (as Sophie says) is.

I'm thinking of telling him a part of my past. I'm not quite sure how to come about doing this yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll tell him when he stares at those roses.

I've heard some nasty rumors about the Crown back home. Some people that are moving here say that the King is furious that I've run away, but he's not doing anything about it.

Good. I hope he leaves me alone. Daddy didn't train me in combat for nothing; I just hope that I don't have to use it.

Narelle

She closed her journal, and set her pen back into the ink. She looked out to the setting sun, and stared at the reds and oranges in the sky. Her hair was already tied back and secured by a black bow; she already had most of her uniform on, she was just procrastinating the last bits, like her coat and her shoes.

Sophie gently opened the door.

"M'lady," she said softly. "It's almost time."

Narelle's eyes fell back to her desk, and she nodded. She stood, slipped into her shoes, and grabbed her coat from the back of her chair. She couldn't shake a growing sense of dread, and she's only felt this way once before.

"Sophie," she started.

"Don't tell me you feel it," Sophie demanded.

Narelle looked into her maiden's eyes and sadly nodded.

"This patrol is just like any other," Sophie reassured. "Nothing's going to happen. I promise."

"I'll take your word for it, but if anyth-"

"Go, Narelle. You'll be late if we discuss this further."

Divvy-ing up the teams for patrol went rather smoothly. Narelle had each of her Lieutenants commanding a good sized team of troopers, and after she ordered which group to go where, they set off into the night. She had a small squad of troopers under her own command, and they marched down the street.

They came to an intersection, and Narelle held up her hand. Everyone instantly stopped. She turned to them.

"Split up into teams of two," she ordered. "Get the back roads, and check alleys. Don't use violence unless it's absolutely necessary."

After some commotion as to who was partnered with who, the men eventually wandered off to their own part of town. She hoped at least most of them would return at end of shift- she thought she'd earned the respect of at least a decent number of soldiers.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she whirled around. Hand on her sword, her stern eyes met James's own tired ones.

"Captain," she said, making sure her voice was disguised enough. She saluted him. "Didn't think you'd be up this late, sir."

"Things have changed," was his reply. "And you can just call me James, Mister Ketterling."

"Michael, sir."

"Right. Well," he gave a quick sigh. "I was notified at about sundown that one of your Lieutenants is at home sick. His house-maiden sent a note, and I thought I should stay and cover for him."

"I noticed he was gone, sir, but I didn't think anything of it. He's been late a few times to be quite honest. I was going to talk to you in the morning about it, but since you're here…"

"Don't bother. He's got enough going on at home, he doesn't need this on his plate. Anyway, I see you don't have a patrol partner. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, sir."

"Cut the 'sir' then. I get enough of that during the day."

She half smiled. "All right."

They walked through the streets, making small talk, and catching up on the town's latest rumors. They only stopped talking to yell at a few of the drunks, but their orders fell mostly on deaf ears. The pair continued on.

"Michael," James started. "May I ask if you know anything about the new-ish lady that lives in the port?"

Internally, she rolled her eyes. Why in the world does everyone ask me about me?! she thought.

"What do you mean?" was her reply.

"Well," James sighed again. "She got here about the same time that you started. I was just wondering if you two had ever crossed paths on the voyage from England."

"We might have," she replied, "but if we did, it was only for a moment. She was always in such a hurry whenever I see her."

"That doesn't surprise me." James chuckled lightly.

The two officers rounded the corner, and entered the glow of the lanterns overhead. Narelle spotted a man near some crates against the wall of a tavern. She nonchalantly watched him as he gazed at the pair, and started sauntering over.

"Captain," she said. "That man."

James's eyes swept up to look at the drunken mess coming towards them.

"You two'er officers?" the man slurred.

"Yes," James replied coolly, "we're officers of the law."

"And you, shrimp?" He eyed Narelle.

Her eyes narrowed. She certainly wasn't gigantic, but she was a few inches shorter than both the man and James.

"I'd respect the officer in front of you if I were you," James warned.

The drunk shoved Narelle, and she fell to the cobblestoned ground. He threw a punch at James. He dodged the flying fist, and threw some of his own back at the raging man.

Narelle got up, brushed the dirt off of her pants, and snapped her head back up when she heard James grunt. He was on the ground, blood escaping his mouth. She took this to her advantage, and entered the fight. She bobbed between punches, threw a couple of her own, and even landed a kick to his stomach. He backed away, briefly holding his gut, and looked back up at her with fury in his eyes.

Punches were flying in left and right from the man, and although she was trying her best, she only managed to block roughly 95% of them. A few punches caught her in the shoulder, and the next thing she knew, she was pinned against the wall, her feet dangling a foot from the ground. Blood seeped out of her nose and into her mouth. He leaned in close to her.

"I know who ya are," he snarled.

A shot rang out, and the man's eyes went wide. He dropped Narelle, who fell to the ground. Her hat fell off, and most of her hair came loose from the bow, hiding her face from view.

Well shit, she thought. Guess now's a good time to come clean to him.

"Michael, are you alright?" came James's voice. He trotted over, and held out a hand to help her up.

She took his hand, stood up, and flipped her hair from her face.

"I'm fine," she said as she dropped the disguise in her voice. "Are you okay? You're still bleeding from your mouth."

James took a step back in complete shock. His mouth parted slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed together.

"James, it's me," she said. "Nar-"

"I know who you are, and it's Captain to you," he cut her off. Shock gave way to anger. "You should've said something right away instead of hiding this from me."

"Yeah, like that can come up in casual conversation. 'Oh hey James, nice to see you. By the way, my father gave me a commission in the Royal Navy, so I'm pretty much the only woman in the military in England. But hey, no worries, I'm as strong as those guys over there, and the only difference between me and them is that I have more style when I fight, so hey I'll meet you at work okay?' Like that would happen."

"Just go."

Narelle froze. "What?" she asked.

"Go home. You're finished for the night. I'll wrap-"

"No."

"What did you say?" James was back to being in disbelief.

"I said no, Captain. Like it or not, I have the same rank as you, and this is my shift as commanding officer. I will wrap up this shift, and I will dismiss my men. I don't need someone else doing that for me. I can handle them."

She whistled once, and heard boots thunder through the streets.

"You'll see," she said as she untied her bow. Her hair fell around her shoulders and down her back. She turned on her heel and marched off. She didn't quite care if James was following or not. She stopped only to pick up her fallen hat, and she placed it on her head, and continued marching on.

She came up to the large group of confused soldiers, and was pleased to see that all of them returned. They stood in column formation, with the two other Lieutenants at the head of their groups.

"Everyone," she started. They all looked to her, and a few gasped. Some soldiers' faces turned to disgust, and even anger. All of a sudden, a voice rang out.

"I knew you were a lady! Just didn't know when you'd tell us!"

Narelle's eyebrow shot up. "Well? Are you guys going to shun me?"

The men looked to one another, and most shook their heads.

"I asked you ladies a question," she stated, then yelled, "Are you going to SHUN ME?!"

"NO MA'AM!" was the collective and simultaneous shout.

"Good! Head to the Fort. We're done for the night."

The three columns of troopers marched off, leaving Narelle and a baffled James behind in their wake.

"How about you?" she asked. "What's your answer, James?"

He shook his head, smiling. "It's going to take some getting used to," he replied, "but no. I won't shun you either, but take heed: not every man will be as understanding as your troopers."

"Baby steps, James, baby steps."

He shook his head again, and the pair walked to Fort Charles, eager to put this long night behind them.

Soo…. I meant to save this part for later, but since I couldn't come up with anything else, and fluff really isn't my thing, I basically gave in and wrote this for you guys. Thanks to the two reviewers that left feedback. I was originally going to post this tomorrow, but hey, I've neglected you guys, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were raging at me through the months that I've disappeared. So, until next time, I'll see you guys later! :D ~Emy022