Hello lovelies! Welcome back to my story. It has been approximately 10 years (OMG) since I started writing this fic. But like all wonderful things in our lives, sometimes you have to let something go so it can come crashing back to you. So I am doing something that I never thought I would do: pick this little story back up after years of hiatus. Who knows if my previous reviewers are even still on this site, but perhaps I will make some new friends picking this back up. As always, review, enjoy, POTC isn't mine, so on and so forth. And from the bottom of my heart, if you get to this chapter, thanks for sticking with me and my slice of Pirates.

~E

PS reminder: italics= flashback

Elsie stood in front of the mirror tugging at the school uniform she wore. Today was the day she was going to Canton. Her fingers brushed over the crest on her blue blazer indicating she was attending the girl's academy. In heavy gold and maroon embroidery, she traced the school coat of arms and the latin script "Spes Et Fortitudo": Hope and Courage. It didn't quite seem real that she would be leaving home to go study: the idea of the private school both thrilled and terrified her.

"At this point, I am going to need all the 'hope and courage' I can get."

Canton was a prestigious academy with 2 schools: one for girls and one for boys. The boy's academy, Canton Military Academy, was precisely that: the place where all officer hopefuls would go before entering their respective elite military higher education facilities. Without the sponsorship of a specific military branch, Canton operated with a very generic military command structure. Each student had the ability to specialize in the studies unique to their desired placement. Army, Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Air Force where all represented equally at Canton with professors from each branch as part of the faculty. It was uncommon for a graduate of CMA to not get a placement in their desired field of study and military branch due to this unique teaching structure.

Canton Girls Academy also had a prestigious military track, but most girls attending where studying to go into some other field following their secondary education. Elsie was placed in the highly competitive bio-medical program that focused on fast tracking their students to equip them for a 2-year bachelor's degree program after graduation. The goal was to have as much knowledge as possible to pass MCATS and match with a medical school 2 years ahead of their peers. If you could make it through the coursework at Canton, you could pretty much accomplish anything.

"Elsie! Time to go, dear!" Her mother's sweet voice brought her back to the reality she was reluctant to face at that moment.

"Spes et Fortitudo." Taking in her room one last time, she turned on her heel and walked downstairs to her waiting family.

The car ride to Canton was an uneventful one up the coast. Thomas sat consumed by a new comic book and her mother and father were in easy conversation in the front seat discussing some topic Elsie was uninterested in listening to. All she picked up was a mention of "Operation Cool Dad" and being urged to "try to be normal today". In her lap was the embossed orientation folder chock full of information like her schedule, room and board information, and a list of all extra-curricular activities to select once she got to the campus. Scanning her schedule again, she worked at memorizing the room numbers and lecture halls that each would be taking place in. This semester, she was taking Advanced Biology, English and Literature, Calculus, and General Chemistry 1. Both of her science classes had a lab element that would happen a few times per week. There were still 2 class slots to fill with one of the myriad of extra-curriculars. Her eye was on something with music. Taking a break from reading in the back seat, she looked back out the window to find Canton coming into view.

"Well there it is, in all its glory," Elsie sighed nervously.

"Now, when we get onsite, we will need to get you checked in at the dormitories first. I remember you were placed in Kirkland Hall… *hmph* Kirkland. It was as if they couldn't have picked a different dorm other than the one that sounded most like our last name…." her father trailing off as he reached for a map of the campus. Leave it to a commander to navigate the complexities of "dorm life". Elsie had to stifle a giggle as she saw him flip open the larger map from her welcome packet and push back his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Commander or not, he was still a dad and looked very much both in his element as well as completely out of it. By this point, they were stopped while he continued to scan the map. A friendly horn beep behind them indicated that he was taking a bit too long, and muttering a choice word under his breath, he rolled down a window to speak with the attendant helping direct traffic.

"Richard," her mother cautioned pointedly, "language."

"…Language…" he murmured back at her sarcastically, eliciting a disapproving look coupled with a shy grin. "Hello there, looking for Kirkland Hall. Student Annalise 'Kirk' reporting in." Even in civilian clothes, he would always revert to his military jargon and direct lines of questioning. Operation Cool Dad was off to an abysmal start.

The attendant thumbed through the list of new students arriving for move in day until he landed on Elsie's name. "Ah yes, Annalise Kirk, Kirkland Hall, Room 315. Now to get where ye be going, turn up at the gate to the left, drive past Montgomery Hall, take the round-a-bout past the football pitch and Kirkland is the twin dormitory on the left. Mind ye, the LEFT." His clipped Scottish accent was slightly dizzying, but Commander Kirk followed it like a champ.

"Right. Thank you for the help." He nodded curtly to the man and drove on, following the directions while muttering them back to himself. Activity was happening all around them as they followed the drive. Football practice was in full swing with the boy's academy, families of new students were dropping off and popping into different academic buildings and the overarching feeling on the campus was an energy of "excitement". Pulling up in front of Kirkland Hall, Elsie got out of the car and walked up with her mum to one of the prefects with a clipboard.

"Hi there! Welcome to Canton!" The prefect was a petite brunette who was dressed in the traditional Canton Academy "blues" and had enough pep to betray how much caffeine she had been drinking throughout the day. "My name is Beatrix, and I am one of the prefects here in Kirkland. What is your name?"

"Erm, hi I'm Elsie Kirk. Oh, probably under Annalise." She watched as Beatrix scanned her list.

"Oh perfect! 315. Looks like your roomie checked in not too long ago. Her name is Brooke." Pointing up to the front of the building, she said, "if you look up to the third floor over the Kirkland Hall sign, you can see your room. Fantastic placement for your first year. Someone got lucky!"

Elsie took in the front of the building and smiled. People were what was going to make this transition easiest. Her family was currently unloading her personal effects onto a trolly to bring up to her room. Taking in the sight of her brother, mum and dad, she knew that the goodbye at the end of the day was going to be hard. Beatrix was helping give directions to the little family unit. Once satisfied things were in order, she walked up the steps to Elsie smiling kindly.

"Alright, Miss Kirk. Are you ready to start this adventure?"

"Absolutely." Giving a big grin back at her family, she walked up the steps ready to make new friends and get settled into her new home.