Disclaimer: I tried to lure Jack into my house with rum, but Disney got in my way, so he's not mine.
AN: Sorry I left you guys hanging last chapter, but I guess you could say this is the other half of the wedding. Also, I figured that the formal wedding gown would be kind of heavy, so here is the outfit that Rose wears to the reception: www (dot) hinab (dot) com (slash) sarees (slash) s12 (dot) htm. I hope that you enjoy it, and will leave a review! Thanks!
Chapter 11: The Reception and Afterwards:
I was in a daze as Jack and I raced down the aisle, people tossing white and red flower petals upon us as we ran. I could feel that there was a huge smile on my face, since I could clearly see one all over Jack's as he pulled me along beside him. All around us were people cheering: Will, Lizzie, Jan, Padma, Nidhi, the crew of the Black Pearl, and even members of the Turners' crew! Warm sunlight poured down upon me, and I felt like dancing in its golden glow.
Suddenly, Jack released my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me tightly against him. As we paused before the doorway leading to the house, Jack lifted me up and carried me inside, much to the delight of our guests and friends; everyone cheered as my new husband proceeded to carry me further into the house, stopping just before the closed entry doors of the grand dining room.
As Jack stopped before the doors, I noticed that the house was unusually quiet. Glancing around, I saw that, for the first time in weeks, Jack and I were alone together. Then that I remembered that Jan would keep the guests outside for a little while so that Jack and I could change for the reception, and have a few moments to ourselves before the party. Smiling, I looked up into Jack's eyes, and saw him gazing down at me with the softest, most tender expression I'd ever seen.
"You look absolutely divine, darling," he whispered, giving me a proud smile. "Enchanting, actually…you should wear red more often."
I smiled at him, my arms happily wound around his neck. "Why, thank you, Captain Sparrow," I said, leaning in for a kiss.
A large grin spread across his face. "You are quite welcome, Mrs. Sparrow," he said, pressing his lips to mine. Pulling back, I could see the pride in his eyes. "Or perhaps, Mrs. Captain Jack Sparrow?"
We stood that way for a while, me in Jack's arms as we kissed once more as man and wife. I never wanted this moment to end, but I knew that he had to be getting tired of holding me in his arms like this, especially since my dress was so heavy. Reluctantly, I pulled back from Jack's lips and smiled, one hand going to stop him from claiming another kiss.
"You need to put me down so that I can change," I said while giving him a kiss on the cheek. "After all, I can't wear this heavy thing all day."
For a moment, Jack seemed to pout at the idea, but eventually agreed. Gently, he put me down on my feet, the leather of my slippers making no sound on the floor. I gave him another kiss and ran for a small room that was close to the dining room, a place that had been set up specifically for this purpose. Quickly shutting the door, I quickly ran to the outfit that lay over a nearby chair.
Hurriedly, I slid out of my heavy wedding gown and into the new, lighter dress, one that consisted of a short, revealing top and a separate white skirt. There was a massive amount of intricate embroidery stitching on the top of the outfit, which I just adored looking at. The skirt was a rather complicated thing, as it was a wrap-around skirt which had to start and stop at a specific place in order for the entire outfit to look right. Along the upper right half and the edge of the skirt was the same embroidery pattern from the top section of the sari; when the skirt was wrapped correctly and clipped a few inches below the bellybutton, the embroidered pattern ran along the top right side of the skirt and directly down the center of it as well. The veil was made of thin gossamer, and had a length of pale gold ribbon sewn to it, as well as a few crystal stones the size of my pinky fingernail. There were no sleeves on the garment, allowing me to stay cool in the heat of the day as the party wore on. It was the perfect outfit for greeting the guests in the dining room, and I happily changed into it, sighing in relief at being out of the heavy gown.
Once I had checked to be sure of my appearance, I raced back to where I had left my husband.
Tapping his foot impatiently, Jack waited for his lovely wife to return from…wherever it was she had gone off to. She had run off to change, and he was anxious to see what sort of wonderful piece of exotic cloth and colors that Padma and Nidhi had put together for his Rose. Both women had extremely good taste when it came to dressing the new Mrs. Sparrow, so Jack wasn't too worried.
'Unless they put her in something revealing,' he realized.
Inside, Jack began to panic. What if she was dressed in something that exposed more of her than what he'd like others to see? What if the crew discovered how much of a beautiful woman Rose could be and decided that they wanted her to themselves? He could not handle another mutiny amongst his crewmen, and if they tried to take Rose from him…
"Jack?" Rose's voice called him back to the present.
Taking a deep breath, Jack closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. Once he was calm, he opened his eyes and saw his enchanting bride standing before him, her face full of concern. Looking her up and down, Jack realized that his fears had come true, meaning that Rose was showing quite a healthy bit of flesh. As his eyes settled on her exposed belly, he felt himself swallow hard.
"Um, luv, I really think that you should cover…" he trailed off, staring at her bare stomach.
Rose chuckled and took out her veil, wrapping it carefully around her body until she was covered. "Is that better?" she asked, twirling around so that he could look.
A sigh of relief burst through. "Thank you, darling," he said as he stepped closer to his wife in order to put his arms around her. "Can't have the men staring at the Captain's Wife, now, can we? I'd have to throw them all in the brig for looking at you the wrong way!"
Rose laughed out loud as she threw her arms around him. "But if you do that, who will help keep the ship in order?" Rose whispered as she leaned in for a kiss.
"Hmm…" Jack replied, pretending to think about it. "Well, we'll figure that one out after tonight."
He then leaned forward and kissed her.
"Alright, you two Sparrows," Padma's voice called to us. "It's time for the reception. The guests are getting hungry, so we had better feed them."
I quickly pulled back from the kiss I had been sharing with Jack. How long had we been locked this way in the first place? Oh, well; now it was time to think of our friends. Reluctantly, I pulled myself out of Jack's arms and instead took his hand in mine, all the while giving him an apologetic look. He didn't notice, though, since he was busy glaring at Padma, who was giving us a sweet, innocent smile. Finally, Jack gave up and escorted me to the dining room doors, which he opened so we could step through. Upon seeing the interior of the room, I couldn't help but feel awed.
There were so many paintings, statues, glittering marble mosaics, and intricately designed floor tiles that I felt overwhelmed by it all. Four tables were set up, one on a dais for the wedding party and the others lining down the center for the guests. Jack and I would be joined at our table by not only the Turners, but also by Jan, Padma and Nidhi while the crews from the Pearl and the Turners' ships would mingle at the lower tables.
Exotic and elegant foods were set up in the middle of the tables, their smells filling the air with delicious aromas that made my mouth water. Since I had not eaten a very large breakfast, my stomach was quite empty. Meats, cheeses, fruits, breads, and alcohol bottles were everywhere, well within easy reach of each place setting. On the far side of the room was the beautiful creation that was our wedding cake, covered in white icing and real exotic flowers. It was breathtaking.
"Come on, luv," Jack whispered.
I nodded and followed his lead.
'If I have another person wish me luck and offer me advice about how to please Rose, I'll bloody shoot them,' Jack thought to himself as another member of Will's crew walked off to sit at a table.
True, it wasn't a very large group of guests, but with each man whispering advice on 'how to keep your woman happy,' it was taking forever to get through them all. Well, it was for Jack, anyway; Rose mostly received a kiss on the cheek, a wish of luck and a smile, which took all of one minute to do. Jack, on the other hand, was receiving "helpful hints" from both his crewmen and the Turners', which was beginning to annoy him.
'If I didn't know better, I'd swear that William was having the crew give me all of that marriage advice he tried to force on me months ago,' Jack thought as he gave another man a thankful pat on the shoulder and sent him off. 'If that's true, I'm going to really make him a eunuch!'
Glancing over at his wife, Jack couldn't help but smile at the sight of her talking with Padma, who was gigging behind her veil. Elizabeth was next to Rose and listening in, a broad grin on her face as she stood by. Nidhi stood behind her daughter, a small smile tugging on her lips as her eyes danced with amusement. From the way the older woman was looking at him, Jack had a feeling that something was going to happen tonight.
'I suppose now would be a good time to expect the unexpected.' He saw Nidhi wink at him, and felt a small tremor of alarm go through him. 'Yup, definitely need to be prepared.'
Inwardly wincing, Jack plastered on a smile and accepted another man's well-wishes on the wedding.
When the guests and everyone had been seated, we all ate our fill of the feast that Jan and his kitchens had provided for us. Everyone ate, talked, drank, and laughed for hours, right up to the moment that Elizabeth asked me when we were going to cut the cake. After hearing that, Jack and I were practically carried down to the incredibly large confection and handed a sharp knife, Jack's hand on the handle and mine delicately perched on top. My husband gave me one of his typical smirks as we both pressed down, cutting a small piece from the top layer.
After the slice had been cut, Jack picked up a small bit and held it to my lips, his gaze intensely focused on me. I obediently opened my mouth and accepted the offering, making sure to wrap my tongue around the very tip of his forefinger and gently lick the frosting off of it. Jack's eyes immediately darkened as his mouth opened and released a small breath. When I offered him his piece, he was so flustered that he could only take the cake into his mouth and eat it, unable to tease me in return. When a servant came to serve out the rest of the cake to the guests, Jack pulled me back to our table and put his lips against my ear.
"You'll pay for that tonight, Mrs. Sparrow," he growled, his breath hot against my skin.
I shivered and leaned in to whisper back. "I'm looking forward to it," I breathed before pulling away and giving him a suggestive smile.
Jack merely leaned forward and kissed me, hard.
'My wife,' Jack thought as he held her close in order to kiss her more intimately. 'She's my wife, and she's the best thing to happen to me.'
He felt Rose melt against him, and he wrapped his arms tighter to keep her from slipping away. The little minx had teased him and seduced him with one little flick of her tongue, and he could not allow that to happen. After all, he was Captain Jack Sparrow! He had a great deal to teach his lovely new wife, and most of it couldn't be done in public. He'd just have to wait for the opportune moment…
Once the cake had been eaten, either amongst the crew or Jan's servants, Jack and I led our guests to the ballroom, where Jack and I were to have a formal dance before going up to our room. The musicians, surprisingly enough, struck up a European waltz, and before I could blink, Jack had gathered me up into his arms and onto the marble dance floor.
"I didn't know you could waltz!" I gasped as he twirled me around.
He chuckled. "There's a great deal you don't know about me yet, my fair Rose," he whispered as we continued to dance.
I fluttered my eyelashes at him. "Then I suppose you will have to teach me, Captain Sparrow," I replied with a rather naughty smile.
Jack growled in the back of his throat as he continued to lead Rose through the dance, trying to mask his need for her by focusing on the steps and movements of the waltz. It worked for a little while, but when she looked at him that way, there was nothing he wanted more than to get out of there, his lovely lady once again tossed over his shoulder as he carried her off to their bed.
Finally, the dance ended, and before anything else could be done, Jack swung Rose over his shoulder and carried her off. She squealed in surprise even as their guests cheered him on, though Jack ignored all of them in favor of getting to their room faster. The journey upstairs seemed endless, but when he finally stopped before the door, he gently set Rose back on her feet.
"Now, I believe I shall carry you, my lovely bride, over the threshold so that we may have a rather scandalously fun evening," he said, grinning broadly.
Rose pretended to looked shocked at his words. "Why, Captain Sparrow!" she cried, clamping her hands over her cheeks in pretend horror.
He merely chuckled and reached behind her to open the door. Once the doorway was open, Jack quickly swept her up into his arms, beaming happily as he carried her inside and kicked the door shut behind him, Rose giggling all the while.
Sighing, I snuggled even deeper underneath the covers, my head resting on Jack's bare chest as his fingers combed through my hair. His other arm was wrapped around my waist and I savored the feel of his warm skin against mine, the sound of his heartbeat soothing me to the point of sleepiness. Outside, day had fallen into night, and I could see pale moonbeams come through the window, bathing everything in soft, white light.
"You know, you really are an amazing woman, darling," Jack whispered, his breath caressing my ear. "I didn't think I could wait to get you into this position, but now I'm glad I did!"
I chuckled and hugged him closer. "So I should assume that you weren't disappointed in me?" I teasingly asked, already knowing the answer.
"Lord, no!" he exclaimed, though he kept his voice soft. "No, most definitely not disappointed, luv."
"Oh, good," I said, closing my eyes. "So what happens now?"
I could tell he was puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked, his fingers stopping to tangle in my hair.
Not opening my eyes, I answered him. "I mean how long are we going to stay in India?"
After heaving a sigh, Jack was silent for a moment. "Perhaps another two weeks, maybe three, at most. We don't want to be intruding on poor Jan for too long, since feeding us is costing a fortune."
"Agreed," I said, beginning to drift off to sleep. "Will you hold me tonight, Jack?"
His chest rumbled as he chuckled. "Of course, luv," he whispered, his voice soothing to my ears. "I mean to hold you every night for the rest of our lives."
As Rose drifted off to sleep, Jack stared at the ceiling, his heart filled with love and worry. He didn't want to take Rose away from the safety of India, but he knew he must. She would never forgive him if he forced her to stay here while he sailed away on the Pearl. How could he deny her anything, especially when she wanted to stay by his side and sail as a pirate?
'Knowing her, she'd probably follow me on the first ship to the Caribbean!' he thought as he gazed down at her sleeping form.
No, they would all have to leave India soon and return to their place in the Caribbean. It was their home, and it was where he hoped to start a new life with Rose standing at his side. The problem was that most of his enemies, including Gerry, were back there, and he didn't want Rose caught in the middle. As he fell into sleep, Jack made the solemn vow to always protect her life…even at the risk of his own.
AN: Yup, they're heading back to the Caribbean soon! More fun and stuff to come, review!