A/N: ...Sorry, I said I'd get it up sooner, I've been working on another story, too. But anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter! Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I, do not own Jack, The Pearl, Crew, exct..
Isabelle's pov:
I was in a cavern, standing next to a child who couldn't have been older than four. The cavern looked familiar: It's walls had strange native pictures; the walls were a dank grey; and the floors were covered in gold and treasure, and weapons of all kinds imbedded with rubies and gemstones.
I studied the child's face. She had golden curls reaching just past her ears, and she was wearing a white nightgown with gold lace trimmings. The girl had large, dark brown eyes. Her expression was blank.
It was me. Suddenly a man appeared from one of the cave's corridors, carrying a piece of parchment with writings I couldn't make out on it. The man was tall, he had black hair and a black beard, and wore the usual pirate garb. But there was some air about this man that told you: He isn't to be reckoned with.
The man neatly folded the paper up, handing it to the child-me. The child-me took it and put it inside one of the nightgown's pockets. The man took her hand, and they both walked out of the cave. I squinted after them. I didn't recall that ever happening in my childhood, but the parchment looked very familiar. And it seemed too real to just be a dream.
Then I remembered. The same paper was in my lace wood box, inside Jack's cabin.
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There was a faint whisper, like someone was right beside me, talking to me. It distinctively got louder and louder, until it was at normal volume.
"Isabelle? Isabelle, can you hear me?" A voice was calling. I didn't know who it was at first, but then recognition raked through me. It was Anamaria.
I was cold, and my lower body felt strangely light. My eyes opened slowly, squinting in the light of the candles. Anamaria was sitting on a stool, looking at me with concern.
"Isabelle?" She asked.
I moaned, remembering that I had fell and hit my head. It was throbbing madly, each pulse making me dizzy. I gripped the edges of the thing I was sitting in.
"Oh!" I gasped, I had just realized I was in a bath tub. I covered myself with my hands, looking for a towel.
"Don't be silly." Anamaria said, chuckling. "How are you feeling?" I relaxed, realizing I was being childish, and let my head relax on the head of the tub. How was I feeling? Upset, most definitely, because all that happened. And foolish. I had clearly overreacted. But why had I acted in such a rash way?
Because I like him. And he had said he had come back so I could help him find the Immortal Stone piece.
That got me in a huff, and I folded my arms across my chest. "Hello? I asked you how you were feeling?" Ana called.
I glared at the tub's porcelain walls, thinking about just how stupid I was.
"Hello?!" Ana yelled. "Do you have brain damage?!"
That got my attention. I turned to her, just remembering she was here. I smiled.
"Hello. Yes, I'm fine... I just want to kill something, is all." Yes, that would solve all my problems, I thought sarcastically.
"Well that can certainly be arranged..." Ana said.
"What?" I asked, curious, but Ana just turned away, grabbed a towel, hung it on the side of the tub, and said, "Clean up your hair. It's a mess." She turned to leave.
"Wait!" I called after her. She turned back, looking at me expectantly.
"Ahh... I have a bit of an anger problem... Will you tell Jack to meet me in his cabin later?"
"Sure. But its late. If you stay in that too long, you'll catch cold." Ana said, disapprovingly.
I smiled, waving. When she shut the door, I was still fuming. And my hair was more than a mess. And my head hurt terribly.
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Several minutes later, I was out on deck, shaking my wet hair furiously like a dog does when he is wet. Jack must be in his cabin by now, I thought, walking over to his cabin. It was a dark night, the clouds covering the moon. Occasionally, the yellow light would radiate down, brightening the deck and sails, only to be blocked out again. The whole thing made me dizzy, so I quickened my pace.
What was I going to say? I didn't know, but I knew I needed to talk sensibly to him, because I was a member on his ship, and until we made port and I could leave, forgetting about him and my past, I had to at least sort this predicament out.
I furrowed my brows. Should I really apologize? I should at least hear what he has to say.
I knocked on the large wooden door, still unknowing. Should I tell him I like him? I sounded like a ninny school girl, about to confess my feelings for the guy I loved. I scolded myself. "Come in, Isabelle." A rough voice called from inside.
I went in, closing the door silently. Jack was sitting on his bed, gesturing me to sit by him. The whole site made me angry again, but I held it in this time. Instead of sitting next to him, I sat in his chair by his desk, facing it towards him. This gave me a wide berth in case I got out of hand again.
Jacks face was blank, showing no emotion. I wondered what he was thinking. Probably what a stupid little girl I was, and how he was a fool for ever bringing me on his ship. I held my head down, staring at my tan boots.
Jack sighed. "Still upset then?" I nodded. How could I not be?
"Look, Isabelle, I'm not one for apologies. It may come out wrong. Actually, everything I say may come out wrong." I peeked up, and he was frowning. And, once again, he was uncomfortable.
There was a long awkward silence. I couldn't possibly tell him I liked him, could I? Then again, Jack probably expects it. There are girls swooning over him all across the seas.
"What I'm trying to say, love, is that I am... Sorry." He paused, drawing more breath. "This morning, I didn't get a chance to explain fully... The current situation."
"Which is?" I asked, drawing more courage from his hesitant-ness.
"Well. I do not want to use you. So, I would be honored if you became part of my crew." He finished. I could see he wasn't telling me something else.
I laughed. "Me, a pirate?" I asked. I found that hysterical. Jack shot me a look like I was crazy. Which is ironic.
"Well, It is in your blood, now, isn't it?"
I stopped laughing. Oh, yes, it was most definitely part of my blood. I guess it wouldn't matter if I joined, since I was technically one anyway. "Why not?" I replied tartly. All thoughts of leaving washed away from me. I would stay and help with the quest. I would stay and get closer to Jack. I would stay and he would't love me.
But I still got to stay, so why not?
"So where are my quarters?" I asked, not wanting to intrude any longer. What if he thought he ghastly?
"Right, follow me." Jack said.
"Wait!" I said, standing up and lifting my lace wood box up. It was slightly more heavy than I thought it would be, and I swooned forward. Jack scooped it out of my arms, and caught my hand. I blushed.
"Still a little disoriented from blood loss." He said, as if noting it too himself. With a smirk, he led me out of his cabin and walked below deck. There was a hallway in this level. The hallway held six doors, three on each side and parallel to one another.
"Pick one. Except for that one." He said, nodding to the middle one on the left side. "That's Anamaria's room. This level is for the woman. Wouldn't want the crew getting to friendly, would we?" He asked sardonically. I didn't answer. Thinking about that made me queasy. I walked to the farthest one on the right side, and went in, Jack following me.
It was a medium sized room, equipped with a bed and bureau. There was a Persian rug on the area not covered, its yellows and reds and blues clashing in elaborate designs, brown in the background. It was lovely. I turned and smiled at him, Jack smiled back. He walked over and set the box on a chair, which was against a wall and facing my bed.
"Goodnight, Jack." I said as he stepped out, and I closed the door.
"Goodnight, Izzy." I heard him say. I sat on the bed and stared at the box. There was so much I didn't say, and most likely things he didn't either. I frowned, but then brightened up. I would have a long time with him. I didn't have to tell him yet, and I didn't have to rush into anything either. It felt good having choices.
I took off the tan boots, setting them by the bureau. Than I changed into some clothes I found in its drawers, because mine were bloody still. I set them atop it, I would have to wash them sometime. I wonder whose clothes they had been? They didn't look worn, and they were similar to the same attire I was previously wearing.
Then I thought about my strange dream, or really, lost memory. I wonder how many things I can't remember? Or if I surpressed them? A chill ran down my spine. I opened the lace wood box, gently ruffling through the old and worn objects. The box, probably the nicest thing I had, stored objects I had gathered and had value to me.
I finally found the parchment from my dream, the oldest thing I had. It was instructions of some sort, something I wanted to read but couldn't make out in the dim candle light.
I will wait until morning, I thought, where I can read it well and wont strain my eyes. For I was very tired, and the back of my head still pounded horribly, I decided I needed to sleep. So I set the parchment on the top of the bureau, and crawled gently into my bed.
It was not comfortable, not like Jack's bed, but it held a familiar scent I recognized as lavender. I breathed deeply, settling in, and drifted in and out of strange dreams, each one holding little meaning and little sense.