Obligatory disclaimer: The Mouse owns all, save my own original characters.
A/N: Thank you once again for all your kind words. The end is in sight, so the next posting might be a bit delayed as I do a bit of final editing, so thank you for your patience in advance!
James was once a pirate. James once sailed with Captain Jack Sparrow, be it under duress or by choice. James handed the heart of Davy Jones into the hands of Cutler. Because of that, James was reinstated as a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. James was a member of the Royal Navy who faced off against the last of the pirates. James was once engaged to Elizabeth Swann, daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann, who left her privileged life to sail under a pirate flag. James was not the man the man that I thought he was. But who is that exactly?
James…
As Julia was trying to slow her racing thoughts, she rose from the bench and made her way back to the swing. Sitting on it, she grasped the rope and rested her chin on her hand, ruminating over the events of the last half hour or so, her toes tracing designs in the dirt. The captain was here, in Charles Towne, and offering to give up his life at sea. And while the thought of that was plenty of food for thought on its own, he had to go and spring this… monumental reveal on her. Julia closed her eyes and sighed.
Caught up in the whirlwind of thoughts racing through her head, Julia was unaware that steps crunched across fallen twigs, ending just a few feet behind her. The abrasive voice caught her off guard and caused her to launch out of the swing with a start.
"'Tis a fine evening, is it not? I can see why you are out here amongst the trees rather than inside, crushed in a sea of people. Although I am grateful that I can speak to you out here – alone – for every man wants nothing more than to find himself the sole target of a woman's attention."
Julia spun around, the voice familiar but not easily recognizable. Before her, too close, was Thaddeus Cobb, his forearm braced against the tree as he casually waited for Julia to respond.
"Cobb!" The amount of hatred she emoted in the single word surprised even Julia.
The white of his teeth gleamed in the moonlight, amusement painting his features. Pushing himself off the tree, he walked a wide arc around Julia, silently appraising her before responding. "I would prefer if you called me Thaddeus."
Julia backed away from the man circling her, her eyes never leaving his face. She was angry with herself for letting anyone sneak up on her and vowed to keep as much distance between the two of them as possible before she made a dash back to the house. "And I would prefer if you left me alone. And since we both know that will not happen…"
Cobb shook his head, stilling his movement, the smile still plastered to his face. "Tsk, tsk, Julia. You are reentering society after your period of mourning. You are out here. Alone. If anyone's motives were to be questioned, it would not be mine. Some might even say that you are asking for company…" His voice was low and menacing, full of the promise of danger. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and a shiver of fear raced down her spine.
But it would do no good, and quite a bit of harm, if she showed any bit of panic. So, instead, Julia attempted to appear nonchalant and bored. "And out of all the places in the world, may I inquire as to what brought you here?"
An eyebrow rose in amusement and the smile turned into a smug grin. Scratching the back of his neck, as if contemplating her question, Cobb wondered for a moment if it was worth the verbal dance they were participating in. But he then realized that the longer the pursuit, the sweeter the victory. "Is it not obvious? I wish to finish what we started before we were so rudely interrupted by the captain. You know, I watched you enter the party and it was all I could do to keep from bounding down the stairs and taking you then and there when you took off your cloak. I just wanted to keep taking your layers of clothing off, like layers of an onion." Cobb laced his fingers together, rotated his wrists and listened with satisfaction as the joints all crackled and popped.
Julia hoped that the color blanching from her face was not noticeable in the darkness. "An onion? How… poetic. And just how were you able to find me?" Julia made a point of ignoring the implied threat to her body. She also figured that if she were able to keep him talking, at some point she would be able to make a dash into the darkness and elude Cobb in the shadows of unfamiliar ground.
Cobb had to give the woman credit for staying cool under pressure. In that regard, he was almost disappointed in her lack of emotion. However, still water always ran deep. "The world is smaller than you think. Besides, you ask around enough, one is able to find information on just about anyone. You, surprisingly, were more complex than I gave you credit for. But easier than I thought to find. Although, how difficult is it to find a widow who just recently returned from Jamaica here in Charles Towne?" His massive shoulders rose and fell in a casual shrug.
Then, out of nowhere, Cobb made quick work of closing the distance between them. Julia back-stepped hastily, stopping only when a tree ended her retreat. Her hands instinctively scrambled over the rough bark, but she knew better than to make a run for it. So instead, she encircled a branch with her hand, prepared to rip it free from the tree to use as a weapon. Cobb reached out and fingered a loose tendril of her hair, his eyes never leaving her blue ones.
His breath was warm on her cheek. Julia could not help wincing from the contact, although she desperately hoped that in his anger her flinch went unnoticed by Cobb. "Are you mad?" Her voice wavered as the words came out in an anguished whisper and her blood turned to ice water as fear coursed through her body.
Cobb rubbed her hair between his fingers before leaning forward and smelling the strand. A smile ghosted across his lips as he contemplated an answer. Dropping her hair and slamming his hand past her head so that it landed on the tree trunk behind her left ear, Cobb leaned in so close that Julia was convinced that she could feel his whiskers against her skin. She involuntarily shuddered when he whispered, "At you? No. But you will bear the brunt of my anger." He was being intentionally obtuse, knowing she was questioning his sanity – or lack thereof.
Julia closed her eyes, afraid of asking, but having to know the answer. "Why me?" It was not as if she had never been forced to lay with a man against her will before – her husband had demanded bedding many times when Julia was either too exhausted or too ill. But Cobb would have no problem finding a willing bedmate, so why was he here?
Cobb laughed from deep within his belly. And as quickly as the amusement appeared, it disappeared just as quickly. His voice was pure venom when he replied, "I bore ten lashes for touching you. You shall repay me for the blood I spilt. I am here to settle a debt." He had taken her as being smarter than this.
Before Julia could respond, a voice cut through the night, smooth, deep and silky – and brutal in its fury. "I think not."
Without thinking, Julia spun around to see James not more than an arm's width away, his hand resting on the hilt of his cutlass. Her heart leapt to her throat as her blood raced through her veins. To say that she had never been so happy to see anyone in her life would not begin to express her gratitude. "James!"
The joy in her voice and the light in her eyes warmed his bones. But in the time James made his presence known, Cobb had reached out and grabbed a hold of Julia, dragging her against his body and using her as a barrier between the two men.
A gasp rushed past Julia's lips as Cobb hissed, "Norrington, this does not concern you, but, yet again, you feel the need to interfere. This time, however, I have no need to listen to you. I highly suggest that you pretend that you saw nothing and go back to the party." Cobb's finger dug into her arms so painfully that Julia cried out, much to her dismay; she had wanted to appear more stoic and unconcerned.
Even in the darkness, Julia could see James' brow quirk upwards. A smirk twisted his lips. Not wanting to antagonize the man holding Julia as a cordon, James nonetheless refused to budge an inch. "And I highly suggest that you let go of Missus Ramage."
"Or what?"
The words hung in the darkness and Julia could not hold back a shudder. Why did she send James away? Why did she not even have a knife on her person like she normally did? Why did she not struggle? Why would her mind not slow down so that she could think of a way to get herself out of the mess she was in?
James wet his lips and shook his head. Clasping his hands behind his back, James turned away from Julia and Cobb, an attempt to lull Cobb into a false sense of security with the hopes that his grasp on Julia would loosen. However, his words were anything but casual. "Or… I shall finish what I began on the deck that afternoon. And only one of us will be walking Julia back to the house. And it shall not be you." James looked pointedly at the man holding Julia in his grip, refusing to let Cobb see the fear that was twisting his stomach into knots.
With more distance opening up between the two men, Cobb did indeed relax his grip on Julia's arms, but did not release her. "Is that a threat?"
Julia's body strummed with even more tension now that his grip had loosened, for she was just waiting for a chance to bolt. Swallowing hard, she mentally willed James to rescue her, but he seemed to be taking his own sweet time.
James stopped and looked at Cobb. If he could take the focus off of Julia and place it on himself, James knew he could best Cobb. But until Julia was out of that bastard's grip… "No. Not a threat. A promise." Grimly, he clenched his jaw, pure hatred burning in his emerald eyes.
Cobb's laugh traveled up and down her spine, sending out fingers of fear in a that circulated though her body in a continuous loop. "Then I shall take great pleasure in making you break that promise. And then I shall step over your broken body and have my way with this whore."
James' hand went back to his cutlass and he took a menacing step forward. "Over my dead body…"
"As I just said..." With a smile threatening to split his face in two, Cobb pushed Julia so hard that she stumbled and fell to the ground. By the time she was able to stand upright, both men were circling each other, waiting for the other to strike first.
With a roar, Cobb pulled his own sword and rushed forward like a wild man. James was furious with himself as he barely got his blade up in time as steel slid against steel. With a grunt, James pushed Cobb with all his might and watched with satisfaction as Cobb tripped over a root as he scrambled to stay upright.
James circled, keeping a full body length between the two of them, his sword extended toward Cobb's throat. His hand and arm were relaxed, unlike Cobb's, who held his sword much higher than was comfortable… or necessary. James wanted to thank the man but thought it would only incite Cobb further.
Shaking his head to clear his mind of such frivolous thoughts, James got himself back in the moment. Winning a fight was not only due to skill with the sword, but also complete concentration. He was lucky so far, but luck did not save your arm from a steel blade. Where is he looking? Wherever he is looking, cover. This damn darkness makes seeing anything nigh on impossible. How is he standing? His shoulders are tensing, so wait, wait… there is the attack.
James deflected a powerful swing aimed for his arm, but then counterstriked and kept Cobb under pressure by maintaining a barrage of blows that threatened to exhaust both of them quickly. James hoped that the pressure would be enough to cause a mistake on Cobb's part.
Sure enough, Cobb left himself open and James was able to draw blood on his opponent's arm, but Cobb, despite grimacing in pain, ignored the wound and fought on. But the injury did restrict Cobb's range of movement. However, James refused to let the fight consist of single thrusts and instead kept up a torrent of combination strikes. Even though it had been several years since he had to take up arms against another, James was pleased that his fighting was a smooth, flowing progression of movement.
James was also pleased that Cobb was beginning to look tired; sweat beaded on his opponent's forehead and his arm had a bit of a shake as the muscles screamed in protest. Then, the opening James was waiting for – Cobb stumbled. With a turn of his wrist, James was able to disarm Cobb. Cobb's sword arced through the air and landed several feet away as Cobb fell heavily.
James panted as he leaned over Cobb, his sword kissing the fallen man's throat. "Do you yield?"
Hatred swelled in Cobb's eyes. With a grunt, Cobb's fingers dug into the earth, then he rolled onto his back and threw dirt into James' eyes. James stumbled from his momentary blindness and Cobb was after him like a dog on a bone.
Julia saw a glint in the darkness where moonlight reflected off metal and she realized that Cobb had had pulled a knife. It took all of her willpower not to scream out for James to be careful, but she knew it would be distracting if she yelled out a warning. But she could not let James find out the hard way. Quietly, Julia alerted, "Knife. Left hand."
James nodded his head in acknowledgement and Julia let out a little of the deep breath she was holding in.
Cobb took a swing at James' head, the blade whistling through the night, but James deftly sidestepped the charge.
It occurred to Julia to run back to the house and get help, but she felt like a moth drawn to a flame. Two men were fighting over her – her! – and Julia could not bear to look away. However, Julia found it ironic that one man was fighting to bed her and the other, who already had that honor, was fighting to prevent said bedding.
Then it dawned on Julia that there were rocks about the size of her head bordering the cemetery. If she was able to get behind Cobb without him realizing it, Julia hoped to crack him upside the head with a stone, hopefully rendering him unconscious rather than angering him to the point of her murder. No point thinking about anything other than ending the fight as soon as possible.
Julia grabbed fistfuls of skirt and ran for the graveyard. Swallowing hard, she pried a stone loose and hid the stone in the borrowed jacket she still wore. Scrambling to her feel, Julia hurried back to the fight and stayed out of Cobb's line of sight as much as possible. However, the two men were locked together in a slow-moving dance, a fist occasionally escaping from the bear hug to land a punch.
Gliding as quietly as she could and maneuvering herself behind Cobb, Julia took a deep breath. Please do not let me hit James by accident. Raising the rock above her head, Julia closed her eyes and brought it down onto Cobb's head with as much force as possible.
