The door rattled: someone was coming. She hurried to hide behind the mule as a young man entered. He seemed so familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. His dark chocolate brown hair dangled before his eyes. He drew a sword and started swinging it around skillfully. "Ha! Take that filthy pirate!" he said and then he started to clean it.
The mule started moving and she moved with it. "Bloody mule," she whispered. It stepped on her dress and she fell over. Isabella attempted to gather her dress in her hands as to not expose her identity but it was too late.
"Who's there? Reveal yourself!" he said looking around the room for movement. Then he spotted a bluish fabric and sighed. "A girl…" he walked over to the clumsy body behind the mule but the girl moved away.
"Don't touch me," she said. Her face was covered in dirt and blood streamed down her arms.
"What have you been up to?" he said jokingly, moving the hair from her face. He stopped. "Isabella?" he said stepping back realizing that it was her.
"Y-Yes…" she said suspiciously.
"It's me, Will," he said looking at her hazel eyes. It would kill him if she didn't know it was him.
There was silence between them in which Will breathed heavily and hesitantly. Isabella stared at him and without wasting anymore time she said, "Will Turner? You sleazy animal! Do you know how many nights I cried for you to write a stinking letter?" She gathered her dress and ran out. He chased after her. Isabella turned the corner to find herself looking straight into a pirate's eyes. She turned away and found herself being pulled into an alley, Will's warm hand clasped around her wrist. Her dress ripped even more so that it was above her ankles. He opened his mouth to say something, an apology it would seem, but then they heard voices.
"Forget the wench. Get some rum and then to the ship. And believe me, men; I will leave you behind if I must. Savvy?" He turned to look at them. They stood there. "What are you waiting for?" he said and waved his hands around like a madman. Captain Jack chuckled and stumbled through the streets.
"Jack…" Will said as he clutched Isabella's hands in his. He hadn't realized he was doing it.
"You know him?" she said grasping his attention once more. Will now realized how much he missed her voice and the beautiful woman she had turned out to be. Her cascading brunette curls framed her face perfectly and those eyes of hers that had always weakened him, nearly made him fall in awe.
"Yes. We met aboard the black pearl-"
"So you're now a pirate?!" she said thinking that the more she talked to him the more she learned about his low-life ways.
"No it's not what you think I went aboard to save…" he stopped. He was suddenly reminded of Elizabeth.
"To save…?" she asked. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." She let go of him and started walking down the alley.
This time he didn't know whether to go after her or not.
He had to know what she meant. What promise had he made that he had not kept? He promised to love her which was easily done. He had promised to write to her which he had obviously done. What else was there?
He started to chase after her but she ran fast now that her dress let her legs maneuver. As she turned to look back at him she bumped into a man with a red coat.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he said coming closer to her. She backed away breathing heavily, afraid that this man would return her to Fernando. She turned around to encounter another red coated soldier.
"Let her go!" Will said shoving the soldier away. The other soldier boldly pushed Will to the ground as Isabella watched helplessly.
"Back off dirty peasant!" He gave him a hard kick in the stomache and Will tossed over clutching his body, staring at Isabella as if to apologize for not being able to save her. The guard took Isabella's wrists and put them behind her back. She tugged and pulled. Will lay on the ground grasping his arm. The fall onto the hard, cold, stone floor wasn't exactly the most comfortable.
"Isabella…" he said picking himself up. The redcoat drew his sword.
"I tried telling you once; now, back off!" he kicked him down and the two redcoats put Isabella into the carriage that had pulled up behind them.
"As for you, your father has been terribly worried about you. How dare you run off with a pirate. You're just a filthy-"
"Don't finish that sentence. You will regret it." She said gritting her teeth and pulling loose of his hold. The redcoat nodded bitterly and jumped into the carriage.
Once again Will got up and ran after the carriage he got a hold of the back and started to lose his grip but he didn't let go. He couldn't risk losing her again.
They rode through the city to the Governor's home. Will found the road familiar and realized their destination. He also realized that he'd have to face Elizabeth without having explained to Isabella the circumstances. He couldn't let that happen. How could he get her to be alone with him?
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Isabella sat in the carriage in between the two redcoats so that she wouldn't be able to jump off.
"Do you mind?" she said motioning towards the cuffs.
"Oh, right." He took out his key and unlocked it. Isabella rubbed her wrists. She saw the cut in her hand where the fabric from her dress had been. She looked at her dress which was now just below her knees from all the rips. As she looked down she had noticed a discoloration on the floor: her blood. The nail she had stepped on. Isabella hadn't noticed all of her injuries until she had this moment of stillness.
"Mighty bad wounds you got there," one of the men smiled taking out a handkerchief and wrapping it around her hand.
Just as he finished tying it, the carriage came to a stop and the redcoat jumped out offering his hand to her. She glanced at it and got down by herself dismissing his help. Isabella pulled back her hair in the neatest way possible and started towards the steps following the two men.
Will slipped away to the back where the servants were. He stumbled through the bushes surrounding the home and the many trees whose branches had cut his arms quite a bit. As he approached the door a woman had spotted him.
"Francois is that you? Finally!" she opened the door for him and looked at his wardrobe. "Where is your uniform? Oh, nevermind. Here." She put her hands on her hips and Will looked down at the uniform. "What are you waiting for? Chop, chop."
He entered the home dodging the soldiers and changed. This could work to his advantage. He hadn't figured out how exactly, but it would. He washed his face and looked in the mirror. Elizabeth would recognize him instantly. His hair looked so different without the ponytail. He had cut it recently in hopes of joining the army but Elizabeth had begged him not to.
"This way, miss," a servant led Isabella into a heavily ornate room where two men sat drinking.
After pulling the clothes on and washing the little hair he had left, Will exited the bathroom. A man carrying towels and bed sheets walked past him. He hesitated for a moment and then stopped him.
"Where are you going with those?" Will asked praying for the answer he coveted.
"To the guest's suite; Miss Isabella." The opposing servant responded. Will grinned successfully and took the items from the servants.
"Don't you worry yourself. I'll do it for you." He said mischievously, heading out of the servants' quarters.
"Why thank you, sir." The other man waved, still wondering what had caused Will's strange behavior.
Will looked around never had he been in such a wonderful place. The house was primarily white but with impeccable architecture. He walked up the stairs now guessing at which room was the guest room. He had been in this house once before. He knew which room was Elizabeth's and which room was the Governor's but he had no idea regarding the other ten rooms.
He heard voices from below and decided he should hurry before anybody recognized him. He turned right on the hallway and saw Elizabeth. Will immediately turned away into the opposite hallway and opened the first door he saw. The room was vacant and empty. On the grandly large bed covered with a crème colored quilt was a single piece of parchment. He opened it and read it. There was a name engraved on it; Isabella's. He had chosen the correct room. Will placed the towels and bedding on the desk and awaited her arrival.
He pretended to make the bed just in case anybody walked in. After a few minutes, he heard various footsteps approaching the second floor and now he was anxious. What would he say after so long? After ages of unspoken words that should have been said he didn't know what to do. Every time he was around her, he forgot who he was. He was just Will, a boy in love with a girl.
The door opened and Will held his breath. There she was, her hair now braided. It didn't seem as if she noticed him because she didn't react to his presence.
"Can you make sure there's hot water, please?" Isabella said absentmindedly.
"Isabella." After hearing his voice, she knew it was him. Will moved closer to her but she was unsure of what she should do. She hated feeling vulnerable; strength was key. "Isabella, I'm sorry for whatever I did."
"It's what you didn't do." She replied. Seeing that Will remained confused, she continued. "You never wrote to me, once. You promised me, you would. You said you would love me forever but you didn't." Isabella said. Her voice grew lower and lower, sadness dripping with every syllable.
"What are you talking about? I wrote to you every single day for two years. You never answered any of them. I thought-I thought you had forgotten me." Will admitted. Isabella sighed.
"Will…" she cupped his face in her perfectly soft hands. "I could never forget you. But how do I know you aren't lying?" She was in a distraught state, unknowing of what she should believe.
"Because Isabella-" He paused, holding her hands. She was now sitting down on the bed and he crouched before her. As he got ready to say the next few words, he caressed her cheek and smiled. "Because I never stopped loving you."
She smiled sweetly at him, running her fingers through his hair soothingly. He closed his eyes, and stood at her feet. Will wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight secure embrace. Isabella breathed in his scent now seeing how much she had needed it. Now, he attempted a kiss, mere contact with her smooth lips. He looked at her eyes again then back at her lips. His hand at her neck and he bent in to taste the warmth that she gave him. She let him kiss her. Even if she wanted to stop him, she couldn't. It was like for a moment nothing was broken, nothing was wrong and they were on that beach again simply loving one another. His fingers trembled at the touch of her skin just like it used to. After years of waiting, she was in his arms again.