A beautiful lie... A beautiful lie... Was I sure about this? Did I really think that I could marry a man of his nature? A pirate? An outlaw of the King? Could I live a life on the run? With Jack I could... "Hold still, Christina!"
"But I can't breathe!"
"You've lived with it all your life, you can handle it now!" The air was slowly, with every pull of the already taught string, disappearing from my lungs, making it most difficult to breathe as I stood there. Elizabeth stood behind me, tightening and tightening as every second went by until I felt I would explode into a thousand ribbons. I put my hand to my breasts, breathing quickly now.
I turned to Elizabeth, shaking my head. "And how you learned to wear these all the time, I will never know." I shook my head, sighing again and turning back to the mirror of Jack's cabin. We had stopped at a port, Jack having gone ashore for "supplies" needed. I was not allowed out of the cabin, nor allowed to see Jack from the beginning of the day until the sun was setting that night, as it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before a wedding. I turned back to the mirror, the sun lowering slowly but surely in the window next to me. I suddenly turned to Elizabeth, taking hold of one of her shoulders.
"Elizabeth... I'm nervous! Why am I so nervous?!" Elizabeth smiled calmly, placing her hands on my shoulders.
"You're fine Christy." she said slowly, "Fine... Come on, now. Into your dress." I took the dress from her and began trying to slip it over my head. The process was anything but simple, having to pull up the small cage that hung around my waist and then the skirt above that, and finally the dress. My waist, now synched with a corset was now twice as small as it was and, beginning at my hips, the skirt flowed out around me, though not too far to where Jack would not be able to get near me. I turned to the mirror and smiled slightly. The dress was of a white, tinted a champagne color. The sleeves of the dress stopped at my elbow and a small trumpet sleeve came from each end, falling just to my hand. The skirt of the dress was layered and synched in various places, giving it less of a smooth, glossy look and more of a decorative look. I looked at my face, radiant and worried at the same time, making it look a bit odd though still surpassable and quite capable of saying pretty. I sighed slowly, brushing one of the many curls hanging from my half up hair into my face, framing it and making my eyes sparkle as they were more visible. I smiled, wringing my hands together as I pulled on my cloak and hood, a gift from my father that I had always held so dear to me. We had affixed a small veil to cover my face in the front and Elizabeth had sewn the cloak's fabric longer to make it drag on the floor as if a train. I pulled the veil over my face and turned to Elizabeth, who was holding my bouquet of roses, red and white.
The sound of the wind blowing through the sails of the Black Pearl was all I needed for an organ opening, though not a year ago I would have thought otherwise. I breathed a shaky breath as Elizabeth exited the door in front of me, taking Will's arm as they walked down the aisle together and took their places in the front. Will was to be Jack's best man and Elizabeth was to be my "maid of honor" as she called herself. I caught a glance of Jack, his face turned toward the door, somehow looking for me as well. I turned my eyes to the right, my gaze drifting away from him as the crew smiled. I caught sight of a figure at the end of the aisle but, before I could see him clearly, the doors closed and I was left to stand alone and count to thirty. One... Twenty seven... Twenty nine... "Thirty." I whispered and put my hand to the door, pushing it open slightly. Glenn, who had been standing on the other side, pulled it open for me and I walked out into the sunset light. Ana-Maria's intake of breath was not lost as I stepped out of the room.
The gentle lap of the waves on the side of the ship calmed me as I walked out of Jack Sparrow's cabin, breathing slowly, so as not to let my nerves get the best of me. Looking over I smiled, taking Edmund Ricci's large, extended arm. I had told this pirate that if I could not have my father there, he would be. I looked straight ahead and held back a smile and a laugh.
On either side of the aisle that had been built, a white carpet going to the helm of the ship, were the crew and other visitors. We were not a mile from the shores of Tortuga, the island visible out of the corner of my eyes and it seemed that every pirate on the island wanted to come and see the great Jack Sparrow married. I looked dead ahead and held back the original laugh.
Gibbs was standing behind a very panic stricken looking priest, who was standing under the helm of the ship. Jack stood beside him, his normal pirate clothes on... though he did look a bit cleaner. I smiled at his crooked smirk as he looked at me and continued down the aisle, the clunk of Edmund's wooden leg ringing out, smiling widely.
I did not pay attention to the priest and what he was saying as I stood there, hand in hand with Jack, seemingly to have lightning circling around our joined hands. He looked somewhat impatient, whereas I was only happy that this was happening to me on the Black Pearl... with Jack, and not in some church with John Walker. I suppressed a shiver and looked back up at Jack through the veil on my head, long and trailing to the floor, though not trailing on the ground.
"J-Jack Sparrow, do you take th-this Miss Christina Ricci to b-be your w-w-wife?" The priest was shaking as he turned his frightened and rigged short body to Jack. The Captain of the Black Pearl, his soft, dark, brown eyes looking into my ocean blue ones with something that I had never seen before in his eyes... sincerity, smiled.
"I do."
"And d-do you... Christina Ricci... take this," I smiled at him reassuringly, giving a warning glance to Gibbs, who pulled the gun away. The priest nearly collapsed with relief, "Jack Sparrow... to be your husband?"
A flicker of doubt... a pirate...
"I do." Jack pulled the veil over my head gently.
"I now pronounce you man and wife... you may -"
Jack wasted no time in capturing my lips with his, his hands nearly rough on my neck, mine on his face. A tear ran down my cheek and I laughed as he pulled away from me, the entire crew erupting into cheer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he picked me up by my waist, twirling me around. The priest looked happy, though desperately like he wanted to get back to the port that we had taken him from. I smiled, thanking him and ordering someone to take him back to shore quickly.
Turning back to Jack, I looked into his eyes, silent...
It was final.
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The air blew back my hair as I stood at the front of the ship, my wedding dress gone and having been replaced with a short dress (down to my mid-thigh, actually) and black knee high boots that we had gotten in Tortuga. My face, for the first time that day through the parties and the celebrations, was constricted with pain... How could I tell him?
An arm around my waist and a pair of lips on the back of my neck brought me back to life as I felt a hand run down my side and onto my bare leg. It was well against my culture to have any leg showing but I did not care.
"What are you doing out here all alone?" Jack's voice was still his same old joking, cocky, foolish voice, but perhaps gentler at the sight of my face.
"Thinking..." I hesitated but I knew he willed me to go on, "About..." I turned I his arm to look at him, suddenly stepping away from him and leaning on the front of the ship, looking down
"Jack," I said rather abruptly, "We're going... well we're going to die one day, right?" Jack cocked his head to the side, frowning.
"Not if I can help it, but if we must then yes."
"And - and when we do... you want someone to take over the ship, right? Someone who you can trust to do it, right?"
"Of course luv, but what are you -?"
"I'm pregnant." It came out quickly and my eyes widened at the bluntness that I felt in my words. I had wanted to sugar coat it... but what would that have done?
I dared look up at Jack, who still had his head tilted to the side. His eyebrows were contracted together, his eyes tight. One of his hands reached up and took off his hat as he scratched his head. I looked back down, putting one hand on my stomach, suddenly feeling rather sick.
"Pregnant?" his voice sounded anything but happy and I looked up at him, for some reason feeling quite ashamed. I stopped myself. Was it all my fault? Why was this so bad?
"Yes."
There was a long pause and Jack turned abruptly, stalking across the deck and toward out cabin. I rushed forward, grabbing his arm. "Jack!" I exclaimed, pulling him around, "What's the matter? What is so wrong with it?" Jack ripped his arm from my grasp.
"Away!" he yelled and turned himself again, rushing into our cabin. I was left standing there rather stupidly, wringing my hands. A few of the crew members, having been put back to work, looked at me with confusion, perhaps even a little disappointment at the happy mood that radiated the ship before being blown up. I hid my tears and turned, furiously climbing up the net and onto the crow's nest, huddling myself on the ground and putting my head in my arms.
Why did this have to happen?
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Footsteps, a figure climbing over the edge of the crow's nest, made me look up to see Jack there, kneeling in front of me. I looked at him for a few moments before turning my head. A pair of fingers touched my face, turning me to look back at him. I did so, my bottom lip quivering.
Jack pressed his lips to mine, gentle and caring and I knew, without the words, that this was his apology.
"Christina," I looked at him, my yes hopeful yet my mind wary, "I want nothing... nothing more... than to share a child with you. A little pirate to take over the Black Pearl." I smiled, sniffing and crying and put my arms around him, laughing and kissing him again.
"A little pirate." I agreed.