Another flashback chapter! It'll be long, but oh well. And the first flashback is set a year before Will meets Elizabeth.
"...I should have told you the moment I met you. I love you."
-London, England-
-May 25, 1714-
The perky little eight year old bounced down the streets of a small town in London. Her mother was visiting her friend Alena, which Lila couldn't say that she really minded. She was growing quite fond of Alena's son, William. And as close as they were, Lila knew that he wouldn't return those feelings. She made it down to a little pond behind the Turners' house and sat down, letting her feet rest in the water.
"Your mother's going to be mad at you." Came a voice from behind her. She didn't have to turn to see who it was. She knew. He came to stand beside her as she said, "Well, I hate this dress anyway. I don't care." Eleven year old Will came to sit beside her on the small deck. He was watching her as she kicked her legs back and forth and asked, "Are you really a princess? Or was your mummy lying?"
"No, I'm a princess." Lila said with a sigh as she stood up on the deck. Will was watching her as she did this, and followed her down the bridge as she said, "I don't want to be a princess though." She climbed up on to the bridge's rail, and began walking along the tall railing. If she fell, she would surely be carried down the currents. Will was watching her. He was worried, but he knew that even if he told her to stop, she would keep on doing it.
"What do you want to be?" Will asked her when they made it to the other side of the bridge. He reached up and took her hand, letting her lean on to him when she jumped down. When she was standing in front of him, she smiled and said, "A pirate." Will raised his eyebrows, but got where she was going at.
He chased her down the hill as she yelled, "You'll never get my treasure!" She picked up a stick and continued running down the path until she reached the pond once more. Since the bridge was past Will, she turned around to see that Will was holding out his 'sword' as he said, "Who says it's your treasure I'm after?"
They started sword fighting. Lila laughed and says, "Then what would you be after?" He smirked and said, "Your heart!" Lila smiled as she turned around fast and ran past him up to the house. He started laughing, and ran after her. The two of them kept running up the hill to the Turners' mansion as Lila called back to Will, "You'll never get it!"
"And why's that?" Will asked, getting closer and closer to her as he ran. She laughed again as she started running faster. Panting for breath, she said, "Because! I cut it out and locked it away in a chest far far away. On an island no one can find unless they've already been there." She turned back in time to see the young boy make a disgusted face, causing her to laugh as he said, "Then how do you know where the island is if no one can find it?" She turned the corner and yelled back at him, "Because I've already been there!"
When the two children made their way in to the front of the mansion, Lila saw their mothers walking out of the carriage, holding bags. Since Lila and her mother were staying a while with the Turners, her mother probably went shopping with Alena. Both of their mothers tuned out of their conversation when they heard Lila screaming, and Will in pursuit behind her.
"Oh, no." Alena said under her breath. "William, leave Lila alon-" But she never got a chance to finish her sentence, because Will nearly collided with her. "William! Honestly, darling. Leave Lila alone."
"But Mum! Lila said she cut her heart out and locked away in a chest." Will said as Alena took his sword and threw it to the ground. She glanced up at Amphitrite, now going by Anne, who was making a face at the sound of the story about her brother-in-law.
"William, no one can do that." Amphitrite said in a motherly tone as she sent a glare down to Lila who was hiding behind her for fear that Will would start chasing her again. "But Mum! She said that it was locked away in a chest-"
"William, honestly, darling. How on earth could a heart still beat when it's not inside you?" Alena asked her son as she licked her finger and began rubbing some of the dirt off of Will's face causing Lila to giggle. Will pushed his mother away, and whined, "Mum..."
Alena smiled over at Amphitrite, before saying to Will, "Alright, darling. Take Lila on upstairs. We'll have supper for you two later." She kissed the top of Will's head, before he ran over to Lila and grabbed her hand. As the two walked to the front door hand in hand, the two mothers overheard Will asked, "Can you really cut out your heart?"
"Why? You want me to do yours?"
"Lila Mercedes!" Amphitrite called out to her daughter in a warning tone. Lila turned around, still holding on to Will's hand and said, "What? I was just being polite and asking is all. Isn't that what princesses do? Be polite?" She smiled at her mother and walked back into the house.
Alena came to stand beside Amphitrite and asked, "A match made in heaven, huh?" Amphitrite smiled at her best friend and followed her into the house.
"I still think you're lying." Will said as he came to sit beside Lila on the couch as they drank the tea their mothers gave them that night.
Lila shook her head so fast that her ringlets smacked her face and said, "Nuh uh! I'm telling the truth! I've seen his heart."
"Liar."
"Sticks and stones." She said in what Will would come to know one day as a 'Sparrow Tone'. She took another sip of her tea as Will said in a disbelieving tone, "I still think you're lying, Li. I don't think you've actually seen Davy Jones's heart because he doesn't exist."
"Whatever you want to believe." Said the young girl. Even though she was only eight years older, she was more mature and acted far older than her age sometimes. She stared at the fire for a minute, getting lost in its flames before Will said, "Why do you have to leave?"
She felt like crying when he said that. She didn't want to leave Will. He was her best friend. But she also couldn't wait to see Jack when she left for Spain the next morning. She had heard her mother tell Mrs. Turner that she didn't know when they'd be coming back, and that scared Lila a lot. She didn't want to leave Will. She laid her head on his shoulder as they drank their tea in silence.
"I don't know." She said a minute later. The two children were sitting by the fire, covered by a blanket and sipping on their tea. Not knowing when it would be the next time that they saw each other. She smiled and said, "Ok. I think we should get married." The words that came out of the eight year old's mouth shocked eleven year old William Turner. He looked over at her to see if she was smiling, but she was serious.
"Ok. We will." Will said nodding. "Next time we see each other, we'll get married. And then you can show me his heart. Because I still think you're lying. I don't think anyone can actually cut their heart out and live too." Lila smiled as Will said that. He smiled too and said, "But we got to promise each other we'll do it."
"Ok." Lila said, happily as she took her head off of Will's shoulder. Will stuck his free hand out and said, "So, let's make a promise that the next time we see each other, we'll get married no matter what." Lila smiled as she set her tea cup carefully on the glass table in front of them and put her hand in Will's as she said, "No matter what." Before Will could say anything, Lila pulled his arm and when he fell towards her, she kissed his cheek.
Will's face turned red when Amphitrite walked into the room and said, "Lila, darling. Time for bed." Lila hopped up from her seat, took her tea cup and beamed at Will before walking to meet her mother. As they walked up the stairs, Lila happily said to her mother, "Hey, Mummy! Guess what? I'm marrying Will!" Amphitrite laughed as she scooped her daughter up into her arms and said, "He'll make a fine husband for you, darling."
She kissed her, before setting her on her bed and said, "Goodnight, sweetheart. Get up early so you can tell your husband goodbye, ok?" Lila nodded sadly as he mother left. She heard her mother and Alena talking about a necklace, but she didn't know what they were talking about. The next morning, she got up bright and early. After she had changed and grabbed her bags, she walked down the stairs to see Alena and Amphitrite staring at her almost sadly.
"Darling, I'm not going to go with you today." Amphitrite said in a sad voice. Lila didn't know then that it was because the EITC was after her and Alena. Alena, because she knew where the Jewel of the Sea was, and Amphitrite simply because they thought she had the jewel and she was the wife of Neptune. Killing her would be a step towards killing the king himself.
"But Mummy!" Lila said, almost on the verge of tears as Amphitrite pulled her into her arms and kissed her before whispering, "Jack will be waiting for you at the docks today, ok? He'll be with you."
"Will you come later?" Lila said, wiping her tears. Amphitrite smiled sadly once more and said, "Yes. I'll never leave you."
As the four of them pulled in front of the docks, Amphitrite leaned down and gave her daughter a kiss before saying, "I love you more than you'll ever ever know. And I'll never leave you, darling. I promise. But promise me that you won't take that necklace off for anyone. No on. Not even Jack. Or Uncle Teague." She said those names in a low whisper. Lila nodded and hugged her mother tightly. Her mother kissed her one last time, holding back her tears as Lila said, "I love you too, Mummy."
"You'll make a lovely queen someday, darling. I know you will. I love you." Amphitrite turned so that Lila wouldn't see her crying. Alena smiled as she leaned over and kissed her head and said, "Take care of yourself, darling." She looked down at her son who looked on the verge of tears himself. Alena smiled at him and said, "Why don't you walk her, William?"
She gave her mother one last hug before leaving the two women behind in the carriage. She didn't know that would be the last time she would see either of them. Will stopped at the end of the docks, and looked at Lila with a sad look in his eyes. They didn't speak, until Will said, "You still promise to marry me?"
"Yes." Lila said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She hugged Will tightly as she said, "I promise I'll marry you. And show you his heart." Will was trying not to cry as he hugged her back. After a minute, Lila pulled back and smiled at Will. Then, she leaned over and kissed his cheek like she had done the night before and said, "One day."
He put his hand over the spot she had kissed him, and nodded as she said, "One day." She smiled as she hugged him again. For the last time. Then, she grabbed her bags and walked further away from him. Waiting till the carriage was out of sight, Lila did as instructed, and turned the other way in the direction of where Jack's ship would be. The Wicked Wench.
"How's my favorite princess?" Came a voice from behind her. She turned around to see Jack hopping out of his longboat and on to the deck. She smiled as he came over to her and hugged her, picking her up and twirling her around. The 17 year old smiled down at his cousin and said, "Lovely as always, darlin'." He kissed her cheek, before setting her back down. Taking her hand, he led her to the longboat and asked, "Has Amph- I mean, your mother already gone?" When Lila nodded, a sad look washed over Jack's handsome face, before he changed it to a smile and said, "Well come on. I'll teach how to shoot a cannon. Just don't tell your Uncle Teague, alright?"
He bent down and let her climb on to his back. She laughed as he ran down the decks on to the boat, but the next night, she wouldn't be laughing. She walked in to the room. Uncle Teague was staring at the ground, his head in his hands. Jack was leaning against the wall with his eyes shining bright. He smiled when he saw the little girl walking into the room. He sat down and motioned for her to crawl on to his lap.
He looked up at his father, who nodded and left the room. He was too upset at the thought of his sister's death. And the more he looked at Lila, the more he saw her. She crawled on to his lap and rested her head against his chest as his strong arms wrapped around her. He kissed her forhead, before saying, "Darlin', I have to tell you something."
He took a deep breath when he saw her gorgeous green eyes lift up and look into his own chocolate ones. They mirrored his aunt's eyes. That momentarily made him freeze. Taking another deep breath he said, "Do you remember when your mother used to tell you about those angels? The ones watchin' over you?"
Lila shook her head as he pushed back her golden-brown ringlets and said, "Well, she's one of them now."
"But, she won't be coming back. She told me that she would never leave me, Jack! She told me that-" She started crying as he pulled her into his arms and tried to calm her. "Darlin', I know she did. I know. But she won't leave you. She'll always be watchin' over you."
She raised her head off of Jack's chest and said, "Are you telling me the truth?"
He smiled as he wiped her tears and said, "Every word, love. Every word." He closed his eyes as he pulled her back into his arms. She cried silently for a minute, and though feeling like he was himself, he had to be strong for Lila. When she fell asleep moments later, he took her into his room and tucked her into his bed.
He sighed as he laid beside her. A minute later, she popped open a green eye and moved over to lay beside him. He smiled as he put his arm around her. He looked down at her for a minute, before he pulled her necklace away from he neck and stared down at the amethyst. The Jewel of the Sea.
His aunt had given him orders to make sure that he kept her safe. And he intended to keep his promise, just as he knew that she was going to keep hers with Lila.
"...I should have told you the moment I met you. I love you."
The next chapter will be a flashback chapter too. Then, after that...the war begins.