Hi! Me again :) Thank you to those who reviewed and added my story to favorites, alerts, stuff like that :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always I love to know what you think and what i could improve on so pretty please leave a review :)
Chapter 17
All that could be heard on deck was the rustling of the sails and Lily's quieting sobs. Will hadn't moved a muscle but was staring at his daughter like she was one of the seventh wonders of the world, his marveling eyes taking in 18 years of details. She looked so like her mother. But the eyes...they were his.
"Father?" Lily whispered, taking a tentative step forward.
"Are you Lily?" he asked in a hushed voice that didn't seem to belong to him.
She nodded, one quick nod and his handsome face broke into a smile. She took two more graceful steps towards him until she was one pace away from him. Samuel couldn't help but notice she hadn't yet smiled.
Lily reached out one hand and placed it on her fathers cheek and he smiled but that was about to change.
Crack!
Lily slapped him as hard as she could, looking at him haughtily despite her trembling lower lip.
Jack, roused from his drunken stupor by what he thought was a gunshot, sat bolt upright and grinned blearily at Will.
"See how you like it!" he slurred before lolling back over the crate he had been sprawled over, in his dreams all the women who'd ever slapped him sashaying past.
Will was rubbing his jaw, blinking rapidly – that was not the reaction he'd expected. His crew were uneasy with what had transpired, they were shuffling, glaring at Lily, but he held up a hand to tell them to stop.
"Okay, I probably deserved that," he said calmly, after all to her it must seem like he'd abandoned them, "but please trust me -"
She didn't let him finish, cutting him off with a faintly hysterical laugh. Samuel shook his head slightly – he knew from experience that there was no point reasoning with her when she got like this.
"Trust you?" the irate girl fumed, "trust you? I trust HIM more than you!" Furiously she pointed at Jack and Will sighed.
There wasn't a soul on the ship that didn't feel awkward, the men didn't know where to put themselves. Eventually an uncomfortable impasse was reached between the two crews and they began talking amongst themselves, slowly moving away from the two Turners. Only Samuel stayed where he was, watching Will warily just in case Lily pushed him too far.
"There is a lot you don't understand," Will said, forcing himself not to snap at the girl.
"Yes, there is. For example, why a father would leave his children and wife to go gallivanting off on some pirate ship," she said, bluntly. Unlike her father she had no intention of being polite.
It was as if she'd slapped him again, Samuel actually winced at the pain that flashed across the mans face.
"It was not out of choice, believe me," he said quietly but still Lily would not relent.
"I won't believe anything you say," she told him, tilting her chin defiantly.
Samuel rolled his eyes – she was much too stubborn for her own good.
Will had now crossed his arms and was glaring at Lily with an expression unnervingly similar to her own.
"I don't know where you got your dramatic streak from," he snapped, forgetting his earlier resolution to stay calm.
Jack chose this moment to wake up again and laughed,
"'I practice 5 times a day, so that when I meet a pirate...I CAN KILL IT!'" he quoted, brandishing an imaginary sword and striking a heroic posture.
Will narrowed his eyes at Jack.
"That's enough from you," he said curtly and Jack sniggered before flopping back onto his crate and starting to snore.
"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, her curiosity winning over her intention to stay silent.
"I should be asking you that," Will said with a rueful smile, raising an eyebrow as he looked around the Pearl, "I am surprised Elizabeth let this happen."
He assumed she had just gone on a voyage, no word of the kidnapping had reached him and so he was unprepared for the hostile reaction to this statement from (who else) Lily.
"How dare you question my mother! Are you blaming her?" she shouted and went to move towards him again but Samuel grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back and pinioning her arms against her chest.
"Stop," he advised and, to his surprise, she listened to him. As she became still in his arms Will looked in confusion at Samuel.
"Who are you?" he asked Samuel, his eyes flitting from the young man to his daughter.
"He's my son," Barbossa said with pride, stepping forwards and facing Will squarely. Lily felt Samuels grip slacken and she looked round at him to see him staring at his father in what looked like shock. She was right, he had never heard that pride in his fathers voice when it came to him...he had always thought that he had been a disappointment, that his father was ashamed of him. Guessing his train of thought Lily found herself smiling up at him, happy that he was happy. But that was odd, she thought to herself, the smile fading – he was the one she didn't like, he was arrogant and mean and...lots of other bad things that she couldn't think of right now. All she could think was how nice he looked when he was happy.
Barbossa and Will were still facing each other and Barbossa was having to think very fast. He didn't know what the other man would do if he found out Lily was being kept here by force so he'd have to think of something else. The problem was, nothing was coming to mind. It was only when he looked at Lily and saw her looking at Samuel with a surprisingly soft expression that he began to have an idea.
"Come with me," he told Will, hooking an arm round the younger mans shoulder and pulling him to the side of the ship, "now, you must be wonderin' what's going on."
Will nodded and was about to reply when Barbossa cut in.
"Well I'll tell ye, our two children," he began, pointing at Samuel and Lily who were now laughing at something, standing quite close, "are in love."
Will followed his point with surprise – that was the last thing he'd expected!
"In love?" he repeated, raising his eyebrows.
"Aye, in love," was the serious response.
Samuel chose that moment to ruffle Lilys hair and she laughed, going to hit him but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in to him instead. They were standing by the opposite side of the ship and as the two fathers watched Samuel lifted Lily onto the side, making sure she had a grip on one of the ropes and then hauled himself into the rigging, standing next to her. Lily laughed delightedly as the wind wept her hair and she leaned back, relishing the feel of the cool spray of water as it hit her.
As for Samuel, the look in his eyes as he watched her spoke volumes.
"Well, who'd have thought it," Will mused, unable to keep from feeling slightly protective as he watched them.
"He's a good lad," Barbossa said, playing the concerned parent, "they're a right good match."
"I can see that," Will said, nodding slowly, "and...as she doesn't seem to want me here, seems I'd best be on my way." He had his duties to attend to after all and there'd been a shipwreck off the coast of Tortuga that he needed to assist with.
Barbossa tried and failed to stop looking pleased but Will was too busy looking at Lily to notice.
Lily herself was watching him right back, but from under her curtain of lashes so he wouldn't know. Maybe she'd been too harsh, not thinking before she acted as always.
"I think..." she said in a small voice and Samuel turned to her, "I think I might have been a bit stupid."
Samuel followed her gaze and grinned, alighting to sit next to her.
"Yeah," was all he said. He agreed with her wholeheartedly.
"But it's just weird...I didn't know what to think. I mean, he's been gone all these years," she whispered.
Samuel sighed and moved closer, resting his elbow on her shoulder.
"The way I see it, you've got a chance here," he said, "a chance to have a father like you always wanted. You don't have time to hold grudges and I'm sure you'd much rather he knew you and loved you, was proud of you...even just for a little while than go your whole life not knowing."
Lily was silent for a moment and then she leaned into him, wrapping her arms round his shoulders.
"Thank you," she said quietly into his chest.
At first Samuel was too surprised to do anything but after a moment his hand came down to gently rest on her back and he pulled her in, holding her close.
Will and Barbossa, watching this, swapped smiles and Will gestured for his crew to disembark. She was happy and she didn't want to see him, so it was simple – he would leave.
Neither Lily or Samuel noticed them leave but just as Will landed on the deck of the Dutchman Lily looked up and uttered a small scream when she realized he'd gone. Swiftly and desperately she jumped down and sprinted to the other side of the ship, just in time to see her fathers ship vanish beneath the waves.
"NO!" she yelled, clinging to the side as her eyes scanned the water, unable to believe what she'd just seen. Then she remembered...the legends.
He was gone. Her father was gone. And she was an idiot.
"No, no, no," she muttered tearfully, pressing her fist into the side.
Samuel had jumped down as well and was looking at his father with wide eyes, wondering what the hell was going on. The only answer he got was a grin and a slap on the back.
"Good work keeping her distracted, son, I knew I could count on you."
Samuels mouth fell open as Barbossa walked away and Lily slowly turned to face him, even from here he could see that she was crying.
He wanted to clear his name, to reassure her that he hadn't known anything about it, everything he'd said was true but...his father was proud of him. He couldn't lose that.
Closing his mouth he just continued to look at her. She looked away first and delicately she picked her way across deck, dodging anyone in her way until she was at the door of her cabin. With a deep shuddering breath she opened the door and walked inside.
It was only when the door was shut and nobody could see her that she allowed herself to scream.
