A year. It has been a year since she left. Emily can't quite wrap her mind around it. Time has gone by so fast. She is seventeen years old. Her baby brother has just turned eight.
What bothers her, though, is that she hasn't seen either of her parents in so long – it has been five years since her papa abandoned her – and she feels nothing whilst thinking about them. Not sadness, or even anger for what she knows has happened.
What she does feel is annoyance towards a certain French woman.
She's not even sure why she's so annoyed by Adrienne. She just is. Perhaps it's because Alex has been so friendly with her. Perhaps it's because Adrienne seems to be everything that Emily is not. Perhaps it's because Emily is sure that Adrienne is insulting her whenever she slips into her native tongue – she is beginning to pick up on what certain things mean when Adrienne does speak French. Perhaps it's because Adrienne doesn't seem to like Emily any more than Emily likes her, and Emily doesn't really know the why of that, either.
Probably it's some combination of all those things. All Emily knows is that she gets the oddest impulse to reach for her pistol whenever Adrienne is around.
Perhaps this time it is a good thing that the Sea's Queen is docking in Tortuga. Emily is in desperate need of some time away from Adrienne, even if she will have to deal with a bunch of wobbly legged drunks instead.
"Emily? Can I come in?"
Emily walks across the room quickly and opens the door, smiling at Alex as she lets him in.
He is holding a large box that looks suspiciously like a clothing box from a shop. He smiles back.
"I 'ope ye aren't planning to stay 'ere on the ship again. Not tonight of all nights."
"What do you mean, tonight of all nights?"
"Don't tell me ye forgot yer own birthday!"
"No, of course not! I just wasn't expecting you to remember."
"Ye wound me. When 'ave I ever forgotten such important things when it comes to ye? Never not once!" He is being over-dramatic and is obviously only half serious, but she can see a hint of real hurt in his eyes. She feels bad for a brief moment, but then his smile is back. "I got ye somethin." He holds up the box rather proudly. "Not a silly little pastry this time."
This gets a chuckle out of her.
"Ye laughed! Ye really ought to do that more often. Sounds pretty, just like ye are." He flirts with her playfully. She feels a bit of a blush creeping up to color her cheeks.
"Stop lying and get on with it!"
"Me? Lie? Never! Ok, what I got ye." He walks over to a small desk on one end of the room, sets the box down, waves her over to it. "Go on, open it!"
She walks over to the box, slowly takes the top off of it, stares down at what she can see of its contents, takes out the items of clothing on top to get a look at what else is in the large box. Then she slowly puts it all back.
Then she looks back up to Alex.
"Alex… Where did you get all of this? And why? Surely you can't think I would actually wear…"
"I didn't steal 'em if that's what ye mean, 'ad them made special, I did." She gives him a look. "How I came by the money for such fancy items…" He goes on with a shrug, grin firmly in place now. "We are pirates, after all. And why wouldn't ye actually wear it?"
"It just… I mean, not that I'm ungrateful, it's a wonderful gift, but I… That's the outfit of a woman who wants to be noticed. And I… don't. Not like that."
He just looks at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he takes the boxes cap and puts it back on, and walks it over to where Emily's hammock is. He picks up her bag, which is shoved off in the corner behind where she sleeps, and puts the box beneath it where no one will notice it is there.
She watches him with a look of confusion. He walks back over to her.
"Save it for… oh, I dunno, save it for when ye are that woman. Ye'll have yer own ship someday, just watch, and that's a Cap'n's outfit if I ever I seen one."
"Me? A captain? Are you daft?" Emily rolls her eyes.
"Have ye met me father? Tis entirely possible." He goes on when she giggles again. "Happy birthday, Emily." And quickly, giving her no time to react in any way, he leans in and places a kiss on her cheek, right at the corner of her lips.
And then he is gone, and she stares at the closed door, eyes wide.
"I know of a place that you could go." The Captain offers Emily later, pointing her down a near-deserted side street. "Down that way, then go right. It's at least bit quieter in those parts; there's an inn I stay at sometimes, called the Good Goddess. You'll find it eventually if you go the way I told you."
"The Good Goddess." Emily mumbles to herself, peering down the side street. "Thank you, Captain."
She is just about to head down the street moments later when she hears her name being called. She spins around and forces a smile when she sees Alex coming towards her, a bewildered Adrienne close on his heels.
"I 'alf expected ye'd stay on the ship. Want to come with us? I'm takin Adrienne to the Bride."
Emily grimaces at the thought of going to one of Tortuga's rowdiest taverns.
"I saw the Pearl." He goes on. "It was just coming in as we left the docks."
Emily eyes light up at this. The Faithful Bride is her Uncle Jack's favorite tavern. If she goes with Alex and Adrienne, and if the Black Pearl really has pulled in to Tortuga, it is very possible she'll get to see him.
Although, this means putting up with Adrienne for a while.
"Alright. Lead the way." She replies. Alex does.
"Ye've never been 'ere before, have ye?" Alex asks Adrienne, who is staying close at his side and looking around with a familiar look of distaste. Emily trails along behind them.
"Yes. No. Sort of. I stayed on Papa's ship. He would not let me go ashore."
"Smart man." Alex chuckles.
Adrienne lets out a bit of a shriek as they pass a tavern and a drunk that is just stumbling out of it gets a little too close for comfort. Alex slips an arm around her shoulders and hurries her away.
"Don't worry, Love. I'll keep ye safe."
"I'm sure she could bloody well keep herself safe. Gave her one of my pistols." Emily grumbles, and for some reason the fact that Alex called Adrienne 'love' bothers her. He stopped calling Emily that around the time Adrienne came around. "Stupid girl just won't let me teach her how to use it properly."
Alex turns around, looking a little shocked.
"That's a bit harsh, don't ye think?"
"It's the truth." Emily shrugs, not looking him in the eye.
"Most girls just aren't up for that sort of thing, I suppose." He says, defensively, looking back at Adrienne. "Nothin wrong with that, ye ask me."
"My father used to say it is those of us who are you must watch out for." Adrienne responds, looking pointedly at Emily.
Anger settles in, and Emily's first very unladylike instinct is to hit Adrienne. Her hands curl into fists at her sides. She manages to ignore it, though, and instead stalks past the two of them, heading towards the Bride again.
Well, she's here now, and doesn't quite know what to do with herself. There's no sign of Jack, at least not yet. She walks over to the bar, gets herself a mug of rum that she won't drink – just so that she won't stick out too much – and settles herself down into the quietest corner she can find. She trains her eyes on the taverns entrance, hoping to see her Uncle swagger his way through it.
Alex and Adrienne come in before too long. He looks around, his brows furrowed, looking a bit distressed. She tugs on his sleeve, whispers in his ear. He calms a bit and slips that arm back around her shoulder, leading her away.
Emily refuses to be jealous. She has no good reason to be jealous. She's just…just worried about her friend getting too close to a…an evil little…
"Whore." She mumbles under her breath, and feels a little better for it.
"Plenty of those 'round 'ere, aye." A voice that should be all too familiar questions her, and she jumps out of her chair with a hand on her sword.
And then she freezes when she sees that it is, in fact, her Uncle standing before her, eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Bit jumpy? 'aven't seen ye in a long while, but I din't think ye'd forget the sound of yer ole Uncle's voice that easily."
She throws her arms around his neck with such force that he stumbles back a few steps.
"Easy now, dearie." He chuckles as he returns her tight hug. "Come now, let's 'ave a look at ye."
She steps back and gives him a smile as he looks her over a bit, a hint of surprise registering on his face.
He hasn't changed at all, except for a bit of gray streaked through his tangled mass of hair. It's weird considering Emily hasn't seen him in nearly ten years.
"Grew all up, ye did." He says after a moment. "What is it with ye Turner's? Thought for sure ye'd wind up lookin more like yer mum. Course, ye look plenty like 'er too. Got yer papa's eyes, anyone ever told ye that? Not sure I would've recognized ye if not for those eyes."
Emily is caught between blushing and just being annoyed. She settles on the latter.
"Must everyone compare me to my parents like that? I'd much rather just be me, thank you." She sits down and her Uncle follows suit.
"Used to be ye wanted to be just like yer mum." He goes on in a gentler tone when she only stares down at her untouched drink. "I'm guessin ye've 'eard the stories then?"
Of course she's heard the stories, but that's not the reason her view of her mother has changed. She is silent for a moment, debating on whether to just tell him about her dreams.
She decides not to, because it would be too much to explain and she simply doesn't feel like it.
"Aye, I've heard them." She finally gives an absent minded reply.
"I wouldn't believe everythin ye 'ear. Takin into account the rather interestin descriptions I've been 'earin, I'd say it is likely that said tails are 'ighly exaggerated."
She wishes more than anything that she could believe him.
"Uncle…" She pauses, feeling a bit sheepish, though she isn't sure why. She is plenty within her rights to ask what she is about to. "We got letters from Papa for a while, and money, just like he promised. And then suddenly they just stopped. I just want…" And of course she knows what the end result is; knows that her father has been killed, but she is desperate to know more.
"Ye want to know what 'appened." Jack replies, and he is being direct with her in a way that she knows he isn't with most people. "I can't tell ye much of what 'appened after..."
"Tell me what you can. Please, Uncle, I need to know something."
She is leaning forward on the table, playing with her mother's wedding ring, which she's taken to wearing on her right hand. He glances down at her hands and a knowing look comes over his face.
"For a moment there I was 'alf wonderin if ye'd come 'ere just lookin for me. Yer father would throw a fit to know ye'd gone off on yer own like this to begin with. S'ppose it's a good thing he's not 'ere, drag ye back kickin and screamin 'e would." He gestures towards her hand with the ring on it. "Where's me boy, then?"
Emily moves her hands so they are in her lap and out of sight.
"I don't know where Alex is, nor do I care." She replies, and means it.
Her Uncle gives her the smirk that Alex often imitates when he's about to get himself in some kind of trouble.
"That's not very nice. Ye were all 'e talked about, ye know."
"I…was?" She asks, incredulous.
"One would've though ye were the only girl around for all that ye seemed to be all 'e thought about." And his smirk grew into a grin.
She scowled.
"Well. If he thinks so much of me he sure has got himself a bloody strange way showing it, running off with pretty little French-speaking whores."
Her Uncle seems startled for a moment.
"Now, Emily." He mock scolds her. "That is 'ardly proper language for a lady such as yerself."
"I'm no more a lady than Alex is a gentlemen, though he pretends very well at times." And she crosses her arms, glaring into her still untouched drink and pouting in a way that is all too typical of her young age.
Her Uncle watches her, looking amused, before snatching the mug away and bringing it to his lips to take a hearty swig.
"You never gave me an answer." She says quietly, watching him. "About my father."
He pauses for a second, and it is strange to seem him looking a little lost. As if, for once, Captain Jack Sparrow really isn't sure what to say. Then he takes another drink from the mug.
"First of all, ye should know that I never would've taken 'im on if I'd known…"
"Known what, Uncle?"
"Known why 'e was runnin in the first place…" And he goes on to explain all about her father and how strange and very un-Will-like he'd acted, about how some had thought he'd taken leave of his senses, about how he'd seemed so scared, about how he'd talked about time running out.
Her Uncle is quick to explain that he figured out what was going on much quicker than everyone else had, but there wasn't much he could do. Will wouldn't listen to reason, not even Jack's strange brand of it. He'd been more worried about Emily and Joshua; he wanted to be as far away from them as possible if Elizabeth – Captain Lizzie – found him. Being on land wouldn't help, Will had said. They should know that better than anyone. She'd just send someone else to capture him for her.
Jack had been sure Will was just being paranoid… until Will had shown him the Spot, which had reappeared on his hand.
Months passed, and Elizabeth – Captain Lizzie, he corrected himself again – did find them, and at that point she'd been willing to leave the Pearl be if they just gave her Will. Will had gone willingly, saying it was only logical anyways, and Jack couldn't argue, much as he'd actually wanted to.
Jack had no clue what happened after that, not until he heard a rumor that Will had been captured – by British men who weren't working for the crown, just the Company. Jack had no answers when it came to that, he was just as baffled as anyone else by this little piece of information.
One long week and a bold attack on a very large ship later, and they had Will back, complete with a P branded on his arm at about the same place where Jack's was.
Jack tried to shorten the story a bit – the ship chased them for quite a while apparently, finally caught up with them, took them by surprise, and by the time the battle was over…
"…yer father was gone, and I found that little ring along with 'is flask on the deck. What 'appened after that… yer guess is as good as mine."
Emily just stares at him, speechless.
"Emily!" She hears her name above all the other voices surrounding them. She looks up just in time to see Alex coming towards her, Adrienne trailing along behind him, as usual. He pauses a few steps away, apparently noticing who she's with. "Told ye I saw the Pearl comin into the 'arbor. 'Ello Dad."
"Alex."
"Is there something you want?" Emily asks, annoyed.
"Yes. No! Not exactly, I just… are you alright? I just wanted to make sure ye weren't upset or somethin, over what Adrienne said."
Emily peers around Alex to Adrienne, who looks rather annoyed herself.
"I'm fine." She replies curtly.
"You heard her!" Adrienne says testily. "She is fine." She grabs his arm and pulls her towards him. "Come, let's go."
"Are you sure, Emily?" Something in his tone has her looking up at him this time. She locks eyes with him, and for one strange moment she could almost swear that he wants her to say she really isn't alright; that he wants her to give him a reason to stay.
Jack looks back and forth between the two of them and raises both eyebrows, but says nothing.
"Y-yes." She replies finally, tearing her eyes away from Alex's so as to think a little better. "Yes, I'm perfectly sure that I am fine, Alex, go..do..whatever it is you and Adrienne wish to do."
"Right. Well…" He seems disappointed somehow and says nothing more, turning to walk away with Adrienne, and Emily again finds herself fighting the impulse to reach for her pistol and…
"Ye know…" Her Uncle speaks up. "I think perhaps ye are a bit too much like yer father. Ye could wait an eternity and never find a moment as opportune as that one was."
The worst part is that Emily knows he's right.
I think the ending to this one is awkward, sorry about that. Next chapter will hopefully be up semi-soon, and actually be good. Hopefully. :D
I know our favorite Captain is at least a little OOC, I just can't seem to get his character quite right. I keep trying, though; I'll get better at writing him eventually.
Review please. :)