Hearts Across the Sea 18

[spacebabie]

Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related characters belong to Walt Disney, Gore, Jerry, Ted and Terry.

Original Characters such as Julia Carlisle and Abigail Peterson are my own creation.

Characters: James Norrington, Theodore Groves, Murtogg, Mullroy, William Turner, Elizabeth Turner, Julia Carlisle, Abigail Peterson.

Setting: A few months after The Chosen.

 

Hearts Across the Sea

 

Chapter 18: Voyage Home

-

The traveling back to The Atlantis was a trip James whish he could have enjoyed. The undersea world was amazing, not it was breathtaking, no it was fantastic, no, he just didn’t have the proper words to describe all that he had seen. There were a variety of shades of blue, as well as bright shades of orange and red of the coral reefs that resembled tropical flowers, several schools of gold and pink fish that darted about. He saw sea turtles, and swordfish. James had even seen a few sharks and while their wide eyes and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth did cause fear the sharks did not come near them. He had figured it was the magic of the strange water faeries that were carrying him and everyone else. There were a handful of manta rays swimming around what he had mistaken for a whale at first, and then realized it was the bottom of the Atlantis.

James was the only one who traveled in his sphere alone, much to his chagrin. He wanted to be in the same bubble with Julia and the other civilians. He had cast his eye over to her several times during the trip and she was staring back at him. They had waved to each other and smiled although James wished he could do more. He wanted to hold her hand, allow her to lean against him as they traveled, and feel the side of her head nuzzle against his shoulder. He also wanted to kiss her, feel her lips on his. He wanted to do much more, he wanted to carry her to the captain’s cabin, remove her clothes, and he shouldn’t be thinking of that, not now.

He adverted his gaze to Lieutenant Chase swimming beside his sphere. James held onto the lieutenant’s clothes while the former human swam. It was almost hard to think of that man standing on the ground, dressed in full uniform and holding his musket. Chase had adapted a bit to his new form. His tail flicked back and forth, propelling him up while his gills fluttering as he breathed.

James had almost wished the journey never ended when his bubble emerged through the surface, right next to the hull of Theodore’s ship. He felt his stomach shift when his sphere rose at quite a fast pace and he landed on the middle of the deck, surrounded by busying marines and naval officers.

“Admiral Norrington,” Lieutenant Donnelly gasped when James’s sphere had evaporated.  He nearly dropped his pistol at the sight of James. “How did ye escape?”

“That will be story for another time,” James ran to the railing of the leeboard side and stared down. The other spheres clung to the sides of the ship and burst, nearly all-military men fell to the water after the first sphere burst, but several others in the other spheres grabbed onto the sides of the ship.

“Hold me,” Mullroy shouted when the sphere he rode in along with Lieutenant Pryce, Murtogg, and Groves had burst.

“We have you,” Murtogg held onto the arm of his friend. “And you are holding the ship you can climb.”

“Drop the lines,” James commanded. “They need assistance.”

Several lines of rope were dropped over the sides of the ship, providing an easier means to climb up the side of the ship. Turner, Saris and the women accepted one of the ropes and climbed up twice as fast.

“Why didn’t the others appear on deck?” Lieutenant Donnelly asked as James held out a hand for Julia.

“That is a question I want to know,” James answered. “I do not know the nature of these creatures.” His eyes met with Julia’s. “I believe you do?”

“Using magic for them is similar to running great distances for us,” Julia answered and stepped aside for Abigail. “It takes a great amount of energy for them to use their magic.”

“Too much and they can die,” Abigail said softly, tears ran down the corners of her eyes.

James wished he had a handkerchief to offer Miss Peterson, but his was still down there, and there was no power on the planet that will cause him to want to return to such a place, unless it was Julia who was held prisoner down there.

“It is going to be a bit crowded now,” Theodore, said. “Although considering the other circumstances we should be happy.”

“Mr. Saris said he will find a way to help with the crowding,” Turner said as he climbed over the side. “I am not certain what he means by that.”

“I believe there were will be several stories shared,” James said as he watched the rest of the Naiad’s crew climb aboard.

-

The tea was good, it was beyond good, it was English tea, and while the tea James drank while he was prisoner was sweet and exotic he thought it bitter and vile in comparison to the rich flavor of tea from his native island, even with just a bit of sugar and no cream it was pure heaven.

“Are you certain you do not wish for anything else?” Julia Carlisle asked him. She sat by his side and refused to move.

“The tea is enough for now,” James stared at his reflection in the cup. “At least until we return to Port Royal and I can indulge on coffee from your father’s plantation.”

Julia’s smile was brief. “He still hasn’t moved.” She pointed to the brow where Saris stood. The odd man had regained his haggard appearance and stared into the distance. “He claimed they were in love once, but he isn’t a merman. He is still human.”

“I would not agree,” James cast his eyes at the rest of the Naiad’s crew. They were seated along with him and those who had fallen in the water were given blankets along with cups of tea. Lieutenant Chase had a blanket covering his lower half. It was difficult climb for him, even with the rope and James and several others had grabbed onto the line and hauled him aboard.

“She called him something else,” Julia said. “She called him Sariel.”

“She is also said he lead others like him to lust after the daughters of men,” James mulled over that. He was certain he heard a similar bible story, and the way Mr. Saris’s real name was pronounced. “I may have seen fangs on him.”

“Pardon?” Julia asked.

“This appearance of his that we see now, it is a disguise. We have seen his true form.”

“I know he is headed our way.”

James looked up and saw Saris was walking straight towards them. The man’s face held a forlorn expression.

“Mr. Saris?” Julia stood up out of respect.

“One cannot dwell too much on the past,” Saris said after a deep sigh. “We have the future to think about.”

“Yes we do,” James smiled at Julia; she was a part of his future.

“Although seeing gifts from the past can be quite a blessing.”

“It is,” Julia nodded. “Although it does depend on the gift.”

“I am certain you will like them,” Saris raised a hand. “First I need to give some precautions to the Admiral. He can never touch the sea, not for the next five days, he should be tied down to his bed to keep him from trying to swim. Five days will be enough time for the magic to be removed from his body.”

“I will watch over him,” Julia grabbed James’s hand.

“Now for your gift,” He pointed to the starboard side of the ship. “You might want to look there.”

James set his cup down and stared towards the direction, Saris pointed at. He saw nothing but sea, as what was expected.

“Is something coming up?” Julia pointed towards the water where several bubbles were forming.

The bubbles were increasing, turning the surface white with foam. James’s eyes widened when he saw what was emerging. There were three tall masts, slowly emerging, the sails were folded away.

“It’s a ship,” Julia gasped. “He is raising a ship.”

“Yes,” James smiled when he recognized the ship. The damage had been healed, everything had been restored to The Naiad.”

“It is our ship,” one of the midshipmen had thrown of his blanket. “The Naiad, he healed her.”

“How is this possible?” Theodore asked. He and several others had appeared on deck.

“Mr. Saris had provided for us,” James answered. “We need to board her so we can bring her back-“

“Look,” one of the marines pointed. Next to the Naiad, another mass of bubbles and sea foam had appeared. The masts and topsails were already protruding and rising. “Which ship could that be?”

“It is too early,” James said as the quarterdeck of the ship emerged. He felt his heart rate increase. It couldn’t be. How many years had he been aboard that ship? He remembered when it was first commissioned, and shortly after he had been promoted to lieutenant he was assigned to travel aboard her, how she became his ship when he was made captain and later commodore “How.”

“It isn’t,” Theodore breathed. He also recognized her.

“That looks like The Dauntless,” Mullroy tilted his head to the side.

“It is the Dauntless,” Murtogg said.

“It can’t be,” Mullroy shook his head. “It would have been covered with barnacles and stuff.”

“The Naiad was broken and she is healthy.”

“It is The Dauntless,” James breathed, not only as Saris raised her and healed her, but also had cleaned her off of whatever sea life had accumulated on her the past few years. “He brought her back.” He turned back to where Saris was standing, but could not find that strange man anywhere; only the man’s clothes were left behind in a dirty pile. Curiosity had caused him to look up; he thought he saw a bird, but the main body was the wrong shape, seeming almost humanoid.

“James,” Julia breathed his name and held out her hand.

“We both should have recognized his name.” James held her hand in his.

“Nobody saw,” Julia said. “I turned after he had taken off. It was too bright. He had emitted so much light I had to close my eyes and when I opened them all I could see was a figure.”

“The others might ask about him. We will have to tell them, something.”

“We can tell them the truth, after what we had just seen.”

“Yes,” he nodded. “The truth might work this time.”

-

Abigail Peterson placed the dress with the false top hem on her bed and stood back. She no longer had to share a room. Julia had followed James to The Dauntless and Elizabeth and William had joined with Lieutenant Pryce on The Naiad.  The sewing was a bit last minute hemming work she had worked along with Elizabeth and Julia. The belt had been hung and the knife had been replaced. All the weapons she had loaned to the military men had been returned. The hammers along with her pistol were laid out on the table.

“Abigail?” Theodore knocked on the door. “May I come in?”

“You may,” Abigail ran her fingers over the material before she turned to the door.

“How have you been?” Theodore had removed his hat as soon as he stepped inside. “We haven’t spoken since we started to sail back to Port Royal and you refuse to eat with me in my cabin.

“So much has happened,” she stared at her hands. “Everything has changed, so have I.”

“Moments like these do change us,” Theodore held his hat over his chest. “Look how much our lives have changed since that pirate captain came sailing in.”

“He may have started the list of changes,” Abigail shrugged. “I know we will all experience different and trying moments. It is how we shall react that will define us.”

“It has been a trying time for all of us.”

“I was rude to her,” Abigail regretted the sharp words she had said to the water faerie. “She didn’t even notice, was always polite and I was rude.”

“You realized Whitecap’s good nature.”

“I also realized it was my foolish thoughts. You didn’t fancy her at all.”

“What?” Theodore stepped back.

“I’m sorry. I am saying foolish words yet again.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes saying something foolish will help in this situation. Murtogg and Mullroy have told me you were quite brave back there, and it has been proven you have excellent marksmanship.”

It was her turn to shrug. “I wasn’t fast enough.”

“You were fast enough to kill that merman. I do have to wonder where you learned how to shoot pistols?”

“My brother, Fredrick taught me,” she thought of her brother and the lies he made up when he told their mother where he was taking Abigail. “The lessons were sparse before the Admiral, and William were turned to Chosens and after the battle I practiced every day.”

“My compliments to your brother for being an excellent teacher,” he replaced his hat. “I am going to visit Admiral Norrington, when I return I will have dinner. I hope you will join me.”

“I am looking forward to it,” she smiled at him.

“Good,” he smiled. “Excellent.”

She waited until the door closed behind before she realized what she had said. “I am looking forward to it? How could I be such a fool?”

-

The past two days hadn’t been hell for James, not as he thought it would be. It also wasn’t paradise. He was bound again, one wrist tied to his bedpost and it provided a bit of discomfort while he slept. The other discomfort was the fact he had nearly every blanket piled on him. The doctor agreed to Saris/Sariel’s advice and wanted James to sweat out the potion. Once an hour he would enter the room, pour a few glasses of water and request James to drink it, and if there were still water left in one of the glasses, James would expect to receive such a lecture. He also changed the used bedpan. James felt slightly embarrassed about having to use that instead of the chamber pot.

He heard the knock and had figured it would be either the doctor or Julia. She had visited him once or twice, even though he requested her not to see him in such a state. The doctor had give him a rag and a bucket of soapy water to help clean himself at least once a day, but he felt filthy without his usual bath and there was still the matter of his growing beard.

“You may come in,” James said and grabbed the one glass that was still half full.

“Good afternoon, Admiral,” Theodore Groves entered the bedchamber. “Still under the odd orders I take it?”

“As you can see,” James took a long sip from his glass. “I have yet to feel any urge to swim. I understand his well meaning and even if he is an angel I believe he overreacted.”

“He wasn’t the one who was good at healing,” Theodore reminded him. “That would be Raphael.”

“Of course,” James took another sip before he set the glass down. “May I question the reason for the visit?”

“I have come to see how you fair, now that I know Abigail is well,” he stared around the room. “I also wanted to see how the Dauntless is.”

“She is sailing fine, and what has happened to Miss Peterson?”

“She was depressed by Whitecap’s death,” Theodore’s smile had faded. “I had to see how she was. She refused my invites to dinner in my cabin, well she had accepted the last one, and she wasn’t behaving as her usual self.”

“Why did you invite her to dinner in your cabin?”

“I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do.” Theodore’s cheeks appeared to be a bit redder than usual. Did he just blush? James was certain he had.

“I see, and how is Miss Peterson now?” James raised his eyebrows.

“She is faring a little bit better. I believe she had adopted my method of humor. She said she once thought I fancied Whitecap.” Theodore chuckled. “It is quite absurd.”

“Why are you telling me this?” James asked. “You seem to be quite taken by Miss Peterson.”

“She is quite unique.”

“Do you believe she is comely of appearance, and clever?”

“Don’t forget brave as well, and she may not show it, but she does have a good heart,” Theodore nodded in agreement. “Why are we complimenting her?”

“I am not complimenting her,” James couldn’t hide his smile. “You were the one who was complimenting her, your were inviting her to dinner, and you are talking about more than wonder about my well being.”

“I’m sorry,” Theodore held up his hands.

“Do not be sorry if you fancy someone.”

“I do not fancy Abigail.”

“Captain Theodore Groves,” James donned his lecturing tone. “You have just referred to her by her familiar name. You might as well admit that you do fancy her.”

“I,” Theodore paused to cough. “I believe you may be right. I do fancy her.”

“Good,” James nodded. “Prepare for your dinner date.” He reached for his glass. He had to finish it before the doctor returned.

-

Julia took extra caution as she approached James’s cabin. The fifth day had been passed and he was no longer bound to the bed. She can see him, spend time with him and apologize for her past behavior. She was certain she had behaved rather inappropriately. He had said he was in a state he shouldn’t be looked at, but how could she not? There was also no doubt about in her mind she was a certain minx the night before.

She had slipped in a couple hours after dinner had been cleared and noticed the door to his bedchamber had been opened by a crack. She slipped in further and discovered he was fast asleep and he had kicked off a few of his blankets. His disregard to the doctor’s orders had amused her and she gathered up the blankets and was about to replace them when she saw his face.

His lips were slightly parted while his eyelids fluttered. He had untied his brown hair and allowed it to be loose and spread out in tangles around his head. The small bit of a beard he had grown in the past few days wasn’t anything to be ashamed about, nor was it something to brag about either. His appearance did seem to be a bit roguish as well as dashing.

She noticed he was still wearing her ring around his neck and her heart skipped, even when he was prisoner of that immortal harlot he kept it. He was wearing a pale gray shirt and had it unbuttoned. She pulled back the remaining covers to see how far and paused when she saw the scar on his stomach, it was a scar from that creepy servant of Beckett. She had been told he had nearly died from a stab wound and now she saw the evidence.

“Heal well my love,” she pulled the covers back and replaced the ones he had kicked off before she slipped out of his cabin.

“Now to speak with him,” she tapped on the door with her knuckles and waited to hear his rich voice.

“I am not fully dressed,” James said from the other side of the door.

“James, it is me.” She greeted him. “May I still see you?”

“You may,” James answered.

He was not dressed in his full Admiral regalia he still had to don his naval coat, hat and wig. He did have his waistcoat fully buttoned, and hair tied back.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine,” he held up a hand. “Although I may have developed a bit of a rash on my wrist from where it was tied.”

“I have noticed,” she placed her hands behind her back. “I want to apologize for my behavior the past few days.”

“You do not have to say anything. I was glad you have visited.”

“You were?” she blinked.

“My words do not always reflect my heart.”

She shuffled her felt and felt her cheeks growing hot. “I have also visited you while you were asleep.”

“Oh,” his eyebrows rose and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. “I have dreamed someone was watching over me.”

“You are still not angry?”

He shook his head. “How can I be angry with the woman I love who is concerned about my well being?”

“You love me?”

“I am most certain, all though my imprisonment I was thinking about you. Julia when I wake up in the morning I want you to be the first person I see. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“James,” she felt like she was blushing over her entire body.

“Julia I wish to have the right ring so I can do this properly.”

“Use my mother’s ring.”

“If you insist.” He undid the clasp and allowed the ring to slide of the chain. “Julia Carlisle, may I have your hand in marriage?”

“Yes,” she gasped. She barely could feel him take her hand and slip the ring on her finger.

“When we do return to Port Royal I will buy you the proper ring.”

“I feel light,” Julia said. “I cannot feel my legs.”

James embraced her. “I will not allow you to fall.”

She raised her head to stare into his eyes only to the bottom of her mouth struck his chin. It wasn’t painful and he slid his own lips down until the met. Her first true kiss, and she wanted to savor it. She closed her eyes, taking in the salty taste from his lips, right before she fainted.

-

Julia could hear several people talking and whispering around her. She opened her eyes and blinked before she tried to sit up.

“Not so fast,” both James and the doctor were by her side.

“Oh no,” she breathed as she took in the rest of the crowd in the cabin; both Abigail and the Turners were in the cabin. “How long have I been out?”

“For nearly an hour,” the doctor said. “You needed a bit more sleep as it were and that may have contributed to your fainting,” he turned to James. “Along with what you have said to her.”

“What did you say to her” Will asked.

“He proposed,” Julia smiled. “And I accepted.”

The silence in the room had only lasted for a few seconds.

“Julia,” Elizabeth smiled. “This is wonderful, you and James, I always knew it.”

“Always knew it, or always planned it?” Abigail asked.

“I had hoped he would fall in love with one of my friends,” Elizabeth gave her a look. “The only thing I have ever planned was my salon brunch and those plans fell apart.”

“I offer you my congratulations,” Will held out his hand. “To the both of you.”

“Thank you,” James said. “I am certain many of you are concerned about Julia’s health, but she needs her rest.”

“I can say the same for you,” the doctor said.

“I don’t really need to rest,” Julia said. “I would like something to eat.”

“I’ll have food brought here.”

“I can see the two of you need to be alone,” Elizabeth smiled. “Let us return to our ship.” She grabbed Will by the arm.

“Are you going to inform Captain Groves” James asked as Abigail followed after the Turners.

“I will,” she nodded. “I know he will ask.”

The doctor was the last to leave. “Let me know if you need anything.” He said before he slipped through the door.

“I know Elizabeth will be discreet,” James said once they were alone. “I just hope, Abigail will not mention anything until we make the official announcement.”

“She will,” Julia said. “She might tell her family, and Elizabeth will tell her father, but the neighbors will not know until we send out the announcement and we won’t tell anyone, until after we tell father.”

“Yes,” James smile appeared sheepish. “We will let your father know.”

“There is no need for that,” Julia shook her head. “My father likes you.”

“I know,” he licked his lips. “It still will not be easy.” He stepped back away from the bed. “First thing is first. We need to get you some food, is there anything in particular you would like”

“Anything,” Julia said. “I just want you to be by my side.”

“I will always be by your side.”

-