FicWad

"Jenna!" she called out excitedly, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the room. She shut the door behind her and dragged me over to the sofa. We both sat down and gazed out the window at the beautiful blue water below by the docks. Elizabeth had such a nice view from her window. From my window, all I could see was trees.

"Where are all the maids?" I asked Elizabeth, looking around. She usually always had two or three maids scurrying around nearby. Elizabeth didn't seem to mind them, but I always found them to be rather annoying. Elizabeth glanced at the door and then smiled, "Oh, they're off on some errands. I sent them away for a bit so we could talk just you and me."

"Good idea," I said, grinning back. I looked Elizabeth up and down. She looked beautiful. Her hair was curled to perfection, she was wearing a gorgeous dress, and her face was that of an angel. For not the first time, I wished I was as beautiful as her. Why couldn't I have golden hair and a pretty face? Why was I cursed to be fat and ugly?

Elizabeth noticed me looking at her dress and smiled down at me, "Do you like it? It's new! Father gave it to me this morning for the ceremony." She looked at me expectantly as if my opinion was the most important one out there for her. I rolled my eyes at her and answered, "Lizzy, you know it gorgeous! I've never seen such a pretty dress in my life!"

"Thank you!" Elizabeth answered, smiling at me delightedly. She looked around as if she was going to tell me a secret and then leaned down and whispered in my ear, "So...are you excited for the ceremony?" Her eyes were lit up and I could tell she was obviously excited. Funny thing was that I still didn't even know what the ceremony was.

"Um...yes?" I said, unsure. "I'm not even sure what it's for." Elizabeth gave me an incredulous look, "You don't even know what it's for? Your father didn't tell you?" I shook my head. Elizabeth sighed and rolled her eyes, "Why doesn't nobody ever bother to tell you what's going on? Your parents don't include you in much, do they?"

I shook my head, "No, not really. So...are you going to tell me about the ceremony or am I going to have to guess what the special occasion is?" Elizabeth had perked my curiosity by now and I was anxious to hear what the ceremony was for. Elizabeth nodded to my question and said, "It's James Norrington's promotion ceremony! He's becoming a commodore!"

"Oh," I said, almost with disappointment. I didn't even know who James Norrington was. Why should I be so interested in his promotion ceremony if I didn't know who the man was? Unfortunately, I didn't know hardly any young men. My mother kept me inside constantly because of the whole "purity" thing and so there was really not much time for me to go out and socialize.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at me, "Don't you know who James is?" I shook my head again. Elizabeth widened her eyes in surprise, "My goodness, you really need to meet some people, Jenna! Oh well, you'll meet some people at the ceremony today, including James. I can introduce you. He's been visiting quite a bit lately. I wonder..."

Elizabeth's face went thoughtful and I could tell she was thinking about something. I wondered what. Resting an arm on her shoulder, I leaned forward and asked, "You wonder what, Lizzy?" I wished she wouldn't trail off on her sentences like that. It drove my crazy wondering what she had been about to say.

"Well, I was thinking about how I am seventeen now," Elizabeth pointed out. "I have always thought that perhaps the commodore liked me as more than a friend. Perhaps he will propose to me today?" Elizabeth's face was unreadable as she said the part about James Norrington proposing to her. My face, on the other hand, was the opposite.

"Oh my god, really? But...you're only seventeen!" I burst out, jaw dropped and eyes bulging. Elizabeth laughed at my expression and gave a small smile. She fingered the quilt on the bed as she replied, "Yes, but many young women get engaged at seventeen. Why else do you think father bought me such a fancy dress for the occasion?"

I didn't have an answer to that. Maybe Elizabeth was right. Maybe her father did want her to get married already. Personally, I thought the idea was crazy, but what was I to say? Trying to compose myself, I asked, "So, do you think you're ready for a marriage then? Do you think you like James Norrington enough to actually marry him?"

Elizabeth stayed quite for a moment and just looked at the ground. Finally, she said, "I'm not sure to be honest. But is it really my choice? I don't think so." Elizabeth sighed and then made a funny choking noise. Instantly concerned, I put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Lizzy? Are you alright? You sound like you might be choking."

"I'm okay," Elizabeth answered. "It's just that it's rather hard to breathe in this dress. I'll be fine though. Shall we head downstairs and see if father is ready to go to the ceremony with us? It wouldn't hurt to be there early. Besides, you can look at all the young men that way. You'll probably be getting married soon too, no?"

I stood up and gave Elizabeth an incredulous look, "Um...probably not. You know how my mother is about these things. She rarely even lets me out of the house." Elizabeth stood up next to me and took my hand as we started towards the door, "Well, you can at least check them all out. See if you fancy one or not." She winked at me.

The two of us exited her bedroom and started down the stairs. Two people were already standing in the doorway. One was Governor Swann and the other was Will Turner. Elizabeth's eyes lit up as she looked at Will. I had always suspected that she liked him as more than a friend, but I had never gotten this confirmed.

"Will! It's so good to see you! I had a dream about you last night," Elizabeth said, hurrying down the stairs. I hurried after her, doing my best not to trip on the skirts of my dress. My eyebrows raised when I heard about Elizabeth's dream. This was going to be interesting. Unfortunately, Elizabeth never got the words out.

"Elizabeth, do you really think that is an appropriate subject around the boy?" Governor Swann asked, pushing her gently towards the door where the carriage awaited. He turned to me and smiled, "You may go ahead and get in, Jenna. Sit wherever you like. All of our things are your things. Elizabeth? Are you coming too?"

I turned to see Elizabeth still chatting with Will. I concealed a smile out of the corner of my mouth and climbed inside the carriage. Moments later, Elizabeth and Governor Swann joined me. Even though my first impulse was to ask Elizabeth just how much she liked Will, I was able to keep my mouth shut. After all, Governor Swann would probably not approve of my subject.

We sat in silence for about three or four minutes until we arrived at our destination. Governor Swann opened the door for Elizabeth and me. He looked us both over carefully before smiling and saying, "You two look lovely. The ceremony doesn't start for another thirty minutes or so. Feel free to roam around. Elizabeth, why don't you introduce Jenna to some of your friends? Just make sure you arrive on time for the ceremony. I'll just be wandering around somewhere. I really would like to speak to James before the ceremony."

Elizabeth nodded and took my hand as we both stepped out of the carriage. There were several crowds around us. Clusters of people were chatting, laughing, and just looking like they were having a good time. I looked around in awe. It had been a while since I had seen so many people before. Actually, had I even seen this many people before? Perhaps not.

"Let's go try and find James," Elizabeth said, started to make her way through the crowds. I followed her and continued looking around with wide eyes. We stopped a few minutes later when we heard a voice to our left call out to Elizabeth, "Miss Swann! I haven't seen you for a while. That's a fine dress, you're wearing."

"Why thank you," Elizabeth said, turning around. We were standing by a young man with a white wig and brown eyes. He had an earnest expression on his face. When we turned towards him, his eyes fell on me curiously. He extended a hand and said, "I don't think we've met. I'm Theodore Groves. And yourself?"

I extended my hand towards him and took his. Shaking hands, I replied, "Jenna. Jenna Cook." Groves smiled at me and nodded. He thought for a moment and then said, "That's a very nice name. There aren't many Jennas around here. But then again, there aren't many young women around here. I don't think I've seen you before, have you, Ian?"

Groves turned to a man on his right. This man had a wrinkly face, cold brown eyes, and dark brown hair. He looked old as if he was almost my father's age. I instantly decided I didn't like him. Unfortunately, he extended his hand out towards me as well and answered Groves, "No, I haven't. It's a pleausre to meet you, Miss Cook. I'm Ian Mercer."

Trying not to look too disgusted, I smiled stiffly and shook Mercer's hand, "The pleasure is all mine." I kicked Elizabeth under my skirts in an attempt to tell her to keep moving. I didn't like Mercer for some reason. He brought up a weird sensation in my gut. Something about him made me want to turn and run the other way.

Luckily, Elizabeth picked up on the hint, "It was nice seeing you, Ian and Theodore. I'm looking for James. Have you seen him by any chance?" She smiled politely and looked back and forth between the two men. Groves looked thoughtful and then nodded, "I have actually! He went that way." Groves pointed to our left.

"Thank you," Elizabeth smiled at him. "We'll be on our way now. It was nice to see both of you. Perhaps we'll talk more later." With that said, Elizabeth took my arm and started hauling me off towards our left in the direction Groves had pointed us in. I followed her quickly, still feeling eyes on my back. Feeling nervous, I glimpsed back over my shoulder. Ian Mercer was still at me.

Once we were safely out of hearing distance, I turned to Elizabeth and said, "You know that Ian Mercer? He seems rather...odd to me. I get a wearing feeling around him and he kept staring at me!" I shuddered and looked back towards where he and Groves had been standing. Thank god we were away from Mercer now.

"Yes, I get that same feeling around him sometimes," Elizabeth nodded. "There is something off about him although I cannot place my finger on it. What do you think of Theodore though? He seems like a nice man, don't you think?" Elizabeth gave me a suggestive wink and raised her eyebrows, asking me an unasked question.

I blushed and shook my head, "He seems nice and all, but I don't like him in that way if you know what I mean." Elizabeth nodded and started pulling me along again. She looked all around, trying to find James.with me trailing after her. Elizabeth sighed irritably when we still hadn't found James ten minutes later.

"I have no idea where that man has gotten to! I'll be right back. I have something I have to do," Elizabeth told me before disappearing through the crowd. I watched her go, standing awkwardly by myself in such a big crowd. I felt rather out of place standing my myself when everyone else was talking or laughing in large groups. I was apparently the outsider here.

I stood in silence, watching everyone else for a few minutes, when I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. Whirling around, I met the eyes of a man standing behind me. He was wearing the blue uniform of everyone at the gathering and had warm brown eyes and freckles across his nose. He gave me a shy smile and held out his hand, "Hey."

"Hi," I replied back, taking his hand. "I'm Jenna. And you are?" Surprisingly enough, I was enjoying shaking his hand. His fingers were warm under mine. I didn't feel nervous around this man at all. No, I didn't feel at all like I did when I shook hands with Mercer. Something was wrong with Mercer, but I just wasn't sure what it was.

"Gillette," the man said quickly, offering me a small smile. From the way he was acting, he seemed just as nervous as me. I released his hand and smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Gillette. Do you know Commodore Norrington?" Gillette nodded and started to speak, but at that moment, Elizabeth came running in between us.

"Jenna," she gasped, "The ceremony is going to start in just a few minutes! Come on, we don't want to be late!" Elizabeth grabbed my arm and started running. I waved to Gillette, sorry I couldn't spend more time talking to him, and called, "Maybe we can talk more after the ceremony? Goodbye!"

Elizabeth rushed me to the fort where the ceremony was about to take place. We stood around the edge, waiting for James Norrington to enter. As we waited, Elizabeth turned and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Who was that? You know, the guy you were talking to? Do you really want to talk to him more?" She looked at me curiously.

"Gillette," I told her. "He seems nice enough. Don't you know him?" Elizabeth knew everybody. I didn't expect her not to know who Gillette was. Before Elizabeth had the chance to answer though, a man stepped into the fort. He was tall. Very tall. And very slender too. He had deep brown eyes, was dressed in a blue uniform, and had a fancy hat set on top of the wig he was wearing.

My mouth dropped and I gaped at him in awe. Elizabeth stabbed me in the arm with her finger and looked at me, "Hey, who're you looking at?" I didn't have any words to say, so I simply pointed at the commodore. Elizabeth followed my gaze, "Oh, that's James. I can introduce you two after the ceremony. Would you like that?"

I nodded vigorously, unable to think of anything I'd like more than that at the moment. James Norrington was beautiful. There were no other words to describe him. I watched him for the rest of the ceremony, not really paying attention to what was gone. To be honest, I was just happy hearing his deep voice and watching him walk through the rows of soldiers gathered in the center of the room.

As soon as the ceremony was over, I turned to Elizabeth excitedly and asked, "Can we go meet the commodore now?" Elizabeth laughed at the excitement written all over my face and nodded, "Sure, why not?" She took my hand and started leading me to someplace or another. I wasn't really sure where we were going since I had never been to the fort before.

We walked for a few minutes until a voice that sent shivers down my spine spoke from behind us, "Ah, Elizabeth. I've been looking for you. May I have a moment?" I froze at the sound of the voice, smoothed my skirts, and turned around as Elizabeth did. Oh my god, it was James Norrington! And god, he looked even better up close. I hate to say it, but I was gaping.

"Sure," Elizabeth agreed, smiling politely up at him. She put a hand up to her chest. I wondered what she was doing and then remembered that she had said she was having a hard time breathing in her dress. I shot her a sympathetic look. Elizabeth went on, "But meet my friend first. This is Jenna Cook. Jenna, meet James."

James turned his deep brown eyes on me and gave me a stiff smile, "Genevieve. Any friend of Elizabeth's is a friend of mine." He took off his hat and gave me a quick bow before turning his eyes back to Elizabeth, "May I borrow you for a moment?" I frowned slightly. If I was being honest, I wanted James to stay and talk with me. Unfortunately, I didn't seem to have perked his interest at all.

Elizabeth looked from me to James. Finally, she nodded. I could tell she didn't want to leave me, but she wanted to be polite, "Yes. Jenna? I'll be back in a few minutes. You can explore the fort if you'd like." With that, she went off with Commodore Norrington. You have no idea how jealous I was of her. I would do anything to be that girl James was taking away. Unfortunately, I was not that girl and James had barely looked at me.

I waited for Elizabeth a few minutes, but when she still wasn't back, I decided to go off and do whatever I wanted. I wandered through the crowds, looking for Gillette. He had seemed nice and I kind of wanted to talk to him some more. As I wandered through the crowds, a group of rough men suddenly appeared. They were running and I supposed that they had probably stolen something. I tried to get out of their way, but I didn't have enough time. One of the men slammed into me, throwing me backwards. Thank god there was someone standing behind me to catch me and keep me from cracking my skull open.

I stood kind of stunned for a moment, trying to catch my breath. I heard the voice from behind me say, "The fort is well guarded. I wonder just where they think they're going." Hands that had caught my arms moved onto my shoulders and spun me around. I looked up to meet my rescuer...and found myself gaping again.

This man was just as beautiful as the commodore. He had amber eyes, full lips, and was rather small. He stood about 5'4", which in my opinion, was a perfect height. He looked down and me and raised an eyebrow. In an orderly voice, he asked, "And who would you be? I haven't seen you here before. Are you even suppose to be here?"