Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror, Mirror ❯ Truth ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

 

The following day, Ayse rose early, and after a brief conversation with James, she tied on her hat, grabbed a basket and a shawl, and ventured out into the fresh morning air. She could already tell from the stickiness of the atmosphere that it was going to be rather humid today, so she stuffed her shawl into her basket. Ayse wasn't quite ready to make a trip into town, so she opted to walk along the beach to see how far the tide had risen.

The water wasn't crashing against the shore as it was last night, but rather it lapped at the sand delicately. There were bits and pieces of driftwood everywhere, possibly those drawn out to sea from other islands hundreds of miles away as well as seaweed drawn up from the shallow harbor of Port Royal. Ayse kicked a small piece of wood down the beach and toed at some crab trying to make its way back home.

Farther up the beach, Ayse came across what was not driftwood but actual boards that looked as though they belonged to the wreckage of a ship. She picked up a partial piece that seemed to have a name etched into it and looked as though it might be from the stern. Ayse cleared away the seaweed from the piece to find that it was painted red with gold letters that read `Endea'.

Ayse frowned, wondering if perhaps the name of the ship had been Endeavour. The piece didn't look like it had been at the bottom for very long since the paint wasn't even chipped. As she put the board down, a glimmer caught her eye from among some rocks father up. She picked up her basket and jogged down toward the shining object. Upon closer inspection, Ayse found a silver rapier stuck in between the crevices of the formation. She climbed up onto the rocks, carefully balancing herself on the top as she reached down for the handle to pull it free.

The handle had a silver guard decorated with now faded gold filigree, and the blade of it was long, though it looked a bit dull in shine. Ayse studied the rapier a little longer before she turned it horizontally and tested the balance at the end of her index finger; it was perfectly balanced.

Ayse smiled, thrilled that she'd found such a splendid treasure. She hopped down from the rocks with the sword in hand and checked around for the possibility that a sheath had washed up. Unfortunately, there was none, but it wasn't a problem; she had money stashed back from when her father had sent her some, and she thought that perhaps the rapier would be a good welcoming gift to give to him once she had it cleaned up.

As Ayse began to walk away, her foot caught on a large piece of wood, and she tripped on it, turning the piece over as she fell to the sand.

“Oh, blast it! Now I have to go change!” she groused.

The young lady turned and inspected the piece of wood that caused her fall, and she was surprised to find yet another treasure - an open gold pocket watch with a thin gold chain attached to it. The cover of the watch had a small looking glass attached inside, and Ayse was amazed that the glass hadn't broken! She rose to her feet before kneeling down to collect it and put it safely into her basket. She tucked the rapier under her arm and made her way back toward the house to change out of her sand-filled dress and shoes.

Upon entering her room, Ayse closed the door for both privacy and to show James what she'd found.

“Oh, James! I was down at the beach, and I found some wreckage washed up on the shore and a couple of items along with it!” Ayse told him smiling.

“Really? What was it that you found?”

She took out the watch. “A lovely pocket watch with a mirror in the cover, for one, and the glass isn't even broken. Now that it's mine, I wonder if we can use it.”

“Bring it closer, Ayse. I can't see it very well from where you are.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

Ayse took a few steps closer to James, and he leaned down to take a closer look. “Hnn…perhaps, but wait a moment…” He looked even closer as the face of the watch looked incredibly familiar. “Are there any initials on the back of the cover?”

“Um, I didn't really look,” she trailed. Ayse took a corner of her apron and wiped off the cover to reveal the engraved initials `JN'. “Here are some…JN.”

“That's what I thought…” he told her. “That watch is mine.”

“What?!” Ayse exclaimed. “Oh, but, James, how certain are you of that? There are lots of men with your initials.”

“The side of the watch's face should be slightly flat if you look,” he explained. “The chain broke on it once while I was putting it on and it hit the floor. I thought I had broken it.”

Ayse took a closer look, and sure enough there was a flat spot on the side of the watch. “Oh…my goodness, what are the odds?”

He shook his head. “Indeed.” He smiled. “My father gave me that watch years ago. It's a shame that it is too waterlogged to work now. It really meant a lot to me.”

Ayse put the watch on her nightstand. “Well you can be rest assured that I shall keep it in a safe place since it has sentimental value to you, James.” She picked up the rapier and held it up. “I also found this beautiful rapier stuck in the crevices of the rocks on the beach. It wasn't hard to remove, but the sheath, I'm afraid, is lost forever.”

James's eyes widened as Ayse held it up and studied it more. “Th-that sword!” He pointed to it. “That sword is mine as well! How did it…? How did it make it all the way here?!”

Ayse looked surprised. “Is it now? I wonder indeed! And to think I found a watch that is also yours. Truly this is a very strange coincidence.” She remembered the board. “Um…I did find a partial board on the beach among the wreckage with the name of a ship. Was your ship the Endeavour?”

James shook his head. “No. That was Lord Cutler Beckett's ship. I was on a different one.”

“Then why did your things wash up with the wreckage of that ship? Were you on board at one time?”

James shuffled and suddenly looked terribly uncomfortable. He wished those things hadn't washed up because now Ayse was beginning to ask too many questions, and if he allowed her to go on, he was afraid that she might figure something out. “I was not.” James decided to change the subject. “Didn't you have an errand to run to the bookshop today?”

Ayse suddenly frowned and put James's rapier aside. “Who is Lord Cutler Beckett anyway?”

He raised his eyebrows. “You don't know who he is?”

“Well of course not. I've only been here a few months. Now tell me who he is, James.”

“Someone you wouldn't want to meet, Ayse.” He tried to avoid the subject again. “You really should be getting along. I don't want it to get late on you.”

“I have plenty of time, and judging by the way you're trying to get rid of me, I'd say you're hiding something,” Ayse pointedly said, crossing her arms suspiciously. “What are you not telling me?”

He scowled. “What makes you think I have something to hide?”

Ayse's glower matched his. “You've never tried to run me off as quickly as you are now, and don't even tell me that it's because you're just looking out for me. I wasn't born yesterday. And there is the undeniable fact that you've barely talked about yourself since we met, and I've told you lots of things about me. Now tell me the truth, James.”

The Admiral hesitated. “If I were to tell you about me…you might never speak to me again, and I simply cannot risk that.”

“Is that so? And how have you come to conclude this? I've been nothing but kind, helpful, and understanding to you since we met.” She sat down on the cedar chest. “Besides, has it ever occurred to you that if you offered some information as to how you wound up in your situation that it might make things a bit simpler for me?”

James sighed heavily. The thought had occurred to him, but he was just so ashamed of everything that he never wanted to recall those things again. Ayse, however, was demanding the truth from him, and it didn't look as though she were going to relent anytime soon. Though would pain him to tell it, she would have it.

“Alright, Ayse. If it's the truth you want, then you shall have it.”

James began in the best place he knew - from the beginning. Ayse leaned forward with interest as he told her of how he'd become engaged to Elizabeth and how much he'd adored her. He also told her about the cursed pirates, Elizabeth choosing the blacksmith over him in the end, the hurricane that cost him innocent lives as well as his resignation because of his obsession with catching Jack Sparrow, and about how he'd drowned his sorrows in Tortuga among the very pirates he'd despised over his entire career.

James continued his long tale by recalling his account with finding the heart of Davy Jones and betraying his companions and even Elizabeth by stealing it and how he used it to gain his position back and the rank of Admiral on top of that. He finally finished his story with his death on the Flying Dutchman while trying to free Elizabeth and how Elizabeth's husband and his father, the man who killed him to begin with, placed him into his God forsaken prison.

Ayse was quiet for a long moment after he'd finished, and it had taken James over an hour to recount his adventure. She stood up, stunned, from everything that she'd heard and turned her back to him for a moment so that everything could sink in.

“So that's it, then?” she softly said after what seemed like forever.

“Yes. That's all of it, and it's the truth and nothing but. I swear.”

Ayse turned back around to face him. “My word, James…you've had quite an adventure, haven't you? I believe you could write an entire volume over what you've been through.”

“Please don't joke, Ayse.”

“I'm not, actually.” She came over to the looking glass. “I think I can understand why it was that you were afraid to tell me all of these things.”

“Well, take your best shot, then.”

“Well, it's highly improbable, for one, and you were afraid I wouldn't believe you. For another, you must really think that you're a bad person for the way you went about things in the end, and so, you thought that I would think exactly the same and not want to help you. Am I correct?”

He nodded his affirmation shamefully. “How can anyone wish to help me after all this? I wouldn't want to help me if I were in your position.”

“And that's probably why you're not, James, my dear,” Ayse offered sympathetically. “Honestly, people have done worse. I don't think that God created mankind to be perfect or Eve would have never eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. We are imperfect beings, James, and we are all going to stumble and fall, and people will ultimately fail us as we ourselves will fail others.”

“I certainly failed, alright,” he admitted.

“Then pick yourself up and walk on,” she told him. “It's all you can do. Besides, how many people manage to truly evade death? Obviously, Mr. Turner certainly didn't deem you an unworthy person of a second chance and neither do I.” Ayse touched the side of his mirror. “When you are freed, James, promise me that you'll make the most of your new life and leave everything else behind.”

Norrington smiled sincerely. “I have already made that promise to myself, but I shall make it to you as well. Truly you are a wonderful friend, and I don't deserve to have you as such. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and understanding, Ayse.”

Ayse returned his smile with one of her own. “There is no need to thank me, James.”

“May I ask you something?”

“Hnn?”

“My story…is so farfetched and impossible. Why do you believe me?”

Ayse shrugged. “I have befriended a man whose soul is trapped in a lady's dressing mirror. Shouldn't that be impossible in itself, James? How can I say that I see you and speak with you just a plain as day and then turn around and deny a tale that is equally as impossible? Use your logic, my friend.”

James blinked at Ayse, but he offered no answer.

She went and picked up the rapier. “I will hang on to this for you, and if you'll pardon me, I'm going to take it to have it cleaned and the sheath replaced so you may have it when the time comes for you to finally be out of there.”

He watched her reach under her bed and take out a small bag containing money. “Oh, you really shouldn't. You're doing enough for me as it is.”

“Oh, nonsense. It will give me something to do.” She looked up at James with a mischievous grin. “Besides, I rather like that rapier myself, so I might wind up changing my mind and keeping it.”

“Is that how it is?” James asked her amusedly. “Well then, we ought to hurry and get me out of here so we can duel for it.”

“What's the point? You know I'll win,” Ayse replied with a laugh.

“And what makes you so sure of that? Surely you don't think you have a chance against one of His Majesty's finest.”

Ayse put a hand on her doorknob, having forgotten about changing out of her sandy dress for now. “I have my ways. If I play my cards right, I'll win for sure.”

“Suit yourself,” he responded lightly. “Are you leaving?”

“For a while, but you most likely will not see me until I come back to change for dinner and then later this evening.”

“Ah, well, take care, then and do try not to be so late in returning from town. You had me quite worried.”

She smiled lightly. “Oh there will be no chance of that, James.”