Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror, Mirror ❯ New Friend ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

Ayse stood before the gangway of the naval ship hesitantly. She glanced at the pocket watch that hung on the leather cord around her neck before clasping it tightly. James had said that his friend would help her, and she believed him. She gave a resolute nod before wandering up the plank of wood that lay between the ship and the dock.

Once there, she glanced around for Lieutenant Groves's familiar face among the bustle of the sailors until she spotted him stooped over on the other side of the deck making a final tug on one of the ship's ropes.

“Lieutenant!” Ayse called.

Groves's head came up and looked around, apparently unaccustomed to a woman's voice calling after him, let alone even hearing one on a ship. He spotted Ayse waving at him and smiled, immediately recognizing who she was.

He came over to her still grinning away. “Miss Ayse Thomas…is that correct?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Have you come to take me up on my story offer?” Theodore lightly joked.

“Actually, Lieutenant,” Ayse said, lowering her voice. “I have one for you, but…I must tell it to you alone.”

A puzzled expression crossed the Lieutenant's features followed by one of consternation. “You aren't in some kind of trouble, are you?”

“Please, just let me talk with you alone,” Ayse pressed.

He nodded his head slowly. “Alright.” Theodore gestured toward the captain's office. “I'm sure my captain won't mind if we borrow his office.”

He led her to the office and closed the door. Lieutenant Groves gestured for Ayse to have a seat in one of the chairs.

“Now tell me, what's going on that you've come onto my ship and asked for my audience?”

Ayse bit her lip. “I apologize profusely for taking you away from your duties, and really I don't know where to begin, but I suppose I'll manage. About a month ago, my father sent me a looking glass from India as a gift.”

Theodore's brows raised in confusion. “A looking glass? Was there something special about this looking glass?”

“There was, and what I am about to tell you will sound so incredulous you might think me mad.” Ayse pulled out James's pocket watch and nervously held it in her hand. “But I have proof that every word of it is true.”

If Theodore knew any better he would think that the woman in his company was pulling his leg, but he let Ayse continue, perplexed by what she had to say. Honestly, he'd seen so many strange things already that he was apt to believe anything was possible.

“When I told you that night you walked me home that I had never met James Norrington, I wasn't entirely truthful. I am here because he asked me to be here.”

“Norrington…asked you?” Groves leaned forward in his seat, even more puzzled. The last he had heard, James had been lost. “He's alive and you know his whereabouts?”

“He's alive…in a way.” She unclasped the lid of the watch and held up the mirror for Groves to see. “Have a look, Lieutenant.”

The Lieutenant reached out and took the watch from Ayse. She wrung her hands worried that James would not appear in the glass and then all hope would be lost. Still, Groves glanced up at her and then down at the compact mirror, and sure enough, James's face appeared in the tiny glass.

Theodore's eyes went wide, and he quickly dropped the watch onto the captain's desk as though he had been holding a viper. “Dear God!”

He kicked his feet and shuffled the chair back away from the desk, his eyes not believing what he was seeing. Certainly he'd seen undead pirates and met Davy Jones, but…a poltergeist? A spirit, a ghost?

“It's good to see you, too,” James told Groves calmly.

Ayse stood up and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, relieved that Groves could see James in the glass. “The man you see in that glass is indeed real. You are not losing your mind, I promise you that.”

The Lieutenant was wide-eyed, and he stared back at James in utter surprise. Slowly, he began to scoot his chair toward the pocket watch on the desk. “Admiral…I thought you were lost…”

“What you are seeing is not an illusion,” James told him. “Davy Jones killed me on the Dutchman, but while I was on the other side, the new captain allowed me a second chance by sending me here in what came to be Ayse's dressing mirror. She came across me, and we have become good friends in the short time we've known one another.”

“I also made him a promise, and we need your help, Lieutenant. James said you were the only person he could trust to help us,” Ayse added.

Groves looked at Ayse. “Help you…and Admiral Norrington…what am I to help you with?”

Ayse sat down and leaned forward. “You are to help us leave Port Royal.”

She began to explain the full story of how she'd come into possession of James and how they'd managed to figure out how to get him out of the large glass and into the smaller one he was in now and that they had to find Calypso to make him mortal once more.

“And to top all of this off, I have been forced into an engagement with a man that I have no desire to wed,” Ayse finished, a bitter tone to her voice. “So the sooner we are able to leave, the better.”

Theodore rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How soon?”

Ayse hesitated. “Preferably before my wedding day. I marry in two weeks.”

The lieutenant's eyes nearly bugged from his head. “Two weeks?!” He leaned back in the chair and sighed. “It's cutting it close, but I think it's doable.”

“What have you in mind?” James asked.

“This is the height of the shipping season, so getting onto a merchant vessel won't be much of a problem.” He stood up and walked a circle around Ayse. “However, Miss Thomas will have to be outfitted in attire befitting of a male crew member for such a ship.”

“You mean disguise as a man and parade as a sailor?” she asked, a slightly horrified look on her face. “But I don't know the first thing about being a sailor, other than what little Father has taught me about it.”

“I wouldn't worry about that, Ayse,” James put in. “I'll be with you and I shall help you as much as I can.”

Ayse smiled softly. “I know you will be James, but I suppose I can't help my uncertainty about the quality of my abilities as a mariner.”

“There is one other thing…” Groves trailed. He was behind Ayse eying her waist-long black braid. “You'll have to cut your hair.”

An appalled expression overtook Ayse's features. “What!? I can't cut my hair!”

“If you're going to disguise as a man, you'll have to,” James told her.

“But Chinamen have braids longer than I have!”

“I beg your pardon, Miss Thomas,” Groves broke in, “but I'm afraid you don't look like a Chinaman in the face. You'll have to cut your hair if you want to pass as a man and gain employment on a merchant ship.”

Ayse chewed her lower lip in defeat. They did have a point, but she couldn't get over the fact that it simply wasn't proper for a woman to shear her locks. “How short?”

“I think a little past the shoulders ought to be just fine,” James remarked. “And then you can tie it back into a tail as most common men would wear it.”

Ayse sighed. “Fine, fine. I do see the point, but…it's just not proper.”

“I think we'll just have to skip what's proper and what is not in this situation,” Groves told her earnestly. “After all, you will have to wear a pair of breeches and expose your legs.”

She shook her head. “If that cannot be helped, then it can't. Damn it all. If I didn't care so much for James and his well-being I'd say to hell with all of this.”

“Well I am grateful in any case that you do care about this cause and it flatters me to hear you say that you care about me,” James responded honestly.

“Well why shouldn't I?” Ayse asked. “You are indeed the closest friend that I have right now, and I am ever grateful for your company. I hope you keep in touch with me after you get out of this prison.”

“I shall not forget you, I promise that,” James reassured her.

Theodore watched their exchange, unable to stop the small smirk that crept across his face. Ayse and James both glanced up and scowled at the suggestive glint in his eye.

“What?” the pair asked together.

“Nothing, nothing,” the lieutenant responded, waving his hand before his face as he changed the subject. “So. Why don't we meet again tomorrow night and I'll give you some old clothing of mine to alter to your size and further discuss plans for your…departure.”

Ayse picked up James and smiled at Groves. “Thank you ever so kindly for helping us, Lieutenant.”

He took her arm and opened the door of the small ship's office. “I would do anything for someone trying to help a friend of my own, Miss Thomas, especially if I can have a hand in helping that friend as well.”

“Then we will meet tomorrow night after the sun sets,” Ayse told Groves.

“Where shall we meet? You will run too much risk of being seen if you come here, and I don't wish to put your reputation in peril since you are promised to another.”

“Ayse knows where the key to my house is,” James spoke up. “And she's quite clever at sneaking out of her house. If you could meet her near her home, then perhaps you both can make it to my house.”

“Ah, yes. It would be wise if I could meet you. I don't think I could forgive myself if something happened to you,” Groves responded.

Ayse clasped her hands together. “Then it is settled. Tomorrow night you will meet me outside of my house, and let's make it around ten so that I can be sure that everyone in my home is good and asleep.”

Groves nodded. “Agreed, and I shall bring a parcel of clothes you can alter and wear for your disguise.”

Relieved that Groves would help them, Ayse threw her arms around his shoulders. “Oh I am so glad I can depend on you. Thank you, Lieutenant.”

Theodore blushed and smiled. “Y-you're welcome, Miss Thomas.”

Ayse released her hold on Groves before taking James up and placing her hand on the door to the office. “I will see you tomorrow night, Lieutenant. Good day.”

“Good day, Miss Thomas.”