29Chapter 6: The Unexpected
Elizabeth had just finished with her bath and she was still clad in the bath robe when Maura burst into her room and straight into her arms sobbing. It took Elizabeth a while to form some words after the startling 'attack'.
"Maura? What's wrong?" Maura was sobbing loudly that poor Elizabeth couldn't decipher what her cousin was trying to say so she just let Maura cried it out.
She stroke Maura's honey blonde hair softly while the smaller girl continued to sob. It broke Elizabeth's heart whenever she saw her cousin cried because Maura was never the kind of girl to shed tears easily.
All Elizabeth knew at that moment was to let Maura calm down so she could be filled in, and perhaps do something to help Maura; or at least demanded her father to help.
After another few more minutes of full blown sobbing, Maura was finally reduced to couple of hiccups. "I'm leaving…" was all that she could manage.
"Wh… So soon?" Elizabeth pulled Maura's head off her chest to get a good look at the crying girl.
"Father… He…" Maura had some trouble forming her sentence as she continued to hiccup for a couple of times before finally reliving the story to Elizabeth.
15 minutes ago:
"Why are we leaving so soon? You promised me that I could be here longer!"
Richard Isles was truly surprised that Maura was talking back at him. This was not the same daughter that he knew when they left France so he to say that he was startled was an understatement.
"There was a pirate attack, Maura! It is not safe here."
"This mansion is filled with soldiers at every corner and guards at every door! Please father, at least let me stay here instead. I am certain that Elizabeth wouldn't mind."
Richard couldn't comprehend the sudden stubbornness that his young daughter was showing and it was driving him to frustration. Oh how he wished that his wife, Constance, was here with him at this moment.
"I will be good, I promise. Marianne will be here to take care of me." Maura tried to reason with him. She even took his hand as she pleaded, and Richard became even more confused because he always thought that his daughter dislikes any form of contact that was longer than five seconds.
"I will not have you associate yourself with that commoner girl!" Richard suddenly burst out.
Maura gasped at two things: her father's sudden raised voice and her father's knowledge about Jane. Maura had never, in all her life, heard him spoke to her in such tone; not even when she accidentally set his cigar box on fire when she was younger.
"I received reports that you are spending too much time with that Jonah's helper! What is becoming of you? You are a lady; an Isles! She is a commoner! You should not be seen with her, let alone share a meal with her."
"Her name is Jane! She has been the most caring person I have ever met and she is my best friend! You cannot stop me from seeing her."
"Oh yes I can. The only friends you need are your cousin and the Fairfield's sons; especially your betrothed Garret. His father is an excellent commodore and they come from good blood. I will not have my daughter be seen with such dirty commoner blood."
Both Isles stood across from each other; both were breathing hard from their outbursts. Maura had never felt so angry before, and her little body trembled as she tried to control her tears that were threatening to fall.
Richard's face softened slightly when he saw the distraught look on his daughter's face. Only now did Richard realize that his daughter was, after all, only 10 years of age. Just as he was about to kneel down to his only child, his father's voice loomed in his head that stopped Richard's progress.
He took in several deep breaths and straightened his body, and looked into the hazel eyes in front of him. "We are leaving at the break of dawn two sunsets from today. Have Marianne gather your belongings."
There was such finality in his tone that Maura couldn't form any other words. The tears that she was so desperately trying to hold off started to pour from her eyes. She quickly stormed out of the room and let her small legs guided her to the second place in the mansion that provided her comfort.
Elizabeth's mouth was wide opened by the time Maura finished recalling her previous unpleasant conversations with her estranged father.
"I'm not allowed to leave the house. I can't even say goodbye to Jane." Maura cried once more.
"Shh… Shh… It's alright… Maybe I can ask my father to convince Uncle Richard to let you stay here with me."
"There is no point… My father is beyond reasoning. I do not understand why he hates Jane so much! He does not even know her, let alone met her before! How can he say such things about the most honest person in the world?"
Elizabeth could feel that Maura was getting worked out again so she pulled her cousin closer to her body and rubbed a soothing circle on Maura's back.
"Do you remember when I told you about our class in the society?" Maura nodded her head.
"Well, this is it, my dearest cousin."
"But how does he even know about Jane?"
"He probably had someone following us since I highly doubt Marianne would tell him anything. That woman loves you too much."
Maura smiled slightly at that thought of her caretaker but her smile didn't last long when her thoughts drifted back to one scruffy Italian girl. Elizabeth lifted Maura's chin so they were on eye-leveled.
"Come now. Let's not get too pouty, it's not becoming of you. You are an Isles, and I am a Swann. I am certain that together, you and I will come up with something brilliant. Just let me get dressed first. I doubt I could run very well in this bathrobe."
Maura chuckled slightly and released her grip off Elizabeth to let her change but before Elizabeth could go far, Maura grabbed her cousin's hand to stop her.
"Thank you, Elizabeth. I do not know what I I would do without you. Oh, I am going to miss you dearly!" Maura said and pulled Elizabeth for one more hug.
"We are not giving up, do you hear me? This is not a goodbye hug, not until I, Elizabeth Swann, have the final say!"
A/N: Words cannot express how truly sorry I am for not updating this story. I'm not abandoning it, but I will take some time to finish it. I just returned from months long of rehab (not the drug type). The next chapter should be up soon. I hope all of you are still with me on this.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; just using it for my own leisure.