Fantasy Caught in the Waves (Closed)

[AvianJen]

Mr. Sinclair leaned forward, looking straight at his daughter. "Because you said so," he said. He knew that Josephine would blame herself for this, but he didn't want her to. "And I'm glad you did, sweetheart. I never would have known otherwise, and I would hate to find out after they married. There's no easy way to go through all of this, but this is the better way." He was quiet for a moment, hesitating before he asked, "She's not pregnant, is she?" If anyone knew, it would be Josephine.

When she protested so vehemently to his decision, though, Mr. Sinclair stood and glared at her, leaning over across his desk. "I can!" he insisted. "I'm her father, and Ella clearly doesn't know what's best for her! I can do this, and I will!" He calmed down for a moment and sighed, sitting back down. He hated doing this. It wasn't easy to be on this side of the argument, but it was necessary. Someone had to be watching out for Ella. "Sweetheart, I need you to see things from my perspective," he said in a low voice. "If your daughter wanted to marry the pirate that had kidnapped her, held her for ransom...would you let her? Honestly, Josephine. It's not going to destroy her to marry someone else, but it will destroy her the day he decides he's ready to take up his old ways, or leave her with children for some hooker in town, or...can't you see? I'm trying to protect her. She may hate me for it until the day I die but I'll protect her." His daughters didn't seem to understand that.

At the comment that Alec wasn't much different than Peter, Mr. Sinclair raised his eyebrows. That didn't really help her case. Quite the contrary, actually. "Is that meant to make me like Peter more or like Alec less?" he asked her. "I don't understand, Josie. Most girls have no problem finding respectable young men to marry, but my daughters? No, heaven forbid it be easy. A secret relationship with the stable boy and a pirate, that's what I get to deal with. If I'm missing the whole story then by all means, please tell me. I think it's high time I heard it."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine had already deduced that her father must have somehow overheard her, but she didn't want to believe it. Not even when the words came out of his own mouth and weren't just echoing somewhere in her mind. It was her fault that Peter was in jail now. Her fault that he would die. If Ella knew, she would never forgive her for this, even if it was an accident. "No..." she said quietly, both as a denial and an answer to his question. The only thing that could make any of this worse, was if Ella was pregnant. Thank god there were no signs of that.

She winced when Mr. Sinclair reacted to her protest. Their relationship hadn't exactly been great lately... not since they returned from the ship. Although it had gotten better since then, it was hard not to let these little moments get to her. She loved her father, but he made her so angry at his refusal to listen to his daughters. They weren't little kids anymore, and while she and Ella both had made some questionable decisions, they didn't need him anymore to protect them. What they needed was his support. She understood he was trying to give that to them, but he was going about it in the wrong way, and instead, all it did was drive a wedge between them. She used to think a lot of the same things he was saying about Peter now, but hearing it from somebody else, given the circumstances... Peter was not that man anymore. She could finally see what Ella had been saying all along.

It also annoyed her that, seemingly he hadn't learned his lesson after what happened with Alec. She was protective too, not only of him, but of Ella, and she wasn't afraid to say anything to her father anymore. He could be angry with her, if he wanted to be, but this was a man's life they were talking about. Her sister's future. "Alec is respectable!" she said. "Just because he was a stable boy and not born rich like we were doesn't make him any less of a hardworking, respectable man. It's not my fault I saw that in him before you did. The same thing could be said about Peter. I'll admit that I didn't like him at first. I can't... I can't really say I do right now. But you know what? I trust Ella. He's been good to her, just as Alec has been good to me, and that's all that matters. We'd be dead if it weren't for him. Ella, would be dead if it weren't for him. If not by the pirates, then by the fever she caught. He could have left, but he didn't. It's only because of her that he stayed. He loves her. And of the three of us, she knows him best. I know him better than you. He's worked hard to turn his life around to do right by her, and at least I can respect that."

She stood up, there being more she wanted to say, but she was afraid if she gave away the whole story now, then she would ruin it for good. She wasn't sure exactly how they would fix this, but if she let her temper get the better of her, she might make a bigger mess. "Besides, Ella's university bound. It's not like she needs a man to protect her anyway. It would be nice if she could share her life with someone she loves, though. Arranging a marriage for her isn't the way to do that." She didn't give him much of a chance to respond before leaving the room.

Taking a moment to calm herself, she knocked on Ella's door. She was unsure what she was going to say about how father found out, but she didn't want to stay here for much longer. "Ella? Are you ready? We should go before it gets dark out."

 

[AvianJen]

All of this, and the argument that Josephine chose to take first was the fact that Alec was, in fact, respectable. "Sweetheart, that's not exactly what I meant," he said wearily. He didn't know how he could argue with her; she was too upset, and it pained him to know that he hadn't even gotten to Ella yet. It was also hard because he knew that in part, she was right. As far as he could tell, Peter had been good to Ella. Taken advantage of her feelings, yes, but Ella was a grown woman and if she didn't want to sleep with him Mr. Sinclair could hardly imagine Peter forcing himself on her. And he did truly appear to love her, that was true as well. But how could he give a man like that permission to marry his daughter? However he had changed did not erase the crimes he'd committed in the past and didn't mean that he shouldn't be held accountable for them. He didn't see a way that he could let Peter off- and even if he wanted to, it was out of his hands now. "I'm not denying that he loves her, Josephine. And maybe he is trying to change. But what am I supposed to do, just let Ella marry a pirate? Is that really what you'd have me do? Heaven knows how many other innocent girls like yourselves he's harmed, how many villages he's raided, how many men he's killed. They can't just let him off the hook! Even if I didn't want to press charges for what he did to you and your sister, even if his supposed good deeds were enough to make up for it, do you even know what he's spent most of his life doing? Or am I supposed to ask Ella about that, since she knows him so well?"

He knew that Ella wouldn't like it, but at this point it did seem like arranging a marriage for her would be the best thing. If Peter was the suitor she'd chosen he really didn't trust her judgment when it came to men. His marriage had been arranged, but he had gotten along just fine and Ella would, too. He opened his mouth to point out that university or not Ella still needed a husband, but before he could get a word out Josephine was gone. Just as well. The older man sighed again and leaned back in his chair. He didn't know what to do with these girls. He only wanted what was best for them, but that was so hard sometimes.

Ella had been crying again, which was apparent when she opened the door for Josie, but she had managed to change into a more comfortable dress and run a comb through her hair, which she hadn't bothered to tie up in a ribbon as she usually did. Ella was beyond the point of caring, and it wasn't like she had any desire to impress Alec with her appearance. "I'm ready," she sniffled, grabbing her tissues from the bedside table before following her sister downstairs. "What did he say?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

(Sorry, I'm really, really, really stressed lately. I swear I'm not trying to do a terrible job of replying.)

Josephine didn't really care what her father had to say anymore. It was hard for her not to draw parallels between what had happened with her and Alec to what was happening now to Ella. As different ad their respective relationships were, their struggles had some commonalities, and she could sympathize with them. Besides, Josie had never wanted Peter to die. He definitely didn't deserve that, no matter his past. Poor Ella didn't deserve to suffer through that either, nor did she deserve her choice in husband to be taken from her. Women had few freedoms as it was, and a passionate, head strong women like Ella was better off unmarried than to a man she didn't love.

"I'm not asking you to let her marry him," she said after a moment. It pained her to say, but this was something that may very well be unnegotiable for the couple. "I'm asking you to reconsider condemning Ella to a loveless marriage, and to think about Peter as you've known him, and consider whether that man really deserves death as a punishment for just trying to survive. Don't punish Ella for his crimes. She would lose both of you." She knew very well that Ella would most likely resent father if Peter died and married her off. She could only leave him with that to think about. Ultimately, they didn't really have much leverage, but she had to try something.

Ella had clearly been crying, and Josie fought the urge to shed a few of her own tears on her sister's behalf. She pulled her into a hug, offering what little comfort she could, but she stiffened when Ella asked what he had said. She couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth... That this was her fault. "Not much... Just that someone tipped off the authorities. I'm not sure who. Or how they knew." Pulling back, she sighed. "He's... He's considering arranging a marriage for you."

 

[AvianJen]

((No you're fine! Same ))

What Josephine didn't seem to understand was that Peter's situation was now out of his control. The trial would uncover the truth, and then he would be subject to whatever punishment the judge decided. Based on what Mr. Sinclair knew, that punishment would probably be death. But he had no way of knowing, and definitely had no way of stopping it. And as for Ella's marriage...again, he didn't see what choice he had. He wasn't going to arrange a marriage for her right away, not until Josephine was married. But it might come to that, and he wasn't going to leave his youngest daughter unmarried. Maybe she would find a young man in the university that she liked, and if that was the case then he would be entirely agreeable. But if she was anything like Josie and insisted that she would rather die than marry anyone besides Peter, then they were going to have some unavoidable conflict. He said nothing more, letting Josie go on her way.

As upset as she was, hugs did help and Ella leaned into Josie, squeezing her tight. She was still trying to process through everything, but it was extremely difficult. She didn't know how she would ever get over this. Josie's answer wasn't very satisfying or helpful, though. Ella pouted, looking off to the side. "How am I supposed to help if we don't know how it happened?" she asked, irritated. "How could anyone else know?" When Josie revealed that their father was also considering arranging a marriage for her, Ella's reaction wasn't as dramatic as Josephine had expected. She just sighed and stared down at her feet.

"If Peter dies, he'll have to," she said. "There's no one else I'd ever want to marry. I could never choose." There was no one else in the world like Peter, who gave her the opportunity to have the life she'd never dared to imagine. If he was gone, she was convinced she'd never find love again. And if that was the case, maybe an arranged marriage would be less painful.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

The problem was, knowing what had really happened wouldn't have helped them much anyway. If father had overheard her, then she had admitted outright that Peter was a pirate. How could they spin that? Josephine wasn't sure. But she did know that she couldn't let Ella know this was her doing, and if getting Peter out of this mess was the only way to ease her guilt and make Ella happy again then... She'd do it.

"I don't know, Ella..." She said, running her fingers through a few strands of her hair in order to calm her. "Maybe someone recognized him from before us. Or one of his old ship mates decided to get revenge." It scared her how easy it was to lie, but the alternative was a worse thought to her. "We'll figure something out."

But even if they didn't, and Josephine's heart broke for Ella at the thought, she wasn't going to let her father marry her off. Josie had never wanted that for either of them, but especially not for Ella. Even before Peter came along, when Ella was the more cynical of the two about love, Josie had been the hopeless romantic, wishing for her sister to find someone she loved to marry. To not settle. She would keep that promise at least. "I won't let him make you. You're a university bound woman. You're too smart for that. Even if you never marry... You'll always have a home with me." Alec probably would need convincing, but Josephine would gladly let Ella stay with them while she figured things out. If it came to that. "None of that matters anyway, because we'll get Peter back. Okay?"

She pulled back, gave her sister a kiss on the top of her head like their mother used to do. "Let's go talk to Alec. He'll help if I ask him to."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella was too upset to pick up on Josephine's lie, not that she would have anyways. As far as she knew right now, Josephine was the only person that she had in the world who was on her side and was willing to help her fix this. It wasn't going to cross her mind that she was lying, especially because she'd already told her that she hadn't said anything. Ella trusted her completely. It was just that...if they didn't know exactly what had been said, it was going to be a hell of a lot harder to disprove it. When Josie said that they'd figure something out she just nodded.

As far as the whole marriage thing went, Ella didn't know what she thought. She'd been cynical about love before Peter, and now...well, she was convinced that he was the only one that could make her feel that way. No one else could ever come close. So if she was forced to marry someone she didn't know, that cynicism would inevitably return. Ella wouldn't protest, wouldn't fight it. It was one thing if she wasn't allowed to marry Peter, but it was another if he was dead. She wouldn't get anything out of fighting except for a few extra tears and a strained relationship with her father. And all Josie's talk about her being too smart, and coming to live with her...Ella shook her head.

"No, no. I don't even care, it's...without Peter it's back to square one. I'll marry whoever I'm supposed to and live a decidedly miserable life." She said the last part with a bit of a bite, but she knew it was true. Now that she knew what love was, she'd never want anything else again...but she might not be able to have Peter.

Good thing she wasn't ready to give up on him just yet. She leaned into her sister, their arms linked together as they went downstairs and out the back door to the stables to get on their horses and go see Alec. Ella wasn't sure that Alec would be able to help, but they were the only three who knew about Peter's true identity...or so they'd thought, before today. If they were going to come up with a story, they needed to do it together. Hopefully three testimonies would be more powerful than that of whoever had turned Peter in.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

That hurt to hear. Even if it meant she was well taken care of, Josephine didn't want Ella to be miserable and unhappy. She didn't see the point when it was clear things were slowly changing for the better. Ella had been accepted to university. She had other options now, even if they weren't going to be easy. It wasn't as if the girls were used to work - neither had ever wanted or needed anything their entire lives that they didn't have easy access to, but Ella was tough. If Josephine could finally have her life with Alec, then Ella was perfectly capable of making a name for herself without a husband. If it was what she wanted. If they somehow failed at getting Peter back.

"Don't say that," she chastised. "I know things are miserable right now, but you've become much stronger and smarter than that these last few months. Do not settle, no matter what father says. I didn't, and look where I am now? I want the same for you." She tried to say so encouragingly, but there was a hard edge to her voice that said even if Ella gave up fighting, Josie would still fight for her. It was the least she could do. "Whether that means you end up with Peter, or... or no one. But you're not going to end up with somebody you don't love. I won't have it. Now, come on. There's no use in talking about marriage right now anyway. We have more immediate problems."

Taking Ella by the arm, the two girls made their way down to the stables and soon they were on their way to Alec's. Normally this ride was a happy one, and Josephine couldn't help but notice how strange it felt to ride to the house filled with feelings of anxiety and guilt about what had happened. She hoped Alec would help. If not for Ella or Peter, then at least because she asked him to. He was already out at the stables when they arrived, seeing as it was his normal work hours and not the typical time for a visit.

Sliding off her horse, she went to greet him. Careful not to be too affectionate for Ella's sake, gave him a quick peck, and seeing the confusion and surprise on his face, went to explain. "I know you weren't expecting me. Or Ella. But something happened." She pulled him into a hug so she could whisper gently in his ear. She was unsure how to handle giving him the news without bringing out Ella's tears again. "Peter's been arrested..."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella wasn't concerned with making a name for herself. She just wanted to go to university, learn because she liked to, and then spend the rest of her life exploring and experiencing the world with Peter. But without Peter...none of that mattered. No one else would support her dreams. Any respectable man that her father chose for her to marry would want to settle down and have a family, all good things but things that Ella didn't want. "It's not settling, Josie," she argued, not knowing how to make her sister understand. She would rather be married and have a home than end up crammed into Josephine's little house with Alec, too old to marry and with nowhere else to go. "And it's different. I can't be with Peter if he's dead." She said the word sharply, knowing that any other delivery would just make her start crying again. "And it's my life. It's not for you to decide."

But she was ultimately right; there was no use in talking about it right now. Ella didn't want to think about it or waste any of her energy on it, she just wanted to be with Peter. Everything had to revolve around getting him back, safely. Or if she couldn't be with him, then he had to stay alive. Ella didn't know how she could ever move on if Peter was killed.

Ella didn't enjoy riding all that much and she especially didn't enjoy riding over to Alec's, but she knew that it was necessary to talk to him. They brought their horses to the stable and Ella slid off of Nellie, tying her up while Josie greeted Alec. He looked shocked to see them- Ella most of all. Ella never came here, and this wasn't a normal time for Josie to be visiting anyways.

"This is a surprise," he murmured, smiling at her and returning her kiss on the cheek. When Josie whispered the reason they were here his eyes widened in horror. He didn't need her to explain; he knew that it was surely because they had been talking about it. That was horrible. "Shit," he whispered, locking eyes with Josie to communicate that he knew. But he was also smart enough to know that he shouldn't be volunteering that information so readily. "What are we going to do?" They wouldn't be there if they weren't planning on doing something.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

It sure seemed like settling, in Josie's mind. Why shouldn't Ella get to do all those amazing things she wanted to do just because Peter was gone? She really didn't understand. Frowning at Ella's tone, she huffed, but Ella was in grief right now. She was heartbroken. Of course she couldn't imagine any real future without Peter if that was all she had been imagining since meeting him. "Marrying one of father's friends' sons? Having a couple of kids? That doesn't sound like you." And as for the remark about it not being her life to decide, well. True. "But it's not father's either."

As long as Peter was actually alive, this argument was pointless anyway. Besides, she didn't want to argue with Ella. She wanted to help her. She knew what this felt like. It was Earth shattering to have the person you loved ripped away from you. She could only imagine the sort of pain that Ella felt knowing Peter might die, though. Thank God that had never been a concern when she had to separate from Alec. She would have been even more of a wreck. So, despite her tears, Ella was being a lot stronger than Josephine would have thought.

At Alec's, she could tell just by the way that he looked at her that he understood exactly what had happened without her having to say so. She wished she could vent about it, get her guilt off her chest. If anyone could make her feel better about this, it was Alec, but obviously she couldn't say anything about it in front of Ella. "I don't know," she said. They had no plan right now. With her father knowing everything, it was going to be hard to convince anyone of Peter's innocence. Even if they managed that, to convince father to let Peter back into Ella's life? Nearly impossible. But that could only happen if he lived.

"We're not sure what to do yet," she said. "But when we figure it out... You'll help us, right?" She looked to him with pleading eyes, hoping he'd understand why she wanted to do this. It wasn't really about Peter. It was about Ella. With a lowered voice, she added, "they'll kill him if you don't..."

 

[AvianJen]

Marrying one of Father's friends' sons and having kids didn't sound like the worst thing to Ella. Was it what she wanted? No, but if Peter died it was as good as she was going to get. "Maybe I'll marry John," she suggested dryly as they made their way to the stables. She didn't think she would like him if what Josie had said was true; Ella needed a husband who could keep up with her. But then again, if Peter was killed Ella wasn't sure if she would have the same adventurous spirit anymore. It might just destroy her. Maybe that was melodramatic, but without Peter...well, to put it simply, there was nothing else on this earth that she wanted. Maybe she'd make the perfect wife for quiet, unassuming John.

When Josephine said that she didn't know what they were going to do, admittedly Alec was a little bit surprised. Normally, Josephine always had a plan. But this was a tricky situation, in more ways than one. He only had to take one look at Ella to understand why Josie was vying for his help, and he couldn't help the wave of guilt that overcame him. No, he didn't like Peter. He was a pirate, he had a drinking problem, he'd already made Ella cry more than once, he'd been reckless with her, and most importantly he'd contributed to the worst thing Josephine had ever gone through. But, despite his many shortcomings, he did love Ella. And it was clear that Josephine's love for her sister was stronger than her hatred of Peter. Aside from that, he knew she would never be able to live with the guilt knowing it was their fault her sister's life was ruined and Peter's was gone- Alec wasn't sure he could, either. "Of course," he said without thinking. "But we don't have much time. Come inside, okay?" He led the girls into his house, where he plopped down in a small armchair and let the girls take the love seat in the otherwise sparsely furnished room.

"Alright," he said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and regarding the two girls carefully. Ella still hadn't said a word, which was a first. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to go to the City Hall and request to stand witness at Peter's trial. Ordinarily they might call us themselves, but..." he shrugged, "piracy trials are never exactly fair. But they won't refuse. And when we testify, we have to have the same story. We all have to know it inside out. He's charged with piracy, right? And the kidnapping of you two. We may not be able to say that he wasn't a pirate, but we can twist the truth." Alec sat back in his chair, thinking. "Ella. What do you know about Peter's childhood? How did he get on that ship?" Ella swallowed hard, looking down at her hands.

"He...he lost his family," she said. "He lost his family when he was little and joined the crew to survive."

"Alright, that's good. His being on the ship was a survival tactic. Maybe he's been there longer than I was but as far as we're concerned he was only pretending to be a pirate. His father was a fisherman so he always knew how to sail, he's only been on the ship for a couple of months waiting for an opportunity to escape. He was the first mate because he overcompensated and sucked up to the captain." He thought about it a while longer before realizing another complication. "Even if we can come up with a good story, how do we get it to Peter?" he asked.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josie had to resist the urge to roll her eyes hard at Ella's comments about John. John was nice. John would make someone a good husband one day. But that someone was not going to be Ella. Josephine wasn't even sure John could handle somebody like her sister. "No. You won't." It wasn't like John would even consider another Sinclair anyway. By now, the family was practically infamous for unsuccessful and scandalous relationships. Once word had gotten out about her and Alec, Josephine had seen a drop in the number of friends she had - not that she cared. They were never really friends to begin with. And now that Peter had been arrested, she was sure gossip was already spreading about that. Those Sinclair girls and their terrible taste in men. "He deserves someone who will love him." As did Ella, but it didn't matter how many times she said that. Her sister was too stubborn.

She was relieved that Alec was willing to help with their plan, whatever one they came up with. A part of her worried that he would get too moral about it and suggest that this was the best thing that could happen for Ella. In some ways, it was hard to disagree, but it would be more impossible for Josephine to live with the guilt of Peter's arrest and subsequent execution, her sister's broken heart, knowing it was her own stupid fault. It was probably selfish of her in the end, but she knew Alec's reasons for agreeing were selfish in their own way too. If not for any of his own guilt, then at the very least because he knew Josie would never forgive herself. She was lucky to have him. Sitting on the sofa next to Ella, she could only think how lucky she was to still have her sister, too. She supposed part of that was because of Peter.

She appreciated Alec taking initiative. With the stress, it had been hard to form a solid plan. His was the best one so far, but it would take a lot work to sell it. "We could go visit him. I doubt it would take much to bribe or distract the prison guards for a time." She had never actually been to the jail, and the thought was somewhat intimidating, but they were two young, wealthy, and beautiful women. They weren't threatening, or suspicious looking.

"Only... Even if we did somehow pull that off... It still makes Peter guilty. Lots of people become pirates for survival. We need something more to really sell it and make him seem innocent. Otherwise it won't matter." Something like how Alec only joined the crew because of her. A rescue mission. "Perhaps he was looking for something like Alec was looking for me. And had reason to suspect the pirates were responsible. His mother? Sister? Someone."

 

[AvianJen]

Alec knew that it was an iffy plan, but he also knew what he and Josephine had said about Peter while they thought they were alone, and anything was going to be a hard sell if they were competing against Mr. Sinclair's witness. The man loved his daughters, but sometimes he had a questionable way of showing it. He nodded vaguely when Josie suggested visiting Peter. That would be hard for him to swing, but he was sure the girls would know of a better way to bribe the guards. "Yeah, okay," he agreed. "But even then it's not a sure thing. What if they try to listen in on the conversation? Should we write it down?"

"I wrote Peter a story," Ella piped up. "I could bring it, ask to give it to him and hide the plan inside. He could destroy it after he reads it, or I'll take it back."

"Okay, that might work," Alec consented. Saying anything out loud could be potentially incriminating. Anything written down was as well, but at least the written word could be destroyed. The spoken word could not. "Josie, I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to get Ella into the jail," he said. "I wish I could help more there, but I don't have anything worth bribing someone with," he smirked. But even though that might be a viable plan...they still needed a story.

Ella listened to the discussion, thinking about everything that had happened and thinking about Peter, trying to pull out any random bits of information she might know that would help. "Sister," she said suddenly. "I think he had a sister. She died. Maybe she was kidnapped and he joined the crew to rescue her. He found out she'd been sold like they were going to sell us and was traveling with the pirates until they returned to where they'd left her. Then when he met us he decided to help. Which he did," Ella added. This was where the story became more truthful. "He and I conspired to kill the captain, which we did. The captain liked Peter so he took over and helped us escape. And he had nothing to do with our kidnapping. He was at a bar and didn't know it was happening." That was important as well- even if he wasn't a pirate, he would still be tried for kidnapping. She twisted her hands nervously, certain there was something she would have left out. "How does that sound?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

It was risky, but it was about the only hope they had. The plan had to be perfect. And nothing could go wrong. They had to pass the plan along to Peter, hope he'd go with it, not get caught, and of course make people believe it. There was also the slight problem of convincing their father. Even if they could pull it off with everyone else, Mr. Sinclair had heard the truth from Josie's own mouth. He would be harder to sell it to, and he wasn't exactly the most trusting of them right now. They could worry about that later, though.

"Yeah, alright," she agreed. She was nervous about actually visiting the jail, but after the kidnapping, she thought she could handle real criminals. As for the guards, a little flirting, possibly tears on behalf of Ella, and a bit of nice jewelry to bribe with, should take care of that. "We can hide the plan in your story... And hopefully Peter will follow along. If we can convince them his story has more in common with Alec's, then we might stand a chance." A sister was a good choice, and though Alec had been on the ship as well, nobody held him accountable for any pirate crimes. He was a hero. Peter's story was different, but he had saved their lives. He was a hero too. There was no need for him to die.

Standing, she moved to give Alec a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Alec," she said. She was glad he was choosing to help them and not fight her on her decision to help Ella. Without even having to say it, she knew he knew what had really happened, and there was unspoken agreement there that if they could help it, Ella would never find out the truth for herself. "This means a lot. For both of us, I'm sure." Glancing to Ella, she gave her a small, hopeful smile.

"We should probably go. The longer we delay this, the less chance we have of pulling this off." And she knew they'd interrupted Alec's work day as well. As much as she would love to stay and talk to him about all the things on her mind, there was too much they both had to do. Ella needed her and the horses needed him.

 

[AvianJen]

Alec nodded. That plan, he thought, was as good as it was going to get. He was already worried about the problem of Mr. Sinclair, but maybe...just maybe, they could convince him too. After all, even with their story they weren't trying to make the argument that Peter hadn't seemed like a pirate at first. Maybe they could make an argument that they'd just been joking during the conversation he'd overheard, because they hadn't known Peter's full story right off the bat. They hadn't known it until he started developing his feelings towards Ella...and in truth, that was when the change in him had really started to take place.

"You're welcome," he murmured softly. He had to help; there wasn't any other choice. If it wasn't for Josie he didn't think that he would want to risk his own reputation (which already wasn't stellar) for the sake of the pirate, but if it wasn't for Josie he wouldn't know about Peter in the first place. And even though he wasn't close to Ella, the ever-present tears in the other girl's eyes tugged on his heartstrings more than he cared to admit. "Alright. You go home and write out the plan for Peter...meet me at the jail at nightfall. I don't want you two there alone, and we can't go in the daylight." People would see, and people would grow suspicious. The Sinclair girls were very recognizable, and by now the whole town probably knew about Ella's love affair with the accused pirate. They needed to be as discrete as possible.

Ella nodded, understanding that he was right. She wasn't sure that she'd want to go alone anyways, without someone to keep watch. "Thank you," she said softly, looking up at Alec. It was really nice of him to help, and she was sure that it was all because of Josie. But now they had a plan, and she had some hope. If not for getting Peter back, then at least for setting him free.

Alec nodded. "Don't mention it," he said. "Now go on. The daylight won't last." He pressed a kiss to Josie's cheek as well and squeezed her hand before standing as well to lead them back to their horses. The girls rode back to the mansion mostly in silence, and without entering their father's study dashed up to Ella's room, closing the door and locking it behind them. Ella crossed over to her desk, where her story was hidden in the top drawer. It was only five pages, but it was lovingly handwritten in Ella's writing (which wasn't as good as Josephine's but she had tried extra hard). She took another piece of paper from her desk and the same pen she had used, planning on making the writing look exactly the same. That way if they did look at her story, they might not be able to tell the difference just by looking.

"Okay," she said. "What do I say?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine was sure she didn't want to be alone at the jail either. Nor did she want Ella alone, so she was thankful that Alec offered to come with. Who knew what might happen when you were surrounded by hard criminals? The girls were not so vulnerable anymore, after their experience with kidnapping, but it was comforting to have protection nonetheless. "Okay," she agreed. "Nightfall. Thank you," and she and Ella were soon back on their way home. Tonight she would utilize some of her experience in sneaking out for the first time in a long time. Odd that it was now to help Ella go and see her own boyfriend.

Josie stared blankly at the sheet of paper Ella pulled out. A part of her wondered curiously what Ella had written for him already. What sort of story had her smart little sister come up with? But that wasn't important right now. They just needed to hide the plan among the story. "Exactly what we talked about at Alec's. They will call on us as witnesses anyway when he goes to trial, so as long as we say he helped us, it's up to him to convince them that he was only looking for his sister." And hopefully there would be nobody to speak otherwise. Whatever had happened to those other girls? It was a thought that still bothered her to this day, knowing that she and Ella had been so lucky as to not find out for themselves.

"And of course whatever else you want to say to him. I'm not sure how much time we'll have at the jail. It will be up to you and me to convince father, though. He's not exactly happy with either one of us right now. Just... I hope you know that even if this works, father may still not want Peter around." She hated to say it, but it was the truth. They got their stubbornness from someone, and that someone was their father. Given that he heard the words from Josie's own mouth, she knew he would be harder to convince.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella nodded. Exactly what they'd talked about. She began to write, trying to form her words as concisely as possible. She began with a note that they were planning on witnessing at his trial and they'd come up with a story to get him out, and then she began to go through the details emphasizing how important it was to know the story. She also made sure to continually emphasize the fact that he had to go along with the lie, it wasn't optional. He was a good person and he deserved to be seen as such. He wasn't allowed to give up. "He'll convince them," she murmured as she wrote. "He'd better."

She continued writing, knowing that their father was another battle entirely. "Well..." she asked slowly. "What does he know? And how did he learn it? He had to have gotten the information from somewhere- he knew what was going to happen. That's why he didn't want to go to the harbor this morning, so he didn't find out at the same time." Ella had already deduced that much; it wasn't hard to figure out. "How did he find out?" she asked her sister, still writing away. "Maybe his source wasn't credible and we can fix it."

Even so, she knew that if this worked getting Peter back into her life was going to be difficult. She hadn't even had twenty-four hours to process through everything, but she had given it a little bit of thought. If he lived, what then? What if they couldn't be together? They could run away, if he was willing...it wasn't as if Mr. Lawrence was going to give him another job after all this. Ella would run away and get married if he wanted to. It was scary, but it would be an unparalleled adventure. The second option was that Ella got married to someone else and had a secret affair with him, because it wasn't as if their reputations weren't already ruined. The third was going their separate ways- probably the most likely outcome. But right now it didn't break Ella's heart as much as it might have otherwise, because apart was better than dead. "I don't care about any of that right now," Ella said tightly, trying not to cry again. "I just want him to live." She finished writing her explanation of the plan and held it up to her sister.

"Does it look okay? Did I miss anything?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

If Peter didn't convince them, Josephine was sure Ella would go and kill him herself for letting him down. Hell, Josephine would kill him for breaking her sister's heart. That couldn't happen though, because it meant she would have to watch Ella fall apart all over again. Not to mention, live with the guilt that a man's life ended by her hand, even if it wasn't directly her fault. That meant Ella's broken heart would be her fault too, and that was even worse. She nervously paced the room while Ella wrote, these thoughts darkening to the worst possible outcomes.

Understandably, she froze up when Ella inquired about how her father knew again. She knew it wasn't true, but it almost felt like Ella knew. Or suspected. And was baiting her to spill the horrifying truth. Could she keep this secret forever? Would Peter have figured it out by now, anyway? "I don't really know the details," she managed to say after a moment of silence. "He didn't say too much about it. Just that he received a letter from the ship when the arrest happened... someone thought they recognized him." She only realized after she said it that, no, she couldn't keep this like going forever. When they eventually went to trial, their father would also have to testify. It was he who told the authorities after all, because of her. He would have to say that in court, and then her lie would fall apart because she was the source. Not some other random person.

The thought panicked her, but... the trial wouldn't be for a little while yet. It didn't change the plan. If Ella hated her afterwards, maybe she could forgive her for her help in getting Peter out of this situation and forget that it was half her fault he was in it in the first place. Tearing herself away from that realization, she leaned over the letter Ella wrote. "Right... That's the important part."

After skimming through the words to make sure the details were laid out and clear, she nodded. "It's good. Now we just have to get it to him."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella drew her eyebrows together. She wasn't sure what she thought about that- who would have recognized him? But of course she didn't suspect her sister. Josephine had already sworn that she hadn't said anything, and Ella liked to believe that she could trust her in times like this. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll ask Peter what happened, then. He might know more." Peter was the only one who'd actually been on the ship, so he was the only one who knew exactly how his arrest had gone down. But if someone had recognized him, there was a pretty good chance that he would know who it was. At least she hoped so.

She wanted to smile when Josephine checked over her letter, but it was a little bit difficult given the circumstances. She just pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded, taking the letter back and tucking it within the pages of her story. Carefully, she rolled up the papers and took one of her hair ribbons from the drawer, tying it all up with a neat bow. The guards would probably unravel it just to make sure it was actually a story, but they might not. Satisfied with that, Ella stood up and crossed over to her closet, looking through her array of dresses. "We're flirting with the guards, right?" she asked, anticipating what her sister's plans might be. And admittedly, that was probably the only thing that was going to work. That and a bribe. With that in mind Ella fished out one of her nicer dresses that she hardly ever wore because it wasn't comfortable, but it was pretty and did have the effect of attracting men to her. It had a slightly dropped waist which accentuated the natural curves of her hips, a tight bodice and a neckline lower than she was usually comfortable with, and a light blue color that matched her eyes.

"This one, do you think?" she asked. "My attention dress, or are we going more incognito? Also, what are we bribing them with?" That had been Josephine's suggestion, and Ella wasn't quite sure what her plans were.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine hadn't even thought of that. Would Peter know more? Would he tell Ella whatever he did know? Her body broke out into a cold sweat. She had survived a kidnapping. Tasted and felt Tom's perverted, cold lips on her skin. Saw a mermaid, and escaped a pirate ship. She spent weeks separated from her boyfriend, forced to date someone she didn't love... And yet? After all of this, none of that was scarier than the thought of losing her sister. "Maybe," she agreed, but desperately hoped Peter didn't know any more than Ella.

She was thankful for the brief distraction when the subject changed to something more comfortable and familiar to her - fashion. Flirting with the guards was something she dreaded about this plan, but it was for a good cause. And it was an excuse to dress up, which always made her feel better. It was also a bit dangerous. Ambitious, really. She wasn't sure how the men at the jail would react. Drawing attention to themselves could work in their favor if they went about it right, but too much attention could be bad for more than one reason. Thankfully Alec would be there as well in case that happened, but hopefully he wouldn't need to step in.

"As women, we're going to attract attention anyway," Josie answered. "We might as well go all out. Men get dumb when they see a bit of skin or something shiny." If one didn't work, the other probably would. Though, she did admit, it was interesting to see Ella pull out one dress she hardly ever wore. Josephine found it lovely, but of course her sister found it a bit uncomfortable for everyday wear. "You really ought to wear that more often, by the way," she added, thinking about what she could wear from her own closet to fulfill their purpose. Probably the red one with the low neckline. It hugged her a lot like Ella's did, and the lines of stitching in the bodice helped give her shape as well. Alec would probably like it, too. Or hate that she was wearing it with this specific purpose in mind, but oh well.

"As for bribery... Father will notice if we take money, but he probably won't notice if a necklace or two go missing." They each had an extensive amount of jewelry. Some of it was their mothers, but she wouldn't dare touch that. No, instead, she'd carry a few older items with her. Things with value, but no sentimental attachment. But of course, she didnt think about the pair of their mother's earrings she currently wore when she briefly left Ella's room so the two of them could change. They were a lovely set of emeralds, what had been Mrs. Sinclair's birthstone, that Josie rarely ever took off.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella couldn't care less about fashion, and she wasn't particularly fond of this dress. She always felt uncomfortable in it, but it did look good on her and she agreed with Josephine; they might as well go all out. They had one chance to get to Peter and give him the plan that might save his life, and Ella didn't want to leave any opportunity unchecked. She wrinkled her nose when Josie suggested that she wear it more often, looking distastefully at the dress. "I don't like it," she said. "And I'm never going to want to wear it again after today. You can have it." Peter might like it- it was an attractive dress and it was blue, but that was the last thing on Ella's mind. She couldn't care less about what Peter thought of her appearance- he would probably be a mess himself, and the only thing that mattered was getting to him.

Oh, jewelry. Ella should have thought of that. She had too much jewelry anyways, that she didn't know how to style and never wore. She had lots of things that father's wealthy friends had given her for her birthday parties, so maybe one of those. Actually, she had one in particular in mind. Crossing over to her vanity, she opened a huge gold jewelry case and pulled out a big necklace with a silver chain and sapphire stones. Ella thought it was the ugliest thing she'd ever seen, but it was probably worth something- it certainly looked valuable, and she could wear it with the stupid blue dress. "This," she decided. "And these." She took a couple gold bracelets. Ella wasn't quite as sentimental as Josephine when it came to things like jewelry, but even she knew not to touch their mother's. It was all they had of her, and it wasn't as if the jewels were in short supply to begin with.

When Josephine left, Ella changed into her blue dress and put on the sapphire necklace, sighing as she stood in front of the mirror. Her hair wasn't the greatest but she didn't have time to do anything fancy with it, so she fashioned a simple updo that she'd ordinarily never wear and that looked much more complicated than it was, deciding it would have to do. When she was ready, she met her sister downstairs, story and letter in hand. The sun was already starting to set, so it was time they got going.

They took a carriage into town and had it drop them off at a nice restaurant in town so that the coachman wouldn't know what they were really up to. That would be very incriminating. When he was gone they walked down to the jail, where Alec was waiting just as promised. He smirked when he saw them, shaking his head. "What's the occasion?" he joked, trying to keep the mood light.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine wasn't surprised. Ella never really like to wear dresses like the ones Josie did. It was a shame, because Ella looked so nice in them, and there would come a day soon where dresses like these were few and far between for herself. She and Alec wouldn't be able to afford them. Maybe she could learn how to sew elaborate dress patterns so she could make her own someday. "I wouldn't pull it off as well as you," she said. The thing about the dress was, it would be attached to some darker memories. She wouldn't want to see the dress and think about Peter and Ella and what would become of either of them because of something she'd carelessly said out loud.

"Those will work just fine," she agreed when Ella selected a few pieces of jewelry. One gold bracelet could always be replaced with another, and really, the girls had too much as it was. Given the number of men Mr. Sinclair had tried to set Josephine up with over the years as well, she had quite the collection that she never even wore. It would be an insult to Alec to wear another man's elaborate gift, so she had no trouble parting with a few. It was like spring cleaning. They would make some other wife or daughter happy.

It wasn't much longer before they were meeting with Alec. Josephine simply told their father she was helping Ella keep her mind off of things. Seeing how they were so dressed up, he didn't even bat an eye or detect the lie. Alarming how easy it had become - lying. That didn't mean she was any less nervous about this, though. The entire ride to the restaurant, then the walk to the jail, she was dreading Ella finding out or any of the other possible ways this could go wrong. Even seeing Alec did little to calm her, but she tried to smile at his joke, recognizing his effort anyhow.

"I think you should stay here," she said, peering around the corner to get a glimpse at the guards. "This might not work as well if they see you, but.. keep watch anyway. Just in case." She stood on her toes to give him an encouraging kiss on the cheek, but then gestured for Ella to follow. Linking her arm with Ella's, she slowly but confidently approached the guard nearest to them.

"Excuse me. Sir?" she asked innocently. The guard, alarmingly tall and well built, glanced their way with a grunt.

"What are you two ladies doing around these parts so late?" He asked.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella shrugged. The comment was sweet, but she didn’t really think it was true. “You pull off everything better than me,” she responded. She wasn’t bitter, just matter of fact. And it wasn’t even that Josie was prettier, it was her personality that made the difference. Josie was more sophisticated. But that was okay, and even when she marries Alec she would be able to keep her dresses. Maybe get them altered as her body changed due to pregnancy and such. Ella didn’t see why she’d have to give them up; she just might not have as many excuses to wear them.

When the girls arrived and met up with Alec, he was a little nervous on their behalf. He hopes that the guards didn’t push it too far, and that both Ella and Josephine knew when they had to draw a line. But that was why he was here- if things got heated, he would intervene. “Alright,” he agreed, nodding. “Just be careful.” Alex stood back in the shadows as the girls approached the guard at the main door.

Ella clung to her sister, suddenly incredibly nervous now that they were standing there. Not that it would work, but that it wouldn’t. Ella didn’t know what they would do if she couldn’t get in.

“Sir,” she said, trying to sound confident. It was just like facing the admissions officer at the university. “We were wondering if there’s a way we could get in to see Peter? The alleged pirate?”

That piqued the man’s interest. He leaned over, trying to get a better look at the girls. “And what do nice young ladies like yourselves want with a man like that?” he asked, genuinely baffled at the request. Sometimes girls came and requested to see their fathers, who had been arrested. But the pirate?

“Well, he...” Ella struggled to articulate a response. “He’s a very close friend of mine and while he was away I wrote him something. I’d like for him to see it, that’s all.” She held up her scroll for him to see. “It’s just a story.”

“I see.” He took the scroll from her and unrolled it, flipping through the pages and seeing that it did look like a story. Handing it back to Ella, he regarded the girls carefully. “You’re those Sinclair girls, aren’t you?” Wordlessly, Ella nodded. The guard pointed a finger at her. “You’re the one that caused a scene at the harbor.”

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine wasn't sure that the way the man was addressing Ella about the scene she'd caused earlier was exactly friendly. Ella could be a force to be reckoned with, and unfortunately, many people saw that as an undesirable trait among women. Good thing Josephine was also a force to be reckoned with at times, so she wasn't about to let this man push her sister around. Seeing this as an opportunity to intervene and work some of her own feminine magic, she reached out to gently touch the guard's arm.

"Please, sir," she said. "My sister didn't mean to cause a scene. She's... She's in love, you see. You can imagine both our shock to see our friend arrested. And for piracy!" She put on a look of shock and disgust. "You'd think we would know a thing or two about who's really a pirate, seeing as we were kidnapped by them." Removing her hand from her arm, she looked up at the guard somewhat bashfully through her long lashes. So everyone already knew Ella had a boyfriend, but there was no reason for her to let him believe she had one. Not when the absence of that information might be an advantage. "Peter's no pirate. He's a hero. He saved my sister and I."

The guard looked somewhat confused about how he ought to react to Josephine's light touch. But unfortunately for the girls, he wasn't quite that easy to get past. "Sorry, girls. I'm not the judge. I'm just here to guard the prisoners. Even if what you say is true, you'll have to wait until the trial to see your friend."

Biting her lip, partly in frustration, she took another step closer to the guard. Lowering her voice as if to try and be discreet around Ella, but really just because she meant it to come across as innocently and flirtatiously as possible, she said, "Sir, please. I beg you. Haven't you ever been love? My sister will only need a minute, and... It would be a secret. We wouldn't tell a soul, or cause any trouble. Won't you do us this one favor?"

 

[AvianJen]

The guard looked at them through narrowed eyes. They were lovely girls, for sure, but he could see what they were trying to do. Manipulate him into letting them in. The guard didn't have the most upright morals in the world, but he wasn't about to just let them in because he felt sorry for them. He looked at the girl in red, and then over her shoulder to her sister, holding her little story. It really was quite tragic; pirate or not, things were not going to end well for that man. The girl loved him, and she'd written him a story- it seemed like an innocent request, and he didn't personally think of most women as being clever enough to have something else up their sleeves. But it was still dangerous for him to do so.

"Ladies, I'm sorry, but I can't let you in," he said. "I've got a family too, you know. What are they going to do if I lose my job because of you two?"

"Yes, I understand," Ella said quickly. She reached for the sapphire necklace she was wearing, unhooking it and offering it to him. "I mean no disrespect, sir, but this is probably worth your salary for the year. And we won't tell a soul. If we keep our word- which we will- you'll have twice what you need for your family." Ella wasn't sure if it was worth quite that much, but it was very valuable and she didn't imagine prison guards made a lot. He probably could use the extra cash, and she could see that he was tempted. "This is very important to me, sir. My sister's right, I...I love him very much, and I can't stand to think of him all alone in there, thinking no one cares when he's done nothing wrong. I can't change what happens at the trial but I can...I don't know. I can give him a little bit of hope. But only if I can see him." She hadn't meant to cry, but sure enough the tears began to well up in her eyes. The guard regarded her pitifully, finally letting out a sigh.

Reluctantly, he reached forward and took the necklace from her, shoving it in his pocket. "Alright," he agreed. "Fine. But I've got five other men in there guarding the prisoners. I let you in, they're guilty too." Biting her lip, Ella handed over the two gold bracelets and looked to Josie, not exactly sure what she'd brought herself. A couple necklaces, at least. "What about those?" the guard asked, pointing to the emerald earrings Josie was wearing. His daughter would like those- maybe someone else could have the necklace. Either way, someone could have them.