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𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐄 the fog settling around the coastline. she stared out her bedroom window, wondering why it felt so eerie.
when a maid knocked on the door and came in, bella turned away from the window. "ghastly weather, isn't it, miss?" the maid commented, fluffing her pillows. "suppose you're grateful it wasn't you who fell off fort charles."
she was sure she had misheard the maid. "what?"
"you haven't heard? miss elizabeth swann fell and nearly drowned! a man did save her, but he was a pirate," as soon as the maid said 'pirate', bella was interested. "when the marines tried to arrest him, he threatened elizabeth and almost escaped!"
bella pretended to be shocked instead of curious. "how absolutely alarming!"
"yes, miss, but don't you worry," she said. "he's locked in a cell down at the fort now. you can sleep soundly."
"that's relieving," sighed bella, already planning how she could get to the jail and talk to this pirate.
"i agree, miss," the maid replied. "now, your bed's all made."
"thank you," bella said as the maid left her room. right away, she placed some pillows in her bed to make it look like she was asleep under the covers. bella quietly changed out of her bed clothes to something more suitable and edged her door open.
it sounded like her mother was talking to someone in the living room.
instead of creaking down the stairs, bella slid down the banister and lightly hopped to the ground.
"maybe the commodore would've asked for mirabella's hand if she wasn't so chaotic," she overheard her mother talking about her.
bella almost laughed in agreement. she was chaotic, wasn't she?
it sounded like their butler agreed, then left the room. thankfully, he didn't come in bella's direction.
bella heard her mother sigh. the house was quite echoey, and she caught very faintly: "she really is her father's daughter."
sensing that her mother would come her way soon, bella hurried to the back door. it had been left unlocked, and she easily slipped outside.
the air was only a bit chilly, and the sky was eerily clear. bella stayed under the shadows of the trees on their property before emerging out onto the main road in the direction of the fort. it was about a mile away.
she made sure to avoid being seen by the few marines stationed here and there. thankfully, the marine who should've been stationed at the jail was doing a horrible job, and was nowhere to be seen.
bella hurried down the narrow staircase. there were a few prisoners in one of the cells, then another on his own in the other cell.
for some reason, her instincts told her that the man sitting alone was the pirate she was looking for.
