The Second Swann ---///--------

Chapter 22

A gold veil of sunlight poured through the open shutter of the window, spilling across Charlotte's eyes. She opened them to a squint and saw particles of dust glittering as they swirled in shards of sunlight.

At first, she was unable to recognize the bare wooden walls around her. Then, at the faint whiff of soil and metal and she remembered. She sat up slowly then glanced around the room. 

For a moment she had forgotten why she was at the Smithy, and how she got there...Then she remembered. 

And as the memories returned to her, so did the dreadful realizations. Charlotte swallowed. She wondered what had happened to her father, to Ebony and Estrella. She thought of Elizabeth and closed her eyes tightly. 

Why had she resorted to negotiation? To Parlay? 

Then, Charlotte remembered the pirates chuckling in the dark dining room as she and Elizabeth hid silently. 

"the gold calls to us..." 

What did they mean by that? Charlotte wondered, and, just as she asked herself that she looked up to see Will fully facing her. Her eyes shot wide as she inhaled sharply. He was too close to her! 

She flinched back, her heart beating fervently. 

The gold calls... 

The gold, Charlotte frowned. Could they have been talking about the medallion? The medallion...That meant so much more than being a possible indicator that Will could be a pirate.

Then, before she could form a theory, Will's eyes flashed open. 

There was a moment of terrible discomfort in the pause of silence that hung over between them. As Will's eyebrows slowly curved into a frown, Charlotte felt the blood warm her cheeks. 

"Charlotte?" His voice was weak, tired, and so positively delightful to hear. She swallowed. 

"Did I wake you?" she asked. 

Will closed his eyes, "no, my head..." 

Charlotte sat up, "you were hit quite hard last night...I'll fetch you some water. Wait here." 

Before Will could protest, she stood up, ignored the abrupt rush of blood to her head from her hastiness and quickly dashed out of the room. She was thankful to have a reason to get away, as she couldn't allow him to see her as flustered as she was! 

Ducking under the rotating contraption, where the swords Will had worked on hung suspended, she found the water pump and an empty bucket. She pumped the water, dropped the nearest cloth inside the bucket and returned to Will. 

He had turned over onto his back, with one hand resting upon his chest and the other folded behind his pillow. 

Charlotte knelt down beside him, dunked the cloth in, wrung it and folded it neatly across his forehead. The cool water seemed to instantly soothe Will and he exhaled slowly. "Thank you." Charlotte smiled but said nothing. Will opened his eyes and looked around the room then frowned. "Where's Elizabeth?" 

How she wished he wouldn't have asked. She knew he would eventually, as would her father and everyone else...She took a deep breath and as her hesitatance grew, so did Will's concern. 

"They've taken her, Will." Will stared up at her in disbelief, then, suddenly he was sitting up. Charlotte protested by taking his arm, "you mustn't, you'll worsen the headache!" 

Will paused then, after a moment, sighed and stiffly laid back down. "We were too late." 

Charlotte swallowed and pursed her lips, "no, I was the one that was too late. I...I couldn't reach her on time." 

Will turned to her, "what happened?" 

There was a sudden switch of intensity in his eyes. It was such an amount that it made her speechless momentarily. He was clenching his teeth together and his fist that laid down his side was tight. Charlotte had to look away. 

"I...I was chasing after her until one of those...pirates got in my way but made no effort to attack. When I got to the docks she was in a boat. They rowed away with her." Charlotte paused, then looked down, "I failed her." 

The intense stare in Will's eyes softened. He shook his head, "don't say that, Charlotte. You did what you could." 

"But it wasn't enough!" Charlotte protested, feeling the familiar stinging sensation in her eyes, "I should have tried harder, I should have gotten there on time..." 

"You did what you could, everything else was out of your control. Besides," Will sighed, looking away from her, "you've made it farther than I could have." Charlotte bit her lip, unable to accept his words. "We won't lose her," Will said sternly, turning to look at her, "we'll find her. Together." 

Charlotte nodded, not looking away from his eyes, "together."