@onlyliberty We talked about this for like five minutes , that counts as plotting right ?? --- 1720 WAS THE YEAR that Jake’s life went from decent to worse , a seemingly repeating pattern throughout his short life. Every time there was something good - a semi-permanent place to live , food , or even a family - it was ripped away from him rather forcefully. This was a case of the last one , of what family he had being ripped away.
And then there was rotting in jail , away from everyone. Away from James , from Anne , from every other pirate he’d grown to love dearly. He had no idea of their fates , nor how long he’d been in the filthy cell. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in prison but this time, it actually felt like punishment. The other times weren’t great but they were temporary , they had food and medicine , they let him out after a day or so.
But this place ?? It was cold , there were bugs and rats crawling everywhere , the blankets were barely able to give him warmth , and he knew that at least days had already passed. If it weren’t for the fact that he could see ghosts , see all the people who had died here , maybe he wouldn’t be so scared to be alone.
Then one night , everything took a nosedive for him. Strange people in brown coats had entered his cell and grabbed him. He made an attempt at putting up a fight , swear to God he did his best to fight them off , but they got the best of him and knocked him out.
Those people , some of whom Jake never learned their names even after decades passed , forcefully dragged him back to England. On the ship to the country he originated from , where he was once a starving child on the streets , they must have put something in the meals they gave him because all the memories he had were of getting up to eat and then going back to sleep. For weeks , that’s all the memories he had. They had to keep him from slinging himself off the ship somehow , didn’t they ??
The story was then published that the missing son of Lord Jacob Everton and Lady Elizabeth Bradford-Everton had been found. His name and new titles were published excitedly in the newspapers not long after. Lord Jacob Xavier Charles Montague Everton II, The Seventh Earl of Griffon, Godson of the Her Majesty the Queen. That was who he was now, and what everyone knew him as.
He had a family here , his blood family. In the years that he would be in England without Anne , without Edward , without anyone , he’d grown close to the Bradfords. His cousin , Archie , was a world famous scientist and child prodigy , and Archie’s elder sister was a sweetheart who loved all with her whole heart.
Through thick and thin , they’d stayed together. Jake slowly lost his old ways , the ways he picked up when he was a pirate. He never told anyone about that period of his life , preferring to not sit and wonder what happened to everyone.
During the fifteen or so years that Jake was with them , they’d been through hell ( on one occasion , literally. ) and back , even fought in a war. Blood was spilled , lives were lost , but Jake was just thankful his family made it out alive. He couldn’t handle the thought of seeing them all die.
After that though , peace followed. No wars , no fighting , just peace. Archie was the first of the gang to get married , to a young witch named Nixie. Then followed Isabelle , marrying a lower class bastard named Maddox. Then finally Jake , who married his childhood best friend , Daniela Catherine O’dell. Well , she preferred to be called Dani.
And then , life was good. The dust had settled and Jake was allowed a moment to breathe and be at peace with the world. He’d discovered he had a new love for things he previously hated , like walking the streets of London and the Opera , hell , he loved reading now that he could !!
This day , twenty-some years passed from when he was taken from the prison , was unlike no other. Out at the market , picking up food for the family. It wasn’t the size it was when he first entered. No , his wife was pregnant , the DuVal twins ( with their partners ) had a total of six children , his cousins now had young children of their own … safe to say , that household was never quiet. Ever.
Waiting on the butcher to cut the meats he needed ( which was a lot ; the DuVals children were shapeshifters and were absolute demons to try and feed. Most of the meat was honestly for them alone. Little rascals. ) meant that he had plenty of time to chat around with nearby people , and an older lady with red hair had caught his attention.
Something in him screamed that she was familiar but … the only red-head he knew was his wife , and he knew Dani like the back of his hand. This was absolutely not Dani , she was older and stood differently , he could tell even with her back to him. So much a stranger yet so strangely familiar.
He approaches her , intent on making small talk , and maybe figure out what his gut was trying to tell him about the woman. Taps her shoulder and offers a polite smile. He’d grown so much in twenty-some years , and held himself so elegantly , that upon first glance , there’s no way he would resemble the small child from years past.
“ Pardon me , I do believe you’re a new face around here. Coming in from somewhere ?? ” he asks with a polite smile. By now , he reckons he’s met most people in London. Balls by the queen herself , parties from his family , going ‘round helping the poor with every bit of his ability , and other ways he didn’t care to recall.
He was confident that there was something familiar about her though , but he knows he’d remember her if she was , right ?? Where could he have met this woman before ?? It’s a question that might truly eat him up if he doesn’t figure it out.
