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After James had walked her inside and kissed her hand goodnight, he went straight to the Governor's office, saying he had to report back to his superior. Clara found it hard to believe such a man as Norrington would take orders from someone else, then yet again, it was how he became a commodore.
Rosie and Estrella had already gotten Elizabeth in bed when she got upstairs. They told her to take the night off after such a fright and to go wash. Without much resistance, she did just that.
Clara was pushing her blankets back, about to get into bed when cannon fire reached her ears. Not hesitating, the blonde rushed to Elizabeth's room, almost knocking the door off its hinges.
Elizabeth was at her terrace, watching the onslaught of violence ensue. The fort was getting hounded by cannonball after cannonball. The ship that was attracting the small city was just a few miles off the coast.
"Father's out there!" yelled Elizabeth as Clara rushed her away from the window.
"He'll be fine, where James is, he will be too. But we've got to get you out of here, Elizabeth."
The Governor's daughter just stood, staring at the chaos below.
"Elizabeth! Now!"
She broke from her trance, her eyes shone with an inward fire. "I can take care of myself. I care more about you than myself, escape through the back servant's door. I'll find you at the fort."
"I won't-"
"You must. That's an order, Clara, go!"
Elizabeth pushed Clara out of the room, the two immediately being separated as they went in opposite directions. Clara passed her room but went back. She was not going out in public in her nightdress. Throwing on a shirt and top haphazardly, she remembered the knife she kept hidden in her nightstand. She ripped the draw open, knocking things over and grabbed it. She shoved it into her pocket as she ran down steep stairs. Through the kitchen was a passage which led to the door. She stumbled into the night, not caring that the door slammed - the attackers couldn't hear it anyways.
She slunk quietly about the bushes that lined the house, careful not to step on any twigs. As she rounded the corner, a scream sounded through the air. Elizabeth. Two ruffians were dragging her through the gravel driveway, kicking and screaming. Evil seeped from them, their smiles anything but kind. Clara shivered. She couldn't fight the two off - not with the smallest dagger ever made. So she watched them leave and when she knew it was clear, she ran down the road and into the city.
It wasn't much better there.
Ruffians - Clara now deemed them to be pirates - littered the streets, pulling people from their homes and slaughtering them like animals. Men, women, children, it was the worst sight Clara had ever seen. She would not forget it anytime soon.
