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𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, bella kept a lookout from the crow's nest. she had a feeling will wasn't going to be locked up for very long.
as it turned out, she was correct.
when the sky was cloudy and the air was darkly crisp, will appeared down on the main deck. bella leapt onto a rope and slid down, landing beside him at the rail.
"how shocking, you broke out," bella greeted. will put his hand on his sword, but she rolled her eyes. "don't try it," she said. "i'm not going to say anything."
"oh," will said dejectedly, clearly unhappy for some reason.
"will, i'm not great at advice," bella sighed. "may i interest you in a sarcastic comment?"
he looked at her expectantly.
"all right, i'm guessing you're having relationship issues. if i might offer a solution as to keeping fair elizabeth's love: don't save your father."
"i have to. i can't turn my back on him," will shook his head.
"'can't' is a matter of fact. you can if you want, but you won't — that makes it a matter of choice. that's what life is, dear william: choices," bella grabbed a nearby rope, leaning on it casually. "out of all the things you can do, what will you do?"
". . . but i love her," will defended himself.
"if there's one thing i've learned over the past month, it's this," bella told him honestly. "when someone makes you happy, make them happy back."
will considered this. he couldn't argue. "you're better at advice than you claim to be," he confessed.
bella smiled. for a second, they were silent.
"who will kill jones, then?" will finally wondered.
bella took a quiet breath, and allowed herself to be vulnerable, even for the slightest second. ". . . your mental disturbance is quite terrifying, yet relatable," she answered softly.
"jack?" will realized what she meant. "he wants to slice out his heart and ferry souls to the other side?"
"take it up with him," bella shrugged, turning away. she didn't want to let will see any more of her insecurity.
however, he grabbed her hand, forcing her to face him again. "you can't go with him, bella. you can only see him once every ten years."
he had read her thoughts. she sighed and looked him in the eyes. "that's what makes it so terrifying," she whispered, voice catching.
"i see." will looked at her for a second before pulling her into a hug. bella was taken aback at first, but she wrapped her arms back around him gratefully.
they pulled away. he stared down at her. "bella, i know you love him."
she nodded and faintly smiled, but she could sense his doubt. "yeah, i love him. and guess what? i trust him."
