Chapter 35: Our Strange Duet
Mary lets her head drop to the table with a frustrated sigh.
It's been four days of searching and there's still no sign of Davina.
"We'll find her. I promise. In a month or so, we'll be in Somalia, and your little girl will be with us." Jack says while Charles lights a cigarette.
"Before we go there... There's somewhere I want to visit first." The criminal says and his accomplice frowns.
"Please tell me it's not-"
"Nassau."
Jack sighs heavily. "Going there will only cause painful memories to resurface, Charles."
"I need to see that place again. We're going there and it's final." He snaps, leaving the hideout.
Davina tries her best to keep her innocent façade while Mr. Rogers and Sarah talk, knowing she needs to be careful while the woman is around.
One wrong move, and Mary will pay for it.
But as soon as Sarah leaves them alone, the little girl gives him an angry glare.
He scoffs at her, sitting down on the chair in front of her bed. "What do you want, you little pest?"
"I want Mary! Where is she, what did you do to her?"
He laughs, shaking his head. "And you think I'm going to tell you? Stupid kid, you won't see your precious adoptive mommy again, unless she tells us where our family heirloom is."
"But we don't know where it is! We only saw it one time!"
"You see, something as valuable as that... The pirates probably took it to their leader. That's what I want to know, who that leader is, and where to find him."
"Did my mama say anything?"
Rogers hesitates for a moment, clenching his jaw, and a smile comes to Davina's face as something clicks in her head.
"She didn't... Because you don't have her anymore, right? She ran away. I knew she would, my mama is-"
Her words are cut off when the man gets up abruptly, storming over to the bed and slapping her face.
It hurts and tears burn in her eyes, but she refuses to cry in front of him. Instead, she smirks in triumph, knowing this only confirmed her suspicions.
Seeing this, Rogers scoffs in disbelief, raising his hand to hit her again, but then... His eyes cloud over as he watches her face and he blinks hard, his balance faltering for a second before he rubs his forehead, trying to regain his composure.
When he speaks, his tone sends a wave of dread straight to the girl's heart.
"I have seen your eyes before, you stupid brat. Where?"
"How can I know that?"
"Stop trying to be smart. I know I saw those sickening blue eyes somewhere before. But they belonged to a man..." He trails off, gripping his forehead again. In his mind, images are flashing. A ruined carriage. A fight. A long haired man. He needs to know what his face looks like, he needs to remember... But he can't. All he knows is that he hates this man.
Groaning in frustration, his anger is only intensified when he sees Davina staring up at him, watching him as if he was crazy.
"What are you looking at? You better be careful, or I'll hit you again."
The little girl gets to her feet, standing up on the bed so she was the same height as him, crossing her arms and refusing to avert her eyes. "I am not afraid of you."
He scoffs, looking like he was about to hit her again, but her next words stop him.
"If you touch me again, I will cry and tell Sarah. She will be angry with you. Now that I know my mama escaped, I'm one step ahead, right, Mr. Rogers?"
She sounds so pleased with herself. Rogers clenches his jaw, storming out of the room.
Laughing to herself, Davina jumps on the bed once before sitting back down, searching the pockets of her little brown leather jacket, looking for the coin she found 2 years ago on the beach back in Nassau.
Once she finds it, the girl begins to play with it, trying to make it roll across her knuckles with some difficulty and groaning in frustration when she keeps letting it fall. She's still learning how to do this, but she saw it in Constantine, a movie she watched with Mary. Since then, for some reason, playing with this coin became her way to comfort herself when she was sad, scared or anxious about something. And soon she will be able to do it perfectly.
Tears come to her eyes when she thinks about her adoptive mama. Davina misses her so much. But she refuses to cry, her smirk returning as she watches the coin in her fingers.
Mary is out there looking for her, she knows.
And soon, they will be reunited so they can finally go back home.
Eleanor needed a break.
She just needed to stay away from the mansion for one night, away from her father and from Rogers. They were talking too much about the wedding, and considering how conflicted she feels, this is just too painful.
Every time she looks at Rogers' face, she remembers his betrayal, how he drugged her, twice, possibly.
Can she trust a man who does this sort of thing?
As much as she wishes she could just forget about this, she can't. And it's so frustrating.
As soon as she made the decision to stay away from the mansion tonight, there was a pang in her heart.
Before the memories came back, when she wanted to get away for the night, she always knew who to run to.
Charles.
He would take her to one the hideouts, or to the beach, and they would have a great time together.
She misses everything about him. The strong arms holding her protectively during the night, keeping her safe from the nightmares. That infuriating half smirk whenever he teased her about something. The way his arms would tighten around her every time she said something about Rogers. The taste of the cigarettes when she kissed him. Running her hands through his long hair. Riding on the motorcycle with him, the thrill of it. She misses the way he always made her feel so sated and relaxed whenever they slept together. She just misses him.
But obviously, she can't go to him anymore.
That's why she ran to Max, and Idelle was less than thrilled to have her here at their house, especially since this was their movie night. But she didn't care. She just needed a break.
For some reason, Idelle decided she wanted to watch a musical, and she chose the Phantom of the Opera. The woman drank for most of the movie, having stopped twice to smoke a joint. She offered it to Max and Eleanor too, but they decided to just stick to the rum.
They were currently watching the last scene that showed the Phantom's lair, Christine giving him the ring before leaving him.
Idelle scoffs. "Christine Daaé is such an idiot."
"Oh boy, here we go." Max sighs.
"Seriously, she is! I mean, the Phantom knew her like no one else, he protected her, he loved her and would have done anything for her. Not to mention, they both loved the same thing: music. They were a perfect match. She should have stayed with him. But did she? No..." She pauses to down her glass of rum and Eleanor closes her eyes while rubbing her forehead, knowing full well where this was going.
Idelle sets the glass on the coffee table before continuing. "Nope. Instead, she ran off with some little rich prick, with his fancy clothes, his fancy words and his fancy horses. Bet she spent the rest of her life unhappy. All because she had to betray the man who loved her with all his heart. Sounds familiar, Eleanor?"
Max gives her a stern look and she gets up while the blonde sighs heavily.
"What kind of a name is Raoul DeChagny anyway? This shit is sick." The dark haired woman complains, slurring and stumbling ligthly. "What kind of a name is Woodes? What's the matter with these people, I can't even..." Her voice keeps fading as she heads off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her with a loud bang.
They can still hear her as she keeps talking nonsense to herself inside the bathroom, not really able to understand her words.
Eleanor sighs heavily, leaning forward and burying her face in her hands, and Max's face softens as she watches her.
"Don't mind her. She's just drunk... And high."
"She's right." Eleanor says quietly, looking over at her friend. "I was an idiot. I know that. I can see it now."
"Yes. You were an idiot. But don't be so hard on yourself. You weren't thinking clearly, mon ange. Your grief made you blind. But you're here again, and you're making the right choices now. You can't really fix the past, but at least you are fixing your mistakes."
She scoffs.
"Except for the one mistake I really wish I could fix." She says, pain spreading in her chest while they hear Idelle's phone ring in the bathroom.
"I believe that if two people are truly meant to be together, they eventually find their way back to one another, no matter what happens. I mean, look at your situation. Three centuries later, fate brought you and Vane back together. And once more, you two were instantly drawn to each other. This has to mean something, don't you think?" Max says and she shrugs.
"I do admit Idelle is right about something though." She begins with a smirk and Eleanor looks at her. "What kind of a name is Woodes?"
The blonde laughs briefly with her friend, shaking her head, the sound of a motorcycle stopping outside the house reaching their ears just as Idelle rushes to the front door.
"Idelle, where do you think you're going? You're drunk and it's two in the morning!" Max says sternly and she rolls her eyes.
"I won't go anywhere, I'll just talk to Captain Vane for a bit."
Eleanor's heart skips a bit and her mouth parts as she immediately looks up at the dark haired woman.
"He's here?" The words leave her mouth before she can try to stop them.
"Yeah, he's outside. We've been trying to track down more people from our past."
"I could help-"
"You helped enough already, don't you think?" She says in a harsh tone and the blonde clenches her jaw. "Besides, he really wants to find Blackbeard, so that's our main focus right now. And I doubt you'll want to face Teach. So stay out of this, Miss Guthrie."
She heads out the door, slamming it shut behind her and Eleanor closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to control her temper.
"How long has this been going on?" She asks and Max grimaces.
"Amost two weeks."
"And why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew it wouldn't do you any good."
The blonde shakes her head with a scowl. "He will leave the city. Won't he?"
Max sighs, hesitating, and Eleanor gives her a stern look. "Don't hide anything from me."
"Alright, well... A few days ago, I heard him and Idelle talking outside. They were making plans."
"What plans?"
"He says that he, Jack and Anne are growing restless staying here. He says that life stuck in this big city, in dry land, is not for them. And they want to... leave. Get a boat and go... There"
Her heart clenches and her breath catches.
"Nassau..." She whispers quietly and Max nods
"Yes. He has a lead on Teach, now he and his accomplices are trying to take care of something, but as soon as they do that, they are going to get a boat. Then they will leave here. They're going back there."
Dread settles in her stomach as a thought comes to her mind.
"Do you think... They're planning on taking it back?"
"I don't know... I hope not, but..." She trails off and Eleanor lets out a shuddering breath.
"They can't... It will be a disaster, that place is too civilized now, they will get themselves killed!" Much to her annoyance, her voice breaks, blue-green eyes filling with tears.
"You think I don't know that? I'm worried sick about Anne." Max says with a scowl, looking down at her fingers as Eleanor gets up, heading to the front door.
"Eleanor, don't!" Her friend says in an urgent tone, grabbing one of her arms just as she reaches the door.
"Vane hasn't been in a good mood lately. God only knows what he'll do to you!" She says, dragging the blonde back to the couch.
Outside, Charles smokes a cigarette, quietly watching as Idelle runs her fingers over the handles of the motorcycle, a few feet away from him.
"Guess who's inside there." She rolls her eyes, gesturing over her shoulder to the house. When he just raises an eyebrow in question, she continues. "That blonde traitor."
His heart skips a beat and he glances at the house before shaking his head.
"Did you find anything?" He asks, finishing the cigarette and she grimaces.
"Not really. I've been going to a spiritist house, to see if they can help me track down people from my past, but I think it won't work. Guess we're gonna have to do this on our own. What about you?"
He shakes his head briefly, looking up at the stars for a moment. "As I said before, we have a lead on Teach, but there's something we need to take care of before we can leave."
She sighs. "We won't stop. They're out there somewhere, and we're gonna find them."
He nods, glancing back at the house before meeting Idelle's eyes. She smirks and begins to make her way over to him. "So... Do you want any company tonight?"
A smirk tugs at his lips before he touches her chin, only to pull away a second later, making his way to the motorcycle.
"Tell her to come out here."
Idelle frowns at him. "Excuse me?"
"Eleanor. I need to talk to her."
She scoffs. "Are you serious?"
He gives her a hard look and she sighs, rolling her eyes before making her way to the door and opening it. "Hey traitor! Captain Vane wants to talk to you."
He hears the unmistakable sound of her footsteps, turning around to see her standing there at the door, staring at him, eyes shining with a mix of emotions she's trying hard to mask.
But from him, she can never hide.
"Leave us alone, Idelle." He says and the woman groans.
"Fine. She's all yours." She turns to the blonde with a wicked smirk. "I'm off to bed. Have a good night, Mrs. Rogers."
Eleanor clenches her jaw, feeling her blood run cold as the dark haired woman goes back inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Slowly looking up at Charles again, she finds him with his jaw clenched hard as well, eyes filled with anger, no doubt because of what Idelle had just called her.
This sure was yet another painful reminder of what happened 3 centuries ago.
He meets her eyes, the anger still evident in every muscle of his body.
Great.
She raises her chin at him, approaching slowly and carefully. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
He stares at her for a moment, lighting another cigarette. She watches as he puts it between his lips, trying to ignore the shiver that goes down her spine at the thought of what that mouth could do.
Taking a deep breath to try and calm her traitorous heart, she patiently waits.
Finally, he blows out smoke, sighing briefly before speaking.
"How are the cuts?"
She scoffs in disbelief. "Seriously? You called me out here just to ask about-"
"Eleanor." He interrupts her words and she sighs, knowing from the look in his eyes that he was serious.
"They're fine. I'm still in pain, but they're getting better, slowly. Most of them are healing perfectly."
"'Most' of them?"
"Except for one. That big, deep one that wouldn't stop bleeding. It reopened twice during the week, while I moved in my sleep. But I think now it's starting to heal too."
He frowns, gesturing to the motorcycle seat. "Sit."
She raises an eyebrow at him but obeys anyway and Charles wordlessly hands her his cigarette, looking around to make sure the streets were empty before lifting her skirt and exposing her scarred thighs to the cool night air.
Eleanor silently watches as he inspects the healing cuts before focusing his attention on the biggest one.
His hands are warm against the soft skin of her thighs and she bites her lips, shivering at his touch, silently wishing he would move his hands just a little to the side, a bit higher-
"It's starting to heal." His deep voice says suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts. "It should be fine from now on." He says, letting go of her thighs and letting the skirt cover them again. She nods quietly, handing him the cigarette.
As she watches him smoke, a thought comes to her mind.
"Do you still know how to... Do that thing?" She asks and he pauses for a moment, knowing what she's talking about. The criminal sighs before deciding to humor her, taking a drag and blowing out a ring of smoke.
Her eyes darken as she watches this, swallowing briefly and not breaking eye contact.
He always knew what this little trick did to her.
They watch each other as the moments drag by, an unspoken challenge between them.
Fuck it.
He tosses the cigarette away and parts her legs. Surprise flickers in her eyes, her breath catching while he steps between her thighs and crashes his lips against hers.
She's frozen for half a second before responding eagerly, wrapping her legs around his hips.
Tears burn in her eyes as she moves her hands to his hair, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
One of his hands move to her lower back, pulling her closer, but the other... it comes to rest over her injured thigh, and he's careful not to press it too hard. It feels more like a caring gesture, and her tears almost run down her face at this.
His tongue traces her lower lip, demanding entrance, which she immediately grants. The groan of satisfaction that leaves the criminal when he tastes the rum on her tongue goes straigh to her core, her legs tightening around his hips.
He has her breathless in less than a minute and when she breaks the kiss for air, he wastes no time, using the opportunity to trail kisses and bites down her neck, the hand on her thigh moving under her shirt.
This must be a dream... But if it is, Eleanor really, really doesn't want to wake up.
Her hands tangle in his long hair, the blonde wanting to make sure he's not going anywhere.
She's just too desperate for him.
"Charles..." She breathes out, eyes closed, clinging to him, her tears starting to win.
"Shh..." He whispers against the skin of her neck, sending shivers down her spine, a sigh of satisfaction escaping her lips when she feels him expertly unclasping her bra with one hand.
She opens her eyes, looking around quickly, checking if they were still alone in the dark street. Seeing that the coast was clear, she lets herself enjoy this stolen moment of paradise, her eyes falling closed again as his hand moves to her right breast, squeezing it with just the right amount of pressure.
How come he always knows exactly what she needs and what she wants?
She can't help the soft moan that leaves her when he rolls her hard nipple between his fingers, his lips not stopping their assault on her neck for a second, a smile tugging at her lips when he sucks a mark on the sensitive skin.
And another, and another.
She's breathing heavily by now, heat spreading through her veins as she pulls on his hair, causing him to lift his head from her neck. The criminal scowls at the tear rolling down her cheek but Eleanor distracts him from it, kissing him as if her life depended on it.
She just missed him so fucking much...
A car honks in the distance, causing the blonde to jump slightly, a heavy sigh leaving the criminal as he breaks their kiss.
They almost forgot they are in public.
Eleanor stares at his face in silence, their eyes locked, neither willing to be the first to look away.
And for the first time, the blonde notices just how much Charles has changed since their memories came back.
He let his beard grow a little, the usual black leather jacket had been replaced by a brown one, and now he wore his hair in the same style as he did in his past life, instead of just keeping it loose like he did before.
Her breath catches when she notices that now he looks just like the pirate he had been three centuries ago.
The pirate he still is.
Looking at him like this, it almost feels as if she's back in her previous life... as if she's back home.
Another tear escapes her eye and Charles frowns, making her freeze in surprise and disbelief when he kisses away the tear rolling down her left cheek while using his thumb to wipe the one on her right cheek.
"What's going on in here, Charles?" She asks in a barely audible whisper, unable to stop herself, and he stares at her face for a moment before sighing.
"Wish I knew."
She shakes her head lightly, pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss, much different from the one they shared minutes ago.
All she wants to do is ask him to take her to the other hideout. But she has no idea how he would react, and in her current fragile state, Eleanor doesn't think she can handle the pain of his rejection.
So she bites her tongue, keeping her mouth shut while he brushes her hair behind her ear.
The urge to ask him about his plans of leaving LA is strong too, and Max's advice comes to her mind.
"It's not to me you need to say all this stuff. It's to Vane. And I just hope you will be able to do it soon. Before it is too late once more."
Too late...
Her heart skips a beat as she realizes something.
She's being given a second chance.
After admitting her true feelings during her talk with Max, the blonde saw just how much she wished she had made different choices back in her previous life. How much she wished she had done something to keep Charles alive. But it had been too late.
And now...
He obviously still loves her.
But he's going to leave the country. He's going to leave her.
Unless she does something about it, unless she swallows her pride and tells him what she told Max.
But can she do that?
Before it is too late...
The Company, Rogers and her father... Or Charles?
She takes a shuddering breath, her chest tightening painfully at the mere thought of having to make that decision, and his thumb caresses her chin, the criminal watching her face closely, as if trying to decipher her inner conflict.
She meets his gaze and he raises an eyebrow, as if daring her to say what was on her mind, challenging her...
Please don't go... Please don't leave me.
She can't say it.
His patience is running thin.
I love you...
She just can't.
Eleanor averts her eyes with a sigh, feeling him tighten his grip on her lower back for a moment before he shakes his head.
The criminal lifts her from the motorcycle seat to set her on her feet, a smug smirk tugging at his lips for a second when he sees how unsteady her legs still are from their activities a few minutes ago.
She watches him in silence while he puts on his helmet and gets on the motorcycle.
Charles gives her one last glance before speeding off.
Her eyes follow the motorcycle until it disappears from sight, a heavy sigh leaving her lips while she heads back inside the house.
She finds Max near the window with a knife in her hands and a frown comes to her face.
"Were you spying on us?"
Her friend grimaces.
"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure he wouldn't do anything to you." She explains, setting the knife on the coffee table and the blonde shakes her head, reaching behind her back.
"I'm okay. Help me with my bra?" She asks with a playful frown and Max laughs, walking behind her so she could clasp it for her.
"See? I told you everything would be just fine between you and Vane."
A sad glint comes to Eleanor's eyes and she wraps her arms around herself. "If everything was 'just fine', right now I would be at the hideout with him, finishing what we started out there on the motorcycle."
"Give him some time, Eleanor. You know how he is. It will take him a while to overcome what happened three centuries ago. But you need to cooperate too. Don't think I didn't see the inner conflict you were going through out there."
"What do you mean?" The blonde asks, faking ignorance, and Max rolls her eyes.
"Don't even try. I know you. I saw it in your eyes. You wanted to open up and tell him about your feelings."
She averts her eyes and Max sighs in concern. "Remember the time is running, Eleanor. You need to work on this, to be able to tell him all that stuff, before he leaves the country. Before it's too late again."
The blonde shakes her head, exhaustion taking her over. "Can we just go to bed?"
Max's eyes soften at the sound of her tired voice and she nods, offering her friend a gentle smile as they make their way to the bedroom.
Later, when Eleanor lays in bed unable to sleep, listening to Max's even breathing beside her and Idelle mumbling nonsense from the other bed, a million thoughts run through the blonde's mind.
She doesn't want to leave her father, or the Company. It's crazy.
But is she ready to watch Charles leave her behind? Would she ever see him again?
And the worst part is; she knows that if she choses this path again, if she marries Woodes, she will live haunted by regret and the image of Charles' face all over again.
In dreams he would always come, his voice calling to her and speaking her name.
He's there, inside her mind.
He always was, and he will always be.
No matter what she does.
Notes:
I have an undying love for the Phantom of the Opera. The books, the movie, everything. One of my dreams is to visit Paris so I can see the Palais Garnier with my own eyes.
So I just couldn't help myself, lol.
Next chapter teaser:
"Max, I think I saw this child."
"Eleanor! This is your chance to get some of his trust back. You need to tell me where she is, I'll report back to them!"