A/N- Sorry, I was gone longer than Monday and Tuesday, but…YAY! I love reviews, and I love all of you who reviewed, as I promised there will be fighting in this chapter between The Rogue and Starr, after this only two chapters of this story left and then perhaps a sequel, what do you think? Sequel to Breaking Loose? I don't know, I'm already mapping a sequel out in my head so there will probably be one, anyways…on to chapter eight.
Chapter Eight: The Rogue.
The pistol now cocked and ready, Graemae began to plead, his heart, or his fear, burning in his eyes: "Come now, Starr, if you kill me, you kill the only person that ever understood you."
"Ye didn't understand me, Graemae, ye thought ye understood me, what ye thought was a lie." she grinned in malice, every dark feeling she had ever had toward Graemae brimming at the surface, "Graemae, of course ye know by now that I can kill if the need arises."
Graemae backed up, still facing Starr, panic in his eyes: "You're no killer, Starr, you're a thief through and through."
"You…killed…my…brother," she followed his retreat, her eyes cold and face set, "Where was the thief in that? You are after all, King of Thieves, has your reign finally come to the end?"
Graemae backed up and yelled over his shoulder: "If I kill this renegade rogue, will you all bind yourselves to me?" there were several hooting laughs. Starr felt her stomach drop, as long as blood was spilt, the people associated with the Red Roiben would be happy, no matter if the sacrifice was one of their own. Starr decided to counter his offer:
"If your King is down, will ye let me live? Will ye bind yourselves to me?"
Graemae laughed, "Starr you know nothing about ruling a kingdom. And I'm sure you'll find out that claiming a kingdom is far easier than keeping it."
"Ye're wasting my time," she growled, circling him, "enough talk."
"Indeed," Graemae pulled out his jewel encrusted rapier and without warning lunged at Starr, Starr faltered and Graemae knocked the pistol from her hand, it went flying across the room. Starr felt along the nearest table for a weapon to her defense, cold steel touched her hand, a sword! Glancing down, her eyes met Jack's, his hand held the weapon up to her. "Thank you." she mouthed before her blade clashed with Graemae's.
Three of Graemae's guard tried to subdue her, to block their King from her blows. The green guard's heavy sword clashed against Starr's at the same moment that a red-clad guard slashed at her back. Starr twisted, faster than should be humanly possible, and her blade sliced the red guard across the face. The man clutched at his eyes, staggering, his sword clattering to the ground.
Starr tried to dodge a blow from the third guard, a female wielding an axe, but she was too late. The blade bit into her right shoulder so hard that it hit bone.
Starr staggered back, gasping with pain, her rapier drooping low in her right hand, the tip dragging on the ground. It came up just in time to stab through the green guard's chest as he rushed forward. The guard fell on his side, completely still. There was only a small hole in his armor, but it was already welling with blood.
Starr and the female guard circled each other, exchanging tentative blows. Their weapons were not made for this kind of combat, Starr's rapier too slight and the guard's axe too slow, but it didn't take a genius to see that both combatants were dangerous enough to compensate. The guard lunged forward, swinging the axe toward Starr's other arm instead of her torso, hoping to catch Starr off guard. Starr sidestepped, evading her blow, but missing the guard with a wide sweep of her own blade.
Other Roiben fighters began to surface, too many for Starr to keep track of- archers, snipers, drunks and fools. Graemae was still, his lips pressed together in a thin line.
Blood had darkened the cloth at Starr's shoulder in a disturbingly wide stain. Even as she plunged her blade into the other guard's side hard enough to bring the woman to her knees, there were ten more opponents surrounding her. There was a blurry of parry and lunge, her body spinning to slice a clawed hand, to gut an exposed belly.
And still more came.
Graemae was shouting now, but Starr couldn't make out his words over the ring of blades and shouts of onlookers. Suddenly Jack's back was to her.
"Yer drunk, ye need to sit down!" she screamed at him as she cut a short man in black down.
"I'm sober enough for this!" he yelled back, "Besides, I think it's all gone wrong." Starr turned away from an advancing blow, her eyes locking with Jack's, "Yer daft, Jack Sparrow, and I'm daft for loving ye." Jack pulled her into a kiss. Graemae whirled at that, his face savage , advancing on Starr, his lips twitching over words, but Starr still couldn't hear him.
Jack slashed at the skinny man, Starr had encountered earlier, keeping his back to Starr.
Graemae continued his advance, his brows narrowed in furious concentration, he stopped in front of Starr, the battle raging in a flurry of chaos around them.
"While you have been most amusing, I find this game tiresome." he knocked her down, placing a booted foot on Starr's throat. Starr rasped, the pressure cutting off her air, threatening to crack her neck.
Then the pressure was gone, and Graemae was falling. Droplets of blood splattered across Starr's cheek before the body fell across her. There was a sickening hiss where Graemae's cheek hit a boiling pot. He was dead.
Jack looked down at her, his eyes wild and unfocused. There was a smear of blood across his mouth, but Starr didn't think it was his own.
A hush had fallen over the court, The Rogue was dead.
One by one thieves and murderers began dropping to their knees, all eyes on Starr, Kamarrato Purloin, her long time friend and accomplice made his way down from the upper chambers, his leg broken and his shirt caked with dried blood.
"Marauders, assassins, thieves and crooks, I give ye Starr Auroras, may she forever more be known as The Rogue."
Starr grabbed Kam as he passed her, "What are ye doing," she hissed, "Jack killed him, twasn't me, Jack should be The Rogue, not me!"
"Starr, milady, yer pirate has already gone." Starr let her eyes drift wildly around the room, "He slipped out a few seconds ago, didn't look too happy, Starr," Kam dropped to his good knee before her, "I swear meself to ye, I am for you, lady, use me as ye will." Starr said nothing and strode from the hall, she wouldn't let Jack vanish again, the hurt between them was there, but the want between them was more.
Jack clopped onto the deck of The Black Pearl with such force, it was a miracle that it was still floating. Starr was The Rogue, she had gotten more than she had ever wanted, and that left Jack with nothing, nothing but an empty void in his heart.
"Jack?" he looked up, it was Ana-Maria.
"Ana?"
"Are we gonna wait for Starr?"
Jack closed his eyes and took in a heavy breath, "No, we wouldn't want to disturb the new Rogue." Ana-Maria's eyes flared, "She's The Rogue?!"
Jack smiled coldly, his eyes flat with emotion, "The very same."
Ana-Maria left Jack's rooms in haste, leaving Jack utterly alone to the black confines of his mind. His cabin door opened again, and Jack paid it no mind, at least he didn't until a soft voice broke through his raging thoughts.
"Jack, ye can't jest leave like this."
He looked up into Starr's angry eyes. She was mad at him, that wasn't hard to see, she kept worrying her hands and shaking her head, her attitude unlike anything he'd seen from her before.
"I gave you what you wanted, Starr, go back to your Roiben."
She laughed, the sound bitter and untamed, "And ye know what I want?" she sneered at him, "Can ye tell me what I want, cause I don't know!"
"Why are you here?" he asked slowly, "Can't you end this torment?"
"I torment ye!" she shrieked then she placed a hand to her forehead, "I torment ye? What do ye think ye do to me, Jack Sparrow?"
Jack smiled darkly, "I do something to you?" He stood and moved dangerously toward her, "I suppose you're here to tell me you can't live without me, that without me you can't breathe."
"Don't be stupid," Starr snapped, "I'm not here to tell you any such thing."
"Then why are you here?"
Starr shook her head and backed out the door, "If I knew, Jack, I wouldn't be here." that said Starr disappeared. Jack sank down onto his bed and glared heatedly at the ceiling before jumping up and following Starr's retreat, she had wanted to say something and he had been a bastard towards her, not letting her say what she wanted to say, he'd find her and hear her out…if she wanted him to hear her.
A/N- Yeah, two chapters more Does happy dance ok, next chapter won't take so long to be posted, just tell me what you think of this one and I'll be happy.