AN—I'm trying!!! It's a shocker in itself that this chapter was done at all! haha.
Chapter Ten:
Will had nightmares. Each night he would dream that his father had left him out of spite. He dreamt that his mother got died of sickness in lieu of taking care of him. Each night he would dream that he was too late to save Elizabeth... And he'd lost her... And then he'd dream his memories, instead of his fears... Remember the cold eyes that Elizabeth had when she decided that what they had worked so hard to become accepted was stupid and unreal...
... He wasn't real to her... Will gripped the sheets, his naked torso sweating as he twisted beneath the blankets as his subconscious told him everything he didn't want to know... He was nothing but a fantasy to her, a mere escape drom the strict mores of society and it was breaking him. In his dreams, he had curled into a ball on the sand, sobbing as something else that he thought important in his life was ripped from him again.
'... Come on, love... Stop crying... You'll find someone to save you...' a voice whispered in his ear. He looked up and saw a woman with long dark hair, falling into curls on her back and eyes just like his. 'Come now, my love. I'd never abandon your fate to such a pitiful end...'
'No...' Will murmured, shaking his head furiously. 'I'm alone... AGAIN! I'm not meant to have anyone, mother. I'm destined to be alone. The Fates have seen to that...'
'Oh, but, love,' she chuckled kneeling down and putting a hand on his shoulder. She leaned over and her voice whispered a simple rhyme. 'The Fates play cruel games on weakened hearts...' The woman retreated and put a hand on his chest. 'His is broken...' Will's mother looked up to a silhouette walking towards them. '... And hers is afraid to start...'
Light snapped Will from his dream and he shot up from bed. He looked around and gently transitioned from his dream state into reality, noticing that the clouds had parted to a beautiful day. Morning was at hand and he could smell the delicious aroma of food coming in from the kitchen.
As much as the hunger pangs were stabbing his stomach, however, Will hesitated as he sat in bed. He remembered the look of disappointment that was in Serena's eyes that night. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what was wrong with what he'd done but Serena looked liked she was crushed with his actions. Will slipped back under the covers again, burying his face into the soft and silky pillows, a comfort that he was definitely luxuriating in. His nose inhaled and was pleasantly assailed with the scent of flowers and fruits that he remembered from Serena the night before... Will wanted to just revel in the feminine scent but the door opening and the padding of feet on the floor was pulling him into reality again.
"Will?" Serena murmured, setting the tray of food on bedside table and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Will, honey? You awake yet?" Her hand went to her shoulder, shaking his body slightly.
"You're not mad at me?" he asked peeking at her from between white and wine red pillows.
"Mad at you?" Serena's eyes furrowed in confusion and then remembered her last words to him last night. "You mean about last night?" She shook her head, smiling at him, as her fingers wiped away curls that stuck to his face from sweat.
At her finger's touch, Will recoiled, still too near Elizabeth's memories to really come in that intimate contact with anyone right then.
"Will... I'm sorry if you thought I was mad..." Serena bit her lip, misinterpreting his reaction. "I'm really not... I just have to get used to you. That's all. And maybe teach you a few things while we try to get you back to the Caribbean... But otherwise, no... No hard feelings whatsoever." She turned and showed Will the tray of food. "See? I come bearing gifts of sustenance and yumminess..."
Will's head popped up, smelling the food... Bacon, eggs, pancakes and waffles all greeting him warmly and cold orange juice on the bedside table. His mouth immediately began to water and he sat up, anticipatingly.
"I'm guessing it's true that the quickest way to a man's heart is his stomach?" Serena laughed. Will gave her a lopsided grin as he reached for the food, taking a piece of sausage to put into his mouth.
"Well, if it works..." he grinned.
"I take it you know sausages?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I didn't know if the sixteenth century had them," she shrugged, leaning back and onto the pillows and slipping under the covers with him. Simply platonic and out of chilliness... Though Serena had to admit realizing Will was naked from the waist up was doing half the job of warming her up. "Are you going to leave me any?"
"I'm sorry... I'm kind of hungry," Will mumbled through a mouthful of strawberry drenched pancakes.
"It's okay. Nice to see it appreciated," Serena murmured cocking her head, just watching Will eat.
"I've been meaning to ask you..." Will said, after a few moments of silence (plus his steady eating).
"What is it?"
"You never explained to me how you're taking me so calmly. I mean... I came here and panicked... Obviously. From our initial contact, I'm strange in this world to and, based on yesterday morning, I can cause some strange receptions," Will remarked. "And how do you know who I am? You knew me from the moment I came into this apartment..."
"Oh... well," Serena gulped. "You... are... Well, I knew who you were... ARE, I mean..." No lying. No lying No lying!! "... through a book! A history book!" Fucking... that's a lie!!
"A book? I'm in your history? As in, I've done something important in my life... or will?" Will smirked, his smile brightening his features.
"Well... You've done something noteworthy yes..."
Let's see what Elizabeth would say that!, Will thought.
"Ever heard of a Norrington?" Will asked, trying to sound just casual and curious.
"Yup... James Norrington... Commodore," Serena nodded. Lies and lies and lies, Serena. Will they ever stop? "Same book as you..." I'm guessing not.
"Oh? What, I'm curious, was so noteworthy about that man?" Will's teeth clenched and he put down the waffle, losing his appetite quickly enough. Serena looked at him, oddly, wondering what was causing the man to gnash his teeth so violently.
"Well, historically, you have this adventure with a Captain Jack Sparrow... You end up saving the girl, Elizabeth Swann and end up marrying her in the end..." Serena rambled on.
"I marry Elizabeth in the end?!" Will choked. "I get her back?" For a moment, Will's heart soared. If Serena was telling the truth, then he would marry Elizabeth... Gods, let it be so!
"What? What do you mean 'get her back'?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and in worry that she said too much. "You had her from the very time you saved her, didn't you?"
Will's hand froze over the food, trying to think of what to make of Serena's information. His eyes narrowed in effort, trying to keep at bay the confusion that came with trying to fit his world with the one he was in.
"Will?" Her hand tried to catch his, worrying overhow it was beginning to shake.
"We get married... As in it's in the history books... Elizabeth became my wife..."
Serena bit her lip and shook her head. "Well, it was more assumed actually. After Jack's near execution, and Elizabeth choosing you, you all sort of fall out of out sight. We don't know for sure what happens..."
"Then you don't know..."
"Know what?"
"Nothing," Will murmured, hating that he was remembering Elizabeth again.
Silence befell them again but this was more awkward, and Serena just clutched her blankets as she watched Will close his eyes and get lost in his own memories.
"What happened, Will?"
"Nothing... Gods, like I have to tell you?" he snapped, slipping out of the bed and making the food and drinks spill all over the white sheets. "What the hell am I even doing with you? You're a complete bloody stranger!" He grabbed his shirt and went into the bathroom, slamming it shut behind it.
Serena frowned and pursed her lips into a thin line, her hands clenching into fists.
'I will not become angry... I will not become angry...' she chanted in her head. Serena looked at the bed and saw the orange juice dribbling down the white sheets.
"Asshole..." she muttered, getting up to clean the mess. As she did, a knock came to the door.
"Sere! Are you all right?" Serena recognized Sandra's voice. She lived right across the hall and would have definitely heard Will's outburst.
"Yea... I'm fine!" Serena scrambled up to the door and opened it a crack to talk to Sandra.
"Who was shouting?" Sandra asked, curiously.
"Me," Serena laughed. "I was reading a fic... Haldir said something stupid. I got severely pissed off... What song, my ass."
"Sere, we need a life..." Sandra laughed along with her. "Okay, I gotta go to class. Don't get too worked up, 'kay?"
"I won't..." Sandra gave her a brief smile and walked to the stairs. Serena closed the door and sighed.
"We need to get out of here if I want to keep him hidden," she muttered before resuming her clean up duty and to think about packing up for another house her family owned in the hills.
:: South of the Border again ::
"Kate... I swear! How can you believe that when I was with you all fucking night?" Orlando yelled.
"Because this is fucking real... If it wasn't last night, then it could have been any night before. There are witnesses, multiple photographs so tell me the truth! When did you go to Santa Monica and who the hell is the girl?" Kate snapped, throwing the papers on the table as Orlando groaned in exasperation. He threw his head back and put his hands on his face before standing up, angrily.
"You can't tell me you fucking believe this bullshit!"
"Fine..." Kate said, her voice taking a concluding tone. "You won't tell me? I'll find..." Her eyes looked for the photo credit on the newpaper. "Gene Collins to tell me the fucking truth." She grabbed her bags and stomped out of the hotel to leave for Los Angeles. Orlando didn't even think to follow.
$- Reference to an LotR fic here in ff.n called Married to the Marchwarden. Read it. It's really good. If you want to know what I'm talking about in the chapter, in the story, Haldir (the March Warden of Lothlorien)'s wife thinks he's cheating. One night, she sings a song in a festival to try to impress him but during the song, he talks to another she-elf. She doesn't notice this until after she sings and when she goes up to him afterwards to ask how he liked the song and he goes, "What song?" EFFING bastard! I can really kill him at that point of the story.
AN—I update 'Prophecy'!! This is an effing shocker, man. Please review and show me you're out there!