A/N – Thanks for the great reviews, everybody!
Chapter Six: Regrets and Threats
Anamaria glared at Jack, her dark eyes blazing with anger. "What is wrong with you?"
"Hmm?" he asked, spinning around to face her and giving her a surprised glance. "What'd you say?"
"I said, "What the hell is wrong with you?"" she screeched, leveling her face with his.
He took a step back and squinted at her. "No need to be rude, love, I was only asking a question." He gazed over her shoulder at Lena, who was chatting with Zachary.
Anamaria put her hands on her hips and glowered. "You're not even listening, are you? You're too busy staring at Lena," she snapped, instantly bringing Jack back to attention.
"I'll tell you what," he said, clasping his hands together. "You leave me alone, and I leave you alone," he snarled, brushing by her in a conceited way, his arms swinging and his gait swaggering as usual.
Ana shook her head and began to walk with him. She wasn't about to give up now. "Why are you acting so strangely? You let two complete strangers on board, without so much as a second glance." He continued to ignore her, though, so she decided to take it to another level.
"And what about Will?"
Sure enough, Jack stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't turn to face her, though; he only listened.
"Oh, now you listen. I thought you didn't even like him! You only used him to get the Black Pearl back, am I right?"
He whirled around, his finger raised in thought.
"If I didn't like the lad," he said in a low voice, "I wouldn't be doing this."
Jack walked away, his face contorted with rage. He was good at suppressing his anger, and this was no exception.
He gripped the edge of the Pearl's large, wooden wheel, his knuckles white. He glared around him at Anamaria, who was managing the sails and glaring right back. With a downright furious stare, he turned away and uneasily leaned against the wheel. Yes, she was right, and he hated to admit it. He had only used Will to get the Pearl back, and it was wrong.
Damn, why do women know everything? They can read your thoughts and know everything you've done without them with only a guess. He frowned at Ana, who was too busy scowling at Mr. Gibbs to acknowledge him again. He never liked to see her angry, but then again, she had read his mind about Will and said it to him. In fact, it's worse when somebody knows the truth and they tell it to you, rather than pushing it to the back of your mind and trying to forget about it all of the time.
Although, he had learned to – he had to admit – like the man in the journey of getting back the Black Pearl. As rash and ignorant as he was, there was always a peculiar place in his heart for him. He couldn't help it, really.
So why did he feel strange doing this? There was also a bond between him and Elizabeth. Although he had only known her for about a year, there had been a quirky connection between the two of them ever since he had rescued her from drowning. Especially on that godforsaken spit of land, when they had indirectly gotten to know each other. Nevertheless, they both cared for Will and they were determined to find the murderer.
Still – was Anamaria trying to tell him something? She probably thought that he didn't care about Will, so she decided to mention him on impulse. And bloody hell, what a mistake that was.
Every mention of the boy's name seemed to stab him like a knife. He didn't understand, though – he only wanted to get his goddamn ship back! He shouldn't be concerned about Will that much.
And yet, he was. And he couldn't help it.
He looked down at his feet, instantly ashamed of himself. He had only used Will to get the Black Pearl back, and now he was mortified with how he had acted. Yes, he had planned it from the moment Will had sprung him from jail; but he was beginning to regret it.
Just look at Elizabeth. Her head was always hanging low and her eyes were rheumy and bloodshot since he had broken the truth to her. It hadn't been his intention to demoralize her, just days away from her wedding. Oh, God no, he meant nothing of the sort.
If only Jack had realized earlier what a good man Will was.
"Where are we going?" Lena inquired, ducking her head to keep the cobwebs from brushing against her hair.
"I've found somewhere," Zachary explained, "where we can… Discuss certain issues."
"'Discuss certain issues'?" she echoed, staring skeptically at the back of his head as they made their way below deck.
"You heard me."
She frowned and followed him through a darkened and narrow, damp hallway. She lightly ran her fingers along the moist walls and peered at Zachary through the darkness. "What certain issues?"
He turned at her over his shoulder and began to walk faster. "Come on, Lena, you should know this. I'm not going to explain to you."
Lena pursed her lips and thought it better to just not reply. He looked back in front and walked even faster. As he began to speed up, she had trouble keeping up with him in the slender, dim corridor. They eventually reached a small, oval-shaped room with a single, musty-looking table in the middle. There was no door between the hall and the room, and two soggy, wooden chairs where positioned on either side of the table. They weren't exactly inviting, though. Zachary immediately sat down in the farther chair while Lena stood at the sloping doorway, her arms defiantly crossed over her chest. After a 10-second glare, he motioned for her to sit down. With hesitant steps, she made her way to the chair and pushed it back. She glowered at him as she sat down; an uneasy feeling was growing inside of her.
"What is it? Would you like to interrogate me?" she rudely asked and raised her chin insolently.
"Don't be fresh." His icy blue gaze darkened.
"Oh, I can be however I want to be, Zachary," she replied. "You've got no power over me."
"As a matter of fact, I do," he said in a low voice and slowly pushed the chair back with the tip of his foot. He then stood up and began to leisurely pace around the back of Lena's chair. She didn't turn to look at him as he uncomfortably hovered around her. She could feel his eyes boring through the back of her head, and she clenched her fists in anxiety.
"I've got all the power over you that I need," he stated, his steps echoing through the small room. She pressed her eyes together and laced her fingers, trying to compress her agitation.
"I'm not a simple toy that you can manipulate easily," Lena protested, her voice shaking slightly.
"No, not easily," he agreed, "but I'm working on it." A wicked smile curled his lips and although Lena couldn't see him in front of her, she could see him in her mind. "As soon as possible, you will do what you are told, and accomplish it without a fuss."
"I won't," she snarled suddenly, infuriated at his comment. It was as if she was his plaything; like he could bend and break her without a care.
At just this moment, Zachary seized a dagger from a small sheath in his belt. He threw his free arm around the top of her shoulders and held the knife beneath her chin with the other hand, malice covering his face. Lena was too stunned to fight back in any way possible, so she sat, horrified, as the blade quivered dangerously close to her throat.
"You know, if I wanted to, I could get a different whore to do this for me," he growled as he pressed the dagger lightly on her windpipe, as if to scare her.
The term 'whore' made Lena want to cry, but the blade made her choke back her tears. "It's not my fault," she croaked in a broken voice. "You made me become one."
"It was our only way to survive," he hissed. "Me being a pickpocket, you being a prostitute. And we endured the streets just fine."
"I…" she trailed off. "I know. I know, Zachary. You don't have to remind –"
"Shut your mouth!" he ordered. "I'm only using you because you're my cousin. That way, I don't have to pay anything to bribe you." He quickly brought his knife away from Lena's throat. As he pulled it away, the tip grazed her shoulder, and a thin gash appeared. She winced but still managed to look him straight in the eye.
"I expect you to remember your place from now on. And that place is, in fact, below me. Do you comprehend?" he asked her and grinned nastily at her timid nod. "Good. You will work on seducing Jack as soon as possible. I'll see to it that you obey me, Lena… I know you will. As long as you remember your place, I know you will."
He strode out of the small room and left Lena, hurt and shivering, below deck. She covered her shoulder wound with a trembling hand and look down at her lap. She was terrified of her own cousin, who had tormented her for years and forced her to become a filthy strumpet. As hard as she pressed on her lesion, trying to stop the bleeding, the pain – inside and out – wouldn't stop.