Disclaimer: I do not own PotC or any of its characters.
Chapter Nineteen: "At a Rope's End"
If Anamaria had been able to take a step back and analyze the events that had just transpired, she would have come to the conclusion that she and Prescott were very much alike. Both siblings were fiercely loyal, when they wanted to be, both could wound a man just as deeply with words as with a blade, and, of course, both had lightning fast tempers that could turn into full blown tempests in a matter of minutes. Two wills as strong as those belonging to the Tarret children were bound to clash a time or two, and it was always difficult to tell if brother or sister would hold out longer. However, as Ana stormed down the stairs and out the front door after Prescott, she was not amusing herself by comparing his personality to hers. She was not looking at the situation from Prescott's point of view, trying to see what motivated him to say the things he had said. She was not hearing her father's voice when he'd counseled her to look at all sides of a story before acting. The only passage replaying inside of her head was You've made your bed with a married man. Now, lie in it. She felt the sting from those words, again and again, and she was far from objectivity. She was furious.
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"Well," Prescott began, as he found Jack standing just outside of Admiral Norrington's estate. "That certainly could have gone better." A bit of an understatement, considering that Jack hadn't said nearly enough, and Prescott may have said just a bit too much. Frankly, he was quite surprised that his baby sister hadn't slapped him silly for his last comment. Still, he wasn't sorry that he'd said it. He was completely fed up with Annie, and with Jack, for that matter. Two of the people that he cared about most in this world were behaving like fools, and, as far as he could tell, no end was in sight.
Annie was seeing Jack, maybe for the first time, for the fallible human being that he truly was. She had every right to be angry for the way he had treated her. There was no excuse for seeking comfort from professionals that roamed the streets and leaving Annie to spend her nights alone. She should not have had to put up with Jack's ungentlemanly behavior for so long. Maybe she even should have left him years ago, but she hadn't. And the only explanation Prescott could fathom was that Annie really did love the pirate Captain. If she hadn't given his cheating carcass the deserved heave ho, then she must have decided that her life without Jack would be far more unbearable than her life with him.
As for the intrepid pirate Captain, well, he was finally starting to realize how desperately he needed Annie. Since they first sailed together, Jack had trusted her, even though he never seemed to admit it to himself. More than that, he'd loved his first mate from the first time he saw her. Jack, however, had been severely damaged by just about everyone he'd ever known. Former shipmates and lovers, his father, his brother and so many people who'd called themselves friends had all hurt the pirate, kicked him while he was down, and, eventually, left him alone.
Jack Sparrow had been in love before, a fact few knew. He had laid his heart in the hands of another woman, told her all of his secrets, and she had done the same. But, when all was said and done, that woman had dropped his heart in the dirt and laughed as he cried. Maybe he should have been able to see that Annie was different, that she would never dream of wounding him so deeply. There was no questioning that he should have swallowed his fear and his pride and told Annie how he felt, long before now. Maybe he regretted it, maybe not, but he could no more go back and right the wrong than Prescott could walk across the water in the harbor.
Shifting his weight, Prescott placed his hand on his hip. Jack had not moved, nor had he made any indication that he even saw Prescott standing next to him. He simply stood, with his back against the stone wall that encircled the Admiral's mansion, staring down at his feet. "Still with me here, Jack?"
The pirate lifted his head slightly. "I told her," he said flatly.
Despite the less than successful outcome resulting from the last time Prescott had said the first thing that popped into his head, he decided to do it again. "Congratulations. I'll start organizing a parade in your honor, straight away." Now, Jack did look up. His wide, disbelieving eyes were fixed on Prescott's face. Prescott lifted his brow. "I'm sorry, Jack," he continued. "But, I'm not impressed. My sister thought you were dead, and now, suddenly, you show up again and profess your true affections?" Prescott held his one remaining arm out to the side in a puzzled gesture. "What do you expect her to do? Fall into your embrace and forget everything else?"
The broken pirate Captain seemed to begin piecing himself back together. He almost looked offended by what Prescott had said. "I told her tha' I love her, and she asked me t' leave, mate. I'd say she bloody well hasn't forgotten a thing."
"That's it, then? She isn't instantly swept off of her feet by three short words you should have said ages ago, so you're what … finished?" Jack clenched his jaw and something sparked behind his eyes. The pirate was getting annoyed. Prescott almost smiled. Good, he thought to himself. It's about bloody time. The indomitable Jack Sparrow had been taking this laying down for entirely too long. If he wasn't going to act like the pirate he really was, then it was no wonder Annie couldn't talk to him.
"She doesn't want me," Jack insisted, his voice angry and low.
"You're wrong," Prescott interrupted. "She doesn't want the man who ran willingly into other women's beds, the man who's too damn scared to tell her that he loves her. She doesn't want the man who lives behind walls that are six feet thick." Jack's black eyes softened, slightly. "She wants the man that she sees on the rare occasion when you let her see beneath all of Captain Jack's bluster."
"Then what, Scotty?" the pirate asked. "Wha' if she gets behind all the walls and there's nothin' there?"
Prescott arched an eyebrow. He felt the peculiar desire to bash his head against the stone wall they were standing next to, for that would be about as productive as arguing with a man who had his mind made up. "You've been a pirate for well over twenty years, right?" Jack nodded, wearing an expression that said he had no idea why Prescott had so abruptly changed the subject. "How many merchant vessels have you chased down in that time … rough estimate."
Jack crossed his arms. "Hundreds," he replied.
"How many of them were carrying more than a thousand pounds?"
"Ow am I supposed t' remember tha?" Jack asked, rolling his eyes.
"A third … A quarter?" Prescott pushed, ignoring his friend's gesture of impatience.
"Less."
"I've had the same luck. Three quarters of the ships I've boarded have been near empty." Jack pursed his lips, starting to see where Prescott was going with this. "But," the older pirate lifted his index finger. "Then, there's that one in fifty. Military payroll or a supply ship, fully loaded with gold and stores enough to make memories of the empty ships disappear."
Swallowing, Jack uncrossed his arms. "And if I'm not the one filled with gold?"
Prescott threw his arm up in the air. "Is it possible for you to be a little less negative?" Jack didn't answer. He'd never been accused of hopeless optimism. "For heaven's sake, she keeps chasing after you because she loves you, Jack. Every now and again you've let her find gold, but if you stop giving her anything for her efforts, pretty soon she's going to give up."
Jack still didn't argue. Prescott took a breath. His brother knew this already. Jack knew that Annie could only be pushed so far, and what truly worried him was the knowledge that he may have already crossed that line.
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"You've made your bed with a married man," Ana muttered, mimicking her big brother's voice. "So, what if I have, Prescott. Who in the hell are you to question it?" The lady was, of course, stomping down the winding dirt path that led to Admiral Norrington's front door, alone, but that did not stop her from letting her brother have a piece of her mind. "Imagine," she went on. "Lessons on morality from a man who took his first wife because she was expecting a child. Preposterous."
Anamaria was quite ready to drive the tiny dagger she'd brought from the house straight through her brother's shriveled black heart. Not that she wanted to kill him, but if he was severely impaired for a while, she'd not lose any sleep. The audacity of that man, presuming to judge her. What did he know about it, anyway. Scarlet's heart belonged to Prescott from the moment she had him in her sights. He couldn't have escaped her if he'd wanted to. He didn't have to bend over backward to make sure that Scarlet trusted him. He didn't have to wait thousands of nights to hear her tell him that she loved him.
The lady pirate slowed her pace as she neared the end of the Admiral's private road. She heard her brother's voice, unmistakable in its scolding tone. He was saying something about merchant vessels, but Ana couldn't make out much else. Stepping around the corner, she was somewhat surprised that Prescott had been using his best I'm-right-and-your-wrong tone with Jack. Hadn't Prescott been on Jack's side?
For a split second, before Jack recognized her, the pirate almost looked like the indefatigable Captain that he was. In that instant, his shoulder's were squared, his eyes were full of fire and energy, and he was proudly facing whatever onslaught Prescott was throwing at him. However, as soon as those fathomless eyes met Ana's, his posture slumped and his stance wavered.
Ana stepped closer, as her brother turned to see what had altered Jack's attitude so drastically. She moved to slap him full across the face, but Prescott easily caught her hand. "Sorry, Sis," he said. "I was expecting that one."
Smiling deviously, Ana pressed her dagger against any man's most vulnerable spot. "Well, my darling brother, if I cannot hit you, I can at least make sure you don't father any children as impudent as yourself."
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Prescott's eyes dropped to where Ana's blade threatened him. He actually chuckled. This day just kept getting better and better. Maybe a squad of marines could happen to be marching by, notice two wanted criminals standing in front of the Admiral's house, and haul he and Jack off to prison. At least if he was hanged, he wouldn't have to take part in any more drama between his sister and Sparrow. "You know, Annie," he started. "I'm half tempted to let you cut off my balls and end this day as wonderfully as it started."
Ana's lips parted a little. He must have said something exactly opposite to what she had been expecting. He felt the knife pressed against his breeches waver ever so slightly. Ever the pirate, he took advantage of his sister's brief moment of indecision. Placing his toe behind Annie's ankle, he pushed on the arm he still held in his hand. Her balance lost, the lady quickly found herself on her backside on the grass.
From the ground, Annie glared up at her older brother. She was about to scold him, again, but he was truly at the end of his rope. He had tried to help Jack and Annie by bringing the presumed dead pirate to Kingston. Clearly, he had failed in said attempt. Ignoring his better judgment, Prescott drew his sword. "I've had enough," he snarled, pointing the blade somewhere in between Jack and Annie. "I'm going to a pub, and, when I find myself sufficiently drunk, I'm going to return to Loyalty. Then, I'm taking her back to sea, and I don't give a damn if either of you are aboard."
TBC
Alright, first of all, this author only writes what the muse gives me to work with. So, for all of you who are furious at one or more of the characters, don't take it out on me :-) I'm trying to write this story in a "real" and believable way, and real people do real stupid things sometimes, especially when they're hurt. So, yes Jack's a fool, Prescott is infuriating, Norrington's in the way, and Ana's a bitch. Such is the way of life my dear reviewers! Alright, onto the notes ...
Cal: First of all, I must say that you are undeniably Ana's biggest supporter, aren't you? I pray that men who behave badly never cross your path. I find myself constantly defending Jack in your notes, and I think you do see my point, but your something of a hellcat yourself, no? Anyway, as far as your last review, we both know that Ana isn't stupid, far from it. It hasn't taken a strong, intelligent woman like her 20 years to see the truth of her relationship with Jack. Knowing her, they've had this arguement before now, right? She's probably yelled at him and slapped him for his treatment of her on several occasions, but this is just the first time she's seriously contemplating leaving Jack. This is sort of the do or die moment and I think Ana and Jack both know it.I mean, let's face it, if life with Jack were really so awful, Ana would be long gone. She can only think of one thing she's done to make Jack not trust her, but maybe she's done other things that hurt him without realizing it. Now, I'm not excusing Jack, cause obviously he half to blame, but we can't put Ana on a pedestal either. When I write from Ana's POV, I really try to forget everything else, and write solely from her. She's horribly upset and more than a little conflicted. She's remembering Jack's mistakes, but she isn't remembering any of her own. So cut Jack a bit of slack, he had to have done something write to hold onto a woman of Ana's caliber for so long. As for hating Pres, well, Cal you're breaking my heart there. But, ol' Scotty has quite a way with words, so I'll let him explain himself. There, I think your note has just doubled the length of my post!
An-Angel-In-Hell: I'm glad you appreciated the technique. I just think thatin thatsceneeach character's reaction was important, so I gave it to you!
BlackMary47: You're absolutely right. By waiting so long to tell Ana his feelings, Jack almost made his worst fear come true. Poor pirate. As for hurting Ana, I think what's just happened hurt everyone, and there will be some major angst before any of these wounds start to heal. I'm also glad you appreciated Pres' comments. He may have been a bit harsh, but he knows how much Jack and Ana love each other. I think he wants to see them happy, he just doesn't know how to get them to that point, so he's trying everything he's got.
Yuna-Flowering: Ana's point of view is easy to understand, anyone who's ever been in a relationship that was less than perfect can sympathize with her. And Gillette's true colors are definitely starting to show, so stay tuned!
DyingStar: I'm glad to see your anger's cooled a bit. Ana does have a heart, and I think her behavior is her only way of protecting it right now. She's more than a little confused by Jack's reappearance, seeing as she just shared a rather steamy night with one of his greatest enemies. It is easy to hurt right along with Jack, he's sort of like a kicked puppy right now, isn't he? Next, chapter promises another Jack/Ana confrontation, so buckle your seatbelt. Lastly, just one little correction, ol Lizzie isn't plotting with her son she's plotting with Gillette. Sorry, if that was unclear.
SylviaD: I am sorry for the cliffy, but that's just my evil nature! First of all, you absolutely warm my heart every time you sing Scotty's praises. I love him too, and I'm so glad he's found a place in the hearts of so many of my reviewers. I'm glad I was able to sum up what you were feeling about Jack and Ana. It's easy to be understanding of Jack, because he's the pirate of all our hearts. Still, it's hard for me to hate Ana. Both have made mistakes and both have some explaining to do, and I'm just getting to those parts. Glad you liked Lizzie's little twist, and I'm so glad you didn't see it coming. I don't think James will either.
Okay, finally done. Thanks again for all of your feedback!