Scratched Glass
Chapter 6
A/N/Disclaimer: I replaced the a/n with the actual chapter 4. For those of you that didn't know that, it's up there so you can go and read it if the story is confusing you. I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I wish I did. Here's the chapter. Sorry it took a lot of time, but it's fairly long. Hope you guys enjoy!
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he shouted at Zenakabee's face, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and shaking her vehemently. "Are you crazy or something!" this time spit flew into her face.
"I was…I was…" her speech faltered and Jack cut her off, too angry to wait for an explanation.
"Go…go…sit on the bed or something. And stay away from my papers!" he warned her, his eyes substituting words as a threat. Zenakabee, scared out of her wits for once during the whole ordeal, followed his orders and sat down next to an apathetic looking Karyane on the large bed. As she fidgeted with her hands, Jack gathered the scattered papers on his desk in a clumsy stack and whirled around to face the two sisters.
"What.were.you.doing?" he forced through gritted teeth, willing himself to remain calm. But to no avail, the large throbbing vein on the side of his temple gave his anger away. Even Karyane, who had contained herself before, was scared in response to the expression on his face. His high cheekbones looked like they were out of air and somewhat gaunt, his mouth had forced itself into a thin and severe line, and his eyes had turned as hard as steel.
Zenakabee stuttered and Karyane was speechless, not sure if a response would ease the tension or only make the man in front of her even angrier. Finally, Jack held up a raised palm, much like a stop signal, to silence Zenakabee. She, in turn, fell quiet. Pacing up and down with his hands behind his back, Jack muttered to himself and both girls sat in a silence of fear, their eyes downcast.
Doing his best to bite down his anger, his voice came out strangled in a half-bark, "Explain."
"I…we…" here Karyane glared pointedly at Zenakabee. Zenakabee, looking only at Jack, her eyes brimming with fear, failed to notice her sister's gesture. "We were just sitting. And I was, I was just looking around," Zenakabee said lamely, for once at a loss for words. Which, much to Karyane's surprise for she knew her step-sister fairly well, was a shock. Usually, Zenakabee could come up with an immediate answer and dress it up with her knowledge of words. But for some odd reason, Jack's sudden and half-unexpected anger had stricken dumb. Half is used in this case since anger is the only emotion that I can imagine one would convey after they have just found out that someone has been going through their private things. And anger was just the emotion that Jack emanated. But I suppose that Zenakabee did not expect anyone to actually get angry at her.
"I don't ever want you going through my things. That's my personal property. And if I ever do see either of you meddling with my things, I will personally…"Jack threatened, his voice carrying a sharp edge of fury. But before he could finish his sentence, Karyane interjected.
"You'll do what?" she spat, her own anger getting the best of her. "I saw those papers. I saw your writing. Forget about what we did. I want to know what you are planning on doing," she seethed, glaring at Jack with hate. "You were going to kill him, weren't you!" she shouted, her emotion taking control of her, her mind egging her to jump up and off of the bed. "You were going to kill him, you vile, despicable creature!" she yelled and suddenly ran at Jack, aiming to tackle him. But Jack caught her fists and held them to her sides.
"You…don't…" his words came out with extreme difficulty. Karyane might have been thin, but she could muster up enough fire power to bring down an entire monarchy if she wanted to. Rarely did she ever show such outbursts of raw behavior, but every once in a blue moon, she would expose herself. And it was definitely not a pretty sight. "Get off me woman!" he yelled and finally managed to push her off of him. Looking peeved at the fact that he was the one being attacked, Jack glared at Karyane, who glared right back.
"I don't what? I don't what, huh? Explain yourself. I saw my name in those…" she trailed off, gesturing wildly at the papers on Jack's desk. Since both of them understood what she was talking about, she went on, "How do you know who I am? And what do you want with me?" she asked, her eyes never relenting in their task of glaring at the man standing opposite her. She was starting to get a headache from all of the commotion and felt very weak, but she wouldn't rest until she received a satisfying answer.
Sighing, Jack told her gruffly. "All right. I'll tell you. Let me…let me sit down." And so he did, resting his head in his hands and kneading his forehead. Looking up suddenly to the fuming Karyane, he asked, "Is there any way out of this?" She let out an angered huff which sufficiently answered his question.
"I took you hostage a while ago because I needed to see Thomas Greeneley," Jack began, but once more Karyane broke in.
"You were going to kill him. I hardly see how you relate seeing someone with killing them," she spat venomously, wanting nothing better than to launch herself at Jack once more.
"Bloody hell, will you shut up and let me explain?" Jack retorted, his own voice vicious. Indeed, he too was exasperated, infuriated even, with all the events that were going on. With all her effort Karyane, literally bit on her tongue, deciding to hear what he had to say. "He had…information. I've been after Thomas for months now. Then I heard that he had…a thing for you," he explained, flustered and unsure of what to call Thomas's attraction to Karyane. Looking up to stare into said girl's green orbs, he added, "And I can see why." Here Zenakabee snorted and both heads turned to look at her, eyebrows quirking upward. "Anyway, I decided that if I had you then I might be able to get the bloody bastard to talk. He's been avoiding me. In fact, he'd like to have me dead."
Snubbing the thought, Anyone would like to have you dead, Karyane asked sharply, "What information?"
"He killed him," Jack said simply and a sort of fire seemed to kindle in his eyes. Looking closely, Karyane saw not only raw fury, but something more. She could tell. There was an urgency to get to the bottom of something, to solve a matter. And it was plaguing Jack like an illness.
Noticing the intrigued and yet confused look on Karyane's face, Jack tried explaining, "Thomas knew the same man that I was friend's with. He was friends with him as well. And not just any friend, the man was…close…to the both of us. Or at least I assumed the both of us at one time. But that's not the point. Certain men were after my friend. Why, I have no clue. Who they were, I'm not sure. But I do know that they were hunting him, like poachers hunt for animals. Once, he even told me that he wasn't safe. I didn't understand what he meant by at that time. But I do now. He knew that they wanted his life. And he knew that they would most likely try getting to him through his family. So he was always on the move. It was a real hassle for him, his wife, and children, but eventually, he managed to find a fairly desolate island. He planned on living there for the rest of his life with his family and building a comfortable home. He even told me that I could come and visit sometime," Jack stopped abruptly, trying not to choke on his words. But in a motion of defiance, Jack went on, plunging through his rough emotions.
"Knowing that his contact with the rest of the world would be cut off, he told only three people about where he lived. One of them was killed. He was found and killed by whichever man or men were trying to find my friend. But when they found that Greeneley bastard, he weakened. That bastard weakened and told them where he was."
And with both his story and stamina to go on finished, Jack lapsed into a sudden silence.
Karyane's features softened as she began to understand a part of what was going on inside of the pirate that was sitting in front of her. Even Zenakabee, the girl who was quaking in fear just awhile ago, was hushed in a show of understanding. Jack, meanwhile, gazed blankly into space, unmoving.
Feeling semi-guilty for judging him so quickly, but still ready with so many question, Karyane was torn. Should she let him enjoy his silence or interrogate him to her heart's content. Jack looked up and their eyes met for a few very awkward seconds. To Karyane, the time seemed everlasting as she gazed into his soft brown eyes.
Her knees suddenly were not willing to support her weight; Karyane wondered what was going on with her. Her own green pupils became lost amongst his chocolate-colored pools. She felt out of place and suddenly uncertain of who she was. Confused and extremely disoriented, she tried doing something with her hands. But with nothing to hold onto and nothing to sit on, her tall frame seemed to stick out like an eyesore in her mind.
Jack looked carefully into Karyane's eyes and felt pretty odd himself. Why was this girl looking so intently at him? Why was he still staring at her? And wasn't this same girl yelling at him just a second ago?
"What?" he asked slowly, drawing the word out.
The question seemed to wake Karyane from her reverie, for she shook her head, her eyes coming back into focus. Willing herself not to blush, she tried being sincere, "I'm sorry," she mumbled and her gaze fell short of Jack's and landed on the floor. He merely nodded.
Another pause fell between the occupants of the room, but this one wasn't nearly as bad as the last.
"I need you," Jack said suddenly. His statement caused another indignant snort out of Zenakabee. "What?" Jack asked a skeptical look on his face. Karyane too had whipped her head to look at her sister. Knowing Zenakabee, she would think of something irrational, stupid, and just plain absurd. Even Jack, who barely knew Zenakabee, eyed the girl suspiciously.
"All the lovely vibes that are emanating from you two are suffocating me," she snapped, cocking an eyebrow in their direction. Her sister blushed a light pink, but Jack continued to stare persistently at her. "Just thought I'd let you know," she added in a sweet angelic voice, coming up with a fake smile that flashed her white teeth as well.
"Your antics are frustrating lass. What I meant by is that I need your sister to help me find out just exactly what happened. She knows Thomas Greeneley, who knows the men I'm looking for. Without her help, I'll get absolutely nowhere," Jack emphasized the last part, looking meaningfully at Karyane.
"I…I…" Karyane faltered under Jack's gaze. She had absolutely no idea of what to do.
Yes, he seemed honest, but did she really trust him? Surely that friend must have meant a lot to him, since he was willing to take many risks. But what about Thomas?
Suddenly, Zenakabee butted in out of nowhere, "Why her?"
"What do you mean by?" A very tired expression coming over Jack's face. All in all, he really didn't like this girl.
"Why do you need her? Why not me?"
Sighing and attempting to remain composed, Jack replied coolly, "He's love struck with your sister. Not you. I'm not sure about you, but I think he'd be more willing to listen to whatever she has to say instead of you. Especially when you consider the fact that staring at her is probably one of his preferred habits." The comment succeeded in silencing Zenakabee, though she did so with a fierce look in Jack's direction.
"I…I need to think," came the whispered reply from Karyane. As quiet as her voice was, it delivered utter silence and drew both inhabitants' attention to her. With a sigh that relented authority to the shy girl placed in front of him, Jack nodded. He told them that they could go to their room if they wanted to and both girls did just that, not really wanting to draw out the conversation longer than necessary.
II-- II--II
Yawning tiredly, Karyane dragged the wooden comb through the knots that had now become her hair. Two days had passed since her conversation with Jack and yet it seemed like it was merely two seconds ago. The memory of his eyes, the uncommon show of emotion, and the altogether pleading look had not removed itself from Karyane's mind. On the contrary, it had fixed itself onto a screen that forced itself to be played over and over.
Sighing, Karyane put the comb down on the desk. She had not yet decided whether she should help the pirate out or not. And it was odd, if she still referred to him as a pirate instead of his name, how was she going to help him out? Shaking her head, she wondered whether she thought about things too much.
I can't…I can't simply say 'okay, sure, I'll do whatever you ask of me' when I barely even know him. And I can't agree to anything without a thorough knowledge of what's going on. Because honestly, I know practically nothing about what's going to happen if I do indeed agree.
Karyane looked to her sleeping sister and shrugged herself into her own small cot. Pulling the thinning blanket over her, she snuggled into the tiny and yet comfy pillow, she tried to decide what to do.
Stretching and deciding to go to sleep, one thought fluttered its way merrily into Karyane's mind, I need Jack to say or do something to help me, because…because what? Because I simply can't decide by myself.
II-- II-- II
"I don't like eating dinner here," Zenakabee whined, looking at her reflection in the cracked, dirtying, and very small mirror that hung on the wall.
"Tough luck," came her sister's hard as stone reply.
"Let's do something fun."
"This is not an arcade that we're attending."
"We can make it into one," came Zenakabee's voice, her face flushed with what was obviously excitement.
"I don't like your idea of fun. It's pointless. And last time I went along with your idea of 'fun' I ended up yelled at and forced into an uncomfortable position," Karyane told her, narrowing her eyes sadistically at her sister. "And truth be told, your idea of fun scares me. There I said it. It scares me."
"You're not being fair."
"Life isn't fair. Get used to it."
"You a prat"
Taken aback at her sister's alternative of resorting to childish comebacks, Karyane looked at her questioningly.
"And you're stupid," continued Zenakabee.
The first comment had failed in fazing its beneficiary, but the latter had not. It accomplished its goal in hitting a nerve. Karyane did not like Zenakabee reminding her that she had received more of an education than Karyane had. Her parents had deemed schooling as unnecessary and preferred that Karyane be tutored in etiquette, the piano, French, refinement of ones physical appearance, and other such proprieties. They had also deemed that Karyane was too good to attend a school of any sort and had instead sent Zenakabee off to a boarding school.
"And you're ugly," Karyane snarled, her face contorting with rage, making her usually collected and beautiful face transfigure itself into a hideous thing that suited an animal much rather a girl of her stature.
Zenakabee's own eyes narrowed, startled. She knew she shouldn't have attacked Karyane like that, but she was fed up with having everyone tell her what to do. And frankly, she had not actually expected Karyane to be so snide. Letting out a humph of annoyance, she went back to her plate of food. And the two girls remained this way, occasionally looking up to throw malevolent glances at one another.
II -- II – II
A whole week had passed since Jack had asked Karyane of assistance. And for a whole week, the idea had pestered her. It had bugged her in her sleep, bugged her while she was eating. It even reached to the point where it bothered her while she was arguing with Zenakabee. And arguing with Zenakabee happened all too often.
Much too often, Karyane thought in despair to herself. They argued, fought, spat at, and glared menacingly at each other to the extent where even their resolves to continue with the pointless quarrelling felt tired. They would frequently find themselves second-guessing whether they should go on or not.
"I'm going up on deck," Karyane announced, feeling very jaded with the same old scenery. She did not want to admit it to Zenakabee, but she was bored. And admitting that would be like admitting that she was wrong. In fact, it was. And that was exactly why she didn't admit to anything.
Looking up sharply, Zenakabee huffed and mumbled something incoherent to which Karyane paid no attention. If I was going to listen to her all the time then I would get absolutely nowhere.
II – II – II
Karyane stepped out into the sunlight and shaded her eyes from the brilliantly shining sun. She stepped out next to the edge and looked down as a spray of seawater assaulted her. Quickly stepping back from the deep waters, not without a gulp of fear however, and the sea, she looked around.
As soon as she did so five or six men turned their heads quickly back to their work. And undeniably, she was a sight to see. Her waist-length hair, even though it had just been combed, whipped its way around her, random strands flying into her face. Her once glamorous dress was now unidentifiable. Not only was it rapidly thinning, but it had also started to lose its vibrant color. Her face was even paler than before, since she had not witnessed a single ray of sunshine, and appeared ghostly-white. And her usually smiling eyes were flat and monotonous, not willing to do more than gaze uninterestedly at whatever object came before them.
Slowly and with much pain – her leg muscles were cramped and moved unsurely over the planking of the ship – Karyane walked over to the nearest pirate. "You," she pointed bluntly at him, her legs slipping, forcing her to hold onto a railing, as the ship tipped gently to one side. Looking over the edge and pushing down the urge to vomit, she asked softly, "Are the storms over?"
The pirate, hard of hearing, and more than accustomed to being shouted at, looked at her confusedly, cupping his ear.
Shouting over the waves and never-ending ruckus, which was caused by all the work, Karyane repeated her words. After that first storm, many more had come, some just as ferocious and others much more timid. But none had actually contained more brutality than that first horrible storm.
The pirate shouted back, though with much less effort than Karyane and a voice that projected itself twice as well, "Tha' was the last o' 'em." Karyane nodded and stood there, one hand firmly gripping the railing and the other shielding her eyes. Just as the pirate was about to walk away, moving onto another task, Karyane asked him yet another question.
"Where is Jack!" she shouted, both hands flying to the railing as the ship rocked viciously to one side, and emitting a high-pitched shriek as well. Looking at the girl oddly, he pointed to the helm of the ship, where Jack was standing, lazily steering the Pearl. She nodded thanks and headed over to him, her dreadful legs wobbling beneath her.
Even now, after a week, her legs had not adapted to the rolling waves that pitched the ship constantly. Positive that she looked green now, she walked slowly and held her hands out to steady herself. Finally reaching Jack, after what seemed like a million steps, she tried gathering as much of her dignity as possible and stuttered, "I… can … I … oh God … can we talk?" She slowly lowered her hands, trying to hide her horrible failure of walking and awkwardness.
The roguish man turned to look at her, a derisive look on his face. "Hold onto that rope," he said brusquely, gesturing to a rope beside him. Karyane, not willing to swallow anymore of the pride that she had already ingested, shook her head. "Stop being so bloody stubborn, just hold onto the rope," he told her, turning back to look out at sea. But Karyane still paid no heed. His patience wearing thin, he ordered in a steely voice, "You can easily be thrown overboard from your position here. And I'm more than certain that you don't know how to swim. With that said, I'm telling ye one last time to hold onto the blasted rope since I'm not going to go saving your damned arse like last time." This succeeded in muting the girl.
Glaring snidely, Karyane forced the word through closed teeth, "I was trying to be nice. You can at least try the same. Is it that damned difficult of a thing? And besides, we need to talk." Nevertheless, she held onto the rope as she was ordered to do so.
"You make the two of us sound like an aging married couple. I don't know about you, but I don't like the insinuation that I'm old. You might be old, but I'm still young," he told her, a smirk playing on his lips.
Biting back her shock at his knowledge of the word 'insinuation', she narrowed her eyes further. I think I understand why Zenakabee hates him so much and goes on and on about what a git he is. Extremely derogatory – especially of females – arrogant, Jack would generally come off as a prick to anyone passing, anyone that was civilized anyway. Not to mention that whenever he swayed so awkwardly, he looked like a deranged man on the lose. "I wasn't insinuating anything. I'm just saying that we need to talk."
"Fire away," he muttered sarcastically, which earned him a roll of the eyes from Karyane.
Inhaling deeply, she began, "Your plan. I can't decide. And … and it's ridiculous. How exactly am I going to contact Thomas?
There was a long pause until Jack decided to speak, his words slow and deliberate. Turning to look at Karyane, his hands still gripping the helm, Jack asked, "So you're considering it?" Karyane nodded, aware of the flicker of hope that resided deep within his voice. He cracked a grin similar to one that a five-year old would carry on Christmas day, a visible change coming over him. Not wanting to string him along, Karyane decided to point out that she was only considering the idea.
"Well, since you might say yes, I'll tell you how I plan to get you and Thomas together," Jack ventured, a happy expression still carved into his features. Karyane shuddered inwardly at the thought that she was being paired in any sort of way with Thomas. "I'm almost positive that he'll try leaving Port Royal to come after your rescue. But I, as bright and cunning as I am, have come up with a plan for that, my fair lady." Here, he inserted a mock bow, a casual hand still steering the ship.
"Talk about modest," Karyane mumbled under her breath, wondering as to how she was going to survive with someone so full of themselves. Zenakabee is bad enough.
"I heard that. But I'll pretend that I didn't for the sake of avoiding an argument. Now onto my idea. Thomas Greeneley will be leaving Port Royal for Haiti tomorrow. That's where your father lives, right?" She nodded yes.
"You, the beautiful, stunning, ravishing, elegant goddess that you are," Karyane's jaw fell open, her mind willing her to slap him for his forwardness. And she was about to do so, until he finished his train of thought, "will write a letter to him about your utter devotion to him. You will continue to say that you wish to meet him at the manor since the matter is urgent and your life depends on it. You will explain that you are held captive by cruel pirates that are threatening to kill you if you don't meet with him. Greeneley, being the stupid lovesick puppy that he is, will be smitten with the idea and will want to show to you the gallant knight in shining armor that he is. Then, once the letter is sent, the meeting will be held, you will gather whatever information I need you to, and off we are once again. Great idea isn't it?" Jack finished a haughty expression in his eyes.
"You're…you're stupid. Do you realize that if you are caught, you will be hanged? And you're forgetting about our safety here. What will happen to us? Do you honestly expect us to come back onto this godforsaken ship willingly?" she asked him, wondering if anyone could possibly be so dense. "Do you realize how many gaping holes, how many flaws, there are in the stupidity that you have devised?" she continued viciously, the sudden desire of literally knocking some sense into Jack coming over her.
"I do try," was the witty reply that he came up with.
"How funny. You seem to forget that Zenakabee and I can easily alert the authorities of your presence and that you will be captured," she retorted superciliously. Hah, let's see him come up with an answer to that, that pinhead.
"You would alert the authorities when you can spend the rest of your life with a dashing man like me out on the open sea? I think not, dearest," Jack told her cheekily, sparing her a look that showed nothing but glee.
Karyane sputtered incoherently, fury overcoming her visage and dismantling it to look like one of a livid sprite. "I'll…I'll…"
"So sorry m'dear, I take it back. So you agree to my plan?" Jack asked hurriedly, doubting that the girl would agree with him if he angered her.
"If you agree to call me by with the name that I was christened with at birth," she retorted sharply, her arms folded in front of her irritably.
"Fine then, Karyane, will you agree to aid me?" he asked, stressing her name unnecessarily.
Exhaling indignantly, Karyane turned her back on him and carefully walked down the steps, deciding that she should leave him without an answer. "Please," Jack added with a fair bit of annoyance in his tone.
A smile made its way across her face, eroding the previous frown. "Fine then. We have an accord." But I'm going to hate this bloody man before it's over. And since when did I start saying bloody?
IMPORTANT: SINCE SCHOOL IS GOING TO START ON MONDAY, I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE SHORT CHAPTERS(2-3000 WORDS) POSTED EVERY 1-2 WEEKS (MAYBE LATER) OR LONG CHAPTERS (4000 WORDS +) EVERY 2-3 WEEKS (MAYBE EARLIER)? Plz tell me, it would help me out a lot.
There, with that said I'd like to thank everyone individually:
Blackcat69(here it is and your welcome for the chocolate. Thanks a bunch for a reviewing), Dawnie-7(Yeah, Zenakabee has a tendency to irritate people like that. : Thanks for being a long time reviewer & I hope you liked the chapter), CaptainCrimson(Urgh, I was wondering about whether the helm was at the front or the back & I just assumed that it was at the front. Thanx for catching my mistake. I hope you like the chapter!), Queen.Bowie.Jack.Sparrow.Lover( I'm glad you liked it::hugs: And a bunch of thanks for all of the wonderful reviews that I've been getting!), KrazieShadowNinja(Wow. I'm touched. Seriously, I feel really happy when I know that someone thinks highly of my fic & likes it that much. Thanks for the support::hugs:) and thanks to anyone else that I forgot!
Btw, I know this is getting kind of long, can you guys check out my other fic Without You? It's a ficlet that's about Sands and why he is way he is & I'm posting the 2nd chapter today. Thanx for the support that I've been getting for this story and don't forget to tell me what you think!