He remembered the pain. A sudden sharp flash of agony near his heart and then the cold. Cold worse then he had ever felt before. The certainty that he was going to die and the stubborn pride that he had still managed to deprive Jack Sparrow of his ship for ten whole years.
The memories assaulted him abruptly out of the darkness he had fallen into. Long forgotten memories that he now watched as though experiencing for the first time. A fierce storm… a new crew… an island… a child… Peter Pan.
The long forgotten persona came back to him with a vengeance, taking over his control until he was no longer sure of who he was. The only thing that remained the same was a strong dislike for Peter Pan, for Jack Sparrow.
Opening his eyes, he saw that he was lying flat out on his back in a cave. Almost the same one that he had died in but this one was not filled with golden coins and precious treasures and a strange cursed chest. This one was empty save for the constant, steady drip of water somewhere in the distance.
He lifted his hands to his face, wiggled his fingers to be certain and breathed a sigh of relief that he still had both hands. Captain Hook had had only one. Peter Pan had been the cause of that little problem, he remembered.
But it was alright. That would be so much time now to get even and to pay him back double for everything he had done in his life. For cutting off his hand, for foiling every plan he had ever had, for reclaiming the ship that he had rightfully stolen, for killing him.
Whoever he was.
He was back.
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"Ana, have you seen Will?" Elizabeth called to the first mate of the Black Pearl as the other women passed close by her place in the shade of a large tree.
"Last I've seen him, he was heading after Jack into the woods." Anamaria called back still heading away from her before she shrugged and headed back to join Elizabeth in the shade. "Why, did you lose him?" She grinned.
"I don't mind." Elizabeth laughed. "He just kind of vanished without a trace earlier and I wanted to make sure that he didn't get lost or something worse." She confided. Anamaria shook her head.
"Elizabeth, Will probably knows this island the best of all of us besides Jack. He spent almost as much time here as Jack after all."
"Does Jack have any ideas as to what we are all here for and when we can leave?" Elizabeth asked. Ana gasped in mock shock.
"What do you mean? You don't like it here? This is paradise right here. It doesn't get much better then here." Despite the sudden threat of the newly alive Barbossa on the island with them, Anamaria felt alive and happy. It could have been her reconciliation with Jack or the island, a much darker possibility which she hadn't even considered, but she felt happy, lightheaded and playful and didn't mind sharing the mood.
"Evil pirates?" The former Miss Swann asked in a wry but laughing tone of voice. "Don't get me wrong, I like it here. I'm just not sure that I want to face Barbossa again. How did he get here in the first place?" That was what she had been thinking about and had wanted answered ever since Captain Jack Sparrow had made that little announcement hours ago but everyone who knew anything about it had vanished.
"Oh. Alright." Ana nodded and made herself comfortable on the sand, ready to start the story. With all of the excitement they ahd probably forgot to tell the people who hadn't been there, the original story. Now was as good a time as any.
"I'm not sure how much you really know about all of this? You heard about our dreams and what Jack said but you don't know what really happened. Did Will tell you?" When Elizabeth shook her head no, Anamaria nodded as though she already expected this and continued.
"I'll tell it through my eyes just because I know that best." She said with a smile. "I was young, about nine or ten when the dreams started. They only came at night, every night. In these dreams I was someone else. A white girl with two younger brothers, even though in real life I never had any siblings.
In my dreams, a boy came to me and took me to a place called Neverland. This island. The island then was mostly the same then as it is now. There were fairies and mermaids and Indians. There was also Captain Hook.
Peter Pan lived here with a bunch of boys that he called the Lost Boys. They lived here without adult supervision, just having fun. One adventure after another. One of the adventures they had was fighting with Captain Hook.
The way I understood it, Captain Hook complete with crew and ship arrived at Neverland shortly after all of the Lost Boys arrived. Peter fought Captain Hook regularly and on one of those occasions, he cut off the Captain's hand so that the other had to have a hook made for him and came to be known as Captain Hook.
When I got here, we had some adventures, defeated Captain Hook and then I left taking all of the Lost Boys with me. That's when the dreams stopped." Ana finished softly.
"Oh. I never imagined…" Elizabeth trailed off. "I know that I've said it before, but this is incredible. Why did you leave?" She asked and then seeing Ana almost flinch and avert her eyes she quickly continued. "No, don't answer that. I'm sorry, I see that I've said something wrong. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." The first mate flashed Elizabeth an easy smile. "It's just something… personal. I left because I couldn't stay a child forever." Elizabeth nodded empathetically. Regardless of how and in what circumstances, she also remembered making the conscious decision to grow up and become an adult as apposed to staying a child for longer.
"I know how that one feels." She offered.
"To grow up?" Ana asked.
"To decide to. Yes. It's hard sometimes no matter where it takes place I suppose."
"I suppose." Ana echoed making her decision.
She had spent so much of her life aboard ships of all kinds, she had naturally grown up mostly amongst men. So a good portion of her friends had always been men to the point that she hardly knew how to relate to someone who was a women and one that was not a pirate at that. But maybe she could start right here.
Elizabeth was a good person to have as a friend, Anamaria decided. She was a good listener and calm in a crisis and she was right there. A little reserved and private by nature, there really was no reason to not take this open opportunity right before her.
"It's just that I took everyone else and left Jack here all alone when he couldn't leave himself." Ana said. Elizabeth could see that the first mate had come to a decision on something and she was overjoyed that the other woman was finally confiding in her. She had long ago wanted Ana to consider her a friend and she was really happy that it had finally happened. It was great to have another woman to talk to freely on the ship and she really enjoyed talking to the first mate of the Black Pearl.
"I think… I think that that was a situation no one could possibly have won." Elizabeth said slowly. "You couldn't have stayed and he couldn't have left. You talked to him about this?" She asked remembering the conversation that the Captain and the first mate had been on the verge of having when Gibbs had pulled her away form the waterfall.
"Yes. We talked. He told me it was alright. It's just that I know that I hurt him and I don't even know what I could have done differently and I really hate hurting him at all." Ana sighed.
"You love him?"
"I do. I think that I loved him forever. As soon as I met him in my dreamswhen I was achild. He took me to Neverland and I fell in love with him and… Captain Hook told me that he couldn't love anyone because of what he was. Because he was Peter Pan, a child forever. I think that I believed him."
"And you left."
"And I left."
"Ana," Elizabeth called to her, forcing the other women to look back the lady. "Trust me, I know this form experience. If you love him, if he loves you, then nothing else matters. You might both make mistakes and hurt each other because we are all human but you will always forgive each other too because you love one another and can't live without the other and that's the one thing that matters. It's the future you should look at not the past." Ana paused in all movement and studied her new friend for a long speculative moment.
"How did you get so smart?" She asked, almost completely bewildered.
"Getting married will do that to you." Elizabeth managed to say sombrely with a strait face before the two ladies suddenly burst out laughing.
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Author's note: 40 reviews! 40 REVIEWS! 40 REVIEWS! I can't believe it.WOW! I am so amazed and ecstatic. THANK YOU to all my wonderful reviewers!
Holliday1081 - Don't worry about not reviewing regularly. I know you also have your own stories to write which are amazing so it can be hard sometimes. I'm just so happy to know that you're still reading and enjoying. Thank you for telling me that my story is 'progressing fabulously!'. I am so happy to hear that. More eerie foreboding feelings coming up but they'll soon be explained if not resolved. 8-) Wow! I'm getting new ideas just reading your reviews. Thank you! Ch 11, I was so worried about the relationship sounding right and not too sappy or fake as you put it. I am so happy that I succeeded.
DarkoBender – Thank you1 I'm glad we like each other's stuff. I'm happy u feel flattered. I am eagerly awaiting more updates from u. 8-) I'm also wondering what's going to happen with Hook. Lol We'll see.
Bwitched – thank you. Yes, I had to do that too. Wait, I mean could get annoying.
Cal – heya! Loved ur review as usual. I'm so sorry. No more exclusive jack/ana scenes for just a few chapters. Bear with me k? I need to get the other relationships and revelations out there. ch 14 will have some hopefully. Yes that's the idea. Maybe they should put the ship on the island. Hmm… that may happen yet. Lol. I'm so happy that you read my other story even if it had no ana in it. Thank you so much.
Meowbooks – I LOVED the dialogue that you wrote. So sweet, so true. Thank you for sharing.
Please, please, please review!
