A/N: Me again, there is going to be a lot of history in this chapter so try to keep track. And remember to review at the end! Thanks for all the reviews so far, I love you all! And if I could, I would give all of you a very special present, but I yet to receive my fortune. Enjoy!
Chapter Eight: New Captain, New Rules, Same Monkey
Kat rubbed her head as she came to and found a gigantic lump on the back of her head. Her fingers outlined the form making sure it wasn't just her imagination and that she did in fact have a huge mountain on the back of her head. Squinting in pain was not her first choice when waking up in the morning. Although after looking around at the room, she doubted that it was still morning or even daytime for that matter. While trying to piece together events, she remembered what had happened before she blacked out, but she also had bit and pieces while she went in and out of consciousness. Women were yelling for their children… Elizabeth was reaching for her as Anamaria and Charlie fight to keep other pirates from taking her away… faint candlelight… the swaying of the room and the smell of the sea. She was back on a ship.
She sat up slowly as not to agitate her head too much and not to recall her all too familiar stomach pains. Instead of being in the brig, where she thought she would end up, she found herself on a nice sized bed. It looked like the room had an elaborate set up, with great sized drapes and velvet almost everywhere… more than likely the captain's quarters. To her left there was a long table filled with fruit, wine and meat. The monstrous amount of food looked like it was going to overflow from the table and each clear pitcher was filled with a different kind of wine. On her right side she saw the huge windows covered in the dark red drapes, a set of chairs and the heavy doors, no doubt leading out to deck.
She began to rub her head to keep the room from spinning and to keep her stomach calm. Although, she had doubts that she had anything to throw up since she emptied her stomach before she was taken. She leaned her head back on the headboard and closed her eyes. Another fit of pains was starting again, and the pain in her head didn't help. She pushed her head back into the board thinking that if she made enough pain in her head, the pain coming from her stomach would subside.
"How did Harriet and Elizabeth get through this?" she managed to say through gritted teeth.
As she tried to get her bodily functions under control she felt the bed jump and opened her eyes just a bit. A thin ball of fur and a white face was staring back at her. Kat picked her head up and squinted as the pain started to recede and she could move a little better. The fur moved a bit and put a small hand out to touch her hand. She took another look and focused to find a monkey staring back at her.
"Well, who are you, then?"
The monkey tilted its head to the side and began to make small noises from its mouth. It grabbed a gold piece from beneath the small version of pirate clothes it was wearing and began to nibble on the outer rim. Kat noticed the skull imprinted in the center of the coin and thought back to Jack's stories of the curse.
'The cursed gold,' she though and leaned forward toward the monkey, ignoring the pain in her stomach. She examined the monkey and the little trinket it held in its paws.
"Now where did you get that?" Kat asked trying to reach for the gold coin.
"We foun' him with the treasure," Dornie walked slowly through the door and shut it lightly behind her, "He was cursed when we foun' him among the pieces."
Kat leaned back toward the headboard and threw the covers and blankets off her legs. She moved to put her legs over the side and began to walk toward the table filled with food. She eyed Dornie from the other side of the bed and then shifted her eyes from the doors to her bag that was sitting only a few feet away. She had a dagger and a loaded pistol in the bag that may prove useful, but if Dornie and her crew can't die… just how useful would they be?
"Go ahead, Katerina. Get yer weapons. They won' help any and do ye no good," Dornie teased and sat in one of the chairs Kat had noticed earlier, "But I do love te see a struggle fer survival."
The monkey looked over at Dornie and ran over to her. It climbed up the chair's leg and stopped to perch on Dornie's shoulder. Dornie smiled and petted the monkey under the chin and stoked the top of its head, "I see ye've met Jack the monkey. An' I don' mean yer husband. We foun' his name etched into another piece of his clothing. I think he's a good resemblance to Sparrow. Not to mention tha' he is very affectionate."
Kat glared at her from over by the food table and tried to think. She looked over at Dornie and found her to be as slender woman with dark brown hair that was cut just above her shoulders and relatively clean and well kept. Her green eyes shown from beneath her huge hat and her silk black shirt told Kat she wanted and got the best. Her black pants only went to her knees where they met with her shining boots. This assemble was way too elaborate- and surprisingly clean- to be worn by anyone but the captain. This was the only confirming Kat's earlier assumption of her occupation upon the ship. Although, even with her elaborate room and clothing, Kat couldn't see any compassion or any hint that this was an actual human being sitting in front of her.
Dornie took another deep breath and decided to try again, "I think ye still be upset with me fer knockin' ye out cold an' draggin' ye on board. Am I close?"
"You forgot to mention your obsession in trying to kill my husband," Kat said simply, eyeing Dornie as Kat sat on the only unoccupied space on the table. She noticed another Aztec gold piece hanging around Dornie's neck from a thin gold chain.
"A small oversight," Dornie chuckled and leaned forward to see that, surprisingly, Kat didn't lean away from her. She could have sworn that she was actually leaning toward her, "Ye ain't scared 'o me?"
"Not much, if at all, Captain," Kat stared back into the female captain's eyes.
"An' ye notice tha' I be the cap'n. Ye be a smart one," she smiled and played around with the gold piece around her neck, "Not the kind tha' Jack usually goes fer- much less marry. Wha' ye be doin' with Jack anyways?"
"How's that any of your business, captain? Or are you like Catterine in that as long as I am aboard this ship, all of my business is your business?"
"Such a vicious tongue! Ye be a Benikins? It be very surprisin'," Dornie pretended to be surprised and leaned back into her chair.
"How would you know anything about my- er, the Benikins family?"
"Wha'? It no longer by yer lineage?"
"I was never a part of that family," Kat replied, "So why does it matter?"
"It matters when we were the crew accused 'o killin' ye," Dornie's voice dropped to a monotone, "I foun' everythin' I could on ye. Foun' out ye assisted in the escape 'o one Jack Sparrow. An' then disappeared from yer own weddin' and sadly killed by the Harbinger crew… how unfortunate fer ye…"
"What's your point?" Kat asked crossing her arms over her chest.
"I know ye killed yer family. Mother… brothers- two 'o them if I remember righ'. How did it feel te murder loved ones? I wan' te know. I never got the chance te find out."
"I'm no murderer," Kat said in a flat tone, "It was an accident."
"Now come on," Dornie chuckled and leaned her elbows on her knees, "No death is an accident. Especially one tha' was caused by yer little fingers lightin'-"
"Why don't you skip to the point?" Kat turned sharply at Dornie and took a bite out of an apple that was sitting on the table, "I get tired of small talk very easily."
"This is nowhere near small talk, Kat. An' ye know it," Kat turned stiff and just looked at the apple in her hands as Dornie began her very own conversation, "It still bothers ye, don' it? At night… it's hard to sleep because 'o it, ain't it?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Kat shifted her focus to the drapes and fabric near the table she was sitting on, "You are talking nonsense."
"Am I now?" Dornie let a little chuckle reside in her voice, "It be nonsense tha' yer whole family be dead because of wha' ye did when ye were only five? Tell me, did yer mother scream as the flames licked at her skin and consume her body? Did she call out to ye?"
"That's enough!" Kat screamed and stood up from the table, "If you want to play mind tricks, fine. But just make sure that your opponent doesn't have something up their sleeve."
"An' I fail to see wha' ye 'ave up yer sleeve, Kat?"
"You underestimate me, Captain Dornie," Kat stared viciously into the woman's eyes, "I am stronger than what I appear. And one day very soon you will learn that the hard way."
Dornie laughed, "I 'ave no fear 'o ye, Kat. If tha', indeed, is wha' yer tryin' te play at."
"That's only because you have a curse to hide behind," Kat said calmly sitting back up on the table, "If you weren't immortal, I would have my day with you. And know it or not that day will come very soon."
"I am not very happy with empty threats aboard this vessel."
"Who said anything about my threat's being empty?" Kat took another bite out of the apple and looked back at Dornie, "Now why don't we get to business?"
"All righ'," Dornie took a swig of some rum she had in a canteen hidden by the sash around her waist, "I wan' yer husband dead, but tha' ye already know. Jack an' I 'ad an'… altercation a while back an' let's jus' say tha' both Catterine an' I wan' revenge on the bilge rat."
"Uh-huh," Kat took another bite of the apple and threw a glance at Dornie, "And what 'altercation' would that be?"
"He betrayed this crew an' this ship," Dornie said harshly, "An' even worse… he betrayed me."
"How?" Kat asked clearly, feeling no remorse for the woman.
"The Black Pearl be a fine ship," Dornie stood up and began to pace the room.
"I'll agree with you there. She is the finest in the Caribbean," Kat said a bit proudly.
"Did ye know it was to be Catterine's?" Dornie turned toward Kat, "Jack was suppose te help get the Pearl, but he was not te keep her. Catterine was te be her cap'n. Not tha' mongrel."
"Mind you to watch your mouth. He is my husband," Kat put the half eaten apple on the table, "And I had my suspicions that that was the case, but Jack did kill the captain and won the Black Pearl fairly."
"Jack wasn' alone tha' nigh'," Dornie sneered, "He 'ad his 'luv' with him tha' nigh' helpin' him. Me."
"Jack would never have been that blind to a woman like you."
"He ne'er told ye 'bout me?" she smiled, "Well, Jack 'asn't changed tha' much. Still secrets galore, aye?"
"He has told me he has had other 'relationships', but he would have the sense not to fall for someone like you."
"He didn't when he was seventeen … still a boy," Dornie whispered, lost in her memories, "A young joker with a impressionable mind… and heart. He was on the Harbinger only a year when we decided te go a little further into our 'relationship'. I was jus' like him, but I was lucky te meet Catterine before someone took advantage 'o me."
"Maybe you still were taken advantage of," Kat said trying to steer toward Catterine.
"Aye, I was. Jack… I did fall fer him… hard," Dornie focused on Kat, "Then he betrayed Catterine and I."
"How?"
"Tha' nigh', everythin' changed. We 'ad it all planned out. Jack would go in and kill the cap'n. I would get the Black Pearl ready for sailing, an' we would be off te the Harbinger. But he came out after killin' the cap'n… and offered me te come straigh' an' come with him on the Pearl. The Pearl belonged te Catterine, tha's wha' we agreed. He changed the plans, but I wasn' goin' te go along with him. He was on his own."
"He worked for it," Kat said disrupting Dornie's thoughts and memories, "All Catterine did was have the enemy. Jack and you decided to end the rivalry and get the ship. That ship rightfully belongs to Jack."
"It belongs to Catterine," Dornie hissed and continued, "Last year he then killed Catterine savin' ye. I know, I was there te see him fall on the deck. Jack's bullet lodged in his chest. Ne'er 'ave I been so enraged, ne'er filled with so much hate. Now, I will get me revenge, Catterine was a father te me an' now he's gone. Jack is goin' te get wha' he deserves."
"And you think that I am going to help you kill him? I very much doubt it."
"Oh, I know ye are goin' te help me because he will follow ye te the ends of the Earth. He will do anythin' fer ye. Even die."
"You have killed hundreds of innocents to get his attention, why do you need me to get him to follow you?"
"He isn' goin' te follow me… he's goin' te follow ye," she snickered, "He will follow ye with no other though' than yer safety runnin' through his head. He loves ye te no end. Much more than he ever loved me. I see it in his eyes. His struggle. An' by the way, killin' those 'innocents' weren't te grab his attention. Tha' was fer fun."
Kat looked at Dornie with mouth agape and eyes wide. Visions of Robert fighting to protect his family and his home flashed in her head. She saw the cutlass stab though his body and through the door with Harriet on the other side. The screams filled her head, the tears from Harriet's eyes could be seen streaking down her cheek and the sickening noise of the metal plunging through flesh was almost overpowering. Anger boiled through her veins as she continued to stare at this… monster.
"Ye don' expect me te believe tha' ye though' those people were innocent, do ye?"
"Women and children? Yes, I do."
"Every person 'as a hand in the big picture, Kat," Dornie started to walk toward Kat, "Ye get more 'o the competition out 'o the way, an' there be more fer ye in the end. No one be an innocent in a life like this."
"And you have the audacity to call me a murderer. You're a monster," Kat commented as she watched her come closer, "What about the code? The pirate code? It states that no innocent civilian shall be harmed unless they are tampering in plundering, looting or escape."
"Tha' be yer code," Dornie pointed at her and then looked at he apple that Kat was eating on.
"My code? It is the same code!"
"Different code fer different ships," she said and began to feed Jack some of the apple Kat left over, "I 'ave me own code to abide by. Ye 'ave yers."
"By the way you're talking, I'll be dead by the end of this. Why don't you kill me now? Just tell Jack I am still aboard."
"No, he'll wan' te see yer safe. I wan' him te die where it all began. Isle De Muerta. His blood will be the first to spill. But he won' come if ye aren't there."
"I won't let you take my husband from me," Kat stood tall in front of Dornie, "I'd rather die first."
Dornie raised an eyebrow at the woman, "Ye'd be doin' it by yer own hands because I won' be killin' ye."
"Why don't you?"
"The only 'innocents' I don' kill, Mrs. Sparrow, be the ones tha' are not yet born. I am surprised tha' ye are riskin' yer child's life like ye are."
Kat's eyes grew for a second time. Dornie knew that she was pregnant with Jack's child. How could Dornie know when Kat wasn't even completely certain? No one but Elizabeth, Anamaria and herself even knew of the possibility. Suddenly more pains began to plague Kat as she struggled to find footing.
"How… how did you know?"
"Other than the pain ye be showin'?" Dornie tried to look smart, "Ye know, it be strange… the more ye be in this cursed state, the more ye be in tuned te the livin'. More specifically the lives tha' are jus' beginnin'. I can feel the life inside ye growin'. It may be faint, but it be there. Tha's why I spared a woman in Port Royal. She was with child. A child should ne'er be judged by their parent's doin's."
"You would kill fathers, but not mothers?"
"Exactly," she put a finger up as it she was thinking, "I believe at one home I killed the man and I knew where the wife be because 'o the child she was carryin'. She hid behind the same wall I skewered the man through."
Kat made the connection instantly. Dornie was the one who killed Robert and broke Olivia's leg. She was responsible for Robert's death, and now Olivia has to grow up with him. Because Dornie wanted to have some 'fun'.
"We should be comin' to the isle in a day or two. In the meantime, ye can talk with yer cousin and yer two crewmates down in the brig. 'Ere, I'll help ye," Dornie offered her hand. Kat slapped it away causing Jack the monkey to jump away toward the food table. Kat walked out of the cabin, grabbing her bag on the way. Two men grabbed her arms once she reached outside and dragged her toward the brig.
"Suit yerself, Kat," Dornie looked at the apple one the table and chucked it across the room, smashing it into the wall on the other side.
Once thrown back in with the other women, Kat saw Anamaria and Charlie come toward her. She held up a hand to tell them to sit back down. Elizabeth and Harriet watched her cross the surprisingly large brig to the far wall. Kat leaned back against the wall and slid down, gripping her sides.
'I can't do it,' she closed her eyes and her brow furrowed, 'I can't fight and risk my baby's life. Oh, Jack… what can I do to protect you? I need you so much right now. Tell me it is going to be all right. Please…'
Slowly she began to softly sing the only song that came to mind, "We exhort, we pilfer, we filch and sack, drink up me hearties yo ho…"
A/N: So what do you think? It gives a little history on Dornie's anger. The next chapter is going to give a little more history, so if you are confused, hopefully the next chapter will shine some light on it. Love you all, and review!
