Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the long update. By the way I can now announce the winner of my poll:

Emily Browning

I'm also going to set up another one but this time it will be under the circumstance that Diana was being cast. It will be on my profile so if you want a faster update than this one...

Anyway with relation to this chapter, its going to be very Jim-Cassandra centric. The scene has been inspired by the very moving scene in The Tudors if you've watched it when Jane Seymour dies and Henry begs her to live. It was very moving and I thought it very appropriate considering the predicament Cassandra is now under and the feelings between the two characters. I hope you like it enough to forgive me for the slow update which was also due to the fact that I am now at university so...

Lamentable Love

For imissmycupcakegir

Jim waited in the corner for the doctor to finish inspecting over her and executing all the proper precautions correctly. He was watching everything which was happening as if he were a ghost or a mindless watchman whose only priority was to make sure that no harm came to her. It put the Physician under a lot of pressure. His eyes were bloodshot with dark rings under them noting at his tiredness and anxiety. His hair was in disarray from running his fingers through it too often over the past few hours as he paced around the room. He looked like he needed to be attended to by the doctor but he knew better than to mention it. He had brought Cassandra up to his own quarters, just by impulse. By natural reaction. He wanted her close to him. He wanted to be the first to know whether she was going to be alright or if...He didn't want her to be anywhere else but close to him. Close enough to be able to keep a watchful eye over her progress. He went down briefly onto the deck to see that whoever was attacking them had retreated. He could tell by the cheers of the rest of the crew members but he was in no mood to join them in their celebration because he knew that the battle still hadn't ended. Not with Cassandra still being on her deathbed. There was no point in celebrating anything while Cassandra was still in danger.

Her injuries were getting increasingly worse by the minute. Even Jim could see that and he had no knowledge of medicine but he knew all there was about the common injuries which occur on a ship. There was a term where he had to pass a class in standard health and safety and to be able to treat a certain injury in case the Physician was down. A captain had to be ready to face any situation. The one they didn't ready you for was something like this but then again they always advised you against falling for the Captains daughter or any of the crew members...It still happened though. The burns surrounding the wounds was making it overbearingly painful for her and eventually she had fallen unconscious from the pain. He took her hand at some point when she cried out in pain, even before the doctor injected her she cried out more. He shushed her like his mother did when he was child and caught the fever one winter. He gripped it tightly and whispered comforting words. He brushed his fingers through her hair soothingly but he knew his efforts were wasted. There was nothing he could do to take away the pain that she was enduring. She was so strong, so it was so strange for him to see her so helpless, so in need for the help of others. If he could he would reach out inside her and extract the pain she was feeling now and insert it into himself. Whatever it took to take her away from the pain and the danger she was now in.

She was also catching an infection which was weakening her immune system. She was sweating all over but her face was as pale as death. It was undeniable at this stage. She was dying. As each minute passed she was coming closer and closer to her eventual death. Or it could come around, if a miracle happened on board. He was sure that the Captain was hoping for one at the moment or tried with all his might to believe in one when it defied all logic. Jim closed his eyes tightly trying to will the thought to fly far from his mind. felt so helpless as he stood by and watched the doctor do the best he could. She couldn't die. She was stronger than this. Her wounds were bad and there were some men who were physically stronger who had died from worse but...She couldn't die. She wasn't allowed to. It was a selfish command to make but he couldn't bare the thought of her...He could not stand by and watch her die but there was nothing he could do. Although he wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Make her better, he wanted to scream. Try harder. Make sure that she lives. Whatever it takes. Make sure that she lives. Jim didn't care if she was never going to return his love. He didn't care if she was going to get better but was never going to love him. He didn't care whether she was going to take another path or another. He just wanted her to be in the world not out of it. He wasn't going to let her die.

The doctor turned to him with an uncertain expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I've done all I can."

Jim looked down and sighed deeply. "Is there nothing you can do?"

"I have tried everything I know. I have drained as much blood as I can along to get rid of the poison but without killing her. I've soothed the wound and burns. We can only allow time to do its work."

"But what if she dies?" Jim insisted.

The doctor looked down. "There is a possibility...Please Captain. I am sorry. There is nothing I

can."

"Leave." He whispered calmly. "Please. Get out."

The doctor nodded and rushed out the room hurriedly. He was just waiting for the command for him to leave. He knew if he stayed any longer he would probably cause him to have an injury since what he was doing was useless. Jim didn't shout at him or throw anything at him but he knew that if he didn't do as he was told now he soon would. He could also tell that there was something more than the mere concerns of a Captain in this matter and it was something he best not trifle with. He knew there was something more than duty which was driving not only himself but others to believe that she could be saved from this. He closed the door carefully after collecting up his instruments with shaking hands. Jim turned away from the door with tears collecting up in his eyes. His heart felt as heavy as a rock weighing him down in his chest. His skin felt like it had been set alight which was a fire that was burning brighter by each moment that passed when he was still looking at her. He couldn't bare it any longer. He had to face the reality of it but he still wanted to hold onto that hope that she was going to be alright. He turned to her with a forlorn look on his face as he stared down at her deathly pale, still face. She was so still but her expression was not a restful one but one struggling with the inner turmoil her body was experiencing at the moment in time. Her dark hair was plastered to her forehead by sweat which was dripping down her face.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. It was unbearable. He couldn't hold it back any more. They had both being tiptoeing around it for these past few days. No for years. There was always something there but none of them wanted to admit to it because...Well Cassandra was afraid and he knew he would be made a fool if he admitted to his side of it if it was the case where he was just misreading her emotions. He couldn't stand by and watch this any longer but what else could he do? He couldn't leave her now. Not at the moment when she needed him most. Not at the moment when she was most vulnerable to the forces in this world which she or he could not control. He prayed that one of these forces which brought her to this point could also save her. He wanted to chose hope over reality but he knew that it wouldn't help in a situation where he could no nothing at all to change the course that it would take. He wanted to kill the man for not doing his job but he knew deep down that reason was telling him that he had done all he could. That the doctor was not to blame. That it was the pilot that fired the gun which caused all of this to happen. He would not rest until he would find out who had done this. It was not only a matter which concerned the interests of Montressor but of the fact that it targeted someone whom he loved more than anything in this world.

He knew that now. More than ever, he knew that he loved Cassandra Richardson and there was no way he could deny or turn away from this fact. There was nothing and no one who was going to make him feel any differently. He loved her more than the feeling of something rising in his chest as he soared through the air. He loved her more than the concept of freedom which he always thought would be his mistress. He loved her more than the comforting taste of his mother cooking. But this was because to him, she was all these things put together. She reminded him of the familiarity of his home due to her dedication to austerity and disgust at the elitist lifestyle. She was the very definition of freedom with her free-thinking, her lack of boundaries of how she should feel and how she should express them. She was not afraid to behave the way she wanted to because she paid no mind to what was expected of her or what society believed to be accepted. She could accept anyone no matter what their beliefs, lifestyles, desires, backgrounds. She had high hopes which went further than the petticoats and the stars which watched over her at night. She looked beyond the walls which she had been confined in for so many years. This was why he loved her. It was simply because she was herself. She was someone who wanted to be a free as he did when he was her age. They were the same.

He rubbed his eyelids and tried to not give in to tears. He didn't want her to see him like this in case she would expect the worst as soon as she would look up at him. She wouldn't want that but there was no way of turning away from the sorrow he was now feeling as the possibility of her death was closing in on the present time. Death was inevitable but Cassandra Richardson was supposed to have a long life. She was supposed to be able to arrive at her death bed as an elderly woman with a million stories which could be passed down to generations. She was supposed to die an adventurer and a storyteller. Not necessarily her own but so that she could be remembered. He was not master of the universe but if this was not to be then it would be a definite sign that there was an imbalance in the nature of it. This was not how her life was supposed to pan out. He couldn't allow her life to end this way. It wouldn't be right. He had promised himself one the day of the death of her father that he would protect her from such an end. He turned back to the bed and slowly walked to her bedside and fell to his knees abruptly. He delicately picked up her small, frail hand and held it lightly but firmly. He turned back to her and took in a deep breath. She looked so weak, so helpless.

"Cassandra..." His whispered. Her name rolled off his tongue so uncertainly and so rigidly. He was barely able to say her name without stuttering.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead. He felt her stir under his lips and broke down. He couldn't contain it any longer. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"Please don't go. Please...Don't leave...Not yet..." He begged shakily.

It was unreasonably to ask her not to leave him as if she was walking out a door. She not no control over this. She was not choosing to die. He pulled himself away and took the hand he was holding and brought it to his lips.

"Please...Don't leave me...You are everything that I love about this world...If you leave it will be like the wind one day disappearing...drifting away to some other universe...I will not longer be able to have the wind to travel to other worlds...the heart or passion to venture to them...You are the compassion this world needs...that those who are yet to receive it..."

A sob was threatening to escape from his throat but he held it back. "Without you this life...will be empty...it will be like being imprisoned by such high walls not one will escape from the misery they have to endure...all dreams will be stifled..."

He turned away and to the window and did something which he had never done before. He prayed.

"Please...I know this is a selfish request...but I beg you don't take her...Not now...I don't ask you to let her stay for myself...but for her...for what she can do...Please don't take her...Not yet..."

He pressed himself against what could be her stomach and sobbed. His tears stained the bedsheets and he remained there for what seemed like hours until he rose up again and brushed away his tears.

"I'm so sorry that I never told you before now. I'm so sorry that this was what was required for me to tell you this. I can only say this simply. I can only tell you in the simplest of ways that I love you. It is something which is just true. Without cause. Just you."

~ (***) ~

Marianne tapped her drink against the table. She glanced at a barmaid who winked at her when she refilled her cup which caused Marianne to pull a face and wonder what sort of bar this was. She noticed a few women dressed like herself she had to admit...But still, she wasn't into that kind of thing. She chose to live like a man but it didn't mean that she had the same tastes as one either...

Someone came rushing in a small boy of about twelve and ran straight towards the barman out of breath.

The barman frowned at him and leaned down at him. "You alright, lad?"

"Yeah I just needed to get a message out. There was an attack on a voyage ship out in the outer rim. Me and my Dad were out doing some late night shift and we saw a ship heading in the direction of Orion being attacked!"

Marianne looked up sharply and leaned in with her ears pricked up with interest, although didn't allow herself to remain too obvious.

"By who?"

The boy shook his head. "Couldn't tell. The ships alright though. They were able to fight them off. We just thought we might tell someone. Get the word out."

Marianne turned away and took a long sip of her drink. I could make a pretty good guess...

The barman nodded to the boy. "Good lad."

Marianne felt the ground shaking a little around her and saw that a great shadow had been cast upon her and looked up with a smirk on her face.

"Oi!" She heard the barman shout. "Leave the lady alone."

She waved a hand. "Don't worry he's my brother."

"Marie..." Her confused brother mumbled. She patted him on the arm and beckoned him to sit down.

"Don't worry about it Murat just sit down." He nodded dumbly and did as he was told. "I'm glad I was able to find you. I need you to help me with something."

Murat nodded again. "Yes, Marie. I did as you told me to. I stayed. I'll come and help you too."

She tilted her head and rubbed his head affectionately. "Good boy. You were always a good brother, Murat."

The six-foot-ten man smiled and nodded. "Yes, Marie. I am a good brother."

Marianne laughed and took another sip of her beer. "Modest aren't we?"