I sincerely apologize for my extreme absence. Truth is, I hate this story and where it's going. Well, not the story itself, but how I've written it and where I've let it go. I'm not happy with it in the least. However, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year and rewriting this story is my project for the competition. After I've completed the story, I'm going to post it on because by then, it will be an original story and no longer a Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic. Though the characters have new names, they'll essentially be the same and easily recognizable. Now without further ado, the thirteenth and final chapter of 'As the World Falls Down.'
The following chapter is INCOMPLETE. Please check back in December 2010 for updates on the new project.
A fierce monotony ruled the Black Pearl for the next few months. Each day, unless it was a special occasion, droned by in a dull series of autonomous salutations and awkward small talk. Kate had insisted that the most agreeable first-step transition would be to relocate her quarters below deck in the galley. Jack watched in discreet torture as Kate struggled to string a hammock for herself along one of the rafters. He didn't feel any better when Will came to her rescue a few minutes later, harmlessly poking fun at Kate's inability to perform such an easy task. Jack's heart made an uncomfortable lurch as Will and Kate laughed and playfully shoved each other...it was obvious they had an iron-clad friendship, as he had once had with her. More disgusted with himself than the scene in front of him, Jack retreated to his cabin to mope.
Somewhere along this dreary line, Jack found the nerve to approach Kate one afternoon to inform her that for safety concerns, she must continue to wear her men's clothing. "When Tahlazhria comes poking back 'round here," Jack slurred, knocking a scrub brush from Kate's hands dismissively, "she'll expect you to be worm food and if you suddenly appear-alive-bouncing around me deck like some over sized red-headed bunny rabbit, she'll catch wind that something's a bit wonky, don't you think?"
Kate rolled her eyes and attempted to retrieve her scrub brush, though Jack's firm hand kept her soundly in place. "Does it really matter what I think, Captain?"
Jack smiled nonchalantly. "No, love, not really."
"Of course it doesn't."
"Thusly," Jack continued, "until further notice, you will be the ambiguously feminine, slightly attractive cabin boy who in addition to those duties will have also conveniently replaced those of the dearly departed galley mistress. Savvy?" He closed with a satisfied grin, his own genius too much for him to conceal modestly.
"So, am I to understand that it is your goal at present to not only force me to wear uncomfortable clothing that was not tailored to fit my type of body and humiliate me in doing so, but you're going to add another chore to my already exhaustive list of daily chores?" Kate asked, pulling herself off her knees.
Jack snorted, slightly less than thrilled that she did not appreciate his brilliance. "Well, lamb, when you say it like that, you make it sound as if I abuse you."
Kate sighed and successfully slipped past him to recover her cleaning supplies. "Aye, Captain. Whatever you say."
She curtsied and knelt in the corner, focusing on scrubbing out a stain. Jack shifted his weight with great indignation. "Kate, whether or not you like it, this is what's best for you and all aboard this ship. It was never my intention to offend you with my antics-"
"I thank you for your concern, but I really have got finish this galley, Captain," Kate spat, refusing to make eye contact. "God knows you're not going to do it."
Finally sensing her exasperation, Jack decided to leave her in peace.
Later on, as they worked on completing their chores, Kate relayed her earlier encounter to Will. "Have you ever heard of anything so ludicrous?" she vented, angrily slicing the through the fruit in her hands. "I suppose next I'll have to fake a limp and call him 'Master.'"
Will simply sighed and grabbed Kate's wrist, holding it firm enough to stop her current task. "Kate, I think you're blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Firstly, I don't know if its for your own revenge or mere distraction, but you're slicing Jack's bananas...when we're preparing potato soup. You've cleared half a crate of them already and at the rate you're going there won't be any left-you know how testy Jack gets when he doesn't have his hourly banana."
Kate looked down at her hands and stared at the mutilated yellow peel and lump of mush oozing out. "Ohh..." she uttered. "That would explain a lot."
Will released her from his grip. "Secondly, and I can't believe I'm even saying this, but...I think you should give Jack a break."
Kate scoffed as if this statement was nothing short of absurd. Before she could gather her thoughts to find a retort, Will had begun again. "He IS trying, Kate. I thought I knew the limits of his capabilities as far as reconciliation, and yet, he's exceeded them with you. Believe my word, I've never seen him work so hard to put things right."
"You're not helping, Will," Kate whined. Abandoning the banana in favor of a potato, she continued her task calmly until she could find the correct words. "Do you really...really think so?"
Will's lips curled into a reassuring smile. "Yes," he uttered, "and you know I'm none too eager to speak out for Jack."
Kate nodded, knowing this to be all too true. She wanted badly to believe what Will was saying, and though a part of her did, she still felt a violently potent abscess in her heart where her confidence for Jack used to be.
Maybe Will knew what he was talking about. He'd never led her wrong before and if anyone knew Jack it was Will.
She was determined. She'd break the animosity streak and talk with Jack. Tonight.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Dinner went off without a hitch, with Jack none the wiser that he was short half a crate of bananas. Kate dutifully served her captain his meal and retreated to the darkest corner of the cabin, as any obedient galley staff would while the Captain dined. He slurped the soup quietly, taking long pauses to flicker his eyes in Kate's direction. She never met his gaze.
"You do realize that when I said you had to play this cabin boy role, I only meant in public," he said, pushing his bowl away.
Kate shook her head, remaining motionless otherwise. "I don't, actually. You seemed rather insistent and never countered otherwise….sir."
Jack tore his bread apart, flicking crumbs onto the floor. "Then it'll delight you to know that I've changed me mind somewhat. The cabin boy bit is only necessary outside of these walls. There."
"That may be so, Captain," she dictated, "but you must recall that our lack of fraternization was my wish. Why should I receive special treatment from you when we are on such disagreeable terms with each other?"
Jack's eyes widened slightly in confusion. "Because you're my Katie."
"Your Kate or no," she enunciated, feeling the need for a good scream or cry or both, "I can not forgo my principle. You're a very nice man sometimes, but you really hurt me. I have to allow my heart to heal before you and I can ever be friends again. Your pushing is only doing more damage."
"I apologize if my enthusiasm to regain our former status came off to you as compulsory urging. Pray, is there anything I might do in my mortal power to correct such a misdeed?" Jack's immediate attention was focused on his now mutilated bread, his statement laced with venom.
Kate's lip quivered in surprise. "There's no need to be cross."
"Perhaps you ought to consider that this is hurting me too." Jack stood and turned away from her, playing it off as merely a chance to study his after-supper appearance in his looking glass.
She was silent. In all honesty, such a notion had never crossed her mind. Throughout this entire ordeal, Jack had never been any more than the ferocious villain, the nasty bully who had played cruel games with her mind and with her heart. He was despicable, false, and never in the history of humanity was there a man as wicked or nasty as Jack. She'd played the martyr, and she'd played it well, letting her epic tale of betrayal unfold without so much as even a passing fancy that he might be feeling the same way about her.
Somehow she'd forgotten her plans to reconcile. She was too focused on making him pay. She was the bully, not him.
With a great sigh, Kate stepped out of her dark corner. "You're right. I should have and will now. I am sorry." Jack seemed unconvinced; his body went rigid and he refused to even look at her reflection in the mirror. Kate began to slink back into the shadows and continued. "As a matter of fact, I….I had intentions of truly making an effort to speak to you amiably."
There was a very tense silence that followed. Kate had almost completely fallen back into the embrace of shadow when Jack inhaled sharply through his nose, giving the air a quick indication that he was becoming impatient. "Well?" he quipped.
"Erm…" Kate stumbled on her words. "I…well…I wish I could give you my trust back. I want so badly to trust you again, just as I used to. Sometimes, I lie awake and my thoughts carry into a world past, where you and I were inseparable."
Jack simply blinked. "And the point of this would be….?"
Kate moved forward a little, every step a step of faith. "Jack, I don't want to be utterly emerged in your private affairs, that's none of my business. But I think that I deserve to be informed whenever something that you've done may, at any time, concern me, particularly a life or death matter. Don't you understand? I honestly believed that you were going to let me die."
A strained scowl occupied Jack's face. "But darling, you don't understand. I wasn't going to let you die. The proof of that stands before me, doesn't it?" Kate felt like weeping. The light was gone from his eyes.
"I did not know that at the time."
"What do you expect from me then, eh?" Jacks face exhibited no contortion of anger or sadness, only indifference. The fury rose through her body.
"Some patience!" Kate shrieked, her emotions boiling within her. She paused to assure herself that her tone of voice would be diplomatic and ladylike before continuing. "I appreciate that you're trying to make this up to me, but this will take time. There's some things that a few nice words won't instantly change. One would think that such a brilliant and keen mind as yours would be capable of grasping such a profound concept as this." Her frustration had replaced her fury, and she had no problem saturating her last statement with sarcasm.
Jack was contemplatively stroking his beard, when he raised his onyx eyes to match Kate's emerald ones. "Would it, perchance, speed along the process if I matched your painful feelings with my own humiliation?"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, exactly?" she asked, wondering if it was even worth asking.
"Wait here."
Jack hurried out of his cabin, leaving a very befuddled Kate to blink rapidly in confusion all by her lonesome. As she waited, Kate couldn't help but make a note that the quiet in this cabin kept getting emptier with every passing minute of Jack's absence. It was raining now, the light splattering of rain in such a quiet space magnified the sound into a soothing echo. She moved to sit in his high-backed captains chair, propping her feet on the sturdy table in front of her.
Several minutes later, and after pouring over several boring charts, Kate heard the latch on the door click. Jack was holding the door open for two people, Will and Meredith, who both wore perturbed expressions on their faces. Once the other two were inside, Jack wheeled around to swiftly close the door, leaving it, Kate noticed, unlocked. Jack seldom left the door unlocked.