Title: Send Her My Love
Pairings: JS/OC, WT/ES
Overview: The Infamous Captain Jack Sparrow has had interesting acquaintances and activities in the past. This story is of a chain of many events that have gone awry, and come back to haunt him.
Disclaimer: If whining could win you rights to Pirates of the Caribbean – I'D ALREADY HAVE IT! –wanders off grumbling-
A/N: Wow, would you look at this? Chapter Twenty. The FINAL chapter. The LAST chapter. Never thought I'd get here to be honest with you. Send Her My Love is drawing to a close, and I am thrilled over all of the reader response and attention that this tiny story has gotten. I got an account because I was bullied by one of my friends (who, I should mention, had the best intentions for me at heart, because if I don't mention this, she will find me, and hurt me. And probably not give me that cookie she promised…) to get said account, and then started this story after going on a ride at Disneyland when I was in California in March of 2008. Seems to be a pretty long time away compared to now, looking back from July of 2009. As a final note on this story, I would like to say that I've hoped that it has improved from when I started, thank you for all your advice and motivation – the kind words really did help me a lot.
First, the reviews.
HeavenlyKitty, yup, it's an awful way to get woken up. But it only stands to reason, because if it hadn't have happened, there would be no part two, and all my evil planning to this point would be for nothing. And that would make me very sad. Honestly, having characters that can circumvent the authors plot devices is really a bad sign.
Now, to the last part of Send Her My Love.
Chapter Twenty: And It All Comes Together Like A Thunderstorm
Where we see the wreckage of what is left in the end, and the author gives the readers some hope – is an end really the end, or is it truly a new beginning in disguise?
He was laying on the sand. Soft, white, gorgeous Caribbean sand. Laying face up to the sky, as the waves rolled in around his ankles, and the wind blew in off the water. It was the picture of serenity.
Except it was abject misery.
The sand was rough under his bloodied fingers, and ached in the split knuckles. His lip was split, and bruises marred his otherwise tanned skin. Blood stained his white shirt, and he lay sprawled, dejected, like a man who had nothing left to live for. The sky, though a beautiful cloudless blue, was hurting his eyes, and the waves, though cool and soothing, were taunting him with what he could not have.
A bird screeched in the background, disrupting the false calm of the island. A miniature paradise. A miniature prison. Well devised at that.
He stood up, staggering to his feet as he watched the dark shape on the horizon disappearing, travelling further and further from him.
He felt his heart break.
Dragged out onto the deck, Jack held his peace while the sword was being prodded into his spin. He could see Payton trying to weakly resist, but in her state, it was all but useless. It was fairly useless anyway. Jack was struck by an eerie feeling of déjà vu, and he looked about warily, half afraid to see Barbossa appear from around the mast, or to be standing at the helm, demanding again 'his' ship. But it wasn't so.
When it came down to naming the most disturbing feature, the most expressive feature that a human had, he'd have to say the eyes. It was the eyes that did it to him, every time. He wouldn't kill so that he wouldn't have to see those eyes – the ones that were begging for mercy, or demanding your death. The ones that pleaded with you, the ones that couldn't understand what was happening. The ones filled with innocence, brimming with tears. Filled with fury, with hate, with anguish, with sorrow. It was all the same. He could not stand to look in their eyes – into her eyes.
The punch to his stomach had come unexpectedly, and Jack nearly choked when it arrived, unable to catch his breath. He heard Payton yelling his name, petrified as she was captured by Calico's side. He heard a scuffle, and a slap, but he couldn't determine it's source. He instead focussed on regaining his breath and avoiding being hurt any further.
Calico had jested that this would be a contest, a sport. Two men, Jack, and one of his crew, would fight. To the winner, would go the spoils. Jack didn't want to think about what that would entail, because knowing Calico, this contest would be anything but fair. And that was why, when the crewmember appeared, a lumbering giant made of sinew and muscle, Jack was not in the least surprised.
What had surprised him was his opponent's speed.
Cursing himself for underestimating Calico, again, Jack backpedalled, trying to find something that would help him. The ring of pirates were silent, eerily so. Jack couldn't find a friendly face in the mass.
A punch flew at his jaw, and he barely managed to avoid it, turning his ankle in his haste to escape. Jack fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. Wincing, he looked up at the giant, trying to find an ounce of mercy.
He found none.
It could be worse, he mused. I could be trapped here with Barbossa.
Thinking over the worst possible situations didn't make him feel any better.
Jack had been left in a heap to the side of his ship, with two men guarding him as he laboured to breathe. It was funny that even in his weakened state, they still found him enough of a threat to post not one, but two guards. He would have laughed, except that it felt like the giant had broken a rib or two when the man had started kicking him.
Spitting up blood, Jack looked around the deck wearily. Most of his crew had been taken to the brig – both on the Helio and on the Black Pearl. They had been out numbered, and out manoeuvred. A position Jack did not like to find himself in, one he had never expected to find himself in.
He couldn't help but scoff at himself. Thinking for one second that the contest that Calico had devised would be fair, would be even moderately possible. He had been doomed from the start, and the bastard had known it.
So, what could he do now to thwart Calico's plan?
If only he had been more prepared, or even prepared at all. If only there had been some sort of warning. Foolishly, he had thought the danger was gone, that the two of them would be safe.
No one was safe at sea.
Jack had vaguely wondered why he had been placed so close to the door of his cabin. Now, in the dead of the night, he knew why.
Payton was inside the cabin. He could hear her screams, he could hear her begging for mercy, pleading for Calico to stop, to let her go. And he could hear her crying.
He couldn't move.
Jack was trapped in his pain, watched by a two pairs of ruthless eyes, eyes who didn't care that every noise from his cabin was breaking him, was making his blood boil, was driving him insane. Twice he tried to stand, only to be beaten back into submission. He didn't think he had any fight left.
But as her piteous cries rose to a crescendo, Jack could take no more. He rose again, hoping the guards were negligent, hoping that he would get a moment to… But as he stood, they saw him, and closed in.
The problem with having enemies as a pirate was that often times they caught up with you, to the most disastrous results. He looked again to the horizon, wishing he could tear his eyes away while the image shrank – two ships, sailing away.
The morning was like any other, except that the deck of the Black Pearl was dead silent while Calico watched Jack dragged to his feet. He was limping, looking extremely weak. Once placed in front of his jailor however, Jack drew on reserves of strength he didn't know he had, and he looked Calico in the eye.
The other pirate had laughed, and leaned in to whisper in Jack's ear.
No one could hear what was said, but Jack stiffened, going rigid before lunging at Calico, to be stopped when the guards forcefully yanked him back in place.
"Heed me. Ye'll die by my hand." Jack promised, eyes grim and set.
Calico held up Jack's effects, placing them on the plank over the water. "Goodbye, Jack Sparrow."
Jack could see Payton in the background, seeming even more fragile than she had when she had first come onboard. He watched as she struggled to get to him through the crowd of unrelenting pirates, all the while being forced toward the plank over the ocean.
"Ye should be familiar with zis island Sparrow. I 'ave 'eard zat you 'ave visited it many times in zee past." Calico smirked, eyes fixed on his victory.
Hopeless, and defeated, Jack climbed on the plank, and picked up his effects. With one last look to Payton, he walked off the end.
Now, as he stood on the barren sand, looking out at the rapidly disappearing ships on the horizon, he cursed everything and everyone he could think of. They had taken everything from him; he had taken everything – his ship, his freedom, his crew… and her. Jack willed Calico to die.
The utter hopelessness of his situation slammed onto him, and he fell to his knees as if he had been shot. The only noise was the waves breaking on the shore.
Jack had no other options. He prayed.
It felt odd at first, but with everything so out of his control, taken out of his hands, with nothing he could do, it seemed to be the only thing that made sense.
Please, God, Lord, whatever higher power's listenin', whoever ye're, please, give me this at least. Keep her safe – alive! And… send her my love. She'll need it.
That concludes Part One of the Kindred Spirit Series.
After a lot of work, I'm really pleased with story. I hope you guys enjoyed it, cuz I put a lot into it, time, energy, my life...
I bet you're looking forward to part two now, eh?
Part Two of the Kindred Spirit Series will be known as Reclaiming Glory. Please look out for it to follow.
Please review!