Author: Daisy Sparrow
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If Pirates of the Caribbean was mine, do you think I would actually share. However, the OCs are all mine.
Also my thanks to Willow Whiteamber for the betaing. ^__^ And sorry Alicia that I didn't wait any longer, but I wanted to get a feel of how people would response to this story, if it's not too much trouble, I'd still like your input though.
Warning: SLASH! The main pairing is Jack/Will, but the prologue is pretty safe. Don't like it, don't read it! And English is not my first language, and I also like to insert random flashbacks and dream sequences.
A/N: The long awaited sequel.... or not! Anyway, if you haven't read Upon A Painted Ocean, this would probably make no sense. And hopefully you all know who Lan is, but in case you don't, I mentioned her in chapter 23 of UAPO. The prologue took place on that fateful day on Isle de Aves, about 25 years before the movie.
Sorry about the lame title, but it's actually the first one that popped into my head (and since I've tried to think of a better one for WEEKS to no avail. Hmmm....wondered why I posted this story so late @_@) Anyway, it also has something to do with one of the very last scenes of the story (yeah, I pretty much planned out the entire story), and.... I am not gonna spoil it now. ^^
" speech "
// thoughts //
*** flashback/memory ***
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The first one missed and barely grazed pass her cheek. She swirled around just as the second shot penetrated her shoulder. Pain exploded and a torrent of burning bored straight through the path craved by the steely intruder. The bullet exited through her back, underneath one shoulder blade and bringing with it a bursting of blood.
She stumbled back, one hand instinctively went for the wound, clumsily covering the hole in an attempt to stop the incessant flow.
The fire around her roared and licked her dress seductively. Darkness beckoned her with its soft serenade, and stubbornly she held onto the edge of consciousness. Moonlight spilled through the cracks between the boards, blending with the heat of the white flare, and as one they scorched her hands.
She reached out with desperation, pushing and clawing as sliver of skin, chips of wood and ashes joined the streams of blood and tear, until finally the door swung open with a hard thud.
The cold ocean breeze greeted her shivering form, and the impassive night bared witness to the unfolding event with all its starless glory.
She dashed outside, tripped and fell into the garden. The thorns of the roses dug into her skin, scratching savagely, imprinting their angry marks on her. She pushed and fought against the entanglement of limbs, veins and fabric until she was on her feet again. The initial staggering was soon overtaken by the rushing of dread and she ran, leaving a trail of distorted sand and bloodied footprints behind.
//How had it come to this?//
She knew the answer, yet its presence offered no shelter against the gathering storm within. She had foreseen it, first through the emptied eyes of the stranger, and then on the eager and hopeful face of her young charge.
//Oh, Jack, do you see now? Do you see what your kindness has brought us?//
But Jack was not to be blamed. His innocence and kindness shone with an almost blinding light, and her judgment was swayed so easily by its brilliance. The premise of this disaster was her own uncertainty, her own foolish hope that perhaps, for once, she was wrong.
//I should have insisted. I should have hold Jack back and let him die.//
The gift of foresight was wasted on her. She was a failure of a Seer, who ignored the warning inside her visions. This was irony at its finest, an poetic irony that spat in her as the one and only time she chose to defy its lady's designs. Its lady, the fate, whose dark agents are tyrannous and vengeful. They were laughing now, laughing cruelly at her despair.
The blustery waves of the sea clasps one another, in pace with her pounding heart and soundly agreeing to this silent agony. She wanted to weep dry of this myriad of emotions, her inner howling against this injustice, the meager but budding vindication against everything and everyone.
She continued to run.
~~~*~~~
The wind slashed against her face, its merciless whips hampered her already faltering pace. The border of the beach was approaching and the stretching of trees spread before her like an endless shadow. She struggled through the last couple of steps before half dragged herself into the forest. Feverishly, she wished that the dense, pathless wood would conceal her track and at the very least delay her pursuer.
Branches and leaves obscured her way, and she brushed them aside hurriedly and carelessly. She emerged through the underbrush to a small plain of meadow, decorated by wildflowers.
"Lan?"
Her heart skipped, startled by the small noise. She turned and immediately saw the black-hair boy, who was standing up from his crouching position beneath the bushes.
Relief filled the cavity in her chest that was drilled by worry. The last drop of adrenaline fled her as quickly as it first arrival. With one hand clutching her injured shoulder, she slowly sank her knees into the thick carpet of grass. The boy gasped sharply before rushed to her side.
"Lan! You are hurt!"
She brushed his cheek with shaky fingers, gladdened by his presence and the temporary absence of danger. With great effort, she tried to quite down her harsh panting and smiled despite of the pain that laced through every twitch of muscle.
"Jack, you are safe. Where are the others?"
"In the caves. I told them to hide there."
She sighed. The children were unharmed. Their well beings were foremost on her mind.
"That's good. Jack, you know where the boat is."
Jack nodded tentatively, as if sensing her next request. Those guileless black eyes pinned her to the spot, fiercely piercing while at the same time, slowly being clogged by an luminous mist.
"It should be big enough for all of you. Take the others and go to the boat."
".....are you not coming with us?"
Strangely bright, pain-filled, sorrowful eyes, eyes that should have never belonged on the face of a child. Were those the beginning of tears? Oh, please, to whatever power that may be, let those be trickery played by the moonlight.
//I am so sorry.//
It wasn't fair to burden this boy with such responsibility, but she couldn't go with them. She couldn't stop the bleeding. Her body was weakening with each progressive seconds and her senses blurred as if in a state of inebriation.
//I am dying.//
She was going to die, on this island. But before she would submit to her inevitable demise, she would provide enough distraction in order for the children to escape. It was the last thing she would do as their caretaker.
She ruffled his hair as she always liked to do, "I am sorry, Jack. But you have to take care of them now."
"No! I don't want to lea--"
"You must! You are the eldest and I know I can count on you."
It was a sneaky practice of emotional blackmailing, but it would be enough to persuade Jack. The situation was pressuring and the impending threat drew closer with each moments they wasted arguing.
"I can count on you, can't I, Jack?"
".....yes, Lan."
Jack's reply was almost a whisper. He scrubbed his face furiously with the back of his hand and refused to meet her eyes. She swallowed pass the knot at her throat, tilted her head to plant a feathery kiss on his forehead.
"One day, you will forget the pain and smile again."
A hiccup. "No, I won't"
"Yes, you will." She coaxed gently, "but don't change, Jack. Don't ever change."
Jack raised his face finally. "It's too late, Lan. I am losing my light.....I no longer have a choice. I must change or lose myself."
"You will reclaim it again, your light. You will find it, or it will find you."
"But why must I lose it now?!" He shouted through strangled gasping.
She had no answer.
He continued, sniffing here and there. "I thought..... I thought it was the right thing to do. Why....why would..."
Why? The reasons were irrelevant now. The road to hell was paved by good intentions.
The flapping wings of the birds, along with the snapping of broken branches announced the presence of another. She was instantly alerted, and shoved Jack away weakly.
"He's coming. Go now."
"But Lan--"
"GO!"
She had wanted to say something else, a proper good-bye maybe, but she couldn't trust her voice not to betray her turmoil. Jack looked at her hard one last time before sprinted to his feet and ran. Soon he disappeared among the silhouettes of the trees. For a few seconds, she allowed herself to collapsed onto her elbows and buried her face into the damp grass.
The temporary comfort was short lived. As the sounds came closer, she roused herself on shaky legs and staggered toward the other direction.
~~~*~~~
"Where is he?"
She stood motionlessly, stared down at the barrel of pistol aiming at her, before directed her gaze to her attacker. A youthful face, no older than twenty, framed by waves of auburn hair, untamed and appeared almost jet black in the dark. Green eyes, clear but reflected nothing, was glaring at her hatefully.
//Such emptiness. Are you so desperate for a purpose, a goal in life? Or was it a second chance you seek?//
The young man asked again. "Where is he?"
"Love can not be forced. If it didn't belong to you, no matter what you do, it will never be yours."
Was she right? Was love the root of it all? And why was she pondering the reasons behind it now?
This slaughtering. So senseless.
But if she could find some sort of motivation, however unjustified, the young man before her could be.... perhaps..... redeemed?
The man pressed on, and she took another step back. Then sucked in a breath as her left foot almost slipped. A few rocks tumbled and rolled off the cliff. She cast a quick glance behind her and contemplated bitterly. To die here, exposed to the wild or to join their ranks at the bottom of the ocean.
"I will find him."
Yes. She knew that he would.
Her head titled back, one hand raised above her face. The skin on the back of her hand was almost ghastly pale, contrasted sharply against the bleakness of the night sky.
Black and white.
***Sadness will be always be balanced by happiness. They all have their places in our lives, just like we have our own places in the world.***
That was what she told Jack, and she would very much like to believe it now. She breathed deeply and relaxed her body. With arms out stretched, she allowed the gravity to pull her down. The man shouted, rushed to the edge of the cliff. But she was already falling. She shut her eyes, images flashed behind closed eye lids like jolts of lightening.
A ship.
Black sails.
Betrayal.
Loneliness.
A clashing of steel.
Revenge.
Sea.
Warmth.
Laughter.
Kisses.
'Do you want happiness?'
Hope.
Ruby eyes, angry, but sad.
'I will give you a choice.'
Pain.
A moment of perfect clarity bestowed her just as the first rock connected with her back. The coldness tore into her body and the water engulfed her in its icy embrace.
~~~*~~~
She couldn't remember anything.
There were voids inside of her body and holes clustered in her memory. She wrapped her arms around herself and the bed sheets curled around her nude form like rippling waves.
Snowy white sheets, the same color as her skin.
A pair of arms held her shoulders gently. She squirmed slightly. A deep and smooth voice whispered softly above her head. She raised her face. A young man smiled down at her. She gasped, angelic was the only word she could use to describe him.
A boy stepped from behind the young man, his gaze locked with hers, "do you remember anything?"
She shook her head, edged away from the boy and hugged her knees to her chest. Silvery blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. Those eyes were cold and almost.... ageless. They cut through her like daggers. She reeled back suddenly and buried her face into the fountain of blankets and pillows. They were talking now, the man and the boy, but she refused to look at neither of them.
"This was a very bad idea, young master." The tone was patient, but loaded with a heavy sense of nostalgia.
"So you like to say, about everything I do." The boy's voice was higher, but hard with some unnamed emotion. "Ray.... make the necessary arrangements and preparations. I would like to leave for England as soon as possible."
"Very well, young master, but what shall I do about her?"
"We are taking her with us, of course."
".....as you wish."
A door opened, then was shut quietly.
A hand ran through her hair, gripped the back of her head, and forced it to tip up and backward. She met the boy's emotionless eyes once again. He was inspecting her face carefully, and grinned faintly, yet almost dreamily.
"You are going to be staying with me now."
He smiled again and she shivered.
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Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.
^_^