James and Philip turned to the sound of the voice. Their school had a separate wing where girls were taking music classes. There was a girl rushing towards them from that direction. She was stuffing a flute into her handbag as she ran. Her long dress commanded formality, but she moved about with a lot of fluency regardless, losing an edge of her usual stride in favour of primmer posture.
James smiled, his anger instantly forgotten.
"Who is this?" Philip squinted nearsightedly, trying to make out a beautiful vision.
"Don't be silly. That's Constance," said James. His smile got brighter as the girl approached. "It seems that her mother finally managed to tame her into wearing feminine attire."
Constance looked different today. Her mother had convinced her to wear a dress and a corset that fitted her statuette figure perfectly. Hazel eyes radiated life and energy. Her face was fresh. The dress hugged her narrow waist and accented her newly forming breasts. Small feet and ankles were visible as she ran, holding up her skirt. Normally, she wore loose outfits that made her look like a scrawny, little girl who was not immune to fights and finding trouble and dust. The dress revealed that she matured and showed signs of growing into a beautiful woman. Her hair was twisted upwards, opening long vulnerable neck, yet one curl rebelliously slid out of the bunch, hunging provocatively across her cheek.
"Hello," she called out.
The boys greeted her. Far unlike his previous behaviour where he was dismissing this girl with a half-shrug and a mild greeting reserved for acquaintances, Philip kissed her hand and tried to tuck it into the crook of his arm. Constance slipped past his fingers and danced over to James' side to kiss his cheek.
"Not planning to let a lady walk home all by herself, are you?" she asked playfully.
"I'm sorry, we thought you'd want to go home with your classmates like you did yesterday. Thus, we didn't wait for you," said James.
"I only went with them yesterday because my mother told me to, but I want to spend more time with you, considering that you are leaving."
"In three days," James agreed, failing to hide his excitement. He would miss his friends, but the sea was calling and even singing to him in sleep. "At last, I am old enough to join a ship as a crew member."
"Congratulations," said Constance, although not without a sad note creeping into her voice. "That's nice."
"You too look nice, Constance," Philip cut in, mildly irritated that she ignored him. "It's about time you've quitted sea urchin quirks and donned on lady-like attire."
Constance's eyes blazed. "Sea-urchins are beautiful," she said heatedly.
"Peace now," James interfered. He ran an appraising eye over Constance head to toe. "What my friend here has so inelegantly stated, is that you are becoming a fine woman. No amount of wilderness and dust on you can hide it any longer. Philip merely seeks a frame that would be more befitting of a lovely lady. I concur. You look beautiful in this dress."
He was sincere. Constance, for the first time, was experiencing the gazes of two boys that were burning her skin. Something changed in the way they looked at her. Intercepting James' appreciative look, she felt all the fight go out of her. Her tight dress suddenly felt like a feather. Whoever cared that it was uncomfortable. She'd wear any dress as long as it caused James to look at her this way.
"Let's take a detour to the sea," James suggested. Without confirmation he headed for a narrow path that ran off the road towards a rocky shore. Philip picked up Constance's arm as they followed.
"Why would you want to go there?" said Philip. "In a few days you will have more than enough of the sea. You may even grow homesick and regret your wish to sail away."
"Homesick, maybe; sick of the sea, unlikely. Haven't you ever wanted to explore the world?"
"It's not that glorious," Philip muttered. "It will always be the same routine for the sailors who usually get stuck in some part of the ocean guarding it from pirates and patrolling in circles across the same waters."
He did in fact want to go, but his stomach did not always settle well with the sea. It was no worse than that of an average person, but not enough to get him into a sailing career. It was another thing that Philip secretly begrudged.
"I think there is more to the sea than that," Constance interfered. "There has to be with so many wonderful legends about it."
"Foolhardy, as much as designed to instil ridiculous romantic notions into the sanest people to send them galloping after some immaterial ideal instead of dedicating their life to settling down and making a handy fortune," Philip reasoned.
"I think they're true and the adventures can bring happiness," Constance insisted. "Mr Kerry knows what he's talking about."
"You mean that insane old man who sells stories by the docks for pennies?" Philip wrinkled his nose in disdain. Mr Kerry was no authority. He wasn't sure how anyone of good station could bear to go near such a low-fortune individual, unless they wanted to ruin their reputation.
"He isn't insane. I love listening to his stories. Just yesterday he talked about a sea goddess and a sea captain who fell in love with her. She charged him with a duty to carry souls across the sea for ten years. As a reward she would wait for him ashore."
"Sounds like a gimped deal I wouldn't have taken. I bet he had been betrayed. You don't even know how much your partner will change. Why bar yourself from the pleasure of living with a different partner just to find a stranger at your door one day? No one would wait ten years for their lover."
"I would!" Constance insisted stubbornly. In truth, she was overwhelmed by Philip's eloquence, but her intuition was suggesting that she too was right, even if she couldn't state her point of view as convincingly. "My heart will recognise him, even if the years will alter him."
Philip was quite ruffled that she didn't accept his persuasion. He decided that he was arguing with a female, after all, who viewed everything from an emotional perspective. He couldn't expect her to fully appreciate his refined logic. "Good God, what goes on in the mind of yours?" he told her, taking some heat out of his voice. He slid the composed mask back in place, regretful that he was unable to impress her. "You've hardly lived that long. You are only thirteen. Now, picture your entire life and then picture waiting that long. Can you wait?"
"Oh, I'll find something to occupy myself with," Constance shook off his concern lightly.
James chuckled. He may have looked like he was walking carefree ahead, but he was listening closely to their conversation.
The narrow path led them to the cliffs that lay over the sea.
"Race you to the top," James told his companions. Without confirmation, he sprinted up the rocks as Constance stood gaping at him.
Philip huffed, well aware that he could never beat the challenge. "Childish," he called out. "We, grown up and dignified people, will go at our own pace, that won't break our necks." He climbed slowly on top of the first rock and ceremoniously offered his hand to Constance. The girl, however, laughed and jumping in one fluid motion on top of the rock, went chasing after James. She was fast and nimble. She caught up on top of the cliff with one more step separating them.
James observed her progress from the top. When she came near he offered his hand to pull her up. Constance accepted the offer gladly. He lifted her upwards, his other arm momentarily went around her waist to steady her.
She thought it was a shame that she couldn't lean against his chest and stand with his strong arms wrapped around her to watch the sea. Constance waltzed to edge to peek over. Amber water was slowly leaping the rocks far below. She looked back at James.
"What now?" she asked.
He smiled. "Now, we observe the sea." His hand swept across the horizon line and stopped at the entrance of a bay where on anchor stood a magnificent ship. She was too far to see the name, but Constance recognised her. This was Guardian Lawrence, a ship and property of the Norrington family, one of the best in the British waters. The ship swayed proudly on gentle waves with sails and flag currently down. The ship had two decks loaded with guns, three masts and a shape narrower than ships of the line that gave her more speed. After sustaining heavy damage in battle and miraculously returning to port, Guardian Lawrence had a brand new overhaul. She was slim, polished and ready to return to the sea. This was the first ship James would serve on under command of his father, Admiral Norrington. This was the ship to take James away from home, thought Constance. Her feelings were in disarray, slight resentment intertwined with appraisal. She too understood the sea, living on shore from the first day of her life. She too sometimes heard its call, although she knew that women were not as welcome to travel to the horizon. It was their lot to wait on land for their men to return.
She looked back at James who stood on the edge of the cliff unmoving. The sun caressed his face, setting his skin with a golden hue. His brown hair was tied back in a pony tail as the wind tugged gently the ends of the ribbon that held it together. He may have been with her in person, but his heart was far away between the sea and the sky. His nostrils trembled, taking in the salty air. His eyes scrutinised the waves with great passion. Constance wondered what it would be like to be an object of such intense scrutiny. It seemed like his soul, trapped in confines of this stoic young man, longed to break away from the land and merge with the power the world radiated.
She knew at that moment no one could hold him. He was young, full of promise and it was best to set him free. It mattered not. The albatrosses too flew far off shore above the waves, eventually coming back to land. He too would come back. She had the patience to wait. He would change from a boy to a man. She fancied he'd grow even taller, his still slim shoulders would fill out. His face would grow harder and more pronounced once it lost boyish charm. James was a serious man. He still had bouts of childishness, but playfulness was not a part of his nature. This was going to reflect in his posture. However, he still would be her James.
She was too young to know that she had to be more careful and hide her feelings. Her eyes openly, bordering daring, admired his form, taking in every line and every small movement. Her feelings were all too obvious to the boy who stood only a few feet away watching her watch James with the strong pangs of jealousy upending his soul. Philip's dark eyes were hard and brooding.
Suni-Dlight chapter 2 . Nov 14, 2011
Very unique :D Can't wait to read the next part.
Norrieo chapter 2 . Nov 30, 2011
Hey please update soon! LUV your story!