Hey, guys! Sorry it has taken so long to update. I started school and stuff and on top of that I've had tons of writer's block. But now i have a nice long chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it!
P.S. I did change the story title to just 'Splendid Suns'.
Chapter 46: Pomegranate Seeds
Bright fabric fluttered around in the sunlight and subtle breeze.
The young women had emerged from the river, and each one was picking her own colorful sash for the day. The sashes would be used in dances later on.
Aneza pulled a purple and rosy gold sash from a pile, and held it up to herself.
"What do you think?"
Isobel looked over at her friend and nodded. She pulled a red sash with golden tips from the same pile.
"And this one for me?"
Aneza smiled. "Perfect."
Isobel reached up to gently twist her hoop earring, but she remembered it was no longer there.
All of the girls had switched out their usual earrings for ones provided by Sequoyah. They were all earrings that had been used over the years by girls during the First Day of the Celebration, and they would return them for their own earrings once the day was done. Each set of earrings were either sparkling gems or creamy pearls of different shades.
Sequoyah had given Isobel three pairs of earrings for her six piercings, and they were now black pearls, white diamonds, and yellow topazes, from bottom to top.
Aneza's pretty amethyst earrings sparkled in the sun as she adjusted her sash around her waist.
Isobel spread hers out across her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Chimera was glancing over at Isobel as she adjusted her own sash while the two other girls she was with aimlessly chattered on.
Chimera's ears were not pierced, and to her distaste, Sequoyah had fixed that problem by piercing them herself.
Chimera grumpily reached up to rub her now sore ears, which held two pinkish pearl studs. She actually quite liked them, and decided she probably would not return them.
"Don't you think so, Chim?"
The female lemur turned to her friend. "What?"
"Today will be fun!" The small female said excitedly. "I can't wait to see what happens."
A small smile came upon Chimera's face. "Oh, it won't be anything like you expect."
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Jack followed along beside Tira, happily glancing at her every now and then.
A baby.
He couldn't wait to tell the crew, and he wondered if Tira would object to O'Harty being the godfather.
"Jack," Tira spoke as the came upon the village and walked towards a family of lemurs.
This was clearly Tira's family. "Este es mi familia."
Jack looked away from Tira and towards her family: A young woman, probably Tira's older sister, held a baby in her arms. To her left stood who appeared to be her husband. He gripped a bow in his hand. To the right was a pair of twin teenage boys poking fun at each other in Spanish; obviously the brothers Tira had been speaking of.
And, front and center of it all, stood Tira's mother.
Her arms were crossed, and she squinted at Jack as he approached.
"That's my mother, Maria." Tura whispered to Jack.
Maria may have been smaller than Tira, but the way she bore fire into Jack's eyes made him slightly fearful.
He and Tira stood in front of the matriarch while everyone watched.
"Ello es tu esposo futuro?" Maria nodded towards Jack.
"Si, mama." Tira looked annoyed. "Please speak English. Jack doesn't understand Spanish."
"But I will work on it." Jack interjected.
Maria only raised an eyebrow at Jack before setting her deep brown eyes back on Tira. "El padre de mi nieto futuro no habla Español? Ios mio."
The twins chuckled quietly at Jack, and Tira shot them a look.
Maria sighed and turned her attention back to Jack. "Jack."
"Maria." Jack doffed his hat and gave her a sweeping bow.
He looked at her hopefully when he came back up.
"You love my daughter?" Maria's Spanish accent was thick, but Jack was all ears.
"Very much." Jack spoke quietly as he took Tira's hand beside him.
"And this child," Maria gestured to Tira's belly, "You will always be here for them?"
Jack nodded. "Of course. I couldn't be happier."
Tira squeezed his hand appreciatively.
"Tira has told me plenty about you." Maria confided. "You're a man of the sea. Will you give that up?"
Before Jack could sputter out a hasty No, Tira scoffed.
"Mama, I don't want him to do that." She said. "He loves it. And I do too."
Maria's features softened a little. "I don't want him to run away from us."
Tira laughed and she looked at Jack. "He won't."
Maria's eyes sparkled, and Jack knew that was as close to a smile as he would get from her for now.
"Come." Maria gestured with her hands outstretched to Jack. "You are a part of this family now, so come meet your relatives."
Jack met Tira's sister, Elena, first. She was surprisingly quiet, but Jack had a feeling it was only because they had just met. Elena's husband, Azzam, was Ta'li, and it had taken Ajihad's approval and speaking with Ta'li ancestors to let them be married. He was quiet as well, but it was his nature to be so. Their baby, Tira's nephew, was called Hakim. He was swaddled up in a green blanket of soft fabric.
Hakim began to squirm and fuss in Elena's arms, and instantly, Tira's younger brothers, who were seventeen, pushed past Jack and rushed up to Elena.
"Mi sobrino!" The first one, Francisco, said exaggeratedly. He stared down at Hakim's round, soft brown eyes. "What's the matter, who did it?"
"Move, Cisco!" The second, Javier, shoved his brother out of the way as he scooped Hakim from Elena's arms. "He wants his tio whose name also begins with 'ha'."
Elena and Tira both rolled their eyes at their little brother.
"Don't drop him, Javier." Elena warned.
"Yeah, like mama dropped you when you were a baby, estupido." Francisco danced around Javier.
"Quiet!" Javier gave his brother and sister a false stern look.
Javier's drama was quite entertaining to Jack, from a distance.
Javier looked back down to Hakim. "Hush little tonto, don't say a word, tio Javier who is smartandhandsomeandpopular is gonna shield you with his awesomeness!"
"You're being an idioto." Tira came up and gently pried Hakim from Javier's arms. She looked down tenderly at the infant.
"Aw, c'mon, sis!" Javier whined. "Don't you want me to practice for your little niño?"
"You?" Tira raised her eyebrows. "Please! You're not even gonna be allowed to breathe on him."
"Him?" Jack asked expectantly.
Tira glanced at him with a shy smile. "Well, I don't know. I just figured I'd call it 'he' for now."
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
The girls at the river were preparing to leave for the village, and were making last minute touches such as dabbing on scented oils and sliding bangles onto their wrists.
Their day would be busy, as firstly they would be bringing in heavy baskets of rare fruits for the midmorning meal. They would serve it to each table, and would not eat until everyone else had.
Then, there would be a skills display, in which each girl would be allowed to show off any of her skills. Weaponry skills were usually shown, as this was considered more valuable than singing or dancing, which were more for fun and entertainment.
And, the most anticipated part of the day would be the evening, which would be free to dancing, and even courting, although they still could not speak to anyone eligible the entire day.
"Are you ready?" Aneza asked Isobel as she balanced her basket of fruit on her head.
Isobel hoisted up her own and placed it on her head. She balanced it with her right hand, and her bangles jangled against each other. "Let's go."
All of the girls lined up, with Sequoyah leading them. They began their walk through the jungle and towards the village.
Along the way, Chimera set down her fruit basket, and slipped into the dense forest without being noticed.
Isobel looked up at the tree canopy, and saw macaws flying up into the scarlet sky.
Her ears laid back for a moment, as Jack had always recited the old pirate superstition to her of red skies in the morning being ill-fated.
But the scarlet was beginning to unfold to a deep, sparkling purple. Isobel shook her head, and looked back in front of herself.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Mikhailov found Katia strolling alone on the forest path. It looked as though she had already been on her way to the village, but Mikhailov was glad he caught her by herself first.
Katia looked up and met Mikhailov's gaze.
"Bonjour, Mikhailov." She smiled coyly.
"Katia." Mikhailov approached the smaller Firebird. "Leesten."
Katia stopped before him and peered at him, waiting for him to continue.
Mikhailov cleared his throat. He could be very straight forward. "I may have been cold to you before, but I do care vor you. I even like you. Vould you like to walk to the village vith me?"
Katia smiled shyly, and felt a blush creep to her cheeks. "Yes. I would."
"Okay." Mikhailov's smile was full of relief, and he stepped alongside Katia.
The pair walked on, and Katia glanced at Mikhailov beneath her eyelashes. She loved how confidently he walked, how he scanned everything around them with such a carefree turn of his head, and, most importantly, how safe he made her feel by simply being there.
She sighed quietly, and wondered how Topaz was faring.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Back in the village, all of the tables that had been prepared were filled up. Happy chatter wafted in the air, and Sheikh Ajihad appeared from the forest to take his seat up on the dais.
Skipper looked around, and noticed that Mikhailov had come back with Katia.
They were standing to the side, and looked to be quite happy with one another.
Good for him. Skipper thought with a small smile.
Julien had joined them at the table, and he and Private spoke excitedly about all the décor and how they couldn't wait to see what was in store for the day.
Kowalski was sipping on some coffee, as he actually taken quite a liking to this strong Ta'li drink. Rico was playing with his chopsticks as he waited impatiently for more food.
Skipper looked over to his left and noticed that Jack was coming towards their table, a happy smile plastered to his face.
As soon as Jack sat down, everyone looked to him, as they could tell by his expression that he had something good to reveal.
"Well, boys." Jack propped his elbows on the table and leaned in. "Ol' Jack Starling is going to be a father."
There was a mix of "Congratulations!" and "How wonderful!", as well as a celebratory whistle from Rico.
"Is that what was wrong with Tira?" Private asked.
Jack nodded. "But no need to worry, everything has been sorted out. I met her family. We haven't set a date for a wedding though."
"A wedding?" Private's face lit up. "I love weddings!"
"As do I." Jack smiled. "I'll have to ask Tira what she thinks."
"Well you have to propose." Private began getting a dreamy look in his eyes. "It has to be romantic! And sweet! And – "
"Leave the man alone, Private." Skipper chuckled. "I think he had it figured out already."
Jack laughed. "Yes, I think I have it sorted."
Julien looked away, beginning to not like the conversation. But his spirits were lifted instantly once he saw that the girls were beginning to pour into the village.
"Look, everybody!" He announced happily.
The whole table turned their attention to where Julien was looking, and smiles lit up their faces.
All of the girls looked lovely, with their colorful sashes waving around and the sweet scented oil that was on their fur reached everyone's noses. Village musicians began to play, and everyone's already good moods were lifted further.
Julien scanned for Isobel, and once he saw her, his eyes locked onto her as she approached their table with her basket. She had placed her red sash across her ears, just as she had when they first met in Atlantis.
"Good morning, Isobel!" Private said in a chipper manner. "You look lovely."
Isobel only gave him a smile as she moved her basket from her head to her arms. She lowered it down to the table, and topped everyone's plates with shiny, red pomegranate seeds. Her jasmine fragrance filled the air around them pleasantly.
When Isobel came close to Julien to fill up his plate, he said quiet as he could, "I was talking to your uncle, and he told me it's totally fine! You're free!"
Isobel glanced at Julien, and he waited for her for her to respond.
But instead, she leaned down to whisper in Skipper's ear, as he was sitting next to Julien.
Her scented scarf brushed his face while she spoke, and he nodded every now and then.
Isobel straightened back up after she picked up her half-empty basket from the table.
Skipper looked at Julien. "She says that she won't be able to stop participating until tomorrow, like she mentioned before."
"Oh, right." Julien remembered.
"And the reason she can talk to me and not you is because… Well, you already." Skipper finished.
"Yes, right." Julien nodded. "Eligible peoples only, I know."
Skipper cleared his throat and looked down at the pomegranate seeds. "Thanks, Isobel."
Everybody chimed in with that, and Isobel smiled once more at Julien before she continued on to the next table.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Chimera reached up to feel the smooth pearls in her ears once more as she went to the meeting place. She was annoyed with the sash cinched at her waist as it was in her way, and even more bothered by the patchouli perfume she was wearing. But she knew it would not be for long.
She pushed the tall grasses out of her way, and stepped into the clearing that Clopar had designated their meeting place.
He and Topaz were already there. Topaz was sitting down, restringing his bow.
He glanced up at Chimera. He would have complimented her, if she were not so eager to complete her mission that night.
"Is everything in order?" Clopar asked Chimera.
"So far so good, boss." Chimera replied. "Everyone is at the village right now. The day won't have any problems. And I didn't see Katia, so she must be with that Firebird already."
"Good." Clopar said more enthusiastically than usual.
Topaz's ears flattened back for a moment. Clopar absolutely disgusted him.
"I have transferred some of the serum to a smaller vial." Clopar handed Chimera a vial of the pink fluid that Chimera had had in a bigger bottle before. "Do you have the sample?"
"Right here." Chimera removed a couple of hairs from her sash.
Topaz looked up at the two lemurs. "What is that?"
"Isobel's fur." Chimera answered nonchalantly.
"How did you get it?" Topaz asked. This whole thing was so wrong.
"Don't worry, lover boy, we all brushed our fur after bathing in the river, so I just picked up the brush she used." Chimera rolled her eyes. She looked back at Clopar. "Is this enough?"
"Perfectly." Clopar nodded. He folded his hands behind his back. "I knew I could be confident in you, Chimera."
Chimera smiled wickedly as she opened up the vial. She dropped the hairs in and shook it up. She placed the vial carefully in the folds of her sash and turned her attention back to Topaz. She would be borrowing his bow for the day, and he had been preparing a few arrows that had similar fletching to Isobel's own arrows.
Chimera picked up an arrow and examined it. "Not bad. How long did it take you to memorize her stuff?"
Topaz finished stringing the bow, and he stared hard at it, as though he could disappear into the wood.
"One day."
