Begin!
~Beatrice's POV
The following morning after that nasty storm was a rough one. We had a lot of clutter on the beach and had to clean it all up. Naturally, we worked as a team and tried to keep everyone busy. Many of the things we find after storms can be fixed up for use in the facility, so it was always a good idea to find as much as we could. For the first hour everything seemed normal until-
"Hey I found a man over here!"
I quickly dropped what I was holding and rushed over to Bertrand standing over an unconscious body. We rarely got castaways; well aside from us I guess... There were some broken pieces of wood near him indicating that he was previously on a small boat. He didn't look so good either. He was an older man, probably the same age as my parents would have been by now, had they lived. He was very sunburnt too; it must have come from having no proper shade on his vessel for days on end. He had long hair and a beard that were still brown in some parts but mostly they were turning grey from age. Bertrand asked one of our associates to help him carry the stranger to our doctors' tent. A man his age lost at sea was sure to need proper medical care.
Once a stretcher was brought over to help carry him I noticed the last and most important detail about this stranger: he had a tattoo of an eye on his ankle. However, we knew that it actually wasn't an eye, it was a symbol. A tattoo that everyone on this island shared. We were given them as children, a questionable practice that we've strayed from since, and every one meant the same thing.
He was a volunteer.
"Any idea when he'll be up," I asked.
"He should make a full recovery." One of our doctors replied. "The storm was pretty harsh though, I'm surprised he made it."
I sighed, "That's good to hear. Do you recognize him at all? Or have you found an indication of his identity?"
"The only familiar thing about him is his tattoo. Any other identification was surely lost at sea cause he had nothing in his pockets."
Perhaps he was on a mission that went wrong, I thought. Oh well, we have other things to attend to. I'll try to talk to him once he's awake.
And so the wait began.
For about two weeks, I would step in and out of the tent to check on our new arrival. I was curious what his story was. Perhaps he had news from the organization that would be helpful to us. We had sent our mission accomplished message to the Duchess already, but hadn't received a reply yet. Unfortunately, he remained out cold. Bertie even started to wonder if he'd wake up at all, but our doctors were sure that his injuries weren't that severe.
One day, I was sitting on a cot writing in my commonplace book again when it happened.
"Who are you," He asked hoarsely. I assumed that he hadn't talked to anyone in so long that his voice was giving out.
I smiled, "Oh good! You're awake, we were starting to wonder about you. I'm Beatrice."
He tried to sit up on his cot and studied me curiously. "My name is Ishmael."
"Your mother must have been a Herman Melville fan," I said. "But if that's your name, then it's your name."
He grunted in response but remained expressionless. He glanced at my growing stomach. "I see you've got a bun in the oven."
"Yes I do," I replied happily. Since I already knew everyone on the island by name, I wasn't used to new people pointing this out, but it didn't bother me.
"So where am I?"
"You're on a V.F.D. research island," I said, I reached down to lift part of my dress and show him my own ankle tattoo to indicate that I was trustworthy. "You're perfectly safe here, sir."
"I recognized you already."
"Oh? I don't believe we've met before… uh from where?"
He coughed before responding. "You're the Anwhistle heiress; Gregor and Isaac's sister. It was all over V.F.D. chatter when you were born. You're also the one who shut down Georgina's operations in Paltryville; I heard about that."
I blinked. "Ah, I see I didn't realize I was so famous. Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. My fiancé, Bertrand Baudelaire, found you on the beach and helped bring you here. He's one of our engineers-"
"What kind of research are you doing here?"
I decided to be polite and overlook his rude interruption. "Um, well I suppose since you're here it's not a problem that you learn. After all, we've finished it and are awaiting a request from the Duchess." I explained why we were here and how our project was complete so he need not worry.
He was silent for a few moments after my explanation; processing the delicate nature of our operation.
"So Gregor snapped then," Ishmael asked quietly.
"I don't particularly like using that word but it would appear as such…"
"My condolences for your brother's sanity. He sounds dangerous."
I didn't know if I should thank him for being sympathetic or berate him for saying those words so bluntly. There was something about him. He seemed very intensely curious about the information I gave him. Obviously, because he hadn't already known, that meant that the sugar was most likely not public knowledge yet. (Or perhaps there was another reason that I wasn't thinking of.)
"If you don't mind, Ishmael, I'd like to know how you came to land here. What were you doing out at sea?"
"What was supposed to be my last mission before retirement." He answered simply, "And that's all I'm gonna tell you."
I figured that it was best not to press him on the matter. Nonetheless, I continued being polite as I explained how things worked on the island. We had a few rules in place. We were told not to drink the coconut milk from the local coconuts, as fermented milk contained opium. (A highly addictive drug that slows brain function. We didn't want people getting hurt from it.) There was only one apple tree on the island and it was big enough to serve as the base of our operations. We would be planting more soon. Along with the basic rules of any civilized community. I also told him the apples were safe for consumption and that we had plenty to spare since we were growing them rapidly.
"I can't have one since I'm pregnant unfortunately, they're harmful to unborn children, but they have no negative impact on anyone else. And that should be everything, so any other questions?"
"Yes, where can I stay?"
~Later that night…
"He seemed kind of strange," I said to Bertie.
"Maybe he's just uncomfortable. I mean he is surrounded by complete strangers."
"I suppose that was a fair guess- oh!"
Bertie immediately got up from his chair. "What's wrong?! Are you hurt?"
I smiled, "No the baby is kicking!"
Bertie smiled super big and came over to put his hand on my stomach. I'd certainly been around this phenomenon before, but feeling it for the first time myself and knowing it was my baby made it absolutely magical. I saw Bertie tear up behind his glasses; clearly he felt the same way.
"Oh, don't cry honey. This is natural," I said gently.
"Sorry…" He said sheepishly wiping his eyes, "It's just so amazing."
"Isn't it though?"
"Isn't there a way to tell what it is based on its kicking? I remember hearing that somewhere."
"That is a thing you can do, but I'm not sure how you're supposed to tell," I said.
"Damn it…" He cursed.
"Excuse me, you know the baby can hear you right?"
"Sorry…"
~Bertrand's POV
When Bea and I went to bed I found that I couldn't sleep. I was so excited about our baby that it was all I could think about. So while Bea was fast asleep beside me I carefully leaned down to her stomach so as not to wake her. If the baby can hear me, then it was a good idea to talk to it.
"Hey kid," I said very quietly. "I know you can't understand me, but I'm your daddy. And you don't realize this yet, but I love you more than anything in the world, well maybe besides your mother, but I love you both so much I couldn't ever choose; so you don't ever have to worry about being second fiddle. Not even if we have a second kid, or a third, we'll love you all equally. I just want you to know that whatever you turn out to be, and whatever kind of person you become, I promise I'll be the best daddy I can for you. You can count on it. Good night, kiddo, I love you."
I glanced at Bea to ensure she didn't wake up, and slowly moved back to my original position and tried once again to fall asleep.
"The baby loves you too, honey…"
And now I'm too embarrassed to get any sleep tonight...
~End of Chapter!
