Chapter 2
Jarvis was far more polite than any other guy in the gang, and Riddick knew that Jarvis didn't approve of his little scheme, but what could he do? She was going to be his woman, and he had many years to make her pay for Hellax's folly. Gillian was her name. Riddick pictured her in his mind- a smaller, female version of Hellax, with his blue-black hair and the pasty white skin 'She was convent bred', Riddick thought with disdain. Once he got there he only had to look at the abbess, the head nun. She was small and crooked over and age had obviously taken its toll. "I wana marry her as soon as possible." Riddick said hiding his enthusiasm behind an unemotional expression. "But that's impossible Mr. Riddick." The abbess protested, her lined face easily showing her dismay. "Father Ted has gone to a convention in Lanka 3, and the nearest priest is in another town." "Jerome, go and find the priest, and have him here by tomorrow." Riddick orders abruptly. The man moved quickly, ducking past the 3 other women who had just entered. "Ah, Gillian," the abbess said, and Riddick felt a rush of excitement. All three women wore the black robes and they kept their faces lowered in a respectful conduct that made it hard to see their facial appearance. The only difference between them was the height of the one in the middle. She towered over the other two. Studying her closely, Riddick was shocked by her swift, sharp glimpse of interest as she and her companions filed in and took seats on a worn bench. "Gillian, dear, I have good news for you," the head nun said, once again the tall one lifted her head, her bright eyes shifting quickly toward the speaker. 'This can't be her!' Riddick thought. "The king has sent you a husband." The old man continued. "What? Why would the kind want anything with me?" "The king has told Mr. Riddick here that your uncle has died. You are to marry him and unite the lands your uncle left you." Gillian's gaze swept Riddick in a swift manner. "Marry?! Marry him!? He's a murderer." She spoke in disgust. "I don't kill anymore, not unless I have to." Riddick rumbles as he steps closer to her. Gillian's expression turns from shock to fear, she gets up and runs to the abbess. "What if I don't wana marry him." She cries. "You have no choice." Riddick says as he turns to her direction. She whirled toward him, and the other nuns rushed out to stop her, and murmured to her to stay calm. Shaking them off she walked forward unstill she stood directly in front of Riddick. "There's always choices, Mr. Riddick." She snapped, Riddick was amazed to stillness by the hostility flashing in those big green eyes. "First, call me Riddick. Second maybe there are choices but you have none. Your uncle only paid so much for you to stay here. I know you aren't really a nun, you just live here, and the only way you can stay here without paying is to join the convent. We both know you don't want that. So either you marry me or you're out on your ass." Gillian's eyes still flashed with the enmity that he was starting to like. She let out a loud huff before turning and running out of the room.
"Forgive her, Mr. Riddick." The abbess urged. "Gillian is impulsive, a bit head strong, but she will come around. She simply needs some time to get to know you." "Does she have a boyfriend or something? Something that makes her not wana leave?" "No, no, Mr. Riddick, I'm very sure Gillian has nothing holding her here." "She's stubborn, Mr. Riddick." One of the other nuns continued. "She's had a hard life." The head nun replied. "In a convent?" Riddick asked in disbelief. "After her father died, she and her mother were forced to live on the streets, and then her mother, too, passed away from starvation. She just stopped eating, anything they cold find to eat her mother gave to her so that Gillian wouldn't go to hungry." The abbess shook her head, then continued, "She was on her own at 15 years old. By the time she was 18 her uncle sent her to this convent and sent money for her to live." "Where was she from 15 to 18?" "She was a servant for a noble family here in New Mecca." Riddick snorts at the comment. "She's hardly a servant." He said 'yet' "She's a good girl Mr. Riddick, but the holy life, as you can see, isn't her cup of tea. Maybe she'll do better as a wife to someone of your statue."
Gillian rushed to the dorm where she slept, hysterically wondering how much time she had. She had never truly fit in here, she had no patience and commitment that was need to answer to a 'holy calling'. 'Too late', she thought. Life outside of these walls were chalk full of dangers. Poverty, starvation, filth, and horrors too evil to contemplate, and she knew all of them way too well. She already could feel her lungs closing up from the memories of her past, the memories that frightened her. Tossing the little stuff s he did have in a bag, Gillian yanked the door open and slipped out of the room. Walking down the hall she decided that the doorways might be watched, she then snuck to a window in a nearby room. She had to go before 'he' came for her. Long ago, she had dreamed of a family of her own, of a husband who didn't waste his money like her father did. A man who loved her and respected her as a person. Even then, she didn't think that someone as rich as Richard B. Riddick would be her husband. Gillian still couldn't believe that a poor lowly daughter to an unsuccessful man was to marry a murdering ex-convict, excuse her, an ex murdering convict. Tossing her stuff out the window and looks to see how it lands. Swallowing hard she positions herself to take the same plunge. The fall knocked the breath out of her, and Gillian lay on her back, gasping for air. Luckily, the grass was soft. That was when she saw him. He was standing a few feet from the top of her head, so that he looked upside down to her, and so close that she could have reached out to touch his boots. Laughing he said, "If you were trying to kill yourself you should have picked a higher window. I will have to bar the windows at the compound." He helps her up to her feet. "Now go back inside and rest, tomorrow you're gonna have the honor of marrying me." He smiles broadly; she can tell his eyes are sparkling behind the goggles. Her blood runs cold.
Lying in the guest room of the convent, Riddick thought of the vision he saw earlier that day. Thinking of her sprawled on the grass, some of her hair escaped from the headpiece. It was the color of molten lava. A deep red, and curly. Riddick wondered how it would look down. He had not been able to really see her yet. She did give him a little peek of her shapely calves. Her legs spread eagle. He groaned, as he shut his eyes. "Mr. Riddick?..." The voice broke into his thoughts, seemingly out of nowhere. Riddick's hand closes over his shiv and he jumps to a predatory stance. "No! Please, stay where you are, It's me, the abbess. I wanted to have a word with you privately." "What do you want?" "I don't know how quite to say this, It's about Gillian." "What is it!" he says annoyed. "Please don't treat her bad." "What?" "I mean, please don't ...force her to do anything she doesn't want do." "You mean you don't want me to 'consummate' the marriage?" "Of course, but not until you truly love her and take her for what and who she is." "I don't think that's any of your business of how and when I plan to 'take' her." "Well I'm forced to remind you that rape is a sin." "You know as well as I do that all this holy mumbo jumbo is bullshit to me. Besides, I believe that rape doesn't exist between man and wife here." The woman lets out a jagged breath. "Nevertheless, the Lord sees and knows all. I've seen the way you look at her, you look as if you hate her. Just promise you won't hurt her" Riddick looks down for a moment. "I think it's time for you to go back to where you came from." The abbess goes to speak once more but Riddick holds up a hand to stop her. "Go."
The next day at the wedding, Gillian didn't bother with look semi- beautiful. She was wearing her black nun's suit, and Riddick felt annoyed by her outfit. 'She has no other clothes?' he thought as she stood by in front of the priest. His bride was not as tall a he thought. The top of her head reached to his chin. He watched it now, wondering about the hair that was hidden under the headpiece. Letting his gaze roll over her features he noticed just how beautiful she was. She had delicately arched brows over thick lashed eyes, creamy cheeks, and lips of the deepest rose. They were gently curved slightly. As soon as they said their 'I dos' Riddick turned to leave. "It's time to go." For a moment, Riddick stared after her as she stepped toward the doors, head held high, but then he turned his attention to the abbess. "Don't worry, I won't lay a hand on her." He said mockingly. "Now Mr. Riddick, Gillian is a very beautiful woman, plus God tells us to go fort and multiply." "That's not what you were saying last night." He reminded her with a scoff. "Last night?" The old woman appeared troubled. Riddick face grew puzzled. Looking from the old woman to Gillian who was boarding the ship he realized just what had happened, she pretended to be the abbess and beg for her own mercy. 'Oh she wants to play games. Okay, I can play too.'
Jarvis was far more polite than any other guy in the gang, and Riddick knew that Jarvis didn't approve of his little scheme, but what could he do? She was going to be his woman, and he had many years to make her pay for Hellax's folly. Gillian was her name. Riddick pictured her in his mind- a smaller, female version of Hellax, with his blue-black hair and the pasty white skin 'She was convent bred', Riddick thought with disdain. Once he got there he only had to look at the abbess, the head nun. She was small and crooked over and age had obviously taken its toll. "I wana marry her as soon as possible." Riddick said hiding his enthusiasm behind an unemotional expression. "But that's impossible Mr. Riddick." The abbess protested, her lined face easily showing her dismay. "Father Ted has gone to a convention in Lanka 3, and the nearest priest is in another town." "Jerome, go and find the priest, and have him here by tomorrow." Riddick orders abruptly. The man moved quickly, ducking past the 3 other women who had just entered. "Ah, Gillian," the abbess said, and Riddick felt a rush of excitement. All three women wore the black robes and they kept their faces lowered in a respectful conduct that made it hard to see their facial appearance. The only difference between them was the height of the one in the middle. She towered over the other two. Studying her closely, Riddick was shocked by her swift, sharp glimpse of interest as she and her companions filed in and took seats on a worn bench. "Gillian, dear, I have good news for you," the head nun said, once again the tall one lifted her head, her bright eyes shifting quickly toward the speaker. 'This can't be her!' Riddick thought. "The king has sent you a husband." The old man continued. "What? Why would the kind want anything with me?" "The king has told Mr. Riddick here that your uncle has died. You are to marry him and unite the lands your uncle left you." Gillian's gaze swept Riddick in a swift manner. "Marry?! Marry him!? He's a murderer." She spoke in disgust. "I don't kill anymore, not unless I have to." Riddick rumbles as he steps closer to her. Gillian's expression turns from shock to fear, she gets up and runs to the abbess. "What if I don't wana marry him." She cries. "You have no choice." Riddick says as he turns to her direction. She whirled toward him, and the other nuns rushed out to stop her, and murmured to her to stay calm. Shaking them off she walked forward unstill she stood directly in front of Riddick. "There's always choices, Mr. Riddick." She snapped, Riddick was amazed to stillness by the hostility flashing in those big green eyes. "First, call me Riddick. Second maybe there are choices but you have none. Your uncle only paid so much for you to stay here. I know you aren't really a nun, you just live here, and the only way you can stay here without paying is to join the convent. We both know you don't want that. So either you marry me or you're out on your ass." Gillian's eyes still flashed with the enmity that he was starting to like. She let out a loud huff before turning and running out of the room.
"Forgive her, Mr. Riddick." The abbess urged. "Gillian is impulsive, a bit head strong, but she will come around. She simply needs some time to get to know you." "Does she have a boyfriend or something? Something that makes her not wana leave?" "No, no, Mr. Riddick, I'm very sure Gillian has nothing holding her here." "She's stubborn, Mr. Riddick." One of the other nuns continued. "She's had a hard life." The head nun replied. "In a convent?" Riddick asked in disbelief. "After her father died, she and her mother were forced to live on the streets, and then her mother, too, passed away from starvation. She just stopped eating, anything they cold find to eat her mother gave to her so that Gillian wouldn't go to hungry." The abbess shook her head, then continued, "She was on her own at 15 years old. By the time she was 18 her uncle sent her to this convent and sent money for her to live." "Where was she from 15 to 18?" "She was a servant for a noble family here in New Mecca." Riddick snorts at the comment. "She's hardly a servant." He said 'yet' "She's a good girl Mr. Riddick, but the holy life, as you can see, isn't her cup of tea. Maybe she'll do better as a wife to someone of your statue."
Gillian rushed to the dorm where she slept, hysterically wondering how much time she had. She had never truly fit in here, she had no patience and commitment that was need to answer to a 'holy calling'. 'Too late', she thought. Life outside of these walls were chalk full of dangers. Poverty, starvation, filth, and horrors too evil to contemplate, and she knew all of them way too well. She already could feel her lungs closing up from the memories of her past, the memories that frightened her. Tossing the little stuff s he did have in a bag, Gillian yanked the door open and slipped out of the room. Walking down the hall she decided that the doorways might be watched, she then snuck to a window in a nearby room. She had to go before 'he' came for her. Long ago, she had dreamed of a family of her own, of a husband who didn't waste his money like her father did. A man who loved her and respected her as a person. Even then, she didn't think that someone as rich as Richard B. Riddick would be her husband. Gillian still couldn't believe that a poor lowly daughter to an unsuccessful man was to marry a murdering ex-convict, excuse her, an ex murdering convict. Tossing her stuff out the window and looks to see how it lands. Swallowing hard she positions herself to take the same plunge. The fall knocked the breath out of her, and Gillian lay on her back, gasping for air. Luckily, the grass was soft. That was when she saw him. He was standing a few feet from the top of her head, so that he looked upside down to her, and so close that she could have reached out to touch his boots. Laughing he said, "If you were trying to kill yourself you should have picked a higher window. I will have to bar the windows at the compound." He helps her up to her feet. "Now go back inside and rest, tomorrow you're gonna have the honor of marrying me." He smiles broadly; she can tell his eyes are sparkling behind the goggles. Her blood runs cold.
Lying in the guest room of the convent, Riddick thought of the vision he saw earlier that day. Thinking of her sprawled on the grass, some of her hair escaped from the headpiece. It was the color of molten lava. A deep red, and curly. Riddick wondered how it would look down. He had not been able to really see her yet. She did give him a little peek of her shapely calves. Her legs spread eagle. He groaned, as he shut his eyes. "Mr. Riddick?..." The voice broke into his thoughts, seemingly out of nowhere. Riddick's hand closes over his shiv and he jumps to a predatory stance. "No! Please, stay where you are, It's me, the abbess. I wanted to have a word with you privately." "What do you want?" "I don't know how quite to say this, It's about Gillian." "What is it!" he says annoyed. "Please don't treat her bad." "What?" "I mean, please don't ...force her to do anything she doesn't want do." "You mean you don't want me to 'consummate' the marriage?" "Of course, but not until you truly love her and take her for what and who she is." "I don't think that's any of your business of how and when I plan to 'take' her." "Well I'm forced to remind you that rape is a sin." "You know as well as I do that all this holy mumbo jumbo is bullshit to me. Besides, I believe that rape doesn't exist between man and wife here." The woman lets out a jagged breath. "Nevertheless, the Lord sees and knows all. I've seen the way you look at her, you look as if you hate her. Just promise you won't hurt her" Riddick looks down for a moment. "I think it's time for you to go back to where you came from." The abbess goes to speak once more but Riddick holds up a hand to stop her. "Go."
The next day at the wedding, Gillian didn't bother with look semi- beautiful. She was wearing her black nun's suit, and Riddick felt annoyed by her outfit. 'She has no other clothes?' he thought as she stood by in front of the priest. His bride was not as tall a he thought. The top of her head reached to his chin. He watched it now, wondering about the hair that was hidden under the headpiece. Letting his gaze roll over her features he noticed just how beautiful she was. She had delicately arched brows over thick lashed eyes, creamy cheeks, and lips of the deepest rose. They were gently curved slightly. As soon as they said their 'I dos' Riddick turned to leave. "It's time to go." For a moment, Riddick stared after her as she stepped toward the doors, head held high, but then he turned his attention to the abbess. "Don't worry, I won't lay a hand on her." He said mockingly. "Now Mr. Riddick, Gillian is a very beautiful woman, plus God tells us to go fort and multiply." "That's not what you were saying last night." He reminded her with a scoff. "Last night?" The old woman appeared troubled. Riddick face grew puzzled. Looking from the old woman to Gillian who was boarding the ship he realized just what had happened, she pretended to be the abbess and beg for her own mercy. 'Oh she wants to play games. Okay, I can play too.'