~*~
Chapter Five
Storm on the Sands
~*~
The sky dawned scarlet the next morning, a sure warning of the inevitable. Serenity stood on the beach next to Grandpa Joe, an old African man that worked for her father on occasion. Grandpa Joe had a touch with fish, and he had gone to the beach to scrounge up some dinner for the family and their occupants. In a few hours Serenity would have to go back and dress for work, but she pushed the thoughts of the Swann family back in her head as she knead her toes into the sand. The air was thick as plate glass, but it seemed as if one loud noise would shatter the feeling like a bullet through a window, unleashing the fury of the storm upon Port Royale. A wave rode up on the beach, crashing into the ships that were lashed to the dock, but otherwise the ocean was flat as a pond on a midsummer's evening. Far out to sea, a whitecap crested and then disappeared.
"It's a big one," said Grandpa Joe in that wheezing voice of his as he reeled in a trout and dropped it into a bucket. "Fury of Heaven and Hell, this one."
"Have you seen many storms like this?"
"Only one other," he said, the fishing pole still. "Sky was even redder than it is yonder."
Serenity exhaled and walked closer to the surf. It lapped up on her toes, washing the sand away. A fragile seashell crunched beneath her foot as she took another step in, accidentally dragging the hem of her skirt in the waves. But, she let it stay. The Caribbean salt water was cool on her feet, contrasting with the already warm sand. A ray of sun broke through the brilliant red clouds, and then disappeared. The sun did not show again for many hours.
The occupants of the Inn were swarming around, helping to nail boards over windows and closing shutters and bringing in water so that they wouldn't have to go outside for it in the storm. That is, every occupant except Daniel, who was walking along the empty dock like he was some kind of guard dog in a hangover. He couldn't remember the last night, but then, how many times had he had that feeling? He was accustomed to it.
Once more he looked out to sea, his sharp dark eyes scanning the red horizon for a bump on the sea that might be a ship. Blasted storm. Why had it come now, when he needed the sea on its best behavior?
But storm or no, the sea was as empty as the rum bottle in his hand, and there was nothing that Daniel could do about it.
~*~
Meanwhile, at the home of the governor, preparations were being made much like they were being made at the Inn. Candles and boxes of matches were being arranged together on every surface, and oil was being stored away so that they could use it in the darkest hour. Elizabeth viewed the business from above, from her bedroom window, watching down like a queen looking upon her many subjects. The countless servants in the governor's employ were going about with worried looks on their faces. A part of their anxiety reached Elizabeth, and she searched in vain for something at her house to do. When she couldn't find anything, she decided to call on her cousins. Their angelic sweetness always had a special place inside Elizabeth's heart.
It was around nine in the morning when Elizabeth arrived at her aunt's home. The windows were already boarded up, and servants were going about their daily routine, glancing up at the sky every few minutes.
"Hello, Elizabeth," greeted her aunt warmly. "I haven't seen you in a while, I've been so busy, there's just no time to call!"
"I know," said Elizabeth. "May I see my cousins?"
"They're in a lesson, but I'm sure it can be arranged, my dear. Come with me." Her aunt led her into the study, where four people occupied the room instead of three. Elizabeth looked at the new person: a girl, a strangely familiar girl, who rose gracefully to her feet and dropped a curtsy as Elizabeth appeared.
"Hello, Elisa, Christa," said Elizabeth happily as she knelt down to hug her cousins, but her eyes strayed to the stranger, who was looking down at the floor. "You must be the new governess," said Elizabeth to the girl, whose eyes then rose to meet hers. Elizabeth was shocked into remembering where she had seen the girl- that was the woman that will had been seeing at the smithies shop!
"Yes, m'lady," she answered, addressing Elizabeth as the servants did but meeting her eyes like an equal.
"What is your name?" Elizabeth demanded.
"Serenity Williams," she replied promptly, adding as an afterthought, "M'lady."
Elizabeth graced Serenity with a tight smile and then turned back to her two cousins. Serenity stepped back and sat down, watching the way Elizabeth interacted with the two girls. She was kneeling down to meet them, but they were still much shorter than she was. Elizabeth asked them various questions about their schoolwork and how they were doing, nothing out of the ordinary. She then turned back to Serenity, an unreadable expression in her eyes. If Serenity had been daft and dumb, she would have labeled the strange expression as jealousy, maybe sadness, but then what would the governor's daughter have to be jealous about a young girl that worked in her father's inn?
"Good day," she said, her words edged with iciness. The lesson then resumed for the two girls, and Elizabeth went to speak with her aunt.
~*~
The winds started to howl as Serenity was leaving work. Fat drops of rain fell from the sky at random as she continued down the road, the water changing the dirt to mud. She tried her best to keep her shoes clean as she walked down towards the inn.
However, she was distracted by a lone figure standing on the beach before the raging waves. Daniel, thought Serenity, panicked. Ignore him. He doesn't deserve to be acknowledged. But something pulled her towards the sailor, a mix of curiosity and a strange longing. The kiss that Daniel had forced on her last night had been the first kiss that she had received in a long time, and even if it was from a drunken fool, it was still, nevertheless, a kiss. She walked silently down the road towards him, her cloak blowing behind her in the wind. Her hands rose to her throat to keep her hood on against the wind as the rain fell faster, in sheets.
Daniel heard her. He just didn't want to turn around. He let Serenity come up on him until he could feel her breath on his neck, which was unprotected from the weather. His hair blew around his face, not long enough to reach his shoulders, but long enough for the wind to play with it. In the hours that he had stood hoping for the same wind to carry the ship to him, he had gained a vague recollection of what he had done in his drunkenness the last night. He didn't regret it- he spent more times drunk than sober, so who he was when he was drunk was who he was most of the time. Live with it.
"Daniel," said Serenity. Her voice shook slightly, causing Daniel to smile. She was afraid of him. She had no reason to be afraid- she didn't know that he could pick her up by her shoulders and throw her out to sea to drown in those waves if he really wanted to. But her voice was shaking still, and he knew enough of what had happened the last night to know that that was the reason she was nervous.
"Serenity," he replied a moment later in kind. "Nice weather we're having…?"
"Daniel," she said again, more in control of her voice than she had been before. "I need to know some things. I need to know them now, so please do me the courtesy of giving me straight answers this time. I'm not here to play games with you. I just need to know."
"Shoot," he said.
"What do you have against William Turner, why are you here in Port Royale, what are you doing standing on the dock when a hurricane's fury is going to rain down on us any moment, and why did you kiss me last night?" Serenity fired at him.
"Let's see," said Daniel, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "William Turner is a prat, I'm here on business, enjoying the lovely view, and you're such a pretty girl, Serenity," Daniel leaned in real close, close enough so that Serenity could see the pores on his nose, "I just couldn't resist."
Serenity would have slapped Daniel at that moment but she knew that it wouldn't hurt him. It seemed like nothing ever did.
"How about now," said Serenity, leaning a millimeter closer, "How about you tell me the truth now?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Serenity," Daniel said. "I don't think you could handle it."
"You might be surprised at what I can handle."
"Could you handle another kiss?"
Serenity gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't enjoy it."
"I don't need you to enjoy it," Daniel said, opening his eyes wide in mock innocence.
"Then what do you need?" she bit back at him.
Daniel smirked at her and sauntered off the dock and down the street towards the inn. Serenity stayed on the dock until he was out of sight, the wind blowing her hair around her face, her skin wet with rain and tears.