Chapter 15: A Day at Sea
Arianne stood on the deck, the sea breeze blowing strands of hair out of her long braid, the ship rocking beneath her sure feet. She was loving every second of this. Will stood next to her smiling, his hand resting lightly on hers. What could be better than this? she asked herself. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she squeezed tightly, then thought of ways to make it all even better. For starters, she wished Amos hadn't been the sole reason she had met Will (though, perversely she was grateful to him, if only for that); secondly, she wished that she was out here for the pleasure of it, rather than running away from something. She hated running away. Sighing, she leaned against Will, closing her eyes, feeling the salty spray hit her face, and putting all negative thoughts from her mind.
Will had told her this morning that her wounds were looking much better already. They had been shallow, so they shouldn't take long to heal, and wouldn't leave much in the way of scars. She was glad there wouldn't be very noticeable scars. She didn't want Will to have to look at scars every time they made love.though they hadn't yet, and she dearly wanted to. She didn't even know if he felt the same way. For all she knew, he thought of her as a younger sister he'd never had, and only cared so tenderly for her because of that. She forced this thought from her mind as well.
"Oy!" came the familiar voice.
Turning around simultaneously, Will and Arianne saw Jack coming towards them. As comfortable as Arianne was at sea, she didn't think she could run across the rocking ship just yet.
"Arianne, do ye think ye're up for a spot of climbing?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know, depends on what kind of climbing I'm going to have to do," she replied.
"Can you climb up to the crow's nest and keep watch? The man that normally does it came down with a bit of cold, and he can't see anything when he has a cold."
Arianne thought it over, and glanced sideways at Will. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll do it," she said. Jack pointed out where it was she needed to go, and she walked away from Jack and Will at a leisurely pace. She considered trotting, but thought the better of it. She would be horribly embarrassed if she were to fall in front of the entire crew. Not to mention Will.
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Will watched Arianne until she was out of sight. Turning to Jack, he said with a lifted eyebrow, "He's not sick."
"Well, er.no," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Will relented, smiling. "Thanks for giving her something to make her feel useful. Though I'd love to be with her all day, I fear she'd get rather bored."
Jack smiled back. "I have a job for you too," he grinned evilly. Will looked warily at him. "Time to scrub the latrines, matey!"
Will groaned. "You have to be joking, Jack," he started. Jack stopped him with a gesture.
"The latrines don't clean themselves, you know!" Jack said and walked off, whistling jauntily.
"He wouldn't make Arianne scrub the latrines," Will muttered with a long-suffering sigh, and went to work.
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She stared up at the brilliant blue sky. She was going to be dreadfully burnt after this day, she knew it. Ah well. This was a perfect spot to see everything, albeit "everything" was a whole lot of water. They were already considerably far away from the shore, so far that Arianne couldn't even make out a dark line on the water that signified land. Seeing nothing but the water that waved a bit in the breeze, she looked down at the deck, trying to find Will. Not seeing him, she wondered where he was.
She squashed the unreasoning panic that set her heart to jumping. Amos was nowhere near here. He was all the way back on the island. He couldn't hurt her here. Forcing herself to relax, she reasoned that perhaps Jack had found a job for Will to do as well. Honestly, Arianne didn't mind being up in the crow's nest at all. She was far enough above that she couldn't hear much of the noise from below, and she could think things through.
Wind whipped her hair about her face, and she resolved to wear a scarf tightly about her head next time she came up here. Maybe Jack would have one to spare? Or maybe she could talk to the one other female crew member there was on board. She would have to ask Will for an introduction. Arianne realized she probably would want other female companionship every so often. All these men! Of course, she liked men (most of them, at any rate), but she loved Will, loved him with all her heart.
Or did she really? she pondered. Could it possibly be that she thought she loved him because he was so different from all the other stuffed peacocks in the city? She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. Jack was different too, even more dramatically so. She didn't feel so intensely about him, though she cared deeply for him as a friend. Sighing, Arianne took a quick look around, making sure there were no ships approaching. This done, she propped her elbows on the rim of the basket that was called the crow's nest.
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The only thing that was getting Will through this hideous stench was his round cursing of Jack. He could cheerfully have throttled the man at the moment. Trying to breathe as little as possible, Will moved on to the next section, fantasizing about all the tortures he would love to visit upon Captain Jack Sparrow.
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Eventually she noticed that there wasn't any noise except the noises of the ship, water leaping against the sides, and the wind blowing through the sails. There weren't any birds to be found. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a bird all day. Then she felt rather dumb. What would birds be doing so far from land anyway? They didn't have much of anything to eat out here. Sure, seagulls and pelicans ate fish and such, but they never ventured so far out they wouldn't have a place to land or nest. She missed the birds.
Sighing, she checked for more ships, and thought to check the sky as well. There was a small smudge of grey far in the distance, but it didn't seem to be approaching very quickly, if at all. So far, that was the first sign of anything ever since she'd been up here.
Glancing at her shadow, Arianne realized it was likely early evening. She couldn't believe she'd been up here the whole afternoon! She winced, knowing how much her face and arms were going to hurt tonight. At least this was the worst of the burns. She wouldn't peel or blister much, the redness would simply fade to a nice shade of brown.
A loud growl startled her for a moment until she realized that it was her stomach. She was absolutely starving. Sighing again, she wondered when exactly she would be relieved of duty so she could eat. In fact, she found herself concentrating more and more on the coming meal as she checked for bad weather and other ships.
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Will finally finished. He was filthy. Growling to himself, he went and grabbed a bar of rough soap, and drew up some seawater to rid himself of at least some of the stink. He didn't want to go to bed tonight reeking of piss and shit, especially since he shared a cabin with Arianne.
Jack came to him just as he'd dressed after scrubbing himself raw with the lye soap to rid himself of the stink. He still smelled it, and hoped it was simply just his imagination.
"Grub time, matey," Jack said, winking at Will. Will just glared. "Would ye like to call Arianne down from the nest? She's like to be starving now," he said and moved on.
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Just when she began to think she'd never be allowed to come down, Will poked his head through the little trapdoor and told her it was time for supper. At the look of relief on her face, he grinned. "Don't look at me like that, I had to clean out the latrines today!"
Arianne made a face of disgust at him, and followed him down the ladder and to Jack's cabin, where they were to eat this evening. Upon their arrival, Jack beckoned for them to sit. They did, and Arianne was startled to see the anger in Will's expression as they sat. Then she remembered that he'd had to clean the latrines and understood. She hoped and prayed that she would never have to. After having been down there once or twice today, she'd made up her mind not to visit them more often than was absolutely necessary.
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After a pleasant supper of a surprisingly delicious beef stew, Will and Arianne retired to their cabin, exhausted. Upon entering, Arianne started laughing. Will stared at her, confused, and she slowly got herself under control, though she couldn't seem to stop smiling. "What is it?" he asked.
"N-nothing," she said, choking down the laughter that bubbled up inside her again.
"No, really, tell me!"
"He made you clean the latrines," she said and was lost in a fit of giggles. Will glowered at her for a few moments, but eventually started smiling as she laid on one of the beds, breathless and clutching her ribs.
"Does it hurt?" he asked Arianne as she lay there panting.
"I'll live," she replied.
"I think we should change the bandages again and put some more of that salve on there, what do you think?" he asked, knowing she was covering up more than she let on.
"Oh that would be heavenly!" she replied, relief evident in her voice.
Later, they lay on their respective beds, talking to each other a bit before they went to sleep. Will was just drifting off when Arianne said, "Will?"
"Hrmm?" he mumbled sleepily.
"I love you," she whispered so softly he almost didn't catch it. But then it didn't matter, because he was deeply asleep.
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Alright, I hope this makes up for the last chapter.upon further reflection I decided I hated that chapter. -.-'
Arianne stood on the deck, the sea breeze blowing strands of hair out of her long braid, the ship rocking beneath her sure feet. She was loving every second of this. Will stood next to her smiling, his hand resting lightly on hers. What could be better than this? she asked herself. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she squeezed tightly, then thought of ways to make it all even better. For starters, she wished Amos hadn't been the sole reason she had met Will (though, perversely she was grateful to him, if only for that); secondly, she wished that she was out here for the pleasure of it, rather than running away from something. She hated running away. Sighing, she leaned against Will, closing her eyes, feeling the salty spray hit her face, and putting all negative thoughts from her mind.
Will had told her this morning that her wounds were looking much better already. They had been shallow, so they shouldn't take long to heal, and wouldn't leave much in the way of scars. She was glad there wouldn't be very noticeable scars. She didn't want Will to have to look at scars every time they made love.though they hadn't yet, and she dearly wanted to. She didn't even know if he felt the same way. For all she knew, he thought of her as a younger sister he'd never had, and only cared so tenderly for her because of that. She forced this thought from her mind as well.
"Oy!" came the familiar voice.
Turning around simultaneously, Will and Arianne saw Jack coming towards them. As comfortable as Arianne was at sea, she didn't think she could run across the rocking ship just yet.
"Arianne, do ye think ye're up for a spot of climbing?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know, depends on what kind of climbing I'm going to have to do," she replied.
"Can you climb up to the crow's nest and keep watch? The man that normally does it came down with a bit of cold, and he can't see anything when he has a cold."
Arianne thought it over, and glanced sideways at Will. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll do it," she said. Jack pointed out where it was she needed to go, and she walked away from Jack and Will at a leisurely pace. She considered trotting, but thought the better of it. She would be horribly embarrassed if she were to fall in front of the entire crew. Not to mention Will.
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Will watched Arianne until she was out of sight. Turning to Jack, he said with a lifted eyebrow, "He's not sick."
"Well, er.no," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Will relented, smiling. "Thanks for giving her something to make her feel useful. Though I'd love to be with her all day, I fear she'd get rather bored."
Jack smiled back. "I have a job for you too," he grinned evilly. Will looked warily at him. "Time to scrub the latrines, matey!"
Will groaned. "You have to be joking, Jack," he started. Jack stopped him with a gesture.
"The latrines don't clean themselves, you know!" Jack said and walked off, whistling jauntily.
"He wouldn't make Arianne scrub the latrines," Will muttered with a long-suffering sigh, and went to work.
********************************
She stared up at the brilliant blue sky. She was going to be dreadfully burnt after this day, she knew it. Ah well. This was a perfect spot to see everything, albeit "everything" was a whole lot of water. They were already considerably far away from the shore, so far that Arianne couldn't even make out a dark line on the water that signified land. Seeing nothing but the water that waved a bit in the breeze, she looked down at the deck, trying to find Will. Not seeing him, she wondered where he was.
She squashed the unreasoning panic that set her heart to jumping. Amos was nowhere near here. He was all the way back on the island. He couldn't hurt her here. Forcing herself to relax, she reasoned that perhaps Jack had found a job for Will to do as well. Honestly, Arianne didn't mind being up in the crow's nest at all. She was far enough above that she couldn't hear much of the noise from below, and she could think things through.
Wind whipped her hair about her face, and she resolved to wear a scarf tightly about her head next time she came up here. Maybe Jack would have one to spare? Or maybe she could talk to the one other female crew member there was on board. She would have to ask Will for an introduction. Arianne realized she probably would want other female companionship every so often. All these men! Of course, she liked men (most of them, at any rate), but she loved Will, loved him with all her heart.
Or did she really? she pondered. Could it possibly be that she thought she loved him because he was so different from all the other stuffed peacocks in the city? She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. Jack was different too, even more dramatically so. She didn't feel so intensely about him, though she cared deeply for him as a friend. Sighing, Arianne took a quick look around, making sure there were no ships approaching. This done, she propped her elbows on the rim of the basket that was called the crow's nest.
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The only thing that was getting Will through this hideous stench was his round cursing of Jack. He could cheerfully have throttled the man at the moment. Trying to breathe as little as possible, Will moved on to the next section, fantasizing about all the tortures he would love to visit upon Captain Jack Sparrow.
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Eventually she noticed that there wasn't any noise except the noises of the ship, water leaping against the sides, and the wind blowing through the sails. There weren't any birds to be found. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a bird all day. Then she felt rather dumb. What would birds be doing so far from land anyway? They didn't have much of anything to eat out here. Sure, seagulls and pelicans ate fish and such, but they never ventured so far out they wouldn't have a place to land or nest. She missed the birds.
Sighing, she checked for more ships, and thought to check the sky as well. There was a small smudge of grey far in the distance, but it didn't seem to be approaching very quickly, if at all. So far, that was the first sign of anything ever since she'd been up here.
Glancing at her shadow, Arianne realized it was likely early evening. She couldn't believe she'd been up here the whole afternoon! She winced, knowing how much her face and arms were going to hurt tonight. At least this was the worst of the burns. She wouldn't peel or blister much, the redness would simply fade to a nice shade of brown.
A loud growl startled her for a moment until she realized that it was her stomach. She was absolutely starving. Sighing again, she wondered when exactly she would be relieved of duty so she could eat. In fact, she found herself concentrating more and more on the coming meal as she checked for bad weather and other ships.
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Will finally finished. He was filthy. Growling to himself, he went and grabbed a bar of rough soap, and drew up some seawater to rid himself of at least some of the stink. He didn't want to go to bed tonight reeking of piss and shit, especially since he shared a cabin with Arianne.
Jack came to him just as he'd dressed after scrubbing himself raw with the lye soap to rid himself of the stink. He still smelled it, and hoped it was simply just his imagination.
"Grub time, matey," Jack said, winking at Will. Will just glared. "Would ye like to call Arianne down from the nest? She's like to be starving now," he said and moved on.
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Just when she began to think she'd never be allowed to come down, Will poked his head through the little trapdoor and told her it was time for supper. At the look of relief on her face, he grinned. "Don't look at me like that, I had to clean out the latrines today!"
Arianne made a face of disgust at him, and followed him down the ladder and to Jack's cabin, where they were to eat this evening. Upon their arrival, Jack beckoned for them to sit. They did, and Arianne was startled to see the anger in Will's expression as they sat. Then she remembered that he'd had to clean the latrines and understood. She hoped and prayed that she would never have to. After having been down there once or twice today, she'd made up her mind not to visit them more often than was absolutely necessary.
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After a pleasant supper of a surprisingly delicious beef stew, Will and Arianne retired to their cabin, exhausted. Upon entering, Arianne started laughing. Will stared at her, confused, and she slowly got herself under control, though she couldn't seem to stop smiling. "What is it?" he asked.
"N-nothing," she said, choking down the laughter that bubbled up inside her again.
"No, really, tell me!"
"He made you clean the latrines," she said and was lost in a fit of giggles. Will glowered at her for a few moments, but eventually started smiling as she laid on one of the beds, breathless and clutching her ribs.
"Does it hurt?" he asked Arianne as she lay there panting.
"I'll live," she replied.
"I think we should change the bandages again and put some more of that salve on there, what do you think?" he asked, knowing she was covering up more than she let on.
"Oh that would be heavenly!" she replied, relief evident in her voice.
Later, they lay on their respective beds, talking to each other a bit before they went to sleep. Will was just drifting off when Arianne said, "Will?"
"Hrmm?" he mumbled sleepily.
"I love you," she whispered so softly he almost didn't catch it. But then it didn't matter, because he was deeply asleep.
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Alright, I hope this makes up for the last chapter.upon further reflection I decided I hated that chapter. -.-'