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Reviews:
NONE! Oh, I'm so sad… nobody reviewed chapter two.
Oh well, I'm sure there was a good reason. You guys are the best regardless.
-SQ
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Meryl laid her head back upon her pillow exhaustedly. Jack had fenced with her at least once every day since her arrival four days ago. To her it was a sport- another less-obvious game of keeping him at bay. But to him it seemed something completely different- it was Jack's only way of coming in close contact with the one woman, save for Elizabeth, on whom his charms had never worked. It was as if fencing was his way of wooing Meryl, though that in itself sounded ridiculous.
She sighed. Her arms and legs ached more as she tried to relax her body. Calluses adorned her slender hands where the hilt was constantly shifting within her grasp. Her feet ached, her back ached- Lord, even her mind ached!
The conversations they had while fighting were strangely intense. He badgered her constantly about her past occupation, alluding to it wryly whenever a certain parry drew their bodies against each other. She shivered.
Things were not exactly as they had been, though. If rumours proved correct, Jack had been living (and sleeping) with a young woman up until just recently. Now the girl (so called Lady Morgan Land) had relocated back to a smaller cabin, and her stateroom had been granted for Amber, Aletté and Anamaria to share.
Meryl was given Anamaria's cot in the room, and the latter was moved to her own cabin. So Jack wasn't technically living with Morgan, but it didn't change the fact that he was in love with her.
He loved her more than anyone else- that much was apparent. She was- to him- the air in his lungs, the blood in his veins, his very heart and soul. Meryl, on the other hand, was more like a locked box. The more he was around her, the more he wondered about her. She seemed, to him, the very essence of mystery, of something he had never had.
A knock resounded on the near piecemeal door. Amber rose and opened it, only to greet Jack, sword in hand, asking for Meryl.
"Ja-ack!" Meryl sighed. "Its past ten. Cant this wait 'til morning?"
He took her hand in his. "Follow me, m'lady." He lead her up on deck. The night was illuminated by a bright full moon that hung like a lantern in the warm night air. His sword drawn, he took a single pace backward. "Dance with me, luv." He smiled as he spoke.
She smiled back, drawing her own sword in excitement. They circled each other, blade upon blade. Suddenly Meryl began to sing tauntingly in a beautiful, high, keening voice.
"Oh you may doubt the strength I hold within this piece of flimsy metal, but I have the heart to level yours…" Her voice entwined itself with the rhythm of the swords and their breathing, their footsteps, and the waves as they broke.
He smiled and sang back, a song he knew better, yet still couldn't seem to remember the words to. "Mnedemednemdedmen, and really bad eggs…"
Meryl took an aggressive swing at him with her sword. Jack parried, shoving her back and causing her to loose her footing. He watched as she slipped fearfully over the side of the ship, sword and all. He stood for a moment in utter shock. Then, upon instinct, he dropped his sword and dove in expertly after her.
The water was dark, not bright enough to see by. He searched frantically for Meryl, seemingly a non-swimmer or otherwise just unconscious. Then suddenly he felt something other than the waters around him. It was Meryl's jacket. He grabbed the sleeve and dragged her up to the surface with him.
Jack slung his arm around her waist and pulled the pair of them out of the water, dropping Meryl onto the deck in order to catch his breath. He stared at her crumpled, unconscious form, a horrible suspicion beginning to rise within him. A pass of his hand over her mouth told him what he needed to know.
"Not breathing." He muttered to himself frantically. He tilted her head back slightly and placed his mouth upon hers, breathing into her lifeless lungs. She coughed a moment, then opened her eyes, spluttering and choking on the seawater that filled up where air should be.
Meryl rolled over to her front and gagged on the salt taste in her mouth. She felt dizzy. Jacks arms steadied her from behind.
"What happened?" She choked out.
He held her close to keep her from reeling over again. "You fell overboard, luv."
She frowned. "I know that! I mean… I can taste your breath on my lips, Jack. What happened?" She turned to face him.
"You weren't breathing." He assured her. "My intentions, Meryl, darling, were strictly honourable."
She laughed shakily. "Alright I believe you. Just never call me that again."
He stood up and offered her his hand. She took it, and he began to walk her still-trembling self back to her room. "Easy there, luv." He steadied her.
"Watch where your laying your fingers, Jack." Meryl warned. Then she stopped abruptly. "My sword!"
He sighed. "Apologies. I didn't have time to save that, too."
"It's alright." She conceded. "Thank you."
"I think young Mr. Turner may be able to locate you a new one, m'lady." He said tentatively. "Bit of an aficionado, really. Spends three hours each day practising. Savvy?"
She smiled. "Tell him I said he needs to find a girl." And with that, Meryl returned to her room. Jack stood there for a moment, staring after her, marvelling at the things he had only just learned about her. She seemed so different from the other women there, in that she wasn't looking for commitment, she was just looking for a good time. Fencing, to him, had become what wooing her had been before. Well, it was, though after tonight he couldn't blame her if she no longer took all too kindly to the sport.
Laying his lips upon hers but going no further had made him want her more than anyone else. Well, no, not more than Morgan, but almost.
The door creaked open again, except this time Aletté emerged. She jumped at the sight of Jack.
"Oh, Captain, I'm sorry…" She stammered, her cheeks flushing red. "I was just after a bit of fresh air."
He smiled at her devilishly. "Lets say we take some air together, aye?"
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