Chapter Four: A Curse More Terrible
"We're going where?" she asked incredulously.
"Port Royal, of course," Jack replied blithely.
She could have choked him then, and whistled joyfully while she did it. It was so hard for her to visit her former home. She felt she no longer belonged in the lives of the people there. Her mother was happily married to the governor, Will and Elizabeth had had a child, and for some reason Elizabeth seemed to despise her. She avoided Will--and he her--at all costs. She still had not quite forgiven him for what he had done to her, and any time they ran into each other the moment was awkward.
And the child...she shuddered. The moment she had laid eyes upon that babe she had known that he held no blood of Will's. He had features that she only too quickly identified, and she felt immensely uncomfortable every time she looked at him. She shuddered again.
"You can just stay on board the ship, love," Jack said, understanding her concern.
As tempted as she was, she shook her head. Her mother would be very insulted if her only daughter--her only child, come to think of it--was in the city and hadn't come to see her. Amara apparently didn't notice that Arianne felt very discomfited at the governor's household. She felt as though she were an intruder into her mother's new family, and she tended to get out as quickly as possible.
When she noticed that Jack was staring at her with some concern, she smiled and shrugged. "Well, I suppose it would be alright if we went to Port Royal...though I'm not sure how happy Elizabeth will be to see me."
"She'll be thrilled, love!"
Arianne looked at him, disbelief etched plainly on her face and he retracted the fals statement. "Alright, so she may not be delighted...but you'll get to see the ba--" he stopped himself, now remembering that she didn't much like the child either. "Bloody hell, woman, is there nothing about Port Royal you like?"
"Well, I very much like the manor that my mother left to us. In spite of the memories, it's a wonderful place to spend some time alone. And the crew can stay there with us if they so choose--just as long as they don't trash the place."
"Is that all?" he asked in disbelief, "Just the house?"
"Just the house. It's the only place in the city where I'm not being gawked at, avoided, hated, or intrusive."
"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't know you felt quite that strongly about going back to the place you lived most of your life."
"Jack, it's alright, we'll be gone by morning anyway," she said quickly, trying to get the look of slight depression off of his face. When he suddenly brightened, she was immediately wary.
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"Let's go to Port Royal after we've found the Fount, love!" he said, feeling like a child who knows he's about to get his heart's desire. He had decided that he didn't want to wait any longer than he had to to see this Fount. And perhaps to drink of it, a nagging voice whispered in the back of his mind. By the bearings the old man had given them, the fount should only be two weeks' travel.
"What?" she asked, confused. It was obvious that she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"We don't have to go there now, love, we can just keep sailing on until we reach the isle the old man told us about," he said softer, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Can you see it, love?" he whispered now. "Going back to Port Royal with the tale of this adventure? Perhaps with some of the water from the Fount itself?"
He was startled when she jerked away from him, her eyes wide with an emotion he could not quite name. "No," she said unexpectedly. Just that.
"No what?" he asked, confused.
"We'll not bring back any of the water, Jack."
"Why the hell not?" he shot back, unsure of what strange mood had suddenly taken over his love.
"Because it's sacred," she replied, and then her face took on a decidedly odd look--a look he liked not at all for she seemed as though she were someone else. "A curse more terrible than that you have known will follow should any of the waters be stolen. Such greed has been the downfall of many in the past, and the same will prove true for you should you follow your planned course of action." She stared at him a moment longer, that odd look still in her visage, and then she was suddenly Arianne again, looking slightly puzzled at the expression on Jack's face.
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She grew more and more uncomfortable as he scrutinized her. Why was he looking at her so oddly? She had only said that she didn't think they should bring any of the water back with them.
She felt as though she had just woken out of some half-dream, and had no recollection of her last ominous statement.
As she went to take her shift in the nest, she felt Jack's watchful eyes on her back, and it made her undeniably uncomfortable.
She sat up in the crow's nest as she did every day, and surveyed her realm. They had passed Port Royal some hours ago, to her immense relief, and now there was not so much as a smudge of land--or cloud--in sight. Ah, yes, her refuge. She had waived Cotton of his shift an hour or so ago, wanting to stay up here and think just a while longer. The slight gnaw of hunger in her belly had started a few minutes ago, but she ignored it as her thoughts wandered.
She found herself thinking of the image of a rocky outcrop of land, and it appeared so real to her that she immediately snapped out of her reverie, looking wildly about to make sure she had not failed in her duties. But no, the sky was still clear and there was nothing to be seen but water all around.
Reassured, she fell back to her meandering thoughts. Soon, the image of that same island came to her again, though it didn't seem quite as real as it had before. It seemed to be made entirely of rock, and as she came closer to it in her mind's eye, she found what appeared to be the mouth of a cave...
"Arianne!" came a distracting call from below. She tried to brush it off, wanting to see what was inside this cave, but the call came again, more insistent now, and when the call came a third time, the imaginary isle vanished from her vision.
************************
Just as he drew breath to call up to her yet again, she shouted down, "What do you want, Jack?"
He frowned slightly at the irritation he could hear in her voice. "I want you to come down, love, 'tis time to retire for the night. No use keeping a watch when it's bloody dark out."
Eventually, he heard her come down and slipped his arm around her waist when she was close enough that he could do so. She smiled at him, all annoyance seeming to have vanished, and put her arm around his waist as well, her hand sliding down to pinch him before taking its place on his hip. He grinned and returned the favor, making her squeak slightly in indignation.
Later, as they laid together in the dark, Arianne asleep with her head on his chest, he found himself unable to sleep. It had been a strange day. Omens came in threes, it was said--and he had cause to believe it. The dream that had left his beautiful eagle curled tightly in a ball, her body shaking. Her strange statements as though someone else was speaking through her. And then she had stayed in the nest the whole day, and had seemed rather irritated that he had called her down.
Come to think of it, he thought to himself with a yawn, she hadn't even answered him until he had called her name three times.
He had barely finished the thought before exhaustion dragged him under.
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Alrighty! I can't write when my mom's in here working, and as she works from home it makes it rather difficult to write hardly at all. But next week I will be back at Kevin's house, so perhaps I'll get more done!
Also, I would like to say that I THINK--think, mind you--that this story is going to be considerably shorter than Arianne. But I'm a terrible judge of length, especially so early in the writing, so who can say for sure?
"We're going where?" she asked incredulously.
"Port Royal, of course," Jack replied blithely.
She could have choked him then, and whistled joyfully while she did it. It was so hard for her to visit her former home. She felt she no longer belonged in the lives of the people there. Her mother was happily married to the governor, Will and Elizabeth had had a child, and for some reason Elizabeth seemed to despise her. She avoided Will--and he her--at all costs. She still had not quite forgiven him for what he had done to her, and any time they ran into each other the moment was awkward.
And the child...she shuddered. The moment she had laid eyes upon that babe she had known that he held no blood of Will's. He had features that she only too quickly identified, and she felt immensely uncomfortable every time she looked at him. She shuddered again.
"You can just stay on board the ship, love," Jack said, understanding her concern.
As tempted as she was, she shook her head. Her mother would be very insulted if her only daughter--her only child, come to think of it--was in the city and hadn't come to see her. Amara apparently didn't notice that Arianne felt very discomfited at the governor's household. She felt as though she were an intruder into her mother's new family, and she tended to get out as quickly as possible.
When she noticed that Jack was staring at her with some concern, she smiled and shrugged. "Well, I suppose it would be alright if we went to Port Royal...though I'm not sure how happy Elizabeth will be to see me."
"She'll be thrilled, love!"
Arianne looked at him, disbelief etched plainly on her face and he retracted the fals statement. "Alright, so she may not be delighted...but you'll get to see the ba--" he stopped himself, now remembering that she didn't much like the child either. "Bloody hell, woman, is there nothing about Port Royal you like?"
"Well, I very much like the manor that my mother left to us. In spite of the memories, it's a wonderful place to spend some time alone. And the crew can stay there with us if they so choose--just as long as they don't trash the place."
"Is that all?" he asked in disbelief, "Just the house?"
"Just the house. It's the only place in the city where I'm not being gawked at, avoided, hated, or intrusive."
"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't know you felt quite that strongly about going back to the place you lived most of your life."
"Jack, it's alright, we'll be gone by morning anyway," she said quickly, trying to get the look of slight depression off of his face. When he suddenly brightened, she was immediately wary.
************************
"Let's go to Port Royal after we've found the Fount, love!" he said, feeling like a child who knows he's about to get his heart's desire. He had decided that he didn't want to wait any longer than he had to to see this Fount. And perhaps to drink of it, a nagging voice whispered in the back of his mind. By the bearings the old man had given them, the fount should only be two weeks' travel.
"What?" she asked, confused. It was obvious that she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"We don't have to go there now, love, we can just keep sailing on until we reach the isle the old man told us about," he said softer, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Can you see it, love?" he whispered now. "Going back to Port Royal with the tale of this adventure? Perhaps with some of the water from the Fount itself?"
He was startled when she jerked away from him, her eyes wide with an emotion he could not quite name. "No," she said unexpectedly. Just that.
"No what?" he asked, confused.
"We'll not bring back any of the water, Jack."
"Why the hell not?" he shot back, unsure of what strange mood had suddenly taken over his love.
"Because it's sacred," she replied, and then her face took on a decidedly odd look--a look he liked not at all for she seemed as though she were someone else. "A curse more terrible than that you have known will follow should any of the waters be stolen. Such greed has been the downfall of many in the past, and the same will prove true for you should you follow your planned course of action." She stared at him a moment longer, that odd look still in her visage, and then she was suddenly Arianne again, looking slightly puzzled at the expression on Jack's face.
************************
She grew more and more uncomfortable as he scrutinized her. Why was he looking at her so oddly? She had only said that she didn't think they should bring any of the water back with them.
She felt as though she had just woken out of some half-dream, and had no recollection of her last ominous statement.
As she went to take her shift in the nest, she felt Jack's watchful eyes on her back, and it made her undeniably uncomfortable.
She sat up in the crow's nest as she did every day, and surveyed her realm. They had passed Port Royal some hours ago, to her immense relief, and now there was not so much as a smudge of land--or cloud--in sight. Ah, yes, her refuge. She had waived Cotton of his shift an hour or so ago, wanting to stay up here and think just a while longer. The slight gnaw of hunger in her belly had started a few minutes ago, but she ignored it as her thoughts wandered.
She found herself thinking of the image of a rocky outcrop of land, and it appeared so real to her that she immediately snapped out of her reverie, looking wildly about to make sure she had not failed in her duties. But no, the sky was still clear and there was nothing to be seen but water all around.
Reassured, she fell back to her meandering thoughts. Soon, the image of that same island came to her again, though it didn't seem quite as real as it had before. It seemed to be made entirely of rock, and as she came closer to it in her mind's eye, she found what appeared to be the mouth of a cave...
"Arianne!" came a distracting call from below. She tried to brush it off, wanting to see what was inside this cave, but the call came again, more insistent now, and when the call came a third time, the imaginary isle vanished from her vision.
************************
Just as he drew breath to call up to her yet again, she shouted down, "What do you want, Jack?"
He frowned slightly at the irritation he could hear in her voice. "I want you to come down, love, 'tis time to retire for the night. No use keeping a watch when it's bloody dark out."
Eventually, he heard her come down and slipped his arm around her waist when she was close enough that he could do so. She smiled at him, all annoyance seeming to have vanished, and put her arm around his waist as well, her hand sliding down to pinch him before taking its place on his hip. He grinned and returned the favor, making her squeak slightly in indignation.
Later, as they laid together in the dark, Arianne asleep with her head on his chest, he found himself unable to sleep. It had been a strange day. Omens came in threes, it was said--and he had cause to believe it. The dream that had left his beautiful eagle curled tightly in a ball, her body shaking. Her strange statements as though someone else was speaking through her. And then she had stayed in the nest the whole day, and had seemed rather irritated that he had called her down.
Come to think of it, he thought to himself with a yawn, she hadn't even answered him until he had called her name three times.
He had barely finished the thought before exhaustion dragged him under.
***********************************************************************
Alrighty! I can't write when my mom's in here working, and as she works from home it makes it rather difficult to write hardly at all. But next week I will be back at Kevin's house, so perhaps I'll get more done!
Also, I would like to say that I THINK--think, mind you--that this story is going to be considerably shorter than Arianne. But I'm a terrible judge of length, especially so early in the writing, so who can say for sure?
