(This is the last part of 'The Storm' segment!)
Ruby Of the Sea
Chapter 6
The Storm
Part III
At about the part in the story when the storm began, the storm outside the house also commenced. Nicole shuddered and scooted closer to Ruby.
All the time Ruby was telling the tale, she kept her eyes on the fire before them. If she felt any emotion, she buried it and continued.
In the end, after Captain Jack's storm had ended, Nicole had sighed, glanced at the window, and wished that their own storm could end just as nicely.
The day continued, afterwards, with nothing altogether unusual happening that might have happened during any other storm, but Nicole found it unbearable.
"I wish Captain Jack were here..." She whispered, embracing Ruby's middle in a childish gesture.
Ruby looked down at Nicole, humor dancing in her eyes, "And what would you ask of him, little one?"
Nicole frowned at Ruby for a moment before answering matter-of-factly that she would ask him to drive away the storm.
Ruby smiled down at Nicole. "Who has declared that I cannot drive away a storm just as well as Captain Jack Sparrow?"
Nicole laughed, "You're not a pirate captain! You're not even a sailor."
"I may not be a captain, nor a pirate, but you'd better bet your life that I'm a sailor." Ruby lowered her head so that she was even with Nicole. "Now I'm going to tell you something that I've never told anyone. My father was a merchant sailor, and I was born at sea."
Nicole smiled at this new revelation of her sister's, and Ruby continued.
"But one day my father fell deathly ill, and the first mate steered." Ruby shook her head. "My father was a fool to let that man behind the wheel. He ran us against rocks. Our ship was ruined, but the entire crew escaped with their lives and nothing more. My father then became so ill and frail that he could no longer sail.
"My family then moved to the shore. I didn't like it, and when my father and mother both died-" Ruby faltered, "No...that's enough." She looked away.
Nicole was silent, and then jumped out of Ruby's lap. A clash of lightning caused Nicole to fall forward in terror, and she clutched at her head.
Ruby laughed, and then took Nicole back up into her arms.
"Come along, Nicole. I see that you cannot stand the storm. If you'd like, I could drive it away."
Nicole looked back up at her sister, fear quaking in her eyes.
Ruby laughed again. "Come now, I won't be hurt."
Ruby walked up the main stairs, Nicole still trembling, and told her not to be afraid. "Jack wasn't afraid of any storm." Ruby reminded her.
"No," Nicole admitted, "He wasn't."
"Then neither shall we." Ruby said staunchly.
When they arrived in Ruby's room, Ruby placed Nicole on her bed, opened the door that led out onto her balcony, and then, with one last smile at Nicole, went into the raging storm.
From the downy comforter, Nicole could not hear what it was that Ruby shouted out into the storm, but she wished that she could have.
To Ruby it seemed that the storm did not at first heed her challenge, but after a few moments, it was as though it had finally realized that she was not jesting, and then it put up a fight.
It howled and it bit, it clawed and tore just as much as it had Sparrow, but still Ruby did not move. She stared straight ahead. Lightning struck at near-by tree. "Are you trying to scare me?" She laughed into the winds. The Storm responded by taking about five tiles from the roof of the house, and hurling them at Ruby.
Ruby ignored them as they landed at least three feet behind her, and shattered as they hit the ground. But to poor Nicole, who watched warily from inside, they seemed terrors that could have hit her beloved sister.
The icy rain began to pour down more heavily than it had before, and with it came small, sharp ice.
The rain did not bother Ruby, but the ice cut her and she was forced to turn her head, lest they sting her eyes. But after only a few minutes, the sky was absent of more of the ice-thorns, and it nearly stopped raining.
As the wind quipped her hair about her face, Ruby laughed. It was deep, though scorning, and caused Nicole to catch her breath.
The Storm had done its best, but had failed.
It had failed pitifully.
"Leave now!" Ruby said scornfully, "You've done you best, but it was not enough! I am the victor!"
The Storm howled a bit more, expending what strength it had left.
"Leave!" Ruby commanded, lifting her right palm to the sky.
Ruby's left sleeve fell again, just as it had while Nicole had been ill, only this time, it fell lower, revealing a bold, capital 'P'.
Nicole cupped a hand over her mouth.
"You're a pirate!"
Ruby kept her shoulders still, but twisted her beck to look at Nicole. Ruby's eyes, filled with surprise and shock, met Nicole's eyes, brimming with tears of terror and disbelief.
"Nicole-" Ruby began, but she had not the time to continue, because in a departing gesture, the Storm had hurled one last tile at Ruby, just as a scoundrel would hurl one last insult at one who he may have escaped from.
"Ruby!" Nicole screamed, as the tile hit Ruby just behind her ear.
Nicole watched unbelievingly as the scene played forth as though in slow-motion. Just as the tile hit Ruby, it shattered into pieces, and Ruby crumpled to the ground unconscious.
Her body acting while her mind went numb, Nicole raced to her sister's side, and drug her in.
As she tugged at her sister's arms, Nicole shouted out something that sounded vaguely like: 'Mother! Father! Get a doctor!'
Mr. and Mrs. Louis hurried into the room, and when they saw Ruby lying unconscious on the floor, Mr. Louis quickly scooped Ruby into his arms, and carried her out of the bedroom.
He shouted instructions to several maids as he headed towards the sick room near the front of the house, followed by anxious Nicole and fretful Mrs. Louis.
Mr. Louis headed out the door and was followed by Ms. Louis, but Nicole stayed by Ruby's side.
Nicole wasn't sure how long she had been by Ruby's side, before the doctor came into the sick room, but even when he had, she refused to leave.
After nearly an hour of examining his unconscious victim, the doctor left to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Louis. Nicole deemed that Ruby would be fine if she only left for a small period of time, and silently followed the doctor into the sitting room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Louis," The doctor began, looking troubled, "it is my wish to be honest with you, and now I honestly tell you that this girl may not live through the night."
Mrs. Louis gasped, and Mr. Louis put an arm about her shoulders as the doctor continued, "She has been hit there before, and the scull is cracked. Thankfully, it isn't putting pressure on her brain, but it isn't giving any protection to what may strike her either."
Then for a few moments, silence reigned. Nicole looked away from the doctor, tears brimming in her eyes, and threatening to overflow.
Nicole was slightly surprised when she heard Ruby whimper softly in the sick room. Nicole immediately picked up her skirts, and ran to her sister's side.
"Ruby? Ruby! Are you awake? Are you alright? Ruby, please wake up!" Nicole cried, kneeling next to the bed.
Ruby opened her eyes, but they were unfocused, and drowsy. "Pearl..." she whispered.
"Pearl...?" Nicole wondered, as she stretched a hand forth, and placed it gently on Ruby's forehead. Nicole drew her hand back quickly. It was surprisingly hot.
Just then, Miss Landers passed by.
"Landers!" Nicole called, "Get me a basin of cool water, and a rag!"
The maid nodded, and hurried off.
Mr. Louis, Mrs. Louis, and the doctor came back into the room as Nicole smoothed Ruby's covers in a nervous, helpless gesture.
Ruby stared at the ceiling, and then murmured several other words, none of which made sense, and then whispered the word "Jack"
"Jack?" Mr. Louis asked, "Who is Jack?"
Nicole bit the inside of her lower lip. She dare not reply that Jack was a pirate captain!
"Dobson's first name is Jack!" Mrs. Louis exclaimed, "But I can't imagine how she ever found out. The girl wasn't in the same room with the lad for over thirty minutes!"
"She may have become delirious." The doctor offered, "It is relatively common among cases such as these."
"Well, I'm not taking any chances." Mrs. Louis replied.
At that same time, Miss Landers entered the room again, carrying the bowl and a towel. She set it near Ruby's bed, next to Nicole, and then curtsied as she prepared to leave the room.
"Landers!" Mrs. Louis called.
"Yes, 'm lady?"
"Do you know if the Quonqirador is in the port?"
"No, mum. No ship's entered th port since th storm. She'll be back tomorrow, though, if the weather stays clear."
After a few words of thanks to the doctor, and his bill being paid, he left the house.
Soon after that, everyone prepared for bed, except for Nicole. She was determined to stay by her sister.
"I'll call you immediately if she wakes up or anything else happens." Nicole promised, as Mr. and Mrs. Louis left the sick room to go to bed.
"Alright, dear. But remember, if you get too tired, you can always have one of the maids look after her for you."
"I would never do that." Nicole whispered when she and Ruby were the only persons left in the room.
"Captain...?" Ruby murmured as past and present meshed together in her mind's eye.
As reality faded into memory, Ruby began speaking.
Nicole leaned in to catch her sister's words, and found that she was telling more of the tale of Jack Sparrow.
----------------------------------------------- I'm so mean! Grin
Pirateprincess91: Honestly, I don't have any idea where that thing came from. It just seemed right. 0.o; Yes, everything will be revealed in the end!
Many things will be revealed in the next chapter! Also, perhaps you should be fearing for Jack's survival. Why you ask? Next chapter will tell! I'm so evil. Grin
Ruby Of the Sea
Chapter 6
The Storm
Part III
At about the part in the story when the storm began, the storm outside the house also commenced. Nicole shuddered and scooted closer to Ruby.
All the time Ruby was telling the tale, she kept her eyes on the fire before them. If she felt any emotion, she buried it and continued.
In the end, after Captain Jack's storm had ended, Nicole had sighed, glanced at the window, and wished that their own storm could end just as nicely.
The day continued, afterwards, with nothing altogether unusual happening that might have happened during any other storm, but Nicole found it unbearable.
"I wish Captain Jack were here..." She whispered, embracing Ruby's middle in a childish gesture.
Ruby looked down at Nicole, humor dancing in her eyes, "And what would you ask of him, little one?"
Nicole frowned at Ruby for a moment before answering matter-of-factly that she would ask him to drive away the storm.
Ruby smiled down at Nicole. "Who has declared that I cannot drive away a storm just as well as Captain Jack Sparrow?"
Nicole laughed, "You're not a pirate captain! You're not even a sailor."
"I may not be a captain, nor a pirate, but you'd better bet your life that I'm a sailor." Ruby lowered her head so that she was even with Nicole. "Now I'm going to tell you something that I've never told anyone. My father was a merchant sailor, and I was born at sea."
Nicole smiled at this new revelation of her sister's, and Ruby continued.
"But one day my father fell deathly ill, and the first mate steered." Ruby shook her head. "My father was a fool to let that man behind the wheel. He ran us against rocks. Our ship was ruined, but the entire crew escaped with their lives and nothing more. My father then became so ill and frail that he could no longer sail.
"My family then moved to the shore. I didn't like it, and when my father and mother both died-" Ruby faltered, "No...that's enough." She looked away.
Nicole was silent, and then jumped out of Ruby's lap. A clash of lightning caused Nicole to fall forward in terror, and she clutched at her head.
Ruby laughed, and then took Nicole back up into her arms.
"Come along, Nicole. I see that you cannot stand the storm. If you'd like, I could drive it away."
Nicole looked back up at her sister, fear quaking in her eyes.
Ruby laughed again. "Come now, I won't be hurt."
Ruby walked up the main stairs, Nicole still trembling, and told her not to be afraid. "Jack wasn't afraid of any storm." Ruby reminded her.
"No," Nicole admitted, "He wasn't."
"Then neither shall we." Ruby said staunchly.
When they arrived in Ruby's room, Ruby placed Nicole on her bed, opened the door that led out onto her balcony, and then, with one last smile at Nicole, went into the raging storm.
From the downy comforter, Nicole could not hear what it was that Ruby shouted out into the storm, but she wished that she could have.
To Ruby it seemed that the storm did not at first heed her challenge, but after a few moments, it was as though it had finally realized that she was not jesting, and then it put up a fight.
It howled and it bit, it clawed and tore just as much as it had Sparrow, but still Ruby did not move. She stared straight ahead. Lightning struck at near-by tree. "Are you trying to scare me?" She laughed into the winds. The Storm responded by taking about five tiles from the roof of the house, and hurling them at Ruby.
Ruby ignored them as they landed at least three feet behind her, and shattered as they hit the ground. But to poor Nicole, who watched warily from inside, they seemed terrors that could have hit her beloved sister.
The icy rain began to pour down more heavily than it had before, and with it came small, sharp ice.
The rain did not bother Ruby, but the ice cut her and she was forced to turn her head, lest they sting her eyes. But after only a few minutes, the sky was absent of more of the ice-thorns, and it nearly stopped raining.
As the wind quipped her hair about her face, Ruby laughed. It was deep, though scorning, and caused Nicole to catch her breath.
The Storm had done its best, but had failed.
It had failed pitifully.
"Leave now!" Ruby said scornfully, "You've done you best, but it was not enough! I am the victor!"
The Storm howled a bit more, expending what strength it had left.
"Leave!" Ruby commanded, lifting her right palm to the sky.
Ruby's left sleeve fell again, just as it had while Nicole had been ill, only this time, it fell lower, revealing a bold, capital 'P'.
Nicole cupped a hand over her mouth.
"You're a pirate!"
Ruby kept her shoulders still, but twisted her beck to look at Nicole. Ruby's eyes, filled with surprise and shock, met Nicole's eyes, brimming with tears of terror and disbelief.
"Nicole-" Ruby began, but she had not the time to continue, because in a departing gesture, the Storm had hurled one last tile at Ruby, just as a scoundrel would hurl one last insult at one who he may have escaped from.
"Ruby!" Nicole screamed, as the tile hit Ruby just behind her ear.
Nicole watched unbelievingly as the scene played forth as though in slow-motion. Just as the tile hit Ruby, it shattered into pieces, and Ruby crumpled to the ground unconscious.
Her body acting while her mind went numb, Nicole raced to her sister's side, and drug her in.
As she tugged at her sister's arms, Nicole shouted out something that sounded vaguely like: 'Mother! Father! Get a doctor!'
Mr. and Mrs. Louis hurried into the room, and when they saw Ruby lying unconscious on the floor, Mr. Louis quickly scooped Ruby into his arms, and carried her out of the bedroom.
He shouted instructions to several maids as he headed towards the sick room near the front of the house, followed by anxious Nicole and fretful Mrs. Louis.
Mr. Louis headed out the door and was followed by Ms. Louis, but Nicole stayed by Ruby's side.
Nicole wasn't sure how long she had been by Ruby's side, before the doctor came into the sick room, but even when he had, she refused to leave.
After nearly an hour of examining his unconscious victim, the doctor left to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Louis. Nicole deemed that Ruby would be fine if she only left for a small period of time, and silently followed the doctor into the sitting room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Louis," The doctor began, looking troubled, "it is my wish to be honest with you, and now I honestly tell you that this girl may not live through the night."
Mrs. Louis gasped, and Mr. Louis put an arm about her shoulders as the doctor continued, "She has been hit there before, and the scull is cracked. Thankfully, it isn't putting pressure on her brain, but it isn't giving any protection to what may strike her either."
Then for a few moments, silence reigned. Nicole looked away from the doctor, tears brimming in her eyes, and threatening to overflow.
Nicole was slightly surprised when she heard Ruby whimper softly in the sick room. Nicole immediately picked up her skirts, and ran to her sister's side.
"Ruby? Ruby! Are you awake? Are you alright? Ruby, please wake up!" Nicole cried, kneeling next to the bed.
Ruby opened her eyes, but they were unfocused, and drowsy. "Pearl..." she whispered.
"Pearl...?" Nicole wondered, as she stretched a hand forth, and placed it gently on Ruby's forehead. Nicole drew her hand back quickly. It was surprisingly hot.
Just then, Miss Landers passed by.
"Landers!" Nicole called, "Get me a basin of cool water, and a rag!"
The maid nodded, and hurried off.
Mr. Louis, Mrs. Louis, and the doctor came back into the room as Nicole smoothed Ruby's covers in a nervous, helpless gesture.
Ruby stared at the ceiling, and then murmured several other words, none of which made sense, and then whispered the word "Jack"
"Jack?" Mr. Louis asked, "Who is Jack?"
Nicole bit the inside of her lower lip. She dare not reply that Jack was a pirate captain!
"Dobson's first name is Jack!" Mrs. Louis exclaimed, "But I can't imagine how she ever found out. The girl wasn't in the same room with the lad for over thirty minutes!"
"She may have become delirious." The doctor offered, "It is relatively common among cases such as these."
"Well, I'm not taking any chances." Mrs. Louis replied.
At that same time, Miss Landers entered the room again, carrying the bowl and a towel. She set it near Ruby's bed, next to Nicole, and then curtsied as she prepared to leave the room.
"Landers!" Mrs. Louis called.
"Yes, 'm lady?"
"Do you know if the Quonqirador is in the port?"
"No, mum. No ship's entered th port since th storm. She'll be back tomorrow, though, if the weather stays clear."
After a few words of thanks to the doctor, and his bill being paid, he left the house.
Soon after that, everyone prepared for bed, except for Nicole. She was determined to stay by her sister.
"I'll call you immediately if she wakes up or anything else happens." Nicole promised, as Mr. and Mrs. Louis left the sick room to go to bed.
"Alright, dear. But remember, if you get too tired, you can always have one of the maids look after her for you."
"I would never do that." Nicole whispered when she and Ruby were the only persons left in the room.
"Captain...?" Ruby murmured as past and present meshed together in her mind's eye.
As reality faded into memory, Ruby began speaking.
Nicole leaned in to catch her sister's words, and found that she was telling more of the tale of Jack Sparrow.
----------------------------------------------- I'm so mean! Grin
Pirateprincess91: Honestly, I don't have any idea where that thing came from. It just seemed right. 0.o; Yes, everything will be revealed in the end!
Many things will be revealed in the next chapter! Also, perhaps you should be fearing for Jack's survival. Why you ask? Next chapter will tell! I'm so evil. Grin