Chapter Eighteen: A Night Not Forgotten
"Is he even going to come home tonight?" Alaina asked, turning from the balcony to face her mother.
"Would I have you stay up if he wasn't?" her mother asked teasingly, coming up to stand beside her.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Alaina asked with a laugh. Her mother laughed as well, and they stood together at the railing, staring off into the night sky.
"I never thought I would fall in love with a pirate," Alaina heard her mother sigh.
"You didn't?" she asked, shocked.
"No," her mother said with a laugh. "I used to hate pirates. Damned rascals, I used to think. But that was all before Captain Jack Sparrow came into the picture."
"You didn't love HIM, did you?" Alaina asked, completely disgusted at the thought of her mother being with the infamous pirate.
"Oh, god no," Her mother said, shaking her head. "Although," she continued with a smile, "he did try to seduce me once while we were marooned on an island."
"Was that before or after you'd burned all his rum?" Alaina asked, confused. She'd heard her mother and father both tell her the story before. But as she had gotten older they'd got into more and more details, all of which filled in the gaps with fact and left little room for her imagination.
"Before, I thought he would shoot me when he found all his precious rum burned. I'm sure it crossed his mind, but no. He woke up the next morning asking me why the rum was gone."
Alaina smiled and shook her head in amusement. The stories about the captain fascinated her, but she always wondered how someone that drunk, disloyal, and stupid could regain command of the fastest ship in the entire Caribbean and still be alive.
"How late do you think it is?" Alaina asked suddenly.
"I don't know. Why? Do you want to go to sleep?" her mother asked, turning her head towards her.
"No, I was just wondering because I want to talk to dad before he goes to sleep."
"You mean interrogate," her mother corrected teasingly.
"How else am I supposed to be entertained?" she asked defensively.
"Oh I don't know," her mother trailed off with a grin. "How about starting some sort of project?"
"I'm not sewing," she told her mother matter-of-factly.
"I didn't say that, I just said you need to start something constructive,"
"I do things that are constructive," Alaina disagreed.
"Scampering around Port Royale with the rest of your musketeers is not constructive." Although her mother's tone was serious, Alaina saw the glimmer of amusement in her mother's eyes and knew she was joking. She knew that secretly her mother wished she could be one of them.
"You know you love me," Alaina smirked, and her mother pulled her into a loving embrace.
"Of course I do, and I always will." Alaina smiled and returned the hug. "Always," her mother repeated, kissing the top of her head.
Alaina woke up suddenly to find herself not on the balcony at home with her mother, but in a dark, cold cell. Alone. Tears began to fill her eyes again, and she pulled her knees up to her chin and lay there on the floor, listening to the lonely crashing of the ocean. She wished for a presence to help close off the loneliness that gnawed at her, that slowly began to consume her like the ground swallowed her mother.
***
"Is he even going to come home tonight?" Alaina asked, turning from the balcony to face her mother.
"Would I have you stay up if he wasn't?" her mother asked teasingly, coming up to stand beside her.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Alaina asked with a laugh. Her mother laughed as well, and they stood together at the railing, staring off into the night sky.
"I never thought I would fall in love with a pirate," Alaina heard her mother sigh.
"You didn't?" she asked, shocked.
"No," her mother said with a laugh. "I used to hate pirates. Damned rascals, I used to think. But that was all before Captain Jack Sparrow came into the picture."
"You didn't love HIM, did you?" Alaina asked, completely disgusted at the thought of her mother being with the infamous pirate.
"Oh, god no," Her mother said, shaking her head. "Although," she continued with a smile, "he did try to seduce me once while we were marooned on an island."
"Was that before or after you'd burned all his rum?" Alaina asked, confused. She'd heard her mother and father both tell her the story before. But as she had gotten older they'd got into more and more details, all of which filled in the gaps with fact and left little room for her imagination.
"Before, I thought he would shoot me when he found all his precious rum burned. I'm sure it crossed his mind, but no. He woke up the next morning asking me why the rum was gone."
Alaina smiled and shook her head in amusement. The stories about the captain fascinated her, but she always wondered how someone that drunk, disloyal, and stupid could regain command of the fastest ship in the entire Caribbean and still be alive.
"How late do you think it is?" Alaina asked suddenly.
"I don't know. Why? Do you want to go to sleep?" her mother asked, turning her head towards her.
"No, I was just wondering because I want to talk to dad before he goes to sleep."
"You mean interrogate," her mother corrected teasingly.
"How else am I supposed to be entertained?" she asked defensively.
"Oh I don't know," her mother trailed off with a grin. "How about starting some sort of project?"
"I'm not sewing," she told her mother matter-of-factly.
"I didn't say that, I just said you need to start something constructive,"
"I do things that are constructive," Alaina disagreed.
"Scampering around Port Royale with the rest of your musketeers is not constructive." Although her mother's tone was serious, Alaina saw the glimmer of amusement in her mother's eyes and knew she was joking. She knew that secretly her mother wished she could be one of them.
"You know you love me," Alaina smirked, and her mother pulled her into a loving embrace.
"Of course I do, and I always will." Alaina smiled and returned the hug. "Always," her mother repeated, kissing the top of her head.
Alaina woke up suddenly to find herself not on the balcony at home with her mother, but in a dark, cold cell. Alone. Tears began to fill her eyes again, and she pulled her knees up to her chin and lay there on the floor, listening to the lonely crashing of the ocean. She wished for a presence to help close off the loneliness that gnawed at her, that slowly began to consume her like the ground swallowed her mother.
***
