Disclaimer: Nothing. I own nothing. And, this being another chapter- albeit a long one- it is brought to you today by Queen and the letter 'R'
Disclaimer disclaimer: I do not own Queen.
A/N: I would like to thank my beta, Millie, for going over this for me, and for letting me escape a beta's wrath with only singed hair for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes...lol. Well, hope y'all enjoy this. As we start, I must request that you keep your arms and legs inside of the vehicle at all times while the car is moving. Please, no flash photography or lasers, and no matter how much it begs, please refrain from feeding the monkey. Thank you. Now, on with the story!
Chapter Eight:
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, the balmy air already foreshadowing the intense heat of the coming day. Legolas was already awake, never really having slept, for as an Elf, he did not require it. Iain roused the crew, and the men loaded the longboats with the leftovers from the night on the beach. Though Erin had had Iain water down the ale after everyone's second round, the air was still laced with moans and curses from men who had drank too much.
Back on the Seahawk, everyone was instantly sober with one look at the second mate.
Duncan looked tired, his face drawn from fatigue. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were garbled by the jaw-breaking yawn that made the joint crack loudly.
Erin, standing at the opposite rail with her back to the men, spoke up before the men could.
"What Duncan is tryin' tae say, lads, is that we had a bit o' trouble last night." She turned around, and came to stand behind the weary second mate.
"Mr Douglas, yeh're dismissed. Get some rest, man," Erin told the mate, who nodded and tottered off.
"Durin' th' night, some animal did some damage tae the rigging, and tae th' main mast. I need tri men who arna tae drunk tae take a look."
Several hands were raised, and Erin nodded.
"Erik, an' Colin, yeh look tae th' rigging. Nae, Hawk, yeh're tae drunk. Och, lad, yeh canna even stand up straight!" One by one, the remaining volunteers were declared too intoxicated. The only remaining man was Legolas.
The captain eyed him for a moment, then nodded. "Aye, I trust Iain taught yeh well. Check th' masts an' lines aloft."
The Elf sprang up the ropes, making even veteran-sailor Iain look like an amateur with the ease he displayed.
Inspecting the twin masts, the Prince found that the salt-cured wood was gnawed in several places, and it would snap with a heavy wind. Balancing on a rope, he shook his head, calling down to the waiting crew, "It's no good- the wood is chewed almost through. It will break with a hard breeze."
Even from his high perch, he heard Erin's eloquent speech of curses that accompanied his observation.
Hawk and Erik gave similar reports of the lines needing replaced, and the sailors could have sworn that some of the words their captain used were being made up on the spot.
At last, she growled under her breath, shaking her head.
"Get back down here, lads," she called to the perched trio high above.
"I need four crews, mates. Tae will be working on th' mast, tae on th' lines. We'll rotate so yeh doona get tired. Split up, an' I'll go wi' th' lucky lads one short."
Quickly, the men shuffled, and Legolas found himself in the group with Erik, Hawk, Colin, Angus, Midhir, and a weathered lad called Nick. Unfortunately, the crew was the odd group, the one Erin had designated herself to go with. The tasks were assigned, and theirs was the first group to find a new mast back on shore.
The two boats were again filled with men and several skins of water, and the equipment it would take to fell the needed tree and prepare it for use as a mast.
Everything loaded onto the two boats, the men and Erin headed ashore, leaving Iain in charge aboard the Seahawk.
Three hours later, exhausted and sweating, the gang rested under the shade of several banana trees, passing around the water skins.
Midhir sighed, wiping the sweat from his face onto his sweating forearm. Even the spry Irishman was wilted in the intense heat.
They had been all over the island, and only found two or three trees that could even be considered mast-quality in a long shot.
Erin glanced up at the tree that she was leaning against, giving it a glare. "If I never have tae see another tree again, I'll be tae happy," she muttered.
The skin came to Erin, who took a mouthful of water, then spat it back out, clearing her mouth of dust and dirt with a thoughtful expression.
"Well, mates, we have tae choices," she sighed, resting her head on the rough bark behind her. "There only be ane tree here worth fellin' an' trimmin', truth be told. We can either use this tree, and make do wit another, or we can risk puttin' intae port an' gettin' us a real mast. There's ane wit'in a few days o' here. Since yeh lads are th' anes workin', it's up tae yeh."
Looks were shared, and several low voices conferred.
"We'll tae th' tree frae here, an' put intae port," Angus said, speaking for them all.
Erin nodded. "Th' tree is this braw beauty behind me," she drawled, motioning to her current backrest. Standing to her feet, the captain tossed the waterskin to Hawk, then narrowed her eyes at her men.
"Get aff yehr arses, mates. There's a tree tae be felled," she growled, almost teasing.
The other team was brought ashore, and together, they hewed down the tree and cut it to length. The balmy heat of the island had turned scorching, and most of the men had doffed their shirts, the thin material even too much in the humidity. Erin, sweating right beside her sailors, had the sleeves of her shirt rolled up past her elbows, but it did little to offer relief. Setting down her axe for a moment, she leaned on the handle, taking a swig of the water offered her by the cabin boy, John.
Someone was then beside her, and she felt them take hold of the axe handle.
Looking over she saw it was Legolas.
To the Elf, Erin did not look well. Her face was flushed under her tan, and it could not be right for the white linen shirt she wore to be completely soaked with sweat. Her hands were also shaking, and one did not need the keen sight of his kindred to see it.
"Take a break," he told her. "I will finish removing these extra branches and smoothing the trunk."
Erin's green eyes narrowed, and she handed the skin back to John, who quickly left at the captain's look.
"Legolas is right, lass," Iain said, coming up and putting in his two cents before she could open her mouth. "Yeh doona look so good. Take a break- this heat will do anyone in."
Relinquishing the axe, the young woman stepped back, blinking her eyes quickly to clear her double vision. It had to be the heat getting to her.
The sun was just touching the western horizon, a huge golden disk sinking into the black waters, when everyone gathered on the beach. The tree was ready to be taken to the ship and put up, waiting just outside the ring of light from the fire.
The crew was drinking and telling stories once more, but the air around them felt muffled and tense to Legolas.
He sat between Finn and Daire, the two burly brothers from Ireland, and looked up from the fire to Erin, who sat across from him.
The captain sat with her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. The sharp green eyes reflected the firelight like glass, and the pallor of her skin made her appear almost luminescent in the orange glow. Sweat was beaded on her brow, and she seemed to shiver. Though Legolas did not feel the elements as a human did, even to his bare skin the night air was warm.
To his left, Finn spoke to him, drawing the Elf's attention. When the Prince looked back, Erin was gone. He was drawn back into the conversation by Donn, and the rest of the night passed as the one before it, with ale and banter.
That morning, Erin didn't not come out of her cabin. Two hours later, the crew was getting worried.
Iain knocked on her door, and when there was no answer, went inside.
Seconds later, he stormed from the cabin, and drug Malcolm back with him. As blank as the mate had made his expression, the fact that Malcolm was involved boded no good, and the sailors went about their work in an uneasy silence. Almost a full hour later, Malcolm made an appearance, a grave-looking Iain behind him.
"Lads," Iain called, and the crew, which had finished their work and were lounging around, waiting for word, sprang to their feet and gathered before him.
"Lads, th' Cap'n isna feelin' well, so we'll be here for a bit longer. Yeh can go ashore, but be back by dusk."
Without further words, Iain went back into the cabin, the ship's doctor fetching a small satchel before returning to the captain's quarters.
Inside the small cabin, Erin lay on her cot, burning with fever and covered in a cold sweat. Her eyes were closed in an unnatural sleep, one that she refused to be woken from. On her right wrist was a swollen, red lump, twin puncture wounds on the crest. Iain remembered Erin's warning the day before about spiders, and a spider was the likely culprit. The girl was a good climber, and had raced up a fair share of trees the day before. She must have been bitten then, and it would explain her rough appearance the evening before.
Duncan slipped inside the room, and stood behind his older brother's shoulder.
"How is she?" he asked Malcolm quietly.
The doctor sighed, shoving a hand through his short, dark-brown hair with a sigh. "I don't know, Duncan, I don't know. Erin is a strong lass, she should pull through. But in her current state," his voice trailed off. "I will do all I can, but I can't guarantee a miracle. And, to tell the truth, that's what it's goin' to take."
Erin tossed and turned, the fever ravaging her body as the poison from the spider's bite worked it's evil on her system.
The steady rains had let up for the day, leaving the world clean and fresh in their wake. Four-year-old Erin grinned up at her father from the back of the small pony on which she sat, beaming happily. Matthew MacPherson returned his daughter's smile, and stopped in a small glen, deeming it suitable. Today was the day he would finish teaching Erin to ride a horse.
Releasing the pale-grey animal's bridle, he stepped back, and nodded encouragingly.
With a grin, Erin clamped her legs to the sides of the animal, and they leapt off, circling the dell.
Jamie grinned down at his sister, green eyes so much like her own twinkling merrily from his angular face.
"Had enough yet?" he inquired, offering her his hand.
Erin glowered at him from the ground, then grabbed his hand and flipped him over her.
"Nae yet!" she growled, scrabbling to pin the older boy before he bested her again at wrestling.
"Jamie! Erin! What on earth are yeh fightin' about now?" Matthew called, hauling them apart.
Erin narrowed her eyes at her twin, wishing that she could wipe that smirk from his face with her fist. He simply gave her that crooked grin, and she lunged for him, growling threats.
"Erin, calm yourself, lass," their father sighed as the temperamental girl fought against his hand on the back of her collar.
"Now, what were yeh fightin' about this time, Jamie."
Jamie grinned again at his little sister, laughing at the feral sound that came from her.
"Nae a thing, Da," he replied. "I was just showin' th' Kid some o' th' finer points o' fightin'. In case she ever needs t' know," he hastily added.
Matthew shook his head, sighing. "Yeh know what I told yeh about fightin'. Work things out wi' words, then come in for supper."
"Aye, Da," the twins chorused as their father let them go and went back inside of the house.
Jamie gave Erin that crooked grin again, and she launched herself at him with a cry, fists flying. She managed to bloody his nose before he took her down again.
All the men gathered on the shore for the midday meal, save Iain and Malcolm, the two having not left the captain's side for more than a few minutes all day.
A man that Legolas could not name brought back a hat-full of berries, and they were passed around the group eagerly. Only Legolas and Duncan refrained from eating the fruit, choosing coconuts instead.
By evening, all but Legolas, Duncan, Malcolm, and Iain were sick. The doctor was kept busy going from man to man, trying to keep as many as he could. Those who were either not taken by the plague or well enough to help were sent around by the weary Scotsman, giving the ill water and trying to keep them comfortable. Everyone was in the galley, as it was the biggest covered place onboard, save Erin. Malcolm was worried that moving her would only hurt the girl, so she remained in her cabin.
Duncan slumped against the wall, fighting exhaustion. Malcolm looked up from where he was kneeling beside Hawk, and shook his head. The only one who still showed the slightest signs of energy was Legolas. Even Iain was about to drop, but he had also been going between those in the galley and Erin.
"This is the best we can do for now, men," the doctor told them. "Get some rest- I'll watch Erin."
Legolas shook his head, not wanting to speak up, but knowing it was the right thing to do.
"No, Malcolm. You are as tired as everyone else. Rest, and I'll stay with Erin. I can still keep my eyes open," he said. Duncan was already asleep, leaning against the wall, and Iain was sitting wearily in a chair at the table.
Malcolm nodded, sighing. "Alright, but if there is any change, don't hesitate to get me."
The Elf only offered the doctor a half-smile as he turned and left the galley, making his way to the cabin.
Slipping into the dim room, Legolas went to the captain's side, and wiped her sweating brow with a cool cloth that was on the table near her head.
A/N: (sings while laughing maniacally)...Another one bites the dust! Alright, I'm fine now. No need to call those nice men in white coats, I promise. So, what did y'all think? Huh? Huh huh? Oh, just to let my wonderful readers know, I heard a rumor that I can no longer answer reviews in my chapters. Sorry, ya'll, but until I hear otherwise, I'm gonna go with this as the law. So, hopefully this chapter answers all your questions! Please, read and review, and I type like a maniac, then send it off to Millie to proof!