Elizabeth
We dance merrily and gleefully in the golden sun, like the faeries of Celtic lore. Though he is a clumsy -I really must teach Jack how to dance after all this is done.- it is a bit endearing in it's own way and to spin him around is an absolute bliss.
He is my knight in shining armor; he freed me from my tower and out-witted my dragon.
As we dance to the sweet melody, I watch as the anxiety and the shyness melt away from Jack's face. There is a lot about Jack I was unable to take note of previously; his warm smile, his rough laugh, and the odd gleam in his pale green eyes.
When we finally finished dancing, we left the pier and walked back onto the beach. I had unconsciously slipped my hand into his, and I only noticed it when I felt the inside of his palm. It bore jagged scars, and I wondered how he might have gotten them. But soon I am just thinking about how warm his hands feel in mine ...
After perhaps an hour and a half, Jack and I finish our dance. I could dance all night but it is getting cold. Besides, there is so much more to explore!
"I'm out ..." I say to myself breathlessly, "It's hard to believe but it's true isn't it?"
I inhale the sweet air to make sure one last time that this is not a dream. It is sweet air, sweeter than any fragrance I could imagine.
"Ah, can you smell that? I've never smelled anything like that before. Have you?"
My Knight answers with a smirk. "Wait until you smell a real beach ..." I hope I get to see one, I hope I get to see many beaches!
When we are on the beach, Jack and I look out onto the waters and the clouds beyond. I can not believe I am out! This is a dream!
"Did you know this artificial beach was built in only six months?" I mention offhandedly. Jack simply nods his head wearily.
"It almost looks like a real ocean," I say, "But it's just a set of elaborate pumps and rain catchers."
Bursting with energy pent up for nineteen years, I run all around the beach to stare at everything in sight. It is all amazing, all exciting, all new! Some things I have only seen before in books, some things are nothing like I have ever seen!
All the while, Jack follows next to me. He appears sullen much of the time, but others I see him smile and see his deep emerald eyes shine. One instance is when I come across a bucket of sea-shells and silver eagles and round flat sea stones.
After asking permission from the boy playing next to the bucket, I take a flat stone from the bucket and stare across at the water.
"Watch this!" I say with a smile, and skillfully I skip the stone across the water. Oh I've always wanted to do that!
Jack smiles at me and stares with those deep emerald eyes of his. After a few seconds he picks up a stone of his own from the bucket and attempts to skip it: it sinks immediately.
"Here, like this." I say as I pick up a third stone, wrap it in Jack's hands, and guiding them with my own help him throw it. It skips very well, and I find myself once again liking the way Jack's hands feel in mine.
"We should head on", Jack tells me in a whisper. "It is getting late and we need to continue onward."
I smile at him. "Where are we going next?" I ask, excited to see more of the world I was previously denied.
"To the Airship. Some friends helped me rescue you, and they said you will only be safe once you are in New York."
Jack is right; we are still in the city. HE is still out there and we will only be safe if we get out of the city.
Seeing my distress, my Knight places his hand over mine soothingly. "Elizabeth, I promise I will not let any harm befall you. The friends waiting for us have your Best Interest at heart; I believe we can trust them. Once we're away from this city there will be a big wide world for you to explore."
Holding his hand back, I nod. "Alright Jack, I will trust you."
We leave the beach and enter what appears to be a gift shop. The first thing I notice is a large poster of a stern old man with a white beard. I do not like this man; he is the same man as the statue whose whistle heralds the call of my horrible captor. I cringe and flinch at the sight of him.
"Jack, its Comstock. I've read about him; they say he can read the future."
Jack simply grimaces and shakes his head.
"I don't like his look." I say to him.
A store-keeper leaning against the wall abruptly voices his opinion on the matter. I had not until now noticed his presence here, and truth be told his spying puts be on edge. "Do you dislike the look of the Prophet, or his gaze?"
I do not answer him. Instead I look at Jack and ask if we can leave now. Jack gently grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs and out of the gift-shop.