Of Love and Lords
Author's Note: Hello everyone! It's been a long time, I know; around a year or two in fact. I felt that my previously faithful readers deserved a little more from me and my unbelievably lazy self. Aforementioned, it has been quite some time. In the past two years my mental status and writing abilities have noticeably grown so in this BRAND NEW chapter and the rest of my series, you will likely encounter a more mature Emma, Ralph, Jack etc, in fact I've decided to incorporate Emma and Ralph as sixteen instead of fifteen. Much more makes sense that way. Alongside differences in my characters, you will come across more mature situations (just to warn you). Enjoy an all new chapter of 'Of Love and Lords' (rated T and possibly more)!
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Lord of the Flies' nor do I own any of William Golding's marvelous characters.
Summary: A girl's uncle offers to take her flying as a present for her fifteenth birthday. Though her uncle would be on the job, and would be transporting an umpteen amount of boys to their destination, nothing could shatter Emma's dream of finally being able to fly. During the flight, the plane encounters a horrible tropical storm, sending the fiery plane, crashing down into the ocean. Emma Sinclair awakes on the sandy beach, only to be surprised at having two boys confusedly starring at her. And so the battles of love and lords begin.
Chapter Five
Emma let various grains of white sand run through the fingers of her left hand and into her right. Sprawled out on the sand, she watchfully eyed a cluster of littluns playfully splashing each other amongst the green of the salty water. She grinned in spite of herself. To Emma's left she examined Radley Cunningham; the littlun who she had rescued from the forests the night she had arrived, seated on his small behind near a rotting log. His mulberry colored birth mark engulfed close to half of his face, beginning at the center of his hairline and continuing onward to form an oblong-like pattern, ending just under his upturned nose. Emma watched as Percival, the most shy of the littluns, approached Radley timidly.
"Might I build a castle with you?" he inquired, attempting to unplaster his dark curls from his forehead.
A toothy grin appeared on Radley's face as he nodded feverishly, shaking the sand from his hair and onto Percival. Radley laughed hysterically until he was tackled by Percival, who began to burry him, tossing heavy scoops of sand onto his bare legs.
Emma plucked a berry from the ripe pile in her lap, placing it between her teeth. From her lips, she wiped juices threatening to fall onto what was left of her sundress with her fingers. She glanced at her rather reddish finger-tips. How unfortunate, the berries had stained them. Regardless she placed another on her tongue and began to chew rapidly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jack squatting just behind her. Radley and Percival both stopped mid sand toss, pausing to watch.
"Emma, I hope I'm not interrupting your progress! You and I both know that you enjoy all sorts of lovely things in your mouth." Jack mused, his freckles spreading across the expanse of his cheeks as he flashed her a brilliant smile.
Emma felt herself blushing furiously.
"Speak for yourself you filthy boy!" Emma barked harshly, looking into Jack's eyes as she said it.
"You do know where to find me. If you're ever, hungry in the future." Jack added nastily, his lips in a tight smile and his eyes burning into her own.
Emma scoffed in response, prying her eyes away from his gaze. Looking in his direction hoping to issue another rude stare, her eyes met with his retreating back. It was ever so difficult to only be a slight bitch to Jack. The things he says! If Emma had not been raised with such a proper English upbringing, she could only imagine what words would slip out of her mouth if Jack were to open his. How becoming of her.
Emma looked back hoping to see Jack's progress in being even further away from her then he had been before. He stood just outside the woods, conversing excitedly with Roger. Roger made use of his newly issued spear by drawing what Emma presumed to be a map in the sand. Tossing his spear to the side, Roger was on all fours running his hands over the sand, clearing all traces of what he had shown to Jack. Ralph emerged from the forest as soon as Roger was on his feet. They both eyed him disapprovingly as he passed. Waving to Emma, he ran in her direction.
Within seconds Ralph stood in front of her, an image of bronzed skin glistened with sweat and tossed about locks of golden hair. Ralph sat next to her, propping himself up with his elbows. She could not help but notice the flat expanse of his chiseled chest, rising and falling…rising and falling…rising and-
"Emma," Ralph said slowly. "Are you feeling alright?"
Emma's eyes widened.
"Yes of course." she dismissed, quickly focusing intently on the berries in her lap. Oh dear, that one is bruised.
"Was it something Jack said?" Ralph asked, sitting up suddenly.
"No, no Ralph. Jack's behavior is always something to be desired of, but no, it's not him who's bothering me." laughed Emma nervously, pushing a dark ringlet behind her ear.
Ralph's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What is it then?"
Emma glanced towards the littluns playing on her left. Percival had made use of the rotten log as a shield while Radley tossed stones at it. Percival discovering a branch near his small feet, began to hit Radley around the face with it. They both giggled endlessly.
Emma turned herself towards Ralph, roughly brushing sand from her knees. "Am I expected to be some type of mother to these boys? Vanquish all that they've learned at the academy?" Emma felt herself hold back momentarily. "And what, pray tell will happen when all of you forget your English decorum and instead, realize that I am the only woman on this Island?"
"That thought has occurred to the majority of us already, Emma." Ralph quietly spoke, a smile creeping onto his lips as he gazed at the hypnotic movements of the tide.
Emma's gripped the sand, her fist curled into it easily. "So I may as well say good-bye to all that I am worth then? Is that what you're saying?" Her blood pressure alarmingly rose.
"Emma like you said, we're not English anymore, at least at the present. If anyone of them tries anything though, if they so much as speak out of turn…Emma, I'll kill them." Ralph looked into her eyes as he said it.
"You can't be serious," Emma squealed. Shifting, the berries on her lap rolled onto the sand. "That would be murder! You would end up behind bars!" she muttered to herself.
"That would be what it would take to assure your virtue in a place like this." Ralph spoke quickly, his cheeks beginning to turn pink.
"Ha! Well in that case, if you're to kill anyone, do we both agree on Jack?" Emma cleared her throat in order to suppress her anxious giggles.
"You know I'd do it anyway." Ralph jeered, dumping a fistful of sand onto Emma's head.
Emma gasped. "You bloody fool!" She swiped at her hair frantically.
Ralph collapsed onto the sand, struggling for air as he doubled up with laughter.
"It's wet," Ralph paused to take a deep breath. "It's wet, the sand!"
Emma ignored his objections and continued to pick at her hair. Failing miserably, she let her arms fell to her sides, powerless. She pursed her lips in disapproval as Ralph continued to guffaw, the sand sticking to his shoulders as he rolled about. A devilish smile crept onto her face as she ran her hands through the sand, wincing as it wedged itself under her fingernails. Securing it in her left fist, she dove to grab the elastic of Ralph's red shorts. Ralph's eyes shot open in time to see Emma calmly placing the wad of sand in them. She dramatically allowed the elastic to snap back into place.
Ralph sat up straight. Attempting to halt his laughter, he breathed in deeply and patted at his shorts, continuing to giggle.
He rubbed his tongue against his cheek. "Uncalled for, Miss Emma. Please, do try to refrain yourself from injuring my dignity more than you already have, I beg of you!" He chuckled, brushing off remaining grains of sand.
Emma watched his hands move about his shorts. "Yes, I suppose I could do that; for a price."
Looking up, she met his eyes. Had he seen where she had been looking? Where had she been looking to begin with? She knew. Good Lord.
Ralph tilted his head. "What would that be?"
His intense stare failed to help her cause. Struggling to grasp a witty remark with a touch of sexual innuendo (to her displeasure); Emma grew distracted by a white object littering the stretch cloudless blue sky before her.
"What's that Ralph?" she questioned, following it with her eyes.
Ralph's eyes scanned the sky scrupulously.
Emma pointed to the object. "Just over there."
The white object was approaching the Island at a dangerous speed. As it sped towards them, the object grew clearer. Attached to a white parachute emblazoned with an overbearing black swastika, a German soldier's body dangled lifelessly. The parachuter flew over the heads of Emma and Ralph, hurtling towards the tall trees found in the woods. They rose to their feet slowly, eyeing the parachuter until he was out of sight.
"We have to get to him before Jack does." Ralph mumbled to himself, breaking into a run.
Emma watched as the muscles in Ralph's calves tightened as he ran; moments later she realized that she was to follow. Kicking off her shoes, Emma's knees were up and her arms were pumping through the air as she tracked down Ralph. They soon reached the border of the forest, able to run more steadily on the moist soil. She felt leaves crunching beneath her feet as the wind blew hard against her eardrums. Ahead of her, Emma watched as a branch flicked at Ralph's face. Pawing at his face for a moment as he ran, he examined his hand and then let it fall to his sides. Squinting her eyes, Emma observed blood staining the tips of his fingers. It was then in the distance that Emma could make out two figures. Jack and Roger's chiseled backs were unmistakable. Ralph stopped instantly, Emma colliding into him seconds later. Ralph's weight did not shift; instead he turned around, wrapping one arm around Emma's waist and planting his hand firmly over her mouth. He guided her behind a large bolder where they crouched in silence.
Jack's fist tightened around his spear. "So you said you saw it go through here? You sure?"
"I'm certain." Roger affirmed.
Emma and Ralph watched as he crouched with his legs spread wide, digging his spear deeper into the soil for support. He pinched what appeared to be some sort of fur between his thumb and index finger.
"It'd most likely have gone this way." Jack pointed the tip of his spear away from them.
"Must've. This is exactly why you should have been chief. At least you would deliver us a proper meal each night." Roger rose to his feet.
Jack sneered to himself. "Ha, yeah. It fails to explain though, why that stupid bitch would have him rather than me."
"Beats me, Jack. It's only a matter of time before she realizes that his cock's almost as long as my littlest finger." Roger clapped Jack on the back.
"And that's when he's hard too!" Jack doubled over with laughter.
Ralph's grip tightened around Emma angrily.
"But Jack, really. What's stopping us? All we have to do is get rid of Ralph somehow; make it look like an accident right? There's one of him and two of us. It'd be easy." Roger suggested, letting his spear fall to the ground in order to dust off his knees.
"We'll kill him, yes; but right before he dies, he should at least get to see Emma in the nude." Jack thought aloud.
Roger's eyes widened in excitement. "Make her suck him off or something sick like that? Genius."
"Not quite," Jack paused. "He's going to watch me fuck her until she bleeds."
Roger giggled manically in response.
Tears began to well up in Emma's eyes. Her body tensed up, causing her to slide forward, pulling Ralph with her. She took a sharp intake of breath as the side of her knee grazed the surface of the boulder.
Jack's head snapped towards the boulder. "Did you hear that too?"
Roger inched towards them. Silently,
"Shhhh." Ralph discretely eased Emma into a crevice found between the large rock and the hillside. His grip tightened around her mouth.
Roger held onto the sides of the rock as he poked his head around the corner. Emma held her breath. Silence.
"S'nothing." Roger confirmed.
"Let's get a move on then, that beast isn't going to catch itself." Jack's voice faded.
Emma and Ralph stayed in place until they were sure that Jack and Roger had departed. Slowly, they crept out from behind the boulder.
"Ralph, nothing will stop them." Emma barely opened her mouth as she said it.
Ralph rubbed his temples in a circular motion and began to pace. "Fantastic. I'll have to kill them. I'll have to fucking kill them both."
"There must be something we can give them, anything." Emma searched for an answer.
Ralph grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the boulder roughly. The cut on his face had finally clotted.
"What could we possibly give them, you stupid girl; the conch?" He shook her. "It's only a matter of time until they have balls enough to try something!"
"Ralph…you're hurting me!" Emma searched his eyes frantically and pushed at his chest.
"I'm sorry," Ralph let her go. "I just can't stand the thought of you…what he said."
"If it had to be someone Ralph, it would be you." Emma quietly added, examining the dirt on her bare feet.
"Don't say that." Ralph dismissed and began to walk forward.
"At least it would be someone I care for!" Emma protested, clenching her teeth.
"Emma. If Jack ever heard what you say…the things we say; he'd want you twice as much." Ralph turned to face her; he searched the ground with his eyes. "This has to stop."
"What has to stop? There is nothing to stop!" Emma fumed.
"Forget I said it." Ralph's eyes searched hers. "We've been stalling too long, let's go, we have to find him before the others do."
Emma followed Ralph deeper into the woods. They trekked to their destination in silence. Ralph easily conquered a steep ledge covered in moss; Emma scowled in disdain when he did not offer to help her up it. She crawled up onto the ledge awkwardly, her face inches from Ralph's muddy heels. Pulling herself over, Emma collapsed to her knees, panting. She looked past Ralph; at last there he was. There in front of them stood an ancient tree. About its branches hung the Nazi parachuter, limply tangled amongst various straps. The previously resilient swastika hung in rags, while its owner stared blankly at the surrounding forest.
"Hello, Emma…Ralph," A voice emerged from the base of the tree. There perched on a large root of the tree was Simon, his dark hair falling into his eyes.
"What have you got there?" Ralph inquired, inching forward.
Next to Simon lay an opened brown pack. Its contents were spewed about the forest floor.
"I'm glad that you both found me since I am sure that this here," he paused. "Well it's clearly of great importance." Simon sat up straighter as a small smile appeared on his face.
"We're saved." Ralph breathed.
Rising to her feet, it was apparent to Emma that cradled in Simon's dirty hands, was a radio.